Of Mice and Marathons

Jefferson High School - 8.25 miles, no watch

Firecracker loop - 10.5 miles, no watch

AM: Went to Indy to watch the Mini Marathon, which I've always wanted to run, but I thought the entire race was on the Speedway. Not the case. I was very tempted to snag a bib and run with my training partner Brandon who was doing pacing duty for the running store, but I decided to keep this week sensible even though running 7:40-7:50 pace in a race situation for 13.1 miles isn't taxing (it was when I ran my first half because that is what I ran). I did a good amount of walking (4 miles anway) to look at suits for my wedding after.

Things I saw

1. Dude going insanely exaggerated dynamic stretching pretty close to the time of the wheelchair race. (Think Rain Man doing a warmup)

2. A guy coming into the finish line with what I can only describe as "vibrating knees." He had knees made of Kinesio Tape, and the movement in his knees was incredible.

3. Jake Krong with lots of hair.

4. The fastest half marathoner finish I've ever seen (next to the 63 minute finish at the Monumental this past fall)

5. Dudes who weighed easily 20 lbs less than I do coming in a few minutes slower than my recent half time (I'm up a few pounds so I needed some smugness to make up for my insecurities).

Wish things would have worked out better. I probably jinxed people (I ran my first sub-6 mile on that first stretch in Feb. 2012)

PM: 7.25 miles, averaged 7:46

Celery Bog w/ Brandon - 12 miles, averaged 8:04.

I did about a mile an a half very slow while waiting for Brandon to meet me. We stayed on the woodchips/mulch/wood bi-product, which was fine. I felt like crap because I stayed up too late for getting up early, but I had a long conversation with a good friend who was having some trouble. Figured a sloggy 12-14 mile "long" run wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. I managed to fall, which was nice. I haven't done that since I smashed my elbow this winter. I was overdue and now my training parter knows my secret: I fall a lot.

You learn something new every day: Muscle Milk™ doesn't contain milk. Who knew? Needed a recovery substance and it was what was available at the gas station. I stopped reading the ingredients before I even got started.

Vinton Woods - 9 miles, no watch

Jefferson High School - 8 miles, no watch

Signed up for a 1-mile road race scheduled about a month from today. They are hard to find around here and the timing is never right. Figured it was as good a time as any. Should be interesting considering I am supposed to be in the heart of basebuilding then but I will also be doing some max efforts after another two weeks of recovery.

Waverly Loop (new loop) - 13.5 miles, no watch

Started around 60 ended in the lower 70s. I bonked at least 6 times on the way back. My body just laughed at me . . . and you thought you were recovered from that marathon? hehehehe.

North side - 5.25 miles, averaged 8:14. Sluggish.

Dear Blog Diary: Trying not to get to crazy with getting my mileage back up. I thought I was rolling last year after my marathon but I see I got up to 60-65 after a week off and a recovery week and stayed there for about 4 weeks. This marathon took more out of me than the last one.

Vinton Woods - 9 miles, no watch

West Lafayette Track - 8.25 miles, no watch

3.25 up, 8 x 200 on/off 3 home

South side loop - 14 miles, averaged 8:07.

Warmish with medium humidity. Not terrible but it's not my favorite. Trying to acclimate.

I may not be the fastest guy on the blog, in fact I doubt I am in the top 100. But I am guessing I am in the top 10 for falls. Notched another one on the crete today and barely got a scratch. This is the second fall in 8 days and at least the 3rd fall of 2014. I can think of 8 or 10 falls in the last ~3.5 years. Average that over ~8000 miles and you don't have a good track record.

#lafayettesidewalksaintpretty

A very special Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers all the blog and wives and mothers of those on the blog. Hardest reponsibility in the world.

Vinton Woods - 9 miles, no watch. Did a few strides.

Added up all my shoe mileage to get an accurate count of my lifetime miles: 8336. ~2.5 years on the blog accounts for 7000+.

AM: Jefferson High School (reverse + extended) - 9 miles, no watch

Might do something wild and crazy to mix things up and do a short run in the afternoon with strides + blasts. But maybe not. Don't want to get too carried away by deviating from my same three loops.

PM: North side - 4 miles, averaged 8:06. Did a few strides. Followed it up with 6 hill blasts, which I quite like. I also have a parallel hill that gives me the option to up the efforts to a .25+ mile (some day).

AM: Purdue Track Workout

Meet up with Brandon and some gents for a workout. I knew I was going to be the fat kid who gets picked last to play kickball so I was feeling a bit nervous but the guys were nice (they were running 5:05, 5:20, 5:30, and 5:40. I was going to try to see where I landed). We ended up going out own paces (obviously).

