A Strong Finish to 2010

40 degrees?!? Sounds like a perfect day for a 20 miler. It's been unseasonably cold here for the last month, and every outdoor run has felt like a chore.

I felt very strong throughout the run, even though I am in full holiday diet mode (i.e. chocolate, beer, fat, sugar, more chocolate, wine, beef and cheese, and a bit more chocolate.)

Mileage:20.00
Time/Pace: 3:06:57/9:20
Avg HR/Max HR: 143/154
Elevation: 384ft
T/W:40's, overcast

Up next, the obligatory end of year summary/goals for 2011. Stay tuned...

A New Gym and Indoor Track

Today, I joined a new gym, primarily because it has an indoor running track. I did 12 miles on said track, only 96 laps!

Mileage: 12.00
Time/Pace: 1:44:45/8:43
Avg HR/Max HR: 141/184

Christmas=Lazy

I really had intended to keep up my usual running schedule this week, but then...yeah right. No big deal though. I'm more or less pleased with my progress this year and the few extra days off will only add to my motivation for the upcoming year.

I did get a hadnful of runs including 5 on the treadmill Thursday and Friday about 6 or so, run/walking with a friend. Back at it next week!

Feeling Stronger

I have gotten back into the eating habits that I had great success with in the Summer and Fall, and as a result I am feeling much stronger. Two runs so far this week, on pace for both.

Today's Run (on treadmill)
Mileage: 5.00
Time/Pace: 39:59/8:00

Yesterday
Mileage: 4.00
Time/Pace: 30:33/7:38
Avg HR/Max HR: 139/151
Elevation: 17ft
T/W: 28 (18wc), cloudy

Back on Pace

Feeling a bit down after my lackluster performance yesterday, I set out determined to get in a solid run. Thankfully, my body and mind cooperated. It was pretty cold out today with a decent wind, but I got in a solid 10 miles at my goal pace.

Mileage: 10.00
Time/Pace: 1:20:42/8:04
Avg HR/Max HR: 145/159
Elevation: 208ft
T/W: 24, 14wc, wind, cloudy

Caroler 5K

Still reeling a bit from my sad effort on Thursday, I set out for a 5K race. My body, recovered pretty well from my long run, with only minor remnants of achiness. I may not have made the best decision for lunch. My wife and I went out, I had a garlic pasta dish, while in theory isn't too bad, but it was saturated in oil.

Tonight's weather wasn't too bad, mid 20's, but not as much wind as earlier in the day. I started out on a decent pace, but again felt my energy draining quickly. I also felt some waves of nausea coming and going. Similar to Thursday, each step became increasingly difficult, but at least this time I had people around me that helped to keep me going.

I just hung on as good as I could to the end, crossing the line with a very unspectacular and mediocre time.

Mileage: 3.03
Time/Pace: 21:57/7:14
Avg HR/Max HR: 194/221
Elevation: 61ft
T/W: mid 20's, clear

My last handful of runs have been less than spectacular, which leads me to think about why. Here's what I've come up with.

1) Diet: Throughout the summer and fall, I was eating very disciplined. I had tons of energy and was performing very well. I fell off that train late fall and have also gained a few pounds.

2) Sickness: I am at the end of a cold and still a bit congested.

3) Quick Change in Weather: It seems as the transition from fall to winter here was pretty abrupt this year. Usually the temperature change is a bit more gradual, but it seems to me as though we went from 40's to 20's almost instantly.

4) Additional Layers: To combat the temperatures I have added layers of clothing, which probably would suggest that it takes more energy to move me.

I'm sure my issues are a combination of all of these, but I am going to mostly point to diet. I want to perform at a higher level, and the times when I was at my best were also the times that I was training smartly and eating very well. Let's get back at it.

About this race. 1st time race hosted by the same group that does the Quakerman Tri and Wilson Tri. I like the idea of this race, mid-winter, with a family atmosphere/seasonal theme. Registration was a bit disorganized, perhaps due to the small space for race day registrants or the lack of help/unpreparedness of the number of participants. The race course itself was well maintained, a nice course with one small challenge of a hill, but a helpful downhill. I was mildly disappointed that the course was a bit short, only 3.03, again only mildly though, because I was hurting pretty bad. It took a bit long for awards, but I have found that to be typical of most races these days. They had a raffle of some cool Sabres items and even though the after party was packed it was nice to have a couple of free beers afterwards. The post race food that was advertised, was nowhere to be found. We ate dinner at the host restaurant afterwards, a good meal.

A Run Filled With Dispair

Thursday, I had my scheduled long run of 18-miles. The weather was cold and windy, but I felt comfortable with my cold gear, so I headed out. During the week, I spend my time in NE Pennslyvania, quite hilly/mountainous (for these parts) terrain. I have generally found this running tough, but beneficial.

This long run started out okay. I was moving along at a good clip and maintaining my pace well. However at the 9 mile mark, I turned to head back and this is where the mental and physical beating began. The first 9 were primarily downhill miles, so I was prepared for the 9 back up the hill (about 1000ft climb). What I was not prepared for was the wind in my face, the darkness of the evening, how fast my energy drained as I climbed. Add to this the remoteness of the countryside, I felt alone against a seemingly unsurmountable task.

I have to say this was the toughest training run I've ever done. It was the ultimate test in will power. From mile 14 on, I fought for every step, had to dig deeper and had some very lonely moments where I contemplated giving up. At the steepest climb, I did briskly walk for about .25 miles. My spirit was crushed. The hills, wind, darkness and cold had defeated me.

I finished well below the pace I was targeting, and for what I should have been easily able to accomplish.

Mileage: 18.00
Time/Pace: 2:58:26/9:54
Avg HR/Max HR: 141/158
Elevation: 1430ft
T/W: 20's (wc 6), wind

What doesn't kill you...

New Shoes and Some Cold Weather Gear Testing

It feels like we are in the dead of winter now, so when better than now to test out some new gear.

The first "new" item is a pair of shoes I actually bought in October that have been sitting on the shelf patiently waiting for their turn. Well today was their special day...

Saucony Pro Grid Razor: It kind of looks like a basketball high-top, but is a waterproof trail-running shoe with a built in gator. This shoe combined with my Darn Tough wool socks seem to be the answer for this winter's running for me. I ran about 5 miles with no issue, the shoe fits nicely, and give my fore foot a bit more room than the Puma Night Fox's I have been running in.

I've had terrible issues lately with cold hands. I recently purchased a pair of Manzella convertable glove/mittens. These are much warmer than the previous pair of Under Armour gloves that I had used last winter. However, I noticed my hands still getting cold in the longer runs. Today I combined a thin Under Armour glove, I use typically in 40-45 degree range with the Manzella's over them. A tighter fit, but PERFECT!

Today's Run

Mileage: 5.00

Time/Pace: 40:37/8:07

Avg HR/Max HR: 151/163

Elevation: 349ft

T/W 19 (WC 6), light snow, wind

With the full winter gear on, I did notice that I struggled more than usual to keep pace and my avg heart rate was higher. Ah the joys of winter running.

Not So Spectacular Speedwork

I had scheduled 8x800 speedwork, but I barely could get through 4 repeats. I did hit my time goal (3:10/split), but I bailed on the second half. Just wasn't feeling it.

Mileage: 5.00
Time/Pace (w/wu &cd): 40:18/8:04
Splits: 3:10,3:11, 3:10, 3:10
Avg HR/Max HR: 149/167

It Sucks Being Sick!

I felt it Sunday night...the beginnings of a cold. Ugh! I attempted to run through it anyway, successfully completing Monday and Tuesday's run. Then Wednesday, 16 miles?!? Not like this. So I took Wed-Fri completely off. As much as it killed me mentally not to run, my body needed it. Today feeling much better, I got out for about 6 miles outside and another 5 or so on the treadmill. More tomorrow, hopefully.

Tuesday (treadmill)
Mileage: 5.00
Time/Pace: 40:19/8:04
Avg HR/Max HR: 150/183

Saturday (outside)
Mileage: 5.80
Time/Pace: 45:54/7:55
Avg HR/Max HR: 153/166
Elevation Gain: 16ft
T/W: 40's, sun

Saturday (treadmill)
Mileage:5.27
Time/Pace: 42:44/8:06
Avg HR/ Max HR: 152/169

Speed Intervals

I've been doing Yasso 800's for the better part of the year, with good success. Looking ahead, the next handful of races I'm preparing for are 5K's, where I'd love to get under 6:00/mile pace. My current best is 6:22/mile. I've added 400's at 6:00/mile pace into my speed work repetoire, with the hopes that I can increase my foot speed and, thus, get faster!

Today's run was 6x400 @ 6:00/mile pace with 1:30 jogs in between

Mileage: 4.69
Time/Pace (with wu/cd): 37:46/8:03
400 Splits: 1:33, 1:27, 1:27, 1:28, 1:27, 1:28
Avg HR/Max HR: 146/166

Change of Plans

Short version....bailed on the 5K today in exchange for sleeping in and a tempo run.

Mileage: 7.00
Time/Pace (w/wu/cd): 54:59/7:51
Splits: 7:16, 7:18, 7:15, 7:19, 7:10
Avg HR/Max HR: 150/167
Elevation:119
T/W: 31/20WC/Light Snow

Weird Weather

We definitely have had some weird weather down here today. In a span of about an hour I experienced sun, followed by heavy downpour (actually side pour, if that makes sense), snow, sleet, more snow, drizzle. It was any wonder I actually got outside to run. I split up my long run, 7 miles outside and 7 on the treadmill later in the day. This was out of necessity due to timing for work.

Run 1
Mileage: 7.00
Time/Pace: 57:03/8:08
Avg HR/Max HR: 145/160
Elevation: 483ft
T/W: upper 30's, overcast

Run 2 (on Treadmill)
Mileage: 7.00
Time/Pace: 58:51/8:24
Avg HR/Max HR: 145/198 (brief spike)

Monday I did some speed work, 4x800 at a 3:10 pace. I got as close to puking while running as I ever had, but I did hold it together.

Total Mileage: 4.84
Time/Pace: 39:32/8:10
800 Splits: 3:12, 3:12, 3:09, 3:12
Elevation: 214ft
Avg HR/Max HR: 154/175
T/W: mid-40's, calm, clear

You Know You are Hooked When...

My wife and I headed out for a chilly and unscheduled run this morning. This was partially a function of both of us feeling guilty/blah-y from the feasting we've been doing for the past couple of days.

Feast, you say? Yeah, including steaks, lobster, lobster mac and cheese, ice cream, pizza, hibachi, more ice cream, chocolate. Ugh!

However, the bigger drive is how hooked both of us have become on this running thing. It wasn't the best run for each of us, but we did it anyway, tried out some new cold weather gear and hopefully burned off some of that excessive consumption.

Mileage: 4.83
Time/Pace: 40:04/8:18
Avg HR/Max HR: 150/161
Elevation: 23
T/W: 36/windy

YMCA Turkey Trot

Brrrr....Shi.shi.shivveerrrrrr....

