Running Down My Dreams

Aloha... Maui or bust

2012-01-20T16:45:00.000-06:00

Geeetings from SFO where Jennifer and I await the plane for our first leg to Maui. We are kid-free on this journey, thanks to Nana and Papa, and are ready to enjoy some running and more importantly some sunny paradise.

I will run the Maui Marathon on Sunday, which is slated for a 5:45am start out of Wailea. Jennifer will run the 5k, which starts at mile 23.1. If I run a 3:05, we could finish together! While that does sound romantic, sorry folks, not going to happen. I'm not trained up for that type of time this cycle and plus it will be temps in 70s to low 80s by the time we finish.

After the race, we will hopefully find a beach bar that has NFL Conference Championship football for the better part of a day.

This leg to LAX is delayed, so we are at risk of missing our connection. It's going to be really tight. I hope we don't have to spend the night at LAX. That would suck.

Resurgence in 2012

2012-01-02T21:54:00.005-06:00

re·sur·gence - noun \ri-ˈsər-jən(t)s\ - a rising again into life, activity, or prominence

As I do at the dawn of every new year, I am taking stock and re-evaluating my values, goals, habits, aspirations and the overall sense of well being in my life.

2011 was a year of many different emotions. I have some great memories and moments with my family, especially those moments of wonder with my 3-year daughter and my 21 month-old son.

We bought a new house here in California last January after a big career move. In retrospect, career-wise, there was a period of uncertainty and some futility that wore on me in my daily work life in 2011. But I've risen above it, have grown as a result, and am now in a fantastic position to make a huge impact in 2012.

Specific to running, I have to admit that 2011 was one of my least productive of the last several years. I did just one single marathon, which was Boston and the subject of my last post here in May. I have done at least two or more marathons for five straight years from 2006-2010.

I also gave up my focused tracking of all of my mileage, for some reason. I think I encountered a period of burnout with all the change in my work life. I'm guessing I did somewhere over 2,000 total miles, but I can't be sure. Compare this to 2,600+ in 2009.

My fatigue was clearly evident in September after a flu bug hit during my training for the Morgan Hill (CA) Marathon. Days after recovery from the flu, I simply lost my drive and felt tired of running. I took some time off and backed down to the half marathon. I ran a respectable 1:31, which was far better than I expected after some major down time.

In summary, the year was not a total loss in the realm of running. I did run a pretty decent Boston Marathon. I put up some major mileage in and around the Napa Valley, which made for some great scenery. I did compete in my first two trail races, one of which was a 25k that I won. I've got some solid momentum going into 2012.

Despite the decline in number of marathons and total mileage, running was in 2011, and continues to be in 2012, a cornerstone of what defines me and my lifestyle.

Now, I am ready for a resurgence in 2012. Not just in running, but in several aspects of my life.

I just recently joined 50 States Marathon Club, with 12 states under my belt.

Right now, I am entering the taper period of what has been an abridged training cycle for the Maui Marathon. I'm also locked into the Big Sur Marathon, which I've read is the most beautiful, most enjoyable marathon on the planet.

Confirmed races:

Maui Oceanfront Marathon - January 22 - Marathon #21 / US State # 13

Big Sur Marathon - April 29 - Marathon #22

Races under consideration:

Newport (OR) Marathon - June 2

Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon (WA) - July 15

Mesquite (NV) Marathon - October

I am reading the book Racing Weight by Matt Fitzgerald at the moment. It's clear that my nutritional habits is a weakness for me. I am going to make a commitment to really get to a new level of peak fitness this year.

When I started this blog over six years ago, I lived in Connecticut, hence the "eastcoastrunner" URL. I've since journeyed from CT on to the Chicago suburbs and now Napa, CA for the last year. I continue to grow as a runner with the experience and joy of tremendous geographic reach.

I'm now 36 years old. I believe that some of my best running is ahead of me.

Reflecting on Boston ... now what?

2011-05-13T23:06:00.003-05:00

It's been over 3 weeks since the Boston Marathon. I have very fond memories of my third Boston experience and my 20th marathon. I ran a 3:09 - almost exactly as planned. The day was remarkable and I feel very proud to be a part of what was a very historic day for the Boston Marathon. Heck, I ran on the course the same day that the fastest marathon was run EVER.

I've all but abandoned regular blogging on running, though running remains a part of my life. Our move to California and our current stage of having a 1-year-old and a 3-year-old has changed me.

Still, I feel that deep desire to set some form of goal to motivate me again. I'm 35 now and have run 20 marathons in 12 different states. I've exceeded my wildest dreams with my running by breaking 3 hours twice in the marathon.

Now what...? I've let go of running since Boston quite a bit. I needed some time off and I had a medical procedure (um, we're done having kids), which required some recovery. Again, so, now what?

I've been plotting to try to go after one more marathon PR. Then do I want to push myself that hard over the coming months? Should I just enjoy running leisurely in the Bay Area since I'm still so new here?

Much to contemplate.... for now, I'm going to try to get back in shape.

What a difference a year makes

2011-03-09T23:27:00.004-06:00

Hi runners... It's been just over an entire year since I lasted posted on this blog. "Where have you been?" one might ask. A lot has changed. I made a choice last year that I needed to invest my time in family, work and running, and this meant that blogging would need to take a back seat.

Next, let it be known, that I did not accomplish my goal of the 2:54 at Little Rock that I wrote about last year on my last post. I was on track at the mid-point with a steady 1:27 first half, but I couldn't hold. The wheels fell off and I limped in at a 3:04. It's been a year now, but I can tell you that I hurt more after this marathon running a 3:04 than I did in both of my two sub-3 hr performances, and most other races that I can even remember. So I licked my wounds, went home and readied myself for the birth of my second child.

The positive news is that I have had a great 12+ months since last wrote on February 21st, 2010. My son, Landon, was born on March 31st, 2010. He is a superstar champ and on the verge of turning one year old. My daughter, Alivia, is nearly 3 and amazes me every single day with her beauty and charm.

As of this past fall, I relocated to Napa, California with the company for which I have been working for the past 7+ years. This was a major life decision and, in the end, we decided that we could not pass up the experience to live in such a beautiful part of the country. I have continued to run throughout 2010 and completed the St. George, UT Marathon in October, as I moved my family to California. I turned 35 in August, so my 3:13 at St George was another BQ!

And I am now a Napa Valley Runner. I started this blog back in 2005 and called it "East Coast Runner" when I lived in the great state of Connecticut. Shortly thereafter, I moved to the Chicago suburbs for 4 1/2 years, and now we are enjoying Northern California.

I am presently training for Boston, which will be my 20th marathon and close to my 10th anniversary of marathon running. This is a landmark marathon. I on track for somewhere around a 3:10 or better.

After Boston, I plan to run some shorter races in Northern California and, in particular, in the beautiful Central Coast region of California. I want to enjoy the serenity of running in Northern California and spiritually connect with the amazing nature we have here. I will exploring opportunities to do so as we enter the Spring running season.

So, in closing, running is still as important in my life as ever. I've had to make a lot of adjustments to my training approach and time management as kids have entered my life. But I still marvel how running has been a very strong constant in my life, since that first marathon in Pittsburgh in May 2001.

Run onwards, friends...

Aiming for a 2:54 at the Little Rock Marathon

2010-02-21T19:52:00.005-06:00

I am excited to share that all training indications suggest that I am in, once again, the best marathon shape of my life. Bring on marathon #18!

It is will documented that my running blogging career has plummeted to an all-time low. Nevertheless, I keep running onward, which my training log will clearly show.

So far, in 2010, I have run 506 miles, of which 90% have been run on a treadmill. I am pleased to report that they have been extremely high quality miles, to say the least.

Mark my words: I will run a 2:54 or better at the Little Rock Marathon in exactly two weeks from today.

Bold prediction? Sure, it is. But why not, right? Why shouldn't I just lay it all out there? I've run my ass off the last twelve weeks.

A couple of my major highlights include running a simulated 10k on the treadmill at 37:04; as well as running a 15 miles at race pace of 6:40 with several incline intervals throughout the run. And that's just a couple of indicators.

Bottom line is that I have been nailing all of my key workouts consistently such that even Pete Pfitzinger, my training counselor (unbeknownst to him), would be beaming with pride.

I set my personal weekly mileage record not once, but twice, in recent weeks. In January, I celebrated a 78-mile week. Not to quit there, just last week, I finally achieved that seemingly implausible target of 80 miles in a single week. And yes, 100% of those miles came on a treadmill.

I live in the Chicago suburbs and it can get cold, snowy, windy and downright nasty here. The treadmill has become a running way of life.

Some may think that all of these treadmill miles might not translate to race results. I had that exact same concern last year - just before I smashed my PR by 7 minutes at Austin 2009 after doing 90+% of my training mileage on a treadmill.

OK, have I put myself under enough pressure? Whatever happens, it's been a great training season in the comfortable confines of my basement training room.

Recap of 2009 - Looking ahead for 2010

2010-01-02T19:44:00.005-06:00

Happy 2010. Well, I have not been back here to post weekly as I have planned. Nevertheless, I am pleased to report that I rang out 2009 pretty successfully and am right on track for my next running goal.

First, here is a brief set of highlights of my running from 2009:

- Total miles: 2,800 (53.6 miles/week average). This was a substantial increase from the 2,262 miles that I ran in 2008. God has blessed me. I was not injured at all in 2009 and I was able to live my life pretty much the way I wanted to while getting in the runs. This includes a whopping 296 miles in the month of December, which I hope puts me on track to shatter my marathon PR in March.

- Despite the huge PR in annual mileage, I am a marathon runner and all of my training was centered around the long run. Thus, my total race count for 2009 was a paltry eight; down from 11 last year. However, I ran 8 strong races and PR'd in 6 of them. You might say that I like to make them count.

- I ran four marathons which included my first ever two sub-3's races. I ran wonderful marathons in the great cities of Austin, Boston, San Francisco and my current hometown of Chicago. My average time was 3:01:42 for these four marathons.

- Outside of the marathon, I set major PR's in the 1/2 marathon, the 10-miler and the 5k, in which I finally broke 19 minutes.

Now, what is in store for 2010?

As I posted in late November, I am being very careful about making running commitments for 2010. I have a second child due in April and I need to be sure that my running does not interfere with my value of being a dedicated parent and husband. I also have career goals and realize that running 10 hours per week does have an impact on my work-life balance.

The number one goal I have in 2010 is to run a sub 2:55 at my next marathon, which is confirmed to be on March 7th, 2010 in Little Rock, AR. I am now registered and gunning for this goal. Achieving this time will get me guaranteed entry into the 2011 NYC Marathon, which is one I still aspire to run.

Outside of this goal, I am not sure what to set. My other planned goal was to complete the Naperville Triathlon on August 8th, which will require me to learn how to swim and ride my crappy Schwinn. However, I am slightly reluctant since I do not want to put pressure on my family as I train. Maybe this is a short enough event that I can just show up and do it?

Someone asked me recently about how the running group that I started in my town is going. I have to be honest and say that things started out strong but became challenging late in the summer/early fall timeframe. I realized that I wanted to put my training first; and not necessarily spend time on the planning and organization required for the club, which seemingly was not as effective as I had hoped.

At this point, I still do want to play a role in organizing runners in my community. However, I do not want to be the sole leader for doing so. I also am trying to be encouraging of newer, beginning runners; without sacrificing the time necessary to achieve my own goals. I learned that this is much harder to do that it initially sounds.

I will end by saying that I am very proud to be the runner that I am; as well as that I am very gratified by how running has shaped me over the past nine years since that first marathon. I have been blessed with a few talents in life, a couple of which are a bias toward planning and discipline to do what I commit to do. These skills, and to a far, far lesser degree my physical ability, have allowed me to run in a way that has exceeded my wildest expectations.

Ramping up for marathon #18 with an eye on the future

2009-11-27T13:29:00.011-06:00

The handful of you that check in on this blog from time to time may have noticed that it has been seven weeks since my last post. Fret not, friends. After a brief recovery after Chicago, I have been running quite well as hopefully my training log will demonstrate.

I simply was not feeling all that verbose about my running. Simply put, I wanted to just run and not talk or write about it.

For the weeks leading up to the Chicago Marathon, I promised myself that I would not commit to another marathon until after I gave it my all on October 11th. I held true to that commitment. I was able to put up yet another PR and savor my accomplishment.

Immediately following the Chicago Marathon, I decided that I would carefully evaluate my next running endeavor. This task has been fresh on my mind ever since October 11th, and not surprisingly, I have been waffling over a few options.

This time around, I wanted to fully recover and take a full 18-week cycle to make a big dent in my Chicago PR. That's why I wanted to push my next race out to March.

During the last several weeks, I realize that I need to be careful so not to take running for granted. The major impending change in my life is that my wife and I are expecting our second child in April. I am thrilled, and realize more than ever that I have a lot of responsibility to be a family man.

Right off the bat, this eliminated any consideration to go back to Boston this year. So, all along, my thinking has been I need to prepare to absolutely crush one more marathon before the baby comes.

