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Blaine's Training Journal (Spring Marathons) (Read 649 times)


#2867

    I'll follow Jeff's lead - lurked and might as well add my own thread in here. 2008 Definite Races + 02/03 - Mid Winter Classic (10 Miler) + 03/30 - ING Georgia Marathon + 05/04 - Cox RI Marathon + 08/02 - Beach to Beacon 10k (registration opens 03/15) + May - September - Weekly Back Cove 5k Race Series (I'm a sponsor - I treat these as workouts usually) 2008 Probable Races + May - Sea Dogs Mother's Day 5k (may just volunteer) + June - New England Mile (I'm a race director, but we may not even have the event this year) + July - Clam Festival Classic 5 Miler + August - St. Peter's 4 Miler (one of my favorite races, missed it the last 3 years) + Sept - Pisgah 23k Mountain Race + Sept - Dan Cardillo 5k + Sept - Elliot 5k + Year-Round - Any NE Grand Prix Races my team can get together for Sea Dogs will depend upon how I feel after the marathon. I won't be fast if I run, so I might just volunteer. The NEM lost its principal sponsorship so unless we find a new one we probably won't hold it. No idea which of the September races I'll do, that will depend upon my goals and what I decide to do ultra or marathon wise in the Autumn. I will most likely run Elliot, as it is a fast course with great food at the end and it is at the end of September. I had so much fun at the Pisgah 50k that I want to do the 23k, but might opt to run Cardillo instead if they are the same weekend again (another fast 5k course.) 2008 Goals + 2 more states to run a marathon or longer race in (bringing the total to 12 or 13 if I do a new state in the Autumn) + 5k PR (16:07 or 16:09 is my current 5k PR - I'll just go sub-16:00 to call it good.) + Coach at least 6 people through a successful marathon (gotta start somewhere) Last year, I wanted a 2:40 or faster marathon, and I may aim for that towards the end of the year. ING Georgia I don't expect to run much faster than 3 hours since I'll just be out there to have fun with a friend. I also wanted a sub-16 5k last year, and I ran multiple 5k races in the high 16:30s in that weekly series on a long course (about 5.2 miles) that has a notoriously difficult surface - a good rule of thumb is that it is always 20-30 seconds slow (maybe 10-15 seconds for faster folks). I then ran the 50k at the beginning of September, and 3 weeks later ran a 16:37 or so at Elliot. It was a 1 second season PR, so I can't complain, but I was on pace through 2 kilometers so I do anyway. After the Marine Corps Marathon, I took 3 weeks completely off (it was supposed to be 4 but I was going stir crazy) and then started building up some base with mostly easy or long runs with the odd tempo run thrown in. I get onto the trails at least once or twice a week for strength building, usually for my longer runs. Since the trails are covered in snow right now its a good (but slow) workout. This week I got a short speed session in, and will try to keep that up as a mid-week workout although I may do more of my speedwork outside if this ice melts and the warm weather continues. Otherwise, I'll head for the indoor track. This will be the first year that I'll go into the mid winter classic really well prepared, I think. (It's a team race.) Once I recover from Cox RI, it'll be concentrating on the 5k and 10k for the summer. For those who might be interested in vacationing in Maine in early August, the Beach to Beacon was voted best race in New England in NE Runner this year, and always has top flight talent. I finished 6 minutes behind Meb in 2007. I don't know how the Olympics are going to affect the elite runners willing to come out here, but there have been a few years where we've had the worlds fastest 10k road time that year. So far this year my swimming and lifting have been non-existent. I am attempting to launch a business, so I haven't been able to take the time to swim at lunch (that's when I've been doing most of my running) and I haven't had time to get to the gym, which is too far away when I need the time to work.

    Run to Win
    25 Marathons, 17 Ultras, 16 States (Full List)


    #2867

      I don't usually discuss individual workouts at Run to Win, but I did it twice this week. I'll start with links to those before I get back to work: http://news.runtowin.com/2008/01/06/getting-lost-while-running-in-the-middle-of-a-lake.html http://news.runtowin.com/2008/01/08/garmin-forerunner-indoor-track.html

      Run to Win
      25 Marathons, 17 Ultras, 16 States (Full List)


      #2867

        These last two days were Spring runs, not January runs! Yesterday was shorts and t-shirt under clear skies and a sun that reminded me that I don't have sunscreen in my gym bag right now. Today I overdressed a little since a coworker told me it was below 30 when it was almost 40 out - he was looking at the weather for a town that is 30 miles away. Still not too bad, I like to run in the rain when it is warm out. The ice is melted down to the pavement in most spots, so as long as I avoided it I was set. Where it wasn't melted it was covered with rain water and really slick. The legs have been a little sore, probably from Tuesday's workout, but they get stretched out on the run. I'm looking forward to trails at the mountain tomorrow morning after this week long thaw. That's gonna be some tough conditions.

