MUM training, week 3 (of 12)

I am 61 days from race day. I'm not sure how I feel about that. It's at that point where it seems both really freaking close and really far away.

This week was actually really outstanding, my first time hitting 80 in a week, and following that with a solid 20 miler on day eight. Of particular note was the long run, which not only had a solid average pace, but actually had the last six miles at closer to 7:30 pace, with the last mile in 6:45. Then I did my first long run day double, which didn't feel too bad.

Thursday's tempo was alright, it was hot and I wasn't really excited about it. I hit pace and ran well, though, so good effort there. Friday was the week's surprise day -- I had to go out for 12 miles by myself, which sounded awful, but then I walked outside to find it about 50 degrees and absolutely amazing. I cruised along happily at a surprisingly good clip, especially considering the mileage my legs were already carrying.

Not much else to say about the week. Other assorted updates to follow, hopefully one tomorrow about my weekend adventuring with my "manfriend" TT as he took on Ironman Louisville.

MUM training, week 2 (of 12)

I'm in a post-long run stupor right now, sitting in bed after a nap with a bottle of sparkling italian mineral water and a box of junior mints. I think it's well-deserved.

This post probably should be done on Saturday, since that's when I end my training week ... But I work on Saturday and not on Sunday, so here we are. I knew this week's mileage ranked amongst my highest totals ever, but I thought I had gotten in more 70+ weeks in the past than I have. Digging through my log earlier shows I've only hit 70 twice, both times before Memphis in December 2008: a 73.8 in late September and a 74.5 in early November. Hmm. That makes this week -- a 74 -- the second-highest of my life. And I feel pretty good. Really good considering my very snappy pace over 18 miles today, although I will mostly attribute that to the gorgeous weather.

I hate stale junior mints.

This week -- click on the picture for the log -- included way more double-digit days than I'm used to, both in singles and doubles. My long run was in Lexington, and may have been one of my worst runs. I felt awful the entire time. It was hot, I was dehydrated, my legs were trashed from the 5k the night before ... Blah blah blah.

The rest of the week was good, though, especially after I saw my wonderful massage therapist on Tuesday. Everything felt smooth and solid all week. My heart rate and pace are both down, hooray quantifiable fitness improvements. Not a whole lot of exciting runs, just one workout with four miles of tempo, but a lot of miles.

Marshall University Marathon in 69 days.

Race report - A Midsummer's Night Run 5k

This weekend was the 25th anniversary of A Midsummer's Night Run 5k in Lexington. I ran this race last year for fun, in part because one of my best friends had a broken toe and wasn't going very fast. Now the same gal is married and has moved to Lex, so it seemed a great opportunity to see their new apartment (and their first place together) and get in some good runs.

As you might guess, it's an evening race. It starts at 8:30, so you begin with the sun up and finish with it mostly down. Kinda neat. Weird for me because I rarely run in the evenings. It's a huge race, with 3,967 finishers this year.

The course is a tight loop, lapping back on itself for part of it. They're using the D-tag chip system, but the start is still packed and crazy.

I drove to Lex after work on Saturday and got there about an hour before the race. My friends actually live on top of the start line, so it was a quick elevator ride down to start our warmup. It was at least 80 degrees still, and Kentucky muggy. Several more of our Bourbon Chase relay teammates were racing, so we all hung out at the start for a few. Mostly I complained about how much I hate 5ks. I mean, really, I do.

I was dead-set on negative splitting this race, which would make it my first 5k ever where I did that. I've never been sure before how fast to go out, so I usually just floor it and hang on as long as possible. My psuedo-coach and training partner, who has been there for all my recent speedwork, recommended I go out at 6:20 pace for the first mile then start dropping it down, trying to split under 6 for the end.

I don't look around much at the start to assess the competition, because I know there will be plenty. There's a guy running barefoot, with his D-tag fastened to a rubber band; a mulleted women's masters runner in gear as old as I; etc., etc.

My friendly Garmin 405 Cassidy was pretty handy in the negative-split endeavor, but I pretty much hit 6:20 out of the gate and then it was too dark to see the damn thing and I had locked the bezel for once so I couldn't activate the backlight. Sigh.

