Of Mice and Marathons

Lunch: Treadmill - 7 miles in 54:33. Squishy shoes and slippery belt.

Jason's Ultimate PB&J:

2 slices of toast, 1-2 T peanut butter, 1 T jam or jelly, 1/3-1/2 banana sliced (1/3 for large, 1/2 for small), small drizzle of honey, muesli (or granola or favorite cereal), a dusting of cinnamon

PM: Treadmill - 5 miles in 39 minutes. Did a set of weights.

AM: Off

PM: Treadmill - 8.9 miles in 60 minutes

5 minutes @ 7.5

5 minutes @ 8.0

5 minutes @ 8.5

10 minutes @ 9.0

30 minutes @ 9.5; Total of 6.25 @ 6:25 average

5 minutes @ 8.0

AM: Houston Meadow - 8.25 miles, averaged 8:26

PM: Neighborhood loop - 4.5 miles, averaged 7:58

Amazingly facsinating headline from Maine: The North Pound Hermit

Forbidden Drive - 15.25 miles, averaged 7:58. Warm and humid to start. Hot and dry to finish.

Treadmill - 7 miles in 53:33. Did some ~quarters @ 10 w/ 3-3.5 incline in place of strides because that particular treadmill maxes out at 10.

AM: Paper Mill 5k Race - 9.4 miles total.

Warmed up 4.25 with Megan to the race. It was already into the upper 70s, high humidity (90%) and 73 dew point so I knew a really fast race would hurt. Race got under way and I stayed behind some guys to see what they would do (definitely a local low-key race). Took the lead going into about 1/2 mile mark and had it until maybe 2.5-2.7 and a young guy passed me. I let him go through a slight uphill and started to bring him back but ran out of real estate due to a short course, but I kicked pretty hard. He turned 17 today so he was pretty pleased. I didn't bother to tell him I had 76 miles in my legs before the horn :-) I'm just not a fierce competitor, but I shouldn't have let that him do that.

I can't make heads or tails of the splits because I was running hard [On closer inspection the Garmin had me running off into the woods, etc]. I'll blame it on the heavy tree cover and covered bridge. The heat would make sense but it's still too slow for how I felt. 5:50, 6:17, 6:09 pace for the short mile.

$20 gift card for my efforts and a fun morning with Megan. I'll take it.

Need to race more 5ks. In cooler weather on a course free of rocks, horses, bikers, etc. I should be in the low 17s or just under given other race performances.

1 mile cool down, some walking with Megan and then another 1.3 miles to finish off. Very uncomfortable outside.

PM: Treadmill - 6.7 miles in 51:40. Felt good. Megan and I are headed to a restaurant called Goat Hollow. It looks intriguing. I'm going to go with a burger probably.

Day off. First in 29 days. Scheduled one this week and figured today was the day. Good couple of weeks in the 87-90 mile range with improving workouts. Weight is getting down somewhat, which is good. Big goal pace workout this week with a slow paced long run midweek. Two more weeks to the marathon block.

AM: Valley Green to Schuykill River Trail toward Valley Forge - 10 miles, averaged 8:19

Lots of elevation change on this one. About 4.25 miles to the trail. I'm going to try to do longer workouts there but 4.25 miles with 230-260 feet per mile up and down for miles 2-4 is not fun cooling down.

Garmin Activity

Lincoln Drive + Schuykill River Trail + Forbidden Drive - 20 miles, averaged 7:27

AM: Houston Meadows - 8.25 miles, averaged 8:29

PM: Neighborhood loop - 4.5 miles, averaged 8:02

AM: Flourtown and back up via the College - 9 miles, averaged ~7:55. My Garmin died.

Flourtown

PM: Springside Track - 4 miles, averaged 7:54. Did 6 x 200 strides in 37.5. 33.1 on the last one. Not bad.

AM/Lunch - Flourtown tempo loop - 16. 1 miles total w/ 4 x 2 miles @ HMP w/ ~3:00-3:30 min. recovery jogs. Weather was a little breezy, sunny, lower humidity and temps 65-70.

4.1 up, 9 workout total, 3 down

Set 1: 12:15.6 (6:08, 6:08)

Set 2: 12:15.1 (6:08, 6:07)

Set 3: 12:15.3 (6:08, 6:07)

Set 4: 12:16.4 (6:13, 6:04)

Good, honest effort today. A successful workout for sure. Not too fast so I was out of range and dying, but plenty fast that when I started to dig into 5:30-5:40 pace for the last quarter mile with a slight hill, I was hurting (~end of race effort for roughly a minute and a half). I've run this workout as fast as 5:54 average (last winter when it was 19 degrees) but I ran exactly that for the race. A more reasonable effort and I tend to beat the workout. Last year before Philly I ran about 1.5 seconds faster, but it was one a flat .5 mile loop. This loop is slightly more challenging.

I usually call this one the Hanson Brothers Workout, but of course they didn't invent it but I got the idea a few years ago here.

