Dave Goes Running

30th Wineglass Marathon: Race Report

2011-10-03T22:15:00.000-04:00

Sunday, October 2 was the 30th Wineglass Marathon, held between Bath and Corning, NY. This was my FIRST MARATHON! (Coincidentally, this was also my 30th race since I started running in 2005.)

Dude gets a cup of The Best Soup EVER.

Training and Race Plan: Well... the idea was to follow the Brooks-Hansons beginner plan, which was written about in the January 2011 Runner's World, and train for a 3:45 race (8:35 pace). Adam Buckley Cohen's article convinced me that high-fatigue, lower-mileage marathon training that focused on goal pace runs was the thing for me. Unfortunately, I started this plan by neglecting stretching, ignoring various trouble spots, ignoring the fact that I have never been able to safely run 5-6 days a week, and ignoring the fact that I just turned 40. One prescient comment on this article: "This guy has run 40+ marathons with a 2:36 PR. The results are based on a guy who has experienced everything up to that point. His legs feeling like crap at mile 22 says it all. To each his own, but this plan doesn't sound very successful." You do the math - maybe next time. Yeah, next time I'm 25 years old.

I started Week 4 of the 15-week training plan after the Vestal XX in June. By mid-August, I developed some tendinitis and calf pain below my left knee, and I wasn't stretching out my left hip. My longest run was over 18 miles on August 21. It was a good three-hour run, and a time/distance PR, but my left leg was pretty wrecked.

Then it started raining, and I don't mean the day before the race. Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee blasted eastern and central New York with over 10 inches of rain each, causing catastrophic flooding and infrastructure damage. I worked almost 90 hours of overtime between August 28 and September 14 (in 17 years with NYSDOT, I had less than 10 hours of overtime).

Original on Flickr!

I didn't do another significant run until September 17, and didn't do any more long runs. I did a couple of short tempo runs and 8x800 once, but I was probably prepared for no more than half the marathon distance at goal pace. Last week, I decided to step back my goal from 3:45 to just break 4:00. By race day, I was planning to run with the 4:00 pace group for 15-20 miles, then accelerate if possible.

Course: The course map is here: Wineglass course map (PDF). It's a point-to-point course, so if I came in under 2:04, it wouldn't be an official world record due to IAAF rules (shucks). They also had their first half marathon (eliminating the marathon relay), which conveniently started at the halfway point.

Saturday Expo: It's cool that a couple hundred of you ran Boston, but I'm sure you had another jacket you could have worn. It looked like a BAA meet-up.

Swag: Thanks for the nice long-sleeve tech shirt. It fits well and it has a unique color and logo that are very eye-catching. The champagne split was delicious. The bright blue poly bag will come in handy for grocery shopping.

Field: The full marathon was capped at 2,000 entrants, but only 1,447 finished. I'm sure many of the DNFs posted in the results were no-shows, although there's some discussion on the Wineglass Facebook page about possible chip problems and finishers showing up as DNFs. Also some confusion about people switching between the full and the half.

Weather: When we left the motel in Bath at 7:05 it was freezing cold and raining heavily. Needless to say my mood soured while we made our way to the Phillips plant. The rain slowly tapered off by 7:30 when I donned my garbage bag and walked from the parking area to the start. I met a couple of nice guys from NYC who seemed to also be fans of Glad couture - I hope they had a good race. The rain picked up around 8:00 as we stood around waiting for hundreds of people to trudge up to the starting area. I met a few people in the 4:00 group, and several first-timers. By 8:05 it was really pouring again and we grew anxious to start.

Clothing: I started the layering with a compression tank, then my heaviest long sleeve poly top, windbreaker and fancy trash bag. I had to wear my poly running pants instead of shorts - with the rain and cold, you have to lean toward preserving heat because you generate less when running more slowly. If anything happens that forces you to slow further, hypothermia is a real possibility. I stuck to my Saucony Fastwitch shoes because their light weight helps keep my legs fresh, and wore my Injinji socks to prevent inter-toe blisters. I also wore a light cap and gloves. Clothing choices seemed to be a success, as I was really never too hot or cold even though I was wet the whole time. My feet got soaked and my toes got cold the last hour, but no blisters.

Race: By the time the gun went off around 8:12, the rain had let up again. There was a nice downhill start and I hit my watch as I ran across the timing mat.

First hour: Kept on pace, met up with Andy from the Binghamton area who was also doing his first. We got ahead of the 4:00 pace group because we were slightly impatient and feeling good. Passed people going up the hill at mile 4 - a little early to be busting a gut and showing off! The trash bag came off somewhere in the first hour. About every half mile I noticed Andy and I would both squeeze the water out of our gloves. The rain kept up but I wasn't cold or feeling too wet.

Second hour: We stayed a couple minutes ahead of the pace group. Someone even mentioned that 3:50 was "just up ahead" but I didn't see them and I was in no condition, physically or mentally, to accelerate. Scenery was pretty limited but there were lots of spectators in the villages. Spotted my wife and stopped to give her a kiss around the 9-mile mark. I think it was still raining.

Third hour: Still not too bad. Andy was beginning to feel it around mile 18 and by mile 20 we got separated. Right around three hours I got passed by the 4:00 pace group at a water stop. It didn't really cross my mind to try to keep up with them but I got back on the road and kept plugging. I think the rain let up around this point. My pace was very steady through mile 20 averaging 9:07, with my fastest mile at 8:53 and slowest 9:24.

Fourth hour: As I said on Facebook, "I wouldn't call Mile 20 'The Wall,' but I wouldn't call it Puppies and Rainbows either." Although I was prepared to run right through this mythical Wall, my pace for the last 6.2 miles dropped to 9:45. I had been eating a gel every 4 miles and getting water or Gatorade at almost every water stop so hydration and nutrition were OK. But everything began to ache at the same time. The little muscles and tendons that had been feeling understandably overworked were joined by the big muscles. My fingertips went numb not from the cold but from tension in my neck and shoulders. I tried not to slow down or speed up, and managed to keep grinding. The Corning bike path was very nice, a refreshing change of scenery and lined with spectators, signs and a water stop.

Finish: I was not familiar with the finishing stretch, so I tried to pick out landmarks once we got off the bike path. The white and blue stack at Corning (with the glass blower on it) was a welcome sight. Then it was over a bridge, past Wegmans and a left turn down Market Street - a great sight, to see all those people lining the street and the finish line banners. I could actually hear people cheering for me - they lied and said things like "You look great!" which were actually encouraging. I spotted my Dad, then my wife, then the finish line mat, and I was done in 4:03:10. They handed me a bottle of water, a handmade glass medal and a mylar blanket. Somehow it's the iconic post-marathon mylar blanket that made it finally feel "real".

Finish line food was great - I saw cookies, cheese sticks, Gatorade and water, pizza, and hot soup. I'm sure there was more, but all I wanted was the soup. Within minutes I felt nearly human again and ready for the long walk to the car. Maybe it was only a quarter mile - get off my back!

Official Results: http://www.pcr-timing.com/2011.html#anchor_wineglass

Volunteer Report: They were all AWESOME to stand out there in the cold rain, handing out Gatorade, water and gels. The Girl Scouts, the handicapped kids, the H.S. cross country teams, regular people, gave up half of a Sunday when they could have been sleeping in, going to church, and watching football in warm, dry comfort.

Spectator Report: I understand, it's hard to hold an umbrella and clap at the same time. Thanks to the spectators who handed out candy!

Injury Report: Surprisingly, the left knee and PTT have not flared up - they actually feel pretty normal. However, both calves/Achilles and the hip flexors are not happy. My Clarkson School classmate Wally Murdoch reminded me to go for an easy recovery jog today and start getting the kinks out, but I'm not sure that's going to happen.

Time and Place: My time - 4:03:10; official time 4:03:09.67, 717/1447 (top 49.6% - yeah!), 87/128 in M40-44.

Conclusions: I couldn't do much about the lost training, which was probably good for my knee. No one could do anything about the weather, and I was as prepared as I could have been. Cold gels suck. Yes, the race was 2/3 mental and 1/3 physical - and this was only the last 6 miles. The first 20 miles felt like a nice long training run.

Overall, I consider this race a success. Please don't ask me right now if I want to do another marathon!

41st Annual Vestal XX: Race Report

2011-06-28T23:36:00.000-04:00

Saturday, June 18, was the 41st Vestal XX Road Race (20K, 12.43 mi), held in the Town of Vestal near Binghamton, NY. This was a B race, so lower your expectations...

Training: Once again, I followed The Competitive Runner's Handbook Half Marathon plan, using a goal 10K pace of 7:30 (check out my training log and program at Google Docs). I was comfortable training at these training paces, and my base pace has steadily dropped from around 9:00/mile to about 8:40. Since Vestal is notoriously hilly, I added some distance, and hard hills to the longer runs. Running across the South Side of Binghamton to the B.U. campus and back was the key to my hill training. Since the Forks XV on March 27, I have run 230 miles.

Since I knew that marathon training was to begin in mid-June, I wanted to train easy and simply stay fit, going into Vestal with no hard time goal. I didn't crunch pace numbers or beat up the performance calculator, so I figured if I beat last year's 1:48:49 by "a few minutes," I would be happy.

Course: USATF has the NY0743J course certification posted here. It's just a harmless loop!

Weather and Clothing: Very nice, especially since mid-June can get hot and humid. It was about 65 and overcast at the start so I wore my new Brooks shorts with the gel pocket and white sleeveless top. For about the last half of the race, I had my top pulled over my head behind my neck. Although I brought the NB940s thinking that I'd want the cushioning for pounding the downhills, I threw caution to the wind and wore my Saucony Grid Fastwitch 4's again (same as Forks).

Race: So I'm standing around the back of the starting pack, stretching a little and trying to stay loose, and expecting to hear some announcements. A 2-minute warning would have been nice but we never start races on time. All of a sudden, I can see runners' heads bobbing across the start line, so I figure "Oh shit!" and get in behind them. With fewer than 200 runners, it's easy to find a place, get moving and start moving up. The first mile is relatively flat so everyone treats it like a warmup jog.

I guess it's a good thing, but other than the start this was another uneventful race.

Here are the miles in detail (end milepost, time, description and net elevation change):

8:23: start at 860', up 25 ft to 885'
8:46: 1 hard hill, up 65'
8:16: start small rollers, up 50'
8:04: down 25'
8:18: up 55'
8:13: up 20'
8:29: up 50 ft to max elev 1100', up net 30'
8:02: start long rollers, down 75'
7:43: 1 good hill, net down 10'
8:02: down 25'
8:26: up 95 ft to 1065'
7:07: max elev 1080' at 11.3 mi then down 205'
(12.4 mi) 3:06 or 7:45 pace: down 15'

This race is really two races -- a 10K with shorter, steeper hills (on local roads) that gets you warmed up for a 10K with longer hills (on a State highway). Fans of the "negative split" strategy would love this race! Once I got warmed up, my plan was to get into a 3-3 breathing pattern (3 steps breathing in, 3 steps out), which is around 8:20 pace. I was able to power up and down the hills using 2-2 breathing (while also passing people), then settle back to 3-3 on the flats. I was completely comfortable and warmed up by the turn onto Route 26 and kicked it up to 2-3/2-2 breathing.

Last year's pace for a 1:48:49 finish was 8:45, and I thought a good goal was to average between 8:00 and 8:30. The first couple of miles seemed inconsistent, but then it was good to see a few miles under 8:20 pace. After the turn, I was happy to see the pace get down around 8:00 and faster. Coming up on the 10 mile mark, I was trying to calculate my finish time. I knew it was going to be under 1:48, maybe by five minutes or so, but never thought about going lower.

I booked it down Rt. 26, passed a few more people, and made it across the line in 1:41:01 -- obviously something wrong with my watch... Average pace through 7 miles was 8:21, then 7:42 from mile 7 to the end; overall average pace 8:08.

Spectator/Volunteer Report Redux: You've got two hands -- clap 'em. And thanks for the pool water, Town of Vestal.

Injury Report: The left posterior tibial tendinitis had flared up again the week before the race and it's been nagging me since. I hope to ease into the marathon training without aggravating it. The Saucony's were fantastic - I give them credit for at least 2:00 of the PR and really only blame them a little for the PTT flareup.

Time and Place: My time - 1:41:01; official time 1:41:15, 64/178 (top 36%), 8/15 in M40-44 (first race in new age group!).

Comparison to Last Year: This was only my second time racing this course. I didn't even do any training runs on the course even though I really wanted a refresher. The long, hilly training runs must have worked -- the course seemed much less daunting and the hills seemed shorter and not as hard, even Glenwood-Rt. 26 and Pierce Hill.

Other Race Predictions: I am registered for the 2011 Wineglass Marathon on October 2. This race was a HUGE confidence booster for breaking 4:00.

