Random Inspirational Quote

Off work for labor day - can't believe its already September.  AM longish run at recovery pace.  Ran the Walking Dead season (movie rentals) back to the movie store and ran easy pace for about 2hrs.  16mi. Long Run - 2:11:20. Decent weather. about 75 degrees, and still a little humid.

easy 10 miles recovery pace in the evening after kid in bed - felt great throughout the first part of the run.  not so much in the last half.  legs are lingering right on the edge fresh and sore.

Double Day:

Part 1 - 7AM: WU 2mi. over to fairgrounds, 8mi. MP - 51:40 (6:27.5/mi. avg.), around fairgrounds for several loops and then back overto neighborhood for last half.  CD jog.  The weather this morning was pretty good - about 65 degrees and foggy with lower humidity.  Hoping for this kind of weather or better here in 25 days.  I felt much better at this pace than I ahve have been, thankfully.  10.3 mi. total - 1:09:59

Part 2 - 8PM

WU w/ 3 mi. cutting down, into Threshold Reps - about 10k effort - 5x0.75 mi. @10k w/ 0.25 rec. jog - about 6:00/mi. pace avg. - 4:27, 4:22, 4:22, 4:19, 4:21.  I really wanted this workout to be about 4hrs after the AM workout, but, as usual, that pesky job thing that I have to do got in the way. 8mi. total - 55:48

AM1: Tiff to the doctor this morning.  Me and the kid at the house for a couple hours.  I decided to take the plunge and finally take our little bubble boy out in the jogging stroller.  Thankfully, he did great nad actually loved it.  No problem.  Daddy struggled with this new added weight to push.  Tough to hang on to 8:00 pace with all the neighborhood turns and the non-swivel front wheel.  2.55- 22:16

AM2: mommy home and daddy out for the recovery run during nap time.  started getting hot, so this turned into a little more than I wanted out of the recovery that this was supposed to be - 11mi. - 90 minutes.  Hopped on the scale after post run meal this morning and discovered that I am lighter than I have ever been.  

slow 10 miles with some seriously bad food sitting in my stomach from the day of gluttonous indulgence 1:29 - barely under 9 min. pace.  night time run and it was still 88 degrees and humid

23 mile Long Run with 15mi. AT - 1:40:52 (6:42.8/mi. avg.) Decent weather - overcast and about 75 with a breeze.  Still a bit warm and humid. Practiced with the GU gels today - yum :(.  Aerobically good, but still running on some tired and sore legs. 

AM: 19.2 mi. Long Run w/ 5mi. cutdown - decided to simulate the finish from last years' Mill Race Full where I crashed and burned badly.  Lots of unexpected turns and in and out (going away from the direction of the finish line) of neighborhoods that I am familiar with. Last year, this reeked havoc with me mentally, since I ahd a good idea where I was and knew that at times I was running away from the finish line at a spot in the race where I was already struggling.  At about 20 miles, this kind of winding path toward downtown Columbus and the finish line begins.  So, I ran that today.  Took the pace down in to the low 6's for last couple miles to really drive it home in my mind.  Cut down splits were 6:45, 6:15, 6:13, 6:04, 6:01.

This capped off another solid week with 110 miles total.  This was my final hard/high volume week prior to Mill Race Marathon.

early AM: easy 30 minute shakeout - about 9 min. pace.  Clear and crisp outside!  55 degrees with stars and big, nearly full moon

PM run - after dark - easy hour - 7 miles

PM: night run - Carr Hill Rd Hill workout in the dark.  3x0.8mi. hill + 2x0.3mi. hill  @  LT with about 2-4% consistently climbing.  10K CUT DOWN TO MILE EFFORT ON THESE - OUCH

Pushed Jude around the block X2 after work and called it quits.

PM: Night run - 60 degrees and breezy - feeling like fall more and more.  WU 2 mi. and in to an

8 mile tempo - 49:47 (6:13avg.)  Took it out at what felt like a little quicker than MP for first 4 miles and then cut down.  Weather is a huge mental boost.