I also have been giving my career a lot of thought and want to make sure I allocate enough time to accomplish my goals there. I also have been trying to broaden my horizons spiritually and in other areas in my life. Bottom line: I think that this upcoming marathon cycle will be about the most amount of running that I can afford to fit into my priorities.

The goal I have been thinking of setting is to qualify outright for entry into the NYC Marathon on November 7th, 2010. However, I do not want to take my chances in a lottery, which I lost out on 2008. I want guaranteed entry with a qualifying time.

What is the qualifying time, you may ask? For men 39 and under, it is a staggering 2:55 flat. And, unlike the Boston qualifying standards, there is no 59 second grace.

Disappointingly, I learned yesterday that a race in March will be too late to get me guaranteed entry into the 2010 NYC Marathon. Apparently, you need to have raced by January 31st, 2010. I will push this detail aside and press on. Running a sub-2:55 will get me into NYC in 2011.

I narrowed it down to two marathons on the weekend of March 5th, 2010: (1) Albany, GA and (2) Little Rock, AR. The factors that went into my narrowing it down are (not listed in order of importance):

Date of race - It needed to be before April and later than Feb 28th to allow for a full 18-week training cycle
Location / ease of logistics - I am going by myself, and I am Platinum on American Airlines, so it needs to be somewhere I can get to cheaply and easily
Course ease (or difficulty, depending on how you look at it) - To go for a sub-2:55, this sucker needs to be flat!
States in which I have not raced before are preferred - For when I decide to go for the 50 states club later in life (Texas and Florida are out, which made this tough for Feb/March)
The race must have reasonably favorable reviews on Marathonguide.com.

Right now, I am training toward the goal to run a 2:54 at the Snickers Energy Bar Marathon on March 6th, 2010. Little Rock, although it has stellar reviews and is easier to get to for me due to a direct AA flight, may be a bit to hill to achieve that sub 2:55.

Currently, I have completed 4 weeks of an 18-week modified Pfitzinger training plan that will get me up to a new peak of 80 miles per week in week #15 in February.

While visiting my sister's family, I ran in Colorado last week at about 5,800 feet altitude, which was a great stimulus. I am pretty confident that was one of the factors that helped me absolutely destroy a 19-miler in the hills of Waterfall Glen today at an average pace of 7:08/mile.

I am presently 14 weeks ago from running this race. I plan to post a minimum of weekly going forward toward the race date. Please stay tuned and join me for the ride.

Marathon #17: Wonderful PR in Chicago 2009

2009-10-11T17:39:00.004-05:00

It was a marvelous day to run a marathon today. Everything went very smoothly as I knocked out the splits pretty consistently today, which are listed below along with my unofficial result.

I feel very satisfied. I ran exactly how I had hoped and achieved my "A" goal, which was to PR with a 2:58.

I am currently undecided on my next goal. I need to savor this a bit. Running four marathons in the span of 8 months with an average time of 3:01 (w/ two sub-3's) in all major regions of the USA (West Coast, Midwest, East Coast and Southwest) is more than I would have ever imagined possible for myself.

SPLITS BY THE MILE - CHICAGO MARATHON - OCTOBER 11TH, 2009

7:00

6:45

6:43

6:30

6:47

6:44

6:49

6:48

6:44

6:53

6:49

0:44 - 13.1 mi - HALFWAY -- 1:29:00

6:07 - Balance of mile 14

6:48

6:44

6:50

6:48

6:50

6:53

6:47

6:55

6:53

6:49

6:43

1:23 - final 0.2 mi

FINISH TIME: 2:58:28

Person
Name	Nied, Ryan (USA)
BIB	574
Div	30-34

Split	Time
START TIME	07:30:19
05K	00:21:13
10K	00:42:03
15K	01:03:11
20K	01:24:24
HALF	01:29:00
25K	01:45:32
30K	02:06:43
35K	02:28:02
40K	02:49:25

Total
Place (total)	699
Place (Gender)	642
Place (Div)	128
Total (Net)	02:58:28
Total (Gun)	02:58:54

Chicago 2009: Ready to Roll

2009-10-10T18:22:00.004-05:00

Just a touch above the freezing point with winds around 6 mph. That's what is expected for conditions as we line up tomorrow for the Chicago Marathon. Far more comfortable than the heat and humidity that runners felt the past two years.

I hit this week's mileage exactly as I had planned: 25 miles at relatively easy pace for the most part, with exception to a couple of miles at goal pace.

Unfortunately, I had a really busy week with travel and a couple of poor night's sleep. Also, my diet was not as strong as I would have like it to have been as I approach a marathon.

It's all good. I have put in the training. I am in pretty good shape.

I'll be running with the 3:00 pace group tomorrow. Hopefully, I can sneak out in front of them as we approach the final miles and hang on for a sub-3. We'll see.

This will be my 3rd Chicago Marathon and my 17th overall. I am excited that the conditions will allow us to leave it all out there tomorrow; unlike the last two years.

Marathon #4 of 2009 is here. Time to go get it...

Celebrating the taper with a 5k PR

2009-09-28T20:27:00.012-05:00

Chicago is a mere 13 days away.

Taking a look at my training right now, I feel like I am in pretty good shape for Chicago. I am in comparable shape to Austin and the good news is that Chicago is a faster course.

Giving me even a little more confidence was that I finally broke 19 minutes on a 5k this weekend. OK, so I have not run a 5k in over a year. That's why I decided to enter the local Plainfield Harvest Fest 5k to see if my speed work was progressing.

My goal was to run an 18:30. I was really nervous on whether or not I could do this. I haven't run intervals over 1200m and I simply not as strong on the shorter distances.

Did I tell you that I hate 5k's? They f'n hurt. The good news is that I achieved my goal and ran an 18:22. (Official time was later posted as 18:25 - but I trust my watch).

I ran splits of 5:48, 6:02, 5:56 and the final 0.1 mile in 0:36. This earned me another 3rd place age group finish. More importantly, this time lines up with a 2:59:03 marathon time, if you ask Greg McMillan anyway.

If I take this 5k result and compare it to the strong 22-miler that I knocked out last Sunday, I am feeling pretty good about my progress.

The takeaway on the 22-miler was not necessarily the pace of the splits, but rather how I felt so strong toward the end. Granted, I wasn't running race pace until the final couple of miles. Nevertheless, I felt stronger on this run that I have on any other training run of this distance in recent memory -- and it was at the tail end of another 70 mile week.

I feel like I am right on the brink of a 2:59. It's all about rest, recovery and mental preparation from this point forward.

Tuning up for the Chicago taper

2009-09-16T20:40:00.005-05:00

Wow, where has the time gone? There are just over 3 weeks until the Chicago Marathon. I have a plan to nail about 68-69 miles this week and then it's taper time for the 4th time in 2009.

I am starting to build some confidence that I am on the cusp of another sub-3 hour marathon in Chicago.

I ran the Batavia Half Madness 1/2 Marathon about 10 days ago. I wanted a sub 1:25. I came up slightly short. However, I will say that I was happy to have finished as strong as I did.

I ran a 1:25:48, which lines up with a 3:00 marathon. It was a PR by about 50 seconds. I placed 3rd in my age group and 18th overall out of just under 1,000 runners (see results here). OK, so I was little pissed as I struggled to hold 6:30's. You can check out my splits here.

In retrospect, I could have pulled out the excuse monkey and had him say the humidity was very high that day (over 90%), that my weight was up (nearly 170 lbs) and I had a poor diet the night before (thanks to me caving into my neighbor's invite for dinner, since my family was out of town... ribs, chicken, cookies, etc) and that it was the last, tiring run of a 70-mile week (which it was).

But I didn't let the excuse monkey out of his cage. I chalked it up to more work to do.

Since then, I have been running pretty strongly. However, I will say that I have put in a ton of treadmill mileage due to my schedule and my all-weekend daddy duties. It's great fun to nail an 18-mile treadmill run (w/ 15 miles at 6:49/mi pace) while watching my daughter nap on a video monitor right next to me.

I am hitting the workouts. The indicators are there. I am right on the fringe of another PR. I would have felt better had I ran a 1:24 at that half, but I honestly think it wasn't my best day.

Regardless of what happens, it will be my best year of marathoning.... ever.

Margaritaville + Marathon Training = ?

2009-09-01T20:58:00.004-05:00

I am continuing to make progress toward a sub-3 marathon run at Chicago on 10/11/06.

I've been able to keep up with the Pfitz plan pretty successfully -- even with numerous distractions, work travel and family obligations.

I did complete 70 miles the week before last even with my business trip to Miami. One of the nights in Miami included a night out at the bar with co-workers until 1:45 AM. No, I didn't get up and run before our 8:30 AM meeting, but I managed make it up in the evening and get back on track the following morning. This included a strong tempo run on the Hilton treadmill for a total of 12 miles. Not bad, right?

Last week, I hit 63 out of 64 planned miles and completed all the speed work. The toughest part was over the weekend. Friday night was my birthday and we had neighbors over late and celebrated. I killed a simulated 10k race on Saturday on the treadmill in 37:58 (which lines up with a 2:58 marathon) with a minor hangover.

On Saturday night, I went to my first Jimmy Buffet concert. I didn't see any others at the show that appeared to be attempting a sub-3 marathon next month. I did 18 miles on the treadmill on Sunday afternoon at an avg of 7:33/mi - with a slightly stronger hangover.

All in all, I am on track. Just got back from a Connecticut trip. I hit my 11 miles this morning - however, I did not get in the 6x1000m repeats on the treadmill as planned. It was 80+ degrees with high humidity in the Hilton fitness room. I did two of the intervals and then headed outside to beautiful temps and completed the final 9 miles in 7:29/mi avg pace. Enjoyed the hills of my former town that I last lived in!

I am pumped for the Batavia Half Madness 1/2 Marathon on Sunday. I should be in position to P.R. My goal is a 1:24:30 and I think it's very doable.

Off to bed so I can get up for a 15-miler... trying to stay on track for a 70-mile week (or something close).

Getting back on track toward sub-3

2009-08-19T12:39:00.003-05:00

With recovery over from San Fran, I am back to following Pfitizinger's up to 70 mpw plan.

Last week on Monday night, I wasn't feeling so hot. I was on business travel to our HQ in Connecticut attending a dinner with colleagues, when I had to excuse myself. I felt suddenly very sick. I ended up leaving dinner right as the entrees were being served and headed to the hotel.

I don't know what hit me but it carried over a couple of days. I didn't miss any work, but I did miss last Tuesday's 10-miler. I felt extremely fatigued and had bouts of diarrhea.

On Wednesday, I was back home, had a great night sleep and ventured out on an 11-miler. I struggled through the back half. I felt weak and had a couple of brief rest stops. Having no choice but to finish the run (I took myself far out from the house), I dropped back to 8:30's.

Whatever bug I caught worked its way out of my system by Thursday. Fortunately, I resurrected myself later in the week on Friday when I nailed a pretty solid tempo run.

This week brings a test: Escalate to 70 miles. This week has three core runs out of the six. Today brought a 15-miler, which I completed pretty strongly. Friday brings a 12 miler with 7 at tempo and then Sunday brings a whopper at 22 miles. I have run 25 miles in the last 36 hrs and am right on track so far.

I am headed to Miami this afternoon for work. I am hoping the Airport Hilton has an A/C'd fitness room so I can nail the 6:25-6:30/mi tempo miles needed.

Seven weeks until Chicago.

Hungry for a sub-3 at Chicago

2009-08-09T19:03:00.004-05:00

I am near recovery from my race in San Francisco and motivated to prepare for Chicago. I have nine weeks to get ready for what I hope will be my strongest race performance of the year.

I have been browsing the runninghead.com forum string called "Goal of sub-3 marathon". It's obviously a popular topic as it was initiated back nearly 1 year ago and has 133 pages of replies. I have found some inspiration as I read of others who are chasing and have nailed the sub-3 goal.

Yes, I achieved it earlier this year. But I want to do it again. I am feeling hungry after struggling in San Fran. Chicago is flat. Austin, Boston and San Fran all have substantial elevation changes.

As I write this at 7:03 PM local time, it's 87 degrees at 71% humidity, which makes it a "feels like" of 98. These conditions make it tough to nail long runs - even before 7 AM. Today was a prime example. I met up with my group and cut my run short so I could finish up inside on my treadmill. I was dying out there this morning.

I proved to myself this past winter during my Austin cycle that treadmill training is far more effective than dealing with poor weather elements. I set a PR with 90% of my mileage on the belt.

Today was the end of my final comeback week after San Fran. I nailed 50 miles and feel like I am ready to step back into Pfitz's 70mpw plan. I will follow this plan as closely as I can for the next nine weeks.

Up next: The Half Madness 1/2 Marathon, in which I hope to put up a 1:25 or better. I have a lot of work to do in the next 4 weeks to make this possible. It's a lofty goal, but I am going to go for it.

