Junk Miles

Day #17: Best Month of the Year

2010-11-23T17:08:00.002-05:00

I'm not sure if I should be proud of this or not, but I hit my highest monthly mileage total of 2010 today. That number is 41.9 miles. That's not so much. Yes, better than nothing but nothing to get all that excited about. Meh.

Distance: 2.7 miles

Time: 22:12

Pace: 8:14

Weight: 204.5 (I located the scale again)

Day #16: Somebody Stole My Scale!

2010-11-22T16:01:00.002-05:00

Well, actually they borrowed it. Plus it's not really my scale. The scale that is usually in the men's locker room at my office's gym has been "borrowed" for a Biggest Loser contest and moved into the staff's office until the first week of January. So, either i'll have to wait until then to weigh myself, transition over to another scale or try to get access to the old scale from time-to-time. None of those options is ideal. Grrrr....

On the positive side, today's run went well. For the first time in a long time neither my legs, nor my lungs were suffering at all during the run. Usually it's one or the other - sometimes both.

Distance: 2.7 miles

Time: 22:30

Pace: 8:20

Weight: 204.5 (?)

Day #15: Back With The Coyotes

2010-11-22T09:29:00.003-05:00

OK, I didn't actually see any coyotes. It was really cold outside - I need to remember how to dress for run. 37 degrees and I was wearing shorts, short sleeved tech shirt and a long sleeved cotton shirt over that. I was very cold for the first mile, but warmed up some. I think a hot, gloves and windproof briefs might be in order the next time the temperature dips that low.

Distance: 4.08 miles (weekly total = 19 miles)

Time: 34:28

Pace: 8:27

Weight: 204.5 (weekly loss = 2 pounds)

Day #14: First Struggle

2010-11-22T09:27:00.003-05:00

Today was tough. I ran at the local YMCA and it is always incredibly hot there and I really struggle in the heat - even when I'm in good shape.

Distance: 2.7 miles

Time: 22:30

Pace: 8:20

Weight: 204.5

Day #13: Almost An Afterthought

2010-11-22T09:25:00.002-05:00

Hopped on the treadmill around 3:30 this afternoon. A good way to close out the work week. Looking forward to a Thanksgiving next week.

Distance: 2.3 miles

Time: 18:24

Pace: 8:01

Weight: 204.5

Day #12: Still Going Strong

2010-11-18T15:36:00.003-05:00

I'm actually surprised a how good I feel given the shape that I'm in and the fact that I'm not taking any rest days.

Speaking of not taking any rest days, I started wondering whether this was a good idea or not while on the treadmill yesterday (it was either this or watching Oprah on the television). So, I decided to take a look back over the last 5+ years of my training logs to see what kind of running streaks that I've put together to determine whether my body might be able to hold up under the stress of no rest days. In compiling this list I have arbitrarily defined a running streak as 10 or more consecutive days of running. What I found was actually pretty interesting and leads me to believe that I just might be able to do stick with my plan for a whole year. Mt longest streaks are:

1. 135 days (12/17/06-4/30/07)

2. 56 days (5/9/05-7/3/05)

3. 52 days (10/2/05-11/22/05)

4. 42 days (12/25/05 -2/4/06)

5. 40 days (3/29/05-5/7/05)

6. 27 days (4/4/06-4/30/06)

7. 24 days (7/12/05-8/4/05)

8. 20 days (achieved 2x)

10. 19 days (7/31/06-8/18/06)

11. 18 days (achieved 2x)

13. 16 days (1/28/08-2/12/08)

14. 15 days (6/12/07-6/26/07)

15. 14 days (8/9/07-8/22/07)

16. 13 days (achieved 3x)

19. 12 days (achieved 5x - including this current streak)

23. 11 days (achieved 4x)

27. 10 days (achieved 3x)

So, in the overall context of my running career (I never had any notable running streaks while in high school or college), my current streak is currently in a five way tie for my19th longest running streak ever. So, not really a big deal yet, BUT in another week it'll enter the top five.

Distance: 2.3 miles

Time: 18:40

Pace: 8:07

Weight: 204.5

Day #11: Return of the Longer Mid-Week Run

2010-11-18T15:30:00.001-05:00

Distance: 3.0 miles

Time: 25:22

Pace: 8:28

Weight: 205.5

Day #10: Back to the Back

2010-11-17T09:58:00.003-05:00

Yep, it hurts again - same thing as a few days ago. I really don't get it because I'm positive that I didn't strain it. The only explanation that I can come up with is that the stresses of daily running are compressing my back somehow. In any event, it's more of a minor irritation than anything else so I'll just live with it.

The legs are still holding up pretty well as the only soreness that I'm experiencing is in my arches and ankles. I'm still constantly tired too. I expect that all of these issues will pass once I'm in better shape.

Distance: 2.3 miles

Time: 18:55

Pace: 8:15

Weight: 206

Day #9: Back to the Treadmill

2010-11-15T20:11:00.001-05:00

Distance: 2.3 miles
Time: 19:10
Pace: 8:20
Weight: 206.5

Day #8: Week One Complete

2010-11-15T20:02:00.004-05:00

Well, I made it through my first week with any serious issues. Today was a long run (if you can call 3.4 miles a long run). Overall, I ran (over 8 days) 17.1 miles and lost 5.5 pounds. I'd consider both of those victories.

So far, no noticeable injuries have cropped up. I had some sort of phantom back injury on Friday night but it resolved itself by Saturday afternoon. In addition, every so often I have some slight hip pain and my ankles and arches are always somewhat tender post-run, but those are things that a good icing can cure.

Overall, I'd call the first week a success.

Distance: 3.4 miles (weekly total = 15.1 miles)
Time: 28:18
Pace: 8:20
Weight 206.5 (weekly loss = 5.5 pounds)

Day #7: Coyotes

2010-11-15T14:58:00.004-05:00

I've lived at my current home for three years, so I know that they're there. I've heard their howling countless times, so I also know that there are several of them roaming my neighborhood. However, I never actually saw them - until my run today, that is.

I walk my dog every night around 7pm. Ever since the time change, however, things have been a little, well, odd. He keeps seeing things out in the blackness that I can't and tries to pull me off the road toward the woods. Last night, as I was finishing up my walk, I heard a very menacing growl directed toward the dog but, as usual, I couldn't see anything.

So, I decided to wear my headlamp on my run tonight - which was three loops around my neighborhood. I saw nothing on the first two loops, but as I was heading toward the site of the previous night's growling I saw the first coyote - which immediately ran into the back yard of the house whose yard it had been standing in. Then, as I reached the spot where I saw the first coyote, I saw another under the next streetlight. It also ran away into the woods separating my development from the next one over. Of course, where there are two coyotes, there are likely more - probably several more.

I was still about a third of a mile away from my house and, to make it even more interesting, I had to turn my back to both coyotes to get home. Let's just say that was the fastest part of my run...

Distance: 2.04 miles

Time: 16:25

Pace: 8:03

Weight: 207

Day #6: I Did Run

2010-11-13T10:13:00.004-05:00

Distance: 2.0 miles
Time: 16:40
Pace: 8:20
Weight: 207

Day #5: Only Results Again

2010-11-11T15:51:00.002-05:00

Distance: 2.0 miles
Time: 16:54
Pace: 8:27
Weight: 207.5

Day #4: Baby Steps

2010-11-10T18:37:00.002-05:00

Distance: 2.0 miles
Time: 17:09
Pace: 8:35
Weight: 208

Day #3: Random Thoughts

2010-11-09T15:58:00.003-05:00

In case it wasn't clear yesterday, another goal of mine is to lose 52 pounds over the next year - I assumed that the title of the post made that clear but wanted to mention it just in case.