The first mile feels easy -- that was the plan -- and I nail 6:20 on the dot. I'm trying to settle in and get comfortable, but there's so many dang 90-degree turns in this race I'm constantly running tangents and trying not to kill the soccer-cleated dude cutting every corner.

Mile 2 is an "oops," a 5:58, but it's the only mile with a net elevation loss so maybe it's not my fault. I was getting into a rhythm though, and feeling much better than I usually do at that point. I get passed in here somewhere by a woman in purple, which I don't like (that I was passed, not the color purple). Somewhere in here I'm telling myself I have to learn race strategy somewhere, and I'm sighting other women and catching them.

Mile 3 is a little more uphill, a little slower, but not bad: 6:07. I see purple lady ahead of me as we hit the final straightaway. With about a half-mile to go I ease on her shoulder and sit for a minute, then surge past and hold that pace for a few seconds. I can't tell if it's her I hear behind me or someone else, and I worry I went past too soon. I'm backing off the pace a little with a quarter to go, trying to not totally die before I kick after hearing the last mile split.

As I near the finish, I hear someone right on my heels and hope it's not her. It's not. It's some dude. I don't care about him. I cross the line totally toast, and there's a race official stopping me and getting my bib number written down. I realize this means I probably placed top ten, since that's who gets plaques that evening.

Oh yeah, I ran like 19:15 according to Cassidy (who also got the mileage at 3.16), and 19:19 according to my chip, which I think is crap because they had two chip mats placed like 10 feet apart. There's no telling which mat actually started my time. Whatever.

Moral of the story is I hate 5ks slightly less now. My Bourbon Chase teammates all did awesome (watch out!) and I got a plaque for 7th place female (out of 1,999!). Then we had greasy pizza, drank whiskey sours (made with bitters muddled in your glass), stayed out till 3 a.m., got up five hours later and ran 15 miles. We roll hard.

Whoops

Sorry I forgot to post, ah, all last week. Running isn't very exciting right now, since I'm in taper mode. Just 45 miles last week and not even that many this week.

Less than a week to go. Guess that means it's time for an obligatory reflective post. This training cycle I let somebody else design my program for the first time. Coach Chad Waggoner, a sub-3 marathoner and Trinity High School coach, put together my schedule. Not to say I followed it exactly ... but hey, I stuck to it pretty closely. He's been greatly supportive and doesn't let me get myself down.

January was so-so, a lot of good days but probably more off days than I should have taken. Especially at the end of the month when the ice storm hit, and I just couldn't find the will to slog through ice. This is also when I found out the treadmill destroys my IT band.

February was much more solid, only three days off and strong long runs on three of the four weekends. I really hit my stride in March, one day off before the 15k. Three 20+ runs and the other weekend was a 17.

I'm feeling ready. Ready for what exactly, I don't know, and like they say in "Once A Runner," "It's bad time to put your mouth on times your feet can't reach."

It's an important race -- every marathon is -- because of everything that goes into it. Running when you don't really want to, going to bed early on weekends, collapsing in your yard after a perfect 20 miler ...

Many props to my training pals, probably the best support group a gal could have: Diane, Rebekah, Eileen, Kelly, Steve and Dave. The people who don't run with me often but who I know are backing me up: Guy, Justin S., Justin B. and my family.

So going into this, I'm reminding myself this race is not "the" race. I'm already planning another marathon in the fall. Keep my eye on the prize and do the best I can.

"It's over!"

(Please read headline in voice of Teen Girl Squad from Homestar Runner.)

Ran 18 miles today. Great run. Guess my body just wanted this week to heal up some. Nothing hurt, nothing was bad -- I have zero complaints about today's run.

If you need a visual to accompany my report, here you go.

