10/30/04 - Saturday

Saturday - Cloudy, drizzle, mid 50's, humid. 4 miles. Things are winding down 1 week to race day. Today was 4 pain free miles around Windridge.. yes pain free! Doesn't mean anything in the long run (pun intended) but it's certainly nice for a change. Cool and crappy out today, not my favorite to run in, but on the bright side since I was not properly hydrated I was able to do it with out cramping.

10/27/04 - Wednesday

Wednesday - Sunny, mid 50's, 3:15pm. 3.1 miles. After taking a few days off for my achilles I had a nice 5K run today. No pain that I can tell and kept a comfortable 9:30/mile pace. Went around the neighborhood, it was nice to run with some semblance of warmth for a change.. I do love running in the sun. Keeping all runs under 5 from here to race day, hopefully that'll give my achilles a break and get me thru the marathon mostly pain free.

10/23/04 - Saturday

Saturday - Overcast, cool, breezy. 13 miles. 1:00pm. This is the last of the significant long distance runs, THANK GOD! This run was actually more difficult mentally and physically than last weeks 20 miler. I started off on the track at the high school and quickly became pretty bored by the monotony... I then when out into the surrounding neighborhoods. Everything from there was down hill meaning the return trip would be mostly up hill, not something that I was looking forward to. I unfortunately made a right hand turn and headed up a never ending hill. My achilles began bothering me around 5 miles, same as last week. That was about he time I started up hill..for 2 MILES! It was a curvy road and I really thought it would crest, it took a long time. When I ended back at the high school, I was short by about 4 miles, it was not a lot of fun, between the ache and having to finish on the track it was a little like torture. The next 2 weeks I will not run more than 5 miles at a time and spend the rest trying to figure out how to get thru with my achilles. Thankfully soon I will not have to write nor will anybody have to read about my tedious list of injuries. I am still praying for a sunny and warmer (not hot) than normal day out on race day, for if I don't enjoy the race I will at least enjoy the weather.

10/20/04 - Wenesday

Wednesday - Overcast , cool, mid 50's. 4:00pm. 3 miles. Short run, nothing to report. No achilles pain which is good but really doesn't mean anything unless I am pain free after 5 miles or more. Really feeling the laziness coming on and look forward to race day.. nothing more to be gained or lost from here on in anyway.

10/16/04 - Saturday

Saturday - Overcast, windy, in the mid 50's. 12:10pm. 20 miles! So this was the big one, the one that would tell me if I even have a shot at 26.2. Happy to report it was pretty good and have confidence if all things are equal on race day I will complete the Marathon in my goal time. I seemed to have fueled up pretty well, I had oatmeal with honey and almonds, and OJ. Before I headed out to Rockland Lake I had a banana water and more OJ. I met Jerome there, and it made a big difference mentally running with someone for that long of a time. We looped around the lake for the first 4 miles and went around the ring road the second time. I also went up the golf course road which was a pretty steep grade (5%) Jerome asked if I was trying to kill him. At the 5 mile mark my Achilles started barking (that's for you Anthony). This of course did not make me happy since I still had 15 miles to go. On the north side of the lake we merged back onto the loop. When we got back to the South side we re-fueled at the car at that point we were at 8.75 miles. So far our pace fell between 11:00-12:00/mile. At the 10 mile mark we walked for a mile, which in hindsight was not the greatest of ideas, when it was time to start running again, it really hurt my knees. It felt like I was running bone on bone at my knees. We stuck to the 4 mile loop, and at the 16 mile mark I passed a milestone on distance ran. At 16.25 We stopped to refuel again and I had a banana and some Hammer Gel. With a little over a mile to go, Jerome wanted to walk and I continued on.. my pace was up to 8:30/mile and the last .1 I sprinted up to a 6:30 pace. I was pleased to have so much energy left. My Achilles was still hurtin, but it didn't hurt any more at 20 than it did at 5! So I learned that I can run through the nagging pain and I can fuel myself properly as so not to hit the wall! week to race day..cannot wait.
Side note: Karen was there for me immediately after the run with bagels and juice... I am truly blessed!

10/13/04 - Wednesday

Wednesday - Cloudy 60's. 3:30. 3.5 miles. Pretty tired from staying up late and watching game 1 of the ALCS (Boston 7 NYY 10). Game 2 is tonight and I should be even more tired, the combined 2 nights sleep should be around 8 hours. So not feeling all that much awake or energetic went out for a 4 mile run that turned into a 3.5 mile run. I felt pretty good considering this was a back to back run. Left heel had a little pain (it's always something new) it eased out and I kept up a 9:30/mile pace as I did yesterday too. Nothing new around the neighborhood, couple of dogs barked at me that was nice.

10/12/04 - Tuesday

Tuesday - Sunny (when it finally came up), low 40's. Windy. 7:45am. 5 miles. It's been a while since I ran b4 work, didn't miss it! Was a little chilly and windy this morning. I wore some Under Armour cold gear and a vest w/shorts. I warmed up pretty quickly once started but still enjoyed it more once I was in the sunlight. Everything went well, got to run past multiple school bus stops and little chittlins. The neighborhood is very busy in the morning and almost was mowed down by mothers in SUV's and minivans. Other wise a banner run. The countdown continues..3 week from Sunday!

10/7/04 - Thursday

Thursday - Sunny, mid to upper 70's. 8 miles. Today was a special day for me, I got to run with Anthony for the first 3+ miles of the 8. These are the first miles I got to run with my friend during my marathon training, being he lives in Australia it's been difficult to get any miles in with him. Running with someone made a huge difference in perceived time. The 3 miles went every quickly considering I ran at a slower pace than usual. After the 3 we walked for about 2 till he caught up with Joanne and his boy. I went on to run the 3 miles that were left in almost my 5K race pace. Felt good to open it up for a bit. All in all legs felt great!

10/6/04 - Wednesday

Wednesday - 2.25 miles. Keeping this one short just like the run. Did not drink or properly hydrate myself today. So I felt some cramping in my right calf on what was supposed to be a 3 mile jaunt. Instead of pushing it I decided to let well enough alone and just stop short of the goal. I have to run 8 tomorrow so might as well save it for then.

10/3/04 - Sunday

Sunday - Sunny, low 70's. Perfect! 16 miles. So today was another milestone in training, 5 weeks till the big day and another personal long run. Went back down to the lake, its safe scenic and as I hoped there was a lot of peeps down there so I didn't feel lonely. It was a picture perfect day out, my sweat was evaporating as quickly as it was coming out of me. The first 8 were pretty good, really wasn't struggling. Kept the run a mile walk a minute thing going. My big mistake was not properly using my energy gels. I bonked a bit at 14 then again at 15. My left Achilles was also bothering me around 13 to 14, that slowed me down since I kept having to stretch. Overall I ran the half marathon in about 2:20 and the 16 in around 3 hours. Felt pretty good, can't believe I would still have another 10+ miles to run. Can't wait.
Karen felt she dropped the ball by not being there immediately after I was done. Considering she didn't have to be involved at all by coming with me, I would not call that dropping the ball. Once again she brought bagels and OJ..That's not dropping the ball that's scoring a touchdown in my eyes!

10/1/04- Friday

Friday - Sunny, low 70's. 3 miles. Just a short run around the neighbor hood, nothing to write home or blog about. Ran a 9:18 pace, included some Fartlek (hee hee) training during it.