Warmup

1.39 mile warmup in 11:46
Supposed to be 2x2 min @ 1/2 marathon pace, but I ended up running alongside one of the top runners on his jog while I was cruising at my 1/2 marathon pace and we ended up running the rest of the way back, thankfully slowing to a more comfortable 7/mile.

Race

Resolution Series 5k in 18:20 (/mile)

The course is long, so it was actually 18:55 for about 3.22 miles. I hit the lap button on the Garmin when it got to 3.11, and I had almost 200 meters to go on the track. Crazy. I wish they would get the course fixed.

10th over all, first master (although 1st and 3rd overall were both masters runners who were bumped from division awards). I was only 44 seconds behind Salazar, which is probably the closest I've ever finished to him. Age is catching up with him as I continue to move forward.

It was a perfect day, sunny, no wind and about 40 degrees. I got out a little slow. I assumed that with the track start I would naturally be a little too fast, but when I checked my pace after abou 1/2 mile I was at 6:02 pace and I wanted to be at least 5:55 if not faster. Thank God for the Garmin, I was able to monitor my pace and know that I needed to step it up.

Second mile I took advantage of the downhill in the first half to drop to 5:50 for the split through 1.55. I was in 13th at the halfway point but moved up to 10th by the finish. There was another guy 4 seconds ahead of me, and a group of 4 more guys just another 10 seconds up from that. Next year!

Last mile I gradually worked on a couple guys just ahead of me. One of them I never caught, but the two of us moved up and passed 3 other guys, including one younger runner who has been faster than me ever since injuries caused me to miss several years of running and get completely out of shape.

Unfortunately, I don't get to do the series this year. I will miss half the races. I'll decided in March whether to race the 20k or marathon pace the 20 mile. It will be only 4 or 5 weeks before the marathon, so i'll have to be careful.

Good to see Mike there, who finished in 19:34, which would be around 19:00 for a true 5k. No Carl or Preston, or Darrin.

Splits:
1 - 05:54 - 5:54.4
2 - 11:48 - 5:54.1
3 - 17:44 - 5:56.3
.11 - 18:20 - 35.8
.1 - 18:55 - 35.3

Cool down

2 mile cool down with Mike in 16:16 (8:08/mile)

12.1 miles in 1:34:26

Still pretty tired and a little stiff and sore from Sunday's 5k.

Splits: 8:13 - 8:04 - 7:37 - 7:33 - 7:42 - 7:32 - 7:37 - 7:36 - 7:30 - 7:50 - 7:52 - 8:32

Approximately 7 miles (Garmin was out of battery power), but may have been more or less. 57:36 was the time.

1 mile warmup on trails in 8:04

10 miles @ 3/4 effort in 1:08:02 (6:48/mile)

Pretty sure I ran a little too hard today. It was definitely more of a strain than in previous efforts. I'm still a little tired and sore, too, partly from lifting on Tuesday after a couple weeks off.

Splits: 6:56 - 6:44 - 6:54 (uphill) - 6:31 - 6:46 - 6:44 - 6:54 - 6:45 - 7:06 - 6:43

Cool down jog

Easy 7.04 miles in  56:10 (7:58/mile)

Pretty tired today, legs are sore and weak. It's a struggle on the downhills.

Splits: 8:23 - 7:53 - 7:45 - 8:00 - 7:56 - 8:00 - 7:53

16.1 miles in 2:06:56 (7:53/mile)

Man, this was a hard run. I put the miles in the blog as 'Easy Miles', but there was nothing easy about it. Where's the "slow by painful" category?

First, I was having some GI distress by the 2nd mile (where's the picture RattleTrap put up a few weeks ago about the runs?). Then, my legs were just sluggish throughout the run, but especially over the last 4 miles my quads were aching. 16 miles shouldn't be this hard. It's a long way from here to 26.2. I brought a water bottle with me, but it's still out there somewhere. I stashed it around mile 6 and forgot to get it on the way back. Maybe next week.

Splits: 8:27 - 8:01 - 7:49 - 7:44 - 7:40 - 7:35 - 7:35 - 8:01 - 7:40 - 8:08 - 7:47 - 7:47.5 - 7:52 - 8:01 - 8:02 - 7:52

Well, I failed to get up in time to get a morning run in. I guess I'll post pone that until tomorrow. Sill plan to get in 10 at noon.

OK, I did get out for the 10 miler. I decided to make this an easy week instead of ramping up. My quads have just been so sore and fatigued that it didn't make sense to try to increase right now.

Kind of a weird run, I just ran in circles, literally. It was an easy, slow run on the trails, but still hurt. It amounted to 5 loops of between 1.1 and 1.7 miles, with a little extra on each end.

Splits: 8:24 - 8:08 - 7:54 - 7:56 - 8:05 - 8:00 - 8:05 - 7:52 - 7:59 - 8:14 

Easy 6 on the trails in 49:24. I didn't expect to be so slow two days in a row. Hopefully I will bounce back after a few easy days. I don't get why the pace was so slow the first four miles.

 Splits: 8:46 - 8:25 - 8:40 - 8:23 - 7:45 - 7:26

7.13 miles in 55:33 (7:48/mile)

Feeling better after a day off yesterday.

Splits: 8:20 - 8:10 - 7:41 - 7:40 - 7:26 - 7:28 - 7:44

13 miles in 1:42:25 on Whidbey Island

Nothing like rolling out of bed and then, 20 minutes later starting running up a 220 foot hill! And that's just the beginning. Great, beautiful run on Whidbey Island with lots of ups and downs. Throw in some rain, some snow and some cold and it was a pretty wild ride!

Check out the elevation profile on this one!

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/141612906

Splits: 8:56 - 7:49 - 8:20 - 7:48 - 8:24 - 7:11 - 7:38 - 7:51 - 7:22 - 7:48 - 7:32 - 8:06 - 7:41

12 mile progression run in 1:26:40 (7:14/mile)

Ok, time to get serious here. Time to start putting in some serioud mileage. Marathon is only 3 1/2 months away. It may be cold. It may be snowing. But no more time to sluff.

Today's run felt good. Last week being short and easy helped a lot. It's nice to run without pain for once. The progression was pretty easy, never felt like I was running really hard. I gave myself 2 miles of warmp and a mile of cool down, so 9 miles of progression running. The plan was to start out around 7:30/mile and drop 5-10 seconds per mile. It worked out pretty well in spite of some hills and a headwind in the second half.

Splits: 8:13 - 7:47 || 7:28 - 7:16.5 - 7:10 - 7:02 - 6:53 - 6:49 - 6:46 - 6:35 - 6:33 || 8:06.

AM
Easy 3.04 in 24:51

Nothing like starting off the day with a run in the snow and slush. Too bad it is a little warm, at around 35, so it is a very wet, slushy snow on the ground. Managed to keep the feet relatively dry, though.

Noon
6 miles in the slushy snow in 48:04 (8:01/mile)

It was pretty sloppy out there, and for some reason all of the traffic was going the wrong way.

Splits: 8:07 - 7:58 - 8:01 - 8:08 - 8:02 - 7:48

AM

Easy 3 in the snow in 25:16 (8:25/mile)

Lots of snow (for here), about 6 inches and still falling. It didn't matter which direction I went the snow was hitting my face. I will have to find something to protect my eyes for my noon run if it is still snowing like this. My face is still frozen.

Splits: 8:52 - 8:20 - 8:04.5

 Noon

7.06 miles in the snow in 57:09 (8:05/mile)

Conditions are pretty challenging today. Only one road had been plowed. The park I ran through had at least a foot of snow and I got to blaze a new trail through it. Traffic was fairly light, but seems like there were always cars in the way at the wrongest times. Overall things went pretty well, but just before I got off the last road a truck came towards me and I had to jump off into the piled snow on the side. Unfortunately the truck was close to the edge of the road and sprayed me with slush. Yuck. With less than half a mile to go all of a sudden my legs were soaked.

