I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the hardest part about running is simply getting out the door. But once that commitment has been made and those first, stiff-legged moments have passed, then it’s fun. Too much fun, in fact – sometimes it’s hard to stop.
Imagine that.
That’s the way it went all week. I really had to force myself out the door to start my pre-race routines and calisthenics in my front yard so that the neighbors can watch and wonder if I finally had lost my mind… well yeah, but not because of the running.
Anyway, I put together another consistent week just as I had said I would. I’m definitely getting stronger and should be ready to get into some serious training very soon. The issue with that is what to train for. I have two or three options in mind, but I want to see what happens over the next few weeks before I make a decision.
Like a lot of runners I’m prone to jump into a race or a training program without proper planning and I’m tired of that. The best way to do thing, I’ve learned, is to stick with a plan and follow it through. No secrets or surprises. Yes, it’s that easy.
Here’s how a pretty decent week played out:
Monday – 15.1 miles in 1:42:08 This was another grinder, but not because I was tired and my legs were heavy. It was a grinder because it was more than 80 damn degrees out there. The heat really made it tough, though I started out running at 6:30 pace. I’m definitely in no shape to race, but maybe that will change in a few weeks.
Tuesday – 13.3 miles in 1:28:41 I did the entire run on the grass and had planned on going fairly easy, but for some reason I ran a surge here or there. I started out in 6:57 pace and then took it down to 6:30 and kept it there for a little while. I ran the first 5 in 33:20 and the second 5 in 33:04 before cruising home. It’s still hot out though there was a pretty nice breeze blowing that kept me from wilting.
Wednesday – 13.1 miles in 1:27:40 Surprisingly, I felt very strong and alert even though I didn’t sleep particularly well. A 6:40 pace felt easy and effortless, which is good. This was definitely one of my better runs and I’m sure I could have done 30 miles at the same pace. Plus, the weather was really great.
Thursday – 10 miles in 66:04 Effortless. Actually, I was surprised that I went through the splits so quickly. The idea was to go easy and it felt that way. If I hadn’t gotten out so late I would have run all day.
Friday – 13 miles in 1:26:41 Ran a few extra hills today just because. Other than that, I still feel strong and the weather was still perfect — it was mid-50s, overcast with a nice breeze. Who knows, maybe I’m getting good at this?
Saturday – 13.2 miles in 1:29:04 The hardest part about running is simply getting out the door. Once you do that and then actually start running, it’s a breeze. That’s the way today’s run felt. I was slow and sluggish in the very beginning, but once I got going, I kind of hammered. From about 30-minutes on I moved well.
Sunday – 8.3 miles in 56:20 The plan was to do a 5k tempo run or time trial today, but I got a late start getting out and the course I was going to run on was littered with people. The target time was 17:00 for 5k, but that will have to wait for another day. Either way, an easy day was the way to go today so that’s what I did. Once I got loosened up I felt OK.
That’s 86 miles for the week, which is my most since doing 103 from Dec. 11-to-17.
Today’s London Marathon featured another stellar field that was arguably the deepest race outside of the Olympics. According to press notes, the London Marathon was televised in 160 countries to well over a million viewers, none of which were in the United States.
Hall, just 24, ran the fastest debut marathon for an American ever by clocking a 2:08:24 for seventh place. He was 18 seconds behind Tergat and 30 seconds behind two-time world champion Jaouad Gharib.
It was the fastest marathon ever run by a someone born in the United States.
Most impressively, Hall (a 2006 Stanford grad who trains in Big Bear, Calif. with Deena Kastor and Meb Keflezighi as well as former local elite runner Terrance Mahon) not only ran in the lead pack until the final mile and a half of the race, but he also actually took the lead at the 35-kilometer mark. To do that against those runners takes more than guts – that takes brass ones. Big and brassy.
“I dreamed about being with those guys for 23 miles and I did that today and I took my swing,” Hall said after the race. “Hopefully I’ll be a bit stronger next time and run a bit smarter.”
