I'm feeling fat and sassy

New Year's Day run.  Was suppose to be a Fat Ass 25k race but it got downgraded to a group run at the park.  Showed up and I was 1 of 4, ran 3 miles with them like 10 min/miles.  Bailed and finished the run by myself.  14 miles at 8:35

Treadmill while watching Bob's Burgers.  7 miles @ 8:17.

Tempo Run before work

Ran with Ralphie before work nice and easy.  7 miles at 7:46.  Poor guy got covered in salt and mud and needed a bath when finished.  Now he smells good

Worst Long Run EVER!

Never felt comfortable and on the verge of puking the whole time. Almost pooped myself at mile 9. Ate a sublime lime gu at mile 10 and it tasted like green curry. Below up at mile 15. Fell hard on the ice at mile 16 and ran mile 17 and 18 at 9/mile pace. Kill me. 18 mile at 7:48

Ran with both dogs together before work.  They were really well behaved which makes me happy.  Relaxed pace: 7 miles at 7:48

 I'm feeling super sluggish.  I think it's a combination of the horrible long run with some mild stomach virus thing.  No energy, constantly upset stomach and achy.  Hope it's over soon

Feeling recovered from earlier this week.  10 miles with the middle 4 being at marathon pace +15 seconds and it felt real comfortable.  10 miles @ 7:14

Mid-week long run.  7miles with ralphie at the park, dropped him off and got sadie for the last 5 miles.  Nice relaxed pace (7:42). It's amazing how I could feel so horrible last week and so great this week. It all goes in cycles I guess

AM:  7 miles down to the park, around and home.  Relaxed Pace (7:18)

PM: 5 with Sadie at a recovery pace.  (8:03)

15 mile long run with 12 of those being at goal marathon pace (6:45).  Pretty blustery and windy out so some of it was a little rough but I felt real good and managed to run really even pace with each MRP mile being between 6:42 and 6:46. Happy to see I could do it, I was a little worried I'd crash and burn

double doggie recovery run.  Ran 5 miles with both of them before work.  (Pace: 9:05).  Legs tired as expected

7 miles with the dogs.  Felt recovered from the hard run on Monday.  Average pace: 7:48.

Mid-week long run.  Ran down and did a couple loops of the cemetary.  Cold out but not bad overall.  Pace 7:30

Ran with the dogs.  Pace: 7:57

Tempo intervals before work.

3 mile warm-up

2x2 mile tempo with 2 min recovery between

3 mile cool-down

tempo paces were 6:24 and 6:19.  It was windy as a mofo so the pace was pretty uneven depending on the direction I was running

Recovery run after work with the dogs.  Pace: 8:00s

YAY! first successful 20 miler done in my Boston cycle.  Only 4 to go.  Was going to do it south of Buffalo in the hills but when I got down there it was a lake effect snowy mess so I went home and did it around town.  I was a little gun shy after my bad 17 miler.  Kept a comfortable even pace at 7:40 and it went good!.  It was cold though, started to get numb towards the end

Easy mid-week long run.  12 miles around the park and teh cemetery. Comfortable 7:35 pace.  Doing some wear testing for Saucony for some new shoes so I'm trying to put some miles on them but I think they may be aggravating my right ankle issue so I'm keeping a close eye on it.

5 on the treadmill at night when I got home from work.  Did a recovery pace at 8:20.  Wanted to do more but just didn't have it in me. 

It was cold and slick out so I retreated to the treadmill for my run.  Ended up doing 13 at a decent pace (7:45 ish) while watching all of Napoleon Dynamite.  Love that movie!  Ankle feeling ok

Group run with the peeps in my running club doing Boston.  Had no real plans for the run besides get in 17 miles.  One of the guys wanted to do a 12 mile MRP run at his goal pace (7:15) so I was more than happy pace with him.  It went good and we knocked out the 12 at about 7:10s.  Finished up to get 17 total @ 7:15

Woke up to find 3 inches of snow on the sidewalks and it was still snowing.  Got out the door and the snow changed to sleet and then rain.  Conditions were getting progressively worse and sloppier.  Bailed at 8 miles (had 9-10 planned) with a pace of 8:03

Crazy warm outside, like 50s! Ran 5 with sadie and 3 with ralphie.  They were going a little slow, I think they are out of shape.  Ave: 7:42

Went down to the southtown hills to do a run in the 55 degree day (punctuated with high weeks and downpours).  14 miles @ 7:37 with some nice hills thrown in.  Good to get away from home to run.