Splits: 8:36 - 8:05 - 8:05 - 7:54 - 7:56 - 7:57 - 8:02

AM:

Easy 3 in 28:15 (9:06/mile)

I think this is the slowest I've ever run 3 miles in my life. At least since grade school. No worries, though. The conditions were crummy - snow, slush, water, ice. The snow was that kind that is a few inches deep and has a layer of ice across the top of it, so when you step on it your foot crashes through it and then you have to lift the foot back up and out. Hopefully it will be better in the afternoon.

Splits: 10:12 - 8:58 - 9:06

Noon:

So far conditions are better than this morning. This might be because I stayed on more main roads that were pretty clear of snow and slush. It's not snowing anymore. Instead we have freezing rain. The nice thing about freezing rain is that it doesn't really make your clothes very wet. The bad thing is that it hurts when it pelts your ears, or your nose, or your cheeks. Those who've seen me run probably know that I run with my mouth open. Periodically I would get little bits of ice in my mouth.

By midway into the workout conditions were definitely getting worse. The ground was turning whiter, even on the busier streets, and it was getting slipperier.

I'm going to file this workout away for when I need mental toughness in the late stages of the marathon.

2.33 mile warmup to the track in 19:03 (8:11/mile)

4x1 mile @ moderate pace with 1/4 mile recovery  jogs between. I did two loops around PLU loop as the roads were fairly clear and not much traffic. The splits weren't as fast as I'd want if it were dry out. But, given the conditions, and I only wanted a moderate workout anyway, this was pretty good. I probably would've been looking for around 6:10 or so if it had been dry.

6:38.3
6:48.1
6:26.3
6:40.1

Easy 2.33 mile cool down in 19:10 (8:15/mile)

AM:

Easy 3 in 25:22 (8:24/mile).

Conditions are improving a lot. All of the busier roads are pretty good for running now, although the shoulders and walkways are still buried so there's no place to go if cars are coming from both directions.

Splits: 8:57 - 7:53 - 8:22

Noon:

6.25 miles in 50:07 (8:01/mile)

Ick. The rain has started to come down pretty hard and mix with the snow, so it is a big sloshy mess out there! Still cold, too, at 34 degrees. I was soaked by the end. Kinda fun, though.

It was a little spooky running down tree-lined roads with big chunks of ice crashing down all around me from 40 feet up.

Splits: 8:28 - 8:00 - 7:49 - 8:00 - 7:51 - 7:56

15.2 miles in 1:55:18 (7:35/mile)

I felt surprisingly good today. Weather wasn't as bad as predicted. I did get rained on a bit, but wasn't soaked by it. The 30 mph winds never materialized, just a couple gusts. Legs felt good. The roads have improved a lot and most of the time there is a thin shoulder now. Temp was 40 degrees. Lots of water and slush on the sides of roads and on corners.

On the way back I felt good enough at 12.5 to add an extra loop in Pleasant Valley, which adds about 1.2 miles. Finally getting my weekly mileage up. Next week should be mid-70s and I nned to get 17 or 18 in for the long run.

Splits: 8:23 - 7:38 - 7:38 - 7:29 - 7:32 - 7:30 - 7:25 - 7:23 - 7:12 - 7:37 - 7:28 - 7:37 - 7;38 - 7:46 - 7:37 - (7:15 pace)

AM

Slow, easy 3 miles  in 27:25 (9:09/mile). I was extra slow and cautious today. The roads were covered with black ice and it was very slick. I had to walk in places to avoid taking a spill.

Splits: 9:56 - 8:28 - 9:02

AM

3 miles. I'm disappointed I didn't get to fit in a second run yesterday. Now I'll feel like I'm behind all week, and I missed running in the beautiful sun. It'll be rain today.

Noon

2 mile warmup in 15:49

Supposed to be 10 miles at 3/4 effort, but after 5 miles my upper quads began to ache very painfully. I struggled to keep any kind of decent pace and finally gave in over the last couple miles. Ughhh.
On the plus side, the first five miles were pretty good.

Splits: 6:39 - 6:44 - 6:53 - 6:47 - 6:46 - 7:01 - 7:01 - 7:07 - 7:25

Weights

1.41 mile cool down in 12:43 (9:00/mile).

7 miles in 53:18 (7:37/mile)

After Tuesday's painful run I decided to take 2 days off. Still hurting in the upper quads, but much improved.

Splits: 8:27 - 7:39 - 7:32 - 7:31 - 7:27 - 7:24 - 7:17

17.3 miles in 2:14:12

OK, not too bad. Yes, my quad pain started up after 12 miles and was a problem for the last 5+ miles. But, it was not overwhelmingly bad. It slowed me down, but I found I was able to speed back up if I put some effort into it. Good sign. Hopefully next week willl go easier.

Splits: 8:18 - 7:55 - 7:44 - 7:50 - 7:36 - 7:41 - 7:26 - 7:47 - 7:40 - 8:01 - 7:43 - 7:39 - 7:41 - 7:35 - 7:53 - 7:57 - 7:29 - 2:16 (7:37 pace)

Very easy 4.12 miles in 35:44 (8:41/mile)

I don't normally run the day after a long run. However, since I did my long run on a Sunday this week and I'm used to running on Monday I went ahead with a short slow one. Also, had a job interview today so it was good to get out and run afterwards for a bit.

Legs were pretty sore today.

8:43 - 8:59 - 8:35 - 8:29

12.05 miles in 1:33:24

Today was a good day. Due to a lot of pain in my legs over the last few weeks I've decided to back off this week in intensity, but not mileage. Normally I would've done some kind of hard workout today, but instead just glided through 12 miles at a comfortable pace. Not perfect, but I felt pretty good most of the time. Very encouraging.

Splits:  8:07 - 8:29 - 7:41 - 7:33 - 7:47 - 7:27 - 7:36 - 7:42 - 7:26 - 7:40 - 7:37 - 7:48

AM

3 miles easy in 24:11 - feeling pretty good for a morning run.  Splits: 8:21 - 8:02 - 7:49

Noon

7.5 miles in 59:45 (7:58/mile)

Felt good, easy, rained, no wind, ok temp, pretty nice run. Although the snow is mostly gone from the area there are still lots of downed branches on the trails around work. Lots of trails are barely passable, others aren't.

Oh yeah, I accepted the job offer I got on Monday. Still kind of reeling. I spent all day thinking, praying, talking with my wife and others to try to make up my mind. I decided to work at home so I could just focus on it, but then the power went out and I had to go in. God had a bunch of people cross my path while I was in the office that contributed to accepting the offer, so I guess God had His way with me.

Splits: 8:38 - 8:00 - 7:52 - 7:43 - 7:46 - 7:40 - 8:07 - 3:59

AM

Easy 3 this morning in 23:37, felt really good in the crisp, foggy air. Splits: 8:14 - 7:51 - 7:32

Noon

12.45 miles in 1:34:00 (7:33/mile) 

Perfect day for a run - low 40s, no wind, no rain, overcast, but bright white clouds, not the dark gray and black scary kind.

Legs a little tight, but not that soreness that I've been struggling with for weeks. The easier pace has been paying off, and I am getting some good mileage this week, somewhere in the top 5-10 on the mileage page right now, I think. That's only because my long run was on Sunday, instead of Saturday, though.

