Turkey Trot - 5 Miler

I've never run a Turkey Trot before but when I found out there was one starting just 2 miles from my house I couldn't pass it up. I was hoping for a solid effort that would provide a good gauge of my fitness.

I ran an easy 2.5 miles to the start. The morning was cool and calm with temps right below 40 degrees, great racing weather. The race was bigger than expected with I'd guess over 200 and I quickly signed up in a well organized registration area. There was a band of high school guys rocking the whole area and it made for a good pre-race atmosphere They played a lot of Red Hot Chili Peppers and they weren't to bad in a garagey sort of way. I am sure all of the neighbors loved it.

The start was very abrupt and I quickly found myself about 20 people from the front. I expected to reel in 10 or so within a 1/2 mile but I was surprised that there were only a couple that went out to fast. I settled in at about a mile and made it my mission to try and pass the five or so guys that were shooting range. I deleted my splits but I think the mile markers were inaccurate anyway so they are irrelevant. It felt like steady effort and I think I paced things well.

By 3.5 miles I was able to pick off four of the guys ahead but the last guy remained tantalizingly out of reach. I'd gain on him and then he'd pull away, never really getting closer than about 20 yards. It gave me something to focus and forced me to keep pace over the last miles which finished with an uphill right before the line. 30:37

I was slightly disappointed with my time. I predicted a 30:28 in my last post and really believed I was going to hit that or maybe a little faster. I guess I am being a little neurotic about 9 seconds but that is the way runners are right? In any case it lets me know where I am at and helps me decide realistic workout paces for marathon training. In the running calculators my finish time lines up very closely with the 5K I ran several weeks back and the Philly half-marathon. All these races predict around a 2:58-3:00 marathon. If the past is any indicator I know I want to be in 2:50-2:55 shape to have a good chance at breaking 3:00 hours. I have some work to do over the next 3 months.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Slow and steady this morning. I mixed up my normal route with a couple twists and turns and one road I haven't run down yet. I don't know if I have officially run every block in Chestnut Hill yet but I know I'm getting close.

I'm stuck in a morning routine that allows me only 45 minutes or so to run before work. That works for few days a week but I need to push that to 60-90 minutes to get some longer runs in mid-week. This morning was 6.4 miles in 50 minutes. I caught a beautiful sunrise just before I wrapped things up.

Tomorrow I'm going to head down to the top of Forbidden Drive for a Turkey Trot. It is a 5 mile trip down to the Valley Green Restaurant and back. I looked up results from previous years and it is a small field but there is some competition that should help me push things. It is a most flat course, I'll be happy if I can get under 31:00. I'm predicting a 30:28.

Action News meteorologist Brian Murphy told me not to worry about the rain this morning because it would be light and I shouldn't even need an umbrella. He was right. After a few sprinkles in the first mile the remaining 5.3 were rain free.

Felt like pushing it a little this morning and after a slow first mile I was able to bring the average pace down below 7:00. 6.3 miles in 44 minutes flat. I'm glad I didn't bring my umbrella.

Once you get past how bad it sucks, running in the morning really is a great way to start the day. Another loop around Chestnut Hill, nearly the same loop I've run every morning with variations at the end to give me the mileage for the day. This is usually more dictated by time rather than how many miles I really want to run.

I'm beginning to see the same things every morning: Hello to the lady walking the two mean little dogs, Hello barking black poodle that seems especially excited see me every time I go by, and there is that guy with the big white car who always has his windows down and flashers on as he drives down the road.

6 miles in 44 minutes.

15+ miles is officially a long run for me and I put my first one in the books today since July12th. Finally having a marathon on the horizon really has me excited for running and I enjoyed all 2 hours out there in the freezing cold today. Even the trip up that damn Rex hill was not as bad as normal.

I ran the first 5 with Boomer who, I found out today, loves to eat snow and reminded me of that every time we passed by a patch clinging to life shadows of the park. I made the trip all the way out the park and back home to drop him off. At this point I had 40 minutes knocked out of my 2 hour goal for the day. A quick drink and I was back out the door and onto the trails in the Wissahickon.

