Waste of a Run

Today was my usual Friday run.  I've said it a million times already, but I really hate these short easy runs at the end of the week.  I dread Fridays so much.  Today, the plan was just an easy 4 miler.

To try to make these runs better, I often look to go to more enjoyable locations.  That's what I tried today, but it failed.  I decided to head to Merrill Creek, just north of Phillipsburg.  It is basically a trail around the lake.  I figured I'd do an easy out and back there.  The whole loop is around 5.5 miles.  I didn't want to go that far.

Today was much better weather than we've had lately.  I didn't need multiple layers.  I was debating going without arm sleeves, but then I could feel the breeze off the lake as I changed.  I decided that arm sleeves, a short sleeve shirt and shorts would be enough.

My quads were awful in the beginning as usual.  Compounding the problem was the fact that the big stones on the trail make running uneven.  I started off very slow.  I had to try running in the tire tracks from the park vehicles for better traction.

There is a short clear section.  Then it is into the woods for a bit.  I could already feel a breeze in the woods, even with all the trees blocking me.  My pace picked up, but I was still slow and not feeling good.  I think the hard running last night took its toll.

After coming out of the woods, it is the best part of this run.  You run on top of a dam overlooking the lake.  That is great in the summer, today it was horrible.  The wind was whipping right off the lake, making running very uncomfortable and tough.  I couldn't wait to be done with this section.  There are some bigger rocks there too.  I saw the trail also went down below the dam.  Even though that would be a climb back up, it at least looked like a good wind blocker.

Things didn't get much better when I got back into another set of woods after the dam.  This was windier than the last section of woods and there were leaves, twigs and other debris everywhere.  That made for slow and uneven running.  Something I wasn't looking to do today.  At least they cleared the fallen trees off the path. 

I decided that when hit the first mile, I'd just turn around and head back.  I thought I'd head down the trail below the dam and see where it takes me.  I figured that if I was lucky, I could add another mile there.  Maybe I could run around the roads into the parking area too.

When I got back to the dam, I went down the grass to the trail.  It turned into a woods dirt trail with plenty of roots and rocks.  The bigger problem was that it kept descending.  I didn't want to have to climb all the way back up there.  After a short while, I decided to head back.  I think a downed tree was blocking the trail up ahead anyway.

Going back uphill was tough.  I have my insole in my left foot, but haven't tried one in the right foot.  The problem with my right foot is that my arch gets sore when I go uphill.  It doesn't seem to be a problem on flat or downhill sections.  It really started to bother me as I made the climb.  There was quite a bit of wind too.

I hit the 2 mile point before getting back to the parking area.  I just decided to cut my losses and end this terrible run there.  There was no point in battling hard on an easy day, just to say that I did 2 more miles.  In hindsight, taking a second day off this week probably would've been a good idea after the half marathon.

I was glad I didn't try running on the road out of the parking area.  It was quite a little climb there too.  I guess I need to start massaging my foot as well as my quads.  The Run for the Diamonds race has a huge hill in it and my foot can't be acting up for that race.

I wish I could be patient.  I did try backing off the last few weeks and that helped my quads for the race, but they are back to bothering me now that I ramped up my mileage again.  I think I have to be more aggressive with my massaging and strengthening.  I had problems with my leg early in the summer and that went away after my body adapted.  I'm hoping the quad issue will too, but I'm not sure.  It is tough because it only bothering me when a begin a run.  Otherwise, I'm fine.  It's more like I'm stiff than I am sore.

Over the summer, I wrote an article for the Lehigh Valley Running Scene about being patient when you come back.  I wish I could be that way.  I know what my comebacks have been in the past and I'm trying to push this one even more.  Hopefully, I don't go over the edge.  There's really no reason for me to trying to PR in everything in less than a year, trying to get up to 80 miles in my peak week and trying to break 3 hours in the marathon.  It's kind of tough for me to not push though because with my health situation, I just don't know if I'll ever have problems again.  Whenever I'm feeling healthy and not having Crohn's related issues, I have to take advantage.

Tomorrow, I am going to run 10 miles.  The first 4 will be alone, unless someone else shows up at 7.  I told Mertz that I'd like to run some fast miles with him.  He suggested some splits for the 6 miles that we would do together.  The final 3 miles would be 20:30.  That would be a great challenge, since that's about my 5K ability right now.  That is what I'm looking for.  I'll just have to see what my body feels like after today's run though.  Maybe that will be too much.  Tomorrow morning, I'll decide what I can handle.

2 miles - 19:55 (9:58 pace)

Fast Paced Group Run

The Lights in the Parkway will be starting soon.  Since our LVRR Group Run attendance has been low and there were trees down the Parkway last week, we decided we would move the run.  We figured a better lit area would work.  We decided to move the run to SteelStacks near in the old Bethlehem Steel complex.

Akshay was planning to come, but I still figured that we wouldn’t have anyone else show up.  Not surprisingly, only one person, Jerry showed up.  He has never run with the group before.  He said he runs with a group on Wednesday nights and they do trivia at the BrewWorks afterward.  That sounds like fun.  He lives in nearby Hellertown.  I'm hoping that we can get more Bethlehem people out to run now that we have moved it.