Lovin' the Bay area -- San Fran Marathon recap

2009-08-01T12:24:00.018-05:00

Jen and I are back in the Chicago area after a wonderful jaunt in San Francisco and the Napa Valley wine country this past week. We had a memorable time touring the entire area. Some highlights:

We toured five different wineries and tasted countless delectable varietals of wines. (It pays to be in the industry.)

We saw Adam Duritz and the Counting Crows, one of my favorite bands, perform at the Greek Theater in Berkeley on UC's campus- after spending the day touring that interesting town. What a great show and a great venue.

We saw beautiful scenery in both rural and city settings - including breathtaking views of San Francisco from various angles; not to mention beautiful views of wine country from atop Sterling Vineyards in Calistoga, CA.

We stayed in a fabulous spa/hotel on Bodega Bay, which is a quaint little out-of-the way bayside town to celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary. We even rode horses on the beach looking out into the bay.

We saw all the major landmarks in the city. (The one disappointment was that the Alcatraz tours were sold out for the entire 7 days we were in the area.)

We saw the comedian John Heffron (Last Comic Standing champ) and laughed our butts off.

Oh, you asked about the marathon? I almost forgot!

Well, I finished in a respectable time of 3:06 after putting up a 4 1/2 min positive split.

I finished in 86th place out of 5093 in the total field. You can see my splits (which are quite jumbled due to missing mile markers) and further race finish details here.

The hills caught up with me late. The Golden Gate bridge out-and-back (miles 6-9) was the steadiest, longest up and down and, while I didn't know it at the time, it may have been my undoing. Unfortunately, the damn fog prevented any reasonable view of the city.

Tack on mile 10 right after the bridge which was a killer, steep downhill. I ran it in 6:28, which shredded my quads, then I had to pound back uphill on 11. Though the hills varied in size/grade, it seemingly was an unending cycle.

When a well-intentioned spectator tells you "it's all downhill from here" at mile 20, he or she is not telling you the whole story. While the total elevation change is downhill, there are still numerous ups and downs. I was slipping into the 7:30+ pace range the last few as I clung on for dear life.

I said I'd be surprised if I didn't put up a 3:05 or better and I came up short, so, there you have it... I am a bit surprised -- especially after a 1:31 first half! Nevertheless, it goes to show how the hills can zap you if you are not trained for them, which I simply couldn't do enough of where I live.

Anyway, that's three marathons down in 2009 and one to go. Here are my two remaining major goals for this year:

1. Put up a new PR for the half marathon on September 6th (www.halfmadness.com)

2. Break 3:00 again at Chicago on October 11th. I feel the need to tear up a flat course after San Fran and Boston on the last two!

Countdown to San Francisco

2009-07-19T21:24:00.005-05:00

The taper has gone as planned: 55 miles last week, 45 miles this week -- with some decent speed work and plenty of recovery miles.

All of our travel arrangments are finalized. We fly out of Chicago on Friday morning. We will be staying 0.9 miles from the start.

My mother-in-law, bless her heart, will be traveling to our home from Pittsburgh to stay with our daughter. This will be our first time away from her since she was born 15 months ago.

No doubt, I am stoked to run this marathon. Afterward, I am totally pscyhed to visit San Francisco, Napa, Sonoma and the vicinity. Post-race, we have a great itinerary lined up including several winery tours in Napa/Sonoma, a Counting Crows concert, a Giants game, Alcatraz and lots of great dining and scenery. I call it a pretty good day when you run a marathon in the morning and see one of your favorite bands ever in the evening.

As far as predictions go, it's a tough call. I will say that, despite the elevation change to contend with, I will be surprised if I don't run a 3:05 or better. I think I would be chasing sub-3 on a flat course.

I'm in pretty good shape. Really good shape, I should say. I am going to soak in the thrill of running over the Golden Gate Bridge.

Temperatures will be in the low to mid 50's -- perfect. Can you believe this race starts at 5:30 AM on Sunday?

Ready to run the Streets of San Francisco

2009-07-04T13:20:00.009-05:00

Legendary actor Karl Malden died this past week and was perhaps best known for his work in the classic TV series The Streets of San Francisco. Recounts in the news of Malden's role with Michael Douglas chasing bad guys reminded me that I am bracing for my own experience in the Streets of San Francisco.

I've received a number of comments warning me to lower expectations on my finish time due to the difficulty of the course in San Fran. It's not lost on me that the elevation change in San Fran is pretty significant -- even greater than that of Boston.

This is my first try training for a summer marathon. It's going reasonably well, I must say. My most successful training run was my 20-miler of two weeks ago, which was run entirely on a treadmill. I ran much of the pace mileage at 4-7% incline. I ran the entire workout in 2:19 and finished extremely strong at the end. It was a true progression with over 15 miles at race pace through significant incline intervals.

Today, I capped off a 70-mile week with a pretty strong 21-miler - albeit not as intense as the one from two weeks ago. I did this run at the I&M Canal with running partners Nate and Dave. Nate and cruised the final five miles of the 21 in 34:10. Now, granted, this path is pancake flat.

I know the hills will be daunting, so I recognize it's a stretch to aim for a PR. Nevertheless, I will go out there and give it my best and try to run 3:00 pace and see what happens. If I decide to back off to the 3:02-3:05 range, so be it. I'm confident that I am in pretty good shape to run my third strong marathon of 2009.

Bring on the taper... three weeks to go.

Slacking in blogging, but not running

2009-06-14T14:03:00.007-05:00

If you have perused this page in the bast, then I suppose it's been obvious. I've somehow drifted away from my past diligence of updating this running journal at least on a weekly basis. Perhaps it's because I've found new pressures placed on my time, and this blog was one of the weekly tasks that got pushed down the list.

Nevertheless, the good news is that I am running as strong as ever, which my runningahead log hopefully indicates. Reflecting on 2009 to this point, I am extremely pleased with my running. Right now, I am six weeks out from my third marathon of 2009, which I will run in San Francisco.

Lately, I've been running weekly mileage in the mid-50's consistently, with plenty of solid long runs, tempos and now interval training this past week. For this week, I finally got back into the 60's for the first time since the week of March 23rd.

From a scheduling standpoint, it's been tough to get the mileage back up to where I was in the winter heading into Austin. I've been doing long runs on Saturday with my running group, which then requires a rest day for me on Sundays. My personal schedule really would allow me to nail more mileage if I did long runs on Sundays and took Mondays off. The gang is running Saturdays for now, so I'll need to adjust.

My plan is to have a really strong three week training period - then begin a three week taper for San Fran. I'd like to have the upcoming three weeks range from 65-70 miles each. If I hit the tempos, a long pace run and a solid 22-miler, I'm confident that I will be in 2:59'ish shape again for San Fran. Then I can figure out how to go for a PR in Chicago in October.

I also want to concentrate on nutrition and stretching. I know, I've said it before. I really want to make some improvements here. My weight has been hovering over 170 lbs recently. I feel I can run faster if I can get it down to 165 lbs, so there's a goal.

For 2009, I figure if I can run four marathons, in four large cities (Austin, Boston, San Fran, Chicago), in four different parts of the country (Southwest, Northeast, West Coast and Midwest), with times of 3:02 or better for all four -- then that's a pretty damn good year.

Soldier Field 10-miler - Looking ahead

2009-05-25T19:37:00.009-05:00

For the second year in a row, I ran the Soldier Field 10-mile race along Chicago's lakefront path. Since Boston, I have been trying to recover and ramp up for the San Francisco Marathon.

After last week's 17-miler, I felt an usual level of fatigue. I will confess that trying to get focused for my 3rd marathon in a 5-month span has been challenging.

For this race, I decide to take a full two days off in advance. This race would really tell me if I have maintained my fitness level since Boston 5 weeks ago. I've not done really any speed/tempo work - with exception of a 4-mile tempo run a few weeks back. I really did not know what to expect. I was hoping to break 1:05.

I had really good race. I was able to hold 6:25's for the race. I will say that one of the miles on the course felt a bit short to me. You can see which one if you look at my race splits. Nevertheless, it was a successful race - and a monster PR for this distance by about 3+ minutes. I ran a 1:04 flat, which lines up with sub-3 marathon conditioning.

This race is becoming very popular. They capped it at 9,000 runners this year - and it sold out. I wanted to finish in the top 100. I came up slightly short finishing in 104th place.

I've got 9 weeks until San Fran. I don't think I will race until then. Here are some pics of my beautiful family, who came out to support me.

Ambitious running agenda

2009-05-14T21:17:00.003-05:00

Is it May 14th already? This has been my longest stretch of not posting ever, I think.

Since Boston, it's been quite hectic. Outside of running activities, my daughter turned one year old and we had a big family party. We've got our basement finishing project well underway and it's about 65% complete. Then there are the usual work stresses, which are relatively under control at this point.

As for running, I've smoothly resumed getting back to a decent marathon training base. I am building back towards 60-mile weeks, which I should hit next week. I don't feel in the shape I was before (most likely due to my non-stop chowing of pizza, beer, sweets, etc.)

I've also kicked off the Plainfield Road Runners Club, which has required quite a bit of planning and organizing from time to time.

The PRRC has been a great experience so far. However, we've got such a long way to go. I'm learning about how to "sell" running to people, particularly those that are interested but are not experienced.

I'll be running the Soldier Field 10-miler next Saturday. Last year, I ran it less than one week after the Green Bay Marathon. I expect to be able to put up a far better time - hopefully a PR.

In June, I'll do the Downers Grove 10-miler for the fourth year in a row.

All of this is leading up to my next marathon in San Francisco, which is scheduled for July 26th. Not to mention an excellent vacation in wine country also on the agenda afterward.

Boston Marathon recap - April 20th, 2009

2009-04-26T07:52:00.010-05:00

Well, it's been 6 days the grand event and I am finally getting around to a recap of the Boston Marathon that I ran last Monday.

Results:

First half - 1:29:27
Second half - 1:32:52
Finish time: 3:02:19
Click here to see my race mile splits

Going into the race, I felt like I had a chance at a 2:59, and that was the goal. However, in the back of my mind, I wasn't sure if I was in the shape as I was for Austin nine weeks earlier.

Getting into Hopkinton is stressful. Since we had a rental car, I decided to have my wife drive me to Hopkinton from our hotel on the edge of downtown. This allowed me about an extra 1.5 hours in the morning and made it easier to handle our daughter.

Jen dropped me at a school where race organizers had "runners only" buses carting people over to Athlete's Village. It took at least one hour to be able to get off the bus. We sat in the bus just outside the village for at least 1/2 hour due to sheer volume of buses.

Once in Athlete's Village, I was too late to have a prayer to use a port-o-john. The lines were extremely long and it was 55 minutes to race start.

I texted my friend, Aaron, to meet me at the start. I dumped my gear at the check. I'm not proud to admit that I found a secluded, yet illegal, open urinal along with several other runners. However, in fairness to me and hundreds upon hundreds of others, race organizers still do not have enough port-o-johns to handle the pre-race surge.

I was in the 4th corral based on my Twin Cities time of 3:06 last October. I probably could have gotten to corral 2 if I had sent in a new time from Austin. I didn't.

The weather was near perfect. I was very comfortable, although, I knew the winds would catch us later in the race.

The race kicked off and the cattle drive began. First several miles were very crowded. My first mile was a 7:15 and I had to work through much traffic for it.

In the first 8 miles or so, I will say that I did not have the "pop" that I felt I would need to run sub-3. I felt a little drained early on. The first energy gel really helped and I was on a true high as we approached Wellesley College.

My 1/2 marathon split was 1:29:27. This is right where I would want to be for the first half for most marathons on a sub-3 attempt, but I knew this was Boston, and the second half is often slower. Running a negative split in Boston means you are sandbagging heavily on the front end.

As I approached mile 17 and the Newton Hils, I was definitely daunted. However, I recovered after the first major climb. I told myself "you can do, this, Ryan".

Enter Heartbreak at mile 20, where I was barely holding on to pace for 2:59. The Newton Hills did their damage. Heartbreak got me and, afterward, I could not again pace back down to 6:50 even in the downhill terrain.

For the final 10k, I wanted to make sure I didn't blow achieving my second best marathon time (3:06 in Twin Cities). I was able to muster 7:10's-7:20's as I took in the final stretch with all of the fantastic crowds. When I made the turn toward Boylston, I was ready to celebrate. And you know I did.

Losing sub-3 was frustrating and humbling, but I am too way experienced at this point with the marathon to respect the distance. However, I will say that I am proud that I hung on for a 3:02. Around 21, I was in a place where I thought I was totally going to fall part. That's what is very special about Boston. The final stretch is such an adrenaline rush with the fan support.

I am pleased with my performance. Putting up a 3:02 at Boston only nine weeks after a 2:59 in Austin is a great accomplishment for me. These are my two best marathons out of 15 now total.

Once back home, I had to turn my efforts to the kick-off of our new running club here in Plainfield, IL. We had our first group run yesterday and the start-up of the club has been a success to this point.

Now, I need to devise a training strategy for San Francisco on July 26th. I have 12 weeks until the race.

Two Days 'Til Boston

2009-04-18T07:31:00.002-05:00

I am spending time with family in Rhode Island this weekend in final preparation for Boston on Monday. We are going to go to the Providence Zoo today with my in-laws.

