Back To The 20 Mile Week

My normal "base training" while not focusing on a particular race has been a 20 mile week. I usually run 4 times a week - 3 weekday runs of 3-5 miles and a longer weekend run in the 6-10 mile range.

Since the marathon, I haven't had a 20 mile week yet. First it was due to recovery and then it was due to time constraints.

This past week had its fair share of time constraint issues, but I was able to squeeze in runs where I could and I logged 21 miles over five runs. Hooray!

These runs included slipping out for a 4.5 mile run on Thanksgiving morning after the turkey was in the oven, meeting up with a friend that I went to high school and UofM with (neither of us were runners back then and we only reconnected when he searched for descriptions of the Turkey Chase and found my blog!), and a short Sunday morning run.

Sunday's run was chilly - about 31 degrees. It was my first sub-freezing run of the season. I wore running tights, a heavier long sleeve shirt and a beanie...winter is a-coming! I didn't want to run long because I traveled later that afternoon to Irvine, CA for work. I left my house at around 12:30pm Eastern and finally arrived at my hotel around 11:30pm Pacific - 14 hours door to door. Yuck.

However, when I walked out of my hotel this morning I saw how beautiful the weather was. I am so psyched to run out here!!!

BTW...if you take a look over on my training log, I have now logged 978.9 miles for the year. If I repeat last week's 21.1 miles, I will hit my 1,000 mile goal! Woo hoo!!!

Getting Back On Track

The post-marathon soreness in my legs was virtually gone by Thursday morning - I'm sure the massage helped tremendously!!! So Friday morning I headed out for a morning run. I wanted to get a few miles in before my chiro appointment to see if my hamstring issue flared up again.

It was still dark outside at 6am when I left the house Friday morning. Hey...wasn't changing the clocks supposed to help with this morning darkness thing??? Also, it seemed really cold. I found out later it was only 37 degrees - so my choice of a long-sleeve NikePro crew (which retains heat) may have been a bit too much...but it sure made the first mile a bit more bearable.

I headed out on a route that I could make 2 miles or more - depending when I re-entered the community. It's a bit hillier than my normal route, but I didn't want to go 4.5 miles - just in case the pain came back. Luckily, the hamstring didn't bother me.

I ran 2.5 miles - at a 10:42/mile pace. Nice and easy.

I did not run this morning - I think another day of rest is probably a good thing right now. However, resting didn't mean that I sat on my behind all day. This afternoon, I took my 7 year old to Seneca Creek Park for a little hiking. We hiked all the way around Clopper Lake. It was about 4 miles of walking for the two of us. My son did start to complain about 3/4 of the way around the lake, but otherwise he was a real trooper.

At the very end of the hike, we started to hear a sound that was like a hyena or monkey, however, we realized it was coming from the sky. We stopped and looked up and saw a bird stop at a nearby tree. When we got a better look at it, we saw it was a woodpecker! The bird stopped "laughing", pecked the tree once and then entered a hole in the tree. It was really cool. A little bit after that we started to see lots of deer. Seeing all of the wildlife definitely took my son's mind off of the fact that we had just walked 4 miles.

I'm planning to go for another run tomorrow morning - hopefully in the 5-6 mile range. We'll see how that goes and then decide on next week's plans for running...

2009 New York Marathon - The Morning of the Race

I have a few moments this afternoon to blog about the morning of the race...the actual race report will have to wait (sorry folks!). However, more time elapsed from the time I woke up marathon morning to the time I lined up in the gate than during my running of the marathon itself...so there is plenty to talk about!

As I mentioned before, I woke up before my alarm. I had set my watch alarm for 5:35am - which was actually 4:35am due to the switch from Daylight Savings Time. When I woke up, I looked at the time on my friend's cable box and it said 4:25 - I wasn't sure if that was with "falling back" or not...I took a look at my watch which showed 5:25 so I realized that the cable box automatically turned the clock back.

I had laid everything out the night before - running clothes (shirt, shorts, socks, sleeves and hat), RedG and the HRM strap, my water belt, bodyglide, nipple tape, tissues (for both the porta potties and the sinuses), GUs and a Larabar, pre-race food (a bagel, a banana and a single serving container of peanut butter), my throw away sweatshirt (vintage 1990 UofM Greek Week sweatshirt which I probably have not worn in over 15 years - why it was still in my closet I did not know...). I decided not to wear the throw away sweatpants that I had - my friend's apartment was really warm and it had seemed warm enough the night before so I did not think I needed them. I had put my subway card and a few bucks in my RoadID pouch on my shoe also so I would not forget these essentials. As a result, getting ready in the morning was very quick...I had enough time to strip the linen from my friend's sofa bed and fold it back up before leaving.