I’d like to think that the unseasonable cold weather was the reason for the low turnout, but I’m sure it will just be that way all winter regardless.  This does look like it will be a great area to run around.

I scouted it out earlier in the day.  I originally thought that we could run to the Fahy Bridge then head right on Market Street and wind up going over the Minsi Trail Bridge for a nice loop.  It turned out that that route was only about 3 miles.  I decided we would add to it by heading left at the Fahy Bridge, then coming up through Main Street and run through downtown Bethlehem to Broad Street.  Then we would go to the Minsi Trail Bridge and back to the start.  This worked out well.

It was cold in the steel area.  I was probably overdressed with my fleece vest on, but I wasn’t sure of the pace.  We took off and it was a good start because they began adding some Christmas lights in the area.  I’m sure it will be very festive when they all are turned on in a few weeks.

I’m used to starting off slow when I run alone.  Today, we started off quick.  It took me a little time to get used to the pace.  Jerry pulled ahead, but I caught up and started chatting with him.  Although, I ran a significantly faster half marathon that he did, our 5K times seem pretty similar right now.  He actually ran the hat trick at the Runner’s World event.  Akshay was right with us too.  In fact, he pulled ahead through a lot of the early part of the run.

Getting to the Fahy Bridge was great.  It was well lit, the sidewalks were paved instead of concrete and there was little traffic.  The bridge was nice and peaceful.  Things got a little hairy as we tried to cross the road on the other side of the Fahy Bridge though.  It was hard to see the cars coming off the bridge.  Eventually we got through it and headed toward the Musikfest area.  That slowed us down.  It is one reason why I don't like running in the city.  It throws things off.

It was nice to run by the old historic part of town.  Running up Main Street was great too.  It was too cold for most people to be out.  We only had to avoid a few of them.  I pushed it a bit up the hill like I usually do.  At some points early on, Akshay was leading the way.  We traded off for a while.

Crossing some of the streets was a minor nuisance.  It took a little time to get across Broad Street.  Although it seemed like we were running fast, we were slowed by waiting to these roads.

Going up Broad Street, we had to dodge a few people on the sidewalk.  One woman just froze until we passed.  A teenager running as well and we blew by him.  We saw two guys and later a girl running the other direction.

The pace was already brisk, but around this time I really pushed it.  If the run is slow, I’m usually good at keeping a decent pace and running with others.  Once the pace gets fast, like it did today, I get too competitive and keep running hard.  I didn’t want to drop Jerry, but as he hung on, I pushed him more and more.  I just worked on staying in front of him.

Broad Street was tricky.  As we got out of town, it wasn’t all that well lit.  It was quite dim.  The sidewalks were uneven.  Luckily, I run a lot up on my toes these days, so I was less likely to trip.

The beginning of Broad Street is uphill, but after that is a great downhill segment.  I really flew at this part.  I couldn’t quite see him, but I could sense Jerry right behind me.  I also saw his shadow every now and then.

With the cold air, running this hard was a little tough.  I didn’t want to take it easy though.  My legs could’ve probably used some more recovery from the half marathon, but I wouldn’t allow it.  I wanted to take advantage of having someone fast to go with.

I sort of figured that Jerry probably wouldn’t stay with me going up the Minsi Trail Bridge.  I knew the pace was fast and we already lost Akshay on Broad Street.  On the bridge, Jerry did fall back, but not completely off.  As I was climbing, I finished mile 3 and saw that I had just run that mile at 6:56.  Since I couldn’t see my watch in the darkness, I didn’t realize we were going quite that fast.  No wonder the other two fell back a bit.  

I cruised a little bit more after that.  I wasn’t looking to run quite that hard.  Jerry caught up to me on the downhill of the bridge.  He followed me in as well looped around the steel.  We followed the Runner’s World finishing area.  I like to finish strong, so I picked it up once again near the end.  Jerry dropped back a little, but he finished just a few steps behind me.  It was a little over 4 miles.  Normally, I would’ve done a short out and back to get to 5 miles.  At this hard pace, that was enough running for today.

The run was small in numbers, but it was a great run.  That’s a nice area to run around.  I enjoyed it during the Runner’s World events and I enjoyed it tonight.  Maybe word will get around and we’ll pick up interest.  If not, I’ll still enjoy running there over the winter.  It will be especially cool during Christmas.  I hope Jerry will at least show up, so I have someone fast to run with.

The insole has helped my foot.  I am no longer sore there.  My quads, however, are still a pain.  I’m going to try some strengthening exercises.  The problem just doesn’t seem to be going away.  I think it might be due to me running more on my forefoot lately.  Walking up steps at home after the run, my left Achilles started to bother me.  I iced it and it feels okay now, but I’ll have to keep an eye on it.

Tomorrow will be another easy day.  I’m thinking only a 4 mile run.  I would like to run up a hill, so I might go to South Mountain.  That probably depends on how my Achilles feels and whether I can handle a climb.  I’ll just have to wait and see.

4.15 miles -32:17 (7:47 pace)

Winter Already?

