I'm feeling fat and sassy

Ran 2 miles on the treadmill to get a workout in.  Monday I'm signing up for the National Half-Marathon in DC on March 26th.  Goal time is 1:30 (6:52 pace).  Training starts Monday, using Competitive Runner's Handbook Novice Half Plan.   Ready to rock out the new year

Rode the trainer for an hour last night before bed.  

Rode the bike trainer for a quick 30 minutes.

Started my half-training for the National Marathon (goal 1:30, 6:52 miles).  Ran 2 miles on the treadmill (8:05 miles).  Was gonna run outside but it snowed about 5 inches today and I figured it'd be a sloppy mess.  My training plan is below, any comments appreciated.  Paces are as follow:  base pace is 8:05, easy 8:40, brisk 7:30 and tempo is like 7ish.  A 5k pace for intervals is 6:20 and 6:40 for 10k pace. 

Had my tempo run today and I didn't want to do it on the treamill or outside so I went to the University to run it on their inside track.  It's 6 laps to a mile and has nice carpet.

Cross Training day!  Went snowboarding for 4 hours.  I haven't been in a year or so and had a bunch of fun.  Nice pack powder conditions as well!

Did my long run today, 8 miles total (7:54 pace).  Ran 2 miles and then picked up Ralphie and ran the last 6 with him.  Felt good but I wish horrible things on people who don't shovel their sidewalk.  Paces are below.  You can tell when I was running on poorly shoveled sidewalks vs. the road based on the pace. 

Ran 3 miles on the treadmill after a long day of work in 7:45 miles.  Iced my shin afterward becasue of some soreness and bruising that developed from snowboarding on Friday.  

Two miles on the treadmill before bed (7:45 pace)

I had a speed workout scheduled but I'm tired to I moved it to Thursday and did my easy to miles today (8:30 pace)  

Did a "speed workout"  at the indoor track at the school.  It was a kind a lame tempo run.

1 mile warm-up (8:11 pace)

1 mile tempo (7:10 pace)

0.5 mile break (9:39 pace)

1 mile tempo (7:05 pace)

0.5 mile cooldown (9:00 pace)

Road my rollers for 30 minutes for cross training. Did some hands free riding which is pretty fun, first time I pulled it off

Treadmill bf bed. 2 miles (7:55 pace)

Long run on treadmill, longest run on the treadmill and it was horrible and boring.  The Hangover made it a little better.  Total time 63::30 (pace 7:55).  Hopefully the roads will be  a little cleaner for next weeks long run

 So, I've had a change of plans and I'm not going to be able to do the National Half-Marathon at the end of March for previously unrecognized reasons.  Mostly due to the travel involved.  I'm pretty sure I'm switching to Around the Bay 30k in Hamilton the same weekend with a super goal of 2:15.  Chances are pretty good I'll actually register and run it.  We'll see.   

Ran 2 really sloppy miles outside.  Pace was (8:10) but effort was a lot more.  

Did not get a chance to run at school so I did my Tempo run on the treadmill.  My tempo runs are getting easier and I'm pretty confident about my 5k in a week.  Aiming for sub 7 min miles as a good goal and sub 21 as an ultimate goal.  Iced my shin afterward, the shin splint is holding steady

1 mile warm up (8:15)
2 mile tempo (7:00)
1 mile cool down (8:00)

2 miles easy (8:05) on the treadmill before bed.  Iced shin, I think it's getting better

2 miles on the treadmill (8:00 pace)  it's cold and snowing, couldn't run outside

Did 10 miles on the treadmill last night. It was horrible and I can't wait for clean sidewalks/roads.  Paced about 7:54 miles and felt pretty good for about 90% of the run.  Iced when I was done and off to bed.  I've got a 5k next weekend, I'm really interested to see how it goes. 

Did 2 miles on the treadmill @ easy pace (8:30) shins are feeling better

Ran outside before dinner, super sloppy.  I really wish people would shovel their sidewalks.  Average pace 8:14

Ugh, long run on the tread mill, I was suppose to do 12 but couldn't force the last mile.  Total time 93:20 with average pace of 8:29. SO boring, watched the majority of The Life Aquatic, It is my favorite movie of all time.  It's pretty awesome and one of Wes Anderson's better movie.  Shins are almost back to perfect shape, glad they are doing good

Easy 3 mile run to shake out from the long run and to get ready for my 5k tomorrow.  Legs were pretty tired from last night.  Average pace was 7:58.  

 On a great note, my weight loss was pretty flat or so for the last 6 weeks holding steady at  about 186, but in the last 2 weeks I've dropped 5ish pounds!  Gotta keep up with it and I'll be at my goal (160) in no time.

I think I remember how to run.  This is the first real fitness test I've had since I "seriously" started training after my mediocre performance at the Turkey Trot.  I've been following a real training plan and have been continuing to lose weight so I was excited.  This is the fastest and biggest winter 5k in the area, and probably the biggest race between the Turkey Trot and the St. Patrick's Day run.  It gets about 600 runners and the winning time is usually sub 16.  I know the course since it's near the University and on roads I frequently run on.  The weather was nice, about 25 and sunny.  

Overall 30^th and 3^rd in my age group!

