Chicked, among other things...

Summer vacation is upon us, and with that, comes more training.  With that comes, easily, highest mileage week in 6 months.  Right on cue, we've topped the 21 miles in April, with a 23 mile week.  I mean, I've been really cranking out miles this week, and hope to continue with next.  Of course, yesterday, I was starting off my 2nd longer run for the week (5.6), and it happened again.

That's right, I got chicked again (if you couldn't tell by the title of the post).  This time, I wasn't even a mile into the run.  I was passing the local park, running up the hill on the state highway, past the correctional facility, and this woman (running on the wrong side of the street, mind you), goes by me on the opposite side of the street.  As always, my desire to keep up with a fast girl spurred up, and I raced up the hill in record time.

And, she kept pulling even further and further away from me.  THAT was one fast girl.

Now, I'm not so sure it makes me an asshole, because I'm not worried about getting chicked, it just works as some neanderthal-ish motivator.

That little up in my tempo carried me for the next 3 miles or so.  In fact, I was slightly ahead of the pace I ran earlier in the week, despite the fact that I was indeed more tired.  I'll attribute that to 1) the day off and 2) the trip to the chiropractor.  That usually helps my form and efficiency for a few days, at the very least.

Sadly, as I took the final hill, something got me.  Maybe it was the humidity (90% according to weather.com).  Maybe it was the lack of shade (I always hate that).  Maybe it was that the last mile or so is uphill.  Whatever it was, suddenly I was sapped.  My run suffered, as I bonked hard.

One thing I won't blame that on is the soundtrack*.  Sure, I was just coming off Fall Out Boy's rendition of Beat It (how good is the cameo by Donald Faison?) but the audio intensity was still there.  Still, for the last 10 minutes or so, I felt like I was slogging up the hill...which I was.

So, what am I training for?  To be honest, I'm not sure.  There are 18 weeks until the Hartford Marathon/Half-Marathon.  I've. gotten a little faster, and I'd like to continue that.  I also know that I'm upping my mileage.  I think I want to run the half, and see if I can lower my PR some more from last year.  However, I probably could be talked into the full, but would need to be by, say, mid-july, so that I can get the right training done.  Who knows what I'm doing?

Two hours of running sure seems a lot better right now than 5 hours of running.  Any suggestions?

*You can sample or download today's playlist by following the link below

Today's Playlist, available at iTunes: Jimmy Eat World - A Praise Chorus, All for you, Sophia - Franz Ferdinand, Sleepwalker - Wallflowers,Read my Mind - the Killers, El Scorcho - Weezer, Crushcrushcrush - ParamoreSing - My Chemical Romance, Shake It - Metro Station, Rock & Roll Band - Boston, Good Girls (Gone Bad) - Cobra Starship, I'm Not Over - Carolina Liar, Beat It (Featuring John Mayer) - Fall Out Boy, Do the Panic - Phantom Planet, I Just Wanna Run - the Downtown Fiction, Misery Business - Paramore

Kinship on the Run...

Marc Parent's Newbie Chronicles are a monthly column in Runner's World.  Each month, with great anticipation, I await reaching that column.  Up until my mid-twenties, I awaited each week's Sports Illustrated in much the same way so that I could read, in order, Rick Reilly and Steve Rushin's columns.  Rushin left to freelance for Golf Digest and Time, and be a parent and husband to Rebecca Lobo.  I've seen them together, and they're both giants.  Reilly is now working for ESPN, putting out less-thought-provoking material than he had a decade ago.  Alas, I digress.

In the April 2011 issue of Runner's World (how do publishers get away with such time travel?), Parent's article reestablished a constant kinship I feel when reading his work.  Though I have been running since 2004, I constantly feel new to the sport.  Or, at the very least, and outsider.  Each month, Parent's work reminds me that there are other runners out there struggling with getting their sneakers on each day, let alone hitting split times.  This is why I relish the words he writes.  He writes what I think and feel, and so much better than I ever could.

Don't get me wrong.  I enjoy reading both the blogs and tweets of @pigtailsflying and @frayedlaces. They're "real" runners who write well.  They've been all over the world, running in huge races, despite their recreational obsession.  I envy their running experiences, which amaze and entertain readers.  However, with Marc Parent, I don't envy his running experiences.  It seems, so often, that I have lived them.  That is what makes the difference in his writing.

In the most recent Newbie Chronicles, Parent describes his first run with an iPod.  He also goes on to describe his running, stating that "...[he] can fairly describe the action as a cumbersome movement."  Chuckling, mental note was taken of such an accurate description.  Coaching youth runners, one hopes to help them achieve a fluid running motion.  As a runner, my running motion is a fluid motion.  In my mind, I imagine that fluid motion to be sloshing.

The music on the run changed this cumbersome movement into something "...fun, easy, and efficient."  My own running is a cumbersome movement, and often, it is the music that gets me through my runs.  Like parent, the sound of running involves a lot of "whistling wind, smashing feet, and honking lungs."  So, running with music guides me though my endeavors, adding pacing, inspiration, and distraction.  Purists might scoff at this, but for me, it's a necessity.  The soundtrack of my run changes daily, but always helps me through things.