New strategy this year. GET CLOSER TO THE FRONT!

I slipped in a few rows back of the front row. Great decision! I encountered none of the bottlenecking that I had in previous trots. My goal today was a "simple" 6:30 pace. 4 days after the marathon, I am showing no signs of fatigue or soreness. Well, at least not until I started running.

Within the first mile, I was feeling terribly winded, much more so than usual. About midway through mile 2, I just shut it down. My heart was racing much too high and I was just feeling sluggish. Oh well, marathon hangover?

Totals
Mileage: 5.00
Time/Pace: 38:31/7:45
Avg HR/Max HR: 190/211 (yikes!!)
Elevation: 78ft
T/W: high 30's, light drizzle, cold

Not my best 8K, but definitely the best Trot time, I've had in 4 years. What's next...rest and then back to training next week! New goals, new races, stay tuned....

Philadelphia Marathon

Wow! 23,000 runners between the half and full marathon. When I signed up for this race in April it was just after my first marathon, where I ran a 4:38. I put down that I thought I'd run 4:10 or so and that was the way I was placed in the starting corral. The gun went off at 7:00am, but I didn't even cross the start line for another 22 minutes!

As with all of my race goals, I am always trying to get faster. I feel as though I still have a good deal of speed and fitness to gain. Today I was shooting for 3:30-3:40, about an 8-minute pace.

The race started off a bit slow as I crossed the line with thousands of other runners, first mile 9:07, and feeling great. Midway through the 2nd mile the road opened up and I was off to set a steady 8:00/mile pace.

Philly is a pretty neat city. The miles passed by with relative ease as I enjoyed the sights of the city and the sounds of other runners and loads of spectators. I've dubbed this the "high-five" marathon, as everyone, EVERYONE (!) was giving high fives. I typically don't participate in this (germs!) but I had gloves on, so I figured, what the hell. I also was able to see a good deal of the city (obviously). We ran through the historic districts, parks, etc. The course did get a bit boring through a more remote part of Fairmount Park, but overall a nice course. The spectators were super, volunteers at the water stations also very organized. I had a sip of beer at an unofficial water station; that was a treat!

So back to the actual race.

Miles 1-17: no problems here, feeling good, splits: 9:07, 7:54, 8:09, 7:59, 7:57, 8:10, 7:55, 7:59, 8:03, 8:00, 7:58, 7:56, 7:59, 7:54, 7:56, 7:58, 8:00

Miles 18-21: starting to feel a bit winded. This was also the section of the course that was more remote and not too scenic, splits: 8:12, 8:20, 8:16, 8:10

Miles 22-end: hurting good now, but other around me suffering too, so I took some solace in that, Splits: 8:25, 8:39, 8:41, 9:00, 8:56

Great crowds for the last mile or so. I love how the bibs had the runners names on it. This was huge, hearing your name being called. It really got me to the end.

So totaling it all up....

Mileage: 26.48 (extra .28 according to GPS)
Time/Pace: 3:37:50/8:13 (8:18 at 26.2)
Avg HR/Max HR: 155/173
Elevation: 596ft
T/W: low 40's, cold

1895 out of 8941 finishers

270 out of 863 in my age group

PR'd by 15 minutes, very pleased with this. Only 27 minutes to a Boston Qualifying Time. Congrats also to my wife who ran the Rothman 8K the day before, also a personal best time. Thanks also to my father-in-law, Karen, sister-in-law and her kiddies for coming out and braving the chilly weather and sore feet to cheer me on.

Now I'm anxiously searching for my next marathon. If anyone has suggestions for a Jan-Feb marathon in the Northeast, please let me know.

Final Run Before Philly

Today, I put in my last 5 miles until I step off in Philadelphia. I'm feeling very good. My legs feel strong, no major ailments and my confidence is high. I'm thinking that I will be satisfied with anything between 3:30 and 3:40.

Today's Mileage: 5.00
Time/Pace: 40:06/8:01
Avg HR/Max HR: 147/161
Elevation: 333ft
T/W: 40, drizzle, wind

Taking It Easy

I've learned the hard way this year when to push hard and when to rest. I've been tapering my mileage for the past few weeks in preparation for the Philadelphia Marathon this Sunday. This week is very light mileage. I have only scheduled two-5 mile runs, even though my mind and body are craving more.

Mileage: 5.00
Time/Pace: 40:52/8:10
Avg HR/Max HR: 144/161
Elevation: 186ft
T/W: 40's, fog

Lindsey's Legacy 5K

My final race before the Philadelphia Marathon next weekend and my body was craving a run. I didn't run a scheduled 6 miles on Thursday, as a long day of work just wouldn't allow. A few weeks ago I ran a 5K in exactly 20:00, so my goal was for 19:anything. I settled on targeting a 19:40 (6:20/pace).

I ran this race last year and so I was familiar with the terrain (virtually flat compared to my training runs for the past couple of months.) The first mile, was tougher than I thought it would be. I could feel my heartrate being very erratic and finished mile 1 with a 6:30 (shooting for 6:25 on mile 1). Not pleased, I turned it up a notch as we hit the trail along the Niagara River and completed mile 2 at 6:13 (goal: 6:20). I was hurting now, but kept saying over and over in my head, only one mile, only one mile. I focused on keeping my strides short and quick and tried not to look at my watch too much. I also focused on catching one person at a time and this seemed to help a ton! I finished mile 3 in 6:22, then sprinted to the line. As I came around the corner for the final stretch I saw the clock 19:30, and I knew I did it. I finished in 19:46, ah, success! 2nd in my age group, 26th overall.

Mileage: 3.10
Time/Pace: 19:46/6:22
Avg HR/Max HR: 176/211
Elevation: 29ft

Congrats to my wife too, who shaved another 2+ minutes off of her personal best. She is looking stronger everyday. Soon enough she'll be marathoning too!

Definitely Into Taper Now

I'm in full taper mode for the Philadelphia Marathon in two weeks. This week will be, only (yeah I know) 29 miles. I'm looking forward for the 5K at the end of the week and hoping for a time that begins with 19.

Tuesday
Mileage: 6.00 (treadmill)
Time/Pace: 49:00/8:10
Avg HR/Max HR: 147/165

Today
Mileage: 14.00
Time/Pace: 2:12:43/9:28
Avg HR/Max HR: 145/164
Elevation: 923 ft
T/W: low 40's, felt really cold as the sun went down, brrr.

Check out my elevation chart from today's long run. Like Tony Horton from P90X, "Hills, I hate them, but I love them!"

Week of 11/7 Runs

This week is the first in a 3 week taper to the Philadelphia Marathon.

Friday
Mileage: 18.00
Time/Pace: 2:52:01/9:33
Avg HR/Max HR: 141/161
Elevation: 1520 ft

Good long run. The course I took has one pretty nasty 3-mile climb, but is balanced well with some downhill work.

Sunday-5 Mile Tempo
Mileage (w/wu&cd): 7.00
Tempo Splits: 7:15, 7:17, 7:16, 7:20, 7:12
Time/Pace: 53:45/7:40
Avg HR/Max HR: 150/164
Elevation: 141ft

Tempo work on flatter land, so much easier than the hills, duh, right?

Brrrr...It's Cold Out

Three layers this morning, high 20's and frosty! I need to get a better pair of gloves. The pair I have now just aren't going to cut it.

Mileage: 7.00
Time/Pace: 57:54/8:16
Avg HR/Max HR: 143/155
Elevation: 525ft

Speed Work & Hills

Perfect day for speed work, crisp and cool. Why not do them on some rolling hills? Won't hurt that much, right? Eh....

Splits (10 x 800 @ 3:30): 3:30, 3:31, 3:32, 3:25, 3:30, 3:29, 3:28, 3:30, 3:31, 3:31

Ugh...hills are nasty, nasty, nasty...but good for me right? Kinda like broccoli and brussel sprouts.

Total Mileage (w/wu&cd): 10.24
Time/Pace: 1:25:07/8:18
Avg HR/Max HR: 147/163
Elevation: 468ft (doesn't sound like a lot, but it felt like it was)

10/25-10/31 Workouts

These are the other runs from this week, my highest mileage week to date.

10/27 (Wed)
Mileage: 24.00
Time/Pace: 3:50:16/9:35
Avg HR/Max HR: 143/165
Elevation: 1914ft

10/29 (Fri) On Track
Mileage: 5.00
Time/Pace: 40:03/8:00
Avg HR/Max HR: 136/155

10/31 (Sun) Treadmill
Mileage: 6.00
Time/Pace: 49:09/8:11
Avg HR/Max HR: 137/172

With 3 weeks to go until the Philadelphia Marathon, I will begin my taper. Next week will be 40 miles as well as my last set of speed runs. 29 miles the week before and then 2 short runs (5 miles each) the week of and I should be ready to go.

Chestnut Ridge Challenge 10K

Race Day! The Chestnut Ridge Challenge is just as advertised, no frills! Just a bunch of runners, willing to bear the elements, the hills, and each other's grunting and groaning to the end. Last year's race was in quite the downpour, so I considered today's "balmy" weather (low's 40's and wind) a nice day.

Race Strategy: I usually try for negative splits, but with such a hilly terrain my goal was to attack the downhills and try to outlast the uphills, including "Mother". This led to a slower second half (mostly uphill).

I still performed well and PR'd for this distance.

Mileage: 6.16
Time/Pace: 43:23/6:59
Avg HR/Max HR: 168/200
Elevation Gain: 484ft

I finished 3rd in my age group, 10th overall. Better yet, my prize was a loaf of homemade banana bread, yum!

A Much Better Tempo

Last week's tempo run was disappointing to say the least. I set my goal time to low and wasn't able to meet it. This week I lowered my expectations, to a much more reasonable 7:20/mile.

Mileage: 7.00 (w/wu&cd)
Time/Pace: 54:46/7:49
Tempo Splits (5 @ 7:20): 7:20, 7:17, 7:17, 7:18, 7:09
Avg HR/Max HR: 152/167
T/W: 60's, wind

A Busy Week, But Still Time For Training

Even though I've been crazy busy with work, I still got in all of my runs this week. Making a commitment to myself and to training, inspires me to wake early, sometimes as early as 4am, to get my runs in. I won't lie, sometimes this is a huge struggle, but I never regret it after I've finished. Here's a summary of this week's runs.