I walked out to the subway where I was going to meet teammate LG at 5:15am. As I was crossing the street to the station, a car pulled up beside me, "Are you going to the marathon start?" (umm - it's pretty obvious, don'tcha think?) "Do you want a lift?" he asked me. The driver did not look like he was about to run the marathon, and I was wondering what the guy was up to. A bit sketchy if you ask me...even on the Upper West Side. I politely told him that I was meeting other people - thanks, but no thanks.

I met up with LG and we did the subway thing. It was nice to be underground as it was drizzling a bit outside. There were two types of people on the subway and walking around New York at that time. Those in running gear who were getting to their assigned spots to travel to the starting line of the marathon, and those in Halloween costumes who were traveling back home after a night full of partying. Even though the marathoners outnumbered the party revelers at that time, it was still quite a scene.

We made it to Union Square and boarded the team bus. I had met about half of the Team Run To Remember members over the past four months during the various training runs and meetings I came up to New York for, but there wasn't anyone in particular I was planning to sit with on the bus ride. As I boarded the bus, someone from the back yells, "Go BLUE!" upon seeing the big maize and blue M on my sweatshirt - so I went to speak to this fellow UofM runner, BE. He is another out-of-town team member - from Cincinnati - and graduated UofM last year. Also in the back of the bus at that point was teammate JR who I had not met before but immediately started discussing the various iPods we had used - and needed to replace - due to our running madness! A few minutes later another teammate that I had only briefly met before on a training run, CW, sat down next to me and we congratulated each other on our fundraising achievements (she raised over $20K!!) and started to discuss the nerves and adrenaline that were pumping through us at that moment.

The bus took the long way around to Fort Wadsworth - out the Holland Tunnel into New Jersey and then to the Bayonne Bridge into Staten Island. I guess the Verrazano Bridge closed at 7am and the bus driver didn't want to chance not getting over the bridge in time.

Once we arrived at Fort Wadsworth, there was a small sea of people being dropped off of busses and waiting in line to enter the "runner's village". It must have taken us about 20 minutes to get through this line and enter. Most of the team stayed together and gathered in the common area before dispersing to our different color start areas. We posed for a group picture - there were 3 or 4 people taking photos with everyone's cameras...one of the "photographers" was a foreigner who would say "PERRRRRFECT" each time he took a photo. It got a laugh from the entire team every time!

A few of us went to get some food and coffee - unfortunately, we trekked through a muddy patch of field instead of following the non-muddy streets...we knew which way NOT to take back to the team site! While looking for bagels, teammate TA met Tara from last season's The Biggest Loser and took a picture with her to show to the rest of the team...very cool!

We all got back to the group and ate, schmoozed and tried to keep warm. About half an hour later, the group started to break up to head toward their different color areas - and some of the runners in the earlier waves needed to hit their starting corrals. It was definitely a bittersweet moment - we were all about to embark on this awesome event that we all had spent the last four to five months preparing for. However, this also marked the end of the team being together.

As someone who was a bit of an "outsider" at the beginning - I'm not from New York and I am not active in the NY Alzheimer's Association chapter - I found that this team gelled very well. I think it was a perfect size - large enough to raise a sum of money that justifies the hard work needed to organize the team and also large enough to sustain all of the training runs/meetings of the team, but small enough that all the members get an opportunity to meet everyone in the group and that the team could take on its own identity without having sub-teams or cliques. I really enjoyed every moment that I had with this team - from my Central Park training runs in August and September, to the meeting I attended when Liz Robbins spoke about her book, to the training run over the last 10 miles of the marathon course, to all of the time spent in the hours leading up to the race. I will really miss the members of this team, and I hope to keep in touch with many of them (and perhaps run with them again!).

I went to the orange runners area and met up with my college friend ZF. She immediately recognized the UofM Greek Week sweatshirt (and was pretty amazed that I still had it!). She had been hanging out in one of the tents with another friend of hers for hours - they had arrived at Fort Wadsworth at 6:30am and it was now about 9:30. About 10 minutes later we heard the cannon go off and we were able to see the runners on the bridge. WOW!