In the end, though, the more experienced runners surged away from Hall though he said he thought he had a chance to catch up until he started tightening up. Nevertheless, for Hall, who smashed the American half-marathon record (59:43) in Houston last January, the next big race is on Nov. 3 at the Olympic Marathon Trials in New York City. If he finishes in the top three in that race, it’s off to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
For Hall, who threw down with the all-time greats in the sport, that seems like a foregone conclusion.
“With the Olympics coming up so quick, I really want to take a swing at a medal,” Hall said today. “If I’m going to do that, my best shot is going to be in the marathon.”
*** Hardly a big-time, Ryan Hall-type effort, but I’m getting there. I’m starting to feel more comfortable with the daily distance and I’m bouncing back from day-to-day fairly well. The one thing, though, is that I’ve needed a lot of sleep – eight hours at the minimum. I’m also going to have to get back in to some ART treatments, but that’s a different story. The bottom line was that I was after some consistency and I think I’m getting there. Now all I need are some weekly long runs and some quality workouts.
It’s that simple.
Anyway:
Monday – 13 miles in 1:29:06 More crazy, wacky weather. The Nor’easter is still tearing through and making a mess, but I was able to get out even though the wind was howling around 30 mph. It didn’t really bother me until I got into some exposed areas and I was surprised that I didn’t see more downed tree limbs, etc. Anyway, the conditions were not ideal, but I enjoyed the easy run. In fact, when I finished and went into the house I thought, “Was that it? That was easy.”
Tuesday – 13 miles in 1:27:55 A lot like yesterday except that I felt much stronger early. I kept good form, which helped my speed though I didn’t really try to do anything other than run strong. The weather is still goofy, though I enjoyed today’s temps. I’ll take high 40s-low 50s any time.
Wednesday – 13 miles in 1:28:55 Pretty much the same thing as every other day… I’m running and running strong. I actually feel like I’ve been pulling back as far as the distance goes, which very well may be the case.
Thursday – no run I got home at 3 a.m. after going to Washington for a baseball game. I also got up early with very little sleep because I had Michael all day. By the time I was able to get away for a run, I was too tired. I ended up going to bed at 8:15 p.m.
Friday – 14.5 miles in 1:38:25 The weather finally broke. It was 70 degrees and maybe that is what made me tire around 8 or 9 miles. Either way, I felt decent running but a little slow at the end.
Saturday – 15 miles in 1:41:43 When I started I felt a little heavy and tight. Fortunately, I stuck it out. I guess this was a grinder.
Sunday – 7.5 miles in 51:04 That’s why I’m easy… I’m easy like Sunday morning. This was the perfect, easy Sunday run. I ran until it seemed like a good time to stop and that was it. I didn’t exert myself, but I didn’t walk either.
Second straight week of 76 miles. I’m going to do 83 to 85 next week.
Once again London has attracted an incredibly deep field and features some of the best talent ever outside of the Olympics.
Paul Tergat (KEN) 2:04:44 – world record Khalid Khannouchi (USA) 2:05:38 – American record Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) 2:05:56 – Olympic champ Felix Limo (KEN) 2:06:14 – defending London champ Martin Lel (KEN) 2:06:41 – 2005 London champ Hendrick Ramaala (RSA) 2:06:55 – 2004 NYC champ Jaouad Gharib (MAR) 2:07:02 – two-time World Championships winner Stefano Baldini (ITA) 2:07:22 – defending Olympic champ Benson Cherono (KEN) 2:07:58 – 2006 Los Angeles champ Hicham Chat (MAR) 2:07:59 Marilson Gomes dos Santos (BRA) 2:08:48 – defending NYC champ Jon Brown (GBR) 2:09:31 – 4th 2000 Olympics Meb Keflezighi (USA) 2:09:53 – 2004 Olympic silver medal Ryan Hall (USA) debut – American record holder in half marathon
Interestingly, Khannouchi, who has battled injuries for the last few years, has downplayed his chances saying he’s 90 to 95 percent after foot surgery. He said the same types of things last year and ran 2:07, which was the fourth-best time by an American and the best by an American in 2006 by nearly two minutes.
