The week after Philly & the last 5k of the year.. Gobble Wobble 5k

The week that was, was pretty easy on the recovery end. After running Philly on Sunday, I was a bit sore on Monday, and the worst of it was Tuesday. I felt like getting out for a few miles on Wednesday, but decided to wait until our trail run on Thursday.

I am still a bit ticked at my ever changing finish time. Currently it is at 3:50:16. My garmin had me at 3:49:59, and I still find it hard to believe that I lost 10 mins in the last 6+ miles, but I guess I did. I am already planning what marathons to run in 2010. I did enter the lottery for NYC, so we'll see what happens.

Thursday, being Thanksgiving, our TrailGroup met at 6:45am for our 2nd annual Turkey trail run. Bill Y, asked if we could bring a food donation that he will drop off at Trenton Soup Kitchen on behalf of our group. We did not disappoint, as we overflowed the container he brought. We ran to the dam and back, and when we got to the dam, I had mentioned that it was my 1yr anniversary, running with the group, so I got to run an extra hill at the dam. It was a nice 6.5 mile run, to shake the cobwebs out.

Saturday, I ran the last 5k of the year, the Gobble Wobble 5k, in Wildwood. It was a small local 5k, with less than 100 runners.

It started at a local church, ran onto the boardwalk, down to the Crest, and back. It was a very windy day, with winds out of the WNW at 25mph! It wasn't that bad on the boardwalk, but when you got off, with about 3/10 of a mile to go, it was hard in your face! I had one runner pass me as we went down the ramp off the boardwalk. I was taking that easy, since I didn't want to hurt the left hamstring.

I finished in 22:08, and know if the wind wasn't that strong, I could have had a new PR. I did finish 6th overall, and 1st in my 40-49 age group.

I think I'll try and get out and run a few times this week, but I will take it easy to get my hammy back to 100%, for the new year!

I got my Philly BIB # !!

With the Philly marathon down to just days away, I got the email I have been waiting for! I got my bib & corral starting gate. #3682 in the Green Corral !!

This past week, I had my last long run of 15 miles, but the day before, I had a scary moment during our trail run. It was Indian Sprints the entire 6 mile run, and at one point we had to kick it up a hill we call "death hill", because of it's length. Last one up had 20 push ups to do. Our quasi leader Nate was along side of me, and I was on his right shoulder starting out, and I knew he would bite at a challenge up the hill, so I pushed it. All was going good, until I felt a twinge where my butt & left leg meet. NOT GOOD ! I finished the rest of the run, and was hoping it was nothing. All day it didn't feel right, and when I got up to run my last 15 Sunday morning, it still wasn't right. I wanted the last long run, to do at my goal pace of 8:20's, and struggled to do 9-9:20's. I didn't have that "explosion" I am used to going up and down hills. I actually thought of bagging the run, only 2 miles into it. I gutted it out, and took the next 2 days off.
I got out Wed, and ran 7 strong miles, in my goal pace of 8:20. While it doesn't feel 100%, I think being in taper time, will help it heal.
Best of luck to all who are running the marathons in Richmond & Atlantic City this Sunday ! Hopefully the weather will work out, and the nor'easter will be done!

19 days to Philly !!

Hard to believe that I am in the home stretch, towards marathon #3. Philly is only 19 days away !
I had a great week of running. Did my 6-8-6 mid week runs, and hit was spot on with the pace I wanted to run them in.
Saturday, I met up with the trail group, and Nate killed us with a 6 mile run, filled with mountain climbers, sprints, oh and 125 push ups, mixed in.
Sunday, I met up with Shoreturtle, who was running his last 10 miler before his marathon this coming Sunday, in Harrisburg, Pa. He wanted to run at his MP of 8:20's, and we were right on target. We had a couple of quick miles, but he kept us in check. It's awesome to run with someone at that pace, and carry on a conversation, like it was nothing. It proved to me that the hard work I have put in the past 3 months should pay off in 19 days!
FYI... I did some checking, and I ran 167 miles for October, and 517.5 so far in my training for Philly!
Homestretch.. here I come!

Last 2 runs in Wildwood !

The wife & I headed to Wildwood for a little weekend away,sans kids. While back home was getting rain, we lucked out, and only had rain overnight.
I was able to run on the boardwalk Saturday morning. Nice 4 miles at 8:00min pace. While I didn't get the rain, the wind was kicking. One thing about running the boards this time of year, it was pretty empty. Hard to believe only a few short weeks ago, it was full of activity.
We had a great Saturday, walking around Cape May, and a nice dinner in Wildwood. We had a few raindrops Saturday afternoon, but really nothing that bad.
It was nice not to have to set the alarm for 5:00am, to go for a run. I ran when I got up Sunday, a nice 10 miler on part of the Ocean Drive course. It's almost exactly 5 miles to Cape May,from our place, so out and back it was. I did the 1o miler at my MP goal of 8:30. A few of the middle miles where tough with the wind kicking! I managed to finish the last 2 miles at 7:53 & 7:56.. another nice confidence building run.
I plan on running my remaining long Sunday runs at my marathon goal pace.
Hard to believe Philly is less than a month away !
We are scheduled to close the place around Thanksgiving, and I found a local 5k on the schedule that Saturday, so I will try and run that. Maybe there is one more run in Wildwood this year.

