I only run on days that end in a "y."

5 recovery miles this morning.

Oh, and I learned how to tie my shoes last night.  I tried it today and my laces stayed tied.  Go figure - been tying my shoe laces incorrectly for 37 years.

Here's how:  http://www.ted.com/talks/terry_moore_how_to_tie_your_shoes.html

And if you have never checked out TED I highly recommend it!

Actually a cool morning - 72 degrees.  It felt pretty good.  I met my good friend and running buddy at the Austin High track.  He had graciously volunteered to come out and help pace me through my 800's.  The rest of the group ran a progressive run on the trail so that left me on my own until James said he would keep me company.

Again, I was a bit off schedule.  I got to the track and James had already ran a mile and half warm up.  He ran another 1.5 miles with me and then we started the repeats.  The first one is always the hardest for me because I have to find the right pace.  The plan was to run 10 x 800m at a sub 3:00 per 800m.  I thought around 2:50-2:55 would be good.  There was no reason to push the pace at this point and I wanted to make sure I had enough gas to complete 10 of them.  I jogged a 1:50-2:00 recovery between each repeat though there we are couple at the end where I walked.  I ran 1 mile cool down around at the track to finish.

800m repeat times:  3:07, 2:55, 2:56, 2:57, 2:53, 2:53, 2:53, 2:57, 2:53, 2:50.

This article arrived in my inbox today - quite interesting: http://www.drmirkin.com/fitness/lactic_acid_intervals.html

Cross training day - 22 KMs on indoor cycle in 50 minutes. Stretching afterward. Legs felt great while I was walking out of the gym.

70's and humid to start.  Ran 1 mile warm up before the group meet.  I then met up with the group at 6 am.  The first half of the run was a gradual to moderate incline with a turn around and then a nice overall elevation decline on the way back with the last mile flat.  

I ran with Lisa who was a collegiate runner.  Needless to say, she's strong.  I am not sure of the wisdom of this run, but I wanted to get the feel of the pace down and get comfortable with it.  I figure I have 7 solid days to get a good recovery in.  Although at the end of the run I did not have confidence that I could run another 13 miles at this pace.  We missed the last water stop so that was a 5 mile stretch with no water.  

1 warm up and then 12 miles at 7:00 overall pace.  Splits:  3 miles at 7:27 average (forgot auto lap) 7:05, 7:01, 6:58, 6:57, 6:54, 6:55, 7:05, 6:57, 6:19.

Nice and slow recovery miles - 9:00 pace.

5 easy - overall 8:05 pace.  Plan to run 6-7 tomorrow with 3 miles at MGP and some pickups.  Taking Thursday off as I am flying up to Omaha.  My son and I will be visiting family for a few days.  I will drive up to Iowa Friday afternoon and come back Saturday after the marathon. 

I will run a mile or two easy Friday am followed by 1200m fast with last 400m sprint followed by some serious carb loading.

75 degrees @ 5am - fun.  Got out the door about 5:20 - I ran 3 miles easy and had a 1/4th of a mile to go to the track so I ran MGP.  I did 2 miles @ MGP on the track and then 1 mile easy back to the house.  Legs feel weird - not sure how to explain it.  I felt better at MGP though than some of the slow miles I have been running this week.  First mile on the track was 7:04 and second mile was 6:56 for overall pace of 7:00 a mile.  It is hard to believe I will be attempting another marathon this Saturday.  

In Omaha today.  I had to find a track to start to aussie carb load plan.  I went to a local high school.  I ran 1.5 easy followed by 800m hard with 400m at all out effort.  There is a new product from gatorade out called Prime Pro series.  It has 82 carbs per small bottle.  I downed 2 of those and a power bar.  I ate 1/2 a bagle when I got home and then 4-5 pancakes with as much syrup as I could have.  Fun!  I drank a ton of carbs the rest of the day and had speghetti for lunch and dinner.  I stopped keeping track but I am sure I topped 800 grams of carbs for the day - maybe 900.

Race prep:  I had carb loaded well the day before. As always, I drank most of them - 3 bottles of Gatorade Pro Prime, Gatorade G2, spaghetti twice, etc.   I had to get up a 4 am for the 6 am start.  As soon as I woke I had some liquid carbs that I had premixed the night before. I drank all of it.  I then drank another pre-made bottle 5-10 minutes before the start.  I was pretty confident that my fuel stores were close to max. At this point I am totally sold on the Aussie carb load plan – I have used it twice and had two great marathons.

