Boston, here I come?

Went out for a nice easy pre-dinner run after a weekend of camping, but wound up going way faster than planned.  When the first mile registered at 7:00 I figured the rest of the run should maintain that pace, and the next two miles were 6:41 and 6:37.  I wasn't breathing quite as easy as normal, as the camping weekend was insanely windy and I likely swallowed lots of ash/dirt.  I feel a little bad about logging 0 miles during the last 2 weekends, but I knew April was going to be a very busy month.  Either way, I'm happy with these miles and should be back on track for a big week.

Still not feeling 100% post-camping, but not bad enough to say I feel sick.  Just some extra stuff working its way through my lungs I guess.  Today was much easier than yesterday, at 7:21/mile - what I loved was the consistency.  Without trying to do so, the last 4 miles were all between 7:16 and 7:20...I really enjoy when that happens (first was 7:40, guess I was still waking up).  Here's hoping the lungs clear up soon so I can enjoy a really big week!

Best run of the year, hands down.  I set out to do 12-13, and when I mapped out the route realized it would be 13...so I decided to make it 13.1 to pay homage to my 3rd place age group finish in a half marathon one year ago today with a 1:30:28.  I also tried a Gu energy gel, with a strategy of taking it at the halfway point of the run.  The goal was simply to keep a steady pace for the duration, and feel strong at the finish..nailed that goal.  I finished at a 7:04/mile pace, with a faster second half of the run than the first..I really felt a nice burst of energy from the Gu, and wound up with three straight sub-7 miles without trying any harder than I was already trying.  Post-run I still felt great, and wasn't craving an electrolyte drink like I normally would be after going this far.  Of course I drank plenty of water afterwards and ate, but it was different (and better) than normal.

Today started my 4 day "marathon."  Today and the next three days will have runs totaling 26.2 miles, to see if I can pull it off in less than my BQ time of 3:05.  I know this is not the same as doing the actual race, but the idea is to run on tired legs the fourth day and see if I can maintain the required pace.  I don't have much doubt that I'll pull it off, but it'll still be a fun effort.

Run #1 went amazingly well - to try to be realistic, I'm not trying to blow the doors off with a 6:30/mile pace for any amount of time, since the runs are shorter and I could do it.  So on today's run I used the virtual training parter on my Garmin and just tried to stay ahead of the other guy (set at 7:00/mile pace) instead of paying attention to each mile split.  It worked out great, every mile was between 6:51 and 6:59 with an average pace of 6:56/mile.  Average heart rate was 163 bpm, with a max of 173, which seems low for this speed...another good sign.

Day #2 of the 4 day "marathon" - boy what a difference it makes to run half an hour after waking up.  Of course I know I'm slower that early in the morning, the difference is that I generally don't try to go fast anyway.  I couldn't afford that today, so I just dealt with the fatigue..my pace finished at 7:00/mile after a furious finish, so the goal was met.  The heart rate monitor showed what I was feeling though - my average bpm was 172, with a max of 189 (compared to yesterday's 163 and 173 for the same run).  My legs were fine so there are no concerns there, it's just hard to go faster that early in the morning.

One problem - I've developed a new blister around another blister on my right foot, and it hurts.  Tonight I'm going to soak my feet in the hot tub to see if the chlorine can work some magic..at least run #3 wasn't going to be until tomorrow evening, so hopefully it will heal in time.

12.94 miles down in 1:30:15, 13.26 miles to go in under 1:34:45 

Run #3 didn't happen yesterday, so as punishment I decided to do both 3 and 4 today.

Run #3 (morning): Very steady morning run, average mile of 6:55.  Started with a 7:16 and was under 7 after that - I woke up earlier than usual to give my body a chance to be more awake leading into the run and it made a nice difference in my energy.  The plan was to do another mile or so, but I just ran out of time before having to get to work.  Subtotal: 18.50 miles in 2:08:48.

Run #4 (evening): This was the key to my whole experiment, and I'm glad I wound up double-dipping today, made my legs more tired than they would have been, which was the whole point.  I took a Gu energy gel during the 2nd mile and it seems like it helped out.  I finished the 7.7 miles at a 6:52/mile pace, with some crazy consistency..miles 3-7 were all between 6:48 and 6:52.  The "tired legs" felt a little tired, but really didn't cause any discomfort.  This was a fun test and I'm glad I did the whole thing - final result was 26.2 miles in 3:01:47..I wonder if I can send my Garmin data in to the BQ people? :)

Individual miles: 

1. 6:57
2. 6:51
3. 6:56
4. 6:59
5. 6:55
6. 6:55
7. 7:15
8. 7:00
9. 7:03
10. 7:10
11. 7:05
12. 6:49
13. 7:16
14. 6:59
15. 6:57
16. 6:50
17. 6:42
18. 7:03
19. 6:57
20. 6:50
21. 6:50
22. 6:48
23. 6:48
24. 6:52
25. 6:39 avg (combined end of each run, 14.39/2.2 miles total)

Nice easy recovery run from yesterday/heading into tomorrow, averaged 7:20/mile and kept the heart rate down (155 avg bpm).  Planning on ~15 tomorrow, hopefully this doesn't just make me tired after yesterday's adventure!