Workout was supposed to be 4 x 1 mile @ CV w/ 90 seconds rest, then 4 x 400 @ 5k goal pace. We started together and worked into our own paces. I thought I could stay just behind Brandon, which I did for the first one, but the rust has set it too deeply. I got booted off after my 3rd repeat because they were setting up for the meet this weekend. Fair enough. I was dead. Waited as the other guys finished and we ran to the indoor track for some 400s. Those were okay. I rarely run that fast for anything more than 200m. Need to work on leg speed and running fast. I've gotten way too comfortable running 5:50-6:15 (even though it isn't precisely "easy" for me).

1600s: 5:49, 5:57, 6:02

79, 76, 75, 77

Glad the first workout is over. Estimated my mileage because I had my Timex and we did some running hither and thither. Brandon looked good, running the last of 5 repeats at 5:17 pace.

I don't like when workouts are fewer than 10 miles total, so it is out in the afternoon to shake out the legs.

PM: North side - 4.5 miles, averaged 8:10

Jefferson High School (reverse direction) - 9 miles, no watch

Mid-40s. My kind of running weather (the other option is 70-80 with ~25% humidity but that doesn't happen)

Jefferson High School + 9th Street + randomness and old familiars - 9 miles, averaged 7:49

Ran with Julian, Brandon, and Matt at a reasonable, adult hour of 7:00. Nice to be back before I am usually getting out of bed. Cold and rainy. Enjoyed myself though. Might get out for a shorty this afternoon to warm up for some strides + blasts. Might not. Mileage is getting close to 80, which is my happy place but I don't want to push my luck. Tough when the weather is cool and you are feeling decent.

PM: No run. I did spend some productive time working out a knot in my right hamstring with some serious torque from The Stick. I expected it to snap (the device not my hamstring). Going to the cold and wet Big Ten track meet 10k. Rumor on the FB street is that top dude in Big Ten needs a qualifier and Purdue dude is going to go with him. Folks were like "the 10k isn't exciting." Well, neither is a 100m sprint (though it's very impressive). I watch marathons on TV. Watching young gets running ~4:45 pace on a the same track I was loafing on the other day is very exciting for me.

Hemmm....somehow there is a link for The Stick that deadends and that I didn't link in the above.

North side - 8 miles, unfiltered beer pace (8:16). Did some strides and five hill blasts (weak)

Walked 3 miles in the cold rain last night to watch the Big Ten 10k. Got there for the men's bell lap. Apparently they started at 9 not 9:30. I did get to see the women's and a freshman from Michigan absolutely dominanted. 32:47? I think. She strung it out from the first lap, lapped the field going into the last 1600 meters and looked strong the whole way. She finished looking fresher than I sometimes do after an 8-mile AT tempo.

So far knocking down my drinking days from 7 to 2 has done NOTHING for my scale weight, but the Dodge Fat Test (simple pinch of the skin below the navel) tells me I have lost quite a few fat percentage points. My new theory is that my overindulgence in peanut butter has been fueling a fat demon that lives inside my hamstring and calls out split times and that is where the weight is being stored.

Campus loop - 16 miles, averaged 7:36.

Pace was decent given that my first two miles were slow (~9 minutes) because I ran to meet the guys. I was working early and thinking throughout "Why do I run mileage when I get the tar kicked out of me on speed and I am sucking air now?" Well, even coming off a marathon and having to hit the John pretty bad I can still endure longer than anyone I run with (most of the time) because I was still able to keep running when everyone else was gassed. About mile 9-10 I was just getting warmed up. Cold for this time of year. 37 to start.

Day off. One of my longest, just-returning-from-marathon streaks. Got my mileage up a bit sooner than planned, but that's pretty typical.

Dynamite Loop (reverse direction) - 11.5 miles, no watch

Ran in a pair of Altras. They were perfect sockless and I barely noticed I was running in new shoes. I needed something that is a little wider a few days a week to make sure my Morton's Neuroma doesn't flair up. I've been wearing Altra's as a casual shoe for about 20 months, but didn't see anything that I liked for running. Tried the Torin's and those were way too stiff. The One is the one! No hot spots and lots of ground contact area for toes to splay.

AM: Purdue Track Workout - 12 miles total

Just Brandon, Julian, and I this morning. Did about a mile and a half, picked up Julian and ran to the tack to meet Brandon who assumed we were meeting there as is typical for them. 3.4 up.