We took a quick Brightroom photo with the Verrazano Bridge in the background. I'm not sure why I did this - I definitely will want the memories, but Brightroom charges so much for the photos it's ridiculous! If they charged something reasonable I would consider purchasing the prints or buying the downloads...but until then it's going to be screen captures with the "Copyright" message going across...

Then it was one last trip to the porta-potty (and thank goodness I brought my own tissues...too much information???) before heading to the corrals and lining up for the start of the New York Marathon!

The Last Long Run Before The Race

This morning was the last long run of my taper - and the last long run before next week's New York Marathon. Whoa!

I was really excited to get out there and run long today. I had run a 6, 5 and 3 miler this week and I longed for something a bit more substantial. Since it is still the taper, I couldn't overdo it, however, I decided that something in between 8 and 10 miles would do.

I settled on my 9-mile Olde Town Gaithersburg loop. I also decided to wear the outfit which I will likely wear next Sunday for the marathon - my Alzheimer's Association Run To Remember white t-shirt and white arm-warmer sleeves along with my water belt. This was the first time I ran with the sleeves - they are definitely more snug on the arms than a long-sleeve shirt, but I like the fact that if I get hot during the race that I can take the sleeves off and run in a short-sleeve shirt. I'm not sure if I'm going to wear my water belt for the marathon or not. I know there are water stations almost every mile on the course, but if I have my belt then I can drink when I want to.

It was a great morning to run - clear skies and temperatures in the upper 40s. If the start of the marathon is like this I will be very happy!

Also, if I run the first 9 miles of the marathon like I ran this morning I should be in pretty good shape to finish strong. My heart rate was a little higher than I wanted it to be - my average HR on this morning's run was 153...I would like it to be under 150 for the first 10-13 miles next week. My pace was also a bit faster than I want it to be next week - 10:26/mile. I will really try to keep it nice and slow at that beginning next weekend.

Now it's waiting time. I'll do a few short runs this week - 2 or 3 milers - but the next big run will be marathon Sunday!!!

Running In The Cold Rain

This morning it was cold and rainy. Yuck! This is my least favorite weather to run in.

I had contemplated running on the treadmill at the gym. However, I know that I'll be running in the same stuff on Saturday morning. And I better get used to this just in case this is the weather on November 1, right? I can't go to Mary Whittenburg and ask if she can move the NY Marathon indoors on a treadmill because it is 40 degrees and raining!

The one nice thing about my run this morning - I did it after the sunrise! The reason for this - not so good. My younger son still had a fever last night and came into our room at 3:30am. He still had a 101.4 temperature. At that point my wife made the decision that she was not going to go to work - so I was able to sleep in a bit, get my older son off to school in his carpool and then go out for a run!

I threw on my Frederick marathon runners premium - a microfiber pull-over - over my long sleeve running t-shirt and shorts, along with a hat to keep my head a bit warmer. I also brought music with me for the first time in a while - I loaded a bunch of Indigo Girls albums on my iPod shuffle...good mellow music for an easy run.

I started the run out easy - average HR was 141 for the first mile (perhaps the HRM issue has cleared itself up?) and RedG chirped a 9:54 split. I slowed down a bit for the second mile and came in with a 10:12 split. All this time I had my hands inside the sleeves of the pullover to keep them warm. It's amazing how damp, cold air just penetrates you and chills you to the bone.

After that, my route goes downhill and I started to warm up. Hands came out of the pullover's sleeves and I guess my legs decided to push the pace on me. I still kept RegG covered so he didn't get too wet, but as a result I was not watching my heart rate go up into the high 150s/low 160s. Next two splits were 9:12 and 9:18. So much for an easy run!

I finished out my 5.5 mile loop in 53:27 - a 9:36/mile pace with an average HR of 154. I looked back in RunningAhead at my training log and with the exception of a tempo run I did on this route last year, this is the fastest I have every run this route.

The good news - I'm in great shape right now...probably even better shape than I was before I ran the Frederick Marathon last year!

The bad news - OK...not so bad, but I have been running way too fast lately. Over the next two weeks I need to devote at least two workouts at marathon pace - which for me this time around will be a 10:40/mile pace. If I try running "by feel" like I have been the last week, I'm going to fall apart at mile 16.

When Do I Switch To Long Sleeves?

So, Thursday morning I stepped out the door for my run and it felt mighty chilly. The past few mornings had been in the low 50s, so I had laid out a short-sleeved technical t-shirt and running shorts the night before. However, when I opened the front door that morning it seems a bit more crisp than usual.

I decided that it was no problem - I would warm up mid-run and be thankful I was in short sleeves.