While the Phillies take the day off because of the weather, the Boston Marathon was full of intrigue for those of us interested in that type of thing and most of it was on the women’s side of the race.
All runners, it appeared, chucked out their time goals and simply competed, which made for a very tactical race. With steady 20-mph headwinds with 50-mph gusts and temperatures that started at 50 degrees and dropped like a rock to the bottom of a swimming pool, survival was the rule of the day. It definitely was no day at the beach.
Perhaps that’s why American Deena Kastor struggled in her Boston debut to finish nearly six-minutes off the pace for fifth place. A pre-race favorite, Kastor said her training for the race was “flawless” and based on how she dominated at the national cross-country championships, it was evident. But Kastor threw in a second straight “clunker” in a major marathon after running a 2:19 for the American record and the victory in the London Marathon last April, and victory in Chicago in October of 2005 and a bronze medal in the Olympics in Athens in 2004.
It’s a little baffling because Kastor clearly is tough. The Athens Olympic Marathon was run over a course very similar to the one she raced over today in Boston under conditions that were not conducive to running. In that race Kastor ran smart and solid to bring home the bronze.
Yet after running and winning on two courses designed for speedy, and world-record times, Kastor struggled on two “classic” styled courses by finishing sixth in 2:27:54 and today’s fifth-place finish in Boston in 2:35:09, which under ideal weather conditions might have resulted in a similar time to the one from NYC.
So is the tactical-style of racing or the undulating terrain on courses like New York and Boston that tripped up Kastor? Who knows. All we know is that running is a fickle mistress – some days you have it and some days you don’t. That’s really deep, I know, but what else is there to say? There is no such thing as getting “hot” in running, meaning it’s conceivable that I could hit a home run off Roger Clemens or get “hot” and finish a round under par in golf. But there is no way I will ever be able to run a 2:10 marathon no matter how hard I train or if I have a good day.
Unlike other sports there is no such thing as luck in running.
note:The New York Times reported that Kastor struggled with stomach cramps during the race. Her plan, before the weather report turned from bad to worse, was to go out hard from the start. Later she changed plans to race tactically before making a move at Heartbreak Hill. Instead, when it came to make a move Kastor went for one of the many port-o-pots lining the course. Except for the cramps, Kastor says nothing else bothered her during the race.
“I knew coming in here that the competition would be great and I could conquer it,” she said. “That wasn’t the case today. We marathoners can get pretty hard on ourselves, but I felt I had the drive to push forward and the will to win the race. So I’m definitely disappointed knowing I was good enough to come here and win this race. I’m disappointed that didn’t happen.
“Usually, you can learn a lesson from a marathon. I’m not taking anything away from this one. There was no learning experience. A fifth-place finish is a fifth-place finish.”
So yes, it had to be something with Kastor. She’s far too good of a runner to simply have a bad day. Just ignore the second-guessing.
Certainly that was the case for Lidiya Grigoryeva and Jelena Prokopcuka, who finished in first and second place in the women’s race. Grigoryeva, from Russia, won in 2:29:18 by surging with a 5:10 mile to take her from Brookline to Kenmore Square on the point-to-point course. She smartly stuck close to Prokopcuka, the two-time champ in NYC and now back-to-back runner-up in Boston, when the Latvian dictated a strong early pace into the teeth of the Nor’easter. By Heartbreak Hill, Prokopcuka and Grigoryeva gapped the chase back and left Kastor a minute off the pace with approximately 15 kilometers to go.
Though she didn’t win, Prokopcuka may have been the best runner in the race.
Robert Cheruiyot didn’t have the problem of being the best runner in the race and falling short. Like Prokopcuka, Cheruiyot set the pace as if to tell the other racers that, “It begins and ends here, fellas. Hang on if you can… ” In the end, Cheruiyot finished in 2:14:12 – way off the 2:07:14 he ran to set the course record last year, for his third victory in Boston.
As a side note, while watching the race I was struck by Cheruiyot’s running style and how he gobbled up ground with a powerful stride that was contrarily efficient and smooth. Then it hit me… he ran like Moses Tanui. You remember Moses Tanui, the two-time Boston champ from the Nandi District in Kenya who was the first human to run a half marathon under an hour? Of course.