I can't find any of my running gear. In fact, I'm not even sure what I have at this point. The most depressing thing is that most of the things that I can find don't fit. That includes all of the winter gear that I've found so far. So, that means that I'll be spending some quality time on the treadmill.

I noticed that the batteries to my Polar HRM are dead. I also think that a packet of GU may have exploded all over my Garmin. At least I hope that's what it is.

My after-run appetite is out of control. I really need to focus on healthy snacks because, other than that, my diet isn't all that bad.

Distance: 2.0 miles

Time: 17:24

Pace: 8:42

Weight: 209

Day #2: Losing 52 To Run 26

2010-11-08T13:12:00.002-05:00

Not an enviable position to be in but, let's be honest, I'm solely responsible for my current situation. Even when taking the staggering number of injuries I've suffered into account, I chose not to cross-train, I chose to sit on my ass every night and watch television and I chose to eat like I was running 80 miles per week even though I wasn't. All that being said, I'm done feeling sorry for myself and I'm looking forward to fixing all of the mistakes I've made over the last three years.

Which leads me to my goals...

Admittedly, these plans will be a little rough at first, but I'll fill them in with more detail as I go. Another thing that I'll mention up front is that I have no idea what my long term goals (i.e. 3-5 years out) will be. I think those will ultimately be derived based upon the success or failure of the more immediate goals.

Right now, the intermediate goal is a return to my former level of racing fitness - a 1:28 half and a 3:11 marathon. I'm giving myself one year to achieve this with my tentative goal race being the 2011 Harrisburg Marathon. Initially, I thought that Steamtown might be the right race, but I'd prefer to save that one for when I know that I have a fast time in me. I also like the fact that Harrisburg is a smaller race (no crowds) that's a bit later in the racing season (more time to train). So, yes, Harrisburg it is.

How will I get there? Again, I'm still fleshing it out a bit. I don't have a training plan, nor a strength/core training plan. Diet plan? Nope, not yet. I do know this, however.

The core of my plan is this - to run at least two miles every day between now and my goal race. That's it. It's deceptively simple yet incredibly difficult to implement. Yes, I'll incorporate a nutrition plan and some strength, core and even cross-training into the overall plan but those will all come later as I sort through all of the books, running magazines, DVDs, internet articles and whatever else that I've collected over the years. I'll eventually pick up a formal training plan as well - most likely another round of Daniels training, but I'm open to suggestions there.

Well, I think I've rambled on enough for today so here are today's stats:

Distance: 2.0 miles

Time: 17:39

Pace: 8:50

Weight: 209 (must be that I've lost some water weight)

Day #1: They Say The Third Time's The Charm

2010-11-07T21:43:00.004-05:00

That's right. I'm back for the third time. Not only with respect to this blog, but I'm embarking the third iteration of my running life.

I don't have a lot to say tonight but suffice it to say that I've got some big plans that I'll get into in more detail in the days and weeks ahead.

One thing that I've decided, however, is that I'm going to use this quasi-public forum to insert some accountability into my training (read: public humiliation works wonders).

So, to that end here are the vital statistics for today's run:

Distance: 2.04 miles
Time: 17:55
Pace: 8:47
Weight: 212

More tomorrow.

I'm Home

2009-02-23T22:33:00.002-05:00

Unfortunately for me my vacation is over an while this is generally a running blog, I thought I'd give a brief summary here. Feel free to skip over this post if you're looking for running material. So, as I mentioned below, I was on a cruise - it was 10 total days and originated out of Bayonne, NJ.

Day 1 - this was registration day - lots of waiting in lines - luggage drop-off, parking, check-in, photo-id process, muster drill, etc. Once on the ship, we quickly found our stateroom - a decent sized room with a couch and a balcony. Then the eating commenced. We also signed up for the wine tasting dinner that was held in the ship's upscale Italian restaurant. Lots of good wine and a great buzz - probably two bottles of wine per person. Most everyone else retired for the evening, but my brother in law and I began a bar crawl around the ship. We finished up in The Chamber - a goth inspired dance club which - if you know me - isn't really how I usually roll, but it was fun anyway. BIL and I then ate some pizza at the all night pizzeria and then hit the casinos and then the outside decks for some ping pong action. After that we stopped by the basketball court for some hoops practice until about 2:30 am. A few slices of pizza after that and we were done for the night. Needless to say, there was no running.

Day 2 - still a bit cold today - probably about 55 degrees, so we were confined to the lounges for the most part. Did a little shopping at the ship's stores, checked out a few of the ship's many bars and acquainted ourselves with the dining room and cafes. Tonight is a formal night and we have a great waitstaff. The show tonight was a typical singing and dancing act. After a few drinks, we head to bed around midnight. I managed to get a nice workout in at the gym today too.

Day 3 - 85 degrees today, but very windy - still at sea. The wind masks the heat from the sun and I forget to apply sunscreen. Three hours after lounging on deck with my head phones I look like a lobster but only one one side of my face... I had another good workout - including a four mile run. Tonight's entertainment was a new age styled piano player - kind of boring, but I make it through. I make my first trip to the Johnny Rockets tonight. Up again until 12-1 am.

Day 4 - up early to see us docking in Haiti. Actually, we're at Labadee - Royal Carribean's private stop which happens to be in Haiti. While there I ride the world's largest zip line that travels over water. It's 500 feet high, starts at a mountain situated on a peninsula on the shore and descends one-half mile over the ocean to another peninsula below while travelling at speeds of 30-40 mph. Scary initially, but lots of fun and the ride lasts for about a minute overall. Went to a beach after this and had a fruity drink or two. Followed that up with a feast of jerked chicken, beans and rice. Dinner was typical and the entertainment was a juggling comedian. BIL fell asleep at 8:15 tonight after eating four entrees and I mock him the next day. I also managed a late night run.

Day 5 - today was a stop in Samana, Dominican Republic. We tendered into the island and explored the town, but there wasn't much to see except for a huge number of local artisans who have set out their works along a sidewalk leading along the water spanning the entirety of the distance into town. visited a church here that had been assembled in England, disassembled and brought here and then reassembled. We actually got to experience a mass and the singing was beautiful. After about 10 minutes, we make a donation to the parish and head to our excursion. That excursion was a four hour guided ATV tour into the Dominican countryside, so we got to see the real Dominican Republic. Two observations here - actually three or four. First, the countryside was stunning - we drove up and down many beautiful hills and valleys, along the beach, crossed a few rivers, and drove down several wooded trails including one that stopped at a waterfall and also drove through several villages. Second, the people here are amazingly friendly - they'd all run to the roadside as we drove by and would either wave or give us a high five. Third, there is lot of development going on - including the installation of an aquifer for several of the towns that we drove through. Last - the poverty here is astounding - as I mentioned above, there was no running water once you left the town. And many of the homes here lack windows and roofs. A real eye-opener. I fell asleep tonight at 7:45 pm and I don't wake up until 8:30 am the next day. My BIL, as expected, is all over this... Needless to say, there was no running today.

Day 6 - we were in St. Thomas today. We walked from the pier into Charlotte Amalie and take the ferry over to Cruz Bay, St. John. From there we head to Trunk Bay for some snorkeling. We are informed that the surf is too rough for snorkeling, so there is no snorkeling today BUT, there is no entry fee charged because of this. Swimming is also discouraged, but permitted if we choose. Well, we're here so we opt to swim. And the U.S. Park Service is right, it's rough out there, but fun too. Rum punch helps me to forget to apply sunscreen again. Ouch!! After 3-4 hours, we head back to St. Thomas via Red Hook stopping for another drink prior to cabbing it back into town. We eat dinner at a favorite restaurant in Charlotte Amalie and then go shopping. Amy gets diamond earrings and a matching ring. I get nada. More Johnny Rockets tonight and then to bed around 1 am. No running today either.

