So, the day approached, and I slept poorly last night.  Our St. Bernard woke us up almost on the hour from midnight until 4a.m.  She's had a bad foot so has been sleeping inside but I think it was too hot for her so she kept wanting to go out.

Got to Schenectady around 10a.m. and most of the runners had already checked in and got their bibs and shirts as the gun was set to go off at 10:30.  Having been "boxed" out in the congested starting area last time, I did a .75 warm-up over to the starting area with Jonn and we lined up in the 7:00 pace area.  I looked at him and asked, "So, we going to start with 8's?" He goes, "Yeah man, but don't worry about the pace man. Just race."  If anything stuck in my head the entire race, it was those two words.. "Just race."

After a brief introduction of the mayor of Schenectady and a mention that Bill Rodgers would be joining us in the race this year [ he was supposed to be here last year but decided not to race because of a nagging injury ], the gun sounded at 10:32 AM.

Temp at the gun: ~43 with sunny, blue skies.  Perfect day for racing. Definitely the best weather for the race in the past four years.

The first mile was flat and reentered Central Park, going under the finish line banner. 

Mile 1  - 7:20    Jonn, "Man we're going to fast." Me: "Yeah, let's slow it down some for the next mile."

Mile 2  - 15:35  Downhill and flat.

5k  -  22:30 Felt remarkably fresh, and only noticed the time because there was a clock.  By now we had fallen in with a group that seemed to be going the same pace as us.  I just concentrated on my breathing and took in the scenery, if there is any in a post-Industrial city like Schenectady.

Mile 4 - 28:57 This is always a nice mile.  It's rolling gentle downhill slopes that goes in front of a hospital and a Liberty Insurance building, where the same guy each and every year is out there banging away.  Definitely a memorable part of the race.

Mile 5 - 36:50 After winding through the historic 17th century stockade, it is around 5.5 miles into the race that the beast of a hill State Street Hill looms.  Actually it's not a bad hill to run up at all, and Jonn and I flew up it maintaining our rhythm.  It was here he started to edge away however, and gradually increased a lead to about 20 meters which stayed constant until the final mile.

Mile 6 - A new addition to the race route this year, it took us inside Veil Cemetery, which I think was included this year because its the 200th anniversary of it or something.  I forget the split at the 6-mile.

10k - 44:47 So close to a PR! (10kPR = 44:30) I think it was here that I realized, "Hey, Benn.  You're actually doing it! You're holding your own!  Keep up the work. 5k to go!"

Mile 7 - pushed up a side street and then the last significant hill of the race.  I pushed it towards the top and hit the mile marker in 51:0x.  Jonn pulled away on the downhill. (He's definitely mastered the art of downhill acceleration, whereas I tend to hold back on my heels; Though this could be attributed to his naturally good biomechanics). Mile 7 marker is nice because you overlook the finish area and can see some of the top runners bursting around the cinder path.

Mile 8 - reentered Central Park and then took us backwards on the original route to reenter for a lap around Duck Pond in Mile 9.  About mile 8.5 a guy came up on the shoulder, running in the shade with a white tshirt that said "Biomechanics..." on it and then a logo for a store.  He wore a wristwatch, black running pants and a pair of trainers.  He looked to be in his 50s and was cruising almost on autopilot.  I was holding steady and allowed him to accelerate, happy that at the current pace I was in for a significant PR!  Well he got about 30 yards on the group I was in and a guy goes, "Come on folks! Don't let Billy Rodgers beat ya!"  Well after hearing that I was excited knowing that for more than 8  miles I had been ahead of the legendary NYC and Boston marathon champ, and discouraged that I had let him pass me.  I struggled to accelerate, but saw Rodgers' was making a move of his own.

Mile 9 - came around the Duck Pond and the crowd was cheering in everyone.  (another reason to do this renowned 15k).  I put on a little move during the last .3 and passed a few people, passing the finish line feeling remarkably fresh.  I couldn't believe that I'd done it.  I'd run the best 15k and best Stockade-athon of my life!  My finishing time: 1:07:40, shattering my previous best (2006) 1:16:15 - an 8:35 PR

The shock of running such a wonderful PR today is still sinking in. Even if my kid brother beat me, I can't help but feel some accomplishment.  After all, biomechanically I'm a train wreck.  I think that all the running the week leading up to it definitely helped, and I think that I learned a lesson today.  Though I can wear a wristwatch when it comes down to race day I need to learn to "Just Race." 

 PACE FOR TODAY'S RACE:      7:15 per MILE!!

After snagging a ton of bananas, juice, and some milk, I coerced Jonn into doing a 1.5 mile cool down.  I still feel like a million dollars, and I can't help but wonder if I could have even sustained that pace for a half-marathon!

Total Mileage for the day: 11.3 Miles

Didn't know how to classify this run because I know it was a recovery run.  I woke up today after about 9 hours of sleep to get ready for school since M/W are my long days with classes straight without breaks from 9 to 4 down in Albany.  Got home around 5 and went for a run.  Ended up doing 6.25 miles in 48:30 (7:45 pace!)  I don't know , but I really think Sasha had some master plan he already had figured out like he knew I was getting faster or something.  The good news just keeps coming it seems!  And I made sure I ran nice and relaxed.  Read another 45 pages in Robert Hariss' Pompeii.  I tried to hold good form and wasn't breathing too heavily.  Only complaint was no wind in the face so I was sweating too much and that there was a pebble in my left shoe.

Total Mileage for Day: 6.25 Miles  Total Time: 48:30  Avg. Pace: 7:45 / Mile!!!