 The race started at a local high school.  The school was open which was nice.  Runners could go in and use the restrooms, stretch, talk, etc.   I went for a quick jog – maybe a half mile or so just to warm up.  I then went back to the car to get my fuel belt.  I stood there a while deciding whether or not I should wear it.  I had it all stocked up and ready to go, but I also had all my Gu’s in my Race Ready short pockets.  So I was good to go fuel wise.  It was not hot so at the last moment I decided to ditch the belt and run unencumbered.  It was a good decision.  I made it to the starting line with 2 minutes to spare.  Fortunately, with only 200 marathoners, the start was not crowded and I lined right up front.  No timing chips for this race – it was all done by hand with officials along the course to mark the bib numbers.

The Race:  I could not have hoped for better weather.  It was 50 degrees and cloudy at the start with a slight breeze.  The wind was just enough to keep me cool but not strong enough to slow me down.  The race began in Storm Lake, a beautiful Iowa town, and ended in Marathon, a small town with a population of 244.  When I picked up my packet the night before they made a joke about how at the end of the race the runners would outnumber the population of Marathon.  The course was very fast – there were some minor rollers – but for the most part it was pretty flat.

My strategy was to go out 20-30 seconds slower than MGP for the first couple miles.  That got thrown out the window at the gun, though; about five of us took off at a 6:40 pace.  I slowed considerably to get it under control.  At that point I aimed to keep my average pace around 7:10-7:15 pace.  I felt good there.  I did not pay attention to splits during the race but ran by feel and kept an eye on the average pace window of my watch. Water was every 2.5 miles and I took 2 full cups at every stop and ran with them while I drank.  I took a Gu every 5 miles and that worked well for me.   

I had to take a port-a-potty break a mile 13 and I did not pause my watch.  My mile time for that mile was 7:33 – not sure how I made that stop so fast.  Fortunately, the half marathoners were bused to the halfway point and they started an hour later than the full.  By mile 15-16 I started to pass some of those runners.  That was a big mental boost because for most of the race it was me, the cows and the cornfields.  I never hit a wall though the last 4 miles were a mental test, of course.  I just kept thinking of all of the hard work and traveling all the way up here – I wasn’t going to stop.  I picked up that pace a bit.  Around mile 24 I knew I could pass one runner that was ahead of me the entire race.  I had closed on him over the miles and now he started to slow down.  I got him a 25.  I had no idea where the finish line was but I could see the small town of Marathon approaching.  I turned a corner and saw that I could break 3:08.  I couldn’t believe it.  I picked up here – I ran the last .26 miles at a 6:19 pace.  Crossing the finish line was awesome.  I had to catch my breath but this was the best I felt after any previous marathons. 

They support at the finish was great.  They had ice water and Gatorade, of course, and had pancakes and eggs for the runners in the local community center. 

I don’t think it has sunk in yet as to what I accomplished.  I am pretty sure I will be Boston bound next year.

Splits:  7:09, 7:14, 7:15, 7:07, 7:06, 7:12, 7:12, 7:14, 7:11, 7:13, 7:05, 7:05, 7:33 (potty break), 6:55, 7:02, 6:58, 7:14, 7:03, 7:09, 7:11, 7:04, 7:09, 7:16, 7:07, 6:56, 7:06, .27 @ 6:19 pace.

Well, I couldn't help myself.  I tried to go a full week without running but couldn't do it.  Any how, 5 miles at recovery pace on the inside track.  Yes, I am too weak to run in 95 degree weather.  Legs felt fine until around mile 4.  I can definitely tell  I ran a marathon.

Oh - fascinating article - maybe this explains why my long runs at close to or at MGP were so effective:  http://www.marathonguide.com/training/articles/MandBFuelOnFat.cfm

6 recovery miles today.  My legs are still a bit sore.  My aerobic system is not feeling too good either.  This could be a slow recovery....

The legs are slowly returning to normal.  5 easy early am @ 8:30 overall pace.

6 miles at 6 am.  Nice morning but humid.  My legs are feeling much better.  It must be my non-training diet of beer and pizza. :-)  

Overall pace 7:50's - last 2 miles 7:42 and 7:35.

40 minutes spinning medium-hard effort.

We have some thunderstorms come through during the night.  I couldn't resist getting out this morning to take advantage of the cooler temps.  6 miles @ 7:50's-7:40s.

