overtaking haynes

58 min trail run...the trails were hard to see properly with lots of leaves on the ground. i have missed the feeling i get trail running compared to the road...there are different thoughts and it's easier to lose yourself. i'm glad my foot doesn't hurt anymore, but i feel it can come back if i run on too many trails. i'm thinking another 3x1 mile tomorrow. i want to get on pfitzinger schedule. i really don't see how an extra vo2 max workout can hurt over a week out. 

Was going to do a threshold workout but thought better of it after realizing that i was in no mood and probably condition to crank out low 6's today. First mile was 6:42 downhill, 6:46 downhill, 7:03 horrible uphill, 6:51 horrible uphill ran 3:40 for the first .5. finished off with a good stretch but sadly have seen no improvements in flexibility.

now just going to exactly follow the last 1+ weeks of advanced marathoning.
 

beautiful day today, the weather was crisp and cold and i had a runny nose which i actually liked while i was running today, who knows why...i'm really into this new place only 4 miles from my house. there was a go cart thing that i had to drive through though which was annoying. i was so surprised that i saw no one today. I averaged around 12 min/mile but the terrain is great. i feel like i'm far away from where i live in a more rugged and empty place. i explored more of the trails today and actually am pretty sure i found out how to connect to the next park so i can lengthen my runs. i also ran by an old dammed up pond. who knows who dammed is and why it is in the middle of nowhere. also saw a HUGE deer with very large antlers which is something i haven't seen before. i was really hungry by the end of the run and did not enjoy doing 10x100 striders on the pavement next to the go carts. 

ran to some trails and did 6 miles on the trails. 1.5 miles on dirt roads. my ipod decided to stop working which is lame. i've had two of them so far and the keypad always stops working. i feel comfortable with the ipod but am kind of not happy with their lack of durability. 1hr 59 min. 

5 miles am, actually wore gloves and a long sleeve shirt cause it was in the 30's.
i kind of had one of my old vision issues after about 20 min right when  another runner turned onto the road i was running on. of course i had to pass him. he looked reasonably athletic and rugged but the way he landed on his feet was not right. i'm glad i was able to pass him despite my vision problems. it was easy but not as easy as i wanted it to be.  

 5 mile pm, did a trail run with my brother across the street. the trails aren't as in good shape as they used to be when i was in h.s. due to the acreage being destroyed by huge fancy houses but it's really interesting terrain for a short run. it was getting dark and the trail that used to be a trail was blocked off by rocks and completely overgrown, almost impenetrable. we were near houses and could see the road 1/4 mile away but as we got close there sounded like a large dog was onto us and i decided to go back. we still short cutted and that entailed crossing a swampy area with a stream going through it. the stream was about 8 inches too wide for me to clear and i literally had my shoe eaten. it was removed from my foot and COMPLETELY submerged aside from a tiny speck of shoelace. it took 2 hands and about 10 sec of strong effort to remove it. good day. got out before dark and in time to pick up brother from soccer practice. hopefully 2 miles at marathon pace won't seem like such a burden tomorrow. not sure where i'm going to run them yet as the hills here are very annoying and draining. perhaps the track?
 

warmed up with 3.4 miles and then did 2 miles at marathon pace. 6:37 for the first mile and then 6:36 for the second. both miles had a slight net downhill so probably about right ~6:45-6:51 effort if it were flat. cooled down 1.8 miles. Just two more 5 mile days before the marathon. I wonder if it matters at all running a few miles the day before vs. taking the day completely off. psychologically i like the day off and just feel more confident that i am completely rested. not sure if this is logical or not though. the book suggests running 4 miles easy.

 i also found out that i got into the mt mitchell challenge in NC which i'm excited about. 40 miles up mt mitchell and back down in february. sounds like a blast! 

ran 8:15 pace and felt pretty good. will try to run 5 in the am tomorrow and then probably just walk around a little on sat. unfortunately the weather is not going to be as cool on sunday as it should be. about 10 degrees warmer than the avg temp. 

5 miles before work with 6x100 striders. no more running till the marathon on sunday. weather is starting to look slightly cooler. 

Drove up to the race the day before, arrived in Albany, NY at approx 4:15pm and picked up stuff at race expo. Walked around town looking for food but really didn't find anything so we decided to go to the next town over where we were staying at. Settled on ihop and then splitting a large cheese pizza after. Pretty great carbo load.