The park in the winter is lonely compared to the summer, the trees are bare, people are rare, and the winds howls through the trees. I had my iPod to keep me company as I stuck to the lower trails all the way down to Lincoln Drive. From here I took Forbidden drive home and expected a slow slog up through the park into the biting wind. I caught a glimpse of a runner way ahead in a bright glowing fluorescent green and I made it my mission to pass him before we got to Valley green. This kept my mind and legs occupied as I tried to keep the pace just fast enough and succeeded in passing him as we approached the water fountain.

I kept the momentum going for the last 2 miles up and out of the park. I had to take a detour around my block at the end to get in the full two hours. A conservative 15.5 miles.

That makes 42 miles for the week, a total I have hit for the past three weeks. I feel good and I think it is time to push things into the 50s next week.

"I"m bad ass, if I run in this shit" This was going through my head on the way home from class yesterday evening as the temperature dropped and the snow picked up, I was trying to talk myself into running in this sloppy weather instead of plopping down on the couch for a late dinner. Had I not been signed up for the marathon in March my ass would have been on the couch but instead I quickly changed and headed out.

The weather only got worse as the run progressed but after a few miles the liquid on my face changed from melting snow to sweat, I was warmed up and enjoying the run. In fact, it is fun in an odd sort of way to run on a night like this, it gives you that "If I can get out here to run now I can get out here any time" kind of feeling. That carried me through7.5 very damp and cold miles.

Hopefully this fall weather isn't a prelude to what the winter is going to be like, only much colder and more snow. But if it is, I'm not to worried about, I'm bad ass.

This morning made yesterday feel relatively warm and it took an extra half mile to get comfortable out there. I thought about pulling out the long pants but I'm glad I didn't as I was just fine in my running shorts. 20 degrees might be the "pants threshold".

The same loop as yesterday with a small addition that added a large downhill and uphill. There was a nice sping in my step and for the first time in quite a while I was surprised by pace after mapping the run out at home. 7 miles in 51 minutes.

The head cold I mentioned in my last post is now lodged in my chest and is only slowly departing. I felt it yesterday morning and it was the only excuse I needed to justify skipping the run and getting an extra hour of sleep. I slightly made up for it with a brief run yesterday evening with Boomer. I had about 30 minutes to spare and I squeezed 3+ miles in 25 minutes. I was feeling great and wishing I could have gone for another 30 or more.

This morning I was able to get out of bed although it was slightly later than I was shooting for. For the fist time this year I would really classify the run as "cold" as it was about 30 degrees and there was a stiff wind for the first mile or so. It'll take a while to get back into a cold running routine, as of now I am still trying to remember what clothes I need to wear for a morning like today. Shorts, shortsleeves and light running jacket did the trick.

This one started slow but got faster the entire way. The last 0.5 mile is slightly uphill and I was really pushing by the time I finished. 5.5 miles in 39 minutes.

I've wanted to become more regular with this blog but I didn't do a good job of that over the past 10 days. So let's catch up.

Last weekend I had two solid runs. First was a loop run with the Philly runners. I went hoping to have group to push the pace a bit. I got it in new to PR runners John and Austin. The pace hung right around 7:00 dipping under for miles than it was over. 11.6 miles in 1:25. On Sunday I joined Seebo and Ian to catch up on life, talk about a future marathon and enjoy an easy run. All things went as planned. 10 miles in 1:24.

On Monday I woke up with a nasty cold that felt as if it was going to really knock me out for a while. I fell asleep curled up on the couch at 7:30 on Monday night and thought my running prospects for the week were bleak. On Tuesday morning however, it felt like nothing more than a head cold. Tues-Thurs was a mix of morning and evening runs between 3.5 and 7.5 miles, covering all areas of my "easy" range.

I partied a little harder than I wanted on Friday night, slept in, woke up late with a headache and pushed off an early running commitment to the late afternoon. 8 miles in 61 minutes. I finished just before dark.

Sunday. A cold a blustery afternoon reminding me that winter was quickly approaching and it really is time to pull out the winter running clothes. A couple blogs on my weather geek website are predicting the coldest December in 20 years. The running half of me hates this idea but the other half of me is looking forward to it. 13.5 miles in 1:42. Felt good.

