8 Miles on Forbidden Drive this afternoon. The weather was cool but extremely humid. I am really looking forward to the cool dry days in the fall.

It's nice not to be training and following some damn plan. At the start it was an easy run, in the middle I got the pace into the 7 flat range and in the end, headed up Rex, I took my time. The park is beginning to empty out with the deteriorating weather. There will be a big bump in when the fall foliage hits and then I'll have most of the place to myself, especially on the trails on weekday evenings.

I've thought about running with a head lamp when the days shorten. It would enable me to run in the park at least once in a while in the mornings or evenings during late fall and winter. The idea unnerves me and excites me at the same time. The thought of hitting those trails with a shaky narrow beam of light leading the way sounds cool. I do worry about injury and the chance of running into some idiots that are up to no good. I've kicked it around the last couple of years. Maybe this time I'll pick one up.

I am listening to the baby cry... again. It seems that Zachary has colic so the crying times way out number the calm times. This makes running just a little harder because I hate to leave Heather at home long with such a fussy infant. Instead I am running at work and for the 40 minutes when Heather feeds him. He is always quiet then.

So today that is just what I did. 30 minutes on the trails with Boomer. Overcast skies and a cool breeze, it is officially autumn and it feels like it.

On Friday I joined some guys from work for a tromp through the woods. We start in our corporate complex but within 10 minutes were on an old rail bed and then making our way up a horribly steep hill where the trees have been cleared for power lines. It's a meandering trip back down the hill on some very rustic trails and soon were back at work. 60 minutes.

I headed out for a quick run yesterday evening before dinner. Despite the sore legs from a 45 minute session of "Boot Camp" at work on Wednesday, I actually felt good. 4.3 miles in 31 minutes.

Philadelphia Distance Run

PDR was the first race I ever ran in 1999, so today was like my 10 year anniversary. I can remember feeling intimidated by the whole running scene and very unsure about my fitness. It was a beautiful morning, much like today, and it was a great race. I finished somewhere around 1:38 or maybe 1:42. I missed 2 years in the there somewhere so this is my 8th running.

Anyhow, I was excited to race today. I was tired, not much sleep these days. It is amazing how quickly the definition of a decent night's sleep can change once you have a kid. Six hours of broken sleep was decent. I got to the race early, took my time, warmed up with a few miles and took in the scene. I was happy to spot American marathoner Ryan Hall before the start. He and a few buddies were warming up and he stopped to give the Rocky Statue a slap for good like I guess.

When the gun went off I just ran at what felt like the right pace. First mile 6:33. It took a bit to get going at the start so I was happy with that. In mile 2 I bumped into Luke, a guy I ran several long runs with over the winter, we chatted for a bit and I was surprised to see mile 2 go by in 6:16. Great. I was settling in as we made our way through Center City. I felt decent and the pace felt manageable mile 3 and 4, 6:20 and 6:19. Wow. This was going nicely.

We cruised back to the Parkway, passed the Art Museum and onto MLK mile 5 in 6:31. I really didn't think I was going to keep up that 6:20 pace but I felt good and was happy with the way the race was progressing. I almost felt like I was saving just a bit for the trip back down the river and miles 6,7 and 8 went by in 6:28, 6:27, 6:37.

I was now on Kelly Drive, and had 4 miles remaining. I did not however feel like I had that extra gas left in my tank. I could feel my speed slipping away and people slowly started to sneak by me. Not a horde of people but a few here and there, almost nobody had passed me on MLK.

Mile 9 went by in 6:35. I was trying to do the math on the pace I needed to hold to get under my PR but the answer escaped me. I look now and I had 20 minutes. I had run the first 5K of the race in under 20 minutes but I knew this last 5K was not going to be there. Mile 11 in 6:38 and I am starting to hurt, my turnover feels slow and my face was strained. Mile 12 in 6:53. Ugh. The last mile up the hill towards the Art Museum was all to familiar, pushing hard and slowing down. Mile 12 in 6:57. Finished in 1:25:43.

That time is slower than last year. I really wasn't surprised, the runs leading up to this race warned me that I wasn't in the shape needed. I never really felt like my fitness was increasing greatly during all the interval workouts over the summer. I wanted to give speed work a good shot but it just isn't my thing. I need miles on miles with a few harder workouts thrown in. I suspected that in the spring and this result kind of hammers that fact home.

Hopefully I can get a big block of base training in over winter but for now running will take a back seat to Zachary and Heather.

Last night was my first run since last Wednesday. An 8 miler on Forbidden Drive that left my legs feeling much more tired than an easy run of 8 miles should. The big blocks off from running over the last few weeks have not been great for keeping up my fitness as the half marathon approaches this Sunday.

Unfortunately the reason for missing miles this time around was because of a nasty Staph infection that Zachary picked up last week. I thought it would be just a stop at the pediatrician on Friday morning but she sent us directly to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The hospital admitted him, ran a bunch tests and placed him on IV antibiotics. Thankfully the infection quickly started to retreat and it wasn’t an antibiotic resistant bug. By Sunday morning they were sending us home. Zachary is no worse for wear. He never even spiked a fever, we caught it early enough that with a little help his body was able to fight it off. Definitely a scary couple days.

All this time off does mean I’m going to have to scale back my race plans. I can guarantee that a sub 1:23 half marathon is out of reach. I’ll instead shoot for breaking my PR of 1:24:34. But to tell you the truth I am just not feeling it. There is no sense of increased fitness on my runs over the past several weeks. I am curious to see what happens on race day.

It was back to the track last night on legs that were still tired from Sunday’s workout. All the interval workouts in this training program have taught me you can still have a great track workout on legs that are tired from a long run. That was in my head on my way to the track although I was still feeling doubtful.

The workout was 2 x 1200 (400 recovery), 6x200 (55 recovery), 2x1200 (400 recovery) all at 5K pace or 5:47 pace. What the hell is a 55 meter recovery? How do you accurately measure that on the track? You don’t. I just ran the 200 meter intervals for 40-43 seconds and ran the recovery in 30-40 seconds. 6000 meters at 5K pace with limited recoveries.

The workout when like this:

4:23 (2:01), 4:23 (2:12), 39 (30), 40 (33), 43 (43), 42 (33), 42 (43), 39 (1:57), 4:24 (2:24), 4:25

I would have liked to run the 1200’s in 4:21-22 but a couple seconds isn’t bad. Halfway through the 200’s I was already bargaining my way out of the final two 1200’s. I decided to just keep pushing and whatever happened, happened. The last 1200 felt like I was finishing a 5K. Overall a very tough workout that I am glad is in the books.

I ran 15 miles on Sunday. The plan was to run middle 5 at half marathon pace. I decided to run to the bottom of Forbidden Drive from my house and then the length back up to Northwest at 6:20 pace followed by an easy 2.5 miles home.

I didn’t start running until 10:30 am but the day was relatively cool, especially compared to the last couple long runs, so I didn’t mind. I split the first couple miles on Forbidden Drive and although they felt like 7:50 pace my watch kept reading 7:20. I am not normally 30 seconds off on pacing and it was pleasant surprise and a good sign for the real workout ahead.

After 51 minutes and about 7 miles I was ready to hit the gas. I knew 5 miles at this pace was going to be difficult but if I could average under 6:30 pace I would call it a success. I don’t have my watch with me but the first split was in the 6:35-40 range and I was working. The second mile was no better and knew it was pointless. I struggled through a couple more but things just got worse. In fact, I was having a hard time even keeping up the 7:20 pace that was so easy just a few miles ago.

The 2.5 miles back to my house were tough, especially that climb up Rex. I refused to walk and ran at a comically slow pace. I was dehydrated; the thick pasty saliva in my mouth was a sure sign of that.

So what do I take away from this? Does this mean my sub 1:23 goal is unreachable? I still think I have a chance.(Maybe I am being stubborn about this especially after re reading that horrible workout but I really don’t trust the results) This workout was run on a warm morning, dehydration played a big role, my sleep had been poor for 10 days leading up to the run and my legs really are a little out of practice with the week off. I’ll continue with the training program and see if I can get some positive signals.

For now my race day plan is to run the first 3 miles at sub 1:23 pace . In a half marathon I think you have a good idea if the pace is sustainable by then. If not, I slow down to try and PR. If I feel great or decent or a small chance that this is doable then I keep it up. If I implode, oh well, there will be other races.

I am playing catch up on the week I lost in training. I felt that breaking 83 in the half-marathon was on the edge of my fitness. I had a very solid 6 weeks of training and if I can stay consistent over the last couple weeks I still have a shot. Of course I am not in total control of my running schedule any longer so I'll just have to take what I can get and make the most of it. Luckily we have the support of Heather's mom one more week so I can still get most of my runs in.

To catch up on my runs since my last post on August 25th.

A quick 3 miles in 21 minutes on Sunday Aug 29th. Heather was still in the hospital and I wanted to head straight there once I got up in the morning but Heather's mom said she was going for a walk and that I should get out there for a run. So I did. Beautiful morning and plenty on my mind to keep me busy.

Thursday - 3 miles with Boomer and then just under 4 miles on my own. I felt decent and picked up the pace on the trails. I ran a hard 1/2 mile in 5:55 pace once I got back on Forbidden drive and felt good. 6.8 miles in 53 minutes.

Friday - 6 easy miles on Forbidden Drive. Except for the middle two miles I didn't feel great. Once you get out of that running rhythm, even if only for a week, it takes a few days to wake your legs up and get them used to the miles. 49 minutes.

Saturday - I didn't have a ton of time but squeezed in 3 miles before dinner. I expected to feel tired again but had a nice spring in my step and let my body dictate the pace instead of my head. The summer is waning and the sun was lower in the sky, streaking through the trees and making for a scenic run.

I hope to get out for a long run today. 15+ miles. I am obviously not following my normal sleeping routine and I'm afraid it is really going to knock me out in the later miles. We'll see.

Zachary John Wesner

... or, as his close friends call him Z-dubs. Born Friday August 28th 2009 at 9:58 pm. 6lbs 13.7 oz and crying his head off.

