Recap of week #5 - Rockin' out with Bon Jovi

Bon Jovi rocks. That's all I can say. Such an awesome performer. My biggest regret is that I have a marathon habit and that I left the concert early. I thought I would miss like 2 songs, since we left right before the encore. No, we missed like six or seven, I come to find out the next day.

So, my early departure from such a momentous event can be considered as nothing other an indication of my pure commitment to my marathon goal. We got home at a decent hour from Soldier field and I was up at 5:55 AM on Sat AM.

Number of people at the concert: At least 60,000

Number of dollars we were taken for to park at Soldier Field: 35

Number of beers I crushed in the parking lot: 4

Number of beers I had in the stadium: Zilch

Number of times I was questioning whether or not I should do my long run on Sunday: ???

Here I am pumpin' up for the show. I'm so pissed that I decided to listen to security and not bring in our camera. They didn't even check and everyone inside was taking pictures. EVERYWHERE. So much for following the rules.

Saturday's run - Wheaton - Prairie Path heading East

7:00 AM - I ran with the CARA group for 14 miles. The weather was perfect. Absolutely ideal.

I met a guy at the group run on Sat morning who stayed til the end of the concert on Friday night and went out drinking afterwards. And had his car towed and had to get it out. And he was running 7:30's. Some guys can get away with that (not me)...

We were running 7:50's for most miles and I felt fine. I added on another 3 on my own after the others retired and I tried to increase pace.

For the final 3, I estimate that I was doing 7:30's with one of the miles at around 7:15. I added on some time to ensure that I covered at least 17 miles.

Bad news is that again, I failed to avoid a comfort break. I've made a decision: I'm cutting out Clif Bars before my runs... there's too much fiber. It's just not working for me.

Total time: 2:16:00

Est dist: 17+

Avg HR: 151

WEEK 5 SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED - 46 MILES TOTAL

The Boston Qualifying time is in my sight and I am exactly where I want to be at this point. There is much work to do. This coming week will have me run a 5k to test speed. This week will be my first step back. I've got some traveling to do, so it's good I've got a lighter schedule.

Next week's long run is a mere 12 with a total target of 37 miles. Sounds silly to say, but 'bring it on...'... that's a breather at this point. No sweat.

Recovery week #6 begins now.... Run onward!