Workout history with half marathon times

http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/163357565 (March 2012) w/ 1:33 half

http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/296790808 (April 2013) w/ 1:21 half

http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/371418481 (Sept 2013) w/ 1:17 half

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/460224072 (March 2014) w/ 1:17 half

http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/588778379 (Sept 2014) w/ ?:?? half

PM: Wyndmoor - 4 miles, averaged 8:03.

Megan and I are headed to have Thai. I imagine I will be very hungry by time we walk to the top of the hill.

Valley Green loop w/ Megan - 5.65 miles, averaged 10:12. Rainy and cool.

Wissahickon Valley Trails - 16.5 miles, averaged 9:08 w/ ~2000 feet of elevation gain.

Decided to mix it up today. Got in 2.5 hours with lots of climbing. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

AM: Neighborhood loop - 4 miles, averaged 7:50

PM: Chestnut Hill College Hill Loop - 7.25 miles, averaged 7:31

Valley Green + out and back on Forbidden Drive - 12.5 miles, averaged 7:57

AM: Flourtown Tempo Loop - Sharpening workout. 10.25 miles, averaged 7:28 w/ 5 x 1000 w/ 90 second recovery jogs

~3.5 up/3 down

3:36, 3:37, 3:32, 3:33, 3:33 (3:34 average) or 5:40 pace for the "long" kilometer (.63)

Goal was to start around 3:37 and cut down to 3:33. This is ~10-12 seconds faster than goal half pace this weekend.

I think I figured out the culprit that has given me GI issues the last two days. GI issues are extremely rare for me and two days in a row even more so. Had to hit the woods for the first time in my running career (usually make it home or find a bathroom). Just as I was entering the woods I met up with two huge deer. Beautiful animals. Anyway, the woods was far nicer than the portapotty at the end of Forbidden Drive yesterday.

PM: Off. GI issues continued (as I knew they would). Didn't make much sense to mess with it for a 4 mile shakeout 4 days before a key race and risk further dehydration.

AM: Neighborhood loop - 5.4 miles, averaged 8:00

Had to cut it short and head home. Day 3 of GI issues. Unprecedented. I can't seem to figure it out, especially since I eat pretty much the same things every day. A new receipe the other night would explain the last two day, but not today.

+1 concrete fall/fail

An afternoon run if things settle.

PM: Chestnut Hill College Hill Loop (CH^2 Loop) - 7.25 miles, averaged 7:39

Valley Green Loop - 5.75 miles, no watch. Did a few strides at the end.

Neighborhood loop with Megan - 4.6 miles, averaged 8:54. Did some strides.

Feeling just okay. Last year I was chomping at the bit the day before the race.

Pretty good day. Humid and 68-70 degrees. Side stitch in the last ~1.5 miles. Cost me about 30 seconds there. A little quick to start (5:48) but purely effort based. Report to follow. For now it's epic brunch with Megan.

A really good weekend for elites here. Smoking fast times. And how about Deena Kastor?

REPORT

The last 7-10 days it's been in the lower to mid-fifties at night, but on Saturday the low was going to be 66-68. I knew my chances for a cool race like last year (~45-52 degrees) weren't going to happen so I just had to go with what I could do. It wasn't super warm but it was humid and it did affect me a bit.

Warmed up for 18 minutes and used the bushes in the Rodin Museum before doing a few strides and getting to the line. I felt quite good during the warmup, so I thought maybe I could run strong. Got out a bit fast but I felt pretty good, but then I got nervous and slowed a bit. Early on I recognized a runner from Maine who is faster than me, so I figured I would keep him in sight and see what the day brought. I passed him around mile 4 or 5 I think and he went through the first mile in ~5:44. Not sure what his training has been like or if it was a bit warm for him.

Effort felt pretty good early, but it wasn't easy (not red lining like I was the whole way when I set my PR). Ran with some folks here and there but ran pretty much by myself after Falls Bridge and coming down Martin Luther King by Fairmount Park East. Caught up with some guys around mile 11, but I started to get a side stitch (always happens during a marathon around 22-24 but never in training or shorter races), so I lost some seconds in those miles. Kicked past a guy at the end and I don't think got passed after the 5-6 mile mark.

I felt pretty good that I didn't bleed too bad in the last two miles (it felt more ugly than it shows in the splits). I was not happy because I tend to run my fastest splits in the final 5k on flat courses (as you should). I took sips of water and a little Gatorade, but I guess I wasn't hydrated enough or the fluids messed me up.

This is the third time I have broken 1:20, so that was good but I am hoping to continue to run much faster. Satisfied with the time today even though I wanted and tried for faster. Time to focus on the marathon though. Unless I find another half my half in late October will be a long MP tempo/long run most likely.

32 minute cool down. No shakeout run. I felt the time on my feet was sufficient this morning. I'll recover until at least Friday and see where I am at for a possible aerobic tempo.