Wednesday
Mileage: 4.00
Time/Pace: 32:41/8:09
Avg HR/Max HR: 145/161
Elevation: 322ft

Thursday (8x800 speed work)
Mileage:8.67
Time/Pace: 1:12:05/8:19
800 Splits: 3:32, 3:32, 3:29, 3:31, 3:31, 3:29, 3:31, 3:30
Avg HR: Max HR: 146/183
Elevation: 266ft

Saturday
Mileage: 22.00
Time/Pace: 3:32:41/9:40
Avg HR/Max HR: 138/151
Elevation: 138ft

Sunday
Mileage: 4.00
Time/Pace: 32:34/8:08
Avg HR/Max HR: 141/154
Elevation: 0 ft

A Not So Inspired Tempo Run

Today's Scheduled Run: 5 mile Tempo @ 6:40. As soon as I started, I realized this wasn't practical, so I switched to 7:00 pace. I drove down from my hilltop perch into the village of New Milford, looking for (and finding) flatter terrain. The first 2.5 miles of my run went off without too much of an issue, but the second 2.5 was an exercise in just trying to maintain forward progress. My pace fell off considerably and I was remarkably short of even my altered goal. I need to re-evaluate my pace goal at this distance, perhaps shoot for 7:15-7:20.

Mileage (w/wu&cd): 7.00
Time/Pace: 54:49/7:50
Tempo Splits: 6:56,6:58, 7:06, 7:26, 7:39
Avg HR/Max HR: 146/172
Elevation: 148 ft
T/W: 38, cold

An Extra Run and Some New Gear

I wasn't planning on running today, but my wife wanted to, so I figured what the heck. I wanted to try out some new gear I got anyway, so this was a perfect time to do it.

First off, yesterday I purchased a pair of Zoot Active Compression Socks. At a price tag of $59.99, I was a bit apprehensive of getting these, but I have to say I liked using them. My legs felt quite envigorated the entire run (3 miles). They squeeze the lower leg very well and I felt my calves tingling (in a good way). They are foot specific, labeled L and R. The true test will be to see how they benefit me during longer runs.

I also purchased a new pair of shoes for my fall/early winter running, anticipating dirt roads, uneven surfaces and maybe some mud, and snow. I stepped a bit outside of the box with the Puma Night Fox. They are pretty plush as far as cushioning and I found the toe box a bit snug. It certainly wasn't annoying for the run, but a bit tighter than my last pair. Again, the true test will be in longer runs and terrain. On a positive note, they were only about $75, the cheapest pair of running shoes I've purchased in a while. I also have a pair of Saucony's for the winter, but I'll address those when I start using them.

My run today was just an easy 3 miles.

Mileage: 3.00

Time/Pace: 24:42/8:14

Avg HR/Max HR: 139/155

T/W: 55/sunny, wind

Richard Sarkin Memorial 5K

It was a decent day for a run, a bit chilly, but sunny and not a huge amount of wind. This course is pretty similar to the Komen race I ran in June. My goal for this race was to start with a 6:35 mile, see how I felt and then go for a sub-20min time. There was pretty decent organization for this race, except that traffic control was a bit lacking. There were plenty of volunteers on the course, but it was unclear to them on how and when to control traffic. On Elmwood, the runners were actually running in the right lane with cars driving in the left lane. When I was finished with my run, I started walking back to see how my wife was doing and I actually had to direct some traffic on my own, to help the runners. Oh well, I shouldn't complain too much, after all I was running and my wife was too.

Speaking of my wife, she now has been very committed to running for over two months. She bought a great pair of shoes (Newton's) and is following a training plan I designed for her, which includes a long run and speed work. Today she blew away her best time by almost 3 minutes! I love seeing the sense of pride and achievement in her and seeing the same discovery of this wonderful sport that I went through almost 2 years ago. Check out her new running/life blog at D. Rock Runs.

Back to my race...mile 1 included that pesky little mini hill, bump, whatever you want to call it, that I always find annoying, 6:34. Ok, feeling good so push a bit faster and mile 2 comes in at 6:23. Got a bit winded in my last mile, but held pace for 6:24. As I came around the final roundabout, I could see the clock and finish line, 19:48...19:49...19:50....full throttle...19:54, 19:55,19:56...uuuggggghhhhhh...19:58, 19:59....line....????? 20:00, exactly!

Mileage: 3:12
Time/Pace: 20:00/6:25
Avg HR/Max HR: 164/179
Elevation: 54 ft
T/W: 48, sunny, cool

9th out of 163 overall, 2nd out of 11 in my age group.

On to the 19's!!
On to 19's!!!!

This Little Light of Mine...

After last week's journey through darkness, I purchased my first headlamp. It's a Petzel Tikkina 2. I really had no idea what to get, so I went cheap ($19.95 at EMS.) It is perfect for what I need. It lights up the road well enough that I am not striding tentatively. It also illuminated several staring eyes (deer, cows, and the occasional cat), very creepy!!

Mileage: 6.00
Time/Pace: 49:00/8:10

Avg HR/Max HR: 143/168

Elevation: 433 ft

T/W: 48, cool, clear

I had a tough time keeping my pace slow, even through the hills. Maybe it was the Honey Stingers I ate right before I set out?

Weekend Workouts

I bailed on my run Friday, my legs were unusually sore. Back on flat land for the weekend runs.



Saturday
Mileage: 7.00
Time/Pace: 57:56/8:16
Avg HR/Max HR: 141/155
Elevation: 32 ft
T/W: 58/sunny, wind


Sunday
6x800
Total Mileage: 6.99
Time/Pace:56:10/8:01
800 splits: 3:32, 3:28, 3:29, 3:29, 3:27, 3:24
Avg HR/Max HR: 150/191
T/W 65/sunny, wind

Real Darkness

I dragged myself out of bed at 4am, in anticipation of a 20-mile long run. As soon as I woke I began to bargain with myself; go to bed for another hour and split the run in to two 10-mile runs. Forget running at all, etc, etc. I fought through it and was out by 4:15am.

It wasn't a terribly cold morning, about 50 or so, gusty wind at times, but overall tolerable. It was DARK! I don't just mean nighttime darkness that I would experience any typical morning or night, I mean pitch black, no light from anywhere. Now that I am spending my weeks in the countryside, I will be experiencing this much more, which means another new gadget for me to purchase, a headlamp.

So the run itself was tough. I'm not used to such rolling hills, but I kept telling myself it was going for me. The first half was fine, but the second half, especially 18-20, were just plain ugly. I missed my pace by a few seconds per mile, but again this is due to the hills. I can only get stronger from this right?

Mileage: 20.00
Time/Pace: 3:17:50/9:53
Avg HR/MaxHR: 140/157
Elevation Gain: 1520 ft
T/W: 50/overcast, breezy, light drizzle at times

A Change of Scenery

I've slightly relocated for work. I'm still working in the same area, I've just found another location that's a bit more rural, and HILLY!

I set out for 6 miles this morning and I really didn't realize how much terrain there was until I got on the roads. I'm looking forward to this as it can only help me develop as a runner. The roads are mostly dirt, easier on the legs too!

My pace was much slower for a distance like this, but I just enjoyed my new surroundings.

Mileage: 6.00
Time/Pace: 55:08/9:11
Avg HR/Max HR: 147/163
Elevation: 608ft
T/W: 40's/drizzle

A Whirlwind Week

I've had an incredibly intense week of balancing work, life and exercise, more so than usual. Yes, I know, I have no kids, travel away from home and have nothing else to do with my spare time other than run and bike, but this week was still hard to get everything in that I wanted to. That and a race too! I didn't blog all week! Here's a quick breakdown of what was up...



Monday: Brick Workout 2r/10b/2r/10b/2r, pretty cold and windy
Tuesday: 6 Miles @ 8:13
Wednesday: 18 Miles @ 9:47
Thurs-Sat: Nothing!!
Sun: Duathlon


On Sunday, I did the Autumn Classic F1 Duathlon at Mendon Pond Park. Decently challenging course with lots of rolling hills. Very humbling experience. I finished in 17th out of 108, and 1st in my age group (out of 5). Got a little plaque too!



Back at it tomorrow after a rest day today!

Linda Yalem 5K

Simple goal: 20:59

I feel as though I have made tons of strides, literally and figuratively, and today I was feeling pretty good. The weather cooperated as well; no wind, upper 40's at gun and sunny. Gloves were a must, as my hands are always getting cold, but shorts and sleeveless shirt otherwise. I figured I'd start out slowish, 6:50 and see how it went from there. The pace was a bit slow at the start, due to the log jam of anxious runners, some probably just like me, trying to best their previous record. It did open up about .75 miles into the race, and it was on! I finished the first mile in 6:48 and felt as though I was holding back. The second mile felt even better; 6:35. Wow! Definately ahead of pace, and body feeling great. I figured to just let it all out, give it what I could and see what happens. A 6:29 is what happened! That followed by a 5:25 pace for the last .1. Needless to say, I met my goal and what's even better, I felt super doing it! sub-20 here I come.

Mileage: 3.12
Time/Pace: 20:32/6:35
Avg HR/Max HR: 161/191
Elevation: 17ft
T/W: 48/sun, cool

Celebration meal?!? Wings, onion rings, fries and ice cream!! Back at it tomorrow!!!

An Up and Down Kind of Run

Yesterday, I set out for my long run for the week (16 miles). The first handful of miles were almost to easy. I had to fight to slow down and it was quite a struggle. As the miles passed it got harder and harder. It was so weird, but I made it regardless.

Mileage: 16.00
Time/Pace: 2:36:38/9:47
Elevation: 310ft
Avg HR/Max HR: 135/149
Temp: 65/sun

Took the day off today, and have a 5K race tomorrow.

F1 Brick Work

In a couple of weeks I am running an F1 duathlon, i.e. run, bike, run, bike, run. Should be fun, so why not get in a couple of training sessions.

Run 1
Mileage: 2.00
Time/Pace: 15:12/7:36
Avg HR/Max HR: 146/158
Elevation Gain: 13ft

Bike 1
Mileage: 9.98
Time/Avg Sp/Max Sp: 27:45/21.6/30.6
Avg HR/Max HR: 142/148
Elevation: 97ft

Run 2
Mileage: 2.00
Time/Pace: 15:10/7:35
Avg HR/Max HR: 148/153
Elevation: 22ft

Bike 2
Mileage: 10.14
Time/Avg Sp/Max Sp: 28:25/21.4/31.3
Avg HR/Max HR: 142/148
Elevation: 84

Run 3
Mileage: 2.00
Time/Pace: 15:08/7:34
Avg HR/Max HR: 146/154
Elevation: 15ft

Total w/Transitions: 1:45:42

Overall, I felt decent throughout. I did not fuel during, which I will definately do during the race. I also, felt as though I had some "left in the tank" at the end.

3am?!? Yeah, I Don't Think So!

Sometimes the ideas you have during the day, don't sound nearly as good at 3am. Let me explain. I was planning on getting in a 16 mile run this morning. In order to do this and get to work on time I'd need to get up by 3am. No problem right? So, I go to bed early get all of my thing ready, but then couldn't fall asleep, as I was thinking about waking up at 3. The more I thought about it, the more pressure there was to fall asleep and thus, more tossing and turning. Finally, when the alarm went off as scheduled, I jump out of bed staggered to the bathroom, thinking the whole time how ridiculous this was. I began to bargin with myself, and convinced myself to sleep for 2 more hours, get in a 5 mile run then and do my long run on Friday morning when I should have more time.

