Low Dew Points and Cooler Temps

The weather is back to normal and I am loving it.

It was in the low 80's and not humid when I went out last night for a trip up and down forbidden drive. I took a long a water bottle but I realized at the turn around that I was barely using it. I might have been betetr off with my iPod and some good tunes for company rather than a bottle of water.

Anyhow, I did 6.5 out in the 7:30-7:50 range. Just cruising along, enjoying the weather, and checking out all the people walking in the park. On the return I picked it up for three miles hitting a 6:30, 6:20 and a 6:30. I wasn't pushing to hard and I wouldn't consider it tempo pace, just enough effort to feel it but not enough to tire me out.

I finished up with a few easier miles. 11.7 miles in 83 minutes. A good run.

I am way behind on posting again. I have four runs to catch up on so here goes. Will see what I can remember, runs quickly get hazy a few days out unless there was something very memorable.

Friday was a day off. My legs just didn't feel good. My legs were beat and I felt a day off was in order.

Saturday morning I was excited for a 14-15 miler but even with the day off it didn't start out to well. I reached an hour and was wondering how I was going to keep it up for one more. However I entered Fairmount Park in this stretch and I started getting into a groove going up over St. Georges. I made my way through the park, down the lawn at Belmont Mansion and into the woods for a trip on the trails. Popped out at Ford Road and then jumped on MLK for the trip home. About 14.5 miles in 1:52. I was happy that the run ended much better than it started, always much better than the other way around.

I was at the folks on Sunday morning and I got up at 8:00, rolled out of bed, and started running. A rare occurence for me. The weather was warm for being early and the sun was in full effect. I ran about 7.5 miles in a little under an hour. Never really felt great and I was glad when it was over.

Monday night my legs weren't feeling so hot. I waited till almost 9:00 to head out the door for what I thought was going to be a difficult run. However, depsite the heat and my achey legs, everything went great. An East Falls/Roxborough loop that was highlighted by a lightning storm off in the distance. 8 miles in 62 minutes.

Tuesday night I met up with the group. My legs felt drained and I had a nagging muscle cramp in my left calf, although it wasn't sore, during the work day.

I didn't expect much out of the run that night. I got there a little early, stretched out and was pleasantly surprised at how well the firts mile felt. By mile 2 I wanted to go longer and Seebo and I headed up over the Strawberry Mansion Bridge for a longer loop. This was the first time in about 10 days that I have run with anybodyelse and it felt good to have some company for a few miles. Seebo headed home at sweetbriar and I continued to the Art Museum for 7 miles in 53 miutes.

I was a little discouraged by the torpid legs over the past few days but things feel much better right now and I am looking forward to a long run on Forbidden Drive tonight.

11 weeks till Chicago.

I was debating a DNR yesterday but I am a little down on miles for this week so even a shorter run is better than nothing.

5 Miles in and around Manayunk with Heather. We took it slow and I think the heat/humidty might have abated a bit. Maybe the slow pace just made it feel that way, who knows.

Although I haven't really logged to many miles this week my legs feel a little beat up. Coming off of a lot of miles last week my legs felt great on Monday and then I did a track workout. The track really seems to take a toll. The remainder of the week is filled with nagging aches and pains.

In my mind I really want to hit 60 miles this week but when I look back at the rough training plan I devised prior to the start of marathon training I am only scheduled to run 50-55. I think I should follow the plan a little more closely and make sure I am still in good shape to log solid training miles in the weeks to come. Also, I have to account for the heat, it is a bitch, and can really put a dent in weekly mileage.

The 15 day forecast (which is notoriously inaccurate but when it looks good I like to believe it is correct and when it looks bad I blow it off knowing they never get it right) shows normal to cooler than normal weather all the way through. I am saying a little prayer that they are right

Waited until 8:30 yesterday evening and went out for a loop through East Falls and Roxborough. A semi-regular route that has one decent hill but the rest is just a little up and down. I always enjoy this run. I don't do it that often so it never becomes to familiar and there is usually a little twist because I can't remember the exact route I took last time.