Tanui was so tough that he won the silver 1995 World Championships in the 10,000 meters even after one of his shoes fell off.
Tanui ran two of the bravest races I had ever seen, coming from more than a minute off the pace at Heartbreak Hill to chase down two runners in the final 200 meters to win the 1998 Boston followed by the great 1999 Chicago Marathon where Tanui and American record holder Khalid Khannouchi dueled at world-record pace from the gun.
In that one, Tanui surged from the pack at the 17th mile to build a 60-second lead with five miles to go. That’s when Khannouchi decided to go after Tanui to catch him with about 5k left. The two took turns trying to break one another until Tanui reached for his water bottle at the 25-mile mark. That’s where Khannouchi really threw down the hammer using Tanui’s slight hesitation as the thin window of opportunity.
On TV, Khannouchi and Tanui disappeared into a tunnel together where cameras couldn’t send out a signal or the helicopter offering a bird’s eye view couldn’t hover. But when they came out Khannouchi was alone and blazing to set a world record in 2:05:42. Tanui finished in 2:06:16, just off the record Khannouchi had broken.
Anyway, it dawned on me that Cheruiyot’s gait was eerily similar to Tanui’s until the announcers revealed that he is coached by Dr. Gabriele Rosa – Tanui’s old coach. Then it all came together… it all made sense.
Nevertheless, Cheruiyot won his third Boston and he’s just 28. Wait until he gets to his prime.
From the outset, all of my workouts this week look pretty boring. For six straight days I ran essentially the same mileage over the same course. Even better, I was able to stay off the roads and on some forgiving surfaces with lots of hills. Better than all of that, I remained strong, healthy and excited to keep on keeping on.
If I continue on this path there is a chance I could jump in a race in early June. Maybe even a five-mile race in Lancaster on a course where I have never broken 28-minutes…
Anyway:
Monday – 13 miles in 1:27:41 Went back in the Brick Yards again and had lots of fun. Actually, I ran one of my loops from back in ‘98 when I was training for Boston. It worked then, maybe it will work now.
Tuesday – 13 miles in 1:26:31 Went back in the Brick Yards again and ran faster and stronger than yesterday. My calves bother me a little bit, but it didn’t hinder my running. Interestingly, there was a guy running along a similar loop as me and wouldn’t acknowledge me even after I waved. What is that? It wasn’t like the guy was running particularly fast either. I wanted to run him down and smoke his ass, but he changed direction… good move on his part.
Wednesday – 13.2 in 1:28:01 Ran better and faster than yesterday, including “race pace” for the last mile on the field. I definitely have to add a little more speed to my workouts though I definitely felt it in my hamstrings today. On another note, I nearly was run over by a deer while running on a trail through the Brick Yards. I think there were three of them and they bolted in front of me about 20 yards away and off into the brush. Man, do those things move fast — they’re really big, too. Needless to say it scared the shit out of me.
Thursday – 13.3 miles in 1:30:25 Didn’t go back in the Brick Yards today because it was wet and muddy after last night’s rain, and I didn’t want to get run over by another deer. Other than that, I didn’t feel great running — my legs were tight and felt heavy. Basically, I forced myself to run the 13.3 miles because I had it in my head that it was how much I should run. Needless to say tomorrow will be a little easier.
Friday – 10.5 miles in 1:12:49 I knew I was supposed to go easy today, but I really didn’t feel like it… I wanted to run. Nevertheless, I went close to 11 (slightly more than what I posted) and felt really strong. Who knows, maybe I’ll be ready to race at the end of May or beginning of June. As soon as I drop some weight I’ll be ready to go.
Saturday – 13 miles in 1:28:36 Another good, solid run. At the end I felt like I could have kept going. It looks as if some more bad weather is coming through. Hopefully I’ll be able to squeeze in some runs over the next two days.
Sunday nothing I wanted to run and easy, easy 5 today, but the wind and the rain from the Nor’easter were just too much to bear. Besides, we had big birthday party No. 3 for Michael. Talk about a wild time… I think I was as excited about the party than him.
