Doesn't Get Easier

Out on the trail all geared up for the colder weather.  The wind was the pits, but the roads were clear so I didn't have to worry about falling.  Felt tired by the end.  You really have to fight for endurance everyday or it leaves very quickly.

Snowing outside so I did these on ye old mill.  I don't mind the mill, but it can get really tough when bumping up the incline.  I read that Michael Wardian trains on the mill by going to a 15% incline and running hard for 50 minutes.

The Mrs. was out of town this weekend so I stayed indoors and ran my miles on the mill again.  Mixed it up with progressive pacing and incline.  Sweating like crazy afterward.  Now time to hangout with my daughters.

2 x 7 miles before work and before bed.

7 miles before work

All these on the mill w/hills while watching the movie 2012.  Nothing but silly eye candy, which is exactly what you need on the mill!!

Finally got outside for a run.  Kind of windy, but at least it was a cross wind.  Ran most miles in the low 8s.  Feel myself slowly making progress.

On the TM before work.

On the TM before work.

On the TM before work.

Shorts and tanker weather.....INSIDE!

On the mill and done in 1:16.

In Boston, MA on business.  Ran 6 mi on the mill before bed at the Marriott.

Busy day of meetings and too cold to run outside (-4 F) so I hit the mill early and late for 13 mi total. Awesome fitness facilities at this hotel.  I'm staying at Marriott more often.

Actually saw a couple hearty souls running outside today.  I really like Boston.

Last day in Boston.  Ran 6 mi early before morning meetings.

Tired and woke up late so only got 5 mi done before work.

Legs felt lively this morning.  Still on the mill due to snow, dark, and cold.  YUCK!

Woke up a bit late so only got thru 6 mi before work.

First longish run in a while.  Finally ran outside again, but there is still some snow to deal with in some places. Pace was a better than I would have expected given all the running I've been doing on the TM.  Done in 2:05 (8:20 avg).  Hope to get closer to 70 miles next week.

Wow, huge blizzard here caused my TM to stop when the lights flickered.  Cut this one short and hunkered down!

Did this run after shoveling about a foot of snow off of the driveway.  Felt terrible with tired back and left hammy.

The weather is for the birds and I'm still a bit tired.  Crabby too!

Not into running this week can you tell?

 Broke this into two runs on the TM.

Feels like I'm coming down with something. Mentally checked out.

Sick with Pink Eye and sinus issue.  Fun times.

Feeling about 80%.  Antibotics are playing havoc on my endurance.

Finally getting a decent feeling once again.

Feeling much better.  Had the day off so I ran these before lunch on the mill.

Broke it up into 2 runs, one outside and one inside.  The treadmill pace is spot on with outside pace.

Ran 8 before work and 4.1 after.

Ran 8 before work and 4 after.  Getting warmer outside and snow from the blizzard is almost gone.

Ran 7 before work.  Off to Chicago tonight to leave for Costa Rica tomorrow. Really excited about this trip and the heat!!

First run in Costa Rica and what a beauty.  Loved the sun and heat.  Stopped to watch a triathlon taking place at our resort during the run.  They were stretched thin on volunteers so I helped guide runners on a turn once and while. Inspiring to watch the leaders screaming towards the finish.  Some serious competition participated.

Another earlier morning run before all of the activities and heat gear up.

Back home in IL again.  I miss the warmth already.  Good to be back and on a firm schedule though.

Some faster paces mixed in, but I don't recall how much.  It was cold and raining out so I did these on the TM.

Faster pacing the during the last 5 miles.  Trying to get on a better schedule.  Need some consistency!

Ran 8 early before work and then 5 during the lunch hour on the gym's TM.  Did hill work during the 5.

Another two-a-day, but the 5.2 right after work was done progressively fast down to around 10K pace.

Completed 7.5 early before work and then 5.5 before eating lunch at my desk.  Feeling some tiredness and my middle back is stiff.  Had to be expected with the aggressive jump in miles this week compared to the last several..

Ran 8 this morning in slightly warmer weather.  Could tell rain was moving in by the humidity in the air. 

Ran 4 right after work on the TM while it rained out.  Didn't feel like running any further.

Out early on a cold morning.  Felt crummy around the 1.5 hr mark and then better from there, but then felt crummy the last mile as I had a strong head wind.  Most miles this week since last September.  Now to carefully keep it up.

Easy 8.55 in the morning and then a faster paced 5.5 during lunch.  I believe it's the TM that is aggravating my middle back a bit. 

