What's Up?

I'm going to get a massage next Saturday!

I don't have the money but I will find a way to pay for it.

Massage is only for people who are well off!

Running marathons used to be for the masses but now it is for the well to do just like college!

I can run local marathons but I can't run 50 states without a much better job.

The last few days I ran the following in preparation for Boston:

March 16 6.3 miles

March 17 5.2 miles

March 18 4.0 miles 

March 19 5.2 miles 

March 20 OFF

March 21 21.3 miles

March 22 OFF

I ran 21.3 miles in 2:59:19 yesterday at 7.1 mph. I felt good and the last 2 training runs and the last 2 marathons I have felt stronger after 14 miles. Running over 20 miles at least once a month is definitely good for me.

This last week I ran 52.6 miles the most of any week in 2009.

I'm on course to run at least 190 miles this month.

Less than 4 weeks before I'm unemployed ;-( I applied for 2 jobs last week and I have leads for about 7 jobs to apply for this week.

If you know of any jobs, that I can apply for let me know. Thanks!

Tough Week

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I ran 4.2, 5.0 and 5.1 miles. I took Friday off and I had to run 11.0 miles on the treadmill on Saturday. 

My right big toe hurts; it feels like it is out of joint. Actually, my whole right leg is too tight. 

I did run 43.3 miles last week after running 47.0 miles the week before. Those are good totals for me.

Sunday I ran 10.6 miles at 7.0 mph outside on the roads. I do miss running outside.

I know if I could see Shannon she would fix my problems in 2 weeks :-(

Today I ran 6.3 miles on the treadmill; the way my right foot is I'm not sure I can run 26.2 miles.

I need help.

Boston Preparation

On Wednesday and Thursday I ran 7.4 and 5.5 miles. After taking Friday off I was ready for a great weekend.

On Saturday the weather was beautiful and I was able to run 16.1 miles. My left ankle bothered me some but I ran it in 2:10:00 at a 7.4 mph pace. I had to keep myself from running and further.

On Sunday I went out at 11:45 and I ran 12.5 miles in 1:41:30 for a 7.4 mph pace again.

That was the best weekend in months. 

On Saturday afternoon I worked on my legs on and off and they felt great by the time I started to run on Sunday.

I use a lot of tips that Shannon has taught me and even my left hamstring is feeling better.

Today I was back on the treadmill. 

After running in the 2 different pairs of Nike Air Max Moto 6 on the weekend I switched back to the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 8s. The combination seems to distribute the tightness in my legs so I can keep running every day but Friday.

Winter is Still Holding On

Saturday I ran 11.0 miles outside. I have been able to run outside again on weekends.

After finding out a lay-off is in my future I needed to get out and run.

Sunday I ran 10.8 miles; I figured I would take Monday off since it was going to snow all day.

Today I was back I the gym but since I work from 12-4 now I ran 7.2 miles on the treadmill.

I will have to make sure I don't ramp up my miles too fast with more time to run.

My legs feel OK.

Deja Vu

The week started off OK. I ran 3.3, 5.2 and 4.2 miles Monday thru Wednesday after taking Sunday off.

I probably neede more time off because my legs don't feel great today, although I took today off.

Thursday I ran 5.0 miles and felt great running fast on the treadmill. 

At 3 O'Clock my boss wanted to talk to me in one of our conference rooms. YEH I know I was thinking the same thing!

My last day will be April 17 unless the housing industry takes a DRAMATIC turnaround!!!

Boston Marathon weekend. Well at least I lasted until April this year.

The WORST thing is I won't be able to see Shannon any more. 

I really need her advice and a MASSAGE :-(

I have been feeling good so I guess I'll take it somewhat easy tomorrow; I know that would be best.

A Rare Sunday Off

Yesterday I ran 22.2 miles in 3:09:40 at 7.0 mph for a pace of 8:32.6/mi.

I felt good and had to stop myself from running further.

A good strategy for me is to run at least 20+ miles once a month. It helps to keep my legs marathon ready.

Today I took OFF.

Hopefully tomorrow my legs will feel good enough to run 4-5 miles.

A Beautiful Weekend in Connnecticut

I was Off on Friday.

Today I ran 22.2 miles in 3:09:40

I find that running at least 20 miles each month helps me to stay in marathon fitness.

It was sunny, windy but I ran 7.0 mph for the entire run.

Shannon had an accident on Thursday and she left a brief message for me on Friday BUT I haven't talked to her about. I was told she is OK. I have called several times but now her mailbox is full.

I hope to see her next Saturday but I am having a problem with my cash flow ;-)

I have learned a lot from Shannon. I incorporate it in my daily routine. At 57 I feel blessed that she has helped me SO much! I'm not sure if she ever reads this BUT if she does I need to acknowledge that I would have not run any marathons without her and I would not run as well without her help.