It is barely November, but winter is raring its ugly head already.  A winter storm is on the way today.  It was freezing when I went out for my run.  Originally, I was going to run in the morning, but it looked like the storm was going to hit within the hour.  I figured that I'd wait until the evening, when it was really snowing.  At least that might be fun.  By mid afternoon, it still wasn't snowing yet.  I figured I might as well just get out there.

The plan was for an 8 miler.  I haven't been to the Ironton Rail Trail for awhile, so I decided to head there.  I couldn't decide what to wear as it was quite cold when I was standing in the parking lot.  At first, I went with a lighter weight orange long sleeve shirt.  I was quite chilly with that though, so I switched to a ColdGear shirt.  I left my gloves in my fleece vest yesterday, so all I could use was a headband to cover my ears.  I still had on shorts too.  It was in the upper 30s.  Not cold enough for long pants yet.

In the parking lot, another runner commented on my Mizuno shoes.  He had the same pair on.  He said he got his at the Finish Line.  If he was still around when I was done, I would've chatted with him about the store, since I know quite a few people there.  However, he had left.

The start was great because it was downhill.  My legs were awkward as usual.  After a third of a mile, they warmed up.  I can't believe that my quads didn't recover at all with all of the rest in the last two weeks.

I went off the main trail and onto the spur trail.  I thought I'd get about 2 miles on there and then do the main loop once.  Instead, I turned around early on.  It was just too windy.  I went the other direction and it was much better.

Without my gloves, my hands were quite cold.  My left hand was the worst and I often had to put my hand in my pocket.  After awhile, it warmed up.

I was actually quite warm in the beginning otherwise.  I cruised downhill.  I didn't feel all that great though.  My legs continued to be sore.  My miles were almost the same pace as yesterday.  I started off around 9 minutes and continued to drop the pace into the low 8s.

I haven't run this trail in the fall before.  With most of the leaves gone, I could see a lot more.  At one point, there was busy road next to the trail.  I think it was Route 145.  I'm not sure.  There was also a lot of work next to the trail.  I think part of it was a nature trail.  In the first mile, I saw a Sheetz and Dunkin Donuts.  Not exactly a good thing that early on when it is freezing.

Most of the run was uneventful.  I saw a walker here and there.  As I was a couple miles in, it got very cold.  It was windy when I was running near the Lehigh River.  It was more brutal than the race on Sunday.  It also began to snow.  I'm glad that didn't last long.  Earlier, I thought I might be wearing too much.  Now, I was glad that I had on what I did.

Even though I knew the end of the loop was uphill, I was looking forward to it.  I also knew I'd be out of the wind at that point.  I didn't feel great and the first half of the run seemed like it dragged on forever.  The second half of the run was much faster.  The one good thing is that I didn't look at my watch too often throughout the run.

I pushed on during the climb.  I was happy when I got back to the start.  I knew I'd at least go to mile 6.  That was only half a mile away.  I was still determined to get 2 more miles in.  At this point, it was back downhill.  It was also much warmer than down near the river.  I continued on out until I hit mile 6.8.

I then turned around and headed back.  I knew this would be somewhat tough because it was back uphill.  When I got to the final mile, I just decided to push fairly hard.  It wasn't all out, but much faster than before.  Even going uphill, the pace was brisk.  The overall pace dropped and dropped.  After most of the miles being run around 8:15, I ran this final one at 7:30.  It was good to do that because I want to finish runs better.  I struggled to finish the half marathon strong.  Some of that was the wind, but regardless, I probably would've slipped some.

I was so glad to be done with this run.  It was such a raw day.  I don't mind running in the winter, but that is when I am acclimated to it.  Now, the temperatures have dropped dramatically in a short period of time.  It is closer to mid winter weather than it is early November.  In the end, I was glad I battled through it.  Runs like this throughout the harsh winter will make me even stronger come spring.

I think all my running this week will be at an easy pace.  Tomorrow will be the LVRR Thursday night group run.  Since the trail was blocked with trees last week and Lights in the Parkway will be kicking us out soon anyway, I decided to move the run.  We'll now run in the Bethlehem Steel complex.  That is more well lit.  We can run around the complex, on the South Side of Bethlehem and even through downtown Bethlehem.  It is better than the dark and lonely Parkway.  Almost no one is showing up for runs there anyway.  Maybe a change of scenery would help.  I look forward to seeing what happens.  I have some ideas for loops, but I'm not completely sure.

8 miles - 1:06:17 (8:17 pace)

Half Marathon Recovery Run

I was quite sore on Sunday after the half marathon.  I didn't stretch afterward, so that probably didn't help.  I was still sore yesterday, so I took off.  I felt go today, so I wanted to get back to work.

The plan was for 6 easy miles.  Now that I figured out that I can run with an insole in my shoe, I'm going to start building back up.  This week my mileage should be somewhere in the 40s. 

After my half marathon was over, I signed up for the Run for the Diamonds race on Thanksgiving Day in Berwick.  I held off on signing up for it because my foot was bothering me.  I signed up last year too and missed it because of health problems.  I didn't want to do that again.

