The Long Run

It was great weather and a really fun course. A few months ago I was hoping for a faster time, then at one point I had come close to scrapping this marathon completely, which turned into I think I can complete it but it will be real slow, finally to "I'll see what I can do"

Having missed a full month of running, followed by building back up with lots of slower miles including some treadmill miles I came back pretty well and came pretty close to being back to 100%.

The traffic to get to the race was rather heavy. With less than a mile to get to the start line cars were crawling. So, finally at 6:00 I did what others were doing, and got out of the car and walked the rest of the way while my brother stayed in the car and headed towards the spectator parking.

I made it to my corral after a good walking warm up including a pretty big hill up Laurel Street. I grabbed some salt packets at the corral entrance and took one, finishing off my Gatorade. Before I knew it, it was time to start and we were off. Not sure what kind of pace I was going to get, but I would soon find out. Despite the crowds I managed a 7:57 for the first mile, feeling pretty good. The next 5 miles were downhill over about a 275 foot drop to downtown. I made up a little bit of time but did not want to get too carried away.

While running through downtown I saw a guy with no shirt on who had written on his back "Follow me to Boston - 3:20", his name was Kenny. He was planning on doing a negative split. I ran with him for a while but eventually pulled ahead as I didn't want to have to do too much of a negative split. Besides I wasn't really planning on going for BQ today but hadn't ruled it out either.

Just after seven miles the course began to climb back up the to the starting elevation. From yesterday's run I knew it wouldn't be that tough. At about mile 9, I saw my brother and his family, they had made two signs, one with a big smiley face and one that said "Uncle Mark Rocks!". They had found a really good spot to cheer me on along the 163 Highway. There weren't many people around them as it didn't look very easy to get to. I was curious as to how they could have gotten there with two small kids, oh well, they had done it and I was glad to see them.

At about 9.8 miles one of the volunteers shouted - "you're almost at the top of the hill!", then i was going down hill for the next 3.3 miles or so. It felt really good. Again, I tried not to get too carried away as there was still a lot more running to go.

The course flattened out and I was continuing to make pretty good splits.

Then, at about 16 point something miles I ran into a glitch. My pace started slowing dramatically, but I didn't feel slower. Maybe I was crashing? But I didn't seem to be slowing compared to others. I was fiddling with my Garmin, then I looked up and could see Kenny's back, up ahead a little bit. He had started his negative split and was moving pretty good.

I saw the 17 mile sign, but my Garmin said said 16.77 miles. Well that explains the pace. Then the pace was gone. I tried turning it off and back on but it never found the signal again. Now, it was just a stopwatch. And now, I was no longer going to be able to stick to a pace by watching my Garmin. I managed to hang in there and saw that I wasn't slowing down that much, however I was slowing down a bit but nothing too drastic.

Miles 21 - 25 were not very pleasant. The scenery wasn't very nice for much of it. But I was picking off the miles. I wasn't sure what kind of time I would get, but my whole strategy was to just keep going and try to keep it under 8:00, which I pretty much did.

Finally I saw the entrance to the Marine Corps base, knowing the finish line was close, and it was!

Here are my chip splits:

10K - 48:07
Half - 1:40:57
21M - 2:42:32
Finish - 3:24:18

There were many good things about this race, it was a lot of fun and it was great to see my brother and his family (I think they must have almost walked a marathon distance to see me, including climbing over a fence and down a steep highway embankment to see me run). While I was running, I thought about the people who would be watching my times online each time I made it to one of the chip sensor mats - Jenny and her friends and family, my brother Jim, and my running friends. There were a lot of people supporting me so that I could make it to the finish line. I was glad that I hadn't scratched doing this one, and had made it to see Dr. Denys who said nothing was broken, then Joe the PT who helped fix me and told me to get a good sports massage, and Jessica, my massage therapist, who helped fix me the rest of the way.

Thanks everyone!

Well, after 1 week off from running I had to start somewhere. As promised, I finally rode my bike to the Y instead of driving, I had been holding off until after the marathon. So, the bike ride was the warm up (about 20 minutes). Ran on the treadmill for 2.5 miles. Felt pretty good, although I could tell that there was still some knots in my calves left over from the marathon that just need to get run out.

