Finally Taking It Easy

Today was a nice and easy, rather uneventful 3 mile route. After pushing hard the last two days, I backed off today. It was actually a really good run as I got into a nice rhythm. Even though I was going slower, it finally wasn't too difficult to do so.

The weather was a bit chilly and early on I was regretting wearing a tank top. The temperature wasn't too bad, but the wind made it much worse. Once I settled into my run though, things got more comfortable.

I ran a nice out and back along West River Drive. I didn't see a single jogger running my direction, so that made it much easier. I didn't get into any competition. At one point though, a cyclist came up from behind pretty close to me and startled me. It was my fault though because I was in the center of the path and not paying attention.

The one thing I don't like about slow easy runs are how the pace feels. Even though I really wasn't going that much slower than normal, it felt like half speed. The short three mile run seemed to take forever. It's funny because I hate going too fast, but also can't stand going too slow either.

Tomorrow will be a much needed rest day. My legs weren't too sore today and they should be able to recover even better tomorrow. Saturday, I'll be camping near Clinton, New Jersey with my family. There is a 14 mile bike race there on Sunday. That makes an almost perfect route for my 13 mile run on Saturday. I'll try to follow that path. Hopefully on Sunday, I'll get in an hour of walking.

It feels good to keep plugging along on my marathon training. I can't believe how much is still left, but at the same time, it's going down quickly. The half will be here very soon and the marathon itself before I know it.

3 miles (26:18 - 8:46 pace)

Changing Paces

Today was a 6 mile run out along Kelly Drive and back. I went to just past the Strawberry Mansion Bridge before turning around. It was supposed to be easy, but of course that's hard for me.

I was very worn down before and during this run and really should've backed off. The usual soreness in the first half mile to a mile never went away. I didn't rest on Monday, as I walked a lot. Now I'm really paying for it. I definitely to get more rest on the usual rest on Friday.

Another sign that I am worn out, is how late I awoke. The alarm went off at 5:30, but I didn't get out of bed until 6:20. I didn't push the pace hard and tried to take it easy. The problem that arose came from running so late. There were a lot of runners out at that time and I ended up racing with a few of them.

Early on, someone went by me and I let him go. After awhile though, I got competitive. Every time that I was running by someone, I'd immediately pick up the pace after going by. This usually breaks them, if they have any desire to run harder.

I was really struggling on the way back and thought of quitting. I then talked myself into running short segments. This worked, but I ended up running hard through each segment. My legs still felt very tired too. I really pushed it to get by this guy just before the gravel path ended.

After that, I came across two people that were actually turning around just after I passed them. Even though they weren't running as far, I still felt the need to try to break them. I thought I did, but then noticed one continued to come up on me as I got through Boathouse Row. I did hold him at bay, but worked harder than I should've.

I eased up the hill, but then finished hard once again, passing another female. I really shouldn't have run so hard. It did feel good, but I need to back off now.

Tomorrow is an easy 3 mile run. To make sure it is easy, I'm going to run the less crowded West River Drive. The competition is nice on Kelly Drive, but I need to learn to be more patient with it. I need to give my body a break.

6 Miles - 48:15 (8:03 pace)

Water Bottle

Today was my first run of the week. I went out and did a 3 mile run which included the always tough Lemon Hill. My schedule got screwed up because I wanted to watch an auto race late last night. Therefore, I didn't wake up until about 10:30 AM and didn't start this run until after noon.

It started off great as a running group actually happened to start just ahead of me by the Art Museum. They set a nice pace and I just followed right along for quite awhile. After a nice early downhill, it was mostly the difficult uphill portions of Lemon Hill through the rest of the first mile.

I pushed fairly hard on these parts. I brought my new hand held water bottle with me, so that made it interesting. It's a little uncomfortable, but not too bad actually. It'll take some getting used to, but I'll definitely start using it on the long runs. I stepped in a steep hole in the grass at the bottom of Lemon Hill. I'm lucky I didn't get injured.

The temperature was only about 70 degrees, but felt pretty hot. I'm not used to midday runs. I felt kind of sluggish. It was supposed to be raining at that point, but it wasn't.

I battled on and ran pretty hard. After running back from Lemon Hill, I came to the stop light to cross Kelly Drive near Boathouse Row. I timed it really bad and ended up spending probably close to 30 seconds there waiting for the light to change. I did keep my watching going and it certainly cost me quite a bit of time.