Rich, chocolatey goodness: 5:48, 6:03, 5:58, 5:52, 5:58, 5:53, 5:59, 5:59, 6:05, 5:59, 5:57, 6:15, 6:18, 36.7

Springside Academy Athletic Fields and Track - 5 miles, averaged 7:42

Legs felt a bit beat this morning, but once I walked to the grocery store and to campus they felt pretty good. Air was very cool when I went out around 5:45 this evening. Lows in the 40s the next few days. Where were those on Sunday?!

Had a good dinner of chicken and pesto rotelle with roasted red pepper coulis from The Athlete's Palate. The red pepper coulis is a must. I call it "undersauce" because I don't know how to pronounce "coulis."

Lunch: VG Road + Forbidden Drive to NW and back - 9 miles, averaged 7:38

PM: Valley Green Loop - 5.25 miles, averaged 8:35

AM: Wyndmoor Key Loop - 6.5 miles, averaged 7:45

PM: Treadmill - 6 miles in 44:45. Did some incline strides.

Germantown to Forbidden Drive and up VG - 13 miles, averaged 7:36

rainy and cool. Lots of grit from Forbidden Drive made its way to the shower.

AM: Flourtown Temp Loop - 14.5 miles, averaged 7:20 w/ 8-mile AT Tempo (6:29 average)

Warmed up 3.5 with light strides, shed my shirt and got into it. Not much of a change in effort from mile 2-3 but the pace started dropping (probably because my legs got stretched out). My legs are pretty beat so this was a good workout. Cooled down 3 miles.

6:40, 6:38, 6:29, 6:28, 6:28, 6:26, 6:27, 6:20

Spanned the 60 degree range for the workout. If the high for Philly is 60+ it will be a heat wave. Effort was not easy breezy, but on par with what I usually do for this workout. Cooling down 300+ feet of gain isn't always fun but you get a good butt workout.

My shifting loyalty is going toward Saucony. I've never had a shoe so versatile as the Kinvara 5. Any shoe I can do long runs, recovery runs, tempo runs, and the occasional impromptu track workout gets 5 stars from me because I am very particular about my shoes.

PM: Neighborhood loop - 5 miles, averaged 8:13

Chestnut Hill College Hill Loop - 7.25 miles, no watch

83 degrees, sunny, and very dry. Amazing fall weather. Lot of people on Forbidden Drive.

Decided to do a 5k in the morning. It would be nice to get a race that's not completely under tree cover, so I can get an accurate sense of the course. As usual in a marathon buildup I haven't found a good time in my schedule to run a decent 5k. Maybe I can beat my legs into submission tomorrow, but I have to watch for pieces of ledge so I don't fracture my foot either.

AM: Roxborough YMCA 5k - 10 miles total

Tough to pass up a 5k just 2 miles from our place. I knew it wouldn't be super competitive, but thought maybe I could get someone to push me a bit and race for 1st. Warmed up 5 miles and did some strides in the middle. Got lined up and a little girl jumped out in front of me at the start. I wish parents wouldn't allow children to do that. I realize it's a family event, but being in the very front of the starting line for a 5-6 year-old is dangerous.

Let the young cross country guy go out while his friends mocked him. I am guessing he was sub-5 through the half mile. I asked them "how fast can he run?" They informed me "not that fast; he's slowing." I smelled blood and went for it. Went through their mile mark in 5:27-5:28, which has a decent stretch of light uphill. My auto split hit later at 5:36. My legs felt tight at this point but they loosened up and I tried to push because I was feeling good and my pace was okay. Hit the turnaround to see an older guy but figured I had him unless I died or he was sandbagging me. Tried to keep pushing, but despite that I went through mile 2 very slow. Got a decent pickup into the finish, but should have pressed harder sooner.

Cooled down 2 miles before awards. Got a 3 month membership to the Y, which I likely won't be able to use. I decided to walk 2+ miles home because I had a goody bag (and let's face it, I race for those handy reusable bags). I was satisfied with 10 miles on the morning a an indication that I am getting fit and still improving, so I didn't cool down further and I'll get my miles in this afternoon. I did run 22 second PR, which is good. Course measured a bit short, but all 5ks do in my experience. Might have to get at least one more 5k this fall to see if I can get on the edge of the 17-minute mark.

5:36, 5:53, 5:44, (4:49 pace for the partial)

PM: Wyndmoor - 4.25 miles. Found a huge fountain/statue in the middle of a small rotary/cul de sac thing. It's a small suburban area so I didn't expect it. There was also a statue of Posidon (I think) on a pedestal. Very interesting considering it's basically the woods.

Day off. After 21 days on, I had a day coming to me this week or next, but today wasn't the planned day; it's just how it turned out. Went to bed late, got up late, and scrambled to get work done before heading to campus. When I got home, it was time for me to make dinner. After my last rest day 3 weeks ago, I found that it left me feeling if not fresh then at least not dead.

Legs feel pretty good today, but I can tell I ran pretty hard. The photo also suggests I was working harder than I thought: #raceface

Schuykill River Trail toward Valley Forge and back - 20.5 miles, averaged 7:49

Got a little warm at the end (75 or so). Great fall weather.