Diane talked me into starting at 8, even though we usually start at 9 on Sundays and I was hella sleepy when I got up at 7. Our plan was to run part of her upcoming marathon course, the part that crosses over the Second Street Bridge. You get to the base of the bridge at about 22.5 miles, then it's a long uphill, back down, a little loop around the base of the bridge, then back across. N.B.: yours truly is scared of bridges. It was an interesting portion of the run. Diane said she would see me speed up, check my Garmin, slow down for a few steps then speed back up. Oops.

It was a really well-executed run -- nice and hilly in the beginning, since we went from Seneca Park through Indian Hills to River Road. Then down River Road to downtown Louisville, across the bridge, back down Main Street, then the bike path back to Cherokee Park. Then directly to Panera for sandwiches!

The weather was even compliant; sunny and 46 at the start but close to 60 at the end. It could have just stayed around 50, but oh well. And my shins don't hurt at all, knock on wood.

Taper time!

Just totally unnoteworthy

Running this week was not particularly exciting. Still dealing with some shin pain; hopefully just residual race tear. Got in a slow 9 miles on trails on Tuesday, then 11 miles Thursday with 4.5 miles of tempo -- but most of the other days were ugly. I did mostly trails trying to baby this shin, so my pace was atrocious. I did get gloriously muddy on several occasions though.

Last long run is tomorrow ... 18 miles. Then I can take a break - sort of.

Race report - Heart Mini 15k

Much to everyone in Louisville's confusion, a "mini marathon" is not necessarily a "half marathon." Sunday I headed to Cincinnati for my first race since Memphis. I decided to just drive up that morning, so that I could sleep in my own bed and save money, so I was on the road at about 7:30 a.m. ... gotta love a 10 a.m. race start! I had a coffee, a donut, some poptarts, a bottle of water and a bottle of gatorade with me. Most of those were consumed en route.

Got to the parking garage at about 9 a.m., watching everyone walk around the pickup area in tights and jackets. "Crap," I thought to myself, "I hope I'm not the only fool in shorts." My current philosophy is that if it's too cold for shorts, it's too cold to race. Granted, I wore shorts and short sleeves in Memphis and it was 35, so the bar is pretty high.

I had resigned myself to the weather; when I arrived it wasn't awful. Mid-40s, occasional drizzle. I had packed short sleeves and a singlet, plus my shorts. And gloves.

Inside, I scooped up my packet, along with a rare creature: a race shirt that fits. When they handed it to me, I was worried it would be too small. It looked tiny -- probably because it was a youth small. It fits perfectly. Go figure.

At 9:15 I was back in my car, heater running, pondering my warmup options. I had a running jacket and warmup pants, but couldn't decide if I wanted to warm up in those and come back and sit in the car for a few and change, or if I wanted to ditch everything and and warmup just before the start. I opted for the later.

I listed to a litany of obnoxious songs that make me want to run fast: Drop it like it's hott (Snoop), Walk it Out (DJ Unk), Ole Ole, etc. I put my tag on my flats, pinned my bib to my shorts, and locked up the car at about 9:40. I jogged over to the convention center, hit the bathroom, did some strides inside where it was warm, then jogged outside some more.

Had a hard time getting to the front of the start, so guess I should have warmed up earlier. They had seeded spots, but nothing about them on the website, and the female seed standard was 57 minutes anyway. Yeah right.

Mile 1: 6:20. Totally uphill through the first half mile or so. Nice overpass bridge. Weather crappy. Too fast. Pull self back under control.

Mile 2: 6:44. Right on pace. Water stop at mile 1.5, the 5k turnaround from earlier that morning. Really loud stereo. I hate running past speakers. Makes my head want to explode. Nice view of the river.

Mile 3: 6:34. Fast? Slow? These middle distances (10k/15k/HM) kill me. Trying to settle in. 5k in 20:16.

Mile 4: 6:37. Better. Nice hill thrown in here. Approaching turnaround, always fun to navigate. This race has two! Count seven girls ahead of me, so I figure I'm in the top ten, but you don't always know for sure.

Mile 5: 6:40. Back up the hill we came down as we approached turnaround. Getting to see runners still coming in.

Mile 6: 6:48. Hill from HELL. Goes up about a quarter mile so steep you can touch the ground in front of you, whips around the second turnaround at the mile marker. Wind getting nasty. 10k in 41:04 (a new PR).