38th Forks XV: Race Report

2011-03-27T21:55:00.001-04:00

Today was the 38th Forks XV (15K, 9.32 mi), held at Chenango Forks high school near Binghamton, NY. This was my second A race of the year, following the January Freeze 10K series. My goal time was 1:12:?? or about 7:45 average pace.

Training: I followed the Half Marathon plan from Bob Glover's The Competitive Runner's Handbook, using a base 10K pace of 7:30 (check out my training log and program at Google Docs). This was my P.R. pace goal for the January Freezes; the best I did was a new PR of 47:22 (7:37 pace). I figured that this would be a good pace to stick with since I was seeing regular improvement. I trained 180 miles for this race and have only skipped a few workouts since January. I did all but one of my speed workouts and missed one long run.

Course: USATF has the course certification posted here (the piece of NY Rt. 12 shown is about 6 miles north of Binghamton). The course looks simple enough - basically one big loop - but it's known to be hilly; there are major hills near mile 2, 6.5 and 8 (killer!). Having run the Vestal XX, this one seems pretty easy.

Weather and Clothing: Cold (about 34F) and breezy for the end of March, but this race is always a weather crap-shoot. Base layers were long pants, long sleeve top and windbreaker. The fleece headband came off rather quickly, but gloves stayed on until about half way. Wore my Saucony Cheatin' Shoes today.

Race: This race was basically uneventful! I settled into a comfortable pace by Mile 2 and was hitting around 7:40. Check out my mile splits at Garmin Connect (missed Mile 7 because I was getting water). The miles passed quickly and easily and I paced myself by my breathing, mostly 3-3 for the first 5 miles, then 2-2 for the rest. The finish was probably breathing 2-1 but it's hard to stay coordinated when you're running that hard. I was doing some time checks around Mile 7 and thought 1:12 was still a good goal. When I crossed the line with the clock reading 1:11:__ I knew I had CRUSHED IT FOR A NEW P.R.!

I still cannot figure out how other people pace themselves -- I passed people nearly the whole race (maybe 35 total) and seemed to keep a fairly steady pace. The hills were really not a problem, either, and I passed people by grinding up and flying down. Wind gusts near the start, Mile 7 and the finish were worse than the hills. Thanks to runner Bob K., who pulled me the last mile which we did in about 7:10. He was NOT about to let me get in front of him!

Spectator Report: You've got two hands -- clap 'em.

Injury Report: My left posterior tibial tendinitis had flared up over the last month and the whole area has been pretty tender and crunchy. I've been rolling and icing it, and the pain was almost gone by this morning. The less-supportive Saucony's were very comfortable, and I don't think the PTT is going to flare up at all. Otherwise, no significant strains to speak of - the abs and legs feel mostly fine. (Should I have run harder?)

Time and Place: My time - 1:11:09; official time 1:11:13, 67/249 (top 27% - best place ever??), 8/15 in M30-39.

Other Race Predictions: I use the McMillan Running Calculator to predict race performances. This race predicts a 5K in 22:06, 10K in 45:55 and Marathon in 3:35:28. I seem to do better at longer distances. I am now certain that I can break 4 hours in the marathon if I can just stay healthy. For those of you who missed the announcement, I registered for the 2011 Wineglass Marathon on October 2.

Other News: Volunteering on December 31, 2010 satisfied my requirement for TCRC's Grand Prix. Based on my best five races, I was the ninth and last qualifier in the Male Open class. I believe I win a mug.

Leaf Peeper Half Marathon: A Race Report

2010-10-17T15:51:00.002-04:00

So... it's about time I started writing these race reports such as my triathlon-doing, ultra-running blogging friends do. I guess a half marathon is long enough to justify a couple of hundred words?

Preparation: Here is my training log on Google Docs. My last long runs over 10 miles were 12 on July 4 and 10.25 on July 11. Draw your own conclusions. Having not run much over the last... uh, several months, actually, relative to this new, longest race distance might not have been too smart. This race WAS a late decision, though.

Course: The Cortland Leaf Peeper Half Marathon starts and ends at Yaman Park in Cortland, NY, and is a simple out-and-back along country roads. The first 4+ miles are flat as pee on a plank, then there is a series of hills - tiny, medium, and UGH! - between about mile 5 and the turn-around. This is a mixed blessing for me as you will see. Also, there was some discussion about whether the course was about 1/10 mile long - I calculated my paces based on a long 1.2 mile last leg and 13.2 mile total.

Race: It was cold but clear this morning with a predicted high around 60 degrees, the kind of weather that makes you grab every piece of athletic gear you own. At race time, you could end up in shorts and a tank, or you might need pants, a long sleeve shirt, jacket, hat and gloves. Well, it did warm up quickly after a half-mile jog, so I ended up in shorts, T-shirt and gloves - perfect! I passed a few runners who might have been slowing and overheating in their heavy gear.

I wanted to run the first half around 8:30 pace, then get down around 8:00 pace on the way back. However, the breeze was deceptive (to those not paying attention?), as outbound we ran with the wind, and while it was refreshing on the way back, it had a definite effect on speed and energy consumption. Splits going out were 8:26, 8:22, 8:29, 8:38 and 7:39 - avg. 8:18. Then there was an absence of mile markers, so miles 6-8 in 24:44 were 8:15 pace. Remaining splits were 8:20, 7:58, 8:23, 8:38, and 1.2 miles in 10:03 (8:22) - avg. 8:20. Total time 1:49:45.

The middle three miles are where the hills were so I think I did well to maintain pace, and even pick up a little on the downhills. I will pass people chugging uphill, then fly past them downhill. Then they catch me on the flats. Especially if it's into the wind. I think that's all there is to say about that.

Barefoot Runner Report: Saw one guy in what looked like VFF KSO's and a woman in Sprints. They both finished ahead of me. Not sure if anyone else was going minimalist. You can easily spot the VFF's, but if someone wants to wear a minimalist flat, who's to know. Also, I did not spot any Luna huaraches.

Injury report: My lower abs and hip flexors have been sore the past couple of weeks. The abs seem to have worked themselves out today, but the hips are still achy. My left hip is always tight and it throws lots of things off - my left hamstring gave a little complaint around mile 10, but there were no lasting effects. I have always been the poster child for DOMS. I expect to be sore tomorrow, and lucky to walk by Tuesday. P.S. Do not pin a gel to the inside of your shorts where it can rub on your skin. You will get a boo-boo.

Overall: 65 out of 187, including early starters/walkers; 13 out of 23 30-39 AG. 1:49:53 official time, my time 1:49:45. (Someone please tell me why it's so hard to get actual chip times at the start!)

Recovery: My darling wife is making me beef stew. Yum. No, you cannot have any so do not even ask. I expect to enjoy some wine this evening then sleep in tomorrow. CORRECTION: We appear to be having beef bourguignon. All of the wine went into the stew. Frowny face.

Thanks to my TCRC friends Chris and Sue for the ride. Congratulations to Sue on 2nd place AG! (I won't say which AG. I'm a gentleman that way.) And congrats to Chris on 7th of 24 AG. Props to Cortland YMCA for putting on a good race and getting the weather to cooperate - check their web site for complete results which are, amazingly, already posted. See you again next year.

End of Week 3: You Can't Fight Physics

2010-07-18T07:49:00.004-04:00

Well, that was fun while it lasted. I know that I now have the strength, stamina and flexibility to complete the rest of the training plan, but the little matter of a stiff big toe is bringing everything to a halt. Don't believe me?

A bunion is "an abnormal enlargement of the joint (the first metatarsophalangeal joint, or MTPJ) at the base of the great or big toe (hallux)." It's usually either an inflammation of the bursa around the joint, or bony ridged growth around the ends of the bones meeting at the joint. A dorsal bunion, which forms on the top of the foot, limits upward bending of the big toe. In the running stride, this limits the push-off from the big toe unless the foot or leg does something to overcome it.

There's a saying I remember from structural analysis - stiffness attracts load. If you push on an otherwise flexible wood-frame building that contains one steel column, the steel will take up most of the stress because it cannot be displaced as far as the wood without requiring more force. If all the toes are flexible but the big toe is stiff, the big toe will do a disproportionate amount of work.

The muscle and tendon which plantarflex the hallux come around the inside ankle bone (medial malleolus) like a pulley and attach about three inches up on the posterior medial side of the tibia. This insertion point will get inflamed and painful from all the increased work the big toe has to do, and that's the case with my left foot.

The only way to correct the dorsal bunion is with surgery called an osteotomy, of which there are several types depending on the technique used to cut and shorten the first metatarsal, and named for the surgeons who invented them. There are ways to reduce stress on the hallux, one of which is to simply raise it with padding. This allows the big toe to remain straighter on push-off and moves the push-off point from the toe to the front of the metatarsal. I've had this type of padding before but forgot that it may be of some use.

Time to call the podiatrist and see if he can fix me ASAP.

End of Week 2: Great Weather, Sick Dog, 30 Miles

2010-07-11T14:32:00.004-04:00

The heat and humidity have broken. The fog cleared and the sun came out this morning around mile 1.5, but it was dry and breezy. You cannot ask for better summer running weather.

Mac's elbow hot spot has come open (gross!!!) and we are keeping it wrapped and the dog in the Cone of Shame. I expect that he will need surgery this week to have it cleaned and stitched together. Time to return cans and bottles!

I still have some doubts about completing the entire training plan. There is a left medial shinsplint issue that did not respond to an injection of anesthetic three weeks ago and flares up if I'm not careful (running too far in the Asics, running in the new 850's). But I will keep running according to the plan and see if I can get in to the podiatrist again soon. I appreciate that the plan gives me something to shoot for and is designed to build steady improvement. I know I can run the prescribed paces, I did well in the Vestal XX (relative to a flat marathon), and I can already feel the benefit of the increased weekly distance, although I need to get more sleep!

This was the lightest week on the schedule (the schedule I started 2 weeks late) - only 28 miles planned. I count my warm-up and cool-down so all told it was almost 30 miles. Today's 10-mile easy run was good - I had to use forced walk breaks to keep the pace just above 10 minutes/mile. Nine miles helped me warm up for a 7:48 last mile (shh! don't tell the plan!). Week 3 starts including strides in the easy Tuesday runs and adds a marathon goal pace (9:09 MP) segment to the easy Friday run. Long/easy run pace dips just below 10:00/mile.

Mileage update: 29.95 for the week, 52.75 for July, 525.15 YTD.

Day 11: Hot Weather, Sick Dog, and a Time Trial

2010-07-08T13:28:00.004-04:00

Today is Day 11 of the 98-day 4:00 marathon training plan. This is an "easy" week, only 28 miles.

I'm home with a dog who licked himself a new... hot spot. Damn near licked his elbow clean off. Now he's a hot dog with a Cone of Shame, some cream, and lots of pills. (Don't worry work people, this is vacation time! Despite the fact that he is a family member, I'm not sure this is eligible for FMLA leave.)

On the training schedule today is a one-mile time trial. This will be done on the treadmill with the heart monitor. Next one's in four weeks so I can check progress. I would like to start charting average HR vs. average pace to get an idea of fitness. Temperature should also be factored in - anyone got any ideas how to chart fitness like this?

Once More, with Feeling

2010-06-29T22:08:00.000-04:00

Another test post to see if FB can dig it.

Still Running Over Here

2009-09-30T20:44:00.000-04:00

But not so much on the blog these days. You will find me on Facebook posting about runs, rants and the other junk you've all come to expect from me.

Racking Up the Miles

2009-07-06T20:56:00.003-04:00

Hey kids! June was a good month - 65 miles - and July is off to a good start. I ran 14 miles on July 4th when we were in Massena, the dullest out-and-back you can imagine! OK, the scenery was decent, and it was overcast so not too hot, and nutrition and hydration were fine, and I love my new Garmin HR monitor, but it was a tough 2+ hours and I got badly chafed in two not-entirely-unexpected places. On the way out, I wanted to keep my HR below 170 and needed some walk breaks, and the way back was into the wind while I wanted to negative split - so more walk breaks.

Mileage update: June - 65 miles; YTD through July 4 - 407 miles.

Public Track Rant

2009-06-24T23:01:00.005-04:00

You've probably heard these rants before, perhaps in Runner's World or some such:

Walkers, stay out of the inside lane. (Surprisingly, I did not have a problem with this tonight, as a brisk "Inside lane, please!" did the trick 2-3 times.)
Toddlers, go ply your Razor scooter elsewhere.
Teens, get your damn bike off the track.
High school lacrosse players, look to see if anyone's coming before blindly moseying into my lane.
Power walkers, lose the earbuds once in a while and effing pay attention to the world around you. I hate always feeling like I'm sneaking up on people.

That is all.

Intervals and Gadget Geekery

2009-06-24T22:13:00.003-04:00

Output from my new toy:

Now I can be like those cyclists that post charts of watts, HR, distance, elevation, etc., etc... This is a heart rate plot against time for a 7x400 workout totaling 4 miles. After a 1 mile warmup, I ran 400 and walked/jogged 200 seven times. The long rest between laps 4 and 5 was a water break. I'm not sure how accurate the HR monitor is, since my maximum is supposed to be 185. What happens when you go over??

