Week 15: 5 miles/8 miles/5 miles/9 miles

OK, first of all I'm blowing off my idea of running 18-20 miles today since I "only" ran 10 miles on Saturday at the Charlottesville 10 Miler. But it was a hard effort on Saturday! I'm tired (Nationals home opener in the new stadium last night and didn't get to bed until after 1 AM) but that probably wouldn't have been enough to keep me from running. Had blocked off the morning for a long run. Mainly, the weather stinks -- it's rainy and grey. So, all combined, I just couldn't muster the motivation. That, plus, reading over the training program there were a bunch of people who didn't do either of the longest two runs and still did fine in the marathon. So ... I convinced myself that a "regular" run would do just fine. Getting ready to head out here in a few minutes.

So here's my revised Week 15: 5 miles/8 miles/5 miles/9 miles in lieu of 18 miles/0 miles/5 miles/9 miles. Total mileage for the week is not that much affected: 27 miles versus 32 miles.

Anyway, THE TAPER BEGINS!!! Less than 3 weeks to Marathon Day!!! I have a massage scheduled for this Wednesday and a final one before the marathon on Wednesday, April 16th prior to our flight on Thursday. And ... I have a massage scheduled in Paris on the day after the marathon. Found a French guy who was trained in California and supposedly knows his stuff when it comes to sport massage. Unbelievable difficult to find such a person in France -- most of the massage is a light massage.

MONDAY: Pretty incredible run today after I kicked myself out the door to actually run! No nagging aches or pains. Ran 6.2 miles in 59 minutes at a 9:35 pace, 579 kcal and 153 Avg HR. It's my fastest average pace for any of my training runs. Temperature was right around 50 degrees and, although the weather reports called for "misting" in "pockets," Philomont must have been one big "pocket" today and it was doing more than "misting" for most of the day. Overall, probably the rainiest day of the training program. And no way to really plan around it because it kept up all day -- although it did start to come down harder right when I finished so that timing worked out well.

TUESDAY: Not a bad run. Everything loosened up by Mile 2.5 although the legs were a little tight until then. And ... it was way too warm for my liking. The temperature was in the mid 60s. Nice when you first step out the door but draining after that. I typically don't take fluids with me for an 8 mile run but by Mile 5 or so today I wished I had. Also, my heartrate was higher than normal for my pace -- a result of not enough hydration. Overall distance was 8.24 miles at 11:23 pace, 152 Avg HR (basically same heartrate as yesterday but nearly 2 minutes per mile slower pace!), 903 kcals. Massage scheduled for tomorrow. Yeah!

Charlottesville 10 Miler Official Posted Results

Checked the online results today only to discover that I had dropped from 1855th to 1856th overall and 40/60 in my age group. Wonder how that managed to happen. Times all the same.

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Charlottesville 10 Miler

What a great race! Great support ... great people ... great weather ... great music!!! I'll definitely do this one again.

Joe did a great job taking pictures and it was nice to see him along the course. Always a boost to have a personal supporter.

Overall pace ended up being around 10:47 which is terrific for me and especially over the hills. Heart rate stayed in the hard exertion range most of the run -- with average HR around 158 and max at a whopping 177 -- and I'm not dead! There wasn't much flat at all on the course. If it wasn't going up, which it was doing for most of the run, it was going down. I do think that it seemed a lot worse driving the course than actually running it. Even reading about it was worse (see yesterday's post). None of the hills was a killer. My right knee gave me almost no problems and I was most worried about that given all the downhills. A few twinges but nothing more and nothing that forced me to walk. I spent Mile 2-5 looking for a place for a pit stop. Finally, on the Downtown Mall, saw a runner emerging from the coffee shop and asked him if there was a bathroom inside -- positive response --  quick pit stop. Definitely need to return and leave those guys a nice tip! Thanks for the relief.

Running well at the finish and was able to power the final mile. Always nice to finish strong. Joe, of course, at the finish line with the camera -- thank you, honey! And, surprise, Paula and Bruce with hugs and congrats. Thanks guys! Love you all.

Great 10 Miles!