Alden came up with 4 x 400 of 60 seconds, 3 minutes, 2 mile tempo pace, 2 minutes 4 x 400 60 seconds rest, 2 minutes rest, 1 mile tempo pace. Brandon comfirmed my thinking that a two mile tempo would be better on the end. We ended up with a strong final mile, which was fine with me given that I ran the 4s pretty hard. I think we took a bit more rest in between the blocks of the sets, but that was okay I think. We were working pretty good. To put it in perspective the 400s are at equivalent mile pace for me. Pleased I was able to stay on the boys for the 4s. The tempos were a different story. Julian ran ~5:20-5:30 I think.

73.7, 73.2, 75.4, 76.1 (74.6 average)

3 minutes

6:01, 6:09

3 minutes

77.7, 76.3, 75.9, 76.4 (76.6 average)

3:40 rest

5:45

3.6 home, Brandon ran back to his car, I dropped Julian off and headed up the hill.

PM: North side - 4.25 miles, averaged 8:08

AM: Vinton Woods - 9 miles, no watch

PM: North side - 4.25 miles, no watch

Wal-Mart/Bike Trail out and back - 13.25 miles, averaged 7:38. Ran with Julian and Brandon.

Planned on about 13 total today, so I guess I get the afternoon off. Running about a mile and a half to meet up really helps for total mileage plus warmup (first mile downhill in 9:19!). I need to get those two on my diet; they have aristocratic stomachs (but they know where all the good pit stops are).

Oh, my non-running extra bit for the day is The Sopranos is finally streaming so I can become cultural literate in that moment of television. Watched the pilot last night.

North side - 6 miles very easy, averaged 8:20. Did some strides. Followed up with some light drills and stretching + 6 hill blasts.

Rather than run the blasts by time (they are about 12-15 seconds) I run until my breathing spikes and hold for another few seconds, maintaining good form of course. Seems to work well.

Bike path to Soldier's Home Road - 18 miles, average 7:23.

Ran with Brandon and Julian, who looked like a modern day Jesus coming out from his loft apartment without shoes or a shirt (he's a barefoot runner). I think they did a 16 or so, and I ran to and from the meetup point. I had a little fun around mile 15 or 16 after we came down the hill from campus and pushed the pace a little. They caught back up and asked if they missed the memo. Really I was just seeing how my legs were doing. A little tired throughout the run, but I am feeling good. At least I'm getting tan.

Headed to Toledo to visit Megan while she is at her parents'. We will be doing some last minute wedding things. Might see if I can entice her with my shirtlessness and go to the University of Toledo track and do something short on Wednesday. Might just make getting out the door for 70-80 minutes each day the goal until Thursday.

Wildwood Park - 5.5 miles ez w/ Megan, averaged 9:34

Did a few light barefoot strides on the tar

Unscheduled day off. Megan and I got up late. Late lunch, early beer and that pretty much did it. Picked up the marriage license. Call it family time. I'll see what the gents are doing for a track workout tomorrow and see if the UT track is open. Or maybe a medium LR and hit something faster back in town Friday.

University of Toledo Trail - 12 miles, averaged 8:15. 

The humidity barometer was high: my shorts were several inches above my current tan line.

Megan went out about 3.5 miles and went back. I continued and did my own out and back. The boys did 4 mile tempos back in Lafayette. Julian said ~5:50 pace, Brandon texted me his splits, which were well under 5:50. Not sure if he ran with them or not. I've told him he's going to be in shape to run 75 minutes in the half this fall. A good way from low 30 on the track, but he's still got time to get back in that kind of shape if he wants. 

If you want to watch someone struggle, watch a colorblind guy try to guess the colors in a selection of dinner napkins. It's a good thing I don't have to match my running gear.

Spring Vale Cemetery - 10.25 miles, averaged 8:05. Did some strides.

AM: Courtland Tempo Loop - 10 miles w/ 3 mile LT tempo. Not a stellar workout, but I wasn't sure I could even make it through the warmup. 

6:13 average: 6:09, 6:18, 6:13. It's frustrating to know I hit those paces at the end of 8 mile tempos this winter, but I am marking it here once again to remind myself to appreciate fitness when it's there and good workouts when we have them.

Need to get out the door at 7 or before. Today's weather was pretty decent though.

Deep threshold

PM: North side - 5.25 miles, averaged 7:51

AM(ish): Spring Vale Cemetery - 6 miles, no watch

PM: North side - 4.5 miles, no watch

I have perfected the side dish known as "The Jason." It will be tricky when I have a restaurant because everything is named after me. Steamed broccoli with hummus and a generous smattering of kimchi (vinagar-free because the cheap stuff just doesn't taste half as good) to which I added steamed red kale from the farmers' market.