The route then went to the Girard Avenue Bridge and back to the end of Boathouse Row. I continued to push myself through this flat portion. I finished pretty strong and was out of breath at the finish. It was a great run though.

Tomorrow, I'll probably just do a 6 mile out and back on Kelly Drive. I'll be so well trained for this portion of the marathon when it comes around. I'm not sure if the road versus the pedestrain path will be a hug difference. I guess we'll see on that day. Tomorrow is back to the normal time schedule too.

3 Miles - 24:01 (8:00 pace)

Keep Battling

Today was another good simulation for the marathon. I essentially ran the final 12 miles of it, with only a few minor exceptions. One of those exceptions was that I didn't run on roads. I ran an out and back on Kelly Drive through to Cotton Street in Manayuak and back.

I went out well and felt very good early on. Starting off downhill at the Art Museum really helps to get a nice pace going. That's exactly what happened. I didn't push myself too hard, but instead concentrated on running nice and smooth.

After Falls Bridge, things got interesting. Shortly after that point, it turns to sidewalks. The road is narrow, so running on the sidewalks is a must. I'm not sure if it was a result of running on a different surface, but I started getting disoriented. I eventually made it to the turnaround, but wondered how I'd make it the full 6 miles back.

On the way back, I ran on the side of the roads in Manayuak where I could. That sort of helped, but I still didn't feel well. I just decided to see if the surfaces were the issue. I figured if I got back on to the usual path and still didn't feel well, then I could walk.

Once back on the Drive, I started to feel much better (especially when getting in shade). I actually took it pretty easy for the next couple miles. I had a couple runners go by me, but wisely chose not to try to go with them. I hadn't drank any water, so I told myself I'd just run to the water foundation. I actually still felt very good when I got there, so I just kept going.

I had read that a lot of people make it through multiple miles by telling themselves, "just one more mile to go" over and over. I did that and it really worked. I finished the run very strong. As I got to the uphill before the Art Museum, I came across a women running at a nice pace. I followed her up most of the hill, before throwing on my patented finishing kick. I blew by her and finished strong, although tired.

I didn't drink any water and that might've been some of the reason for the disorientation. I did work on breathing better too, so that might've worked as well. I bought a hand held water bottle and need to try it out this week. I didn't want to do that on such a long run. I'll do it on a short run, possibly on Tuesday.

I didn't eat an energy gels either. Rather than eating them before long runs, I'm only going to use them during runs from now on. I think they might've been contributing to my bathroom problems. I didn't have any bathroom issues this time.

I didn't feel that I pushed hard in the second half, although the last two miles were pretty strong. However, I'm pretty sure I was faster in the second half of the run. That was quite surprising because I thought I slowed down.

I am very happy with my progress thus far. I feel like I'm already good to go for the half marathon. I still have 3 weeks before it too. I still would like to improve my speed some though.

Tomorrow is a scheduled cross training day. I'm going to count walking at the AMA Motorcycle race as cross training. I'll definitely be walking for over an hour. I actually did that today as well. I'm sore, but it's a refreshing soreness.

12 miles - 1:41:37 (8:28 pace)

It's Never Easy

Today was supposed to be an easy 3 mile run after a hard day yesterday. I did run it nice and slow, but for me, I find that harder. I felt as sore as I have in awhile. My feet were especially sore early on after injuring them during sprints yesterday.

I ran the Blue Eagle 5K route. I forgot the short additional loop on the way out. I rarely run that part of the route, so I often forget that. I slept in a little so the sun was in my eyes at some points. The weather was actually cool though.

I added on some distance at the end when I got to the elementary school. I had to run around some cars as school was just starting.

All in all, it was a productive week. I ran well back home, including some tough hills and a couple sprints. I am really looking forward to the 12 mile run on Saturday. I'm going to simulate a lot of the end of the marathon as I'll be running to Manayunk and back.

Red Bridge

I set out for a fairly long mid week run early this morning. I ran 6 miles. I did the old Red Bridge loop from my high school days. It includes the crazy hill on the Schoeneck route, plus another couple miles of ascending and descending.