Interesting run today.  The goal was to do 15+, at whatever pace seemed easy enough that I could sustain it for the duration, and finish strong.  I settled in around 7:30, and stayed at or just under that for the first 12 miles.  I never felt too fresh due to the heavy recent workload, but figured I could still finish up strong...that didn't happen.  At 13.2 I was dragging (mile 13 was 7:47 and slowing) and I decided that finishing up would do more harm than good, so I packed it in.  Had to walk about 1.5 miles home, but I was able to get some water at a restaurant and really felt okay while walking.  I knew though, that stopping was the right decision..30 miles in 3 days is a lot to do, and I was just spent.  Perfect timing for a step back week coming up!

Today was a hill day - did four repeats of the 1/3 mile hill by the college before heading to work.  I'm giving my knees something of a break for a few days but still working my legs by biking to/from work 4 of the 5 days this week (will be about 50 miles of biking).  Doing the hills keeps the emphasis on my quads, and reduces the pounding with each stride...at least going up.  

I put on the weight vest and hit the hills today, to finish out "kill my quads" week.  It felt good, my legs were very fresh from the easy week and my uphill/downhill splits were all very close to equal.  Tomorrow's (hopefully) 18 miler will be a big challenge, haven't covered that kind of distance in almost two years!

Fail.  Fail fail fail.  My stomach betrayed me today, and 18 miles turned into less than 5.  I had my doubts heading into the run but gave it a shot anyway, knowing I was close to home in case I had to cut it short, and cut it short I did.  I wanted to run in the morning, but listened to my stomach and stayed in...then I was incredibly stupid and made cheeseburgers for lunch, hoping to fast track my insides.  That was a terrible idea, and a harsh lesson learned.  

Next week I'll have my revenge...it's going to be a busy, fast, awesome running week.

Very tough run this morning - I didn't get much sleep (precursor to trying to train with a newborn in a few months) and didn't eat very well last night..I really wanted to give up after two miles.  But my stomach was good, so my "revenge week" got off to a good enough start.  I wound up averaging 7:34/mile, but it was very uneven..first two miles were much faster than the last three.  I really should have started slower (7:08 first mile) but didn't really think I was going as fast as I was.  No matter, I got through the run and will feel better tomorrow.

Oh, first run in the new pair of shoes!  No blisters, no soreness...feels like a solid purchase.

5 mile Loop 

Now that's more like it!  Started out strong and got stronger - first 6 miles were at 7:21/mile, last 4.63 were at 6:47, for an overall average of 7:02/mile.  I felt strong, fast, and fresh...light years ahead of my last two runs that were marred by stomach issues and then fatigue.  The only downside is my almost-dead blister came back with a vengeance, ripping wide open during a turn with 4 miles to go.  That made the run uncomfortable, but not painful..I soaked it in the hot tub for a while and will hope it dries up tonight.  The week is off to a great start!

Interesting run today.  The goal was 5 easy miles to recover from yesterday's outing..those easy miles turned into a 7:06/mile pace.  The interesting thing was that I kept trying to slow down, and thinking that I was slowing down...then each mile was within a few seconds of that pace.  I wasn't working very hard so I guess it's okay to have gone that fast, and even when I thought I was tired and slowing down, the last mile was 7:09.  So it was kinda strange, but nothing to complain about..it's runs like this that make me feel like a BQ in October is really possible.  My blister is a mess though..but I think I'm gonna do tomorrow morning's planned run of 7 miles anyway..after that I'm off until Saturday morning.  Hopefully it goes well tomorrow, it doesn't hurt at all, just uncomfortable..fingers crossed!

5 mile Loop 

Great run!  I was worried about what my energy level would be like after the recent miles and less sleep than usual, but I felt awesome the whole time.  Heart rate stayed low, average pace was 7:11/mile, and I finished strong with a 6:48 without feeling over exerted in the least.  My blister was mostly okay, I felt it rubbing after four miles..I'm not doing any damage to the part that peeled, but the area below it is definitely getting some unwanted attention.  Tomorrow is a rest day, I'm hoping a bit of time off will get this thing healed up.

I had surprisingly stiff legs today, my shins and calves were both tight and sore during the easy 3 mile run.  I bet they would have loosened up had I gone any farther, but there was no need to deviate from the planned short run.  Tomorrow is the big day, taking another shot at going long...

Boom!  What a great feeling, to run this kind of distance again..I hadn't gone over 14 miles in over a year.  My stomach behaved, my legs felt good (although tired), and my blister was just fine.  I brought two Gu energy gels with me, and gladly ate them both, one at 8 miles and one at 14, and had my wife meet me outside just before the 14 mile mark with some water.  Only took a couple of sips, but it felt great.  My overall pace was 7:29/mile, and I was very consistent throughout the run..miles 18 and 19 slipped to 7:45 and 7:55, but I picked it back up at the end to finish with a 7:26.  If I had to go another 6.2 miles, I believe that I could have maintained a sub-8:00/mile pace..so I'm looking at around a 3:19 marathon as of now.  That means I've got 19 weeks to shave off 14-20 minutes in order to BQ and hopefully break 3 hours.  Feeling great!