Boston Strong

73deg, 88% hum

Legs were tired this morning, 50 yards in almost threw in the towel, but decided it was best to get some blood moving through legs to help recover.  Couple days of rest will feel good, & hopefully I will be in  a much better race state of mind come Monday, than I am in right now!

Went to Spin class at gym to loosen legs, ran 1 mile on treadmill at 6:30 pace.  Running 6.2 at that pace in the heat is hard to imagine!  We'll see on Monday, I will just go with the flow as long as I can, will be surrounded by lots of fast runners!

AM - Buford Dam Trail run with Alex

 PM - 3 miles on hilly stretch of closed road - 1/4 mile intervals - fast down/recovery up.

 AM - Track workout with Alex

5k pyramid workout ... my goal is to get Alex do be able to run a sub 21 minute 5k this fall ... so I wanted him to get comfortable with that pace and see how he handled it as the workout progressed.  He did great, and then told me he wanted to time himself in a 100 meter, where he proceeded to smoke me by about 5yardfs … so I guess the day has arrived where he is officially faster than me!  Crap!!

A 20:40 5k equates to a 6:40 pace, which is basically 1:40 per 400 or 25 seconds per 100.  I paced Alex on these intervals, trying to hit 25 sec per 100 by hitting my lap button at each 100.  I actually was running a little faster, as I was in Lane 2 the whole way.  He nailed the splits for the whole workout … said he couldn’t do the final 1600, but I told him to just do his best, & he held the pace for it.

800 meter - Warmup    

400 meter - 1:40          (1:40) - actual time is in parantheses

400 meter - Recovery  

800 meter - 3:20          (3:13)

400 meter - Recovery  

1000 meter - 4:10        (4:08)

400 meter - Recovery  

1200 meter - 5:00        (4:59)

400 meter - Recovery  

1600 meter - 6:40        (6:39)

800 meter Recovery    

5k Pace - 3.1 miles      (20:39)

Easy Pace - 2 miles    

As far as my mileage, I guess you could say I am taking a mid-summer break from high mileage!

75 deg, 100% hum

8 miles with Alex, his previous long was 5.  AP was 8:45

Yes, this was my long run for the week ... staying in single digits until cooler weather arrives

I read race reports of people faster than me today ... will that make me faster?  :)

I also was encouraged when I saw that the guy that beat me by 12 seconds at my half in June, ran a 3:03 marathon on a flat course in January.  So I think it is realistic for me to shoot for a sub 3 in October on a downhill course, and I would be thrilled with a 3:05 too ... still plenty of time to get ready!

All my best races have come with almost no running the previous week & very low mileage the week before that ... so I am resting this week ... but will throw in some shorter speed work sessions.  Racing a steep downhill half next Saturday, goal is sub 1:24, a cool, dry weather front would really help!  If it is hot & humid, I will accept whatever time I run, but still shoot for my stretch goal (really the only goal I have!)

Lastly, a huge congrats to the U.S. Womens soccer team on defeating Brazil in penalty kicks in the World Cup quarterfinal match today!

Thanks be to God!  I had a very trying week which involved no running (although I am a big advocate of pre-race rest), very little sleep, and anything but optimal race preparation.  Plan was to get up here early, drive the course, eat, etc ... arrived at midnight & immediately crashed.

I signed up for this race for only 1 reason, a sub 1:24 gets me a top seed at the Peachtree 10k next year & qualifies me to join the Atlanta Track Club competitive Masters team, which has many benefits.

Based on my week, I figured I would give it my all, but not be upset if I did not achieve my time goal.  I felt pretty good as the race got going, confidence was building, but I knew it was going to be close.  I kept reminding myself to keep pushing and hopefully the clock would read 1:23:something when it came into view.

When I saw the clock from about 50 yards away it read 1:23:53 ... Crap!  I broke into an all out sprint & actually dove head first across the finishing mat (gotta love the dramatics - lol)  I actually slammed the mat with my fist in frustration ... thought I finished in 1:24 flat ... race director was right there & checked my official time .. told me I was sub 1:24 by a 1/4 second.  WooHoo!

Celebrating rest of weekend in mtns.!

 Splits Update

Phase 1 - Mile 1-3:  6:50 pace plan (Banked 38 seconds)

1 - 6:25 - gradual uphill, flat - went for a faster start than planned, was in 5th place, but not trying to hang on to lead runners

2- 6:59 - gradual rolling hills flat - figure I better pull back, my plan was 6:50 pace for first 3 miles, got passed by a pack of 5, let them go, but did pick it back up a little to keep them close.

3 - 6:28 - Start of downhill, last mile on pavement

Phase 2 - Mile 4-6:  6:10 pace plan (Banked 20 seconds) ... although my garmin was starting to hit mile splits before the mile markers, as it was impossible to run tangents unless you wanted to plow through mud ... I figured my watch would read at least 13.2 at finish if not more ... so my goal splits had less meaning, because I knew I would have to keep banking time to cover the extra distance.