Day 7 - San Juan, Puerto Rico. One of the ship's propellers has been damaged and this cuts our stay here short. We are here from 8:30 to 11 am only. We wander around Old San Juan. It's nice - some of the city dates back to the 15th or 16th century - lots of narrow, winding cobblestone streets. I get a nice watch.

The rest of the day is spent lounging on the deck and listening to music, eating and another trip to the gym.

Day 8 - we're at sea today. it's a lot like day three except that I manage not to burn myself. A little drinking, lots of sun and some ping pong and shuffleboard round out the day. Another formal night for dinner - I get both the lobster and a nice Thai chicken breast. Oh, and Johnny Rockets to close out the night. Spent the evening drinking with BIL. Three more miles today too.

Day 9 - it's cold again today - another day spent in the lounges - mostly eating. I played bingo twice today. Fill the card for $8k and $10k respectively. One last workout today too along with a lot of packing up my things.

Day 10 - after one more big breakfast - I had to go home. That's about all I have. Overall, I only gained three pounds. Not bad since I usually gain 8-10 pounds over the course of a seven day cruise. No running today with all of the travelling.

Let's see - I ran today too. Three miles. It finally feels like I'm getting back to liking running again.

Tomorrow's post will return to your normal programming. Promise.

Greetings From The Caribbean!!

2009-02-16T22:39:00.002-05:00

I've been on vacation for the last several days, so I've had no time to post, but I've discovered that the ship I'm on has wifi.

Fortunately, I've been able to keep the running up - in fact I've had runs on the Atlantic Ocean as well as the Sargasso and Caribbean Seas so far.

Today we were in Haiti (and 92 degrees) and I rode the longest zip line in the world. More on that later when I have a few moments to post. Tomorrow is the Dominican Republic, then St. Thomas/st. John and then San Juan.

See you all when I get back. I'll try to check in again while I'm here.

I’m Streaking

2009-02-11T11:36:00.000-05:00

So says Lora in her comment below. And she’s right – in two ways. First, I ran two miles last night – not incredibly far, but I did run them around my “old” pace last night – which is 8:00/mile.

It was also my fifth consecutive day running (which will be six after I go to the gym this afternoon). This got me to thinking about running streaks and the concept of whether to run every day or not.

As for me, I’m at my best when I run every day. Out of curiosity, I went back and checked my running logs to determine my longest running streaks. The longest was 135 consecutive days during which I ran 157 times. My second longest streak was 98 days –with only one run on each day.

I’ve been told many times that rest days are essential for the body to recuperate – and I acknowledge that days off would most likely help this aging body recover more completely. I just can’t do it though – and here’s why. I’m a slacker by nature and I need the discipline imposed by running every day. I’ve tried training plans where I run 5 or 6 days per week and I always use the days off as excuses not to run. So, a typical 6 runs per week - 50 mile week would look something this:

M: 5 miles
T: off
W: off
R: 7 miles
F: 12 miles
Sa: 10 miles (intervals)
Su: 15 miles

So, I’d start off with the shortest run of the week, then take the next two days off – yes not one, but two - justifying that by saying “Well, if I can take one day off…”, then I’m left filling in most of my mileage at the end of the week – including putting the speed work too close to the long run. It’s inevitable, I do it every time.

However, if I force myself to run every day, then I’m much more likely to do the workouts exactly as I’ve written them out for the simple reason that there’s less wiggle room. As for easy days, I’ve always considered any distance of six miles and under done at an easy pace to be an easy day.

So, what do you think? What’s your longest running streak? Any thoughts on running every day? Leave a comment and let me know.

Wow

2009-02-09T17:39:00.004-05:00

Here's a scathing indictment of the state of the US track and field program that was released by the USATF's Project 30 team today. It's pretty long and I haven't had time to read it all, but the list of organizational issues as well as the pettiness of the athletes is rather shocking. Hopefully Team USA can pull it together by 2012. I'll read a little more tonight when I have some time and maybe add a few more thoughts.

As for my running, I did a few miles on the treadmill this afternoon. It felt a little harder than my efforts outside but I think that was because the gym at the office was (actually, it always is) really warm today.

I'm In Bizarro World

2009-02-09T10:12:00.013-05:00

Why is that, you ask? Last night I completed my long run for the week - about 3.5 miles. The interesting thing is that this "long" run is shorter than the shortest run in my last complete marathon training cycle.

I know, I know - I'm only on day three of my return to running, but making light of my situation makes it a bit easier, I think.

Also on the positive news front - my weight has dipped below 195, so that will hopefully make the running a bit easier. Now that I'm thinking about it, to this point my body has been holding up a little better than I thought it might. Aches and pains to be sure but that's it.

The next big challenge for me (with respect to my running and my weight) is the fact that I'm leaving for vacation on Friday. I'll be on a cruise ship, so I'll have access to a track and a gym - which I used every day on my last cruise - but it's definitely a challenge to get up and work out every morning while I'm on vacation. Then there's the unlimited access to food...

In other news, I've been getting caught up on all of my running magazines and websites lately, so I should hopefully have something on than my incessant whining on here pretty soon.

Today is likely to be a treadmill run.

Twice As Nice

2009-02-08T09:46:00.009-05:00

Yes, I ran again yesterday. Instead of doing the longer or the shorter run I decided to compromise and do two miles again but reversing yesterday's course. I ran around 10pm under a full (almost) moon and that, combined with all the snow we have, made it seem like I was running in the middle of the afternoon. Pretty cool that I was able to see my shadow for most of the run.

Not surprisingly, it hurt as much as it did yesterday BUT my time was over a minute faster than yesterday. I'd attribute that to the improved temperatures (42 vs. 18 degrees) as well as my being more mentally prepared for this run.

Another thing that I've noticed is that my form just crazy right now - it feels like I'm all elbows and knees and nothing is in sync. Fortunately, that awkwardness should fade with time.

Last thing - for the entirety of the run I was in my own little corner of hell, because this kept running through my head - I have no idea why. Thankfully all of my runs are short these days. This happens to me way too often. I should probably just start wearing earphones...

Today it's supposed to be over 50 degrees here, so maybe I'll get an afternoon run in.

What's The Old Cliche?

2009-02-07T09:29:00.003-05:00

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step...

While I hope my journey is much longer than a thousand miles I did, indeed, I did get my first run in last night. It wasn't anything too special - just a couple of miles around my neighborhood. I few observations:

The Positive

1. That I ran at all.
2. I'm worried about the recurrence three specific injuries right now: my left hamstring, my right hip and plantar faciitis in both feet. Thankfully, none of those were present last night.

The Negative

1. My tights fit kinda funny right now...
2. I am in much worse shape than I thought (read: I'm pretty sore today). I may need to scale back my training at first.
3. While I am generally a cold weather runner, I have certainly lost my resilience to the elements at this point - I was absolutely freezing last night.
4. At my current weight, my knees and ankles are going to be giving me some problems.

Speaking of my weight - the highest that I've been recently was 202 pounds. Last night I was at 196. A small improvement, but at least I'm moving in the right direction.

I'm not sure what I'm going to run today. I was planning on doing 3-3.5 miles when I planned out my schedule, but I may end up around 1.5 miles instead.

