3021

I went home for lunch today and to my suprise, the final race packet was in the mail.
My number is 3021.
The race is now starting to become a reality.

Playing Catch Up

I believe it has almost been a week since I have posted, but that doesn't mean I have stopped running. The holidays are always a busy time for me and trying to fit in my runs has been a little challenging.

On Christmas Eve, I finished my last major 800 workout. I ran 10 X 800 at 3:20 pace. I totalled about 8.75 miles including the warm up and cool down. I rested (didn't run) on Christmas but I wouldn't call it relaxing. Friday was a GREAT day for running. We almost set a high with a temp of 65 degrees. The record was 66 degrees. I ran 10 in shorts and averaged about an 8:45 pace. We changed our LAST 20 miler to Sunday because of the rain and wind that was coming on Saturday. Sunday was cooler and still windy but managed to get our run in. Chris had ran his 20 miler on Saturday morning so it was just Scott and I.

I felt like I struggled this entire run. I was fighting some soreness in my left calf and knee. My legs were EXTREMELY sore after the run. They actually burned. After a couple laps around the Y, the pain and burning subsided.

I ended the final main week of training with 53.5 miles. The next 3 week are taper time. We cut our mileage 75% this next week. It's gravy from here until the race.

Magic Number is 10

Yesterday's magic number was 10. That was how many miles I had to run and what the temperature was when I started. It was indeed COLD.

The plan was run the first few miles as a warm-up and slowly increase the rest of the miles. I'll post the exact splits later tonight but the ones I can remember are 9:00, 9:04, and 9:05 for the first 3. My last mile was at a 7:48 pace. I do know that I ran negative splits the last 7 miles. It turned out to be a very rewarding run. This is our last week of heavy training and I want this week's workouts to be just like week 1 in regards to intensity.

I finished the run in 1:28 for an average pace of 8:48. Not too shabby for the first day of week 15.

An extra day of rest

This week marks the last official cutback week prior to the taper period. I was running solo on Saturday and planned out a 12 mile run through Chatham. It was pretty uneventful unless you count the 6 times I was almost hit. People need to pay attention more than they do while they are driving.

The Wabash trail was pretty slick. I prayed the entire time that I would keep my footing. At about mile 7.5, I ran into Aaron S. we chit chatted for about 10 minutes and said our good byes. I looked down at my watch and it was still running. It was showing an average pace of 10:20. I put the hammer down the last 4.5 miles and arrived at home after 12 miles averaging right about 9:10 pace.

With Sunday being as cold as it was, I took an extra day to sit, relax, and reflect on the training. I am going to alter my schedule a bit and move this week's work-outs up a day. So tonight, I am going to run 10, Tuesday- 5 miles, Wednesday- 10 X 800, and rest Thursday and Friday in preparation for our last 20 miler on Saturday.

Higdon's Traditional Tempo Run

After 14.5 weeks of heavy training, it's hard to come up with the motivation sometimes to run. Last night was one of those nights. The plan called for a 6.5 mile tempo run. I was in NO mood for my typical tempo run. I had thoughts of substituting an 8 mile run outside but the freezing rain put a damper on that idea. Since I was doing Higdon's plan, I thought that maybe I could try one of his tempo runs. Higdon's style of tempo run is described as "A tempo run is a continuous run with a buildup in the middle to near 10-K race pace".

I hit the treadmill and the plan was to still try to get 6.5 miles in with a 10 minutes peak at 7:13 pace about 35 minutes into the run. I started out with a .5 mile warmup and increased my pace when I started to feel comfortable. Fortunately, I hit the 35 minute mark right where I wanted to be. I hit the speed to 8.3 and was off dor my 10 minutes at near 10K pace. I completed the workout by gradually slowing the next 10 minutes.

This workout felt good and refreshing. I'm glad I chose this workout as it broke up the tempo run monotony. This is the last of the major tempo runs. I have 1 minor (4 miles) tempo run left during the taper period.

Lunch Time Run

I just got back from my Wednesday recovery run. I don't know if it was a recovery run or not but it was a run. It felt faster in some segments and not so fast in others. I forgot my watch at home so this run was without it and music. Just me, the roads, and a cold breeze.

