Twenty in the Rain

VTR and I got it together, judged the weather maps sort of correctly, and made the bold call to go running on a day of unsettled weather. We did the course that I did with David -- my town to the Hatch Shell in about 3 hours with frequent stretch stops and one potty break at a Dunkin Donuts across from BC.

VTR called me at about 555 AM and we looked at weather maps together and figured we'd get in some miles and see what happened. We made bascically the right call. The first 8.5 miles were dry the next 11.5+ were slightly less dry. The thunder and lightening mostly held off though at about mile 18.5 a huge bolt of lightening across the Charles helped us to pick it up and get rolling and bring it home strong.

I felt pretty good until about mile 15. The misery continued until about 18 and then it sort of receded and I battled through. I did better this time overall though than I did with David and felt OK, though let's face, there was much suffering in the last quarter. A big quad cramp right above my knee brought me up real short, but we fought through and VTR totally helped me with some smack talk.

A woman passed us in Wellesley and we were like, oh, she's just doing a 5er, though she had on a fuel belt and was moving briskly. We saw her again in front of the Harvard Boat House and she was heading in the direction we'd just come -- she was doing some sort of a loop and was looking fresh as a daisy. I applauded her and we cheered and she smiled at us and powered on. It gave us both an adrenaline boost that was sadly too short lived.

I had no real issues on the Newton hills this time and actually sort of enjoyed them. I really think that my issue on this run comes from the long down hill that starts at BC and goes to the river -- my legs just don't like the down. All in all it was a good run, I know more about myself than I did before, and we were hard core, because the weather was hard core. It was pouring out for more than the last half and my feet were soaked from about 10 on (no blisters though!) and we were drenched. In addition to the woman on the mega loop, I'd say we passed about 10-12 other runners all day, and you could judge training distance based on wetness. We and some other guys were soaked, and we'd been out a long time. It was hilarious. When I say it was raining it was really raining, and when it was pouring, I mean pouring like out of a huge bucket. It was downright impressive.

No, I'm not much of a mantra guy, they tend to make me a bit nutty, sometimes, though I do like "easy, smooth, light, fast." VTR had the best saying, and I'm fairly sure that my second wind came back when he said it: "We were made to do this. We were made to do this." Loved it and I could relate to it. Simple, to the point, and really starts to hit at the heart of what this is all about: being human.

We had a blast, we had a great talk, we had a great run. I felt good Sunday and Monday, only minor soreness (stretching breaks were huge helps). I'm definitely heading out Tuesday -- the short runs are so key on so many levels and they've been missing from my life this month and I've been the worse for it. I'm stoked for Vermont City, I'm in, I'm enthusiastic and rearing to go!

Too tired? Run.

This from the Boston Globe today:

http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2008/10/13/way_too_tired/

Friday Morning

I got out before work on Friday and did a 30 minute out and back. Simply getting this one in the books.

20 miler tomorrow. Meeting a friend at 8:00AM. Should be a beaut.

Leaf Peeper

I ran the Leaf Peeper half marathon on Sunday, and it was a beautiful day for a race. It was peak season for the leaves, blue sky and temps in the high-50s/low-60's. Perfect for running. It must've been because I ran faster for a longer distance than I ever have.

Here are the splits:
Mile 1 6:54
Mile 2 7:03
Mile 3 7:20
Mile 4 7:20
Mile 5 7:18
Mile 6 7:25
Mile 7 7:13
Mile 8 7:14
Mile 9 7:33
Mile 10 7:24
Mile 11 7:20
Mile 12 7:18
Mile 13.1 7:13
Total 1:35:27, 7:17 pace

I was fortunate in that I fell in behind three strong women separately at various points in the race. Two of them pulled me for parts of the first half, and one warrior pulled me in over the last 6 miles. This chick was strong. I never caught her, but also would not have performed as well without her consistent pace. Linking up with someone with a similar stride and pace worked well for me in the CCM last year, too. I guess there's something about slogging through it together with another runner that keeps me going.

My training schedule called for a 20 miler on Sunday, but I'll take my race experience workout as a step in the right direction. I have my second 20 miler scheduled for the weekend and a friend lined up to share most of the distance.