Mile 7: 7:05. Then you go back down the hill, and up a really long one. At this point the wind is so hard I can't breathe or see. Catch girl in front of me who looks totally spent. Stay with her for a bit.

Mile 8: 6:46. Wind still terrible, hills still terrible, I'm starting to be miserable but it's almost over. Encouragement gained when crossing chip mat at mile 8.3 -- they give awards for the fastest final mile. It's a good reminder there's just one stupid mile left.

Mile 9: 6:57. Back up the huge hill from the race's beginning. This one hurts. My calves are screaming, the wind is blowing me backwards, and I'm ready for it to be over. 2:09 for the .3 - not much of a kick. Chip timed to 6:40 for the last mile (seventh fastest final female mile).

Finish time 62:40, 6:45 pace, ninth female overall. Somewhat encouraged that the seed time was 57 but the weather was so rough only the first-place girl ran that fast -- she ran 57:30. I'm happy, had gone in hoping to run anywhere between 6:30 and 7 pace, so I was about dead middle. Think better weather and I could have ran faster for sure. But, all things considered, for that course on that day, it was a good performance.

Flats worked out well, no owies. A little dinged up overall post-race, but that's to be expected. Other updates to come later.

Last 20+ run!

Ahhhhhh! It's nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel. As of today, I have no more over-20 milers left. A race next Sunday, then 16-18 miles, then I'm out.

Actually, it's not that bad. I really love long runs, the longer the better. For whatever reason, I do better the longer they are. I went out today planning to just do 20, but then when Diane decided to do 22, I threw down two nice last miles -- ending with a 6:44. And after about mile 16 or 17, I was really having fun. I don't think that's allowed. We ran up our last big hill, one in Cherokee park that runs from Willow Park up Alexander Road to the Cherokee Golf Course pro shop, and I was actually giggling. That hill usually kicks my butt; today I coasted up like it was no big thing.

I guess that means the training is working. Fancy that. Good because Boston is in less than a month.

No other really interesting runs this week since last post. Easy trail run Friday morning, which was great because the trails are finally all clear. Easy run with Eileen Saturday morning for about 8 miles as part of her long run -- she's going to do great at the mini.

Race next Sunday. Maybe a little bit of downtime this week?

Spring! Finally!

It finally feels like spring, thank goodness. Running in shorts makes me happy -- it doesn't take much, I know.

Tuesday night I went over to Waggner High for KCRS Track Tuesday, a weekly event that has gone on for over 20 years. It's an all-comers speed night, and this time of year it gets pretty busy. Many people are training for the Triple Crown or other spring races, plus the weather's nice. (There aren't so many people in mid-January when it's sleeting and 25, but we're there!)

Because I'm about to run a marathon (yikes), the interval workout planned for everyone wasn't great for me. So I went and did my own thing, and tried to just stay out of the way. I did 5x1200 with a slow lap between each repeat. It was my first chance to wear my new NBx racing flats, which is good because I plan to wear them in the 15k.

Yesterday morning was just an easy 8 miles, no heavy breathing allowed. Nothing really notable there, Rebekah and I just looped around St. Matthews -- over the Reservoir and around Seneca Park, pretty much.

Rodes City Run 10k is this weekend -- good luck to everyone who is racing!

Whew!

What a week. It was hard to post because I was sans-computer from Saturday to Thursday ... the Mac PBg4 from 2003 finally crashed on me. Permanently.

I had a good week, running-wise. I mean, it must be good if the little log application on the left can't hold it all! I logged 66.2 for the week, including 17 last Sunday, 6x1600 on Tuesday and hills Thursday.

Today I put in a noteworthy 22 mile run with Steve. Our first loop was 13.27 miles at 7:30 pace; we went up to River Road, cut over to the bike path, through Cherokee and Seneca and back to the bathrooms. Then we did a 8.78 mile loop over to Browns Park and the reservoir. Then we sat in my front yard. I was really hungry the entire run, so I need to work on my pre-run nutrition some more. I seriously felt like my stomach was caving in and trying to eat itself.