Ask any well-trained athlete what the biggest concern is on the day of competition and the answer will be the same every time.
The weather.
Baseball, of course, cannot be played in even the slightest of poor conditions, while football is stripped down to its bare essence when the weather turns sloppy. On days like we had today – where a nasty Nor’easter barreled through and dropped about four inches of rain on us, the Phillies, Mets and Red Sox decided to stay indoors.
Smart thinking.
Knowing how athletes fret about the weather it’s safe to say that there are a lot of people struggling to get to sleep tonight in Boston. Tomorrow, of course, is Patriot’s Day in New England which means it is Boston Marathon Day. And judging from the forecast for Monday it seems like the reward for those weekly 20-milers and months of training will be the sloppiest day in the 111 years of the race.
Maybe the anticipated wet and windy weather is a bit of poetic justice of sorts. After all, after 110 years of holding the race at 12 noon on the dot on Patriot’s Day Monday, the Boston Marathon will start at 10 a.m. Logistically, it makes sense to get everyone from Hopkinton, Mass. To Boston’s Back Bay sooner, but maybe it was a tradition that should be messed with. Perhaps that’s the case?
Actually, there are bigger forces are at play than silly superstition. However, having run a marathon in windy and wet conditions just a few months ago, I don’t envy the folks preparing to take the trip from Hopkinton to Boston. Unless the wind (predicted to gust up to 50 m.p.h.) is at the runner’s backs, then they can forget about any time goals. So that means a lot of hard work and training is lost like spores of a dandelion lost in a Nor’easter.
It’s not fair.
That’s the way it goes sometimes. As a runner, you can complain and feel bad about your fortune it or you can take off when the gun sounds and try to kick ass. There will be approximately 23,000 athletes ready to do just that tomorrow at 10 a.m.
What to look for After a few days of feeling pretty pleased about skipping Boston this year, I have to admit that I wish I were there. How could anyone not want to run in the craziest and most extreme Boston Marathon ever? Nevertheless, I’ll be there in 2008.
As far as the fast elite runners go, don’t expect any Americans to sprinkle in to the top 10 like last year. That’s when Meb Keflezighi, Brian Sell, Alan Culpepper, Pete Gilmore and Clint Verran made the ’06 Boston Marathon the best showing by American runners in two decades. Don’t count on that tomorrow. For one thing Gilmore is the only runner of that group returning this year, since most of the elite Americans are focusing on the Olympic Trials to be run in New York City in early November, while Keflezighi, Khalid Khannouchi and Ryan Hall are slated to run the London Marathon (with another ridiculously deep field) next week.
The women’s race is doubling as the American national championship, which adds to the depth of the field. Defending champ Rita Jeptoo is back, along with defending New York City Marathon champion Jelena Prokopcuka, and Mexican stalwart Madai Perez.
Readers of these pages know that Deena Kastor is No. 1a amongst the greatest American women runners in history (Joan Samuelson, of course, is No. 1, too). A victory in Boston would be the perfect complement to a great resume. And based on Kastor’s showing in the USATF Cross Country Championships, she very well could be the best runner in the world right now.
One last bit of advice Typically, my advice to anyone running Boston is to resist the urge to go too fast on all of the downhills through the first half of the race because, inevitably, you’ll pay for it later. That happened to me in ’97. But as soon as you get to the top of a small hill around the 14-mile mark, run like hell. Better yet, from 14 miles on surge on every downhill and maintain your pace on the inclines – including Heartbreak Hill.
Boston, like a few other marathons, is like a tricky golf course. Every mile has its idiosyncrasies and nuances that make the race unlike any other in the world just the way Augusta and Pine Valley offer challenges.
Late Sunday night, however, I came across this on the Boston Athletic Association web site:
The Boston Athletic Association’s medical team recommends the following precautions and advice for participants in Monday’s Boston Marathon:
FORECAST: The most up-to-date weather forecast calls for a predicted Spring storm on Monday, including heavy rains (potentially 3 to 5 inches), with the start temperatures in the mid to upper 30’s. Wind will likely be East (in the face of the participants for most of the race) in the 20 to 25 mile per hour range, with gusts to as much as 50 miles per hour. This will produce a wind chill index of 25 to 30-degrees Fahrenheit.
