one last time

Well, this will be my last post before Saturday's big event, the Akron Marathon. I've spent this week eating a bunch of carbs, resting my legs, and trying not to think too much about the marathon. It should be a fun time. In case anyone is interested in the results, they have already put up this link which is where the results will be posted (supposedly in real-time). Hopefully I'll do a short post on it Saturday afternoon when I get home, with more details to follow later in the weekend. Friday evening I have to head down to Akron for their big pre-race expo which has a bunch of speakers, vendors and I pickup my bib number and electronic chip. Then back home for an early bed time as I'm getting up very early on Saturday as the race starts promptly at 7:30am. The weather is going to be great, low 70s and partly sunny, though it is going to be in 40s in the morning.

So thanks to everyone for your support (and patience) over the past few months. Time to put all that training to use.

Week #16 - Day 1

This is it, the week of the marathon. Just over 3 days from now! Did a nice, short run today of about 3 miles. I really wanted to keep it relaxed, so I just started running and went for just over 30 minutes. It was kind of nice to not be my usual retentive self, starting exactly at the mile markers and making my distances exact. The run went very well, though I did have some stiffness and some knee pain during and after the runs. Even though I made it through the half-marathon 2 weeks ago without major issues, I'm still concerned that I could encounter a problem like a did a few weeks ago when I was scheduled to do 20 miles but pulled up after 11 because of some hip pains. Not to mention the fact that I've had an annoying chest cough that has popped up just in the past couple of days. I really hope nothing pops up in the next couple of days to ruin the nearly 6 months of work that I have put in to do this. But worrying about uncontrollable stuff like that is only going to stress me out and make it more likely to happen. So I might try to get a few miles in tomorrow and then take Thursday & Friday off so I'll be all rested up for Saturday morning.

Week #15 - Day 3

Well, today was it. The last long run before the marathon. Just an 8 miler, but it was not easy for me. I guess it was just an off day. I went to the towpath and struggled along, finishing in 1:13:09 (9:09 mile pace). It was not easy and I'm not really sure the cause of it. Might be that it was in the early afternoon which is a very odd running time for me. And it had been a while since breakfast. Also, it was in the upper 70s and sunny today which is different than what I've gotten used to running in for the past few weeks. I'm not too concerned though, last Sunday's half-marathon went well and I had a great run on Wednesday.

So, the next week will see me do just a couple of 3 mile runs in preparation for Saturday's Akron Marathon. I just got my information packet in the mail today, so that was pretty exciting. They also have this cool tracking system where I can signup friends & family to get emails/text messages/voice messages informing them of my progress at each mile. So let me know if anyone wants me to sign them up. Under 7 days to go....

Week #15 - Day 2

The tapering continues. Was scheduled to do a 5 mile run but ended up stretching it out to 6 since I was feeling very good. Dug out the heart rate monitor for the first time in weeks since I didn't want to over-exert and kept it near 75% of max for most of the run. Finished in 56:12 (9:22 mile pace) which was pretty good for holding back. Went to the towpath and headed north and fortunately did not encounter any swarms of dragon flys like last time. The weather was great. I can only hope this lasts a couple more weeks. I'm scheduled to have another 3 miler and my last long run of 8 miles this weekend. Only 9 days until the Akron Marathon!

Week #15 - Day 1

Today I started into my next to last week of training, another tapering week. My program called for a 3 mile run, so that's what I did. That was the shortest run I have done in months, and since it's getting dark earlier and I'm getting home later from work, I headed up to the rec center to use the treadmill. Of course, I was reminded that I don't really care for running on treadmills (which is bad, since Cleveland winters will necessitate me to use them unless I stop running for 5 months). Also, it was not very cool in there and I was sweating like a pig by the time I was done, which hasn't been a big issue for me running outdoors lately now that the temps are down.

I was still a bit sore from Sunday's half-marathon, so I took it easy and did a straight-up 10:00 mile pace, so I finished my 3 miles in a half hour. At the park it would have been a breeze, but on the treadmill I kept wanting to give up. Thank goodness for TVs at the rec center (and Cleveland Indians games!).

In other news, I added my Personal Bests over on the side by my links. The 10K time is pretty embarassing these days, though I guess it is a good sign of how far I have come in my running since that was back in my second week of training.

