Motivated to Succeed

Another day where it was hot outside and hot for me inside. High temperate was just about 90 degrees, and I think that saying it was 77 or 78 was a bit conservative for inside air temp in the house. Once my internal furnace gets cooking the temperature soars, especially in the room with the treadmill. The Lone Peaks are very comfy and I love them dearly, but I don't think they were meant for road and treadmill - the tread is already starting to wear out a bit. Satan's Highway nearly got the best of me today.

Total Time: 55:00 Total Distance: 6 miles Average Pace: 9:09 / mile 

8:30 PM - Hard to focus today. When I did go to the track, there were 9 people on it at 8:00 at night! I miss the country where I could run at nearly any hour on the track without other people on it. Too self conscious to run in front of others. I tried running around Taconic HS instead, but after two laps, a cop showed up to yell at some punks on four wheelers.. whatever he said worked for one lap, but then they came tearing around the corner towards me dogging it in "s" shapes as if to play chicken with me. Needless to say I bagged the run. Doing a 5k for the 4th tomorrow and then enjoying James Taylor at Tanglewood with the whole family and Harry's girlfriend Hayley!

Total Time: 48:00 Total Distance: 5.13 miles Average Pace: 9:23/ mile 

8:00 AM - I was the only one running the Independence Day Run this year. I think most of the Griffins got the message last year and learned their lesson about the heat and humidity. Well, apparently I needed another round of ass-kicking because I was dumb enough to sign up. In my defense, where else can you find a better deal. For only $11.00 you get to run a 5k with a good field and get a t-shirt to boot. It said to arrive between 8:00 and 8:30 so that you could get your bib and get to the start room. Stupid me, I thought that the race started at 9:00, but apparently it started at 9:30, so I got there way too early. I parked by House of India and warmed up to the registration table, about .75 miles, then got checked in and got to the starting line about .5 miles away. Went on a nice jog for a warm up. Decided I wasn't going to take this race too hard - but I did want to run negative splits, 8:00, 7:30, 7:00 - In hindsight that is too large a spread and I should have picked something more realistic for my fitness and ability levels at the moment.

I ended up starting in the middle of the pack and wasted about :17 getting to the starting line after the gun. Then I was forced to pass "lap traffic" as I call it - people I know I can run faster than. I should have reigned in the horses because I have not done any effective speed work in the last six months. I ran way too fast, going through first mile in 7:14, holding on a slight uphill for a 7:40 second mile, and then dying in the last mile. I actually stopped to walk and drink from my water bottle the third mile and ran an abysmal 8:xx. I was also carrying too much stuff - the bad part about no parking near the starting line is that I was forced to carry not only my water bottle, but the free tshirt as well. Maybe next year I will look into packet pick up the day before.

When the race was done, cooled down to the car, changed and just in time to see the Griffin van pull up. Parade was just okay. Went over and hung out at the Chow's aunt's house who lives just across from where Emm's aunt and uncle lived! Small world. Later went to James Taylor. Had fun with Harry, Hayley, Jonn, Emm, Mom and Dad, but concert was just "okay". A let down from JT which sucked. 

I was not recovered from the Fourth of July race - my right calf had a painful twinge in it so I had to stop. I am really bummed - was hoping to get in a long run before the 12 hour overnight race - going to have to try it again at another date - or maybe try a middle of the day run. Felt like a failure. Going to do some biking for cross training - again don't think anything is broken/pulled, but feeling the soreness of racing hard when I should have gone easy. Easier said than done. Too hot this summer to run. I can't wait to move to Bend, Oregon!

Total Time: 55:00 Total Distance: 6.00 miles Average Pace: 9:09 

Went to Ice Glen with Emma. Did a hike to the top of Laura's Lookout Tower in 18:00, then turned and jogged down in 11:00. Temperature was about 86 so it was steamy. It looked like I jumped in the stream below the bridge. Saw two big trout swimming and one little one trying to swim up stream. Then power walked the nature trail along the stream. Not sure what was up today but I was in a cranky mood. Went to Taconic HS tonight to try to get some endorphins and shed the crap. Did perimeter loops in the grass - .55 miles each. Ran progressively faster miles (9:48, 9:03, 8:53). Ended with a strider and light stretching.