 Splits:  8:03 - 7:41 - 7:28 - 7:24 - 7:33 - 7:21 - 7:30 - 7:30 - 7:33 - 7:40 - 7:27 - 7:32 - 3:17

AM

Easy 3 in 23:57. I'm feeling surprisingly good after 12 yesterday. Kind of interesting splits. Splits: 8:09-7:59-7:49

Noon

7.2 miles in 55:16 (7:40/mile)

Quads a little sore today, not too surprising. Beautiful, sunny day with temps in the low 50s. I brought a jacket but took it off around 3 miles in, so the rest was in shorts and short sleeves! It's supposed to continue for at least 5 days.

Splits: 8:19 - 7:45 - 7:43 - 7:36 - 7:27 - 7:27 - 7:27

4.02 miles in 31:33 (7:51/mile)

19.06 miles in 2:23:59 (7:33/mile)

Another beautiful day, around 50 at the start and 60 by the end. I'm getting to the point where one water bottle isn't enough for my long runs.

Legs did pretty well today, and the run didn't become really hard until the last two, although I was pretty much wiped by 12 miles. This has me feeling more ready for a marathon. This is probably my longest run since my last marathon, more than a year ago.

Splits:

1st half: 8:09 - 7:48 - 7:49 - 7:39 - 7:36 - 7:23 - 7:28 - 7:35 - 7:37

2nd half:7:32 - 7:38 - 7:31 - 7:32 - 7:22 - 7:16 - 7:27 - 7:19.5 - 7:27 - 7:26

5 miles in something like 39:48. Hey, I'm just glad to be able to run under 8/mile the day after my long run.

7:00 AM - 26 degrees

Easy 4.07 miles in 32:27. I felt pretty good, only my ears were cold. Everything else was bundled up, unlike that brain-damaged teenager I saw waiting for the bus wearing shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. I guess he's too cool to be cold.

Splits: 8:24 - 7:53 - 7:52 - 7:46

10:30 AM - Sunny, warm, probably mid-50s at the start. amazing how fast it warms up once the sun comes out!

12 miles in 1:32:40 (7:43/mile). More pain in the quads today, but manageable. No brain-damaged teens at least.

Splits: 8:03 - 8:01 - 7:44 - 7:36 - 7:38 - 7:24 - 7:30 - 7:36 - 7:37 - 7:48 - 7:41 - 8:03 (last mile was after my weight-room workout)

Whoa, 4th place on the mileage board. Crazy! Of course that's only because I did my long run on Sunday again.

6:30 AM

4.05 easy miles. Warmer today, around 40 or so and a little foggy.
Splits: 8:53 - 8:21 - 8:10 - 7:47

Noon 

7.38 miles easy on the trails in 1:02:56 (8:32/mile)

Lots of things hurting today. Knees, quads, sciatica, groin. Also, I'm pretty sure my Garmin is not very accurate when I'm running in the woods on a cloudy day. I'm pretty sure my pace was close to 8, and pretty steady throughout the run, but the splits are not in agreement.

Splits:  8:56 - 8:40 - 8:40 - 8:28 - 8:13 - 8:02 - 8:41

5.05 miles in 40:07 (7:57/mile)

We were on vacation so I did not run much. Plus, my legs need a break for they do break.

Yesterday we drove from Vancouver, WA down to a town just south of Fresno, CA - about 14 hours of driving. We stayed with my cousins the Wilgenburgs on their farm, so I did my run next morning by running laps around their small 70 acre farm. Each lap a varied something so it was entertaining, and I got in 5 miles pretty easily. The workers were out in the field but I stayed out of their way for the most part.

Splits: 8:16 - 7:56 - 7:58 - 7:46 - 7:48

7.36 miles in Anaheim, CA in 54:53 (7:28/mile)

After 3 days at Disneyland we decided to sleep in, get some workouts in and go into the park later. So, I took the opportunity to explore a paved bike path along the Santa Ana River that I've never been able to use. Our usualy hotel is more than 3 miles from the entrance to the trail so not worth using. This time, however, it was only about 2 miles to the trailhead. It's a nice trail. Very flat, runs along the river, which is really a man-made canal I'm pretty sure. Bikers, runners, walkers. One homeless guy who was sleeping under one of the overpasses. I didn't notice him until on the way back, around 9:30 or so. I wanted to say, "maybe you're homeless because you sleep in until 9:30 on a workday!", but I didn't.

My legs were definitely stiff and heavy at first, and never really loosened up much, but I still managed to get in a decent pace.

Splits: 7:09 - 7:48 - 7:36 - 7:32 - 7:33 - 7:16 - 7:15

9 miles on Santa Ana river in 1:07:21 (7:29/mile)

Another beautiful sunny day in Anaheim! Actually, it rained a couple days while we were here, including yesterday. But supposed to mid low 70's today. Already felt warm on the run.

The homeless guy was back, but not under the overpass. He was across the path from where I saw him last time. That must be his spot. Still snoozing at 9:45 in the morning. He must have to work late.

On the last lap I decided to give it a good effort and see what I could come up with.

Splits: 7:40 - 7:28 - 7:38 - 7:38 - 7:38 - 7:35 - 7:32 - 7:34 - 6:39.5

2.38 mile warmup in 18:29 (7:45/mile)

Nothing like coming back from vacation and plunging right into a track workout. I kept it pretty light-moderate with paces at 10k for only 1200m.

3x1200m on the track @ 10k pace with 400m recovery jogs.
4:40.7
4:39.7
4:39.0

2x800m@5k with 400m recoveries
2:56.7
3:01.6

1x400m in 86.0

2.39 mile cool down in 20:54 (8:45/mile)

See now, this is the problem. I do a simple, moderate workout, and then I'm in so much pain at the end I can barely crawl through the cool down. Grrrrr.

Due to being too tired to run on Tuesday and too many meetings on Wednesday I didn't get to run until today. Still not feeling great. Every in my quads hurts.

Splits: 8:26 - 8:15 - 8:06 - 7:55 - 8;03 - 7:58 - 8:26

Easy 2.4 mile warmup in 19:39

2x500m @ 1/2 marathon pace with 300m recoveries
2:01.2, 2:03.2

Feeling pretty good today, so going to do a short and moderate speed workout.

Speed workout of straights and curves for 1 mile with a little extra jog at the end.

Splits: 21.7, 21.8, 22.0, 21.2, 21.1, 20.9, 20.4, 22.1 (10m long)

This workout went well. I ran a little slower than usual for this kind of workout and also stopped after only 1 mile, 1/2mile of speed. Finished feeling good and the cool down wasn't torture.

2.4 mile cooldown in 19:42

21.25 miles in 2:47:22 (7:53/mile)

Not feeling too bad today. The first 14 miles were good. My quads tightened up and were aching during the 15-16 miles, last two of the Vickory part of the run and I thought about cutting the run off at that point. But, I stopped to stretch for a minute and that helped, so I decided to tack on the other 5. I definitely experienced a drop in bloog-sugar levels around mile 16 or 17. the last few miles felt like they were the same effort as the previous miles, but the pace slowed up about 20-30 seconds/mile.

Splits: 8:08 - 7:47 - 7:45 - 7:41 - 7:38 - 7:46 - 7:39 - 7:51 - 7:43 - 8:19 - 7:55 - 7:51 - 7:46 - 7:47 - 7:52 - 7:43 - 7:58 - 8:05 - 8:19 - 8:09 - 7:50

Easy 3.1 mles in 27:06 (8:44/mile)

I set out to run about 7 miles today, but decided after a mile and a half that I should just finish up and go in. The legs were still pretty tired and sore from Sunday's long run. Tomorrow I should be able to handle a workout.

