Just what I needed

Took it easy this morning for my 45 minute outing. 5 miles ~ 9:01 pace 132 HR. Clear & crisp, the stars and planets kept me company.

Flakes in my face

This morning had the distinction of being this season's first snowy run. Fat flakes fell into the headlamp beam as I did my 'hard' day of 75 minutes @ 150 HR.

The run didn't go well. When I returned I had an avg HR of 162. I'll being paying close attention tomorrow to run easily and get that recovery I'm obviously needing this morning. (Not enough sleep is my guess).

I felt ok but I had a suspicion the effort was a little harder than it had to be for the pace I was running.

10.4 miles ~7:13 pace. 162 HR.

Sunday Monday

I thought I'd have a chance to write a longer post yesterday telling how great it was to get together with Mike again for a 'long' run. But, alas, the day slipped by before I could. Now the busy workweek is before me...

Sunday: 13.3 miles with Mike. 1:46:xx HR 145 ~8:00 pace. Beautiful morning. Week total 58.57 miles.

Monday: 7.1 miles 1:00:xx. 137 HR ~ 8:31 pace. Clear skies, 38F. Felt good.

Some sleep

Finally got some good rest and went out in the sunlight this morning.

45 minutes at ~8:17 pace. 5.4 miles.

First frosty beard of the season

Colder than I thought outside this morning. I checked the Cobscook Bay buoy but I think it was markedly warmer on the water than on the island. Bit of shock really when I stepped out in shorts, a long sleeve t-shirt and no mittens to find myself in the brisk nip of a clear sky and full moon. At least I wore a hat.

I warmed up somewhat from the run and pace felt good today. Felt relaxed. In fact, it is probably the best I will feel all day due to this awful cold I've got.

10.2 miles ~ 7:13 pace. 73 minutes. 148 HR.

Thursday

7.3 miles ~ 8:17 pace for an hour. Felt good. HR 140.

Work has been so busy lately I haven't time to put more than 'log data' on the blog. So 'boring' pretty much describes the blog too! ha ha.

The past two weeks have felt very easy and relaxed. That is a good sign that I am approaching the recovery/beginning stage correctly. Making a smooth transition. Hopefully this will continue.

The danger is my schedule. I must run very early now to fit it all in. I foresee at some point getting a little fatigued if I don't get enough sleep. So far I've been able to get to bed earlier but you know how that goes.

Easy run in the rain

5.3 miles this morning in a windy drizzle. 8:30 pace @ 137 HR.

Felt ok. Left leg a little tighter than the right but nothing bad.

Early mornings

Work has me going in an hour earlier these days. This pushes my training an hour earlier. I hope I can keep it up.

75 minutes this morning ~10 miles @ ~7:33 pace. HR 146.

Felt pretty good - particularly in the last mile. Things seemed to smooth out more than the rest of the run.

Begin Training

The beginning of this cycle's training looks a lot like the end of last week's recovery. Good.

This morning was 60 minutes which netted ~7 miles @ 8:29 pace. HR 133.

Of note: I saw so many shooting stars I ran out of wishes.

Recovery week ends

Last night I went to bed with my legs experience a 'deep' ache. But this morning they were A-1 and I had a very pleasant 90 minute run in the cool fall air.

Week total: ~37 miles. I feel much better today then last Monday so some good recovery went on.

Pace today: ~8:31 @ 144 HR.

This is where boring begins

45 minutes today. The right leg is the one that is complaining now. It talked to me all day. Lucky for me, my massage guy is back in town and I'll get set up next week.

No acute pain, just general soreness. Those extra 6 miles after 20 in a race really do it to you. It's a weak point for me speed-wise. I'm lucky to hold on to my pace. I'm hoping to have a bit more flexibility in those legs in those final miles in the next race (so I can actually 'race' more than the first 20).

So begins the long winter of miles and miles.

The plan? I'm going to try to work through Hadd again. I will spend a little more time at each level. Last time I think I rushed it a little. With no marathon selected for next year yet, I have time to let the body get the proper training effect. I assume there will be a spring marathon but I don't know where or when.

Triple digits? I sure would like to see it. Maybe just before the transition period from aerobic development to race prep...

74 Minutes

Finally got over an hour in my running again. Felt very good but still had some slight tightness in the left leg / left knee area. I'll begin the massage therapy again next week.

Today 9 miles, 74 minutes, 138 HR.

Recovering

The soreness is mainly concentrated in the left leg - being a little tight. Yesterday I got in 5k at about 10 min/mile and today I got in 5.6 at about the same pace. I felt better today than yesterday so I must be on the mend.