Race day: I was worried I might not be able to break 3, but felt confident that I had the ability to. The weather temp at the start was ~45F but quickly warmed up to ~65C by race end. Went without a shirt which was good but resulted in horrible chaffing under the arms which i knew might happen but after 7 miles of sweat the vaseline and body glide alternative (this other running lube stuff) completely was gone. I guess body glide is better! Still hurts two days later. I also got the onset of a blister around mile 8 on my little toe but it didn't get any worse which was fortunate. I took in liquid at every aid station as much as i could. I sometimes grabbed two drinks cause the cups are worthless until liquid only fills a third of them. They rest just splashes out. I carried 3 bags of shot blocks and 2 gu's in my hand which was a little annoying but the pocket is not an option. I lost one gu early but still had a total of 700 calories plus i took almost all gatorade at the aid stations. I also had to stop to poop just after the half marathon point but it was worth the 20 sec or so i lost.

Listed below are approx splits: Haynes and i decided to not warm up but start off slow.

6:48
6:52 (was surprised how slow this mile was and was a little concerned)
6:33 (unexpected but some downhills) left ankle was bothering me as it often does. it was the inner part, but the outer one is also known to hurt-a little concerned!
6:34
6:41(loosened up, ankle pain gone)
6:56 (ran with a group of people who were trying to hit sub 3) they were not concerned with going out in 1:30...because of the downhill at the end. I freaked out a bit when i saw this and told Haynes I was going to speed up a bit cause the pace was far too easy and weak)
6:48 (good pace again on the flats)
6:49
6:46
6:51
6:44
6:50 (starting to think about pooping)
6:54
half in 1:28:47
7:02 (includes poop stop in the bushes, pretty gross)
6:34 (course starts to have a nice sloping downhill for the next 4 miles)
6:53
6:35
6:36
6:51(off the bike path i think and on the roads)
6:43 (at this point i new i was going to break 3)
6:49 (felt like haynes wanted to push it)
6:54 (the hardest mile for me mentally, warming up and legs starting to feel every tiny uphill) luckily that was only inclines of 5 or so feet!
6:48
6:54 (felt like haynes was starting to hurt more than me which made me feel stronger)
6:52
6:48
1:30 last 0.2 miles

total 2:57:53 (including a photo finish victory over haynes cause he didn't have the vision not to hit a half marathoner who was finishing).

overall a really awesome experience! No complaints about the weather, the volunteers at the aid stations were great. I was really fortunate to be able to run with Haynes the whole time and feed off of his pace. Made it actually kind of fun. I also enjoyed that there were under 600 people. Finished with no aches or pains.

Not planning on doing a road marathon anytime soon. Not until i think i can go under 2:50. Don't think that will be next year...maybe more realistic is going under 1:20 in a half marathon, although also doesn't seem realistic right now, but it won't hurt the body to try unlike the marathon. I was luckily able to achieve all 4 of my running goals for the year. The sub 5 min mile, the sub 18min 5k, the sub 30min 5 mile, and the sub 3hr marathon. Not bad. I owe my improvement to Haynes and his teaching me about how to train properly. i almost forgot to mention that my goal of overtaking haynes and beating him in the marathon also came true despite having the same time...

I asked one of my old running friends the question: if we didn't ever age and could continue running and building up miles indefinitely...could someone without as much talent like a 2:55 marathoner ever run a 2:10 marathon with a 100 years of training in peak physical condition without aging? Or is there an absolute threshold that each person can't cross no matter what? I think there must be a limit but we don't live long enough i guess to reach it.

easy trail run. probably the nicest evening of the year! 

trail run...the only thing that happened was a black leaf fell down on me and i thought it was a bat and almost pulled every muscle in my body trying to avoid it. i couldn't figure out why it just kept falling...i had just passed a group of people and i hope they didn't hear me or see what happened. 

this morning was COLD! not that cold really if i were running but i had

no idea how to dress since i haven't been on a bike in a while. even

with mittens my hands were freezing. i need to figure out how to add

cross training miles to the blog, if anyone knows how i'd love to know.

went 29 miles with a road bike group. there were a bunch of dirt roads

we road on for some reason that were pretty though and i'd like to be

able to find them again so i can run there. did a total of 37 miles.

very hilly, i definitely need to buy bike shorts cause i was not very

comfortable in my super old ones. kind of fun though and i was glad

that i could keep up although i didn't feel too sure of myself with my

almost non-existent brakes.