3.43 mile warmup on the trails in 28:18 (8:15/mile)

I decided to do my interval workout on the trails today. That should slow me down a bit and also soften impact so that I won't be in so much pain afterwards. I did 4x 1mile with increasing speed. I started with about marathon pace or slightly faster and took 10 seconds off each one, or so was the plan. So, I wanted to do 6:40, 6:30, 6:20, 6:10. What I did was:

6:46, .25 mile recovery
6:30, .3 mile recovery
6:17, .35 mile recovery
6:11, .40 mile recovery

Only the last one was really hard, as expected. I tried to do a couple 1/2 mile intervals at under 6/mile pace, but couldn't make it on the first one so I called it quits.
3:11.4

11:50 recovery of 1.25 miles (9:28/mile). I was crawling again over the cooldown. My legs were aching pretty painfully for the next couple hours and then eased up. In the evening I didn't feel too badly.

Easy 3.2 miles on the trails in 28:35 (8:56/mile)

I feel pretty good today while sitting at my desk or even walking around. Once I start to run, though, my legs are still pretty tired and sore, and my groin pull is still a problem, too. Man, I'm a mess!

Splits: 8:45 - 8:55 - 9:05

Warmup

Easy warmup jog

2x500m @ 1/2 marathon pace
2:04, 2:04

4x150m @ 5k pace
32.6, 32.7, 32.8, 32.1

Workout:

Speed work, Straights and Curves. I upped it a tad from last week, running a little faster, using my racing flats and did 5 laps instead of 4.
21.2, 21.4, 21.3, 20.7, 21.3, 21.1, 20.6, 22.6 (10m too long), 20.6, 19.4

Cool down

5.02 miles in 40:40.

A little tight and sore from yesterday, but not as badly as after previous hard workouts. Of course, it was only a moderate workout yesterday.

Splits: 8:18 - 8:07 - 7:59 - 8:09 - 7:57

14 miles with 10 at an easy pace and the last 4 at marathon pace in 1:44:56 (7:27/mile).

Not too bad. I was a little tight and sore during the first 10, but overall it went pretty smoothly. When I jumped into the last 4, as expected the 1st mile went easily. The 2nd was dissapointing and I was concerned that I couldn't even handle 7/mile. In fact I was running just slower than 7 about halfway through it. I forced myself to speed up, though the pace felt harder than marathon pace. The good news is that the 3rd and 4th miles went much better. I suspect that second mile may be slightly uphill.

Splits: 8:11 - 7:46 - 7:39 - 7:47 - 7:40 - 7:41 - 7:37 - 7:57 - 7:27 - 7:28 - 0:26
6:39.5
6:57.0
6:50.2
6:33.4

3.47 mile warmup on the trails in 28:15 (8:09/mile)

1.02 miles of hills and recoveries.

Easy 2.15 mile cool down on the trails in 17:52 (8:19/mile) 

I had a great workout today. Things are definitely going in the right direction. Paces are picking up, having less pain during and after workouts, feeling decent on recovery days. Best of all, running is enjoyable again instead of a burden. I'm actually looking forward to trudging through 23 miles on Sunday. My strategy of backing off a bit has helped. Not so much the running, but the attitude has backed off.

Today was also the debut of a new pair of running shoes. I figured 1700 was enough miles for the previous pair. They will be demoted to backup shoes for a while.

Warmup

2.17 miles on the PLU Loop as warmup in 17:06 (7:52/mile)

2x500 @ 1/2 marathon pace, 300 recoveries
2:01.42, 2:01.2

4x150m @ 5kpace, 250m recoveries
32.4, 34.6, 33.7, 32.8

.2 mile Easy jog

Workout

5x800, 1x1000 @ 5k pace with 400m recoveries

I was shooting for around 2:57-2:58, but figured the first couple would be slower. I love it when the splits come out fairly even like this. I intentionally sped up the last 2, and did 1000m on the last one to make it an even 5k for the workout. I finished feeling like I could've gone more, but that I was tired enough - just the way you want to feel at the end of a track workout.

Splits:
1 - 3:01.1
2 - 2:58.4
3 - 2:58.4
4 - 2:58.7
5 - 2:55.4
6 - 3:39.4 (2:54 @ 800m)
=======
   18:31.4 5K

Cool down

1 mile cool down in 8:13.

Perhaps the best part of the workout was that I was in pain and agony over the cool down. I drove to the track so I'd only have a 1 mile cool down, but it went very well, felt pretty good.

Easy 5.1 miles on SEJ-5 mile loop in 40:37 (7:58/mile)

48 degrees and a light mist, pretty good for a short run. Legs are feeling ok, not horribly sore. I think I'll be able to handle the long run tomorrow OK.

Splits: 8:11 - 8:01 - 7:58 - 7:48 - 7:51

23 miles in 2:55:12 (7:37/mile)

Amazing how much things can change in a couple weeks. I'm feeling a lot better, stronger, enjoying running more. Today's 23 went smoother than the 21 two weeks ago. It was cold, around 42 degrees, with an occasional shower of rain here and there. Just about perfect for a long run. I just missed the hail that came this afternoon.

The big issue last time was that I ran low on sugar after about 17 miles and was forced to slow down a lot. Didn't happen today. I kept up a better pace throughout and managed to finish strong.

The only difficulty was that my feet were starting to want to cramp up starting around 15 miles. I had some salt tables, but had just emptied my water bottle, and had to wait 4 more miles to get to my next bottle. I worked out ok. The cramping nevery really materialized, I took salt at 19 and 21 miles, and the last couple miles the cramping was completely gone.

Splits:
7:59 - 7:39 - 7:35 - 7:42 - 7:47 - 7:43 - 7:33 - 7:36 - 7:43 - 7:47 - 7:46 - 7:51 - 7:48 - 7:33 - 7:37 - 7:42 - 7:26 - 7:43 - 7:23 - 7:30 - 7:35 - 7:18 - 6:55.5

For RattleTrap, though you've probably seen it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWpU8sX10_4&feature=bf_prev&list=PL088CCD66E83BEFCD&lf=plpp_video

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Easy 3.5 mile warmup on the trails in 28:20

2 miles of hills. Frankly I think the Garmin measures these inaccurately. May be more than 2 miles, but no way of knowing. 

Easy 2.5 mile cool down on the trails in 21:24 (8:33/mile)

With an intermission for some strength training in the gym. 
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12.2 miles in 1:35:26 (7:50/mile)

 Feeling a little sore today after yesterdays hills and strength. The first two miles and last mile were on trails. I'm always much slower on the trails, not sure if it is because the Garmin has trouble under the trees on cloudy rainy days. I don't feel like I slowed down the last mile.

Splits: 8:20 - 8:02 - 7:47 - 7:42 - 7:48 - 7:34 - 7:40 7:46 - 7:36 - 7:46 - 7:41 - 8:04

5.18 miles on the trails in 43:26 (8:23/mile)

Nice, slow, easy day. 

Track workout today - 5x1000m @ 5k pace with 400m recoveries. It's amazing how much harder it is to run 1000m intervals at pace than it is to run 800m, even when the total distance adds up to the same amount. Those extra 200m on the end of each one are tough, especially when into a headwind.

Warmup:

Easy 2.25 miles in 17:36 (7:50/mile)

2x500m @ 1/2 marathon pace with 300m recoveries
2:01.8, 2:01.0

4x150m @ 5k pace with 250m recoveries. Had a hard time getting going on these.
34.7, 34.1, 32.7, 31.5

Workout:

5x1000s with 400s @ 5k pace (3:40-3:42)

3:42.7
3:42.9
3:40.8
3:38.2
3:38.2
=====
18:22.8

This is actually a little faster than last week, despite being tougher. It is just about right at my last 5k pace on January 1st.

Cool down:

1 easy mile in 8:32.

No pain in the legs after the workout again. This is my last week of track work. Now I will switch to more marathon-specific workouts such as tempo runs and marathon pace runs and intervals. Fun stuff.