He was a long time coming. Heather and I were hoping to have a completely natural labor. We hired a Doula (labor coach) had read books, watched movies and felt we were totally prepared for things. Of course not everything goes as planned and on Wednesday after a routine visit to the OB Heather was admitted to the hospital because of pregnancy induced hypertension. It wasn't horribly high but enough to cause concern and enough to make the docs want to induce labor. Heather and I were tempted to go home, monitor the blood pressure on our own, and hope for normal labor to begin but we decided it wasn't worth the risk.

At 6pm on Wednesday they started induction with a mild drug that is supposed to get things going. 12 hours later, after a night of little sleep for Heather and maybe a couple more hours of sleep for me, they checked how things were progressing and nothing much had happened. It was time for the next step.

We were both nervous. Every intervention they need to perform usually leads to further interventions, less natural labor and a more likely C-section. The staff was very receptive to our requests and took things very slowly so Heather did not have to deal with the extra painful contractions that can be caused by some medications. So after allowing Heather to eat an Au Bon Pain breakfast, a rarity in in the hospital when you are in labor, they took another small step and this got things going.

By 3 pm Heather was 3 cm dilated (the goal is 10cm) and having regular contractions that were becoming more frequent and more painful. We kept in touch with the doula, we used all of the pain coping techniques we practiced and let things happen. Heather was amazing, from the very start she dealt with the contractions gracefully.

By midnight things were really going and we called in the doula to help us out. She had Heather walking, squatting, lunging, bouncing and swaying to try and get that baby moving around into the right position. All the while it was contraction after contraction anywhere from 2 to 6 minutes apart. We spent a lot of time on the Jefferson Hospital bridge which connects two buildings across Sansom street. Right there on the 7th floor. Watching the city wake up, the day proceed, evening rush hour, sunset and then back to night.

I was beginning to tire and can only imagine what Heather was going through. We kept it up all night. We were now 24+ hours in and it was beginning to seem endless. In the morning they checked for progress again and Heather was at 6cm and the baby was further into position. not as far as we had hoped but getting there.

Friday morning was much the same as the night. I could see the fatigue on Heather's face. I was feeling ragged, emotional and a little like this was hopeless without more intervention. I know she was dealing with way more then me and I can't believe how well she held her composure. Never complaining, nothing more then a whimper on the more painful contractions. I seriously was in awe of my wife. I thought I knew what she was capable of but I didn't.

By noon things were slowing down. Heather had been in active labor for 30 hours and in the hospital on little sleep for 44 hours. The contractions were slowing down because she wasn't in natural labor and the inductions techniques used so far were no longer driving labor. It was time to move to Pitocin. A manufactured form of the normal hormone Oxytocin that your body produces to drive labor. It makes contractions longer, the peak of the pain is higher and sharper.

Within minutes of starting the drug Heather was in much more pain but still held her composure. For a few hours she managed to deal with these harder contractions. By 7 pm she was falling asleep between contractions, and just could not take it anymore. We decided to get an epidural to to remove the pain and hopefully get Heather some time to relax. We were both afraid that it would cause labor to stop and she would be forced to have a C-section. They finally placed the epidural at 9:00 pm. Heather was now comfortable in bed but it didn't last long.

Within 20 minutes she was feeling the urge to push. I couldn't believe it. I was elated. This was really going to happen. All the hard work that Heather put in was going to pay off. Minutes later Heather was actively pushing. I can't describe the excitement I was feeling.

From here things moved very rapidly. First the water bag started to emerge, it had never broken and the baby would be born in the bag. A rare occurrence in modern medicine, most of the nurses there had never seen it. I had never even heard of it. It's called being born in caul. And depending what culture you look at it either means the baby will never drown, will be a vampire, or will have prophetic powers. I'll take the first one.

Within 35 minutes after Heather started pushing Zachary was born. A beautiful baby boy. The birth went perfectly and Heather bounced back on a huge high caused by hormones released during birth. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. To go from such a tired low caused by hours and hours of arduous labor to such a high in less than an hour was spectacular.

Heather and Zachary left the hospital on Sunday afternoon and everybody is doing very well. I am losing a lot of sleep and today went for only my second run in the past week but no matter. They'll be plenty of time to run in the weeks and years to come.

Finally a beautiful morning for a run, clear sky, cool, lower humidity, I was excited to get to the track for my weekly workout. The fact that I was looking forward to the workout is a big jump forward for me. The plan called for 4x1200 at 10K(6:00) pace with 200 recovery followed by 6x400 at 5K (5:47)pace with a 100 recovery. This workout would have scared me 6 weeks ago but now I didn’t think it was going to be so bad.

As usual the track was locked so I hopped the fence. A woman jogged up and asked how I got in there; I then helped her hop the fence. The workout went like this.

1200s: 4:28 (67), 4:30 (63), 4:27 (71), 4:29 (81).

400s: 86(47), 83(61), 80(67), 84(50), 90 (47)(accidentally ran the interval to long), 86 and done.

The third 400 was quick because I was interrupted by the guy who unlocks the gate to the track. He wasn’t happy I was on there.

“Why do you think you can run on the track this early?”

“Because the sign behind you reads Requires use during daylight hours so I thought it was open from dawn till dusk.”

“It opens at 7:30”

“Sorry”

And I was back on my way. Seriously they should post the hours. Obviously I hopped a locked fence but I assumed that whoever was supposed to unlock the gate was late. Also the sign reads use is required during daylight hours. To me that means someone must be using the track while the sun is up and I guess use is optional when the sun is down. Looks like this might be my last morning workout on the track because 7:30 is way too late for me to start.

On the brightside the workout went really well and I felt great all the way through. I do have a hard time running 100 recoveries. The turns are longer than 100 meters and the straights seem to short. I just ran until the time elapsed and then looked for a marker to accurately split the lap. 7.5 miles in 53 minutes

I am behind on posting and I wish I could say it was because Heather and I have a new baby boy but that hasn't happened yet. We still are nervously waiting.

I ran an easy 5 on Wednesday morning through the Wissahickon. Thursday was an unplanned DNR because a doctors visit with Heather turned into more than a visit but then ended up being nothing. Thursday another DNR because I put the run off over and over again, then suddenly it was 9:00 and I didn't feel like running.

Saturday morning was a planned 16 miler that didn't happen because of some heavy downpours. I instead ran a hilly 11+ miles with Wissahickon Wanderers. Not to fast but not slow. A wet and soggy run because of the humidity and the rain. I like running with these guys, they are about the most laid back group of people you'll meet. A hilly run that ended with a few crashes of thunder.

Sunday 16.8 miles on this route. Seebo and I headed out at 7:30 from the Art Museum and kept a fairly relaxed pace for most of the route. Despite the humidity we were both feeling good as we wrapped things up on Kelly drive and hit a 6:35 and 6:26 mile before easing up for the last mile in 7:10. Overall a great run that was a little further than I had planned. Running 11 hilly miles on Saturday and a fast finish 16 on Sunday means I must in at least half decent shape for 13.1 hard miles in a few weeks.

The World Championship 10K was held in Berlin last night. American Dathan Ritzenheim finished in 6th place in 27:22:28. 6th place may not sound great but considering the competition (including the great Bekele who won his 6th championship 10K in a row in 26:46:31) it was a great showing. The fourth fastest ever by an American and close to the American record. He ran the second 5K in 13:32. I can’t imagine be able to run that fast. LetsRun.com has decent write-up of the event here http://www.letsrun.com/2009/10k0817.php

I ran my own 10K on the track this morning. It was a workout with recoveries and I was a little off the American record at 41:50 but it was a great workout.

The plan was 2X [2x400@5:45 pace (100), 1200@6:00 pace (200), 2400@6:20 pace (800)]. Confusing but it means I run 2 laps at 5K pace, 3 laps at 10K pace and 6 laps at half marathon pace with some short recoveries and repeat.

I’ll refrain from writing all of the numbers down as I am sure nobody wants to read through them. I nailed every interval. I was really dialed into the paces and nearly every lap was just at or under the target pace. I felt great on the final 2400 at half marathon pace and pushed through the last lap in 84 seconds with still a little gas in the tank. I was very pleased, especially on a warm and humid morning. Today was the first time I felt that all this interval work is paying off. The heat and humidity sap your energy and I think mask any fitness gains I am making.

Overall it's been a great summer for running but the past few weeks have been pretty brutal. Friday night I ran 3+ miles with Boomer in the Wissahickon. We were a half mile from home and Boomer decided he didn't want to run anymore so we walked it in with him dragging behind me. That was two runs in a row for Boomer and the picture below is what he did for the rest of the weekend.



Saturday I met Seebo at the AM for long run out to the Three Bears and back through West Fairmount Park. The sun was blazing at 7:45 and I was sweating from just walking up the hill to the AM, it was going to be a hot run. The pace was easy and the first several miles were enjoyable, catching up with Steve and not really thinking about the heat.

We hit the three bears and took them harder then we probably should have. By the time we got to City Ave I was beginning to feel cooked and wasn't looking forward to the 20 minutes of half marathon pace that we planned through the park. Seebo thought I would be pulling him through these fast miles but we switched roles and I was just trying to hang on in the heat. I called it quits at about 14 minutes and we took it in slow from there. 14.3 miles in 1:53. I needed a few minutes to sit in the shade and drank three bottles of water after the run. It knocked me out for the rest of the day.

I slept in this morning and delayed my run until the sun went down. A sweaty but easy 4+ miles around Chestnut Hill. I was surprisingly springy and really enjoyed the run. 33 minutes.

40 miles for the week.

Ryan Hall to run PDR. http://philadelphia.competitor.com/press/ryan-hall/#more-1014

At least I will now have rabbit. If I can just stay 23 minutes behind him I should PR.