Over distance day, all easy miles with the exception of a fast finish the last mile.  Felt really good once the legs warmed up.

8.5 before work and 5.5 before lunch.  All real easy because I felt flat. 

AM: 8.5 mi before work, included a few easy surges

Lunch: 5.65 mi on the mill, 2-3 min steep hill climbs (8-10%) and faster finish down to mid-6

PM: 7.3 mi on the mill, faster second half down to low-7

Just trying to work in my schedule as many miles as possible.  Legs feeling alright, but my mid-section (inluding my back) is tight the first 2-3 miles.  I think the mill makes it worse.

AM: 8.5 mi easy run before work on a cold morning.  Legs had pep the first 3 mi and then quickly got heavy.  Suppose to warm up this weekend! 

AM: Taking care of the little ones this weekend so ran 8.5 mi on the TM at home.  Hopefully can get another run in outside later.  Beautiful weather.

PM: Ran on the TM again for 6.5 mi.  Last 1.5 at tempo and about 10K pace.

All miles were at a little faster pace than usual and last mile of the day was down to 20K pace at low-6s.  Feel myself recovering more quickly.

AM: Ran 8.5 mi in complete darkness the whole time thanks to daylight savings time.  Really felt tired afterwards as well.

Lunch: Ran 6.0 mi easy on the TM at the club.  Made the mistake of having a "fun size" Payday bar right before going for a run.  Big time sugar crash during the third mile.  Felt bad during that stretch and then stabilized.

PM: Ran 6.0 with 1K at tempo pace mid-6s.

AM: 8.5 mi before work.  Tried to stay really comfortable because legs were stiff.  Really wish I was about 30 lbs lighter.

PM: 6 mi before lunch.  Great weather with sun and temps in the upper 50s.  Really looking forward to warmer mornings as well, but that will be a while.  Ran fast for around 0.5-1.0 mi near the end.  No watch, just did it by feel.  Surprised I didn't see more runners out.  Come on people!

AM: Terrific morning for a run.  Just needed some sunshine!  Did 8.5 mi all easy.  Legs felt recovered this morning, but should be careful because my lower legs were a little grumpy in spots.

Lunch: Quick 5 mi between meetings.  WINDY!

PM: Dropped my daughter off for volleyball and I went for another run.  6.8 mi

AM: Went out the door this morning and it started to sprinkle.  Turned around and went back inside to run on the mill, but decided to throw on a coat and deal with possible rain.  It's tough going back on the mill after being outside.  Really easy 7 mi.

Lunch: A couple easy progression runs inside on the mill since it was raining and colder outside.  Being wet is ok, being wet and cold stinks!  6 mi 

Helped clean up the house a bit and then hit the road for 20.  Took a trip around the lake.  Temp was perfect and the sun was out.  I had GI issues early on though thanks to pizza I had last night.  Also disappointed I couldn't hold a better pace the last 5 miles.  I was running straight into a strong wind though.  I just wanted to be done with this ride.  Avg pace 8:30

Ran 3 times today for close to 22 mi.  One mile was done at tempo.  Terrific weather day.  Shorts and t-shirt all the way.  Legs felt good and I wasn't dragging on the last run like I was last week.  Probably because I did this on a day after a rest day.

A couple butt draggers that added up to 14.6 mi. 

8 + 6 mi  Legs felt better the second run.  Feeling like I'm not eating quite enough. Weather has been terrific the past several days.  Planned a third run, but bagged it to be cautious.

AM: 8.5 glorious miles during a 30 dg windy morning.  It was 65 dg at this time yesterday!  Bundled up in all the mismatched garb and hit the road.  Thought about turning around 100 yards from the house, but remember Ron Hill saying "go at least one mile, then decide".  Pushed the pace on the way back, but not sure how fast.  No watch.  Focused on comfortably fast. 

PM: 2 x 6 mi Like this morning I did a neagtive split for each run.  First 6 mi was a progression run (incline and speed) on the mill.  Some running done at faster than MP, but counted it as MP.  Felt better than I expected.  We'll see what tomorrow brings though.

2 x 6 mi Ran 2 mi at MP during the second run, which took place on the mill.

Outside run of 18 mi.  Terribly windy and cold so I had to wear plenty of layers.  Picked up the pace slightly during the last 4 miles.  Now off to St. Louis for a short family weekend trip.  Plan to go to the City Museum.  Suppose to be a really fun place.

