The Long Run

No run today.  I felt a little bit guilty since this is the first Monday that I had missed in quite some time.  This is my taper week and my right knee was acting up a bit.  After Wed.'s run it had felt like I had twisted it slightly.  Thu. and Fri. felt ok, Sat. wasn't bad but it felt like if I had pushed things I could have made it worse.  I'm going to take it easy this week but still get in a few runs before Sunday.

I did walk Sammy around the 1.7 mile neighborhood loop. 

A little over 3 miles at an easy pace.  Ran along the Trinity river in Ft. Worth near TCU.  It was very dark but there were quite a few runners on the trail, some of them going pretty fast.  Some bicyclists but they all were using lights.  It was a little bit warmer and humid than I had expected.

Knee felt ok. 

This morning I did some light cross training.  10 minutes on the arc trainer, 11 minutes on the rower, then 2 miles on the treadmill at an easy pace.

Everything felt pretty good, knee ok still. 

Pretty good run this morning. It was surprisingly warmer and more humid than I thought it would be but that's ok since Chicago is not going to be as cool out as I thought it would be based on this weekend's forecast. So, with it being warm here this morning it will seem a lot cooler at Chicago, or at least that is what I'm hoping.

I warmed up on the arc trainer about 10 minutes inside before heading out. I ran the first 1.75 miles at an easy pace. I wanted to see if I could easily switch into a higher gear - I was able to do that ok, doing the next mile in about 7:20. I backed it down a little for the next mile, but my pace started going up on its own back to a 7:44, the next two miles where in the 7:20 to 7:30 range (forget the exact pace). I was nearing the end so I jogged it back in for the last half mile. I went back inside and cooled down some more walking on the treadmill.

Glad I was able to get in six miles with some of it at a faster pace without any adverse affects. I was careful not to push too much but I didn't want Sunday's race to feel like a complete shock to my body.

Average pace: 8:03

Glycerin - 191

Ran with Jenny in Chicago.  She needed to get one more run in for the week and I wanted to do a run also to get loosened up for tomorrow.  It was in the low 70's when we ran, it didn't seem too bad.  I could could not get a signal with the Garmin until we were away from the tall buildings and on Lakeshore dr. so we are not sure exactly how far that was but guessed at around a mile.  Ran along the lake.  Jenny was doing two 1600's at 8:35 pace, we did those, then worked our way back towards the hotel.   We were a little bit farther away when we finished so the return trip was a little bit longer.

There were lots of people out running.

Later that day I decided to get a new garmin that could supposedly keep the signal through the marathon course.  Jenny had been wanting one because my 201 with the cloth strap was always smelly and sweaty after I ran, so we figured it was a good time to get one.  They were all sold out at the expo so we stopped by the big Garmin store downtown. 

I got to the corral extra early, about 6:20, to make sure I could get a good spot. Despite the weather predictions going up each day I was still holding some hope that somehow the temps would not go up too high. With the corrals pretty much empty it looked reasonable that maybe I could quickly dart over to the 3:20 pace group in the next corral.

As the corrals filled up with people they suddenly started looking larger and larger. By the time the pace group leaders showed up they looked very far away. I was chatting with a woman who wanted to do 3:15, she was from Houston so I thought maybe the heat might not bother her too much. I would see her throughout the course, passing and being passed. The race announcers said to adjust your time goals. I adjusted from a hoped for 3:15 to see if I could still get 3:20 or at least 3:20:59.

Jenny was able to hang out with me just over the corral fence. So we chatted and hung out. There was a skyscraper nearby which had left office lights on so that the building spelled out "Go Cubs Go". A bee kept on trying to land on me. I have an irrational fear of bees so I kept on trying to run away from it, looking like a fool in doing so, but I got my warm up out of the way.

The race started and we inched towards the starting line, 02:27 after the race started I crossed the start mat and continued to walk as the throng of people was extremely thick. The walk changed to a shuffle then picked up as people started to spread. I didn't want to weave very much, but had to a little bit here and there. The garmin pace seemed screwy and later I'd realize I had not let it lock in properly to the satellites because it had been taking too long.