Another Tuesday another speed workout. Unfortunately last night’s workout was in high heat and humidity which really took a toll. The plan called for 3 x 1.5 miles at 6:00 pace with 400m recovery. Challenging but doable. After a one mile warmup into the Wissahickon I ran the first rep in 8:55, recovered with an easy 2 minutes and then hard again. I wasn’t able to split the miles exactly because the 400 recovery put me between markers so I just hit the split and ran hard for 9 minutes and judged my pace by the intermediate splits. I think I was just about on target.

The second rep hurt a lot more than the first and I knew the last rep was iffy even with a longer, 3 minute, recovery. I made it 2/3 of a mile and at the crest of a small hill I had to take a 40 second walking breather. I started again and hit the last ½ mile in 2:55. I was spent and a little nauseous. I took a long break at the water fountain and ran the 2 miles home at an easy pace. Given the conditions I was happy with the workout.

I have found that I’ve been finishing my runs strongly without giving it much thought. I don’t even think about the hill at Rex Avenue and by the time I get back to my block I feel like I am cruising and itching for a few more miles despite the heat. 8 miles in 58 minutes.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/11/phys-ed-can-running-actually-help-your-knees/

10+ years and not a single knee problem, I knew all those running naysayers were wrong.

I really wanted to run a 5K per the plan on Saturday morning and I spent a while hunting around on the internet but the closest race I could find was in Wilmington, DE. 1 hour from my house and starting at 8:45 am. I bounced the idea around but decided to skip it.

I instead headed for 5 miles with a some hard stuff mixed in on a sunny and warm nut not humid Saturday afternoon. I ran an easy mile into the park and then hit 1 mile of trail hard. It felt good, I felt fast, I felt like I should have driven to Wilmington in the morning. Who knows if the way this mile felt on the trail would have translated into anything fast on the race but I was curious. I ended up running about 2.5 miles near 6:00 pace in a run of 5 miles in 35 minutes.

This morning I hoped to be running by 8:00 but it was pouring. I delayed till 9:00, it was still raining but not so hard and I headed out. I'll take the cool rainy morning over the 90 degree heat expected later in the day. No headphones, just me and my thoughts as I ran an extended Chestnut Hill loop.

My mind wandered to a new baby boy that should join Heather and I very soon. We have less then 2 weeks until the Aug 21st due date. Me a father. I still feel very much like a kid in many ways but I would imagine most people do. Could my father have felt much more adult when he had me at 27, I doubt it. I've found a spectacular birth to 5K plan on the internet that should have him racing by nine months. I just wonder if I can supplement breast milk with gatorade.

Wednesday night - 4 miles with 6 x 100 meters strides. My legs were tired and I didn’t have to much oomph.

Thursday morning – 5.5 miles around Chestnut Hill. It was nice to get out early as the temps were in the upper 60s and the run was enjoyable. The plan called for 4 miles at half marathon pace which at first seemed impossible the way my legs were feeling but I hit the gas after the first mile and settled in. I just tried to run by feel and not push too hard. There obviously are no mile markers on the street so I just ran for 25+ minutes which if I ran at my goal pace of 6:20 would give me four miles. I stopped the tempo portion after 25:17, feeling like I was in good control and could actually run the pace for a half marathon on more rested legs. It turned out to be 3.9 miles and 6:25 pace, a little off my goal but altogether encouraging given the way I felt, it was a rolling course and I completed the workout before 7:00 am on tired legs.

My legs are now started to feel beat up and have been tight all day especially my right calf. Tomorrow is an off day and Saturday calls for a 5K. I can’t find one in the area. The closest one I did see was in Asbury Park, NJ. I actually though about taking a trip up there with Heather to check the place out and run the race but I am doubting it will happen. I’ll either bag it or try to run a hard 5K on my own which really will be no approximation of a race.

On a sad note, a young woman was killed by a falling tree limb in the Wissahickon Park on Wednesday evening. Apparently it was a 30 foot limb and had fallen from a tree 50 feet above. Oddly it was a calm evening. I saw a lot of police activity in the park that night and was hoping it was nothing bad, unfortunately it was. What a freak accident. The police say she was wearing an iPod which was still playing when they found her and it is likely she never knew what happened because the limb broke her neck. This is my second encounter with a falling limb hurting someone and makes me even more nervous about running in there on a windy day or in a storm. My thoughts definitely go out to the family.

Heading to bed on Monday night I was sure I would run in the morning to beat the heat. I slept in, didn’t run and pushed it off to the afternoon. When I got home it was 90 degrees and humid so I pushed it off until 7:30 hoping that the few degrees drop in temp would turn an unbearable workout into doable. I got wrapped up making an au gratin potatoes recipe that promised to devour 2.5 pounds of the tomato explosion from our garden and wasn’t able to get out the door until 8:00. The track closes at dark and I was afraid I wasn’t going to get the workout in.

The plan was Fatigue Fighter Intervals, the plan reads "Combine speed and pace intervals nearly back to back, very short recoveries, to work on maintaining pace and staying relaxed as you gradually tire. Yes there challenging. 2 x [400 SI (100), 1200 CI (200), 2000 PI]”. For me this meant 400s in 87 secs the 1200 in 4:30 and the 2000 in 7:55. Just reading this workout on the calendar I felt it was going to be impossible but when I actually starting running it, things weren’t so bad. It went like this.

400 - 84 (47)
400 – 83 (52)
1200 – 4:25 (66)
2000 – 7:51 (2:04) there was no guidance so I ran a 400 recovery here with a quick stop for water.
400 - 87 (60)
400 – 85 (50)
800 – 2:59 (79) somehow I ran only an 800 here instead of 1200. I didn’t even realize until I got home that it was short. A definite lapse.
2000 – 7:51 and done.

It was very close to dark when I finished, some light on the horizon but not enough to read my watch by. I was ready to plead for a few a extra laps at the end if I had to, luckily I got in the workout before they closed. I was pleased to really nail the workout. I would say the second set felt very similar to the first.

I devoured some the potatoes au gratin when I got home. It was good but next time I’ll use more cheese.

Wow, is raining out there. I was hammered with rain halfway through my planned 14 miles today. Forbidden Drive was temporarily changed to Forbidden Creek. The plan called for a fast finish which means I have to run the final 15 minutes at 10k K pace. When I first read that it didn't sound to bad but while running I realized it meant 2.5 at nearly 6:00 pace after already having run 11.5. It suddenly sounded impossible.

I got to the 10.3 mile mark in 1:16 and the lightning started, somehow the rain increased and it was time for me to ratchet it down to 6:00 pace. Sure. I hit the first somewhat downhill half mile in 2:54, this was not sustainable. The mile went by in 6:08 and then I literally stopped and said "Fuck it." I continued on at an easier pace for the remainder of the run. The lightning became so intense that I was getting scared and ducked under a pavilion with about 7 other runners. Who else would be out in this?

It seemed to let up and I decided to cut the run a mile short while I was still alive and get the hell home. It was the right decision as the lightning is insane right now, enough to make nervous. 13 mile in 1:36.

I also ran an easy 6+ miles with some strides yesterday in 45.

I deluded myself into thinking that the weather really wasn't too hot or humid as I made my way into the Wissahickon yesterday morning to repeat the workout I did last Thursday. By the time I had finished 3 miles at 6:20 pace, reality had set in in the form of a sweat drenched shirt and shorts. It really was thick out there and despite the more difficult conditions and the fact that my 3 mile spilt was slightly slower, I do think that overall the workout was an improvement over last week. I just felt stronger through the tempo portion, the 2 x 800 and the 4 x 100 strides at the finish. This plan might actually be working. At least at getting my body used to running intervals. Unfortunately I am wavering on my ability to run the sub 1:23 goal in the half but I can't make any decision on that just yet. Especially with the hot weather. 8 miles in 1:01

I also ran recovery miles in the park on Wednesday evening. I've been good about keeping these easy days slow. For one, I have more discipline to keep the pace easy and save it for the harder days and two, I really don't feel like going any faster. 4.5 miles in 37 minutes.

Half-Marathon training is going well, so far so good. I am only nine days in and I thought my legs would be crying at this point, they aren’t. I am going to go on with training as if Heather and I aren’t going to have a baby sometime over the next 4 weeks. I’ll keep it up until that happens and adjust from there. If it means I barely get to run then that is the way it’ll be. If I can still find a way to squeeze in workouts on 4-6 hours of sleep each night then that is something I’ll do. This will definitely be a learning experience, I can’t wait.

I have to catch up from last Friday.

Friday – DNR. The schedule calls for 4 miles or rest. I rested.

Saturday - I met English Mike and Yellow Shorts (Yes Yellow Shorts) for a long trail run in the Wissahickon. Mike described the route on the Philly Runners message board and I knew it was going to be tough run, it didn’t disappoint. The pace remained easy but the relentless hills, rocks and roots just tire you out. Top that off with a warm and humid morning and by two hours it becomes a run of attrition. It actually took us nearly three hours and although none of us were in great shape, we all finished in front of Johnny Mananas Mexican restaurant in one piece and then ordered a beer.

I am going to say it was 16 miles in 2:56 but the distance is just a conservative guess.

Sunday – 5 easy miles with 4 x 100m strides. I kept the easy part real easy and I was surprised that the strides felt decent. 42 minutes.

Monday – An official rest day on the plan. Instead of a run I took a look walk with Heather and Boomer on a beautiful evening.

Tuesday – I got my butt out of bed for a track workout this morning. 4 x 1600(400) at 6:20 pace and 6 x 200 (100) at 5k pace. I was on limited time so I shortened my normal 2 mile warm-up to 1 mile and got busy.

6:23 (2:06) Just a little slow but it was my 1st rep at 6:00 am, that was just fine.

6:15 (1:58)) A little fast because I was looking at my watch too much and thought I was behind in the last lap.

And then the rest...

6:20(2:01), 6:20 (2:07), 41 (47), 42 (47), 41 (46), 41 (49), 42 (44), 44

I ended with an easy mile home. Overall a good workout but those mile intervals are boring. This workout might be better done in the park. I can’t split the 200s there but I think I’d be safe with 40 seconds fast and 40 seconds slow. I’m happy I was able to get up and get this done.