3 days until Marathon #2, Asbury Park Relay Marathon

Hard to believe that I am 3 days away from running my 2nd marathon. I found the AsburyParkRelayMarathon earlier this year, and how could I pass up a $30.00 marathon? I am doing this strictly for training. My goal is to run the 1st 20 miles easy, and try to pick up to my marathon goal pace, for the last 10k. I know, easier said than done. It's going to be a mentally tough run. This marathon has 8 laps, the first is a 2.75 mile loop, followed by 7 x 3.35 mile loops. On top of the 8 laps, the weather is not looking good right now, for the race. We have 2 nor'easters hitting us, and the 2nd is coming in Sat nite, into Sunday morning, highs in the low 50's. Hopefully it clears by 10:00am on Sunday.
My running has got back on track after my 21 mile meltdown. I ran a strong 14 miles on Sunday. I averaged 9:09 for the run. The only problem I encountered was my Garmin wasn't fully charged, and died at the 9.64 mile mark. I felt like I kept the pace for the remaining 4+ miles. It was a nice confidence builder.
My weeks runs, 6-8-6, Tues _ Thurs, were also great. I had a nice speed run on Tuesday, 7:58 min avg. Wed, was 8:05 avg, with a 7:35 last mile! I took it easy in the rain today, and ran my 6 miler in a 8:31 avg. One thing I will say was that I didn't have crazy laps, they were all consistent.
Hopefully I didn't run too hard this week, and have it catch up to me on Sunday.
I feel pretty healthy and fresh, so we'll see how it goes. It's the last "long run" before Philly.

Fun run on the Boards & 21 miler back home

It was a quick recovery week, as the countdown to Philly is less than 8 weeks away.
My oldest son & I went to Wildwood for the weekend, to check out the Monster Truck races on the beach. We got up Saturday morning, and after breakfast, headed out to the boardwalk. He was on his bike, and I was running alongside him. We did the whole boards... 4 miles. I was proud of him, he was pushing the pace. We did the 4 miles in 35:16, for a 8:48 avg. He pushed me the last mile, and we did that in 8:24. He had the hammer down!
We got home early Sunday morning, so he could make his noon soccer game. Around 3:00pm, I got out for my 21 mile run. It was pretty warm out when I started, my guess is the low 70's.
I had seen that my running buds Shoreturtle & Progman2000 met up and ran 20 in the early morning. They kicked butt, avg. 9:30's with mile 20 at 8:00min. Pretty impressive. The one thing between Turtle & I is this silly competitiveness we have. After seeing their time, I felt the foolish need to best their time. I started out running 8:45's for the 1st 12 miles. I slowed a bit for the next 5 miles, avg. around 9:30's, but the damage had been done. My legs were toast. I hung on for the remainder, actually hit 10:53 for a mile, and finished the 21 miler in 3:18:27, a 9:27 avg.
I need to be smarter about my long runs. Maybe I'll learn someday.

Running early Mornings, Nights, in Dallas & in MUD!

I know, every time I start out, I say the same thing.. been busy... blah, blah, blah. Well, it is the truth. I have kept up with my training, even if it means getting up at 5:00am, and running before I go to work.

I missed the Philadelphia Distance Run, because my job had me in Dallas, for a conference. I did pack my running gear, and I was able to do an early Saturday morning 5.6 mile run there. Where the conference was, it was close to Dealy Plaza, so I made sure the route I planned had me running there.

It was pretty cool to see it for the part it played in the history of our country.

Back home, I have run the usual routes, but since I had missed the PDR, I decided to run part of the 2nd half of the Philly Marathon route. I did see that they have started to advertise for the Marathon, on their tour buses!

All this leads me to the run I had the most fun doing this year so far! I did the McGuireAFB 10k Mud Run. Picture part running, part basic training/survivor obstacle course. There were about 20 of us from the trail group, that made the trek to McGuire, and did the race.

There were some hard parts to this event. It started with about a 3/4 mile run, when at about the 1/2mile mark, a ladder fire truck hosed you down. If that didn't soak you, going into the mud pit obstacle around the bend got ya! At one point I was waist deep in a creek, for a few hundred yards, and when you got out, the legs were so cold, it was tough to get them warmed up and going again. What they called "hurdles", where more like a steeplechase. It was a crazy 1/4 mile of hopping barricades every 100 yards. It was insane but fun. A lot of groups dressed up for this race, guy dressed as Elvis, one dressed as a chicken, just craziness! This race was a nice distraction in the middle of my marathon training. Last year it was in Nov, and I am glad they moved it up a few months. A few of the trail group that did it last year, said the improvements to the course this year, made it more difficult, but it was a lot warmer. I couldn't imagine wading waist deep in water, in Nov !

Here are a few pics of the fun!

The last shot is a few of us after we attempted to clean off the mud from the race.

If you live close to McGuire AFB, keep an eye out for this event next year... it's a must run! Be prepared to get wet and dirty... there's no way you don't stay clean and dry!