Run for the Diamonds is still my favorite race of all time.  The only time I ran it was back in 1999.  I struggled so bad going up the big hill.  I had side stickers.  However, I battled through it and flew downhill.  Amazingly, I ran the 9 miles in a 61 something.  Since I haven't trained much on hills, I don't have a real goal for the race.  I'd like to break 63 minutes, but we'll just have to see how it plays out.

Anyway, back to today's run.  I haven't run on the Saucon Rail Trail in awhile, so I decided to do that.  This time though, I thought I would run from the other end of the trail.  I was at DeSales University for a cross country meet a couple weeks ago and the trail ends right next to there.  I've run most of the trail, but never this end of it.

There is a nice park there.  It has a football fields, baseball fields and most importantly a heated bathroom.  That was excellent since the temperature wasn't quite into the 40s yet when I started.  Of course, I also didn't want to leave the warmth of the bathroom either.

I wasn't sure what to wear.  I wore a long sleeve tech shirt from the Philadelphia Marathon.  Since I wasn't running hard, I figured I could wear more.  I decided to put on the fleece vest that I bought last year too.  I haven't worn it to run yet and wanted to test it out.  It is made by Columbia.  Some guy started just before me in just a T-shirt and shorts.  I wasn't that crazy, although I still stuck with the shorts.

Another reason that I didn't want to wear too little was that I didn't actually know where the trail started out.  Turns out that it was just a short walk from the park.  It leaves the park with a paved uphill.  I didn't want to start uphill, so I walked until it flattened out.  That didn't take too long.

 As usual, I started out a bit sluggish.  That's especially not surprising after the hard half marathon a two days ago.  My quads were sore again.  I guess that's just going to be a regular thing for awhile.  The zippers on the pockets of my vest rattled.  That was annoying and I guess I'll have to tape them in the future.

The first mile was sure tough.  It took at least a half mile before my legs came in at all.  The quads felt better after that, but my right hamstring was definitely still quite sore.  I plugged along though.  I decided at that point that I would be cutting this run short.  I figured I would go to 4 miles (2 miles out and 2 miles back).

The first mile was tough.  I was on the Upper Saucon Township part of the trail.  This whole trail is beautiful.  There are lots of amazing houses, a wonderful golf course and a creek too.  It is definitely more scenic than a lot of the trails through cornfields.  There was a huge pile of trees near the golf course.  I assume it was all the trees knocked down during the storm throughout the township.

Speaking of trees down, there were two of them down in the Upper Saucon portion of the trail.  The second one nearly blocked the whole trail, but there was just enough room for one person to get under/around it.  I guess they cleared some of it away.  I assume this part of the trail isn't maintained that much.  There are some "No Winter Maintenance" signs.  I'll have to keep that in mind when it snows and I am looking for somewhere to run.

I looked at my overall pace as I approached the 2nd mile and I noticed that it was dropping fast.  It was around an 8:37 and my 1st mile was 8:53.  That meant this mile was quite fast.  It ended up being an 8:20.  Fairly good speed and I wasn't working hard at all either.

Since I was feeling much better, I decided to run another half mile.  That would get me to 5 miles for the run.  Not quite the original plan, but good enough.  This last half mile before turning around felt easy.  Oddly, going this direction, I didn't recognize a thing.  I knew that I must've run this far down from the other direction.  Then I saw a parking area that I was familiar.  Shortly after that, I turned around.  Things looked much more recognizable in this direction.

I quickly found out why going out seemed easy.  Coming back started off very tough.  It wasn't a steep uphill, but I was definitely climbing slightly.  You can sure feel the difference.  Suddenly I had to work a little hard.  The 3rd mile slowed back down to 8:29.

I got distracted for a bit by two deer.  They came from the golf course and jumped over a fence that was probably around 7 foot high with barbed wire over the top.  I didn't see them jump it clearly, but I caught it out of the corner of my eye.  It was impressive.  The one deer was definitely a buck with some nice antlers.  I didn't get a chance to count the points as it ran off along the trail.  It was probably the biggest deer I've seen while running.

After that encounter, it was back to running.  I think the trail flattened out more.  I definitely felt better and I flew through these final 2 miles.  I wasn't putting out any more effort either.  I'm sure closing quickly on the guy that started before me was a factor too.  I was really catching him, but couldn't quite do it before the 5 mile point.  In another minute, I would've blown right by him.  I wasn't actually trying to get by him or I could've just sprinted right past him.  I wanted to reel him in though.

I was finally at the 5 mile point and the finish.  I finished much faster than I started.  I ran the last 2 miles in 8:10 and then 8:05.  I felt good and didn't work too hard.  It was a perfect recovery run.  The vest worked out fairly well.  It definitely kept my core warm.  It wasn't necessary today, but it will be a big help over the winter.  I might not have to wear my ColdGear as often.

As I was stretching in the parking lot, a cute girl ran by.  I was a little disappointed that I didn't see any more of them running on the trail.  It was right next to a college.  That's one thing I sure do miss about Philly.  So many attractive woman on the trail.  It can be quite motivating and cause you to run faster too.