Once we got settled after the first ¾ of a mile I held my position and picked off people up until the last ½ mile when 2 people I was running with got away from me.  The last ½ mile was a struggle and I really had to push.  Surprisingly, my age group was soft this year and I ended up with 3^rd.  Other years you’d need to run sub 19 to get it. I was happy with how I ran and made big improvement in just 2 months (an equivalent 5k to my turkey trot run would have been 22:05).  I should probably do some longer speed work so I don’t continue to explode in the last 3^rd of my race, but I’m not going to push it too hard too early.   

If I can keep this up, I should be running sup 18 again in no time, especially once I get to my goal weight of 160 (I’m 180 right now).  

Ran 4 miles on the indoor track at the gym with about a 7:20 pace.  Felt good.  

3 miles on the treadmill after dinner.  8 minute pace.  lower legs a little sore from the race on sunday but getting better

So, I'm stupid and missed the registration for Around the Bay 30k. Who would have thought it would fill up 2 months early.  I guess I'll cry softly to myself and eat some ice cream.  In light of that, I was thinking that maybe I'll spend the summer running 5ks and maybe a 15k.  Short stuff.  So, to replace ATB, I signed up for another 5k mid-April.  Goal times:  Sub 20 for sure, sub 19 is what I'm aiming for and sub 6min/miles is my super goal.  Got 12 weeks to train! 

3 treadmill miles (8:30s)

Long treadmill run (8:20s).  Shins a little sore after, did some icing

3 treadmill miles to end the week (8:15 miles)

My shin has been bothering me and it was a little worse after the race so I took the last 4 days off as a nice beak.  I figured it was deserved after a good build up to 20+mile weeks.  So what better to celebrate shin pain and a 4 day rest than with marathon training!!!.

Because I'm super flighty and fickle I have once again made a 180 in my training and gonna train for a trail marathon on Memorial Day weekend!  I've gone from Half-marathon to 30K to 5K and now back to marathon in about a month.  So, the race is the sehgahunda trail marathon in Letchworth Park outside of Rochester.  I figure it's an easily attainable goal especially since there is little expectation to run fast.  The winner last year is a 2:40 marathoner and ran 4 hours so I figure sub 6 would be good for me.  Never done a trail race but I have hiked a lot, I better get use to running with a race belt.  We'll see how training goes and make sure my shins do ok.  I figure it's a good goal that will force me to train, unlike 5k or half-marathon training.  Plus I'm really just doing it for the hoodie you get when you finish. 

3 treadmill at 8:20 miles.  No shin pain after my break

3 on treadmill at 8:20, no pain!

5 miles on mill in 7:35 miles (still no shin pain!)

3 treadmill miles @ 7:45, it was boring, watched arrested development

4 on the treadmill.  

3 on treadmill bf before at 8:30's

Treadmill before work.  Was suppose to get in 8 but ran out of time.  Did the majority at 8:26 with a couple 7:36 miles in the middle.  Total time (61:35)

treadmill before work, 2 miles at 7:36 and 2.5 at 8:26

Rode the rollers for 30 minutes last night for x-training

Ran 5 miles outside before work today with Ralphie.  Ran a steady 7:38 pace over the distance with the last 3/4 mile progressively faster. It was nice to run outside on clear roads/sidewalks but it's suppose to snow upwards of 10 inches tonight so blech

 I've been super lazy this week and slacked off Tuesday and Wednesday.   I gotta run another 3-4 easy tonight to get back on track.

In the evening ran easy 3 miles to get back on track @ 8:26 pace. 

It was snowing but warm so I ran outside before work.  Did 4 miles @ 8:02 average.  It was kinda sloppy and slick but Ralphie was loving the snow.  

The inside of my right ankle is sore and there is a knot in the muscle about 1/2 up my shin.  Not sure, maybe I pulled it or something.  Oh well

Completely committed to the trail race and bought a pair of trail runners and a waist hydration pack.  EMS was running a clearance on shoes and got a pair of Brooks Cascadia 5.  They felt nice and are on the border of stability/neutral compared to a more stability 2010s I usually run in.  Also picked up the GoLite Hydrosprint pack.  Feels good!

Ran 3 easy miles on the treadmill to check them out.  Felt good and comfy but I could feel the lessened stability in my ankles and calves.

Did my long run after work with Ralphie.  We got about 10 inches of snow so I decided to check out my new trail runners in the sloppy conditions.  Felt good overall but they do lack a little cushioning and my feet are a little sore and my ankles too.  Gotta adjust to them.  It was Ralphie's longest run and he was pretty tired after about 8.5.  Average pace was about 8:14

3 miles @ 7:26

Speed workout.  Did it on the treadmill before work becasue it was chilly and didn't want to run outside.

1/2 mile warm up then 3 x 1600m @6:20 with 1/2 mile job between.  Rocked it out

easy 3 @8:30 with Ralphie AND Sadie.  Had my hands full

Raining and gross out, ran 3 miles on the treadmill 

Snowed 6 inches and it was cold out, didn't want to try to run 14 in the slop so I reverted to the treadmill for my long run. Did 14 @ average pace of 8:13. Finished season 1 of Arrested Development

6 miles with Ralphie before dinner. 7:40 pace

2.5 easy on treadmill, was suppose to be 3 but too tired to carry on

4 at 8:30 on the treadmill.  I've felt completely dead the last 4 days with no energy or motivation to do anything let a long run. 

Plus the inside of my right leg is sore from the medial malleolus to about mid calf.  It's like tendonitis or a strain or something.  Hurts for about 30 seconds when I start running and when going up and down stairs.  Been icing to hopefully keep it in check

4 miles at night on the treadmill at 8:26 pace.  I've been sticking to the treadmill to keep the stress off my shin.  Combined with the icing and rolling it seems to be working

Long run relatively pain free.  Did it on the treadmill @ 8:26 pace.  These runs are getting easy again, it's nice knowing I'm good for 10 miles in under 85min.  