The one nice thing about the huge hill is that it's in the beginning of the run. You get about a half mile to warm and then boom you hit it. That means you aren't tired. You'd think the hill would be a problem, but I've always found it relatively easy. The only exceptions have been when I've run it during extreme heat or high winds. I guess I'm just made to run hills. Even though I don't run them much anymore, they still don't give me a lot of trouble.

One of the funnier things along the route occurred early on. Before I ran up the hill, I noticed one of those portable speed detectors. I decided to run in the middle of the road, but it wouldn't register a speed for me. I guess it doesn't go that low.

The top of the hill was a bit windy. That's all that really bothered me from the hill. After that, I encountered a lot of bright sunlight right in my face. I couldn't even see the cars for a couple moments. Luckily, that went away pretty quickly.

After getting to the top of the hill, it's relatively flat for about half a mile. Then there's a crazy downhill section. I usually like to cruise downhill and let gravity do all the work. At the steepest part, I actually had to slow myself down though.

After that was the hard part. It's another big uphill section. The difference between this one and the first one is that this one is longer and not as steep. I really sputtered up this hill and appreciated how much the first hill had actually taken out of me. I had very dead legs. I think some birds above sensed it to because they started making noise. They were probably circling too.

I eventually made it up the hill. As they say, what goes up must come down. That's the case here as a long downhill follows. That allowed for me to relax and recover. It's amazing how much you can recover with some downhill sections, provided you don't go too fast.

Following that, I pushed it through the final stretch around the high school. That included a short but steep uphill section. I finished right in front of the school as many of the students were walking to class. All in all, it was a good run.

I've really been eager to do some other stuff. Since I was feeling good this evening, I decided to run some sprints on the soccer field at my old elementary school. I sprinted the length of the field, concentrating on form. I then walked back as my recovery. Initially, I planned on 10 of these. That didn't do too much though so I extended it to 15. I did run two of them barefoot and the rough surface actually made my foot hurt. I won't do that again.

I'll throw some ice on my foot and hopefully it'll be fine come tomorrow. Tomorrow will probably be an easy day. I think I'm going to run the Blue Eagle 5K loop again. Then I'm headed back to my apartment.

6 miles - 51:38 (8:36 pace)

Chilly Morning

I decided to run back home at the parents house for a couple days. I'm trying to keep my runs different and therefore relatively fresh. I don't want to get tired of them before the marathon itself.

Today, I ran around some new houses on the opposite of the elementary school from my parents house. It was incredibly cold. I really hate running in the cold. Mainly because I can't stand the uncomfortable feeling early on. Just walking over there made my hands ice cold in the 49 degree weather.

I began running at about 6:15. I probably should've started later with the cold weather. It took most of the run until I warmed up. I was blowing on my hands quite often. I still went out in a short sleeve shirt and shorts. I wanted to add a long sleeve shirt, but couldn't find one here.

The neighborhood has a bunch of dead end roads so I just had to run to the end of those and back. I encountered a lot of middle school/high school kids that were waiting for the bus on their way back. Overall, the route was quite boring and dull.

I ran through the neighborhood at what I thought was a decent pace. I didn't push much, but thought my time would be better, especially without the heat. I ran behind the school and finished in my parents neighborhood. The course was actually disappointing in that it had no hills. I probably won't run there again until they extend the neighborhood more.

I've been reading a lot lately. I read a book about the first 100 years of the Boston Marathon. I also got through Running Times magazine. This all in the course of two days. I love reading about running right now and I'm trying to soak up everything I can. Reading about so many successful runners is inspiring me.

I really am eager to run and look forward to every day's route. I can't wait to get out the door in the morning. That's obviously a good sign that I'm training well. It will certainly get be through my first marathon. I just feel that with so much time on my hands right now, I should be doing more. I'm thinking more and more about adding an easy bike ride or two in the evenings. That won't stress legs, but will add strength. Maybe I should just stay with the current program until at the least the halfway point and then see how I feel. It just seems too easy right now.

Tomorrow, I'm going to do the old Red Bridge run that I did once or twice in high school. It goes up the huge hill of the Schoeneck route, but adds another loop. That should be a nice and difficult 6 mile mid week run. Even if I run them differently, I definitely should focus just as much on the easy 3 mile days like today. It's hard not to focus on the longer runs though, especially the weekend ones. I probably shouldn't even look at the runs beyond the next one on the schedule.

3.12 miles - 25:34 (8:12 pace)