Today was a solid run and good to get back into things.  I'm sort of glad that I just missed my half marathon goal.  That just makes me hungrier and hungrier.  I'm chomping at the bit to get faster and faster.  I set another lofty goal of running a spring marathon under 3 hours.  I am definitely going to need help from my fast friends to do that.  I think it is realistic though.  Right now, I project as a 3:18 marathon.  That's a full 6 months to drop around 20 minutes off.  Even if I fail at that, I should be able to get a 3:05, which would put me into Boston.

5 miles - 41:59 (8:24 pace)

D&L Half Marathon

Today was the big day.  Ever since I ran the Quadzilla Trail Race in midsummer, I started focusing on the D&L Half Marathon.  When I made my first comeback in 2009, I ran a marathon within the 6 or 7 month time frame.  That was just too quickly.  This year, I decided I would just focus on a fall half marathon.  This was close and much cheaper than the Runner’s World Half Marathon, so I chose this race.

I spend a lot of time training on the course, often running mile repeats from Cementon north and back.  I was shooting for a 7 minute pace.  Sometimes, I hit that goal on my repeats, other times I didn’t.  I felt like I could be fairly close to that or at least my half PR time of 1:33:11.

My parents were driving along the course.  Because of that, I had them park in the town of Northampton.  I didn’t want them to get caught in the start area.  I didn’t realize how far it was to the starting line though.  I had quite a little jog to do to get there.  It did make for a nice warmup.  I had to check in at the start, but then needed to run back to the car to get all my clothes on.  By then, it was getting close to start time.

I was struggling with what to wear.  I was originally planning on just the LVRR singlet and arm sleeves.  The temperature was in the upper 30s though, so I was unsure.  I also knew it would be quite windy along the river.  When I warmed up with a long sleeve tech shirt, it just seemed like too much.  I went with my original gear.  That worked out well.

This is a small race.  I knew that last year 15^th place overall was right around my PR.  Therefore, I elected to line up in the front row at the start.  Few people seemed to really want to line up there.  It was a good spot for me.

We took off and I was somewhere in the Top 15 or 20.  When I was warming up, I had trouble with my compression shorts.  They kept falling down my behind.  Not completely down or anything, but just a little.  I’ve run in these shorts a lot and that never happened before.  I would pull them up and tried tightening them, but I had to do that several times.  Eventually I somehow fixed the problem.  It took over a mile into the race to do that though.

The beginning of the race felt easy, but I looked at my watch and the pace was just too fast.  It was 6:27 at a third of a mile into the race.  I knew I had to slow down and I did just that.  One of my calf sleeves fell down around this point as well.  I came through the first mile at a solid 6:53.  A little fast, but the first mile is always too fast.

A few people passed me around this point.  One of them was the 2^nd place woman.  I was so far in the front that I had a pretty good idea of where I was at.  I could see the 1^st place woman up ahead and even the overall leader for a while.  I ended up passing one of the guys that passed me.  Not sure why he was going so fast so soon.

Before the 2^nd mile, we were running on the street, but along the east side of the Lehigh River.  The wind was already brutal and I could tell that it would be in our faces for most of the run.  It definitely slowed me down as I came through that mile at 7:21.

We ran over the bridge and I saw my parents by the Cementon Trailhead.  I was so glad they made it over the bridge before we came through.  Otherwise, they would’ve been stuck in traffic, waiting for both us and the full marathoners.  That race started 10 minutes later.

Getting onto the main trail was great.  I’m so used to running on that surface.  It is better than the roads.  It was also familiar territory.  After a slow 2^nd mile, I knew I had to pick it up.  I was still passed by a runner here or there.  One of them was an older guy without a shirt on.  That was a little crazy.  A lot of people were overdressed, but I think this guy was definitely underdressed. 

In the 3^rd mile, I started getting into a groove.  At this point, I was just over my secondary goal pace of 7:06 pace.  Early on, I pretty much scrapped my hopes of breaking my top goal of a 7 minute pace.  Running into the headwind was just too much.  It was so brutal.

We got to the first water stop.  I decided to take some Gatorade.  It was terrible.  I don’t know if they didn’t mix it right or not.  It tasted way too strong, almost like it was spiked.  From there on out, I just took water.

I just continued to cruise along.  One of my biggest fears was that I would be running most of the race alone.  While I was never right near anyone, there were always a few people just up ahead.  I could see the 2^nd place woman for almost the whole race and John Page from the Lehigh Valley Road Runners.  I don’t actually know John, but he is so tall that he is hard to miss.

Within the next 5K or so, I passed a couple runners.  As a whole in the race I probably passed more people than passed me.  It’s tough to say.  The guys I had passed in this section were breathing hard.  I was thinking, how are they going to run for another 10K plus.

I figured that my family would be at the Cove Road Trailhead.  They were there and I got a gel from my mom.  It was good to see them, especially since there weren’t many people along the course.  I am grateful for everyone that came out to cheer.  Being on a rail trail, it was mostly just us runners.  There was a guy with a bunch of sponsorship signs by his property.  I think he had a couple beers too.

Cove Road is right around the halfway point.  At this point, my overall pace was about a 7:09 or so.  I figured that I could pick it up at the end and set a PR.  After the trailhead, the path hits the only true hill of the course.  The whole course is gradually uphill though.

I do love hills.  Most people stay the same at hills or back off.  I do the opposite.  I push a little more.  This was one of my better miles.  I came through it at 7:05.  My overall pace dropped a little.