I have a nice recovery week on tap, and a 20 miler next Sunday. Hard to believe September is coming to a close, and Philly is only 54 days away! I need to start thinking about the Asbury Park Marathon, that I am running on Oct. 18th. I know it's just for training only, but it's still a marathon!

Another week is in the books!

Another week is in the books! Time is flying by 'round these parts.
This past week was a nice recovery week, and it came at a great time. As much as everyone likes to ramp up the mileage, we need to give ourselves time to heal from the pounding of the pavement.

I had only 2 x 5 milers this past week, on Tuesday and Thursday. I got up early to do the runs, since we are swamped with activities at nite.

Tuesday and Thursday where just about identical. I did Tuesday in 42:35, and Thursday in 42:21. While Thursday was a bit faster, it was more of struggle. Funny how that happens.

Saturday, I got out with the trail runs group, and we met again at Mercer County Park. No bushwacking this week, as we got our run in, in between rain drops. It was a nice 7 miler, and we had another newcomer. We have had a new runner join us the last 2 weeks. That's good stuff!

Sunday was back to the long runs! I had a 20 miler on tap, and enlisted a running bud to join me in the fun. ProgMan was up for the fun. He met me and was in for 12 of my 20 miles.

We met at Mercer County Park, and did the same loop that I did with Shoreturtle 2 weeks ago. Funny.. I only had to do 18 that day, Turtle had 20, and I did all 20 with him. I asked him if he wanted to meet us,and he had a 5k to go PR in!

When Prog & I started out, we were killing it the 1st 7 miles!

Look at these splits:

1. 9:18

2. 9:14

3. 9:03

4. 9:04

5. 9:03

6. 9:14

7. 9:12

We were on a heck of a roll, and the miles flew by. We slowed down a bit the rest of the way, but still very nice splits. We did hit our cars at mile 10, to change shirts and grab some fluids.

8. 9:20

9. 9:25

10. 9:14

11. 9:32

12. 9:06

A little past mile 12, Progman turned around and headed back. It was great of him to come out and run with me. It really helps on the long runs, to have a partner in crime.

When he left, it was tough to push thru the last 8 miles. I made a couple of mistakes. First, I didn't bring any salt with me, but luckily Progman had some salt pills. My second mistake was not running the 1st 10 mile loop with water. I know better than that. It was more humid out that I had realized. My other mistake was that I should have grabbed my Ipod before we started on the 2nd leg.

The legs were dying on the last 3 miles, similar to the previous 20 miler. I know there is some work to be done, to feel stronger the last miles of these training runs, and hopefully it'll come.

13. 9:13

14. 9:31

15. 9:47

16. 9:31

17. 9:48

18. 10:02

19. 10:03

20. 9:40

Only 75 days until Philly !

Hard to believe that the Philly Marathon is only 75 days away. I am 1/3 of the way thru my 18 week training program! Time is flying by. Their website has only 500 spots left for the marathon, it seems to be filling up quite nicely.

The past week, I felt really good after the 20miler on Sunday. I have added salt to the beginning and middle of my long runs, and it seems to have helped with how the hammys have felt. I also added, along with my HammerRecoverite ,a protein bar after my long runs.

Tuesday, I went out for a nice tempo run. I had 1 hour to get in my 6 miler, since I was running while my oldest son was in his karate class. My goal was 8 minute miles, but wasn't sure if I had it in me after the 20 miler. I ended up right on! I did the 6 miles in 47:38, a 7:55 avg.

I did have a turtle sighting! Shoreturtle and his wife passed me, on their way to Princeton. They caught me committing the #1 rule of running on the streets. I was running with the traffic, instead of against it.

I had 8 on the schedule for Wednesday, but a combination of my car in the shop, 2 boys having karate, I didn't have the time to run. And yes, I have been beating myself up over it. I know missing a day in early Sept. won't have an effect in the big picture of training, but it's not something I want to become a habit.

I made it a point of getting up early and getting my 6 miles in on Thursday. I did the 6.12 miles in 51:41, for an 8:26 avg. It was nice, on this run to have my fastest mile as my last, at 8:09.

Saturday, I was out with the TrailRuns group. We did the entire loop around Mercer County Lake, which included some bushwhacking! Luckily, no ticks this time! The loop was 7.23 miles long, and the last 1/2 mile or so, Nate kicked it up a few notches, when we got on a nice clear trail.

Sunday, I slept in a bit, since I had to do 6, nice to have a recovery week! I made this a 2 part run. I felt really good, so I went out for the 6 at a marathon pace. I did the 6 in 50:20, 8:22 pace. I did mile 6 as my fastest at 8:07. From the 6 mile point, I reset my Garmin, and did another 4 miles in my training pace. I know I only had to run 6, but I felt good, and missing the 8 on Wed, it had me wanting to make up some of those miles. I ran the 4 miles in 35:17, a 8:48 avg.

I have (2)5 milers to run Tuesday & Thursday, and plan to do just them. I have felt a bit of discomfort in the right ankle recently, so this is a good time to let it rest a bit.

Enjoy the week, it'll be another hectic week around these parts, with the boys back in school, karate lessons, soccer practice, and fall ball starting!

