Bret

Easy shake out run in Athens OH before race day.  Cold rainy and windy today.  Supposed to warm a little and the rain is supposed to end tonight. The winds are forecast at 15-20 mph, but there is nothing I can do about it, so I won't worry.    Race course is mostly on a bike path along a river, out and back.  Did the run today on part of the bike path.  Should be good. 

Ok - so no sub 3 hours and no PR, but I am reasonably satisfied with my race today.  The weather report had been forecast for temperatures between 48 and 58 degrees for days.  I awoke surprised this morning to 26 degrees and ice on the rental car.  No worries though, I was fully prepared with clothing to cover that possibility.

This was a small town race in Ohio where Ohio University is located.  The race started in the center of town at the corner of the entrance the school.  They have done this event 44 years, so they have figured out how to operate it very well.  It was an out and back course along a bike path that more or less paralleled a the Hocking River.  The Hock-Hocking Adena Bike Way as it is officially known makes its way through the Wayne National Forest.  I don't recall seeing the river very much, but there were lots of trees and pleasant scenery. And VERY FEW runners (maybe less than 200 in the full marathon), which I think turned out to be my issue very late in the race.

They ran a half marathon alongside the full marathon, with turn around at about 6.5 miles finally revealing who was in the big race. 

Anyway, the early part of the race had to make its way out of downtown Athens, which sits atop a hill, so the first mile was a bit quick at 6:40 but not too terribly fast that I was at all concerned.  However I usually run over 30 seconds slower than my MRP in most marathons when I hit the first mile.   I dealt with a few negative thoughts in the early miles of not feeling that sharp and worrying about my HR, but I began to settle into a comfortable pace in MRP goal race pace range around 4-5 miles. 

When the half marathons runners separated from us, I had two runners within my immediate view in front of me, but I knew there were quite a few well ahead and nearly out of sight.  So, I set about reeling them in one by one.  Between miles 8 and 20 I think I passed 6 runners and had none pass me.  That doesn't sound like a lot, but the gaps between each runner I passed was literally a half mile or more between each.  At the turn around I think I counted around 15 to 18 runners ahead of me.  Two were well off on their own, clearly running in the low 2:30's.  Then a scattering of a couple here and there.  I used the "carrot" of each runner in front of me to maintain pace and concentration. 

I was at 1:30:17 at the halfway mark.  I knew I needed to drop some time to have a chance at at sub 3.  I was pleased that I really began ticking off the splits that would set me up to do just that.  At mile 16 I was emotionally very high, knowing that I was feeling very good and was visualizing the final clock.  I just had to keep it together for the next ten miles. 

Around mile 21 I started going through a rough patch.  The sun which had been out for a while, and warmed things nicely, was covered by clouds and a headwind started pushing against me.  My mile 23 split of 7:10 was evidence of the difficulty I was in, as it was the first mile in the entire race that I had gone over 7 mins per mile.  It was all the more difficult because there was no one in front of me to catch and no one behind me to push me.  The trail was slightly twisting and turning so I could never get I long view of the field in front of me.  With the exception of a few stragglers from the half marathon, I saw no one for the last 3 miles of the race. 

I think the slowed split and realization that I would need to really have several fast miles to have a chance at breaking 3 hours when I was not feeling that good, really dropped my spirits.  I settled in for the next two miles just trying to keep from losing too much time.

I think I ran two 7:15's before the last mile at 7:08.  The race ended on the track at the University stadium.  That was pretty cool.  1.5 laps around the track - the PA announced my name and my hometown as I entered the stadium.  I had to run past the finish line to make it around the last lap and so saw the clock at 3:00:34 with 400 meters to go.  Oh well - I ran a decent quarter with my nearest competitor entering into the stadium when I was finishing the last 200. 

The organizers arranged for the Aquatic Center at the school to have showers available after the race which I took full advantage of, before heading to the airport.

With the last two marathons I have completed at 3:01 and 3:02, I feel like I am in a range now where with just a few tweaks in the training and execution in the race, I might yet see a sub 3 hour race.

AM - so after taking 3 days off following Sunday's marathon, I had to go out for a little run this morning.  I find it harder mentally not to run some times.  Just a little over 20 minutes very easy.  Everything felt fine and normal except for some lingering soreness in my calf muscles.  Did some stretching and foam roller work afterwards. Will still plan to take it easy to allow full recovery over the weekend.

PM - lunchtime easy 30 minute run with Richie around the Carillon Office Park.  Still some slight tightness in the calf muscles.  Other than that, I feel completely normal and recovered. Very warm and humid today in the upper 80's - nearly summer time kind of weather.

In Vero Beach for the weekend and Delaney's club soccer team advanced to the second round in State Cup.  An easy 5 miles in the afternoon that saw 91 degrees today.  Kept the pace conservative at just around 8 mins per mile and then did the last mile at 7:15.  Legs felt nearly normal - but I can still feel a tad of fatigue in the calf muscles.  Probably take tomorrow off before resuming on Monday.

5.0 miles this morning before work.  Started easy on the first mile, then noticed a couple of runners turn the corner ahead of me in the second mile, and seeing that they were running reasonably well, I was of course compelled to catch and pass them - so the second mile was quick at 7:15 then I settled in at 7:30 pace for the rest of the run.  Felt completely normal with no lingering aches or pains - so now I have to figure out some near term goals in the next week or so of recovery time.

