Boston Strong

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.