During the week I also signed up for the National Marathon in Washington D.C. on March 21st. Seebo, Ian and I are all in. Hopefully a few more will jump on the bandwagon through the winter. I am optimistic for a good marathon. The key will be getting out in the morning to run. If the last two weeks are any indication, it might go as planned.

A quick bounce in my step took me around Chestnut Hill this morning. Four attempts to run in the morning this week resulted in four morning runs, I just need to keep this going as the weather gets colder and the mornings get darker. Cold was not a problem this morning as I was sweating in shorts and shortsleeves. 6.5 miles in 48 minutes.

This morning was a little warmer and a little wetter than the previous two. I spaced out for the first couple miles but came around and finished things a with some pep. 4.5 miles in 34 minutes.

Getting out of bed early to put on your shoes and run is difficult. Getting out of bed to sit down with a cup of coffee, browse the Internet for 15 minutes and then put on your shoes to run is just a little bit easier. At least that is my conclusion from the last two days.

This morning was nearly the twin of yesterday morning, 50 degrees, calm and overcast. I took a slightly longer loop around Chestnut Hill and saw some long lines at the polling sites. People were lined up at 6:30, a half hour before the polls opened.

I really felt good during this run and it showed as my average pace was 7:23, the quickest easy run I've had since mid-October. The nice thing about morning running is that you really can't go fast out of the gates because everything is a little stiff. It forces you to ease into the run. This one ended much faster than it started. 6.1 miles in exactly 45 minutes.

I took an extended "Phillies Hiatus" from running last week. So Mon-Fri were DNRs. I happily watched the World Series every night, drank far to many beers, and generally was a sloth for the week. My hard work paid off with a Phillies WS win!!!!!!! I made it down to an extremely packed Phillies Parade on Friday afternoon and then a Haloween party on Friday night where the celebration continued.

By Saturday I finally had that all out of my system and got out in the afternoon for an easy 6 miles in the Wissahickon. 48 minutes.

Sunday I had the single most exciting training run of my life although nothing of note really happened with my running.

I was putting in another easy run and had just gotten to the top of Forbidden Drive onto Northwest Avenue. My plan was to go up to Germantown ave but that didn't happen. I heard a screech of tires in the distance and in a cloud of tire smoke I saw a minivan smash into a car waiting for the light at Germantown Avenue. That initially was shocking but then the driver hopped out and starting running across Germantown Avenue into the park. This was immediately followed by three cops pulling up behind the accident. This guy was obviously on the run from something and the cops had not seen him run into the park.

I made a quick right back into the park and starting running through some fields after this guy. He was far off but I was quickly gaining and then thought "What the hell am I going to do if I catch him?". I decided to get a quick look at where he was headed and then try and grab a cop. I caught up with a cop that was sitting at the top of Forbidden Drive and told him where the guy was. He jumped out of the car and we set off down Forbidden Drive. Some walkers said they had seen him splash out of the creek, up the embankment, over the guard fence, across Forbidden Drive and clamber up the steep hill above us. I glanced up and found him near the top, exhausted, picking his way through the rocks and trees. The cop and some other guy with a gun, who I am assuming was off-duty, headed off after him. I couldn't see much but I heard them yelling at him to lay down and then silence. I assumed he was caught.

I continue on my run down Forbidden Drive, I get to the Bells Mill street crossing and here comes the same guy back down the hill. He had somehow eluded his pursuers and now was only feet away from me. I dialed 911, and the guy ducked behind a large boulder. I told them where he was and after getting switched around a bit on the phone they finally got someone on the line that new the area. By this time more cops had pulled up and were searching but the guy had escaped. I was pissed that I hadn't seen where he went, he was nowhere to be found. I did a little more running in the area to try and spot him but no luck. I still don't know what he was running for but I sure as hell hope they got him. 7 miles in 55 minutes, with some unexpected sprints.

Monday - got up and out before work for an easy 4.3 miles. Overcast and cool, great running weather. 33 minutes.