Easy 5 today in 40:02. Feeling good, energetic. Not sore at all from yesterday. Looking forward to a good run tomorrow.

 8:15 - 8:04 - 7:54 - 8:02 - 7:48

16 miles with the first 10 at normal long run pace, at the last 6 at mp, in 1:59:04 (7:27/mile)

Good run. I wish it felt easier than this to run at mp for only 6 miles, albeit while fatigued. Still, I held the pace I wanted, more or less. The only concern I have is that the pace doesn't feel natural to me. I really have to focus to stay on pace or I will slow down. That may be because I'm a little fatigued from the previous week of training, though. No doubt that won't be a problem after 3-4 weeks of tapering.

Splits:

First ten: 8:11 - 7:49 - 7:46 - 7:47 - 7:41 - 7:44 - 7:54 - 7:50 - 7:35 - 7:55 = 1:18:12

Last six: 6:48.4 - 6:58.4 - 6:46.8 - 6:44.8 - 6:47.4 - 6:35.2 = 40:41 (6:47/mile)

Now I've earned my can of chili. I'm trying out a new brand today. Instead of the usual Nalley it is Cattle Drive Gold. I hope it is good!

Warmup

2.1 miles easy in 17:05 (8:08/mile)

2x2 min. @ 1/2 marathon pace, total 1.05 miles

Workout

4 mile tempo run in 25:04 (6:16/mile)

This was a fairly encouraging run, especially for a first sustained effort run. I hope this will become easier. I'm sure it will. This is usually my strength, just out of practice. I've only been doing shorter intervals on the track for some time.

The pace was not hard, just feels a little unnatural to run like this now. This should make a big difference in my ability to run at marathon pace in a few short weeks.

Splits: 6:28.9 - 6:11.2 - 6:18.4 - 6:05.7 (last 1/2 mile in 2:54!)

Recovery

3.3 miles in 27:56 (8:28/mile), with an intermission to do some strength training before the last mile.

Easy peasy 5.1 miles to Peaseley Canyon Road and back in 42:14 (8:16/mile)

Not feeling too tired or sore today from yesterday's run, but just taking it nice and easy.

Splits: 8:29 - 8:29 - 8:00 - 8:00 - 8:21

I still say my Garmin is not accurate on the trails. The first two and last one mile were on the trails, the 3rd and 4th were on the roads.

10.05 miles in 1:20:10 (7:58/mile)

Energywise I felt good. My left quad was acting up during the first 3 or 4 miles, so I decided to do 10 instead of 12. I actually felt just fine after four miles, though.

My right hip, which bothered me a little bit last weekend and on Monday started to flare up quite a bit after this run. So much so that I could barely walk on Friday. The problem is not right in the hip joint, but in some muscles or tendons just below it. When they swell up and get painful it pulls the joint out of joint a bit. I iced a lot, took it easy, didn't run, added some vitamin I (as RT calls it) and by Saturday I felt much improved.

Splits: 8:16 - 8:11 - 7:54 - 7:48 - 8:01 - 8:03 - 7:37 - 7:54 - 7:48 - 8:11

3 miles in 23:48 (7:56/mile)

Yesterday I wasn't sure whether I'd be able to run at all today. I decided my hip was improved enough to give it a go. Felt good on the run, and it seemed to help loosen things up a bit, too. Gorgeous, sunny day in the mid-50s.

Splits: 8:10 - 7:55 - 7:44

I plan to go for the 18 miler tomorrow and suffer the after effects consequences if they come.

Phew, that was tiring!18 miles with 10 at normal pace and the last 8 at marathon pace.

I wish marathon pace felt a little easier, but I know it will after a few weeks of tapering.

Quite a turn around for the hip in just a few days. Still sore, but it just feels like sore muscles now. I'll give it some good icing later today, but while I'm running it doesn't affect me at all.

The first 10 miles I did my usual relaxed pace that, for whatever reason, I spend the whole time thinking "How am I going to run a minute a mile faster than this?" Once the marathon pace part starts it tends to work out. It still felt harder than I want it to.

I managed to avoid the mistake of the past two times of running too fast the first mile and then too slowly the 2nd mile. I got on pace and held it pretty consistently until the last mile. Somehow the last mile felt better and easier than the previous two, even though a lot faster. I wish the last mile of the marathon go like this one did, 26 second drop!

Splits:

Easy 10: 7:55 - 7:45 - 7:46 - 7:44 - 7:36 - 7:36.5 - 7:45 - 7:44 - 7:33 - 8:03 = 1:17:27 (7:45/mile)

MP 8: 6:50 - 6:47 - 6:49 - 6:47 - 6:45 - 6:47 - 6:51 - 6:24 = 54:00 (6:45/mile)

I don't usually run the day after a long run, but I was feeling pretty good and thought a short easy jog might help loosen up and I'd feel better tomorrow for it. Plus I needed to spend some time thinking about the lecture I'm giving tonight, and running is great for thinking.

3 easy miles in 23:46 (7:55/mile; 8:08, 7:52, 7:46)

11:50 AM - 4 miles on the trails as warmup, 1.35 miles of 10 hill strides and jogs back down, 2.something cooldown.

4 @ 32:17 (8:04/mile). Feeling pretty good today. I think that easy day the day after a long run is better than taking a day off.

Hills - This consisted of 10 100m (approx.) strides, but instead of doing them on a track I ran them on a trail with a slight uphill grade of probably around 2%. These were just hard strides, not all out sprints. 1.35 miles total.

2.15 miles @ 17:59 (8:23/mile) This also included a workout session in the gym halfway thru. All run on trails. 

12.15 miles on BPA in 1:32:40 (7:38/mile).

That's, like, 1579 calories (according to Garmin). So I get to eat a bigger lunch :)

Some rain, some shine, some wind, some sideways rain, some person dressed as Lady Liberty selling tax services. Felt ok, just a little stiff and tired from yesterday. Mostly easy pace.

Splits: 7:52 - 7:46 - 7:43 - 7:31 - 7:48 - 7:36 - 7:36 - 7:40 - 7:38.5 - 7:23 - 7:13 - 7:46 

Distance is approximate. It was pouring down rain, so I didn't want to stand out in it while waiting for my Garmin to find satellites. After doing my warmup exercises under cover it still was ready, but I was, so I went ahead and started hoping it would figure it out soon enough. This often works. This time, I checked it after a minute and it was doing the dreaded "Have you traveled hundreds of miles since your last run?"Oh well. Short story long, I ran about 5.3 miles easy on the trails in the pouring rain, and mud puddles.

I celebrated my 41st birthday today by running 11 miles with a 6 mile tempo run. 50 degrees, a few light sprinkles of rain here and there. It didn't start to pour and hail until my cool down, thankfully.

Warmup

2 miles easy (7:45 - 7:26)

1 mile with 2x2 min @ 1/2 marathon pace (6:21,6:30 pace)

Workout

6 mile tempo in 38:25 (6:24/mile) over flat courses. I went out a little too quickly, running around 6:12 pace through the first half mile or so. I eased up and settled into a better rhythm. On the last mile I meant to run faster, but at .78 miles I was still at 6:30 pace. So I launched into a kick that brought the pace down to 6:18. That's about a 1:14 (5:35 pace) the last .22. Wish I could do that in the marathon! I'll be happy with a 1:30 over that last .22.

Splits: 6:23.9 - 6:28.4 - 6:23.4 - 6:26.2 - 6:24.7 - 6:18.4

Cool down

2 1/8 miles in 17:35 (8:16/mile)

 

My brother wrote this brilliant Haiku for me for my birthday:

Happy Forty One

Hope You Have A Lot Of Fun

On A Hamburger Bun

12:50 PM

5 miles in 39:07 (7:50/mile). Nice, easy run, saving up for tomorrow - my toughest long run of the training cycle.