Total Time: 1:19 Total Distance: 6.21 miles Average Pace: 12:43 

8:10 PM - Did perimeter loops at Taconic High School after dinner on the grass. 8 loops total. Mile splits were 9:06, 9:05, 9:03, 8:41. Felt pretty good. Right calf still sore from the 4th of July race. Need to work on speed so I'm not effectively embarrassed in October when I do the BayState Marathon with Lindsay!

Total Time: 38:00 Total Distance: 4.25 miles Average Pace: 8:56 

11:00 AM - Relived Don Kardong's racing the streets of Montreal in the 1976 Olympics. Just getting some easy miles in the a/c before going to the library to do some work. I really enjoyed his letter to the six men and women running the marathon in London for us. He seems so personable and willing to offer advice about what worked for him, without the force-feeding that I feel comes with a lot of people that had the spotlight, gave it up, and are asked to reenter it. Hard to believe it's been 36 years since those Olympics. I wonder what might have happened in Montreal had Pre made it there. I know he would have qualified. Never give up. Focus on the present. Plan for the future. Achieve it. That's what I'm going to do. 

Total Time: 50:00 Total Distance: 5 miles Average Pace: 10:00/ mile 

Started with 4.1 miles easy at 10 min pace in 41:00. Later did a tempo run with 1 mile warm up in 10:00 and 3 miles steady in 8:09, 8:07, 8:06 (24:22). Goal for those was 8:10. I pretty much nailed it. Finally cooled down with 2.31 in 22:46 (9:53 pace). All in all felt pretty good. Did the 4.1 in Bikilas (red) and all others in the KomodoSports (yellow). Have an easy run (6 miles I think) @9:37 tomorrow and then long run this weekend. Note: Komodo Sports on left second and third toes - need to fix because rock/stick punctured the fabric several times.

Next Races: Around the Lake 12 Hour on Jul. 27, The Color Run 5k Jul. 28, Hancock Shaker Village 50 miler on September 22, and Bay State Marathon on Oct. 21 (going for a PR).

Total Time: 1:38:08 Total Distance: 10.41 miles Average Pace: 9:25

5:00 PM - Spent the day at the library working on context questions for Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Came home and had 5 miles @ 9:37 planned; I went a little fast, I think owing in large part to the link below. According to this I am not only obese with a BMI of 31, but am fatter than 98% of people in my age group. Awesome sauce. Talk about cuing alcoholism... now would be a good time! Ugh! Why am I so freaking heavy when I am eating healthier than I ever have in my life?

Total Time: 47:13 Total Distance: 5 miles Average Pace: 9:26 

9:00 PM - Warm up mile, 1 mile hard at 6:50, 4 x 100 m with recover 100s and a cool down. 100s "on" were :20, :19, :20, :19. I love running at the track in Galway. But took dad's van since Harry took my car to Hayley's. Man is Frank Zappa freaking weird! I had never listened to him before, but some good music riffs and runs, but the lyrics are just disturbing!

Total Time: 24:21 Total Distance: 3 miles Average Pace: 8:07/ mile 

8:40 PM - Went around the block with Emma and Lizzy butt. I think Lizz is starting to like going around the block here, but we need to stretch it out to perhaps the full 5k distance. There is another St. Bernard owner the next street over and St. Bernard owners must all be the same - I know I have Saint Radar and feel compelled to say hi and look at another St. We were walking past the house and they have already come out and said hi to Emm and Lizz before, but the couple were sitting on the couch and got up and creeped on us from the window. Kind of cute. I mean Lizz IS a really cute puppy so I can't blame them! Just 1.5 miles in 20 minutes. 

3:00 PM - Read another fifty or so pages of Jules Verne but Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is really starting to get to me; it's a hard book to muscle through with tricky vocabulary - am a bit lost at how I plan on teaching this to the seventh graders this year! Luckily I got a copy of Michael Crichton's Pirate Latitudes in the mail today. I plopped down on the couch and easily went through the first 100 pages. It is a quick read with an easy storyline to follow. Port Royal is an English outpost in a sea of Spanish colonies. The plague gripping England in the mid 1660s has prevented reinforcements and news from reaching the tiny outpost in the last two years and to fund operations and keep the city viable, the governor has decided to agree to privateering raids on Spanish ships at a towering fort Matanceros. It is full of drinking, lewd and lascivious behavior, and brawny, brawling men - seems kind of strange and a big change from some of Crichton's other works. I guess I wonder how much is actually his work. 