Today was one of those runs.  I felt every bit of cumbersome.  Stopping, not a half mile from home, I knew I needed a change of soundtrack.  Switching to the top-plays on the iPod generally breaks a funk.  So, in the low-40s, I restarted the run, and continued out to the nearby state highway, to run past the nearby state prison, the nearby town park, the nearby elementary school, and up the nearby pain of a hill.  Thus, I sloshed up the hill, past the first mile marker (the start of the prison property!!!), wondering if I would bonk completely on this run like last week.

At the top of the hill, reaching the intersection, it was my first opportunity of 2011 to be chicked.  Being passed on runs after work by runners on the school's track and cross country teams does not bother me.  Inevitably, they join me for a while, and then, after I've slowed them enough, they take off OR they continue with me until I finish my run, then go back out for a quick few more miles.  However, in public, female runners blowing by me brings out my pride and a unhealthy dose of machismo.  Note: I rarely pass the female runner; she always seems to pass me.

The 5-way intersection produced an interesting aspect.  I saw that the woman (well, actually she could've been anywhere from 17-37) was fit, running a better pace than me, and had much better gear.    She was coming up on a side street from my left, and we reached the intersection at the same time.  We barely made eye-contact (still no idea how old she was), gave that runner's wave (a quick moment of kinship, as we both looked like we'd rather be doing anything else...not like that macho signal people on motorcycle's give each other when they pass one another), and she slowly, but consistently, ran ahead of me.  Every ten seconds or so, getting an extra section of sidewalk further way, her ponytail swayed from side to side in front of me, taunting me.  Then my pride rose up, my favorite running song came on, as I began to hit her rhythm and catch up (longer strides, hahaha!!!).   The sloshing stopped, and between the cadence of that fast girl (all the women who pass me are fast girls), and All These Things That I've Done. Then, with my run rescued, I reached my turn, and she continued on.

This was barely a mile and a half into my 4-miler for today.  Suddenly, I wished I had raced today.  Not the race mMiL was running, but rather something flat.  It was really a beautiful morning.  Up a hill, down a hill, over sidewalks that had snow on them for nearly 2 months without being cleared.  The run went pretty well, and then, about a mile after my run was saved, somebody nearly backed into me.  The drive had made eye contact.  She saw me.  She nearly hit me anyway.  What?  I was going to stop, so you could go get your coffee at Dunkins?  I don't think so lady.  Really?  I'm a pedestrian.  OH YEAH, BY THE WAY, IN THE WINTER, YOU DON'T CLEAR YOUR DAMNED SIDEWALK.  Figures it'd be somebody that has already tried to kill my runs.

So, thanks to crazy older lady driver X, my pace was screwed up.  I struggled about a quarter of a mile, and there was "nice, elderly gentleman runner."  That's his official name in my head.  I see him from time to time.  We make small talk.  I let him set the pace.  It's faster than mine, and he's fitter than I am, so it works.  He is a great pace setter.  It's where I should run.  So, once again, we did our little dance.  Talking about how we hadn't seen each other all winter (he preferred to run before the sun), and how it seems we always meet in the same area.  As always, we parted at the corner to my street.  He went towards his house, and I towards mine.

As I settled into home, running the last half-mile at a nice clip, I thought about Parent's article.  My cumbersome movement had been fixed twice by strangers going through a similar experience  So often, besides Parent, just talking with or running alongside another runner, brings that instant kinship.  Two weeks ago, I absent-mindedly led my dog on a 4-miler.  We meant to go for two, but she looked to be loving it, and so we just kept going until she looked as tired as I did.  She's usually hyper, but is a great running partner.  Sydney has sat at my feet consistently since that day.  That's the kinship of the run.  Beautiful days like today were made to run, and the people we run with, meet on the run, or just those that sing to us as we attempt to run, really make the difference between a good run and a bad run.

8 Mile and July 2010 in a nutshell

No, not that 8 Mile!

The past two weeks, I've run 22 miles each, culminating with an 8 mike run on the Saturday.  These two weeks, and especially these two runs, could not have been any different.  We can start with the distances and finish times of each run: July 24-8.01 miles-103 minutes (1:43, or 12:51 miles) vs. July 31-8:36 miles-76 minutes (1:16, or 9:04 miles).

The two big factors were the weather and my body (aren't those what affects everyone?).  The past two weeks, something has been (not) seriously wrong with my left shin and calf.  My foot wouldn't flex when I pushed off the ground.  I kept running anyway.  Finally, I had enough last Monday (July 26), called my support crew (read: chiropractor), and made an appointment for the next afternoon.  I also tried running on the treadmill to see if it made a difference.  It did, but I hate the treadmill a lot more in the summer.  At the appointment, she told me something was up with my soleus   Additionally, I've been to the walk-in twice in the last four weeks.  The first time, 2 weeks ago, I went through a battery of tests, and was given weak antibiotics, because they couldn't find anything wrong with me (I had been coughing for 2 weeks at this point).  I went back this Friday, saw a different doctor, and was put on the nebulizer for a breathing treatment, as the cough and wheezing were worse.  She checked out my chest xray, and decided that I had had bronchitis for over a month.  Awesome, new meds: z-pack, a steroid, and an inhaler.  Freaking great!

