Last Day of March

I didn't work as long as I thought I would so I was able to rest and get out for a short run. Negative splits again today although I only ran 4.2 miles in 34:02 for a 8:06 pace. But my first mile was about 8:50 and mile 2 hit at 17:04 so I ran sub 7:50s for the last 2.2 miles.

I have not run as many miles again this month as I had hoped; total for the month was 117.1 miles.

Like last month, this is about 35-40 miles less than what I would like to run. School really played a part in this along with work. I do feel better prepared for Boston after the marathon; with a little better pacing I should have a good run.

Just Running, Running in the Rain

I wasn't able to get out yesterday so even though it was raining and windy, I ran 7.1 miles at lunch at an 8:30 pace. I felt good and had negative splits.

What is it though with drivers in the rain. They were driving fast and acted like they didn't see me even with the bright colors I always wear.

Of course now it has stopped raining but I was glad I went out when I did; I keep thinking that it could be cool and rainy in Boston and I want to be prepared for anything and everything.

One more day in March, this month has really flown by for me. I'm really looking forward to Boston!

New Week: Preparing for Boston

I took yesterday off after working longer than usual. I was tired and needed a little rest and I had planned on going to church at 4 so I just ran out of time.

Today I ran 6.2 miles in 54:00 for a 8:42/mi. pace. It was nice and some of the tightness left with the run after I was warm, beyond the 3 mile mark. It felt great to be back running.

After 5 Days Off

I hope to run tomorrow. My legs feel almost fully recovered from Sunday.

I joined the Hartford Track Club this week in hopes of catching a ride with them to the Boston Marathon. There bus is full right now but I am on their waiting list. Also I have been wanting to join and this gave me a good reason to do it now.

This is the 1st year no friends or family will probably be with me to see the race. I did have one offer from a friend who runs marathons but he is really going above and beyond to go so I'm thinking right now that I'll go To Hopkinton and take the bus from the park over to the village and take the bus back from Boston after the race. It'll be different but I'll be with all runners back to Hopkinton so I won't bore anyone with my retelling of the race.

It's cold again here, better for early Spring running.

Yuengling Shamrock Marathon

I flew into Norfolk on Saturday. Great flight and it was a fantastic day. My son picked me up and we went to the Expo. Keith was running the 1/2.

The shirts were very nice, one I will definitely wear. I got a deal on Accel gel and then we went to the motel to have ww pasta before going to St. Nicholas Church in Virginia Beach. After we went and bought water and food at the store.

Sunday I got up at 5:15 but Keith was late getting up. We got down to the beach and we couldn't find a spot close to the 1/2 starting line. I stared to drive so I could drop off Keith but he would be running from 7-9 and I would be running from 8-12 so we just parked so he could have the keys. He went running off to the start at about 6:50. After he told me he didn't make it until after the start. But the timing chip saved him.

I walked with a couple of locals; it was going to be their first marathon. The bag drop off was really easy and plenty of porta potties.

I was in the street in front of the 3:30 pacer. I really should have been back in front of the 3:40.

Off we went south. I was running between 7:40 and 8:10. People around me started to push the pace and I felt OK so I was running 7:10-7:50 for about 4 miles. I eased up and fell back a little but still running sub 8's. At the 13.1 mark I ran a 1:42+ the fastest 1/2 ever. I knew I would be in trouble. I hadn't drunk enough up to that point. Also we went back out to the beach onto concrete which was not kind on my ankles.

We ran north out of town and then turned and went up hill for about 4 miles. Even though it was a gentle incline, it did me in. It was deceptively humid. I really needed a lot more to drink and I started to drink 2 waters each station. At 20 miles I was struggling. I was dead art 22 and my left leg was cramping at 24+. Probably 50 people passed me in the last 2.2 miles. Finally I turned the corner and saw the finish in the far distance. I ran under the banner at 3:44:59.

I went to marathon guide just now and saw that age graded equivalent time was 3:06:49 so I fell better about my time. The chip time was 3:44:40, so I qualified for Boston, I was 383/2639 which surprised me and I was 7th in my age group.

Keith ran the 1/2 in 1:49:01, 824/6546 and 100 in his division.

I felt faint and nauseous after but felt better after 2 bottles of water.

The after party was great! 4 free beers, beef stew, and a live band for 4 hours. We had the best time.

My avg HR was 146 and my max was 158. My avg speed was 6.7 mph and my max speed was 10.9 mph. I burned 3123 calories. I averaged 7 mph or better until mile 21 where I fell to 6 and then 5 at 24+ miles. I kept watching my pace drop at the end without being able to step it up.

Hopefully, this experience will help me in Boston. There I will start slower and not pick it up until at least mile 15 and try to turn it on at mile 22.

Random Thoughts

In bed this morning my right ankle popped. My leg felt better today.
I haven't run a s much as I like for 3 weeks; Not running the marathon in Myrtle Beach threw me off my schedule and I really haven't recovered. With my classes I was drinking too much coffee to try and wake up and stay awake and I was up too late and not getting enough sleep. Then I would try to run longer distances since I couldn't run as often as I wanted to run. I finally emailed one of my instructors and said I needed to drop another course. Since then my stress is lower and I have gotten enough sleep.
Today I ran another 6.2 miles in 52:14, an avg pace of 8:25. My left leg finally felt fine on the run today. It had hurt above and then the bone below. It may be the older shoes. I received a massage on Tuesday from someone new, Melanie, at Massage Envy. My son had given me a free hour at Christmas and I finally had a chance to use it. I think it was just in time. My legs really needed it. It wasn't the same as I received from Shannon, but it takes time to have someone get use to you and you to get use to them. Shannon hasn't talked to me for 2 months so I felt I needed to try someone new. Shannon had helped me through my first 23 marathons and without her I would not be the runner I am today.
I have lost contact with a lot of old friends lately. I hope to rectify that in the coming months.
Right now I just want this marathon to go well and concentrate on Boston.

