Boston

What can I say that hasn't been said the past few days?
I was in the finishing area when the bombs went off. I ran great from Heartbreak hill I didn't realize I was over it until I saw the road and knew. The Hill was nothing this year. Not always the case.
I was running strong and passing a lot of people until 25. I toughed it out until the turn in front of the Citgo sign. The last 4/10s were tough.
I was stiff after the finish. Water. Wrap. METAL! At the food I got a Cookies Powerbar and then POW! We all turned and saw the smoke. All were quiet. Then the second bomb. Smoke and flames. Lots of Volunteers and First Responders running to the smoke. We all knew they were bombs. The Volunteers and First Responders were great. Calm and many running to the smoke. They kept us moving.
Two of my daughters, Julie and Kelly, and two of my grandkids, Sam and Katie, were there to see me run. Kelly and Sam were across from the explosions.
I went to my phone but I couldn't get a call out. No dial tone. I was really worried. God worries about your soul... I texted them and finally got a text back from Kelly.
It was an hour until I hugged them all. It was like I held my breathe. I had to use the porta potties 3 times in the race and finished in 3:56:34. 3 times, set a PR for porta pottie use and gels (9).
I have to run another race to qualify.
I hope I can run 9 in a row. Stay tuned ;)

Training Went Well; Boston in 3 Days

My training was spot on and my tapper has been good too. I have run 3 times this week and I may/may not run today. Boston Expo tomorrow. I had an excellent massage from Sarah and a great massage from Abby on Wednesday. Some of my problems have melted away since. I feel truly blessed to be running Boston for the eighth time in a row and I hope this is only the next step in continuing to run it in the future.

Less than a Month to Boston

I ran 20 miles Friday at 8:42/mi., still below the 3:45 I need to run a 8:45 in Boston. I have run a 14, 16 and 20 miler in preparation and I feel good except for a stiff neck. I will need to stay mentally tough in Boston.

40.2 Miles This Week

Finally ran over 40 for the week with a 16.1 mile run yesterday and 3.4 miles today. My hip popped out of place on Thursday morning but it hasn't stopped me from running. I'm having it worked on and if I get a more experienced massage therapist this week they may be able to pop it back.

No Long Run This Past Week

I had to work over time at work this week so my short day turned long. I did run 6 days in a row again and I do feel good so , hopefully, I will get to run long the end of this week. I need at least a 15 miler. I am foam rolling 2-3 X's per day and using the trigger point tools more and I'm within 100 miles of wearing out my present shoes. It has turned cold and windy today. I hope it warms up again soon.

Sunday Off

Right now I take Sunday as my only day off. I almost ran this Sunday since I didn't have to work at Fleet Feet, but I decided I needed a day off. I have felt better running this week and need a long run on Friday.

4 Miles after Nor'easter

Yes I do have the gear to run in snow and wind thanks to Fleet Feet Hartford and Nike. I ran only 4 miles and had one older guy say "bless you" and one younger guy say " what the hell". No cars came close and I ran 32.3 miles for the week. I had hoped for 38 but the snow killed the last 2 days. Next week I'll run more!

Snow Friday

I had to run inside on the tread mill today after work since the roads seem dangerous. I could only manage to run 7.0 miles in 1:00:31. 28+ miles so far this week but I'm not sure what the storm will bring as far as my ability to run outside tomorrow. Run more!

Doubles

In order to run 40 or more miles a week I felt I needed to run twice a day. I run at lunch, 10-11 and then after work. However, between my 2 hour massage last night and all the miles I have run the past 3 weeks I am only running 6+ miles per day. Now we are suppose to get 20-30 inches of snow in the next 2 days. I'm not sure how much I am going to be able to run this week.

Massage is Essential

I received a massage last night from someone I know, not always the case at the school, and felt great today on my 10.4 mile run. So far 26.5 miles for the week. 118.4 miles for the month. I feel great. I am running 6/7 days and hope to run 7/7 this week.
I hope to get 3 massages each month from one of the students when they get licensed and still go to the school 3 weeks out of 4. I always feel good and never get an injury when I get regular massages. Of course the cost will matter but I hope to have the money.

I Ran Every day This Week

30.5 miles total for the week, with speed work 2 days. Today I ran 5.3 miles with the last mile and hald at about 7:35/mi. Ankle bothered me some but overall I felt great!

