Looking Back

I wrapped up the week with an easy 6 miles with Heather on Forbidden Drive. For some reason we refer to route as the "Bridge Loop" even though there are about 10 other bridges in the park. The 16 miles from yesterday seemed long forgotten by my legs and I was itching to pick up the pace. Heather obliged for a couple miles and then we settled into a more comfortable pace. 6 in 49 minutes.

I keep hoping this marathon build up will be similar to my training for Chicago in 2006. I decided to begin reading my blog from the July/Aug/Sep leading up to that race. I just finished reading most of September. This is not something I often do but it was great to get a window into my training and mind during that period. September of 2006 was a ridiculously good training month. One workout and race seemed to go better than the last and just from that short read I can see why I was felt so good during that marathon. It seems odd, but I was actually wowed by my own training for that time period.

I'll have to pull some pointers for my training this September. A fast finish long run, a couple tempos and a few races seemed to work really well.

The Summer

I could go on about how hot and humid today's long run was but it is just something you have to deal with when summer running in much of the country, so I'll keep it to myself. Warm temps, full sun, and misty very humid air all portend a horrible run, like the one from last summer but it was not so today.

I met Seebo and the full Philly Runner group in front of the AM at 8:00 this morning. It was my first appearance at the group run in months and there were a lot of unfamiliar faces. Seebo and I started with the group and ran a few miles before branching off on a loop that would bring us back to the AM after about 15 miles. I mapped out the route to hit a water fountain every 4-5 miles. Frequent stops to refill a bottle I nuzzled the entire run made things more than bareable.

I felt great all the way through the finish of the run. I am not so sure Seebo was feeling so great towards the end, achy legs, but we balanced each other out and most of the run came in a little over 8:00 pace. Nearly 16 miles in 2:08.

Taking it Easy

It feels good to be focused on a race again. No actual race picked yet but the idea of a race somewhere in October. A 26.2 mile race. I've added a few more possibles to the list of races: Cape Cod Marathon(this one is put on by Dunkin Donuts. The idea of Dunkin Donuts putting on a marathon is funny but it gives me a good idea of what the post run food will consist of.), Wineglass Marathon (in rural New York, beautiful course and a small field). There were a couple others in the NY/MA/RI area that I was looking into but I can't remmeber them right now. What I need to do is pick and commit. Put the race on my calendar and plan around it, instead of planning the race around other things.

This morning I got up to run for the 3rd time this week. To many this would not be a big deal but for me this is huge. The threat of 94 degree humid weather is a great motivator and I enjoyed the relatively cool morning for 5+ miles through the Wissahickon in 42 minutes. My average pace has been hanging out in the 8+ range for the past couple weeks.

I don't feel bad during the runs but this just seems to be the pace that my legs are willing to do right now. In fact, for June my average easy pace is 8:09. Maybe I am finally learning to go slow on easy days. The thing is if you are going to go that slow on the easy days you have to work hard on the hard days and for that to happen you need to actually have hard days in your training. This is something I'll have to work on.

Yesterday evening I made a trip into the Wissahickon Park and onto Forbidden Drive. The plan was 8 miles with 8 x 30 second strides at a little better than 5K effort. It was warm but not ridiculous and my pace hung under 7:30 when I wasn't hitting the strides. I felt good and focused on form during the repeats. With a couple miles to go my energy waned and I slowed things down. I was in no rush to finish.

There was filiming going on in the park as evidenced by trailers, cameras, a food spread, and people with headphones. I found out it was a commercial and as I made my way along the trail I saw where they were filming. They had a tall, fit, older looking man with slicked back salt and pepper hair. He was dressed as if he was a ring anouncer at a high end boxing match but with a deep green tux on instead of black. He was tightly gripping an antique looking microphone and giving a mean stare into the camera. It seemed very out of place in the park and your guess is as good as mine as to what the commercial was for. Maybe I'll see it on TV in the future. 8+ miles in 61 minutes.

This morning I surprised myself by hopping right out of bed when my alarm sounded at 4:50. Heather, Boomer and I ran a 4.3 mile loop around CH. The humidity had risen sharply overnight and although it was cool I was dripping after the short run. Heather stopped home with the dog to get ready for work and I went out for a few more to give me 7 miles in 58 minutes.

I was looking over the calendar and was surprised to find I have 16-18 weeks until the marathon depending which I chose. For whatever reason I thought I would only have 12 or 13 weeks and its nice to have the unexpected extra training time.