As for the weather last week versus last week, it was diametrically opposed (I think).  July 24, at 7:30-9:30 it was 80-82, and the Real Feel was between 98 and 102, due to 80% humidity in the morning (got to 92%, no rain).  July 31, the climate was drastically different.  The temps from 7:30 to 9 ranged between 63 and 68, with a feel of 63-70 in the sun.  In the shade, I actually shivered on my first loop.

The courses were also a bit different.  I have a 4 mile (4.18) loop that I use regularly through some of the neighborhoods around mine.  On the first Saturday, it took me 44 minutes to complete the first loop of this.  I felt awful.  I was drenched in sweat by the end of the 2nd mile.  Soaked completely through my shirt and shorts.  My leg was in pain.  I did my usual water stop in my garage, and then proceeded to change the route. I could not mentally or physically do that loop again.  So, I ran up and down the side streets on my usual two mile loop, making it up to about 4 (3.83) for a grand total of 8.01.  The 3.83 took me an hour, and I had to walk several times due to pure exhaustion.

This week, I was able to do the 4.18 mile loop twice.  The first time through, I felt awesome.  It was like I was in a race.  The chiropractor visit combined with some serious aided stretching (thanks to the Wife), and I ran at a  pace that was, for me, gang busters (great vocabulary, Teach).  Keeping up a full head of steam, I completed the first loop in 36:36 (8:45 miles, which is pretty good for me).  I got my water, took my inhaler, and headed out again in under 2 minutes.  My stride hadn't changed much, and it was really good.  As I went up "the hill," I felt as though I was flying up it (this sucker rises 100ft in a little under a quarter mile, that's more than a 4% grade).  In fact, I felt so good at the top, that I considered doing another 2-4 miles after this loop, but then I decided not to push it,  based on my calf/shin.  It was probably a good idea, because, though I really felt good on this round of the loop, by the time I got to the last half mile, I was ready to be done.  On the entire run, I didn't sweat through my shirt, let alone my shorts.  Conditions were SO much better!

When I finished on the 24th, I felt enormous relief: it was over.  I hadn't felt that awful in a long time when I finished a run.  This week, when I finished, I felt enormous relief: I KILLED THAT RUN!  It gave me a lot o hope, because I again was contemplating at least 2 more miles when I came inside.  If I had about an hour more (S had to go to a baby shower in NY, and I'd feel guilty coming in from my run 20 minutes before she left), I absolutely would have.  Saturday made me feel as though I was back on track.  There are roughly 70 days until the ING Hartford Half-Marathon (this year, I'm taking it easy).  I promise not to wait 50 days for my next post, like I did last year.  I'll be ready on time, and feel a lot better.

July 2010 Update:
Total mileage 83 (July 2009, I did 92, not bad, considering I run 1 day a week less, and I'm not training for a marathon).
Total running workouts: 24 (2009: 18...hmmm maybe I skipped a few more days than I thought)
Extra workouts (x-training): 9 (2009: 1)
Blog posts: 3* (2009: 4)
Weight at Start of Month: 236 (2009: 239)
Weight at End of Month: 232 (2009: 235)

Race Report: GE/Petit Foundation 5k

The GE/Petit Foundation 5k was everything it was advertised as, and more.  The course was very flat.  On another day, it may have even been fast.   And despite the fact that it started on Rt. 10 (across from the Golden Arches, what kind of sick joke is that?) and ended in an industrial section of Plainville, the course mostly went through nice residential portions of the town.

This race was run in extreme heat and humidity (both in the high 80s).  Many thanks to all those who set up their hoses and sprinklers to douse the participants.  Like a junior mint, it was very refreshing!  While I didn't run anything near my best, I felt like I ran hard the entire time.  The weather was very brutal, and the crowd was big, so there was no hope of running a PR or a best for the year.  Too bad.  Not happy with my 29, but people were struggling all over the course.  I don't feel like I struggled, I just couldn't run any damn faster.

The event also had a great expo.  There was a tremendous variety of vendors, it was as big as a carnival.  Much appreciation for the pre/post race massages from CT Sports Massage.  I cannot begin to describe how good the expo was during the event, just that it was very impressive.  Many thanks to those that donated their time, product, services, etc...but a special thanks to the event volunteers.  Without them, the race wouldn't have been possible.  And on such a hot day, they did an awesome job of manning the course, and making sure everything went smoothly.  Great job!

Finally, much props for my sister.  She completed her first 5k.  I'm really very impressed, because she totally blew away her own expectations.  Great job S!

K was a good little girl during the race.  She cheered runners, and afterwards, we shared a Saints hotdog and some Sobe Life Water.

