20 Miles (Hills Included)

I ended up running 20 miles and change today, although my goal was 22. But the route I ran was very hilly, moreso than I think the actual marathon course will be. I had just passed mile 18 when my right knee started giving me feedback like it was going to quit on me, so rather than keep pressing for the extra couple of miles I turned around and made it back home. It was much better on the uphill climbs, so I'm attributing the pain to all the hillwork today.

And now starts the taper to the race. Even though I didn't make my goal today, I'm hopeful that with "fresh legs" in three weeks I'll be able to complete the entire 26.2. I've put in a lot of miles, but I can tell it's still going to be a challenge, and when it's over my whole body will hurt. But in a good way, of course.

Another Beautiful Day

And a nice run, too, going 5 miles with some 1-2-3-2-1 fartleks. Sunny and almost the perfect temperature for an outing. This is one of those days that I get the feeling we deserve after all the heat we put up with this summer. I did have to stop at one point to fish a bandaid out of my sock that had come loose, but other than that the run was uneventful and pain-free. In other words, all-around great!

Definite Recovery Run

Yesterday was the first Tuesday in fifteen weeks that I did not run. Boy, I felt horrible, like my whole body was falling apart, and my right hip was sore to even walk on. I deemed it prudent to take the day off from exercise, and today I felt much better. I hated to miss yesterday's run since it was supposed to be a 20-minute tempo run and I enjoy those. It's amazing what prudence will do for you when you listen. I can see why the experts say you should take some time off after a marathon, since it's not just race day that your body needs to recover from. It's all that training that you do to get there that wears out everything from the feet to the knees to the upper body.

With an unexpected day off it made today's run feel like I hadn't run in a week. The rest and relaxation was good, though, as I didn't feel any strain in running 5 miles. It was a beautiful sunny day with temperatures in the mid-70's. I'm starting to wonder what the weather will be like on marathon day.

Limping Through Recovery

I can still feel the aches from Saturday's long run, but I went out for a recovery run anyway. Less than four weeks to go, right? The little toe on my left foot had a blister the size of...well, the size of the bottom of the toe, and that was somewhat of an inconvenience. I think it altered my gait because about three miles in I had a sharp pain in my left knee that caused me to stop and walk for about thirty seconds. I could tell my mechanics, such as they are, were way off. Once I got going again everything was fine, thank you for asking, and I finished my 5 miles in good form. It definitely took over three miles to get warmed up, but I felt much better by the end. Thank God for easy recovery runs.

Four Weeks

First of all, let me say that Google Earth is remarkably accurate in calculating distances. I mapped out a new path last night that had a little less redundancy, and it came in at 20 miles. This morning when I ran I cut off a little part of the new route that did not have sidewalks, thinking that going through the curvy streets of a neighborhood would make up for it, and that maybe Google Earth was off a little bit. Nope. I was curious so I went out and drove the route just for comparison's sake, and sure enough, their little program was right on. And I ended up a half mile short of my intended 20 miles.

Four weeks from today is the KC Marathon. Yesterday I officially registered and paid my money, so gee - guess I'm actually committed to it now. Like I wasn't before! Next week I plan on adding a few more miles to the long run before beginning my taper, so I'll be mapping a route of 22-23 miles. And this time I'll believe what Google Earth tells me.

Tired Legs and All

Still a struggle today, but I think I managed about 5.5 miles. It was hard to tell since I was doing intervals. Someday I'll do what is recommended on the chart, but today was not that day. I did 5x800 intervals, and probably could have completed one more. I guess I was just looking forward to tomorrow's off day just a little too early, but my legs need the rest.

Tired Legs

Today's 6-mile run was a strain, and I think it was because I spent about three hours today on my feet recruiting at a career fair. I didn't realize it would be so tough, but the whole run was pretty much a chore. Plus it was still ultra-humid, but I wanted to complete my goal for today, so I worked extra hard.

It also helped to know that my wife had cooked a great dinner and that was waiting for me when I arrived home. Sometimes the simplest motivation is the best.

Waiting Out the Storm

A storm system moved through about five o'clock, and I had to wait until after 6:45 before heading out. At one point I thought the storm had cleared and started walking along the sidewalk, but a clap of thunder to the south sent me back inside. Another false start had me walking out the front door, spying dark clouds to the south, and going back in. My prudence was rewarded since about three minutes later two heavy thunderclaps shook the house. I don't think I would have wanted to be outside during those lightning strikes. I almost hit the treadmill instead but persevered for the outside run since I wanted to do my speedwork on the hills. I like the challenge of that much better than a treadmill at this point in my training.

Anyway, on to the run. I ran 5.5 miles, with 24 minutes of that being a tempo run. I almost didn't have enough room in my route since I sped up after two miles and ran about an eight-minute pace for the next three miles. I didn't have much of a cooldown, just a quarter mile and then a walk back up the hill. And it was very, very humid. But all in all I felt good about it at the end.

A Tale of Two Runs

Saturday morning I ran 15 miles along the banks of the Mississippi River in St Louis. They have a real nice trail that follows the river, and it was a great day for running. I'm a bit jealous, as I was wishing they had something like that trail in Kansas City. My friend Alan ran with me for a couple of miles and then turned around - he ran a total of five, which was a new high for him. Very cool. If only the Cardinals had played well, but I guess we can't have everything.