Nothing to exciting to report. 7.5 - 8 miles in exactly 1 hour.

F U Heat

Goddamn it is hot. This is record heat, kill 100 people in California last week heat, cause the highway to buckle heat, record electricty usage heat, hasn't reached 100 since August 9th, 2001 heat. It is supposed to reach 103 degrees today and in my head I think of anything above about 90 degrees as about the same, hot, but it isn't really true. 93 to 103 is a 10 degree jump. A 10 degree jump from 80 to 90 is from a fair day to a hot day. A jump from 30 to 40 is a snow storm to nasty cold rain. So a jump from say a 93 degree day to a 103 degree is substantial and it really makes for some horrible running.

Ian and I went off into Fairmount Park last night to hopefully escape the heat in the shade of the park. I am sure it was a little cooler than a trip up and down the drives but the heat still got us. It was there, laughing at me for thinking I could escape it, surrounding me in a cocoon that I couldn't shake no matter where I ran, pressing down on me when I stopped for a breather making me wish I had just kept going.

I only made it 42 minutes and probably a little over 5.5 miles. Tonight will be more of the same, if not worse. Maybe I will setup my treadmill in my cool air-conditioned living room and give the finger to the heat through the window as I sip an iced tea and listen to my iPod. (which I cannot take out in this heat because I sweat so badly and I am afraid that I will fry it).

Most likely though I will wait until later, 8:00-8:30, try to escape the worst of it and curse it as I run and drip through the streets Roxborough. It can't last forever.

The forecaset for the week is to start hot and then get hotter. So I decided to head to the track last night while at 89 degrees it was still relatively cool.

Two mile warm up to Roxborough Track, there was a good crowd goign around which graciuosly stayed on the outside lanes while I did my workout. I can't help but size up the other runners while I am out there. This track doesn't usually have to many quick runners and last night was no exception.

The plan was 800's until I was really uncomfortable, with the heat last night I was thinking 5. I am still a total novice on the track and I can't seem to string togtether a month were I make a few trips there which would allow me improve a bit so it is always like starting from scratch. I wanted to run at 5K pace or just a little under. I was going to shoot for 5:50 miles or about 2:55 for an 800. My math skills and my running were not really up to speed last night and for some reason I was going for 2:40's.

I hit the first one in 2:40 and thought I couldn't imagine one more let alone 4 more. I decided to drop down 400's in 1:20. I nailed 5 of them but on lap 6 I just couldn't keep it up. It was hot, I was sweating ridiculously, I didn't feel like hurting anything so I stopped at that.

It wasn't until I got few easy miles under mile belt on the way home that I realized I was running a bit to fast. If I had slowed down to what I initially expected to run I am sure I could have squeezed out a few more but I still am happy, I at least got out there. On a night like last night that was good enough for me. A little over 9 miles in 68 minutes.

I really would like to make at least bi-weekly trips to the track. The weather will get cooler, I'll get fitter and my times and reps will improve. At least that is the plan. I may even start to enjoy it at some point... but probably not.

252 miles for July, the most yet.

I didn't post over the weekend because my cable company, Urban Cableworks, is staffed by inept fools who don't understand that my builiding is a duplex after about 75 explanations and repeated problems. Comcast is taking them over and I never thought I would say this but I can't wait to have Comcast as my cable company.

Anyhow, my runs...

Friday was an easy 4 miles around Manayunk in the afternoon heat. 4 miels in 32 minutes. Just wanted to get a run done for the day.

Saturday was the first real long run of my marathon training. When I woke up Saturday morning I still had no idea of the route I was going to take. Wiss Park? Kelly Drive? Fairmount Park?

My first decision was Kelly Drive to hopefully meet up with the group as they made their turn at Falls Bridge. I went a 1/2 mile down Kelly towards the bridge in the full early morning July sun. I decided it was ridiculous to try and run on the drive in this heat when I had a perfectly cool Wissahickon Park to run through so I tured it around and headed back to the park.

The plan was 7.5 easy miles to the top of the park and then to pick it up some for the remainder of the run. I kept a steady 8:00 pace until Valley Green where I ran into the halfway turn around point of a race. The Chesnut Hill "Run for the Hill of It".

