Second Wind

Simple recovery type run today.  Just a chance to do an inventory of any new aches and pains as a result of last Saturday's long run.  Everything felt surprisingly good today.  My stride felt smooth and none of the usual pains were giving me much trouble.  The plan for the week is to go around 55 miles and then around 60 next week and then a three week taper.

Late morning:  Did a 4 mile hike with the family up at Mt. Charleston.  We hiked to Mary Jane Falls and back, it's about a 1000 foot climb and obviously some nice downhill on the way back.  Nice and cool up on the hill with the hike going from 7800 to 8800 feet elevation.

Time:  1:01:44  8:49/mile

NB768 184.08 NB768 (new) 29.0  Saucony A2 11.9

Just took it pretty easy today again.  The weather was cooler 73 degrees and it was bit windy.  Had some intervals on the agenda for today but scraped that due to the heavy legs and sore quads.  I think the quads were a bit sore due to our hike yesterday.  Didn't want to go out and really push the pace with my high risk of getting injured at the drop of a hat.  So we'll call it a general aerobic run.  Meg stopped after a mile and a half because her knee was bothering her.  She rode the bike and I went solo until she got home then she ran my last mile with me.  We gotta keep her healthy.  She has run three 20 milers in her build up and is so ready to break 3:30 at SGM.  If we can keep those knees of hers healthy for the next few weeks she will be on her way.

Time:  1:00:08  8:35/mile

NB768 184.08 NB768 (new) 36.0  Saucony A2 11.9

A moderate level run today just to kinda test out the body and the legs.  Things felt better than yesterday although I do still seem to have a touch of tightness in my left hammy but I imagine that will be gone by tomorrow.  Picked it up for the last mile to somewhere in the 7:45 range and most of the other miles were in the 8:15-8:25 range.  I have totally given up on running any designed work outs this week.  I am planning to just see how the body feels each morning and go from there.  I have a tempor run on the calendar for tomorrow but maybe I'll make it a marathon pace run, we shall see.

Time:  58:14  8:19/mile

NB768 184.08 NB768 (new) 43.0  Saucony A2 11.9

Pretty good work out today.  Not quite a tempo run but definately a marathon pace run.  Started off with a mile warm up and then kept the next 7 miles at or below marathon pace.  Average for those 7 miles was right around 7:25.  Cooled down with another slow mile and called it a day.  I don't very often go more than 7 miles on a week day so it felt good to squeeze in an extra couple of miles today.  With the marathon this close and just over a week until the taper starts I need all the extra work I can get.

Time:  1:09:07  7:41/mile

NB768 193.08 NB768 (new) 43.0  Saucony A2 11.9

Just a simple and easy recovery run today.  Legs felt very dead at the start but eventually warmed up and felt great by the end.  Nothing exciting to report today.

Time:  1:02:30  8:56/mile

NB768 193.08 NB768 (new) 50.0  Saucony A2 11.9

Doing 19 miles looks very strange, I am well aware of that.  Oh well.  I had 17 on the menu for today and added a couple extra so I guess I should feel good about the effort even though I should have just done one more mile so I could call it 20.  Everything felt pretty good today except for some tightness in my left calf, and quad.  I think these past two week of high mileage by my standards is starting to get the best of me.  Was able to run a few miles in the low 8:00's today and felt pretty comfortable for the most part.  Had a little bit of dog trouble today, these dog owners are just killing me.  One more tough week to go before the taper starts.  I hope the body holds up for just one more week.

Time:  2:38:30 8:20/mile

NB768 212.08 NB768 (new) 50.0  Saucony A2 11.9

Rest.

This is it!  This is the big week.  Looking to log 60 miles this week which will be a PR for me in weekly mileage, although not by much.  More importantly this will be my best training going into a marathon ever.  If it hadn't been for my foot a few weeks ago I would have made it through without any major ailments.  I suppose my body is just getting more and more used to the pounding or I am getting more tolerant of the pain.  I was surprised out how good everything felt today.  I am really noticing that my body is recovering more quickly from those long Saturday runs.