Today I flew back and took the big girls running again. It was tough, but they went 2.5 miles, and then I continued on alone to get my total of 5 miles in. The girls did a good job, especially on those tough hills. Things are looking good for them to run a 5K in just less than four weeks.

Run With the Girls

Okay, maybe that title is a little misleading, but I did run with my two older girls today. They needed to run 20 minutes and with their mommy under the weather, I happily volunteered. We ran almost 2 miles in that time, and then I continued on for 4 more miles, which included a bout of 1-2-3-2-1 fartleks. Today was one of those runs that seems more of a struggle than it should be, but I struggled through and felt satisfied with my accomplishments at the end of it all.

Now I'm to St. Louis to watch the Cardinals, who lost their seventh in a row today. It could be a long weekend.

Hurried Run

Today was yet another 5-miler. It was rushed since the wife wasn't feeling good and I had to get home to take the kids to church. I don't like running when I'm hurried like that, but I tried to scale it back and take it like a normal run. I looked at my chart and the last time I ran less than 5 miles was three weeks ago. I thought about running less than that today in the interest of time, but figured I need the miles since this week's long run will be relatively short. Just trying to plan ahead is all.

Another Beautiful Day

Two great days for running in a row! Today's 5 miles was brought to you by the letter G - as in gorgeous. It really does feel like fall around here, although no telling how long that will last. I did 20 minutes of a tempo run, and fell about 150 yards short of 2.5 miles in that time. So I guess that's about 8:10-8:20 per mile, and that feels pretty good.

A New Season

Did we skip September and half of October? The temperature was 59 degrees when I started running, with a cool breeze and a little bit of a sprinkle. 59! As opposed to the 95 (yeah, reverse the digits - neat trick, huh?) that I've been used to up until the past few days. I'll take, though. And it sure made those 5 miles seem ultra-easy. That's probably also an effect of just doing a long run of 20 miles. I'm excited, since everything seems to be coming together pretty well. Less than six weeks to go!

20 Miles?

Yes, 20 miles! Surprisingly it went very well. My lovely and talented wife met me at about the 13-mile mark and restocked my water bottle with a well-known sports drink. That was very nice of her, as was the waffles and sausage that were awaiting me when I returned home.

If this was my longest run before the marathon I'm not sure I would be comfortable trying to extend it to 26.2. I'm planning at least two more 20-milers, and I'm thinking I'll extend one of those to the 22-23 mile range. Six weeks to go!

Those Darn Intervals

Maybe it's just the rotten sleep of the past two nights, or not enough sleep period over the last week. But during today's intervals, which was supposed to be a 6-7X800 session but ended up as 5x800, there were a couple of times between the speed runs that I could have just curled up into a ball and gone to sleep. But that would have been weird on the sidewalk where I was running and somebody would have called the police.

Altogether I ran 6 miles, but it was kind of blase overall. Hopefully Saturday's looooong run will be better.

Almost Fall

If the temperature hadn't been in the mid-80's today I would have thought it was autumn already. It'll get here soon enough. Today's run was a 5 mile easy run, and with the temp that low, it was definitely easy.

The Summer Passed

The pool is closed, and Labor Day is already yesterday's news. The summer passed by so quickly, and with a lot of miles under the Asics. I started this running program on June 18th, and since then I've had a lot of good running days with just enough bad ones mixed in to keep me humble.

Today was one of those good days. A front came through and almost blew me off the sidewalk on the trip out, but it was nice to have the wind behind me on the way back in. I did 5 miles total with 2.75 miles and 24 minutes of it a tempo run. Now, just to be fair, a tailwind did help. But let's also qualify that. The first half mile was uphill against the wind, and the way back was up the big hills. The average pace was below 9 minutes, and I was somewhat amazed when I looked at my watch and realized I'd done the second mile in about 8 minutes (that's where the tailwind comes in). But it felt good, and running that fast up those hills definitely pays off during the long runs on Saturday.

This Use to Be a Long Run

I remember when 5 miles was a long run. Really, it wasn't that long ago. Five miles used to be the upper limit of how far I could run, with the norm being more like 3 miles. Today was an easy run, and now 5 miles is just a warmup. I could have gone much further today, but as a recovery from a long run it was just about right. I went out this morning (Labor Day) instead of waiting until this afternoon when the temperature gets back to the upper 90s. So 5 miles now is a big difference from 5 miles four months ago. I hate to quote cigarette ads, but I can definitely say that I've come a long way, baby!

A New Month

It's September, and there was a nice chill in the air this morning at 6 when I headed out the door. Today's run was 16 miles, and this was one of those days where it was just tough to get moving. It took about 5 miles to feel like I was warmed up and ready to go, but once I got going I was okay.

I added up all the miles I've run in the past 11 weeks, and the grand total so far is 320.75 miles. Let's see, what is 320 miles from Kansas City? As the crow flies, I could have run to Oklahoma City, Little Rock, or past St. Louis and two-thirds of the way across Illinois. With approximately another 220 miles to go before race day, I could get to Denver or past Dallas. The possibilities are endless!