A Question

2009-02-04T14:44:00.003-05:00

Does anyone know of a good, running-specific strength training program? I've looked all over the internet and can't seem to find anything. I have several good generic programs, but I was hoping to tailor my plan a bit. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

My Tragic Tale, Or What Have I Been Up To Lately?

2009-02-03T18:11:00.007-05:00

This is a bit like reliving a nightmare. I really haven't wanted to talk about any of this for several months, but I can't push it off any longer, so here we go...

Where does the time go? I was reading through the old posts here and I didn’t see anything that explained my running situation – even last year, so I’ll start from the beginning.

I hurt my hip in September of 2007 by falling off of a stepladder. It wasn’t a terribly long fall; only a few feet. The problem was that I landed directly on top of the ladder and severely bruised my right hip (at least that’s what I think I did). I should have gone to the doctor, but I didn’t. I should have taken some time off from running to recuperate, but I didn’t do that either. Instead, I tried to jump right back into training. The problem was that I had zero power in my right hip as well as a compromised range of motion for several months thereafter. Even so, I continued to run. The lack of strength in my right hip led to some over-compensation with respect my left leg and I eventually strained my left hamstring – right up at the very top of the hamstring. Those, I’m told, take a long time to heal. Unfortunately for me, I’m not very patient.

I decided to run the Philadelphia marathon, but instead of racing it, I paced a couple of friends. No problem, I’m being good by not pushing it, right? Well, I built up the mileage to about 200 miles per month in January and February ’08 – that when I started this blog – to keep track of my running. Well, my hamstring continued to act up and I kept injuring it – over and over and over. So, if you’ve read this blog at all, you’ll know that I was planning to run both the New Bedford Half-Marathon as well as Boston last year – neither of those happened as I was nursing my hamstring injury. I was able, however, to obtain a medical deferral for Boston ’08.

It was in early March that my training started to go to hell. I couldn’t get in the miles due to the injury and soon thereafter my motivation started to wane as well. It remained this way for much of the summer – I’d run a bit and then re-injure the hamstring (you’d think that I’d try to strengthen it by now, wouldn’t you?). At this point I decided that I was in pretty pathetic shape and that I needed to rebuild my base, so I began a low heart rate training regiment. This actually worked pretty well, but it was extremely aggravating. I started off with a pace that was just under 10 minutes per mile, but soon dropped to the low nines, then the high eights. As fall rolled around, I could occasionally run a mile in under eight minutes while maintaining my target heart rate.

By October, I managed to build up my monthly mileage to just under 200 per month again and decided that it’d be ok to run the Baystate Marathon in Lowell, Massachusetts. I had done no speed work and no real long runs worth mentioning, so I can’t explain why I thought that this was a good idea. The race started off well. I wanted to treat it as an exceptionally long training run and was cruising through 20 miles at about a 3:35 pace. That’s when disaster struck. Just past the 20 mile marker, I felt a shooting pain going through my left knee. I stopped momentarily to see how serious the injury was. After a minute or two I ultimately concluded that my knee was nothing to worry about, but it was a cold day and my muscles quickly stiffened up. The bottom line was that I could not get my body back in motion after stopping except for a painfully slow trot over the last .2 miles. My 3:35 turned into a 4:48 with the last 6 miles all walked. It also turned out that I had injured myself, yet again - the hamstring as well as a nice case of plantar fasciitis. I had to shut my running down entirely – this time until I was completely healed. That took almost two months. Unfortunately for my training apathy, frustration and a touch of laziness had set in and I failed to run for all of December and most of January as well.

If you look back, you’ll see that my weight as of 1/1/08 was 184.5. That was 20 pounds heavier than I was earlier in the year. Well, this year I topped out at 202. So, I have a long way to go to reclaim my old running form. Needless to say, I’m not going to be able to run Boston ’09 either. That’s ok with me though, I’d rather re-qualify than run it in my current condition.

So, what am I up to now? Well, I’m going to run for the first time is a long time tonight. I’m hoping to be able to get through 2-3 miles without dying. I’ll probably continue with my low heart rate training for now and see how quickly I can get back into shape. I’m also going to try to get back down to that elusive 150 pound mark that I mentioned last year through a combination of running, strength training and diet. I’ve also signed up for another marathon – the Lake Placid Marathon - it’s going to be run on June 14th and my goal there will simply be to finish. Then, hopefully, I’ll be able to take another shot at a Boston Qualifier in November at the Outer Banks Marathon.

Whew! That’s a lot for one post. Anyway, at least now his blog will have a theme to it – triumph over adversity. Hopefully I’ve got it in me. Only time will tell.

The Workout That Kicked My Butt

2008-02-11T16:39:00.003-05:00

Oy. Work, life, etc. have gotten in the way of my posting recently, but I’m back. Fortunately, I’ve been able to keep up with my running, although much of it has been on the treadmill.

So, yesterday’s workout was the following:

2 mile warm-up, 4 x 6 minutes at tempo pace (60 seconds easy running between sets), one hour of easy running, 20 minutes at tempo pace, 2 mile cool-down.

The last 20 at tempo was the most miserable that I’ve felt during a workout (well, in recent memory). I should go back to my running log and see how I did this workout in early ’07 because I don’t remember doing it. I’m thinking that I may have broken it up or skipped it altogether. Anyway, I’m feeling much better today, but I was feeling the effects of that run for most of the day yesterday.

What else is new?

- I’m likely going to skip the New Bedford Half in mid-March. This means that I’ll have no true assessment of my fitness prior to Boston. That’s a little scary to me right now.

- I recently joined the local YMCA. This means that I now have access to a pool. I’m going to try and fit some swimming into my schedule. However, I have no idea what I should be doing, so any suggestions are welcome.

- I’m probably NOT going to do a fall marathon. After Boston I’d like to focus on some shorter events as I’ve been ignoring them entirely since my return to running three years ago. If this means that I don’t get to run Boston ’09, that’s OK with me. My body could probably use the break from marathon training as well. Of course the thought of running a 5k all-out has me gagging right now…

More later.

I’m Way Behind

2008-01-29T16:47:00.003-05:00

Ok, I haven’t been able to post for a few days. I’m back to explain my PRs.

5k – I think this may be my finest running hour. I ran this time at a cross country invitational during my senior year on a day when our top two runners were out with injuries and our coach was looking for someone to step up. My previous PR was around 16:20 so I was a little worried when the opening split was a 5:05. I had never been that close to the front of the pack in a race before and it was more than a little uncomfortable. I persevered, however, and stuck with the leaders for much of the race. Upon entering the final stretch I was gassed. At this point 2-3 other runners passed me, but I managed to hold off several others and ended up with a 10th place finish. 10th place with a 15:50? You have to understand that, at the time I was in high school, central New York was absolutely loaded with DI running talent. My 15:50 was about a minutes behind the winner and a sub-15 was usually required to win an invitational. I managed an honorable mention all-league that year, but I was a very average runner in high school.

Five miles – This was a really fast training run in January 2006. The mileage was measured with my Garmin, so I don’t count this as a legitimate record. I’ve never raced a five miler otherwise.

10k – I’ve only run two 10k races ever – both in the late 80s. I have no recollection of my times, but they were much faster than what I have designated as my current PR. This time comes from a 10k split (that I believe to be short) from a half marathon that I ran in June 2006. I was running a great race that morning until I tweaked my hamstring in the 9th mile of that race. I ended up limping in to the finish, although that time was then a modest PR. A very disappointing race.

