Just another week

Another week in the books and another week closer to my sub 3 marathon.  This week did not have a lot of excitement in regards to training.  I was just trying to get some basic miles in and allow my body some time to recover from Ragnar last weekend.  Two of the days I had to wear pants once and tights the other because it was in the 40's.  Fall has definitely arrived and it's great for running.  I even broke out my gloves.  This is the best time to run and I just hope that the weather is similar to this in 7 weeks when I toe the line in Philly.  All my runs were not boring this week though.

Friday I went 6 miles and finished thinking I was going to have to consider taking off my long run on Saturday.  Whatever is going on with my ankles/calves, it was more painful that it has been.  It's not like a muscle pain as it is a tightness pain.  I seem to be able to run through it as well and just ice it when I'm done.  I was doing some reading about similar issues and it appears that stretching helps a lot with icing too.  I think they may have mentioned resting but my eyesight got blurry as I read over that part so think it must have been a typing error.  Oh well.  I did not run today and to be safe I soaked my legs (up to my knees) in an ice bath.  You sure can feel how that helps...love me some ice baths.  I'm sure my run yesterday did not help much.

I had to get a long run in for the week and decided that I would give it a go to see how my legs held up.  16 miles was on the agenda and the weather could not have been more perfect.  I ran along the parkway towards the lakes and was feeling really good.  After a few miles I started to come up on a guy that was running at around an 8 minute pace.  I knew this because I was running around 7:30's and closing on him pretty well.  This is normally not something worth mentioning except for the fact that he did not seem to like that I passed him.  This was evident because he started to pick it up and started to draft me.  Two weeks in a row that a jackass decides to draft me.  This guy was doing it outside of a race which was just annoying.  I found myself picking up the pace some to lose him and he started to fade.  Then we came to a fork in the path where runners go one way and bikers go the other.  My new friend decided that he would take the bike route which was shorter.  We both ended up at the intersection ahead around the same time and I darted across without waiting for the light.  I don't like waiting for a walk sign for two reasons. One, I'm not walking.  Two, if I can make it across then there is no sense in waiting.  So, I take off while he is there waiting.  A little ways down the path I hear him catching up until he's close behind me again but does not pass.  At this point I really started to get annoyed. Ahead was Lake Harriet and I was going to just stop to drink some water and let him go one way while I would go the other.  I was running 16 miles and he was probably going like 5 or so.  No need to have him tempt me to  run harder than I needed to.  It turned out that he stopped in the potty and I just took off.  The lakes were busy but not too busy.  I really started to feel good and enjoy the run.  I got to the north end of Lake Calhoun and that was my 8 mile spot to turn around and head back home.  The run back was not too eventful but that may have been because I got lost in it all.  My stride was smooth and my pace steady.  I felt like I could have ran for the entire day.  There was no pain anywhere, which was somewhat surprising because my feet usually bother me at these distances.  My 16 miles concluded with me feeling like I just started.

My confidence could not be higher right now.  The miles get bumped up a little more this week with some speed stuff built in there as well.  I'm pretty excited for the speed stuff.  I have a fishing trip with my brothers so the long run on Saturday is going to be tricky to fit in.  If anything, I'll find somewhere to go which should be an adventure.  For now, I'll just enjoy some football and enjoy this day off.  Tomorrow, back at it.  As always, see you out there.

Beginning of week 8 and Post Napa Ragnar

Week 8 is officially under way with a non-scheduled rest day.  I did run today (Tue) but yesterday I rested due to the Napa Ragnar.  It was nice to get some miles in and work on getting my legs back to training.  It felt like I had not run in so long when it was only two days off.  Today I also signed up for the Monster Dash 10 miler.  With it being 3 weeks before Philly, I should be able to get a good race in right before my taper.  I just need to make sure I'm not going all frickin out like I tend to do.  It's so hard to hold back which will be evident with one of my Napa runs.  I just need to remember...PHILLY!

I wanted to train through Napa and did train right up to it.  I need to be smart and allow an extra off day after running so many miles this weekend.  These are a good thing for speed work as well so at least I'm getting that done with the miles.  Going into Napa, my goal was to take it somewhat easy and not kill my legs and body when Philly is the ultimate goal.  While I could have taken it easier than I did, I am happy with how things went.  We started at the Golden Gate in San Fran, then went north and east through some amazing areas.  Wine country was beautiful!  My last leg was actually right through the heart of some strikingly gorgeous vineyards.  So cool!  Overall, this was one of the funnest teams I have been on and I have now done 12 relays in 2 years so that says something.  The team ran hard and we had a blast.  Old friendships were renewed and new ones formed.  These events are so much fun!  San Fran was so beautiful and Napa amazing as well.  Now for the runs...