Thought this was a great video - this is how a tempo run is done! It's a thing of beauty.  As a side note:  Darren Brown is the one who did my gait/running form analysis last year.

http://www.flotrack.org/speaker/1209-Darren-Brown/video/481175-WOW-Rewind-Unseen-2008-Texas-Workout

I have added the hip exercises to the end of all my runs.  I find a chair, a bench, something that I need to clear in order to get my legs up high enough.  I stand in place and go from side to side.  Works great for loosening up those hips.

half mile warm up followed by 6 miles towards the high end of my aerobic base pace: 7:59, 7:40, 7:29, 7:41, 7:40, 7:35, .25 @ 7:44.

Decided to sleep in this morning so I had to go out at lunchtime.  Pretty hot - partly cloudy so I got some occasional relief from the sun.  7:50's average.  

Drove down to run with the group.  The lowest mileage option was 10.5 miles.  So I ended up running more this week that anticipated.  The last 3-4 miles were not easy.  I figured that would be the case because on most of my runs this week after mile 6 my legs started to feel tired.  Of course, not wanting to run slower doesn't help either.  It was warm and humid but fortunately the was cloud cover and a nice breeze to keep my body somewhat cool.  It really didn't matter at a certain point because once the legs get tired then the body starts working harder, heartbeat and breathing increase, and it gets harder.  I made it though.  Overall pace was 8:02 with the first couple miles 8:30's, and then some 7:50's, 7:40's, and the last 3 back just over 8:00 when I got tired.  Looking forward to a day off tomorrow. 

Did not feel extremely motivated this morning but managed to get out there anyway.  I ran the out and back with a couple rollers.  Took a while to warm up but hit 7:50's by mile 4.  Completely drenched due to the humdity. 

Nice morning if a bit humid.  Legs felt pretty good today.  I was minding my own business when passed another runner around the end of mile 2.  We were running in the same direction on opposite sides of the road.  Next thing I know I could see him out of my peripheral vision.  I guess he did not getting passed or something.  Well, I don't either so I dropped the pace until I lost him or he turned, or both. I am glad because I did not want to turn this into a tempo. LOL.  So I got a good MGP mile in for the day. :-)  I backed it back down to base pace but it took another mile to slow down enough.

8:35, 7:40, 7:01, 7:20, 7:46, 7:36, 7:33, 7:30.

This run should be under the category of "do not attempt at home."  I went out a lunchtime - 95 degrees and sunny.  My legs felt good so after a 1/2 mile warm up I dropped the pace a bit to what I have been running in the am.  But around mile 4 the heat started to catch up with me and I was forced to drop the pace.  I was not feeling too great.  I ran the trail loop close to the office.  There was another runner running in the opposite direction so we passed each other twice per loop.  I hope I didn't look as bad as him.  LOL.  I was so hot even the breeze felt cool, and I know that it could have been anything but since it was coming up from the south.

When I got back to the office and took a shower I did not even bother turning on the warm water.  Well, that doesn't make a differnce since even the cold water is warm because of the heat.  It took quite some time for me to get back to normal.

8:30, 7:40, 7:40, 7:35, 7:55, 8:01.

I decided to go downtown this morning to run with the group for a few miles. The group scheduled run was a progression run. Now, I had no intention of doing that. Just nice and easy I told myself.

I parked at Barton Springs and then ran 1.5 miles to the group. The coach divided everyone into groups depending on pace. I did not want to go out with the fast group because I was not planning to the workout. So I opted for the next group. My plan was to run easy with them and let them take off when they started the tempo part of the run. However, since I had warmed up already I was ready to go but the group started out at a 9:00 pace - so after a bit of talking I took off and got into my normal 7:40's pace. After about a mile and a half there is a part where one comes down from a bridge to get back on the trail. When I hit this part and got to the trail I saw the group behind me had just started to come over the bridge. I knew I was on my own at this point.

I stayed around 7:30 - 7:40 pace for a mile or two and then dropped to MGP for the rest of my run. This was not my intention by my legs felt OK and once I commited to it I had to follow through. Even at MGP pace it was hard in the heat and humidity. There was a point on the run where I wondered how I managed to run this pace for 26 miles. With about a mile to go I caught up to another runner from the group that started a couple minutes ahead of our group. This was a guy who ran a 4:50 mile a few weeks ago and usually cooks me in workouts. So I did not feel too bad anymore knowing that he was struggling too. I pulled him along until the 1 mile bridge where I headed back to the springs and he carried on to the group finish. I cooled down for 1/2 mile and then jumped in the springs for a wonderful cool down.

1.5 @ 8:35, 7:50, 7:30, 7:10, 7:09, 7:08, 7:09, .5 @7:45.