Weekly Recap

Last week was Christmas and all the craziness that is involved with that but I still managed to run everyday and log 45.7 miles!  Santa brought me some nice running gear, specifically a new pair of CW-X insulator tights, I've already used them and they are great.  I also got a new Ipod Nano, which has an FM tuner which is nice for a break from all my normal songs from time to time. 

I attended the Holiday 8 in Doylestown on Christmas Eve, it is an 8 mile loop run at 8 AM on the 8 holidays.  Surprisingly there was a huge turnout, Ben and I led the way and put an extra 2 miles in to make it a nice even 10 miles for the day.  Luckily this year I only had to run 4 miles on Christmas day, last year I put in 10 miles while the kids were napping, so that was easy.

The unofficial leader of the Holiday 8 is the director of the Bucks 5k Series, he mentioned that registration has opened and to check out the website.  Today I checked out the site and they added age group course records, I have 5!  Check it out here.

On my way out to run today someone I know asked if I was going out, it was more a statement because I was already dressed the part.  We talked for a minute about the cold and off I went, while doing a short 4 miler in what turned out to be a nice 28 degree day I started thinking about why I do this.  I came up with the following, a marathon is physical but more then half of it is mental, so a day like today when it is freezing cold out will pay dividends when I'm actually running the marathon.  Now you ask how?  By doing these workouts outside by the time you get to the marathon nothing about the weather will shock me, I'll have done it all, and that is just one mental hurdle down.  Trust me when running a marathon any reason seems like a good reason to stop and walk at the time.

Weekly Recap 12/14 - 12/20

I ran 44.6 miles this week, I did my long run of 14 miles on Saturday this week, more on that later.  I lifted with my legs two times and my upper body once this week.  I also did core exercises two times this week, time restraints prevented me from getting in my normal three core sessions.

Towards the end of the week it started getting cold, or should I say it started actually feeling like winter.  Temp when I ran was only in the low 30s if that and wind chills in the teens.  Saturday they were calling for 12-20 inches of snow, which is nice to look at and fun for the kids but makes it tough running.  When I woke up Sat morning it was barely snowing and then actually stopped around 10am, after running some errands and what not I decided to get my run in so at least I wouldn't have to do it on the treadmill on Sunday. I had spoken to a friend of mine who ran in the morning and he encountered quite a bit more snow, he said his eyes hurt from the wind and the snowflakes hitting his eyeballs.  I decided to where my sunglasses, under armor shirt and gloves, my cw-x tights, windproof Brooks jacket, roadrunner windproof tights and hat.  Put my trusty iPod on and off I went.  I was significantly slower then normal, part of it had to do with the less then ideal traction and the other part was the nasty headwind I was running into.  It was about 20 degrees when I left and lightly snowing, windchill had to be in the single digits.  By mile three my sunglasses were completely fogged and my hands were cold.  By mile 5 I had been wiping ice off my sunglasses and I couldn't feel my hands, at this point I had been running into the wind the entire time.  I decided to head for home and run the remaining mileage on the treadmill, but even though the conditions were horrible I was dreading running on the treadmill more.  Over the next few miles I started to feel my hands again and convinced myself to finish up the run outside.  It is amazing the things you start thinking when out running for that period of time in horrible conditions.   Here are a few that passed through my head Sat:

It started with my hands are really cold and went straight to could I get frostbite from this?
The ever revolving thought of why am I doing this to myself, I could be at home doing anything else and I would be really warm!
I should go back home followed only shortly by this is what Boston training is all about!

One side note, tar snakes I think have less traction in the winter then a hot summer day, I quickly learned that they were basically ice underneath the snowflakes that covered them.

After finishing the final four miles running within a half mile of my house, figured I could go inside at any point so I stayed close, I was COLD.  I had ice chunks on both eyebrows, my hat was frozen, and there were section of my jacket with ice covering it.  I took a picture and sent it to a few friends, one commented it looked like I just got back from the North Pole. 

After a protein drink and hot shower it took a good hour to warm back up, but that is what training for the best marathon in the world will do to you......

Great run today.

This is a comparison of my run from today and the nearly same exact run from last Tuesday, click on the picture to see it full screen.  This was a 6 mile Fartlek run, which is Swedish for speed play.  I did a one mile warm up followed by 8 repeats of 1/2 mile at Half Marathon pace and a 1/4 mile of easy running, finished up by doing a 1 mile cool down.  Large spikes are stopping for traffic and last week I had to stop to use the bathroom.  I felt strong throughout my run today and was faster by more then three minutes..