So now what do I do with all of this time. I know from experience that I am just not good at following a strict plan, training for me is more effective when I kind of do my own thing. Looking back to past races, Chicago, although not my fastest, was the best marathon I have run. In the 15 weeks leading up to this race I had consistent 60+ weekly mileage with some tempo runs, fast finish long runs, and mid-week long runs that built up to 15 miles as I approached the taper. I dropped weekly mileage goals on the calendar and each week I would plan my runs to reach this goal. This year I plan to do the same thing with the major goals being:

1. Consistent mileage
2. At least one session of speedwork each week including, tempo, fartlek and intervals.
3. Easy miles on easy days

If I stick to these three simple ideas I think things will go well. Sounds easy, now I just have to put it into practice, get out there each day, and keep the enthusiasm up.

Last night I put in 8+ miles mostly on Forbidden Drive in 64 minutes. I felt smooth but a little tired at the end. The trip up Rex Hill at the end took nearly 5 minutes, more than a minute more than my best, I was moving slow at the end.

This morning 4+ miles around Chestnut Hill. I was surprised at how cool the air was when I stepped out the door and I was happy that I was able to get up. I definitely enjoy these slow, lazy morning runs when most of the world is still asleep. Especially this time of year when the sky brightening by 5:00 and I can run into the sunrise 36 minutes.

Getting Into It

It's been well over a week since I last posted so I'll give you the extremely abbreviated version and then move on to today's run and the future.

I spent a lot of days at the beach over the past 10 days including a long weekend with Heather and then last Wed-Sat with some friends in Sea Isle. This reduced my running totals to 33 miles last week and 27 miles this week. Not horrible but about 10 miles short of what I would have liked. It did however, give me a little mental and physical break from running and I am feeling ready to attack marathon training for the fall.

I considered today the official start of training, not only because I put it 12.5 miles but because I ran them with Seebo. Runs with Seebo generally mean that one or both of us are building towards a marathon and although it wasn't so long of a run today it was the first step toward building up the distance and the routine of the weekly marathon training ritual.

We started easy and we kept it easy which was just fine with me. There will be plenty of time for faster finish long runs in the future. We followed a loop on familiar territory from Llyod Hall out to the Belmont Hills and back through Fairmount Park. We were treated to the Philly Triathlon at the start and finish of the run. Conversation was easy, weather was decent and it was an enjoyable trip around some roads I haven't travelled in a bit. 12.5 miles 1:45.

I found my calves tighter than expected after the run. I at first blamed it on a few days off but then realized that it was the first long run on the roads in quite a while. I think my legs just aren't used to it and it means I need to make point of putting more miles on the asphalt and less on the trails.

As for a marathon this fall I am still undecided. I am looking for something in mid-October to give me enough time to train but will allow me to avoid training through mid-terms in November. It also has to be a driveable distance. Baltimore, Steamtown, and the Newport marathon look like good options. I am leaning towards Newport right now as it will allow some sightseeing and a totally different type of marathon than I am used to with a field of only 600 or so people.

I will break 3 hours.

Early Morning

I took a planned day off on Monday because of the heat. Going to bed that evening I swore I was going to get up and run in the morning (the only time I have to run on Tuesday) and I couldn't get out of bed. The entire day I was angry with myself for not having the drive to get out of bed.

I made a pact with Heather on Tuesday night to wake up early with her to run this morning. Heather has to leave for work at 6:20, this meant getting up 4:50 to run. Not normally my cup of tea but once we got up, dressed and out the door I was happy for it.

The sky was brightening when we stepped of the porch for a 4+ miles loop around the hood. We saw a couple large downed trees from the storm overnight, I guess it had been fairly nasty but I didn't notice asleep in my bed.

After dropping Heather off I went back out for 6 more miles that included a trip into the Wissahickon and Forbidden Drive. Generally a quicker pace than I had run with Heather but never to fast. After couple days off I was really feeling good.

I got home and still had some time to spare before having to get ready for work, it made for a relaxing breakfast. I definitely can get used to that, now I just have to get used to waking up that early.

10+ miles in 1:23

Wissahickon Trail Classic

Before a I get into a race report, just a few details about the week.

The week was filled with mostly easy runs with the exception of a tempoish workout on Tuesday. 3.5 miles in 22:30 or 6:26 pace. A little under my tempo and that is about how it felt, controlled hard. I was really just giving the legs a stretch and testing my skills at pace guessing after so many miles on the trails.

Race day was Saturday morning. Ryan took the train out to my neck of the woods to join me for the race. It was hot. Like mid-July in early June. Hot enough to make me sweat just sitting around. It was going to be an extra fun race.