Between Cove Rove and Slatington, there wasn’t much but mile after mile of trail.  There is an occasional house.  They are sure interesting places in the middle of the woods.  Somehow I don’t even remember running by the one weird house that I usually go past.  Obviously I did.

My time through 10K was within a mile of my 10K PR from October.  I didn’t push too hard in that race, so I didn’t think I was going too fast.  I didn’t feel great at this point, but I kept plugging along.  The brutal headwind just seemed neverending.

It was strange whenever we hit a part of the river that was calm.  All of a sudden, I wasn’t working so hard and I felt so much faster.  That never lasted long though.  I’d have to think that the wind was causing me to run somewhere between 5-10 seconds per mile slower than I would have otherwise.  I wasn’t cold even with the wind.  I did feel some chafing around my armpit though.  That started bothering me with about 5 miles to go.

When my mom handed me my gel, it was around mile 6.  That was too early to take the gel, so I held onto it for a while.  At mile 8, I finally took it.  It was a Strawberry Banana GU.  That wasn’t the greatest tasting thing.  I had to keep it in my mouth for some time before swallowing it.  A mile later, I took my final drink of water to wash it down.

Originally the plan was to run hard for the final 4 or 5 miles.  With how much the wind was bothering me, I readjusted it to 2 miles.  I knew I had to be smarter and make an adjustment on the fly.

The shirtless guy and another guy were running together through this stretch.  The other guy eventually took off.  I could tell that the shirtless guy was falling off a little.  I was creeping up on him as we approached Slantington.

We went through the last water stop and the shirtless guy stopped and I didn’t.  I passed him right there.  I figured that would be a great spot to make my move.  With how much he was slipping, I knew he couldn’t respond.  We had to run through the parking lot at this spot and that was tough because the stones were bigger.  It really threw off the rhythm.  

After going over the road and back onto the trail, I sort of glanced back.  I could tell that the shirtless guy was still there.  I was so dead at this point, but I knew I had to try to shake him.  I decided that I would make a short surge just to break him.  It worked as I opened up more of a gap.  A classic running move and great practice for the future.

Even though I hoped to pick it up in the final 2 miles, I just didn’t have it in me.  I didn’t feel like I ran too hard, but I had to work so much against the wind.  I guess it finally took its toll.  I was falling apart.  I made sure to really just keep pushing myself.

The whole run was windy, but it got even worse as we approached the Lehigh Gap.  It was like I was running in place.  At this point, I was just looking forward to finishing.  I was around a 7:10 and knew I now had no chance at setting a PR.  Every tenth of a mile seemed like it took forever.

Within the final half mile or more, I could actually see the finish way up ahead.  I could see woman’s 2^nd place and some others up ahead of me.  I could also see the crowd watching the race.  It looked so far away and I felt like I might never get there.

I knew I had to keep giving a lot because I could sense some people coming from behind.  I knew they weren’t close enough unless I really fell apart.  I think it was the 3^rd place woman approaching me.  I think she might’ve got by the shirtless guy.  I’m not sure because I didn't completely turn around.

Right near the finish, I saw Jennie from the BCR and also high school.  It was good to have her volunteering and cheering me on.  She's had some injury problems and is working her way back now.

I kept going and pushed hard through the finish.  It wasn’t my usual sprint finish.  I just didn’t have anything left.  I came through with a 1:34:29.  Considering the conditions, I was happy with my time.  Sometimes you just have to accept that it isn’t your day.

I was proud of myself because I didn’t completely quit or back off.  My times slipped, but it wasn’t because I ran any easier.  I would’ve liked to have really tested myself and just pushed even harder at the end.  I’ve never really done that.  I haven’t tried to go beyond my limit.  Without the wind, I might have tried to give a little more.  I thought about my health problems when I thought about relaxing and backing off.  I couldn’t get myself to do that.  It didn’t help me push ahead, but at least I didn’t go easy either.

My dad forgot my sweatshirt in the car, so I was cold for a bit after the finish.  He did give me his shirt at least.  Then he went back to the car.  I waited around at the finish.  I wanted to get some pictures of my friends finishing.  I missed Shayne until was right next to me.  By then, it was too late for a picture.  I got plenty of pictures of Tom and Angie pacing.  I also got some photos of April too.  I was hoping to wait around until Mel came through with the marathon runners, but it was just too cold.  I wanted to get some soup after that, but it was too crowded in the tent.  I guess I should’ve grabbed some when I was initially in there right after I finished.

I would’ve liked to have run a better clock time, but all in all, I’m happy with my race.  I don’t really see anywhere where I could’ve run much better given the conditions.  I knew I could run hard for about 8 or 9 miles and that’s what I did.  I probably need to work on some faster longer runs because I did slip in the final 5 miles.  I need to be pushing on at that point, not fading away.  

Six and a half months ago, I was running my first mile after surgery.  That was a 10:09 mile.  Now, just a short time later, I’m up to running a half marathon at 1:34:29.  In my first comeback in 2009, I started about the same time of year.  That year, I ran a half in early October at a 1:41.  It took me until March of the following year to run my 1:33:11 PR.  Now, it is early November and I’m already on the heels of that.  I’m making amazing progress.