Back from vacation.... and been a running fool !

I am back from our week plus vacation at our place in Wildwood, but fear not, I have been a running fool!
Let's see.. I ran last weekend a 4 miler on Saturday, and that brings us to Sunday.
Good ole Hurricane Bill was passing Wildwood, and I was hoping not to get caught in his wrath. I was out the door around 5:20am, to run my 16 miler, a longer version of the 14 I ran the week before, out and back to Cape May. When I started out, it was just a fine mist, still humid, and temps around 68deg. I was better prepared this week, for the heat & humidity. I picked up a few salt packets at the McDonald's on the boards the nite before, and took one before I started.
I was rain free, except for the mist, the first 3 miles, and then it started, and it got harder and harder. I stopped at a WaWa, to refill my handheld with ice around mile 6, and got back at it, and I was now in a full blown downpour! I hit the 8 mile mark around where the start of the Ocean Drive Marathon was back in March. I took cover under one of the local store's entrance, hoping to wait out the rain. I took the other salt packet, rung out my tank, and with the skies showing no sign of letting up, off I went.
On the way out of Cape May, I hit the WaWa to get more ice, and could see in the distance the sun! As I ran on the Ocean Drive, getting closer to the fisheries, I was rain free!
I did the 16 miler in 2:28:59, a 9:18 avg. No bonking this time!
My mid week runs of 6-8-6 where uneventful, just nice running at the shore. I ran my 6 miler at an avg of 8:06, 8 miler at 8:50, and last 6 at 8:30.
Saturday, we were back and I was out with the trail group.. running in the rain again... we did a nice 4 mile run in the hills of Clayton Park. I took it easy because I had 18 scheduled for today, Sunday.
Well I spoke to my bud Shoreturtle Saturday night, to see what he had on his schedule, and he had a 20 miler, so I offered to meet him and run the 20, what's an extra 2 miles? We met up at Mercer County Park at 5:30am, and he mapped out a 2 x 10 mile loops. We both decided to try and stay around a 9:15 pace. When we get together, we seem to enjoy pushing each other in a friendly competitive way. We started out running on the bike path, into the total darkness of the woods. Turtle was on it, bringing not only his headlamp, but a mini-mag lite, so we wouldn't soak our feet in the puddles from Saturday's rain.
The 1st loop seemed to fly by, and when we got back to the lot, we did a quick stop to change into a dry shirt, and refill our fluids. I also took a salt packet, and Gu.
We kept a pretty steady pace throughout the run. It was the longest run I have done since Philly last fall. I could feel it in the legs the last 2 miles, and was glad when it was over. It was nice to have a partner for the long runs. We did the 20 in 3:03:40, for an avg of 9:10!
Looking back at last year, I ran my 1st 20 miler in 3:26:48, a 10:20 avg. I was pretty amazed at the difference in time. While it doesn't seem it, I guess I am in better shape this year, than last.

One last thing.. I ran 167.89 miles for the month of August, which puts me at 835.41 for the year,

Dog days of summer are here!

The past week was my 1st recovery week, and it couldn't have come at a better time.

The 3H's have hit NJ.. Hazy, Hot & Humid !

Here is the week in review:

Sunday... 6 miles in the 3H's 8:57 avg.

Monday... off

Tuesday, I had 4 on the schedule, but I misread it, and ran 6, out and back to Mercer County Park... did it in an 8:22 avg. Nice tempo run.

Wednesday ... off

Thursday, I ran part of the 2nd half of the Philly Marathon course. Not long, just a 4 miler, in a downpour. It started raining as soon as I got to running. I think running in the ran makes me run faster... 7:39 avg.

Friday... off

Saturday, was trail running with the group. I only had to run 4, but we ended up running 6.4 miles. I think the trails, with the hills will help come Nov.

That leads us up to a new week of training.

Sunday, I was downashore, so I ran a loop from Wildwood to Cape May. It was 70deg with high humidity when I left the house at 6:15am! It was a long hard 14 miles!

I started out conservative, and ran miles 2-10 in a nice training pace range of 9:03 - 9:44.

I had stopped in a WaWa, on my way out of Cape May, to refill my handheld with ice. I got some free samples with my latest order from Hammer Nutrition. I use their Recoverite, after my hard runs, and I really feel it helps.
The free sample I used was called Sustained Energy. It says it's designed for workouts over 2 hours. I thought I would give it a try,since I had my run figured to be over 2 hours. It had a chalky taste, and the real negative of this product was it foamed up, so it made it hard to drink while I was running.

Mile 11, I could feel the heat taking it toll, and I slowed to a 9:57, and knew I was in trouble.

I had the drawbridge to cross in mile 12, and I started to mix in run/walks, something I haven't done pretty much ever. 10:57 for mile 12, and it was downhill quickly.

I continued the walk/running, and stopped at a rescue squad, to refill by handheld again! I was DYING!

Mile 13.... 11:26 ... one mile of hell left !!

I struggled to keep the legs moving.. walking a block, running a block. Calves where cramping a bit , and I completed 14 in 11:12 ! DONE !! 14 miles 2:18:08

From now on, I am out the door by 5:30am, on these long runs.