I wish that she could help more potential runners! I could list everything she has done for me here but it would not reach many runners.

There were over 30 folks from Nerac on Friday. I had a great time; I felt that it was a family at Nerac which doesn't happen often at a company and I am genuinely interested in their families now; one of my friend's son is running the State Open relay in the 1600 today; he is an excellent runner and passionate about running; he will some day achieve national recognition; his Uncle was a sub-3:00 marathoner for years and he his has followed in his footsteps. His grandfather ran strong races into his 60's. I LOVE RUNNERS AND RUNNING. 

I hope David is back to running and setting his sights on a PR!!!!

I find YOU inspirational!

  

Winter is Passing, the Snow is Going

I ran inside on the 11th and 12th, 5.4 miles and 4.2 miles. I usually wake up between 4-5 AM and get up stretch and do push-ups and crunches. I then go to the gym. After taking Firday OFF,  I ran 15.0 miles in 2:04:45 on Saturday and 7.2 miles on Sunday outside. It felt like old times; I know what I'm missing running on the treadmill. I LOVE the freedom of running outside.

The rest of the week went like this:

Feb 16 4.0 miles 40:15

Feb 17 4.1 miles 39:48

Feb 18 4.0 miles 39:15

Feb 19 4.1 miles 38:58

My legs were tight and hurt at the beginning of the week, but today they felt GREAT!

I'll take tomorrow off and I hope to run over 20 miles on Saturday. I'm going out with old friends from Nerac on Friday.

I'll write again this weekend.

HAPPY RUNNING!!!

February is Flying Bye Bye

So far this month I have run the following:

Feb 1   7.2   miles  1:10:40

Feb 2   4.6  miles      44:40

Feb 3   4.3  miles      40:26

Feb 4   5.4  miles      50:39

Feb 5   5.1  miles      46:28

Feb 6   OFF

Feb 7  10.0 miles  1:30:10

Feb 8   8.6  miles  1:22:32

Feb 9   4.4  miles     42:30

Feb 10 4.4  miles     40:27

All the miles were run on the treadmill. I really have a hard time running faster and running longer (over 10 miles) on a treadmill. But my legs feel better running a little slower and on a softer surface. It might help me run better outside in the Spring. I hope to run 3-4 marathons in the Spring and then another 3-4 in the Fall. The ice is finally melting; I hope to run outside on the weekend. My son Keith and my grandson Jalen will be here over the weekend.

Since the Marathon

I only took 5 days off to recover from the marathon. I felt REALLY good and ran the following in the last week:

4.0   miles  Jan 24

5.2   miles  Jan 25

4.0   miles  Jan 26

5.5   miles  Jan 27

3.2   miles  Jan 28

4.4   miles  Jan 29

OFF            Jan 30

10.3 miles  Jan 31

32.6 miles for he week and 135.5 miles for the month of January.

My left ankle is not feeling as good as I would like even though I did see Shannon yesterday and she worked on me for over 11/2 hours.

I am going to go to the gym now to see how it feels.

Chevron Houston Marathon

I have never run a good January marathon. In Phoenix and Miami I had problems with my left ankle and cramps in my left calf.

I was trying to decide which shoes to wear for a week - Nike Air Max Moto or Brooks Adrenaline GTS8. I was picturing the elite women at the 2008 NYC marathon and so many worn Nikes. The roads in Houston are concrete so I went with the shoe with the most cushioning, the Nikes.

I woke up at 2, 3, and 4 AM the morning of the race. I got up at 4:20, stretched and dressed.

We left at 5 for Houston, Annemarie, Tiffany, Nancy, and me. I was excited; not nervous at all.

At the Expo center we waited inside. It was probably in the upper 40's. My digestion had not been too good since the flight but last night before Mass I had a lot of whole wheat pasta. It helped so much that morning. I stopped drinking water by 6:15.

I used the porta potties a second time and off to the start at 6:35. It took a while to get to the start (12 minutes?) so it was about 10-12 minutes before the race. I felt like I was back a little too far but OK. When the gun went off I felt good.

The first mile was a little slow with a city smell which lasted until mile 3. My speed went up from 6.6 to 7.2 mph. Then to 7.6 by mile 5-6. I finally peaked at 8.0 mph on my watch. I did have to stop and use the porta potty for about a minute.

I then fell off to 7.8 mph from about mile 9 to the end.

They were calling out our pace; I was at 8:06 for most of the race; 8:07 at mile 20 and 8:08 at mile 24.

They had our names printed on the bib; hundreds of people called my name!

The last 8 miles I passed several people; at one point I went past 5-7 people at once. Only 2 younger guys passed me in all that time up to the finish.