PM night run: 9 mi. w/ 8x15-20 sec. strides - 1:13  Great weather - 55-60 degrees and a little chill in the air.

AM 22.5 mi. Long Run with 18 mi. MP - 1:56:37 (6:28.7 avg.). 

7:02, 6:46, 35, 36,32,23,25,29,26,28,27,32,26,17,29,33,20,24,29,

CD - 8:04, 7:50, 7:38, 7:35

Hurting a bit in the legsm but aerobically, I found myself rarely feeling taxed.  A couple headwinds felt tough, but that was about it.

Changed my mind about the series 5k this morning, realizing I really needed a long run workout.  The local running club is free, has water stops, and there were plenty of people out running with them this morning - enough for me.  They are really a great group of people and have some generous dedicated folks making sure everybody is taken care of out there.  

Wonderful weather this morning - I was actually cold in long sleeve shirt!  Very nice.  The times and MP effort was where it should have been for most of this run.  Big confidence builder - really what I needed more than anything, after a bunch of MP workouts in the humidity not turning out so well.

It actually took me a couple miles to get warmed up, but then the cooling breeze and fall like temp really helped. 

Noonish recovery run - sunny and 60 degrees.  12mi. real slow and depleted from yesterday - 1:40:52.

Off - time to taper for Marathon #1

AM: easy 3.1 miles - 25 minutes

PM: Track workout - yasso 800s style:  WU about 2 miels on track and into coninuous workout: 8x0.5mi. LT w/ 0.25mi. rec. jog.  This went well - (about 2:40 average for these) 5:20 pace was hard but manageable - felt like maybe a 5k effort on a good day. 

2:39, 2:40, 2:40, 2:40, 2:41, 2:40, 2:37, 2:40

Weather ahs been ideal, as well - let's hope that continues.

AM: easy 5k before work - about 25 minutes.  Foggy on the ground, but clear sjies overhead.  about 45 degrees - needed a warm hat. 

PM: easy 45 minutes - about 5.2 miles.  Weather is wonderful

Early PM run - house to Harrison Lakes and back.  13.25 miles at easy pace - 1:49:02.  Feeling a little depleted near the end.  

Had the day off work for the wife's... (dramatic pause) ultrasound!!  We are expecting our second kid, now - looks like the due date is...  (dramatic pause and drum roll)  April 22nd.  That's right, boys and girls - no Boston again for this daddy.  This time, we at least knew before the registration week, and I didn't waste my money again.

AM - easy 28:23 - 3.28 miles before work - clear skies with stars and quiet - its nice.

PM run - waiting for flat tire change for car at Walmart after work - 6.51 miles w/ 8xhill strides - 54:21

AM run before quafftoberfest beer mile - 13.5 miles w/ 3x Threshold efforts - 1.5mi., 1mi., 1mi. @ something faster than MP. 

Beer Mile - 2014 Champ right here!  At Quafftoberfest, a beer and music festival in Bean Blossom, IN at Bill Monroe Music Center.  My first attempt at this beer mile, thing, I DNFed.  IT is a horrible sick feeling to sprint and then chug beer!  I did much better this time:  The challenge today included the following drinks/running: 

1. chug one QuaffON! Six Blonde beer,    2. run 0.25miles,   3. chug a HareTrigger IPA beer,   4. run 0.25miles,  

5. chug a Busted Knuckle beer,   6. run 0.25 miles,   7. chug a PBR (  :(   ) beer,   8. run the final 0.25miles. 

This went great until the PBR - I barely kept that one down.  I did manage to barely break 7 minutes and win.  You just have a really gross, sick feeling when doing this until your heart comes down.   :)

cool down jog to settle stomach - 3miles

AM: easy 10 miles around the neighborhood and Tipton Lakes area - 1:21:07.  Taper week for reals

PM: easy 4.3 miles - about 35 minutes. Taper week.

Off - Taper for Mill Race Marathon

AM: loops around the neighborhood before work with

4x0.5mi. @ Threshold - 3:06, 2:56, 2:55, 2:55. 