Mileage: 5.00
Time/Pace: 42:02/8:24
Splits: 8:28, 8:25, 8:23, 8:27, 8:18
Elevation Gain: 135ft
Avg HR/Max HR: 137/155
T/W: 60, cool, breezy

Last night, I did some hill training on my bike. In the area I work there is a course that was used in a past Empire State Games, so I tried it. In a word, Tough!

Mileage: 17.29
Time/Avg Sp/Max Sp: 1:03:37/16.3/36.3
Elevation Gain: 1451ft
Avg HR/Max HR: 134/159
T/W: 70, sun

BBBBBBRRRRRR!!

It's cold! I can vaguely remember those frigid February mornings, when I'd get all layered up for an early morning run in 20 degree weather. I remember wish it was just 40, then a balmy day. Crawling out of bed this morning for a bone-chilling 40 degree run gave me a totally different perspective. What I considered "warm" in February is down right frigid in September. Time to pull out more cold gear.

Mileage: 3.00
Time/Pace: 25:22/8:27
Splits: 8:28, 8:29, 8:24
Elevation Gain: 50ft
Avg HR/Max HR: 136/155
T/W: 40, cold, clear

Sausage is NOT the Secret To My Success

Sorry to disappoint you, but chowing down on sausage, fried dough, German "nachos", washing it down with a couple of mugs of beer, and throwing down some Coldstone like it's my job, isn't exactly the best runners diet. That being said, this weekend's Octoberfest in Cincinnati was still a "stuff your face until it hurts" delight for me. I paid for it with a food hangover and a few extra pounds on the scale. Still, I find I need to go on a binge every once in a while to remind myself why I've changed my diet (hopefully for good.)

Back at it today...tempo run, 3 miles @ 6:55. Want to get faster, so simple solution...practice running faster...

Splits: 6:56, 6:54, 6:54

Total Mileage (w/wu/cd): 5.00
Time/Pace: 39:45/7:57
Avg HR/Max HR: 149/166
Elevation Gain: 77ft
T/W: 65/cool

Wang Law & Hold the Nuts

I really wish I had a tiny camera when I was running. I'm looking for something very small, like the size of a flash drive or something no bigger than a credit card. You see, I always find interesting things that I'd love to post a picture about. Take today for instance. I am spending the day in Cincinnati and decided to explore the neighborhood a bit with a run. I love being in new areas, change of scenery is good for the mind and the miles go by much faster. I approached an intersection where I saw a big sign WANG LAW. Of course, things like this make me giggle and then my mind wanders, what is WANG LAW? I'm sure it's just an attorney of asian heritage, but it's much more interesting to think about some special WANG LAW's, maybe write about book about WANG LAW's, etc. Ah, but I ramble. I wasn't too far into my list of WANG LAWs (such as if you shake it more than twice you are playing with it) when I passed another sign, HOLD THE NUTS. This is perhaps one of the most important WANG LAWs and I just knew that this close placement was not a coincidence. Ok, so maybe it was just an ice cream place, but can't I have some fun? So there you have it, I wish I had a camera, because writing about it, just isn't as funny as seeing it for yourself. Yes, I know, I'm a child...

Mileage: 5.50
Time/Pace:46:14/8:24
Splits: 8:28, 8:25, 8:30, 8:20, 8:24, 4:03 (8:10 pace)
Avg HR/MAx HR: 149/175
Elevation Gain: 184ft
T/W: 71/cool, sunny

A Creaky 5

Ugh..my body was all types of creaky and squeaky this morning. I woke up at 5:30 to get in 5 miles before work. It's these types of mornings where I think the most progress is made. I could have easily resent my alarm for 7 and stayyed warm in bed, but I forced my body out, one toe at a time, arguing with myself the entire way. It was 55 this morning, but windy, so it felt a lot colder. I think it is time to whip out some cold weather gear.

Mileage: 5.00
Time/Pace: 42:19/8:27
Splits: 8:27, 8:26, 8:32, 8:25, 8:26
Elevation: 49ft
Avg HR/Max HR: 148/171
T/W: 55, windy

Abreviated Brick Workout

Crappy weather = shortened Brick workout. I was going to practice my transitions and length for my upcoming duathlon, 2m run, 10m bike, 2m run, 10m bike, 2m run. However, I was forced inside, so I did 2m run, 30min stationary bike (boring!), 2m run.

Run 1
Mileage: 2.00
Time/Pace: 16:52/8:26
Avg HR/Max HR:136/144

Bike
Time: 30 min
HR: 140-150

Run 2
Mileage: 2.00
Time/Pace: 16:41/8:21
Avg HR: 147/160

Legs felt decent after the bike. Top of foot sore from the marathon.

5 EZ Miles and The Next Step

You'd think that after running a marathon just two days ago, I'd be craving more of a rest. Quite the opposite actually. All day long I was thinking about getting on the road; not just thinking about it, but dwelling, nay (!), fantasizing about it. Wow, I have issues. True, my legs were still aching, but sometimes the heart what what the heart wants, so off I went. I got in 5 miles, targeting a 8:30 pace, with some general soreness.

Mileage: 5.00
Time/Pace: 42:03/8:24
Splits: 8:24,8:29, 8:28, 8:25, 8:15
Avg HR/Max HR: 142/154
Elevation Gain: 125ft
T/W: 60, cool & clear

So, what's next? I have to big events left this year and a couple of little ones. The first event is a F1 duathlon, 2m Run, 10m Bike, 2m Run, 10m Bike, 2m Run. I've done a few duathlons this year, but never this type, so new experience. I also am running the Philadelphia Marathon in November.

I will be spending the next few months with a greater focus on speed work, both with intervals and tempo runs. I will also be practicing my bike to run transitions and building my base mileage hopefully to 50 miles/week.

I am truly addicted to running and biking. I guess it could be worse...

Rochester Marathon

Race Day and a return to home to run my 3rd marathon this year. I am really quite addicted to this whole exercise thing, so needless to say I was quite excited to get this one going.

I struggled this week in coming up with a race strategy. In my first marathon in March, poor planning and unrealistic goals led to a less than stellar performance, though I did finish, which was the primary goal. In May, I was able to improve my time and had a much more sound and achievable set of goals.

This summer's training in prep for this marathon felt really solid. I was a bit worried that I peaked a couple of weeks too soon, but I felt really good going into this one. My previous best was 4:30, so I was initially shooting for a 4:15. However, my run times and shorter races, seemed to suggest that a sub-4 hr run would be reachable. All week long I hemmed and hawed about what to go after. Do I stick with the 4:15 goal or just go out and attack 4hrs? I finally settled on going after 4hrs. My plan was simple and similar to all of my training runs i.e. negative splits, Miles 1-7 @ 9:20, Miles 8-20 @ 9:00, Miles 21-26.2 8:50ish. So...how'd it go...read on!

First of all, a great day for running, 60 at the start overcast and a light drizzle. Almost perfect. The gun fired and we were off!

Mile 1-3: I had to pee! Yes, just like in Cleveland, within the 1st mile I get the intense sensation that I just have to go. In Cleveland I ducked into a McDonald's around mile 7. I knew there was a McDonalds right around the 3 mile marker, so I planned on that. It was perfect, no lines! Feeling "refreshed" I moved on. 9:16, 9:06, 9:00. Faster than I intended to start out, but felt good. East Ave is pretty much a downhill run, I wasn't breathing hard, so I just let it happen. I didn't lose anytime from my pee break either, so bonus!

Miles: 4-5: Still going downhill, and my feet kept turning over well, so I went with it. 8:43, 8:37. I attempted to slow myself down...

Miles: 6-10, I was able to slow down for a mile or so, but my legs kept moving strong and I was feeling great, so again I just went with it. No pain at all, and still down hill, except for one little rise onto the Erie Canal Bike Path. 9:02, 8:36, 8:45, 8:51, 8:46. During this section, I changed my plan, I was obviously ahead of pace and feeling great (at this point about 5 mins or so) so my target was to hit a pace of 8:45-9:00/mile.

Miles 11-20: On the bike path still. The path was mostly a dirt trail which I enjoyed. It was much easier on the legs and I was able to maintain my pacing well. I got a great surprise around 15.5. My wife was standing there cheering me on. I had anticipating just seeing her at the end, so this got my feet moving even faster and sure helped me keep focused. Around mile 19, my quad started feeling tight, but wasn't presenting a huge problem, so I pressed on. I also dipped below my new goal a few times, but again I just let it happen. 8:48, 8:32, 8:37, 8:49, 8:37, 8:31, 8:45, 8:44, 8:31, 8:36. During mile 20, I came up with a quick strategy for the last 10K. My thoughts were to to start at an 8:30 pace and drop :05 for each mile to the end.

Miles 21-26.2 or so: My quad was starting to burn pretty good now. I was also experiencing a tightening and tender right groin, but I pushed on. I found it harder to meet my pace. Mile 21: 8:27, :02 off my amended end game. No problem, keep going and hit 8:20. That was not to be, but I dropped Mile 22 to 8:26. Then the wheels, kinda came off. 23 @8:43, 24 @8:58 (saw my wife again here and trying to use that motivation) , 25 @9:12. I was clearly in survival mode now. Both quads burning, groin on fire and now cramping calves. It was painful, but throughout this I remained focused on the fact that I was sub 4hrs if I could just hold pace. Mile 26 finished at 8:54 and the last little bit at a 8:56/pace. The last .2 was quite painful, big calf cramps.

Totals:

Mileage: 26.45 (with McDonalds detour)

Time/Pace: 3:52:08/8:46 (8:51 at 26.2)

Elevation Gain: 3235 ft

Avg HR/Max HR: 146/162

204/716 overall, 22/51 Age Group

One of the training goals I had throughout the summer was for negative splitting. I did the first half in 1:56:50 and the second half in 1:55:18, mission accomplished (barely). I'm thrilled with this finish and time, and only a bit disappointed with the slowdown in the final 10K. Had the race been any longer I might have been toast.

Special thanks to my wife, for being there and supportive, even though she didn't get much sleep. Also to my dad for coming out and NG (nice run!)

A couple days rest, then duathlon training beings, and Philly isn't too far off....

Run into Buffalo 15K

Race Day! Goal today, 7:20 pace. 3@7:25 , 3 @ 7:20, 3.3 @ 7:15. Weather was decent.

Miles 1-3 (7:25): 7:21, 7:21, 7:24. Felt really good at the beginning. I held myself back quite a bit. I had a little incident at the water stop right before the end of mile 3. A girl sprinted past me and then decided to just stop and take water. I just about slammed into to her and then she sprinted past me again. I made sure to tell her that was not cool. I think she got it.

Miles 4-6 (7:20): 7:24, 7:13, 7:23. Little trouble holding an even pace due mostly to those pesky little bumps on Delaware Ave and Chapin Pkwy. Also, turned into the wind, that was annoying.