15k – This time came from a race that I ran in November 2006. My mileage leading up to this race was mediocre and I did zero speedwork. I had no expectations for this race, so the PR was a little surprising. My previous PR at this distance came from my high school years when I was in great shape but had no idea how to tackle this distance from a strategic standpoint.

10 miles – Another split from a half-marathon. This time, it’s from my half PR effort in April 2007. I’ve never raced a true 10 miler.

20k – Another training run. I’m relying on my Garmin again for the mileage, so this is another PR that I don’t put too much stock in.

Half-Marathon – From the Skunk Cabbage Classic in Ithaca, New York. I ran this race on April 1, 2007 as a tune-up for the New Jersey Marathon later that month. It was a cold (38 degrees), rainy, blustery day with occasional gusts of wind of up to 40 mph. I thought that I might PR, but I wasn’t expecting the weather. Apparently the weather wasn’t an issue because I got stronger as the race progressed. My last mile was run at a 6:20 pace and I felt like I had at least a little something left in the tank at the end of the race.

Marathon – The New Jersey Marathon on April 29, 2007. I’ve run three marathons, but this one, my second, was my only true effort at the distance. I was woefully unprepared for my first marathon but somehow managed to hold onto a BQ pace for 24 miles. From there I blew up in spectacular fashion in a 3:22:xx effort. I trained with a purpose for my second marathon. I did all of the long runs and all of the speed work prescribed by Jack Daniels. During the race, I ran with the 3:10 pace group and stayed with them for the first 22 miles of the race. At that point a started to slow down some, but managed to hold on to my Boston Qualifying time. It was frustrating to watch the pace group slip away ever so slowly. I was worried for the entire second half of the race that I might blow up again like during my first effort so the BQ was not a certainty until I actually crossed the finish line. I should have been happy, but my oxygen-starved brain didn’t realize that I had qualified at first because I somehow forgot during the race that my qualifying time was a 3:15:59 and not a 3:10:59. So, for the first few minutes after crossing the finish line I was under the impression that I had missed the cut-off by exactly one minute. You can imagine my delight when I realized my error.

Running: lots of easy miles. I have some intervals on the schedule tomorrow. I’ll let you know how they go.

My Personal Records

2008-01-26T09:32:00.002-05:00

I've just added them over to the right. I think that, when I have some more time tonight, I'll come back to provide some background because they're all over the place. Some are recent, some are from my high school days and some are from training runs. That should be interesting, shouldn't it?

Morning Running Is Teh Suck

2008-01-25T20:30:00.003-05:00

Well, I finally got a morning run in. It was every bit as tortuous as I remembered. In retrospect, it was only the first few miles that were terrible and then I seemed to get into a little groove. Hopefully, the more I do it, the easier it'll get. I also think running outside once the weather improves will also make it more palatable. Several easy miles today.

Has anyone seen McMillan's Performance Page in the latest issue of Running Times? In it, he introduces a different (to me) training pace - the sub-maximal effort. In brief, it's not quite as fast as lactate threshold pace, but also not as slow as marathon pace - it's somewhere in-between. The length of the run starts at 3-4 miles/20 minutes and increases over the course of a training plan to 9-10 mile/60 minutes. I'd be interested in hearing the pros and cons of this type of training from those who have tried it. Actually, all opinions and observations would be appreciated.

January 24th - Nothing All That Interesting

2008-01-24T21:34:00.001-05:00

Six miles easy. My legs feel great. I don't have much to say today. I have, however, been checking out several other running blogs that are a LOT better than this one. I'll be linking to them soon - keep checking the list to the right.

ETA: I've added a few - more to come.

January 23rd - Feeling Stronger And Getting Lighter

2008-01-23T21:12:00.001-05:00

Today's workout was a set of intervals - 6 x 1 mile @ 6:30/mile with one minute of easy running between reps. Two miles as a warm-up and 2+ miles as a cool-down. Total mileage - 10.5 miles.

Overall, I felt stronger throughout than in past interval sessions. Ok, to be honest, by the fifth rep nothing felt great but nothing felt that terrible either so I just kept on going.

The scale is now at 169.5. I'm nearing my pre-holiday weight so now the hard work really begins.

I should also start thinking about whether I want to run the New Bedford Half in mid-March.

January 22nd - More Easy Running

2008-01-22T16:35:00.001-05:00

Another six and a half easy miles today. Instead of running through downtown Hartford, I ran toward West Hartford with a couple of guys I know from my gym. Some points of interest:

Elizabeth Park, Hartford - home to one of the oldest, largest rose gardens in the country.

University of Connecticut School of Law, Hartford.

One of the guys that I was running with always gives me a hard time about the number of miles that I run. He tells me that I'm putting in elite-level miles, but not getting elite-level results. His claim is that one should be able to BQ on 25-30 miles per week (he has run 1:20/3:08 on that mileage) and that running 60-80 miles per week should produce world-class results. If not, I'm obviously doing something wrong. I just smile and nod.

January 21st Run Report

2008-01-21T22:29:00.001-05:00

Eight easy miles today.

The official weigh-in for the week has me at 171 pounds so I didn't lose any weight over the second half of the week last week. Oh well, two pounds for the week isn't too bad.

One thing that I find a little frustrating is the extra recovery time that I find that I need after longer runs (usually 14+ miles). In January 2005 I underwent a triple hernia repair. I had a laparoscopic procedure in which I had squares of plastic mesh inserted into each of those hernias to "keep everything inside" so to speak. Now, every time I run hard or run long I need at least an extra day or so to recover. My legs will feel fine, but my groin continues to feel sore for up to three days thereafter. It's merely a discomfort, but a frustrating one. It could always be much, much worse. At least I can continue to run.

Tomorrow is another easy run and I have more intervals on the schedule Wednesday. This week I'll also, once again, attempt to move to morning runs.

Housekeeping

2008-01-21T12:19:00.001-05:00

In an effort to make the place a little more user friendly for my visitors I have sorted through the blogs on the right and categorized them according to my perceived level of their running content. The first category - Running and Life - contains blogs that are, for the most part, centered around running. The second category - Life and Running - contains blogs that contain roughly equal parts of running and non-running material. The last category - Non-Running Blogs - is self explanatory.

If you are the creator of one of these blogs and have an issue with where I've placed you, please let me know. I'm not above changing any of them around.

I Am The Lizard King. I Can Do Anything.

2008-01-21T09:45:00.001-05:00

First, my apologies to Jim Morrison.

Ok, the weekend’s over and I’m back. Normally, I’d be posting on the weekends too, but my brother-in-law and his family visited us this weekend so I had absolutely no computer time at all. One interesting thing that we did was to bring the girls to a presentation on lizards at the local library. It was a hands-on experience so, in addition to learning about the various lizards, they were able to pet each of them as well. The biggest one we saw was this guy – a monitor lizard. That was pretty cool.

Ok, back to the running. With our visitors, I had to cram it in the best I could. Saturday was a spur of the moment eleven easy miles done right after hauling away all of the branches that had fallen on our property during last week’s ice storm. As you can imagine, I was a little tired at the outset. I was surprised, however, at how easy this run ended up being. About a mile or two into the run my legs really loosened up and I cruised the rest of the way.

Sunday was my long run - eighteen miles. Like Saturday’s run, it was done on the treadmill and, also like Saturday’s run, it was really quite easy if not a little boring. The one saving grace is that I was able to watch three complete episodes of Lost (and part of a fourth). So, yes, watching John Locke blow up the Flame station as well as a submarine, kill a one-eyed Russian and discover his father bound and gagged in a closet at the Others’ camp helped to pass the time. Thank you John Locke.