8.5 + 6.5  Morning run felt pretty good even though it was cold and dark out.  Did an easy progression run for the second run with the last 0.5 at MP and a bit faster.  In a bit of a funk mentally, simple felt like a zero.  One of those "why am I here?" type days. 

8.5 + 6.5 mi

Both of these were easy progression runs with the second one faster.  Starting to get a little bit warmer out.  Goal is to hit 100 miles again, but at a slightly faster avg. pace for the week.

8.5 + 5 + 6.5 mi

All easy running, picking it up a little during the back half.  I wanted to run a little faster, but my gut was telling me not to push it.  Not sure if this high frequency type running will be effective, but it's the only way to get in the miles while working full-time and spending time with family.

8.5 + 5.5 + 6.0 mi

First run went really well.  Had a sugar bonk on the second run thanks to a small piece of cake an hour before.  Lasted about 2 miles, which is typical.  Last run was slow and easy most of the way, but faster on the back half.  Need to stretch.

Basically the same as yesterday, but a little slower.

Caring for the kids this weekend so couldn't make this a long endurance run.  Good thing because my legs were dull and felt very heavy today.  Probably wouldn't have made it much further.  Barely made it another 100 this week.  Now time to relax.

Food note, no more pizza the night before.  At least not from around here.  Nice potty dash up a hill though!

Ran 2x for 14 mi.  All easy pace.

Ran 2x for 15 mi.  Again, all easy pace.

Ran 3x for 20 miles.  Last run was progression down to sub-10K pace.

2x slow and easy running.  Second run was a bit faster.  Bodyweight is coming down slowly, which should help a great deal overall.  Strange thing is my legs feel a bit faster on the second or third run of the day then they do on the early morning trot.  Wasn't that way before.

Ran 2X today.  Mixed in a lot of fartleks, but no clock watching, just various distances at a steady controlled speed.

Ran 1x long endurance run.  Started out slow first 2 miles then repeated 2 min. fast + 8 min. easy for the remainder.  No idea how fast the "fast" sections were so I just marked them as MP, but the last 3 were tough.  Focused on staying in control and relaxed.  It was warm and sunny.  I was wiped out and hungry at the end.  That makes 4 weeks in a row of 100 miles.  Making progress, but it comes slowly.

Total for the entire week was 54 miles.  I started it out on business travel and then came home to the Mrs. being very ill.  Schedule was blown up for the rest of the week as I took care of things around the house.

1x run for 6 mi during the lunch hour.  Right leg is really tight first 2 mi, but then better for the remainder.  Plan to alternate short and longer days this week and then go short everyday next week before the race.

All slow on the treadmill.  Didn't want to deal with the wind and rain.

Out of town on business so I ran these really easy on the hotel treadmill.  Marathon is this Sat. and weather forecast is 50s with possible high winds.  No rain so I'm happy!!

No run today as race is tomorrow.  Just finished a super stack of pancakes with scrabble eggs for supper.  Might have found a prerace favorite, but we'll see what happens.

I finished the 3^rd annual Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon, my first Illinois marathon since relocating here for a new job last October and a marathon PR by one minute.  Since it was held in Champaign-Urbana, which is about 1.5 hours away, we decided to go the cheap route and drive there the morning of the race instead of staying in a hotel.  So my wonderful wife got up with me bright and early at 4 am and we packed our sleepy kids into the van for the short trip northeast.  Due to traffic, Krista dropped me off near the race location about 30 min. before the start, which gave me just enough time to hit a porta-john along the way before heading to the starting line.  Found out later the rest of the family went off to eat a quick breakfast before coming back to watch the race.  As for weather, it was mostly cloudy with winds of 15-25 mph throughout the entire race.  At the start, the temperature was 50 dg. and climbed to 60 dg. over the next three hours. With the exception of the winds, it was perfect conditions for a race.  From a stage near the starting line, Frank Shorter wished all the runners well and said “let the wind push you all quickly to the finish”, that was cool and I got a bit of an inspiration surge recalling pictures of him running for gold in the Olympics.  The gun was fired and the wheelchair division was let out for a one minute lead before the runners.  I was really excited for some reason, so I decided to tag along with the 3:10 pace group for a short while so I didn’t blast off.  Here are my times at various points in the race:

First 10K – 42:04 (6:47 avg) The first 10K was mostly uneventful.  I was feeling good and battling with the wind.  I never thought I’d say this, but I was thankful there were plenty of turns.