Also, the results for the Buckeye Half-Marathon have been posted here. I finished #169 / 450. Not bad. Though I was only #14 / 20 in my age group for men. Looks like it is gonna take a lot of work if I hope to crack the top 3. I have a few more years in this age group, though it's just as hard one level up. Only time will tell where my running career leads.

Week #14 - Day 3 (a half-marathon)

Today was a nice little warm-up for the Marathon which is now less than 13 days away. I got out of bed at 6:20am and headed down to Cuyahoga Falls for the Buckeye Half Marathon. They also had a 5K going on, but most people were there for the half-marathon, like myself. I went to bed early last night and had not run in two days, so I was well rested.

The announced turnout for the race was 500+, so the starting line was pretty crowded. I started about halfway back and it took about 20 seconds for me to actually pass the starting line after the race started. I was pleasantly surprised to see that there were Pace Leaders, which was very helpful since I had forgotten my watch. During the first couple miles, I was hanging around the 1:45 pace guy, but then lost sight of him during the 3rd mile. And then during mile 4, the 1:50 pace guy came by and I decided that I would try to stick with him the rest of the race.

The course was all roads which had semi-restricted traffic. We stayed left-of-center on the street and the occasional cars would pass by, going either way...some drivers being nice and slow and moved over, and others allowing for the bare minimum clearence and not slowing down. So that was pretty annoying. But the most annoying part of the race was the run/walk guy that was part of our little pace group. At about the halfway point (6 miles), the runners were pretty spread out and there were about 10-15 people that were part of our little group at that point. That included a guy who would run and then walk a little bit. So I would pass this guy, and then a few minutes (or even a few seconds) later, he would blaze back past me, only to walk and fall back a few minutes later. There was no one passing me and I was still passing the occasional person, and I know it might sound silly but it was super-annoying to have this little cat-and-mouse game with this guy.

Anyways, the course was pretty rolling with it's up and downs. I enjoyed the down parts, and struggled through some of the up parts. Around mile 10, I started falling back from the pace group (which itself was shrinking). I really began questioning whether it was really smart of me to try to keep up or fall back to a more "comfortable" pace. But I kept up as best as I could, gaining ground on the downhill parts. When we hit mile 12 and I was about 30 seconds behind the pace group, I decided it was now or never. I hung back for most of the mile, and struggled to make it up one last hill. But on the downhill, I kicked it in a little bit and passed the pace group at about 12.9 miles. I had a great kick and passed a bunch of people that last quarter mile as I sprinted towards the finish. I ended up crossing the line at 1:49:45 (8:22 mile pace). The preliminary results they posted at the finish showed me finishing #169 (out of 500+). I'll link the results later when they get posted.

I was pretty excited about this. Looking back to my first race, that 10K not even 3 months ago, I'm very encouraged by being able to cut 1:26 off my pace today from that much shorter race. The marathon training has had it's ups and its downs, and I'm a little disappointed that I haven't been as disciplined recently as I was when I first started. But it's very encouraging to see the results like this. I'm a little sore, but nothing crazy. I was pretty wiped out at the end of the race, so it's very obvious that my marathon pace is going to be quite a bit slower. But I think today's results were enough to satisfy my need to have a "good race time", so the pressure I've been putting on myself for the marathon is a little lighter.

Week #14 - Day 2

Today was a great run. Got a late start after eating and resting for a bit at home after work. Started my run around 7pm at the Metroparks in Strongsville. Started off at a good pace, 17 minutes for the first 2 miles, and kept at it most of the way. In fact, I think I did my last 2 miles in around 8 minutes each! I just felt really good and was not laboring to keep that pace. The weather was great, low 70s, cloudy and starting to get dark near the end of the run. I did about 8 miles (I know, normally I am Mr.Precise, but I took a wrong turn and ended up going down the wrong path near the end of mile 4), so I turned around and did a little extra that I think put me at or slightly over 8 miles total. My finishing time was 1:05:53 (an 8:14 mile pace), which is excellent for me.

Not sure what caused that great run tonight. Might have been getting some extra rest between runs, the cooler weather, or doing it later in the evening after dinner. But whatever it was, I hope I can repeat it on Sunday at the half-marathon. I don't expect to achieve the same pace, but I am shooting for a little under 9:00 miles unless I find it too difficult to maintain. I have a bad tendency of starting fast out of the gate and tiring myself out too quickly. Fortunately I don't think it's too popular of an event, so I won't get overly caught up in the crowd excitement at the start. I'm taking the next couple days off to rest up for Sunday's race. Don't want to wear these legs out quite yet.