I left from work and ran a loop to Rt. 29, back behind the airport over some rolling hills, and back to work. According to USATF, it was somewhere in the neighborhood of 5.5 miles.

Off to Sebastian's tonight for dinner and then to walk around downtown for the Christmas walk.

Committed or Stupid is as Stupid does...

You decide. When I initially heard that it would be snowing I wasn't too worried so I committed to an outside 6 mile run. Little did I know that the snow would be changing to a freezing rain.

After running 10 miles on the treadmill Sunday, I wanted to get outside and hit the roads, or snow, or ice. I thought to myself that I had run in the rain before, and it was only a 6 mile 6 so it shouldn't be that bad. Boy, was I ever wrong.

As I was walking the down thr driveway, I almost slipped on some ice. I should have taken the hint and walked back inside but I was committed. I dressed just perfect and the run started out fine. 1st mile was 8:50... am I ever going to get my speed back??? At the half way point something didn't feel right. I looked down and to my suprise, I had a layer of ice all down the front of me. I tried to break it off but it must have been attached pretty good to the fabric. The last 2 miles were with the wind. I took advantage and increased my pace a bit.

I finished the 6.5 mile route with an average pace around 8:30 and about 5 pounds heavier (if not more) from the ice. And it definately felt better than running on the treadmill

A Very LONG Week-end

I was looking forward to this week-end knowing that once I finished, the miles were all downhill (not literally). I was looking at a week-end total of 33 miles...23 on Saturday and 10 on Sunday. That would be a total of 55 miles for the week... WHEW!!!

Saturday started at about 0530. I had some toast with jelly and coffee before testing the weather. The temp was about 35 degrees but the winds (gusting up to 30) were going to make it feel cooler. I opted for tights, long sleeve shirt, and wind jacket with a stocking cap. Looking back, that was perfect. I met Scott and Chris at the Y at 0700. The plan called for 20. Dan and Jason with hardybreed.com told me that it would be a good idea if we got a 22-23 miler in prior to the race. Scott had previously convinced me that a 22-23 would be good and they pretty much confirmed it. I was just worried about injuries. We kept a nice easy pace stopping approximately every 2.5 miles for drinks.

I was Mr. Chatterbox on this run. I don't know what was going on. I was probably just trying to keep my mind off the fact that I would be running for a long time. I had SO much energy. I can only hope that I have that much on Marathon day. Our route took us all over Springfield. We went est all the way to Koke Mill, as far south as Woodside Road via the trail, through Jerome, over some rolling hills down Chatham Road, through Washington Park, and back to the Y. It really is a good route.

I believe our overall pace was about 9:19. That included our bathroom stop and drink/GU stops. I actually felt good the last few miles. I picked up the pace of mile 23 to about 8:40. After 3 hours and 40 minutes on my feet, I was ready to take a load off. I hit FedEx Kinko's to pick up an order for Kristi and headed home to relax.

Sunday was a different story. I woke and was extremely uncomfortable. I wasn't quite sore, I just think it was the tightness. I did some LIGHT stretching. After a breakfast of poached eggs and toast, Cameron (my youngest) and I stacked some firewood, put up our Christmas wreath on the garage, put up some decorations, and took the dog for a walk... all before noon.

After running a couple errands, I hit the treadmill for a 10 mile run. I had no desire to run outside in the winds that were supposedly gusting around 40 mph. The majority of the run would have been against the wind. I started out sluggish. But after 23 miles the day before, I guess that is to be expected. It was supposed to be a pace run but I thought "No way!". I finished the run in about 96:00 while watching some football. Cameron kept me company for a few miles. I felt pretty good after the run but I don't think I could have gone one step further.

After another successful week of training, I topped out at 55 miles for the week. Barring any injuries the next 5 weeks, I think I am well on my way. Hat's off to Scott, Chris, and Mike. They are awesome training partners. One time or another through this training, they have kept me moving. I appreciate all the positive reinforcements. They are the one's that are the "Animals".