13.1mi – 1:29:32 (6:50 avg) Had to battle a nasty headwind out in the open for a while, but then entered an older residential section, which provided ample protection from the wind.  Almost felt as if the wind was gone completely or we had a tailwind during this part.  I did notice that the Garmin showed me running long by about 0.2 mi and that worried me a bit.  I don’t know why, because I was working the tangents.  Hopefully I can bring that difference down.  I took in a GU packet at mile 8.

20mi – 2:17:57 (6:54 avg) The last seven miles were a battle and I knew the party was just getting started.  Of course, the winds were still howling and it felt like every time I took a turn a head wind was there to greet me.  Let’s just say I winced plenty of choice words every time I took a turn, but really was grateful for the turns at times.  I was also still long by 0.2 mi according to the Garmin and my legs were really tired.  I was thinking to myself “I didn’t need the extra distance today and why didn’t I do more 20+ miles in training?”  Negatives were spinning in my head and some anger was building in my gut.  Not good because I should be feeling confident that I can still break 3 hrs.  I took in some GU somewhere during this stretch.  Krista said they tried to get my attention at mile 15, but I was in a total zone and didn’t see them.

Final 10K – 47:35 (7:40 avg) As usual, I lost my sub-3 during the last 10K.  I never saw sub-7 pace the rest of the way as the legs would just not go.  I took in another GU, but think I needed a much bigger sugar boost and mentally was still plagued with negative thoughts.  A couple younger runners passed me up during this time, but nobody older than me (a small goal I have as I get older!).  Actually, I didn't run slower than a 7:30 mile during this last stretch because I ended up running over by 0.2mi.  I asked a couple other runners if they came out long for the course and they did as well.  Bound to happen since it’s fairly new race, but plan to give the RD a heads up to double check. I would have come in around 3:04 at the finish.

My final placing was:

Overall  58/1885

Gender  53/1184

Age  4/172

So I ended up attaining my B goal with a PR and will have to wait for that sub-3.  I’m turning 40 this week so I’m glad to be still improving, albeit slowly, and I still have a fire in the gut to improve some more.  I was called out as “big guy” several times during the race, which might be a big hint that I need to lose some more weight.  Anyway, the race organizers put together a good race and the volunteer support was excellent.  I hope they can keep this going since, Lord willing, I plan to run it again.

Recording all the miles for the week today.  Ran 9 times Mon-Sat.  I've been a lazy blogger, but think it's healthy to check out sometimes and just run.  Took it easy all week and worked out some kinks via PT and massage.  Make progress, but still a bit sore.  Would like to work up to higher miles again, but not keeping a firm schedule.  Besides I'm now in the 40+ league.  We'll see what next week brings. 

Total miles for the week.  Longest run was 15.25 miles.  All running was done at an slow to easy pace.  Having some issues with my right leg so started to incorporate lower body weight training 3-4 times a week.  Nothing serious lifting wise.  Lighter weight and long sets of 3-4 exercises.  After one week it's making a difference, but legs were definitely more tired than usual by Saturday.

Total miles for the week.  Longest run was 15 miles.  All running was done at an slow to easy pace.  Issues with my right leg have already dissapated since I started lower body weight training 3 times a week.  I'm feeling stronger and faster as well.  I'll try to bump up miles again next week.

Reporting total miles for the week. Longest run today was a total slug fest 16 miles due to extreme humid conditions. My feet were squishing at the end and I hate squishy feet. As usual, completed all the miles this week at an easy pace. Maybe got down to a 6:45 mile once or twice, but that's it. I'm excited since I don't have any issues physically, just plain old tired from the warm weather. I now have more balance and I don't have the pesky aches anymore. Finally, I can just go out and run without pain of any sort. Signed up for the St. Louis marathon in Oct. Feels like a long time from now, but will be here before you know it. I hope to do a bit more in miles next week, but I'm not keeping a firm schedule. Those days are long gone!!

Not a bad week given the really hot and humid weather and how I felt.  Longest run was 12.5 miles.  I was feeling ok early in the week then after a hot run on Wed. I could tell my body was fighting something. Whether it was an allergy or virus, I was lacking energy and just not feeling right.  I bagged the run on Thursday.  Finally cooled off for today's run.  Signed up for a 50 mile race for late in Aug.  Really looking forward to some wood trails up north.

Catch up entry for miles ran during rest of 2011.