Today's temperature was 92, so I had to play it safe. It was deadly out there! I did about 6.31 miles in one hour flat which was enough for me, then cooled off in front of the a/c. Later on in the evening after dinner when Emily got home we did our usual around the block routine.

Total Time: 1:20:00 Total Distance: 7.81 miles Average Pace: 10:14

9:00 AM - Today was set to be yet another scorcher. Emm is working the long shift today, so I went for a run in the morning, before spending the day trying to get more of my summer planning done. Made it through page 400 of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Also read another good chunk of Pirate Latitudes, Michael Crichton's last book before he died (actually published after his death). I continue to be amazed by the similarities between Verne's TTLUTS and ATWIED. Both stories have four main characters, one of which is wealthy, one of which is never phased by anything good nor bad, and of course one "villain" who deep down is a good guy. Hoping to finish both books tomorrow. Getting my read on this summer for sure.

Total Time: 1:18:09 Total Distance: 8.4 miles Average Pace:  9:18/ mile

3:00 PM - Today was day #9 in the 120 Day Challenge. I feel good. Oddly enough left foot pain only hurts in the morning and then when walking around in slippers or sandals. It feels best when I am jogging! I guess this is a win for the running challenge! Lizzy had a date today with Sunny, one of my seventh graders's pups. We met at Taconic and had a fun time. I can't wait until they are able to come over again though, maybe to the house this time so that they can play in the kennel and Jon can jump on the trampoline if he wants. It would be a fun time! Today's schedule called for a 4 x mile workout. I did a Warm up followed by 4 x MILE @ 7:34, 7:33, 7:34, 7:29 and cool down, 6 miles total. (Total Time 49:21) This was the fastest and most consistent workout I've had in well over a year. I hope the gains keep coming!

Today's Haiku about training: 

Fought hard through the pain,
Equal splits are equal gains,

Nine days down, oh yeah! 

Total Time: 49:21 Total Distance: 6 miles Average Pace:  8:13/ mile

Day 10: 6.5 miles total

Trail Running is clutch, 
Rocks, Roots, and Erosion Bars,
Didn't trip today!

Ran 3 miles on my own (28:30) and then did the 3.5 mile Olivia's Overlook loop on the Burbank Trail (43:00). Making carrots with a honey/ginger sauce and a cheese less pizza for dinner tonight. Long trail run hopefully tomorrow. 

Day #11: Only 2.10 miles after a day of traveling and family and fun, but boy were they quality! .5 mile warm up, 1 mile all out in 5:53 (fastest mile since 2007!!), and .6 mile cool down, 16 minutes total.

A fat man running, 
BMI can suck it hard, 
I came. I conquered.

Day 12: 5 miles (Altra LonePeaks)

Got lost on the trails, 
Let my wife run ahead, oops! 
Made it out alive.

Live to fight another day. 12 hour race on Friday.

Went to Kennedy Park for the second time, first time without snow. I thought we were going to run, but apparently Emma wanted to hike. After nearly a mile of jogging, she said as much under her breath, so I said loudly that I would walk. She decided to keep on jogging, because apparently I am not very agreeable when I don't get my run in for the day. Needless to say I eventually started jogging, trying to double check trails and guess which ones she went down. With more than 20 trails, this proved a daunting task. I started to get really nervous thinking that a bear might come out of the woods and eat me, but I was fortunate that this was not the case. Made it home safe and sound and promised not to run ahead ever again! 

Day 13: 

2.0 miles in 16:45 (8:22.5 pace)
40 pushups
60 situps
60 x curl ups w/ dumbbells
1:00 plank
Easy day because 12 hour race on Friday and Color Run 5k on Saturday.

What am I missing?
Core muscles have gone kaput!
Time to push myself.

Day 14: 1 mile - Got sick overnight and woke up projectile vomiting at 2am. Crawled my way back to bed at 5, only to wake up again with intestinal issues and again projectile vomiting at 7 and 10. I think food poisoning - bad carrots to blame as best I can tell. Spent better part of 28 hours in bed, lost 7.5 pounds from dehydration, but I clawed my way to 1 mile very slowly before the end of the day. Couldn't give up the streak.

Sickness seeks to crush
the will of the runner, but
I am strong. Kiss it!