Back in the groove...

Should have blogged sooner.  The past 3 weeks have been the first of summer vacation.  With that in mind, it's also been the first 3 weeks of my summer training.  While I am not getting ready for another marathon, I've got some goals to achieve.
For starters, I'm still carrying around that extra weight that never seems to go away.  To put it plainly, I'm not going to be ready to run Supernaturally at Nike's Bear Butte Running Camp any time soon.
Okay, after seeing Nick Symmonds, I'm never going to be ready for that.  Can't believe how much play this video has gotten, though.
The past three weeks have been 15+ miles each.  It's been pretty good going, as well, with a pretty consistent schedule: M 2-3, Tu 3-4, W 4-4.5, Th 2-3, Sa-"Long."  The first week, I did a little over 4, the past two I did 5.6 or so (though I thought I was getting 6 miles in this past week)...iMixes for the 3 Saturday runs are below.  Training has been a bit more tame this year, as the weekly schedule seems.  I've been trying to be sure to do 100 ball crunches each day of July, and I'm working on the push-ups portion of my year now.
On Monday runs, I've been trying something different.  Since it's short, I'm out without my iPod and without my watch.  The only clock I use is the one in my car right before I leave and as soon as I'm back to know how long I was out.  The rest of the time, it's just me, my footsteps, and my breathing.  In this weather, the breathing has been loud.
Also, I've made a new friend on my 4+ mile runs.  Going up the hill on Rt. 10, there's an opossum carcass (that's the best word to describe it).  All that's really left to verify it's species are the position it's lying in (playing opossum), a tail, and a skull which is perpetually grinning/growling at you as you run by it.  It's pretty disgusting (imagine this, but all decayed).  But seriously, I've seen numerous species of wild life along my mileage thus far this summer.  Several bunnies of all colors, a red fox, a few awesome hawks, several deer, and a fisher cat (they're freaking hideous at this time of year, after shedding their thick coats).   The wild-life has been the highlight of the runs, so far (unless you can count when I get out really early, and people's sprinkler systems are on, and I get misted every few houses).
Finally, I turned 30 yesterday.  That meant...not so much.  But, this morning I did something I haven't tried to do in the 6 years since I got married. Today, I got up early, ran my two miles, showered, and then headed over to school to lift with the kids.  The fitness/agility/flexibility portion of the day was probably the most excruciating. Speed development, an ab-circuit, dot drill, agility ladders, and hurdle flexibility-nothing better to say "Hey, old fat-ass, you're even further out of shape than you thought."  Then we went into the weight room.  I had an A day, which meant it was squat driven (6x6...I chose to do mine with 135 as I've got nothing to prove), followed by a paired incline/bent row combo, pull-ups/shoulder press pair, and then y's and dips.  I did everything to success except the pull-ups (got nothing to prove there, either), and actually thought the pace was a little slow (kids still get a thousand water breaks, and lifting is so much more focused and short than the old days).  Then we went outside, ran 10 40s, and the football kids had football agility work to do (figure 8s, M and W drills (change of direction), and such).  That was my cue to start stretching.  I was really happy, mostly because I didn't feel awful at the end.  Of course, life hits on Wednesday, when we won't have daycare until 8 or 8:15, and lifting starts at 8.  Guess I'll miss the abs, dots, etc.  Friday is 30 mins of power stations, we'll see how I feel that day.
Wish that I was dedicated to blogging more...mostly addicted to DailyMile, though.

Done at 5:45-6:45 AM, this was the best of the bunch. Some seriously good tunes to get you going.

Best songs to run to this summer: Check Yes Juliet (We the Kings), Flathead (the Fratellis), This Too Shall Pass (OK Go [2 great videos for this song, btw]), Ramble On (Zeppelin), Handlebars (Flobots),  and my favorite to run to at any time, All These Things That I've Done (the Killers).

If you can't stand the heat, don't even think about the humidity

As a large person, humidity is the bane of my existence. Skinny folks think that humidity is bad for everyone, which it is, to a degree. However, when you're big like me, it's just that much worse. Skinny people will debate this with me, but I win that argument quickly. Why? Because when it's humid, skinny people will complain about how muggy it is, but STILL go outside and sit by a pool on a humid day, get sun, jump in, get more sun, jump back in, and they're fine. Me, I do my best to avoid going outside at all costs, even into my pool on humid days. By the way, don't get me going on the fallacy of "dry heat." To make a short story long, this week, with it's awful humidity (and clearly no rain, unlike wonderful last week), made for a tough work week.

To be honest, it was the worst week of training this summer. Everything seemed out of whack. Not to complain, but not only was it humid, but for some reason, my feet and left leg killed when I ran. It was pretty inexplicable, but I wasn't comfortable on any of my weekday runs. IT WAS INEXPLICABLE...until I went to the chiro for the first time in 2 weeks (she was on her honeymoon), and BAM! I felt better instantly, as the pain in my feet subsided, and my left leg was fine (she snapped by fibula back into place).

