Love a tailwind

Coming back was a breeze due to the breeze behind me. I didn't mind. It was my reward for running into it for the first half.

12 miles @ 7:56 pace.

Much, much better

Glad that soreness lasted just one day.  Today I felt ok.  Not 100%, but nothing like yesterday.  Rain joined me this morning so I had a good soaking.

 

15 miles @ 8:35 pace.

 

 

D.O.M.S.

No good race goes unpunished.

12 miles @ 9:52 pace.

Now that we've had our fun...

It's back to work.

Lonesome long run this morning. Legs were sore in the beginning and at the end. But the middle was nice and comfortable.

20.2 miles @ 8:46 pace.

Orrington 10k Race Report

5th place in 35:43. Results here.

5:45 pace.

I arrived early enough to do a 4 mile warm-up. I have found during my training runs that I don't warm up and loosen up until after a few miles of running. Figuring today wouldn't be any different, I made sure I had enough time to jog enough miles so I would feel ready to race. My warm-up run ended about 30 minutes before race time so I changed my shirt and hung around inside the gym so I wouldn't get chilled. The weather was perfect for a race - cool and sunny with a slight breeze.

The Race

The plan was to go out at a fast yet manageable pace and find a pack that I could run with. So when the race started I quickly brought up the pace and joined the back end of a large lead pack. Within a few minutes this pack splintered into three separate groups. The top 2 runners were pulling away, a gap, then another two, a gap, and then the pack I was in. It wasn't long before I sensed that my pack was starting to slow from the beginning pace as I found myself near the front instead of the back. I didn't want to run in between packs today so as the 1st mile marker approached I surged from my pack and covered the gap and joined the 2nd pack. I got there a few seconds before we hit the marker.

Mile 1: 5:34

I felt the pace. But I figured the high mileage over the past few weeks should give me some endurance to last a respectable amount of the race in a competitive position. By sticking as close as I could to the other runners I gained the rhythm and I spent a lot of time focusing on keeping good form with my eyes straight, arms low, and striding smooth. At times I could feel the pace changing as we went up or down or made a sharp turn. On the inclines the pace slackened just a little (the race is considered flat - there are no real hills) and I was thankful for a little rest. The flat sections and slight downgrades were faster. The turns were the hardest for me since we turned in single file making me work to get back into the tight formation.

Mile 2: 5:50

While the leaders just about disappeared, the race was on for 3rd place in our little pack. Tom McWalters was lead and I was the back. Five feet separated us with Joe Capeheart wedged in between and to the side. A tight triangle running the tangents. Tom put some pace on as the turnaround came in sight.

Mile 3: 5:40

I was very pleased to still be here. Nobody joined us and when he hit the turnaround it was clear nobody would. We raced back and now the pace to this point started to tell on us all.

Mile 4: 5:58

Life was getting hard for me but by this time I decided I would at least get through mile 5 with these guys. I was hoping one of the two would drop off and reward me for all the effort of staying on pace. No joy.

Mile 5: 6:02

Here Capeheart made his move to blister the last mile. Tom surged to cover and I was caught trailing. After a small hill I pushed hard to tighten the gap Tom had put on me and I succeeded in reducing it to 5 seconds. My fastest mile in the race.

Mile 6: 5:33

We finished in a one, two, three fashion with Joe 10 seconds up on Tom with me another 5 seconds behind. The first two finishers were already sitting around chatting when we gathered in the chute.

Finish: 35:43.

After the awards ceremony (I got my age group award) I ran another 4 miles to cool down and loosen the legs.

Analysis

I felt good throughout. Not speedy or with a lot of pep, but I felt strong and aerobically capable of lasting a lot longer than I imagined. I even survived the surge in the first mile to join this pack.

4 miles warm up @ 8:55 pace
6.2 miles race @ 5:45 pace
4 miles cool down @ 9:38 pace

14.2 miles total.

Another six (to complete today's double)

These sixes are easy on the body.

6 miles @ 8:46 pace.

Doubling Down

Reducing the single mileage in order to rest the legs for tomorrow's hard workout. 6 miles easy @ 8:59 pace.

Six to make it whole

Fixed this morning's problem by putting in an easy 6 miles this evening @ 8:49 pace. Evenings aren't as pleasant as the mornings but I always feel more awake that's for sure.

The run that fell apart

Tired, cold, rainy combined with an upset stomach brought the run to an early finish.

12 miles @ 9:43 pace (includes stops)

Oops

A slow 15 on the docket was accomplished at an 8:54 pace.  Left foot felt odd during the last five but with no pain so I ignored it.  After being home for about 15 minutes I happened to look down and I noticed that one shoe had turned red.  This can’t be good.