Day 15: 4 miles (37:59) - Two days until the Around the Lake 12 Hour. Stomach felt good until I had a decaf iced coffee and something didn't sit right. Need to get this resolved before Friday.

Have you ever thought
About life without running?
Yeah, I know... absurd!

Day 16: 2 miles in 18:50 - Around the Lake 12 Hour race in Wakefield, MA tomorrow night, then The Color Run 5k in Lowell, MA on Saturday. Oh boy.

Packing all the gear,
Checking it twice, but I'll bet
I'll forget something!

Day 17: I packed this morning and drove to Wakefield, MA for the 12 hour Around the Lake. I didn't know what to expect as I have never been to Wakefield, and was a little nervous. Traffic was pretty bad, so I am glad I left the house by about 1:15 to ensure adequate traveling time for the 7pm start. This was my first of two races this weekend, and I have been nursing a sore left ankle since Memorial Day. I actually haven't done anything more than a 10 mile run since Memorial Day, so I was planning on using this race as a long training run to start getting in shape for the 50 miler in September. I want to do at least 4 x 20+ milers before then. The Wakefield Inn/Clarion Inn looks kind of straight out of the 70s. Set right along Lake Quannapowitt and a beautiful view though. The race was slated to start right at 7 with four races starting at the same time: Marathon, 12 hour relay, 12 hour race, and 24 hour race. We would all do a ~.8 loop and then start the 3.17 loops after that so that people could all receive a marathon time.

I always love people watching at races - you truly see some amazing characters. I stretched and read some more of Scott Jurek's book. Absolutely love it! Drank about half a bottle of Powerade before going to the line. Heard directions and then got ready for the start. I realized I made a rookie mistake; the veterans of this race know exactly where to park so that they have access to their vehicle at the start of every loop, rather than the end. As this is a timed race and placing is determined by distance, then time, with no incomplete laps counting, I was thinking to myself - this could be bad.

In truth I had set expectations outside the expected realm of possibilities for my current physical state I suspect. After having been laid up in bed for nearly 28 hours with that awful stomach bug at the start of the week, I had to reevaluate my game plan and strategy. This was not a PR race - the loop was too big for my liking, at nearly 3.2 miles. The weather was too hot and muggy and humid (by about the second or third lap, EVERYONE was sweating as much as me - which was actually reassuring for once, as I am typically the biggest sweater at races). 

LAPS 1 & 2: Bided my time in the back next to a lot of 12 and 24 hour runners. Saw the marathon runners and relay runners make like jackrabbits and just take off . There was a lone 12 hour runner out there, but I wonder if he had different motives - the marathon had sold out before the 12 hour, so for only 20 bucks more if someone had wanted to they could pay to do the ultra and run just the marathon (an option that I would later take them up on as started to feel the effects of severe dehydration). At the last minute I had to change my shoes, as my trusty YELLOWS, the KomodoSports I have worn for well over a year and the ones that I have run all my marathons and ultras this year in, finally seemed at the end of their lifespan - plenty of tread on them, but the rubber on the bottom of the big toe had a huge gash exposing the bottom of my toe to whatever would be in the road any time I pushed off. (I saved them though to wear for the Color Run - a really great race to send a pair of shoes out in I think.)

Saw my friend Fran Libasci who I first met at the double indoor marathon in February. She too was "crazy" enough to do both of them last year, and I believe we have both signed up to do them again in 2013. She is a 50 stater and recently finished her 100th marathon. So this was a piece of cake for her. She was looking really great when I saw her on lap 2. She has such a great attitude about the sport and I look up to her.

LAPS 3 & 4: I ran all of lap 1 to get one lap under my belt, and then lost track of lap two, but ended up running almost all of that one too. I stopped for the first time at the start of lap 3, making sure to refill both of my water bottles - I was trying to drink 48 ounces of fluid per loop. There was an aid station at the starting line and another that was located about 1/2 way around the lake. I preferred this one, though it had no solid food, only because it was manned by kids and they were so funny. So awesome to have parents let their kids volunteer at a race like this! One downer that I did not like was that you could not fill your own bottles. I prefer to move into aid stations, with my bottle open, and just fill it and go instead of trying to track down a volunteer to go behind the table.