3.6 miles easy with my dad and then about an hour later i explored a new trail system with my brother which was kind of ok for 5.1 miles. Did kind of a hike run. I wasn't really feeling too well today. I think i'm getting sick. Probably won't go back there. Definitely hilly but it just felt like it was a sketchy place across the street from a shooting range.

1hr trail run. felt really good. hated how dark it was with the rain and also it's just dark now. i think i will do a half marathon trail race this weekend. should be very well rested for it! 

5 or so mile trail run. forgot my gps.

1hr 4 min trail run. my left foot is feeling tight again. sometimes in the left ankle, sometimes the right, sometimes just the bottom of my foot. it loosens up after 15 min or so and doesn't bother me at all only to tighten up again and be annoying to walk around after about an hour. ice doesn't help that much but advil helps but it seems like i need to advil all the time. i must be doing something wrong to have this problem that's been chronic for 2 years. it doesn't get worse really but it never goes away or it will go away for a few days and then come back. i have come to accept that being a runner is simply painful.

4 mile trail run. then walked dog for 1.1 miles as i have almost every day since the marathon. i really enjoy walking, especially in the dark. it is quite relaxing.

4 mile hike with dad. beautiful day cloudy but no rain. great view at the top. excited to race tomorrow.

I've been running really light mileage the past couple weeks and was itching to have something to do this weekend. I LOVE the whole process of trail racing, except the going to bed early and having to poop 4-6 times before the race even begins, but in the fall it is much easier to bury :)

enough about that...i drove up about 2hrs 20 min to just west of albany, up this mountain to a state park. when i got to the race it was an exciting atmosphere, there was a halloween theme with halloween sounds being blasted in the parking lot and their were people in gorilla costumes and a sketchy guy with a chainsaw walking around. it was good to see some old faces at the races. There were SO many people out today. The race started off and we ran through a fake graveyard past the guy lunging at us with a chainsaw. I started out in 20th place or so and sprinted ahead to 4th place before a muddy single track and quickly realized
i was definitely beyond threshold pace. After 2 miles i was passed by a guy i had beaten earlier in the year and he would go on to beat me by 3 minutes today. What was irksome was not being passed by robin hood at mile 5 but by being passed at about mile 8 by this guy who i didn't even know what his costume was. It wasn't like the people who passed me went by me in a flash it was this long and slow inevitable pulling away. I settled into a rhythm and felt dizzy for a bit and my stomach was not bad but i regretted eating a full lb or possibly more of imitation crab meat the night before. i wonder why i do such foolish things. so the passing was done by mile 8 and i just hoped no one else would catch me and i started to feel a bit better. i had a good scare by the 3rd of the 4th gorilla that jumped out at me. it was quite annoying, especially the chainsaw guy. the course got 3 inches of rain the night before so the course was quite muddy and had pools of water but not annoyingly so. very fast course with few hills and my biggest goal was to finish in sub 7 pace which i just did in 6:58. Overall not a bad race, but not great. I helped my best of 6 race point total today which was my main goal, and will need to race next weekend to get over 1000 points for the whole series. we'll see. such a beautiful day though.

i did have a bit of a scare on the way back. i was kind of zoning out listening to a book on tape on the highway when a large stag came out of the corner of my eye, inches from the road about 20 feet in front of the car. I didn't get an adrenaline rush because the threat was gone before i could register it, but if the deer didn't pull up at the last second it would have been BAD news.

something else sketchy happened when i went on a "run" with my dad when i got back. it was close to getting dark on the way down the mtn and he noticed what looked like a large animal organ. i thought/hoped it was just some hugebut it was clearly notand it was fresh. we had not noticed it before about an hour earlier and there were no cars around at the parking lot nor was there any blood or bones around. there was a partial hide of a skunk but the organ was larger than the entire skunk. we were close to the car at that point then heard a substantial rustle in the leaves and that made things worse. who knows, i guess it's just an unsolved mystery. will think twice about running there towards dark alone.

trail run. 

trail run