A few other runners that I saw had on tights or pants, some with a running jacket. Of course the dog walkers that morning were nice and bundled up.

For the most part I felt comfortable. A bit on the cold side - but after the heat and humidity of the summer I was thankful to not have to deal with that yucky mucky air.

When I got back home, I check the computer to see just how chilly it was.

42 degrees!

Perhaps long sleeves would have been a good idea?

So...at what point will the cold mornings really be cold enough to wear long sleeves, or tights or a jacket and beanie?

My Marathon Gear Has Arrived!!!

The Alzheimer's Association sent some running "uniforms" and other goodies to the members of Team Run To Remember, and I received mine this evening!!!

In the package was a short sleeved tech shirt, a tech singlet, a jacket, running sleeves, a mesh bag that I can use as a race bag (when I don't want to bring my favorite race bag along...) and a DVD copy of the movie Run For Your Life.

I will have a huge grin plastered on my face for the rest of the evening. I even want to go out for a run now (but it will have to wait until tomorrow morning).

I requested a Medium for the three pieces of clothing. The shirt fits great. The jacket is a little on the big side and the singlet is a bit snug. When I had the singlet on, I kinda felt a little like the grape from the Fruit of the Loom commercials, but my wife said I look fine. We'll see how it feels when I wear it for a long run over the next week or two.

I'm Getting Some New Gear!!

Courtesy of Team Run To Remember and the Alzheimer's Association...the team is getting singlets, shirts and jackets!

I can't wait for these to arrive!!! :-)

It's My Birthday!

Today is my birthday. I'm now 38 years old. In only two years I'll be 40 - UGH!

I'm going to try not to dwell on getting older and things like that. My body reminds me of this every day :-)

It should be a nice day, though. My work schedule doesn't seem too hectic. I'm planning to run during my lunch break (although I just got invited to a conference call at 12:30pm - so I either need to take my lunch break early or late...). And tonight I'm holding my fundraiser at The Star Diner - so I'll see lots of friends and celebrate!!

Also, I got a nice surprise this morning. Sherry and the boys gave me an awesome birthday present - a race bag from Mile 22 which sports lots of my race bibs! Check it out:

Back Into The Long Run Groove

When I trained for my first marathon last year, I did most of my long runs early on Saturday morning - before the family and I went to synagogue.

This is week 5 of my training, and it is only the 2nd Saturday morning long run I have done. (actually, next week I am planning to go to New York to run my long run in Central Park with Team Run To Remember!)

I set out at 6:30am for my 12 mile long run. My plan - keep it slow. I was hoping to be somewhere in the 11:00/mile range and that my HR would stay in the 150s or below.

I put on my Amphipod water belt with two bottles of water, and took two GUs with me - one for 45 minutes into the run and the other for 90 minutes into the run. I also took my iPod - I let the Genius feature put together a playlist first based on Billy Joel's Scenes From An Italian Restaurant, and since that playlist was not going to be long enough, I supplemented it with another Genius playlist based on Simon and Garfunkle's The Only Living Boy In New York (yes, both songs with a New York theme...).

The beginning of this run went very well - my splits were all in the 11:00 to 11:30/mile range and my average HR was in the 150s or below. After mile 7, however, I started to lose steam - I kept up the same pace mostly (mile 8 was slower, but a large part of that mile is uphill), but my average heart rate started to climb into the 160s.

Also, around that time, I felt I needed more water. I rationed my water out until the end, but having a third water bottle would have been nice. Before my next run over 10 miles - especially given that this is summertime - I need to add the third water bottle to my water belt.

I finished the run in 2:16:24 - an 11:23/mile pace, with an average HR of 158. It's a tad slower than I would have liked, and my average HR was higher than I would have liked. However, I ran the entire 12 miles - no walking - which was a big accomplishment given my performance last weekend.

I also decided to check back in my running log to see how I did on my 12 mile run in last year's marathon training. I ran an 11:13/mile pace with an average HR of 153. It was definitely a better effort than now, but there are two main differences - that run was two weeks later into my program, and it was 31 degrees on that run - not in the mid-70s like today. With as hot and humid as it was today, 31 degrees sounds delightful!