By now the bugs were out in full force and I swallowed a couple dozen gnats I think as I made my way around the far side of the lake. The relay runners had already lapped me twice and the leaders of the marathon were getting ready to finish by the time I finished lap 4. Truly amazing how fast some people can run. One day perhaps.. 

LAPS 5 & 6: Stopped at my car to text Emm and give an update - Was really starting to get dehydrated. I felt like I could not stop sweating, but no matter how many bottles I drank of HEED, Water, and even Coke, I couldn't get myself to pee. (I actually would not pee for nearly 18 hours after the race, despite flooding my system with liquids). I started to do some walking and used my Fenix E21 flashlight on the really dark spots. Between miles 1.5 and 2.5 there are some really tricky footing on the sidewalk, but what I really like is that there's a nice single track dirt path that people have worn into the grass (more like crazy ultra runners that run loops around this lake). I made use of this for the last three loops. By now it was nearly 11pm at night and people were driving by shouting words of encouragement. I saw a runner go by who has set the World Record for most marathons run by a disabled vet. This was his 141st marathon! Wow!

LAPS 7 & 8: By these last laps, the pomp and fanfare was gone, most of the marathoners had cleared out, but there was still music and words of encouragement from people waiting for their runners in the parking lot. I was feeling cooler, but still could not get my fluid intake regulated. I started thinking about why I'm out here running - to have fun, stay healthy and build towards loftier goals (Hancock 50 miler and BayState Marathon in October). With the Color Run on the horizon in the morning, I decided that a marathon was enough and that I would try to take a nap in the car and then drive down in the morning; I collected my medal and alerted race officials that I was not going to finish the race, but that I had had a lot of fun, and then made my way to the car in the parking lot. I tried to take a nap, but couldn't. My car is too small for my big frame to spread out, and I ended up napping for five or ten minutes then waking up for an hour, then falling asleep again. I woke at 6am and drove down to Essex Community College to meet Lindsay and Emm for the race.

So would I run Around the Lake 12 hour (or even the 24 hour) again? Yes. Will I make sure to have a stronger game plan? You bet. And hopefully I will not come down with a nasty stomach bug just a couple days before the race! All in all a fun race, and I wore my CEP compression shorts after it and I am convinced that they work miracles. I have no lower leg pain, and just a little soreness in the quads. Watch out 12 hour in 2013. I will be back! (Total of 26.22 in 5:41:35) 

Day 18: The Color Run - Boston, MA : 3.5 miles total. Too many damn people. Got to the parking lot at 7am and still not the first one there for a 10am start. Got to the starting line and we were in "wave 3" ... to put this into perspective, each wave had 1,000+ people in it and they were still STARTING waves when we finished our race. Over 11,000 people in attendance. Fiasco = accident on I-495, and no way to get back but to wait for busses in the sun on a road for 2 hours - I didn't wear sunblock because I did not foresee this complication. It was great fun overall, but I will not be doing a Color Run again. Too many damn d*cks on the dance floor!

The Color Run is
so not fun, and yet I want
to wear my tutu (again!)

I kind of like the Tutus, don't you?

Day 19: Legs feel fresh! 20:00 easy recovery run, 2.15 miles total. Ready to get cranking on training tomorrow. I can PEE again! (happy dance). Weight has come back up to 226, but still 5 pounds lighter than before the sickness.

Oh, the Color Run
Your awful burn ain't no fun.
Aloe.... where are you?!

Day 20: 7.5 miles; 4 by myself in 37:30 including 5 x 90 second hills @ 9% grade with 90 second recoveries. Then found we were going hiking on Monument Mountain. Oops. Good training powering up and down on tired legs. So fucking humid though. i couldn't believe how much I was sweating, nearly as much as the ultra a couple days ago. I knew it was getting to Emm too when she turned to me and said, "Can't wait until we move to Bend (OR)". Hallelujah!

Haiku for the day:

Wife taking a bath,
A fly was suffocated
Under her boobies!

Day 21: 5.5 miles in 46:00 including 6 x 800m. Personal Goal was to increase pace slightly between each one. Achieved! Splits were 3:48, 3:43, 3:40, 3:36, 3:29, and went hard 95% effort on the last one, completing it in 3:10. Now that I've reached 21 days, this becomes a habit, right?

800 repeats,
Kicking ass and taking names.
I earned my nap, right?