The next 2 long Sunday runs are 16 & 18 milers. No way would I have made it to 16 this past Sunday! One good thing, looks like once we get thru this week, the humidity and temps will dip a bit to a more manageable level!

I have added a 1/4- 1/2 mile cool down to the end of my runs. I figure it can't hurt, right?

Guts & Glory 5k Ocean City, NJ 8/8/09

One of the perks in having a place downashore, is that, as a runner, you can check the race calender down there. There were 2 races on Saturday, close to Wildwood, a 10 miler in Sea Isle City (see Joy's ) that was an early nite race, or an early morning 5k, in Ocean City. Since I couldn't hang around until 5:30, to run the 10 miler, I chose the 5k in Ocean City. That worked best into my schedule, as I usually get down to Wildwood early on Sat. mornings, one, to beat the traffic, and two, to run! I had 4 miles in the schedule, so a 5k fit perfectly.

The Guts & Glory 5k, was the biggest 5k I have ever ran in. It had 1375 runners/walkers registered. It ran along the ocean, on the streets of Ocean City, and finished with a lap on the Ocean City High School's track.

There were so many entrants, that this was a chip timed 5k. One of the local TV stations, NBC10, from Philly was there, broadcasting live during their morning newscast. I snapped a picture of an interview in progress.

When they lined us up on the street, one mistake I made, was a started a bit too far back in the pack. Since I figured this was a chip timed race, I thought starting back a ways, would allow for less congestion when you hung a sharp right into an alley way about 100 yards after the start. Well, as I found out too late, they only used the chips to help organize the finishing order.
It was like the start to the Philly marathon, with a bit of walking involved that 1st couple of 1/10Th's of a mile. You had a quick right, right, left, and then onto a straight road, where you could settle in to your pace.

I had a tough week of running, so I wasn't shooting for any particular time. I had the 6-8-6 on Tues - Thurs., keeping all my training runs in the 8:40-9:00min/mile pace. One crazy thing I did do, was meet up with Hurley and a few of the HATR's, early Wed, and do a cross fit circuit at the local high school track. That was tough, but I have made it a point to attempt to add core training this time around.

So after getting past a lot of foot traffic, I was able to settle into a comfortable pace. I was amazed at when I passed the 2-1/2 mile mark, and there were still people walking/jogging towards mile 1. There were a lot of people!
I also made it a point to not look at the garmin every mile, and just do the run, but when I hit the track, I did look at the finish line timer, and realized that there would be no PR today. It was around 20:50's, and I knew I wasn't going to run the last 440, in a minute. I finished with a respectable 22:12, good for 10Th in my old age group, and 82Nd outta 1196 finishers.

If I would have not got caught up in the first 2/10's congestion.... maybe it would have been a PR?

1 week down, 17 to go !

I would like to 1st thank Mother Nature, for taking most of the summer off, giving us here in NJ, a longer spring! It figures that as soon as it's time for me to ramp up my running, good ole' MN brings back the heat & humidity.
I got out and ran a wet 6 miles on Wednesday, and 7 on Thursday. Before I went on my wet run on Wednesday, I hit up the local RoadRunner sports store, for a new pair of running shoes. My Black Kayano's have about had it. I have heard nothing but good things about Road Runner, and their foot analysis that they do, so I wanted to make sure what I was wearing was the best shoe for me. The gal that helped me, was awesome, and after trying on a few different pairs, I settled on more of the same, another pair of the Asics Gel Kayano 15's. With my VIP membership, and an additional 10%, I got them for $116.00, they were reg. $139.00, so I got a great deal on them.
I chose to hold off running in them, until Thursday, no sense making the 1st run, a run in the rain!
I also purchased a new insole for them and they felt good. I can tell it will take a few weeks to get them broken in.
Saturday, I got out with the TrailRuns group. There were about 8 of us, and it was nice to have Shoreturtle back. He hadn't run with the group in 8 weeks. He was coming off a Achilles injury. While I only had 4 miles on the schedule, it was a long run of 7 miles with the group.
Sunday, I got out bright an early, at 5:45am. and got my 12 miler in before the rains came. And boy did they. I just missed a massive downpour by about 10 mins! I felt pretty good on the 12 miler, and averaged around 9 min miles. I started out slow, and built up as I went along. The legs were a bit heavy at the start, probably from the long trail run on Saturday.
Week 1 is in the books, with only 17 more to come!

Sandblast beach run & the start of Training!

I had a minor scare this past Monday, when I bent down to pick something up, and had my right knee lock up on me. This happens from time to time, but I always get right up. This time it had me in pain, and limp bad enough to scare me to see my doctor. After a check of it, he prescribed rest and Naproxen, and by Thursday I was pain free and able to run, so I ran 6 miles.
I was hoping for a full week of running, since I had a 4 mile "beach race" on Saturday. Oh well, at least it was a minor injury, and I am relatively healthy headed into the 18 week marathon training.

Now the run part, what better way to celebrate your 43rd B-day, than with a race! In Wildwood, Saturday there was a race I have been wanting to do for years, and everything worked out that I was able to do it. The SandBlast beach run, has a 2 or 4 mile race, on the beach, from 15th street in North Wildwood, to the Crest and back.

