Weekly summary 5/17/2009

Weekly total 49.9
Monday 7.6
Tuesday 4.19
Wednesday 10.34
Thursday 7.22
Saturday 12.23
Sunday 8.35
Average pace 7:57

I decided not to race this weekend and instead try and build up a little mileage before I start tapering later this week. I’ve really been stuck in a rut the last few weeks. Find it really hard to get myself going. I’ve been able to get some long runs in but it has been a struggle. Every pace seems to be too much effort to maintain. I’m only guessing here but this might be the result of over training. My weekly miles haven’t been that high but I haven’t given myself much of a chance to rest either.

My plan this week is to limit myself to one long run (tues or wed) but try and get a run in everyday and into the 50-55 mile range. If I’m still struggling like last week then I’ll take a day off. I want to have one last week of higher mileage because I plan to take most of next week off. Four days off before the marathon should give my body a chance to rest and heal a little.

2 weeks until San Diego

Weekly summary 5/10/2009

Weekly total 40.5
Tuesday 10.3
Wednesday 8.67
Thursday 4.15
Saturday 3.12, 3.13
Sunday 11.19
Average pace 7:37

The miles were down a little this week because I was busy on Monday and I took Friday off (prior to race day). Tues and Wed were pretty good training days. It took a little while to loosen up (especially Tues) but I was mostly pain free. On Thurs I felt really tired from Wednesdays medium run so I decided to just settle for a few easy miles. Sundays run was my first long run outside in almost 4 weeks. I was tired and never really got going. I was content to run an easy pace and only managed to get 2 miles under a 8:00 pace.

Since I have another 5k this week my training plan is pretty much the same except my only day off will be Friday. Since my next marathon is quickly closing in I would like to at least get 50 miles in this week with 2 long runs (Tuesday 10+, Sunday 15 miles).

3 weeks until San Diego

Miles for Moffitt

Time 20:19
Splits 6:13, 6:39, 6:47
Overall 34 out of 1359
Age group 3rd place

Another disappointing 5k although this time it wasn’t unexpected. I felt a little run down for the last 2 weeks. I was hoping that an easy run and a day off would give me fresh legs for the race but my legs didn’t feel any fresher than they did in the beginning of the week.

Race morning was pretty warm and humid. I did an easy jog for a few minutes to try and loosen up but my primary goal was to keep hydrated and stay in the shade. I started out pretty good but I knew right away it was going to be a struggle to keep that pace. I was running with a small group of people and decided to run at the same pace for mile 2. I was hoping to at least keep under 6:30 but ended up going a little slower. Somewhere around 1.5 miles we starting catching up with the 5 mile participants who started 30 minutes earlier. With a mile left to go I tried to motivate myself to pick up the pace a little but it was really difficult with the larger groups of 5 milers walking around me and the heat. I managed a sprint over the last 0.1 but that wasn’t enough to salvage a decent time.

I plan on running the USSS 5k next Saturday. I expect that race to be a little better. Starting at 7:30 (instead of 8) and being by the water should make it a little cooler. And I won’t have to worry about running though all of those walkers. Based on past races there are quite a few runners that finish in the 19:30-20:00 range. This will definitely help with the motivation.

Results

Weekly summary 5/3/2009

Weekly total 48.6
Monday 8.21
Tuesday 7.58
Wednesday 8.22
Thursday 6.38
Saturday 3.1
Sunday 15.14
Average pace 7:49

This week was kind of a crazy week. I wasn’t sure if Ken was going to run on Saturday until midweek. If he didn’t run then I would race (otherwise an easy run with Ken). Knowing that he was going to run meant that I could put in a lot of miles but by Thursday my allergies/cold was really coming on strong. I had the full blown sneezing fits, achy body and dry eyes. I had little energy on Thursday and could barely get though work let alone run on Friday. On Saturday, I felt a little better but was glad that I only had an easy run (instead of a race) to worry about. Sunday I just decided to push myself and see how far I could go. I still felt sluggish but managed a good 15 mile run.

My goal this week is to try and get some longer runs early in the week and then make sure I rested for Saturdays race (a real race this time). Saturday afternoon and Sunday I’ll try and get some long runs in an hopefully get my mileage back into the mid to high 50’s

4 weeks until San Diego

May Classic 5k

Time 28:04 (27:40 chip)
Overall: 397 out of 828

Officially I ran (not raced) this 5k. This was the race that Kathy was supposed to run with me but when she backed out a few weeks ago, Ken decided to run it instead. My goal was to keep Ken running the entire time. He did a great job and ran the entire 5k. He was really struggling the last mile but had enough left to sprint the last 100-150 feet. I think he had a good time (after he caught his breath). Ken is probably my last chance to get someone in this family interested in running.