I did get to try some of my awesome New Balance apparel the past couple of days -- since it finally warmed up! The new NBx line has some really nice gear, like the Cocona fabrics and great detailing. My only complaint is that the cuts are a little off, even the XS sizes seem big in the tops, and they're cut really long. Great if you like looser fitting, more full-coverage tops. But, in a singlet, I don't want a ton of extra fabric.

Next race is the 15k in Cincy on March 29. I may go knock out a 5k at Tom Sawyer, the Goose Creek 5k, on April 4.

Yesterday Eileen and I met at Sawyer for some two-mile repeats. She's training for her second half, so she did two sets; I did three. I think I may have essentially run faster than my 10k PR. (Which isn't very good, so maybe I shouldn't be too proud.)

Sawyer has a gravel loop that is almost exactly a mile (my garmin pegs it at .97 or so) -- it's also flat and not usually crowded. (Lots of people come walk from maybe 5-7 p.m. when the weather is nice.) It was pretty cold yesterday, so I did a 1.75 mile warmup to get everything loose, not to mention checking on any kinks lasting from Sunday and Monday.

After talking to a couple of guys with way more experience than I have, we estimated my VDOT at 52, which makes 6:40 a nice pace for me on this workout. Then again, my times are a little all over the place, so I range from a 48 to 52, depending on race distance.

Times: 6:28/6:40, 6:42/6:36, 6:33/6:32.

Oops.

So I'm not sure what that means. My VDOT is higher for my 5k PR I ran last May than the marathon I just ran, even though I think the marathon was a much bigger accomplishment and required a lot more work. And is a much more impressive time than my 5k. Curious stuff.

The Mason-Dixon Games are this weekend at Broadbent Arena -- if you live in Louisville or nearby, it should be a fun meet to watch.

Wildlife!

ORN: About 7 miles in an hour, on trails in Seneca. Still hot and humid.

Today I saw countless rabbits, a small turtle and three raccoons, the latter being the highlight of the run.

Last week was a recovery week from the ultra (see race report below), with two sluggish miles on Tuesday, then 11 at sub-8 pace Wednesday, 7 miles both Thursday and Friday, then 10.5 on Saturday. Yesterday we did another easy 7, just like I did today. We've got 116 days until Richmond!

Rattlesnake 50k Race Report

Friday around lunchtime we piled six people's stuff, two tents and ourselves into a shiny white rented Tahoe and drove to lovely Charleston, WV. The Rattlesnake 50k was held in Kanawha State Forest, one of the prettiest places I've ever been. We got to the campsite around 5 p.m., and hustled to set up our tents since dinner (which was included with our entry fee) was at 6.

We gorged on pizza and Gatorade while realizing we were the youngest people at the race, and spent a lot of time rifling through our sweet swag bags. Each runner got a small yellow duffle bag with the race name screen printed on it, a yellow T-shirt, and a bunch of product samples from Hammer Nutrition. Hammer and Inov-8 donated other full-size products to be randomly distributed in bags, so a friend got a 26-serving jug of Hammer Gel and I got an Inov-8 waistpack.

While at the dinner we found out we could save the group $36 and camp in a group campsite behind the starting line. We tore down the tents, crammed everything back in the Tahoe, and relocated. After exploring the forest a bit, including the last part of the race course, we all went to sleep.

Alarms went off at 5 a.m. and we sat in the tents figuring out what, exactly, one has to have on-hand for a 31-mile race. The race started at 6:30, and the 90 minutes of prep time seemed barely enough. I knew there would be well-stocked aid stations roughly every 3 miles, so I filled up my two waterbottles on my Amphipod belt, tucked in four GUs, grabbed my sunglasses and headband and was ready.

The start was pretty informal, a group of a hundred or so people in a parking lot. The race director said, "3, 2, 1, go!" and we all took off. We ran for about five minutes before hitting the first uphill climb, at which point we all started walking.