Sharing The Love and One Step Closer To Cult Of Garmin

One of my most important pieces of "gear" is my RoadID.  It gives me piece of mind when I leave the house - especially on long runs.  I use the shoe pouch and keep a house key in it (and a car key when I go to a race or I drive to a spot to run).  However, the shoe pouch eventually gets a hole in it (this is my second hole-y shoe pouch) - likely from the key moving around inside and poking at the side of the pouch.  I ordered a replacement pouch yesterday and received the following email:

"We are thrilled to have you as a customer and hope that we can count on you to spread the word about Road ID. In fact, to make it fun to spread the word, we created a unique coupon for you pass along to your friends! Here's the coupon number:  Coupon Number: ThanksMike457765"

So, this coupon is good for $1 off any Road ID order. It can be used up to 20 times in the next 30 days.   Happy RoadID buying!!!

And talking about happy buying, I believe I'm a bit closer to joining the "Cult of Garmin".  (the Garmin is starting to remind me of Mac computers - their biggest marketeers is the user base and how much they love using the product).  I keep on getting blog comments and reading in forums on how much people love their Garmin Forerunners and that I will not be sorry with my purchase.

The Fox Family is on a bit of a budget right now, and "frivolous" $175 purchases - like to purchase a Garmin 305 - were not really in the budget.  Actually, neither was the $75 to "upgrade" to a non-broken Polar HRM...

However, I was planning to run in two Half Marathons this Spring - the National Half and the Run For the Shelter Half.  I will nix running the National Half - which will save me $80.  I guess on the morning of that race I'll just go out with my Garmin and run 13.1 miles elsewhere :-)  The Run For the Shelter half marathon is a bargain at $40 - perfect for us cheap runners who are on a budget.

So there you have it.  Everyone saves money with this post!

It's Frickin' Cold Out There!

Yesterday's Net Calories:  1,985

After yesterday's predicament, I decided to do a longer long run - in the 12 to 14 mile range.  I decided that I hadn't done a really long run like this in a while and I should do it on a morning that wasn't rainy/snowy/icy.

Last night I checked the weather forecast.  Overnight low of 18 degrees.  BRRRRRRR.  I thought that it would probably be in the mid-20s when I first went out to run, so I laid out my Mizuno BreathThermo long sleeve top, running jacket, running tights, and since it would dark out when I started my run - my reflector vest and my day-glow yellow running gloves.  I also laid out my Amphipod water belt with a few packs of GU, some cash and my cell phone.

For some reason I didn't sleep too well last night.  I ended up waking up a few times and looking at the clock to see if it was time to go on my run yet.  Finally 5:30am rolled around and I got out of bed and ready for my run.

During the first few minutes of my run, I felt COLD.  Toes and fingers were freezing up a bit.  I thought that perhaps I should have worn one of my other pairs of running gloves that are a bit thicker and warmer.  However, after about 15 minutes my toes and fingers had warmed up - as usual.

On the route that I took, there were three different turns that I could turn which would make the run either 12.3, 13.5 or 13.8 miles.  As I was chugging up Great Seneca Highway - about 4 miles into my run - I decided to take the first turn and make this a 12.3 miler.  It was definitely cold outside and I remembered that the last time I had run 13 miles was during the Parks Half Marathon in September...and due to the humidity I did not run all 13 miles.  I wondered when the last time I actually had run this distance was (I just checked my running log - the last time I ran 13 miles was at the Riley's Rumble Half Marathon in July...I walked the big hills on that run, and before that was at the Frederick Marathon in May!)

It ended up being a good idea to only have done the 12.3 miler, as I was to find out...

I had started to drink water from one of the three water bottles on my water belt, and as the water level in that bottle went down, the water that was at the top started to freeze.  The ice at the top of the bottle made it tough to drink from.  I wonder what runners up North do to keep this from happening?  Put salt in the water?  Perhaps Gatorade has a lower freezing point than water?

However, the thing I was not prepared for was that about 7 miles into my run my fingers started getting cold again.  YIKES!  Normally, when I go for a run on a cold day my fingers will be cold initially but then they'll warm up and I'll be fine for the rest of the run.  I don't ever remember my fingers chilling up again.  I really thought I was going to get frostbite and again I wished I had worn my thicker, warmer gloves.  I kept alternating between wrapping my fingers around my thumbs to warm my thumbs and making a fist and closing my thumb over my fingers to warm up my fingers.  I had even considered calling Sherry to come and pick me up and drive me home...  Then I remembered a passage that I had read recently about the mental side of running - that we are capable of doing more than we think we can.  So, I was convinced that I could make it home - frostbitten hands or not.