I'm Really Trying

2008-01-18T22:47:00.002-05:00

to find a way to make six miles on the treadmill seem interesting, but I'm afraid that's impossible. It was a beautiful day in central Connecticut - 46 degrees and as sunny as can be - but I missed it. Work duties kept me chained to my desk all day.

One thing that I noticed during this run. It was probably the first run in months where I wasn't feeling the effects of an injury, my excess weight or my relatively poor conditioning of the past six months. To put it another way, I'm feeling almost back to my old self. I'm now keeping my fingers crossed as I still have 13+ weeks to go until Boston.

Until tomorrow...

He'll Be Hard To Beat In Beijing

2008-01-18T10:21:00.001-05:00

Haile Gebrselassie runs a 2:04:53 in Dubai - the second fastest marathon performance ever.

Either You Get It Or You Don't

2008-01-18T09:59:00.001-05:00

I actually like the newer Pearl Izumi ads more, but this one is pretty good too.

Jack's (Intervals Are) Back

2008-01-17T17:29:00.001-05:00

Yes, today was a set of intervals. Although I referred to them yesterday as "cruise intervals," Greg McMillan actually refers to them as "tempo intervals" due to their length. Here's how McMillan defines the two:

Tempo Intervals

Tempo Intervals are like fast tempo runs broken into two to four repeats with relatively short recovery jogs. The appropriate race paces for tempo intervals are 10K to 15K race pace and they should last between eight and fifteen minutes. Unlike the previous workouts, Tempo Intervals are the first workouts to allow for a recovery jog between hard efforts. In this case, you jog two to five minutes between each repeat then start the next one.

Cruise Intervals

The Cruise Interval workout was popularized by running coach, Jack Daniels. They, like the other Stamina workouts, are meant to increase your lactate threshold pace. Cruise Intervals are like shorter and slightly more intense tempo intervals. They last three to eight minutes and the pace is between 8K and 12K. Like tempo intervals, they are followed by short recovery jogs (30 seconds to 2 minutes). You'll probably find that it's easy to run too fast on these. The tendency is to treat them like regular long intervals. However, keep it under control and work on a smooth, fast rhythm. Control in training is key to improvement.

Whatever you'd like to call them, my workout went as follows: a one mile warm-up followed by two 12-minute sets of running at my tempo pace (6:30/mile), with two minutes of running at my easy pace in-between, followed by a little over an hour of easy running. Total distance: thirteen miles.

Overall the workout felt pretty good. I could tell that I was working a little harder during the second interval. I assume that this was primarily because this was my first attempt at the twelve minute length at tempo pace (I have run probably two workouts in the last few weeks with six minutes at tempo pace prior to today). My legs were also a little wobbly for the first few minutes of my 60 minute recovery run, but that feeling disappeared rather quickly.

One final note - the scale said 171 pounds this afternoon.

January 16th - Not Much To Report

2008-01-16T17:44:00.001-05:00

All I had on the schedule today was nine easy miles. They were slightly harder than they should have been because I wasn’t properly hydrated. If you read this blog long enough you’ll see that this is a chronic issue for me.

Tomorrow should be more interesting as I have cruise intervals on the schedule.

January 15th Run Report

2008-01-15T22:23:00.002-05:00

Nothing too interesting. Eleven miles easy. It felt good to get some miles in during a light snowfall this afternoon. Mostly running in downtown Hartford and crossing over the Connecticut River into East Hartford.

Here's an aerial shot of Hartford:

My office is off to the left of this photo. I'll run through the park and past the state capitol (gold domed building in the lower left corner), then past the old Travelers Insurance Company world headquarters (beige tower in the center-right), over the bridge on the right and then on a footpath that borders the river. A nice run for such an urban location.

Here's another nice view of the city from the footpath in East Hartford:

Whoohoo!!

2008-01-15T16:04:00.002-05:00

My weekly weigh-in tells me that my weight is now down to 173. A loss of six pounds this week.

Water, Water Everywhere...The Hydration Issue

2008-01-15T11:37:00.001-05:00

I know, I know – the USATF has a guide to optimal hydration. I haven’t tried it out though – largely because it’s kind of a pain in the arse. I’ve noticed anecdotally from my conversations with other runners that I seem to drink an inordinate amount of water before, during and after a run compared to a lot of others. I sweat quite a lot though, so maybe I don’t drink that much. I just don’t know. For example, in the two hours prior to my fifteen mile run the other day, I drank 64 oz. of water. During the run, I drank another 40 oz. Immediately following the run I drank 16 oz. of Endurox and then another 32 oz. of water. I stopped there, but felt like I could have had more. I probably drank another combined 32 oz. of milk, coffee and orange juice earlier in the day and another 20 oz. of milk later that night. A pee test that evening told me that I was definitely NOT hydrated after all of that. Doesn’t that seem like a lot to be drinking without being fully hydrated?

Arrghh. I should probably just do the stupid test.

Intervals? Check.

2008-01-14T21:43:00.001-05:00

I finally got them done. 6 x 1000 meters in 3:45 each (6:00/mile). I gave myself a half-mile recovery between each at 8:00/mile. I also did a half-mile warm-up and a quarter-mile cool-down - also at 8:00/mile.

I learned a few things. 1. I'm not in the shape that I'd like to be in at this point in my training. 2. I'm in better shape than I was in a few weeks ago where I really struggled with 4 x 1200 meters at a slightly slower (6:05/mile) pace. 3. While my physical conditioning is currently marginal, I was pleased with my mental toughness today. There was a point where I wanted to quit in each of the last three reps, but I wouldn't let myself do it. 4. Jack Daniels is a sadistic SOB, but he'll get you in racing shape every time.

I'm looking forward to some easier miles tomorrow.

150 Pounds

2008-01-14T09:59:00.001-05:00

That's what I'd like to weigh when I run Boston. Right now, I have a long, long way to go to get there. When I ran the Philadelphia Marathon in November, I weighed 167. Not the lightest I've been recently (that was 164), but not too bad either. 17 pounds in six months didn't seem like a lot to lose. However, over the course of the holidays I managed to GAIN 17.5 pounds - too many Christmas cookies and wine I guess.

Anyway, I'm using this space to make myself accountable. My weight on New Year's Day was 184.5. My weight as of last week was 179. I'll be weighing in again tomorrow. It looks like I need to lose about two pounds per week to get to my goal. THIS kind of thing cannot happen again.

Those Elusive Intervals

2008-01-13T21:23:00.002-05:00

Arghh!! The intervals have eluded me again. I had every intention of going to the new-found track today but my wife's appointments with her clients ran really long this afternoon, so it was back to the treadmill.

I ended up doing fifteen miles on the treadmill while watching the Cowboys blow yet another playoff game. Running on the treadmill while watching sports is always interesting because, in addition to running, there's also usually a lot of cursing, fist pumping, jumping, running into the console, you get the idea....

So, yeah, those intervals. I'm going to run them tomorrow. I promise. The 12-15" of snow that we're expecting tonight means that they're probably going to have to be done on the treadmill. Ugh.

Sometimes Even The Best Laid Plans....

2008-01-12T22:19:00.001-05:00

I was supposed to run intervals at the local high school track today. Not a big deal since the all of the snow in Connecticut has melted over the past week - well, except at the local high school track. I can't quite figure out how, but it remains covered by about four inches of ice. Angry and frustrated, I returned home and ran an easy ten miles on the treadmill.

On a positive note, I later went to scout out the neighboring town's track and it is s.w.e.e.t. It's nicer than most college tracks AND it appears to be kept cleared of snow. So, it looks like I have a new favorite place to run.

