Musings on my Day Off *

I try to periodically get rid of my old shoes but I'm sure my wife feels the same as Tara on http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/30/keeping-old-running-shoes/

I really like reading the Well blogs on the NY Times. There also great stories under the "Running Voices" here http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/05/27/health/MARATHON_VOICES.html

I don't know about you but I subscribe to 3 running magazines and I never seem to have the time to finish them before the next issue of at least one of them shows up in the mail. All 3, Runner's World, Running Times and Marathon and Beyond, have timely and valuable articles.

End of the Month

Yesterday I ran 5.1 miles again and today I ran 7.0 miles in 59:00 7.1 mph pace.

The total for the month of July is 223.6 miles since I'll take tomorrow off.

Simone is having tightness in her right leg so I'm not sure how many miles we can run on Saturday.

I drank more today and there was a breeze periodically so I felt somewhat cooler. All my shoes aredown to the last 50-75 miles except my newest pair. I'll need to buy at least one more pair in August.

Tired Legs

Yesterday I ran 8.0 miles in 1:06:10; this coming weekend will be my last long run before the marathon. I am now tapering and will run 40 something miles this week and around 30 next week. My legs were tired after the run yesterday. Ice and elevation the order of the day.

Today I ran 5.1 miles in 43:30 7.0 mph; legs feel good. Weather continues to be very humid!

I missed the Whole Week?

I can't believe I didn't write all week after Monday.

I was very busy looking for a job, I had 2 interviews, and I ran a record # of miles for the week for 2009.

A summary of the week since Monday:

Tuesday 7.1 miles 59:54 7.1 mph

Wednesday 7.1 miles 1:00:10 7.0 mph

Thursday 10.2 miles 1:25:00 7.2 mph

Friday OFF

Saturday 7.0 miles 59:11 7.1 mph

Sunday 11.6 miles 1:37:55 7.1 mph

Simone had tired legs this week; I made the mistake of telling her to take only 1 full day off after her longest run ever!!! 3 days off would have been better; she had problems on Friday and we talked. I had her rest for the weekend and see how she felt on Monday. Hopefully, she will be OK and will be able to run 2-3 times this week.

I ran 58.5 miles for the week and I'm up to 198 miles for the month, both are 2009 records.

If I didn't have a marathon in 2 weeks I could try and set an all-time monthly record. But I could hurt myself too so it's best I run in the 40's this week.

Monday Run *

Today I ran 10.7 miles after running 16.4 yesterday and I still feel OK. I ran 10.7 in 1:33:20 at 6.8 mph a 3:42.8/mi. pace. Slow but 27.1 miles in 2 days is a lot for me.

My legs actually feel stronger after hurting my left foot last Thursday.

I've been eating a lot of vegetables in the last few days and also salmon and 3 hamburgers.

I've iced my legs a few times too. I may finally go over 50 miles for the week this week.

There's a good article on http://www.marathonguide.com/index.cfm, 'Spacing out' helps distance runners cope with rigors of race http://bit.ly/38MHU7

This happens to me on my long runs too. I'm usually alone and I never listen to music. It used to be even worse when I first started running long. My longest training run has been just over 24 miles.

Catching up for the Week

It's been a busy week. My son and grandson were visiting from Raleigh for the week. My running went like this:

Tuesday 10.6 miles 1:26:30 7.3 mph

Wednesday 6.2 miles 49:19 7.5 mph

Thursday Off

Friday 7.1 miles 58:19 7.3 mph

Saturday 8.5 miles 1:11:10 7.1 mph

Sunday 16.4 miles 2:31:00 6.5 mph

Thursday I went to the beach with all the grandkids and I fell back off of a rock. It hurt my bunion which was tender for 2 days. It felt OK today on the long run.

This was Simone's longest run ever. She did great and only tired a little after 12 miles. Next time she needs to drink more and and more miles she needs another gel.

Monday, Monday

I ran 10 miles yesterday in 1:22:30.

I was up until 12:30 last night and awake at 5:30.

Today I ran 7.0 miles in 59:48; very tired. I need to come up with some energy for tomorrow.

It remains cool probably 10-15 degrees below the seasonal average.

Last Day of the Running Week *

I ran 7.0 miles today in 56:10 for a 7.5 mph for an 8:01.4/mi. pace. A total of 49.5 miles for the week. I believe that is the longest weekly mileage for the year.

