sub-3 or blow-up trying

Full day today...church, sledding for 2 hours with family, and a 2.5 hour run with Ed.  Did 18 miles through toughest hill course (Goshen) with 8:10 pace.  Most of the route was under 8 minutes, but we got caught up with ice and fatigue in the last 2-3 miles.  Good solid effort.

Off to watch the superbowl with a few friends. 

AM:  45-minutes of weights (legs) + 3 miles on treadmill at 8:15 pace.

PM:  6.25 miles on the TM, incorporating hills

Mile 1:  8:30 pace (1.5% for .6, 6% incline for .4)

Mile 2:  same as above

Mile 3:  8min pace (1.5 for .6, 6% for .4)

Mile 4:  same as above

Mile 5: 8 min pace (no hill)

Mile 6:  7:30 pace (1.5 for .6, 6% for .4)

.25 cooldown

Felt descent after 18-miler yesterday.  Diet has been good except for 2-3 handfuls of Fritos during the Superbowl. 

A bit of a snow storm again today.  So yes, back on the treadmill.  Did a bit of a progressive run- 8:30, 8min, 7:30, 7min, and last 4 miles at 6:45 pace.  8 miles total.

Good diet for past 24-hours.

Still quite icy in the roads.  Don't mind trying to run in cold, but not when rolling hills are icy.  May get some warmer weather this weekend.  Ran 4 miles as a recovery type run at the gym (9min, 8:30, 8min, 8min).  Hope to run later in the day...

Continued in a recovery mode.  Tired today with a poor night of sleep + full week at church.  Ran a nice easy segment on TM- 8min, 7:30, 7min, 6:30, 8min- 5 miles total.  Hope to get some type of speed work in tomorrow and a long-run on Saturday. 

No opportunity to run today.  Drove up to MA to meet with 2 close family friends who are in the ministry.  Both are doing well and provide a strong sense of accountability as we share about family, ministry, and living out our lives for God.  Got some great laughs in as well.

Went out to dinner with family.  It's been a descent week of running thus far and the weather looks cooperative for a strong weekend of running.  Thus, the day of rest might work in my best interest.  Plan a strong tempo run tomorrow + a 20-miler on Saturday.  Still on pace for a 70 mile week. 

Low 20's, but clear roads, so took a shot at a tempo run outdoors.  Started with 2 mile warm-up.  Ran the hill route towards Morris...

1st 4.5 miles:  29:47/6:37 pace (1st 2 miles in 12:00min before hitting the uphill climb)

- 2 minute break-

2nd 4.5 miles:  29:04/6:28 pace (Last mile flat in 6:48, followed by 1-mile cool-down)

Overall, ran the two tempo's in 58:51 (6:32 pace).  Very happy in that my legs could never really get warmed up.  Think this could have translated into a faster time with less clothing on a warmer day.  I plan on doing this route once more in hopes of breaking 6:30 pace and then will begin to string the 2 runs together without a 2-minute break in the middle.  My focus this month will be endurance.  Distance is still a bit uncomfortable at this stage. 

A little enlightenment at the running shoe store today.  Apparently I have been running for the past 14 months in shoes a full size too large for me.  Had a pro fit me for the first time rather than just try on my own shoes and walk out the door.  He measured, remeasured, had me run outside, and couldn't believe I had been running in shoes with so much wiggle room.  Might explain my "hot foot" last November. 

Low to mid 20's outside with a 8-10 mph breeze.  Brisk, yet very do-able.  Ran a 20-miler with Ed.  Did the hill route towards Morris 2x. 

1st 10 miles:  1:14:04/7:24 pace (killer hill at the end with a 9% incline)

- 1 minute gatorade break-

2nd 10 miles:  1:14:38/7:28 pace (held pace, but had to fight a little more w/wind)

Overall, ran it in 2:28:42/7:26 pace.  Strong pace, considering the hills.  Finally starting to get my endurance back. Still had a fair amount in the tank when we finished.  Next long run might begin to incorporate some marathon pace miles. 

10 miles on the TM...

1st set:  2 mile warm-up (8:30, 8:15)

2-minute rest

2nd set:  4 miles (8min, 7:41, 7:25, 7:08)

5-minute rest

3rd set:  4 miles (8min, 7:41, 7:25, 6:53/mp)

Was a bit stiff and sore at first.  Felt stronger with each set.  Like my new shoes.

High 30's outside!  Would love to have been able to run hard, but I'm still in recovery mode from the weekend.  Did 5-miles easy + weights w/legs.  Plan to run again in the evening.

With the increased mileage, I've let go of following a strict diet.  Still plan on eating healthy, but doesn't seem to be the time to skimp on calories and try to lose weight.  Lost 5 lbs., but it's causing me to lose energy as well.  I'll keep running hard, eating healthy, and let weight take care of itself.

