The Long Run

I went to the Y so I could do some treadmill miles and then run a little bit outside. First, I warmed up on the bike for 10 minutes then stretched for a bit. I got on the treadmill, starting out slowly at first although maybe slightly faster than on previous days. Felt pretty good. Did 4.25 miles - probably around 8:40 pace average but I'm not entirely sure.

It was a very nice morning today with temps in the mid 60's, finally a nice reprieve from the warm and humid air. Did 3.5 miles at an 8:06 pace.

I got home just after 8:30 (I was supposed to be home between 8:00 and 8:30, sorry Jenny) so that Jenny could bike to the Y with Jodi.

The boys and I headed out for a 1 mile run, about an 11:30 pace overall but with a nice pickup the last 0.2 miles.

Counting down the days now before the marathon.  Went to the Y this morning, warm up, stretch, treadmill.   Got onto one treadmill and it stopped abruptly at 0.45 miles with "Err6" on the screen, so I got onto the one next to it.  Stayed on that one for 4.6 miles.  I had wanted to run outside as it was another very nice morning (about 63º) but I noticed there was nothing on my wrist - no Garmin or watch.   So, it was decided for me that I would run without a watch.

I did the same 3.5 mile loop I did the day before.  I did look at the clock when I left and when I returned but didn't know any of the paces while I was running.  Did the 3.5 miles in 28 minutes (8:00 pace). 

Rest day.  Bike around the neighborhood loop then spent about half an hour stretching.

I ran on the treadmill at the Y this morning.  First, warmed up on the bike for ten minutes and then did some stretching.  Got onto the treadmill, starting out slow.  Slow is getting a little bit faster each time and I need to do slow for a little bit less time.   I had just started to get into a good rhythm about 0.5 miles into the run when I saw one of my shoes was coming untied.  I stopped the treadmill, retied it, but was not fast enough to get going without losing the data, so I started it again.   Stayed on for 6 miles, averaging right at an 8:00 pace, with a little bit faster here and there, followed by slower.   The faster speeds of course felt faster but didn't feel that bad.

When I got home, it was still nice outside, but the nice quickly turns warm by about 9:00 so I agreed to take the kids to school so Jenny could start her run at 8:30.  I biked the kids to school and then came back, then left for work.  Besides being a small activity with the kids its also a good post run cool down. 

One last run before the marathon. It was good get my self acclimated especially after the cross country flight. I ran from my brother's house down to the beach. It was a nice run through town and then onto a beach side path, although there were lots of lights, but I wasn't going for speed, just stretching out my legs. Returned back the same way, it was more uphill than I thought it would be but didn't feel too tough. I checked the elevation at my brother's house - about 280 feet. That was good news because I knew that I would have a similar climb spread out over 4 miles at the marathon and I had just done it spread over 2.5 it it wasn't all that bad. Obviously I don't get much practice on any type of uphill so this was a good confidence booster.

Average pace: 9:07

It was a pretty good month considering the slow start with the injury.  I somehow managed 193 miles and still got better.  Lots of easy miles, some of them on the treadmill,  some help from Joe, my PT, and 3 massages over 3 weeks.