Ran from home to campus with Ralphie in the drizzle.  Average pace was 7:22.  Leg felt pretty good.  

The spring always reminds how the typical American is a giant slob.  The melting snow exposes all the littering that has accumulated.

Felt crappy so I took a half day at work and got my bike ready for the season (new cables and a complete break-down and clean).  Felt a little better in the evening and ran 4 miles @ 7:42 pace.  Shin a little sore so I iced

Easy 4 mile run in the morning before work @ 8:05 pace.  Ran on some railroad grade which was a nice break from the roads.  Shin still sore, iced

Long run on the old railroad grade by my house.  Tried our my new Go Lite pack and some Clif Shot blocks since I gotta get used to running with them.  Started out too fast and paid the price later (average pace was 7:55).  Felt pretty good overall but ended up with some nasty blisters from my still newish trail shoes.  If I can rock a sub 8:00 pace for 15, I think I got a sub 9 trail marathon in the bag

Easy 3.5 on the treadmill (8:25 pace)

Treadmill speed workout.

3 easy on treadmill @ 8:20

5 mile run @ 7:55/pace

Had an 18mile long run scheduled for today.  Just too tired after work to do it.  Feel pretty bad about missing it.  I'm such a lazy slacker

6 mile run with ralphie around the house.  Average pace was 7:46.  Feeling pretty speeding (at least relatively), I want to do a 5k soon to check out how the training has progressed

Ran home after my late class.  5.5 miles @ 7:27, felt a little tired and my left achilles is acting up.  Iced and luckily Thursday is my off day.

Easy run (8:20 miles) with ralphie before work.  Ankle is feeling better.

Run with Ralphie in the evening.  10k @ 7:40 pace.  Really need a 5k to check my fitness

Long run, I ended up running all over the place to make up the miles.  One of the nicest thing about my Garmin 405 is that I don't need to ever plan distances for my runs.  I have rough ideas of my various loops and the watch lets me adjust to get the distance.  I love it!!.  Managed to average a pace 7:55. 

 Ate a butt load of ice cream after and none of my pants fit anymore.  I love it!, lost 35# since memorial day last year and have another 16 to go to get my goal of 158!.  super pumped

4.5 miles on the treadmill before bed @7:36 pace.  Running the on the treadmill makes me shin hurt, it must be a gait thing.  ick

Ran 6 miles with Ralphie outside @ 7:50 pace.  I think Spring is finally here for good in Western NY!  Shin is still a little sore and I iced it as a preventative measure.  Sometimes, especially when tired, I really let the pace drag. I should be running about 20 sec/mile faster, I gotta keep up on that.  

It's about time that I get new shoes.  I usually change at about 300 miles.  I know it's probably overzealous but I like to change early, especially since I'm fatter right now, to avoid potentially injury.  I've ran in the 20xx series for about the last 8 years. I have not really tried any other brands so I was thinking about branching out, but not sure what to try.  I run 30-60miles a week and I'm 5-7 and about 175 pounds (hope to get down to 160).  I have pretty normal arches but do overpronate quite a bit.  Any suggestions would be hot! 

Short Tempo-ish run with Ralphie.

Easy 6 miles (7:57 ave).  Knee felt a little sore kinda like runner's knee onset.  Gotta watch it.

Also, my legs felt pretty dead overall

20 mile trail run in prep for my marathon.  It was pretty rough and I was disappointed with my pace. 

The trails were a total  sloppy brutal mudhole for about 50% of it.  I was muddy from my knees down, had water in my shoes and got a shoe sucked off at one point.  I ran 19.6 miles with 1900 feet elevation change.  It was about 3:45 total time.  My pace was 11:45 with everything and 10:45 if I remove the stopped time I spent staring at mudholes and looking for trails markers.  I'm glad it had some good elevation changes, it's what my daily runs are lacking the most

The last 4 miles sucked a bunch with blisters and bonkage.  I eat 100cals of energy blocks every 5 miles but I should probably up that.  Running on the trails were nice and soft for my legs but me knee is still kinda sore.  I gotta stretch out my hamstrings (when they get tight it bothers my knees).

First bike commute of the season.  It's about 60 out and sustained 30mph winds.  Fun stuff.  

After taking a long hiatus (due to a major bathroom remodel) I did my first run in a week last night.  Did 5 miles on the treadmill @ 8:30 pace.  Felt fine but my knee is sore, I NEED to get new shoes tonight

NEW SHOES!  I went and checked out some new running shoes and decided to go with the Brooks Adrenaline.  They feel pretty comfy and supportive.  Did 6 miles to check them out (7:24 pace).  Felt nice

6 mile easyish run @ 7:45.  Stopped at the local track and ran a lap for giggles.  

Long run in the rain.  Drove to a local park to get some running done on the hill.  Since it rained all week I wasn't about to try a trail run giving the condition I knew they would be in.  Sadly, it rained on my most of my run but it was warm so I managed not to get too cold.  Did 20 miles @ 8:22pace with 1400feet elevation gain.  The first 17 mile were very good but the last 3 were a lil-rough.  You can see it in my pace, it starts to go all over the place instead of real steady like earlier in the run, but overall it was good.  