5 more recovery miles on the treadmill. 

Weather in the high 30's today.  Had a window of time, so really wanted to get a strong tempo in.  Took me forever to get warmed up- 2.5 miles.  Legs were still a little stiff from squats yesterday.  Decided to go for the route with the big hill.  Took off and felt extremely slow and sluggish.  Told myself I'd keep going if I hit the first mile marker under 6:30...did it in 6:25.  Told myself I'd continue if I hit the 3-mile marker under 20- did so as well.  Didn't feel fast, but was doing ok.  Went ahead and completed the workout...

1st 5 miles:  35:12/7:02 pace (pr for this route...keep inching my times down each week)

- 2 minute break-

2nd 5 miles:  34:28/6:54 pace (pr by more than 30 sec...6:28 on mile 10)

 Again, felt terribly sluggish (legs, not breathing), yet can't get discouraged with the results.  Plan on another quick run in the evening...Ran 4 more this evening on the TM...kept it slow, yet felt pretty good.

Weight:  177lbs (maintained weight this week while being a little less cautious with diet)

50 degrees today!  Headed out for a run with Rick.  Had a bit of a scare...while talking stepped in a pothole and twisted my ankle a bit.  Felt tender, but kept a slow pace through a 5-mile run and gained strength as we went.  I'll be careful the next day or two.  Not too much swelling, so things should be fine.  Plan on running a little later in the day...

Guys at the running store are getting sick of me.  Returned the under armor spectre's after 2 runs...felt great in the store, horrible on my second run.  Realized they are for high arches (I'm neutral).  Next day (today), returned saucony's and the guy was like I'm going to lose money off you.  Apologized, but still exchanged them for a pair of trigons- why experiment, when I know I feel good in the trigons.

5 more recovery miles on the TM.

Noon:  Rainy w/winds up to 30-40 mph.  Stayed inside and did an easy TM run + weights/legs.  8 miles total.  Plan to run again in the evening...

5 miles on TM:  8:30, 7:30, 3 x 6:44 (mp)

AM:  6 miles on the TM + 30 minutes weights/upper body.  Think I'll run a 5-mile road race tomorrow, but will treat it more as a training run than a race.  No taper, run early morning, then give it a strong tempo effort late morning.  pr's not an issue, since my best time for a 5-mile road race is over 35 minutes.  Hope to keep 6:30ish pace, but much will depend on how hilly the course is.

Got up early and did a 5-mile warm-up.  It was still in the teens and I was just hoping things would warm-up a bit for the late morning road race...got home and did another 1/2 mile in the TM to loosen up the legs from the cold. 

By race time it was 26 degrees w/10-12 mph winds.  Decided to go with shorts.  I'll give my best on the race results.  It was all a bit confusing due to a missed turn as well as the times being 1-minute off for some reason. 

Mile 1:  6:15- We took off and ran the first stretch on road, then about 1/4 mile on icy trail with a couple bridges (not too icy) and then a hard road surface.  Felt good about the pace...very comfortable

Mile 2:  6:25- First part of this stretch went slightly uphill into Whites Woods and then back downhill through mostly clear trails.  One small section (.1 mile) was tough to gain footing in.  Again, felt strong.

Mile 3: 6:26- Back on a hard road surface.  Purposely kept a steady pace with hopes of "turning it on" more towards the 2nd half of the race.  Was happy to see my pace come in under 6:30.  Was holding about 10th place at this stage.

Mile 4: 7:09- Not a misprint in the time.  I actually turned it up a tad, but missed the turn.  I was running by myself against the traffic of another 200 runners or so and completely missed the turn arrow.  Someone against the grain yelled, "you running the race?"  Yes.  "You missed the turn!"  This caused a slight panic and I immediately turned back.  Two guys behind me missed the turn as well.  It costed me 2 places in the final standings and I'm guestimating about 40 seconds in my overall time.  In my final stated time I conservatively counted this mile as 6:30 which would still make it my slowest mile.

Mile 5:  6:17- This is where the really confusing part sets in.  I literally crossed the 4-mile mark with a 26:10 time.  Crossing the finish line, they posted my final time at 31:27.  This would have given me a 5:17 time for my final mile...definitely impossible.  Talking with the folks around me, they all felt their posted time was a minute off.  Who knows what happened?  Kind of frustrating.  I had my stopwatch on for the entire race and the times all seemed to match, but of course I forgot to punch stop at the finish, trusting they had their act together.  The final mile definitely felt like a mile and within a minute or so after finishing, I did look down and see 33 something on my watch and was like, "Ah!  Forgot to stop it!!" I'm giving myself a 6:17 (adding an extra minute, which is probably close to accurate...probably my best mile other than mile 1). 