At one point I looked at my hands - and saw the thumbholes at the end of the sleeves on my running jacket.  I never got the whole thumbhole thing.  I mean - it's my fingers that always get cold...what good will thumbholes do?  My fingers will still be exposed to the cold, right.  While I was looking at the thumbholes, though, the idea hit me - pull the sleeves of my jacket OVER your clenched fists.  I did this and within minutes my fingers started to warm up again.  HOORAY!!

By this time it was an hour and 45 minutes into my run already, and I realized that I had not consumed any of the GU I brought along.  I usually take one about an hour into my run, but I had forgotten at that point - and then I had to deal with freezing water and near frostbitten fingers.  I took a GU packet and put it in my hand (which was still in my sleeve) to try and warm the thing up.  After a few minutes I finally ate the GU - even with warming it up a bit, it still had a near-solid consistency.  It was very weird.

I went to wash the GU down with water.  The water in the water bottle I had already started drinking from had turned to ice.  I swapped it with one of the other water bottles and popped the top up.  No water came out.  UGH!!!  I stopped and unscrewed the top from the bottle - water had frozen at the top and blocked the pop top!

When I finally got home, I really wanted to know just how cold it was during my run.  The temperatures ranged from 17 to 19 degrees while I was out for my run.  Once again, BRRRRRRR.  No wonder I had so many issues!

Final stats:  12.27 miles, 2:15:45 - 11:04/mile pace.  155 bpm avg HR.

This now puts me only 5 miles behind the 1,000 mile pace bunny.  Watch out you rascally rabbit!

Follow-up From The Parks Half Marathon

During my post from The Parks Half Marathon, I mentioned that there was a runner that had collapsed around 11.5 miles.  It ends up he had heat stroke.  My sister sent me this tidbit from a weekly newsletter that she receives from The Sergeant's Program:

• Hi Everyone, The doctors feel he's progressing: no fever, blood pressure has stabilized, heart and brain are clear and healthy. They are concerned about the liver and kidneys, but they can deal with that if need be.   His wife told us the story of how he collapsed. She was waiting at the finish line wondering what was taking him so long. Meanwhile, he was already at Suburban for that hour and a half, faceless/nameless as he had no ID. He fell, and a woman stopped to help him (a trainer), and right behind her was a nurse. One ran to call 911 while the other elevated his head and feet. Apparently, the ambulance couldn't get down to the path so these two women along with another 2 women, carried him over to where the ambulance was going to pull up. His wife thinks these women saved his life. The nurse who saw his name on his shirt (before it was cut off him), googled it and tracked down his home phone number. His wife was so overwhelmed with what this stranger did for him...she couldn't speak. 

Amazing story of how runners help each other.  Also, a very scary story about the runner having no ID.  I'm glad that I wear my RoadID on my shoe.  Every runner should get one of these - just in case a situation like the one above happens.

Morning Long Run

I did my scheduled "long run" this morning.  Ironically, a few months ago, a seven-mile run was part of my during-the-week workouts - and now it's a long run once again :-)

I didn't get out of the house until 6:30am.  I was really tired last night and didn't want to set an alarm to get up and run...that's what my kids are for, right?  Anyhow, my older son woke up a little before 6am to go pee - he hasn't learned the art of being discrete yet, so the entire house was semi-awoken from hearing him run to the bathroom, slam the toilet seat up, turn on the faucet at full blast to wash his hands, etc.  I took this as my cue to roll out of bed and run.

I decided to wear my Amphipod water belt this morning.  I have been really thirsty the past few times I have run - most likely due to the heat and humidity.  I ended up taking my first drink about 3 miles into my run, and then at about 5 1/2 miles I started to drink regularly.

I lucked out on the weather this morning.  It was still in the high-60s when I got out the door, and the humidity wasn't too bad.  On my walk to synagogue later this morning (around 10am) I saw a few runners and felt sorry for them as it was already approaching 80 degrees.

The run itself was not too eventful - I took it nice and easy, running an 11:26/mile pace, completing the 7.3 miles in 1:23:47.  I didn't bring music with me as I wanted to keep it slow and I know that I normally speed up to music when I run.

There were two big positives to today's run - 1) I was able to keep my heart rate down for the most part - my average HR was 151 - and 2) I did not have the pain in the tendons behind my knee!  My hamstring and calf muscles are still a tad sore (no longer tender...thank goodness!), but the discomfort that I was feeling for weeks on end did not appear at all during the close to 84 minutes that I was running.

Tomorrow I'll rest/cross-train again and then on Monday I'll get back to the training plan.