These 20 milers are real confidence boosters.  If I can suffer through 20 miles in the middle of my training, adding 6 more after a taper should be super doable!

It's like 70 out (too hot too early) and sunny.  Ran 5 easy miles with ralphie @ 8:20.  It was way too hot for him and we had to cut it short so he wouldn't overheat.  My legs felt like lead and I need a vacation.  

30 days until the Sehgahunda trail marathon.  I have 2-3 big weeks left before my taper.  I hope I survive the race, we'll see if the training was enough.

Ran 6 before bed with Ralphie.  It was super windy all day with 30mph sustained winds and 60+ gusts so I needed to wait till it calmed down at like 10 run .  Pace was 7:34

Ran before work because I need to work till midnight tonight.  Average pace was 7:46.  Legs felt a little dead

6 miles on the treadmill before bed @ 8:30.  I have no idea why but the treadmill totally makes my shins hurt.  Legs felt ok

Long run in the hills south of Buffalo.  15 miles with an average pace of 8:05 and 1100 feet elevation gain.  Felt strong and the run was easy.  Weather was a little warm and I was super thirsty and drank 2 bottles full.  My right knee is a lil sore.  Luckily Monday is a rest day.  I have 1 more 40mile week left before I start me taper to the race!

Easy 4.5 on the treadmill (8:37).  Knee still a lil sore

This week was a longer tempo interval workout, 2 x 2miles. Did it on an old railroad grade by my house which is a mix of gravel and packed dirt

1 mile warm-up @ 7:56 pace (ave HR: 151)
Repeat 1, 13:01 (1st mile 6:28, HR 170, 2nd mile 6:33, HR 177)
2:30 rest
Repeat 2, 13:27 (1st mile 6:41, HR 169, 2nd mile 6:46, HR 177)
1 mile cool-down @ 8:10 (HR:155)

Bike commute as an x-training day

6 miles after work on the railroad tracks (average pave was 7:30)

Did 6 miles, did the first 4 a lil harder (<7:30) and easy the last 2

Did my last long run before my taper in the evening.  19.6 miles @ 8:24 with 1400 feet gain.  It was a horrible run.  I've been battling a cold and felt like junk, had no energy, and wanted to stop every 15 minutes (I compromised with a couple 5 min breaks sitting in teh grass picking wild flowers).  Plus it's was unseasonably hot and despite drinking 3 water bottles I was not drinking enough.  My legs hurt and felt dead.  BLECH!.  The only good think is that I feel good about slugging out the run and pushing through despite how it felt.  

Did a real easy 5.5 with Sadie (9:05 miles) adn felt pretty good.

 Also did the bike commute thing

Bike Commute

Ran 6 miles after work.  I initially started with Ralphie but it was too hot/humid so I dropped him off after the first 3 miles (ran at 7:48) and ran the last 3 by myself a little faster ( 7:14).  Felt pretty good but my shin and left butt were a little tight

Super Speed Workout!

Goal was to do 4x800m at about 15sec faster than my guestimated 5k pace, so I was shooting to do between 2:55-3:05 reps.

Did 1.7 mile warm up jog to the track then 4x800m with 400m jog recovery and a 1.7 mile cool down jog home.

 Repeats were 2:57, 3:01, 3:03, and 3:05

I was tired after working all weekend and it was pouring outside so I relegated myself to a treadmill run.  Rented "The American" on my way home and popped it in.  Pretty good movie, but I need to finish it.  Ran it @ 8:27 pace with a short break 1/2 way through.  Iced my shin after to keep it from getting worse.  

I have 2 weeks to my trail marathon and I'm pretty excited.  I'm not expecting much in way of my performance but I'm glad I've built myself back up to a place were the distance is easily.  We'll see how it goes

5 miles on the treadmill.  Average pace was 8:10.  Started at 8:27 and picked it up and ended at 6:30

5 miles at regular pace (7:36)  My marathon taper makes my legs feel AMAZING.  So much energy and speed saved up in them! 

Speed Work out on the old railroad grade

1 mile warm up (8:32)

3 x 1600 (6:06, 6:16, 6:22)  Felt full of spunk on first one which made the other 2 suck

1 mile cool down (8:56)

Sehgahunda Trail Marathon or There’s Mud in the Streets, It’s Up to My Ankles

Summary:  Finish time 5:11:30 (pace 11:51)

                      Place: 17 out of 114 (13^th male out of 85)

                      Elevation gain: 2400 feet

I survived but good god it was brutal.  The course is a point to point along a technical hiking trail that runs at the bottom of a gorge but there are 8 checkpoints situation on the road that runs the top of the gorge.  To get to these checkpoints you need to run up a gas pipeline access road that is waist high grass.  This is all good when it’s dry but this May we’ve had 2x the normal rain.  This meant that the trail itself was at least ankle deep mud about 50% of the time and the access roads were shin deep standing water/mud along with the grass.  Combine this with 2400feet gain and 112 stream crossings and brutal is an understatement.  So brutal that they relaxed the 8 hour cut-off time (assessed at each checkpoint) to allow more people to continue.  Not me but shows the mud! (pictures courtesy of Tom Taylor Jr and more can be seen at facebook.)