Suddenly I was surrounded by 100's of runners all running a slightly slower pace than I was doing. I slowly weaved my way through the crowds enjoying the chance to pass people on my long run and I was still actually able to hold my pace. As I approached the top of the park and the end of the race I had fans cheering me on telling me to "keep it up", "just a little further".

I crossed the finish mat for the race and started turning around. I was quickly yelled at and told I needed to turn in my chip. "I'm not in the Race" I yelled back and continued on my way to a few chuckles from the crowd.

From here I quickened my pace to near marathon pace at 7:20, feeling pretty good I kept this pace up for a mile and half back to Valley Green. The remaineder of the run consisted of another easy mile at 8:00 pace and then 3.5 miles at sub 7:00 pace. I ended with a mile easy. 16 miles in exactly 2 hours. Overall a great run.

I was ecstatic that I was able to push the pace in my long run, especially in the heat. I don't plan on running hard in all long runs but I really feel it is a piece I need to add to my tranining this year to give me more confidence and fitness for the marathon.

Sunday my legs were feeling great. I have added a good bit of stretching post runs and I think this has helped me feel a little looser the days after hard workouts.

I still kept it very easy on my run. 5 miles in 42 minutes on a mix of trail and Forbidden Drive in the park.

64 miles for the week.

Happy Trails

Hit the trails in the Wissahickon Park last night. All day at work I was lookng forward to this run and I wasn't disappointed.

Things were a little stiff for the first mile but once I loosened up the miles came easy. I didn't push to hard but didn't take it easy either. I was in that sweet spot in between for most of the run.

The first 4 miles were a familiar route and I decided to tack on a couple more before heading back. The trails eventually dumped me onto Forbidden Drive where I had a 5 miles to go back to my house and I was already almost at an hour of running. A little further than I had anticipated but I was really feeling good so I just went with it.

Heather was out on her own run and I caught up to her with about 1/2 mile to go. I finished in 1:32 for about 12 miles. Good stuff. I just hope I am not paying for an 11 and a 12 miler later this week.

Another Tuesday night and another group run. The weather is working its way back to unbearable but isn't there yet so the run last night was only mildly uncomfortable.

Got to the run a little early and added a 3 mile loop on the path exstension down to South Street. We have been getting some good crowds out to the runs despite the heat and yesterday about 30 people headed down the path. I fell into a decent pace with Kevin G and cruised along till I reached the 5 miles turn around.

Slowed it down a bit for the return trip. Not really beacuse I couldn't keep it up but I had planned to make it an easy run. 8 miles in I don't know how long because I forgot my watch but I am guessing about 62 minutes.

After only running 8 miles over the weekend I was really hoping Monday would turn into a good workout. The weather cooperated, around 80 and not to humid when I headed out the door at 7:00 pm. My legs also cooperated, they were feeling great after a week of 40 miles and from the start I felt like it was going to be a good run.

A run up Forbidden Drive. 1.5 mile warm up, then 2.5 miles at tempo pace of around 6:20. I had to push it a bit to keep up the pace but things went smoothly. Then 3 miles of easy pace during which which I really got into a rythym and I was easily ticking off 7:10 miles. The return included another 2.5 miles of tempo pace which took a lot less effort than the way out. Ended with 1.5 miles of cool down which again just wanted to come at a low 7's pace. 11 miles in 77 minutes. Best workout in a couple weeks. It's amazing how much better a little drop in humidity can make you feel. To bad it isn't going to last.

Wednesday night I squeezed an easy 4 before heading out to dinner for the night. I really don't like squeezing in runs because I am a bit obsessive about the time if I need to be somewhere and it forces me to constantly think about how far along I am in the run. 4 miles in 30 minutes.

Thursday night I skipped the run with the Thursday Nighters and decided to head out after sunset when the temperatures would be low enough for a good workout. 5 miles down to the Art Museum at 7:30 pace and then 8 repeats up the Art Museum steps. There happened to be few other guys doing reps up the steps too. It made for a little competition and a better workout.