My new work schedule now lets me do these longer midweek runs.  I work every Tuesday and Friday and every other Thursday and weekend.  While it kinda sucks having to work 1/2 my weekends (and missing most of my teams group runs) it's nice being able to run during the weekdays when everyone else is at work.  I think I'll appreciate it more in the summer.

7 miles before work. Nothing special, felt sluggish.  Pace: 7:55

We got about 8+ inches of snow last night so I retreated to the basement for my tempo interval workout.

 Felt good but I kept blowing the breaker on the powerstrip.  I need to replace the strip with something more heavy duty or put a new outlet  for the treadmill

Still pretty messy out from the snow so I did my run on the treadmill again, ugh.  13 miles @ 7:47 while watching Looper.  I was pleasantly surprised by the movie.  I seem to have a low calf pull going on.  I need to watch it and make sure it doesn't get bad.  Maybe I did it with my speed workout last night

Long run in the southtowns.  Massive hills right in the middle of the run kinda sucked the life out of me. Total of 1350 elevation and average pace of 7:54.  Kinda rough towards the end but not bad overall

9 miles before work.  Average pace 7:28.  Felt ok

10 miles in the afternoon around the neighborhood. 7:21 pace.  Ok again

went to the gym with Ash and ran on the treadmill.  did 10.  1 mile warm-up and then 8 at marathon pace (6:44) and then a mile cool-down.  Felt suprisingly good but it's pretty rough doing it on the treadmill

it was warm out so I ran with each doggie before work.  4 with each one.  Nice easy recovery pace.  8:10. 

Blech, I'm in a serious funk.  Completely unmotivated to run and about pretty much everything. It doesn't help I have some sinus thing on top of it.  Last week was basically a throw away week missing 2-3 runs and this week isn't looking much better. Had a race scheduled on the 9th and couldn't get the motivation to go and didn't, and then felt like poo for missing it afterwards.

Missing runs psychs me out, makes me panic about miles, and makes me question my ability to hit my goal in April which makes me more in a funk.  It's a self-perpetuating cycle.  Hopefully I'll snap out of it soon

Ran after work.  Uneventful, 7:40 pace

Ran with the doggies at a nice easy pace.  5 with each of them, averaged out to 7:48

Up at 5:15 to run before work.  5 again with each dog.  7:35 total pace.  It was pouring out so we all got soaked, yuck

Second 20 mile run of the cycle.  Had a late lunch so my tummy was a little unsettled for it.  Kinda cold and VERY windy.  The last 10 miles had a bunch of miles into 25+mph headwind.  Felt pretty ok otherwise, pace: 7:43

Tempo interval.  5 mile warm up run down to the cemetary.  2 miles at tempo, 1 mile recovery and repeat.  Intervals came out to be 13:40 and 13:30 on a rolling course.  Cooldown, recovery, and warm up was paced at 7:40. Ended up getting locked in the cemetary so I had to run to a far gate to get out which added a mile to the run.  

Recovery run with the dogs.  5 with each.  Kinda cold still.  Blech.  7:47 pace

11 miles before work. Cold and tired and for some reason my hips are killing me.  Not really sure why, hopefully it'll pass.  Pace a little faster than I'd like but it sped up towards the the finish ending with 7:10 miles

Still being very inconsistent which is getting me down.  Hopefully march will be a fruitful push to Boston.  Still hoping to break 3.  Even with all this inconsistinecy, my weekly mileage for the last 12 weeks is 10 miles higher than my while of the training for wineglass (51 vs 42).  With a good march, it'll be probably around 55 mpw since I started training (week of Dec 10th).  IDK.

 10 miles today which was fine, average pace: 7:40

Third 20 miler of the cycle and another decent run.  Every boring but I even managed to eat my chomps on the proper scheduled.  Pretty even pace at 7:38.  Originally had 22 planned but it started to get cold and icy so I lopped off the last 2 miles

Ran with the dogs before work.  7:40 average, legs a little tired

9pm run after work in the dark.  Base pace, 7:45

First track workout of the year.  6x1000 at 5k pace (3:40) with 400 recovery

3 mile W/U and 2 mile C/D

Intervals were 3:36, 3:44, 3:40, 3:41, 3:40, 3:31

 Was pretty easy overall and I was running just about as fast as I was during my peak last summer.  Hopefully that means good

Slowish hilly run with my clubs training group.  Averaged about 8:25 but I charged the hills for some fartlek type stuff.  1200 feet of climbing with a couple 400 foot climbs.  