This morning, I did my 2nd longest run ever, 12.24 miles. It's been exactly 2 months since the half marathon, so it was a good indicator of my training. Again, I did the 2.04 mile loop near home and ran it 6 times. For the Gatorade tastes so much sweeter when you're tired, and you only allow yourself two sips (one Dixie cup full, like races). The running felt great, and I actually did the whole thing running sub-10 minute miles! That may not seem like the greatest to real runners, but when my goal is to run 9 minute miles for the marathon, that's a tremendous training pace. For the record, I ran 9:52/mile for the entire thing. What I'm more proud of is that the first ten mile, the same as last Saturday's run, was done at a pace of 9:32/mile for 10.20 miles (a total of 1 h 37 m 14 s). Last week, it took me an hour and 45 minutes for that same distance, and I ran 10:16/mile.

The weirdest thing of the entire run was feeling my fibula slip in and out a few times. In the past few weeks, I've realized I've become one of those people consumed by running. I won't say I'm a psycho runner, because 1) I don't enter every race I can, and always try for a PR and 2) I know I could just not run for like...ever if I truly felt like being a fat P.O.S. But, as a runner, I am obsessive. Feeling my leg do twitchy things is one of those examples of my obsession. They say, listen to what your body tells you in Runner's World. Well, even though I'm not hurt, since going to the new chiropractor, I'm much more aware of what my body is doing. Another example of my obsession is that this week I noticed I've been putting my shoes on the same way I did when I played football (right, then left). When I do put my shoes on the wrong foot first, I take them off and start over. I also love my watch, and like to beat the clock.

But the best example of my being consumed by running came when I was doing my 3rd lap today. I was about 1/2 mile into it (so around 4.5 miles in), when this lady comes up behind me. She's running a great pace, but based on her complete lack of sweat, I know she's just starting. Then, she passed me. I got pissed. I lengthened my stride, and really went at it, and kept on her shoulder for the next mile or so. She turned one way at a corner, I went the other, and it was over. But I was so pissed at her. Even now, writing this, I'm getting my blood pressure up.

Something else, completely unrelated, that I've been realizing over the past two weeks is pretty weird. I love running hills. Not great big ones, but slowly inclining, gradual hills are fun for me. My dad used to say he did, too, because when he ran XC, he could catch all the taller runners on the hills, due to his shorter stride. He always lost it on the flats. Maybe I'm nuts, but the hill is the only place I can open my stride (which is much larger than Dad's). I feel as though I eat up those gradual sloping hills...especially when the sun is at my back, and I can chase my shadow. Perhaps it's childish, but it works.

Finally, the music from today... One of the songs that came on while I ran always makes me feel better as I run. I'm sure many recreational runners have this experience. There are several songs that I can name that do this. However, this song is probably unique to me. That's because it's 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton. I'm not kidding. When I run, I love that song. The intro reminds me of feet on the pavement, and the brass is a nice change from the driving guitars of the alt/rock I'm usually running to. So thank you, Dolly...

Side note: this Tuesday, after I ran, I went to NYC to watch the taping of Late Night w/ Jimmy Fallon. Great time! Free tickets. I recommend it to any and everyone to go get into a television studio audience of one of their favorite shows. Even if you don't think you'll enjoy the guests (I saw P. Diddy, and it turned out to be great), you'll most likely enjoy the experience. Here's Jimmy, Diddy, and the legendary Roots crew, slow jammin' the news on the President's approval ratings...

How I spent my summer vacation...

To some people I know, I've done nothing my summer vacation. It's been nothing but racking up scores on Facebook games and watching Saved by the Bell reruns on TBS. While these are both true, I've also been doing some work on the 5k planning, and other work related things this summer, as well. Plus, I've been to two weddings. However, the one advantage of being a teacher is the downtime created by having summer off. This has provided me with, as you may have guessed, the perfect opportunity to workout and hope to achieve my goal of running the Hartford Marathon this fall.

This week has been a momentous week. To start, the wife and I celebrated our 5th anniversary. Huge deal. Also, the baby will be a year and a half old tomorrow (18 months, really...78 weeks...really!).

But for many, this week would not have been a great week to train. You see, it rained all day Tuesday, was cloudy and cool on Wednesday, and Thursday it was cool...and wound up raining again. Last night, we had a full on thunder storm that spooked the dog. For many people, the rainy, cloudy days are not days they want to go running.

Personally, I cannot understand this logic. This was the perfect week to run. After my recovery run tomorrow (2-3 miles), I'll have covered more than a marathon this week (!!!!), having already ran 25.38 (remember, my week starts each Monday). So yes, I had a great week of training. I love to run in the rain. Like a Junior Mint, it's very refreshing. So, on Tuesday, I had a great run in the rain. Five and a half miles in the rain, and I booked it. After a run like that, you're going to be soaked, so why shouldn't it be with nice cool rain? Though they probably think I'm crazy, I'll never understand why people don't like to run in the rain.