This wasn't a bad race, but with the wind, I'm not sure I'll run it again.  It would be so much better if we ran in the other direction.  We'd have the wind at our back and it would be downhill.  Of course we wouldn't have the cool finish area between the gap, but oh well.

Perhaps the greatest thing about today was my foot.  I have only run once this week and little the week before.  My foot was bothering me every time I landed.  I put an insole in today and ran with it and had no problems.  It worked great for keeping the pressure off the ball of my foot.  When I tried it earlier in the week, it got all wrinkled and was uncomfortable.  Today, that wasn’t a problem.  I accidentally wore it upside down.  That worked out.  Now, I can run with it.  I won’t have to take time off and bike.  As long as the foot isn’t sore, I’ll keep going.  I’m also going to sign up for the Run for the Diamonds Race now.  It is a tough 9 miler in Berwick on Thanksgiving Day.  It is my favorite race ever.  I can’t wait!

Officially

13.1 miles – 1:34:29 (7:13 pace)

A Busy Day

With my foot bothering me, I haven't run all week.  Yesterday, I wanted to check out the D&L Half Marathon course, so I went out and rode my bike.  I started the Cementon Trailhead and ended up riding over 9 miles to the Slatington Trailhead.  I then rode back and it took me 1 hour and 40 minutes.  After Hurricane Sandy went through, the trail was in surprisingly good shape.  There were a lot of twigs, but not much else.

I saw the D&L folks asked for some help to clear the course.  I met up with them in Slatington this morning.  I thought I'd end up raking and picking up twigs.  Instead, I spent over 4 hours filling in some of the washed away sections with stone.  It was tough because I don't work my upper body at all and I had to do a lot of shoveling.  I'm sure I'll be sore tomorrow.

I was also working to get some pacers for the race.  One of the pacers from the Runner's World Half was looking for pacers for the D&L.  I managed to get Angie and Tom to do it.  I wish I could've got some more people though.

Evening finally rolled around and it was time for the weekly LVRR Group Run.  A guy named Karl asked earlier in the day if the run was still on.  I said yes, but wasn't sure if he would show.  I saw a car, the same make and model as mine, driving around, but they didn't park.  A couple minutes later they came back and this time I got out of my car.  It was Karl and his girlfriend Chelsea.

I almost left before they showed up.  It was close to 6:10 and no one else showed.  I was prepared to just call it a night and not run.  I was glad to have some company though.

I wanted to test out the sore foot anyway.  We started off heading east.  That was good because it was nice and flat and there was plenty of light.  That wouldn't last.

Chelsea ran beside me and Karl was behind me.  We chatted about plenty, including the Runner's World race.  Time flew by.

It wouldn't take too long before we were slowed down.  There were some trees along the trail.  The storm knocked them out everywhere.  We had to stop and climb over a lot of them.

Shortly after the bridge by the Clubhouse, we came across two runners going the other direction with headlamps on.  I decided at that point to put my headlamp on.  Not just to see, but I also wanted to make sure we were visible to others.

I haven't used the headlamp yet this year, but today it was an absolute must.  We would've run into downed tree after tree or tripped over branch after branch.  There were a lot of trees down.  Luckily, we managed to navigate around them.  We obviously weren't the first ones to run the loop.

The trees were such a problem that we ended up off the trail right before the Fish Hatchery climb.  I think a tree was blocking the trail.  Even with the headlamp, I couldn't see too well.  We ran through the grass and got back on the trail.

As usual, I climbed up the hill pretty well.  Karl and Chelsea were back behind me.  We had to go around a few more trees.  I made sure to shine my headlamp back to them so that they could see.

After the Fish Hatchery, things cleared up.  There were trees for the next half mile or so.  It was nice and clear and flat.  We cruised along.

The final three hills weren't too bad.  There were still some trees, but we got by them quicker than earlier.  Our pace was decent when we could run.  We just had to slow down or stop a lot.  The final mile was a solid 8:28.  We finished up at 5 miles.

My foot still isn't right.  It was bothering me, so I didn't run with good form.  It was sore after the run.  I guess staying off it a few days didn't help.  I'm not sure how it will impact my race.  It is just uncomfortable, not painful.  I can definitely run 13.1 miles and I can run them fast.  I'm just not sure I can run as fast as I would like.  I'm certainly not going into the race at 100%.  I will give it my all anyway.

I might try using an insole.  I got one that seemed to help with walking.  I put it in to run tonight, but it was uncomfortable.  I took it out then.  I might have to test it out on a short run tomorrow.  That could make a huge difference.  If I felt like I could put a lot of pressure on my foot without feeling anything, I'd do fine.  I'm surprised that my quads are still sore too.  I thought rest would help them.  Maybe my running form threw it off

Whether I run tomorrow or not, I can't wait for the race.  The course is pretty good and the weather appears to be outstanding.  I'm definitely shooting for a PR.  Other than my foot problem, everything is good.  Sunday can't get here fast enough.