I get to the finish and get my packet and drive off to the start to get ready and we are off a little after 8.   The send off the women 15 minutes before the men and the relay 15 minutes after.   We are moving along nice and start to catch a few of the women.  I figure I’m in about 7^th place which is super amazing and I set up behind a guy and stay with him.  I was covered in mud about 2 miles in, there was no avoiding it.  The first checkpoint was hell and impossible to run it.  Soul sucking was a good description.   Ate some watermelon and continued on.  Same process with the route to aid station 2 and 3.  Aid station 3 was at about mile 15.5 and it was then I started to blow-up.  After that point it was pretty much just get through it.  It takes a little while but some of the men start to catch me and I try to stay with them.  Miles 16-22 involved lots of cursing and walking and frustration.  Finally after about mile 22 I start to feel a little better and run more and finally the trail picks up an old carriage road and follows this to the finish, NO more mud and I can pick up the pace to the finish.   I see the finish, power up the little hill and run it in (the song playing was Boomtowns Rats’ “I don’t like Mondays”, a song about a school shooting!)  I stumble around and walk it out.  Celebrated with a  delicious beer, ate some lunch and packed it home.

The ok: I wanted sub 5 but given the conditions I’ll accept my time. The average finish time was 25 min slower this year and last year was their inaugural race with a much weaker field that was ½ the size. 

The Good:  The experience was great, it was a totally crazy this to do.  The aid station volunteers were super sweet and cheered like crazy when they saw one of us coming.  Plus they kept me full of flat pepsi and red bull which was probably the only thing that kept me going.  My training prepared me the best it could have.  The elevation/hill were hard but nothing I was not prepared for.  The guy that beat me by 30seconds ran a 1:32:xx  ½ marathon last month and I figure that I’m in that type of shape right now so I guess I finished where I was supposed to. 

The Bad:  The mud was absolutely soul sucking.  If it was dry, it would be a completely different race and much more enjoyable.  I would NOT to do it again if conditions were like they were last weekend.  I also rolled my ankle towards the end of the race and pulled something in my foot.  I didn’t realize it until after the race when my realized I was gimping around.  I spent Sunday and Monday limping but it’s on the upswing now and should be better soon.

Bike commute in the 80+ heat.  My legs feel fine from the race but my foot is jacked up.  It's slowly getting better and I don't limp anymore.  Riding the bike is good cross training and helps shake my legs out

foot still hurts, bike commute

foot hurts, bike commute

Foot hurts, bike commute

bike commute to work.  Maybe my ankle will be better some day

commute

1/2  a commute

first run back since my race and my foot is feeling "almost" back to normal.  Did 4 miles at 7:30 with a couple pick-ups.  It was super hot and humid with an ozone warning and i felt a little lightheaded a couple times.  I miss the fall.  

Race Report: Buffalo Corporate Challenge or Always bet on the darkhorse:

So Chase finds a little sliver in their dark evil hearts to support a race series in the Northeast and Internationally in which the proceeds go to local non-profits.  Local companies rent a tent, get food/beer, participate and generally have a good time.  Some of the teams are hyper-competitive and some just drink a lot and stumble the course.  This year 11,000 participates from 400 companies showed up. 

I ran with my wife’s company along with about 40 others.  My goals for the 3.5 mile out and back course were 22 flat (super special goal), 23:00 (reasonable goal), and sub 25:00 (sad goal).  While I wanted to run a good time, my secret mission was to win the fastest guy on the team to claim a 50$ gift cert to the LRS.  My wife said that they had one fast person in the office doing it and he was talking a lot of smack.  There was also an another unknown running, running as a guest of the team. 

I line up, see my competition a couple rows in front of me and we are off.  I try to line myself up at the correct pace but it’s pointless because no one else does and for the 1^st couple hundred yards I was dodging people to get clear.   In the dodging I lose my target.  I go through the first mile at 6:01 and felt great.  I was worried the humidity would be bothering me but so far so good.  The second mile was a long slow uphill (total gain 80ish feet) and my pace dropped to 6:30.   I wasn’t sure were the others on her team were but I felt good and for every person that passed me I passed someone else.    Picked it up the third mile (6:17) and held it for the last 0.5 running it @ 6:18min/mile.  I come across the line at 22:04, seconds shy of my super special goal and beat our teams second place by about 50 seconds and third place runner by about 2 minutes.  The overall male winner of the race ran it in 17:30, crazy fast.  The guy talking smack before said he’s never goning to hear the end of it in the office and started making plans for next year for us to make a serious run for the top team in the race (we’d need 5 runners at sub 23 to have a chance). 

Overall I was super happy with my run.  I only ran once since my marathon and wasn’t sure how recovered I was.  Plus most of my speed work has been focused towards longer distance stuff so I was worried the fast speed wouldn’t be there.  Now I gotta go through and adjust my training goals and paces.  Next challenge, get my 5k back down to 6:00 min/miles (18:36).   Aiming to do it by the fall!

In NYC for the week.  Got in late and ran 3.5 m on the treadmill at the hotel (8:00 pace).  It was a woodway, very nice to run on.  Some soreness across the top of my foot, not sure what it was

Ran about 5.5 miles down the west side highway.  Not totally sure on teh distance.  The GPS was being a little weird.  Said my pace was about 6:30, way too fast.