Here are my 400 splits:

1:35
1:40
1:43
1:42
1:44
1:44
1:42

for an average of 1:41. Yes, I started out too fast, but I almost never do intervals on the track so of course my pace was off. But not too bad for an old man.

Latest Developments and New Vestal XX Logo

2009-06-08T20:46:00.003-04:00

The left hip pain I developed about three weeks ago is gone. The muscle strain was worse than I thought, or there was something else going on. I was able to run 15 miles in Massena on May 23, but then the hip hurt until last Thursday. My mom says I should try pilates.

So Friday I did a little walk/jog/run on the treadmill and felt OK. Saturday was spent building a gate to fix the smashed fence, shopping, and getting ready to make my famous All-Day Ribs yesterday.

Yesterday morning I ran 4.15 miles on the Vestal XX course with some of the TCRC guys. I am going to design a new logo for this race featuring a guy puking - that race course is definitely barf-tastic. A couple hours later, my plantar fasciitis flared up in my right foot, so aarrgghhh!

Shinsplints, groin pull, muscle strain, and plantar fasciitis. Ta-da!

Running Cures Muscle Strains

2009-05-13T22:45:00.003-04:00

I'm not a doctor, but no, not really.

So running through pain has gotten me in trouble in the past - remember the shinsplints from last year? With my left hip soreness much decreased from Sunday's 14+ miles, I ran a moderately easy 3 miles yesterday (on the treadmill) and busted out a 5 mile run today with 3.5 tempo at 7.5 mph (8:00 pace). I thought "This will either fix the hip or kill me once and for all." Fortunately, the hip pain was mostly lactic acid and the run went fine. I feel better than I have all week!

Calcium Cures Shinsplints

2009-05-11T20:37:00.006-04:00

Last year my GI doctor told me to take 2x600 mg calcium with D twice a day because the acid reducers I'm on (permanently - thanks, 1997 surgery?) can reduce calcium uptake. I didn't have shinsplints when I ran years ago, and I probably pronated just as much then as I do now. In The Lore of Running, Tim Noakes suggests that shin pain can be caused by muscle tension on weak bones due to low blood calcium. Yes, it took some outdated running encyclopedia to save me from three years of pain. How's that for sad?

Running has been going so well, I hurt myself. Don't take that the wrong way - it had nothing to do with my shins. I strained a hip flexor (there are about six of them - take your pick) two weeks ago yesterday and took almost a week off. But yesterday I ran 14 miles!! The training chart above covers through today with the weekly and monthly totals, so I think we're covered for a mileage update. Below is the 14 mile route around Binghamton. Any local runners will know how hard the south side section is east of the University Plaza!

Technical question: Who can tell me how accurate Google Maps is when calculating mileages? I've done routes in ESRI ArcMap and they seem to be about 3.5% longer than GMaps. I'd trust ArcMap for geeky projection accuracy reasons, but I'd like to know for sure.

Updates and Stuff

2009-03-17T19:58:00.003-04:00

OK, maybe just a mileage update...

Thursday, March 12: 4.5 easy miles on the treadmill

Saturday, March 14: I do believe that I have already mentioned the 10.32 miles I ran that day, oh yes I did. Average pace 9:05/mi.

Sunday, March 15: walk/jog/run recovery 2.9 miles

Mileage update: week 21.47 (18 planned); March to date 38.37; YTD 150.73

Today: 4.0 on the treadmill with some bursts around 7.0 mph to try a quick turnover drill (> 180 steps/min). Note to self: old thick cotton socks too tight with old 858's. Those SofSock people have turned me after all.

Second note to self: NO SPEED WORK ON EASY DAYS. I KNOW 9:22/mi PACE IS BOOORRRING BUT IT KEEPS YOU FROM HURTING YOURSELF. AND THAT'S FROM www.runbayou.com. So there.

Long Run Yesterday

2009-03-15T21:49:00.003-04:00

Yesterday's long run was 10.3 miles - I'm sure there's some guideline about having your long run be no more than some percentage of the week's total. Is 50% too much? Back soon with a decent update. I am sore today but it's mostly the large muscles, not the shinsplints. (Yay!)

Race Results: Shamrock Run

2009-03-09T21:57:00.003-04:00

OK gang, this turned out better than I thought. It seems there were more fun-runners this year, and the women's field was especially shallow. My official time Saturday was 6:55, which seems even better than I thought they might have adjusted for the confusing start. Hey race organizers, tell the field exactly how you will start the race! Does one horn blast mean "one minute!", or "on your mark," or "run like hell!", or "does this horn work?"? Better luck next year. I placed 20th out of 72, which is 72nd percentile and much better than I thought. I was hoping for maybe 55th percentile, just above the middle, which is about my regular performance.

Now here are last week's runs:

Tuesday, March 3: 5.5 miles total, 4.0 miles tempo at 7.4 mph. One walk/stretch break for tight left tib. anterior.

Thursday, March 5: 2.65 miles run/jog/walk

Friday, March 6: 2.6 miles run/jog/walk

Saturday, March 7: Shamrock Run, 1 mile in 6:55

Sunday, March 8: walk 2.5 miles

Mileage update: 14.5 for the week, including the walk; 16.9 March to date, 129.26 YTD

Today: an easy treadmill run, 3.75 total with 2.5 miles at 6.4 mph (9:40 pace) including two faster 400's. My left PTT feels pretty shredded right now. :-(

ShamWOW! Race Today!

2009-03-07T12:34:00.003-05:00

In about 10 minutes I have to go downtown to run the Shamrock Run, the 1-mile race in front of Binghamton's St. Patrick's Day parade. Remember that we have our parade freakishly early so we can get all the pipe bands from New York and Philadelphia. My goal time is 7:00, but it's probably doable. Of course I'd be happy to hit 6:45, but there's not much to work with in such a short race.

Gotta run! Wish me luck!

Longer Update

2009-03-01T21:34:00.003-05:00

My first run since last time was Saturday, February 21, when the plan was to do 6 easy on the treadmill. I did it, but my tib. anteriors were still crampy and it hurt to run as slow as 6.3 mph. Maybe that's an in-between speed where my form and foot strike are weird. I took two breaks to stretch and ran a couple of faster bursts which felt better form-wise.

Mileage update: 13.27 for the week ending 2/22, 47.14 for the month and 96.26 YTD.

Monday, Feb. 23: 4.0 in 42:15, running at up to 6.5 mph, some at 7.0 mph.

Wednesday, Feb. 25: 5x800's totaling 5.0 miles. I ran the 800's at 8 mph (7:30 pace) which is my target pace for Yasso 800's. This season I am trying not to do the speed work faster than the target paces - maybe that will keep me from getting hurt.

Saturday, Feb. 28: Johnson City 10K route in 57:20 (8:57 avg. pace). This was longer than my target distance for the day, but I had to run a couple extra for my friend and coworker whose wife is in the hospital. Run plus cool-down totaled 7.0 miles. Everything felt just fine on the run and it turns out this is a good sub-4:00 marathon pace.

Today: 2.5 easy walk/run/jog on the treadmill as recovery. Almost everything felt OK, but I admit I was probably still mildly hangover-dehydrated. Later, I now have some deep hamstring soreness and my left tib. anterior is sore and tight. I think the tib. anterior stuff is going to work itself out as long as I take it slow and easy.

Mileage update: week - 18.5, February 63.14, March to date 2.5, YTD 114.76. This is behind last year by about 90 miles, but I am fine with that. I think the early hard miles actually hurt me by June and I was too burned out and injured to do the marathon training then.

This Blogging, It Is Dull

2009-02-21T13:11:00.003-05:00

(Post title taken from This Fish.)

OK, time for another long update since I haven't been here in a few days.

Sunday, February 15: 7.3 miles total, with 6.0 at 6.4 mph (9:22/mi), including 2 songs' worth at 7 mph (8:34/mi) and last mile at 7 to 9 mph (6:40/mi)

Weekly total: 14.57; February to date 33.87; YTD 82.99 miles

Tuesday, February 17: 3.27 outside in 28:24 (8:41/mi or 6.9 mph). NOTE: Aspercreme, which is 10% menthol, BURNS the next day, to the point you think something is very wrong. BioFreeze does not burn (3.5% menthol).

Wednesday, February 18: 6x400 intervals, 4.0 miles total. 2 at 8 mph (7:30/mi), 2 at 8.4 mph (7:09/mi) and 2 at 9 mph (6:40/mi) with last 1/10 mi at 10 mph (oof!). My abs were sore afterward, not my legs.

Catching Up, Again

2009-02-12T20:19:00.004-05:00

Step one in catching up: check own blog to see How Far Back you have to go. In this case, it's Monday, January 26. Oh boy, two weeks... All runs are on the treadmill unless specified otherwise.

Wednesday, January 28: 0.76/2.0/0.24 for 3 easy miles running at 6.4 mph (9:22 pace)

Friday, January 30: 0.76/1.44/0.3 for 2.5 easy miles

Sunday, February 1: The plan was to do 6 total on the treadmill, but I wanted to make up for missing the last January Freeze 10K, so I ran 6.3 miles. w/u was 0.5, then 6.3 in 59:47 (9:29 avg. pace) mostly at 6.3 mph, with 1 mile at 6.4 mph and 1 mile at 6.5 mile and a strong finish. 0.5 c/d totaled 7.3 miles in 76:08.

Mileage update: 14.88 for the week, 49.12 for January, 56.42 YTD.

Monday, February 2: I needed to recover from the Sunday run so I got in 2.0 miles walking and jogging, which felt great.

Wednesday, February 4: 0.75/2 easy/0.25 totaling 3.0 with 0.5 at 7 mph and 0.5 at 7.5 mph. L tib anterior cramped up - I need to stretch everything!

Saturday, February 7: 0.77/1.93/0.3 for 3.0 total, pyramid up +0.1 mph each 0.1 mi from 6.0 to 6.9 mph, 0.1 mi at 8 mph, back down to 6 mph. L tib anterior still crampy.

Sunday, February 8: 0.65/3.0/0.35 for 4.0 total with 1 mi at 6.3 mph, 1 at 7 mph with break for L tib anterior cramp (will I learn? find out!), fast finish with 0.35 mi at 7 mph, 0.3 mi at 8 mph.

Mileage update: 12 for the week, 19.3 February to date, 68.42 YTD

Tuesday, February 10: Ran modified Lee Barta 5K route totaling 3.27 miles in 29:54, averaged 8:11 pace for last 2.18 miles. Felt pretty good running hard, but R tib anterior tight later.

Wednesday, February 11: 0.75/3.0 at 6.4 mph/0.25 for 4.0 total. R tib anterior still sore. L tib posterior tendon sore immediately after but not lasting. Today, I actually took the day off except for walking about a mile to work. The R tib anterior is better but still pretty shredded. It's a shallow, hard, tight muscle that seems to be undergoing some "training effect" - or it would if I'd leave it alone for a few days.

OK, I swear that's it for now. Go read something interesting.

What a coincidence - something interesting. Author Jason Cohen, who inspired the 37signals post on copying commented on the other commenters thusly, in part:

I NEVER SAID you should never copy or not be inspired or totally ignore successes. I said you can’t copy blindly and expect success. I said you need need to filter rules through your own world-view. I said you should think about having a unique path.

Why do people need to explain these things??? WHY???

Off Topic: Missing the Point

2009-02-06T19:41:00.003-05:00

One of the blogs I read regularly is 37signals' Signal vs. Noise. For the roughly six billion people who have never heard of them, they make web-based productivity, collaboration and organization software. It's a very small company from Chicago who break all sorts of business rules, and they are doing great. They run one of the best blogs I've ever read. They just blog about what interests them - often it's business-related, but not always, from technical details to the 50,000-foot view, to "how we did [whatever]" or "how we made this design decision", which is refreshing and open and paradigm-smashing compared to the traditional closed American business model.

They get lots of flak, and it's been on the rise in the last couple of years, for their somewhat arrogant tone, especially in their posts about business philosophy and tactics. One of their principals, like Jason Fried or web development framework guru David Heinemeier Hansson, will describe some aspect of their business - how they find inspiration, how they do customer support (rotate e-mail duties among their dozen employees), or what kind of desks they bought - and some goobers will take it as absolute gospel. "That would never work for us!" they cry. "That would never work in the Real World!" they continue.

[Big sigh.]

37s have even written posts about How It Won't Work for Everyone, and How You Have to Think for Yourself, and Stop Being Such a Dick. Unfortunately, there are people so un-formed that they think every utterance not accompanied by a disclaimer means You Must Do This or You Will Never Be Successful (Also, We Think You're a Loser). Is this a sign that we have totally lost our critical thinking skills? When you start with "This might not work for you, but here's how we [whatever]..." it makes me wonder why I should listen to you in the first place. "But it softens the blow," you might say. Of what? Of someone's opinion? What are you, four years old?