Day 4 of the training program was yesterday and I am now fairly sure that it was created by a sadist. Or maybe in the first week they are trying to weed out the people who aren’t ready for it, like Physical Chemistry in college. The day read “3 miles PI, 2x800 CI (200) + 4 x 100 S” Or 3 miles at 6-15-6:20 pace, then 2 x 800 at 5:57 pace followed by 4 strides of about 20 seconds. Progressively shorter and faster intervals.

It wasn’t extremely hot last night but it was soupy out there. I think the humidity kicks up a few more notches in the park along the creek. After a quick mile warmup into the park I started the 3 miles. That went by in 18:52, exactly where I wanted to be but I had to work hard to get there, harder then I would have liked. To keep that pace up for another 10 miles seems impossible right now but that is why I am training. Also, I was running on tired legs and as my mother likes to say, I was sweating like a stevedore. Not conditions for an optimal workout.

I next knocked off the 2x800 in 2:45 (way to fast) and 3:00 which I ran on an unmarked 800 meters so I just ran to three minutes and stopped. I was ready to call it a day and forget about the 4x100 strides but I find it harder to ditch a workout when you’ve promised to follow the training program. Dashing for 20 seconds didn’t feel so bad until I stopped. I was spent and was eager to get to the hill heading out of the park because it meant I was done.

Yesterday marked the first workout of the 9-week half marathon training program leading up to PDR. My legs were beat up from a work picnic on Monday that featured a half hour of Ultimate Frisbee. That short bout of sprinting and stopping, with a lot quick turns was enough to make everything ache. I thought about bagging the workout last night because of it but that would be no way to get the ball rolling on training. I was tight on the 2 mile warmup to the track but once I started my workout I felt fine and didn’t think about it.

There is a ton of interval work in the training program, all different lengths and all different speeds. The mess of numbers and abbreviations on the calendar makes my heads spin and requires me to memorize everything before I head out. This type of training is completely opposite from the low heart rate stuff I wrote about a while back but I am going to give it a shot.

Last night called for “4 x 1 mile PI (400), 6 x 200 SI (100)”. That means 4 miles at half marathon pace with 400 recovery and 6 x 200 at 10K pace with 100 recovery. I just realized that I made a mistake last night and only ran 800’s at half marathon pace (How did I miss that?) half the required distance. I guess I’ll consider that easing into the program. Half marathon pace is roughly 6:18 so I was aiming for 3:05-3:10 for the 800s, not too bad. I just tried to run hard on the 200s and hopefully run around 43 seconds.

800s - 3:07(1:55), 3:08(1:55), 3:08 (1:56), 3:04(2:04)

200s – 41(40), 41(21), 40(47), 43(44), 45(40), 41(40)

I thought I knew how to split 200s on the track but I made a mistake on one of the recoveries (21). I thought the straight-aways were 100 and the turns were 100 but obviously not so I corrected the next time around.

Overall the workout wasn’t that hard and it really shouldn’t have been based on the slower 800s. Of course, had I run the proper 4x1 mile, things would have been much more difficult and I am aggravated that I made that mistake. I’ll just have to study a little more next time.

Running is still going well. I had streak of 15 day streak of running, biking or swimming which ended yesterday. I don’t have a record of these things but it’s been a long while since I’ve gone 15 days in a row.

I’ll catch up on last week…

Monday - 1200M in the pool with Heather. No specific workout but back and forth using different strokes and the kick board.

Tuesday – I actually made it down to the Philly Runners Tuesday night group run. I got there a little early and put in 21 minutes on a sunny and warm but not so humid evening. I bumped into Devon at the start and he was planning on 6 x 1/2mile with a ¼ mile recovery with a few others at 6:00-6:10 pace. My plan for the night was to mix in some faster stuff and this was great, in fact I felt it was a little ambitious.

I quickly fell into pace with Emily who is from San Diego but in town for school. She ran for UCSD and like me is training for the Philly Distance Run. We started the first interval and I hit what seemed like 6:10 pace, Emily started to pull away so I thought I might as well go with it.

- ½ mile in 2:59 and I as was working.
- Second interval 2:59 but this felt easier despite a persistent head wind.
- Third interval 2:57 and now it was time to turn around and get the wind at our backs.
- Fourth 2:52. We had the wind and the downhill at the Columbia Bridge helping us here.
- Fifth 2:56
- Sixth – There is no half mile split on the way back to the Art museum so we just ran 3 minutes and called it good.

Overall it was a great workout that buoyed me in my aspirations to break 1:23 at PDR. This workout also made me long for more evenings with the Philly Runners; I never would have done this on my own.

Wednesday 6.3 Recovery miles in the Wissahickon. 52 minutes

Thursday 10.5 hard miles on my Mountain Bike.

Friday 3.6 very easy miles on the trails.

Saturday 12.4 mile up and down the length of Forbidden Drive. I felt good and picked up the pace in the middle miles to just below 7:00.

Sunday 3.6 mile on the same trail loop as Friday.

34 miles for the week plus a hard bike ride and an easy swim.

I woke up this morning and the breeze coming in the window was chilly. Do you know how many times I've described a July morning in Philly as chilly? This may be the first. What a beautiful summer. All this great weather is making running that much easier as well.

Last Friday we went to a local high school track at lunch for a workout. There were six of us all at different paces but the plan was to run 5x400 with 200 recovery. I just wanted to break 90 seconds for each rep. I forgot my running watch and was forced to use my normal, stainless steel watch. It does have a stopwatch function and needless to say it wasn't so easy to use on the track. I was able to split 3 of the laps and they were between 1:23 and 1:27. A little faster then expected, especially for reps under the full noon sun. I finished with 6x400 workout and around 7 miles.

Saturday I went out for a hard mountain bike ride, at 1hr 45 min it was my longest ride of the year. I tried to take it easy knowing I'd be out there for a while but I have a hard time doing that on the bike, it is just a lot more fun going fast.

Sunday I joined Deirdre for trip up and down the length of Forbidden Drive. One of those runs where your legs are tired but it still feels good. We chatted the entire way and before I knew it we were done. 13.5 miles in 1:45.

And finally, last night I went with Heather to the LA fitness for a swim. Heather is very much pregnant and swimming is her final outlet for a good workout. I was teasing her that at 34 weeks pregnant I can finally swim as fast as her. I never really got into the groove last night but none the less kept moving up and down the pool for around 45 minutes.

Only 4 days have passed and I am already writing another blog post, maybe I really am back on this running things.

So far this week I ran an easy 5 after work with a few people that are just getting into running. We ran 3 miles somewhere around 9:30 - 10:00 pace and then I added a couple more on my own. I don't think I sped up that much.

Tuesday I took the dog for a run. I was planning on running through the golf course and back on to the street but the sun was setting the grass was green and soft and on the course I can leave him off the leash. I decided to stay and run loops of the perimeter and throw in some strides to get the legs moving a little faster. When I'm running slowly Boomer is glued to the grass evidently it contains some intoxicating smells. As soon as I started a stride he was glued to my leg and constantly looking up at me as if egging me on. "Is this all you got?" Maybe I should bring him to the track. About 4 miles in 30 minutes.

Last night I ran my normal winter Chestnut Hill loop under a setting sun. The early summer weather has been nearly perfect in Philly. Low 80's, low humidity and perfect for running. I know this can't last all summer, muggy must be ready to pounce, but I'll take it while I can get it. 7.5 miles in 59 minutes.

I think I've settled on a training plan for the half-marathon. It is Runner's World advanced plan. The mileage looks good (40-50/week) but it does involve a lot of specific workouts. I am normally horrible at following a training plan and if were setting odds I wouldn't bet on myself to stick with this one. Of course this is no way to get yourself motivated to stick to a plan but it's realistic. I am going to to make an effort to hit the workouts although I may have to transition some of the them off of the oval and onto Forbidden Drive. It feels odd having only a 9 week program but it is half the distance of the marathon so maybe half the time to train makes sense?

It was a beautiful holiday weekend to wrap up another relatively decent week of running. Despite a slow start to the week and bagging my Saturday run to hang with the family at the Jersey shore I was still able to run 37 miles. This included a longish run of about 12.5 miles today out to my old house and back. I like stopping by the old place to see what the new owner has done, which is a lot. It looks great, to bad I didn't have the time or the money to do all this stuff while I was there.

The rest of the week.

Mon - 3 easy miles with Boomer after class.

Tues - Off

Wed - Somewhere around 4.5 miles over lunch at work. Easy miles with a few tough hills tossed in.

Thurs - 8.8 miles on another very hilly loop through the park. I worked my ass off on this one and finished strong straight to my front door.

Friday - about 8.5 miles again on the trails but at a much easier pace.

On the run today I was mulling over what to train for over the summer. I am definitely running the Philly distance run on Sept 20th and that makes a good goal race for two reasons. I can shoot for a half marathon PR which is currently 1:24:34. Also, if I train well and have a good race I may be able to qualify for the NYC Marathon. This means breaking 1:23, a tall order for my current fitness but I think I was in shape for this last year and if I do things right I might be able to get there again. Now I just need a plan, then to run all the miles, and then score great weather on race day, and then run a PR by 1 minute 35 seconds or better then 7 seconds a mile.

It could be an interesting summer.

It seems like a fog over my running has lifted. I really had not been enjoying it as much as in the past but I didn't realize it. Starting some time a couple weeks ago things just began to improve, I feel faster, fitter and looking to continue my runs instead of waiting for them to end. I don't think I am really running much faster but I do feel smoother, just cruising along, a feeling that has escaped me for a few months.

I can't pinpoint a cause, my diet is the same, my schedule is very similar. Perhaps the bad memory from that horrible marathon has finally left, or maybe it was switching back to my favorite running sneakers after trying a new style for all of this year, it could even be the hotter weather. Whatever it is I'll take it.