It was a very different experience to jog a race. No regrets though because I really enjoyed sharing the experience with Ken. I’ll get to race a 5k each of the next 2 weekends. The second is downtown which I’m hoping to talk Ken into running (solo this time).

results

Weekly summary 4/26/2009

Weekly total 46.4
Monday 26.2
Thursday 4.15
Saturday 7.73
Sunday 8.3
Average pace 8:00

I felt pretty sore for a few days after Monday’s marathon. I decided to take a few days off instead of trying to get back into training mode too fast. By the weekend runs I felt pretty good (well good for having run a marathon a few days before). My legs felt tired and my heel was a little sore but once I got a mile into the run I felt ok.

My plan this week is to get the miles back into the 50-60 range and keep the pace at sub 7:45. I’m running a 5k on Saturday with Ken so I’m not preparing for it like I would a race. I have 2 racing 5k’s in the next few weeks before running my next marathon at the end of May. I’ll need to balance the speed work and miles while trying to keep fresh legs for the races.

5 weeks until San Diego

Boston, What an awesome race!

Time: 3:31:45
Overall: 7778 out of 22849

What an awesome race!

Running in Boston has been my goal for the last 2 years. I’ve read so much about this race through race reports and comments that I felt I knew virtually every part of the course. My expectations were so high that I could only have been setting myself up for a letdown. But somehow the Boston Marathon managed to exceed my expectations.

The day started out with a 40 minute bus ride to Hopkinton. I got to the athletes village outside the high school around 7am. It was foggy and cold (high 30’s) and I had 3 hours to kill until race start. I sat around until 8:30 then waited in line at the port-a-johns. Around 9:15 I headed down to the corrals, stretched and hit the toilets again.

Being in the 12th corral or 12000+ runners behind the start line, I had no Idea when the race actually started. I just saw the thousands of bobbing heads slowly move forward. When I finally reached the start line the clock was at 7:45.

I studied the course so much that I thought I had a good idea of what to expect. It took a good ½ mile to get into a good running pace. After that it started moving pretty good. From the start it seemed that I was always passing people but no matter where I was in the race I was always running in a mass of runners. My pace was much faster than I intended but I felt good so I decided to keep with it if I felt comfortable.

The spectators were just amazing. I have read so much about this before but you really have to experience it. I don’t remember any place on the course where there wasn’t someone out watching. It was either people out in front of their house or everyone else in town in the town’s center. And unlike other races where the spectators just watch, these people were active participants. I started a good 10 minutes behind the leaders and these people were cheering like their football team scored a touchdown. The kids were great too. They always had their hand out for a high-5. After giving numerous high-5’s I realized that this gave me a good boost of energy.

Two of the highlights were running past Wellesley College and Boston College. Wellesley is the one part that people talk about the most. Nearly a ½ mile out I started to hear the screaming. The only thing to compare it to is a stadium full of teenage girls screaming at a boy band concert. It was nearly deafening when I finally reached the girls. They were 2-3 deep reaching over the barricades with hands out for a high-5 or signs asking for a kiss. I didn’t give a kiss but gave at least 100 high-5’s and 2 of the girls got a good grab of my ass. The BC guys started at the bottom of heartbreak hill. There seemed to be competitions on each side as who could shout the loudest. It was definitely great motivation to make it up the hill.

After heartbreak I had a huge sigh of relief. I knew there were a few small hills but the hardest part was behind me. At this point I felt pretty confident that I could run a sub 3:30. On the flats and declines I was keeping a sub 8:00 pace but the remaining small hills really took their toll. As much as I studied the course I really underestimated how difficult these last few small hills would be. After a small hill around mile 25 I knew I had little chance to get that sub 3:30 so I stopped looking at my watch and just ran with what I had left. The crowds over the last mile were incredible. Individually they weren’t as vocal as some earlier parts but the large numbers made plenty of noise. People were 3-4 deep on each side of the street. Those numbers made it louder than any other part of the course. On the final turn on Boylston St there was about 1/2 mile left the view was just incredible. I just can’t think of any words that would do justice in describing it.

The entire race was an experience that I want to live though again. It will never be the same as the first time but will still be better than any other race out there. Before running Boston I wasn’t sure if I would do this more than the 2 races that I qualified for. Looking back now I think I want to run it every year. If anything it’s great motivation to keep in qualifying shape.