40/59 in age group
1855th finisher
906/1090 of women
57:00 split
1:47:42 chip time
1:48:33 gun time
More later with pictures by Joe.
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Reconnoiter of the Charlottesville 10 Miler

Bottomline is that I think it's going to be a killer run! Drove it this afternoon after packet pickup and if the course is not going up then it's going down. Only saving grace is that the scenery and the sights are great. The cherry trees are all in bloom, spring flowers are popping up everywhere, and the run takes in much of the UVA campus and the Downtown Mall area. So ... It's early to bed tonight to get up at 6:00 AM. The temperature is only supposed to be right around 40 degrees tomorrow during the run and once I'm warmed up that is great for running. And with the hills I should be warmed up within a quarter mile of the start!

Here's how the course is described, mile by mile:

Mile 1: long uphill

Mile 2: one of the longest and toughest hills

Mile 3: gentle mile-long rise

Mile 4: slight uphill and then the longest downhill of the course

Mile 5: relief for awhile and then the beginning of a series of climbs

Mile 6: long and gentle downhill, steep plunge and then a tough climb that eventually flattens out

Mile 7: legendary climb that is the most talked about section of the course and flattens out

Mile 8: gentle but seemingly unending uphill straigtaway is supposedly the most mental portion of the course

Mile 9: after climbing steep hill racers are greated with gentle but long and steady downhill

Mile 10: roller coaster of hills to the finish

Let's hope my knees don't collapse! More later after the run tomorrow.

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Week 14: 5 miles/8 miles/5 miles/Charlottesville 10 Miler

The last of the high mileage weeks! I'm still fatigued. Right knee is still threatening to have issues so I'm keeping close tabs on how it feels.

Was supposed to do the last 18 this Saturday but my training schedule ended up being off and I had already signed up to do the Charlottesville 10 Miler on Saturday. So, for the time being I have reserved this coming Monday, March 31st, for my last 18 miles -- or an adjusted distance depending on how I'm feeling after running Charlottesville. 

MONDAY: 5.7 miles. Pace 11:27. Remarkably my knee held up well with no significant problems. Did my usual Greggsville loop so I have no idea why it turned up a tenth of a mile shorter than every other time I have run it! The Polar can be a little odd sometimes in how it calculates mileage.

TUESDAY: 8.0 miles. Pace 11:12. Knee continues to hold up fine. Took some ibuprofen last night and this morning. Also made sure to get full routine of stretching in before heading out the door. Temps in the low 50s today with a few clouds in an otherwise blue sky. Pleasant day to run. Did the Beaverdam Bridge loop without the Greggsville loop added on. Would have been 7 miles except I added on a mile by running up Watermill. The hill up Watermill is a killer! And I managed a decent pace even with that hill. My average heartrate for today's run, however, was 147 -- whereas it's typically around 141 or 142. Not sure if it was because of the added gigantic hill or a combination of that and a general fatigue. I am so looking forward to beginning the taper and getting fully rested for Antwerp. 

THURSDAY: 5.9 miles. Pace 10:19. 592 kcal. 153 HR avg. Knee feeling good. Actually, everything today felt good. Nice running weather. Although it was supposedly around 55 outside it felt more like the upper 40s. Cloudy and grey. Did the same loop I did on Monday and it was .2 miles longer! Go figure. Headed down to Williamsburg this evening and then on to Charlottesville tomorrow afternoon. I think I'm in good shape for the 10 miler.

Week 13: 18 Mile Long Run

The weather was threatening rain and wind but all in all it wasn't at all bad and the temps (around 42 degrees) were perfect for running. Some cloud cover so it stayed cooler than last week which was kind of nice.

Started out up Jeb Stuart with the extra loop around Greggsville and Colchester, down Beaverdam Bridge. Had to work out a few aches and pains during the first 2-3 miles but after that it went more easily. Before starting out had my normal half decaf skim latte and a scoop of Pre-Formance. Packed three gels for this run (my usual Hammer Gel Espresso, Accel Gel Vanilla and a Hammer Gel Vanilla -- the HG Vanilla was gross and I certainly won't be buying that one again) and all four fuel belt bottles with Cytomax. And started consuming the gels earlier -- first one at just under an hour. And started drinking the Cytomax at 30 minutes.

Got to Leith (6.9 miles) and turned right, down to Mountville and Pothouse Road. Right on Snake Hill to Banneker (did the little loop up through the Mt. Zion cemetary behind the school) and I was only at about 10.5 miles. Did 12 loops around the Banneker track and headed back the same way except straight up Leith to Hibbs Bridge to home. Total mileage was 18.5 miles. Pace was 12:18 and used a whopping 1933 calories.