Sammy woke me up at 4:30 this morning, barking at something (not quite sure what).  I had some trouble going back to sleep but was able to finally fall asleep just before having to wake up just after 6:00.  I did a loop around the neighborhood on the bike.  The air felt nice and cool this morning.  I went back inside and stretched a little bit and told Jenny that I was going for my run now so she could be ready when I got back.   I just ran 3.4 miles at an average pace of 8:34.  First 1/2 mile felt a little bit hard and sluggish and I realized that this was my first run outside since the marathon.  After 1 mile I was feeling pretty good.  Left calf was a bit better today, it's working itself out.   And of course yesterday mornings massage really helped!  I was starting to get spoiled with these, having had 4 in the past month to help my recovery (3 for the injury and one for post marathon).   Next one won't be for another month, so hopefully that is not being too spoiled :)

I had thought about doing 5 miles but since the sun was getting higher and since I'm trying to be careful, I cut it a little bit short.

I'm going to run a 5K on Saturday, but slower since I'll be running with Noah.   There should be lots of people there from my running group so that will be good to catch up with them. 

Another day of getting back to normal.   Once again the weather was fairly decent, those days are numbered so I'm enjoying them while they last.  I did my new warm up, a loop around the neighborhood on my bike, then did some stretching.  At the last minute I decided on a route - out to SR 54, up Starkey Blvd until I had run far enough and then back.

Started out slowly, and gradually settled into a comfortable pace, like yesterday, first 0.5 miles were uncomfortable, not painful, just slow and a little bit stiff in my lower legs.   Kept moving and felt better.  I cared a small bottle filled with accelerade, which I might have gotten by without it this morning but I figured why not bring some?  since it doesn't bother me too much to carry it.

Average pace: 8:47 

It felt good to get more than just a couple of miles or so.  Feeling back to normal almost. 

The mileage is kind of a guesstimate.   I was out of town on Thursday.  I was staying at a hotel in the Atlanta area and planned on doing about 4 on the treadmill.   There were three treadmills, two busy and one broken.  I got on the elliptical for a little bit and almost thought about scrapping the run but it was a pretty decent weather outside.  I wasn't familiar with any of the roads or where to run but I could hear  Sasha's voice telling me to just go outside and run around the parking lot.

Well, actually it was nicer than that, the hotel was next to a strip mall on one side and an office park 1/4 mile down the road.   So I was able to do a big loop through the connecting parking lots and drives.  I ran for 27.5 minutes but ran out of time otherwise I would have done more since I was feeling pretty good at the end of the run.  It was pretty hilly and I wasn't going all that fast but not too slow so I'm going to put down 3.1 miles for this run. 

Back at home this morning. It was nice that I didn't get in very late last night so I woke up feeling pretty fresh. I needed to be back home by about 10 minutes before 8 so Jenny could get to the Y early enough. I woke up a little bit early and rode my bike to the Y. I shaved off some time since the last time I rode there, down to about 15 minutes.

I hit the treadmill for 4.1 miles, overall pace was about 8:25 with some playing around with the speed. Did some weights (just leg extensions and bench press), then biked back just in time.

Jenny left for the Y and I spent some time doing some stretching and some other exercises.

Calf tightness from the beginning of the week is completely gone. I still can feel a little bit in my hip in the injury area if I speed up, so I'm going to keep the speed down for a while but add back in some of the miles.

I was originally going to run with Noah and Jenny was going to run with Andy, but Noah had skipped a lot of his training and Jenny's abs were pretty sore from a Tae Kwon Do class, so I ran with Andy instead and Jenny and Noah cheered us on. It was a really nice course along the Cotee river, with lots of shade trees. Weather was a little bit warm but pretty decent for June. There were also lots of my running friends there who I had not seen for a while.

Andy's last 5k was about a month ago with a 31:40 time, which he ran by himself. For this one he had done some pretty regular training. So, I knew he was capable of going faster but didn't want to push him too hard and risk blowing a PR (as well as possibly turning him off to running). So, the goal was to break 30:00.

Andy, Noah and I did a brief warm up (0.33 miles) while we were waiting, then Andy and I headed over to the starting line.

The gun went off and we took off with the crowd (about 300 or so people I think). We took off a little bit too fast, first mile at 9:07. Andy was holding up pretty good. Second mile was 9:36 which included a brief slowdown at the water stop. Still, well on track for sub 30:00. Once we were in the last mile Andy was going a little bit faster, especially at the 2.5 mile point. Last mile came in about 9:05.

We went through the finish chute but did not look at the clock and I forgot to turn off my Garmin until a little bit later (I stopped it at 28:55). Waiting on the results to get posted.

They had really great refreshments - lots of fresh fruit, muffins, Carraba's Italian restaurant food, Smoothie King, Starbucks coffee. One of the amazing things was that this was an inaugural 5K. The organizers included people from my running group, some people from the Y and running coach from the local high school. It was very well run.