The problem with disclaimers is that they water down your entire brand. For example, who reads those e-mail things any more and takes them seriously? ("This e-mail may contain privileged content... If you are not the intended recipient blah blah blah...") See, if I get this in every message from you, I lose respect for you in an amount proportional to the time I have to spend deleting the goddamn thing from my e-mail replies. I stop getting your message because I'm too distracted by the junk content.

One of today's posts was Why you shouldn't copy us or anyone else. The theme was that you cannot replicate some object or process and expect to also replicate results. Don't think that you can sell X by starting with an exact copy of someone else's X, because you haven't gone through steps A through W to understand X completely and have some idea of what Y might be. Sounds pretty smart, right? Well, out came the goobers.

Once you got past all the commenters trying to explain their version of "I agree!" (a not-so-subtle form of copying, BTW) there were the trolls who Missed the Point Entirely. These folks tried so hard to explain how you couldn't go through life doing every single thing as if it had never been done before. Want a slice of cheese on that sandwich? You're copying! Want to shave your face with a razor blade? Boo! Copying!

[Before you go that familiar place in Copying Theory all by yourself, let me tell you it took only six comments before old Pablo Picasso showed up. You know, "Good artists copy, great artists steal"? I'm not certain what the crazy old man meant, but yeah, when you say it, it just sounds stupid. Then 18 comments later, someone repeated the quote. This was after someone else implied that it was Picasso who cut off his ear, so more psychic energy was definitely wasted there. Good times.]

37s came up with two tags for their blog comments. One is "Royalty" (a crown) for comments that are on-topic, respectful and enlightening. Most of the junk in the middle warrants no tag, and is entertaining or harmless or helpful or stupid. The "Troll" tag is for the bottom of the barrel - people who try to be hurtful for no reason and ruin the entire discussion. Unfortunately, the tags haven't been getting much use lately, but it's nice to know they're there in case of an emergency.

My suggestion to 37signals is to create an entirely new tag for the ones who Missed the Point Entirely. This is for the commenter on the post "Ice Cream Is Good on Hot Summer Afternoons" who can't help himself and writes "That will NEVER work for US! When it's summer there, it's winter here! You're just a bunch of ignorant yobboes!" I suggest that the icon for the Missed the Point tag be an unblemished bulls-eye. I did not intend to get all Aussie on you there. Sorry, mates. G'day.

If you came here expecting a running entry, sorry to disappoint. Get your own blog.

Shortest Post Ever

2009-01-26T20:07:00.002-05:00

Today I walked and jogged 2.08 miles (outside!) in about 26:00. This was supposed to be an easy 30:00 recovery thing, but it was cold and running slow is boring. So there.

Mileage update (for yesterday): 12.25 for the week, 41.54 January/YTD.

Good Week, Recap, Amateur Podiatry

2009-01-25T15:00:00.000-05:00

I ran Tuesday and Thursday this week, 3.0 and 3.25 miles. These were easy treadmill runs at 6.4 mph, with 2x0.25 at 7 to 8 mph. Nothing serious, just good, easy miles in the bank. I slacked on the upper/core stuff, but I did 3x15 push-ups twice and I can feel some response already.

Yesterday, I wanted to do a race pace run on the treadmill since I didn't make the 10K in the morning. The plan was to run 5 miles at 50:00 10K pace or average 8:03/mile (7.45 mph, rounded up to 7.5 mph). I thought I'd run from 6.5 mph to 7.5 mph over the first 10:00, then cruise for 15-20 minutes, then accelerate to 8 mph or more, if possible. It went pretty well, and I was able to keep my stride rate around 180. I broke down around 33:00 and needed a minute break but got back into pace and overall I did the 5 miles in 40:52 or an average 8:10/7.34 mph pace. With warm-up and cool-down, total miles for the day was 6.3. I also got my HR up to 185, which by some calculations is my theoretical maximum - so was it a tempo run, or something else?

The amateur podiatry involved some modification to my old NB 858's. I know the midsole is mostly gone because they must have over 300 miles on them, but the old insoles are totally unused. The heel wedge on my orthotics would make the heel too high, which is not only uncomfortable, but encourages heel striking. So I cut the heel off the insoles and layered them in - perfect! They felt great to run in, helped me use a mid-foot strike, and provided some pronation support. So I don't have any posterior tibial pain today - it's great to have large-muscle soreness, the good kind that lets you know you did some good work.

I'm planning to do an easy 2-mile walk/jog today, but might not have time since it's already 3:00 and there's grocery shopping to do.

Medium is the New Long

2009-01-18T19:48:00.004-05:00

Remember when 5 miles was a moderate day? Well, 5 is the new long, which I did yesterday on the treadmill at a somewhat speedy 9:22 pace (6.4 mph). Only minor soreness complaints today, enough to let me know what I did, mostly via tight tib. anterior. Oh, TCRC finally did postpone yesterday's 10K and the forecast turned out pretty close (0° F with a windchill of -12).

I'm planning to run the 10K next weekend and 3 easy miles on two other days this week for a total of 13. The mileage is staying low relative to last year, as I think I did too much too early - my long runs were 10+ miles all winter and I got hurt. The current plan is to hit 20 miles/week at the end of March at the Forks XV, then take it easy for a month, then ramp up again before the Vestal XX in June. By then I should be able to tell what plan might get me to a fall marathon. Of course, you'll hear it all right here.

The core/push-ups routine came off the tracks lately, but I'll get back on. Friday was an off day but I managed to do both side planks plus 3x15 push-ups! Yesterday, nothing, but tonight I'll do something.

Mileage update: 12 miles this week, 28.99 for January/YTD.

Two Quickies

2009-01-15T22:50:00.003-05:00

Tuesday and today I did 3.5 miles on the treadmill, with a 1 mile w/u, run 2.2 easy and cool down. I'm planning the next few weeks on the schedule - up to 15 miles/week by this time next month, then slowly building back up to 20/week in preparation for early races.

TCRC has a January Freeze 10K series which I was planning on running, but no love so far - for one thing, they have them at 10 am! Who's up that early anyway? Last week I thought they'd use a snow day and cancel due to the 2-3 inches of snow and 15 degree temps, but 78 people showed up to race. Freaks. This week the race time forecast is 0 degrees with a windchill of -12. Only Steve would run in that. For variety, he would also get hit by a car.

I'm also keeping up with the upper body/core stuff, except for today when I managed 2x15 push-ups (oof! good!) but skipped the side planks 'cause I'm full of beer and fries... Yay!

Speaking of beer, and in the interest of full disclosure, I weighed 185 pounds at the beginning of the year. Part of the near-term plan is to lose 2 pounds per month. Right now, it seems I'm on track to lose 3-4/month, but stay tuned.

Third in a Week

2009-01-11T20:51:00.003-05:00

Pretty good for lately - and two days in a row! I went 4.0 miles today on the treadmill in 43:26, with a 10 minute warm-up (about 0.7 miles), ran to 3.6 at 6.3-7 mph, and cooled down to 4.0. I also got in 2x10 push-ups and 1 ea. side plank of 0:30. That's seconds, not minutes, BTW.

Mileage: 9.49 for the week, 16.99 for January and YTD.

Two Good Runs

2009-01-10T23:22:00.004-05:00

EDIT/UPDATE: I also shoveled snow for at least 20 minutes tonight! It sure felt like exercise.

Another thing I got over New Year's was a cold (thanks, Dad! glad you're feeling better). It put the brakes on one run this week - Thursday, if I wanted to run every other day - and I'm almost over it now. I ran Tuesday when I wasn't feeling too great, and today. Both runs were similar treadmill workouts.

I warmed up with 10 minutes of walking and jogging, then ran for 15 minutes, then cooled down for 5 - a tidy 30 minute workout both days. On the run, I did 5 minutes around 6.3 mph, 5 at 6.5-6.6, and 5 at 7 with 0:30 up to 10 mph, or 5 at up to 8.2 mph. Tuesday I did 2.69 miles, and today I went 2.8 miles. I noticed that the short, intense bursts really felt great and gave me energy for several hours afterwards. The shins are a little touchy today, but I hope they'll be OK tomorrow when I may do a longer, easier run (no sprints! does "sprint" rhyme with "shinsplint" for a reason?).

Today I also did some honest upper body and core stuff. I did 2x10 push-ups and 1 side plank ea. side for 30 seconds. I didn't think that the side plank would be too tough, but every picture I see of the side plank features some 115-pound Olympian - they have half the weight to hold up. No wonder push-ups are harder, too. Oh well, Rome wasn't built in a day, right? I expect to see progress fairly quickly if I do these every other day.

Breakin' In the Shoes

2009-01-05T19:22:00.004-05:00

Yesterday afternoon I jumped on the treadmill (or as Steve maligns it, the suckmill). Instead of running for time, which I had been doing last month in the taking-it-easy department, I ran for distance. I warmed up by walking and jogging 1.0, then running 2.0 at 6.3 mph, which included 0.25 at 7 mph, 0.25 at 6.1 and 5%, and 0.25 at 7-7.5, followed by 0.5 cool-down for a total of 4.0 miles in my new shoes. Remember when you had to break shoes in? I'm not sure what sort of evil materials they're using these days, but they're good almost out of the box.

For the week beginning January 1, it's time for a weekly mileage wrap-up. Thursday and Sunday totaled 7.5 miles for the week, month and year. That was easy!

Today I added a ton of races to my training calendar. (For those of you interested enough to check it out, I wrapped up the 2008 stats and started a new page for 2009.) These races are all on the Triple Cities Runners Club calendar for this year or last year. Of course I won't run all of them, but I'm making a New Year's Resolution to run with my club members more than a couple of times. That's why I joined last year - to run with people - and I went to one meeting, and said Hi to a few members, although not on runs.

At the risk of turning this into a run-on post, there's an interesting column in the February Runner's World about runners waving, of course to each other, but with more emphasis on non-wavers. I will tell both of my readers right now that I am a waver. Not a goofy spaz who wants to give you a big, sweaty hug, but just a guy who acknowledges the existence of his fellow human beings with a quick look in the eye and either a slightly upraised hand or a nod of the head. In this area, most people I've come across are strict non-wavers. As responses go, I get an even mix of nothing (usually other runners) and what the hell is that guy doing running on the sidewalk, in my neighborhood, during MY walk? If a person can look confused, disgusted and irritated at the same time, that's Binghamton pedestrians for you. Readers, feel free to explain. Local readers and TCRC members, what gives??

2008 Year In Review, New Year's Run

2009-01-02T17:11:00.004-05:00

Happy new year! (To both of my readers...?) It's time for all bloggers to recap 2008, right? I didn't read much new content yesterday, except from some of you people, but then I was busy getting in a New Year's Day run myself (so there!).

Let's get yesterday's run details out of the way first: 1.35 mi walking w/u, 2.0 mi in about 15:30 for a >somewhat unwise?< average run pace of 7:45/mi and a total of 4.0 miles. Not a bad way to kick things off. I didn't wear my NEW NB 859's THANKS MOM AND DAD but I'm breaking them in and expect to run in them soon.

Now, about that 2008 recap, which brings me to the subtitle you've read above all year - Dave did not run his first marathon and instead suffered the nagging tibial tendinitis you were bored hearing about for several months. I should probably change up the heading graphic one of these months - we'll see how long that takes...

December: 29.59 miles
2008: 643.7 miles (beats last year by almost 100 miles)

Next up: developing a reasonable training plan and putting some races on the calendar.

New Mileage

2008-12-07T23:05:00.002-05:00

I have over 23 miles to report between October 2 and today. This is not a great accomplishment, but it is one nonetheless. I'm up to 35 minutes on the treadmill every other day, walking and jogging for a 15-minute warmup, running for 15 minutes, and walking a 5-minute cooldown. This is so I can fit into my pants between now and January 2. Maybe later I'll start thinking about racing next season.

Weekly total: 8.1, 8.1 December to date, 622.21 YTD.

I Can't Promise Nuthin'

2008-10-01T21:08:00.002-04:00

I ran Monday and today. Very short, very slow - no funny stuff.

I have no plan, but I need to make the time. The new job is hard, and I need to have my mind healthy. Running does that.

Catching Up

2008-09-02T17:46:00.002-04:00

Four runs in the last week - not too bad. I'm actually trying to go easy and not hurt anything. Besides, next week is my annual Adirondacks trip so there's some hiking to be done in the near future.

Monday 8/25: 4.0 total (treadmill)
Wednesday 8/27: same
Friday 8/29: same
Monday 9/1: 4.75 with 2.08 on the road in 18:26 (8:52 pace)

Mileage update: August 30.12, YTD 561.43 (yay! this beats last year)

Short Road Run, Thater 5K Race

2008-08-24T19:31:00.003-04:00

No, not race results. I actually went to watch the race this morning and it honestly felt weird to be on the outside of the ropes. Since I watched my dad run races years ago, I've really never seen another race. I've been running a few every year since 2005, when in my first race, I came in second in my age group (that's how they get you hooked - with hardware).