Last week I logged 38 miles, the most in a few months and despite the extra mileage a nagging pain in my left hip as nearly gone away. (I am chalking that one up to the new sneakers). Nearly every mile was run in the park and with the exception of a 12.5 miler on Sunday, all the runs were on very hilly courses. I also got in a rushed 45 minute mountain bike ride on Friday.

This week it will be Statistics class Mon-Tues-Wed night and then my take home final all day Thursday. It probably won't leave much time to run but after this week I am free from school for nearly 2.5 month. Nice!

The past week has been a good one for workouts. I was in the pool twice, nearly a mile on the first dip last Wednesday and over a mile on the second this past Sunday. Both were solid swims and I really feel like I've made some progress on my technique. Who knows this could even turn into a triathlon at some point.

I've also run four times in the past week. Two were lazy trips around Chestnut Hill with my dog. As the temps go up his ability to run goes down (similarly to mine) and we had to walk the last mile home on Monday. I thought he might have a stroke and I was looking for a large puddle that he could lay down in, his favorite thing when he's hot, but none were around. I'll either have to leave him at home over the summer or head straight for the park so he can swim in the creek.

On Saturday morning I joined a large group of Philly Runners for a long run. The run included Seebo, Deirdre, Devon, Jamie, and many others. The group is training for marathons in the fall and are just beginning to run longer on the weekends. I am not training for a marathon but thought it would be good to join them on the shorter weeks, less than 15 miles. Half of me wants to run 15 miles for fitness and the other half thinks it is a good reasons to hang out with friends and enjoy the morning. And that is exactly what it was.

After some easy miles through East Farimount Park and up through Manayunk the pace picked up going up and over the Belmont hills and the group split up leaving myself, Kevin, Seebo and Deirdre to pick our own route through West Fairmount as the threatening skies opened up with a steady, heavy rain. It was the kind of rain I don't really mind, warm with no wind. I actually enjoy being out this mess. 14.5 miles in 2 hours flat.

Last night I took a hilly route through the Wissahickon. I ran a little harder than I have been lately and was really feeling good. Five miles into it I was in front of Valley Green with two+ miles to go. At a moderate pace I know it takes me 16 minutes to run home from here. I had 15minutes 30sec until I'd be running for 1 hour and decided to try and get back home in under an hour. I pushed up Forbidden Drive to the hill at Rex and then tried to keep things going up the hill. The pace was slower then I'd hoped and I knew 1 hour was going to be close. I haven't raced the clock home in a long while and I forgot how motivating it could be.

Instead of resting at the top of the Rex I kept pushing up Seminole and the few blocks to home. Total time 59:53. I stopped my watch, a wheezing sweaty mess. The urge to push myself finally seems to have returned. At least for an hour last night.

If you've read my blog over the past few months the lack of posts and overall lack of mileage make it fairly clear that the itch to run just hasn't been there. Lately, I've been feeling more itchy. It doesn't mean I'm putting in 60 mile weeks but definitely getting out there more consistently and perusing other's blogs and running websites more often.

I also moved my running log from an excel file on my work computer to Buckeye Outdoors. The excel file just wasn't getting it done because I rarely bring my work computer home anymore. I'd never remember to log my run at work, a week would pass and I'd quickly forget. On the website I can log at any computer and it also captures biking and swimming, something this fancy excel spreadsheet wasn't setup to do.

So my new log currently contains a swim on Saturday with Heather. Maybe a 1/2 mile, I wasn't to into it and it should barely count as a workout. In fact I spent the last 15 minutes relaxing in the hot tub while Heather finished her swim.

Monday was a late evening, after dinner run. When I first started running these late runs were the lions share of my miles but this is the first in a long while. A nearly 5 mile jaunt around Chestnut Hill on a cool evening. Something about heading out 2 hours after dinner always makes for a good run.

Yesterday I went a for a run on some of my favorite trails. Not surprisingly there was an abundance of mud which had me dancing around the edges of the quagmire as not to dirty my filthy stinky running shoes. I worked in a several serious hills but kept the pace relaxed. About 6.5 miles in 53 minutes.

I am way behind on logging my runs here and in my official Excel log. It is definitely to the point that I can't remember what happened, how long, and how I felt.

I did have a race, the 4th annual 10K Wissahickon Trail classic put on my Phil from the Wissahickon Wanderers and timed by the infamous Ron Horn from Pretzel City Sports. It was my second year in a row racing and this time the weather was a cool 7o as opposed to the 85 and humid from last year. It is hilly course through the northwestern end of the park. The course had not changed so I knew exactly what I was in for, a bit if a benefit over the course rookies.

The heat killed me last year, I was struggling by mile 3 and dying by mile 6. I know my running shape is not as good as least year so I figured if I could finish in the same time it would be a good race. I took it easy through the first 1.5 miles to try and even out the race and give me people to pass a good portion of the way. It worked, I passed people until about 3.5 miles where the course hit a long steady uphill, definitely the low point for most in the race as you still have the while to go and the course just keeps going up.

I hung and saved some energy through the following downhill section and across the covered bridge, a right hand turn and a 1/2 mile on Forbidden Drive before the final, horrible, lung busting up hill before the finish. I told myself I wouldn't walk but I did, and so did everybody else. Once we crested the hill I knew it was flat to down hill for the last 1/4 mile and I took off, passing the guy in front, nearly slipping on the tight downhill turns and pushed hard through the finish to keep my lead. 44:09. A minute faster than last year. I know this really doesn't mean I am in better shape than last year, I just raced smarter on a cooler day and it payed off.

Other than the race I've probably run 7 times over the last couple weeks, a mixed bag of trail and road and decent runs and bad runs. Today was 1:26 through Chestnut Hill and the Wissahickon, a meandering hilly route with a mix of paces and the first 35 minutes with the dog. I had to walk the last half mile with him and nearly drag him up the block. I think he'll sleep for the next couple days.

Three runs so far this week and all of them were run over lunch at work. It is a great way to put in the miles without disrupting the day much. Plus, I get to run with 1-3 other people which always makes things easier. Especially when compared to the block of solitary running I have been doing as of late.

Tuesday was 7 miles along Valley Creek, across route 29 from the corporate complex I work in. This was real trail running with a couple creek crossings, some trail blazing through bushes and high grass, plus 2 ticks to cap things off when we got back. 52 minutes.

Wednesday was some easier stuff along the road and flat trails. The air was thick and muggy making it difficult for me to cool down before heading back to work. 5 miles in 42 minutes.

Today was the Diamond Rock Hill route. We rolled through another corporate site built around a deep, water filled quarry before turning up Diamond Rock Hill. It's one of the highest points in the region at a little over 600 feet and the hill getting to the top was long although not horribly steep. We chugged up to the top and then onto some trails which led us to the crest of this ridge. Unfortunately the heavy trees and foliage spoiled our view from the top. After some winding around we eventually ended up on the route we had taken up for a speedy and jarring trip back down the hill. 8.4 miles in 60 minutes.

This was one of the best runs I've had in weeks. The pace started easy but over the last few miles a coworker Paul and I were cruising along well under 7:00 pace. I felt invigorated and eager to push the pace, something that really has lacked in my runs for a long while.

I'm back form Key West and strangely the weather here is almost exactly the same as it was there. I hoped to get in a few runs but only managed two hot and sweaty trips on the island. Was I training my legs or my sweat glands? The runs consisted of beaches, palm trees, scooters and sunburn. 60 minutes and 45 minutes. Heather also found this beautiful outdoor lap pool which I spent a couple hours in. If I had a pool like that close to home I'd be swimming 2 times a week during the summer.

Key West was great. I only knew it as a party island and Heather and I aren't really partying much these days. Of course there was fishing, (caught a mackerel which we grilled and had for dinner), snorkeling, sitting on my ass by the pool, and walking and bike riding all over the island. We were in full relax mode. We even managed a quick peek into the Everglades on the drive back to Miami. Now it is back to reality.

I made it into the park for an hour on the trails last night. Not a great run. I felt slow and out of shape. I am blaming it on the heat and short sleep Saturday night. I think the truth is that I am slow and out of shape. At least relative to last year this time.

I start a 6 week summer statistics class this week that I have been dreading since last summer. Conveniently the professor has to miss two weeks of class right in the middle of the semester (which really burns me). Now we can squeeze a full semester into 4 weeks. I imagine this is going to put a real crimp on any running plans so I'll just take June running as it comes to me.

It was more easy miles last night in Wissahickon Park. I threw in some trails but tried to hold back and relax as much as I could as I bounced around. I ended up at Lincoln Drive and hopped on Forbidden for the trip back home. About 9.5 miles in 1:26.

My work location has temporarily switched (until September) from Springhouse out to Malvern PA. This adds 15 minute to my commute but should make for great experience. There is a group of guys that runs at lunch 3-4 days a week out here and I joined them for a several miles today. For the most part the run consisted of lightly travelled roads and some trails. They were also discussing some heavy hills that we avoided today. 5.5 miles 50 minutes.

I had some mild pain in my hip after my run last night and then again this morning. It felt decent during the run today but has now tightened up again. Pain in this area is a first for me and it seems odd because I have been running easy miles the past several days. Maybe that is culprit? Overall my mileage is down a good bit from it's peak before the marathon and I wouldn't expect something like this to crop up. I have run 44 miles in the past week but still that doesn't seem over the top.

I'll have a break over the next week. Heather and I are headed to Key West tomorrow night and don't return until Sunday May 24th. It is going to be a well deserved break after a long winter of working, school and marathon training. I making a promise to myself to run at least 3 times while I'm down there. Do you think it will really happen?

I had thoughts of sticking to the training program I detailed last few posts from now until September and then seeing what happens in the Philly Distance Run. To do this I would have to avoid moutain bike rides and wisshickon trail races over the summer Also, Heather is due in late August and I really I don't know what that is going to mean in terms of time for running and sleeping. I can guess what things are going to be like but in reality I have no idea. All of late August and into the fall just seems a little up in the air until Heather, the baby and I hopefully get into a new routine. I don't want to have to think about training and racing then.