I was a little drained on the way back but I kept the miles under 8 minute pace and took the long way back to my house about 11.5 miles in 80 minutes.

Friday a DNR :(. My legs felt good all day today depsite a tougher workout last night. I kept postponing the run because of a ton of errands and things around the house. Before I knew it 10:30 had rolled around and the run just never happened. I had a 20 day streak going that has come to end.

The remainder of the weekend involves a large 30th b-day party. I know I'll get in a few Saturday morning. Sunday might be a little tough but we'll see.

A bit of a drop back week for me, I don't expect to break 50 miles and I'll really be surprised if I hit 45. Not the worst thing considering the past three weeks have been my highest mileage to date but I really need to come back the following week with some quality workouts and a good long run on the weekend.

Driving to the group run yesterday eveing I knew it wasn't going to be a good run. My legs were tired from Monday's run and the heat/humidity was approaching unbearable.

A 7:07 first mile was faster than I could handle and I dropped off the lead pack into 7:30 pace, something that was sustainable with a a lot of mental effort. I caught up to Jenn near the turn around and I just stick with her the rest of the way. I don't think she knew it but she definitely pulled me through that run. 5 sweaty miles in 37 minutes. I was actually surprised that I had completed it that quickly.

The highlight of the evening was the storm that blew in after run. The walk back to my car was filled with swaying trees, falling branches, and dirt being blasted into my eyes by the wind. I was seriously nervous about a branch breaking and cruching me on it's way down. Perfect calm had turned into one of the windiest storms I have ever seen in about 5 minutes. When I began my drive home the thermometer in my car read 90. When I got home about 12 minutes later it read 81. WOW.

Catching Up

I guess I am behind a few runs,

Friday:

Went out with Heather on a route that the Wissahickon Wanderers used in their summer trail series. A nice trail run with varied terrain and just enough hills to make you work. Running it at an easy pace was much more enjoyable then it was while racing it. 5.2 miles in 45 minutes.

Saturday:

I actually made it up for an 8:00 run starting in front of the Art Museum with Erin, Seebo, Ian, Jim, and E-mike. A trip out to Mt Moriah cemetery and back to the Art Museum. Ian and I tacked a few miles onto the end of the run by going over Lemon Hill and then back on West River. I remember hoping that Ian wasn't going to pick up the pace on West River, running faster once we got on West River and then just trying to hold on as we hit the last 1.5 miles in about 6:30 pace. Many times I wanted to stop during that last bit but I was able to hold on. A little over 14 miles in 1hr 48 minutes.

I find myself recovering more easily from these longish type runs now. 10-14 mile runs seemed like long runs in the past but now they are becoming routine.

Sunday:

I was fairly hungover from a long Saturday night and held off running until the evening. I almost bagged the run but was able to get out the door with Heather for about 4 miles. Once I was running I felt much better and sort of wanted to keep going but decided against it.

56.3 miles for the week and on track with my marathon training.

Monday:

A hot ass day, maybe the hottest day of the summer. Delayed my run till the sun was setting and left my house at 8:30 for an out and back along Kelly Drive to the Art Museum.

Things felt great from the start and easily fell into 7:15-7:30 pace. Ran into Craig at the water fountain and we ran together the remainnder of the way to the Art Museum. Despite the heat I was feeling great on the return trip too and the miles were ticking off at 7:15 pace. One of those days where you feel like you could just keep going like this for miles.

3/4 mile from home I got a pain in my left foot. It is an odd thing that striks me every once in a while and not only on runs, sometimes just walking around. One step it isn't there and the next it is, like I hit a nerve in my foot. Just a small spot behind my toes, feel almost like I have a lump in my sock but with more pain. It only hurts when I put pressure on it so it forces me to run on the inside of my foot.

I hobbled along with an altered gait for about another half-mile and then just decided to walk the remainder. I went from a running high to a running low in about 3 minutes. 10 miles in 77 minutes, including the walk.

I barely feel it today and I think things should be fine for a run tonight. I just hope it doesn't become a more frequent problem.