Andy got a medal for first place in the boys 9 and under group, and Jenny's friend Jodi got first place in her age group. When they called out the name for 1st place, 9 and under Andy's heart sank - they were one letter off on the last name so he thought it was someone else (now that would have been a real bummer if there really was a 9 year old boy whose first and last names were the same except for one letter!) Jenny felt a little bit left out because lots of people did well today, sorry about that Jenny. Thanks for letting me run this one!

I biked up to the Y this morning (about 15 minutes). Stretched, got onto the treadmill for 30 minutes (3.55 miles), then ran outside. A bit warm and humid but I didn't mind because I wasn't going too far, 4.01 miles at 7:54 pace. Back inside to stretch and do some lower body weights then got on my bike and rode home. It felt good today to get back to a more typical amount of miles for me. I'm also starting to really like the bike ride. My gas mileage has improved because this means I'm cutting out a bunch of short stop and go trips for the week.

It was a pretty good run this morning.  It keeps getting warmer but the beginning of the run is not too bad.   Warm up on the bike with one loop around the neighborhood followed by some stretching.   I felt a little bit sluggish at first, and ended up stopping briefly after 1 mile to try and loosen up - felt better after that and kept going.   Part of the reason for the sluggish start might have been that I skipped my first thing in the morning snack which I never do.

Average pace: 8:12 

Able to get back home by a about 7:45 so Jenny could get started before 8:00 and not have to suffer too much - she contemplated heading to the Y for the treadmill but decided to just go out and do it.

No running today.

 I did bike to the Y, did lower body weights, then biked home.

Still aiming for low 30's this week before adding some more miles the next week.
 

Nice run to help get me ready for the day.  I have an interviewee coming in today, it's not stressful but just out of my ordinary routine, so I was feeling a little bit off.   I woke up and got going without too much delay this morning.  Rode the bike around the neighborhood for a warm up, stretched a bit then headed back out for my run.  It had been raining last night so it was a little bit cooler this morning with good cloud cover.   Started out nice and slow and about a mile into the run I stopped to retie my shoe.  Then it started to rain but not very heavy.  I think it pretty much rained the rest of the run but very lightly, almost like a mist.

Ran the route from my house, out onto 54, up Starkey Blvd and then back.   As usual the return trip was faster.  Last mile was about a 7:20ish pace.

Average pace: 8:20 

Jenny said I looked very "wet" when I walked back in the door.  At that point I realized that I felt a lot warmer than I had thought so I got into the pool for a couple of minutes.   This was almost a disaster because I forgot to remove my Garmin.   Fortunately I didn't really go that deep into the water so I think it should be ok.   whoops! 

Biked up to the Y this morning. Did some stretching, got onto the treadmill. Jenny's friend Kathryn has been running on various treadmills and comparing them to the results on her Garmin 405 with foot pod and seeing a wide range of results. I got onto one that Kathryn says is one of the better calibrated ones.

I pretty much ran easy except for the end where I cranked up the speed a bit for about 0.25 miles. Average pace around 8:15

Stretched and did some upper body weights then biked home. It had warmed up a lot when I stepped back outside, but it is not so bad to bike in the warmer weather.

PM - One mile with Noah and Andy at 11:20 pace.

I drove to Starkey park for my run this morning.  I didn't feel too wasteful driving since I have cut out all driving trips to the Y since getting back from San Diego.  The weather was warm and cloudy.  My running group was meeting at Starkey but I didn't coordinate with any of the other runners so I ended up running by myself, but it was nice to see everyone before the run and after the run.

Started out nice and slow until warmed up but didn't try anything too fast.  When I got just past 5 miles I turned around to head back.  There was lightning in the distance but it was heading closer so I was a little bit worried.  There was some very light rain which felt nice and kept things cool.  For the most part it was pretty uneventful, no problems to report.  No huge flys buzzing me (maybe the repellent actually worked this time).  I brought my ipod but ended up not turning it on since I was actually enjoying the quiet  while running.

Average pace: 8:17 

Hung out for a bit after the run and then headed home just in time as Jenny was starting a very delicious batch of pancakes.  The weather rolled in more so we decided to cancel boating again this week (at least today).   Maybe next week! 

After dinner (we biked to a nearby restaurant), I took the boys and Sammy for a quick run, a little bit faster than the last 1 mile run because we were all warmed up from the bike ride.  Then we jumped into the pool and swam for a bit.  This was a nice way to end the day since it had pretty much been raining all day off and on.

Biked up to the Y this morning.  Stretched then got onto the treadmill for 4.1 miles at about an 8:30ish pace.   Then I headed outside for a few more miles, it was getting hot but it was going to be a quick run so not such a big deal.   Ran 3.3 miles at 7:48 average pace.