5 miles - 44:40 (8:56 pace)

Keeping Myself in Check

Today is the usual weekly run with the BCR.  Earlier in the week, Flo asked if anyone would run with her on Saturday.  She got a lot of responses.  She was doing a 20 miler and the others were just planning on running shorter distances.  They were going to meet her at 7 AM and she was starting at 6 AM.

I figured that I'd give her some company at 6 AM for the beginning of her run.  I was excited to run a fairly fast pace too.  I was hoping for 12 miles this week before my half marathon next week.  Something in the range of 7:30-7:45 would be nice.

We started so early that it was nearly pitch black.  We ran without headlamps though.  I've done that before here on the Nor-Bath Trail, so it wasn't too big of a deal.  We just needed to adjust our eyes.

It is late October, but it was surprisingly warm today.  I ran with just a short sleeve shirt and shorts and I took my shirt off part way through the run.  I guess I shouldn't say it was warm, but it was humid.  Before the run, I knew I was dehydrated.  I didn't drink enough overnight.  That made this outing tough.

Flo and I cruised along.  The first mile was slow by our standards.  We couldn't go too fast anyway since we couldn't see the trail up ahead.  Things picked up as it got lighter.  We chatted about running and other things.  That combined with the fact that I couldn't see my watch made time fly.

I was glad I could give her company and watch out for her.  At one point, she almost ran into a gate at a road crossing.  Before we turned around, she went into a parking lot rather than staying on the trail.  Luckily, I run this trail a lot, so I know where I'm going, even in the dark.

With the humidity, the pace was a bit of a challenge early on.  I was definitely struggling some with my breathing.  Flo was having no trouble.  With the fast pace, I was running up on my toes.  My foot felt good when I did that.  I had no issues there.

We went out to a road crossing about a quarter mile before hitting the 4 mile mark.  That was a good start.  We needed to get back in time for Flo to meet up with Mel and anyone else that showed up to run.

I didn't think I could run on my toes the whole time, so I ran more with a midfoot strike the mile or so before we turned around.  That started to bother me.  I could feel each impact.  It isn't pain, but rather just some minor soreness.  It does get annoying though.

After we turned around, I told Flo that I wasn't feeling great and she could take off.  I don't know what it was, but even without the foot issue, I just didn't feel strong.  Flo said she was fine with the pace.  Before I knew it, she was long gone though.  Later on, she said she felt great today.

When we ran a couple weeks ago, she was ahead of me, but I managed to hang on.  I wasn't too far back of her then.  The problem today was that once she was just a little bit ahead of me, I couldn't see her any more in the dark.  At one point, I could see her watch light up way ahead.

With her gone, I backed off the pace.  I ran over 8 minute miles for the rest of the run.  I actually couldn't wait for the run to be over.  Not so much because my foot was bothering me that much, but because I didn't feel as though I was accomplishing much.  This run sort of ended up being like a reverse progression run.  It was faster in the beginning and slower at the end.

I figured that when I got back to the start, I'd be around 7.5 miles.  I like round numbers, so I decided that I would run 8 miles before quitting.  Running the extra 4 miles wasn't going to accomplish anything.  I'm already well trained for next week's race.  Doing more is only going to hurt me, not help me.

When I returned to the start of the trail, I did a short out and back.  I saw April starting her run as I was turning around.  I passed them on my way back in.  I also saw Flo, Mel and Angie starting up.  I was glad just to be done.

The only problem with starting this early was that I had to wait around before breakfast.  I chatted with the main group before they started up at 7:30.  Then I walked on the trail for about 15 minutes.  Without running, it was actually cold out and I didn't have a jacket.  I went back to my car to get warm and then I got some more water too.

It wasn't too long before some people were back from there run.  Then the whole group gathered.  There were a lot of people that were either new or that I had never met before.  It was fun to chat with them.  That continued on to breakfast.  We talked about a lot of things. 

One of the interesting items was Dave's new run.  It will be a 4.4 mile loop that begins each hour.  You have to complete a loop within the hour and then you run another one the next hour.  This keeps going until everyone quits.  It sounds like fun, but it also sounds like something I might get myself hurt doing.  I don't know if I want to participate or not.  When I do things like this, I do them all or nothing.  We'll see what happens between now and early December.

I'm definitely not happy with my foot.  I'll take even more rest this week.  I need to try as much as I can to be 100% for the race.  Otherwise, getting a PR will be tough.  I'm not sure that I'll run more than twice this week.  Better safe than sorry.

The good thing about my foot is that it isn't too painful at this point.  I feel as though I could tune it out come race day.  I just hope it is healed by then.  I know I can run the 13.1 miles on it.  It is just a matter of how fast I can go.  I was hoping to run in my lightweight shoes.  That is all that I've done my speedwork in.  Those are also the shoes that I was wearing when I hurt myself.  Therefore, I'm going to play it safe and wear my regular shoes.  That may end up costing me a few seconds each mile.

Since I'm beat up, I really have no idea when I'm going to run next.  I definitely want to get a few miles in this week.  For sure, I'll lead the group run on Thursday evening.  We have a hurricane coming through on Monday and Tuesday and running through that sounds like fun too.  Maybe I'll be smart about it and pass on running those days.

8 miles - 1:04:22 (8:03 pace)