Three weeks out...

And I still dont feel like I have any umph in my legs. I ran an easy 4 miler today and attempted a few fartleks but there just wasnt anything there. im guessing that another week and i should feel somewhat closer to normal.

Im trying to decide whether or not to use a new training program for Boston...Hal Higdon's looks pretty interesting and i dont think you can go wrong with Hal but I also found a 12 week plan by Joe Friel that seems to be heavy on speed works. I suppose I cant go wrong with either plan.

Philly Marathon Race Report

Now I understand what Lance Armstrong was talking about when he claimed that running a marathon is tougher than any feat that he had claimed in his previous life as a professional cyclist, including those miraculous climbs up Alp D'huez.

My goal for the race was to run a 3:15. Nothing more nothing less. When I arrived at the start line however the pacers were 3'10 and 3'20. I chose the 3'10 group and decided to hang on as long as possible. I stayed within 50 yards of this group until I ran into a problem with the need for bathroom breaks. The porta johns were few and far between....I went where I could (I will spare you the details) and sprinted back to the pace group. However, after my third stop (somewhere around mile 17) i simply didnt have it in me to pull a Michael Johnson. I lost the pace group and decided I would try to clock 7'30s for the remainder of the race.

Somewhere around mile 22 my pace took a nose dive. It was all I could do to manage an 8'00 pace. I felt boston slipping away. It was at this point that I noticed alot of entrants resorting to walking...I was so tempted to stop. My calves were screaming for me to stop....i simply didnt have anything in me...it was at this point that i tried to focus on things unrelated to running...i thought about my billable hours at work, i thought through several partnership tax issues, and then I decidd to stop thinking about work and instead to pretend that all of the spectators were heckling me.....as silly as it sounds it worked...i got angry and was able to crank it out for the remaining miles.

I finished in 3:13:40. I am very sore...and at this point very much craving another race.

Philly Marathon-Boston Bound

I did it! I finished in 3:13....more to come.

Bethel Half Marathon

Last Saturday I ran the Bethel Half Marathon, which is held just outside of Canton, NC. It was a small event (160+ runners) which was in many ways nice. The entire course was roadway/pavement which ran along side a beautiful rolling hill landscape.

The hills were noticeable but nothing like the Sunset Stampede.....I kept my pace to about 6'33 and finished with a time of about 1:25. My official results were 1:22 but I know that there was a mishap given that the guy in front of me finished in 1:24.

I finished 8th overall and 2nd in my age group which was enough to win a really cool pottery dish. I'm stoked about my time and am feeling pretty confident as I head towards Philly next month.

Thanks for reading.

Fourth Place in my fourth 5k

This past saturday night I signed up for the Montford hot summer night 5k. I was expecting a hot, balmy, summer night what I ended up with was 70 degrees with a slight breeze. It was perfect.

Given the relatively cool temp, I decided to exert a bit more energy. I started the race in the lead with a 4:50 pace...this lasted all of a 1/2 mile when I hit a pretty good size hill. IT was at this point that the eventual winner of the race passed me....he was followed by two others.

Eventually I settled into a 6:00 mile pace and finished with a PR of 19:13. I ended up fourth out of 200 overall and first in my age group. It's hard to believe that last summer I ran a 22:10 in my first 5k....Ive improved by at least a minute in each subsequent race. Im pleased but I know I have much more work to do before I can move to the next level.

Brain Training

this is week three of Matt Fitzgerald's brain training. Last week I put in 38 miles this week I will be right at 40.

Tonight was a difficult hill repeat session. the program called for 8x45 second reps with two minute breaks at 5:55. It sucked Sucked sucked. I got through it and I was somewhat satisfied that I made it through the repeats but the hill training is enough to cause nipple bleeding.

I finished with a total of six miles for tonight and ended with a smoothie spiked with accelerade.

Sunset Stampede 10 Miler Race Report

Yesterday' sunset stampede in Asheville was supposed to be a slow long training run. My goal was to simply finish. I told my wife (who was to meet me at the finish line) to expect a finish of somewhere between an hour and a half to two hours. I havent spent too much time training on hills and I had my concerns about my endurance....it didnt help that i read a race report from the famed Kenyan runner (and 2003 Sunset Stampede winner) David Kipngetich in which he stated “I liked the race....The way it was organized-excellent. But the problem was the course; it was so hard. Out of all the events that I’ve run, I think this was the toughest.”