Ran on the West Side Highway again.  Pace overall was 7:05.  very hot and humid outside.  blech.  But legs felt good

Long run.  Started in times square, ran a loop at central park and ran the west side highway home.  Felt good on the hills in the park despite the heat/humidity.  Foot is still a little sore across the top.  Hope it's just soft tissue pull.  Average pace was 7:59

ran and it was nasty out. I waited until 10 to let the heat drop. When I finished the run it was 75 out with 85% humidity (right at my 160 cut off) and I could feel it. It wasn't hot standing there but once you started moving, it was intense. Did 4.5 miles @ 7:45

So, Because I'm impulsive and easily influences I registered for the Wineglass marathon in Corning, NY on Oct 2.  My sister is running the 1/2 as part of her NYCM training so I'd figure I'd tag along.  Should be an interesting time.  My third marathon and second road marathon.  No idea what I'll run.  I'm gonna set a tentative goals of 3:05 becasue BQs are so hot right now (so says Mugatu) and I figure I could hit it without killing myself (famous last words). 

14 weeks to go, we'll see what happens!  What ever goes down will be spectacular in some form

Gave blood this morning and ran an easy 3 miles this evening at 8:05.  First day of my 14 week plan for the Wineglass marathon on Oct 2nd.  Here we go

Ran with Sadie last night, 4.5 @ 7:40 miles. 

3 easy miles w/o a watch.  Shins a lil' sore.

long run with my sister at home in Galway.  Very hilly (850 foot gain), averaged about  8:08 pace

moderate 6 miles in the hot sun on the old railroad grade (7:25 average)

easy run around the development at Ashley's (8:11 ave pace)

Had my firecracker 4 miles race in Saratoga this morning. Over the weekend I ran 6 miles on Friday, a very hilly 14m on Saturday and 3 easy on Sunday. My quads were a little sore and my stomach is very sour from all the different foods this weekend. My sister is running the race with me. We get there and get our numbers and it's about 80-85 degree with full sun. Not my ideal weather by a long shot. We do a 2 mile warm up and get to the start. Based on my recent races I felt that 25 was doable goal (ran a 22min 3.5m race on the 9th of June).

We take off and I just about trip over people lined up at the start in front of me and way out of place. My first mile felt a little labored but not bad and the second I was hurting. I blow up at about 2.5, my sister paces me and the last 1.5 were brutally painful becasue there are a couple steep hills. I come in at 26:40 (pace 6:40min/miles), way off my time adn ready to puke. I was 141 overall and 17/92 in my age group.

Mile splits were 6:11, 6:29, 6:57, 7:02. Blech. Very disappointing, I think it was a combination of the long run on Saturday, the giving blood a week ago, very hot weather, and the steep hills were just too much. My sister beat me by 35sec and got 3rd in her age. I haven't had a bad race in a while, makes me grumpy

3 easy miles with no watch,  legs nice and pain free

Ran home from work today and added a lil extra to make it 7 miles.  Average pace was 7:27. Felt like I was working it pretty hard

ran 4 really easy miles with ralphie before work (8:51 pace).  Shins were hurting pretty bad when I got done.  Iced them and they feel better now.  Maybe I need new shoes.  Kinda lame though, I only have about 225 miles on them

6 average paced miles to the park, around and back.  Pace was 7:30, shins feeling a lot better.  I think the ice and the cider track at the pack helps

10 mile long run at an easy pace (8:15).  Ran to the park and did some loops.  Very hot and humid so it kept me at a slow pace.  My garmin died about 3/4 of the way though so I had to do some math to figure out my route home.  Worked out pretty good.  Iced when I got home, legs feeling good. I'm not concerned about them like I was the middle of the week

easy 3 on the treadmill

Ugh, I've has some form of the flu since Tuesday.  Fever, aches, senstive skin, the works.  Explains my complete lack of running.  Get home from work (too busy to take off) and sleep on teh couch till bedtime.  Had an 8k scheduled this weekend, right now there is a 10% chance I'm gonna make it.  I'll need to wake up tomorrow and feel like a champ.  Outlook, not so good! :(

3 easy miles on the treadmill in the basement (8:30).  Sweated like a pig. It's way too hot and humid in the northeast

Waited until 10pm tonight to run.  Ran 6.5 miles @ 7:40 and it was still way hot.  Felt pretty ok overall

4 easy miles before bed..  Average pace was 8:05

Skipped my run on Friday so I had to double up today.  Ran 4 miles @ 7:45 before work in the morning and did another 5.8 @ 8:05 when I got home.  I'm really ready for the heat to be over with.  It's makes me run slow and it sucks

14m long run.  Felt pretty good for the distance expect for the last 2 miles (they were a little rough).  Average pace was a nice 8:15.  Luckily it was a lot less humid so I wasn't so hot and I waited till 6 to run so the sun went down and it coolled off a little more.  Right shin meat is a little sore so I iced when I got home.  

Ran home 7 miles from work. average pace was 7:20.  Felt good, still a little hot out but the humidity is a lot less so it was more enjoyable. Shins felt great

Real easy 3 miles (8:40).  Legs a lil sore, iced when done

Rode bike to track (1.6 miles)
1200 warm up
7 x800 with 400 recovery
1200 cool down
road home

Splits 2:56, 2:57, 3:04, 3:06, 3:08, 3:06, and 2:59.