RISKS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR RUNNERS PARTICIPATING IN COLD AND WET CONDITIONS: Combined with the rain, we are concerned that predicted weather conditions will increase the runners’ risks for a condition called hypothermia. As with any athletic competition, as a runner you are assuming the risks inherent with participation. It is your responsibility to be informed about the risks associated with running in the aforementioned conditions, and the risks of injury or illness will increase with these predicted conditions.
While exercising in cold weather, our bodies attempt to maintain core temperature by shunting blood away from the periphery, thus minimizing heat loss. Hypothermia sets in when the body’s temperature drops below normal, starting when the body loses heat faster than heat can be generated. Heat is produced by muscle action and shivering. Very low body temperatures can be life threatening.
I haven’t written much here (or anything) because I haven’t felt great about how the running has been going. Between a pair of sinus infections, some cold and snowy weather and regular malaise, I’ve been struggling with consistency.
So what’s the plan?
Get consistent. Period.
That’s pretty much been the plan for the past two weeks and although my mileage hasn’t been anything to go crazy over, it’s getting consistent. In the past three weeks I got out for 19 runs. The best part about this is that they are all right around 10-plus miles at 6:45 to 7:00 pace. Again, that’s not great, but it’s putting me on schedule to get started on some serious work this summer.
Meanwhile, part of my struggle with consistency — I think — is attributed to my diet. In taking some self-inventory in this regard I decided to go as organic as possible, and no eating after 8 p.m. Because of this, I’ve sworn off practically all the food served at the ballpark, which isn’t too difficult since it’s not very good and the vegetarian options leave a little to be desired.
It’s funny because it’s true:
Anyway, here’s what was missed over the past four weeks (in descending order)…
April 2 – 8 Monday — 9 miles in 60:37 Ran in FDR Park and around the ballpark after writing about Brett Myers. It wasn’t ideal (the running not writing about Brett Myers — though that wasn’t ideal either), but I’m pleased that I got something in. I think I had a pretty good pace going through the park.
Tuesday — 11.5 miles in 1:21:12 I got my ass kicked. My legs were tight and tired the entire time, though there was a little stretch where I ran a good pace.
Wednesday — 10 miles in 68:22 Started out very slow, but picked it up. My legs still feel tight and I have a weird pain on my right ankle, but I’ve been running OK. Once I get going I feel good.
Thursday — 9 miles in 63:47 I actually stopped twice before I started. Finally I pushed myself out the door and felt pretty good once I got going. Of course I didn’t run very hard and didn’t feel too loose, but I got one in. That makes me feel good.
Friday — 10.5 miles in 1:13:25 I’ve been really sluggish at the start of the run but I feel good when I get going. The thing is I still feel kind of tight. I think I need more sleep — I was up all night with Michael.
Saturday — 11 miles in 1:16:11 It was another blustery, cold day so I stayed off the roads and the field and ran back in the Brick Yards. The loop gets a bit repetitive, but the surface is soft and the climbs are fairly challenging.
Sunday — 6 miles in 42:00 Didn’t have much time to run because of our Easter festivities all over town. Plus, it’s still really cold. It’s actually oddly cold. Despite that — and my tight, slow legs — I’m enjoying the low-key approach. My mileage isn’t anything to go crazy about, but I’m building some consistency, which will help when I decide to crank it up again.
Weekly total: 67 miles
Week of March 26 to April 1 Monday — 15 miles in 1:41:17 Felt really, really strong. Actually, I felt better and faster as the run progressed — I haven’t had one of those in a long time. Later, we went to Taj Mahal with the Wanns, which is always fun. Mike and Michelle Wann (and Christopher) are as great as they come. A good time was had by all.
Tuesday — 9 miles in 62:10 It was kind of hot today. It might have made it to 80 degrees. Needless to say, I sweated a lot and my legs were a little dull. My calves are still spasming like crazy — I should call my ART guys.