Mile 7-9.3 (7:15): 7:32, 7:11, 7:14, 2:14 (6:16 pace): Mile 7 was that little upgrade again and against the wind on Delaware. 8-9, mostly downhill and I used my little "pick off one at a time" strategy to keep my feet turning over and my mind occupied. I "sprinted" the last .3.

Totals
Mileage: 9.36
Time/Pace: 1:08:20/7:18
Elevation Gain: 155ft
Avg HR: 165
T/W: 65/cloudy, wind

6 days to Marathon, maybe will run a few miles mid-week to keep legs moving.

6 Mile Run

My body was feeling brutal yesterday after my last bike race, so I took the day totally off. Today, feeling great, I went out and did 6 miles.

Mileage: 6.00
Time/Pace: 50:10/8:21
Splits: 8:31, 8:29, 8:31, 8:25, 8:27, 7:44
Avg HR: 145
Elevation Gain: 101
T/W: 65, partly cloudy, 25mph wind

Another rest day tomorrow, then 15K race on Monday.

Halsey Valley 40K Time Trial

Last time trial of the year. Apparently, they start the last one 1/2 hour earlier than all of the others. I pulled in at 6 thinking I had 30 minutes to get ready. Whoops....sprint to the line and go. Nice course, tough and lots of rolling hills.

Mileage: 25.04
Time/Avg Sp/Max Sp: 1:10:24/21.3/36.2
Avg HR: 145
Elevation Gain: 601ft
T/W: 85, sunny, humid

Not my best, but considering my start I'll take it.

4 Mile Run

Slight change of plans today. I was going to run a 5K tonight, but it was pretty humid and I thought maybe I'd better just hold off. Feeling guilty, I did get in 4 miles later in the evening as the sun was setting. T-10 days until Rochester....

Mileage: 4.00
Time/Pace: 33:32/8:23
Splits: 8:32, 8:29, 8:29, 8:00
Elevation Gain: 76 ft
Avg HR: 138
T/W: 81/hazy, humid

Bike Intervals and 800 Repeats

Double workout today! Exercise makes me happy...why?!? More exercise=more food!! I'm discovering and re-discovering new foods everyday. My wife turned me on. To Boca Burgers that is (wink-wink). I'm sitting here eating a baked potato as I write this, my 2nd one this week. Awesome!! Organic burritos with tofu, blue corn chips. YUM!

AM Workout/800x4 (3:40) On Treadmill

1: 3:40/132 Avg HR/ 137 Max HR
2: 3:39/136/142
3: 3:40/140/145
4: 3:40/143/151

Total Mileage: 5.00
Time/Pace: 43:52/8:46
Avg HR/Max HR: 128/151

PM Workout/Bike Intervals 8x4mins

1: 1.52miles/22.8 Avg Sp/27.6 Max Sp/139 Avg HR/ 147 Max HR
2: 1.64/24.6/32.7/141/150 (downhill)
3: 1.56/23.4/25.6/148/153
4: 1.61/24.1/26.9/147/151
5: 1.57/23.5/25.4/148/153
6: 1.58/23.6/26.5/146/152
7: 1.36/20.3/27.2/146/155 (uphill)
8: 1.57/23.6/28.0/144/150

Total Mileage: 22.51
Time/Avg Sp/Max Sp: 1:08:56/19.6/32.7
Avg HR: 129
Elevation Gain: 221 ft

16 Mile Run

Finished up this week with my long run. I usually try to get this in mid-week when I'm away for work, but silly me, forgot my running shoes and didn't have anything else with me. I struggled with this more than I had hoped, could have been the combination of a race yesterday and warmer temperatures than I had planned for, but I still met my pace goal (9:55). I didn't get out until close to 10am meaning I was running when the sun was highest in the sky. I'm not going to complain too much though, we've had a great running summer. I think I may have only run in the rain twice this summer as opposed to last year, when it seemed to rain everyday.

Mileage: 16.00
Time/Pace: 2:37:53/9:52
Avg HR: 147
Elevation Gain: 61 ft
T/W: 80/sun, bit of wind

Splits:
1-4 (10:05): 9:50, 10:03, 10:02, 10:04
5-12 (9:55): 9:54, 9:52, 9:54, 9:56, 9:52, 9:54, 9:52, 9:49
13-16 (9:45): 9:40, 9:44, 9:44, 9:37

Two week to marathon #3!

Tops/Roswell Park 10K

Last year, I ran this race as a 5K, but this year they offered a 10K so I signed up for that. Small issue at the start...apparently there was an issue on the 10K course which caused the race director to change the route. We basically did the 5K course twice, but it wound being a bit short of 10K.


My goal for this race was 7:15 pace.

Mileage: 5.89
Time/Pace: 42:24/7:12
Splits: 7:08, 7:09, 7:18, 7:13, 7:15, 7:09 (pace)
Elevation Gain: 18ft
Avg HR: 165
T/W: 70, sunny, cool

Bike Intervals and a Tumble

Today's Workout: Bike Intervals 6x4min

Splits

1) 1.48 miles/22.2 Avg Sp/29.8 Max Sp/148 Avg HR/152 Max HR

2) 1.61/24.2/25.7/150/156

3) 1.43/21.5/23.2/152/156
4) 1.36/20.3/29.9/152/157

5) 1.43/21.4/26.3/149/155

6) 1.45/21.7/23.8/150/155

Totals

Mileage: 19.17

Time/Avg Sp/Max Sp: 1:00:11/19.1/31.1

Avg HR/Max HR: 134/157

Elevation Gain: 268

T/W: 60, cool, overcast

And then a tumble....I was done with my ride and clipped out my right foot as I was coming to a stop. I stopped and was attempting to unclip the left foot and started to fall to the left. I couldn't get my foot out in time and...TIMBER. The picture speaks for itself.

Tempo Run

Goal this morning: 3 miles @ 7:00.

Splits: 7:17, 6:58, 6:52

First mile was much slower than I would have liked. It was early and my legs were just not moving like I wanted them to.


Total Mileage (w wu/cd): 5.18
Time/Pace: 43:19/8:21
Avg/Max HR: 143/165
Elevation Gain: 48 ft
T/W: 63, cool, humid

5 More Miles

Mileage: 5.00
Time/Pace: 42:21/8:28
Splits: 8:36, 8:34, 8:37, 8:34, 7:58
Avg HR: 141
Elevation Gain: 4ft
T/W: 80, overcast, medium humidity

5 Miles

Mileage: 5.00
Time/Pace: 42:50/8:34
Splits: 8:40, 8:36, 8:37, 8:36, 8:20
Elevation Gain: 103ft
Avg HR: 137
T/W: 65/cool

Route 96 Time Trial

Everytime I go out, I want to improve my time. I'm never satisfied unless I have beat my previous best. My best 10 mile time trial pace to this point was 23.8mph. I was hoping for an even 24mph.

I didn't quite get there, due largely to a very odd turn around. Riders about .1 mile ahead of me began their turn, which requires reversing direction on the road and avoiding traffic. For whatever reason a car decided to stop and let a few riders cross. This created a traffic jam of 10 or so cars coming to a complete stop. As I approached the turn, the cars on the road were obviously annoyed that they had to stop and started moving, then stopping, and back and forth. This made my turn difficult and I lost at least a handful of seconds. Even with that I still improved my time and finished 9th of 17 riders. There was a 7 second separation between 7th and 10th place.

Mileage: 10.05
Time/Avg Sp/Top Sp: 25:13/23.9/29.4
Elevation Gain: 147ft
Avg HR: 160
T/W: 80, sun, a bit humid

20 Miles

Perfect conditions for a long run! Cool, clear, low humidity. I felt great the entire run, this was the most enjoyable 20 miler I've done.

Mileage: 20.00
Time/Pace: 3:19:11/9:57
Avg HR: 140
Elevation Gain: 399 ft
W/T: 65/cool, clear

Splits
1-5 (10:11): 10:13, 10:08, 10:11, 10:11, 10:11
6-15 (10:01): 10:02, 9:59, 10:02, 9:59, 9:59, 10:02, 9:56, 10:01, 9:57, 9:54
16-20 (9:51): 9:47, 9:46, 9:46, 9:33, 9:26

Gaining tons of confidence in breaking the 10:00 pace for Rochester marathon in September.

5 Mile Run

Mileage: 5.00
Time/Pace: 42:45/8:33
Splits: 8:37,8:38, 8:37, 8:35, 8:16
Avg HR: 133

On treadmill.

Bike Intervals 10x3min

1) 1.19 miles/23.8 Avg Sp/25.4 Max Sp/129 Avg HR/139 Max HR (tailwind)
2) 1.16/23.2/24.6/136/142 (tw)
3) 1.06/21.1/22.0/138/143(headwind)
4) 1.07/21.5/22.6/139/145 (hw)
5) 1.16/23.1/24.7/138/143 (tw)
6) 1.04/20.7/22.3/137/144 (hw)
7) 1.18/23.6/25.3/138/144 (tw)
8) 1.18/23.7/25.4/139/145 (tw)
9) 1.06/21.1/22.7/139/146 (hw)
10) 1.07/21.5/22.8/141/147 (hw)

Total Mileage: 23.00
Time/Avg Sp/Max Sp: 1:17:16/17.9/25.5
Avg HR: 122
Elevation Gain: 58ft
T/W: 71, wind (W @13)

10x800

Good race last night, what better way to reward myself than with some speed work on the treadmill. Goal: 10 x 800 @3:45.

Splits: 3:45, 3:44, 3:44, 3:43, 3:45, 3:44, 3:44, 3:45, 3:44, 3:41

Total Mileage: 9.56
Time/Pace: 1:25:15/8:55
Avg HR: 135

Couple of big differences from track work to treadmill work. 1) Much easier to keep pace, 2) Much lower heart rate, probably due to nice indoor A/C. Still a good workout and good finish to the week.

179.5!

Woke up this morning, hopped on the scale and....TA DA! Goal achieved. This is getting to be too much fun, almost.

What next...sustain and get stronger and faster.

Mississippi Mudd's 5K

It's been awhile since my last 5K. My body has been feeling good the past week, so I'm as ready as I'll be for this race. One of my goals this year was to break the 7:00/mile mark in a 5K. I'm close (7:05/mile) prior to this race. I was targeting an even 7:00 for this race, with the hopes of opening it up at the end to get under 21:41. It was a hot, humid night. My race strategy was for the following splits, 7:05, 7:00, 6:55 and gun it.

Mile 1: I started out very close to the front line and got a bit carried away. I felt pretty good though and only reigned it in a bit and finished the 1st mile in 6:46.

Mile 2: A bit of a hill in this mile and I felt my pace tail off a bit, but still finished with a pretty strong 6:58 and under my goal for the second mile.

Mile 3: Hurting now, I passed a runner and then he passed me and back and forth. About half way through the mile, I said to him "You run as fast as you can, then I'll catch you and run as fast as I can, and we'll keep doing that until the end." He agreed and it was on! It really helped finish that last mile @ 7:01, under my goal but still ahead of the overall goal.