Yesterday, I ran on the road for the first time since June 23. Erm, I'm not very pleased. I walked and jogged about 3/4 mile, then ran 1.3, then walked home 0.3 for a total of 2.3. The run pace averaged 8:36, which means I probably ran between 9:00 and 8:00, with a moderately fast finish. I always run like that no matter how far I'm going - but I probably should keep the pace below 8:30 - period - for now.

I read somewhere recently that amateur runners should not do any speed work at all for the first two years - anyone ever hear that? As depressing as it is, considering my performance this year in racing and running longer distances, it does make sense. Eh. Crap.

Starting Slowly

2008-08-21T22:20:00.004-04:00

I may be in the process of getting one of those electro-stim ETPS units I mentioned last week. My insurance may actually cover it, so woo-hoo! There's $400 I won't have to come up with...

I guess I didn't want to jinx anything by posting about it, but I did an easy 3.0 mile treadmill run on Tuesday and a little harder 4.0 miles today, both without any lingering pain. Today I was concentrating on keeping my toes loose and my footstrike light. I think the toe-clenching aggravates the tibialis posterior/flexor hallucis longus, which has been my nagging problem. So far there's been no need for ice, Biofreeze, or a frustrated call to physical therapy.

My regular "A" race is Sunday - the Chris Thater 5K, in which I usually set a new PR. I know rationally that if I run it, I will race it, and racing on pavement hurts. On the flip side, it would be the first time I get to see the world-class racers - the men's winner usually puts down something in the 13:40 range. These two are the 2006 and 2007 winners.

I don't have a plan right now, except to do easy runs of slowly increasing mileage, and start back on the road very slowly. Wish me luck. I'm not sure I know how to do "slowly."

Dear NBC:

2008-08-13T21:05:00.005-04:00

OMG, STFU!!

If I have to watch one more second of beach volleyball, so help me I will walk to China and punch out Karch Kiraly myself. Look at all these goddamn sports and tell me how many you will actually see on television (in Amurika):

NBC is making this international spectacle of sportsmanship totally unwatchable. If I wanted to see overpaid prima donnas, I'd watch the NBA the rest of the year. If I wanted to have American exceptionalism shoved up my ass, I'd watch a John McCain ad. If I see five minutes of archery, handball or trampoline competition (trampoline? WTF?!) I will eat my hat. And post a video of it. I can't wait to see how awful the track and field and triathlon coverage is going to be.

Oh, I did an easy run yesterday. I'm not sore today. Anyone ever hear of ETPS?

Hurts to Run

2008-07-22T20:58:00.003-04:00

"Unclear etiology." That's what doctors say when they can't explain the source of a problem. Running on pavement Sunday, heavy calf presses at PT, ongoing foot issues and biking to work are all confounding the left leg pain.

Today I stopped running after my half mile warmup. This sucks. Stress at work is making me depressed and I can't run to feel better. Time to start drinking heavily.

Long Run, New Bike, Short Run

2008-07-20T18:45:00.003-04:00

Learned this week: Don't run without the orthotics. Buying a bike can be confusing and expensive. Riding a bike is hard on the legs. Kool-Aid has a tasty new flavor. Damn, it's hot outside.

Last Wednesday I ran 5.25 on the treadmill, including 1.0 mi at 7.0 mph (max HR 183!). The leg pain/shinsplints hover around a pain level of "almost noticeable" most of the time, but as long as it doesn't go above that, I think I can manage things. Slow and steady progress is my new training maxim.

I bought a bike on Thursday night. Say hello to my little friend:

Biking is hard on the knees and quads, especially when you haven't ridden a bike in 15-20 years. I want to commute on the bike at least 3 times a week until the snow files; the trip is about a mile one way, which isn't much, but it keeps me from using the car.

Today I warmed up then did a mile on the treadmill, then ran the 2.08 mile loop around the neighborhood in 16:58 (pretty hard 8:09 pace). Total mileage was about 4.1.

In nutrition news, Kool-Aid has a new flavor - Invisible Watermelon Kiwi. I made some homemade Gatorade with it today and I can recommend it. (The recipe: one 1/2 liter water bottle, 1/4 packet of unsweetened Kool-Aid, medium pinch of kosher salt, small pinch of Lite Salt - for the potassium, sugar to taste - 1-2 tablespoons, water to fill.)

Weekly total: 12.83, 27.83 July to date, 527.81 YTD. 11 weeks to Wineglass Marathon, which is looking less and less likely.

Easy Run Day

2008-07-14T21:53:00.003-04:00

I hope my podiatrist doesn't read this, but I ran WITHOUT MY ORTHOSES today! Remember recently when I said I wanted to run barefoot, caveman-style? This is as close as I will venture right now - and I think there's something in it. I will run a few times without the supplemental support, just the motion-control shoes alone, to see how my legs react. Feeling stronger, pain no worse? Go for it! Crippled tomorrow? OK, I'll put them back in. It's possible that the prescription I got in January was "too strong" - and the heel wedges are too wedge-y. Maybe wearing orthotics for three years has allowed my legs to actually get weaker since my heels and arches are so jacked up. It's a tough problem to figure out.

Today I ran 3.5 miles total, with the core 2.5 miles at up to 7 mph (8:30 pace). I'm trying to keep my footstrike outside-ball when I'm running faster than about 9:00, and it usually works, although I immediately roll through a flat-footed transition to toe-off. I've been thinking about having a neighbor coach me a few times this summer - it would be nice to get some advice about my mechanics, especially if it can help me stay injury-minimized.

Catching Up

2008-07-13T20:25:00.003-04:00

I've been running again, every other day, keeping the distances low and doing it on the treadmill - this is so I don't aggravate the tendinitis again. I can still run these short distances at an easy pace of up to 6.6 mph (9:06 pace) and I'm running pick-ups of up to 1/4 mile at 8 mph (7:30 pace), and 1/10 mile at 9 mph (6:40).

Tuesday, July 8: 3.5
Thursday, July 10: 4.0
Saturday, July 12: 4.0

I've started a new spreadsheet with every run this year logged with distance, level of difficulty, and surface (road or treadmill), and I'm starting to track pain in my training log. Level of difficulty is 1.0 for a typical easy treadmill run, 1.4 for a tempo/moderate run, up to 2 or more for a race. I'm trying to figure out what causes my injuries - is it high mileage, increasing mileage too quickly, too much road running, or something else? I'm also multiplying miles run by difficulty and a surface factor to see if this "effective mileage" is a good indicator of stress. When I get a good graph together, I'll post something. If you've got any suggestions for this kind of analysis, I'd love to hear them.

Weekly total: 11.5, 37.86 June total, 15.0 July to date, 514.98 YTD. 12 weeks to Wineglass Marathon.

I Am A Beginner Again

2008-07-07T22:27:00.002-04:00

I think it's time to restart the program. Rest and PT have made the nagging pain go away, and there may be something in not wearing the orthotics all the time. More on this as things develop.

After the Corporate Challenge on June 19, I ran on the 21st and 23rd, but I was very unhappy with the pain situation. Everything was looking pretty grim, and I was even thinking about switching to the Nike Free or running barefoot. (You should have seen the PT assistant's face when I told him that.)

I didn't run again until yesterday. I did an easy 3.5 miles with a couple of pick-ups, with a 1 mile w/u, 2 miles at up to 6.2 mph, and 0.5 mi c/d. For two weeks, I will try to duplicate this workout every other day and only slightly increase mileage. Maybe nothing over 6-8 miles total. IF everything holds up, I might try 2 days on and one day off for another couple of weeks.

Race Results: Corporate Challenge

2008-06-19T20:41:00.002-04:00

5K: official 24:07, my time 24:00 (7:43 pace)
relay (3 x mile, approx. times): team 22:09, 1st leg: 8:50, 2nd leg 6:34, my leg 6:45 (mile PR!)

Last Race Tune-Up

2008-06-18T13:09:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was supposed to be an "easy" day, but I ran 3.46 miles in 26:55 (amazing 7:47 pace), with 4 pickups of about 100-200 yds each. With my luck, I won't be sore until tomorrow! I am away from home and got to run on a bike/ped trail in Schenectady, up past Union College towards the Mohawk River. The weather's been cool for mid-June, and it's pouring right now, but tomorrow should be great for the Corporate Challenge. I was apprehensive about my tendinitis and fitness level, but I'm feeling pretty good about running tomorrow.

Easy Run, Race Goal Declaration

2008-06-15T22:03:00.003-04:00

4.8 miles in 43:02 (8:58 pace). This would be an "endurance" run in preparation for the Corporate Challenge. I was shooting for 45-50 minutes, but I was satisfied with the distance I covered in what I did, and it wasn't easy. The endurance just isn't there - I know I've run 15 miles or more three times this year, but it's slipped completely out of reach for now. I've been doing the P.T. exercises every day since last Wednesday, and I have a P.T. session tomorrow morning, so we'll see if I can slowly increase my mileage again.

Here are my goals for the Corporate Challenge: 5k - 24:30, 1 mile in relay - 7:00. These aren't PRs, but I think there's some room for improvement. Last year's 5K was a dismal 26:51 but it was in the 90's and no one had a good race that day.

Weekly total: 13.7, 23.9 June to date, 486.02 YTD. 16 weeks to Wineglass Marathon.

It's Two Runs in One!

2008-06-14T13:21:00.006-04:00

Post, that is. Yes, after nearly two weeks off due to the tendinitis and my wife's surgery, I got one run in Wednesday while we were in Rochester. It was three 1.3 mile laps around the neighborhood for a total of 3.9 miles in 34:10, and with negative lap splits of 12:00, 11:22 and 10:48. It was about as hard as you'd expect but not too hard.

Yesterday I did a small pyramid interval workout after a 1 mi warmup with 400 walk/jog intervals and an 800 cool-down:

400 at 9 mph (6:40 pace) - goal mile pace
800 at 8.2 mph (7:19)
1 mile at 7.5 to 7.8 mph (8:00-7:42) - goal 5K pace
800 at 8.2 mph (7:19)
400 at 9 to 10 mph (6:40-6:00)

I did 5 miles in 52:05 and it was pretty hard, but I could tell that there was still some fitness left over from last month's 69 miles. Consider this week "cramming" for the 5K and one mile in next week's Corporate Challenge.

Since I really hurt my left posterial tibial tendon, I've been going to physical therapy about once a week. The PT suggested that I run every other day, since I inflamed it again by running 20 miles in 3 days between 5/30 and 6/1. That was supposed to be the weekend of the 37 Mile Birthday Challenge, but with the minor injury and preparing for my wife's surgery out of town, there was no way I was going to get it done. Maybe I can do it later this summer after I work my way back up. I'm disappointed by these developments, and I'm leaving my training log alone for now. It's discouraging to have to blank out 50 miles of training.

Long Run Day

2008-06-01T12:40:00.003-04:00

I am again comfortable saying that I have run long. No, nowhere near my recent peak of 17 miles, but today's weekend run was 10.2 miles. Total time was 1:35:59 or 9:24 pace - pretty good average for a long run, although I picked it up at the end like I always do. The left leg is pretty tender at the moment, and it bothered me a little on the run, but it serves as a reminder to land lightly and go easy on the foot motion.

Weekly total: 29.42 (that's better - the blue line is getting closer to the red line), 10.2 June to date, 472.32 YTD. 18 weeks to Wineglass Marathon.

Easy Run Day

2008-05-31T22:03:00.002-04:00

5 miles total on the treadmill in 51:15, easy pace up to 6.5 mph (9:14 pace). Included 1x1:00 at 8 mph (7:30), 2x400 at 8 mph. Followed up with P.T. exercises, which I'm also charting in my log. Before my runs I'm also trying the Biofreeze/massage treatment that the P.T. Assistant uses on me - it's great to feel your whole leg go cold and numb. Tomorrow I'm planning 10 easy miles in the morning, and because we have to go to Rochester for LG's surgery on Monday night, I might try to run Monday morning.

May total: 68.57 miles, YTD 462.12.

Easy Run Day

2008-05-30T20:43:00.002-04:00

More beautiful weather, fewer excuses to skip a run. Today was a nice 4.67 miles around the neighborhood (check it out on MapMyRun) with only minor left leg pain. Total time was 43:59 (an easy 9:25 pace). Thanks to Big J at PT yesterday, I think we're getting on track. And I even did my ankle exercises and stretched after I ran - woo hoo! Tomorrow's injury-adjusted plan calls for 10 easy miles - let's see how sloooooow I can go.

Back to Work Wednesday

2008-05-28T22:43:00.003-04:00

The schedule called for 6 miles total with a 4-mile tempo run so I figured I'd run the 1.8+ miles to the elementary school, do laps on the track and run home. It worked out pretty well and even had a little speed-racer intrigue thrown in.