Relaxed 12 mile run around town.  Tried to keep it to around 8:00 pace, calves and hips pretty tired

Got my Boston Bib.  #4860 (wave 1 corral 5), same as my sister.  Hopefully it's a good starting place!

12 miles around the hood.  Paced at 7:21. nothing notable

Ran after work.  Recovery Pace (8:25).  5 miles with Sadie and 4 with Ralphie

Tempo intervals 6xmile with 1min recovery

Ran to the park (1.8 miles0
6xmile with 1 min rest (slow jog)
1.8 miles home

Times were 6:14,6:14,6:11,6:12, 6:16,6:06

Kinda windy out but not too bad

Recovery on the treadmill.  Pace: 7:57.  Watched Parks and Rec.

Marathon paced run on the treadmill

2 mile warm up
14 miles at 6:44
1.5 mile cool-down

Rough but glad it got done!

9 miles at 7:30.  4 with ralphie and 5 with sadie

Continuing to be horrible inconsistent and it's really getting to me.  I hope that the bulk of the training I got done is enough to get me to my goal at Boston.  Plus it's been really cold (20s-low 30s) here with snow most night.  I feel strong when I run and I get the workouts done with ease but getting out the door has been horrendous lately, missing lots of runs.

At least I get to taper now after my last 22mle long run. 

5 with sadie at 7:53

tempo intervals on treadmill

1,5 mile WU
2x2m tempo (6:19 pace) with 2 min recovery then 1 mile tempo
1.5 mile CD

14 miles around town before work 7:28 pace.  Felt fine

5 miles on treadmill at 8:10.  wanted to do more but wasn't up for it.

5 on the treadmill.  8:00 pace while watching parks and rec

5 on treadmill.  8:00 pace

Around town. Taper legs feel good.  Effortless 7:15 pace

1 week till Boston and my last real workout before Boston. I'm a little worried in general about my training.  I averaged about 50mpw over the last 18 weeks with 3 20 miler and 4 18 milers.  Had some really good weeks and some mediocre weeks.  Overall I think training went OK, definiately more serious than my last marathon and I managed to not get hurt.  So, my goal is to shoot for 2:57 with even splits and i'll have a little cushion to get in under 3.  I'll be either really happy monday or really dissappointed but I have to go for it.  Bib 4860, wave 1 corral 5.  Same corral as my sister so that's exciting.  Leaving to go there on Friday and staying at the finish line.  It'll be an expierence if nothing else

3 mile WU
3x1600 at 5k pace with 800 recovery
2 mile CD

repeats in 6:01, 5:57, 6:02 

Easy treadmill run.  4 miles at 8:00 pace.  Did a little MP stuff towards the end

Easy treadmill run.  4 miles at 8:00 pace

Treadmill run at our hotel in Boston after getting in.  Getting pretty nervous for the race Monday

Boston Marathon Race Report

Requisite mention of the attack: I’m saddened by what happened and am thinking about all those affected, directly and indirectly.  I hope we get all the details and find out what happened and deal with it appropriately.  Everyone I know that was there was safe so that was a relief.   We were in The Lenox’s lobby (our hotel) drinking beers with my wife, sister and her boyfriend when it happened. The Lenox is on Boylston directly between the bomb sites.  They both shook the building and immediately we kinda knew what was going on.  I sent out a facebook message instantly because I knew phones would be swamped.  We were stuck in the hotel for about 45 minutes lock down and then told to evacuate. Luckily we had out bag and did the only thing we could think to do, walk to Cambridge where our friends had an apt.  We walked about 2 miles before catching the bus to her apartment.  We showered, ate and caught a cab to the airport were we were able to get out flight back home. Now on to my race

Training:  Over the 18 weeks before the marathon I ran about 850 miles and averaged about 48 miles per week.  I did 7 18-20 mile runs, several long marathon paced runs, and some tough tempo runs.  I also trained on hills trying to prepare myself.  I managed not to get hurt but February was rough motivation wise and I only managed to run about 171 during that month and missed a bunch of runs.  It was my highest training volume to date. Despite feeling strong in my runs I was not feeling confident at all and in general pretty nervous. My goal was sub 3 and I was aiming to go out at 2:57.

