My slacking...

Hey all-
I will be posting my last 4 weeks very soon. Sorry for the delay.

Week 11 Results...

So I used Week11 as a step down week...in prep for a 5k time trial and the upcoming step up to 70 miles. So many conversation with my family really have me mentally drained in some regards...but in other regards have me recharged to take full advantage of life's opportunities....which includes the realization that I am truly blessed in so many regards.

Week 11 results 40 miles
Mon - Off
Tues - 12 miles in the heat
Wed - Off
Thur - 12 miles in the heat
Friday - Off
Sat - 16 total. 1.5 mile warmup, 5k, 1.5 cooldown. Picnic and then a 10 miler in the heat.
Sun - off. Spent time with Family.

Did I say I ran in the heat? I really think I am becoming acclimated to running in the heat. It doesn't bother me too much.

5k report...18:44. Right on target. THe interesting thing is I can run faster, I know it. Problem is I have not reconditioned my VO2 abilities since the knee surgery has reduced my ability to train for speed. Mile 1 - 5:44, Mile 2 - 6:02, Mile 3 - 6:22. Mile 3 I could not catch my breathe. It was not an issue of leg fatigue, but getting oxygen into the body. I am siked about that. A few weeks of some VO2 focused runs...and I bet I can run low 18 if not a sub 18. I really believe that.

Goal for Week 12 - 72 miles. I will be throwing in 1 VO2 workout...and 1 Tempo run.

All of this in 85+ degree weather with 85% humidity. But I am not concerned.

Week 10 Results... (a story of contrasts)

On one hand, I am happy about the running. Week 10 has proven to me I am *way* ahead of schedule (pace wise) and I am on track for a new PR; if I so desire. But the contrast is I found out earlier this week that my step father has tonsil cancer. While the prognosis sounds like he has a decent chance of beating this horrid disease...it is going to be a fight for him. Chemo, Radiation, surgery, tooth extraction, a feeding tube for months...alone, any one of these is a pain; but he is going to deal with all of them at once and for the better part of 2 months. In many ways I am in shock; but I am doing my best to help him prepare for the fight ahead. Maybe, ironically, this is way I have been fighting my own battles lately...so that I am more prepared 'mentally' and 'spiritually' to console him. Who knows...but this is a tough one. My faith tells me not to worry; it is all in God's hands.

Week 10 recap...60 miles

• Mon - rest
• Tues - 6 miles. 3 miles Tempo - 18:17 or 6:06 pace.
• Wed - 13 miles. 1:51 or 8:33 pace
• Thur - 8 miles. 56:44 or 7:37 pace
• Fri - 3 miles. recovery
• Sat - 20 miles. 2:29 or 7:28 pace. Note: this was about the muggiest run I have ever done. I filled my camelback and ran with it. I drank 30+ ounces of propel on the run and another 10 or so when i was done. I felt nauseous and managed to throw up once I got home. Ugghh. Good run though.
• Sun - 10 miles. 1:11:57 or 7:12 pace. Not bad after a 20 miler the day before.

The next 10 weeks will prove to be a challenge for me...and my family.

Week 8 and 9 Results...

So I have been slacking in my blog posts, now I must catch up on two weeks worth. All in all, the last two weeks have been eye openers; and I have met some good milestones. Week 8 ended the prep work phase, ended the ' rehab' phase, ended with my 1st race since October last year and was the 1st marathon phase for this upcoming October marathon. Week 9 ended with my 1st 20 miler of the season. So here are the results...

Week 8 - 44.5:
Mon: 8 miles recovery
Tues: 10 miles general aerobic
Wed: off
Thur: 8 miles general aerobic
Fri: 4.5 miles recovery
Sat: off
Sun: 14 miles. Erie half marathon in 1:28:21

Week 9 - 52 miles:
Mon: off
Tues: off
Wed: 14 miles Solid run - 7:50 pace
Thur: 8 miles Solid run - 7:20 pace
Fri: off
Sat: 20 miles. 1:26:40 - 7:20 pace. Also note ~5min negative split. 2nd 10 - 1:10:30
Sun: 10 mile recovery

I wanted to run the Erie 1/2 marathon in under 1:30 (see last post)...and I did. In week 9, I wanted to run over 50 miles...and I did. Interesting fact: 52 miles in 4 runs...that's and average of 13 miles per run!!!!. The 1st 20 miler...cake, I could have run harder. That is a great sign for me. Also the fact that I ran 10 miles the day after so that is 30 miles in two days. Hello....that is a record for me!

While there is a lot of good news...it is all not a rosie picture. I still have a partial clot in my calf that is not going away, so I am still on blood thinners. While most of the time it doesn't bother me, about once or twice a week I get a noticeable calf pain/strain. Worrisome?!?, yes but only in terms of "Is this something I will have the rest of my life?" or worse, is this going to pose a problem when I least expect it? I wish it just would go away...it has been 5 months. They keep telling me the timeline is 3-6months...so I quess there is still time.

Week 10 goals:
- I have been in the upper 40's / 50 miles a week range for about 5 weeks now...so I am going to bump up the miles to get into the 60's.
- I am going to switch gears a bit to get more endurance. Lately tempo has played a key factor due to the 1/2. I will cut back to 1 tempo run for the week.

Week 7 Results...

