A Great Day

Today was a great day!!! I got several job applications filled out and all kinds of things done around the house.
I ran 6 miles in 50:10 (7.1 mph) at a 8:21.7/mi. and my legs felt great compared to yesterday.
It was cool but sunny. It was a very positive day.
Bridget is doing great. It's nice having a dog you can pal around with.
139 miles for the month. January was 213, February 176 and March 219. Any month I run a marathon the mileage is reduced because of the easy week before and after. The week after is always tough to get the mileage back up. Next week I'll feel better.

Tuesday in the Rain

I ran 7.1 miles today in 1:01:40 (6.9 mph) at 8:41.1/mi. My legs are still dead from the race. My left ankle hurt from the 4-5 mile mark. I slowed down. It rained the whole run but it was nice. I haven't been able to run that far for over a week. I feel so alive running.
I filled in one application today and 1/2 of another.
It sucks not having a job. I was always interested in doing a good job; the best I could and being on time every day.
2 days of rain doesn't help your disposition with the dog wanting to go out but not wanting to get wet.
I should have a picture of the finish in Boston soon.

Back After Boston

Today was the first time I ran since Monday's marathon. My left quad hurt some at 1 mile but it seemed OK to run. I ran 4.3 miles in 34:58 (7.4 mph) at 8:07.9/mi. pace.
I'm not sure why I forgot but I didn't take TYLENOL before I ran Boston. It helped in NYC and I thought I had remembered everything. Oh well at least I remembered my shorts this time.
I was taking ADVIL but someone at the NY marathon said TYLENOL was better. It really helps my legs not to be so beat up.

Boston Marathon 2008

It was a fabulous day. The weather was perfect.
I had some problems getting to the start. My daughter Julie was driving us and the car lost power. The EVC sensor light was on the dash. Tiffany and Sam and Katie also came to see me run. They spent most of the day at a VW dealer in Worcester and didn't see me run.
I rode the bus for about an hour with Carl from Pennsylvania who was running his 22 Boston. He started in 1974 and had also run 7 NY marathons.
I found a friend in the village, Karen Farnum. WE had worked together a while back. She was running more miles in a week Than me (about 56 on average) and I encouraged her to run some longer races. She qualified for Boston by running the Hartford Marathon in 2007. WE talked and went to the corrals together.
The race was OK. I felt good and started at 7.0 mph. I was at 7.2 mph by mile 5 and slowly went to 7.4 by mile 9. I stayed there until mile 21 when my GPS stopped reading.
The end result was a 3:40:00 8:24/mi. 9294 overall. I was a little disappointed because I really felt I could run between 3:32 and 3:36. But I did qualify for Boston next year. After I got sick 3 weeks ago I really lower my expectations and my goal became qualifying for Boston with my Boston time.
I guess I'm getting old. I enjoyed the race and although I think I could have run faster I was happy to run well and enjoy the people and the fans.
There really is no race I would rather run than Boston.

4 Days to Go

I didn't run today. I was tired. Maybe the race is heavy on my mind but my legs didn't recover from yesterday so I didn't run today.
Tuesday I ran 4 miles in 34:38 (6.9 mph) at 8:39.5/mi. Yesterday I ran 10.2 miles in 1:24:40 (7.2 mph) in 8:18.0/mi.
A lot of things are going through my mind. I'm concerned that if I don't qualify for next year with this race I may not qualify. I have run all my marathons with the help of Shannon Kuzel my massage therapist and I may not be able to keep seeing her if I don't get a job which pays enough. I'll miss seeing her. She is such a great friend. She helped me reach my full potential in running at 54. But even more I found a friend as an adult which is difficult to do. My last really good friend I made as an adult died suddenly of a heart attack.
Running marathons after 50 seems to be a white collar thing. I may be wrong but if you don't have a desk job it takes a lot out of your legs to try and train all the miles to put in a good effort in the marathon. I'm afraid with the economy the way it is that I may not get the kind of job I need to keep running.
I may not be a great marathoner but I really enjoy the challenge of running 26.2 miles.
I''l give my all on Monday. I can run between 3:25 and 3:45. Any of those times will qualify me for next year. Last year was the only time I thought of stopping in a marathon. It was very tough. I don't know why but it made me appreciate even more Chicago and New York and the 3:18 I ran in Vermont.
Ruth said she may go and watch on Monday. I hope I feel good if she sees me. You just never know how you are going to feel during the marathon.