Week #14 - Day 1

Started the week off with a nice, short 5 mile run after work today. The temperature was in the upper 80s today, very unseasonable for Cleveland this time of year as it should be in the low 70s. But I'm sure in a few weeks I'll be missing days like this. I headed north on the towpath and realize that might be something I need to avoid in the future. The towpath runs right next to water (an old canal) and there were a ton of fireflys flying all over the place. In certain areas it was almost swarm-like. But I managed to survive.

I tried to keep my pace pretty slow today, but still managed to finish in a good time of 45:53 (9:10 mile pace) thanks to a little sprint for the last tenth of a mile. The run started with some knee pain which is new for me. I've had knee pain for quite some time due to Ilitobial Band issues, but this was actual knee pain. Fortunately it did not last beyond the first mile (replaced by a mild case of the standard knee pain I'm used to). I think I'll be able to keep around this pace on Sunday, if not better as I do hope to finish in under 2 hours. I know, time goals are bad, but this is the half-marathon, not the real thing. I can't help it. I'm a naturally competitive person and it's nearly impossible for me mentally to go out there and not have some sort of goal to aim for. Plus it will really help determine if I think I can try to keep the same pace for the actual marathon.

Week #13 - Day 3

The last scheduled high mileage "long run" ended up being not-so-high mileage. I started off well, probably too well, finishing the first 5 miles in under 45 minutes. During the 6th mile, I started feeling a little worn out, and it only got worse. I finished mile 11 in 1:44:56 (9:32 mile pace) and stopped. My legs felt like they could not go anymore, so I walked back the last mile to where I had started. I was very disappointed with my performance, but it actually felt more physical than mental this time. I've gotten tired before on the long runs, but I've never really encountered this "dead legs" feeling. And unfortunately I'm sort of new to all of this so I'm not exactly sure what the cause if it is. It may be having missed a run earlier in the week, or maybe just a culmination of the wear and tear on my body for 13 weeks of training. Whatever it is, I hope it goes away soon. The marathon is 20 days away and I have my first half-marathon a week from today. I'm thinking of trying to get back to 3 training runs this week before the half-marathon, and just keep the mileage down to something more reasonable.

Week #13 - Day 2

Went to the towpath today for my 8 mile run. Headed north and went 4 miles and back. Finished in 70:58 (8:52 mile pace). Left the heart rate monitor at home again this time, so I probably pushed myself a little harder than I should have. I was feeling pretty winded during part of the run, but did not feel much soreness or anything afterwards. Weather was nice. Hopefully it will be like this from here on out. 23 days to go until the Akron Marathon!

Week #13 - Day 1

I decided to substitute a nice long bike ride for this week's 5 mile run. Kristy & I headed to the Metroparks in Strongsville and took a ride from Rt.82 over to downtown Berea and back. About 15 miles round trip. We kept a pretty good clip, especially on the way back when Kristy took the lead. I was struggling to keep up a times. Might not have been quite as aerobic as running, but it was a good workout on the legs and, at times, on the lungs.

Week #12 - Day 3

Today was my long run and the first of two scheduled 18 mile runs. I'm happy to report that I managed to complete the entire 18 miles, in just under 3 hours (2:59:45 - 9:59 mile pace). But I did continue running for another minute or so, just so I could say that I've now run for over 3 straight hours. Yeah, it's not exactly the most exciting 3 hours someone could spend, but it's part of the training.

I headed south on the towpath, and given the great weather conditions (low 70s and mostly sunny), there were a ton of people out. Fortunately I did not get run over or cut off by anyone, though there are plenty of annoying bikers who just stop on the towpath and don't even look when they're starting to get going again. But anyways, I went from mile marker 17 down to 27 and then turned back and finished my 8 miles and gave myself 2 miles to walk as a cool down. And it seems to have helped to have the long walk since I'm not quite as sore as usual. I was getting pretty worn down the last 3 miles, but it helped to think that it would take me a couple hours to get back if I decided to walk it.

So just under 4 weeks left to go. This coming week will be my last full week as I start cutting back on week 14, for which my "long run" will be the Buckeye Half Marathon in Cuyahoga Falls, OH.