Failing The Common Sense Test

Distance: 12.44 mi.
Time: 1:37:18.76 - 7:50 ppm.

I felt like crap today. I can't remember the last time I didn't feel great, or at least pretty good, on a run. I was due for a reality check, or at least a reminder that, "Hey, it might not be a great idea to skip the middle of the week and cram all your training in at the end," which is pretty much what I ended up doing this week. This new training plan, while exciting, is going to be much more demanding than my last one. I can move days around but I can't afford to skip multiple days just because I don't feel like running. We all have bad days and I'm not worried about today, but I did run 28-plus in three days straight, so I was kind of asking for it. Lesson learned, I hope.

Nothin' Doin'

Distance: 6.77 mi.
Time: 50:16.77 - 7:33 ppm.

Today was just an easy day. I began from home and ran around the neighborhood, including a stretch of the Booty Loop, before calling it a day.

Can't Get Out Of Dilworth

Distance: 9.63 mi.
Time: 1:12:08.7 - 7:30 ppm.

Despite Monday's run at near McAlpine, I have been a major road warrior these days. I believe simulation is best, and as long as my body doesn't feel the wear and tear, the roads may be the law of the day for awhile. Actually, that's complete crap; I'm just a creature of habit, and I've gotten in the habit of running in the roads around Dilworth and Myers Park for awhile now instead of hitting the trails.

At the end of today's run, I found myself side-by-side with a dad and his young son, who were on bikes. I couldn't help but overhear their conversation, as Dad was explaining to an inquisitive Junior that he needn't worry about the upcoming mountain trip - the family would be safe from the advances of Bigfoot. Now that's funny.

Monday Riser

Distance: 9.27 mi.
Time: 1:10:47.9 - 7:39 ppm.
Map and Elevation Profile

As discussed, this week marks the beginning of another marathon training cycle. I love the way that looks on my computer screen. It seems as though I just finished the last one, and really, I guess that's the case. The truth is that I have recovered well and felt remarkably fresh in the days since Thunder Road. More importantly, the training has left me feeling fit and I want to build on that. I am confident that my body will continue to hold up, although I certainly plan to take increasing measures to ensure that is the case.

Today I started at Old Bell and ran up Sardis through the neighborhoods behind Boyce Park. This neighborhood features some steep, rolling hills and very lovely homes. It's obviously much nicer on the side closest to Sardis and gets increasingly worse as you approach Monroe Road.

I was pleased with today's run. If you look at the elevation profile in the link at the top, you can see this was an effort that involved a good number of hills, and I still managed 7:39 pace for the whole thing without any tribulation. I write comments like this in my blog so that I'll know how I felt when I go back and review my own training.

Week In Review

Distance: 27.9 miles.
Highlights: A couple of good tempo runs; some cold-weather running gear purchased and received; marathon planning.

This week marked the end of my slacking period that followed Thunder Road. I am proud to say that, while the mileage was low due to many days off, I still ran at least 10-11 miles every week for a long run and put together several good workouts - not to mention a great race - during this "slack" period.

More importantly, I made a choice for the next marathon, or at least the next marathon's date: it will be March 18, either at Tobacco Road or Wrightsville Beach. I am strongly leaning towards Wrightsville but am going to wait a bit before making a final decision.

I found a new marathon plan, and I'm thrilled to get started. It is much more mileage-based than my last one, with heavy emphasis on medium-long runs and tempo runs, and without all those crappy 800- and 400-meter repeats. In fact, this plan is similar to what I did in the fall of 2010, when I achieved good fitness remarkably quickly by piecing together some marathon workouts with the help of Eggers, Brinkley, and Oelz. I will be doing a 12-week cycle which starts this coming week.

I'll Have Some Wine Now, Please

Tempo: 5.04 mi in 34:50.92 - 6:55 ppm.
Cooldown: 0.8 mi in 5:46 - 7:37 ppm.

This wasn't really a tempo run; I just started off a little quicker than usual and decided to go with it. I've changed my stride - more on that later - which makes it easier to get out at a swift trot even when I don't plan on it. This was my first run in a new pair of Nike Lunar Swift that I bought for half the retail price at the Nike Factory Store. I wasn't too pleased with them but they will make a nice alternative to the Pegasus when I want to run a little faster than usual.

Running through my parents' neighborhood, I crossed paths with my niece and brother-in-law in the park. I then remembered I had more important things to do today and cut the run short.

Merry Christmas!

Figure-8

Distance: 10.28 mi.
Time: 1:20:17.2 - 7:49 ppm.

The title of this post refers to what today's route looks like on the map. I once again decided to meet Adrienne today for part of her 14-mile long run. I told her to find a spot about five miles in and I would meet her there. That spot turned out to be the corner of Chilton and Sharon, which is part of the Thunder Road course. At this juncture I'm going to stop pointing out when I run sections of the marathon course, because the damn thing goes all over the place. So that's all I have to say about that.