Wednesday — 10.2 miles in 69:33 Ran pretty hard in some spots, especially the hills. I definitely could have kept on going, but right now the aim is to stay consistent and not kill myself. We’ll do that later.
Thursday — off
Friday — 13.3 miles in 1:29:07 Got back on Baker Field and it was a lot of fun. My stride got shorter around 9 to 10 miles, but it was still a good run. It would be great if they were all like this.
Saturday — 11.7 miles in 1:19:21 Felt pretty good again. It was a lot like yesterday.
Sunday — 10 miles in 69:09 My legs were tight and it was a little cool because of the rain, but I enjoyed it. Running is fun. I could have gone much longer.
Weekly total: 69.2 miles
Week of March 19-25 Monday — 7.2 miles in 51:42 First day back after three days off and I really felt it. I’m such a slacker and now I’m paying for it.
Tuesday — 8.8 miles in 62:00 The plan is to build up slowly. I’m definitely out of shape and if I jump into it too quickly I’m going to get hurt and have a few setbacks, so the plan is to take my time, stay consistent and get ready for some hard training in the summer and early autumn. Consistency.
Wednesday — 10.1 miles in 1:11:53 Ran a little longer and a few more hills and felt a little tight in my calves. Other than that, my lungs felt good and the distance was easy, but I feel as though I have no speed and that I’m a little heavy.
Thursday — 10.1 miles in 69:41 Decent run. I picked up the pace in a few spots, like when going up the hills, but otherwise it was effortless. My legs are still tight and tired, but the rest of me is OK. My diet has been cleaned up and I can really tell.
Friday — 10.1 miles in 68:18 Felt pretty good and could have run much longer. I went out in the rain and later in the afternoon when Ellen came home from work.
Saturday — 9.3 miles in 1:13:56 Ran the first 5k with John May and the final 10k by myself. Both parts of the run were fun and it feels like I’m starting to get some strength back even though my calves are very, very tight.
Sunday — scheduled day off
Weekly total: 55.6 miles
Week of March 12-18 Monday — 12.6 miles in 1:26:06 Just ran around and did a bunch of hills. Went to a bunch of different neighborhoods just to mix it up a little bit.
Tuesday — 10 miles in 68:34 Felt pretty crappy midway through the run. My legs were tight and I was bit overdressed — it got pretty warm out.
Wednesday — 9.3 miles in 63:34 My legs felt like garbage during the entire run. They just wouldn’t loosen up. After the run, my quad spasmed for hours. It was pretty weird.
Thursday — 11.4 miles in 1:17:12 Felt good and reasonably strong throughout, but tired around the 60-minute mark. Either way, it was a decent run and it was good to get back on the field for change. With teh snow coming it might be a while before I can run there again.
Friday — snow
Saturday — cold and snow
Sunday — lazy
Weekly total: 43.3 miles
Week of March 5-11 Monday — 13 miles in 1:25:38 Started out feeling slow and heavy — and the wind didn’t help much either. But near F&M I started running hard and didn’t stop. I suppose I used the tailwind (when I had it) and kept my head squared and ran. Honestly, I’m pretty surprised that I went as fast as I did.
Tuesday — sick/sinuses
Wednesday — More sinus trouble
Thursday — more of the same
Friday — 10 miles in 67:07 First time out after taking days off because of the sinus infection/cold. I felt good and bad during the run. Good for getting out there and hitting the rounds, and bad because I’m having trouble breathing with the congestion and everything else. When I woke up in the morning it hurt to swallow, but I wasn’t going to take another day off. After the run was over I was glad that I got out.
Saturday — 17.5 miles in 2:35:50 Ran the first 5+ by myself and felt pretty good, and then ran the last 2 hours with John May through the city. It was my longest run since a 20-miler in December. The pace was slow, but it was fun being out there running. My head is still stuffed up, though.
Sunday — 9 miles in 61:27 Went out and ran and had fun. Could have run longer, but I want to put together a solid week. Plus, I don’t want to push it after being sick most of the week or with my calves aching the way they have been.