One Week Til Boston

It's finally almost here. Even though last year was a very tough marathon for me I love running Boston.
Saturday I ran 10.6 miles in 1:22:20 (7.7 mph) at 7:46.0/mi. The temperature was between 54 degrees F and 64 degrees F. I felt good right on the edge of some pain and I ran at that speed the entire way. I was coughing some after but not too bad.
Sunday I was tired. I ran 7.1 miles in 1:00:50 (7.0 mph) at 8:34.1/mi. 51 degrees F when I finished.
I'm looking back to see what I ran for the week before NY and I will try to mimic it this week. I'm going out in about 1/2 hour for a run.

Still Congested

Well yesterday I felt pretty good; I went 10 miles in 1:22:35 (7.3 mph fastest for the week) at a 8:15.5/mi. pace. I'm still coughing a lot at the end for 2-3 minutes.
Today my legs felt tired. I was able to turn it on in the last 11/2 miles. I ran 7.1 miles in 1:00:05 (7.1 mph) at 8:27.7/mi. pace. Tomorrow I'll take off and get a massage. I hope to run about 10 on Saturday and Sunday.
The long term forecast is for high 50's and sunny on Patriot's Day.

Struggling

It's good to be back running but I am struggling this week. I don't feel like my old self. Today I ran 11.1 miles in 1:33:00 (7.1 mph) at a 8:22.7/mi. Every step seems to be a struggle. I didn't cough as much until I stopped running. Yesterday I fell asleep for 2 hours after running. That time off last week is killing my time right now.
One nice thing about being unemployed is I got to see the ring ceremony at Fenway today. That was very cool.

Coughing Up a Lung

Well after Tuesday I couldn't run the rest of the week. I'm not sure how this will effect my run in Boston I hope it has no effect. I was congested and TIRED all week. I've read where it isn't good to run if the "cold" is in your chest and with further advice from Shannon K I took the week off. I did start to feel Ok on Saturday but I was still coughing so I waited until Sunday to try and get my legs back.
Sunday afternoon I ran 6.1 miles in 54:02 (6.8 mph) at a 8:51.5/mi. pace. I ran slow and I felt slow after 4 days off. It was really windy at times during the run.
Today I ran from 1:50 until almost 3:00. 8.1 miles in 1:07:20 (7.2 mph) at 8:18.8/mi. pace. I felt better but I nearly coughed up a lung after the run.

Ups and Downs of an Unemployed Runner

I haven't written since last Wednesday. My job hunting is frustrating. I think I have a good lead and then something falls through.
On Thursday I ran 6.1 miles in 48:38 (7.4 mph) at a 7:58.4/mi. pace. I felt good and I have picked up the pace this week which feels good. Off on Friday so I can run long on Saturday.
Saturday I ran 20.4 miles in 2:49:03 (7.2 mph) at 8:17.2/mi. pace. I felt good took 4 drinks and 2 packs of Gu. This was a little faster than 2 weeks ago, so I'm heading in the right direction for Boston. Three weeks to go. Over 60 miles for the week.
I took Sunday off and cleaned. I breathed in so much dust that I had a hard time breathing on Monday. I had to take Monday off too. I was exhausted and just studied for my CDL permit most of the day.
Today I'm feeling much better. I'll run this morning.
I ran from 10:15 to 10:45 this morning, 10.1 miles in 1:25 (7.0 mph) at 8:25.0/mi. pace.
My left ankle was stiff for 1.20 miles and my legs felt a little tired after 7.5 miles but overall it was a good run. I had a meeting at unemployment at 1:00 which gave a few ideas to pursue. I have an application to fill in this afternoon so I'll end for now.