Splits: 8:00 - 7:52 - 7:44 - 7:51 - 7:41

Sposed'ta be 21 miles, but after 6 I knew I was finished. I took a shortcut home and then walked the last half mile so I only did 8. Feeling fine about it. It was the right decision to back off. I'm still tired from Thursday, and don't want to push it. I was running around 7:50 for 6 miles and then the last two were over 8.

Splits: 8:10 - 7:55 - 7:48 - 7:46 - 7:42 - 7:47 - 8:01 - 8:02

First day at my new job! I had meetings all morning, right up until noon, and then my boss was stopping by at 1 or so to see me, so I couldn't do the 9 miles I was planning on doing. Instead I settled for 6, and decided spur of the moment to run the 5th mile at mp. I didn't have my Garmin today, so I was running based on a familiar course. 

6 miles in 45:11 (7:32/mile)

Splits: 15:28 - 7:45 - 7:25 - 6:43 (3:24-3:19) - 7:50

The first half the the mp mile was all up hill and the second was about half uphill and half flat. Since I'm really shooting for 6:47 or so, this was pretty encouraging, especially since once I hit the flat I felt pretty good. 

11 miles with 7 mile tempo run. My goal was to keep the tempo at an easier pace than the last couple. It was a bit slower than I intended, but the course is somewhat hilly, it was raining pretty hard, and blah blah blah, excuses, excuses. All in all, the effort was good, and that's all that matters.

Warmup

2 easy miles in 15:55 (7:58/mile)

1 mile with 2x2 min @ 1/2 marathon pace (6:25/6:33 pace)

Workout 

7 Mile tempo run in 46:11 (6:36/mile)

The pace felt a little hard, but mostly I just couldn't go any faster if I wanted to. Not quite feelin' it today. I'll try to take it a little easier the rest of the week in hopes that Saturday's long run goes smoothly.

Splits: 6:41.6 - 6:22.8 - 6:34.6 - 6:34.1 - 6:41.9 - 6:31.3 - 6:46.3 

Cool down

1 mile cool down in 8:24 

5 and change on the trails in 40:49

Easy, nice run, felt good. Legs are pretty sore, but while running it was ok. Not sure of the exact distance, but probably pretty close to 5.

11:15 AM - 10 miles in 1:17:32 (7:45/mile)

Nice, relaxed run. It is nice to run and have energy left for more. Gee, I was awfully consistent the first half.

Splits: 7:58 - 7:55 - 7:55 - 7:54 - 7:56 - 7:42 - 7:49 - 7:47 - 7:33 - 7:04 

Exercises... 

Easy 5 today in 38:47 (7:45/mile). It was sunny and 52 (warm, but not for IJR in Texas!). I was too warm with a jacket on. Tomorrow is supposed to be closer to 60, but probably not when I run.

 Splits: 8:09 - 7:48 - 7:42 - 7:41 - 7:28

21 miles, including 10 @ marathon pace (or faster).

There, I did it. I couldn't do it last Sunday, but today my legs were up for it. I was more scared of this run than I should've been. 

It was a perfect day for it. Sunny, beautiful day. It was about 52 at the start and 65 by the end. There was a very cold breeze in the beginning and it took me most of the first mile to get warmed up in my shorts and short sleeves and carrying a bottle of mostly ice (frozen Gu2O).

The first half is always a challenge for me mentally. I spend most of it thinking how it is more tiring that it should be only 3 or 4 miles into it. But then it only gets very gradually harder and I still had plenty left for a fast last mile. I'm not sure how this translates into an actual marathon pace overall. Last time I was able to run 6:50 on this run, but in the marathon I average 6 seconds/mile slower, although I did manage to hold 6:50 through 23 miles. I guess if I run this time the same way I'd still manage 6:50 pace which would be a nice PR and a sub 3-hours. I doubt I'll be able to run a 6:24 in the 26th mile, though.

Splits:

10 mile warmup:

7:55 - 7:38 - 7:36 - 7:31 - 7:22 - 7:38 - 7:34 - 7:45 - 7:28 - 7:50 = 1:16:17 (7:38/mile)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

10 mile mp (shooting for between 6:47-6:50):

6:51
6:49
6:48
6:47
6:44
6:44
6:45
6:40
6:46
6:24
=====
1:07:20 (6:44/mile)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1 Mile cool down in 8:04.

5 Easy on the trails in about 40 minutes.  Felt good. I was smarter than RT. I waited until 11:30 when it was sunny and warm (mid-60s) to run.

3.5 mile warm up in 27:55

1 mile of hill strides on trail (7:23)

3.5 mile cool down in 28:47 

Also so strength training in the gym. 

I wanted to run further but had to get to a meeting. As it was I got there late. 

5.3 easy on the trails in 43:29. My legs are kind of sore after yesterday's run/workout. Probably because I didn't get a chance to stretch at all.

Work conspired against me. I only got to run two miles, and I ran it on the treadmill. I ran the second mile at marathon pace, but kept speeding it up a little at a time down to around 6:30 pace the last quarter mile.

Also did some strength training.

8.5 miles in 1:05:24 (7:42/mile)

I ran zig-zag around after dropping off the car at the mechanics. 

7:54 - 7:37 - 7:43 - 7:40 - 7:39 - 7:38 - 7:37 - 7:44 - 3:53

15.14 miles in 1:57:07 (7:44/mile)

I ran on the Foothills trail with Carl. Gorgeous day, upper 50s, maybe warmer by the end. We ran faster on the way out, I think, even though its slightly uphill out and downhill back. Carl ran out of gas after around 12 or so, so we came in pretty slowly. That was fine with me since I only wanted to go 14, but we ended up with an extra mile or so of cool down.

My right knee started bothering me later in the evening. Hopefully it will be nothing.

Splits: 8:17 - 7:52 - 7:47 - 7:38 - 7:42 - 7:38 - 7:36 - 7:29 - 7:27 - 7:31 - 7:26 - 7:45 - 7:43 - 7:53 - 8:09

Easy 4 on the trails in 32:08. My right knee has improved since Saturday, but had some sharp pains in the knee cap during the first half mile. Then I stopped to stretch out my quad a bit more and that helped. It still felt a little swollen and there was some tingling going on. Also, couldn't do lunges before the run because of it.

My knees are still sore, but not too bad. They seem to hurt worse when I'm running slowly than when I am pushing. I stayed on the trails today, and got in a 4 mile progression run. I meant to start at 6:50 (mp) and cut down by 10 seconds each mile, ending with a 6:20. However, I went out too fast on the first, so decided to run the mp mile last.

1.8 mile warmup. The 2nd mile was in 7:22, just trying to get prepared for the harder running coming.
Splits: 8:15 - 5:52 (7:21/mile) 

4 mile progression to MP:

6:45 - 6:28 - 6:18 - 6:57

I ran the last mile too slowly. The pace felt plenty easy, it just didn't work out quite right to slow down to mp. Oh well, still a good workout.

1 mile cool down in 8:06

Strength training. I did a reduced workout today, about 75-80% of usual, with 12 days till marathon.

8 miles in 1:00:15 (7:32/mile)

My knee is getting worse. It's not an impact issue. Pounding doesn't phase it. The pain is in the upper part of the knee cap and seems to be more of a stabilizer issue. As long as I am running straight it isn't much of a problem, even downhill. In fact, uphill is worse on it than downhill. Anything that makes me use it slightly differently than just a normal running gait, however, and sharp pains go shooting across the patella. Lateral stepping, stepping up onto or down off of a sidewalk, stepping on a rock, all set it off. The knee feels like its is buckling and it takes a few steps to recover. On the plus side, it does seem to improve after I warm up. It  took about 5 miles, and then it didn't hurt as much and did have as many stabilizing issues. Also, faster running seems easier on it. I picked it up a bit on the last mile and it felt ok.