That was the pattern for the next 6 hours -- run a little, walk a lot. I suppose it was split pretty evenly, but I felt like I was doing an awful lot of walking. Maybe because there were 5,000 feet of uphill climb.

I was running with an awesome friend, Diane, with whom I've been running and working for about 18 months now. This was her second 50k, and we laughed and joked and talked about all the neat plants we saw.

The race, because of both the terrain and the length, didn't have mile markers, which I think was for the best. What we knew was that the aid stations were roughly three miles apart, so that was how we gauged our progess. After the first aid station, the runners were spread out enough that Diane and I didn't see anybody else until the next station, and then we ran some with two older guys off and on through aid station five. They were behind us until the fourth station, and then at aid station five they told us we were "hammering on the downhills" which we took as a great compliment. They were changing socks and taking a break at that station, so Diane and I pulled away.

Shortly after aid station six, about four hours in, I lost Diane. I wasn't purposefully trying to go any faster, and I didn't want to leave her behind, but it was understood it was an every man for himself kind of race. She had been dealing with a renegade IT band, and we had two friends up ahead somewhere that I wanted to catch. As we crested the hill after the sixth climb, I started running again (we walked all the uphills) and Diane didn't. I gradually pulled away, still feeling pretty fresh.

I coasted through aid station seven, roughly 21 miles in, and laughed at the idea of only having 10 miles left. I really did feel surprising good. We'll credit some excellent weeks of training, GU Roctane and candy orange slices.

At aid station eight, I caught our other two friends, Rebekah and Chris. Of course, as I spotted them, I got excited and stopped paying attention, stepped in a hole and gave my bum ankle a good twist. It hurt the few next steps to the aid station, but then went away. Rebekah, Chris and I started walking the next hill, evaluating how we were feeling with a mere seven or so miles to go. I said, "Hey, it's just the distance of one of our weekday easy runs!" I may have been the only one feeling that way. Again I pulled away, walking faster up the hill and running once I hit the top.

For the last two hours of the race, I continuously caught and passed people. Nobody passed me, which was a good feeling but makes me think I probably could have ran the first half faster. But, in such a long race and having not done one before, I wasn't sure how I would feel. As we got to the part of the trail I had walked the night before, I started really running (as opposed to the slow plod I had been using), and cruised all the way to the finish -- where two other friends were waiting and cheering. I finished 37th overall and 14th female in 6:25:50.

The race director shook my hand and gave me a cool handle-less Fiestaware mug with the race name and year on it. Matt, one of the two pals at the finish, had ran 5:21:33 in his second trail race and first ultra to finish 16th overall. He did Ironman Louisville last year and was a great runner at Centre College, so we expected him to do well. Nikki, the second friend and the one person I can usually count to be yelling my name at the finish, ran about the first 10 miles of the race as she comes back from a pretty vicious IT band flare-up after running the Cincinnati Flying Pig half-marathon.

Chris and Rebekah came through in 54th and 55th, in 6:59:22, looking tired but strong. We had sandwiches and hung out as we waited for Diane, who we feared might be struggling with her IT band out in the woods somewhere. Some other guys finished who said they had seen her an aid station or two back, so we knew she was still going. She rounded the corner without a limp, which was a relief to everybody (especially boyfriend Matt), but also without her shoes. After her finish in 7:54:33, 71st overall, she told us her foot had blistered so badly she had to run the last three miles without her shoes -- including up a rocky hill! She should get some sort of superwoman award.

All in all, I loved running this race. Usually I get bored running longer races, but this time I had a blast the entire time. I have already started looking for another trail 50k to do, and I would recommend Rattlesnake to anyone looking for a well-organized, scenic race well worth the $50 entry fee.

Sweat and spiderwebs

ORN: Just over 7 in just over an hour, trails over at Sawyer. Nice recovery run.

Wednesdays and Fridays are tough because I only get about 12 hours between runs. We run on the preceding days at 7 p.m., finish around 8, then sleep and run again at 7 a.m. They get a little sloggy. But, today was good anyway; really humid but just ambled along.

Last night was an hour of trails in the rain; Wednesday another easy hour and Tuesday intervals. A good week all-in-all, after tomorrow's run I'll be at 60 for the week.