4- 6:06 - Steeper downhill starts - entering national forest, beautiful scenery, cool mist, although gravel road was muddy/slick in places from some rain, had to pick your path carefully over the next 8 miles to avoid mud & slick spots on sharp curves.

5- 5:54 - My legs are starting to loosen up & I felt pretty good, this was the first point in the race I got the feeling I could reach my goal, as long as I didn't wipe out!

6- 6:10 - I love downhill running!

Phase 3 - Mile 7:  6:30 pace plan  (Lost 31 seconds)

7- 7:01  - Ugh - gave back a bunch here. Some gradual downhill, flat & a pretty long uphill.  I was being a little conservative as I knew I could make up time on the downhill ahead, as long as my legs held together, so I tried to conserve a little on the uphill, but was still pushing pretty hard.

Phase 4 - Mile 8-11"  6:10 pace plan (banked 17 seconds)

Mile 8 - 5:45 - ok, that 7 minute mile got in my head a little & I was a little concerned, so I set my sights on two runners ahead of me & went after them ... and passed them.

Mile 9 - 6:19 - Backed off a little (not much), as I knew there was still along ways to go.

Mile 10 - 6:27 - Another fairly long gradual uphill ... what the @#$%^ ... was not expecting this!  There was still plenty of downhill ... but there is no way I am going to avg a 6:10 going uphill at this point!  Everytime I felt like I was on track to hit my goal, an unexpected bump would come along and make me question it!  Nearing the top of the hill, I heard footsteps behind me, and they coulld not have come at a better time as my pace was really dropping off.  No way was I getting passed, so I powered up the last 20 yards & threw it into high gear for the downhill.

Mile 11 - 5:54 - I knew this was the last section with steep downhill, and knew that it was up in the air as to whether I would break 1:24, so I felt like I had to get back what I had lost in the last mile ... oh & I was able to pass another runner in this section too, which helped.

Phase 5 - Last 2.1 miles   6:30 pace plan  (Lost a lot of time here because my pace plan was for 2.1 miles, not 2.2, although I did avg. a 6:33 pace over this section)

Mile 12 - 6:24 - ok ... my body is really starting to not be too happy with me at this point, but with less than 2 miles to go, I am determined.  By this point I have pretty much figured out I have a pretty good chance of hitting my goal, but know it is going to be close ... just trying to hang on.

Mile 13 - 6:59 - ok ... you have got to be kidding me!  Although this mile had a slight net downhill, there was a long gradual climb that I swear lasted at least a half mile, this was totally unexpected, and I was not happy to have things slipping away from me, I probably should have pushed a little harder here, but I was starting to get concerned that I was either going to throw up or just give out ... I prayed a lot of the race ... but I think I spent the better portion of that mile cussing the uphill!

Last .2 miles - 5:10 pace - This was pretty flat ... but it also was supposed to be 0.1 not 0.2 ... but at least I was expecting it based on my previous watch splits at the mile markers.  This is also where I made the pre-race mistake of not being able to switch the view on my watch to where I could see seconds, as I run with 4 data windows on my watch, so once you pass 1 hour, you only get minutes on total time not seconds.  Great my watch now reads 1:23 & I have about 0.2 miles to go!  I started pushing  harder & harder, until I was in an all out sprint at the finish!  And yes, I did actually dive head first across the finish line to try to break 1:24 ... which in hindsight was pretty stupid, because my timing chip was on my shoelace!  I still can't believe I made my goal by a 1/4 of a second, God was running with me!

Official time: 1:23:59.75

I am in PA, visiting my parents for a while ... one would think if you drove 700 miles north you might get a little cooler weather ... it is hotter ... forecast to hit 100 next 2 days.

Did progression run with Alex this morning along the river.  Lots of options for flat running around here, which I intend on taking advantage & taking a break from the hills of Atl!

Legs finally started feeling better today, until I ran ... calves are still tight & feeling abused ... so I will ease back into things, but return to daily running.  Brought my bike as well, as I plan to incorporate more cross-training.

 9:00, 8:30, 8:00, 7:30  Someone was complaining and whining about the heat and being dehydrated (and no, it was not me), he hung on to hit the target splits I had set, but stopped at 4 & skipped the mile cool down.  We walked up to the corner store to get some water, and walked home the last mile.  Good run though.

Easy 4 along river @ 8:30 pace, calves still hurting.

PM - 9:00 ... still 92 degrees ... Rode an easy 5 miles along river on bike to loosen legs, running on section of Appalachian trail in morning.

9 am - 90 degrees - 5 @ 10:30 AP on AT with Alex

Probably will run a few more this evening, after it cools back down to 95!

Legs felt better today, so race basically required a 5 day recovery!

4 miles along river with Alex followed by 30 minutes on bike to cool down/dry off!

7:38, 7:25, 7:03, 8:40 ... AP: 7:42

7 am - 84 deg, 70% hum

Progression run:  9:18, 8:55, 8:22, 7:56, 7:41, 6:27, 8:52

AP:  8:10

This was my long run, maybe with a little cooler weather I can get a 10 mile in this week ... really need to build mileage back up over next 10 weeks to a minimum of 50 mpw, marathon is in 13 weeks.