My first run was 8.5 miles with some good downhill after a very hard uphill.  The downhill was VERY dangerous because it was  also switchbacks with no shoulder.  Traffic was not happy to see us barreling down the road but we all made due.  This was the beginning of some foot issues for me due to the fact that I forgot I wanted to take it easy on these runs. I was supposed to average 7 minute miles on this long run.  It was high miles and had some pretty big hills.  First mile with the uphill at 6:40 and second mile with the downhill at 5:36 was not exactly part of the game plan.  After a few choice words to myself I slowed to 6:30 and settled into a pace.  It was way faster than I wanted but there were roadkill in front of me and I was feeling pretty good.  I was also the 11th runner so I had been waiting for a long time to run.  I decided I would allow this one and let the night one be my relaxing, easy run.  The foot issues I mentioned were blisters on both feet.  I guess the downhills at that speed, and some old socks, were not good for one another.  After my run, I popped two and one could not pop which just made it painful.  Couldn't do anything about it from that point.
Ragnar Napa Valley - Leg 1 - Details

My second leg was at 2 a.m. and was another pretty long one.  8.3 miles and a steady uphill.  After blowing my plans up in my first run, and gaining a couple blisters with one still filling, this was no time to be stupid.  Philly is more important than a Ragnar.  These can be fun regardless so I really focused on sticking to a 7 minute pace.  I still ran well and managed to real in almost 30 roadkills.  These night runs are always a blast and I wish I could explain why.  There is just something about running when it is so dark out with hundreds of other people.  The night is alive with blinking butt lights, cheering supporters from their own vans, and the prospect that the next group may be your team waiting for you to emerge from the blackness just so they can cheer you on.  It's just different but so awesome!
Ragnar Napa Valley - Leg 2 - Details

So then there was my last leg, or what we colorfully refer to as the third and hardest leg. Do you remember that plan about taking it easy?  Yeah, I didn't either.  It took me a mile, but I ran down this guy and passed him.  He decided to try and not let me pass which only made me decide he was not going to have a choice.  I started to get caught up in the race of it all because he started to draft me.  I decided that I was going to go even faster so he couldn't keep up to keep drafting.  Then I was going to pull back and just cruise in.  This was only 5 miles.  The plan went perfect and he started drifting because my pace was too much for him to hold.  Bring on police and stopped traffic.  WHAT?  So I had to wait and this guy was able to just stroll right up to me.  After a mile of jockeying, and actually talking to each other (I never do this!), I let him take the lead and stopped for some water. I needed to remember...PHILLY!  I let him get some distance so I would quit trying to race him.  I was pretty proud of myself and that I let him go with the bigger picture in mind. While my overall time was faster than his, because he started quite a bit before me, it was NOT easy to let him finish ahead of me.  We chatted a little at the finish/exchange and found out they were a pretty fast team that started 3 hours after we did.  That means they were over 3 hours faster than our team...and he was one of their studs.  What I wouldn't give to see that asshole in Philly!  Either way, I kept the bigger picture in mind and am happy with that.

Ragnar Napa Valley - Leg 3 - Details

Tomorrow is Chiro time and maybe a quick massage.  Full massage next week to welcome another full week of training and the beginning of buckling down for the last 2 months of training.  I have a couple races in there too but I should be able to maintain what I need to do as Philly gets closer and closer.  These Ragnars are so fun but I think 5 in one year may be my max if I'm doing all this other stuff.  Now it's time to build the miles again and do some actual speed work.  The weather is getting perfect and I'm ready to really hit the training again.

Until next week, see you out there!

Miles are adding up

The miles are going up and I think I'm handling it ok.  My calf/ankle "stuff" seems to have plateaued and I'm thinking it's just something that will linger.  The extra stretching and pre-run warming up seems to be helping with it.  The week seemed to go well overall. Instead of just running the miles I have started my specific workouts.

Tuesday I had an easy 5 miles with the last mile doing strides.  With strides you get to run at 90% effort for about 5 seconds or so then slow down to a jog again.  From the build up, running hard, to slowing down it takes about 100 meters.  I did 5 of those before the final cool down.  The enjoyable thing was getting to just let it go and run hard.  There are times when the specific mileage and specific paces can really wear on you.  These are fun because you get to JUST GO!  Instead of strides, maybe I will just start calling them "Go's." I like that.

On Thursday I had a pace run.  On those you run a mile warm up and then a specific distance at your marathon (or other race) pace.  With my target pace for Philly being 6:51, I'm just rounding to 6:50 for these.  This day I had 4 miles to run at pace and then my cool down.  The run went pretty well and the pace was comfortable.  I found myself maintaining it well and my breathing was steady.  It's adding to my confidence that the Sub 3 WILL happen in November.