I've been dragging this week with a sinus infection -- my second since April. The doc is sending me to an allergist in a few weeks to try and pinpoint the problem. I assume it'll be something dumb like grass.

A complaint: the race at Hubers, the Barnyard Dash 10k, did the awards not the usual way. Typically, the overall gender winners are not eligible for age group awards. The Pacers and Racers folks, though, gave the overall gals age group and overall awards. Silliness. Add to that the fact I drove to New Albany for early packet pickup on Friday, only to find out they had decided not to have it but didn't post that anywhere. Then, when I arrived on Saturday, they were out of shirts -- even though the registration form guaranteed shirts to the first 300 registrants, of which I was one. I'm a little irked and not planning to do that race or any of their others, in the future.

This week has been pretty fun because many of the company reps are showing us shoes for 2009. I've seen a lot of cool things in the past two weeks or so, and I'm excited about some upcoming products. Plus, I think it feeds into my newsroom junkie habit of wanting to know things first. Now I've seen shoes most people won't see until January!


Also this week I got my new racing flats. My awesome sponsor Mizuno supplied me with two new pair of Wave Ronins, weighing in at just over 6 ounces. It's a great fitting shoe, so much that I may have to race again sooner than I thought.

That's it for now! Ten miles tomorrow and 20 on Sunday -- I live an exciting life!

Another 20 miler in the bank

Great run today -- 20 miles in 2:44, around 8:13 pace, just five seconds/mile behind my pace from Memphis. Finished feeling good except my right calf, which cramped up overnight and is a little sore now. Guess I need to go back to more Gatorade. I have eight weeks until Boston and I am feeling pretty awesome after today.

We revamped a route from summer training that took us through Seneca and Cherokee parks, then down a bike path that leads to downtown. Then we got a lost a few times, climbed over a fence and ended up almost exactly where we had planned.

I have finally decided which heart rate monitor I want, opting for the Polar FS4. I think the HRM will be the key to my training, allowing me to train at optimal paces.

That's really all I've got for now. Back soon!

Goal setting!

I have always been a proponent of publicizing my goals -- it helps me stay focused and on track. If I bail, I will no doubt be embarrassed, so I try not to do that.

And while my "What's your running goal" poster at work is pretty public, the internet is even more so. I've decided to add my goals for this year to the sidebar over yonder, and we'll see how close I can get.

Other noteworthy tidbits ... I've put in about 30 miles since Sunday, not bad considering that doesn't include a "long run" day. Hamstrings are a little tight, but I have a massage on Friday that will hopefully help. Overall, I'm feeling good -- strong, healthy, decently fast. These next six weeks are the big ones for my Boston training.

Also, have been enjoying the Mizuno Wave Rider 11s since I got in my first shoe shipment for 2008. The new Rider is a great fit for my foot, and I love the lightweight feel, low profile midsole and smooth heel-to-toe transitions. My only complaint is that the toebox has felt short in all the versions I have had -- I went up half a size this time, and while my toes are happy, the arch isn't quite where I need it to be. Then again, I have monkey toes. Being a shoe for a high-arched person, I also find the last a little more curved (although possibly just because I went larger), which is great for those people with high arches ... unfortunately, that's not me.

Last ... I am going to see the "Spirit of the Marathon" again tomorrow night with my now-marathoner friend Chris. Exciting!

Music?!

I'm stealing an idea from a pal -- my now year-long friend Ed (gosh!) loiters about on Runner's Lounge where they have started "Take it or Leave it Thursday."

So I'm a few days behind, but this past Thursday, the discussion topic was music, podcasts, iPods.

I first wanted an iPod to use while running. That was my argument for why I needed (another) gadget. It would be great motivation, I said. So, for mother's day, I think, in 2006, I got one. I don't think I've ran with it for at least six months, and didn't do so frequently before then.

I have become a running minimalist. Shoes and clothes, perhaps a snack, and turn me loose. I don't want to spend time making sure my iPod is loaded and charged, then get it tucked in a pocket, run the headphones through my shirt, get the earbuds properly nestled, etc. Too much hassle!