Since the Garmin paces don't mean too much I'll mainly just talk about the 5K splits that the chip recorded.

First 5K was in 24:01 - most of it was much faster due to the first minute or so being walking/shuffling. I was already feeling warm. My left ankle felt a little bit tight as it often does early in a run (even when starting at a slow pace). That seemed normal and would work itself out eventually. I saw my parents about my 2, they looked very proud and happy to see me looking strong.

Next 5K was in 23:41. Crowd was getting thinner by mega marathon standards. I was trying to get to the 3:20 pace group, it seemed very reasonable at that point but I could never quite see them so I'm not sure how far away they were. But I kept going, mainly running by feel for the pace.

By the time I was approaching the 15K mat it was getting a bit harder, I was feeling warmer and warmer. I knew lots of people were tracking my run and I wanted to have a good pace at the 15K point.

That 5K was a 23:20.

Next 5K was in 24:00, pace had slowed down slightly.

I reached the half marathon point at 1:40:01, I had sped up slightly between the 20K point and the half way point. I wanted to get under 1:40 but figured this was pretty good considering the conditions.

Sometime just after mile 14 I started getting my first calf cramp. It was a very small one but still was there. I had gotten a bad calf cramp at Disney at mile 14. I wanted to avoid them this time. I was determined to take Gatorade at every water stop. I had successfully done that so far, grabbing one cup at each station and drinking it without breaking my pace. So, this was one of my goals accomplished, however now it seemed like it was not going to be enough. After all, it was a bit warmer than Disney (which started at 66° and ended in the upper 70's). Now it seemed that one cup of gatorade per stop plus the two energy gels were not enough. I'd start taking two.

Next 5K was in 24:52, slower but still an 8:00 pace.

I saw Jenny at about 16 miles. She had seen me earlier on the course but I did not see her. She was making a tireless effort to get from spot to spot to cheer me on, probably putting in a total of 7 miles of very fast walking. My pace picked up slightly upon seeing her.

Next 5K was in 27:00 minutes, now at the 30K mark. Cramps were getting worse and worse in frequency and intensity. Both legs were cramping as well as my right arm. At some point I was hit with a pretty bad side stitch, which temporarily slowed me down to a near walk until it passed.

There were so many good and kind people along the course. People with lawn sprinklers turned on , people passing out bottled water. At one point I passed an open fire hydrant which I thought would be good to run through. Note to self: don't do that again, wet shoes weigh a lot more. I could feel a huge blister forming on my left foot, but I didn't care too much about it right now.

As I was approaching 20 miles I was looking forward to it. I knew that the last 10K would be no picnic but I wanted to get through it. I got to 20 miles at 2:41, only 1 minute off of an 3:30 pace. I tried to speed up (as I had done few times recently), but the calf cramps would hit me hard when I tried that, as if a giant hand was gripping me.

I completed that 5K in 28:12, the 35K mark, 21.7 miles, less than 5 miles to go. I had told myself it was ok to walk through the water stops, but I didn't quite do that. I'd walk a couple steps to take the first gulp of gatorade, then go back to a shuffle, returning to a run as I finished the cup. One stop had ice, which I held in my hand to cool myself off with. At the next water stop I asked for ice but the did not have any. There was lots of gatorade but it was all warm at this point. I later found that I was lucky to have gatorade as people after me would find empty aid stations.

The next 5K was my slowest at 28:32, to the 40K mark. Ok, now I at least had the finish line to pull me through. Despite the slowdown and muscle cramps I did not have the hopeless feeling I had at Disney during most of the last 10K. I was a bit thirsty but didn't feel like I had an unquenchable thirst. At some point around here there was a bank's time and temperature sign which displayed 98°. I knew that was probably inflated but it was still discouraging.