 

I reluctantly removed the offending shoe and sock and an unpleasant mess was before me.  I couldn’t tell by looking at it just which toe was the bleeder.  None of them hurt but they all were covered in blood.  Great, I thought.  I just took an aspirin and now I’ll bleed to death.

 

But the bleeding had stopped long before and after cleaning up the mess, I found I still had 5 toes on the foot and I still can’t figure out which one was hurt.

A rare evening run

All things conspired for an evening run today:

1. After running 15 miles yesterday, I spent the entire day on my feet, on a crooked sidewalk, packed in like a sardine near the finish line of the Boston Marathon
2. I could not / would not leave my spot for fear of losing such a *good* spectator position
3. After 4 hours in this one position, I stood for an additional 45 minutes in another crowded spot looking for Mike.*
4. Then I drove 7 hours home.
5. Arriving way past my bedtime and almost into the next day.

There was no way I could get up and run a workout and function at work. So therefore a nighttime run was at hand.

The run went well. I was sleepy driving home from work but I perked up for the 11 miler on the schedule. Ran a faster 2nd half with an overall average of 7:36 per mile. South wind with some slight rain.

* I'm not going to say that they all look alike, for that's not true. But certainly, put them in a race, and you can bet all Canadians will dress alike. I must have made eye contact with every blessed Canadian running the Boston Marathon except for Mike. There seemed to be an endless parade of maple leaves trotting down Boylston Street. While the clothing matched, the face never did. My guess is he was indulging in his habit of running with (and chatting up) a beautiful woman and I got distracted as they both went by. But I don't know.

And as far as my spectator position goes... I wouldn't do that again. Next time I'll take my chances of seeing what I see. While it was probably the only down point to the day, I'll be less picky next time about being so close to the finish line.

First bad, then good

Better than the other way around I suppose. First half of today's early morning tour of the Boston Marathon route was a slog. At the turnaround I took advantage of a fresh pre-race porta-potty for a much needed break. At about 10 miles I found some groove and got a decent easy pace going.

15 miles @ 9:06 pace (including stop)

And Five Afterward

What a wonderful time watching the Women's Olympic Marathon Trials! But I couldn't find my two friends...

Marc was not in town and that is why I couldn't find him but I'm not sure what happened to Mike. Hopefully he was watching from some place where he could rest his legs and feet.

I came home and finished the scheduled mileage for the day. 5.3 miles @ 8:40 pace.

PS. I did accidentally run into Bruce from St. John, NB. - a fellow I once competed against in a race best forgotten. We caught up like old friends. What a nice guy.

Ten before Trials

Ten miles out and back along the Boston Marathon route. Took in Natick and Wellesley. Nobody out screaming at the Wellesley College scream tunnel this morning.

10 miles @ 8:45 pace. Felt ok.

Twenty before travel

Now on to Boston to watch two great races!

20.1 miles @ 8:05 pace. Felt good for the most part. Picked up the pace at mile 6 and lost some of it over the last 4 miles.

No wave for the winkler

Because he didn't look up as I ran across the causeway above him. Lowtide at sunrise means an early morning harvest of the periwinkles from the seaweed. Today he was on the Cobscook Bay side of the causeway.

12 easy miles @ 8:28 pace.

It seemed like a lot of work

But it got done. 18 long miles @ 8:52 pace.

Glad to see my willpower got me past the house at mile 12.

Some pace nice

Another early day at work so I'm on the road at 3:15 for the morning workout. Imagine my surprise when I start feeling good within the 2 mile mark. I felt like I was rolling effortlessly out the highway. So I just sat back and let the legs have their way.

15 miles @ 7:26 pace.

Frosty One

A thin layer of ice top the puddles this morning as I jogged an easy 10 under clear skies and a beautiful sunrise.

10 miles @ 8:27 pace.

Slow start but a faster finish

15 miles @ 8:06 average pace in chilly conditions. I thought I saw a snowflake or two cross the beam of my headlamp.

Got a chance to work a little at the end of the run as things loosened up as I brought the run home.

Dog Food, Cat Food

Mike gave us animal treats after today's long run and boy were they tasty!

Dog Food is the name of a kind of cookie Jo cooked up to please her man and he was nice enough to share them with Jon and I at the end of today's long run. Our run was split into three parts with the only common part amongst us being the 13 mile loop around Boyden Lake. I started early and met them after having completed 7 miles and Jon kept going after we finished the loop. Mike, being on taper for Boston, was only scheduled for 13 today.

The Cat Food came into play when Mike surprised us with special cans of sardines. He knows I have a can a day habit and he brought some 'shorties' over special. They went great with my poached eggs and oatmeal when I got home!

I felt relatively good this morning with some slight soreness around the hips as I neared the end of my run. And I needed a nap not long afterward. Other than that, not worse for wear. We did get a glimpse of Ozzie too as he zipped past us going in the opposite direction. We tried to engage him in lazy conversation but he was too focused to be drawn in.