Then again, I frequently get tangled up in the cord. And I don't like music that much anyway, which I think may be partially due to a light case of amusia or something similar.

When I have toted my nano about, I have listed almost exclusively to podcasts, my favorite being On The Media from New York Public Radio.

But most days, it is just me and my brain if I have to run alone. Fortunately for my remaining sanity, I only run alone a couple of days a week -- I usually have my friends to chat with, and that is better than anything my nano can provide.

Tundra trudging!

Sorry it's been a few days -- been busy at work and home.

Kentucky is currently blanketed in snow and ice and more snow, which should begin to melt in the next day or so and make a huge mess. Needless to say (although I'm saying it anyway), running's been interesting the past couple of days.

I ran Monday morning before the snow started, but it was about 20 degrees with a windchill closer to 10. I had pulled my Buff over my face, and every time I would pull it down, it would instantly freeze. It was a nice run, though, because I finally had a chance to run on the new 1.2 mile bike path in Jeffersontown.

Tuesday is our interval workout night, but we had gotten 3 inches of snow, topped by freezing rain, that the track was impassable. Instead, we took advantage of a nearby road that runs in an oval around an apartment complex. The footing was dodgy, the weather cold and rainy, but we were there nonetheless.

Today, for a change of scenery, a friend and I tackled the trails at nearby Seneca Park. Running uphill through an ice-crusted snowbank is not easy. But, it's a heck of a leg workout. My ankles had to do double-duty to maintain footing, while my quads and hamstrings had to stabilize everything and pull my foot up high enough to clear the snow. (If you tried to shuffle, the ice crust stabbed at your ankles. Not pleasant.)

So now a day off, a couple of easy runs and then a 16 miler on Sunday. Good luck to my friend Chris, and his sister Daria, who are running in Austin this weekend. It'll be Chris's first full marathon.

What else? Spring apparel is drifting into the store, which is always fun. The training group is going well, too, and I think all the members are well on their way to achieving their goals.

Workin' hard

This week was a pretty tough week -- I ran my first over-50 week ever, putting in 57 miles from Sunday through Saturday. But, I am learning where to make adjustments in my running schedule as I go along. Apparently 7 days of running is too many, but 6 is fine. Weird. So instead of having a tempo/hill day and a medium-long run each week, I'm going to rotate those three. Plus, Saturday group runs have been decently long. We ended up doing 10 yesterday, and I have a 20 miler today.

Ah, yes, the fabled 20. Discussion at work yesterday was if there is some sort of physical barrier that makes 20 so hard, or if it's just mental opposition. So many people struggle to run 20 miles that it seems unlikely it's physical -- we all function so differently that glycogen shouldn't deplete that uniformly. Stupid glycogen.

Mentally, though, 20 is a tough one. I have no qualms about 16 or 18, but adding those last two miles is somehow scarier. It's a lot of time running -- we'll probably need about 3 hours with all the people coming today, at least for the first 12 mile leg -- and you have to properly dress, hydrate and fuel for that entire time.

I do find that breaking the runs into multiple legs helps -- today we're doing a 12-mile loop then dropping off some folks and doing an 8-mile loop. Last week we did a 4, 7 and 7 to hit 18.

Well, have to get ready to tackle this run. Back soon!

So what do you think about?

A question I get pretty often from non-runners is, "What do you think about when you're running?"

Fortunately, my dear pals keep me entertained for hours on end each week, and for that I am eternally grateful. But clearly there have to be thoughts bouncing around while I'm running, especially when I'm out by myself. I contemplate the typical things -- whatever might be going on in my daily life that I could use some time to think about -- but have become accustomed to an odd litany of thoughts and phrases that crop up regularly. Most of them are to encourage me to keep my butt moving. A few choice examples:

• "I love hills, la-la-la."


• "Chup, chup." (Another hill phrase.)


• "Almost done, almost done."


• "What am I going to eat when this is over?"


• "Drop it like it's hot." (For when I'm running fast.)

Now you know.