Right knee gave me a few twitches by the time I hit Banneker and I could tell I was definitely favoring it a little. Worse on the downhills. By the time I was 3 miles from finishing I took the safe option and walked the downhills. Feels like ITB issues. Need to focus more on extra stretching throughout the week. Also, I hadn't taken any ibuprofen prior to Saturday's run. Iced it when I finished and by the evening I was fine.

Can't believe I'm this close to the end of the long runs and the beginning of the taper! Having a reasonable training program sure made all the difference between getting injured early on (like when I was "training" -- if you can call it that! -- for Pittsburgh about 5-6 years ago) and staying healthy this time. I'm still not 100% that I'm doing the last 18 miler on Monday the 31st (after the Charlottesville 10 Miler on March 29th). I think I will be flexible and see how my knee is doing. On the one hand I really want to get the last long run in but on the other hand I want to make sure I arrive in Antwerp injury free. Reading the training book, there were several people who didn't get all the long runs in (and in fact completed considerably less of the running than I have) and they went on to complete the marathon. So if I don't run the last 18 I think I'll still be in good shape to run the marathon on April 20. I'm also tired -- finding I need more sleep and having difficulty getting up in the morning even with 8-9 hours of sleep. And then there's the issue of the day before I have scheduled for the last 18 miles -- an 8 PM season opener at the new Nationals Stadium in DC. Probably won't be in bed that night until after midnight. So ... as I said .... I need to be flexible and see how I feel come Monday the 31st.

As far as cardio fitness I'm pretty fit. Heartrate for the same pace has been consistently coming down. If my legs hold up I'll be in great shape. And the fact that Antwerp is "flat and fast" will be nice. I've done so much training on hills that running on the flat will be a vacation!

Just trying out this feature!

How in the world does an email post to my blog?!

PS: Pretty nifty. The email I sent from my Blackberry posted to my blog. The title is whatever you put in the subject line. And the body of the email becomes the body of the blog post.

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Week 13: 5 miles/8 miles/5 miles/18 miles

MONDAY: 5.8 miles: Pace was 11:19.
Tough start to a decent run. Legs felt pretty good considering the 17 miles I ran on Saturday.

TUESDAY: 10.2 miles: Pace was 10:37.
Great run. Tough start, especially the first 2.5 miles.

THURSDAY: 5.9 miles: Pace was 11:06.
Good run. A few twinges here and there.

Definitely thinking on my runs lately that I'll be happy when the taper starts. I'm tired! Find that I'm sleeping more and requiring the additional sleep. My legs are holding up well. A few minor aches and pains here and there but nothing significant and I am feeling very confident that I will complete the marathon in Antwerp in good shape. I'm less worried about the running and more concerned about making sure eating, stretching, jet lag recovery, etc. all works out with the traveling. I'm also starting to get excited about the experience. I'm so focused on the marathon training and the actual marathon on April 20th that I forget that we're actually leaving in less than 4 weeks on Thursday, April 17th.

Week 12: Saturday's Long Run

Gorgeous day which was a real blessing considering the weather report earlier in the week was calling for intermittent heavy rain and wind. Instead it couldn't have been a more beautiful early spring day. Temperatures in the low 50s with a light breeze and sunny. Had my normal coffee in the morning and then had a glass of Pre-Formance. Applied my latest acquisition, BioFreeze (mostly a menthol gel), stretched and headed out around 10:30 AM with the iPod set to shuffle and the FuelBelt loaded with Cytomax and two gels (Hammer Gel Espresso and Accel Gel Vanilla -- my two standards). Started off slowly up Jeb Stuart at around a 12:30 pace. Checking the Polar monitor saw that my pace was a little faster each mile. By Mile 4 was at a pace a few seconds under a 12:00 pace. First two miles of the run were tough and the last 2-3 were tough. The miles in between went by pretty easily.

Had a new route plotted out -- up Jeb Stuart, across to Beaverdam Bridge to a right on Leith. Cross Foxcroft onto Pot House Road. And then I made the mistake of turning left on Snake Hill Road. Ended up down at Foxcroft again instead of down in St. Louis by Banneker Elementary. Backtracked (adding about 2.75 miles to my route) on Snake Hill and down to St. Louis, crossed 611 and onto Hamlin Mill. Up through Unison on Unison Road to a right on Foxcroft, crossed 611 again and back to Mountville Road and Leith Lane. By this time I was at 17.1 miles and my right knee was giving me some issues, especially on the downhills. Walked back up Leith to Hibbs Bridge to Snickersville to Home. Overall pace for the 17.1 mile run was 11:57. I was very pleased.