Splits: 7:48 - 7:41 - 7:49 - 7:35 - 7:28 - 7:23 - 7:33 - 6:57

3 easy miles in 23:44 (7:55/mile)

I started out thinking that my knee was feeling a lot better. But, it got progressively worse throughout the run. I'm getting a little nervous about running 26.22 miles on this thing. I sure hope it improves over an easy, restful week coming up.

3 easy miles on the trails in 23:25 (7:48/mile) 

Due to my knee problems I took Saturday and Sunday off. Today's run was pretty good. I wish it were perfect, but didn't expect it. The first mile was great. On the second, I had a little bit of pain once or twice, but nothing compared to last week. It did make me more cautious, though. The 3rd mile felt fine again. Mostly there is just the feeling of some swelling in and around the patella. If I ran the marathon feeling like I did today I don't think it would slow me down. I'd be concerned that I might have problems in the last few miles, though, as the quads became exhausted. Hopefully I will keep improving through the week. Weather in Eugene is supposed to be a high of 64, but 45 for a low the night before. Sounds nice.

5 miles in 37:48 (7:34/mile)

Feeling a little bit better than yesterday. I'm definitely getting some good energy benefits from the taper. Usually I start out around 8:10 the first mile.

First mile felt great. Second mile, like yesterday, was a little dicey, but not as bad. I think I got overconfident. I stepped too hard off of a sidewalk. Third mile was ok. Then 4th and 5th miles I felt great. I even forgot about the knee and just ran normally.

Splits: 7:45 - 7:34 - 7:40 - 7:28 - 7:21 

Day off today. I just did an easy walk on the trails for a few minutes to loosen up a bit.

I decided to do a comparison check to see how my fitness compares with my last marathon (Oct. 2010). I used a standard test before both marathons where I run 21 miles with the second 10 at marathon pace. In both cases I ran the exact same courses for both the warm up and the mp part of the run. I ran an average of 6-7 seconds/mile faster than last time, and I had no slow miles this time.

Last time I ran 6:53/mile through 9 miles. In the marathon I ran 6:52/mile through 22 miles, then lost 4 seconds/mile from my average. If I did the same thing this time I'd be running 6:45/mile through 22 miles and then slow up to around 6:49, which would get me under my goal. In fact, I hope to average around 6:48, so it looks like that pace should be reasonably safe for me to target during the race. 

5.38 miles in 40:11 on the Eugene marathon course (7:29/mile) Feeling a lot better today. I'm sitting in a hotel in Springfield, about 2 miles from Hayward Field, with a lovely view of Best Buy from my window. I went over to the expo around 3:30 to get my packet and shirt. I got to shake Meb's hand and get a picture with him!!! Since the format buttons aren't loading right now I'll have to post the picture later, if I can figure out how. Maybe RT can tell me.

After that I had my wife drop me off at the 21 mile mark of the marathon so I could run over the last few. So I backed up over the foot bridge to around 20.6 and ran until around 25.6 or so. This is the best part of the course. Hopefully I'll be able to appreciate it during the race. I ran the last full mile at mp. It was tough to do, but felt good afterwards to have a little faster running in. I would normally do this run the day before the race, but with my lack of training all week I'm glad to get it in two days beforehand instead. I'll just jog an easy 3 or 4 tomorrow, maybe less, to loosen up.

Splits: 2:57 (.37) - 7:41 - 7:39 - 7:26 - 6:51 - 7:32

3.4 miles in some amount of time. When I get back to my Garmin I will check it out.

This is the best my knee has felt in two weeks. I ran in my racing shoes, and also with a knee compressor. Not sure which helped, or both, or just because I'm healing, but had almost no problems with the knee.

One thing about the course I don't like, though I hate to complain as it is such a beautiful course, but the river trail is all concrete sidewalk. I had thought, based on Google Earth that it would be asphalt.Concrete is a lot harder on the knees, or at least it seems like it. Oh well, I'm sure it won't be a big deal when it comes down to it. 

 3.4 in 26:13 (7:43/mile). I stopped to take a few pictures of the course along the way, too. 

10 minutes on the e-train. 1.13 miles, 143 calories

Thanks to the shorter race on Sunday I'm recovering more quickly than usual. My legs are pretty sore, but not like usual.

I was going to go 20 minutes, but then I remembered that I haven't been doing the e-train lately, so that would probably give me a whole new kind of soreness that I didn't need. So, I backed off and stopped at 10 minutes. Afterwards and for the rest of the day my legs felt a lot better.

2 easy miles on the trails in 16:39

I wish this run went great, but my right knee continues to be a problem. Strange, since it was really feeling improved leading up to and during the marathon. I had a theory beforehand that the problem may stem from my new shoes, and I did run in other shoes on Friday, Saturday and in the marathon. Today I ran in the new shoes again, though, and I had knee pain again. I'll try something else next time and see what happens.

First mile was in about 8:03, but I ran a lot more cautiously in the 2nd mile. Quads feeling pretty good. Calves are very sore after the e-train yesterday. I forgot that they work the calves more than running, but the quads less.

20 minutes on e-train. Calves still pretty sore.

8:40 AM

5.07 miles in 39:05 (7:42/mile)

My quads are definitely recovering more quickly from the marathon than usual. No surprise since the run was short. Also, my calves have recovered from the two e-train workouts.

Today I ran in my old 1700+ mile shoes and wore a knee sleeve. Had no problems with the knee. I'll try this for a while, and if I can continue to experience no knee pain I will try to go without the knee sleeve next week or later.

After consulting with a marathon maniac/ironman friend of mine I am planning to get back into the saddle quickly with a marathon, but just run it for fun. On the tentative schedule, pending knee recovery, is the Green River marathon on June 2nd.

Splits: 7:48 - 7:39 - 7:41 - 7:41 - 7:43

20 minutes on the E-train, 2.4 miles, 299 calories

E-train today.

My right-side quadricep, which I've been foam rolling lately, was a lot less sore today.

2.43 miles, 301 calories, 20 minutes. Boring. I ran through the first 7 chapters of Romans though. 

8 miles on Vickory in 58:53 (7:21/mile)

The knee was a little testy, but I just yelled at it whenever it tried to act up and it would quiet down for a couple miles. Nothing major, just a little twinge here and there, usually when running uphill.

I managed to get in 8x100 strides during the 7th mile. The first couple I could feel the pressure on the knee, but once I loosened up it did just fine. The pace felt pretty good overall, not too fast, but I can't really go much faster at the moment.

Splits: 7:50 - 7:24 - 7:29 - 7:24 - 7:11 - 7:18 - 7:04 - 7:13

12 miles on Vickory in 1:33:40 (7:49/mile)

I took it nice and slow today. I was a little disheartened that the distance felt long to me. The knee handled it pretty well. There were a couple twinges, but I noticed that it takes a lot more to make it hurt now. So that's good. It was warm today, 70 at the start, 80 by the end. Good thing I brought water!

Splits: 8:11 - 7:52 - 7:52 - 7:50 - 7:45 - 7:45 - 7:42 - 7:45 - 7:35 - 7:42 - 7:53 - 7:48

Boring old e-train. 295 calories. Romans 8-12.

8 miles on BPA in 1:01:44 (7:43/mile)

A bit disappointing with the knee. A few twinges of minor pain in the first half, though after I adjusted the knee sleeve it was fine, the whole second half.

Splits: 7:55 - 7:43 - 7:46 - 7:37 - 7:51 - 7:43 - 7:39 - 7:30

I did some strength training afterwards, pretty light, just to keep something going

2 sets of:
15 pushups
15 squats
20 crunches
15 back raises
15 bench dips
10 quad doohickeys at 6 (Cybex) 

8:15 AM - Easy 3 before the plant sale.