Tapering

I ran 6.2 miles today on the roads; Spring is definitely in the air. I took yesterday off and I am dropping out of my second class. I was tired all the time; my work, home life and running were all suffering. My heart was not into learning the SQL; I have been looking for a job on and off for over 2 years and SQL with no experience was not going to get me a job. Life is too short not to live everyday and all the reading and studying was frustrating because I still needed to do more to succeed. I just did not have enough time in the day. The 2:30 alarm did not help.

So today 6.2 miles in 52:31, an 8:28 avg pace with an avg HR of 129 bpm with a max of 149. I kept it easy and I had a lot more rest in the past 2 days since I didn't have to be out until 9:30 and I wasn't stressed trying to do the SQL homework.

What a Week!

Today was the first time I've run since my 14 miler. I had planned to take Wednesday off and then my brother called to tell me my Aunt Joyce died and the funeral was Thursday at 11. So I was out of town all day Thursday after dropping the grandkids off at school.

Friday my right leg hurt; The whole outside from the calf to the IT band. It was worse on Saturday. I was doing stretches, foam roller work, cold bath, tennis ball under the feet and my legs up the wall. Nothing seemed to take all the pain away. I was worried on Saturday. But today the pain was much less; I drank a lot of water yesterday and got a lot of sleep. I think I lacked both all week last week. I'm just tired trying to do everything from classes, work, family and running. Today the board holding the desktop keyboard and the keyboard came down on my right foot. The toe next to the little toe was bleeding and the nail turned black. It has hurt since it happened. But I ran 5.4 miles on the treadmill at the gym and I felt good after. The leg doesn't hurt and the toe doesn't hurt any more than it did. I hope to run at least another 3 days this week before the race.

Last Long Run before Marathon

I'm just back from a 14.1 mile run; my last long run before the Yuengling Shamrock Marathon. I felt great; only my right arch gave me any problems. 7.2 mph an 8:18 avg pace in 1:57:08. My 1/2 split was 1:49:16 and I had negative splits again today. I hope the weather is good for the race. I'm really looking forward to running.

Negative Splits

Negative splits because I started fairly slow today. My legs really hadn't recovered from yesterday afternoon. I was also over 100% max HR (104%) but not by much and I felt fine. This is what I thought would happen yesterday. It started to drop back down at 0.9 miles and the avg HR was 131 bpm. I did run a little faster, 8:37/mi. for 1:29:42 0.2 miles further in 20 seconds more. I was surprised both considering I ran my second 10 miler in 22 hours I happy with the results.

Another beautiful warm end of Winter day in CT.

Felt like I was Running on Empty Again

After working until 10:30 I raced home to grab my SQL book and went for extra help til 12 o'clock. I had a couple of bowls of a granola mix and went to bed until 3:10. I went out for a run at about 3:25. I felt tired and slow but I wanted to get another 10 today to go over 40 for the week. All week my max heart rate has been high 80 - 90 % of max which I don't think is good for your heart.

Today I was worried that it might be the highest but the results were 154 bpm max which is below 80% and the average 131 pbm which is in the range (125 - 135) I try to hit every time out. So I ran 10.2 miles in 1:29:22 for a 8:45/mi. avg pace. And I felt good at the end. I hope I can run for another 11/2 hours tomorrow but I am going to take it easy if my legs don't recover by the morning. I do drink a few beers on Saturday night and the beer doesn't always help my recovery. Hey it's Saturday!

I read more of Marathon and Beyond before napping today; it's a great issue!

An Interesting Day *

I was all set to run late morning today but my granddaughter had other plans for me. She didn't feel well this morning and was pale so she stayed home with me. I had bills to write checks for, homework, job applications and seeds to order so I waited until my wife got home before heading out. I don't like running after 3 because I'm more of a morning person and the traffic is heavier in the PM. I took a different route to mix things up a bit and ran 8.5 miles in 1:13:07, a 8:34/mi. pace. I have been running every other day for a week mostly because of homework. I have caught up and if I put in the time this weekend I should be good between now and the Shamrock Marathon.

Marathon and Beyond has a special section on Boston: The Marathoner's rite of passage. It's an excellent publication that I highly recommend. I received the April Runner's World in the mail today and I bought a used copy of Lore of Running from Amazon so I have a lot to read outside of school work too.

I received a card in the mail for The Cape Relay May 1 & 2. I would love to do this and I wish I had a team of 12 friends who would also love to run this relay. I'm not sure if I even get 11 people reading this blog :) The relay web site is: www.13relay.com and you can email them at: cape@13relay.com

Like a Spring Day

Wow! What a beautiful day today. I took my grandkids to school and got gas for the car and went to school to do homework for 2 hours. I had debated with myself if I wanted to run early but decided to eat a good breakfast so I had to wait. I went out at 11:30, I had the day off from Target, and felt great for the entire run. I wish I could have gone 15-16 miles but I knew I would regret it tomorrow morning at work. So I ran 12.4 miles in 1:42:51 for a 8:17/mi. pace. I felt like I could have kept it up for many more miles.