Very east 4 mile run @8:31

Moderately paced run.  Started a little slower and finished at about 7:10.  Got new shoes and iced.  Shins a little sore but should fix themselves

Long run.  Felt good but I sweated a TON.  Started at about 8:10miles and let myself speed up on the last 4 which ended up being under 8.  Legs felt good

3.5 m easy run at the park with sadie, average pace was 8:55.  Shins pretty sore

9 mile run around the house in the evening.  pace 7:41

In ocean city for vacation.  Did 6 miles on the island after we arrived.  Hot and humid!  Average pace 7:49

4 mile easy run in the morning on OC.  Average pace was 8:43

Ventured off the island into the farmlands in OC for 8 miles.  Started slow but did a progression to a little faster at the end.  Ave 7:41.  Miles were

Time    Distance    Split pace
0:08:31    1.00    8:31     
0:16:31    2.00    7:59       
0:24:30    3.00    7:59       
0:32:21    4.00    7:51       
0:40:08    5.00    7:46    
0:47:48    6.00    7:39     
0:55:18    7.00    7:29     
1:02:27    7.96    7:28    
 

Ran from OC to Berlin and back for long run.  18 miles at 8:22 ave.  Started at 7:00am and it was 95% humidity and 80 degrees.  Absolutelty craptastic.  Stopped at gas stations and bought tons of gatoraid.  When I got done it looked like I went swimming with my cloths 

Finially stopped being lazy and went out for an 8 mile run before bed.  Average pace was 7:40.  Felt ok overal but not great

Did real easy 7 miles (8:45 pace) with the dogs.  Legs felt ok

Did 10 miles with the middle 7.2 at marathon pace (6:55).  Felt good overall, working it but not killing myself.  Right shin was pretty sore so I iced when I got home.  I bet it's just some muscle soreness, gotta do some toe lifts to strengthen is

Long run on tired legs.  Did laps of the park so I could run the majority of it on cinders.  Overall pace was 8:03.  Felt good but both legs were sore, iced.  Glad tomorrow is a easy 4 mile day

Easy four miles (8:30 pace)

Ran home after work 7 miles.  Average pace was 7:19 which felt pretty easy overall, I think this training is paying off!

Ran to the high school track to do 7x800 intervals with 400 recovery.  Goal was to run around 3 for each rep or a little faster.  Felt strong and each rep came and went without too much pain

Real easy 4 miles with ashley riding her bike next to me.  No watch. 

Shins were again so I iced when I got home.  They seem to get sore after

a hard speed workout, gotta keep my eye on them

10 miles with the middle 9 at marathon pace.  I also wore my foot pod for fun to see what my cadence was.  The first/last 0.5 were slow (~8:30) and the middle 9 were 6:56 average with an average cadence of 89spm and a average HR of 169 (87% max).   It was a tough workout but about 3/4 of the way through I started to feel real loose and like I could easly go for another 3-4 miles w/o too much trouble. 

Shins were sore again so I iced.  The pain is very responsive to ice which is reassuring
 

had 20 miles scheduled but it was raining and pouring and lightening all

day so I went to see the last Harry Potter instead.  I'll so it Monday

before work.  I was kinda happy I got a nice unscheduled rest day

Long run! Had to get up at 5:30 so I could get running by 6am. Felt pretty suggish for the start with the first 5 miles rather slow (~8:30) but once I got moving it I loosened up and picked it up slightly for each next mile finishing with the last 4 miles under 7:30. Glad the first 20m run of my cycle is done

Ran 4 easy treadmill miles (8:30s)

Ran home from school.  Was suppose to do 10 but I was feeling beat.  My back was sore and I just felt dead.  Cut it a little short and screwed around to get close to 10.  Average pace was 7:37

Ran twice on the treadmill  Did 3 real easy before work (8:35) to make up for a skipped run yesterday and did 5.5 in the evening (7:45s) as my regular run.  Didn't feel like running outside so I did it for a change of pace adn watched some TV (Raising Hope) while logging miles.

10 total with 9 at my marathon pace.  Averaged out to 6:51s and I felt stronger than I did last week after doing it.

Second 20 mile long run! I had to work today so I ended up getting up real early so I could be out the door by five. The novelty of running so early got old real quick but it was kinda nice to have 20 in the bag by 8am. It was ok but I was pretty tired as expected. Ended up averaging about 8:11 and I'm pretty sure I hit the wall at mile 18. Luckily I have a recovery week so I can rest up a little bit, I'm ready for it

Ran home from work for 6 miles.  Average pace 7:35.  Nothing special or notable besides my lower legs being a little tired and sore

I had my last big track workout before my marathon (only have a couple tempo runs left).  I did Yasso 800s (10x800 with 400 recovery) plus a mile warm up and 3/4mile cool down.  I was feeling a little sluggish and tired but I managed to pretty much hit my 3:00 goal.  Intervals were 3:03, 2:59, 3:00, 2:59, 3:00. 3:02, 3:01, 3:00, 3:01, 2:53.  I went almost flat out on the last one to end on a good note.  I always dread track work before hand, hate it during, and then feel great afterwards

Ran 15.1 before work this morning.  Felt a little stiff overall but not bad.  It was very hot and humid today (in the 80s temp wise), like summer's last stand.  I'll be glad when it's over.  Average pace was 7:48 and it was pretty even over the run

Easy 7 miles before my Labor Day race (8:13 average).  Felt pretty good. Also got new shoes!  I like the Adrenalines and they run nice but they don't last at all.  At about the 250 mile mark, I'm almost through the outersole and the cushion is beat.  

Race Report: Run into Buffalo 15 (USATF Master Championship) or Your Grandmother showed up to race and kicked my ass:

Initially I was going to run this as my Fall A race but my sister convinced me to run Wineglass in October so this race became an estimate race to see how my training was going.  In addition to being a local 15k, it serves as the USATF Master Championship so you get a bunch of superfast masters runners from across the Northeast and Country.  The fun part is they wear their age-group on their back so you can see just how old that guy is as he pulls away.  My goal was to run 1:00:30 which would indicate I'm in good shape for my marathon.  My super goal was sub-60. 