Between the race and today, I played hockey on Tuesday at lunch. (BTW, running does not get one in shape for hockey. Almost puked.) I got in a quick run of around 25 minutes at lunch today. I'm finding it harder to motivate to run with the darker mornings. As much as I am enjoying the training, I'm looking forward to a change of pace after CCM.

30 minutes

Got in a quick run on Friday. 30 minutes during lunch. Nothing more on that front.

Congrat's Agricola's!

34:34 for #35

I got out for about 34 minutes today after work. I ran on the route of the Leaf Peeper Half Marathon, which I'll be running on Sunday. It's very nearly peak leaf season, so the mountains are gorgeous -- they remind me of a painters pallet. Beautiful.

Anyway, I also want to take this spot to congratulate FA on his CCM training. I'm running the whole marathon, and I've only run 35 times for training, which puts me neck and neck with FA, who is running his second race ever. Way to stick with it, man. Congrat's! Can't wait for that weekend!

Chicken run

So, I spent most of Sunday doing a minor construction project. Had to run back and forth from the work site to the garage a bunch of times, lifted heavy wood, etc. I guess you could call it exercise, but really that's just an excuse to post a picture of our chicken coop, which is finally done and inhabited by three chickens.

We got our first egg this morning. Thanks for indulging me. I'll keep to the real training next time...or maybe I need to start a homestead blog like 1/4 Acre.

On the running front, the plan is to do a moderately long one tomorrow morning. Leaf Peepers half marathon is on Saturday, and I'm contemplating doing 6.5 prior to the race to get in a 20 miler before the marathon. Big week, and I'm feeling the stress of under-preparation.

Home town run

Breezed into the home town for 15 hours over last weekend and managed to get in a 12.3 mile run (just gmapped it). Felt pretty good, but man was the air thick with humidity this morning. I was drenched with sweat by about 20 minutes in. The run took 1 hour 44 minutes for an 8:27 pace.

I'm dealing with one minor issue that I haven't faced before -- a blister on my big toe on the side/bottom where it rubs the next toe. The thing has been around for a week without popping, and it finally started to hurt half way through this run. It has spread a bit by the time I was done, so Mrs. VTR did some minor surgery to pop, drain, clean and cover it. I'm hoping that does the trick. It's more of a nuisance really, but I thought I'd share.

Looking to maybe do a shorter run tomorrow and then it's right back into the morning deal.

Later boys.

Enlightenment

Got out at 6AM for a 12 mile run today before work. It was dark on my drive downtown to meet the two folks that I ran with -- a beautiful time of day, but enlightening? Not really.

I ran with a friend of ours and her coach (also a woman). These two are extremely strong runners. One won a 30K race last weekend and the other is a personal trainer and, as I mentioned, a running coach. It was cool to be out with such accomplished striders, but that wasn't the enlightening part either.

The enlightenment came with the "girl talk" they launched into within 1 minute of starting the run. I'll just say that these two aren't big on inhibition, and boys aren't the only ones who can throw down the locker room talk. It was a trip. Refreshing. Enlightening even.

The run was tough but good. I got a kick out of ripping off 12 miles before work mid-week. Never done that before. Doing it with 2 new running partners made it even better as the community nature of running that we've all talked about here was palpable.

Get out of my head

I'm not perfect,
No I'm not.
I'm not perfect,
But I like what I've got.
I do my very best,
My very, very best,
But I'm not perfect
And I hope you like me a lot.

Laurie Berkner and I went for a 30 minute run at 6:30 AM Monday morning. She wasn't invited, but I just couldn't shake her. Realized that I really prefer running without music...even if it's all in my head.

A three hour tour

Well, two hours fifty five minutes, actually.

It was quite an event this morning. I joined the early risers club, leaving the house at 6:17am, and it was gorgeous. The moon was still bright in the sky, air crisp with some low-lying fog that looked like...well...clouds (creativity escapes me -- I guess all the energy went to the legs). Whenever I get up that early, I think it should happen more often because of the serenity of early morning. Too bad the bed is so comfortable or it might actually happen more.

Anyway, the run was an event. I ran about an hour before meeting a friend for the final two. To say the route was hilly would be an understatement, and I threw in a couple of out and backs over the tough sections due to poor planning. I was toast at the end. Shuffling, not running. But I did it, and I feel really good for that. I iced down in a cold bath after, and now I'm ready to pop a bunch of ibuprofen to get me through some stiffness. No bad pain to report, which is always good.