As my luck would have it, it was a windy night! I asked one of the beach patrol how strong they were, and 15 mph sustained. So that meant the 1st two miles where into the wind! I had never done a race on the beach, so I was looking forward to the challenge.

My only goal, without training for this, and with pretty much no running the week before, I wanted to keep it around 8 min. miles. I met and was talking with a fellow runner at the start, who also was doing his 1st beach race, and was hoping to be around the 7:30 avg. I wanted to stick with him, but lost him in the crowd at the start. I did try a lot of drafting off the runners in front of me, but with the lost week of running, my legs felt like they weighted a ton.

I knocked off the 1st mile in 7:36. It felt like a struggle, so I wasn't sure what I would have left for the rest of the race.

The wind was a killer, it felt a lot stronger than the 15mph I was told. I could feel that I backed off and ran the 2nd mile at 8:06, which would be my slowest mile of the race.
As usual in the shorter races that I run, I always seem to get passed by the 10 yr old girl, or the person with the stroller. I had a man fly past with a stroller, on the beach, in the 3rd mile. It was nice to have the wind at your back for the final 2 miles, which I think was helping stroller guy. Mile 3 was a 7:42 mile, and I had found a group of 3 runners to stick with for the last mile. The legs were toast, but I kept pushing, and was lucky enough to stay with the group until about the last 1/10, when they kicked it in. I did the 4th mile in a nice wind aided 7:03, for a finish of 30:29, by my garmin. No age group award on this day, there were a lot of good runners in this race.

It was a fun race, and hopefully I'll be able to run this again, with the proper training before hand.

Now not even 12hours later, I was up and out the door to start my Marathon training. It was tough to get up at 6:00am, and run 10 miles! I did an out and back to Cape May. Not one of my best runs, but I averaged 9:30 miles, best was mile 3, a 9:14 mile and slowest, mile 6, a 9:44.

What was nice about the run was the last 2 miles were at 9:19.

Our last day of our mini-vacation, was today, Tuesday, and I got out and did an out and back to North Wildwood, with a finish on the boardwalk. I had a 6 miler planned, but somehow I messed up my course, and added a mile, not that I mined. I did the 7 miler right in my time range at 9:02. and had my best mile as my last. Hopefully that's a good sign of things to come.

Back in the swing of training

I know in my last post, I moaned of motivation, and I am still struggling with it, but I know what I have to do, and I will do it.

I had a nice week mileage wise, to get back into the training mode. I checked my stats from last year at this time, and I had just finished up with a weekly total of 28.1 miles. This year, I was at 26.9, and that was without my Thursday run, so I feel much more confident after finding 2008's results.

Last week was super busy with my son's baseball, and I was still able to get my running in. I was even fortunate enough to get my trail run in with the group on Saturday, before his game. They hooked me up with a nice run, and even shortened it a bit, to get me out of there with enough time to shower before leaving for the game.

Now before today's last game, I got up early and did a nice 10 mile out and back run.
As I was checking my past history last nite, I was shocked to find out that my longest run, since running the Long Branch 1/2 marathon, on May 3rd, was a 9-1/2 miler back in May! I knew I had slacked, but no run of 10+ miles since the 1st weekend in May... that's shocking.

Well, today, I wanted to stay in the 8:45-9:15 range, that's where I want to be at for my long runs. I stayed in that range, and even managed to run my last mile, as my best. It was a struggle during the mid miles. When I got into the 5-8 mile range, I could feel the heaviness in my legs. The lungs felt good, but not the legs! I'm sure it'll be a bit before that goes away.

One new thing I added to my run, was a Nathan Quick draw Elite handheld

I got that last week, and this was the 1st time I had a chance to use it. I had only run with a water bottle, so having something like this felt weird. One thing I learned was I need to make sure my fluids are cold. My water got warm after a few miles.

This Saturday, I found a cool run that I am looking forward to running. I missed out on it the last few years, but the stars have aligned for me to run it this year.

www.sandblastbeachrun.net

It's a 2 or 4 mile run, on the beach in Wildwood! I have pre registered for the 4 miler, and am looking forward to my 1st beach race!

Nice thing about being downashore next weekend, is I get to do my Sunday 12 mile run at the beach. I'm planning on a running an out and back to Cape May.

10 miles 1:28:39

1. 8:38
2. 9:00
3. 8:52
4. 8:53
5. 9:04
6. 9:05
7. 9:03
8. 8:53
9. 8:45
10. 8:19

Inching closer to Marathon Training.