I figured out or remembered the key mile points so I knew about how far I had to go to get the 4.0 miles in, and would you believe that I nailed the distance? After a 10:00 warmup, I did the tempo run in 32:48 (8:12 pace), then a walk/jog back home for the remainder. This wasn't as fast as I wanted - I was shooting for 8:00, but my Runner's World tempo run pace is 8:09. OK, I know I'm training for a marathon, but I'm used to 5K paces where seconds count.

When I got to the track, there was a young woman about five yards ahead of me and we were running about the same pace. I did one lap to finish the first mile, and kept back off her shoulder for the next 3 1/2 laps. On the last half, I turned it up a little, but she knew I was there and kept ahead of me, so I turned it up a little more. I didn't want to burn out, but I did want to pass her to finish the mile. She faded on the straightaway and I dusted her, but then went into a jog to cool back down, so she passed me and stayed about 20 yards ahead until she left. SO... do I look like a jerk for racing her, then slowing down? That's what I feel like. I'd make a bad triathlete - that sounds like two overtaking penalties in 100 yards...

Speaking of triathletes, some of my blog buddies are training for Ironman Coeur d'Alene on June 22. They're getting their last long race-simulation workouts in, and they'll be tapering soon. They'll want to eat everything in sight, and wonder why they can't just go out for a quick 15-mile tempo run, or an easy century. They will go crazy. I wish them all luck - surviving the taper, that is. Hug a triathlete today!

Run or Run Not. There is No Jog.

2008-05-26T18:01:00.003-04:00

Once I get warmed up on a short run, there's no holding back. It's probably because I just want to get the short ones over with ASAP and I figure I won't be running hard for too long, so what's the harm? And I feel like race pacing for a 5K should be hard-hard-hard anyway. So this afternoon I did 3.6 over a neighborhood 5K course in 31:32 (8:45 pace), in beautiful Memorial Day weather.
Happy holiday to my blog readers!

Long Run Not So Long Any More

2008-05-26T14:53:00.004-04:00

Since I'm still babying the left PTT, I tried to do a relatively short weekend run yesterday. I spent an hour on the treadmill and did 30:00 at marathon goal pace + a little (7.0 mph/8:34 pace). I also threw in 4x1:00 at 8 mph (7:30) and 1x1:00 at 9-10 mph (6:40-6:00). Everything felt pretty good, although my energy level was not where it has been, due to not running much and not eating/hydrating right. The left-side tendinitis didn't bother me at all, and I didn't need to ice afterwards. My first PT appointment is tomorrow and I'm very interested to see how they can help me get back on track and get my mileage back up where it needs to be.

On a gear note, my podiatrist recommended the Asics GT 2130 as another possible motion-control shoe. Any severe over-pronators out there wear these? How do they work with custom orthotics, and can you compare them to the other shoes I wear?

Sock update: I ran in the SofSole Cushion socks yesterday with my NB 858's. I had to tie the shoes a little tighter since the socks are thinner than I'm used to, but overall the fit was very comfortable. These will probably be good socks for hot weather running. I've marked one pair so I can tell them apart, and I'll keep track of how they wash and wear over several runs. Wear and abrasion resistance may not be so good, as the first pair is showing some fuzzing.

Weekly total: 10.9, 49.35 May to date, 442.9 YTD. 19 weeks to Wineglass Marathon.

Sock Review: The Beginning

2008-05-24T16:20:00.003-04:00

SofSole sent me a complementary package with two types of insoles and some socks under the condition that I try them out and write about them. Herewith we shall evaluate these medium-weight performance socks.

Initial impression: For "cushioning" socks, not so much. Soft, with some obvious "engineered" areas for compression/support and ventilation, sort of like Drymax's running line. They are thinner than I usually like, and don't seem like they will be very "springy" or abrasion-resistant. I'm not running much lately, but I'll give them some walking time in various running shoes. They also have some "moisture management" claims, although I don't have too much trouble with sweaty feet - I'll compare them to the Drymax and my usual heavyweight cotton runners.

Here endeth Lesson 1.

Speed Training Day

2008-05-21T23:14:00.002-04:00

Obligatory run post: 4.0 miles total, fartlek style. For me, fartlek-ing involves running pick-ups at 7:30 pace and hills up to about 6% on the treadmill. Frasier was on, so it was workout time.

My first physical therapy appointment is Tuesday, so we'll see what they say. The podiatrist said that although the other PT group I've gone to is well-intentioned, they're not really feet experts.

All I can do is keep trying. I've felt really lousy the last few days since I haven't been running. All I want to do is eat and drink beer and sleep - no way to train for a marathon. The Birthday Challenge is out, but I have committed to the Corporate Challenge on June 19, running the 5K and a 1-mile leg in the 3-mile relay. I'm sure I can beat last year's 5K time since it probably won't be in the mid-90's, and I hope I can beat my mile PR from March 1.

Weakly Recapped

2008-05-18T22:39:00.003-04:00

That's what the past couple of weeks have felt like - weak! Thanks to the tendinitis flare-up. On Friday, the foot doctor didn't do much but give me a little lower extremity anatomy lesson and refer me to physical therapy again. You know what they say - third time's the charm! The Dr. said that the pain I'm getting about 4 inches above my left ankle, medially, behind the tibia, is where the flexor hallucis longus muscle above joins the tendon below.

Friday I did 3.0 easy miles on the treadmill, followed by some ice and complaining. The 12 miles for this week is nothing even close to the planned 37 and I'm beginning to worry about losing fitness. The Birthday Challenge is currently out of the question especially since it's right before my wife's 6/3 surgery, and I'd like to be able to walk that week.

Weekly total: 12, 39.26 May to date, 432.81 YTD. 20 weeks to Wineglass Marathon.

Speed Training, Now With Video

2008-05-15T21:55:00.004-04:00

OK, all you video bloggers out there. I've gone and done it - for your viewing and blog-reading pleasure, soundless videos of me running. Now, I know what you're thinking - hey Dave, what the hell did you do that for? Honestly, just to see if I could.

Running at 6 mph:

Running at 8 mph:

I did 6x800 at 8 mph (7:30 pace) with a good 1.5 mi warm-up, 0.2 mi rest intervals to get my HR back down in the 120's, and a 0.5 mi cool-down, for a total of 6 miles.

UPDATE: Holy crap! It worked!

P.S. I didn't run yesterday but I did play 9 holes of golf, and shot a fairly tidy 49.

Back on My Feet

2008-05-13T22:16:00.002-04:00

Let's just call the past few days a wash. I've actually marked three of the past six days on my 2008-at-a-glance calendar with the "i-for-injury" symbol for the first time. Today I did 3 miles on the treadmill, then gave the tendinitis some ice and massage - it feels like it will be good enough to do an easy speed workout tomorrow, but I'm going to have to be careful.

As far as a weekly update goes, I did 4.6 miles last Tuesday and that was it for last week. This past Sunday it was 21 weeks to the Wineglass Marathon.

Let the Excuses Begin

2008-05-09T22:27:00.003-04:00

Travel for a 3-day work meeting, golf, drinking beer, and a tendinitis flare-up in the left tibialis posterior tendon have kept me off the road this week. I will get to the blogging and (maybe) the running this weekend after some shut-eye. Geez... this post is so short I could have used Twitter...

Have Not Died From Running

2008-05-06T19:51:00.003-04:00

I owe a couple of run posts, including Sunday's exciting 17 miler. FYI, if you ever ask Binghamton University Telecom to transfer your billing back to Time Warner because you will be graduating (or have already graduated - sshhhh!!), try to make sure they can do it without interrupting your service. In other news, LG's surgery is scheduled for June 3, which will give me some time in the new job, and let us travel for Memorial Day.

Easy Run Day

2008-05-02T23:24:00.000-04:00

Two short laps around the neighborhood for 4.16 miles in 35:54 (with an average pace of 8:38 and negative splits, of course). Just a stretch of the legs before tomorrow's 17 miles. I am a little anxious that I won't sleep well, like before my last big run, although I am getting used to the idea that sometimes you can and should train when you're tired.

I wrote the big training plan into my Google spreadsheet today - I can't see doing all the races Glover recommends, but they could be good for race pacing and strategy before my first marathon. Then I will sleep until spring.

Yesterday=Easy Run Day

2008-05-01T20:12:00.003-04:00

Dear Intarwebs: I owe you an explanation for yesterday's run and today's lack of run. Yesterday was speed day, so I did 3 mile repeats at a good pace (up to 7.6 mph/7:54). My medial shins/ankles are sore today, but that's probably been aggravated by driving to Rochester and back (360 miles, thank you very much). We met with LG's GI surgeon today who explained her test results from two weeks ago. We are planning for her to have surgery on May 13 - the week I start my new job - and spend 7 to 10 days in the hospital. I anticipate fun times ahead.

And an update on the training schedule. I finally sat down with a calendar and the Basic Competitor's 16-week marathon training plan in The Competitive Runner's Handbook, and filled in 2008 through the end of October - from running 37 miles on my birthday, to racing a hard 20K in June, to my favorite local 5K in August, through the October 5 marathon and a month of recovery. It will probably have to be tweaked, and it is obviously a best-case training plan, where I don't injure myself and can do all the runs. But what freaks me out is the monthly totals - May: 149, June: 156, July: 166, August: 191, September 149 (taper time!). When I ran 112 miles in February, I thought I was Superman. Shortly, the plan will go into the spreadsheet and it will be time to get to work.

Are You A World Famous Runner?

2008-04-28T20:16:00.003-04:00

No, but I am staying at a Holiday Inn Express tonight - the motel with a sign on the AC unit in the fitness room that says "UNIT IS OUT OF ORDER. WE APOLOGIZE FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE." You mean like the inconvenience of passing out in a strange city and housekeeping finding your desiccated body 14 hours later? At least breakfast is complimentary.

Anyway, I busted out a 3.25 mile run in desert conditions (remember, you don't create your own wind on the treadmill) at up to 6.5 mph/9:14 pace just to get it over with. I felt as good as I could have under the circumstances. Then I had a half-pound barbecue bacon cheeseburger and a pint of Sierra Nevada while reading The Competitive Runner's Handbook. Ta-da!

Long Run Day

2008-04-27T12:02:00.002-04:00

See my route on MapMyRoute.com! Today was 10.18 miles in 1:30:49 (8:55 avg. pace). I wish I had mile splits because I pushed the pace over the last half - given the average pace, I was probably down around 8:30 for 4 miles or so. Everything felt OK, and I kept a good pace right to the end. It wasn't 26 miles, but this was a good moderate-paced long run.

Weekly total: 19.18, 82.14 April to date, 384.8 YTD. 23 weeks to Wineglass Marathon.

Father-in-Law's Memorial, Easy Run

2008-04-26T18:05:00.005-04:00

This week's been hard with my father-in-law's death on Monday and traveling up north for his memorial service. The whole town and part of Canada showed up for the service, and the fire department put on a great luncheon. There was three times as much food as we needed but then it wouldn't have been a proper Gagne event. Thank you to everyone who has called, visited, sent a card or food, donated to the Trinity School Endowment, or volunteered at the luncheon. This loving and well-loved man has earned his rest.

Gotta finish this fast before a line of thunderstorms rolls through. After traveling home today and managing a little yard work, I did a quick 4.0 mile run on the treadmill. My legs were tired, probably from not running much this week, but 6.4 mph (9:22 pace) felt good, and a quarter-mile pick-up at the end at 7:30-6:40 pace was easy as well despite the fatigue.

DO YOU SEE WHAT TIME IT IS?

2008-04-23T06:53:00.003-04:00

Tempo workouts don't really feel like speed work, but I guess they are, just different than the short, fast intervals I usually do. I managed to get out of bed before 5:30 and do a 3.5 mile tempo run on the treadmill, working up to 2.5 miles at 7.4 mph (8:06) or better; 5.0 total.

This is the first morning workout I've ever done. Bob Glover's right - it is very difficult to warm up in the morning. It took me about a mile to even want to stop and stretch, then another mile before my legs didn't feel like sandbags. But like any workout, once I warmed up, everything felt fine. Now I just have to see how I feel the rest of the day. For those of you following along at home, I didn't run yesterday because I didn't have anything clean to wear!

Long Run Day

2008-04-20T20:25:00.002-04:00

15 miles in 2:20:59 (9:24 pace). This was definitely a long one - a big, long loop. For those of you in the area, I crossed the Chenango River on Rt. 12A. The weather was great, hydration was good, the new NB858's were just fine, and it was nice to be out early on a Sunday morning. I only wished I had one or two more gels. Or a sandwich. My legs feel OK, not as bad as they did earlier this week - I was pretty worried about even attempting a long run. We'll see what hurts in a couple of days.

Weekly total: 20.9 (missed planned 29 due to travel), 62.96 April to date, 365.62 YTD. 24 weeks to Wineglass Marathon.

