Week 13: An intense weekend

Today's 20 miles, following a 10 mile marathon pace day was tough. I learned today that Noble is intending to run the marathon at the pace we've been training at on our long runs. So A.) I'm probably partially killing him and B.) He's got more in him than he thinks. Hopefully not too much of A and more of B. Anyhow, we were a little low on our water, and I think plotting out a route with more than 1 water stop is a must for any other such long runs. We took several walk breaks in the last 6 miles.

The trip out seemed fine, no troubles, but the return trip was not so smooth. Both Noble and I ran out of water earlier than hoped, causing us to conserve too much. We also had the sun beating directly on us for much of those miles. Some may be amused by the white strip across my sun burned torso from where my HRM strap was.

The 10 mile pace run was smooth, and I completed it @ a quick 7:02 pace, which I now know is 15 seconds faster than the minimum pace to qualify for Boston.

distance	time	Pace	HR Avg.	HR Max
10.00	1:10:19	7:02	169	188

That is my goal, to beat the Boston Qualifying Time of 3 hours and 10 minutes (+59 secs). That's a pace of 7:15-7:17. If I reach my goal, I will consider running another marathon. If not, I will concentrate on 5k, and perhaps run a few miles at open track meets. Those are some fun races that I miss.

Tomorrow will be a day of healing...

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Week 13: On the mend

After a steady dose of R.I.C.E. (Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation) over the course of three days, I got back on the horse and 9.5 miles on Tuesday. Even the hill workout on Thursday went off without any trouble. I finished 7 intervals, the last at a 5:32 pace. Though I felt some weakness/tenderness for toward the end of the 9 miler. This weekend has a 10 mile race pace run and a 20 miler scheduled. These will be the real test of the ankle

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Week 12: Ending on a low note

ARGH!!

Everything was going great this week:

After my Garmin died at the end of week 11, I sent it to Garmin who promptly sent me a new unit which arrived Thursday evening.

My Brooks order arrived Thursday before my track workout, loaded with 2 pairs of trainers (Adrenaline 9), a pair of racing flats (Racer ST 4), a singlet, a training T, and a pair of socks (Burn PED). Having joined Brooks ID, I got a nice discount on all of this.

I immediately strapped on my new Racers and hit the track for an excellent mile repeat workout (6:18, 6:17, 5:59, 5:48). The racers were excellent. A lightweight shoe weighing in at 8.6oz, the Racer ST 4 was very comfortable with enough cushioning for a long race. They are rated up to marathon, and at my weight, I think might put that to the test.

So, to the calamity... I was having yet another great run yesterday. I was supposed to run 6 miles at marathon pace. Not bad, I can handle that. 5k in, as I ran through the Reston Town Center, I caught my toe on a brick and BONK. Reston has these fancy crosswalks with brick set into the pavement. For all you city planners/developers... Why?

A) They require extra maintenance
B) They are hazards (at least for a select few clumsy folks as I have demonstrated)
C) They don't really stand out like your typical painted cross walks

I'll give them credit for style points, but in the grand scheme of things, who cares? Anyways, there's my rant. I should have been more careful. I was cruising just below my intended 7:10 pace and I was left to hobble a mile+ back home on a right ankle that is now very swollen. It looks like today's 12 miler is out of the question.

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