A 1000 Miles and Running

Any hopes that I had of a cool summer are quickly evaporating in the hot July sun. Steamy, sultry, disgusting, muggy and sweaty are a few of the words that come to mind this week and I saw the forecast this morning, things are just going to get worse this weekend. Okay, that is enough, I will not speak of the heat again for the rest of the summer... but I have been known to lie once in a while.

Thursday night with the group, I planned on doing 8 but that turned into 5 miles. After wrapping up with the group at the Art Museum I just couldn't get myself motivated to add those extra 3.

So Monday/Tuesday was a total of 11 miles. I look at Mon, Tues runs as miles in the bank for the week, they can be counted on if you miss a run later on. So far my account is a little light and I'll have to make it up in the remainder of the week.

Last night things were back on track despite a high rate of kinetic energy in an atmosphere that was almost completely saturated with water vapor. 5 miles on the trails in the Wissahickon and the 5-6 more on Forbidden Drive. Despite conditions I felt much better at the end of this run, the way it is supposed to feel.

Last night's run also put me over 1000 miles for the year. A number I didn't break until Sept 14th of last year.

Slow Going

I had to drag myself through 6 miles yesterday on a loop through Roxborough. My legs weren't sore and they really didn't feel tired during the day but when I started running they just didn't have any kick.

It was to be expected after a long week so I just plodded along and tried not to think about how the run sucked. I forced myself to run 50 minutes, knowing it was going to take at least that long to get in my goal of 6 miles for the day. Usually things will loosen up but it just didn't happen this run and it was exactly 6 miles in 50 minutes. Oh well, thats why they call them recovery runs.

G5Kizzy

Sunday morning I jumped out of bed to participate in the second annual Guerilla 5K. A wonderful race put on by some guy in the local running scene. A beautiful sunny morning and a lot of good running friends made a great race.

I had no warm up and a lot of miles earlier in the week so I decided to take it easy during the race, especially the first mile. I hung a little behind the leaders, Steve, Steve and.... Steve, for the first mile and surprisngly I felt good so I pushed it as we approached the Mann Center. Up over South Georges where I was actually able to pass Steke K. I think a lot of miles and a soccer game the night before combined to give me a fighting chance of beating him.

With about 1.5 miles to go I decided that I just wanted to try and hold onto third place. I quickened my step on the downhill back towards Belmont and tried to make it as hard as I could for Steve to pass me. Luckily I was able to hold on, we made the turn back onto North Concourse and I could see the finish in the distance. Stevus and Seebo were finishing together up ahead, hand in hand. I came in a little behind in about 19:08. A good race made even better by an excellent t-shirt and Mardi Gras beads also supplied by some guy.

The morning was capped by a trip to Jim's for breakfast, Tour de France and some good Banter between runners.

As for the rest of the weekend....

Friday was an easy 6, out and back on the Manayunk Towpath. I think it was about 49 minutes, nothing special about the run, just putting in some easy miles.

Saturday I debated getting up earlier and meeting up with some folk for a morning trip around Fairmount Park but my urge to sleep in won and I delayed my run till afternoon. 11 miles up and down Forbidden Drive in 72 minutes. A bit faster than I expected to go but I was cruising along easily at the pace so I stuck with it.

Sunday was the G5K and a 7.5 miler in the evening with Heather. My first real "2 a day". I hadn't planned it but I needed 2 miles more to hit my weekly goal and my legs felt fine so I went for a few more. 7.5 miles in 64 minutes.

Total for the week was 60. Marathon training is going about as well as I could have hoped at the end of week 2. It's still very early. I hope it keeps up.

Yesterday was 8 miles with the "Thursday Nighters" through Fairmount park. Finished in 67 minutes for a very easy run on a cooler and less humid night than we have had lately. It still isn't as near as cool as I'd like it but relative to Monday and Tuesday night it was beautiful.

Jenn was back out after her month long excursion in Central America to learn Spanish. Tim was back after his winter/spring long absence from Thursday night runs. A large crowd made the time pass quickly and the run much more enjoyable than my legs initially told me it was going to be. It's always nice to end a run feeling much better than you do at the beginning.