The route was beautiful. Rolling hills, horses, nice houses. Lots of ups and downs, a few flats but not many! Always see lots of things I'd like to get pictures of. Probably could have used an extra gel. Was starving by the time I had walked a mile post run. Knee continued to give me some issues. Iced it once at home and took 600 mg of ibuprofen. By the time the ibuprofen had a chance to take effect I was feeling much better -- actually I think a little better than after my long run last week. 

Week 12: 5 miles/8 miles/5 miles/16 miles

Was pretty sore after Saturday's 16 mile run -- even after the usual ibuprofen fix. Mostly right IT band issues at the knee. Amazingly, my left leg was fine. But I was definitely hobbling up and down steps! Sunday was a little better but I was somewhat anxious about heading into Monday's run and wondering if leg issues were going to crop up. Went to bed really early on Sunday evening (I think the time change was also affecting my fatigue) and slept about 9-10 hours. Felt okay Monday morning but still was curious to see how my legs would be on the run. Well, they were fine -- much better than a week ago after my return from Florida. Finished a 5.8 mile run at a 11.36 pace with a net altitude gain of 322 feet.

TUESDAY'S AWESOME RUN: Recovered fine from Monday's short run. Continued with the ibuprofen during the day Monday but none Monday night. Was tired Tuesday morning and had a little difficulty motivating myself to get out and run. The day was beautiful -- about 50 degrees with a blue sky and sun. Finally got out the door and what started in my mind as a slow run turned into my fastest paced run since I began this training program. Tuesday's 8.1 mile run was absolutely awesome. My legs were strong, in fact everything felt great. I was able to power up the hills and still had good stability and strength on the downhills. Although I could track my step by step pace while running I don't because it takes too much of my focus away from the running. Instead I do rough calculations in my head. So I knew at miles 3 and 4 that I was running faster than an 11:00 pace but not until I finished and uploaded the info did I realize my pace for the run was an amazing 10:07! And this over hills with a net altitude gain of 640 feet. My heartrate for the run was almost all in the hard intensity range but I felt good. Total run time was around 1:21 and I was definitely feeling the need for some nutrition by the end. Didn't have any on the run. Finished the run, did some stretching, angel hair marinara and a shower. Continued to feel good for the rest of the afternoon -- although I did pop a couple of Advil.

THURSDAY'S SO-SO RUN: Well, I didn't expect Thursday's run to measure up to Tuesday's Awesome Run. And it didn't. It was tough! The first 2.75 miles (yes, nearly half of the 5.8 miles that I did) were difficult. And my overall pace was about a minute slower than my pace on Tuesday -- something a little over 11:00. It wasn't anything in particular that made the run difficult -- little minor aches and pains here and there. The aches and pains came and went but made the run less than ideal. Oh well, every run can't be perfect. Sometimes it's just about getting the miles in!

Week 11: Saturday 16 Miler

Saturday weather reports were for calling for rain, wind and chilly temps so I wasn't anticipating my Saturday run with much enthusiasm! And there appeared to be no breaks in the bad weather. It was one front followed by another which was actually projected to bring even worse rain and wind than the first front. Figuring the best time for my run would be earlier in the day rather than later I made it an early night on Friday and got up around 7:30 AM Saturday. About an hour and a half later, after coffee and a breakfast of Pre-Formance (by the Cytomax people) as well as some stretching, I headed out. It was drizzling and about 44 degrees but not at all unpleasant. Headed up Jeb Stuart, around the Hughesville loop to Beaverdam Bridge Road. Ran with the iPod again (this time on Shuffle), Fuel Belt loaded up with Cytomax bottles and two gels (Accel Gel Vanilla and Hammer Gel Espresso). First couple of miles weren't bad and it got even better as I got warmed up. It was 6 miles at the intersection of Turkey Roost and Beaverdam so I added another mile by heading up Turkey Roost to 611 and back. Was raining a bit harder at this point in the run but still not bad. Back to Beaverdam and up to Leith, down to Mountville and out to Foxcroft Road making it 9.5 miles. Still no major aches or pains. Had the first gel at about mile 8.5. The rain had slowed down again which was nice. No more water dripping down my face! Back to Beaverdam for the return route. By about Mile 13 it was actually getting warm and the sun was coming out. What a change. A few little aches and pains around the knees but nothing really significant. Took a few 45 second walks and that small respite worked great for alleviating the discomfort. Back down to Jeb Stuart and Beaverdam -- left on Beaverdam to add a bit of mileage, back around across Snickersville and started the loop home. Clocked it at 16.1 miles with the slow pace of 12:51.