I saw the 25.2 mile marker. I hit the lap button on the garmin so I could count down the last mile. It had been not very helpful until now. I fought off calf cramps the best I could. It must be someone's idea of a bad joke that the only hill on the entire course is close to the end. I knew about the hill from reading about the course. It looked long and high but the course notes said it was not as bad as it looked. I ran up it and held my pace. Just past the hill was the last turn to the final 0.2 mile stretch, it looked a lot longer than what 0.2 miles usually looks like. Jenny and my parents both said they saw me running, but I looked too focused for anyone to think that I would actually see them.

I was far off my original goal but I didn't feel bad about it at this point. Later, I'd feel even better when the full extent of the problems became known. I grabbed my medal, had a picture taken, and then grabbed cup after cup of gatorade. Stepping out of the runner area my right calf seized up, a stranger had to help steady me. I kept on walking to the reunion area until I found my wife and parents.

Throughout the rest of the day I would run into people who did not get to finish. I had a lot of friends there. There were strangers who asked me "Did you get to finish"? One man was making his comeback marathon, first one in 20 years, when he was told to stop running and walk when he was just a few miles from the finish. I couldn't believe all the stories. I realized how lucky I was and felt guilty about grumbling to myself about warm gatorade! There was one woman from the Tampa area who I know of but don't know personally. She was written up in the local paper, she finished with a 3:09, an amazing feat, but she was also close to a tragic end with a body temperature of 107° at the finish line, fortunately they were able to cool her off.

I think I might have shaved a few minutes off by running a "smarter" race and doing the first half a little bit slower, but in the first half a 3:20 still seemed possible.

I'm going to recover and try again, maybe in Jacksonville this December. The person who finished in 1372nd place last year ran a 3:08.

Decided to start getting back into my routines.

No running today, but I did get myself to the Y for 20 minutes on the rowing machine.

Biked the kids to school so Jenny could start her run earlier.   Did an extra loop around the neighborhood to look for Jenny and keep her company but I did not see her. 

Last time I went on a run too soon after the marathon and ended up injured, so I'm being a little extra careful this time. 

One more day of no running.  I did 2.7 miles of dog walking, one in the morning of 1.7 and a 1 mile walk in the evening.

I was tempted to run this morning.  Joe was going to run and I thought about doing 5 or 6 but decided not to due to some residual soreness in the calves.

I'm going to try and not wait too much longer.

I figured that one full week with no running was enough.

Jenny returned from her 8 mile run this morning and it was still quite nice outside.  I decided to give it a try.  I was going to run with the kids, they didn't feel up to a run but agreed to bike alongside me.

 I did an out and back course for a total of 2.26 miles.  I kept the pace very easy.   During the return trip the back of my left calf started to hurt so I slowed down to where it did not hurt.

If my calf is not hurting tomorrow, I'll try a little bit farther.

Average pace: 10:33
 

After yesterday's short run I decided to take one more day off from running.

Did some cross training instead.  21 minutes rowing machine and 10 minutes on the arc trainer.

I'll try for another run tomorrow. 

I ran a little bit farther today than on Sunday.   My left calf started hurting a little bit, but then at 2 miles it was feeling better.  Pace was faster than on Sunday but still at an easy pace.

I'll try a little bit farther next time. 

Average pace: 8:48 

Non-running day.

10 minute warm-up on the arc trainer, followed by upper body weights.  I had not done those for quite some time, felt good.

Didn't go too heavy or try to do too much.

 I'll run tomorrow.
 

I feel like I am getting back to normal finally.

I wanted to do at least 5 miles today, a small increase from my last run. About a mile into the run I thought that at least 5.5 would be good. On the way back I took an extra turn to add a little bit more onto the run to end up with a little bit over 6 miles.

My easy pace feels like it is getting back to normal.

There was still some residual soreness in my left calf but it is bothering me less and less and shows up much later in the run. Not speeding up definitely helps, so I'll have to not go any faster until it is all gone.

It was still somewhat warm out but in a nice way, about 75°, not bad even when in the full sun.

Average pace: 8:34

I warmed up inside first with 10 minutes on the arc trainer followed by some light stretching.

I went outside to start my run. My legs felt dead and it was very humid outside. The first mile felt horrible but things gradually got better. By mile 4, I was feeling ok and finished the run on a more positive note than when I started it.