January 11th Run Report

2008-01-12T11:33:00.014-05:00

The initial plan was to run six in the afternoon and then six more at night. Work sorta got in the way of that plan so I had to do the whole thing on the treadmill last night. Nice easy miles. Nothing too interesting to report other than when I asked my wife if she could refill my water bottle around mile nine I ended up getting warm water. Blech. It's ok though, I don't think it was intentional....or was it?

A Blast From The Past - A Report From My First Marathon

2008-01-11T13:01:00.001-05:00

As some of you may already know, I'm a regular poster in the 30-somethings group on the Kickrunners website. One thing I've always liked about this group is that after each race we run, it's tradition to write a race report - sort of a summary of the race as it's happening from the runner's perspective. Anyway, I managed to locate my race report from my very first marathon (Wineglass Marathon '06) this afternoon, so here it is - unchanged from the original post:

Official Connecticut Wineglass Marathon Report

I’ll apologize for the length up front. You can skip down the bold “bottom line” paragraph to skip the boring stuff.

I’m not sure that I can add much more to what has already been said about the pre-race festivities. In fact, DrChris accurately captures the essence of upstate New York in his race report – if you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend that you do so now.

However, there are a few additional things that I thought I’d point out:

1. Maria’s room made me very jealous. Instead of a wall separating the bathroom and sleeping areas of her room, she had a ginormous hot tub. That’s right folks – if you were lying on bed you could simply look to your right and see your SO sitting on the can.

2. The good Doctor also sang a rousing rendition of “Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy” at the karaoke bar. I also know for a fact that there is photographic proof of this event.

3. Nobody has mentioned yet that we also went to see a band named the Upstate Funk Machine at the world-famous FatsCats night club in beautiful downtown Corning, New York. I don’t think there are any photos of the band, but if there was I’d say that they were much better than what you’d expect at first sight.

4. It was great see Maria and Chris again and to meet Norah, Myron and Michelle (CR name = TrailOBite) as well as Maria, Michelle and Norah’s SOs who were all great (and very lucky) guys.

OK, the race report:

This was my first marathon and I was happy that I ran it close to my childhood home for no reason other than this is the part of New York where I started running in junior high school (I grew up an hour northeast of Corning) – so it was a returning to your roots kind of thing for me.

I was quite nervous the night before the race, so I was surprised that I slept so well that night. I woke up around 6:30, drank a liter of water and checked the weather – 55 degrees and overcast. Perfect. After a quick shower, I put on my race gear and ventured over to the hotel’s continental breakfast in search of bagels and bananas. I had what I thought was a plain bagel with peanut butter – it turns out that it was actually an onion bagel – not the best flavor combination, but I was too tired to make another so I ate it anyway. After breakfast I met up with Maria and we walked over to the bus that took us to the starting line.

We met up with Chris at the bus stop and found Myron already on the bus. The trip to the starting line took us about 30 minutes. All I could think at this point was that I had to RUN the entire way back. This caused my most severe panic attack I’ve ever had re: running. Fortunately for me, Myron was waxing poetic about the state of the adult book/video store industry in the state of Pennsylvania and this managed to calm me down somewhat.
Once there, the three of us found Maria and Norah and, after a few pre-race pictures and several port-a-potty stops, we were off.

The first mile felt slow, but when I looked at my watch it was a 7:27. The next mile was roughly a 7:10. Then a 6:50? (Myron has the splits, I think) followed by an uphill 7:00. After that we slowed down to roughly 7:05-7:10 pace and maintained that for a while. At this point, I knew that there was going to be an extra hurting in store for me down the road, but it was a little too late to worry about that – I’d just revise my race strategy on the fly. Around mile 5 Myron and I are joined by a young local kid named Andy. He was a pretty decent miler in high school from what I understand and he tells us that this is also his first marathon. Andy, since he’s a local guy, has friends all over the course. I’m now thinking that Andy can hang with us for as long as he wants so that we can feed of all of his crowd support.

Around mile 6 the three of us pass a couple of Canadian 40-somethings. Myron hears them talking trash (“We’ll see you guys again at mile 22…”). We laugh. They pass us a mile or two later and ask us rather condescendingly what our goals are. I tell them that I’m just looking to finish. Myron tells them that we’re really hoping for a 3:15:59. Andy says something about how he has no idea what a BQ time is. They respond with something smug in Canadian and move on. I don’t like them very much.

At this point we’ve left the town of Bath behind and are now running through the countryside. There is little in the way of crowd support around here - unless you count roadkill. At mile nine we see Maria’s smiling face – we are still running well and are probably there a few minutes earlier than Maria was expecting. Andy has supporters everywhere here – “Great job Andy!” “You’re looking smooth Andy!”. I’m now pretending that my name is Andy.
The next few miles were rather unremarkable. I take my first GU at mile 10. At mile 12 I notice that Myron has dropped back. I leave Andy and drop back to see how he’s doing. He sticks with me for a while, but then begins to drop back again. I’m now confronted with a dilemma – Should I stick with Myron? Should I push on ahead? I think about this for a few minutes and I come to the conclusion that I should keep pushing as this is what I’d tell Myron to do if the situation was reversed.

Andy is now roughly a minute ahead of me. I continue on with the pace that I had been running. I’m now thinking that a BQ is a possibility – a thought that, just last night, seemed absurd. My new, on-the-fly race strategy is to hold my current pace through 20 miles. Then, I calculate that I’ll have enough of a cushion such that I could run approximately 9 minute miles over the last 10k and still BQ. I know, I know, but it seemed reasonable at the time. I hit the half at roughly 1:33 – give or take a few seconds either way (Myron?). I believe that Myron’s half split was a PR for him.

At mile 15 I pass one of the two Canadians I mentioned earlier. I tell him as I pass him that this isn’t quite mile 22, but that he won’t be seeing me again. I know that wasn’t very sporting of me but, then again, I’m not always a very sporting guy once someone makes me angry. At mile 16 I begin to feel some twinges in my calves – an ominous sign. I run mile 17-18 with a local kid (a 14 y.o I think) who was running the relay. He was quite friendly, but he kept talking to me which, at this point, was getting harder to do. I appreciated the pacing he was providing, so I humored him anyway. He kicks it in the last quarter-mile before the second relay exchange zone which was a little demoralizing. At the second relay exchange I see Norah and Jason (Maria’s BF). I assume that Andrew (Norah’s BF) is there, but I didn’t see him. Between mile 18 and 19 I pass Andy who is now hurting in a big way. Shortly thereafter I take my second GU. It is chocolate and is thicker than frosting. It just won’t go down. So, I’m stuck with it in my mouth for about a half of a mile. That was not fun.

Mile 19 was my last easy mile. My pace began to slip around mile 18, but I was running fast enough (somewhere in the mid-to-high sevens) to maintain my BQ pace, although I’m now eating into my reserve. Since this is already ridiculously long, I’ll just say that each mile was increasingly difficult through mile 23 (at which point I notice that I'm bleeding from a most unfortunate area). I was now running roughly 8 minutes per mile, but it seemed much slower. I was also stopping to drink at each water station. In addition, both of my calves as well as my left inner thigh felt like they were going to start seizing up at any time.

At mile 23 I hit the wall in a big way. I managed another 8 minute mile to get me through 24 miles in 2:59. This now means that I need to average roughly a 7:45-50 pace over the last 2.2 miles to BQ. Under normal circumstances, this would be a walk in the park for me. Unfortunately, the 24 mile mark of my first marathon does not qualify as a normal circumstance. I knew that I was done. My legs simply would not move. This point was probably the low point of the race for me. In any event, my next mile split – 10:00+ put to rest any thoughts of a BQ. My last 1.2 was equally as miserable. To add insult to injury (or injury to injury) both of my calves as well as that inner thigh muscle all went into full blown seizures during the last mile, so my finish was rather pathetic looking to say the least.