I've done the usual final taper mileage up to this point. I am going to skip today's run so I can feel extra rested for Monday. I'll do a few tomorrow in Boston sometime after we check in.

This has been a 9-week marathon cycle, so it feels very different. Since running Austin on February 15th, then recovering, then ramping back up, it's going to be interested to see how my body responds on Monday.

It's hard to know if I've retained 100% of my fitness since Austin. My best runs were my last two 20-milers, one of which included 15 miles at goal pace. I also had a couple of strong simulated 10k races, and a decent half marathon.

My half marathon of 1:26 came up a little slower than what I would want for a sub-3 marathon predictor. However, it was at the back end of a 70 mile week and I faded in the race.

I feel optimistic. I will be rested. I hope my daughter sleeps well in the hotel room on Sunday night. Whatever happens, it will be great to run my 2nd Boston and my 15th marathon overall.

Fighting back toward a sub-3 at Boston

2009-04-08T20:18:00.005-05:00

I hit a minor stumbling block this past weekend on my road to a sub-3:00 Boston performance. After watching my MSU Spartans clinch a berth in the national championship on Saturday night, I came down with a sudden bout of what I think was the flu.

At first, I blamed my condition on one too many celebratory beers and too much Tabasco on my pizza the night before. As my Sunday progressed, something didn't feel right. Citing the windy cold rain and in direct spite of my better judgment, I decided to go ahead with my planned 17-miler on the treadmill anyway.

Bear in mind, with Monday set as marathon day, I had a day of cushion. But long runs on Mondays are rough and I figured I could fight through it. I wasn't planning on pushing pace too hard. All of the hard work had been put into the bank, anyway.

I didn't finish the 17-miler. I felt like I was running in a lethargic haze with no purpose and I was counting every 0.01 increment as the odometer clicked onward. I fought through 9 miles and had to retire due to exhaustion.

Later, I had a few bites of dinner and realized my appetite was gone. I went to bed at 6:45 PM and, with several bathroom incidents and Ibuprofen doses in between, my wife woke me at 6:45 AM on Monday.

I found my lack of appetite and diarrhea stripped off 5 pounds overnight. I called off work on Monday and, if I wasn't comatose, I laid hopelessly in bed in despair wondering how I would break back into the outside world in such miserable shape.

Enter Tuesday at which point my sheer will forced me out of bed. It's funny how our exaggerated sense of self-importance takes over under these circumstances. "My people need me at the office. The company will shut down if I'm not there," we think.

I helped my daughter get off to daycare with my wife, cleaned myself up and got myself to the office. I drank several Coca-Colas throughout the day to rid myself of my pale appearance. I still had no appetite, a highly dynamic body temperature from various fevers and no interest in running.

Finally, today, Wednesday, I broke back into running. After all, we are only 12 days out from the Boston Marathon. I did a solid 10-miler on the treadmill in 1:13. Call it a fartlek mixed with several interval inclines and the final two miles at goal marathon pace.

One bit of positive news. Before all of this sickness crippled me, I nailed an outstanding simulated 10k race in 37:54 on Saturday. McMillan tells us that lines up with a sub-2:58 marathon.

Now, I will stick to the Pfitz up to 70mpw plan from here on out. I went over the plan by adding those two GMP miles today, but I needed to push it a little after falling down on Sunday.

I need to believe that blowing that final 17-miler will not affect my time on April 20th. And I do believe it will not matter. I had solid twenty-milers each of the two preceding - one of which I nailed 15 at goal pace.

Onward to Boston, folks ... and my second sub-3:00 race in roughly two months. This will truly be a spectacular accomplishment if and when I nail this race.

Plugging along toward Boston

2009-03-30T07:18:00.004-05:00

It's been a couple weeks since my last post. I've been pretty busy.

Things are going really well in preparation for Boston. Last week, I ran 60 miles.

I just completed 67 miles this week. Highlights of this week's workouts included:

Wednesday - 6x1200m repeats w/ 2 min recovery jog
Sunday - 20 miles w/ 15 at goal marathon pace

I completed both of these workouts with very high quality. In addition, that makes two weeks in a row that I completed a strong 20 miler.

Boston is three weeks away tomorrow. I feel that I am tracking pretty closely to sub 3:00 condition once again.

If I look at my online training log over the past couple of week's runs, the results are strikingly similar to the same weeks of Austin cycle that I completed in January.

Cary Half Marathon Report

2009-03-16T13:11:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, I set a new half marathon PR at the March Madness race up in Cary, IL.

My watch said 1:26:38 and I think the official time was 1:26:42. There is no chip timing at this race and I was slightly behind the start line.

You can see splits and details of the run on my training log. I'm now using the cool GPS upload feature that the Runningahead site offers. Now you can see my routes for my outside runs.

I was a bit concerned about whether or not the legs would hold up late in the race given I'm a peak training mileage right now. I faded substantially late in the race, particularly when I hit the killer hill at back of mile 10.

I guess it's silly to be disappointed over a 2:40 PR, but I feel that, if properly rested, I am in about 1:24-1:25 shape. McMillan will tell you that my 2:59:10 in Austin last month is good for a sub-1:25 half.

I thought for sure I'd be able to hold onto a 1:25, but things fell apart for me late. That's OK. I feel good about my run and my fitness level. I hope I can get back to sub-3 shape for Boston on April 20th.

I rounded out yesterday's race with an afternoon recovery run. This got me to 70 miles to the week exactly as planned. Note: This is only my second 70-mile week ever.

Focus: Repeating sub-3 at Boston

2009-03-09T20:16:00.004-05:00

Training for Boston is in full swing. I am pleased to have put in my first 60-mile week since late January. I think I really handled the transition from Austin recovery back into training extremely well.

If I look at my online log since running in Austin on Feb 15th, I ran weeks of 15, 42 and 60 miles the past three weeks.

On Saturday, I put in what is now becoming one of my staple "simulated" 10k races on the treadmill. With the incline set at 1%, I nailed the 6.21 mile distance in 37:55, which is a predictor data point for sub 2:58.

Yesterday, our weather was horrible. I had planned to connect with Liz, one of the new runners that will be involved with the launch of the PRRC, for an 18-miler.

After several phone calls and waiting out the weather, we decided to forget it and resigned ourselves to our home treadmills. Good call. We received over 2.5 inches of rain and flash flood warnings.

I was pleased to be able to put in a solid 18-mile workout with not a single stop and several incline/decline intervals in 2:16:20.

This week, I'm going to try for another 70-mile week, which would be only my second ever if I could pull it off. You can always count on Pfitz's programs to keep you challenged. This week is no exception.

I will cap it all of with what I hope will be an earth-shattering PR at the March Madness Half Marathon. All signs point to a 1:24, so that is the goal. This would be a 5-minute PR, which was set at, guess where else, the March Madness Half Marathon 2008.

This week's schedule:

Tue - 11 miles w/6x1000m repeats - 90 sec jog
Wed - 15 miles
Thu -AM: 6 miles recovery + PM: 4 miles recovery
Fri - 12 miles
Sat - 4 recovery
Sun - 13.1M RACE + 4.9 recovery

Total: 70 miles

Back on the run - in more ways than one

2009-03-03T21:32:00.004-06:00

I've basked in the glory of my sub-3 run at Austin enough for now. I'm back at work training again.

Up next is the March Madness Half Marathon in Cary, IL, which I will run for the 3rd year in a row. Ironically, I have my PR year from last year.

It would be nothing less of a disaster to not at least shave three minutes to a new PR of 1:26. I am training up for a 1:24.

Also, things are really picking up with the PRRC. Planning efforts have begun to take up a considerable amount of my time, but I am enjoying it so far.

I am really excited about the network of passionate runners here in Plainfield, IL that I have stumbled upon over the past few weeks.

We will be kicking off this club on April 22. I am quite excited about being part of a running club in my hometown.

Sweet Austin has forever a place in my running heart

2009-02-17T16:27:00.012-06:00

Running the Austin Marathon in under three hours felt spectacular on Sunday. I have to honestly say that the whole race flew right by me.

It felt so care-free. So automatic. Just like a regular run out in the park with new found Texan friends.

I have to thank my pacers, Patrick and Paul, who were truly amazing. They kept us right on track mile after mile at near dead even pace to 3:00.

Official finish time: 2:59:10
1st half: 1:29:51
2nd half: 1:29:19 (**NOTE: Current "official" 1/2 marathon PR is a 1:29:21!)
50th place out of 4,051 finishers

The weather was picture perfect. The fans were outstanding. The elevation was challenging in many parts. There was really only one obnoxious hill at 24 as we headed into the UT campus.

I don't have any really dramatic moments to share. The toughest strech were miles 15-17, which were dead straight as an arrow into some strong head winds. When we turned the corner into mile 17 out of the wind, our entire 3:00 pack gasped a sigh of relief and joy.

I have a fond memory of the confidence I felt to hold what used to be such a daunting 6:50 min/mile pace through wind and hills. I worked so hard throughout the winter through some tough mornings, days and nights to get to this place.

Of course, when I made that turn into the final 385 yards knowing that I sub-3 in the bag, I let loose with my fist pumps and cheerleading antics. (See picture below with the Capitol building in view.) It was an amazing feeling, as usual.

I now have a list of shorter distance PR's that are not in line with my marathon PR. I'll need to chip away at a few of those this summer.

My next marathon goal will be to run a 2:55 to allow me guaranteed entry into New York. I need to improve a measely 211 seconds. Although this is very achievable, I do not feel I have enough time make this modest gain at Boston, which is only 9 weeks out. I'll mull that over a few more days.

I think I will attempt another 2:59 at Boston with my good running pal, Aaron in Pittsburgh, who is training up as I type. I can't wait to run the Super Bowl of Marathons again this year after waiting for Alivia's birthday last year.

I will have to decide if San Fran is a conducive marathon to make my attempt at 2:55. The course elevation does not appear much more challenging than what I just did in Austin.

For now, I am going to savor this one for a few more days. We head back to Chicago tomorrow morning from my wife's grandparents here in Houston.

When I arrive home, it'll be good to see my ol' buddy, Mr. Treadmill, in my basement, who I can thank for helping me achieve my goal in Austin. He and I spent a lot of hours and miles together the past few months.

I want to leave a thought with anyone who doubts their ability to achieve their next big marathon time goal, whether it be a BQ, a sub-3 or even just to complete a marathon.

I ran my first marathon in Pittsburgh in 2001 in 4:16, never dreaming I would be where I am today. I kept at it because I grew to love this sport, and what it did for me, my fitness and my confidence as a person.

I know from experience that with commitment, planning and perserverence, you can achieve your goals. When you do, it feels so amazing.

The success I have gained for myself out on the road has helped me tackle many challenges in life. I'm so thankful to God and my wonderful wife, and now my precious little daughter, for supporting my running endeavors.

Marathon #15 is in the books, and it's a special one, to be sure.

Mission accomplished! Sensational sub-3!

2009-02-15T15:01:00.001-06:00

Today, I achieved my goal and made personal running history this morning at the Austin Marathon.

Est finish time: 2:59:16
1st half: 1:29:53
2nd half: 1:29:43

It was a beautiful morning and a wonderful race experience. I've got to thank the 3:00 pace leaders who did an amazing job.

We are now driving to Houston to visit more family. Full race report and pics to come.

Final hours to Austin

2009-02-14T20:14:00.004-06:00

Greetings from Austin, Texas.

The marathon lost its sponsorship this year and is not offering prize money. The crown will be up for grabs to all the local stars, which will bring even more of a hometown feel to tomorrow's race.

We drove the course today. Bottom line: There are some nasty hills out here in Austin. I figure if I can stay right on pace through 15, I will be in good shape. The back half of the course tends to descend. It's the front course that has most of the challenging hills.

Weather conditions are predicted to be close to ideal: Mid 40's at the start with light wind btw 5-10 mph. It's much cooler here than I anticipated. I am going to have to make a last minute call on whether to go long-sleeve or not.

The x-factor is sleep. We are staying with Jen's aunt and have Alivia sleeping in a pack-and-play next to us. She's not been feeling well lately and had a rough time getting to sleep last night. I hope she does not cause any interruptions tonight.

Aside from that concern, I feel pretty good. I feel ready. Even on a flat course, targeting sub-3 will be a daunting challenge. However, I know that I am ready. I've got the indicators. I've put in the hard work.

I am ready to make personal history tomorrow.

Final prep for Austin - Less than 4 days

2009-02-11T20:07:00.003-06:00

OK, I'm done training... Well, almost, anyway. I don't want to run much more before Sunday.

I'm experiencing the all-too-common, psychologically driven feeling of fatigue that comes with the late stages of taper. I want to be clear. The runs aren't hard. It's just that I don't see their benefit and I can't wait to get through them.

It's time to drop the mileage and focus on the mental preparation. I just want to eat right, sleep and relax.

I'm going to rest tomorrow, or maybe run an easy 3 miles or so. I may take Friday off altogether.