So I think I'll put this off until late December. School should be finished (Praise the Lord!) and what the hell is there to do in the winter but run miles anyhow. I can totally geek out with my heart rate monitor, schedules, and evaluation runs then. For now I am just going to enjoy the summer and do whatever I do or don't feel like doing. Last night that meant run a slow 6.5 miles around Chestnut Hill.

Here is the link to the page I discuss below.

I've been doing more poking around the internet a stumbled upon some training threads on Letsrun.com. Most of the posts on the website are a bunch of crap but there are some buried in there with a wealth of training info from people who really know what they are talking about. I pulled up a great thread on aerobic training which led to a link then to another link and then a huge description on how to base-train using heart rate to set your pace. I saved the link on my work computer but not here and now I can't find it again.

Anyhow maybe I can relate the main points... or maybe not. Looking back over my training I really haven't just done straight aerobic training since the winter of 2006. During this time the Thursday night crew was in full swing and we were taking 8-10 mile loops through the park at easy paces in the frigid weather. I remember that I didn't go under 7:30 pace for weeks on end. It wasn't really a planned thing just whatever everybody was doing at the time so I stuck to it. It worked, I had a great summer of training, a kick ass marathon in the fall and even a decent marathon the following winter.

I should have gone back to that last winter, easy, easy miles, just pile them up. So how do these easy miles make you run faster? Don't I need tempo runs, speed workouts and hills to maximize my speed? It might be true to squeeze that last little bit out of your legs but to build your speed upon it just doesn't work. The marathon is over 99% aerobic and I think even the 5K is 95% aerobic.

The article used a tube of toothpaste to demonstrate the point. I've been squeezing from the middle of the tube and now trying to get the last little bit out by working hard on the top. The problem is I still have all of the stuff at the bottom but I am not going to reach it with hard workouts.

To do that I have to go slow again, real slow to start. Like 8:30 to 9:00 pace initially. Get well below my lactic threshold and work on a purely aerobic basis. Doing this I can generate more paths for oxygen to get to my leg muscles and use that oxygen more efficiently once it gets into my cells. This will serve to increase my pace while I still keep the same heart rate. it will also increase the pace that I can run before reaching my lactate threshold. Those tempo runs taught my body how to deal with the lactate but the lactate was getting generated at speeds that were to slow so I was overwhelming things. If I train my aerobic system properly I should be able to move that lactate threshold pace further out so when I am running my goal pace in the marathon I won't be generating as much lactate to begin with, I can sustain that pace longer, burn more fat and not crash at mile 20 like I have been.

This might be a little to science based compared to my normal approach of just going out and running and things will happen but I really do think it makes sense. To make this work I need a heart rate monitor and a solid 15-20 weeks of running slow based on heart rate and evaluation runs every 6 weeks. I am not sure if I want to take that step over the summer but I am thinking about it. I'll be my on guinea pig. I'll post the link at work tomorrow if anyone is interested in reading it. It's long.

Tonight 60 minutes about 6.5miles.

I met the wanderers for a long run in the wissahickon this morning. Getting to the start at 8:00 meant running from my house at 7:45. Rain was in the forecast and with the rainy weather of late I kept waiting for it to come but it just never materialized. In, fact it was not only nice all morning but all day.

We started easy on a hilly route along the western side of the park. On the way we stopped at a new to me water fountain in the park. This is like finding gold, especially at the beginning of the summer. I am sure I'll hit this thing many times. I needed it this morning, although it was nice the humidity was high. I was drenched after an hour but felt great. 1 hour and 33 minutes for an unknown distance.

I've continued poking around the internet for solutions to my declining marathon times over the last two years. I was listening to a Podcast by marathon guru John Ellis and he was discussing base training. That 8-16 week period that many runners do over the winter to just run slow and build an aerobic base. The key is slow on almost every run. No tempo runs needed, no track workouts and no hills. In fact these hard workouts take away from the point of base training. Which is to build your aerobic system, grow new capillaries, make mitochondria and get stronger. You come back with a bigger and stronger engine so you are ready for speed work as you approach your goal race.

As John was describing all of this I was thinking I haven't done that type of training in a loooong while. It's been three to four years since I've made a concerted effort to run slow on every run for a couple months. It sticks out in my head because in the spring following this winter of slow running I killed my Broad Street PR and had a great spring of running. I remember being amazed at being able to run so fast (relatively) off of such slow running.

John went on to describe a friend who trained for Boston in a very similar fashion to the way I trained for the previous marathon and he crashed and burned at mile 18. Hmm sounds familiar. He also stated that if you can run much faster in shorter races than the predictors indicate for the marathon than you are most likely lacking in this type of training. My 5 mile race time several weeks before the marathon indicated a 2:54 marathon, I'll remind you all I ran a 3:13 or 3:11 when you adjust for the fact that I finished the half-marathon and the full marathon.

Now I haven't been running all speedwork in training, that is obvious from my 8:30 pace morning runs over the winter but I did have 2-3 faster workouts every week and I wasn't running a ton of miles. This type of training will help you progress to a point but then it only provides diminishing returns. I noticed this in my training. The track workouts in December went much better and faster than those in February.

I'm walking the dog, listening to this guy and everything is clicking in my head. It seems I have a reason for the poor races of late. I also have a plan of action for the next marathon, go slow to go fast, at least for an extended block of time before training fast. I know the idea for this type of training isn't a revelation, its been practiced and shown to be effective for years and years. Maybe I just need to get smacked in the face with it to realize my error.

It's May and that means Thursday night trail races with the Wissahickon Wanderers in the park. Always a great time and not just for the run. There is beer and food in the Valley Green restaurant after every run.

Over the years I have become friendly with many of the runners in this club because of these trail races and it was nice to see some familiar faces and catch up. I also bumped into English Mike of the Philly Runners who I think was there more for the beer than the racing.

The course this evening was an out and back on Cresheim Creek, a small tributary of the Wissahickon that meanders out towards Chestnut Hill and is the dividing line between CH and Mt. Airy. There were several creek crossings on the way out and the way back that made for a confusing and wet run. Normally you would be able to skip from rock to rock and stay dry but with all the rain you just had to jump into the calf deep water and avoid get twisted up on the submerged rocks.

I wasn't in the mood to kill myself racing so I laid back and followed a couple guys. It wasn't long before we missed some of the flour marking and went off course. Well not really off course, on course but going the wrong direction. This initiated a series of missteps and wrong turns that had us running longer than the actual course and crossing racers heading in the opposite direction. It was a short race so I was happy to run the extra distance. About 30 minutes.

I'll definitely be out there next week.

Broad Street Run

Heather dropped me off at the start around 7:45. This was much better than taking the damn subway from the sports complex as it allowed me to relax in my house with a cup of coffee and Tom & Jerry Cartoons until nearly 7:30. It was overcast and calm. Rain was forecast but temps were near 60 and I didn't mind a little a rain. I am always nervous that I won't run into friends before the start but within a few blocks of getting dropped off I bumped into 6 people I knew prior to getting into the corrals. This is what happens when you run year in and year out, even in a big city. You become part of the running community.

I warmed up with a mile or so mostly easy with about 1/4 mile at race pace. I hopped in the corral and lined up with Steve K and Luke from winter marathon training. We discussed our race strategy, run and see what happens.

We lined up a little to far back and we were slowed through the first mile in 6:40. I was running with Steve K and we figured the slow start would make for a better second half. I don't have all the splits but mile 2 was around 6:20, still not as fast as I'd hoped. I was feeling good and figured the pace would come as the race progressed. Mile 3 about 6:15. At this point I was slowly pulling away from Steve and although I still felt good I knew it wasn't going to be fast day. The next few miles took us around city hall and into South Philly the pace remained in the upper teens to low 20s, I think there was even a 6:30 mixed in there. 6:30! That was mile 16 in the marathon just over a month ago and today at mile 6 in a 10 mile race I knew I didn't have much better than that.

I held on for the last few feeling like I might be able to push it more but just not having the oomph to do it. Last year I was running the same pace in the second half of the race and it felt like cake, like I was out for moderate workout. Today it felt like a lot more than that.

I thought I'd be able to drop a sub 6:00 in the last mile and pushed hard past the Wachovia Center, under 95 and down the hill into the Navy Yard. Mile 10 6:17?!? Finished in 1:03:51. Not a stellar performance by any means. Last year I blamed my slower race on a Chilli cook-off the night before, this year I have no such excuses.

I was talking to Steve K, who had a similar performance, after the race and it was clear to both of us that we obviously were not near our top form of a few years back. Life has gotten in the way of the training we used to be able to do. The runs with the Thursday night crew just don't happen anymore, not to mention the Tuesday night group runs and most Saturday morning group runs. It isn't necessarily a bad thing but just the way it is. As I was cruising through the last couple miles I just didn't feel that normal fire to kick ass to the finish, I was almost content to cruise it in.

So it is what it is. I am sure that fire will be back but for now I am content to run 20-30 miles a week and hop on my mountain bike for 20 miles or so. I'll let things come as they may.

Just as it is every other spring, I am all about running the trails in the Wissahickon. I jumped back in there Thursday night on legs that were still shaky from Tuesday's workout. Regardless, I felt peppy and ran a fairly hard pace most of the way. I didn't log the run and my memory is a little hazy but I think it was a little shy of 70 minutes. The entire time I was running I knew it was going to hurt the following day but I had some great tunes on and it was the perfect evening for a trail run so I didn't hold back.

Friday I took very easy and stayed on Forbidden Drive running around 8:15 pace. Things were sore but loosened after got in a few miles. 56 minutes.

This morning I met VP Steve for another run in the park. We jumped on the trails right next to the golf course and bumped into a few guys from the Wissahickon Wanderers. It was nice to catch up with a couple of the guys I haven't seen in a while. The Wanderers are again hosting Thursday night trail races in the month of May and I hope to make it out for a few.