The 20 Miler

Now that I have some time to write, I'll give a few details about my 20 miler this morning. Luckily, it was pretty uneventful!

I had a horrible night's sleep last night. I don't know if I was just antsy about waking up so early (4:30am on a Saturday just isn't normal for me - even recently with the higher mileage of marathon training). My older son woke me up at 2:30am saying that he had a bad dream; after I put him back to bed I went in and out of a light sleep until a few minutes before my alarm was to go off (and I turned it off so I would not wake up my wife).

I knew the weather would be warmer than I was used to, so I was going to wear shorts and a t-shirt. Hooray!! I also was going to wear the new pair of Balga socks that my sister bought for me last week. I was very apprehensive about wearing a new pair of socks for such a long run - but these worked out very well. The bottoms of the socks are thicker (padding for the long run) and the tops are thinner (better breathability - especially for the warmer weather). I would definitely recommend these socks...I may even buy another pair or two for myself.

The weather was great - and maybe a wee bit too warm for such a long run. When I walked out of the house it was 57 degrees, calm winds and a little foggy. Of course it was still dark - it was 5am. I ended up running about 3/4 of the time in sunlight and the temperature most likely rose about 10 degrees while I was outside. I may want to run a few of my last longer runs in the sun - with my sunglasses - just to get used to that before the marathon.

My plan was to keep my pace on the slower side so that my heart rate stayed lower. I chose my music accordingly - mellow. I listened to Indigo Girls, Rufus Wainright, Jack Johnson, The Eagles and Carole King.

I was able to keep my heart rate low for the first 2 1/2 to 3 hours. I kept my heart rate in the high-140s to mid-150s with the exception of hills, where it climbed into the 160s. After that I hit a few problems - first, my course started to be mainly uphill (I really need to start checking the elevation of my courses...if I would have known this fact, I would have run the course the other way!). More importantly, I started to run out of water. I brought the three 8oz flasks of water on my AmphiPod, and I did not have a chance to stow another waterbottle somewhere on my route. UGH!!! 24oz of water proved not to be enough for my close-to-four hour run in temperatures that were warmer than I was used to at this point. As a result, miles 16 through 20 were pretty tough and my heart rate stayed in the high 160s for most of that last 45 min. My finishing average heart rate was 157bpm.

However, I got through the entire run without much physical pain. I was able to walk to synagogue (1/4 mile from my house) with no issues - unlike 2 weeks ago where I hobbled there after my 18+ mile run. I'm a bit sore now - especially in my feet, calves and the side of my left knee - but I expected to be sore. I mean, come on - I ran 20 miles this morning. :-)

New Gear and Congrats To A New Marathoner!

One thing that I neglected to mention in my blog yesterday was that an awesome surprise was waiting for me when I returned from New York on Sunday night. My sister had given me a gift of new running gear to help prepare for my marathon.

I knew I was in luck when I walked in the door and saw a big Fleet Feet bag on the kitchen table :-)

In the bag was an assortment of goodies - each of which I was psyched to get. The largest item in the bag was "The Stick" which is like a big rolling pin that you use on sore muscles to massage and loosen them up. There was also a new pair of running socks, a stick of Body Glide, a race bib belt/holder and finally a "26.2" magnet for my car. (Interestingly enough, I was just thinking about buying one of these last week, so my sister beat me to it!)

Lauren - YOU ROCK! Thanks!!!!!
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Another exciting piece of news I found out on Sunday night - one of my fellow running-bloggers, Sara, finished her first marathon! She has been an inspiration for many - running with Team-in-Training to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in memory of the child of one of her friends who passed away after a bout with cancer. She raised close to $5000...AMAZING!

Here is her wonderful marathon race report. Enjoy!

GU Flavors

Thanks to Tootie for posting a comment about GU flavors (I've had others ask me a similar question...)

I prefer the Just Plain flavor - it tastes a bit like caramel, but not too over the top sweet.  I also like the Vanilla flavor...although it is a bit on the sweet side.

I like the Lemon Sublime flavor mid-run - this tastes like lemon-lime Gatorade, and I guess I'm just used to having that type of taste in my mouth as an energy replacement mid-run.  Also, the Lemon Sublime flavor does not have caffeine - I needed to cut down on the amount of caffeine I had each day as I was starting to get sensitive to it.

The Chocolate flavor is amazing - it tastes like chocolate frosting - but it's a bit too sweet for me to eat while on a run.