        Run to Win
        25 Marathons, 17 Ultras, 16 States (Full List)

          Welcome, Blaine! Like I said to Scout - you gotta love the short bit of warm weather right now. It's 30+ degrees warmer here than last week as well. Almost too warm.

          When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?


          #2867

            Welcome, Blaine! Like I said to Scout - you gotta love the short bit of warm weather right now. It's 30+ degrees warmer here than last week as well. Almost too warm.
            I discovered the problems with that warmth with this morning's workout. I went out to run trails at the mountain, but between the thaw, the refreezing, the thaw, the rain, and then the refreezing the trails were all covered with ice rather than snow. I was going to put some screws in my shoes, but never got around to it, so it made it tough to run up to the top of the mountain at the beginning of the run. When I got there, I tried stopping as I was running over a rock and took a hard fall. Thankfully, I stopped sliding a good 10 feet from the edge of the cliff. Tore the hell out of the side of my tights that I landed on, but I think that most of the pain was from abrasions rather than impact (outside the hip of course) so I kept up the run. The fall was about 2 miles into the run, total was a bit over 13 and a half. We actually had quite a few falls. Emma knows how to HTFU - rather than going around the brooks and streams she just ran straight down them. Of course, going over some ice at one point she fell in past her waist, but she was still up for extra miles at the end of the run. Weather was beautiful, though. As long as there isn't too much swelling today in the knee I should be good for 10 to 12 tomorrow on the roads.

            Run to Win
            25 Marathons, 17 Ultras, 16 States (Full List)


            #2867

              I wanted to do 10-12 miles today, so I decided to use the first half of that run to go to the store and swap out the #8 screws with the #6 screws. I probably should have put the screws into a pocket that wasn't going to slap against my torn up hip. Oh well, on the way back the new box of screws was in my other pocket. Once I got home, I felt no desire to continue running, so I just stopped. My knee wasn't too bad. It's sore and it is tough to get out of the chair, but it is not really swollen so I still think most of the pain is from the abrasion and not the impact. Running didn't make it any better or worse. Final mileage this week was a bit under 50 miles, so next week I'll aim at a bit over.

              Run to Win
              25 Marathons, 17 Ultras, 16 States (Full List)


              #2867

                No run today. I spent an hour and a half shoveling a foot of snow instead. Well, it might have only been 11 inches, but by the time I was done there was another inch down anyway. At least the storm is half over. Knee felt fine, even slipping around on the ice at the end of the driveway while I shoveled. I have a feeling that I'll be getting trail miles in tomorrow in an effort to avoid traffic on the roads.

                Run to Win
                25 Marathons, 17 Ultras, 16 States (Full List)

                jEfFgObLuE


                I've got a fever...

                  Knee felt fine, even slipping around on the ice at the end of the driveway while I shoveled. I have a feeling that I'll be getting trail miles in tomorrow in an effort to avoid traffic on the roads.
                  Glad to hear the knee feels better. I think the day off is probably just what you needed to get the swelling all the way down.

                  On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office.  But you will wish that you'd spent more time running.  Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.


                  #2867

                    Well, the last couple of days I've gotten some good 8ish milers in before lunch. The knee and hip both still look really ugly, but no more pains. Not even when getting out of the chair. Today, though, no running. I'm about fit to keel over - I'm exhausted from the whole lack of sleep thing this week. My wife is making me drunken tuscan pasta, though, so I'm staying awake a little longer! It was supposed to be my birthday dinner, but since I wasn't going to want to drink on Tuesday night we held off until today. Oh, and by the way, I published my book today. That's finally taken care of! http://www.marathoning.org/marathon-preparation

                    Run to Win
                    25 Marathons, 17 Ultras, 16 States (Full List)

                    btb1490


                      Happy birthday Blaine. Not sure when it was, but hope it was a good one. Drinking may not be a bad thing with your knee feeling the way it is... helps kill the pain.


