Chicago Marathon

Time: 3:53:25
Overall: 5097 out of 31000+

Another HOT marathon. I don't have any luck. Chicago had near record heat for a second straight year. Two days before or after would have been great weather to run in. Oh well, I still had a great time. This was my first "Big City" marathon that I should have done a long time ago but it was well worth the wait.

The course layout was great and the crowds were incredible. It was like taking the top spectator areas at Disney and stretching them over 60% of the course. There wasn't a spot on the course where there wasn't someone cheering you on.

Even though it was going to be a warm one, I still kept to my plan to run hard. I had a great pace for the first 15k (1:11:34) but the heat started catching up with me shortly after that. When the 3:30 pace group finally passed me by at mile 16 I knew it was over. I backed off my pace and even added in a little walking but by mile 22 I had nothing left.

Two days later I feel fine and ready to get back to training for Philadelphia.

16 weeks until Chicago

16 weeks until the Chicago Marathon. According to my running log, today I officially start my marathon training. In reality I’ve been doing it since my last one in January. Over the last few months my weekly average has been in the high 40’s with five weeks over 50 and two of those over 60. In contrast, my weekly average prior to my last marathon was in the mid to high 30’s and only two weeks were over 40. My upcoming schedule has weekly average in the high 50’s with my high weeks topping out in the mid 60’s. I know that I will run more miles than I’m scheduled to run but I’m not sure how much higher I will (or should) go. For now I’ll try to make an effort to keep it under 65 and see how things go.

Spring into Summer 5k

Time: 19:53
Overall: 21 out of 297
Age Group: 1 out of 9
race results


Another hot and humid Spring into Summer race. I’m not sure what the temp was this morning but it was very muggy. I learned my lesson from previous races and drank lots of water before the start. I also let up a little on my training runs this week which helped a lot also.

This is a well run race on a great course. I love running in Al Lopez Park and it was nice to run a race with a strong field. They didn’t have a clock at the finish line but did a really good job of reading the clock time as runners were approaching the finish line.

My goal this year (5k season) was to break 20 minutes. I have now done that is 3 of my last 4 races. Too bad this will be my last for a while but now it’s time to focus on of number one goal of qualifying for Boston.

Seminole Stampede 5k

Time: 19:47
Overall: 6 out of 100
Age Group: 1 out of 9
race results

I finally (officially) broke the 20 minute barrier. This is one of my favorite courses so I couldn’t have happened at a better place. My first mile was 5:58 which was my fastest first split. I knew I was running fast (for me) but I didn’t feel that I was pressing too hard. For the 2nd mile I tried to back off a little and was aiming for a 6:30 mile which I missed by 2 seconds. My second split was 12:30. I tried keep the 3rd mile at the same pace and ended up with a 3rd split of 19:05.
I replaced some of my longer runs this week with intervals and I think that really helped. I have two more 5ks in the next few weeks and I plan on using the same training strategy. If the weather cooperates I think I could finish under 19:30.

As for the race, it seemed a little disorganized this year. Apparently the person entering the runner info into the computer missed a lot of data because there were about 15-20 runners (including me) that were missing from the preliminary results. During the awards, the person reading the results didn’t have a clue. He was probably given the results pages out of order but he should have known that you hand out the overall awards first and then work up each age group. This guy starts at men 30-34 and then fits in the overall before the 50-54 age group. I didn’t want to watch the train wreck so after the overall got his award I took off.

Since this is my favorite 5k course I’ll be back next year.

Training 5/6/08

My Achilles tendons are feeling better. I’ve run 7+ miles the last 2 days with little pain. I think that taking the weekend off was a really good idea.

I have noticed that my joints get pretty stiff after sitting around a while. They will loosen up after I walk around for a couple of minutes. I’m not going to be too concerned about this though unless I start feeling some pain with the stiffness.

My plan is to keep it between 7-10 miles the rest of the week. But that might change depending on how the run is going.

Achilles tendon injury

Outside of tight hamstrings I have been running injury free for the last 3 years. I think my luck has finally run out. My achilles tendons have been tight in the morning for the last month but a simple stretch and they were fine the rest of the day. Toward the end of last week, my right tendon was feeling tender during and after runs. My 16 mile run on Sunday really did it in though. I tried to run through it on Tuesday but there was a lot of pain so I cut the run short and walked for a while. I’m a little concerned that if I push it then it will turn into something big.

This week was going to be a low mileage week anyway so I’m just going to play it safe and stick to walking of the stationary bike until early next week. Based on an article in Running Times I think my injury is in the paratenon which is a sheath around the tendon and not the tendon itself. Their suggestion was to stretch, ice down and rest it for a little while.
I hate not being able to run for a week but that sounds a lot better than not being able to run for a few months.

Harvey's 5k St Petersburg

Time: 20:21
Overall: 14 out of 292
Age Group: 3 out of 24

I was a little disappointed in my time for this race. I have increased my training the last few weeks and I think it is starting to catch up to me a little. My legs were so tired when I was warming up that I had no idea how I would do. By the time 8:30 came around it was getting warm and a little humid. There was a light breeze which helped a little though.

The course was great. The start was by Straub Park and stayed pretty close to the water the whole time. If they could eliminate the run through a parking lot early in the race, I would say this was the best 5k course I have run.

My only criticism is their choice of age group awards. A coffee mug? It was a mug with the same picture that was on the shirt. I feel sorry for the runner that was receiving their first age group award and they only get a coffee mug. If you are going to have age group awards then give an award.