Saturday Morning Long Run

Yesterday's Total Calorie Intake:  2225

This morning's plan was to wake up early and do a 17.2 mile out-and-back/loop from my neighborhood to the Rockville Millennium Trail and back.  The training plan calls for a 16 mile run, but this seemed like a good course that I'm familiar with - so I decided to do the extra 1.2 miles.

Since we had to leave to go to synagogue around 10am, I needed to be home around 9am.  I figured this run would take me about 3 hours and 15 minutes, so I needed to get out the door by 5:45am.  5:45am is exactly when I got out of the house - and 3:15:10 was my time...not too bad on the planning side!

My plan was to try to keep my heart rate under 150 for as long as possible - staying at a nice even pace for the entire run.  I decided to pick some mellower music to help out with this.  I had a collection of Indigo Girls, Joni Mitchell, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Rufus Wainright and Don MacLean among others.

It worked for most of the run - my average heart rate was 153.  I know that towards the end of the run my heart rate was in the low 160s, so I did a good job regulating my pace at the beginning of the run.  I seem to have a problem regulating my speed when going up a gradual incline...I have a tendency to keep my normal pace which sends my heart rate up.  On bigger hills, I slow down more, but on the gradual hills I don't do such a good job slowing down.  I'm going to have to work on this before the marathon.  It will actually help me for all races in the future - not just the marathon.

I ran pretty much the entire 3 hours, 15 minutes and 10 seconds.  There were a few times I had to stop.  Just as I was getting onto the Millennium Trail, I had a pebble in my shoe, so I stopped, took my shoe off and got it out.  On the Millennium Trail, there are only two trash cans so I was going to take my GUs a little before each of them so I could throw the empty packets in the trash cans.  However, the first trash can caught me by surprise, so I stopped for a few seconds to do my GU shot and take a drink.  There was also one traffic light that I had to stop at for about 1 minute as cars were turning - I had good luck with all the other traffic lights (of course, there's not too many cars on the road between 5:45am and 9am on Saturday morning!).

About 13-14 miles through the run I still felt great!  I was thinking, "heck, there's nothing to this...once I get started I can keep on going forever."  However, around mile 15 my legs started to feel sore.  It didn't stop me from finishing out the last 2 miles, but those two miles were not easy.

My hydration/fueling plan for today - I ate a chewy granola bar before the run and brought 3 GU packets - the plan was to take one at around each hour into my run (or at the trash cans on the Millennium Trail, which happened to coincide pretty nicely with hours 1 and 2!).  I added the 3rd water bottle to my AmphiPod RunLite, so I had 24 oz of water with me.  The water belt with three water bottles was a little strange at first, but I got used to it pretty quickly.  I rationed it out the water pretty well, but I think I would have drank more if I had more.

After I got home, I took a quick warm shower and then a cold bath (no ice - I whimped out).  This supposedly helps with inflammation and to bring your core temperature back down quicker.

So this was my longest run - 17.2 miles - and my most weekly mileage - 34.3 miles!

SCHEDULED Rest Day

Yesterday's Total Calorie Intake: 2638 

(Exercise Calories: 579)

Total Net Calories: 2059

Today is a Scheduled Rest Day.  I will not run.  Really, I mean it.

I'm gearing up for my 16 miler tomorrow.  I set out a potential course - utilizing the Rockville Millennium Trail - but it is a little over 17 miles.  I should be able to do it, but I'm wondering if I should try to map something out a bit shorter.

I'm also planning to dust off the 3rd water bottle for my AmphiPod RunLite.  We'll see how running with three bottles on my belt goes.

Hydration On Long Runs

An Anonymous poster left the following comment, "What do you use to hydrate during your long runs?"

When my runs started to get over 90 minutes, I purchased a water belt - the AmphiPod RunLite 3.  I chose this one since it was modular - I could choose how many water bottles to put on and where they should go, and there was also a pouch for GU, my cellphone, keys, etc.

I currently have two of the 8 oz water bottles on the belt - so I'm carrying 16 oz of water with me.  I'll most likely add the third water bottle for next week's 16 mile run and for runs longer than 3 hours.  I usually carry two GU pouches - I take one about an hour into my run and another one about an hour later if I'm still running.  I guess I'll carry a third GU packet for runs longer than 3 hours.  YIKES!

As for posting anonymously - I understand if you don't want to log in with a Google account or another email address, but you can at least sign your name when you post.  So far this has been a nice blog with a pretty friendly exchange of information so you should have nothing to fear :-)

I hope this helps!