Put this one into the books. Not sure of the distance, but it's the time on the road that counts for me (mental prep as much as anything). One month to go. I'm trusting that the work will pay dividends on the Cape.

Enjoy the weekend!

Inspired

I was between projects today (this being my last week before the new job starts, I have a lot of projects), thinking about what to do next, when I stole away for a quick peak at the blog. I came away inspired and just ran a fast 3 or so miles.

Now that's what this is all about. Thanks boys.

1:45

3 Shot blocks (Margarita with salt)
1/2 Cliff Bar, Blueberry (not bad)
2 water bottles -- refilled at playing fields' bubbler (Yes, bubbler. You can take the kid out of MA, but you can't...)
1 hour 45 minute run
12 or so miles, haven't mapped it yet
1 ice cold bath to soothe my sore legs.

No injuries, but this one hurt.

30...

...minutes.

I got out for another 30 minute run today. Feeling good and just trying to keep from pushing too hard.

Good seeing folks at the cross this weekend.

Long Road

Well, I was sufficiently inspired by Agricola's performance at the VT City Marathon to set up my training schedule. I went on a 30 minute run yesterday, and I'll do the same time every other day for a couple of weeks to ease the calf back into things. At that point, on July 1, I officially start training for the Cape Cod Marathon.

The goal now is to stay healthy and stretch like crazy. I hope to fill in the training schedule with plenty of group runs and races. Keep an eye out for invitations to join in.

Later boys. Welcome to summer.

Moooo

My calf is calling.

Went for a 3 miler today at lunch. Lungs and legs felt great, except for my right calf, which is super tight now post-run. I originally strained this calf about a year and a half ago during the Burton 5K race. Ever since then, I feel it when I'm even the slightest bit dehydrated. My calf is like the canary in the mine early warning system for dehydration. Unfortunately, this time I kept running and now it's tightened up pretty good. The plan is to drink up (including beers tonight -- it is St. Patty's day!) and possibly rest it tomorrow.

The good news is that everything else felt good during this run. After China, just being outside with a blue sky is a bonus. And after a very soft month running-wise, my head is finally ready to take on training...at least for today. Let's hope my body comes around.

Rebound

I went out for a 42 minute run today. I'll call it 8 miles. We got about 8" of snow in Burlington, so the challenge was in finding clear terrain. I ended up doing loops of various little neighborhoods between work and Lake Champlain.

Usually I hate repetitive loops, twists and turns, but today was different because I felt great out there. The legs were good and rested, and my head was in the game. It helped that it was a clear, bluebird day, and the fresh layer of snow was still pristine, but I think the fact that I was three days removed from air travel helped me even more. I'm convinced that air travel shortens lifespans, but that's another story.

Anyway, I'm psyched with the run today. I have to get one longish run in this weekend, and then I'm off to China for 2 weeks. China means no real running, so I'm starting to get a little nervous about my marathon prep. Based on my schedule alone, I won't start training in earnest until mid-March. Who knows, maybe that will be a good thing.

Super 8

At least one thing about yesterday was super -- my 8 mile run in the afternoon. My training plan called for a 12 miler, but the day got away from me a bit, so I only had time for an hour. I did an out and back route from my house, and loved it. There's been a lot going on at work lately, so I used my time on the road to work things out. I got inspired, came up with a plan, and lost track of time. Very cool.

On the running/training side, it felt great to get in a longer run. I came in faster than I went out, and I felt pretty strong. Not as fast as I'd like to be, but I'm easing into the schedule and enjoying the process.

Here are the stats:
8 miles
1:09 hours (34:28 out, 33:35 back)
8:37 pace

Weekend 5

Just a quick post to jot down my 5 miler this weekend. I went at about 3:30 yesterday, and it was a beautiful time of the day.

Missed my first long run of my schedule today, but I'm cutting myself some slack. After all, I only just realized I was on the schedule. Next weekend I'll be sure to get back on the long run kick. Until then, it'll be about the weekday quick jaunts.

It's On

Agricola's post inspired me to get out at lunch today. I did about 5 miles, and it's a good thing. I also broke out my marathon training schedule and realized that my 18 week program started on Monday! Yikes. Here we go boys!