Nice and Toasty

I guess the one (and maybe only) good thing about running on the treadmill is that you don't have to go out in the cold. I was actually looking forward to last night's workout on the treadmill. With that said, I would have to say that my favorite workout is speed work... 400's, 800's, etc.

I only have 1 more MAJOR "track" workout after my 9 X 800's that I was scheduled to do last night. Scott wanted to top out at 10 X 800 the week before tper madness begins. After a .5 warm up, I started in on the first of 9 800's. After 12.5 weeks of training, my body has begun to feel affects. This workout was a little tough but I managed to make it through it. The last 2 were pretty tough. My legs felt heavy. After a .5 mile cooldown, I finished the workout with a .25 mile walk and some stretching. I totalled 7.5 miles and my total time not including the .25 mile walk was 1 hour 10 minutes.

I downed my Endurox R4 recovery drink in order to make sure I was healed enough for our Saturday long run. We are shooting for 22-23 miles. Hopefully, all goes smooth (as smooth as it can get while running 22-23 miles). Couple that with 10 on Sunday and I will have over 30 miles over the week-end. WOW!!!

Arm Swing

Last night was a recovery run on the treadmill. I will spare you the details that I think I have described for every Wednesday work-out.

Today was no different. 5 miles on the treadmill at 9:13 pace.

I watched a little ESPN and caught the entire news. I have been trying to work on my arms while I'm running. I read a good article about having a nice, relaxed arm swing so I am going to give it a try. It is taking a ton of concentration. The idea is that your hands should pass the hips. Not sure if is going to do any good but it sure can't hurt.

Another Early, Rainy Tuesday

Well... it was raining AGAIN when I rolled out of bed at 0400 this morning. It was off and on as far as heavy/light rain. It was not going to be pretty as the wind was blowing at about 17 mph. This is probably the worst day of running Scott and I have had since we started this training.

The plan was to run 10 miles. I switched up the route when I showed at the Y but Scott was ok. I thought that maybe we could include some hills on this run. Contrary to Saturday's run, I was feeling pretty good. I think Scott would have rather been anywhere but on the roads but he was a trooper this morning. Did I tell you that the weather was absolutely horrible???

We completed our 10 mile run right at 9:00 minute pace. I am starting to feel the affects of this long training plan. I'm not feeling as strong at this point as I was say 10 weeks ago but I am still hanging in there. The good thing is that our last mile was run at 8:15 pace.

The End of Week 12

The week-end started at approximately 0500 on Saturday. The weather was absolutely horrible, my right foot was aching, and I hadn't necessarily been eating right all week. But it was only a 12 mile run. Piece of cake???

I met Scott at his house at 0700 and we set out on a 12 mile run. After running 20 the week before, I thought this would be a walk a in the park. Was I wrong!!! I struggled bad on this run. I overdressed and was pretty warm. The wind was blowing at 17 mph. It snowed. It was cold. I was miserable. :)

But I continued on. Trying not to complain too much. My right foot was hurting pretty bad around the 9-10 mile mark but it is a nagging ache so I pressed on. It is feeling much better this Monday morning. The route was pretty awesome. A little mix of flat and hills with some country scenery and the lake.

We finished Saturday's workout right on pace... 9:09/ mile. Not bad considering how miserable I was feeling.

Sunday's workout went much better. I slept in a bit and hit the road about 0900. I was thinking of all the runners racing the Frostbite and thought how nice of a day they were going to have. It was cold but no wind. I dressed just right. I was a little cold starting out but was just right around mile 1. My garmin died before the first mile so I have no idea on times. I will say, my breathing was labored so I feel like I increased the pace and had a quality workout.

I finished the cut back week with 36 miles and hopefully rejuvenated for another high mileage week.

A Different Approach

To break up the monotomy of the same old tempo run, last night I split it into 2 segments of 3 miles. To be honest, I didn't really feel like I could go a straight 6 miles at 7:13 pace. With this being a cutback week, I didn't want to over do it. By the way... There was no jamming out tonight. :)

After some breif stretching, I hopped on the 'mill and started with a .5 mile warm-up before breaking into segment #1. Each segment was going to be run at 7:13 pace (8.3 mph). The first segment felt REALLY good. I thought about going on but decided to take a .25 mile break and catch up on the fluids. After a quarter mile, I started segment 2. I thought about increasing this segment to 8.5 but didn't. Maybe next time. The 2nd segment felt just as good as the first. After finishing up with a .5 mile cool down, it was time for some dinner (and was I ever hungry).

