Steve, it's amazing that you were even able to run at all, given the way you were feeling. A 25 minute PR under those conditions really says that you were in great shape for this race, but it was unfortunate that you got sick beforehand. Those last couple of weeks before a marathon are tricky, you're coming off your hardest weeks of training, your body is tired and your resistence is low. A lot of people get sick right before the race. You really have to make a strong effort to get as much sleep as possible those last few weeks, pay attention to eating well and staying well hydrated. You'll get 'em next time!

Steve, it's amazing that you were even able to run at all, given the way you were feeling. A 25 minute PR under those conditions really says that you were in great shape for this race, but it was unfortunate that you got sick beforehand. Those last couple of weeks before a marathon are tricky, you're coming off your hardest weeks of training, your body is tired and your resistence is low. A lot of people get sick right before the race. You really have to make a strong effort to get as much sleep as possible those last few weeks, pay attention to eating well and staying well hydrated. You'll get 'em next time!

Seond this!!

thanks folks. I feel ok today, legs are sore but nothing too crazy. I'm starting to feel the cold symptoms coming back now, i'm hoping it won't sideline me for too long, anxious to get back to running. You are right Bob, the last few weeks are the one that i need to work on, particularly the eating well and getting sleep. Given that i was tapering, i did a whole lot more yardwork than i should have . I will definitely check out the salt caps. I just am very cautious about stuff like that...it took me a long time to try out gels. what's next...well there is a marathon in March that i'm thinking about signing up, but not positive yet. I'm thinking that spring or summer marathon might be better for me given that its the time that i have the least chance of getting colds.

thanks deb. I hope to see you here soon too. The past two weeks have been pretty crazy with family here for my graduation. Did a 2.5 mile race on Saturday as part of a biathlon to help out this kid who needed a running partner. Ended up getting first in our combined age group, a nice little glass cup. The run wasn't that great though, i did the same pace as my 5K PR for a race 1 mile shorter, although i did just run a marathon the week before . So far this week, 3 5-mile easy runs. Everything feels a bit rickety after today's run and i feel like i'm on the verge of another cold. It'll pass though, and spring is around the corner where i usually have the least amount of colds. Running plan the next few weeks/months - all easy runs at 140 - 145 HR, buildup to 50 mpw and find a summer marathon to train for. We'll see, last time i got to 50 i got hurt the following week. Will have to be smarter about it this time. Maybe couple of 5Ks and 10Ks here and there. BTW, I can't even keep up on the main forum anymore. Might just have to stick to this one and the swamp.

That's it folks. 2007 is over and so concludes my 2nd year (well 1.5 years but i'll just round it up) of running. As a last goal for this year I decided that i'd run as often as i can to finish the year and i did 11 days straight of ~ 5 miles. i was worried for a second that my right knee was going to fail me..it was sore every night after about 7 days. But icing every night, today the knee feels good. I might take the day off tomorrow, but i might not . Have a great end of the year everybody. See you next year.

Aloha Steve To answer your questions from my journal: HILLS!!! Other than hills I have a weight bench that has a leg attachment so I do extensions and curls. Lunges work and you don't even need "real" weights (big book or gallon of milk will do in a pinch) I do both on the same day (though I really should take it much easier on my runs the same day) If your going to do both on the same day MAKE SURE your run is easy and probably much earlier than your workout or visa versa. Also make sure you don't have a real hard day planned the day after. Hope that helps a little Pam

thanks Pam, that helps a lot. At this point i probably won't be doing the leg workouts as they feel like lead enough as it is but once i'm getting used to the running load again i'll definitely do them. I need to try and find somebody to to show me how to properly do lunges, every time i try to do them something hurts or i don't feel anything at all.

Another suggestion is start out with body weight squats. You can upgrade to adding some dumbbells after these get easy. Not sure what they would be in HI - but they are like $0.50/pound here for the cheap ones.

Wow..its been a month since i put in an entry. Trying to run more often these days. I am dropping my easy pace down to see if i can string consistent > 40 mpw ... i don' think i've managed to do more than 2 - 3 weeks before something goes wrong. We'll see. Its tough to drop back down to slower than 10 minute miles after 1 1/2 years of trying to get faster than 10 minute miles. Got a 5K race as part of a biathlon in two weeks, this should give me more of an idea for training paces. I have a new semi-goal 10K race in may. I thought about training specifically for it but decided to just stick to lots of easy miles with short tempo run once a week and strides couple of times a week.