I felt strong until the end; I was talking and clapping to the music at times; the bands were second only to the ING NYC Marathon.

Afterwards, they had us go back inside for breakfast; this is the first time I had eggs and sausage after a race. They gave you the metal, finishers tee shirt and mug.

I had the best time and met up with Annemarie and Tiffany after eating.

I wish I lived closer, I would run this every year. The course is almost as flat as advertised.

Gold's Gym

I'm not a fan of running inside on a treadmill. BUT my feet, ankles and legs do not hurt unless I go and run twice in a day. I did get outside on Saturday the 3rd for a long run. Here is my runs for January so far:

Jan 1 OFF

Jan 2 3.2 miles 28:43

Jan 3 14.2 miles 1:57:10 (outside)

Jan 4 7.1 miles 1:03:08

Jan 5 5.3 miles 47:31

Jan 6 OFF

Jan 7 4.0 miles 35:29 AM 5.0 miles 45:04 PM total 9.0 miles 1:20:33

Jan 8 5.4 miles 48:46

I just haven't run the really long runs I needed to have a great race in Houston. At least 2 runs over 20 miles would have done it. On the bright side my legs feel great. On the 14.2 mile run my ankles didn't hurt until near the end. If Texas has concrete roads I will need to run in the Nike Air Max to help my ankles; if not, I would like to run in the Brooks GTS 8's.

It's great just to be running another marathon and friends and family will be there to cheer me on. I have never been to Texas so that will be cool too!

Year in Review

Since the 16th I took 4 days off and ran the following:

5.3   miles 19th

6.5   miles 20th

6.0   miles 21st

5.2   miles 23rd

3.65 miles 24th

11.1 miles 25th

7.0  miles  27th

3.1  miles 28th

3.1  miles 29th

6.0  miles 30th

10.1 miles today

The last 5 days in the list I ran on a treadmill. We joined Gold's Gym because the weather has been awful. It's been hard to run on the roads. Snow and cars.

The treadmill did my neck in. My ankles and legs feel fine. The treadmill hurts my back and neck; the road hurts my feet, ankles and legs. A mix of both would be good. We just got 7 more inches of snow today. I was hoping to start the new year off with at least a 6 mile run.

I ran 1992 miles in 2008; 6 marathons and had a lot of fun. My new job is terrific and I look forward to helping AWH have a great year inspite of the recession.

Peace and Happy New Year and another year of marathoning in 2009.

Awesome Day!

I had the best run today. It all started last night when I used a foam roller on both of my legs. I would roll until there was a tightness/pain and I would hold it until it went away.

10.3 miles in 1:25:10 for a 8:16.1/mi. pace and I still feel good after using the foam roller after the run.

Off to get our Christmas tree with 2 of my daughters.

The Cold has Taken its Toll

I ran only 3 days last week. 6.3 miles on Sunday and I couldn't run Monday. The bottom of my right foot hurt. I ran Tuesday 5.1 miles and then took Wednesday through Friday off. 

I bought Lance Armstrong Nike's on Thursday, they are much more cushioned in the toes, and I was told by the person at Dick's that they are for people with high arches too. It was only the second time that someone at Dick's seemed knowledgeable. She and her husband are runners and she suggested the Nikes.

I ran 18.2 miles on Saturday; I ran 4 miles to the artificial track at the high school, 10.2 miles on the track and 4 miles home. I felt really good. 

Shannon had me make the Dragon's Blood into a paste and I put it on both achilles. I also used the foam roller on both achilles/calfs.

Sunday I ran 8.2 miles at 7.1 mph in 1:08:55. I felt good all day. I didn't want to over do it so I took today off. 

I have run over 1900 miles; I hope to get close to 2000.

Into December

I had to take 3 days off. My legs are too tight from running on the frozen roads.

I was able to run on Wednesday the 3rd and Thursday the 4th.

5.2 miles each day. 8:16 and 8:06 per mile. I had to stretch a lot to keep my legs loose.

Today I ran 10.5 miles in 1:27:10 at 7.2 mph for a pace of 8:18.1/mi.

I had a massage today and Shannon worked on me for almost 2 hours. My legs feel very good NOW but I will take it easy tomorrow. Without Shannon's help I would not have been able to run all the marathons and feel as good as I do.

I have told her she should find a forum to write a help column; she has great advice which I am sure could help a number of athletes. Maybe you will see her advice soon :-) 

Manchester and Beyond

I took off the 21st and 22nd. I almost never take Saturday off; I love running long on Saturdays. I was tired and my legs hurt. I am always hopeful that an extra day off will help. 

Sunday the 23rd I was able to run 14.4 miles; 13.1 in 1:47:55 an excellent time for me. 