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 8:30 pm - 88 deg, 55% hum

5.5 easy miles along river:  8:43, 8:13, 8:20, 8:16, 8:08, 8:26 pace

AP:  8:21

Last day of running with Alex for a little while, as I am putting him on a plane to head back to ATL this afternoon.. He did not want to run this morning, but came around & decided to do a 5k time trial as he will have to do one next week for cross country.  We went to a great trail in a nature center close by that has a nice 3.1 mile loop, a few hills, but nothing too bad.  He stopped at around 2 & 2.5 miles, because he forgot to go to bathroom before he left ... but after short breaks started running again.  Running time was 21:46, his goal was to break 22 ... so a good run for him.

After running 12 yesterday, I pretty much lagged behind a little bit & stopped at 3 miles ... I am not ready to concede he is faster at a 5k, but it probably won't be long, and he certainly is not slowing me down at that distance!

My splits were 7:35, 7:16, 7:18.  Will probably run 5+ easy miles this evening ... I am committed to 50 mpw to prep for my marathon, even if it takes running twice a day until some cooler temps arrive!

AM - 80 deg - Ran 6.2 AP 7:40 - felt pretty good once I got going.

8:34, 7:39, 7:40, 7:29, 7:28, 7:14, 0.2 @7:08

7 PM - 88 deg, 40 % hum  (will take that over 80 deg & 90% any day!)

Nice 5 miles @ 7:33 AP, good portion shaded along river, getting spoiled by no hills!

7:44, 7:11, 7:08, 7:08, 8:29

Well ... a 4 hour adventure is not really what I had in mind when I ventured out this morning, but it is what I got!  I headed to the Appalachian Trail, and when I arrived I realized I had forgotten my Garmin.  So I looked at the trailhead map, complete with mileage markers & elevation chart, and decided to run down to the Susquehannah River & across the bridge as I figured there would be a place to refill my water bottle for the return trip.  This would be 7.3 miles with about a 1,000' feet of drop, so I figured I would just get in a good long run & not worry about speed!

RATNOT!  This is the cuss word I made up in the first couple miles of the trail ... which I repeated throughout most of the run!  Due to the RATNOT (rocky and technical nature of trail) it was really not conducive to running at all!  I ran where I could, but every step required a dodge left or right to find suitable footing!  Over 50% of the footstrikes where on stones, not dirt trail, and the ones that were on dirt required maneuvering to find it ... I felt like a tailback shaking defenders with left & right sidesteps for most of the run.

Within the first half mile, I managed to strain my left calf, twist my right ankle, and narrowly avoid 2 faceplants with toe stubs ... so I slowed the pace & walked where necessary.  The calf & ankle were minor & did not linger, so I was fine to continue.  It was actually harder going down than up, as gravity gave fwd momentum, it was harder to find sound footing!  I made it to the halfway point in about 1hr 45 min & the return in about 2 hrs.  I managed to stay on my feet until the last mile where I managed to get both hands out in front of me to avoid a full faceplant when I took a dive.

I was rewarded with some spectacular views of the Susquehannah valley, came up on a couple flocks of turkeys, and saw about a half dozen large hawks circling overhead, who I think were eyeing the turkeys for lunch.  So call it what you want ... trail run, hike, rock climbing/jumping, cob web clearing, whatever ... it was a good 4 hour workout that benefited leg strength more than being much of an aerobic workout.  I am pretty sure it will pay dividends for time on my feet for my fall marathon.

Best part was about a mile down the road from the trail head was an ice cream stand, so I got to suck down a large chocolate shake on the drive back home!

PM - went to track for a little speed work to flush legs out!

400m warmup, 6:14 mile, 400m recovery, 5:47 mile, 800m cooldown

Focused on form & faster cadence

Ran for 1 hr, nice & easy

Almost opted for a rest day, but went out for 5 at 9:00 - wanted to do one fast mile, but threw in the towel at 1/2 & then did 2 1/4 mile pickups, the rest easy pace.

Mile 1:  7:46

Mile 2:  7:13  (1st 1/2 at 5:58 pace)

Mile 3  7:39  (included 1/4 mile @ 5:26 pace)

Mile 4   7:31  (included 1/4 mile at 5:08 pace)

Mile 5   9:37

I think I need a coach if I am ever going to break 18 minutes in a 5k, speed kills me!

Took River path to the end, was 6 miles & to my pleasant surprise there was a Powerade drink machine in front of a fire station, so I was hydrated for the return run.  Started out just wanting to keep miles under 8:00, got progressively faster.  Decided to run Mile 11 fast & rewarded myself by walking the last mile home, giving me a chance to cool down & dry off so I was not dripping with sweat when I walked back in the house!   There was a very nice breeze out.  I then rode 12 miles on my bike with my dad on the same path, at about the same pace ... lol ... dad is 77.  That made for a really nice cool down for the legs.

ran 4 miles, AP 7:58, AHR: 134

bike14 miles, 14 mph, AHR: 109