Went back inside, finished up with some weights, then biked home.

 Yesterday, my brother called me and was telling me about his trip to Clevelend - but the real point of the story was that someone there was telling him about the marathon and half marathon in Niagara falls in October.  He said he was thinking about doing it.  Then I said if he signed up for it then Jenny and I would, too.  So, he did sign up for it (the half marathon) and I signed up for the full marathon and Jenny for the half.   This will be his first half marathon - he's done a few 5k's over the past year or so.   It looks like a pretty interesting course.  The full starts in Buffalo, crosses into Canada and runs along the Niagara river, and ends in downtown Niagara Falls on the Canadian side.  It's pretty flat with the last 2 miles slightly downhill (nice).    The half covers the last 13.1 miles of the full marathon.

I can kill two birds with one stone - a marathon in a new state and one in another country.   This is also supposedly the only international marathon in the world.   I think they have the customs situation straightened out so we won't have to stop when crossing the border.
 

After a quick warm up on the bike, I started for my run, leaving from home.  It was warmish with pretty high humidity.  The run felt hard but not terrible (ok, maybe it wasn't hard but it certainly wasn't easy).   Pace was pretty even and I got the job done so I'll have to call this one a success.  I was drenched by the time I got home so I got into the pool for a bit which was nice and cool.

 Average pace: 8:14
 

Had to hurry a bit to get to work, another job interviewee to talk to.  Last one hopefully, glad I don't have to do that all the time. 

No running today.  But, I did bike to the Y, did upper body weights and then biked home.

Today's run was pretty nice.  It was a few degrees cooler this morning than the past few mornings.   So, although it was still humid felt much nicer out.  I wasn't sure how this run would go since last night was meet the CFO night who was in town visiting.  This meant a trip to WingHouse for free beer and chicken wings and other food not good for running.

But I managed to get up pretty early and got moving without too much delay.  I did my usual loop around the neighborhood on the bike followed by some stretching.  Then I put on my water belt and headed out the door, out the neighborhood to 54, and then up Starkey Blvd.   I started out slowly but it turned out to be slightly faster than my usual starting out slowly pace.   Just after the turnaround point a good song came on my ipod so I did a few strides then settled back into my pace.  I stopped and said hi to Karen who was out walking her dogs then I got going again.  This was probably good since otherwise I might have gone into an impromptu tempo run.  Picked up the last two miles with a good feeling final mile.

Average pace: 8:12

It was still reasonably nice out and since I wasn't too late in getting back, so Jenny went outside to do her run so she wouldn't have to drag the kids to the kid's gym at they Y while she did the  treadmill. 

Biked up to the Y this morning, did some stretching and core work then got onto the treadmill for 4.3 miles, averaging about an 8:25 pace. Finished up with some lower body weights and then biked home.

So, nothing too exciting. I'm getting used to the biking and am starting to enjoy it. This morning I rode by a group of Sandhill Cranes rooting around in someone yard and earlier this week I saw a small alligator drifting slowly in one of the ponds. I've been biking past the same turtle who not too long ago thought he was invincible but found out otherwise while trying to cross the road.

PM - 1.2 miles with Noah and Andy in 13:10

Met up with Randall this morning just after 6:30.  Weather was not bad at first but it slowly got warmer out as we ran.  I hadn't run with Randall for a while so it was good to catch up with him.  We ran from the 7-11 through Lansbrook to the lake park then out of Lansbrook and up to the high school.  By this time the heat and humidity were starting to wear on us.  Headed back down the bike path along East Lake back to where we parked.  We had thought about tacking on another 1 or 2 miles but decided that 10 would do for today.

Average pace: 8:40

 Met up with the rest of the group inside John Chestnut park and enjoyed the after run social hour.
 

This was supposed to be a 2 mile run with Noah, Andy and Sammy.  However, there was a dog incident.   We started out running but Noah needed his shoes tied, so I handed Sammy's leash to Andy.  I should have known better than that.  Before I could finish another dog showed up and Sammy pulled Andy and knocked him down scraping his knee.  So, we went back to get Andy cleaned up but Noah still wanted to run, so Noah and I went out for another mile.

Not happy with Sammy - although it was kind of my fault. 

Biked up to the Y, did some stretching and core work and got onto the treadmill for 4.1 miles at about an 8:20 pace.   Then headed outside for another 3.63 at 7:51 average pace.   It didn't feel too bad outside at first but by the time I finished the outside portion I felt slightly over heated.  Cooled down inside for a bit and did some weights and then biked home.