The rest of the week went very well, too. The cool weather really helped. Yesterday, it got warm and muggy, however the thunderstorm last night helped to cool off this morning (though it's currently in the mid-80s). If only I had gotten a decent night's sleep (oh that dog!), today's run would've been even better.

You see, today I had to do ten miles. This would be my 2nd longest run ever (the half-marathon being the longest). To achieve success, I tried to stay close to home...really close. We have a very comfortable loop around our neighborhood that's 2.04 miles. It's got some good hills to train on, as well. So, to get ready for the marathon, I decided to do 5 laps of the loop. Each time I got back to the house, I stopped by, went in the garage and had a sip of Gatorade (Orange G2, of course). My thoughts were, this is something like the marathon course, as there will be water station every 2 miles or so. I just need to worry about where the port-o-potties are!

Strangely this run was not monotonous. I saw the neighborhood in various stages of the morning. Some people walked. I saw at least 6 different runners and a few bikers. As it got later, lawns started to get mowed and kids came out to play. The scenery was the same each time around, but at the same time it was quite different. That really helped. Plus, the short distance meant I would get a short break every so often.

Combined with the excellent workout weather, I had some excellent musical accompaniment on my training this week. Here are the playlists, along with the workouts...

Tuesday-5.53 miles

Wednesday-4.12 miles

Thursday-5.53 miles

Saturday-10.20 miles

Today, once again, the song that carried me over the hump on today's 10 miles (right around the 5 mile mark, too) was All These Things Things That I've Done by the Killers. It gets me every time I'm mid-run, and never fails. It's definitely got to do with that Nike commercial, Courage. Even though I'm running, I can always picture four things when it gets to the I've got soul portion: Pre shaking his head after a race, Lance Armstrong beating cancer, and busting up the mountain on his bike, Michael Jordan with the NBA championship on father's day, the year his father was murdered, and finally the quick snippet of Jon Lester right after he pitched the no-hitter after he beat lymphoma. These pictures just run through my head, and I find myself running faster. Courage has got to be the single most inspirational commercial to hit the airwaves.

Chuggin' along...

Nothing exciting has happened in my training. So much so, that I've got NOTHING interesting to write. Weeks pass, and I keep running. Some soreness, but the chiropractor and stretching has been really helpful in dealing with those issues. Also, I just got new shoes, which should help improve my overall feeling after running...just an upgrade from my old New Balance 768s to a pair of 769s. Are they different? Aside from the 600+ miles on the old pair, I'm not sure. You tell me...




If you don't care that much about sneakers, well, I don't know what to tell you. I'm fascinated by how the first pair really helped me deal with stability issues when I ran (like my feet caving in on each step [overpronation]). While this can't be completely healed by a pair of shoes, the chiropractor is shocked I've never had an ankle injury. I just knocked on wood.

Meanwhile, since the 4th, I've had some killer runs. Starting with July 4, I had my most difficult run ever. I was in New Hampshire, and ran about 6.4 miles. Over that time, I climbed and fell roughly 400 feet in elevation, while my usual runs around home have no more than a total difference around 50-100 feet. While it was my most difficult run I can remember (and I'm including the half marathon), it was also the most rewarding, and scenic. I ran around the north shore of a lake I know well, past some places I'd been to as a child (a marina, Audobon societies, a nature center), and it really hadn't changed. It was also cool, maybe 63 degrees, and fantastic for running. The hills, though challenging, really didn't phase me, so I knew that I was getting stronger. This work had been paying off. The next day, after coming home, I ran a 5k in the neighborhood. I ran by myself, and was right around 27 minutes, which was great for two reasons...being solo and having ran the mountain the day before then driving home for four hours.

Last week was off schedule, which is a good thing. Something felt bad on my first run of the week, and worse the following day. I didn't feel right. By this Tuesday, I hadn't run much at all. In fact, I waited until after the chiropractor to run then. I still felt bad as I ran, and worried a little.

However, Wednesday, I felt pretty good, and Thursday was fantastic. Today was really good for running, too. I did 8 miles, the most I've done since the half marathon. The best part was, I didn't really have issues until my form broke down around the 7 mile mark. That, to me, was huge. This week, I've already run 21+ miles, and have a recovery jog tomorrow to handle. Things really seem to be shaping up.

I've signed up to run the Brew Run, and can't wait. But I've also been busy organizing another run to help raise money for a new scholarship at work. In fact, registration is now open, and I'd love to see as many people there as possible. This is going to be a need based scholarship, and the more money we raise, the more kids we can help with their college education.

All-in-all the past few weeks have been great for running, even if it seemed to rain a little too much at the end of June and beginning of July.

Apparently, there are just 20 short days until the Brew Run. Every day when I run, I can almost taste the beer at the end. Can't wait for that race, it's pretty nice. I haven't updated my iPod since the last blog post, so most of the songs I ran to today have been running staples for the past three weeks. That being said, you may want to try some of the songs on this iMix, as they've been pretty good.