This weeks schedule should include some hills and some marathon pace or better miles on Tuesday and Thursday and then a long run on Saturday of 21 miles with some marathon pace miles mixed in there as well.  Haven't quite figured out what to do for the taper but I'm thinking of cutting back to about 50 miles the first week, 40 the second week and then 20-25 or so the week of the race.  I plan to mix in some marathon pace miles in during the taper on a limited basis as well just to keep everything sharp.  Any thoughts out there of how I should do this.  I'm not following a training schedule so I am just playing it by feel, taking each day as it comes.

Time:  1:01:59  8:51/mile

NB768 212.08 NB768 (new) 57.0  Saucony A2 11.9

Today was hills day and we went out and ran our usual freeway overpass repeats.  I got in 4 repeats which is about 3.5 miles of hills.  I picked up the pace on the uphill and the downhill to really try and simulate the marathon pace.  Got back to the house in time to send my son off to seminary and then ran 2 more to cool down.  I am feeling a few aches and pains here and there but nothing major.  The downhill running is really rough on my old bones and tends to make the aches come out.  I haven't done a lot of hills in prep for SGM so I hope that doesn't prove to be my downfall.  I'm sure I will be one sore puppy on Sunday after the race.

Time:  1:13:14  8:08/mile

NB768 221.08 NB768 (new) 57.0  Saucony A2 11.9

Simple recovery run today.  Everything felt pretty good with no major aches or pains from yesterdays hills.  Tomorrow will be 9 again with 7 at marathon pace or better.  Hopefully today was a good enough recovery to run a descent pace tomorrow.

Time:  1:00:57  8:42/mile

NB768 228.08 NB768 (new) 57.0  Saucony A2 11.9

Wasn't sure what to expect from this run today.  Last night before bed I was starting to get congested and felt like I was finally going to catch my daughters cold that she has had for a couple weeks now.  I felt very worn out and sickish.  Well, every morning is a new day and surprisingly I felt pretty good when the alarm went off at 4:15.  I had some really weird random dreams last night though.....strange.  Anyway, by the time we started I still wasn't sure how I was going to approach this run so I decided to just get that first warm up mile out of the way and then go as far as I could at goal marathon pace or better.   Did the first couple of miles at slightly faster than marathon pace 7:18, 7:22, stopped in for a swig of gatorade and then decided to hit the next three at my tempo run pace.  The first tempo mile was 7:02 and I wanted to get at least one of the three at sub 7:00 so I did the next one in 6:55 and the third one at 6:55 as well.  Backed it off a little bit again for the last to marathon pace miles and they came in at 7:21, 7:12.  The cool down mile even came in at a pretty good pace for a cool down at 7:57.  I feel pretty good about this run and felt like I still had plenty of gas in the tank at the end.  This is really my last fast run of this distance before the marathon.  I feel like the few tempo runs that I have been able to manage during this training cycle have really helped improve my fitness and overall speed and economy.  Hopefully that translates into a fast run at SGM this year.

Time:  1:06:45  7:25/mile

NB768 237.08 NB768 (new) 57.0  Saucony A2 11.9

Recovery run today, plain and simple.  Legs felt a little bit heavy but for the most part everything felt pretty good.  Hopefully things are shaping up well for the final 21 miler tomorrow.  Temps continue to go down every day as we hit 72 today at the beginning of our run.  It felt really good, but when you are used to running in 82 degree temps it almost feels chilly.  Just wait till the start of SGM when it's 35-40....ouch.  Nothing too exciting today, just glad I get to eat a few extra carbs....yum!

Time:  1:02:34  8:56/mile

NB768 237.08 NB768 (new) 64.0  Saucony A2 11.9

Big day today!  I reached many milestones today.  First, this run puts me just over 60 miles for the week which is my all time mileage PR for 6 days.  Second, this was my last long run before SGM, I've never run a 20 with only three weeks to go, like your supposed to do, I have always been injured or recovering from an injury.  Third, This make three 20+ mile runs during this training cycle which is also a PR for me, previously I have only ever managed one 20 miler per cycle.

Decided to run a medium pace long run today with the first 15 miles at about 8:30/mile and then try to pick it up on the tired legs and see if I could manage 7:28's for the last 6.2, kinda like the marathon minus 5 miles.  The first 11 miles went as planned then I decided to start brining the pace down each mile to kinda work into a faster pace before getting to 15.  Splits for 12-15 were:  8:20, 8:15, 8:12, 8:09.  Then it was time to see what the legs had left and I just went for it.  I was a little disappointed that I was not able to maintain my goal pace but I do feel good about the effort on none rested/tapered legs.  The splits for 16-21.2 were:  7:35, 7:40, 7:43, 7:45, 7:35, 7:43 and 7:26 for the last 0.2.  Hopefully the hills at SGM won't be the death of me but will be enough to push those few extra seconds faster so I can hit those splits late in the race.