I have a pair of yellow Asics Speedstars that I bought at the Philly Distance Run Expo last fall. These are supposed to be my "fast shoes". I'd take them out for track workouts, tempo runs, and shorter races. They're lighter, flashier, with a little less cushion and I guess they somehow make you faster.

Sometime they work just as expected, the lightness of the shoe and the quicker response, if not actually making me faster at least they fool me into thinking I am. Other times they just make me feel like a fumbling idiot. My running gets thrown off, my feet smack the ground incorrectly, I get shin splints, and I have to either slow way down or call off the run. I then place them in the corner for a month or so until I forget how badly my last run in them went and the bright yellow color and lure of limitless speed call me back. (It also helps when my normal pair of running shoes are sloppy and soaking wet). Putting them on last night after work I was hoping for a fast run not a fumbling one and luckily they worked out.

I planned 10 miles out and back to the Art Museum with 2 miles of tempo in each direction. The first couple miles were quick and felt pretty good. I then did 2 miles in, 12:24, a little faster then I wanted to go but still a good tempo pace. I could feel some tightness in my right hamstring after the two miles and I decided to call of the tempo on the way back.

I had promised myself nothing faster than about 6:50 pace for the first few weeks of marathon training until my legs were used to the additional running. I went ahead with it last night because I have been feeling really good but even a little soreness in my hamstring was enough for me to call it off. The remainder of the run was done at about 7:15 pace for 10 miles in 71 minutes. All in all a good run. My leg stiffened some in the evening but feels pretty good this morning and I think I made the right call.

It not the Heat it's the Hu... Shut the Hell Up!

A ridiculously humid 5 miles with Heather on Forbidden Drive. There was an argument over which day was more humid, Monday or Tuesday, but it really didn't matter they both sucked.

We finished in 43 minutes so the pace was very easy but I was still a sweaty mess by the end of the run. Dripping shorts and soggy shoes are par for the course after summer runs. However, the weather forecast looks promising over the next week or so, it'll be warm but it looks like the humidity won't be around. I'll believe it when I see it.

I missed a run on Friday, the world cup in the morning along with a errands and a movie in the afternoon left me totally unmotivated so I decided to skip it.

Saturday morning I was able to get out of bed, put on my shoes, and go for a long run. Someyhing I haven't ever done before. I didn't think I was able to forgoe coffee and a few pieces of toast before 15 miles but Saturday changed my mind. A trip up the bloody nipple and led to some trail running in the Farimount and then West River Drive.

I met up with the running group at 9:30 with 72 minutes and over 9 miles under my belt. There were a few faces I knew and I few I didn't. Altogther not a good crowd on a hot sunny Saturday morning but I fell into a easy pace with a couple guys, Jeff and Rob, that I hadn't met before.

Talk was light as we went back up West River and I parted ways after crossing the Falls Bridge. Anotehr mile back to my house and I finished 14.5 in 1hr 54 if memory serves me right. A decent run. If felt good at the finish and the rest of teh day felt great.

Sunday night was 7.5 miles with Heather in an hour flat. Luckily we waited till after that nasty thunderstorm blew through and the temperatures had gone down a couple notches. A loop through Roxborough and Manayunk that include a few decent hills. My legs were a little tired but nothing was really sore.

Monday was hot and steamy. I have been doing a lot of work around the house all weekend and I waited till I completed painting my living room and dining room ceilings before heading out at 6:30. It was HOT. Not blistering hot like at noon but that sticky hot that occurs after the temps go down a bit and the humidity goes up. I slugged tons of water on a 10 mile out and back route along forbidden drive. The first 6-7 miles felt great at around 7:00 pace although I was trying to go slower. The heat took it's toll and slowed me down for the last few miles. All of a sudden I was running 8 minute miles and I felt liek I hadn't slowed down. Probably for the best.

First week of training down, 54 miles, mostly at an easy pace with a few marathon pace miles. I was planning 50-55 miles so ths was perfect. My biggest mileage week ever and things feel good, a little tight but nothing is really hurting.