Miles so far this month: 48.85 (10 total runs) - Calories burned so far this month: 8,160

Miles since June 9 (the start of this new cycle): 101.71 (25 total runs) - Calories burned since June 9: 13,246

You can track my workout progress using the new feed on the right, too. Thanks, and keep checking up on me...

It's official: Iron Horse Half Marathon

Not much has been said since the start of track (hence the 2 and a half month lay off). What is there to say? My training has NOT gone as planned, but it has happened. Weight is back up, but so is my mileage. In fact, over the past month, I've gone on 6 runs that lasted anywhere from an hour to 1:45. Over these two months, I've also ran 2 5ks, and my time reflected the paces I've been training at.

HOWEVER, despite going off schedule, today was a special day. Today, I reached a bench mark, as planned, running the Iron Horse Half Marathon in Simsbury. My time wasn't earth shattering, but I did it (While I didn't finish in 2:10 like I hoped, I finished in 2h 32m 11s, which when you look at it is slightly more than double the winner's 1:15:50, which is something. [complete results (plus check out the 10K times and see how close my mother-in-law was to getting an age group award, AGAIN...next year Mom] ).

It truly is something I'm proud to say I accomplished. And, best yet, I feel great just 8 hours after I finished. Honestly, it was a great experience, and a great course I haven't killed my inner fat kid, but damn, it felt good to get it done. It certainly was an experience, and just added to my motivation to complete the 26.2 this fall.



Here's the total route I ran.


Proof that I finished...

Next race info...
August 8, 2009 (Saturday)The 31st Brew RunBrewster, MA 4:00PM The Woodshed, Route 6a (Every 25th finisher gets a prize.)Contact: Tom Meagher (Brewster Rescue Squad), 80 Center Street, Brewster, MA, USA, 02631. 1-508-896-3235 rspitler@cox.net> Yahoo! Maps > Register Now

If you're on the Cape that weekend, join me for some running and post-race cold one's. I preferred it to the Falmouth Road Race (though now I think I want to do that again, too!), it was like a summer version of Manchester.


TODAY'S SOUNDTRACK

Getting strong now...

Open track is a device used by the team to bridge the week between indoor and outdoor season. Coaches are present for liability purposes, but do not (and cannot) coach. This provides an excellent opportunity to run with some people. Traditionally, I have run with the slower JV boys and the best JV girl runners. Yesterday, I thought it would be a good idea to run with our better girls, because they were doing the mileage I needed. I was midly impressed as I stayed with them through most of the first two miles (if you look at the map of the run, I lost them shortly before the left turn towards the 2nd mile marker). This was great. In fact, I ran 8:24 miles for 4.41, until I got back to the track, and ran another mile.

In all, the run was tough. I haven't been outside in a while, and the gradual climbs were hell on my lower back. Still, there was one incline that was about 200 yards long, and by the midpoint, I felt good, my stride came back, and I completed the rest easily. This was JUST after the 2 mile mark, at a 4% grade. The rest was rolling hills.

Personally, I was pleased with my stamina throughout. Additionally, the time I ran was great for me in a training mode. That being said, I'll do this again tomorrow. Saturday, I'll be running a 5k, and I think I'm poised to do well for myself (though I don't think my training is lending itself to a PR at such a short race). Included below are the mapmyrun.com map of the run (minus the final mile to the track), and the iMix I listened to.

Dropping the Ball...Getting serious

Have I really not posted in two weeks? I swear that's impossible. Honestly, I find it hard to believe, and wonder if there's a lost post out there.

I really dropped the ball going into last week. The ShamRock & Roll was last week, and though short for my workout, I didn't sign up or run in the 5k. This isn't such a big deal, because of the distance of the race. However, it was something I had wanted to do. It was a perfect storm of things happening: clocks changing for daylight savings, busy schedule, cold. Except, it turned out to be 65 on Sunday, and in the 50s by the time the race was run. I gambled. I lost. The half marathon is at the end of May, and it is a definite. There is a 5k coming up, if I feel like running. I think I should. It's the Saturday before track starts.



The past two weeks, I've been experimenting with a new running program. Running 5 miles 3 days a week, while lifting, doing abs, and doing 2+ miles on the PreCor on alternate days. It's all a hybrid of the track distance kids' workouts, and Runner's World's 16 week Marathon prep schedule (I have just over 30 weeks prior to my race, so I have SOME wiggle room to build up more gradually). I'm already at a week 3 type schedule. That gives me about 12 more steps. If I have 30 Saturday's prior to the race, that gives me some time to grow. The last 3 weeks are scaling back, leading up to the race. I'd like to keep them that way. Nobody should taper too early. That leaves me 9 more steps. If I can do each step for 3 weeks leading up to those last three weeks, in theory I should be prepared for the marathon in October.



Building up the mileage was my biggest fear. This seems very possible. Every time that I look at it, my confidence for successful completion of the marathon. AWESOME.



Finally, I'm not at my own computer typing this. So, there are two iMixes from recent workouts I thought that I'd share.

A case of the Mondays...