Weekly Recap

I ran 41.7 miles this week, I did my long run of 12 miles on Saturday because we had a party Saturday night and I knew there was no way I would feel like running long after it.  Good thing I did move the run, because I was up till 1:30am and when I did get up around 8:30 it had just started raining. The rain was hitting the ground an freezing, forming a nice sheet of ice. 

I also did core work three times this week and legs two times.  Overall I feel pretty good, its only the second official week of training but I've run 16 days straight so far, usually I only run 5-6 days a week so this is a step up.  My schedule calls for no breaks for the first 5 weeks of training, so two down three to go.  My class ended last week so I'll have more free time and time to lift two times a week at night at home.  Sometime this week I'll post my training schedule, just haven't had the time to reformat it so it fits.

Review - last year's mileage by week

This is a graph of my weekly mileage for my training leading up to the 2009 Boston Marathon.

Snow = Treadmill

It snowed last night, maybe two inches, but it was a wet heavy snow so everything was frozen over this morning.  After being convinced that running on slushy ice was probably not the best idea I headed to the gym for my long run.  Luckily I only had to do 10 miles today, I ended up doing 11 miles in 78:35 at 1% grade.  I hate running on the treadmill, but the treadmills at the gym each have their own TV which is nice for an hour plus run. 

For the week I ran 41.3 miles.  I lifted with my upper body one time this week, legs two times and did core work two times.

  I still have to finish up my marketing management project and am meeting my group tonight to get some more work done.  I can't wait till Wed is over.

Busy busy busy....

Haven't posted the last couple of days because I have been busy with work and school.  My group project for my Marketing Management class is due next Wed, so its crunch time.  Speaking of class, I've decided to not take another class next semester and instead take one over the summer, this way I can concentrate on running and other family obligations.  Marathon training takes a good bit of time, which I usually use for my MBA courses, so in order to meet my goals for the marathon no class next semester.  The past couple of days I've run 10 miles and did my normal leg and core workouts in addition to the running.  One thing I plan on doing, since I won't be taking class, is lifting with my upper body.  Last year, I just didn't have time to lift, run, and study.

The weather has definitely turned and they are calling for snow possible tomorrow.  I don't think it will be a lot so I shouldn't have a problem getting my runs in this weekend.

Hello December

Well after a pretty nice fall December came blowing in today.  It was in the low 40s with a stiff wind that put the wind chill in the 30s today for my run.  I did an average 6 miles and did a little lifting with my legs when I got back.  I want to watch a little TV tonight before I go to bed so that is it for today.

2009 Recap

Training for the 2009 Boston Marathon went pretty good, no injuries, no major setbacks.  The weather held out for most of the winter and I only had to do one long run on the treadmill due to snow.  I did that 14 miler at Hatfield Athletic Club and when I was done the guy on a treadmill behind me and stopped to ask me how many miles I had done, he was astonished.  I did miss one long run when we traveled to NH for a class for Kim and to visit friends.  After getting there I really didn't feel like doing a 20+ mile run, so I bagged running for the weekend.  I also had a few long runs that I wasn't properly hydrated.  One long run it was bad, I hit a wall around mile 15, ran/jogged/walked another few miles before I decided I just needed to head home.  I did have water with me, but I was so out of it I decided to dump the water out because it was to heavy, that 3 miles back to my house seemed like an eternity.

Going into race day I felt 100% prepared.  But, around mile 21 I ran out of gas.  One difference between my qualifying marathon and Boston was that I took carb gels during that race and decided against it for Boston, this year I will take gels.  By mile 24 I was taking double helpings of oranges that spectators were handing out.  When I finished the race I ate the entire bag of food they gave us before I got to the buses to get my clothes.  Staying in a hotel for 2+ days prior to the race didn't help with my pre race food intake, I just don't think I ate enough.  This year we're going up to a friend's house in NH and stay there until Sunday night so I can eat properly and relax.

So, on to training, I realized today after my run that I should count how many weeks were left to the marathon, I knew I needed to start training either this week or next week.  Surprise surprise today is Day numero uno!

As I go along I'll share my training plan, data from last years race, and just other thoughts along with my daily training activities.