I felt like crap today. All I really remember about this run was watching how much more fit Adrienne seems to be getting while pretending not to struggle a couple strides behind her. She finished strong and went home while I ran another mile or two by myself, although I had intended to do more.

Get Some Booty

Warmup: 3.0 mi. in 24:06.81 - 8:03 ppm.
Workout: 5.09 mi in 33:45.23 - 6:38 ppm.
Cooldown: 0.7 mi in 5:41.1 - 8:22 ppm.

Today I showed up to the Charlotte Runners' "Five on the Booty" run for the first time since October. I like this run and wish I could make it more often. After some weeping and gnashing of teeth, I decided to make this a tempo. I showed up early to get in 3 easy miles and then joined the group. The attendance was sparse today on account of the holidays and, likely, the rainy weather.

As Adrienne, John Cendroski, and some other dude settled into AA's half-marathon pace, I strode ahead with the intentions of clipping sub-7 for mile one. I did that, but then I had the Queens Road hill to deal with, and I was feeling awfully tight. I had thoughts of scrapping this thing, stretching, and finishing up with the group. I put those thoughts out of my mind, however, and started to burn a bit on the flat Selwyn section. I sandwiched splits of 6:27 and 6:29 around a 6:47 down Queens West - slowing only because I didn't have a headlamp and was concerned about falling on my face.

I cheered in the rest of the group, did a quick cooldown, then called it a day.

Recovery Days Are Here Again

Distance: 3.00 mi.
Time: 24:01.12 - 8:01 ppm.

Well, I've been better at making sure I get in a recovery day lately, and even better at keeping the pace easy. I'm proud of myself. That is all. Bye.

Week in Review

Distance: 22.4 mi.
Highlights: Some serious slacking followed by a run with Adrienne and a really good long run.

I'm trying to decide what marathon I will be running in the spring, and therefore when I need to begin training for it. Until I get that figured out, my schedule is kind of up-in-the-air, but today's long run was a good jolt to get me motivated again after working my tail off the last three weeks.

The Little Lights...Are Not Twinkling!

Distance: 13.47 mi.
Time: 1:40:39 - 7:29 ppm.
Map

For this afternoon's long run, I tried to plan my route around checking on the valets downtown and also somehow making it to the CRC Christmas Lights Run, which would start across from Freedom Park at 5:30. I had been slacking majorly lately, and while that may not be a bad thing, I decided I was ready to kick-start my training again.

I made a point to keep a pretty decent pace throughout this thing, and did so with many sub-7:20 miles through Dilworth, Wilmore, and downtown. I left Capital Grille around 5:20 and headed over to the park. I hadn't taken into consideration that I would be warmed up (8 miles in) and no one else would, so the pace flew up to nearly 8:30 for the first two miles of the lights run. Oh, well. With a map in my hand and Lamperski, B-Mac, Kent, and everyone else in tow, I decided to lead the group on a tour of lights.

Mike Kahn, Megan Hovis, Allison Reed, Anthony Monaghan, Jason Meulemans, Kent Morris, Chris Lamperski, Brian McMahon, Greg Isaacs, and John Fillette were among the men and women I shared miles with this evening. It was an enjoyable experience but we all agreed the Queens West/Hillside neighborhoods would have involved a lot more lights. No matter, it was a nice night out and fun.

Back at the park, I chatted with Jade, Brian, Spada, Billy, and a few more. I was getting tight and cold and still had a couple more miles to run, however, so I didn't stay long. Today was a good effort that I needed to shake off the December cobwebs.

Saturday Morning Fever

Distance: 8.94 mi.
Time: 1:08:44.7 - 7:42 ppm.

I once again made plans to meet AA for her long run, only this time I decided I wanted to meet halfway through it. She was doing a progression at the end of it. We met on Princeton Avenue by the park and I followed her all over the place on a route she had pre-designed. To me, one of the best things about having a Garmin is I no longer feel the need to map out routes in advance; I just run, and estimate the distance it will take to get back to where I started. Some people, however, insist on hitting even mileage marks on their Garmins, and my Saturday morning running partner is one of them. The progression went well. Someone is starting to get faster, and it isn't me!

Week in Review

Distance: LOL
Highlights: um..I ran a couple times.

I got in a long run at McMullen this week and that's pretty much it.

Changing the subject, today is my 30th birthday, which is important to the purposes of this blog for two reasons: (1) I will move into a less competitive age group for races next year, and (2) I am in significantly better shape than I was at age 25. So there. Life is good.

McMullen: Long Time, No See

Distance: 11.0 mi.
Time: 1:29:31 - 8:09 ppm.

I picked up AA early this morning and headed over to McMullen Greenway for a long run. I had basically done nothing all week, other than running my ass off at work, and I figured I might as well keep things easy. Her plan was to run 11 miles with the last three at half-marathon pace (7:20s). I could not remember the last time I had run at McMullen - June? Late May? I know it had been awhile.