The (Red Lobster) MDI Marathon Race Report

In perfect weather conditions the Three Blind Moose, Mountain Goat, and Lady Kate (Lady Kate presented to us by Mountain Goat) all enjoyed the MDI marathon (most noticeably sponsored by Red Lobster* - more on that later). For some quick photos, please hop over to Mike's blog.

Analysis

First, an embarassing thing happened at the race packet pick-up. While everyone had a normal bib #, such as 599, or 223, or even 50, I ended up with #7. It was my seed # from when I had registered and planned on running a stellar time. Now I felt like a fraud as I had no intention of running a time worthy of the seed. I pinned it on my shirt and slunk into the back of the crowd hoping nobody would notice.**

The starting gun was a live cannon that shot out rainbow confetti and we were off. I started jogging a leisurely pace with Marc, Mike, & Katie and we crossed mile one in 9:09. My plan was to run very conservatively in the first half of the race and then see what my baseline aerobic capacity could provide for the 2nd half.

We had all toyed with the idea of running together for the whole race and we also toyed with just running the first few miles together. Then Joan Benoit Samuelson in her speech to us at the Pasta Dinner said running with friends was the fastest method for ending those friendships. In the end, we reverted back to our training - we did what Commander Mike told us to do.

Even though I wasn't 'racing' this marathon, I was more nervous about it than my last few. It was because I wasn't properly trained and I would need to rely on my experience as a marathon runner/finisher to avoid some serious mishap. So at the end of mile one, I let Mike & Marc continue ahead a little bit (as they had picked up an 8:24ish pace) and I kept a low profile in the upper 8's. The heart rate monitor agreed. The pace I was running was right there in my easy training zone and I knew the lay of the land at this effort.

After 3 miles I was able to gradually increase my pace and heart rate to around 150 and ever so slowly I started to reel in Mike & Marc. I caught them right at mile 6 and they picked up my pace for the next few miles (mile 8 in 8:14). There seemed to be an unsaid 'goal' of running 3:30 as we kept calculating our splits as "minutes off 3:30". We hovered at 4 minutes off 3:30 for quite a while.

I started to slip away (though I didn't know it) and near mile 10 I heard my name being called from behind and the command "Stop!". This was the first time I've been told to 'stop' in a marathon. But leave it to Commander Mike to introduce another first for me. I grabbed a cup of water and walked. Mike caught up and gave me new orders:

"The plan is to run together until mile 11 until the photoshoot. Then all bets are off."

Marc caught us and we then continued on for another 1.5 miles to where Jo was waiting to take photos of the Three Blind Moose. After mile 12 we sort of drifted apart again - each running their own pace. Our paces did not differ that much - but just enough to let a little space get in between us. I crossed in the half in 1:49:xx.

To this point I had been running easily. But by no means did I possess any capacity to run faster and still be able to finish with form (and the same pace). I was happy that my experiences to this point allowed me to recognize my limitations and guard against a too fast first half. Now with the 2nd half upon me, I gradually increased my HR to 160 and that quickly became 168 as the hills continued to dominate the course. I was happily surprised to find that I felt somewhat efficient at this new pace and with the decreasing miles to the finish, I felt confident that I could hold this effort until the end.

Note: I didn't hold the effort until the end as I ran out of steam at mile 25 and the HR dropped back into the 150's for the final mile.

It felt good to be going for the negative split. The miles slid by faster now. My legs started to experience some tightness after mile 21 and from then on, the road's surface started to bother me. If there was any crack or crown to be trod it would hurt. But I made it through and up the most beastly of hills to mile 25. A steep downgrade is the last mile and the legs were shot. A little stomach upset presented itself and I jogged it in for a total time of 3:26:xx and a 12 minute negative split.

Afterward, I had the my typical trouble with feeling queasy but that soon passed with a massage and shower. A quick steak and stout at a local pub and I made my way back to Eastport. Amazingly, I feel pretty good leg-wise. The soreness abated quickly and I'm just a little stiff. Perhaps after a night's rest I'll be more sore but I hope not.

* Red Lobster was not only a sponsor with ads on the shirts, and multiple fliers in the race packet goodie bag, but even the finisher's medal says "Presented by Red Lobster" on the face of it just above the date. This is the first time I've seen advertising on a finisher's medal and I don't think I like it.

** The bib number issue didn't arise again until the shower room when the place was crowded with recent finishers and the normal "How'd you do?" and "What was your time?" were being bandied about. An acute observer looked at my bib # and wanted to know how I ended up with it - forcing my confession that my training wasn't up to my prior prediction on my registration.

I must say being unprepared for the race and running it anyway (albeit correctly) has been a real kick in the pants.

Hey, I ran today.

10 miles.

5 miles yesterday.

Looks like a beginning. I'll keep a lid on things this week so I can finish MDI with the Blind Moose and Mountain Goat. I'm shooting for a personal worst.