The Kenyan was right....it was a brutal course....but somewhere along mile five of the race (my thoughts of treating this race as a slow training run changed (it helped that the remaining miles were downhill). With each mile my confidence increased as reflected by my splits:


Mile 1 8'11
Mile 2 8'06
Mile 3 8'22
Mile 4 8'24
Mile 5 8'52
Mile 6 7'15
Mile 7 6'39
Mile 8 6'59
Mile 9 6'58
Mile 10 7'40

Time 1'17'24 (Garmin) 7'44 Pace/Official Time (1:18'01)

Tied for 17th Overall
Age Group 4th

Overall Im really happy with my results and I plan on running the Sunset Stampede again next year. It was a great race to build on in anticipation of the Philadelphia Marathon in the fall.

Night of the Ninja

Saturday night's 5k may have been my first experience with running a sub-20 5k. I say maybe because I (and about 10 others) took a 20 second detour off of the race route before being alerted that we were off course.

Even with the detour I ended the race at 20:13, not far from my goal. I finished 15 over all and 2nd in my age group (35-39).

In any event I took a minute off of my 5k time from three weeks ago. How can that be? The course was pretty hilly...one possibility is my red Asics Pirahna. They felt as light as slippers.

Im feeling a bit more sore this time compared to the Fallafel 5k a few weeks ago.
Hopefully I will be fully recovered before this coming saturday's 10 mile sunset stampe race, where the first 5 miles are straight up. The race flyer brags that its enough to make Kenyans squeel. I'm aching already.

Tuesday May 20

Today was a recovery run from my longer (only 13 miles total) weekend runs. My totals for tonight were 5 miles at 9:00. Very slow but thats what recovery runs are supposed to be, right?

ON the marathon training front, Im still looking for a good training plan. I have Jeff Galloways "Marathon You can do it" and there's a pretty decent plan but it calls for walk breaks during the long runs. Im just not sure that the walk breaks are for me.

The idea is to run 30 seconds/per mile faster during the marathon and then take a minute walk break every two miles. This is supposed to prevent the accumulation of too much lactic acid and to allow you to finish strong. Im sure its a good strategy for most folks but the thought of resting so frequently just doesnt sit well with me. My fear is that I will over exert my self with the faster pace and not really recover during the walk breaks.

Any way if any of you (all two of you) have a training plan you're willing to share feel free to send it my way. I will be most grateful.

Long Run

Sunday was a long 9 mile run in the beuatiful bent creek forest. My actual total mileage was 10.85 (I walked the last two miles). For the 9 miles I ran 9:17 (pretty slow). I felt good overall however the hills kicked my ass. Here are the vitals:



Distance: 10.85 miles Elevation Avg: 2266 ft

Total Uphill:
+980 ft
Total Downhill:
-1145 ft

Time:
1:49:55
Speed:
5.9 mph
Pace:
10' 08 min/mile
Calories:
1189

Philadelphia Marathon

Well its official...Im now registered for a date with destiny. I'm really excited that my first marathon will be through the fast, mostly flat, streets that Rocky trained on for his match with the Russian great Ivan Drago.

In other news my Asics Piranha arrived today (all 4.2 ounces of them). I cant wait to kick some ninja ass in the Night of the Ninja 5k next week.

5k Race Report

Well I have some work to do before I can expect to get my 5k below 20 minutes. I ran today's Fallafel 5k in Asheville (a well orgainzed event ) and ended up with a 21:18 time. Not bad for my first 5k of the year but very far from my target. 1/2 of the course was uphill and the temp was around 80 degrees, two factors that probably didnt help.




Other vitals: My avg pace was 6:54, max heart rate was 187, avg. was 174. Hopefully I will build on today's performance in two weeks from now with my next 5k: the Night of the Ninja.

5k Race

Today I'm gearing up to run my first 5k since last June. Part of the training plan for my fall marathon is to incorporate 5ks early on so that I can have some sort of gauge as to what my marathon pace should be.

This year I've logged in a few more miles but I haven't incorporated too many speed sessions. A typical week (for the last 5 weeks) has consisted of about 20-30 miles with a pace of about 7.5 to 8.5 min/mile. Last year I managed to finish a June 5k at 22:10. Not spectacular but it was very hilly course and the temp was hovering around 80. I hope to take at least a minute off of last year's performance.

In any event I have three 5ks lined up within the next few weeks and by the time the next one rolls around hopefully my Asics Piranha will have arrived. My times can only improve right?