We cruised through the forest on one of winter's colder days to this point, and eventually ceased conversation as the "pickup" part started. I was thankful for the lack of snakes as they are clearly hibernating and planning my doom for sometime next summer. We both ran well, although I'd be lying if I said I felt good - stomach problems assailed me (shocking, I know).

Rollover

Distance: 1.97 mi.
Time: 14:56.27 - 7:35 ppm.

There isn't much to say about this one - this was just another one of those, "My legs are sore, I just need to shake things out" runs. It's amazing how well they work.

Week in Review

Distance: 39.3 miles.
Highlights: good tempo run, pacing at the ACC 5k, long run with a fast finish.

This was a pretty decent week of running for me, as I approached the 40-mile mark again. It amazes me how much effort it takes to run more than 40 miles per week. I'm trying to lay out a plan of attack for the next marathon, but for now I'm just going to continue keeping the legs fresh, just doing what I can to not lose any fitness.

Considering that work is pretty physically demanding and time-consuming this time of year, I predict the next two weeks will be very low-key.

Long Run with a Pickup

Distance: 11.03 mi.
Time: 1:22:42.89 - 7:30 ppm.
Map

I had planned to meet the group led by Mike Kahn early this morning at McAlpine, but that didn't happen. Given that it's not hot outside and I don't usually have much to do on Sundays, I don't really stress waking up early. It would have been nice to run with them, but I settled for a solo trek from home.

I ran towards Plaza-Midwood and finished the last 5 miles or so of the Thunder Road course, then cruised through Dilworth and headed home. I picked it up a bit at the end, running the last mile at 6:50. I felt great!

ACC 5K Pacing!

Warmup: 1.4 mi in 12:59.2 - 9:17 ppm.
Race: 3.21 mi in 21:43.49 - 6:47 ppm.
Cooldown: 0.8 mi in 7:36.04 - 9:10 ppm.

Earlier in the week, I agreed to help pace Adrienne Anetrini in the ACC Championship 5k. I was not going to register; instead, I would just start the race with her, try to pace her to a PR, and then drop off at the 3-mile mark. This was a small race so I didn't feel ill about being a bandit.

Adrienne, Devitt Rogers, Jeremy Gray, and I warmed up from the Dowd toward the race site. JLG and Devitt were also "bandits." I would never want to run a 5k with less than a 2-mile warmup, but Adrienne was ok with it, so we headed to the line. A guy and his girlfriend nudged past us to get in front of us in the chute, and after the start I was practically tripping over them. I was pissed. How are you going to push people aside in the corral and then start off that slowly? Get your ass to the back of the line next time! Had it been me that was racing I would have a few choice words for this dude, but instead I just went around them and sidled up next to Adrienne.

I was trying to rein in what appeared to be a fast pace, but then at the 1-mile mark I realized my watch was measuring the distance a good bit shorter than the race markers. I then remembered this was a RFYL event. Sigh.... We lost Jeremy somewhere around that time, and Devitt and I exchanged Thunder Road war stories. This race went right the Wilmore section, just before things had gotten dicey for me back on November 12.

We were running positive splits, but AA hung on and finished strong. By my calculations, she easily ran a PR, but again, the course was long (by more than a tenth of a mile, on my watch). No worries, though - it's December and we're all a ways away from doing anything important in regards to this particular distance. Fun was had by all.

Nothing To See Here

Distance: 2.07 mi.
Time: 16:02.12 - 7:45 ppm.

Learning my lessons from last week, I made a point to get in a short, easy recovery run today after yesterday's somewhat hard effort. It would pay off the next day.

Tempo? Why not?

Tempo Run: 7.0 mi. in 47:43.01 - 6'50" ppm. Splits: 719, 723, 655, 646, 628, 623, 626.
Cooldown: 6.72 mi. in 21:12.4 - 7'48" ppm.
Tempo Run Map

I woke up a little late today; nevertheless, I decided to hit the road for some miles. I had tentative plans to make it a faster effort - a tempo run, I guess. I started out a bit quick but settled into it, and when I got to the hill on Morehead Street I picked up the pace. The next thing I knew, I was comfortably cruising at about 6:45-50 per mile. When the terrain leveled a bit, I picked up the pace even more, headed down East and through the Speed Loop. This is, of course, a very rolling neighborhood. When I came to an uphill my pace would shoot up to near 7' per mile, but when things leveled out or I had a slight downhill it would dip under 6. This was a pretty quick pace for me for a 7-mile tempo. I've gotten really good at pushing myself even when solo. My splits for the last three miles were 6:28, 6:23, and 6:26, with the latter including those sharp inclines on Queens West and Radcliffe Avenue. I was pleased with the proceedings of the day.