We stayed on the trails all the way down to Lincoln Drive, a couple of the Wanderers had dropped off and it was just Steve, Chris and I to make our way back up Forbidden Drive. It was warm and the hard running this week was catching up with me. Had Steve not been there I would have definitely taken a walking break on the way up Rex but that's what friends are, they can drag your ass up a hill without even knowing it. 85 minutes.

I was in the mood for a hard workout this evening. Heather and I drove to the top of Forbidden Drive at Northwest Ave on an absolutely beautiful spring afternoon. I couldn't wait to get moving on the trails and quickly took off on the first available, up a long steep hill. My lungs were burning by the top of the hill, a warmup would be better next time.

After catching my breath I pushed it to a hard tempoish pace and decided to the follow the course for the Wissahickon Trail Classic, a race I ran last summer. This is a killer course with five lung busting hills. If I wanted to introduce someone to a hard trail run in the park I would take them out on this. I piled the frustration I have had with my running lately into my legs along this course, I almost felt as if I was racing myself. I feel like I need more of these runs that just totally kick my ass and bring a little fire back into my workouts to get my running to or above the level it was last spring. To often as of late I just feel like I am just going through the motions when I am out there for a workout. Maybe a time trial along this course every few weeks would do the trick.

I've had plans in my head for time trial routes in the past, where I could hopefully gauge my fitness across a few months but I have never stuck to it. I am really going to make the effort this time around. The bar was set at 46:51 today (with a wrong turn that I won't make the next time out there) for what I think is 6.5 miles. Only 7:20 pace but it felt more like 6:20.

For the day 7.5 miles in 56 minutes.

After posting to the blog yesterday I decided to see how quickly I had run the clean air 5K last year. (this is a good thing about running a race year in and year out. It can act as a barometer of your fitness as long as you take any variables into consideration). So...

2005 - 19:10
2006 - 18:21
2007 - I had to run this Boston Marathon thing which falls on the same weekend.
2008 - 17:56
2009 - 18:28

2005 and 2006 are suspect because I know that the course was measured incorrectly and short for the 2007 running. I would guess they used the same course for 2005 and 06 until this issue was brought to the race directors attention in 2007. What I can say for sure is that I ran the race 32 seconds slower than last year, or roughly 10 seconds a mile. That is a lot. Last year I was coming off of a winter with no marathon training, I was gearing up for a half-marathon that never materialized. I think my training was more conistent through March and April and I am guessing this is the major cause for the change. These days just putting in the miles doesn't lead to a PR at any distance.

In 2008 I was very close to a sub 60 in the 10 mile Broad Street Run until stomach ailments hit. This year I think that the 60 mark will be unreachable but hey, you never know.

Back to actual workouts. I dragged my mountain bike out of the basement on Saturday afternoon, dusted it off and checked it over. I forgot what kind of shape it was in when I tucked it away for the winter and was surprised to find that everything was working perfectly. On Sunday morning I took a spin down Forbidden Drive to meet Seth and Ron from the Philly Runners for a ride. The pace remained easy which is a good thing because, as I expected, I am not in great bike shape. The ride definitely piqued my mountain biking enthusiasm and got me out on a beautiful and cool spring morning. I think it was 13 miles or so.

This morning I got into the gym at my work for the 4th Monday in a row. Hot Damn. For me and the gym, that is consistency. It is paying off, things are easier, I am not as sore the next day, and the amount of weight I can push up and down each time keeps increasing. It isn't much but it is nice to put that missing piece back into the fitness puzzle.

Run for Clean Air 5K

I arrived at the race to find the truck that delivered the race tents pulling away belching clouds of blue tinged oily exhaust, what a fitting way to start the run for clean air. It was probably the warmest morning of the year so far with temps into upper 50s at 8:00 am. I was there early for the 9:00 start but I like to get there early to chat with runners I haven't seen in a long while and it leaves me plenty of time to warm up.

The warm-up was 2.5 miles with a few pickups for 200 yards or so and a little stretching on the run. I felt decent but I wasn't sure what kind of shape I was in for a 5K. I like to forecast my race time to the second just to see how close I can get. Today I guessed 18:12.

I was on a team consisting of a couple Kevins, a Steve or two and Rick. Apparently we were defending the Philly Runners 1st place finish from the last 4 or 5 years. Before the race I really wasn't in the mood to race I had an odd indifference about the whole thing. I don't think this really effected my finish, maybe I could have shaved a couple seconds with a more mental fortitude.

Anyhow, the gun went off, the rabbits went out and settled in to what felt like the right pace. Mile 1 went by in 5:44 and I was well back from the leaders with about 20 - 30 people ahead. 5:44 felt good and I didn't feel like I had hit the gas to hard to start. I spent half of mile 2 trying to catch the small pack in front of me and tucked in just before the turn around when the small pack got strung out with me at the back.

Along this stretch I just tried to hold my own. Mile 2 went by in 6:04. I felt as if I was running a consistent pace but evidently not.

Over the last mile I was dueling with another guy from "Students Run Philly Style". He received never ending support from the student racers heading out on the loop. He soundly whooped my butt with a half mile to go as he pulled away and I had no answer. I had my guard up for any surging runners behind me in the last 200 meters as we crossed the Schuylkill river but luckily I was on my own. Third mile in 6:03 and finish in 18:29. I had missed my race predicted race time but I didn't put to much thought into it.

I wanted to run more mile so I jogged right over to the Saturday morning Philly runner group and ran the loop with some folks I haven't seen in a while. I really have to make more of an effort to keep connected with the group. My isolated runs out in Chestnut Hill are scenic but I do miss taking a spin around the drives with a crew.

As for the Philly Runners Team. I think we lost our perennial crown and finished in second place but I'll have to wait for the results to pop up to be sure.

14 miles for the day. The biggest day since the marathon and it felt great.

As expected, a tough week for running. If I had really had the urge a few miles in the morning on Tuesday or Wednesday could have happened but cold temps and rain drowned any chance of that. Instead, this morning was the first run of the week and it was short one at that.

The clouds have broken and the rising sun filled the wall to wall blue skies. There was also a setting half moon. With the sun on one horizon and the moon disappearing at another it is easy to see how the moon and sun relate to each other in space and why I can only see half of the lit moon from my vantage point. I pondered this relationship as I cruised around Chestnut Hill on on very happy and well rested legs. 4.7 miles in 36 minutes.

Back to work on Monday morning on what promises to be a long week both at work and at home. It's doubtful that I'll to log to many miles this week. Hopefully I can sneak in a couple runs in the morning. I can't wait until this semester is over.

Over the weekend I was able to put in a few miles. On Friday evening Heather and I took Boomer into a very muddy Wissahickon Park for a trip up and down Forbidden Drive. Despite the growing baby Heather is still making it out for runs and I am impressed. We ran five miles which included some walk breaks and some pee breaks. For Boomer, not for us. The dog has to stop and investigate nearly every puddle, if only to dip his snout into it for a seconds. You can imagine how many puddles are in the park after all the rain we have had lately. 5 miles in 60 minutes.

Sunday was trip by myself into the park on the trails and on Forbidden Drive. I had Marah's "Kid's in Philly" album on the iPod and for whatever reason my running and that album often connect for a great run. Sunny, breezy, 48 degrees a perfect morning for a run. I pushed the pace on the trails which included some light steps crossing a couple streams on exposed rocks and a jumps from the top of boulders back to the trails. Fun.

After 40 minutes I was on Forbidden Drive for the trip home. At Valley Green I mixed in some drills. I call the first drill "Park Benches". This involves standing in front of a park bench lifting the right leg, stepping on the bench, bringing up my left leg standing on the bench for a second and then stepping back down. Repeat 20 times alternating the leg you start with, take a break and then do it again. I continued on my way to home to the bottom of Rex.

Here there are a couple picnic benches right next to each other which made for a great spot for the next drill I'll call "Picnic Benches" From a stand still do a two legged jump onto the first bench, then bounce up to the table, jump off the table onto the bench on the other side and then jump to the ground. Jump onto the bench on the next table and up and over in the same fashion. Go back forth 4 times, rest and repeat. This drill was much more a of a workout then the last and had me gasping by the end of each set.

After this I recovered by walking half-way up the hill at Rex Avenue and then ran the rest of the way home. About 9.5 miles in 86 minutes. 34 miles for the week in 5 workouts with a trip to the gym on Monday morning.

This morning I read this article over my bowl of Cocoa Krispies. It's not every 10K that you can run under 32 minutes and finish somewhere between 100-200th place. Of course not every 10K has Martin Lel toeing the line and bull as a grand prize either. The level of running in that region of Kenya is ridiculous, I can see how that must make them push each other to levels that are just a step above most others around the world.


I did a little of my own pushing this morning hopefully to a slightly better level of running. A trail run in the Wissahickon on an overcast and calm morning with temps in the upper 40s, perfect weather. The goal was a hill workout. I ran to a hill in the park that I thought would fit the bill, a long even slope that was void of ankle twisting rocks and roots. I charged up (under 5K pace) for 30 secs and recovered on the downhill as slow as possible before repeating. 3 x 30 secs and I was on my way. I kept it short because I knew the remainder of my route would have plenty more hills to charge. Four more hard uphill intervals between 20 and 45 seconds. The workout left me feeling energized and ready to take on the rest of the day.

Overall these workouts aren't extremely hard because they are over so quickly but I think you can reap some large benefits. All other portions of the run were run around 7:45 pace. Oddly I didn't see one other person on the trails. On mornings much nastier than today I always see at least a couple. 5.8 miles in 46 minutes. Happy Good Friday.

A crisp beautiful morning made me glad I'd gotten up early for a morning run. Temps were in the upper 30s, calm, and not a cloud in the sky. It's been about month since I've hit the roads on a weekday morning and the sun has quickly rebounded from the hour we stole for DST, it was nearly dawn at 6:15. Actually dawn is 6:32 this morning and we are gaining 1 - 2 minutes every day.