I'm still working a little bit on the taper plan put I think the overall mileage will look something like 48 next week 36 the following week and then 20 in the 5 days before the marathon.  That will be similar to what I did going into Ogden this year and SGM last year, and they both ended up being PRs, so it can't be too far off base.

Time:  2:54:24  8:13/mile

NB768 258.28 NB768 (new) 64.0  Saucony A2 11.9

Rest.

Took it nice and easy this morning.  Legs felt really heavy today and I am so glad we are finally into the taper weeks because I am starting to feel the whole body fatigue.  Less sleep today probably didn't help as I was up at 3:45 (half hour early) so I could get in my run and make to parents day for early morning seminary.  Looks like my son Michael has a great teacher and will hopefully have a really good year in seminary.  I think I have finally worked out my plan for the taper and it will look alot like what I have done for the past three weeks only with less miles.  Tuesday and Thursday will be hills and marathon/tempo miles with the other days as slower/recovery days with the usual, albiet shorter, long run on Saturday.  This Saturday I will do 15 and the following Saturday I will do 12.

As a side note.  I have been taking a prescription anti-inflammatory for the last 30 days which was for my foot problem that I was having at the time.  I took my last dose yesterday and hope to not need anymore anti-inflammatories until after SGM.  I have noticed today that the aches and pains are a little more noticable.  I guess the drugs were doing their job and now I get to suffer a bit during the taper.  Hopefully the reduced mileage and intensity will be enough to let the aches and pains heal on their own.  Time will tell.  Even though I seemed to have my taper all planned out by day, I am still going to play it by feel and see what the body will give me each day.  At this point there is no need to push it beyond the limits because the bulk of the trianing is done.

Time:  1:02:29  8:56/mile

NB768 265.28 NB768 (new) 64.0  Saucony A2 11.9

Decided against the hill run today.  Meg's knee was bothering her a bit and I still have a few lingering aches and pains that I didn't want to irritate any further so we decided to stay on flat ground and just run a moderate pace run today.  We had a couple miles in her marathon pace range of 8:00/mile and the rest were pretty close to that.  My aches are in my left quad and hamstring.  I think they are related to my lower back issues and should clear up with the reduced mileage......hopefully.  Temperature was a nice 72 degrees this morning.  We are starting to come into the nicest part of the year in Vegas for running and outdoor activities.  It's still in the high 90's during the heat of the day but at least it is cooling off at night.  Couple more weeks and it will be simply perfect.

Time:  49:15  8:12/mile

 NB768 271.28 NB768 (new) 64.0  Saucony A2 11.9

Just another fairly easy run today.  Until the body starts feeling really good again I am going to keep the pace on the moderate to slow side.  I did start feeling pretty good today around mile 5 to the end.  I think overall my aches and pains have diminished a bit since yesterday so hopefully that continues.  Ran in the newer shoes today so maybe that helped as well.  I have to go to scout camp again this weekend so I don't know when I'll get my long run in unless I go in the evening when it's really warm.  May end up just skipping it or running something shorter, probably wouldn't hurt much at this point.

Time:  59:57  8:34/mile

NB768 271.28 NB768 (new) 71.0  Saucony A2 11.9

I'm starting to sound like a broken record, same course, same pace, still a little achey.  My foot that was hurting from a month or so ago is flaring back up a little bit so I started in on the anti inflammatories again to try and calm it down.  Felt okay for today's run but I will be icing it and taking it easy for the next couple of days, no sense pushing it at this point.

Time:  51:03  8:30/mile

NB768 277.28 NB768 (new) 71.0  Saucony A2 11.9

Woke up late and did what I could.  Probably a good thing I am taking it a little easier to give the foot a break.  Didn't even have time to stretch just went out and ran some really easy miles.  May try to get a few tomorrow evening after I get back from 11-year old scout camp.  Fun, fun....

Time:  26:40  8:53/mile

NB768 280.28 NB768 (new) 71.0  Saucony A2 11.9

Got home from the scout cam dead tired and decided I didn't want to turn in a zero mileage day so went out for a night time run right before bed.  Just took it easy and tried to stay awake.