20.5 miles @ 9:03 pace.

Rainy Day

I've had so many nice days of late for running that I didn't mind this morning's rainy 12 miles. Met up with Eric for a mile or so in the very beginning of the run.

I felt ok and just jogged along enjoying running a little bit later than usual - about two hours later. The increase in traffic was noticeable at this hour and made the run a little noisier than I am used to.

12.3 miles @ 8:54 pace.

Circling a meadow or maybe a swamp

Twelve laps around a long forgotten empty space now occupied by the Bangor Mall.  Even Bangor sleeps at 4am.  No cars, no people.  Each successive lap got faster as I woke up myself.

 

12.6 miles @ 8:37 pace.

No stars and a south wind

Mean showers.

 

My vision was shrouded in the haze of the lamp creating a close-in feeling as I plodded along in the dark.  I felt like I slept through the first five.  A period of revival didn’t last very long so we’ll rate this as work.

 

15 miles @ 8:50 pace. 

Where the work gets done

The final three miles of today's run was harder than the first fifteen. But this is where it all happens. Ran easily with a better pace (by far) in the second half. Felt ok overall with slight leg tightening near the end that went away. Weather was just gorgeous.

18 miles @ 8:35 pace.

Glad I got out

I was tired last night when I went to bed but this morning I was glad to be out watching the sunrise. Felt ok but not great. 10 miles @ 8:27 pace.

Beating the sun home

But barely. The new season brings earlier sunrises but Mondays are still mostly in the dark due to the extra early start time.

Felt good after 6 miles or so. The pace picked up after the blood flow found its way to the legs. I was wondering if I was going to get better than 9:00 / mile avg today the way things were going. But a little patience and it takes care of itself.

15 miles 8:18 pace.

The Robin Long Run

Flocks of robins heralding Spring were a sight for sore eyes this morning. Jon, Ozzie, and I found ourselves taken with the sight of the robins flitting and fluttering about in orinthological pandemonium. Mike certainly would have taken a picture. What with his beloved St. Andrews across the bay in the distance and the wild worm eating birds in the foreground going nutty after a long journey. But Mike is away and we missed him terribly. In fact, when we finished Jon remarked how he was thinking about Mike's chocolate balls.

We ran about the same pace as last week but it felt a little faster. 2:57 was our time. I think we may have run an additional .2 miles but since nobody had a Garmin we weren't sure. The additional quarter of a mile would have come from running to Ozzie's house to drop him off.

My heart rate was lower this week than last which I was glad to see. Also I was two pounds lighter than last week. All in the right direction.

Reading update (last updated 2/29):
1. Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict - Laurie Rigler. Ok if you know all Austen's books. (I do.)
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling. Good but felt like written for the screen.
3. This is Reading - Frank Jennings. Ok in parts. Tedious in others.
4. By Order of the President - W.E.B. Griffin. Brain candy.

And finally, another version of yesterday's video of Ryan Hall winning the Olympic Trials Marathon.



And again...

Afternoon delight

Yesterday was such a hard day. 3:15 was the wake up time and I'll rolled onto the road at 3:45 for 18 miles. The first 6 were done at a crawl. After a short pit stop at the house I was off for the final 12. Didn't feel badly until the final miles when I started to get a little sore in feet. Average pace was 9:12 including the stop.

Then the day went downhill. I was scheduled to close a loan in Bangor at 4pm but FedEx doesn't do mornings up here at the most northeastern corner of America. So... in saunters the delivery guy at 4 o'clock. Now to drive to Bangor in a snow/rain storm for a 7pm closing. Then drive home (3 hours from Bangor).

I got in at 11:15pm and I was beat. So this morning I slept in and then took another nap at noon. I didn't get out until 3:30 this afternoon for my 10 miler. After 9:43 first mile (I like to really ease into a run) my average pace was just under 8:00 for the distance. Felt pretty good and relaxed - especially on the 2nd half.

Tomorrow it's back to mornings as I meet up with the gang for the weekly long run.

I'm looking forward to being in Boston for the Women's Olympic Trials marathon. I hope the finish is just as noisy as it was in New York as evidenced by this video:

An argument for continuing on

Slow and creaky this morning. Made it tough to get past mile 3. But by mile 6 all was well. 12 miles @ 8:48 pace.

Evergreens

To continue with the olfactory theme, today the evergreens awoke and spread their scent on a warm westerly breeze across my path. Mingled with the salt air, this is only getting better. Plodded along @ 8:46 pace this morning. 15 miles.

Salt air

Another sign of spring is the smell of salt air. Ahhhh.

10 miles @ 8:57 pace.