I have one more day of work. We leave on Friday morning for Austin. We'll be staying with J's aunt, who lives 2.5 miles from the start.

Today, I did the usual 2-mile at goal marathon pace like I do every marathon training cycle on Pfitz's program. I did it on the treadmill at 2% grade. After a couple of days of nice weather which allowed for outside runs, today was windy, cold, rainy and crappy.

Early forecast in Austin right now shows a chance of showers, but really comfortable running temps. It's not surprising that I could get drenched ... again.

I'm expecting near ideal conditions on Sunday morning. I am fully aware that this could be my only shot of earning a sub-3:00 marathon. Life continues to get more complicated and I'm not getting any younger.

That being said, I am fully prepared to go for it. I'm psyched. I am going to kill this marathon on Sunday. I'm going to leave it all out on that Austin course. On Sunday, I will run the best marathon of my life.

Bring on Austin - 12 days out

2009-02-03T12:31:00.004-06:00

I am getting slightly anxious now that the marathon is coming up pretty soon. I am excited. It's been four months since I set my current PR at Twin Cities and it feels like that was years ago.

I have not run a single race since Twin Cities on 10/5/08. It's been all solo training, with an unexpectedly high percentage of mileage on the treadmill.

On Saturday, I added yet another indicator toward my sub-3 fitness. I ran a simulated 10k on the treadmill at 1.5% grade in 37:47. Details of the workout are here. This translates to a predicted marathon time of 2:57. Wow.

Historically, I have struggled putting in strong long runs the day after an intense race pace workout. Surprisingly, Sunday's pre-Super Bowl 17-miler felt reasonably strong. The weather finally broke to the low 30's. I ran a complete long run outside, thankfully, for the first time in weeks.

I averaged close to 7:15/mile for the entire run with no problem and finished at goal marathon pace for the final mile. My second half was definitely stronger than my first half.

I am feeling overall pretty good about my fitness. It appears that putting in the highest mileage in my life is about to pay dividends. After putting in weekly training volume in the consistent 60's combined with plenty of speed & tempo, not to mention a peak of 72 miles, my workouts are a breeze.

I'm trying to maintain my weight in the range of 167-168 lbs, which is my current sweet spot.

And the taper rolls on... 46 miles planned for this week.

Taper is here - Counting down to Austin 2009

2009-01-26T12:35:00.009-06:00

It's here. I have entered the taper for my training going into the 2009 Austin Marathon.

Seasoned marathon runners often have lots to say about the mystique of the taper period. How do we really know if we are ready to run our best race in three weeks? Should I taper for two weeks instead?

On one hand, I am confident. Confident that I have worked harder and put in more consistent, quality workouts than ever before. I've got some great indicators that make me feel really good about my progress.

There's another part of me that is cautious and reserved. I haven't run a single mile in Austin, Texas in my life. The course elevation chart shows hills. Am I prepared for these?

My training has been largely made up of treadmill workouts over the past several weeks. Will this be a factor?

I have averaged nearly 65 mpw for the past 4 weeks - all of which have included a range of killer pace, tempo or simulated race workouts - and a decent amount of incline work. Suffice to say, I am ready.

For this past week, I nailed 66 miles in the plan. I did it with careful planning and discipline. For those of you who don't read here often, I am a careful follower of Pfitzinger's training schedules and am devoted to the "up to" 70mpw program at present.

I committed to myself last week that I would get outside for at least some of this week's mileage - particularly my final 20-miler yesterday. Unfortunately, we've not been able to break out of this arctic cold snap.

I did get outside for a little while by doing half my 9 miler on Friday night outside. Yesterday, I set a goal of doing at least 10 of my 20 miles outside, with a quick transition if necessary to the treadmill in the house. And that's precisely what I did:

First 10 miles - outside in single degree F temps / light wind: 1:11:34 (7:10 average pace)
*** 5-6 min changeover period ***
Second 10 - treadmill w/ incline intervals: 1:09:35 (6:57 average pace) - Final 3 miles at sub-goal marathon pace.
Total workout - 20 miles in 2:21:09 (7:04 avg pace)

I will spend the next few weeks mentally preparing for running my first sub-three-hour marathon.

All signs point to "Sub-3" -- 4 weeks to Austin

2009-01-19T09:15:00.002-06:00

I now have another indicator of my running fitness that bodes well for achieving my goal to run a sub-three hour marathon in Austin.

Yesterday, I nailed a simulated half marathon on my treadmill at 1:24:25. If this were a real race, this would be nearly a 5-minute PR! My total mileage for the workout was 18 miles.

OK, I realize it's not a real race. After all, I'm on a treadmill. The incline is set at 0.5%. I have access to fluids right at my side and don't have to weave to find a lane or the water station. The temperature is perfect with a fan blowing on me. I get to watch playoff football on the TV in front of me. Not exactly what you find at your local 1/2 mary.

The way I do a simulated race workout is as follows:

Warm-up with a recovery mile (usually 8:30-8:50 pace range).
Kick it in to race pace after the warm-up mile. Track splits with wrist watch.
Gradually increase pace toward the end of the run and finish very strong.
After the race mileage, ratchet the pace back down to recovery pace.
Gradually work back up to easy run pace (anywhere from 7:40-8:00) to finish out the targeted mileage.

When it's wintertime in Chicago and there are no races for months, I have found that these simulated races are excellent confidence boosters and a great way to prepare my body for the rigor of a competitive race.

I had a detailed pace plan written up with me on the treadmill targeted to a 1:24:50. I was amazed when I cranked up the pace to 5:26 for my final 0.1 miles. My 13th mile was a 6:05.

A 1:24:25 half marathon on the McMillan predictor table puts me at an astounding 2:58:02 for the marathon.

For the second week in a row, I did all of my mileage on my treadmill. That's 132 miles in two weeks all indoors.

I realize now that I need to get outside for at least some of the miles for this week's workouts. I need to feel the pounding of the pavement.

The forthcoming week plan is for 68 miles with a 20-miler next Sunday. Then I cruise into the taper period.

Monumental 72-mile week -- 5 weeks to Austin

2009-01-11T18:50:00.004-06:00

It's official. I am in the best running shape of my life.

I proved that to myself this week with a PR of 72 miles in a single training week, which included a range of workouts from recovery to 6x1000m repeats, and was capped off today with a sensational marathon pace run.

Here's the kicker: All 72 miles were done on my home treadmill, which was repaired on Tuesday this week.

I realize running only on a treadmill is not ideal, but it is the best solution given the conditions right now. I have been smart enough to work in incline intervals in all of my runs, which I hope will reduce risk of any injury.

On the other hand, today's long run had zero stops, which helps really build the stamina and simulate a race situation. That's not likely to be possible outside with snow, ice and traffic. And the treadmill teaches pace control.

I can't believe how easy it was to run 19 miles on a treadmill today with 15 of them at an average pace of 6:46. I kept myself honest with incline and decline intervals ranging from -2.5% to 5.0% (yes, my treadmill has decline). I only had 17 miles w/14 at goal pace scheduled, but I felt so strong that I decided to add on.

The most mileage I had ever run on a treadmill before was 15 miles. The home treadmill has changed the game for my training. I have access to fluids, a cool fan, no max time limit and cable TV with a remote. I watched most of the Giants/Eagles game while I nailed this run.

You can see the details of this week's workouts in my online training log.

I am on track to run a 2:59 or better in Austin on Feb 15th. I am stoked.

Running club update

The initial steps of organizing the PRRC are well underway. I've secured support of the head coach of Track and Cross Country at the local high school, who is very interested to get involved and help launch it.

I also have lined up three other runners who will help organize. I also have received a couple of e-mails from new members who are ready to join. Not bad progress in a single week.

2009 Goals / Sub-3 training on track

2009-01-05T12:43:00.004-06:00

I mentioned at last post that I would post my 2009 running goals. It took me a few days longer than planned, but here they are.

I have decided to keep it simple this year and focus on three main goals. If I can hit these three, it will be a successful year.

1. Run more total annual mileage in 2009 than I did in 2008 (2,276 miles)

This is getting harder every year. But I still may be able to pull it off this year with a treadmill.

2. Run a sub-three hour marathon.

Currently, I have three marathons lined up: Austin - 2/15/09, Boston - 4/20/09 and San Fran - 7/26/09.

Sure I want PR's in the half marathon and other distances, but I am going to place emphasis on getting that sub-3. Every thing else will fall into place.

3. Start up a local running club

Yes, folks, this is a new one. I've decided I have put in way too many solo miles. This is largely due to the fact that I love to be able to control my schedule and not drive excessive distances to meet groups.

It's time to connect with other runners locally and teach beginners the joy and glory of running.

Since there is not a running group in my town, I have decided to form one. I have a lot of passion and leadership that I can bring to a running club.

Please see my new website at www.plainfieldrunningclub.org and let me know your thoughts.

This will be the most challenging goal of the year. I am both excited and daunted about being able to pull together people and form a regular club.

----

Regarding training for last week, it went pretty well. I am back on track for my sub-3 run at Austin.

I cut back some of the recovery mileage so that I could nail the solid 22-miler that I cut short last week. I hit 22 strong yesterday with an average pace of 7:33 and a strong finish.

Perhaps the highlight of the week was the simulated 10k race that I did inside on a treadmill in 38:08. This is undoubtedly a PR for me (if I can count it). More significantly, however, is that it lines up with a 2:59 marathon.

I have no pain in my shin, so it must have been due to all the treadmill running I did for 2.5 weeks. It felt great to put in some outside mileage. I feel great and again very challenged as I approach my second attempt this year at a 70-mile week.

Please see my new online training log at runningahead.com. The link is on the "Useful Links" on the left. This is a great site that Wayne pointed out to me, so I am going to give it a shot.

Ringing out 2008 with 2,262 miles for the year

2008-12-31T17:09:00.006-06:00

Well, 2008 is just about history. I tallied more mileage in 2008 than in year in my entire life.

I ran two thousand two hundred and sixty-two miles in one year. That's an average of roughly 43.1 miles per week for the entire year. That's a butt load of miles in my book.

I ran 11 races in 2008. I set new PR's in the following distances: 5k, 8k, 10k, 10M, 1/2 marathon and the marathon.

I ran three marathons in 2008: LCFB in Dublin, OH; Green Bay and Twin Cities with an average time of 3:08:40. That's consistent Boston caliber.

I ran through two NFL stadiums in 2008: Soldier and Lambeau Fields.

Through all of it, I took on a new job in my company last April that has me managing seven people. The additional stress and challenge did not deter my running.

Also in 2008, I became a treadmill junkie after caving in and buying one for this tough winter. After returning the first one, the second one broke down and still awaits repair three weeks later.

Most importantly, I became a dad and continued to run through it all. My baby girl has been an inspiration for me and I hope to use running to inspire her in the years to come.

Here's the kicker: I am considering myself officially healthy through all of it. In my last post, I described a possible shin split issue. I am excited to report that a day off Monday seems to have cured it. I ran a hard 9 with speed last night and a solid 14 today with no pain at all. Yippee!

I am thrilled with my year of running. I hope the few that read this blog are proud of their running accomplishments in 2008.

I will lay out my 2009 goals tomorrow. I have high aspirations. I also plan to take my running in a more social direction and connect with my community. Details to come.

For tonight, I will kick back and relax with my family, reflect on an amazing year and be thankful for the life that I will bring into 2009.

Happy New Year to all runners everywhere - Make 2009 your best year ever.

Shin splint injury - 7 weeks til Austin

2008-12-29T10:04:00.008-06:00

I've encountered a minor obstacle on my mission to run sub-3 in Austin.

Unfortunately, I was unable to complete the 70-mile week as planned. I was right on track through yesterday afternoon. My valiant quest to 70 for the week ended in defeat as I was forced to cut yesterday's 22-miler short.

Rarely do I fail to complete a long run as scheduled, but yesterday was one of those days. I ran at the Morton Aboretum, which was the safest place to run after all of the flooding and weather issues we've had here in Chicagoland.

I was slightly tired going into the run. However, I felt like I'd get through it. I hit my first 13 at around 7:35 pace average and felt OK. The winds were brisk and I made a couple of stops back at the car along the way.

When I hit 15, I really started to drag. I didn't really feel the pain in my shin all that much at this point. However, I was struggling to run faster than the 8:10-8:15 range. I felt zapped. That was a sign. I completed 16 and headed to my car.

My plan was to drive home and hop on the treadmill to finish an easy six. However, when I was changing, I felt some pain in my lower right shin area.

I decided to go on the treadmill anyway. Right away, my form was disrupted by the pain and I couldn't run much faster than 8:25 pace without struggling. I called it quits right there after one mile.

Chalk up 65 for the week and a new challenge. I need to decide how to address this shin split condition in my right leg.