8:00 AM I can't believe I'm saying this, as even just two or three weeks ago it'd be a different story, but went for an easy 6.5 mile run in 49:58 today and felt great. Minimal soreness from the last two days. Felt nice and relaxed. Only problem was mile 3 my left shoe came undone.  Decided to keep running with it, but then it came undone to the point my foot started to slip out of the heel so stopped and retied.

Total Mileage: 6.5 Miles    Total Time: 49:58    Pace/Mile: 7:41

On a side note, not sure if it's a problem because my body hasn't complained about it (maybe it's actually helping me for varying paces during my races), but my treadmill has been zapped a couple times in storms since we bought it in 2002 or 2003.  Nothing too major, we had to replace the circuit boards once, but I've noticed especially if on 0-.5% grade, the treadmill speed fluctuates.  i.e. today I set it at 7.8 mph to 7.9mph which reflects my 7:41 pace, but as I glanced at the speed as I ran it was constantly fluctuating from 7.8 to 8.4 down to 8.2 back to 8.4 or 8.3.  Any ideas about what might cause that? Does that mean I'm actually running a little faster/further than I think?  Also my treadmill maxes out at 10mph, but if I max it out for an interval... it's not uncommon for the speed to register as 10.7mph or higher!

8:30 PM Just got in from work and did a quick de-stressing run. 2 miles in 14:31 avg 7:15.5/mile pace.

Total Mileage for Day : 8.5 miles  Total Time: 1:04:29   Avg. Pace : 7:35

5:00PM Hit 6.1 miles in 45:30.  (7:28/mile)  Felt fresh, though I've done some serious miles already this week and not sure if I need to go a little easier the rest of the week. Getting a little bogged down with long school days and work.  Plan is to follow Sasha's idea and do a 13.11 run on either Saturday or Sunday.  What's your all's opinion(s)?  If I raced on Sunday, and am hitting high mileage, should I wait until Sunday so the miles get added to next weeks?  By the way, no race this weekend; Next race is on Thanksgiving 11/22 - doing a 10k with a 5k for fun an hour before hand.

Total Mileage for Day: 6.35  Total Time: ~47:50

8:00 AM - Was raining like crazy out this morning so I hopped on the treadmill and made myself slow down from my usual runs.  Ended up doing an easy 6.25 locked in @ 8:00min/mi pace.  Finished in 50:05 and felt great.  Looking forward to all these miles paying off sometime in the near future!!  It's weird, not sure if anyone else feels this way, but especially now in the dreary late fall/winter weather, running is the Highlight of my day, rather than just another thing I have to get in.  I mean I always love to get runs in, but now if I don't get a run in during the day I can't sleep at night.  I like running early in the morning, because I've also noticed that I just don't feel "normal" unless I get a run in.  Maybe it's just me.  Maybe it's the weather?! Maybe I need a 12-step program, but all I know is I'm determined to set some major PRs!

No run tonight because left ankle a little sore. Will see how tomorrow goes.

8:00AM - Decided to give sore ankle a rest last night, though it was still sore when I woke up this morning.  Decided to "test the waters" and started off slow; didn't want to drop sub 8:00 (Funny because a few weeks ago this was a "faster" run).  Ended up going 6.3 in 51:25.  Overall : 8:09 pace / mile

So I'm looking ahead, and just got an email from the Keybank Vermont City Marathon (held the last week in May each year) - - and informed me that registration was opening for next May, 2008 running.  I loved the atmosphere and it was a nice course, though over half the field are relay runners which gets kind of confusing and annoying at times.  I'm really wanting to set a PR in the marathon.. and I want to do the small-scale Mohawk-Hudson River Marathon in Albany, NY which limits participation to 500 runners - first weekend in October of 2008... should I hold off on completing another marathon until then?  What do I need to do to build up my mileage base to be able to set a PR in the Marathon?  I guess I'm just asking advice for how long to build up mileage before trying another 26.2.  Hopefully by the time I move up to the next age bracket I could possibly get a qualifying Boston time, but I think it would take a lot of work in order to break the 3:10:00 barrier.  Heck, I might have a better shot at raising the required 3,000 bucks :-.

13.1 Hopes at PR cut short :(

So I woke up late, 6:30AM instead of 6, and it was a not-so-balmy 25 degrees when I headed out the door in shorts, short spandex and a sweatshirt.  The route I planned was to follow a major route (newly paved 2 years ago) that had a net elevation loss of 968' for the first half, but then consequently a net gain of the same amount on the way back - - funny how those things work!  I started off fair enough, however, by mile 3ish I had started to feel the thunk thunk Tha-THunk of my frozen hair slamming against my cheek as I run (just one more reason I decided I need that haircut!!)  I liked the first half, however I felt that I needed to turn around about a mile sooner than I wanted because I noticed something I knew would affect me on the way back (*There was a steady 12-15mph tailwind with me on the first half which I knew would equate to running directly into the wind the second half, all the way back, which the last four miles are a gradual uphill which takes its toll on you pretty quick).  I mean, I have no idea why I'm complaining or discouraged.  I still managed to cover 11.1 miles in 1:24:25 - a staggering and mind boggling (at least for slow puttsy me!) 7:36 PACE PER MILE!!!!  I see already the benefits of putting in miles the last couple weeks.  And I hope this is a sign of good things to come.  Another hilight, the run pushed me over 50 miles this week.  I can't remember the last time I was able to do that!  And now that I have some food in me and am showered up, my legs feel fine.  The knee and ankle pain is gone.  Just realizing how much more I would like winter running if I lived in Arizona or New Mexico!! 

I guess I'll have to plan another run in the near future to try to PR for the half marathon :-.