Well...another overall pleasing week; although I was 6 miles short of goal. But I am Ok with that. I started off the week with 2 days off...so that puts me in the hole early on, then the travelling over the weekend / heat wave makes it hard to play catch up. I am pleased though with the pace I am running now...I am back in the thick of things. I will find out were I stand for sure come this Sunday...my 1st race since injury, the Erie 1/2 marathon. Goal - Better than the 1:30 last year. Can I do it???

Recap - 44 miles
Mon - off
Tues - off
Wed - 12 'steady state' miles @ 7:26
Thur - 8 miles. Six at Tempo pace of 6:43. Sweet!!!
Fri - 6 miles @ 7:13 pace.
Sat - 18 miles. 8:20 pace.

The interesting thing is I ran Friday at 11:45 PM since we travelled to Philly. Ran hard to get the mile in quickly since it was so late. I ran Saturday at 11am to 1:30pm so in the span of 12 hrs I ran 24 miles. The 18'er was in the heat, temp's over 80 degrees. So I am pleased with my performances of the week. My average run pace for the week is about 7:30. That is huge...since 6 weeks ago I was pushing 9-10 minute pace; and that was for only 3 miles.

Goal for next week...Upper 50 miles (get back on track) and run a personal best Erie 1/2 marathon.

So there it is in writing...I will run a sub 1:30 half. ONLY 5 months and 1 week after knee reconstruction!!

Week 6 results...

Yes...I am again pleased with another successful week. As I noted last week, my goal for this week was a 40+ mile week; with a 16+ mile long run. What I am noticing is that my 'sustainable' pace is picking up...which is great; but it make me more tired than I would say I was during weeks 3 and 4 when I was doing similar mileage but slower pace. Take a note of Sunday's long run...I am so happy about that. I real good gut check.

Mon - Rest
Tues - Rest
Wed - 10 miles. 1:15 / 7:33 pace
Thur - 6.6 miles. 47 min / 7:08 pace
Fri - 4 mile recovery. 35 min
Sat - 8 miles. 1:04 / 8:01 pace
Sun - 17 miles. 2:02 / 7:11 pace YES!! Did I say, Yippee. Awesome, hard run.

I am writing this about 6 hrs after the long run. I am sore and tired...but that should be expected. I ran harder than I intended, but i have a rule of thumb I follow on my runs. No mile is to be slower than my 1st mile. 1st mile was 7:30...so when I ran that I knew I was in for a hard run. I quickly decided to run a 'double' tempo run. 2 mile warmup, 4 miles tempo, 3 miles controlled, 4 miles tempo, 4 miles controlled. All without breaks...except the one I explain below.

I ran this long run on the Buffalo trail since i am getting bored with my normal routes since i have about a dozen courses I do some sort of variation of for my runs. The buffalo trail runs 20 miles from Freeport PA to Butler PA and for the most part is a nice tree covered crushed limestone trail with a river on one side and a steep hillside on the other; very scenic. My issue with the trail...no water stops. Uggghhhh. I thought I had hydrated well...but i quickly learned I had not. By mile 7 I was pretty thirsty. By mile 12 I was almost spent and needed water badly. With my 'survival' experience from watching Discovery channel and my quick eye I took notice of a mountain stream coming off the hillside. The water looked clear and clean, but I really have no idea where the water was coming from. A quick sniff test and taste test I went for it. Because I was so thirsty, I thought this was the best water I ever had. ;-) I feel fine now, so let's hope it wasn't tainted in some way.

After the run, I drank a large gatorade, a 20 oz bottle of water, a 20 oz pepsi all before I got home. Once home, within an hour I drank more water, 3 glasses of milk and some iced tea. Man...I was dehydrated. But I am feeling better now. Note to self: drink more water!!!! I think the camel back is going to have to come out for runs like this.

Goal for week 7: Back to the 50 mile range...running tempo's 1 to 2 times during the week. 18 mile long run at some point. The holiday week will probably present a challenge to reaching this goal.

Week 5 Results...

So...wow...this running stuff in the summer is tough. As if I didn't know that or should know. Not sure why...but man, I was tired this week. Maybe I am increasing my miles too fast? Maybe the knee/leg rehab is taking its toll? Maybe both. I was a bit dissappointed in only that I had to take a few extra rest days due to my schedule and just my general feeling of exhaustion. Maybe I need to sleep more too!!!

Mon - 10 miles
Tues - Off. 3 hrs of rain after work made it hard to get out and run.
Wed - 10 miles.
Thur - 8 miles. Good solid tempo run of 3 miles in the middle of 7min, 6:50 and 6:30. Felt good and I was surprised to be able to hold that pace.
Fri - Off
Sat - Off
Sun - 16 slow miles. Ran during the heat of the day...mistake #1. Didn't eat much in the morning...mistake #2. But I got it in.

Total mileage: 44 miles. Not too bad.

Goal for week 6 - I think I am going to let myself keep the same goal of upper 40 miles. I am going to shift my day off to Monday since the long run on Sunday should have taken some out of me. I am also going to put in some biking into my training on the days I want to rest from running. Goal for the long run will be another 16 miles or so.

So far, I am pleased with my progress. I really have no room for disappointment or frustration...I know what I am up against with the come-back I am pursuing. 3 weeks until my 1st race...the Erie (Presiqle)Half Marathon...Goal - attempt to run as close to 1:30 as possible...am I crazy???