Managed to squeeze in 4 miles on a busy work day that has me travelling again late.  No lingering soreness now, but I notice that I don't seem to have much speed - kinda feel heavy (which could be the case) and slow.  Could be the heat and humidity too.  Anyway, next two days will be in cooler weather, so I can compare.

After a delayed flight that did not have me checking into my hotel last night until after midnight, I could not pull myself out of bed at 5 am to run in the cold and rain in NYC, so after a long somewhat stressful day in trial, I made it a point to head out for a run around 7 pm this evening.  Temps in the 40's with a damp fog/mist made for perfect running conditions.  Not planned but after a mile warm-up from my hotel to Central Park, I found myself clipping off MRP miles for the next 4 miles before I headed back downtown dodging crowds and traffic back to the hotel.  Really just what I needed.  Felt great -- stress relieved and ready for a quick dinner and bed.

Took yesterday off as it was a busy work/travel day and besides I am supposed to be in recovery mode right now.  Today I was back in the office in St. Peterburg and did an easy 7.5 miles with Richie around Feathersound and the Carillon Office Park.  He's training for a 10k in July - Peachtree in Atlanta.   We are both planning to run Bay to Breakers in San Francisco next month for fun.  Today,  I deferred my entry in this year's St. Anthony's triathlon (Olympic Distance or now known under the the new marketed name "Ironman 5150") to next year because I have not done any swimming or cycling with the build up to Athens two weeks ago.  I would not have time to recover and then be ready mentally and physically for a competitive tri on May 1. 

8.0 miles easy to moderate on the treadmill this afternoon.  Felt pretty relaxed, enjoyed the run.

Back in NYC for business again this week.  Run in the Park again around the outter loop, I had forgotten how much of a "climb" there was on the far north end of the route.  Cool temps in the 40's had me running quite quickly (unplanned) with 2 or 3 miles at MRP and the others at low 7 minute pace.  Not sure why,  but I felt the workout a bit late in the day, probably a combination of business travel and work stress too. 

Easy 5.5 miles very early in the Park this morning.  Stumbled on a rut in the road and fell in the dark.  Not a big deal, but scraped up my hands, twisted my ankle and banged up my shoulder.  That'll wake you up.  Decent run, which I kept to a reasonable pace of around 7:30 for most of the miles.  Cool and rainy 48 degrees.

Very early run again this morning in the Park.  A little sore from my fall yesterday.  Ran a little different route today 6.0 miles.  Chillier today with more rain expected, but warmer late in the day.  If I get finished up on time today with work, I will try a second run.

Easy 5.5 miles in the Park with some different directional loops than earlier in the week.  I ran up on the "track" around the reservoir this morning.  Quite brisk in the low 40's and very windy.  Been a long week, look forward to heading home at the end of the day.

8.0 miles around Feathersound twice and then through the Carillon office park around both lakes.  Very nice weather today - warm 82 degrees with low humidity and a light breeze.  Was especially nice compared to the cold and rainy weather of NY for the last few days. 

Iphone does not play well with the text portion of the blog entry.... I am in Gainesville this weekend to pick up my daughter who is just finishing up her freshman year at UF.  Ran at around 4:30 but the temperatures were around 91 degrees.  Stopped by the University track to run a couple of laps along the run, and to find a water fountain.  Other than being quite warm, it was a good run. 

Early start of my day to catch a 6 am flight to NYC (again) today, so I did not get a chance to run in the morning.  Hopped on the treadmill around 7:15 pm this evening to squeeze a run in before I hit the bed early.

Had a nice workout this morning in the Park.  2 mile warm up then 6 x 400 at appx 5:20 -5:25 pace with full recovery then a 1 mile cool down.  This is the first real workout I have done in about 4 weeks (pretty much just straight running until this point) so it felt good to push the pace and get the heart pumping harder and faster than I have been doing in my daily runs. 

Easy to moderate 6.0 miles in the park this morning.  I was a bit sluggish starting this morning.  Had less than 6 hours of sleep after a long day of work and meetings.  Weather was warmer in the mid 60's.

Trying to beat the storm that hit Alabama yesterday from delaying my flight home today from the Northeast, I changed my schedule and left NYC at 6 am (which meant I was up at 3:45) but was sitting in my office in St. Pete by 9:30 this morning.  So, I went out for a run at lunch which with near 90 degrees and 70% humidity and about 4.5 hours of sleep was an ugly six miles around the Carillon Office Park and Feathersound.  Probably should have run indoors or waited until this evening for a more enjoyable run.  Did 6 striders at the end.

Had a very nice run at lunchtime today.  Cool front pushed through this morning so the conditions were much more comfortable today than yesterday.  Around 76 degrees will less than 50% humidity - my run seemed effortless.  Ran at a moderate pace and threw in a couple of miles at MRP. 

Late morning run on the beach in Melbourne, Florida - At a soccer tournament for youngest daughter Delaney for the weekend.  Ran in the vibrams for the first time in a long while.  Beach was very inconsistent in firmness and rather steep in parts - got the starting of a blister on the big toe of the left foot as a result - but the weather was very nice and it was otherwise an enjoyable run.  Will try to get out later in the day for a few more miles on the roads.

PM - easy 4 miles at around 6:30 on the roads.  Do have a blister on the toe, but not really a problem for running.