Easy Run Day

2008-04-20T20:20:00.003-04:00

Saturday I got on the treadmill for a while and did an easy 2.0, walking, jogging, and running with a couple of pick-ups. This was all a warm-up to do my old P.T. exercises to strengthen the ankles and avoid the posterior tibial tendon issues. I'm sure that one set of exercises won't cure me of every nagging leg pain, but I kept the 15 miles on the schedule for Sunday. If I can run five days a week, I'm sure I can do these exercises twice. They're not easy, but they definitely help - so why haven't I been doing them, instead complaining and Biofreezing myself? Who knows.

Easy Run Day

2008-04-17T21:54:00.002-04:00

Out of town for a couple of days - I'm in Rochester for my wife to have some tests done. Today I found some free time to do a few laps around the 'hood in the great weather we've been having. My splits for 3 x 1.3 miles were 12:07, 11:38 and 10:36 - not bad for an old man.

My schedule has 15 miles on it for Saturday - not likely if we don't go home until then, unless I get some extraordinary block of time, while also eating well and hydrating on the trip home. I could easily save the 15 for Sunday.

Race Predictions, Goals, and the Future

2008-04-13T21:51:00.005-04:00

I returned to Runner's World's Training Calculator to see how my 15K race time of 1:15:12 predicted a marathon - it came up with 3:44:55, which is a little better than the 3:49:46 predicted by last year's 24:00 5K PR. This 15K time also predicts a 23:28 5K - which would be pretty sweet. My long-term 5K goal is to beat 20:00, which I think is possible within a couple of years. The Training Calculator needs a 6:00 mile to predict a 19:57 5K - and it would be awesome to race at that level of fitness, a VO₂max of 48-50 (3:11 marathon, anyone?).

If I can keep up with the training plan, peak at 40-45 miles/week before the marathon and work out these nagging leg/foot issues, it looks like these race times are well within reach. It's probably time to tweak the training paces as well so I can stay on track and get a little faster.

Easy Run Day

2008-04-13T20:15:00.003-04:00

An easy 4.25 on the treadmill put me over 30 miles for the week. The new shoes are feeling just fine, and this run was a good stretch after yesterday's 10 miler.

It was fun to watch the Masters while I was running, cool to see Trevor Immelman win, and amazingly Tiger Woods finish alone in second place. Continuing with the weekend plan, I'm watching live finish line coverage of Ironman Arizona, watching out for Benny and Commodore, waiting for their sherpas and buddies to post updates. Have I admitted here that I read triathlete bloggers for inspiration? Once I started running regularly, it was Duane, the star of yesterday's Triathletes Are Awesome story, who helped inspire me to train for a marathon this year. Read about Duane's first triathlon here, and tell me you don't want to make yourself a better person.

Weekly total: 30.26 (that's better!), 42.06 April to date, 344.72 YTD. 25 weeks to Wineglass Marathon. Last year, I didn't reach 344 miles until an Adirondacks hike on September 15.

Long Run Day, Awesome Triathletes Story

2008-04-12T21:58:00.004-04:00

Today's run was a good 10.3 mile loop in great weather, with my trusty new two-bottle belt. The bottles' sloshing was more tolerable than my first run with the belt because of the wind - I barely heard the sloshing at all. My times were really great, too:

8.7 mile split time: 1:24:44 (9:44 pace)
last 1.6 miles: 12:14 (7:39 pace - nice!!)
overall: 1:36:58 (9:25 pace)

I am beginning to think that there is no way I can run an entire workout at "easy" pace - I have to run it in at the end, so that's how today's run ended. There's some truth-in-training here - I guess that combining tempo with long runs teaches you to run fast when you are fatigued. The key is to do it in training so you learn just how fast and how long you can go. I know I can go fast, and I can go long, now the key is to start combining them - that's called racing, I think...

Today's Triathletes Are Awesome story is brought to you by Commodore and Stronger (private), who put their heads together to raise money in a "secret fundraiser" to get Duane a new bike. Just go read about it and tell me you aren't touched at least a little. If so, your heart is made of empty darkness.

Easy Run Day (Yesterday)

2008-04-11T21:31:00.003-04:00

I guess I've been pretty tired all week - three good runs in a row, plus the dog's been on steroids so he has to go out every 2 hours. I've been taking him out at 1:30 and 4 in the morning, and even though I can get back to sleep, it must mess me up. Maybe it's also a side effect of the antibiotic I'm on - it does mention "dizziness" so that's close.

Yesterday I did two 2.08 mile loops around the neighborhood in 37:06, plus I did a negative split (like I always do!) for the second loop - 9:10 vs. 8:40 pace. Overall, everything felt pretty good, but it definitely felt better the faster I went. Yes, I admit that only the first loop was even close to an easy pace.

Looking forward to keeping track of my triathlete blogger buddies who are doing Ironman Arizona on Sunday, running 10 easy miles tomorrow, and watching The Masters all weekend. Can I just tell you how BAD The Masters web site is? You would think that kind of tournament could afford some good web design.

Speed Training Day

2008-04-09T22:14:00.003-04:00

Despite the left leg pain that continues to nag me, I actually did intervals today on the treadmill in my fancy new shoes. I have a hunch that Aspercreme (how OLD am I??) burns when you sweat and soak it in, but it was hard to differentiate from the anterior and posterior muscle/tendon pain.

The workout was 9x800 for a total of 8.0 miles. I did the 800s at: 7.8 mph (7:41 pace), 2x7.9 mph (7:35), 3x8.0 mph (7:30), one at 8.0/8.2 (7:30/7:19), one at 8.2-8.4 (7:19-7:09, and the last one at 8.2-9.0 (up to 6:40 pace). I did 400 rests walking and jogging, 1.0 mi w/u and 0.5 mi c/d. Yes, I was totally wiped.

Tempo Workout = Easy Run

2008-04-08T22:21:00.004-04:00

And if you don't like it, get your own training plan!

Today the weather was great (even hot in the sun) and just begging for a fast neighborhood run. I did 3.55 miles in 28:42 which is an 8:05 pace - not exactly an easy training pace, more like a tempo run. My left leg hurts to run more than a mile or so, and it was tight in front and back - so much that I had to walk for a minute. But it was my workout, dammit! And I can't wait to put my new shoes on tomorrow and bang out a good speed workout.

I've been thinking about training for the 37 Birthday Miles challenge that's now eight weeks out. It would seem that I should try to get in a few two-a-days of moderate distance before the Challenge. For starters, I'd try a couple days of up to an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon/evening, then up to maybe two hours each on a weekend with a nap in between. This would loosely simulate the noon-to-noon split of running, say, 20 then 17 miles within 24 hours, and help me work out the details of hydration, fuel, rest, refueling, supplies, and Sherpa duties.

Easy Run Day

2008-04-06T15:50:00.003-04:00

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, and it's a beautiful day to run 4.8 miles (44:02=easy 9:10 pace). It's also a nice day to rehydrate with a cold Saranac Pale Ale.

I tried my new 2-bottle North Face belt just for kicks, and the verdict is in: the sloshing drives me crazy!! And I'm not sure if my hips are uneven, or if the belt fits funny, but it was always trying to slip around to the side, so I spent lots of time pushing it back. The belt will therefore be reserved for easy runs where 45 ounces of fluids (and maybe gels and other accessories) are absolutely necessary.

Weekly total: 13.8, 101.24 March total, 11.8 April to date, 314.46 YTD. 26 weeks to Wineglass Marathon.

Easy Run Day

2008-04-05T23:29:00.002-04:00

We managed to finally avoid having a vet appointment today, so I got on the treadmill this afternoon for a typical 4.0 miles. Over 3.0 miles at 6.3 mph, I threw in five different things to keep it interesting: one pick-up of 0.1 mi at 8 mph (7:30 pace), one 0.1 mi hill at 7%/6.6 mph, another 0.1 mi pick-up at 8.3 mph, another hill, and 0.2 mi at 9 mph (6:40 pace).

I wore my new NB 858's today with my Drymax running rocks and here's a little gear recap. The heel is much softer than the Brooks Addictions, although I mentioned that the Brooks' midsoles are probably breaking down. With the orthotics, they feel a little strange when heel-striking at low to moderate speeds. At higher speeds, I am trying to land on the outside of the forefoot with a lighter footstrike - and these shoes feel great! They are lighter, and the 9 mph sprint at the end was practically effortless. The Drymax socks were fine, but they had a very minor acrylic-sock squeak to them, unlike cotton or wool. I don't like running in the rain, but it's inevitable, and that's where I expect these new socks to show their stuff.

A New Addition to the Family

2008-04-03T21:10:00.003-04:00

The New Balance 858.

Early results: MUCH more cushioning than the Brooks Addictions, but maybe the Addictions are just losing their midsole. Definitely lighter - they should be good for racing and speed training. They are the same size (10.5) but a hair narrower, and a touch shorter; neither should be a big deal. The knobby laces might take some getting used to.

No run again today because of car issues and new dog issues. Spring vet checkup yesterday plus new gas tank for 16-year-old car today = more reaming. Ow.

The Reaming of a Lifetime

2008-04-02T18:45:00.002-04:00

That's what you get sometimes when you have an "older" dog - he has allergies and now dry eye, so we just spent a metric crapload to feed and medicate him. It's a good thing he's cute, otherwise, who knows...? So I was too hungry (and financially demoralized) by the time we got home to run, and figured skipping a day still counts as recovery.

In other news, I spent 1/25 that amount on some new Drymax socks from Running Warehouse (where I've gotten shoes before - free 2-day shipping rocks). I'd heard about them from IronPol here, and watched an awesome video here, and figured I could spend less than $20 and find out: Are Drymax socks right for me? One thing is certain, the trail running socks look very cool. I will have to wear them for races if only because they look like ass-kicking gear. I won't be running through any lakes or washbasins any time soon, but I will put them through their paces and let you know how I like them. They won't do much good when it's wet if they're uncomfortable when it's dry.

Still Recovering

2008-04-01T20:28:00.003-04:00

I managed three miles on the treadmill today - one walking, 1.25 jogging, and the rest a cool-down walk. My legs are sore all over now, but not too tight, and they're not getting worse. I think a few more days of walking and jogging will do the trick. I have eight (easy) miles on the schedule for Saturday and I'll do it even if I'm still a little sore.

Recovery Walk

2008-03-31T14:30:00.003-04:00

2.0 miles of easy to brisk walking on the treadmill helped loosen up the left calf pretty well, and it just put me over 100 miles for the month, 300 for the year - woo-hoo! The giant bag of Biofreeze samples ("minis"?) the chiropractor's office gave me don't hurt, either. I'm a little worried about some lingering pain in the left ankle, which I've had before. I probably just need to strengthen the ankles using the lateral flexion/extension exercises and the dusty thera-band I got from PT.

On a Birthday Challenge note, my friend Sherry recommended that I not try to do the 37 miles all in one day. Maybe she's right, I don't know. What do you think? Can a guy who's running 30 miles a week now do 37 in a day two months out? Remember, I can walk if I have to; the only race is with the clock.

35th Annual Forks XV Race Results

2008-03-30T16:26:00.006-04:00

(The Start: not that you care, but I'm hiding in back on the left)

One second per mile. That's all it would have taken to match my goal time. When you're trying to give it everything for 9 miles, it just doesn't feel like you could squeeze another second from anywhere. But if I knew how close I was, I probably could have come up with a little something extra...

Here are the official results (nice job, TCRC!):

overall   35-39
106(/220) 8/16 David MacEwan 36 M Binghamton NY
(cont'd)
club time    pace perf
TCRC 1:15:12 8:04 556

Thank you to race director Tom Hamlin and all the volunteers for putting on a great race. I will cherish my finisher's coffee mug, and I'll probably come back for another one next year, with a little more training under my belt. This was a tough run, and I'm wiped.

Weekly total: 22.82 miles, 99.24 March MTD, 300.66 YTD. 27 weeks to Wineglass Marathon.

Easy Run Day

2008-03-28T22:32:00.003-04:00

4.0 miles on the treadmill (with Frasier reruns, of course), including 6 x 1/10 mi pick-ups at 7:30 pace. Not too bad, but I still think I need to get some new shoes ASAP. Al and Sherry's is ordering me a pair of NB 858's which should arrive next Wednesday, so expect to read about them on Thursday (note to Al and/or Sherry: would it kill you to put your store hours on the web site?).

I was going to write something about Sunday's race, but... um... oh yeah, I haven't been feeling too lively since last week. It's probably the semi-planned pre-race taper I'm going through, and I expect that it will feel good to race and get back into the swing of things. Time to get back up to 30+ mile weeks and look at some races in April and May before the big birthday celebration. If you put it in metric, I could run a 60K ultramarathon for my birthday - sounds a little more interesting than 37 miles. I've even started thinking about doing it all within 24 hours for the B-Fit B-Day Challenge Gold Medal. Crazy?? Come on - at 10:00/mi, it's just three hours in the morning and three hours in the evening. What do you think? What's the best way to train for this kind of thing?