Sunday was my long run for the week.  After watching a good friend run her first race of any long distance (trail half marathon) on Saturday, I was feeling pretty inspired.  I really enjoy watching others train and run so much that it just adds to my fire to do the same. Watching the race, what I could watch, was so hard to do because I just wanted to go sign up and join in the fun.  My Sunday run started early, at 7:30.  I had 15 miles planned and was not as interested in pace as I was getting the miles in, with little pain from my calves and shins.  Overall, the run went pretty well.  My pace was around 7:35 which is within what my plan calls for.  That seems to be the standard pace for most of my program and it is starting to feel like a natural pace for these runs.  It was getting rather hot early so I was happy to get the miles in before it got too hot.  My legs felt pretty good overall and my feet were surprisingly not sore like they usually are when I do these long runs.

This next week should be interesting.  I have the Napa Ragnar this weekend and I plan to train right through it instead of planning a mini taper with some rest.  The plan is to run my first 2 legs more conservative and not get too crazy on my last one.  We'll see if I can stick to that.  I don't want/need to be taking time off to recover next week so it will have to be a must.  It should be a blast though!  I'm really looking forward to it.  Next week's post should be interesting.

Until then, see ya out there....

Returning to normal

Happy Labor Day!

One of my favorite times of year is right now.  We are transitioning to fall weather and I'm loving it!  It was just in the 90's a few days ago and now we're in the 50's at night.  It's also amazing to feel the difference in running.  I have more energy and am not sweating away with each step.  I'm sure there will be more warm weather coming still but the change has begun.  Let's enjoy this while it is here because before we know it, winter will start kicking the door in.

This last week has been a welcome return to CONSISTENT training.  I hit 30 miles for the week and was getting tough on myself because I am supposed to be over 40 by now.  Then I realized that I had taken 3 days off for recovery/healing.  My miles for this week (after taking today off) should be around 38.  I'm starting to do some pace runs (running at marathon pace of 6:50) and some tempo runs soon.  With another Ragnar (Napa) a week from this Friday, my workouts need more adjusting.  I need to focus on not killing myself in Napa and avoid needing some more rest/recovery to heal.  I'll try and be smart this time, I promise.

The highlight to this week's training came yesterday.  I went out on a 13 miler and found that my target pace was rather easy to maintain.  After a few miles, I found my stride (pun totally intended) and was really getting into the run.  I found that I was able to focus on everything except the miles and pace.  I was getting lost in the run and loving every step of it.  The trees were greener, and the ground softer.  I could feel the wind blowing through me instead of slowing me down.  I swear that every cell exposed to the elements was in that moment and I was experiencing the oneness that I get during long runs.  In those moments, the trivial things that we place importance on just melt away.  I did not care about anything except the experience I was being overtaken by and how I was striding to prolong each second within it. There are people that do not believe in a runner's high.  I feel sorry for those individuals because they are either not in a place within themselves to allow them to experience such moment, or they just don't know how to let go and let the run take over.  Read this next section and close your eyes to imagine this...

You are running along a path surrounded by trees that are vibrant and very green.  The sun breaks through spots at random streaming through paths of light.  Below you is the river running along but flowing in the opposite direction which makes you feel like you are going faster than you are.  The smells and the sounds intoxicate your senses as you start to drift, drift, drift into a state of relaxation and peace.  Your ears catch the sounds of birds and squirrels chasing each other around the trunks of trees.  Cars and bikers pass by above the path but the sounds are so faint because your senses are so focused on the present moment of life happening all around you.  The breeze blows through and you feel it on every inch of skin.  The coolness dries the sweat that was starting to bead up on your brow and you get a sudden rush of energy.  You are no longer running on this path that has aspects of nature around you.  You are now a tiny contributor to the vastness of life happening around, to, and within you.  The zit on your forehead no longer matters.  The report you need to finish by the end of the week does not exist.  The fight you had with your significant other never happened.  In these moments, life gets simple and allows you to appreciate it for what it is.  It is different for everybody but in these moments your worries, stresses, and anything draining you mentally just slips away into an area of unimportance.  These things do not go away for good.  They will be there to tackle when it is time.  For these last seconds, minutes, or even hours, they cease to exist and cease to affect you negatively.  Your runner's high allowed you to escape and return with a new found clarity and calm.

I encourage everybody that is able to walk, jog, or run to try this.  Lose yourself in your runs and they will bring new meaning and joy to the run as well as your life.  I believe this and you will to.

That's all for this week.  See you out there.