Runs don't always feel so good for me when starting out, this is what kept me from running for years. But I'm glad I know how to get past the early parts of a run and keep going.

I went back inside after the run and did some lower body weights. Felt even better after that.

I ran into Joe and we talked about doing Jacksonville together which would be great.

Jenny was doing the 5 mile run.  It was all off road with lots of hills.  The race is located in San Antonio, FL.  As far as hilly terrain goes, this is pretty much the place to go in this area of Florida.  At about 5:00 am it was raining pretty heavily so it didn't seem certain that the race would still be on - at least not for the kids.

So, the kids and I were just doing the 1 mile fun run.  We came in fourth place for adult/child groups.  Noah had such a determined look on his face coming into the finish chute that the crowd  just had to cheer for him.  There were dog/human teams also.  It was a lot of fun.  My weekend long run would have to wait one more day.

The out and back one mile course was pretty hilly too, although not as bad as what Jenny had to face on her 5 mile course.  She did well also, averaging an 8:54 pace despite all the hills and other challenging off road terrain. 

It was challenging to get started this morning.  I woke up ok and got moving in a decent amount of time but when I got to the park there was a sign at the trail saying that it was closed from 6:00 to 11:00 today for the Longleaf triathlon.  So, that's what all those cones were for on the way there.  So, I headed to plan B spot, the parking lot at the Suncoast trail.  As I drove there I realized that this would also be part of the triathlon course so I just headed home.   Sometimes when looking for a fishing spot you drive all over the place looking for the perfect spot.  Finally you get back home and realize that was the best spot.

Finally, about 45 minutes after leaving home I started my run from home.  It was still cool enough outside with some overcast sky to keep the sun back.  The first mile was nice and easy at about 9:30 pace.  I did an out and back course through a couple different neighborhoods, pretty much running through the same streets that I run through when starting from the Y.  I picked up the pace a few times.   When I got back to my neighborhood, I looped around the long way back to my house adding a little bit more onto the run.

Average pace: 8:02

Non-running day today.   I don't like skipping Monday's run - I feel like I'm not getting the right start for the week, however I ran yesterday, so my schedule is shifting this week.  I'm going to run Tue-Sat.

 Warmed up on Arc trainer then did about 45 minutes of weights, mostly upper body.
 

I set the alarm for 5:00 this morning.  I hadn't done that for a while and wanted to try getting up earlier.  When I start my day earlier it seems like I can get more done.  I woke up at 4:30, still too early so I fell back asleep and then woke up at 5:34.  I checked my alarm clock, it was set for 5:00 pm.  Oh well, still a pretty early start.   Still a bit warm and muggy this morning. 

Went over to the Y, warmed up for 10 minutes on the arc trainer and did a little bit of stretching. 

First mile was ok, easy pace about 9 something.  Second mile I felt my old nemesis, shin tightness  on my left leg, but got that worked out over the second mile.  Got into a pretty good pace and picked one mile up to 7:11, but didn't want to push too fast.

Went inside and cooled down a little bit on the treadmill. 

Overall pace: 8:13 

It was raining pretty hard when I woke up.  It would let up and then come down heavy again.  I thought about running outside in the rain but there was also lightning.  I was only planning on about 6 miles so I figured I would just do it on the treadmill.

I warmed up 10 minutes on the elliptical first, then got on the treadmill.  Some of the treadmills are programmed to stop at 30 minutes.  I looked for one that would stay on, but they all seemed to be programmed for 30 minutes.  So, I would just have to make note of how far I had gone as the time approached 30 minutes.  Sometimes, if you can restart fast enough I think it will remember the miles but that did not work this time. I did the miles in two segments, 30:00 and 19:21.  It wasn't so bad once I warmed up.

Average pace: 8:07/mile 

Finished up with some lower body weights - about 20 minutes worth. 

Cooler weather is finally here.  65° at the start.  Woke up just before 6:00.  Fed the dogs.  Andy was up so made him some breakfast then headed to the Y.  Warm up inside with 10 minutes on the elliptical.  Then, set out on my run with a goal of 7 miles in mind.