I finished the work out with 7.25 miles total with 6 at tempo pace. Overall it was an excellent work out. I only have 1 more high mile tempo work out before the taper begins.

Yes... the race is only a little over 6 weeks out.

It's a good thing no one could see me

Today's workout was a 5 mile recovery run. I woke about 0500 and did some light stretching. I wasn't in any mood to run this morning. I was TIRED!!!! I know the importance of these slow recovery runs but they do not suit me any way, shape, or form... but I have to do them.

I set the incline to 1.0, the speed at 6.5 (9:13), and I started another boring treadmill workout. I had the IPOD on and instead of a podcast, I thought some music might be the answer. At mile 3, things got interesting. The song "Misery Business" by Paramore came on and I quickly turned it up. Not that I'm a big fan but this song is a great one to run to as you will soon find out.

It's a good thing the blinds were shut and no one could see me or they might have called the cops on me. I was jamming. Playing the air guitar, singing, banging on my imaginary drums, etc. You get the picture. I think I played the song 3 or 4 times in a row. The song actually made the run enjoyable.

I finished the last .5 mile wondering if anyone could have possibly seen me acting like an idiot. I think I found the song to pick me up when things aren't looking so hot during a run.

So after 5 miles (46:00 minutes), I cooled down with a .25 mile walk thanking God that he didn't let kristi walk in on me while I was rockin'.

An Unexpected Tuesday Run

Because I didn't have to drop kids off at school, I was able to meet Scott for an early morning run. This is our 4th cutback week. The plan called for a 6 mile run and Hal says that if we wanted to make it a faster run, that would be ok. I think we ran the pace that we typically run for these Tuesday runs.

We started from the Y, ran 2 laps in washington Park, and finished at the Y. Our time was about 53:00 and we averaged an 8:18 pace over 6.12 miles.

These cutback weeks have always been welcomed and help out trmendously. I remember the last cutback week. By our 19 mile run, I was all ready to go. Hopefully that will play true right before our 20 miler next week-end.

Catching up on the week-end

After a late (for me) night out on Friday, I wasn't feeling like Saturday was going to be a good run. The plan was to at least be home by 10:00 but we were both enjoying ourselves so we stayed out until around 11:30. With Saturday's 20 miler looming, I finally fell a sleep sometime after midnight.

I did the usual breakfast (toast & coffee) a couple hours before we were to meet. I was a great morning. Chris actually showed in shorts while Scott and I had on tights. We should have worn shorts as the weather was pretty close to average race day weather with the exception of the wind. I chose a pretty flat run that took us all over the central, west, and south part of Springfield. It took me a LONG time to get into a groove. We made our GU stops at the 5 mile increments. All-in-all, the run went relatively well. We ended up averaging 9:09 miles. Our last 8 miles or so were run at about an 8:50 average. I woke Sunday feeling a little sore but ready for a 10 mile run.

I wanted to get my legs back so I decided to run later in the afternoon. Cameron and I went to see Madagascar 2. We ran into Scott and his family. It was a good kid movie and I would recommend it. After the movie, I dropped Cameron off with his mother, and I headed home to get my run in. It was 4:30 before I hit the road and the weather was miserable. It was somewhere between a rain and snow but I think I hit them all. The plan was to run to Kristi's mom's house to hook-up her new 32" Sony Bravia T.V. It is about 5 miles from her house to mine so I did a little loop in Chatham and headed down Route 4. The wind was cross/ in my face all the way down Route 4 (approx 5 miles). I was glad when the run was over. I got 8.5 miles in and my pace was slow... 9:16.

I had a good week of running. I am still injury free with minor aches and pains. But that is to be expected. I finished the week with just over 50 miles (50.25) and am Welcoming a nice easy cut-back week.