Here is this past week's recap:

Tue - 10 recovery miles total - avg pace: 8:40. AM: 5 miles recovery. PM: 5 miles recov.
Wed - 6 miles recovery
Thu - 12 miles total all on treadmill. 7 completed at 6:25 avg pace.
Fri - 15 miles total. 11 on treadmill - 4 outside. Rough avg pace 7:40.
Sat - 5 miles recovery
Sun - 17 total. 16 at Morton Aboretum - avg pace 7:41. Felt dead legs and slowed paced to 8:10 on final mile. Drove home. Tried treadmill but felt pain and quit after 1.

Weekly total: 65 miles

What has caused my shin pain? It could have been too much mileage on the treadmill and then rapidly moving back to pavement. It could have been also suddenly working on hills yesterday. Or it could have been the intensity of my LT workout coupled with high mileage. My schedule change that put the 12-miler and 15-miler back-to-back didn't help either. Most likely, it is all of the above.

I don't think it's serious. I had a planned rest day today. I plan to rest it tomorrow as well - maybe even Wednesday. Not sure yet.

I need to figure out how I can get to Austin healthy on race day and in the best condition possible.

Cramming a 70-mile week into Christmas time

2008-12-24T20:17:00.005-06:00

Happy Christmas Eve.

I modified last week's schedule slightly from 59 miles and hit 56 in total. I figured it was OK to cut the recovery run and add a few back later in the week.

This week is the big test. There are 70 miles on the schedule. Doing 70 miles any week of the year is tricky, but it can be especially difficult to stay motivated when that week is Christmastime.

Should I be stressing about hitting a workout on Christmas day?

Furthermore, the weather has been horrible, like everywhere in the US this winter so far. Not to mention I've got family around here and I need to spend the time with them.

Fun fact of the week: I have not run outside since a 20-miler on Dec 7th. I've done 137 miles all on a treadmill over the past 17 days. That's how bad it's been outside.

I hit the double yesterday, which required two workouts totaling 10 miles at recovery pace.

However, I'm slightly behind the 8-ball now. Obviously, it's Christmas time. We got wallopped with winter weather yesterday and my parents flight was majorly delayed. We got home from the airport last night at midnight.

I was supposed to have done 15 today, but the timing didn't work. I got up later and spent time with my parents. I didn't want to cheat time with my sister's family and my parents later in the afternoon, so I swapped out and did the 6 recovery that was planned for tomorrow.

With that change, here is the remaining week to get to 70 miles:

Tomorrow (Christmas day) - 12 miles w/ 7 at LT pace
Friday - 15 miles
Sat - 5 miles recovery
Sun - 22 miles

This will be a challenging upcoming four days. If I can nail this 70 miles, it will be a big boost. I hope to run outside for Friday's 15-miler. For tomorrow's tempo workout, I want to use the treadmill so I can hold that steady 6:25-6:30 pace for all seven miles.

I've upheld pressure on Pacemaster and the tech services firm to get my home treadmill fixed, but I'm still waiting to hear that the part has been shipped. It's a bit of a debacle at this point.

Merry Christmas!

Treadmill challenges, but still on track -- 8.5 weeks until Austin

2008-12-17T06:46:00.004-06:00

Last week, I completed my schedule with near perfection. I ran 65 out of the 66 planned miles -- all on a treadmill. My single mile missed was a result of my treadmill breaking down and not having enough time before work to make it up.

Fortunately, my subdivision has a clubhouse right down the street that has a couple of good treadmills. I was able to run over there and complete most of last Thursday's workout after wasting 15 minutes.

The highlight of last week was the pace run I nailed. I ran 6:49 for 12 straight miles during a 15-miler with the final pace mile at 6:40. It was very tough - especially on a treadmill at the clubhouse without a working TV. This was a great indicator of my progress.

I haven't run outside since a week ago Sunday and I have done 75 miles since then. I never would have guessed this would be possible. Not ideal, but it's brutal out here in Chicago. We've got freezing temps, 6+ inches of snow on the ground now and the ice storm is on its way.

I own a Pacemaster Elite VR treadmill. I'm a little flustered that an electrical component in it failed after a mere 100 miles. It's been a bit of a saga with buying this treadmill. The first unit I had the store pick up due to a suspicious looking sticker on it that indicated it had been pre-owned by a high school (so much for a "floor" model).

The retailer replaced it with a brand new unit and it has been working great over the past couple of weeks. I fell in love with the convenience of the basement treadmill with the TV and the freezing conditions outside. Then... bam!.... error code 300. Hopefully, the part and technician will be here by early next week latest.

On another note, I received confirmation from the BAA that my Boston entry has been accepted, "provided the info that you submitted is accurate". No worries, there.

This week is a recovery week of a light 59 miles. Last night was a general aerobic 10 and tonight will be my first speed workout on this cycle: 9 w/ 6x600m's.

Sub-3 at Austin in sight - 9.5 weeks to go

2008-12-10T21:07:00.008-06:00

It's been a very busy time, in which I am running the most I ever have in my life, handling a key management position in my career and helping raise my 7-month old daughter.

Life is going well on all of the above fronts.

So, in the spirit of time, here are some updates on last week:

I successfully completed last week of 66 miles this past Sunday. This was after hitting 64 miles the week prior. Never I have run 130 miles in two weeks - ever.
I killed my most recent long run of 20 miles on Sunday through hills, 18 degree temps, minor snow with an average pace of 7:21. No problem.
On the tempo front, I breezed through a 6 mile lactate threshold workout at 6:25 pace last Friday, which is showing I am trending toward sub-3:00 conditioning. I definitely had more in the tank.

Here are some notes on this week's schedule:

I am scheduled for 66 miles, which will total 196 miles in 3 weeks once completed.
I have nailed 25 miles week-to-date, right on plan.
This morning, I set my personal distance record on a treadmill by knocking out 15 straight with no breaks in 1:54:40.
This week's long run will be a goal marathon pace run: 15 miles with 12 of them at 6:50 per mile.

Other notes:

By end of week, I will have run a staggering 2,119 miles in 2008 and the schedule says I will run 2,271 for the year. This will smash last year's record of 2,101 in 2007.
I am now running a very surprisingly high % of my mileage on my own personal treadmill. 41 miles out of 66 were on the 'mill last week. This week, with snow on the ground and the need for pace control on Sunday, it may be 100%.

In summary, there is lots of hard work still head. However, I am right on track at this point to run a sub-3:00 marathon in Austin on February 15th, 2009.

I feel inspired. I am focused. I am feeling like I can translate this running energy into so many other positives in my life. I do not want running to be the only thing. Rather I want to use it as a self-motivator to accomplish other important, meaningful goals in my life. I just need to figure out what these are and how I want to do this.

Winter Running is here - 64 mile week heading into Dec

2008-12-02T11:30:00.004-06:00

There are about 10.5 weeks until I will run the Austin Marathon.

Last week, my plan was to run 69 miles during the holiday break. In the end, I landed on a total of 64. This is quite respectable given the holiday/family time and well over 1,000 spent miles in the car. However, I need to keep progressing toward that 70 mark, which will happen the week of Christmas.

I went into last week downright sore – largely due to a late-night hockey game last Sunday. Adding to the challenge was a 1,000 mile roundtrip visit to Pittsburgh for the Thanksgiving break.

As previously mentioned, last Monday’s LT workout was great. I am finding, however, the LT workouts really test my ability to recover for the next day's run. This was the case again this past week.

By Tuesday, I realized I was going to need to make some adjustments. I cut my planned 14-miler down to a 7-mile recovery. I was really pressed for time also since we needed to start our drive, so it seemed to make sense to cut it back. We then drove through the night to the South of Pittsburgh from the Chicago ‘burbs – arriving at 4AM Wed morn.

By Wednesday, my legs were so sore I was having a hard time putting on pants without help from my arms to guide my legs into place. I think the hockey game stressed some muscles that I wasn’t used to using in a while – not to mention the bruised hip I suffered during the game. I decided my body needed a break, so I took Wednesday off as a whole.

By Thursday AM, I felt very rested. I proceeded to bang out runs of 14, 8 and 21 on Thursday, Friday and Saturday respectively. I think 43 miles in a three-day period is a personal record. All miles were at pretty steady paces in the range of 7:35-7:45 average. My long run was very strong at an average of 7:32 per mile with the final mile at 6:43.

It’s worth noting that the Peters Township, PA trail near my in-laws has a steady incline for several miles in the northern direction. All three of these runs had long stretches of out-and-back, so there was a lot of incline/decline work.

After making the long drive back on Sunday all day, I hopped on the treadmill for a final recovery 4-miler to cap off the week. This got me to 64 miles for the week.

Luckily, I had a 1-day cushion since I had planned all along to move my schedule back a day and start on Tuesdays with long runs on Sundays. So I took yesterday off. Since the mid-week longer runs are usually on Wednesdays and Fridays, this change will help with my daddy duties since Jen is off these days.

This week, I am targeting the Pfitz mileage of 66 miles. That’s a lot of miles any week – but especially when contending with the Chicago winter that has finally arrived.

I started today with a recovery double of 6 and 4. Tomorrow morn, I plan to venture outside into the winter conditions for a dark, cold 14-miler. Friday will be a test with 6 miles of LT during a 11-miler. Recoveries of 5 and 6 miles are planned for Thu and Sat - then I will cap off the week on Sunday with another 20-miler.

12 weeks to Austin - Testing my limits

2008-11-24T20:43:00.003-06:00

There are just under 12 weeks to go until Austin. I completed this past week's schedule exactly as planned and hit all 55 miles. I ran the Pfitz mileage to a "T". This was a much welcome stepback week.

For this week, I will see a significant jump in mileage. Pfitz puts 69 miles on the docket for the week.

Adding to the challenge is the fact that I decided to throw a little cross-training into the mix. Last night, I filled in on my co-worker's hockey team for a game last night.

Hockey is one of my first passions. Over the past few years, I have pushed hockey aside to concentrate on running. I decided that I wanted to have a little fun last night. And it was fun.

However, I will say that is challenging right now to have forfeited my only rest day for a game of hockey right before a 69-mile week. But that's where I am. I suppose it didn't help that I was forced into sharing a few beers with the guys afterward somewhat late night. Nevertheless, it was fun.

I didn't see any ill effects today. Tonight's 10-miler went perfectly. After a 1-mile warm-up, I cruised through the 5-mile tempo run at an average of 6:25 per mile, with an extremely strong finish. I then trotted the final 4 in 7:50's.

I admit that my legs are sore right now. Not to mention my hip from a fall on the ice I took last night. I could use a little rest. That's why I'm going to bed momentarily.

The rest of the week will be a crunch with a long drive to Pittsburgh and, of course, the family commitments that come along with the holiday. But I will try to hold the schedule.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

This week's plan:

Mon - 10 miles w/5 at LT -- COMPLETED
Tue - 14 miles - Drive to Pittsburgh
Wed - 5 miles recovery
Thu - 11 miles
Fri - 8 miles w/ 8x100m strides
Sat - 21 miles long
Sun - Drive home to Chicago

GOAL MILEAGE: 69 miles after a hockey game!

Scenic 63-mile week - 13 weeks to Austin

2008-11-16T12:07:00.019-06:00

We are back from our visit to my parents' house in Ivins, UT. I banged out 47 miles in four days while visiting and completed 63 out of my 65 miles planned for the week.

I will admit it was a tough yet fulfilling week of training. Getting to 63 after 60 last week proved harder than I would have guessed. Increasing my mileage again after a hard LT workout on Monday was a challenge. However, I was glad that I had wonderful weather and scenic terrain in Utah to keep me motivated.

It's worth noting that St. George, UT introduced a significant altitude and elevation change dimension into my training. I ran a 12-miler on Thursday from the peak of Snow Canyon State Park, which took me to about 3,200 feet. I floated through the park to my parents' house that was largely downhill during the first half.

Posted are a handful of snapshots from this particular workout that give a feel for how absolutely gorgeous it was for me to run in SW Utah.

We all know that with downhills come uphills, so it was not all a cakewalk. My 20-miler on Saturday along the Snow Canyon Parkway bike trail proved again a test to my ability to endure the changes in elevation.

The night before we left Chicago, I stalled on Tuesday's planned 14-miler. It was 36 deg and raining here in SW Chicago. I had a busy day before our 3-day vacation. I could only muster 7 miles on the treadmill and was forced to adjust the week. I am proud that I bounced back.

This 63-mile week my highest-volume week since Aug 2007. Taking a look back at my log during that time, I am amazed by the shape that I was in for the Chicago Marathon. Based on history, know I can climb toward a healthy 70-mile week by Christmas time.

New exciting news: I am committed now to what will be my 3rd marathon in 2009: the highly celebrated and scenic San Francisco Marathon.

Preliminary "Tentative" 2009 schedule:

Austin - Feb 15 - Registered and travel booked
Boston - Apr 21 - Travel booked. Qualified and need to register.
S.F. - July 26 - Travel booked. Need to register.
St. George, UT* - Oct 3 - Lottery opens in April.
NYC* - Nov 1 - Lottery opens in June.

Making Progress - 14 weeks out to Austin

2008-11-10T21:00:00.004-06:00

One important piece of news (besides Barack's big victory) is that I am signed up for Austin.