First mile was slow as usual, although slightly faster today than yesterday.   Warmed up and steadily picked up some speed.  My route ended up being a little bit over 7 if I headed straight back.  I was feeling good so I added a little bit more on at the end.

Average pace: 8:04 

I was starting to feel run down on Wednesday night, in danger of coming down with a cold.  By last night it seemed to be getting worse.  But I went to bed last night believing in what a good night's sleep could do and this morning I felt better.  The salt water gargle before bed also helped.

So this morning I warmed up on the rowing machine and a few minutes on the bike and then did some lower body weights.  I think this has been helping my knee.

I had thought about doing the treadmill but decided against it.  There  was some rain outside but it was very light and the temperature was a near perfect 67º .  I ran with no watch and no garmin.  I did start my watch, left it behind and stopped it when I got back.

Time for run was 33:11.  I mapped it out and it was pretty much exactly 4 miles.

Average pace: 8:17

 Asics gel

Nice run this morning.  The weather was near perfect.  I arrived at Starkey park this morning about 6:30.  Keith was already there.  When I woke up I had one of those feelings like I didn't feel like going on a run.  I was counting on long run magic to make it enjoyable.

We started out slowly.  It was still very dark and we started running before getting to the main bike path so we had to be careful about spider webs and other stuff to bump into.  The first mile was slow at 10:00.  Next mile was just over 9:00 pace.  Pace picked up over the next few miles a little bit at a time.  We had talked about just doing 10 miles, but when we got out 5 miles I said why not go out another 0.5, so we did.

The return trip was nice.  For the last full mile we were still chatting the whole way even though it was a 7:41 pace.

Hung out for a bit and chatted with some of the other striders who were there after their runs. 

Looks like the long run magic worked.  Also, I think this wraps up my post marathon reverse taper. 

Average pace: 8:42

Dogs woke me up a little bit earlier than the alarm clock was supposed to go off. So, instead of trying to ignore them for another 15 minutes and stay in bed, I decided it was easier just to get up. Let them outside, fed them, then headed to the Y.

Warmed up on the bike inside for 10 minutes, then some light stretching. Headed outside, pretty nice morning for a run. First mile was slow - 9:52, next mile was one minute faster, then I started feeling loosened up. Tried not to look at the garmin much, just looked whenever the next mile beeped to see what I had just done. Two miles in a row were the exact same pace - 8:02.

I just noticed that this is the first Monday I have run this month.

Average pace: 8:12

 Yesterday, I signed up for the Jacksonville Marathon on Dec. 16, so now it is real and the clock is ticking again.

Asics (I need to go back and add this up)

Another good base mileage run.   I woke up just before 6:00, did the usual morning dog care and headed over to the Y.   As usual I warmed up a little bit inside first on the arc trainer and a few minutes on the bike.  I always seem to do a little bit better when I do it this way.  It was a pleasant feeling 70° outside.   I chatted with David for a bit who had already finished his morning run, then I went out for mine.

The first mile was faster than normal for a first mile - 8:36.  The rest of the miles were between 7:50 and 8:15.   So, today's average pace was faster than yesterday's but the mile splits were not as spread out, with the fastest mile slower than yesterday's fastest mile and today's slowest mile faster than yesterday's slowest mile.

Average pace: 8:06 

Another nice morning for running. There was a slight breeze. The temperature was on the very edge between cool and warm.

Warmed up on the stationary bike, did my run, then finished up with some upper body weights. Left foot (top) started to bother me yesterday, it wasn't any worse today but I'm going to keep an eye on it. I'll wait until next week for a tempo run if it is all cleared up.

Mile splits weren't too spread out today - first mile was slowest at 9:06, some place in the middle was the fastest at 7:47.

Third run alone this week, I'll see if I can meet up with anyone from the 5:30 group tomorrow.

Splits were: 9:06 8:25 8:07 7:47 7:51 7:53 7:43 2:07 for 0.27 (8:05 pace)

Average pace: 8:07

Glycerin