                      #2867

                        Yesterday I shoveled snow in the morning and then ran when I got home from work. I was utterly exhausted all day yesterday until I started my run. Chili at lunch did pep me up for a little while at least. Between the lack of sleep (and lack of regular sleeping hours) and the fact that I was pretty hung over, I wasn't particularly productive at work. I put some screws into some old road shoes and hit the roads. Traction was great, although any time I picked the pace up to sub-7 pace, it became very obvious that old road shoes w/almost 500 miles in them and little sole left weren't the best choice for putting 1/2" screws into. (The store didn't have 3/8") Oh well, got an easy 7 and a half in. This morning I went back to Bradbury Mountain, and screwed the trail shoes. That worked perfectly; I had no traction issues the entire time, and only fell once. I was up and moving again so quick that I couldn't even tell where I fell based on my pace off the garmin when I looked at it afterwards. Managed to get 13 1/2 miles in with the crowd running through the ice and snow, and then went out for another 5 miles on my own. It was a good confidence run, having an almost 3 hour run feel that easy. Granted, the pace was pretty slow, but running through snow can be tough. I don't expect to be too active later today. I wore my north face "camelbak" style water bladder today, since I knew I'd be going long. It was nice having the water with me. I also had some hornet juice before the run, half a package of sports beans 8 miles in (I had a sample pack from a race that's been sitting in my drawer for a long time - I'd never tried them before) and then took a bite out of my protein bar when I got back to the cars with everyone else. Finished it after the run, of course. I wanted to get 25-27 miles in for the weekend, so I imagine that I'll just go out for an hour tomorrow morning. I'll probably run about 8 or 9 miles if I stick to roads, or 6-8 if I take trails. I haven't decided yet.

                        Run to Win
                        25 Marathons, 17 Ultras, 16 States (Full List)


                        #2867

                          Got in an even 10 by hitting all the developments and little neighborhoods around my house. I felt a little fatigued, but not too bad. I went down one road at one point, and there was nothing along the side of it. As I came back in the other direction, though, a very large snowball ejected itself from the snowbank at me and started yapping its head off. It wound up just being a real little dog with Cujo fangs. (Bijon Frise) Next week I'm going to aim at bumping the mileage up in the 58-60 mile range, and then use the week after as a cutback week. I have a 10 miler on Superbowl Sunday, so I think I'll avoid running at the mountain for a few hours the day before that.

                          Run to Win
                          25 Marathons, 17 Ultras, 16 States (Full List)


                          #2867

                            I meant to run 6-7ish easy tonight, but it was cold and I got going at a tempo effort for most of the 8 miles on the run. The moon was full so it was pretty easy to see, which is good because my head lamp is pretty worthless if the battery is not brand new. Hit the back neighborhoods around me so I got to get some miles in while avoiding traffic, which is always nice. It took me 3 or 4 miles before my hands warmed up, and my eyeballs kept threatening to freeze shut when I blinked until I was on my way home and had the wind at my back. Not sure why it was so cold; only 9 mph winds and it was 18°-19° or so. The rest of me was plenty warm other than the fingers and eyeballs. Rather than doing the 8 mile tempo tomorrow morning, I'm going to aim at running easy. It's been a pretty good effort these last few days.

                            Run to Win
                            25 Marathons, 17 Ultras, 16 States (Full List)


                            #2867

                              Dreadmill run - nothing to write home about. I ran for an hour. I covered 8 miles. It was a 2° incline. Very little effort. Wowee. 7:37, 14:42 (missed mile 2), 7:10, 7:26, 7:26, 7:28, 7:50.

                              Run to Win
                              25 Marathons, 17 Ultras, 16 States (Full List)


                              #2867

                                2008/01/23 I ran really easy today, and didn't bring my watch with me. Did the lunch loop (5.25 miles) in about 39 or 40 minutes I'd guesstimate, but no concrete numbers. My right calf was a little achy near the start but stretched out after a mile or so. That brings me to 21 miles for the week, so I'll aim at 7 or 8 mile runs for the next two days and then 25-27 again on the weekend. That'll bring me into the 60s.

                                Run to Win
                                25 Marathons, 17 Ultras, 16 States (Full List)

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