Thursday night I made it out for 8 miles on Forbidden Drive. Felt good. 61 minutes.
Friday
I took advantage of a day off and got out for a longer run. My goal was to run 90 minutes at whatever pace my body felt like doing. I started easy and warmed into the run on a couple miles of trails. This eventually led me to the top of Forbidden Drive at Northwestern Avenue. I decided to run all the way to the other end at Lincoln Drive and then home, should give me a little over 90 minutes.
I was really feeling good, cruising along at a pace somewhere around 7:05-7:15. I made it to Lincoln Drive, 8 miles in, still with a lot of pep in my legs so I decided to see what I could do and picked things up to a pace I felt I could hold in a half marathon. You lose touch with your fitness after about a month off and I didn't know how things would go.
I was very surprised and happy that I was able to run the next three miles in the 6:15-6:20 range without pushing to hard. If felt a little easier than tempo pace. Maybe the mountain bike rides kept me in better running shape than I thought they would. This bodes well for PDR. I don't if I can run that pace for 13 miles but at least now it feels like a slight possibility.
12.5 miles in 91 minutes.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Checkin In
A long hiatus between posts makes me realize how long it’s been since I’ve put in any real mileage, well over a month. Since my last post I have run but only 10-20 miles per week. Any runs I have completed were untimed and unlogged. Just out there running when I feel like it.
I have been out more often on my mountain bike. I’ve earned a few bruises from a couple low-speed falls, and some tight quads from pushing up the steep hills in the Wissahickon. The workout on a mountain bike is a lot different from a run, bursts of high output on the hills following by aerobic breaks as I try to navigate down rocky rutted hills. I’m not really sure how these rides translate into running fitness but I definitely feel like I worked my ass off when I get home.
The Philly Distance Run is only a few weeks away and I figure it’s time to start running more miles to get myself prepped for the race. This started on Sunday with a solid 8 miles on Forbidden Drive. My pace was steady in the 7:15 range, the weather was nice (as most of August has been this year) and I felt great. I expected to feel the miles in my legs the next day but I surprisingly felt fresh.
I went out for a very hard 15 miles on my bike Monday evening. I ended up pushing more than expected after meeting another guy at around the same speed. We raced up down the park keeping each other motivated on the hills. All in good fun.
Last night was an easy 6 miles with Heather. I wanted to pick things up but kept the pace easy to run most of the way with Heather. When we reached the exit to the park up Rex Hill, I took off and pushed hard up the hill for home. Just over 6 miles.
I’ll hopefully keep the mileage in the upper 40s for the next couple weeks and see what happens on PDR on Sep 21st.
I have been out more often on my mountain bike. I’ve earned a few bruises from a couple low-speed falls, and some tight quads from pushing up the steep hills in the Wissahickon. The workout on a mountain bike is a lot different from a run, bursts of high output on the hills following by aerobic breaks as I try to navigate down rocky rutted hills. I’m not really sure how these rides translate into running fitness but I definitely feel like I worked my ass off when I get home.
The Philly Distance Run is only a few weeks away and I figure it’s time to start running more miles to get myself prepped for the race. This started on Sunday with a solid 8 miles on Forbidden Drive. My pace was steady in the 7:15 range, the weather was nice (as most of August has been this year) and I felt great. I expected to feel the miles in my legs the next day but I surprisingly felt fresh.
I went out for a very hard 15 miles on my bike Monday evening. I ended up pushing more than expected after meeting another guy at around the same speed. We raced up down the park keeping each other motivated on the hills. All in good fun.
Last night was an easy 6 miles with Heather. I wanted to pick things up but kept the pace easy to run most of the way with Heather. When we reached the exit to the park up Rex Hill, I took off and pushed hard up the hill for home. Just over 6 miles.
I’ll hopefully keep the mileage in the upper 40s for the next couple weeks and see what happens on PDR on Sep 21st.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Seattle...
I'm back from a 10 day trip to the Seattle area and trying to burn up some of the jet lag which has me wide awake and bouncing of the walls at 10:00 pm instead of yawing with a book in front of me in bed.
Seattle was great. Heather and I went canoeing, kayaking (twice), travelled to the San Juan Islands and saw some Orca, went for a hike in the Olympic National Park that started at 2,500 feet and ended with spectacular views at 6,000 feet, slept 2 nights on a sailboat, went house hunting, saw the Mariners get crushed by the Orioles, cooked Dungeness crabs, raced, biked, and ran. A full vacation that has left me totally relaxed but still not looking forward to work tomorrow morning.
We ran a race on Saturday July 27th. A 5 & 8K event that I think kicks off Sea Fest, a week long celebration that consists of tons of events in and around Seattle. Heather's mother signed us up for the 8K and as I expected it was fairly big. Well over 1000 runners in the 8K (A hair under 5 miles) and from the looks of the competition I knew I wasn't going to be anywhere near the front.