Pre-Race:  The weather in Buffalo was mid 90's and humid for the days leading up to the race but it broke the night before and I won't up to a nice 62 degree day with a little breeze. I also woke up to a moderate stomach virus that had me questioning if I was gonna be able to make it an hour w/o a pitstop.  Luckily, modern medicine is avaliable and got me to the start, though my stomach still wasn't happy with me.  Got to the start and jogged a nice 2 mile warm up to get loosed up.  Had some water but I was grumpy becasue I forgot my powerbar/gel/chomps.  The race is held downtown on the Buffalo waterfront and the course is a 8 mile lollipop with an extra little out and back added at the start along Lake Erie to make up the full 15k

Race:  Lined up where I thought was good.  Super nervous as I waited for the start and off we went. The course narrowed down pretty fast and ended up tripping over a couple people but it wasn't too bad

1st 5k in 20:10 (miles 6:31, 6:30. 6:27):  My goal was to not go out too fast and get settles into a nice pace which I accomplished.  It felt easy but I knew if I pushed it to much I'd be hurting later.  Managed to start picking off people who started a little fast.

2nd 5k in 20:19 (miles 6:38, 6:22, 6:35):  Just wanted to maintain pace and was using the people in front to drive the pace in an effort to get to them.  This 5k had some long slow hills which shows in the pace.  Overall felt good, starting to feel the burn but I know if I could get past this chunk, the last 5k would be a snap

3rd 5k in 19:51 (miles 6:31, 6:26, 6:17 with the last 0.3 at 6:00 pace).  We were headed to the finish and had a slight net downhill to help us out.  My goal was just to maintain and push a little towards the end.  It was going great until about mile 7.  At an intersection, a cop was directly traffic and a taxi tried to sneak through but ended stuck in the middle with the slower people headed up and the faster people going back down.  I thought he was gonna hit the group of us (maybe 4 runners).  As I ran by I slapped the hood pretty hard in anger as I had to run around the front of him.  In hindsight it was probably unnecessary but he was frustrating that he couldn't wait the extra 20 seconds.  I see it a lot when I bike commute, people always in a rush in their cars.  But in the end no one got hit and that's all that matters.  I was pretty pretty gassed at the end but kicked it up for the last mile to try to stay with a couple people that passed me  I came in at 1:00:37 (gun) and 1:00:30 (chip) for a 55th place finish and 6th in my age group.

Overall:  I hit my goal time right on the nose and this was one of the better paced races I ran.  I think I could have easily squeezed out an extra 30 seconds if my tummy wasn't angry and I was fully tapered.  Definitely happy with my results and it confirms that I'm in good shape for my marathon in a month.  I keep doubting my fitness despite hitting my times in training so hopefully this is the last nail in the coffin for that.

I'm also not sure if I should shoot for sub 3 at Wineglass or sub 3:05.  This race puts me at like a 3:03 marathon but it's untapered and I wasn't feeling great.  My training milestones put me all right between the 2 goals.  Something I need to think about

5 easy miles after the race.  Felt ok, average pace was 8:18

Waited too long to run outside before bed.  Ran on the treadmill while watching some brainless tv.  average pace was like 7:45

8 regular miles at 7:34.  Nothing special.

Marathon paced run.  Did 0.5m warm up then 9 at marathon pace, then 0.5m cool-down.  Average pace during the speed part was 6:52.  Felt pretty good and definitely the easiest of my MP runs

Long run after work.  It was real hot and sunny when I started.  Felt pretty good for the first 3/4 and kept the pace around 7:55 but the heat totally dehydrated me and I didn't drink enough and exploded for the last 5 and averaged about 8:15 for those and was suffering a lot.  Averaged 8:02 so it wasn't too bad, I'd just like to have finished stronger.  Was pretty sick when I got home, took about 30 minutes of laying on the floor before I could stand to eat or drink.   Just glad it's my last 20miler before my race.  I'm in full taper mode now!

Run 1:  8 regular miles before work.  Average pace was 7:35.  Unremarkable in geneal

Did 4 easy miles (8:08) pace. Felt good

2 run day

AM run:  6.5 miles today with the middle 4.5 at marathon pace (6:44 pace).  Ran it a little faster than I should have but felt good.

PM run: 4 easy miles with ralphie. 8:17 pace.

 Side note.  I have a massive blister on my little toe.  80% of the skin is abnornal.  Makes running kinda poopie right now.  Hope it heals up ok

I'm in full taper mode now and it seems to be working. Went out for my 12 mile long run and ran it at 7:33 miles. The crazy part was that I felt like I was bearly working. 2 more weeks and I'm pretty sure I'll be convinced I'm frank shorter with delusions of taper grandeur. On a sad note, I managed to get a pretty nasty blister on my little toe last week. There is no regular skin left on 80% of it. Kinda gross, I'd post a picture but it's gross enough it's probably illegal in our more puritan states. Hopefully it'll heal up fast

4 easy miles

3 on the treadmill at about 8/mile before my inlaws got into town to visit

6 miles.  Felt good and easy despite my 7:20 pace.  Looking forward to the weekend.  I've slacked a little during my taper and skipped a couple runs during the last week or so.  I hope it doesn't mess with anything, it likely will not I'm just a head case now