I decided to run without the knee sleeve again. I was extra cautious, actually nervous, but didn't have any knee problems during the run at all. Also, only had minor knee weakness all Friday and Saturday while doing yard work, which is a huge improvement.

Splits: 8:08 - 7:52 - 7:49

11:45 AM - 18 miles in approximately 2:18:07. I missed restarting my Garmin after a stop around 6 miles and lost about 3 minutes or so.

The run went great! I managed to run 18 miles without any knee pain. I did wear the knee sleeve as a precaution. Actually, I did have one knee twinge around 5 miles, but that was my fault. The shoulder changed into a ditch just as a car was coming by. Instead of stopping to wait for the car I ran on the incline edge of the ditch, which I would expect to hurt the knee. After that, no other pain or tightness for the next 13 miles.

It rained pretty steadily, despite the forcast saying the rain would stop an hour into the run. Oh well. Still a great run. Actually the rain was pretty light, so it was more refreshing than anything. I intended to keep the pace in the 7:45-8:00 pace range, but after a few miles of trying to slow down decided to stick with what was comfortable. The last mile was very hard as my quads began to seize up. This was my longest run since I went 18.75 at Eugene 3 weeks ago.

Splits: 8:03 - 7:33 - 7:35 - 7:34 - 7:34 - 7:31 - 7:40 - 7:37 - 7:36 = 1:08:43
7:52 - 7:42 - 7:37 - 7:37 - 7:38 - 7:31 - 7:45 - 7:48 - 7:55 = 1:09:24

6:55 AM - 5.11 miles in 39:57 (7:49/mile)

Ran without the knee sleeve today. I had a couple very minor twinges around mile 3, but fine other than that.

Splits: 8:08 - 7:50 - 7:47 - 7:43 - 7:39

12 miles in 1:27:57 (7:20/mile)

Feeling pretty good. Wore the knee sleeve. I did have a few minor problems with the knee. Pace felt pretty good. Almost a progression run, but not fast enough for that.

Splits: 7:56 - 7:32 - 7:27 - 7:26 - 7:21 - 7:13 - 7:10 - 7:20 - 7:11 - 7:19 - 7:08 - 6:55

3 easy miles in 23:46 (7:55/mile).

I ran without the knee brace today. The knee was a little weak even before I started, but it managed ok for 3 miles.

Splits: 8:15 - 7:49 - 7:43

8:20 AM - Easy 8.51 miles in 1:04:33 (7:36/mile)

Feeling pretty good. I ran without the knee sleeve and had not the slightest hint of pain or trouble with it. Two days off really helped.

Splits: 7:56 - 7:42 - 7:35 - 7:38 - 7:32 - 7:31 - 7:30 - 7:23 - 7:30 pace

I also registered for the Green River marathon on Saturday (June 2nd) and for the Lake Youngs Ultra the following Saturday. Two marathons in 8 days, and my first ultra!  Needless to say, I will only be jogging these. The ultra is barely an ultra - 28.8 miles.

The plan is to run the marathon on Saturday, then take the next four days off. Run short easy runs on Thursday and Friday and then the ultra on Saturday. The ultra is 3 9.6 mile laps around Lake Youngs, so if I get into serious trouble I can always bail. Hopefully that won't happen. Then I can finally join the maniacs!

6 miles on Military in 46:15

Second day in a row running without the knee brace and without knee pain! Now I just have to get my quads to stop hurting and I'll be in good shape!

Splits: 7:51 - 7:41 - 7:39 - 7:35 - 7:42 - 7:47 

11:50 AM - 10 miles on the BPA trail in 1:14:47 (7:29/mile)

Feeling pretty good today. Didn't mean to run quite this fast, but it all felt so easy in the early miles, and just fine in the last few. Third day without a knee brace. Not quite as perfect as the last two days, but probably 95%. I had a couple minor twinges that didn't really hurt. One came at 3 1/2 miles, when I was trying to quickly cross a street ahead of a speeding car. The other came right when I finished because I stopped a little too abruptly. Other than that, I took more risks on the run without any problems. I was even able to step up and down laterally off and on a sidewalk with no trouble.

Splits: 7:26 - 7:29 - 7:30 - 7:20 - 7:32 - 7:22 - 7:35 - 7:33 - 7:25.5 - 7:35 

Easy 3 on the trails in 24:27. Should've stayed on the roads. My knee didn't like the trails much.

Green River Marathon in 3:29:47.

1 down, 1 to go. I decided to run this marathon is a rebound after my DNF at Eugene. It's a great run for that purpose since it is a low-key, no frills, FREE marathon. No race numbers. No mile markers. No awards. No traffic control. Just an accurately measured marathon on beautiful trails from Kent to Seattle.

This year there were about 200 runners, which I gathered is a lot for this race.The weather kept things interesting. It was raining at the start, and off and on for the first 10 miles. When it wasn't raining it was muggy. By around mile 16 it started to clear up and the humidity dropped, too.

Since my main goal is to run two marathons in two weekends, I approached this as an easy long run where I didn't have to carry my own fluids. Goal pace was mid 7:40s. To make sure I didn't run too fast I brought my camera so I could stop and take pictures throughout the course. I also stopped at all of the aid stations, which costed me 10-15 seconds on each of those miles. I also had to stop at a couple traffic lights, just for a few seconds, though. I got to run with the race director the first couple miles. He was a little slower than me so it was a good way to start. I ran with a few other people here and there, just to make the miles go by faster. Nevertheless, from mile 14 through 18 I was beginning to wonder if I was still on the course. There was nobody else around. It was a lot of fun running with no real time goals in mind, and just enjoying the easy pace.

I found that I was really in poor shape to run a whole marathon. Since 18 miles is the longest I've run in a couple months I expected to get to mile 20 feeling good and then go down hill from there. That was pretty much true, except I didn't anticipate how bad I'd feel over the last couple miles. I maintained the same pace through 22 or so. Once I started to get really tired, and everything was hurting, I reminded myself that I was planning on doing another in one week, so I backed off the rest of the way.

Afterwards it took me about 17 minutes to recover, as opposed to an hour or two like usual. The finish is across from Spuds Fish 'n chips. I passed on that, but enjoyed a big bowl of clam chowder!

I wish I had two weeks between these races. I'm pretty sure the second one would be a lot easier, just from the benefits of having run 26 miles, as well as being fully recovered. Instead, I anticipate not being completely rested. I'll play it by ear. I will probably take it even easier than I did today. My garmin is in the other room, so I'll get the splits later.

Mile - time - split
01 - 0:07:51 - 7:51
02 - 0:15:59 - 8:09
03 - 0:23:47 - 7:48
04 - 0:31:35 - 7:48
05 - 0:39:25 - 7:50
06 - 0:47:02 - 7:37
07 - 0:54:53 - 7:51
08 - 1:02:38 - 7:45
09 - 1:10:12 - 7:33
10 - 1:17:44 - 7:32
11 - 1:25:33 - 7:49
12 - 1:33:19 - 7:47
13 - 1:40:54 - 7:35
14 - 1:48:40 - 7:45
15 - 1:56:21 - 7:42
16 - 2:04:02 - 7:41
17 - 2:11:56 - 7:53.5
18 - 2:19:48 - 7:52
19 - 2:27:23 - 7:35
20 - 2:35:13 - 7:50
21 - 2:42:53 - 7:40
22 - 2:50:54 - 8:01
23 - 2:58:58 - 8:04
24 - 3:07:22 - 8:24

At this point my watch got stopped. Not sure of mile 25 split.

26 - 8:32
26.22 3:29:47 - 22.25