Recapping last week's workouts, I ran 60 of the Pfitz planned 62 miles for week #4 out of 18. I cut out a measley two recovery miles to try to save legs. Despite the shortcut, I am considering my 97% coverage pretty damn good for the week.

I basically ran everything exactly as planned. I don't take 60-mile weeks for granted. I don't have too many of them under my belt. The ones I do this year are because I pushed a long run into Monday. I don't consider those "legit". Chasing a 55-mile week, this week's 60 is legit.

So the saying goes, no rest for the weary runners who are chasing a sub-3 marathon. I kicked off this week's 65-mile quest with a 9-mile run on the treadmill tonight, during which I celebrated 4 of the 9 with a threshold run at 6:27 pace. Tick the box for that workout.

You'd think it'd be easy for me to knock out the schedule given recent progress. But of course we are set to leave on yet another family visit to St. George, UT on early Wed AM. When you travel and have change in your life, it forces adjustments.

So, I need to nail 42 miles in Utah during a 4-day visit. I admit it may be viewed by some as borderline selfish to schedule six hours of running during this 4-day visit to my parents' home. But they're laid back. And as my wife said about my running during her sister's visit, "it's what Ryan does". I try to minimize the impact by going early and scheduling around key events.

With current planned mileage, I am targeting a 264-mile November. Two freaking sixty-four. Mercy. I don't need to look at any prior running logs. Never before have I had that kind of output.

I am relaxed. I am focused. I am maintaining all other important aspects of my life while hitting these miles. Work is going well. We are happy in our home and our daugter is a joy. I am on track for sub-3 on 2/15/09.

Adapting to elevated mileage - 15 weeks out to Austin

2008-11-03T21:42:00.004-06:00

I suppose I should sign up for the Austin Marathon, since I keep saying that I am aiming to run a sub-3 there. I guess I should get a jump on Boston, too.

Last week, I said I was planning to run 58 miles. I hit 95% of those miles and ended the week with 55. I needed to cut short the recovery run on early Friday morning due to (a) limited time -- we had an early flight to Boston for a family weekend trip, and (b) fatigue in the legs. It was hard to turn around and run Friday AM after hitting 40 miles in 4 days on Mon-Thurs.

Although we flew into Boston, we spent our weekend visiting my sis-in-law in North Kingstown, RI introducing our new daughters to one another. During my weekend trip on Saturday, I ran a solid 15 miles during a beautiful autumn morning in the towns N. Kingstown and Wickford, RI.

My run in RI included beautiful views of the Jamestown Bridge and Narrangansett Bay. Running through historic towns in the Northeast along the water is such a different experience than running in the flat farmlands of Plainfield, IL.

My program calls for 62 miles this week. Tonight, I knocked out 9 miles as expected. I am monitoring my legs and some modest fatigue closely. I am feeling some wear on the legs that I do not usually feel. There is 14 in the plan for tomorrow after work. I want to be smart and listen to my body and not over-do it.

I suppose it's to be expected since I am in a significant mileage build phase. I usually peak in 55 after several weeks of build-up when I am running the Pfitz 55mpw program. I want to make sure I am not setting myself up for injury as a result of my ramp-up to the higher-mileage Pfitzinger plan.

Kicking into full gear - 16 weeks out

2008-10-26T19:56:00.012-05:00

The Austin Marathon is sixteen weeks from today. I am focused on this race -- and this race only. I have no other races of any distance planned at this point before 2/15/09.

I modeled this past week of training after the Pfitzinger "up to 70 miles" program while intentionally shaving some miles. I wanted to ramp up a little more gradually to reduce injury risk, since I ran a marathon P.R. only three weeks ago today. I hit 48 out of the 56 miles scheduled this past week without any issue.

I enjoyed a steady 17-miler yesterday through the autumn foliage at Waterfall Glen, which is a beautiful nature preserve. Splits were pretty consistent and averaged 7:41 for the entire run, with only one short stop.

Beginning tomorrow, I will use the Pfitz 70mpw plan as my base program. I will make some adjustments that will increase the amount of lactate threshold workouts. Later on, I will make sure I get plenty of goal pace miles, and maybe even a simulated 1/2 marathon on the treadmill.

The number of miles does not seem to faze me. It's a logical progression for me. OK, I admit that running 70 miles the week of Christmas sounds a bit daunting. However, it is the scheduling that stresses me more.

Now that we have a young child, I have to look at my time management very differently. With both parents working, planning is absolutely crucial to hit all the miles -- especially in the 55-70 mpw range. There's little margin for error.

Here is this week's plan, which includes a family visit to Rhode Island later in the week.

Mon 10/27 - 5:45 AM - Treadmill: 9 mi w/4 at tempo pace (target 6:30-6:35)
Tue 10/28 - 5:30 PM - 14 miles GA outside - target 7:40-7:45 pace
Wed 10/29 - Noon - 5 miles on tread - Recovery pace: 8:40-8:50
Thu 10/30 - 5:15 PM - 11 G.A - target 7:40-7:45
Fri 10/31 (Boo!) - 5:45 AM - 5 recovery on treadmill . Travel to RI for sis-in-law visit.
Sat 11/1 - 7:30 AM - 15 miles in North Kingstown, RI
Sun 11/2 - REST

Scheduled total mileage: 58 miles

I am early on in this journey and there is a tremendous amount of work to be done. However, I been here before. I've got the mindset, experience and focus to achieve yet another milestone.

I will run a sub-3-hour marathon on February 15th, 2009 in Austin, Texas.

Starting Up For Austin

2008-10-19T17:52:00.006-05:00

This past week, I tallied up 30 miles to get me back into the swing of training. It was quite a jump from the big fat goose-egg the week after TC Marathon. It was great to take that week off altogether.

Last Sunday, I did something I never have before: watch a marathon live on the course. I headed downtown to the Chicago Marathon and cheered on a ton of runners. Warm weather again. It was a great scene, and it made me realize that I am ready to start eyeing the next prize.

Yesterday's 14-miler went alright, I suppose. However, I did feel a bit fatigued at the end. I suppose it's not surprising that I am not fully recovered from the TCM.

I'm trying to get my head around how to start up for Austin. It seems simple, right? Just start running like I have in the past. Provided I am recovered enough, it's straightforward.

I guess what I am wrestling with is how I can be sure to make serious gains on this next one. I'm serious. No messing around. I want to make a serious charge at sub-3.

How can I do it? More lactate threshold. More pace miles. Fewer distracting races along the way that hamper my progress. In fact, I really have no plans to run a single race between now and February 15th, 2009 in Austin.

Starting tomorrow, I will try to hop onto the Pfitzinger 70mpw program. All easy miles to start with. Since we are 17 weeks out from Austin today, I am entering week #2 of the 18 week program.

Last post, I mentioned that I was in the market for a treadmill. We found what seemed to be a pretty sweet deal on the Pacemaster Platinum Pro VR. It's all set up and ready to go.

I've a date with the 'mill at 5:45 AM in my musty basement, in which I have set up a TV and stereo to pass the time and the miles.

Up Next? Austin - 2/15/09

2008-10-09T21:36:00.012-05:00

I want to take a moment to share my reflection as I cruised through my final mile at the Twin Cities Marathon on Sunday.

The picture to the side says it all. Although it wasn't anything near pretty or graceful, it entailed a powerful feeling of sheer triumph. It's the reason we run the marathon.

Even after thirteen of these punishing events during which I question every single time why I am out there, I keep wanting more.

As you would expect, my rest days are numbered once again. Sure, it's been a whole four days since a marathon PR. I am already mentally committed to Austin on February 15, 2009.

Although I know I am not recovered, I am yearning. Once again, I am ready to enter the training cycle. And it will be at training cycle like none other before for me. I aim for it to be the cycle that enables me to break that elusive sub-3 barrier.

I will admit that I am nervous and have some concerns. I am fearful of missing out on family time with my wife and daughter. I am fearful of sacrificing a high level of performance in my career, which can be demanding. I am fearful of a reckless training plan that may result in injury.

There, now that I got those fears and concerns out of my system. I can relax for a few more days until I figure out how I will escalate toward the 70-mile weeks this coming winter.

Help needed on treadmill selection

To achieve sub-3 with my schedule, I need to be able to run at any given moment.

Despite losing thousands in the stock market, we are looking to spend. (Why not, right?) Jen is also pushing for a treadmill purchase so she can exercise more frequently with the baby in the house.

To be honest, I hated treadmills for many years and have never wanted one. This year, I seemed to have turned the corner - and realize that I can zone out watching ESPN. My tread distance record is 12 miles.

I learned to use the tread at the gym to my training advantage. I realized the benefits of speed work on the tread for pace control -- as well as a shield from the weather.

We hope to cap our spending at around $3,000. Brands we are exploring:

Landice
LifeFitness
Precor
Pacemaster

Does anyone have any suggestions?

New PR Set at Twin Cities Marathon

2008-10-06T16:36:00.025-05:00

We are back from the Twin Cities. While I fell just short of the goal of 3:05, I achieved a new PR of 3:06:50. It was a hard fought race through some very cold rain and limited sleep.

If you haven't slept in a hotel room with an infant for two consecutive nights before a marathon, it can be a bit challenging.

Morning race conditions were great. This would be my 13th marathon. I always get choked up at the start of a marathon knowing how fortunate I am. I have a great family, financial stability and the fitness to be able to travel to these events and challenge myself.

Early on in the race, I really struggled with pacing. I started out too fast. I somehow missed mile marker 1 and saw 14:25 at the 2 mile mark. Sounds perfect, but this included 30 second pee break. Worse yet, mile 3 was downright reckless at 6:32.

Shortly thereafter, I straightened things out. I was happy with my 10k time of 43:50. Interestingly, my second 5k was a full minute slower than my first. I really felt strong and comfortable at the 10k point.

Then the rain started to really pelt us. I was content with the steady drizzle, but I was not ready for the intensity we felt.

It was as I approached mile 10 that I began to feel the effects of sudden temperature drop. Sounds crazy, but I had fears of hypothermia for a stretch there. I simply could not generate enough heat. Melodramatic, right? I truly became concerned. I felt my head and it was freezing.

I wore an orange singlet for the race. I was regretting it in the middle since I was really cold. However, it was really cool to hear the chants of "Go Orange Shirt Guy!" or "Go Orange Dude!".

My wife and baby girl, Alivia, were planning to meet me after mile 11. With the total downpour, I did not expect to see them there. But they were there. And it was a big lift. We shared quick kisses and I felt rejuvenated as I got back to task.

It was back to business miles 11-17. The rain began to slow. My half split of 1:33:15 on my watch was right where I had hoped to be.

Another strange moment happened at mile 17. My shoelace became untied, which is rare in a race for me. However, re-tying it was harder than normal. My hands were still very cold and I could barely manuever them to tie up the laces. After about 20 seconds, I finally sprung up -- almost too fast, since I felt dizzy all of a sudden. I was able to regain stride and not fall over.

I found new life when I hit mile 20. I was pumped when I broke through "the wall" (a display that had been set up there) knowing that I was right at 2:22 as planned.

This was the beginning of the ascent. Chad, who was out there racing as well, had said these hills were not that bad. I have to agree with him. It is amazing how the elevation chart can create fear. While I did run miles 22 and 23 at 7:25 and 7:21 respectively, it came far easier than I expected.

When I hit the crest of mile 23, I realized that I had enough in the tank to flirt with a PR. I also did not know how substantial the downhills would be. I really started to fly.

I cannot describe the determination I felt when I hit the downhills. I was ready to start pushing pace hard. Knocking out 7:03's for both mile 24 and 25 was thrilling.

And as I approached mile 26, I was on track for my strongest marathon finish ever. I kicked it into overdrive down the hills toward downtown St. Paul. Mile 26 showed a 6:39. Then it was showtime...

I was pumping my fist and waving my arms at the crowd as I cruised to the finish. Pure adrenaline. I was sprinting and flailing like a maniac. I covered the final 1.2 miles of the course in 7:57.

I am quite proud of this performance. It goes to show that even a poor half marathon (e.g. a 1:38 for me 8 weeks ago) shouldn't dash your hopes.

It has taught me that I can overcome a slightly fast start. It also taught me that I can overcome the feeling of despair from the conditions. I also know that I have more room to improve.

I am ready to step change my training and try for sub-3. I have said it before, but now I know what it is going to take. Pfitz 55-mpw has been great, but it does not have enough tempo work. I need to figure out a plan real fast if I plan to go for it in Austin. We are 18 weeks out from next week.

I admit that I am concerned about work-life-run balance. Can I achieve sub-3 and avoid my work and family life from suffering? For now, I will savor this one for a few days. After all, that's 3 BQ's in the bank now. Cool!

TCM is Here

2008-10-04T17:49:00.000-05:00

Greetings from downtown Minneapolis. The weather today was sunny and breezy here today – quite comfortable. I completed a 3-mile easy run earlier that took me to the start line, which is right in front of the Metrodome.

Fans from the Minnesota Golden Golden Gopher game were trickling out of the stadium. There was absolutely no indication that runners and crowds for “America’s most beautiful urban marathon” would be assembling there in the morning. I expect a flurry of activity from organizers later this evening.