Strength Training

I ran 5 days in a row; my plan is to run at least 6/7 days a week. I am doing more strength training and more balance exercises in the hope that I will recover faster and run better for Boston. 7.1 miles yesterday in 1:01.

Running More

Although I loved running a marathon a month, it did not allow me to run as much as I wanted to run.
Since Sunday I have only taken 1 day off and I hope to run tomorrow and run long at least once a week to prepare for Boston. I would love to run a 3:49 in Boston and that is my goal.
I had a great massage last night at the Massage School in Easthampton Ma but I may have pulled a muscle today. Hope not but I don't feel right. I may not do a lot tomorrow.

Mississippi Blues and Beyond

It was a cool day for the race, 34-50 degrees F. I wore a light Ice Breaker shirt (150) and compression shorts and socks. I ran as slow as I could for 5 miles and held back for 12 miles. Everything was fine! I picked it up at mile 16 and pushed at mile 18. But I ran out of sugar (even though I took 7 Gu's) by mile 24.
I finished 4:12:13 and felt good with my calves burning. Blues CDs, Red beans and rice, great metal and shirt. Rolling hills did make it a tough marathon.
Went to Vicksburg the next day and Bravo! for supper. Great day after the marathon. Mississippi gets 2 thumbs up!!!
New Orleans with my niece Gina, Keith, Annemarie and I was great too.
Big plans for southern marathons next year.
8.1 miles yesterday and feeling OK today.

Mississippi Blues Saturday

Well it was in the teens while running again today. 3.3 miles yesterday and 3.1 today. I'll take tomorrow off for the marathon which starts at 7 AM Saturday. We are staying less than a half a mile from the start so it should be a good warm-up and we won't be in a rush.
Legs are tired tonight; I hope they feel good tomorrow. No knee pain since Rehoboth.

Nine Days to Mississippi

I took a few days off since I was on my feet all day. Sunday I ran 12 miles on the rail trail and 6.2 miles on Christmas on the road. I felt great with no knee pain. PT, acupuncture and massage are all helping but it feels like some nerve pain in my left leg.
Still, all in all, I feel good and I'm ready to run a better marathon. I will take it slow at first without running too slow which seems to aggravate my pain.

Since Rehoboth

I have received 2 massages, acupuncture twice, seen an orthopedic ( my knees are as good as a 20 year old, no arthritis) and I'm now in PT to try and fix my left leg.
I ran 10.8 miles last Saturday, one week after the marathon in Saucony Hurricanes with Sole inserts. No knee pain. I have since run 3.6 and 4.1 miles since with no knee pain. Left IT band still too tight but I am feeling better about my chances of running better in Mississippi.

Rehoboth Beach Aftermath

It started well. A cool, cloudy day. I felt good at first but my knee hurt by mile 6. It went downhill after that. I felt like I couldn't run by mile 12. At 16 I started walking as much as running and then mostly walked from 19 on. I did run over the finish ;)
I really need to find some combination which will not effect my left knee. When I am not running it doesn't hurt at all.
After I received advice from one of the massage therapists and he said what I knew that it was where my IT band connected to the knee.
I see an orthopedic tomorrow and hopefully he my have a suggestion. If not I am going back to my podiatrist.

Final Week Before Taper

I ran three times this week 7.1, 6.1 and 6.0 miles and I will run again tomorrow. I have felt good; my weekly massage was great and it has helped me stay focused on next weekend. Hopefully, Rohoboth will be my fastest marathon of the year.

Manchester Road Race 2012

I warmed up for 10 minutes, went to the bathroom at DD and walked to the start. I was in the Under 40 this year for the first time. I was determined to go faster than last year, 39:02. There were a lot of young kids in my corral but they 12-16 year olds have been beating me for years in this race.
The gun went off and I kept up with the crowd. As we turned the corner I had to slow some but the pace was good for me. Hit mile one at sub 8 and I felt great. After rolling up the hill I came down fast and kept it up on the flat. I was never out of breath. My clock time was about 36:10 but my chip time was 35:47 beating last year by over 3 minutes. Right calf hurt some so I didn't push too hard at the end.
A very satisfying  run.
I'm ready for Rohoboth!