The bottom line?: a 3:22:42 chip time. 70th OA and 9th in my AG. I’m quite pleased with the overall result as I was thinking that a 3:45+ was a realistic time at the starting line. If I hadn’t been so aggressive during the first half of the race, I might have had a shot at a BQ. Oh well, it was a lesson learned for the next time. It think that with: (a) a more consistent running schedule, (b) the re-introduction of strength training, (c) actually following a diet plan and (d) the addition of some speedwork (OK, and maybe the use of a pacer – Chris?) that I can get that BQ next year.

All in all it was a memorable weekend with some good friends – one that I’ll remember for a long time.

I’m sorry for the book. I’ll catch up on all the other race reports in the morning, I promise. From everything I’ve heard, our weekend racers were quite impressive.

Good runs to all.

Trevor

Upgrade #1

2008-01-11T11:38:00.001-05:00

I've added a menu of blogs that I read over on the right-hand side of the page. Some are about running, some are not. A few things that they have in common are, first, they're all written by runners and, second, they're all better and more interesting than this one. Do yourself a favor and check them out.

January 10th Run Report

2008-01-10T22:59:00.004-05:00

I ran a double today. The first run was an easy four on the treadmill at 6:15am. I have to say that I HATE morning runs. My legs always feel heavy, I never feel like I can get a full breath for the first few miles, I'm always hungry and I'm just generally groggy for the first few miles. All in all an unpleasant experience. Anyway, they're in the book and that's all that counts.

Run number two was six miles at the gym around noon. I missed my usual running group (you'll probably hear more about them later). I did notice, however, that group of 50-something guys that I had seen around the gym every once in a while was also leaving for their run at the same time that I was walking out for my run, so I asked if I could tag along with them thinking that this would be a nice easy run for me. I was wrong. At first I thought that my legs were still fatigued from yesterday's mile repeats but then somebody told me at the four mile mark that we had covered the distance in 30:04. Yep, the old-timers were really moving. I usually run my easy runs at 8:00/mile give or take a few seconds either way, so this was definitely not the easy run I was hoping for. Overall, the new guys were great to run with - friendly and generally conversational - plus they ran a nice even pace (even if it was a little fast) so I'd definitely run with them again. Plus, I now feel the need to figure out what their PRs are....

Getting Started - Background

2008-01-10T21:20:00.003-05:00

Well, here I am - at that awkward point where I want to get my blog up and running but not quite sure how to get things rolling. I guess what I'm trying to do is bring my running into the 21st century and blogging seems to be the latest rage, so here I am and here it is.

I'm not entirely certain what form place this will ultimately take and thus the name - Junk Miles. You see, just as there is a healthy debate in the running community about whether junk miles add any value to a training program, I'm not entirely certain this blog is going to have any value to anyone - myself included. At worst, I'm hoping that it'll be a nice tool for me to collect my thoughts on running into one central place rather than having articles torn out of magazines, a stack of dog-eared books and other training notes scribbled on wrinkled pieces of paper haphazardly stacked and then left in the dark recesses of my bedroom closet.

A bit about me: My name is Trevor and I'm 37 years old. I've been married for almost a dozen years to my lovely wife and have two amazing daughters aged 6 and 5. I currently live in north-central Connecticut, so I get my share of hills during my daily training runs.

Running History - Part 1: I'm already on my second running life. First, however, a little about the prior one. I started running indoor track in the winter of 7th grade. I'm not entirely certain why. I had zero experience running prior to that time. Well, I shouldn't say zero experience - in both 5th and 6th grade I was subjected to a 600m time trial as a part of the Presidential Physical Fitness program. I wasn't particularly good at it either - always finishing squarely in the middle of the pack. Nevertheless, I showed up on the first day of track practice in my Pony high tops, cotton t-shirt and a hideous pair of purple shorts. I clearly remember my first workout, "Run around the track for 20 minutes." I was insulted at how easy the workout was going to be. Three minutes later I had a whole new respect for it. It was ugly.

Rather than bore you with all of the grisly details, let me summarize the rest of my high school running career. I eventually worked my way to varsity status and finished with 14 varsity letters - 4 in cross country, 6 in indoor track (yes, even as an ill-prepared 7th grader) and 4 more in outdoor track. I specialized in the quarter and half-mile distances with PRs of 53.7 seconds in the quarter-mile and 1:56.1 in the half. I occasionally ran the mile and had a rather unspectacular (relative to my half) PR of 4:42. My cross country races were all 5 kilometers in length and I managed a PR of 15:50 during my senior year - my only time under 16 minutes ever.

These times were solid, but not spectacular. Despite that, I did manage to interest several (pretty awful) D-I and D-II track programs in obtaining my running services. Interestingly enough, I turned all of the offers down and decided that I'd run for the University of Rochester. At that time U of R was the #1 D-III track program in the country, so I was was quite excited to be going there. Unfortunately, I never ran a step for Rochester. Let's just say I discovered early in my college career that fraternity life was much more appealing than waking up at 6am for a 10 mile run.

Running History - Part II: Fast forward seventeen years. I'm now 100 pounds heavier (ok, I only weighed 120 pounds in high school, but still) and I'm miserable when I think about how much I've let myself go physically. I had also recently been on the receiving end of a lecture from my doctor in which he told me, not so gently, that my current lifestyle was going to lead me to an early grave. That was my wake-up call. The next day (ironically, perhaps, it was April Fool's Day) I was at the gym for the first time in a long, long time. I decided that I would return to running since it was (a) something I could do on my own, (b) one of the more effective ways to get back into shape and (c) something that I used to be pretty good at. It was a struggle at first. Day one was one mile in ten minutes - a far cry from where I had been. Day two was even more humbling - half a mile (because I couldn't run a whole mile two days in a row) at the same pace. My stubbornness took over at that point and I set a goal for myself. I decided to run a half-marathon - certainly farther than I had ever raced before and a distance that I had only run once before - almost 20 years earlier. Eventually, over the course of six months, I worked my way up to 30 miles per week, lost 50 pounds and managed to finish that half-marathon (and learned a thing or two about pacing along the way) in just under 1:38.

At that point I was hooked and started searching for ways to make myself faster. In addition to running half-marathons I was also now becoming interested in the possibility of running a full marathon. This initially surprised me as I distinctly remember thinking that anyone that raced anything longer than a 10k had a screw loose. Not only was I now interested in running a marathon, however, but I started looking into whether I might be able to qualify for the grand-daddy of all marathons, the Boston Marathon. I decided that the best way to achieve my goal was higher mileage training and eventually turned to Jack Daniel's marathon training plans.

Ok, to make an increasingly long story short - I held a BQ pace for 24 miles in my first marathon and then proceeded to hit the wall hard, very hard. Six months and many miles later I managed to get that BQ on my second attempt. Now, I'm training for Boston and I'll be toeing the line on April 21st.

Well, I think that's it. Congratulations if you made it through all of that. I didn't mean to ramble on for so long. And ,while that's certainly not everything about my running background, you certainly got the most of the highlights. Plus, I have plenty of time to fill you in on the rest. Hopefully my future posts won't be quite as long-winded.

On a side note, I'll apologize now for the pretty boring layout. I'm still learning how all this blog stuff works and I'll start adding new, cool features once I figure it all out.

Good runs to all.

Trevor