The course went all around the downtown. Due to my limited knowledge of Seattle I was unsure of what the course was going to be like but I was sure there were gonna be some hills. They are hard to avoid when running around Seattle. I held back slightly in the first couple miles and they went by somewhere around 6:00-6:05. From here I decided to pick up the pace and passed a couple guys, this mile went sub 6:00 but there was a bit of uphill so I was working hard. The fourth mile continued generally uphill and I was officially in hang-on mode, not passing but not getting passed. With a mile to go the the loop course which had been generally uphill finally turned the other way and we were quickly headed down. I jumped at the chance to pass the guy and front of me and nearly got another but the course flattened out and I couldn't catch him. Final time 30:16. I was hoping to get under 30 but I was happy with the time.
It was well run race, with a great course and I am sure it is a favorite out there. The heavily downhill at the end really made for a great finish. I ended up in 53rd place but Heather won her age group. I would have been excited for such a win at a big event but Heather just kind of blew it off. Oh well.
Other than that I only ran one other time out there. An easy 6-7 mile trip around some trails that a guy at the local running store told us about. I definitely got plenty of exercise through other outlets, but not running.
In fact over the past couple weeks I really haven't run that much. The new mountain bike, vacation, and just not a huge urge to lace up my shoes has put a damper on the mileage as of late. My marathon training was going along very well but suddenly I didn't feel like doing it anymore. These thoughts come and go through the course of training but this time it was persistent. I figured I'd take it easy, ride the bike, go on vacation and mull things over before I really decide to drop training. I've mulled and still feel the same way. No fall marathon.
In fact on the flight home I was looking forward to jumping on my mountain bike and not running on the trails. Odd. I'm not going to fight it but just go with it. The training was something I was starting to dread rather than look forward to. In the past I have made prognostications that my my training was going to take a backseat to other things such as school, family or other sports but I have been wrong in the past so I will make no such predictions this time. The only fact is that I am no longer in marathon training but I am still going to get out the door and do something nearly everyday.
Seattle was great. Heather and I went canoeing, kayaking (twice), travelled to the San Juan Islands and saw some Orca, went for a hike in the Olympic National Park that started at 2,500 feet and ended with spectacular views at 6,000 feet, slept 2 nights on a sailboat, went house hunting, saw the Mariners get crushed by the Orioles, cooked Dungeness crabs, raced, biked, and ran. A full vacation that has left me totally relaxed but still not looking forward to work tomorrow morning.
We ran a race on Saturday July 27th. A 5 & 8K event that I think kicks off Sea Fest, a week long celebration that consists of tons of events in and around Seattle. Heather's mother signed us up for the 8K and as I expected it was fairly big. Well over 1000 runners in the 8K (A hair under 5 miles) and from the looks of the competition I knew I wasn't going to be anywhere near the front.
The course went all around the downtown. Due to my limited knowledge of Seattle I was unsure of what the course was going to be like but I was sure there were gonna be some hills. They are hard to avoid when running around Seattle. I held back slightly in the first couple miles and they went by somewhere around 6:00-6:05. From here I decided to pick up the pace and passed a couple guys, this mile went sub 6:00 but there was a bit of uphill so I was working hard. The fourth mile continued generally uphill and I was officially in hang-on mode, not passing but not getting passed. With a mile to go the the loop course which had been generally uphill finally turned the other way and we were quickly headed down. I jumped at the chance to pass the guy and front of me and nearly got another but the course flattened out and I couldn't catch him. Final time 30:16. I was hoping to get under 30 but I was happy with the time.
It was well run race, with a great course and I am sure it is a favorite out there. The heavily downhill at the end really made for a great finish. I ended up in 53rd place but Heather won her age group. I would have been excited for such a win at a big event but Heather just kind of blew it off. Oh well.
Other than that I only ran one other time out there. An easy 6-7 mile trip around some trails that a guy at the local running store told us about. I definitely got plenty of exercise through other outlets, but not running.
In fact over the past couple weeks I really haven't run that much. The new mountain bike, vacation, and just not a huge urge to lace up my shoes has put a damper on the mileage as of late. My marathon training was going along very well but suddenly I didn't feel like doing it anymore. These thoughts come and go through the course of training but this time it was persistent. I figured I'd take it easy, ride the bike, go on vacation and mull things over before I really decide to drop training. I've mulled and still feel the same way. No fall marathon.
In fact on the flight home I was looking forward to jumping on my mountain bike and not running on the trails. Odd. I'm not going to fight it but just go with it. The training was something I was starting to dread rather than look forward to. In the past I have made prognostications that my my training was going to take a backseat to other things such as school, family or other sports but I have been wrong in the past so I will make no such predictions this time. The only fact is that I am no longer in marathon training but I am still going to get out the door and do something nearly everyday.
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