Post-run did some more stretching, drank some water, had a Smart Ones Angel Hair Marinara and then off to the nice warm shower. Then out to Berryville to the beer store for their Belgian tasting. Not a bad post-run reward!

All in all this run was much easier than my run last week in Florida. The temps in the low 40s are much more to my liking than the 60s and 70s it was down in Florida. Even the rain wasn't bad -- the steady downpour only lasted about 20 minutes total and the rest of the time it was either a slight drizzle or actually dry and sunny. My legs felt better, I walked less (although my overall time for the distance was 4 minutes slower today than last week in Florida -- go figure -- I think it must be the fact that today's run included a lot more hill work. The only "hills" in Florida were the two causeways!). Took 400 mg of Advil this morning and will take another dose at the 7-8 hour mark. My right leg is the only body part that is uncomfortably sore -- feels like it may be IT Band issue. But that's a little unusual -- it's usually my left leg and that feels fine. No significant fatigue (and it's now about 3-1/2 hours post-run).

I do find that listening to the iPod during my runs I don't spend as much time thinking about other stuff -- like drivers, politics, my to-do list, etc. It's kind of nice to have the music and I liked the Shuffle setting but I also like the "thinking" time.

Week 11: 5 miles/8 miles/5 miles/16 miles

My first short run of Week 11 -- a lousy little 5 miles -- and I thought I was going to die! It was horrible. My left leg was bothering me so much that at Mile 1.5 I thought I was going to have to turn around and go back. I did the running/walking thing pretty much from the beginning and that was the only way I managed to get through it. Part of the problem could have been the temps again -- in the low 60s. Second run of the week on Tuesday -- 8 miles -- had a tough time talking myself into it at first because I was really tired, had trouble getting out of bed this morning. So talked myself into at least getting dressed for running and getting out and at least doing 3-4 miles even if I couldn't do the whole 8 miles. Gave myself permission to run as slowly as I needed to and by Mile 2.5 I was doing fine. Didn't walk at all during Tuesday's run and clocked an 8.6 mile run with an 11:35 pace even though I was trying to run super slow! Yes, I know that's super slow for lots of folks but any long run under a 12:00 minute pace is a decent pace for me. Thursday's run ended up being 5.8 miles at a 11:21 pace. Thursday I ran with my iPod for the first time during the marathon training and I think it helped. I listened to two albums: Lyle Lovett and his Large Band and John Prine's Fair and Square. The weather was incredibly nice -- low 50s with a light breeze. Ran in Under Armour short tights and a lightweight longsleeved top. The weather coming up for Saturday is not looking so good -- rain is pretty much a given. I just hope it will be a light rain. Temps aren't looking too bad -- low to mid 40s. So the challenge will be to stay relatively dry.

Week 10: 16 Mile Run in Florida

This was probably my most difficult run to date. Temps were in the upper 60s, low 70s and I started out about 8:30 AM. Did a loop from Edgewater, FL, across the South Causeway to New Smyrna Beach, down Saxon Drive and then looped up S. Atlantic Avenue (A1A) to Flagler, across the North Causeway and then down Route 1 home. I had all four bottles on my belt with Cytomax and two gels (a Hammer Gel Espresso and an Accel Gel Vanilla). Got really thirsty and ran out of fluid around Mile 10 (filled up from a hose a guy was using to wash his car), ran out again and a nice guy at the natural foods restaurant by the North Causeway filled up my water bottles. I really hoping that race day in Antwerp has low temps. In the upper 40s, lower 50s would be fine by me.

The scenery was nice -- especially over the causeways and down Saxon Avenue -- some nice homes and even a little shade here and there. I think what contributed to the difficulty of the run was that the last part of it was along A1A in New Smyrna and there was no shade and lots of noisy motorcycles (Bike Week!). And ... there the scenery during that stretch was pretty boring. A long long straight probably 4 miles at least with no shade.

I did some of the Galloway running and walking which helped conserve some energy. But I was very glad to be done! Another issue could be that I was not sleeping that well in a bed other than my own and I was eating a lot more than usual. So my system was kind of messed up. Definite pointers for pre-Antwerp -- try to get adequate sleep and try to keep eating consistent with my normal patterns.