Officially, their first posting gave me a 31:27 (due to complaints they are going to revisit it).  According to my guestimate, I ran a 32:27, but am going to mark it down as 31:48 to accomodate the wrong turn in mile 4.  I think I was fair to give it a 6:30.  Also, they put me down as 17th place, but there were two courses that blended together (3-miler, 5-miler) at the finish.  It was hard to tell how many in front of me were from the 3-mile race, but I started off with about 10-12 runners and nobody passed me (except for the 2 at the missed turn).  I was awarded 3rd place for my age division.  Overall, a great experience, yet would have loved to know exactly what my time was...might run a little bit of a recovery in the evening.

Ran another 4.5 on the TM.  Decided to get it done while my legs were still fresh.  Included a 3-mile tempo @ 6:15 pace.  Felt good.  Also, spoke with someone who thinks the last mile of our race today was more like .85 miles...makes sense.  Good week of running. 

Found out the course is 4.8 miles...they recorded my time as 31:17.  Take away the missed turn (39 seconds) and my time is pretty close to 30:38.  This gives me a pace of approx 6:23 for the race. 

Rest.  May do a long run tomorrow.  My plan was to go for it at the end of the week, but the forecast says snow.  Might as well go for it since my morning is free and I definitely don't want to get stuck on the TM next weekend for 20-miles. 

Temps in the low 30's, full sunshine, and light breeze.  Measured out a hilly course I had estimated to be 9-miles and it came out to be 8.75.  Ran 1 mile warm-up, followed by the course  loop, followed by 1-mile break + gatorade, followed by course, and then a cool-down mile...20.5 total.

1st loop:  8.75 miles in 59:32/6:48 pace (ran final mile of the loop in 6:52/flat terrain)

- 1 mile jog-

2nd loop:  8.75 miles in 59:43/6:49 pace (ran final mile in 6:48)

Extremely pleased with todays run.  It incorporated fairly strong hills and I was able to keep a total of 17.5 miles just under my marathon goal pace.  The human body is amazing for me to finish both portions within 11 seconds of one another.  Proud of my last mile on the second loop.  It was into a fairly strong head-wind and I was determined to keep it under marathon goal pace.  Today was a major step forward. 

Would have been a nice day to run outside...just wasn't able to find or make the time.  Ended up doing 10 miles on TM this evening at home.  Kept a nice slow pace (8:20) for recovery. 

Got a new pair of trainers today I hope to use for Boston.  Felt pretty good.  Light weight made it difficult for me to stay slow while trying to stay in recovery mode.  Snowing outside, so did a quick 5 on the TM + upperbody weights...progressive run, starting at 9min pace and working up to 7:20.  Plan to run again in the evening...

5 more miles on TM, recovery pace.

My original plan was to do 1-mile repeats.  As my endurance has increased, I'm recognizing the need to mix in a little speedwork for stronger leg turnover.  Almost had a window of time to go outside, but a drop-in came by the office.  OK- glad I was there to help.  Switched workout plan to TM.  Within half mile at 5:45 pace, realized my legs weren't ready.  Still not fully recovered from Monday's workout.  Switched to a steady 5-mile run @8min pace w/4-5 strides at 5:45 pace mixed in.

5 more miles after dinner at comfortable pace of 7:24.  Hope the legs will feel fresher tomorrow.  If so, will shoot for some mile repeats. 

10 miles on TM...plan on a longer run tomorrow with Ed, so decided not to do "speed work".  Instead was able to get in some quality MP miles...

1.5 mile warm-up:  Progressively worked way up to 6:58 mile pace

5 projected MP miles:  incorporated 5 hills for .25 miles each @ 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%

- quick break to switch shoes-

3.5 finish:  .5 @ MP, 2 @ 8min pace, and final mile at 6:40 pace

Still felt strong at the end. 

AM:  Ran with Ed this morning.  High teens w/a moderate breeze.  Temp's felt like 7 degrees.  Did the hilly route past Popi's and by the lake.  We kept a fairly good clip until about mile 8...Ed's leg began to stiffen.  We slowed down just a tad, yet kept a descent pace until the end of our route.  Overall, 12.5 miles in 1:36:06 (7:41 pace).  Plan a few more miles after lunch...

PM:  Home with the kids.  Once our youngest was down for a nap, went to the basement for a TM workout...

1-mile warm-up:  8 min pace

4-mile run w/hills:  6:48 pace with 4 x .4 mile hills (1%, 2%, 3%, 4%)

2-mile cooldown:  Still felt strong at the finish

Plan to cut miles back a bit in the upcoming week- maybe 60 or so.  The mileage is feeling comfortable, yet I want to regroup with an "easy week" before my next slight increase in mileage. 