An easy run and I was hoping to throw in some running drills that I posted about a few weeks before the marathon. I watched a demonstration of several of these drills on YouTube last night but after a 1 mile warmup I couldn't recall many of them and was stuck with faking my way through the two drills that I thought I remembered correctly. One from the video and one from an article I read a while back. Adding these dynamic run-like exercises is supposed to increase overall speed and fitness, reduce injury and make you a better more consistent runner.

I suppose if I want to do this properly I should work on the drills at a track or in a place where I can read about what I am supposed to do just before I do it. That seems like a little to much effort when I really just want to run so I'll instead keep it to these half remembered efforts once or twice a week. Things will eventually begin to stick and maybe become routine.

This morning was "Getting the knees up" where you take quick steps lifting your knees high and snapping the heel of your foot to your but for 25 meters or so. I repeated 3 times through my run. I also bounced up a few hills. This is very much a running motion but instead of lightly pushing off with each step you push off hard trying to get some air and sort of bounce up the hill. It is difficult to sustain for long but a perfect way to get the blood pumping on a cool morning.

Other than that easy miles on this route. 5.7 miles in 47 minutes.

There are few races on my calendar including the Run for Clean Air 5K on Apr 18th and the Broad Street 10 Miler on May 3rd. To race well I don't want to sit on my laurels for an extended period and let my fitness ebb further. Also, I am very energized to put in some more miles, if anything the marathon performance fired my interest in running. I find myself perusing more running websites, blogs and books, not things I normally do a few weeks after a marathon.

So last night I put in my first real workout in weeks. 8 miles with 3 x 1 miles at 6:00 pace or at least an attempt at 6:00 pace. I ran along Forbidden Drive for 2 miles and then picked it up for a mile in 6:06, 1/2 mile easy and then a second mile in 6:00, 1/2 mile easy and the third mile in 6:00. The intervals were hard but not ridiculous and overall I was happy with the workout. 8 miles in 57:30.

I'm finally feeling back to normal after a few ugly runs since the marathon. I think the poor runs were a mix of fatigue and the leg workout at my work's gym this past Monday. My legs haven't seen any weights since around 2005 and it showed all week. Despite my attempt to "go easy" I was waddling for a couple days and then just generally sore for a few more. You mix that with some hilly trails runs and it makes for a tough go. I walked toward the top of many uphills and sucking air at easy paces.

Today was sunny and warm. I went out with a little trepidation that I was going to repeat my performance from Friday but it didn't happen. After 4 miles I finally felt decent and even extended the run a couple times to enjoy the day. Around 9 miles in 80 minutes almost all of it on the trails.

I am still kicking around my marathon performance and what might have went wrong. I really feel my training was adequate for the performance. My speed was definitely there, shorter races predict at marathon time in the low 2:50s and I believe my endurance was there as well if the spectacular 23 miler I ran 3 weeks prior to the race was any indication. Everything just didn't come together on race day. Now this sounds like a poor excuse but I am leaning more and more towards what I ate both before and during the race as the culprit to me hitting the wall.

I'll save the details for what I should have eaten vs. what I did eat over the past few marathons for another day but I think it is the key to a better performance. I feel foolish for not reading into this more in the past. Understanding what I should eat and actually doing it is so much easier than running all those miles in training yet it can have just as big of an effect on race day. Why leave it to chance and just do what you think is right instead of doing what is right?

I've spent the past hour geeking over my running blog. What started as a reread of my Boston Marathon post from 2007 turned into me reading all of my marathon posts over the past few years. Chicago(2006), Boston(2007) and Philly again (2009). I added mileage, I looked at workouts and I tried to piece together differences that can explain performances hoping for a smoking gun. Of course no gun turns up and I'm left with a few hints. Maybe it is total mileage, maybe it was those mid-week long runs before Chicago that payed off on race day, the extra gu at mile 10, slower tempo runs. The list goes.

I am sure if I e-mailed Jack Daniels and Pete Pfitzinger my logs over the past few years they could find a myriad of missed opportunities, over/under-training, and poor choices but that obviously isn't going to happen. The best I can do is look at when things worked, Chicago and to a lesser extent Boston. In Chicago I ran a negative split and a great race, in Boston I faded a little in the end but overall held things together for a PR on a tough course in bad weather. The thing both of those marathons have in common is more mileage. A total 100+ more miles in the 3 months prior to the marathon than I had for D.C.

I do this not to torture myself but to try and learn from experience. I don't think I am going to run another marathon in 2009 but I am sure as hell not going to let sub 3:00 go just yet. And whenever training begins anew the status quo is not going to work. It didn't work in Philly last year and it obviously didn't work last week. So I'll take my time, try and at least put this monkey on my back down for a little while and in the future, plan and stick to a training regimen that hopefully will have some wise improvements.

National Marathon, Washington D.C.

I was laying in bed the evening before the race and I hear my phone buzz. “I’m gonna go out with you tmrrw” was what Seebo had texted, adding a little more to the positive vibe I had building for the race. It was marathon number 7, the lucky number, I had eaten a big Thai meal the night before with Heather, Ian and Nora, my pre-race meal before a great performance at Chicago and now I had a friend to run with for the beginning of the marathon. Things were going to be good.

In the morning I met an equally excited Ian in the lobby of our hotel and we hopped a ride on the metro to RFK stadium, the race start. It was cold, cold enough to frost the grass and freeze my feet as I anxiously paced around waiting for the sun to come up and the starting gun to fire. I at first was not able to find Seebo in the starting corral but as the announcer blasted “1 minute to race start” I eyed him a few rows ahead and sidled up.

The gun went off and we were on our way. The sun was rising, the wind was light and my hopes were high. We planned a slow first mile and at 7:37 it was even slower than I was shooting for but that was fine. I could see the dome of the Capitol building ahead with the Washington Monument poking behind, an up lifting sight early in the race. We cruised by the Capitol building and along the mall for the next couple miles, there was some decent downhill along this portion and it made the going easy. 2 - 6:50, 3 - 6:42, and 13:39 for miles 4 and 5.

By this point we had turned off the mall and were heading north into the uphill portion of the course that would take us through mile 8. I wasn’t feeling perfect but good. Seebo and I exchanged some complaints about how the hills were more than we expected but definitely manageable. Crowd support to this point had been non existent and that continued for almost the entire race with the exception of the guys from Howard University in mile 7 that had hip-hop music blasting and party going on. 6 – 6:54, 7- 6:57, 8 – 6:38.

I was behind schedule with the slow start and the early hills. I had planned for this looking at the course profile before the run but I was still itching to make up some ground on the downhill that had started at mile 8 and continued through 10. We were on our way back to RFK to drop off the half-marathoners and we took advantage of the grade to hit a couple quick miles with minimal added effort. 9 – 6:39, 10 – 6:30, 11 – 6:41, 12 - 6:40.

An uneventful race to this point, just how you want it but now things got interesting. I knew we were soon going to have to break off from the half-marathoners and I kept my eyes open for the break. There was a large highway sign reading “Marathoners Left - Halfmarathoners Right”. Seebo and I began easing to the left of the road and continued on. Mile 13 – 6:40.

Seebo and I were both looking for our turn away from the half marathon finish but it never materialized. Now we are running down the long chute to finish line and it is obvious something is wrong. I am scanning for white marathon bibs but none are to be found only the yellow half marathon bibs. Across the finish line I see a pile of people but no route on the left for us and the rest of the marathoners to run through. We cross the line and I brush off the guy trying to hang a half marathon finishers medal on me. I am screaming at anybody who will listen “Where is the full marathon?! Where is the full!!!!!!!!!” The first woman has no idea and I am in total panic mode. A few seconds later another volunteer tells us we missed the turn which is back up the finishing chute, and over the hill. Seebo and I retrace our steps back up the hill and then cut across a long grassy downhill to join the marathon again.

What the fuck. I was in shock that this had happened. I was pissed at myself for missing the turn and pissed at the race organizers for not making it more obvious. Seebo was trying to calm me down and keep me focused and it did work. The actual half split for the marathon went by in 1:31 something and I knew we had lost around 2 minutes. Damn.

I hit the gas a little and hoped I could make some time up. Mile 14 split 9:17. I was averaging 6:40’s and now I drop a 9:17 so I am guessing I threw 2:37 out the window with the bad turn. I am fuming, my mind is racing about what to do, I keep running and try to think things through. Do I shoot for 2:59 despite the lost time or count anything under a 3:02 on the marathon clock as a sub 3:00 marathon? I decided to run harder for a few miles and see how I felt. 15 – 6:36, 16 – 6:36, 17 -6:32.

My spirits were buoyed by these splits and through mile 18 I really thought I had a shot. Maybe I was in better shape than I imagined, maybe I could really run a 2:56 and that lost time was the impetus to push myself harder. Mile 18 – 7:04.

Whoa. What happened? I didn’t slow down, the mile must have been long. Mile 19 7:07. Here we go again, the slow horrible decline through the last 6 miles. I keep pushing and just hope it is a bad patch but I can feel in my legs that it probably is not. Mile 20 – 7:33. I was able to dig and push very hard to pull off a 7:02 for mile 21 but that was it. The remainder of the way was just trying to hold on and not let the decline get to bad. I won’t go through the detail but here are the splits, they can tell the story. 22 – 7:55, 23 – 8:32, 24 – 9:27, 25 – 10:16, 26 – 9:25, 0.2 1:51. Finished in 3:13:52 (or 3:11:XX when you subtract the mistake)

You train for these things in hopes of hitting your goals and as it starts to unravel on those long miles at the end you have plenty of time think through the reality that all the work you put in is not going to even get you across the line with a BQ. I finished angry, sad, upset. Heather met me not long after I crossed the line, she knows what the race meant to me and gave me a huge hug. I was feeling very emotional and needed a few minutes to calm down.

I eventually hobbled through the food line and met up with the support crew; Ian, Nora, Allison, Steve, Reba and soon Seebo who finished a few minutes behind me. So I didn’t hit my goal, but was all the training really a waste? No way. I was standing there with my beautiful (pregnant) wife Heather and six friends all because I have this damn running bug. For me this will always outweigh a bad marathon no matter how those last miles feel.