Last .13: Full throttle! :41 @ 5:14 pace.

Total Mileage: 3.13
Time/Pace: 21:28/6:51
Avg HR: 165
Elevation Gain: 42ft
T/W: 83/humid, hazy-ish

Mission Accomplished! What's even better is I placed in my age group (3rd!) and received the 2nd place award (due to the fact that the 1st in my age group must have been in the top 3 overall.) My prize?!? A nice glass beer mug with the Mississippi Mudds logo and "2nd Place" engraved on it. I'll take it!!

The prize was only the second best thing of the night though. The best was sharing this run with my lovely bride and a couple of friends. While running for me is mostly a solo activity that I use to pass the time and improve my fitness, it's nights like these that I can share with others that make it all worthwhile.

My only disappointment tonight was that I could not negative split, due to my faster than normal start. However, I gave myself such a head start it didn't wind up hurting me. Still, I need to not do this!

New goal...break 21.

17C Tioga Center 25 Mile Time Trial

This felt tough. I've only done this distance in a race one other time (July 3rd-Tri in the Buff Duathlon). Cool, overcast night, damp roads. I started in the 7th position and finished 7 (:01 out of 6th) out of 16, so so.

Mileage: 25.00
Time/Avg Sp/Top Sp: 1:07:16/22.3/31.1
Elevation Gain: 244ft
Avg HR: 149

Slosh, Slosh

Yep, that's the sound my shoes were making this morning for my run. No, not because of rain. Apparently, left over sweat from yesterday's 3 hour run. I'm not talking a little bit of dampness. I'm talking about the kind of wetness you experience right after you get off one of those river rapid rides at an amusement park, you know, the kind where you get out totally soaked and then slug around in wet shoes the rest of the day. I knew I was sweating quite a bit in yesterday's heat, but I didn't think it was that bad. Not very exciting slipping my fresh foot into day old sweaty shoes, but I did and off I went. No issues during the run because of this.

Mileage: 7.00
Time/Pace: 1:00:20/8:37
Splits: 8:40, 8:35, 8:39, 8:38, 8:37, 8:38, 8:31
Elevation Gain: 97 ft
Avg HR: 144
T/W: 75, humid, sun

Back in Form!

Ahhhhh. Running is fun when it feels good. Okay, so 20 miles isn't totally pain free, but compared to last week's attempt, when I barely squeaked out 13 miles, I was feeling good.

Miles 1-5 (10:13): 10:13, 10:12, 10:13, 10:12, 10:11
Miles 6-15 (10:03): 10:04, 10:03, 9:59, 10:04, 10:05, 10:01, 9:59, 10:02, 10:04, 10:02
Miles 16-20 (9:53): 9:51, 9:55, 9:52, 9:54, 9:35

Total Mileage: 20.00
Time/Pace: 3:20:39/10:02
Avg HR: 135
Elevation Gain: 348
T/W: 70, humid, cloudy

8x3min Bike Intervals and 7 Mile Run

Feeling good today. Two workouts this evening, with about 30mins of rest in between. 85 and humid, but tolerable.

Bike Intervals (3min @ max tempo, 1min easy spinning)

1) 1.19 miles/23.8 avg sp/28.8 max sp/144 avg hr/151 max hr
2) 1.27/25.5/31.5/143/147 (slight downhill)
3) 1.18/23.6/25.6/145/151
4) 1.19/23.7/25.5/146/150
5) 1.00/14.9/15.7/148/152 (uphill)
6) 1.27/25.5/27.1/144/148 (slight downhill)
7) 1.05/21.0/26.0/145/149
8) 1.23/24.6/31.1/144/148

Total Mileage: 19.48
Time/Avg Sp/Max Sp: 59:18/19.7/31.5
Avg HR: 131
Elevation Gain: 334 ft

Run

Mileage: 7.00
Time/Pace: 1:00:03/8:34
Splits: 8:38, 8:37, 8:35, 8:39, 8:37, 8:39, 8:15
Avg HR: 145
Elevation Gain: 199 ft

Weekend Workouts

Saturday-nice cool day, relief from humidity
Mileage: 5.00
Time/Pace: 43:00/8:36
Splits: 8:41, 8:40, 8:40, 8:39, 8:18
Avg HR: 134

Sunday (Tempo Run)-strong wind, higher humidity
Mileage: 7.00
Time/Pace: 58:59/8:25
Splits (target 5 miles @ 7:40): 7:40, 7:42, 7:41, 7:46, 7:39
Avg HR: 148

10x800

Whew! I finished this, but tough. I can feel my body, slowly getting back in to form, but seems like a terrible grind.

I was looking for 10x800 at 3:45, with 3:45 slow recovery in between

Splits/Avg HR/Top HR
3:43/143/149
3:40/150/155
3:40/154/157
3:42/155/160
3:43/157/161
3:44/158/162
3:43/157/163
3:43/158/164
3:44/159/165
3:46/158/163

Generally pleased but really burned hard.

Totals (w/wu&cd)
Mileage: 9.81
Time/Pace: 1:31:14/9:17
Avg HR: 148
T/W: 71/sun, not nearly as humid

Route 38 Owego Time Trial

Race night.

I was feeling really uncertain about this race tonight, due in large part to my lackluster training the past couple of weeks. I fared better than I thought I would and bested my previous time by :20. Finished 11 out of 21.

Mileage: 10.09
Time/Avg Sp/Max Sp: 25:27/23.8/28.5
Avg HR/Max HR:158/167
Elevation Gain: 64 ft
T/W: 79, sun, humid

What's Wrong With My Body?!?

From the first step this morning, I was just off. I set out about 5am to attempt a 20 mile long run. I was never able to get my legs under me, my body ached the whole time, and I just plain gave up. I was able to manage almost 14 miles, run/walking the last 1.5 miles, but overall disappointing. I don't get it. The humidity was intense, my running shoes were very soggy, sweat running down my leg. I guess it has just been one of those weeks.

Mileage: 13.62
Time/Pace: 2:21:05/10:21
Avg HR: 143
T/W: 75, humid, steamy, sun

Bike Intervals

PM workout...Bike intervals...7 x 3mins at max effort with 1 min rest in between.

1) 1.12 miles/22.3 avg sp/26.0 max sp/avg HR 150/max HR 154
2) 1.11/22.1/24.2/153/156
3) 1.03/20.7/22.2/153/157
4) 1.26/25.1/26.9/153/156
5) 1.24/24.9/26.8/152/156
6) 1.20/24.0/26.8/152/157
7) 1.08/21.6/24.2/153/158

Decent headwind on the first 3 intervals, even better tailwind for 4-6 and a hill on the 7th.

Totals
Mileage: 16.63
Time/Avg Sp/Max Sp: 51:46/19.3/34.3
Avg HR: 139
Elevation Gain: 210 ft
T/W: 80/sunny

4 Mile Run

Ugh...very low energy. I did have two wisdom teeth ripped visciously out of my skull yesterday and took some Tylenol 3 w/codeine. Wonder if that had anything to do with it? Or, maybe the mouth bleed.

Mileage: 4.00
Time/Pace: 33:35/8:23
Avg HR: 151
T/W: 76/sunny

Wilson Wet and Wild Duathlon

Race Day! Perfect day, mid-70's, sun, low humidity, tiny breeze. Course, flat and fast (well for some people.)

My goal for this race was quite simple, win. The usual "big shots" were not there, so I figured I had a decent chance. Boy was I WRONG!

Run 1 (1.7 miles): A short out and back along the park roads, with two tiny but steepish hills. I went out strong and felt decent, until the end of the first mile. Then something went just horribly wrong. My energy...GONE! Uh oh...Heart rate was incredibly high, peaked at 223 (if this is even possible) and averaged 192. Something was very wrong (way too high for the beginning of a race.) 1st mile finished at 7:12, .7 at 7:43/pace. I finished Run 1 in 12:34 in 10th place. I was okay with this though, as I knew my strength was definitely in the bike.

T1: :45, eh, okay, I guess, nothing to be too proud of, but I was looking forward to making up some time on the bike.

Bike: (18.6 miles): A very flat course, with only a couple of rolling "bumps". I felt good here, but I held back thinking ahead to the final run. I certainly did not push to my limit, as I had in past races. I finished the bike portion in 53:05/21.0mph, 3rd best bike time, I'm generally pleased with this, but I may have made a mistake here. I certainly could have gained at least a couple of more minutes if I pushed, but really was not sure what was going on with my body. My heart rate was still all over the place, averaging 189BPM (I typically don't average much over 155 on the bike even when going all out.)

T2: :47, not happy with this, I actually stopped ran back to grab my hat, stupid! Regardless of this, I came out of transition in 3rd place, 2 minutes behind 2nd place and 1:30 ahead of 4th.

Run 2 (3.1 miles): Picture this, 18-wheeler cruising down the highway, tires flying off one at a time, and then crashing head on into a brick wall and exploding into a giant fireball. I was running, but I was truly gone. I hoped, in vain, to just be able to run fast enough to hold off the charging racers behind me. Alas, this was not the case, and I fell to 7th. I ran this 5K in 29:07/9:23 pace (ugh!)

Finishing Time: 1:36:21 (7th of 26) My previously chosen "target" who beat me in the Quakerman and then I returned the favor at Tri in the Buff, won and destroyed me by over 7 minutes.

What happened? Well, in a word NUTRITION. I ate like crap all week, while on vacation and it really caught up with me. I started a new way of eating after Memorial Day and it seemed to work quite well; lots of energy, decent weight loss, and improvements in runs and bike races. I'll get more into the specifics in a future blog. However, this week I fell back into the crap routine and paid for it. Lesson learned.

Vacation. Good for the Mind, Bad for the Running.

Didn't get in as much running as I had intended to as I missed my long run (20 miles). I did get in my speed work on Monday and a 4 mile run on Tuesday (both on the hotel treadmill.) Vacation also tends to destroy any attempt to eat healthy. I really tried, but gave up hope about halfway through the week. (Amusement park hotdogs are just too enjoyable.)

Yasso 9x800 (Monday)
Mileage: 8.72
Time/Pace: 1:17:55/8:56
Avg HR: 142
800 Splits: 3:49, 3:46, 3:46, 3:42, 3:43, 3:44, 3:41, 3:45, 3:42

4 Mile Run (Tuesday)
Mileage: 4.00
Time/Pace: 34:36/8:38
Splits: 8:43, 8:40, 8:41, 8:31
Avg HR: 128

Race tomorrow....

Holy Hotness

On vacation...still running...wow it's hot here, see pic. I set out (in the heat of the day) for a 5 mile run. First three miles and change when off pretty well, but in the final 1.5 miles the heat and humidity literally sucked the life out of me, and I ran/walked the rest of the way. Good experience (if I ever do Badwater.)