Pre-race:  We got into town Friday and went to the expo.  It was exciting to be at a race of this scale.  I picked up my super flashy jacket and some other swag.  Saturday we met up with my sister and her friends.  We went to the aquarium on Sunday and at a nice pre-race dinner with her friend in Cambridge.  Race-morning, I got up and walked to the busses and met my sister.  At the staging area we relaxed with her running club from Baltimore.  I was super impressed how smoothly it all went. When it was time we went to the start

Start and first 5k (21:27, pace 6:55):  My goal was to NOT go out to fast or panic too much.  It was surprisingly downhill and hard to hold back.  Felt real good and ready for the long haul. Crowds were amazing and surprisingly little bumping.  It was hotter/sunnier than I expected but it wasn’t horrible

5-10k (20:56, pace: 6:44):  Right on pace and felt decent.  My stomach was a little bloated but nothing too serious.  Ate my chomps every 45 minutes as planned and drank a cup at each water station

10-15k (20:51, pace 6:43):  Still feeling good eating and drinking.  The crowd support was great as we hit the small towns along the way.  Never seen anything like it, people with great signs, people screaming their heads off, and people handing out everything all sorts of snacks.    

15-20k (20:55, pace 6:44):  Starting to feel a little labored and the little bumps in the road dropped my pace a little.  The Wellesley girls were crazy, the loudedest section of the race, nice little motivation before the half

20-25k (21:08, pace 6:48):  Feeling rough, took a powergel to try to get some energy back into my leg. 

25-30k (21:43, pace 7:00): Hit the half right on goal at 1:28:45.  The Newton hills took their toll on me.  Really dropped my pace and I had trouble picking the pace up on the backside going down.  Saw a lot of other people in the hurting too

30-35k (25:30, pace 8:13):  And the wheels came off and came off hard .  It’s totally cliché but heartbreak hill did me in.  Walked the last 1/3 of the hill but still managed to run down the backside but it wasn’t getting and better.  My pace really slowed and I knew my goal of sub-3 (and even a 3:05 BQ) was gone so I just tried to enjoy myself.   The crowds were pretty much the only thing keeping me going and they were amazing.

35-40k (29:16, pace 9:26):  Despite a couple brief walking breaks I managed to keep shuffling (mostly to get it done sooner than later).  At around mile 23 I saw my Wife and a couple friends cheering like crazy for me (and pretty much everyone in the race) and I was pretty disappointed with myself at that point so I could only manage a little excitement seeing them.  The crowds were growing thicker and I loved all the support

40-42k (11:00, pace 8:04): No matter how bad you feel you run the last 2k as best you can.  Coming down Boylston was amazing and I just pushed to the end and crossed at 3:12:46.  Felt pretty rough but kept walking and got my medal, blanket and checked bag.  Found my sister, friends and wife and made our way to the hotel.

Post-race thought:  I’m pretty disappointed with how I ran and sometimes the bear eats you. If you don’t push you’ll never fail.  I don’t know where it went wrong.  Was it my training, the weather, the hills or just a bad race?  Most bitter was that I missed my BQ so I’d need to do another marathon this fall if I want to run in 2014 (which I’d like to).  All in all, I’m no worse for wear aside from viscous blisters and the expected soreness.  I enjoyed Boston, the race and the experienced and I can wear my super ugly jacket with pride.  It was like no race I’ve ever done before and I’m going to put my performance behind me and look forward to using my base to some great races this summer.

The pace profile says it all.

Super slow recovery run on the dirt trail.  8:30 pace.  Legs were sore but ok but my foot has a lot of soft tissue pain.  

post marathon run #2.  3 with each doggie.  Easy run again, 8:10.  Legs feeling good but my right foot is definitely messed up.  Probably posterior tibial tendonitis.  Need to give it some rest

4 on the treadmill at 8:15 after a week off letting my foot heal.  Felt about 85% so it's on the road to recovery

5.5 miles, to the park and around and back.  Forgot my watch so I figure

it was about 8ish pace.  Still not pushing too much while the foot gets

back to 100%.  Feel good and recovered otherwise

quick 4 before work on the dirt railroad grade.  7:50 pace.  foot is good to go

4 before work around the old hood.  7:30 pace, excited to get back into real training. 

12x200 at rep pace with 200 recovery.  Shooting for 38-39ish.  