Time:  26:27  8:49/mile

NB768 283.28 NB768 (new) 71.0  Saucony A2 11.9

Rest.

Finally, a descent run again.  Everything felt pretty good.  Picked it up for the last mile to marathon pace but other than that kept it pretty simple.  Should be fairly easy running for the rest of this week with maybe a few hills and marathon pace miles mixed in here and there.

Time:  40:57  8:11/mile

NB768 286.28 NB768 (new) 71.0  Saucony A2 11.9

Did a little bit of a tempo/marathon pace run this morning.  Warmed up with one and then picked it up to Meg's marathon pace for a couple of miles and then just below my marathon pace for the final two.  Everything felt pretty good this morning.  All the little aches and pains seem to be going away.  Hope it continues becuase I really need to get to the starting line very healthy to even have a shot at a BQ let alone a sub 3:30.

Time:  38:39  7:46/mile

NB768 286.28 NB768 (new) 76.0  Saucony A2 11.9

Took it easy today and just ran some very generic average paced miles.  The body continues to feel better every day which is a good sign.  All the little aches that have been bothering me continue to feel better and better.  Hopefully the trend continues until well into next week.  Getting to the starting line healthy is my number one goal and it looks like that just might happen this year for once.

Time:  42:37  8:31/mile

NB768 291.28 NB768 (new) 76.0  Saucony A2 11.9

Ran three miles at marathon pace today.  It seemed too hard.  I donated blood last Friday and am probably still feeling the effects, in fact it may have cost me a shot at a BQ in the marathon.  I have heard differing stories about donating blood while training, I just hope I can feel better running at marathon pace on race day than I did today.  I have also had some stomache issues the last couple of days and the problem may be related to that as well.  I'm sure the combination of the two isn't helping me right now.  As of today the confidence is pretty low for a BQ but I still think I have a good shot at going under 3:30.

Time:  38:58  7:48/mile

NB768 291.28 NB768 (new) 81.0  Saucony A2 11.9

Same distance, different day.  Only six more runs until the big show.  Tomorrow I'm looking at going 11 and making it a dress rehearsal of the marathon.  Same cloths, same, shoes, yada yada yada.  I'm going to throw in some (5-6) MP miles in the middle of that run tomorrow just to keep the legs from going stale and to evaluate how it feels compared to yesterdays run.  I continue to feel better and better each day so I know the taper is working.  It feels good not to be trashing my legs every day.

Time:  42:40  8:32/mile

NB768 296.28 NB768 (new) 81.0  Saucony A2 11.9

Rain........yes I said rain just in case you couldn't believe it.  We didn't get much but we did get enough to make us wet during our run and then it was humid the rest of the way.  The temp for this mornings run was 79 degrees and muggy.  I thought we were almost through with the hot temps but I guess not.  I hope this is not a sign of things to come next week at SGM.  The run went pretty good today.  It did still feel way too hard for what I was doing but it felt better than last Thursdays 3 mile MP run which is all I can ask I guess.  Started out with 3 fairly easy miles and then picked it up to 7:28 pace for the next 6 miles.  I think the average for those miles actually came out to be around 7:30/mile (like I said, it was a bit of a struggle).  Had a little pain in my left hip which has been on and off for the last couple of weeks.  Nothing real bad, but enough to make me notice.  I think taking it fairly easy next week will help it to feel a lot better before the big day.  Finished the run with a couple of slower miles and called it good.  Can't believe we are only a week away.

Time:  1:27:05  7:55/mile

NB768 296.28 NB768 (new) 92.0  Saucony A2 11.9

Rest.

Well, with 5 days to go we are keeping it really simple.  This week will just be putting in a few nice easy runs and hopefully get everything feeling really good for Saturday.  The warm weather down here in the southwest doesn't seem to be letting up any time soon so we could be in for a warmer than usual SGM this year.

Time:  41:49  8:22/mile

NB768 301.28 NB768 (new) 92.0  Saucony A2 11.9

Just keeping it slow for the rest of the week.  Nothing really exciting to report, just trying to stay calm before the big day.

Time:  44:48  8:58/mile

NB768 301.28 NB768 (new) 97.0  Saucony A2 11.9