Hard to believe that is already the middle of July, and in a few short weeks, I'll start training for my 2nd Philadelphia Marathon.
Last year, everything was new and exciting. I found a plan, stuck to it, and finished!I was motivated with the thought of failure, not being able to finish.
This year, I am struggling to get motivated to train. I don't know if I still have a "marathon hangover", but I hope, come July 26th, I can flick the switch and get going.
It amazes me to think of the people and teams that can win a championship, and come back and do it again, the next year.
I haven't gone on a "long run" in quite some time.
I had the thrill of running in Wildwood, on the boards, Saturday morning. I normally just run 4 miles, out and back on the boards, but I ran into the Crest, and added 2 miles to my run, making it a 6 miler. My weekday runs are in the 4-6 mile range. Somehow I will need to be in the 6-8 range, for my training.
I have made an effort to start to bump up the mileage. I ran a 7 miler on Tuesday, and ran 6 Wednesday. For the 7 miler, I averaged 8:16's, and for the 6, it was 8:37's.
For my marathon training, I want to be in the 8:45-9:15 range.
I can also feel the shoes starting to go. Hard to believe, I feel like I just got them, but I have had them for 4 months, and looking at my mileage, they have roughly 350 miles on them.
I have 40 miles in the book for July so far, and 606 for the year.
I try and get out for another run on Thursday, and hit the trails on Saturday.

Track Work, a tennis ball, 8 golf balls, 2 ticks and sore hammys!

Most people over the 4th of July weekend, over indulge in fireworks, BBQ, beer, and picnics.

I choose those and added my son's all star baseball games, and running!

Let's start with Friday. My running buds over at TrailRuns decided to do something different and meet early at the track. I knew we were in for it, when they said "track". We did a mile warm up, and got into the meat of the work out.

I'll give you the condensed version.

4 laps, w/ 110 sprints, 15 push-ups, back on the track for a 50yrd dash, up and down the bleachers, and finish with a variety of squats, lunges, etc.

Let's just say it was a killer! I realized that I am the most out of shape, in shape person I know!

When I got up Saturday, to meet the trail group to run in Mercer County Park, I could barely walk. My hamstrings were killing me, and the right hammy is still tight today!

Now I figured that since we killed ourselves on Friday, the trail run would be a nice easy run.
Well, the pace was fine, but the trails, well, if you could call them trails were a killer!

At the start, I found a tennis ball, close to the courts, and since I knew it was a loop we were running, I couldn't leave it there and pick it up later, so I took it.

The first 3+ miles were the usual course, in and out of the trails, whirl bird, no big deal. As we entered the woods and headed towards the dam, that's were the trails became severely overgrown,and we became "bushwhackers"! Now we have had a ton of rain here in June, so on the overgrown trails, some were a mud mess, and you had to be real careful of your footing.

As we navigated the mud, swamps, brush, you name and we ran thru it, we finally hit the dam. Now there were 2 routes we could take, the nice clear trails that we have run hundreds of times, and get back easily to our start, or take the overgrown mud mess trails? You guessed it, we took the route less traveled.

The 2nd half was worse than the 1st. We ran close to the county golf course, and I found 8 golf balls along the way, so I had to run with 3 in each hand, and 2 in my pocket. Which leads to the next mess. I felt something on the side of my face, which turned out to be a tick. Well, that freaked me out, so I started checking myself, and found another one on my leg. Now I was really freaked, and since I was running with a visor, and not a hat, I was sure I was going to find more in my hair. Luckily when I got home, I showered and my wife gave me the once over, and I was found to be tick free!

Our round the lake bushwhacker trail run debacle turned out to be 8.4 miles. I was glad for the length of the run, but those trails were a disaster. It was tough, we had a few close calls, on rolled ankles, and falls, but we managed to survive!

I was hoping to get out and do a long run this morning, before my son's game, but when the right hammy still felt tight, I thought it best to take the day off, and rest. I'll get back out there either Monday or Tuesday. The weather for these parts looks great, so no rain excuses this week!

One bummer that got dropped on my this past week, was I have to go to Dallas for work in Sept. AND don't you know it's the weekend of the ING Philadelphia Distance Run, so looks like I am out for that one. If you are close to Philly, and want to run a 1/2 marathon, by all means this is the race for you! Trust me, it's done right... bands every mile, and pretty flat. It'll give you a glimpse into what the Philly Marathon course is like.
I will be packing the running clothes when I hit Dallas, and will make sure to get my runs in before our seminars!

4 consecutive days of running

For the 1st time in quite awhile, I have run 4 days in a row.

While they haven't been long mileage runs, it is nice to get out and just run.

Saturday was a trail/bike path warm up for the Run for Dad 5k.

Sunday was the Run for Dad 5k.

Monday, 4.2 miles on the boards in Wildwood! More on that in a bit..

Tuesday, and out and back down 5.2 mile run.

I had to head down to Wildwood Sunday nite, to get our place ready for the wife and kids, since we had renters in last week. SO, what do you do when you get up on Monday? Go for a run on the boardwalk! Nothing better than running at the shore. There were a few runners out and about, which is a nice site. I took it pretty easy, running the 4.2 miles in 36:13, a 8:37 avg.

Today's run, I felt good when I started, but faded in the end. I think it was the lack of fluids. I didn't drink any water in the afternoon, and it was warm out, my guess is high 70's and you could feel the humidity building, around 5:30pm, when I went for my run. With the weather warming, I need to remember to hydrate myself during the day. Again, what I need to do, is start slower, and negative split my runs. I am too much of a rabbit. Luckily, when I ran the Philly Marathon, and Long Branch 1/2, I was smart enough to start out slow! Hopefully I can make that the norm for all of my runs.

