a loopy 19 miles

Another long run in the books...this run wasn't the best run we have had, but it is done. After enjoying the 17 mile run two weeks ago where we made a big loop, we decided to expand the loop to get our mileage in. The weather was about ten degrees warmer and about 25% more humid so it was a tough day. Because of the warmer weather, we decided (or should I say I decided and everyone agreed) to start the run at 6:30 this morning. It was still dark out and hard to see the path, but we had no problem as there were quite a few people already out riding and running! The first leg of the run was down the Monon to downtown. We had a nice consistant pace and got to Andy's place for a water and gel stop. We walked briefly and then continued on to the downtown canal and then north to the White River Trail. Our second water and gel stop was at a park where we thought we would have no problem finding a water fountain, there was one but it was behind a fence - a guy who worked there was nice enough to let us get water - our water bottles were empty. So after that we continued on to the Towpath, and starting to feel a bit tired. We stopped one time to stretch - oh how wonderful that felt. My calves and knees were feeling tight. We pushed on with about 5 miles to go and got a another 3 miles and were in desperate need of Gatorade. Andy ran into a gas station and picked some up. We walked a little ways and drank it down...that perked me right up. We were able to run the rest of the route and finish, though feeling pretty tired and just a little sore. I got home, stretched some more and then took an ice bath. Afterwards my wife rubbed my legs down...they feel pretty good now. Here's a break down of how it went... pretty consistant pace if you ignore the water stops...

early morning tempo run

I'm leaving to go up to Michigan again today, so it was up early (not 4:30 this time) and out the door for a 4 mile tempo run in the dark. The pace was supposed to run between an 8:45 - 8:50/mile pace, but I was pressed for time and my addrenaline was flowing that I ran it faster. My recovery run on Monday ended up being more of a tempo run as well - and it felt pretty good. I'll have to take it a little easier on my next run so I can be ready for the 19 miler that is waiting for me this weekend... Here's how this morning's run went:

• Mile 1: 8:24/mile
• Mile 2: 8:23/mile
• Mile 3: 8:24/mile
• Mile 4: 8:18/mile

On another note...Holy Crap! Only 60 days until the marathon!

staying flexible

I am not talking about stretching, though I really should spend more time stretching after my runs...but I am talking about training schedule flexibility. I took Friday off, mainly to use my vacation time before I lose it, but to also get a few things done that I couldn't otherwise do during the week. I thought I had the great idea to go ahead and get a jump on my long run, but surprisingly my day went by quicker than if I had been at work...besides it rained on and off all day, making for some rather soupy air...so then I looked at my normal long run day of Saturday and I wasn't feeling up for the run and knew that Sunday was going to be a stellar day for a run anyway... This allowed me to catch up on a few household chores that I have been neglecting over the past few weeks. I didn't get them all done, but I'll have time to get the remainder of them done today... As for my run, it was a step-back week and therefore a 10 miler. I decided that it would be nice to try it at my proposed marathon pace of 9:00/mile...pretty easy...but it was starting to feel a little like work towards the end...I am hoping it was a number of factors...lack of sleep, running on hills, running into the wind at the end (though my pace didn't really reflect this). So I immediately started to wonder if my goal was too aggressive and then wondered if I wasn't training hard enough...and then I stopped...I remembered how strong I felt after last weeks 17 miles...I felt better and then moved on. I'll revisit this later in the training, I am sure, but for now it is full steam ahead... On another note, I made a new friend this weekend...his name is Eldon and he is a German Shorthaired Pointer. I watched him this weekend for Brooke and her husband. He is a great dog - very energetic and very friendly. He was fun to take care of...

all work and no play makes dave a faster runner

After a great run on Saturday and a relaxing day on Sunday, it was back to training on Monday with a recovery run. Not much to report on it, but it was a good run and I felt better than usual. Tuesday I got out on the bike for some cross training (I also tried to do some more multi-tasking by making dinner while I went for a ride - bad idea...let's just say it was cajun style - "blackened"). Anyway, that brings us to tonight -- my "final" visit to the track for my training. I decided to change the training schedule a little by switching my 16x400's with 8x800's. I had been reading this month's Runner's World and it refreshed my memory about Yasso 800's, so I thought I'd give them a try to see how my training was stacking up towards my marathon goal of a 4 hour marathon...basically I had to run my 800's in 4 minutes to translate to being in shape to run a 4 hour marathon...here's how I did:

• 1st 800: 3:54
• 2nd 800: 3:47
• 3rd 800: 3:56
• 4th 800: 3:54
• 5th 800: 3:58
• 6th 800: 3:56
• 7th 800: 3:49
• 8th 800: 3:44

So, if this remotely accurate, I am on track with my training. With this being a step-back week in my long run (10 miles) I am going to run it at my marathon pace to see how it goes...wish me luck.

circling the circle city

It was another beautiful day today...it started out at a nice cool 61 degrees. It was the "usual" group getting together for our long run, this time meeting downtown at Andy's place. We walked over to the trail head for the Monon as our warm up and then began our run. We once again were trying to keep it at an easy pace and settled into a very comfortable 10:00/mile pace. We followed the Monon north about six miles up to Broadripple Village where we picked up the Central Canal Towpath. We followed this southwest for 5 miles to pick up the White River Trail and proceeded to head south for another 4 miles. Once we hit New York Street it was just an easy 2 miles to our finish at Veterans Memorial Park where we dipped out feet in the cold water of the fountain. It felt won-der-ful. Here's the breakdown of our miles...pretty consistant pace, so we are getting better. I felt really good when finished, a little tired, but not wiped out. I liked the last mile, we still had some gas in the tank...