Mileage: 5.00
Time/Pace: 48:08/9:37
Splits: 8:40, 8:41, 8:39, 9:34, 12: 32
Avg HR: 158
Elevation Gain: 9ft (very flat here)
T/W: 100ish/Sunny, Hot, Humid

6 Mile Run & Long Ride

As I ran by a gentleman walking into his office building this morning, he saw me, opened the Dunkin Donuts box he was carrying and asked jokingly, "Want one?!?" Ha!

Run-AM
Mileage: 6.00
Time/Pace: 51:46/8:37
Splits: 8:39, 8:45, 8:43, 8:43, 8:41, 8:13
Elevation Gain: 121
Avg HR: 139
T/W: 66, sunny, cooler than yesterday

Bike-PM
Mileage: 29.82
Time/Avg Sp/Top Sp: 1:43:22/17.3/38.2
Elevation Gain: 1544 ft
Avg HR: 127
T/W: 74, sunny

5 Mile Run

Mileage: 5.00
Time/Pace: 42:58/8:35
Splits: 8:44, 8:42, 8:42, 8:44, 8:05 (!)
Avg HR: 142
Elevation Gain: 132 ft
T/W: 77/sunny, humid

6 Mile Run/ Bike Intervals

Morning Workout:
Run
Mileage: 6.00
Time/Pace: 52:16/8:42
Splits:8:39, 8:48, 8:45, 8:46, 8:44, 8:32
Avg HR: 140
Elevation Gain: 46 ft
T/W: 68, sunny

Afternoon Workout:
Bike Intervals: warm up, 3 minutes at all out pace, 1 minute easy spinning (6x), cool down

Interval/Mileage/Sp/HR

1) 1.21/24.2/136
2) 1.19/23.8/142
3) 1.15/23.0/144
4) 1.21/24.1/145
5) 1.19/23.7/144
6) 1.18/23.5/144

Totals
Mileage: 17.82
Time/Avg Sp/Top Sp: 58:45/18.2/28/4
Elevation Gain: 191 ft
Avg HR: 125
T/W: 75, sunny

Taper Week

This week is a reduced mileage week. No speed work or long runs, just easier paced base mileage.

Mileage: 5.00
Time/Pace: 43:19/8:40
Splits: 8:44, 8:46, 8:47, 8:45, 8:16
Avg HR: 145
Elevation Gain: 54ft
T/W: 76, humid, hazy

8 x 800 (3:45)

Speed Work.

Splits/Avg HR/Max HR

1) 3:41/141/148
2) 3:43/148/153
3) 3:44/150/155
4) 3:46/152/156
5) 3:41/154/158
6) 3:42/156/160
7) 3:43/157/160
8) 3:34/158/163

Totals (with wu/cd)

Mileage: 8.59
Time/Pace: 1:20:21/9:21
Avg HR: 143
T/W: 71/sunny

18 Mile Run

Want to know the secret to getting up at 4am to do a long run? Before you go to bed think about how great it is to get up early and get out there. Think about the cool air, watching the sun come up and being alone with your thoughts. When that alarm goes off, you'll jump right out of bed and hit the roads.

Mileage: 18.00
Time/Pace: 3:00:13/10:00
Avg HR: 139
Elevation Gain: 367 ft
T/W: 69, dark then sunny

Splits
1-4 (10:17): 10:14, 10:15, 10:12, 10:18
5-13 (10:07): 10:04, 10:05, 10:06, 10:02, 10:06, 10:05, 10:00, 10:06, 10:04
14-18 (9:57): 10:00, 9:47, 9:45, 9:45, 9:11

17C Owego Time Trial Race

Race night. 10 mile TT. I was feeling very strong this evening, even though it was a bit hot and humid out.


Mileage: 10.04
Time/Avg Sp/Top Sp: 25:47/23.4/29.5
Elevation Gain: 110
Avg HR: 157
T/W: 85/sunny, humid

8 out of 18.

3 Mile Tempo

My tempo pace I was looking for on this run was :30 slower than my best 5K pace, or 7:35.

Splits: 7:39, 7:35 ,7:32

Totals (with wu/cd)
Mileage: 5.00
Time/Pace: 42:59/8:35
Avg HR: 147
Elevation Gain: 100ft
T/W: 72, cloudy medium humidity

3 Free Hours and Nothing to Do...

Why not take a little ride?

There is a loop on the Route 17 bike route in Broome County that I have been eyeing for weeks, but haven't had the nerve to try it. I've done parts of it, but never the entire loop. You see it's over 50 miles in length and has some pretty decent climbing. Today lined up well, though, so I figured what the hell!

The first 25 or so weren't too bad even with the tough hill in the middle (773 ft). I rewarded myself at the mid point by stopping at a gas station and purchased a Rice Krispies Treat and Vitamin water (about 550 calories total that I'd more than burn through before the end.)

Miles 30-40 were borderline miserable...riding this distance I've noticed three very irritating sore spots. In order of annoyance....

1) Saddle- wow! sore ass!
2) Toes-Kept going numb
3) Back of neck, upper shoulders, from holding my head up.

Miles 40-53- mostly downhill and a familiar part, enjoyable.

Another new experience, and overall a good time.

Mileage: 53.52
Time/Avg Sp/Top Sp: 3:06:41/17.1/42.4
Elevation Gain: 2294ft
Avg HR: 128
T/W: 77/cloudy

3.5 Mile Run

Mileage: 3.55
Time/Pace: 31:02/8:44
Splits:8:49, 8:48, 8:44, 4:39 (8:27 pace)
Avg HR: 138
T/W: 66, cloudy

Lactate Threshold

Speed.

I want to run faster. I want to bike faster.

Today, I did some research about time trial training and found some interesting articles and training programs that focus on lactate threshold. The idea is to do interval training at or slightly above your lactate threshold to build strength and speed.

Here's how the program told me how to calculate my LT, using a heartrate monitor.

1) 15 min warm up, cycling through all of the gears 90RPM.
2) 30 min bike at as fast a speed I can sustain for 30min.
3) Take the avg HR for the last 20min, this is my LT.

Results?!? LT = 147 BPM.

I did this on as flat of a section of road as I could. What I found was I was trying to maintain an even burn in my legs while keeping the cadence high. Also, interesting to note was my avg speed: 22.4, right about my pace on my last TT, where I was riding as hard as I could. Hmmmm....

7 Mile Run

A bit tired after yesterday's run, but got out anyway. Very thick, humid air this morning.

Mileage: 7.00
Time/Pace: 1:01:52/8:50
Avg HR: 149
Elevation Gain: 69 ft
T/W: 72/sunny, humid

7 x 800

Speed work today. I've had a bit of a head cold the past few day and bailed on my scheduled race. Feeling better this afternoon, I decided to do some speed work. Yasso 800's, and I lowered the time to 3:50 per repeat. Here's how I did...

Split/Avg HR/Top HR

1) 3:32/148/155
2) 3:45/155/158
3) 3:47/156/161
4) 3:48/158/162
5) 3:45/161/165
6) 3:43/162/166
7) 3:40/162/166

My splits were all under my goal, this felt good though, so I went with it. I only felt like I was really pushing in the last repeat.

Totals (with warm up/cool down)
Mileage: 7.83
Time/Pace: 1:09:55/8:56
Avg HR: 151
T/W: 85/sunny

1/2 Year in Review

I bailed on my bike race tonight...mixture of crazy hot temps and case of the sniffles (wah!) So, instead let's take a look at the goals I set at the end of last year...

My Goals for 2010

1) Run a marathon. I've run two so far, and am planning on at least two more this year, Rochester in September and Philadelphia in November.

2) Run an ultra. Haven't done this yet. Not sure where I'm going to fit this in.

3) Get a Bike. Check! I'm loving my Cervelo P2, you all should get one!!

4) Compete in a duathlon. Check! Check! Two third place finishes, and a couple more coming up!

5) Run 1500 miles. I'm at 601.78 as of today. I'm currently on pace for 1156, mostly due to my injuries. I'll get as close to this number as possible.

6) Get weight down to 180. Currently at 186, getting close! Diet change has been a huge help.

7) Run a sub 7 minute mile in a 5K. Getting close here too, my best in 2009 was 23:00 (7:26 pace), but my best time in 2010 is 21:53 (7:05 pace).

I am adding one more goal at this point...

8) Run a sub 4:15 marathon...

Short Little Ride, Big Hill

Short bike ride today, wasn't really feeling it. I did get myself up one decent sized hill (6% grade).

Mileage: 7.56
Time/Pace: 25:00/18.1
Elevation Gain: 367
T/W: 75, sunny

16 Miler

I woke up this morning at 4am to try to beat the heat and get my long run for the week in. Whew...still almost 75 and humid this early! There is nothing like running early though. I had the streets pretty much to myself.

Mileage: 16.00
Time/Pace: 2:41:09/10:04
Mile 1-4 (10:19): 10:19, 10:18, 10:19, 10:18
Mile 5-12 (10:09): 10:04, 10:07, 10:12, 10:09, 10:08, 10:07, 10:09, 10:08
Mile 13-16 (9:59): 9:53, 9:57, 9:47, 9:04
Avg HR: 134
T/W: 74, dark then sunny, humid

Tri in the Buff Duathlon

Another great race day. I was very excited for this day, being my 2nd duathlon in as many weeks. Still on my high from placing last week, I went in hoping for another good performance. The big competition were two men who have competed at the national level and qualified for the world duathlon championships. I had no intention in beating them today, but I was gunning for "best of the rest". A total of 30 athletes registered for this race, but only 18 finished with a time.

Today's course was slightly longer than last week's; 5K run, 40K bike, 5K run.

Run 1: My goal was not to start out too fast. I was aiming for 7:30 splits. I did head out a bit faster for the first mile, but reigned it in for the 2nd and 3rd. I entered the transition area in 7th place.

Mileage: 3.12
Time/Pace: 23:04/7:24
Splits: 7:14, 7:30, 7:29
Elevation Gain: 32 ft
Avg HR: 161

T1: :59, not thrilled about this and came out of the transition area in 8th. Also, I forgot to grab my Cliff Shots that I had laid out, so no fuel for me during the bike. I was worried on how I'd hold up.

Bike: I love the bike. I feel like I'm just flying. The course was two loops with a decent hill halfway through for a total of 25 miles. Plenty of downhill as well. I push as hard as I can with a fast cadence until my legs can't burn anymore, before I gear down. I caught and passed all of those ahead of me except for the "two studs". I was the 4th fastest bike time (3rd fastest apparently dropped out before the end).

Mileage: 25.05
Time/Avg Sp/Top Sp: 1:11:02/21.1/31.9
Elevation Gain: 404ft
Avg HR:156

T2: :52, slightly better, but again (WHOA!) wobbly legs. I did remember to grab my Cliff Shots and ate all three packs during my final run.

Run 2: Goal here was to get under 8:00/mile, if possible. My legs definitely were beat and I fell a bit short of this. 4th best run and good enough to hang on to third.