5mi. total - 35:29. 

PM: stroller pushing jog for 1 mile with the kid - about 10 minutes.

AM before work - easy 30 min. in the neighborhood - 3.5 miles

PM: 3.5 mi. with 8x10-20sec strides - 25 min.

7:30 am - Mill Race Marathon - "TRAIN!!" and Side Cramps :(

Great weather this morning - about 55 degrees at the start and lo humidity.  I felt great at the start line.  Away we went down Washington in downtown Columbus and turning left in to Mill Race Park.  We get about half around the loop and hear the funniest thing - a train whistle!  Knowing that the train tracks cross the course ( and block it), I take a disbelieving look toward the downtrack location that the whistle came from.  Sure enough, a train! :(  So, the pace we were running would've put us right in front of the train, so we stepped on the gas just a bit and literally crossed 100 feet in front of the slow moving train.  Not so lucky for the 4000+ people behind us.  What a scandal - the city coordinated with the railroad properly before the race - the train conductor is quoted as saying " I thought I could make it through before the race would cross"...  Anyway, kind of non-factor for my race, fortunately, other than the 6:18 second mile I had to throw down to beat the train.  After calming the heart rate back down, I was feeling good and hitting every mile split fast or right on:

Miles 1 - 13.1:  6:23, 18, 6:24, 26, 21, 20, 24, 22, 23, 25, 24, 27, 27, 29 -- 1:23:48 for my GPSed half split.

So, the often made comment applies here- my GPSed distance at the timing mat for the half mark was 13.4 already.  

Its beside the point really, anyway because at this point, I was already feeling those nasty gels just sitting in my stomach and not moving - uh oh :(.  Not 30 seconds later,  "my left side gut knotted up" (I know- very technical) and became very painful very quickly.  I walked through the mile 14.5ish water station and lifted the hands over the head trying to get rid of it.  No luck.  So the long jog and slog and sour stomach for the rest of the race proceeded.  The knots/stitches did not go away for 3-4 miles and I found myself jogging in the 7-8minute range most of the way.  Broke down and walked 2 or 3 more times.  Looks like on the pace graph that I stopped 3 times.  Here's the splits after it got ugly:

7:13, 6:46, 6:58, 7:19, 7:43, 8:00, 8:26, 7:11, 7:09, 7:30, 7:51, 8:02, 3:51 for 0.46mi.  Meaning that I ran about 1:40 for the second half :)

Finished in 3:03:40.  Not a good race, but an intersting day.   

No more of this eating gels early on in the race - I'm carrying 2 (max) with caffeine in them, and only eating them if I feel like I'm hungry or depleted. 

I'm going to experiment with some other gels here in the next couple weeks.  Honestly, in my longest/best training run in this cycle (18mi. @ 6:28 avg.), I only drank gatorade, some water, and 2 gels.  I'm going to do more to find a better balance on the calcium and sodium intake maybe - read this somewhere about what could cause gut cramps like I have been: "... imbalance of blood electrolytes (such as calcium, potassium, and sodium)"   Several folks have recommended sodium pills to balance gels

This was a good training run, all the same, and Columbus, OH Marathon seemed to always be the more realistic "A" race anyway with the way the heat really wreaked havoc with Mill Race last year.  Its likely to be 10-15 degrees cooler, and hopefully I'll sort out the gut issue.

http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/599914190

Mill Race Start - QuaffON guys

Me pointing at the train...

Mill Race - Mile 14ish

And the Finish (last 12 miles)...

AM - bike to starbucks and wlamart - 10 miles easy pace.

AM2 - easy shakeout run - 3.5 miles - about 30 minutes

PM: easy 5 miles around the hood - about 45 minutes.

AM: easy 30 min. before work around the hood - about 3.5 miles.  Legs are just fine.  Almost as if I ran about half the marathon at MP and the rest at 7:30-8min. miles...

PM: spoke too soon - pretty painful 7 minutes and gave up on it this evening - 0.7 mi. :)