2 mile warm up running to track
12x200 (all between 36-39)
1.6 mile cool down

Maybe I can still run kinda fast

5 around the hood at 7:31's pace.  feels good.  As I was close to my home a giant Newfie pulled her owner across the street and bit at me.  Luckily he only got the watch and and broke the watch band and left a small bruise

Boring 5 mile loop at slower recovery pace.  7:55s

Ran w/o a watch with Ralphie. He was being lazy and had to drag him.  Probably about 8s

Ran an evening 5k in the Southtowns to gauge my fitness.  My goal was to come in under 18:36. to feel good about how my fitness was going.  I didn't expect to go much faster due to lack of short speed work and only being 3 weeks post-Boston and blood donation

The race is smallish (~200 people) that has a decently steep 0.25 mile hill right at mile 1.  It was kinda warm and muggy out which I have not adjusted too. 

At the start the usual young kids blast off and quickly fade and I settle into 6th place while 1st is way gone up the road. Cross mile one in about 5:45 and then up the the hill while I pass 2-3 people to wind up in 4th.  Mile 2 was slower at about 6:15 and close mile 3 at 6:05.  Finished off at 18:28 and the course was likely 10 seconds short or so.  So I was right on my goal which wasn't bad considering the hills I wasn't ready for.  I also got 1st in my age

 With W/U and C/D I had a little over 6 for the day

7.5 miles before work on my 7.5 mile loop. 7:32 average, legs a little tired from the race

5 at recovery pace (8:00).  Nothing special

Out the door at 5:30 to run 10m before work. Ran down and did some loops of the park. 7:25 pace, feeling good and fast

Out the door at 5:30 again to get a track-workout in. 

easy 6 to the park and around at 8:00s

Leaving town to visit my sister so I needed to get my 11 in before we head to the airport.  Ran down and did loops of the cemetary and the park.  felt ok overall.  Pace was around 7:40s

Ran with my sister and her friends around the waterfront in Baltimore. It was pretty humid and sweaty and I was pretty hungover from partying saturday night.  Fun little run at a relaxed pace (8:00ish)

Ran with my sister again on some sketchy bikepaths around the harbor in Baltimore.  Hot and muggy.  Paced around 7:45 with some miles dropping around 7:30ish

Tempo Intervals on the cider path by my house

4xmile @ 6:15 with 1 min recovery

Long Run

Tempo Run

3 mile tempo (6:22), 3 min recovery, 2.75 mile tempo (6:22)

Thursday morning run

am: 3 mile tempo (6:12)

PM: 5 miles

9x600 with 400 recovery (goal 2:05, rep pace)

2:02, 2:05, 2:03, 2:03, 2:06. 2:06, 2:04, 2:05, 2:01

New PR at 20:30.  Light rain and kinda cool outside.  Ran super even splits and finished really strong.  Very happy with my performance.  

3 mile tempo run (6:10)

Raced an 8k.  Legs were kinda tired and it was hot and hilly.  Managed to hold off 5th but would have liked to run a litter faster and break 30

Tempo Run: 3 miles (6:10s)

Ladder
400, 800, 1200, 1600, 1200,800, 400 @ 5:45 pace with 400 recover

1:22, 2:50, 4:12, 5:45, 4:19, 2:53, 1:22

I’ve really been neglecting my log and failed to keep it updated mostly because my life has been a hectic mess lately.   The main thing in my life is that we closed on our house and did the move mid-June, I’d like to say it was smooth but it was fairly dramatic compared to my last closing but it’s all straight now and the house is kicking.  Also I had in-laws visiting for the better part of a week during the move and we've been busy doing all the stuff associated with a new house like painting and replacing fixutures.  The only bad part is that I need to find all new running routes now and my new neighborhood isn’t as nice to run in. The weather has also been crap, raining ¾ of the time.  Works also been busy with left me in a little bit of a funk/ and some missed runs towards the end of June. 

At the end of May, I started informally working with a running coach.  He’s a local ultramarathoner that trains a couple of fast local guys.  So far it has been pretty good and he’s definitely some intensity and accountability that I needed.   We are trying a 10-day cycle which is interesting, my cycle typically a long run, a track workout, short tempo and long faster run.  I did two races since I started working with him and both have been pretty good.  I set a PR in a 3.5 mile race and I was 3 seconds off a lifetime PR in the 8k on a course that was hilly and a touch long.  Plus I feel good during some pretty intense workouts so hopefully the rest of the summer goes good

And we got a new kitten, she’s a holy terror!