5.2 miles 44:21 (8:32avg)

1. 8:12
2. 8:06
3. 8:30
4. 8:45
5. 8:54

The last .20 was 1:51

I checked my stats out for the year and here's where I am at:

86 runs for the year

548.93 total miles

80:21:46 hh:mm:ss

75,292 calories burned

Total for June: 65.47miles

Gotta love the info from the Garmin!

Here's a few more interesting stats. My totals since I got my Garmin at the end of last July:

1,185.34 miles

176:12:25 hh:mm:ss

160,438 calories burned

That's pretty cool !

Looks like I won't hit 100 for the month, but that will change shortly, as my fall marathon training will start in at the end of July.

I think I'll take Wednesday off, and get back out there on Thursday.

Guess who's back!

Here's Blogging!
It's been a busy time round these parts. Lots of baseball, karate, and parties lately. We might have a 7yr old all-star, so baseball might be front and center until the end of July! We'll know if he made it Wednesday. For 7yr old all-stars, you have 2 practices a week, and games Sat & Sun, every weekend thru July! That'll keep ya jumpin! Couple that with the Saturday trips to Wildwood with the summer rental season, and it's going to be a busy time.


OK, as far as the running goes, I have managed to run about 4 times a week.
I got away from the Sunday long runs, with all the local 5k's I had been doing in place of them. I did get out the past 2 Sunday's and do runs of 13.6 & 9.5 . Both were tough runs, with the temps creeping up around here, and the fact I haven't run that long in over a month. Not great confidence boosters, but I was glad I did them. FYI... wait an hour or so after dinner to run 9.5 miles, not a few minutes!


I did get out with the TrailRuns group the past 3 Saturday's. We did a hard ladder repeats on the hills in Clayton Park the 1st week, and muddy trails in Mercer & Clayton the last 2 weeks.

My weekday runs have only been between 4-6 miles in length. That is partially by design. I want to stay fresh and injury free, leading up to my marathon training at the end of July.

We have the annual Run For Dad 5k this Sunday, which I am looking forward to. It's a great time, because it gets my boys involved in running. For $10.00ea, they get a Run for Dad tee, a bib#, and a finisher's ribbon. They absolutely love it,and they look like us crazy runners. They have been training on the front lawn for the last week or so. They set up a "track" and race each other. It's fun to watch them race,and of course sometimes they get the wife & I out there to race them. One thing I can promise is that I will warm-up a bit before the race, and make sure my shoe laces are double knotted, so I don't have to run the last 1+ with a flat tire like last year.

While I haven't had as much time to post lately, I can promise you I am not going anywhere. We have had a few great bloggers retire recently, but I enjoy blogging, and I feel it helps me with my running. It keeps me honest in my training.

I'll try and get out and run Wednesday & Thursday, weather permitting. Sounds like more rain for our area is on the way. Saturday, I believe the trail group will run in Mercer County Park, since a lot of us are doing the 5k there on Sunday.

***UPDATE***

We do have a 7yr old all-star, so 6 more weeks of BASEBALL !!

Trail runs & the Fabulous Feat 5k

As May comes to an end, it also ends my goal of running at least a 100 miles a month for the year. With the rains we had here in NJ, and the start of the 5k season, I ended May at 78.21 miles. Not bad, but I need to get back to my long runs on Sunday mornings.

I ran with the Trailrunsgroup this past Saturday morning. We met at Clayton Park, and while it wasn't a long trail run, Bill Y. came up with the idea of doing "ladders" on the long hill.

These were hard, and it something I wouldn't do on my own, so I was glad to do them. I want to make sure I continue to do this type of workout into my marathon training later this summer. I have never been good at hills, both up and downhill, and I can tell I am getting better, since I started running the trails.

It was nice to be back with them, since I missed the past 2 weeks, being downashore.

Sunday, there was a nice little local 5k in Veteran's Park, the FabulousFeat5k.

I ran into Jess who was there with her son, ready to run. Gotta give her credit to run a 5k with a stroller. I also ran into an old family friend who runs all the local 5k's. He's a good guy, who's still running at 64! Hopefully I'll be able to run at that age.
It was perfect weather for the run. There was a little over 100 runners, so it was a nice crowd. I was worried about being a rabbit at the start with the smaller crowd. I kept that in mind when the race started. I didn't get caught up at the start, and settled into my own pace. I tried to keep the same pace from last Sunday's 5k. I did that for the most part.
It was nice to run a "home race", as I run many miles in Veteran's Park. The hard part of the 5k's there, is the long uphill around the 2.5 mile mark! I knew when I hit the 2 mile mark, I had a chance at a PR, but that uphill would tell the tale. I attacked it the best I could, and felt pretty afterwards, and when I saw the clock, I knew it would be close. I didn't have much left for the last .10, but I managed to cross at 21:59, .03 off of last weeks PR. I was glad to break the 22 min barrier again.

I did get 2nd in my age group which was cool.

Here are some pictures from the run, Jesswith her son in the stroller & the Deacon at the finish line, and Deacon & I getting our 2nd place age group medals.

21:59 (7:05 avg.)

1. 6:58

2. 7:07

3. 7:09

.10 :45