Dave: 1, Sciatica: 0

2008-03-26T21:47:00.003-04:00

A little stretching and back extensions last night seemed to make the terrible scary leg pain go away. I'm not above stretching some more tonight, Itellyouwhat, and some Mineral Ice sure would hit the spot.

Today I managed a nice track workout in beautiful conditions. I did three mile intervals at my planned 15K race pace (8:00) with a 1 mile warmup, half mile rests and a half mile cool-down for a total of 5.5 miles. That's right, you heard it here first: my race goal for the Forks XV on 3/30 is 1:15:00.

Smells Like Sciatica

2008-03-25T21:35:00.003-04:00

Thank you Wikipedia. Now I think I have piriformis syndrome (mimicking the knee and ankle pain of sciatica) caused by overpronation. Just one more thing to worry about before Sunday's big race. Ow.

But I still managed to go 4.0 miles on the treadmill this afternoon, including 3 miles easy with 4x400 at 8:00 pace. I think the pain went away after about three miles.

Last week, ending Sunday 3/23, after skipping the mileage update last week: Week - 14 miles, 76.42 March MTD, 277.84 YTD. 28 weeks to Wineglass Marathon.

Easter Break

2008-03-24T19:42:00.003-04:00

No running since last Thursday, which was an easy 4.0 miles that I didn't post about. The weekend was spent driving to In-Law Town, eating and drinking lavishly, and not running. The early plan was to run long Saturday or Sunday, but even though the roads were bare, the snow banks were still over 5 ft in most places - not the safest environment for a pedestrian. And it's not the kind of town where runners are common, so drivers wouldn't see me even if they saw me. You know what I mean. (Shut up! Get your own blog, why don'tcha!)

I feel bad about not running at all over the weekend, and I am worried about the race next Sunday, but I should just focus on getting good runs in this week. Nothing too hard or long, so I can just stay loose. Then I think it'll be time for a new pair of shoes - the tibialis posteriors are touchy most of the time now.

Speed + Hills = Treadmill "Trades"

2008-03-19T20:25:00.003-04:00

From this interesting web site comes a new treadmill workout: Trades. After a warmup, get into your easy run pace and do the following:

2:00 at 6-8%
3:00 rest at level to 1%
2:00 level at a speed roughly equaling your hill effort
3:00 rest at level
repeat "until your brain explodes or your legs fall off, whichever comes first"

At my easy pace of 6.3 mph (9:31 pace), I did the hills at 7%, which was doable for two minutes but very difficult. The strange thing is, I almost couldn't run fast enough to equal the same effort; I did my last two speed intervals at 8.5/9.0 mph (7:00/6:40 pace) and came close, with a maximum HR of 177. I did four sets and the whole workout with warmup and cool-down came to 6.0 miles.

Easy Run Day, TCRC Meeting

2008-03-18T20:55:00.003-04:00

4.0 easy miles on the treadmill by the usual 0.75/3.0/0.25 formula. Still sore on the left side, and I'm wondering if it's the shoes or something else is throwing me off. I should probably lay off the menthol creams since I'm starting to smell like a nursing home.

Tonight I went to my first TCRC meeting, which happened to be the annual meeting.
Everyone was very nice and encouraging about the Forks XV course - thanks, Kevin, and good luck running your 20th!

Holy Race Course, Batman

2008-03-17T20:31:00.004-04:00

I got a chance to drive the Forks XV course today, and I think I may be officially SCREWED. The hills, my god, THE HILLS!!!

This makes my Dad a real ironman - he never complained about anything, and I think these hills may actually kill me. He ran this race once (must have been 25 years ago) and lived to tell about it. I swear the course was flatter back then. Here's the route, although the mile markers are short because several waggles at the start and finish are not mapped.

I took yesterday off because my hip flexors were still killing me. A liberal application of mentholated Aspercreme has loosened everything up and tomorrow should be a good easy day. Since next weekend is Easter and we will be up in the north country, I will have to get all quality runs in this week.

Experiments in Pain: New Distance PR

2008-03-15T21:59:00.003-04:00

Today's long run is brought to you by the What Were You Thinking? school of distance running. I didn't really need all that mileage right now in the 15K training plan, but the weather was fine and I had the time. So why not run two 10K loops and a 5K? Because I'm not sure if I'll be able to walk tomorrow, that's why. I'm putting 15.5 miles in the training log (have a look at the log/plan for yourself) which will push this week to 35 miles; both distances are new records.

The hamstrings have finally loosened up, but maybe it's like having your finger broken when you have a headache - not really so bad now, is it haha!!?! The soreness and the pain on the run made me think it's time for a new pair of shoes and make the December 2007 Brooks Addictions second bananas. My feet were really hurting after an hour or so, and the shoes just didn't feel like they had any cushioning. The worst area is the left hip flexors - can you find the pectineus and the adductor longus? - I'm all about not lifting the knee right now.

Philly Cheesesteak Day

2008-03-13T16:54:00.003-04:00

Also an easy day in beautiful weather. 3.6 miles in 31:42 (8:48 pace). Safety tip: save the big, greasy lunches for off days.

Not sore at all from yesterday's speed workout, but the day's not over yet. I should be the poster boy for DOMS.

Awesome Yasso's: 9x800

2008-03-12T20:40:00.004-04:00

Total 8.0 miles with 1.0 w/u, 9x800 at 7.6 to 8.0 mph (7:54-7:30 pace) with 400 rests, 0.5 c/d. The last two 800's I did half at 8.0 and half at 8.2 mph (7:19). After looking at a running technique video on YouTube last night, I tried to pick my knees up higher and land at least flat-footed instead of on the heel (I'm still a little too slow to land on the forefoot). I'll see how the quads and hamstrings feel tomorrow. Overall, this workout rated as pleasantly hard. The first couple of intervals seemed very easy, almost like not-breaking-a-sweat easy. But never tell your coach that.

I need to check with Bob Glover's (Competitive Runner's Handbook) 15K training program to see where he peaks with speed work and how much distance he puts in. I feel pretty comfortable so far, and I will probably feel great if I can do 13 miles this weekend. But it's approaching time to put the treadmill away for spring and get outside, both for the weather and for the road running. It's getting warmer, but around here the weather on March 30 can still be pretty nasty.

Easy Run Day

2008-03-11T22:24:00.003-04:00

4.4 miles in 40:22 (9:10 pace) - outside! The overall pace was good, but I can't help but run a little faster after I warm up. I started out very easy, probably closer to a 10:00 pace, but it was hard to keep going that slow. My footstrike felt heavy because it's hard to run "lightly" when you spend that much time on the ground. One thing I definitely want to learn this summer is how to run faster - but whaddya know, there's lots of stuff on the web about technique, and even some YouTube videos. I'll see if I can learn anything without hurting myself, and tomorrow's a speed workout anyway.

It was nearly 50 degrees today and sunny (thanks, overzealous energy-saving government!) so why did I wear the long sleeve technical top AND the fleece pullover AND the poly pants? At least I could put my hat and gloves in my pockets, but I couldn't exactly take my pants off. Time to get smart about clothes again as it warms up.

Long Run Day

2008-03-09T16:24:00.003-04:00

Sunny but still too cold and windy to spend two hours outside, so I had to hit the treadmill for about 90 minutes. I managed 9.76 miles total in 1:40:00, including a 1 mi warmup and 10 minute cool-down. The core workout (8.18 mi) was at easy to moderate pace with some sprints thrown in, and the last 10 minutes were at 7.0 mph (8:34 pace) with a hard run/near sprint over the last minute. I guess I like to bundle my long, easy, tempo and speed workouts all together. (What would Jack Daniels think??) The core 8.18 was at an average 8:48 pace, which is also 3:50:00 marathon pace.

Weekly total: 22.92 miles, 30.92 March MTD, 232.34 YTD. 30 weeks to Wineglass Marathon.

Easy Run Day and Final Shamrock Run Info

2008-03-06T19:42:00.004-05:00

Today it was in the 40's so there was no excuse not to run outside! I did 2 loops of the 2.08 mi neighborhood jog in 37:55, so let's call it 4.16 miles at 9:07 pace (good!). Boy, my hamstrings are still sore, especially on the left - but I warmed up OK and took it smooth and easy.

The club contact for last Saturday's Shamrock Run told me today that they were not able to compile the race results - boooooo!! I will have to stick with fellow racer's estimate of 6:45, and I am willing to tack on 10 seconds for an unofficial 1 mile PR of 6:55. Needless to say I am disappointed, but there you have it.

Speed Training Day

2008-03-05T19:34:00.002-05:00

5.0 miles total: 1.0 w/u, 3.5 at tempo pace of up to 7.5 mph (8:00 pace), 0.5 c/d. Had a little trouble warming up and stretching. Both hamstrings were very tight and landing with the knees slightly bent seemed to aggravate them. I'll have to stretch more later, and walk around more and try to stretch tomorrow.

I spent some time working on a profile of the Forks XV course (March 30). The maximum elevation difference is only about 30 meters but you do it all at once about four times, with some rollers and flats in the middle. I'll have to drive or run the course before then and I'll see how bad it really is.

Easy Run Day

2008-03-04T18:44:00.002-05:00

4.0 miles on the treadmill, up to 6.4 mph (9:22 pace). I think it's time to make the easy runs longer or faster, closer to marathon pace. Still a little sore from the weekend, but no major complaints. Still no race results posted by TCRC.

Easy/Long Day

2008-03-02T20:05:00.003-05:00

I stretched today's easy run (a little) to make up for not having a long run this weekend. I am perfectly willing to call the mile race a "hard" day - and Bob Glover recommends taking it easy after a hard day. I managed to total up 6.5 miles on the machine and it felt good to get some kinks out from yesterday. I also tried the last 1:30 at my possible avg. race pace of about 6:49 (8.8 mph) - yowza!!

Still no race results posted by TCRC - boooo!

Weekly total: 20.0 miles, 112.53 in February, 8.0 March MTD, 209.42 YTD. 31 weeks to Wineglass Marathon.

Preliminary Race Results

2008-03-01T19:19:00.003-05:00

It stopped snowing for the race and the parade, but the wind was still about 10-15 mph from the west (the route was due west, thanks). The temperature had leveled off around 35, but I think it had dropped before the race was over. Then my wife and I watched the parade for about an hour, but we were pretty well frozen and left before it ended. My race entry got me in to see several of the pipe bands afterwards - pretty cool stuff.

The race was small, only about 50 entries, but there were also only two age divisions - young/high school and old/non-high school. Strangely, it seemed that there weren't too many "old" guys in front of me, although I couldn't see very well what with the wind in my face and all. I was getting warmed up OK, but you definitely cool off fast in those conditions. So I had to keep my fingers crossed that I wouldn't pull anything or blow a gasket by going too fast. Here's the interesting thing - even though I knew where all the quarter-mile points were, I FORGOT MY WATCH.

So I was going out pretty hard, and got worried that I was sucking wind around 1/2 mile, but it leveled off and I was able to pass several people, settling in behind one runner. I don't think I passed anyone in the last quarter, and since the whole thing was a sprint, I couldn't kick. But I finished, upright and under my own power, and commenced to cooling down again. Since I didn't hear a time called when I finished, I asked the guy who was in front of me if he had a time, and he said...

something I couldn't believe...

remember my solid goal of 7:40?...

and my total outside goal of 7:30?...

This guy says "about 6:45."

Even if I was ten seconds behind him, I still came in under 7:00. Into the wind. In the freezing cold. Which would be really great. Now let's see how long it takes the club to get the results posted. I'm also wondering how I did against the "old" age-groupers - there really weren't that many in front of me. Although the guys running with their shirts off in mock kilts might have been out of high school. Damn... at this age, college students are definitely looking like high schoolers.

Race Preview

2008-03-01T11:43:00.003-05:00

It's been snowing for the last 24 hours, but it's clearing up this afternoon. It's already about 35 degrees, and the streets are quickly going from snow-covered to wet. My race warm-up began with 20 minutes of shoveling! I should stretch and get my after-race clothes ready for my ~~wife~~ Sherpa to bring down to the finish. Post-parade, the pipe bands are getting together at the high school down the block and the party's free to all racers.

Since it's clearing up, I think the 7:40 goal time is still on the table. If the weather gets bad again, I may have to settle for something much closer to 8:00. Stay tuned for the whole recap later. No pictures, though - my P.O.S. stupid battery-eating Olympus is dead. I'll link to pictures later if the newspaper or club posts any.

Walking Today

2008-02-28T20:36:00.002-05:00

I felt like taking it easy today, since I am still a little sore and tight and I want to keep loose for Saturday. 25 minutes of walking on the treadmill equaled about 1.5 miles, then I stretched for a few minutes. Can't wait for the race!