I raced off to get a massage after that since I have to drive about an hour to get to Mansfield CT. Shannon was par excellent! as usual.

Today they run the Leadville 100 and trail marathon, http://www.leadvilletrail100.com/

Leadville is about 2 hours from Denver. I hope whatever job I get allows me the time and $$ to train for it next year, the marathon that is :-)

I'm thinking of signing up for the Monster Trail Marathon, Virgil NY, http://www.fingerlakesrunners.org/ Sept 6. It's about a 4 1/2 hour drive and it's run on Sunday. Since I'm 57 I would start around 7:00 AM so I could probably be back home by 5:00.

If I have a job by then, I may still be able to run it.

Friday July 11 *

I ran 7.0 miles today in 58:10 at 7.2 mph. It was sunny and cool, high 60's. The temperature is about 15 degrees below normal. I have already run over 42.5 miles this week and I hope to run about 10 miles tomorrow. Check out the 37th annual Master T&F Championships, http://www.thenorthwestern.com/article/20090710/OSH02/907100434

I hope I'm still competing when I'm 90.

Day Off After Long Run *

Yesterday I ran 14.0 miles in 1:57:30 7.1 mph for a pace of 8:23.6/mi. I believe I was getting stronger during the run with negative splits but my ankles were sore after. That would have been a 3:40 marathon pace, good for a training run. My route was hilly and I ran through Enfield, Longmeadow MA., East Longmeadow MA., Somers CT and back to Enfield.

Tuesday was a full moon which seems to effect my running.

Woke up and my ankles were tight. I decided to take the day off since I have run over 35 miles already this week and if I run tomorrow I may go over 50 miles total for the week. That would be the most weekly miles for 2009.

The Marine Corps Marathon site has a 3 D video course tour, http://www.marinemarathon.com/mcm_community/video_highlights/2009_Course_Tour.htm

if you know Washington at all you can easily see what you will be running by for each mile.

Pushing the Last 3 Days *

Sunday I ran 10.5 miles in 1:24:10 7.4 mph. I felt great and faster than I've felt in almost a week.

Monday I felt like I should take it easy so I ran 7.0 miles in 59:45 a 7.0 mph pace. My legs were a little sore so today I got up earlier and ran only 4.0 miles in 7.4 mph. I hope to run 13-14 miles tomorrow or Thursday and then take Friday off.

I have been signing up for at least 1 job a day for the past week. Tomorrow I will contact some companies to see if I can get an interview and I'm going to sign up foe a couple of classes.

Here is a link to a humble marathon experience, one I'm sure many of us have felt could happy when we either didn't prepare properly or went out waaay to fast. http://suburbanjournals.stltoday.com/articles/2009/07/07/stcharles/news/0708stc-pokin0.txt

Happy July 4th

Another cloudy day in CT. Although right now the sun is shining!

I ran 8.0 miles in 1:07:00, 7.1 mph an 8:22.5/mi. pace. I felt tired for the first 5 miles and I would have liked to run further but that was 42.4 miles for the week right in my target zone.

Just filled out another job application; that took longer than running 8 miles :(

Early Friday Run

I took yesterday off and ran today because Simone said it fit her schedule better than tomorrow. It worked out well for me because I thouhgt I needed to rest yesterday and I have been on a tear this week filling out job applications.

I ran 168.3 miles for the month of June, my second highest monthly total for the year so far.

Monday I ran 6.1 miles and Tuesday 7.1 miles. I was feeling good so Wednesday I went 10 miles and got back and my wifes' moms dog ran off so I ran at least another mile trying to run her down. I finally caught her after cornering her in a neighbors yard.

Today Simone and I ran 10.2 miles in 1:28:00 (6.9 mph) for a 8:37.6/mi. pace. That equates to a 3:46:11 pace for 26.2 miles. I believe that Simone can run that for most of the race and adding a minute per mile to the last 5 miles she can run a 3:52 for Hartford. This is what I am trying to have her aim for in October.

http://www.marathonguide.com/index.cfm has an article on Michael Wardian running the 100K World Championship, finishing 6th (6:40/mi. for 62 miles) and 7 days later running the Western States 100 and finishing 16th.

He ran the Vermont City one year when I ran and I got to see him in the first out and back.