OK, here’s the deal. I’m moving all my running stuff from the other site to here. It might be a pain in the rear for people who just want to read about the running stuff and not the extraneous crap about baseball and whatever else it is that I prattle on about, but tough. That’s just the way it’s going to be.
Besides, the subtitle at the top of this page specific highlights “endurance sports.” To me, that means my marathoning is fair game.
Be that as it may, the truth is that I had not updated that site in a little while. Truth be told, I’m kind of bummed about that. Not because I enjoy the navel-gazing (I suppose I do), but because I haven’t had much to report. You see, my wife and I (actually, she did most of the work… I just grabbed a leg and tried to stay north of the equator) had another baby boy less than two months ago. Combine the birth with the fact that things have been a little busy at work with the Phillies going to the playoffs for the first time in 14 years and it’s easy to understand how a daily running regime of 15-miles a day can slip by the wayside a bit.
Hey, it happens. Besides, from what I’ve been able to decipher, most people don’t run 15 miles a day, anyway… what the hell?
As a result, I felt that there wasn’t much to report. After all, between the end of September and the first week of October I think I went out to run just five times. Worse, I was actually in my favorite running spot on the earth and all I did was drink coffee, walk around town and buy a goofy hat.
But I’m not done yet. Oh, I might be a little slower and short-winded, but in an urban setting, I’m still tough to catch. In fact, last week, after about five days of inactivity, I decided that I would run for an hour a day until I got my legs and lungs back. My guess is that I’m covering approximately 9 to 10 miles a day, but that’s not the important part. The consistency is what I’m after. Since I signed up for the Harrisburg Marathon before things got crazy, I figure that I will extend my hour a day up to 90 minutes daily the week before the Nov. 11 race. That way I can finished the thing with the ability to walk to my car afterwards.
In other words, Harrisburg will be one of those days where I’m simply adding to my collection. Perhaps the Northern Central Trail Marathon, two days after Thanksgiving, will be another “collection” run.Long-term I’m thinking about the National Marathon at the end of March and/or the Boston Marathon in mid April. I’m not sure which yet, though I’m leaning towards Boston just because I think I’ll need all the time I can get to lose the “baby weight” I added over the past two months.
All I want is something in the 2:30s and then I’ll go off to be an ultra-marathoner without complaining like a good boy… just one more time — that’s all I want.
As it stands the current plan is going OK. I’ve done seven straight days of at least an hour of continuous running over rolling terrain. One of those days was a 10-miler in 66:47 on grass, which was cool. The thing is, though, is that I don’t remember it being this difficult. It wasn’t always this hard, was it? Maybe the unseasonably warm weather has something to do with my tight calves and slow(er) runs… yeah, that’s it. It’s been hot. That’s the ticket.
Anyway, for all the numbers people, here’s my last week before the baby arrived:
Week of August 20-26
Monday, August 20 10 miles in 67:12 Another cool day. I went out early so that I could go to a baby appointment… it looks like the big day is coming on Friday.
Anyway, I was slow to warm up again, but once I got going I didn’t want to stop. However, based on my last three days and my hip, I’m going to go light today. I’ll go extra hard on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
splits:
1st 5: 33:41
2nd 5: 33:31
Tuesday, August 21 20 miles in 2:14:45 Had some tightness in my left hip and quad, especially in the middle of the run and on downhills. However, I still wanted to do some LT over the last 4 to 5 miles and I was able to do it for a little bit for as long as my hip would hold up. I think if I was pressed that I could have done the last 10 in 60 to 62.
We’ll see how things go for the rest of the week. The idea is to crank out some miles on Wednesday and Thursday if the baby is expected to show up on Friday.
Wednesday, August 22 18 miles in 2:01:07 I actually felt good for a change. Oh sure, I still had some hip tightness and everything that goes with it, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it has been over the past week. It was fun feeling strong and essentially painless for a change.
Interestingly, I don’t think I have ever done a pair of 2-hour runs in consecutive days… I’ll have to check, but I doubt it. I also have done three 2-hour runs in my last four times out. Perhaps the inevitability of ultrarunning is lurking a little closer?
However, I’m not out of the woods yet. Plus, I still felt the slow down as I progressed. But, I went through the first five miles in 33:37 and it took very little effort.
Thursday, August 23 18 miles in 2:04:40 I was sloooooow from the beginning, but it was OK for a change. In fact, this run had a bunch of different things in it: I went slow, hit some hills, tried to keep a solid pace on the flats and then bonked over the last four miles.That was fun.
Either way, I didn’t expect anything amazing or blazing from this one considering it was the third 2-hour run in a row and fourth in the last five days. I think I earned an easy day.
Friday, August 24 Zilch We got to the hospital yesterday at 6 p.m. and haven’t left. I got a chance to get out and go home to restock some supplies, but I miscalculated on a chance to squeeze in a quick 5- to 10-miler.
Regardless, it was so hot and humid that they (you know how “they” are) issued a heat warning of some sort. Running in the middle of something like that was only for masochists and me.
Saturday, August 25 Nada Theodore John Finger was born at 2:41 a.m. today. We call him Teddy for short. Ted for shorter. As a result, I didn’t get out to run though I did have a chance until a nasty rainstorm ripped through the area at 8 p.m. Apparently, it knocked some of the power out, though I didn’t notice. After all, I have two kids, a wife and a mortgage – you think I have time to pay attention to the weather report?
Sunday, August 26 10 kilometers in 41:06 Wow! Man did it ever feel good to get out and run! It was nasty, hot and humid, but I definitely felt as though I could have put in some miles. If there was enough time I would have… still, it was really fun to get out.
Upon further review, I went 60, 80, 60 in the ensuing weeks. I even did a 90-minute run in Washington, D.C. in September in the middle of some stinking heat, but I don’t feel as though there was any consistency. Hopefully, from here on out we’ll stay solid.
*** Also, thanks to Marcus Grimm and Mike Salkowski for the good wishes and encouragement. Marcus is on his way to a Boston-qualifier in November, which you can read about here. And Mike is an old dude like me who got caught in the heat wave that wrecked a bunch of marathons last week. Because of that, Mike’s sub-2:30 was placed on hold until the next cycle.
Plus, Mike has the best training site out there. Check it out here.