Monday I ran 4.1 miles in 33:52 at 7.3 mph for 8:15.6/mi. My legs HURT! 

I took Tuesday and Wednesday OFF.

The 72nd Manchester Road Race and my 19th was a beautiful day. I got there early enough to warm up. I felt good the whole race and came in 824th out of about 11,000 in 34:06; a little slower than last year. I got to run with a friend, Linda Yamamoto and I got to see a friend, Simone Warner, after the race.

I ran Friday and Saturday; 6.2 miles on Friday and 11.0 miles on Saturday. My left ankle stopped me from running 3 times on Saturday. I feel fine and my ankle is OK but I need to take some time off AGAIN! 126 miles for the month is kinda low. But I'm on pace to run 1950 miles for the year.

Down Time

My legs are tired.

I have been running OK but this cold weather and wearing crummy dress shoes to work have taken a toll on my legs. Here is what I have done since the 11th:

Nov 12   6.2  miles      49:56   7.4 mph  8:03.2/mi.  

Nov 13   4.1  miles      33:47   7.3 mph  8:14.4/mi.

Nov 14   OFF

Nov 15  10.4 miles  1:23:30   7.4 mph  8:01.7/mi.

Nov 16  10.0 miles  1:24:00  7.1 mph  8:24.0/mi. legs tired

Nov 17   5.2  miles     42: 40  7.3 mph  8:12.3/mi.

Nov 18   OFF Too tired right knee and left calf hurt

Nov 19   5.2 miles     41:15    7.5 mph  7:56.0/mi. legs felt GOOD!

Nov 20  4.2 miles     33:58    7.4 mph  8:05.2/mi. tired

This has been a tough week. I'm going to ramble here a bit. I know I will have to cut back on my massages. I just don't have enough money. I'll miss talking to Shannon too; my legs really feel so much better after getting massages and I love her advice! Shannon has been good to me. She has given me more time than I have paid for which has been a blessing. Before I met her I had not run any marathons. Now Houston will be my 18th in less than 5 years. I am still amazed! If I had the money I would get 2 massages a week. It seems like my wife and I have lived our whole lives together with little extra money for things that help make life enjoyable.  Although I have enjoyed a lot of good quality beers. ;-)

I have run so many marathons in the last year because I feel that time is running out for me. You only have so many marathons in your legs, especially if you run as fast as you can. I try to run fast but I always have in my mind that too fast will limit the number I can run. Usually I hold back some to see how I feel until the last 6-10 miles and see how I am doing. I'll go for it then! I'll certainly miss the speed that I have so I want to run as much as I can while I feel good. Well enough of that. 

The Manchester Road Race is on Thanksgiving Day. The 72nd running. This is my 19th year. This is my speed race for the year since I don't run many short races in the year. 

I'm listening to the UConn Men's soccer team play Fairfield so I'll end this so I can concentrate on the game. Cheers. TGIF

Back at IT!

I took last week off. 3 marathons in 9 weeks. That is the most I have ever done in that amount of time. Taking a week off seems to be the right amount of time for me. I have read that you can take as much as 2 weeks off and I have also read that you should take a week off even when you don't run a race but just after a certain amount of time of hard training. I prefer to run a race then take time off. 

My bunyon on my left foot has changed my foot. You probably only have so many marathons in you and definitely only so many at a faster speed. This year I have found that the second day I start running again I have thoughts that I may not be able to run the same or my future plans may have to change. BUT my feet today seem OK. I did run too fast yesterday. I don't set a certain speed I just go out and run. Here is what I did the last 3 days:

11/09   4.2 miles in 34:04  at 7.4 mph for a pace of 8:06.7/mi.

11/10   5.3 miles in 40:49  at 7.8 mph for a pace of 7:42.1/mi.

11/11   4.2 miles in 34:21   at 7.3 mph for a pace of 8:10.7/mi.

The 7:42 per mile was too fast. My legs bothered me all day. I ran slower and shorter today and felt OK. My thighs hurt some today and my right ankle BUT after I stopped running everything was OK.

No matter what time I go to bed I wake up between 4 and 5 AM. Tomorrow I hope to run a slow 6 miler.   

 

Manchester City Results

Here are the results from the Manchester City Marathon; I was 122 out of 434:

122 Keith Almeida             56    138 M   2/27    Enfield CT              3:38:37   8:21

The day started cold (30 F) and windy.

My left ankle "popped " at mile 9. I stopped and tied my left shoe tighter and ran a little slow for a while. At mile 12 I started to talk to a guy, Andy from Columbus OH and continued to talk nonstop until almost mile 22. It helped get through all those miles.

I actually had a kick at the end and ran past someone in my age group about 50 feet from the finish. I felt great afterwards!