Mileage: 3.09
Time/Pace: 24:54/8:02
Splits: 7:50, 8:11, 8:13
Elevation Gain: 32
Avg HR: 161

Total: 2:00:52

The Battle for Third
Last week, I missed 3rd overall by about 1:30 to the overall female winner. As my luck would have it, she was racing again today, so I set my sights on beating her (I knew I had no realistic chance on tracking down the other two.) I finished the first run about :21 ahead of her, but she had a much better T1, which put us neck and neck getting on the bike. I was able to open it up and grab a :35 lead going into T2. She gained again in T2, another :09, so I had to hang on to a razor thin :24 going into the final 5K. I was able to hold off her late charge, as she was only able to trim :04 off of my lead, coming in :26 behind me. I'm sure she had no idea this battle was going on, but for me it was truly motivating, so my hats off to her!

So, for the second week in a row, I've won something!! I again didn't stick around for the awards (had to show an apartment), but they will be shipping. I'll snap a pic for all of you when I get it.

Route 38 Time Trial Race

Time Trial night...cool night, very flat course, a bit of wind for the first 5 miles. Legs feeling very sluggish from my hills last night.


Mileage: 10.08
Time/Avg Sp/Top Sp: 26:36/22.7/27.0
Avg HR: 184 (much higher than I'd like to see)
Elevation Gain: 65 ft
T/W: 60, sunny, wind

16 out of 24

This route was very similar to the one I did two weeks ago, I did that in 27:09, so despite (or is it in spite?) my sluggish legs, an improvement.

Long Run and Hills Together

Another beautiful day to enjoy. I set out for a 14 mile long run and decided to throw in some hill work while I was at it. I don't think, I've done hills like this before, I usually just stick to rolling hills, but I was just "feeling it", so I went with it.

Hill 1 (Baby): 42ft over .23, just a little warm up hill
Hill 2 (Big Brother) 245ft over .97, pretty intense
Hill 3 (Little Sis): 86 over .33
Hill 4 (Never Ending Hill): 600ft over 3.11

All of this in the 1st 6.5 miles.

Ah but the downhills, we nice, a bit tough on the knees though

As far as my long runs I followed my negative split approach

Miles 1-3 (10:21): 10:02, 10:05, 10:17 (kind of erratic here, just getting warmed up and hills)
Miles 4-10 (10:11): 10:08, 10:09, 10:13, 10:11, 10:07, 10:12, 10:09
Miles 11-14 (10:01): 10:00, 9:57, 9:43, 9:09

Totals
Mileage: 14.01
Time/Pace: 2:20:48/10:03
Elevation Gain: 1229ft
Avg HR: 141
T/W: 63/sunny, cool

Too Nice of a Day Not to Do SOMETHING!

I was debating whether or not to take the day off, but I just couldn't. It was way too nice out. So I rode, worked some decent hills too. Ahhhhh....exercise is sooooo goooooooooodddddd!!!!

Mileage: 22.41
Time/Avg Sp/Top Sp: 1:16:21/17.6/40.0
Elevation Gain: 993 ft
Avg HR: 137
T/W: 63/sunny, cool

5 Miles

Today, I found out that I will be receiving a medal for my 3rd place finish. My first award! What better way to celebrate than a 5 mile run.

Mileage: 5.00
Time/Pace: 43:37/8:43
Splits: 8:46, 8:53, 8:53, 8:35, 8:28
Avg HR: 142
T/W: 65, sunny, humid

Ran a bit faster than I wanted to, but felt okay, so I went with it. I also have made myself a bit of a challenge...for every run I do, the last mile has to be the fastest. This is my attempt to work on negative splits in all of my workouts and also help me not start out too fast.

Quakerman Duathlon

My first duathlon...I had no idea what to expect, but I sure was charged up to start. I set some general goals, run 7:30/splits and bike at a pace between 20-25 MPH. Other than that, go as hard as I could, as long as I could.

Run 1 (2 Miles, I measured 1.99): 14:25 ( 7:13, 7:12), I was totally amped up and just went with it. I was thinking wow this would be a great pace to finish with! 10th fastest time.

T1: :59, thought I could have moved a bit faster here, but had to walk as soon as I entered. This was a bit confusing, because at the pre-race meeting we were told we could run until we grabbed our bikes. I had my shoes open and ready to receive my feet, bike helmet on my handlebars with straps out. Slight issue locking in my left pedal, but I think I just was anxious to hit the road.

Bike (22 Miles, I measured 20.86): 57:40/Avg Sp 21.7/Top Sp 29.9, pretty nice bike course, some rolling hills, but nothing too challenging. There were some traffic control issues and on this two lap course, I actually missed a turn. It wasn't clearly marked and didn't have flaggers like the rest of the turns. I guess I should have studied the road map better, my fault. I had one of the triathletes that kept me a bit of company and that helped quite a bit. Have I mentioned how much I love my bike? It's so smooth and I feel as though I get so much power out of it, even after only three weeks. In the second lap most of the big time triathletes zipped by me with their full aero bikes. (Sigh) During the bike I took in two servings of Clif Shots (about 200 calories) We didn't get to ride right up to the transition area, so the little run in my bike shoes on somewhat jelly legs was awkward to say the least. I finished the bike with the 2nd fastest time. Nice!

T2: :52 Wow...I found out suddenly that I really kicked my ass on the bike. I knew I was pushing hard, but didn't realize how hard. Legs were very wobbly getting out of the transition area, but I did.

Run 2 (4 Miles, I measured 3.94): 32:57 (8:06, 8:09, 8:30, 8:10) I knew right off the bat that I was not going to get to 7:30 splits. It was all I could do now to target 8:00/mile. The run out of the transition area was a slight downhill a a pretty "rooty" path, not very good for jelly legs. Then a slight uphill, before winding through a quiet, nicely shaded (thank God!) residential area. The race officials handled traffic and directions well. I was just about completely spent at mile 3 and was running on shear will power. I refused to stop running, knowing that if I did, I wouldn't be able to start again. In some ways it reminded me of my first marathon right around mile 23. Anyway....finished this leg in the 10th fastest time.


Add it all up and what do you get?!?

Total Time: 1:45:55

Overall: 4 out of 35, 3 out of 33 men, 1 out of 2 in my age group


This seems impressive for me, but I have to remember that the studs of the day did the triathlon not the duathlon, so I won't take TOO MUCH stock in this place. I didn't stick around for awards, so I don't know if I won anything. I won't complain too much if I get something.


Now on to my race review...


Overall, I think this race went off smoothly, especially for it's second time and the fact that the race director had some vehicle issues on his final course ride through prior to the start. The transition area was monitored well, packet pick up was easy, and there was a decent crowd on the course with tons of volunteers.


What could be improved? I think the timing was a bit messed up. I clocked myself at 1:45:55, but the time on the website was 1:46:56, almost exactly a minute off. There wasn't a gun start, just a lady counting down and saying "GO!" when we were supposed to start. I can imagine that starting two different events (duathlon and triathlon) at two locations at the same time must be tough, but I think a gun or horn would have taken care of this. I had one slightly irritating moment that I didn't discover until my second time around the bike loop, during the first loop I missed a turn. All of the other turns had very helpful people pointing the way. In the second loop I got the right turn, because the flag person was actually there. Hopefully, I didn't add too much time to my ride and I had a few others that were around me that made the same mistake. Again, the race director must have worked tirelessly to get all of this together, one suggestion...never ask a crowd of over 300 people if they have any questions after you review the rules and right before you start!

And lastly, I rewarded myself with this tasty treat....can anyone identify it?!?

4 and Change

Scheduled 4 miles today, but got in a bit extra on tired legs.

Mileage: 4.57
Time/Pace: 40.12/8:47
Splits: 8:53, 8:54, 8:53, 8:46, last .57 4:45 (8:17 pace)
Avg HR: forgot monitor
T/W: 63, sunny

Port Crane Route 369 20 Mile TT

Time Trial Night!

Tonight was a 20 mile ride. I was a bit apprehensive tonight, because of the distance, only being a few days before a race, and the scary looking hill on the elevation profile, but what the hell right?!?

Mileage: 19.66
Time/Avg Sp/Top Sp: 55:39/21.2/34.1
Avg HR: 160
Elevation Gain: 675 ft
T/W: 71/sunny, then rain

The first 6.5 miles weren't too bad, just some rolling hills, but then came the big haul upwards, 500ft ascent in 2.5miles. It was relatively tough for me, but I made it. On the way back I was flying down the hill I just climbing, when the sky opened up and I was absolutely drenched for about 2 minutes. I wasn't able to take full advantage of this downhill, because I was a bit tentative in the rain.

I think I finished about 8 or 9 out of 18-20. Good fun, tired legs, sore ass.

4 Miles and Tired Legs

Woke up this morning and my legs felt pretty tired from yesterday's workout. Still did the run at pace, so no worries.

Mileage: 4.00
Time/Pace: 35:22/8:50
Splits:8:52, 8:54, 8:53, 8:47
Avg HR:149
T/W: 70/sunny

Look Mom! No Socks!!

That's right! No socks. Why? Well, yesterday I purchased a pair of triathlon shoes (pictured) and I guess the deal is you don't wear socks because of the swim and a quicker transition. Also, the don't have any ties, just a pull string to tighten up, if neccessary. I'm not quite ready for a tri yet, but I am doing a duathlon this weekend, so I felt as though I should give these a shot.

The plan today was to run 2, bike 20, run 2 to simulate a duathlon. The transition setup wasn't the best, I had to walk through the hotel lobby to the back where I put my bike and then back out. Didn't do too bad though.

Here's the stats:

Run 1
Mileage: 2.02
Time/Pace: 17:26/8:38
Avg HR: 140

T1: 1:02

Bike
Mileage: 20.03
Time/Av Sp/Top Sp: 59:44/20.1/34.4
Avg HR: 146

T2: :58

Run 2
Mileage: 2.00
Time/Pace: 15:50/7:55
Avg HR: 155

Whew! Pretty pleased with this overall. Running and biking without socks wasn't too bad. The shoes are pretty comfortable, I wonder how they will hold up over a longer run.

4 Mile Run

Mileage: 4.00
Time/Pace: 35:35/8:53
Splits: 8:53, 9:00, 8:51, 8:50
Avg HR: 139
T/W: 61, sunny

Ever been asked by someone on the street if you have a smoke while your running? As of today, I have.

Shwachman Diamond Dash 5K

My wife and I headed out to Long Island this weekend to visit her sister and because she had tickets to see New Kids on the Block (very embarrassing for her, I know, and NO, I didn't go.) I found a nice little 5K race to run Saturday morning. Here's how I did...

Mileage: 3.09
Time/Pace: 21:53/7:05
Avg HR: 162
T/W: 65/sunny

Splits: 7:12, 7:13, 6:57 (!)

I was very pleased with this, a new PR. I was shooting for taking :02 off per mile from my previous best and was able to get well below that. The course was very flat and fast and the weather cooperated nicely.