Mondays suck, and everyone knows it...except people that work irregular days, or on the weekend. Then, whatever day you start work sucks. But Mondays suck, and almost as much as the day after a vacation. When the two are combined, all hell can break loose. You're probably going to be irritable and tired.

Amby Burfoot, the 1968 Boston Marathon winner and editor for Runner's World, says that the best day for a run is on a day where you absolutely, positively, have zero motivation...especialy in regards to running. Run on days you don't want to has become a mantra since the end of the 2007-2008 school year. Today was one of those days...a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Some things went haywire, as they often do when you return to school after some time away. Plus, running errands never seems to go the way it is supposed to. Frustration set in.

In fact, the most valuable part of the day was discussing my long term running plans with the cross country/distance coach from our track team. I learned to love running in the 3 years I was the distance coach. But I am definitely much better suited to working with sprinters as I do now. He knows running, and discussed how he plans to train his runners for the rest of the year. The weekly plan and goals seemed do-able, if modified. In fact, they corresponded a lot with the early part of this marathon training plan I've been looking at.

That's why, when, faced with a case of the Mondays, and a generally uninspiring day, I knew that, despite my grim outlook, it was the day I had to run. It was also 28 degrees at 3:00 pm, so that meant I would be running at the gym. No biggy, as I decided it was a good day to start the long running process, and add some mileage. Fifty eight minutes later, I had gone 6.3 miles (Roughly 6.5 mph...a great clip, especially in training).

Running is great. It lets you clear you mind. All the crap from the day goes away. Sure, there may be a pain in your knee, or a blister forming, but that's great pain...unless it's excruciating. So there I was, washing the day away, running for a symbolic 58 minutes. Not bad. Great mileage. Huge workout. 1153 calories burned in 65 total minutes on the treadmill...this has to have a positive impact on my weight and the ability to run distances. If I continue, the running can only get easier and the weight can only continue to go away. That run turned a case of the Mondays into an overall good day.

Now...I just wish I could get my hamstrings to EVER loosen up.

Workout, and stuff...

Don't you hate it when you go to the gym, and nobody looks like they need to be there. That was the case today. Even the old guy on the treadmill a few down from me was in great shape. Three of the trainers were working out as I did my run today. Then, as I'm leaving, this clearly in-shape woman was going to have a consultation with one trainer, and a man in full Army fatigues with at least 3 stripes was going into the office with another trainer. Three stripes means a sergeant (turns out he's a staff sergeant, because I looked up the insignia), so he'd be in shape, folks. Then, there's me, chugging along running 8:45-9:30 miles on the treadmill (mind you at a 1.2% grade...which is something like climbing 63 feet per mile*). In the end, despite all the beautiful people surrounding me, I sweat and ambled along until I had done 5 miles over 48 minutes (including the cool down). What was nice was that I never went below 6.4 miles per hour, and kept a steady incline the entire way (I ran up a gradual 300 foot ascent). The cool part was, I burnt over 925 calories in the process. But you know, I still hate the beautiful people, because I swear they're looking at me with scorn as I sweat like a pig, and they're off glistening. Thoughts?

What'd I listen to?

*For those of you that play with the incline on the treadmill, I finally learned how it all works.
% grade change = the percentage of change based on 1 horizontal mile. Since a mile is 5,280 feet, a 1% change in grade is 52.8 feet per mile. On the treadmill, you can only go on an incline, so there's your phyics/math lesson for the day.

Whoops!

Okay, so I was a bit focused last week. I finished in second place, dropping down to 222 for the final weigh-in. Of course, that's a little skewed because I didn't eat or drink after dinner the night before, and didn't get weighed until 9:15, even though I woke up at 4:45 to run another 3 miles that morning. It paid off, as second place got me my money back ($50) plus with side bets, other people owe me another $20.

Since I exercised and won back my cash Friday, I promptly took off Saturday through Tuesday. My knee hurt, and frankly I was tired. In fact, I slept much of Saturday though Monday.

This afternoon, I got back on the horse. I went to the gym, set the personal trainer setting to Calories Goal, and went for 800. Actually, after 46 minutes, I had gone 4.62 miles, and burned 840 calories. My legs only felt bad for a little while between minutes 15 and 25.

This is the week I set as my deadline for running goals for 2009. I knew already that I would be running the Simsbury Iron Horse half marathon and the Brew Run while my family is on the Cape. Personally, I think I am in love with the Manchester Road Race...it feels like America! I don't think I could imagine a Thanksgiving without it, again. I've decided that with those races, I need to start early, so I am going to enter the ShamRock-n-Roll in New Haven next month. A 5k is basically training, but the St. Patrick's day theme might be worthwhile, even if it means being up for a 9 am race on a Sunday.

The biggest question mark was the Hartford Marathon. An email from my sister-in-law prompted me to get off my duff, and just commit. She wanted to do the half, and I said I was REALLY thinking about the the full. What's the worst than can happen? I can't finish. If I can't, I still have next year to make my goal. However, going for it a year early would be worthwhile. But, it gives me at least one training partner. That's got me pretty psyched.

Today's workout play list: