So Much to Say

I've got a million things to post but can't seem to think of the proper way to write it all out. Soon enough! Have been a little lax with the training of late but managed to get in a good tempo, a fast pace run and a 14 mile LSD in the last week. I've got my last set of 800 meter repeats tomorrow (8x800). Flying Pig is this weekend. Stay relaxed this week Liz! The week up to and including the marathon is a truly special time! Enjoy!

The Longest Yet

I was mad stressing about how I was going to get my long run in this weekend with everything else I had planned. The answer was to simply get my butt up early on Saturday and run a monster loop passing through Avon, Westlake, Bay Village and Avon Lake. GMaps Pedometer calculated the total distance to be 22.5 miles, which I was happy with. The first 5 miles passed by some of the most gorgeous houses on the west side of Cleveland. Shortly after, I passed by two youth soccer games and a goal was scored on each field as I passed by! Seven miles were on Lake Road, offering up more stunning houses and a view of the lake from time to time. The water was so still this morning that all I could think of was heading home to get my wetsuit and jumping in for a swim. I shed my arm warmers with 3 miles to go because it was really starting to heat up. I could start to feel a slight burn in my legs and tightness in my hamstrings at mile 21. It was at this point that I picked up the pace all the way to the finish. 2:43:49 was my total time (7:17/mile). Along the way I took down two PowerGels and 24 ounces of VitaminWater, which is comprable to Gatorade (a little tastier I might add). My friend Frank brought me 3 cases of the VitaminWater to trial with my TNT group. I figured I'd try it first before offering it to them. On a scale from 1-10, I'd give todays run a 9 (some company would have made it a 10!). It was one of those runs that makes it all worthwhile!

Proud of my Boston Peeps!

I had a blast on Monday tracking my friends who ran in the Boston Marathon. Although I was planted at a desk hundreds of miles away, their strategies were obvious based on 5K splits. What seemed to work best was taking advantage of the downhill start and purposefully running a fast first half and slowing down by nearly a minute per mile for the second half. Pretty bold strategy to say the least but it paid off (said runner finished in 2:50:49!).

My training for Cleveland is going well. I haven't missed a scheduled run in nearly 4 weeks, which is a good sign because usually I'd have started slacking a little at this point of marathon prep. With less than 5 weeks to go, I shouldn't have a problem holding on. Recent run of note was on Saturday, 6 miles at planned marathon pace (37:53, 6:19 pace).

Congratulations all you Boston heroes! I was very proud on Monday and made a point to tell everyone I knew how well you did!

POSTPONED!!

"The Huron Chamber of Commerce and the race committee are very sorry to inform you that due to the inclement weather predicted for Saturday and the deteriorating course conditions we’ve had for more than a week, we find it necessary to postpone the 9th annual Huron Lighthouse Half Marathon and 5K Race."

Let's just move the race to Milwaukee and get it over with : ) The weather for Monday's Boston Marathon is forecast to be cold, rainy and windy! It'll be an interesting race and I wish everyone luck, especially Lou and Dan. Make the best of it fella's!

Modified 3-2-1 yesterday:

Mile 1 - 7:13
Mile 2 - 6:58
Mile 3 - 5:55
Mile 4 - 5:45
Mile 5 - 7:54
Mile 6 - 5:32
Mile 6.5 - 4:10
Mile 7 - 2:40

Weight training and spin class this morning. Found it hard to get into the spinning not having run as a warmup.

The Results Are In

I just received the results of a recent physical and learned that I have a heart condition called sinus bradycardia, a heart rhythm that originates from the sinus node and has a rate of under 60 bpm (mine was 46 bpm). This can be the result of many things including medications, some forms of heart block and good physical fitness! Cool, huh? I originally started running to lower my cholesterol - which is now a perfectly normal 166 - and I've since managed to lower my resting heartrate to an alarming level! I wonder how many other marathon runners / endurance athletes have this "problem". Remember when G-Dub had a fainting incident after choking on a pretzel a few years ago? That was a result of sinus bradycardia, which he has. His coughing stimulated a nerve that slowed his already slow heart rate enough to lose consciousness briefly.

Anyway, did a quick 5 this morning (33:40) and 35 minutes of strength training. Tempo tomorrow and then a day of rest before the 1/2-marathon on Saturday. My Mom is going to come with me and act as my cheering section and official race photographer!

Don't Think About It

God knows I enjoy running. Not only do I enjoy running, but I enjoy the kind of running designed to knock you on your ass. Normally I don't have trouble getting myself prepared for these types of runs but it can get a little tricky at 5AM in the middle of a work-week. I reluctantly woke up after a couple of snoozes and managed to will myself out the door and into my car, all the while repeating to myself, "Don't think about it! Don't think about it! Just go!". I went... knocked off 7x800 meters and finished with some strength training. It's good to be done for today!

Stats: 1 - 2:47, 2 - 2:45, 3 - 2:44, 4 - 2:44, 5 - 2:43, 6 - 2:47, 7 - 2:45

April "Snow" Showers

I ran outside four times in the past week. Unfortunately, I was plodding through the snow three of the four days. Ohio weather... gotta love it. I had a fairly high-mileage weekend, running 16 with my Team In Training group on Saturday morning and 20 on Sunday with Cathy and Dan. On Sunday I went out early to do 8 before meeting up with the two of them for the final 12. It snowed quite a bit throughout each of my weekend runs but it wasn't all that cold. I'm resting today since my schedule this week is pretty intense and I've decided to cap it off by racing a 1/2-Marathon in Huron on Saturday morning. My goal is to run under 1:23, which would be about 6:20 pace. Weather shouldn't hold me back any as it is currently snow free in Huron and temps are supposed to be in the upper 40's on Saturday. Should be perfect!

Weekend Update

Saturday called for a 9-mile run at planned marathon pace, which for me will be anywhere between 6:35 and 6:40. This is a pretty natural pace for me at this point, which is great! It was 50+ degrees outside but I opted to stay indoors so I could get some weight training in afterwards. Total run time, 59:23 (6:36/mile).

Sunday was LSD time (19 miles). I started off at about 6AM (in the rain) and did 3 before meeting up with Cathy for the final 16. LSD's are typically pretty uneventful but the rain and a rare sighting of the famed albino deer made for an interesting run. For the first time in a very long time, we actually stopped on occasion to enjoy the sights and sounds (and smells) of the metroparks. I plan on doing more of that this summer!

After the rain cleared, it turned out to be a beautiful day and I was able to take Smoosh and Kootie to the dog park after Teresa left for work. Smoosh is a big baby and tends to shy away from other dogs but Kootie is very curious and seems to really enjoy himself. There was another black pug there named Smudge : )

Our albino looks similar to this one, except less brown spots