It was quick run to the start and after 20 minutes Ryan and I were signing up and getting our numbers. I tried not to drip sweat all over the form as I filled it out. We had a bit of time and relaxed in the shade before race time. We glanced over the course map before the run and I was able to envision the race. It started with a big hill and ended with a big hill. My plan was to take it easy on the first hill and then pick it up. Prior to the race I really thought I had a chance at placing in the top 10.

First hill went as planned but at the top was a lot of singletrack and I was stuck in a long line of runners moving at a decent pace. I wanted to pick things up and was eventually able to get ahead of this pack and open up some running space. I figured I was in 20th place at this point. Down a long hill, up a bridge across the creek then up a hill on the other side. We were about 15 minutes in and I was hurting more than I thought I should be at this point. Thinking back this was about the point I just started to hold on. I kept hoping things would smooth out and I could make few attacks to try and get ahead of some runners but in reality I was the one getting passed.

Back up another long climb and now it took a lot not to walk. I thought I'd have an advantage with my knowledge of the trails but the way I was feeling I could put that info to work. The race eventually dipped back onto flat Forbidden Drive for a 1/2 mile and the people in front me pulled away the entire time.

The last hill was more brutal that I had imagined and I walked... a lot. We crested the hill and I knew the remainder was a long descent. I pushed the pace I was able to pass two runners and finish in 45:04.

With the hilly terrain and no mile splits it is tough to gauge your performance in a trail race. The only thing you can really do is compare your race against others that you know. In this regard, I didn't do to well. A few guys I know from the Wanderers that race my pace were up to two minutes ahead of me. Maybe the heat took a toll on me, maybe it just wasn't a good day or maybe these guys just hold back on the smaller trail races.

It was still a fun race and I had a good time. Ryan raced well and seemed to enjoy it too. After cooling down, eating some oranges and a slice of pizza, Ryan and I took a very slow, hot run home. A good way to start the weekend.

For the week. 47 miles running and a 14 mile bike ride.

For the first time since the Broad Street run in early May my run took me out of the Wissahickon Park and onto the road for an extended period. Things started in the park but after 2.5 miles I reached the top and just didn't feel like running trails. Instead of turning around I just kept going into Whitemarsh Township, through gold courses and across couple farms on a loop that dropped me back off at the corner of Northwestern and Germantown Avenue. From here it was long trip up the Germantown hill and home. Just over 7 miles in 54 minutes. From the map it looks like I should explore this area above the city a little more. There could be a few good long loops that are waiting to be run.

While I was out there my mind Wandered to marathon season in the Fall. I am again hoping that I get into the NYC marathon through the lottery. If not NYC then what? Maybe Steamtown.

Toleration

I was browsing a few websites on the Wissahickon Park Saturday afternoon and I clicked the link for statues in the park. I was surprised to find one listed that I'd never seen. The Toleration statue pictured above. All this time in the park and I've never happened upon this statue? My goal for today's run was to locate this thing. I wish I could say that I searched high and low, spending hours in the park until I finally stumbled upon it but I actually did a little more digging on the internet and turned up an approximate location. Just north of the Walnut Lane Bridge on the Eastern Side of the park. I've run and biked trails in that area countless times, that intrigued me even more.

I stole a little info about the statue from the Friends of Wissahickon website. "Erected in 1883, this marble statue of a man in Quaker clothing is situated on a ridge on the eastern side of the Park just north of the Walnut Lane Bridge. Standing atop Mom Rinker’s Rock, the nine-foot-eight-inch statue has the word “Toleration” carved into its four-foot-three-inch base. The statue, which was created by late 19th century sculptor Herman Kirn, was brought to the site by landowner John Welsh who is reported to have purchased the statue at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.Welsh, a former Fairmount Park Commissioner and U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain, donated his land to the Park prior to his death in 1886."

I ran 4-5 miles there on some rugged trails and enjoyed another beautiful day. I took things very slowly as I approached and just began looking around. It didn't take long. I gazed up as I passed by a large rock, that I literally have run by 100 times, and boom there it was gazing out above me. I actually felt a little foolish for never noticing it just 50 feet above my head. I guess I am to busy looking at where my feet are landing and not taking in the scenery.

I quickly found a rough trail to the top of the rock and checked out the statue and the view. I also found some extremely fragrant wild flowers that filled the entire area with the scent of late spring.

After that I turned it around and headed home on a shorter route. I was dragging by the end. 8+ miles in 64 minutes. 54 miles for the week. A number I have run a few times this year but haven't topped.