Rest...1/2 hour of crunches in the evening.

I've had several weeks of higher mileage, so decided to take 2 days in a row.  Plan on a light week with 2 hard days (Tues/Sat).  Hope to run recovery Wednesday, light Thursday, off Friday, and 1/2 marathon on Saturday.  The 1/2 marathon looks to be a very tough course.  I noticed 2 guys who run 2:48 and 2:52 marathons who ran this course last year in 1:28 and 1:29.  Another guy who ran a 3:10 marathon ran this in 1:33.  I'm tapering a bit and will give it my best effort.  Then plan on hitting March hard before my marathon taper.

This may be a 40-50 mile week for me.

Wow!  The extra day of rest really paid off.  I did my tough uphill course to Morris and pr'd by well over a minute.  It helped to have the wind at my back (mid-to high 20's w/strong winds), yet I still ran a negative split easily.  Ran mile 10 in 6:03 and could have kept going.  Here's the splits...

3.5 mile warm-up (nice and slow)

1st 5 miles:  34:01/6:48 pace (ran mile 1 in 6:21 w/ease and new it would be a good day)

- 2 minute break-

2nd 5 miles:  33:43/6:45 pace (ran mile 10 in 6:03...it was flat and into the wind)

Good day so far for running.  Increased mileage and use of incline on the TM seem to be finally paying off.  Also, absolutely love the tangent 3's...they'll definitely be my Boston shoe...pancake dinner at church tonight w/family and hopefully another run on the TM...

Did leg workout at the gym + 6.5 miles on TM, progressively from 9min to MP, total time 49 minutes (7:53 pace avg). 

Quick evening workout on the TM.  Mostly done at an 8min pace.  Plan to take the next two days off from running...1) To taper for Sat.  2) To put in a light week before pounding the month of March.  I'm committed to two "big day" workouts a week throughout March with a minimum of 75-miles per week.  The taper for Boston will begin 3-weeks out from race day. 

Core-work tomorrow, followed by full-rest on Friday.  With a tough course on Saturday, my goal is to keep the pace under 7-minute miles.  One guy who ran my same time (3:10) at the Bay State Marathon, ran the upcoming 1/2 marathon last year with a 7:10 pace.  A 2:48 Bay State Marathon guy ran the upcoming run at a 6:45 pace.  In my mind, a 6:55 pace on this particular course might translate to 3hr marathon pace...we'll see.  Regardless, it will be an opportunity for a great work-out. 

rest

rest.

Just lost my whole race report, but will try again...

3.6 miles of warm-up...Fairly cold day (mid to high 30's) with strong winds (20 mph). 

Wore a stop-watch and somehow missed mile marker 12, so will do my best with the race breakdown, rounding everything off to help my memory system...

Mile 1:  6:25 (mostly flat, slight uphill at the end)

Mile 2:  13:05 (6:40...starting to roll a bit...little more up than down)

Mile 3:  20:25 (7:20...brutal hill...uphill the entire mile!)

Mile 4:  28:25 (7:00...rolling hills...able to recover and stabilize)

Mile 5:  34:15 (6:50...still rolling, but not too bad)

Mile 6:  40:40 (6:25...slight downhill...only comfortable mile in the race)

Mile 7:  48:05 (7:25...all uphill...people were beginning to drop pace significantly)

Mile 8:  55:05 (7:00...started towards off-road...again, felt strong, stopped completely to drink and take a gu)

Mile 9:  62:30 (7:25...brutal stretch...very steep hill...spongee section of offroad that felt comfortable to run on though)

Mile 10:  1:09 (6:30...steep downhill...mostly coasted and used this time to regather strength)

Mile 11:  1:16 (7:00...fairly easy stretch, but began to go uphill for the last 1/4 mile)

Miles 12-13.1:  1:31:51 (missed mile marker 12...the entire stretch was uphill and directly into the wind...held my place and even passed 4-5 runners...7:33 avg pace)

Overall, although I didn't break any records, very happy with my time.  Went with John and Lori.  John ran a Fall marathon in 3:12 and 1/2 marathon in 1:29.  Today he ran over 1:34.  Lori ran a Fall 1/2 marathon in low 1:40's and did 1:49 today.  Many of the runners were preparing for Boston and said the Boston hills are nothing compared to this (I hope they're right).  Based on meeting folks after the race, I would guestimate my time today to translate to a 3:05 in Boston.  Great workout today, yet still more work to get where I'd like to be!

Ran another 4.5 miles on TM in the afternoon (7:30 pace)