We are staying approximately one mile from the start line. The leading x-factor for this race is sleep. I have run twelve marathons to this point. However, this is my first for which I will have my 5 month-old daughter staying in our room with us.

Liv is an absolute angel and a happy marathon goer. However, I am slightly tired today. Last night, Liv woke up several times since we broke her routine. I am praying we can get her back into her routine tonight. I need a good night’s rest.

Mr. Weather Man is saying we may get wet tomorrow. Although it is expected to be in the comfortable low-to-mid 50’s at the start of the race, the clouds are moving toward the city.

I plan to stay calm the first mile and proceed into the target pace range of 7:05-7:08. I hope to be around 2:22 at mile 20, which is where the ascent begins. I will try to hold pace through the climb to 23. Then I will crank it up and hold on for dear life.

Nine days to Twin Cities

2008-09-26T21:24:00.003-05:00

[Drafted Thurs, 9/25/08]

It’s been a solid week and a half since I have posted last. Shortly after my strong 20-miler a week ago Sunday, I encountered a dental issue that caused me some pain and loss of sleep for a few nights. I’ve never suffered migraines before, but I am guessing I know what they feel like now.

So I suffered through a root canal last week and a pretty annoying post-surgical infection, which caused two days of missed work. Note to self: Don’t take Vicadin in mid-afternoon and expect to run or work! So I’m now popping antibiotics 3x per day and back on the running track.

Despite the setback, I hit most of the planned 39 miles last week, although I did have to cut out a 5-mile recovery run on doctor’s orders. I ran a decent 17-miler on Sat, which is one more mile than planned – and a steady 6-miler on Sunday, of which four miles were at tempo pace (6:39). (I have to mention that I went to Wrigley after my 17-miler and saw the Cubbies clinch!)

I am becoming excited about the upcoming TC marathon. Although the mystique of the taper is beginning to weigh on me, I feel comfortable about where I stand.

I should complete this week’s 32 miles as planned without any issue. On Tuesday night, I did mile repeats on the treadmill and hit all three of them at in my target 5k pace range of 6:03-6:07.

I am on a flight back to Chicago now from Baltimore now. I had to push today’s run to tomorrow due to schedule challenges. Starting tomorrow, I look forward to runs of 7 G.A, 5 Recovery and 12 easy on Fri, Sat and Sun respectively to round out my week. Then we enter the final week up until the race.

As always, I will think positively and maintain the confidence that I am in PR shape. Accidentally and perhaps fortunately, my weight has come down the last few days to that magic 167-169 race wt range. We’ll see if it holds for another 9 days. One potential obstacle is a recruiting event that I will attend for my company at Michigan State next week , my alma mater. I know I may want to hit my old favorite food & beer joints right before the race. Willpower!

I will be gunning for a 3:05 in Twin Cities if the conditions hold. Then we’ll talk about how to shave further for Austin in February.

Final 20-miler of cycle - 20 days til TCM

2008-09-15T19:48:00.011-05:00

Last night was rough for a strange reason. I'm resigned to the fact that I desperately need a root canal. The pain was substantial enough that I was sleepless most of the night. Dental woes aside, I am determined to put up a PR in the Twin Cities on October 5th.

I have officially entered the three-week taper period for the TCM. This weekend, a significant portion of the country was feeling the effects of Hurricane Ike, as it broke down and made its way north to the Midwest. Chicago was hammered hard with rains over the weekend, which put my Sunday 20-miler in serious doubt.

At about 4pm, I saw the rains subside and decided to have a go at my most important training run of this cycle. I wanted run 7:20's most of the way and finish strong.

As I headed south in my town toward the river, I witnessed flooding all around the downtown Plainfield vicinity. I passed a great number of onlookers who were marveling at the flood damage and the terrible impact it had on a number of houses.

The run went pretty much as planned and I felt reasonably strong. However, I could not have predicted how I would finish.

I absolutely blazed my final three miles at paces that I could not believe. Clearly, the speed work has begun to pay dividends. I banged out a 6:53, 6:40 and 6:18 in miles 18-20. This is a great sign. If I can run 7:15-7:20 solo for 15 and nail the final three with such intensity, I know I can put up 3:05-3:07.

This training cycle has been an interesting one. I tried out the FIRST program - and abandoned it. I have slept less and worked more. I have been a Dad.

I nailed my 50-week plan. I ran an even 150 miles over the past three weeks.

Tonight, with limited food in the house and no desire to grocery shop, we celebrated with Chili’s take-out. Man, did I crush a mushroom & Swiss burger -- AND the fries. And maybe a couple of beers. Now, if I could only get my eating habits under control…

Counting down to Twin Cities

2008-09-09T19:43:00.002-05:00

I read just a moment ago that Lance Armstrong is planning a comeback. He will seek his 8th Tour De France title. Isn't this hugely exciting?

I achieved my goal of hitting 61 miles last week. This was a great week for me. This include the half marathon on Monday, speed work on Wednesday and some solid tempo mileage on Saturday. All was capped off was a steady 18-miler at Waterfall Glen on Sunday at 7:45 avg pace.

I have an even 50 miles planned for this week. I started out with six recovery this morning, which was absolutely glorious by the way. I felt God looking down upon me as the sun slowly rose and peaked through the horizon over the Village of Plainfield, IL.

I have 4x1200m repeats on tomorrow's scheduled run, which is supposed to total 10 miles. I am hoping to pull this off before heading to the airport for a flight to Atlanta.

This coming Sunday's 20-miler is the most critical of the entire training cycle. I need to prove to myself that I am in PR marathon shape. I think I am there. Mentally, I am there, anyway.

I can overcome some mediocre race performances with this strong run. I know I can run a sub 3:07 in Minnesota next month.

Training Update -- Oak Brook Half Marathon

2008-09-03T21:04:00.004-05:00

I am still on track for Twin Cities on October 5th. It's been an interesting summer of training. I feel really busy with work and fatherhood. The fact that I am still on track is an accomplishment.

At the last minute on this past Saturday, I decided to enter the Oak Brook Half Marathon, which took place on Labor Day Monday. This caused me to adjust my schedule and sacrifice my planned Sunday 17-miler for Monday's race.

In total, I ran 39 miles last week, with the plan to get up to 60 this week.

On Monday, I arrived at the OB Half in what should have been plenty of time. However, the pre-race organization was poor. There were hundreds of us in line that needed to pick our race packets and then our chips. Organizers clearly did not anticipate such large numbers.

The crowds and disorganization forced the start time back 15 minutes to 7:15. Even this delay was not enough, since there were not enough port-0-cans. I made a concious decision to not start the race without using the can. That would have been a mistake. The guns went off as dozens of us were still in line for the port-a-potty.

I started the race nearly 5 minutes after the gun sounded. I was damn near dead last crossing the start line. This made for a challenging first several miles. Most of the early part of the course was run through a park with paths only maybe 8 feet in width.

I had several stints of slowing down due to being boxed in behind groups. Not to mention the thrusts of acceleration that used whenever openings were there that taxed me. This made pacing and energy conservation tough.

As for my result, if there would have been a prize for passing the most runners, I am pretty confident I would have won it. I finished in 57th place out of 1200 finishers. Yep, I estimate I passed about 1,150 people. Not trying to sound bragadocious, but this made for a challenging race experience.

My finish time of 1:31:09 was not where I would have wanted to be. In consolation, it beat the hell out of my last half marathon! But it just was not feasible to run a PR. Also, I ran 11 miles on Saturday night - and admittedly drank a little too much beer at the neighborhood party afterward and spent much of Sunday in recovery mode, if you catch my drift. Not the best way to prepare for a 1/2 mary.

Today I put in a solid 8-miler at lunch. I plan to knock out a 12-miler with some speed intervals 5x600m tomorrow.

Keeping eye on prize, I will still target that 3:05-3:07 range on Oct 5th. I realize that I didn't put up a half that would line up with that time. It's no matter, because I know when rested and prepared, I am in great long run shape.

My final 20-miler will be my best indicator. That run will be one week from this Sunday. If I can hold pace of 7:05'ish for the majority of that 20-miler, I will feel confident it is a reasonable goal.

Home Stretch - 6 weeks til TCM

2008-08-25T19:25:00.003-05:00

Despite travel back East for work and several team meetings, I had a solid 46-mile week of training this past week. I even got to see Grease on Broadway on Wednesday with "Idol" Taylor Hicks, and help clean up Sheffield Island in Connecticut for charity on Thursday. How's that for a productive week? Tough job I have, right?

Most significantly in my training, I ran a simulated 5-mile race on the treadmill on Saturday and put up a 31:21, which would be a PR at this distance. What's more, it was a negative split of at least 25 seconds. This was tough, but felt great. It validated that I am making solid VO2 max progress, as this lines up with a marathon predictor of 3:04.

With jello-legs from Saturday's hard workout, I fought through 17 yesterday at an "easy" 7:51 average pace. Historically, I have struggled with long runs the day after hard 5-10k races, so I was glad to complete this workout despite my fatigue.

I am feeling reinvigorated. I am confident that if I can nail the next three weeks' workouts that I will be in position to set a PR in Minnesota.

The debate I am having right now is what to do about this weekend's long run. The Pfitz calendar calls for 17 miles with 14 at goal pace. I also have the option to run this local 1/2 marathon on Sunday.

Whad'ya'll think? Is it better to race a half mary to see if I can redeem myself from my recent meltdown? Or is it better to focus on marathon pace mileage on a solo training run?

Renewal

2008-08-17T20:55:00.010-05:00

I cranked out 52 miles this week -- my biggest weekly mileage since the week of March 31st. Most importantly, I hit key runs of 12, 20 and 12 again today on the treadmill -- all with very solid training times in the 7:30-7:40 avg pace range. This range is in the ideal training zone for me of approx 40 secs slow than marathon goal pace.

I realize that infers my new goal pace is around 7:00, which I think is where to set the target at this point. For now, sub-3 will be set aside to Austin in February, for which I may hire an online coach. I need to be realistic seven weeks out in that running a PR would be a success.

As I reflect, it's been a fairly erratic few months of running as compared to my last two summers. When I say erratic, I do not mean my commitment is any less than the last two years, but my progress and results have been tested.

Yes, I am over last week's poor showing at the CDC, which saw me post a time nearly 9-10 minutes slower than each of the last two years. Not to mention the organizers making it harder on me by adding 0.17 miles to the course! Clearly, it was an abberation.

I suppose it's silly to fret in a 2008 that has seen me set six PR's in distances ranging from the 5k to the marathon. I experienced a couple of major life changes: (1) The wonderful blessing of my daughter and (2) Significantly increased responsibility in my career.

The last several weeks were a conscious efforts to re-build the endurance that I felt suffered when my mileage sunk to the low 30's. I've made great progress in this area. Now, my plan is get re-focused on hitting some speed and tempo mileage in the coming weeks.

I've got to travel back to Connecticut for work this week for three whole days. It does not stop my training, but it does create the need for some creative scheduling. Especially this week since there are a couple of work events in the evening.

I am feeling a sense of renewal. I am building some awesome momentum right now. I've identified a few local races over the course of the next several weeks that I may use to build up to a new marathon PR in Minnesota on October 5th, 2008.

Mounting a Comeback

2008-08-15T20:43:00.011-05:00

First, here is some strange news. Apparently, the Chicago Distance Classic course was too long. Race Director and Runner's World columnist extraordinairre John "the Penguin" Bingham 'fessed up that there was a measurement error in the 2008 course.

The course was 0.17 miles too long, as a result of the turning point was set out too far. This explains my 8:39 seventh mile. So maybe I ran a 1:37. Still 9 minutes behind where I think my conditioning is.

Second, something just wasn't right with me physically during the CDC. I mean I kill a 16 mile run at 7:10 average through the hills of Pittsburgh and I crash and burn on a half mary? I had flu-like symptoms all-day after the race and major bouts of fatigue. I've officially put in behind me.

I'm proud to report that I am mounting a monster comeback. I am still determined that I am capable of PR'ing in Twin Cities on October 5th.

After a easy recovery 4-miler on Tuesday night, I put up a strong 12 mile run on Wednesday morning.

More significantly, today, I killed a strong 20-miler and was in the office by 8:45 AM. That's right, 20-large on a early Friday morning to start the workday. Average pace was 7:34 with a final strong couple of miles. This was a HUGE lift.

I will reflect on the adversity from the CDC and proclaim these next 7 weeks as a monster comeback when I put up a PR in TCM. I am focused and determined.

These times are what make running such a great confidence builder and a positive life tool. Dealing with my running challenges, which actually can be invigorating, make my work issues seem easy.

CDC Disaster

2008-08-10T17:27:00.004-05:00

So, where do I even begin?

On Saturday, I felt only what I could describe as a deep fatigue. I was in bed multiple times on Saturday trying to catch naps. I can't explain it. I didn't want to do anything. We went to lunch at Panera and that was it. No chores. I didn't feel like mowing the lawn. I even found myself looking up mononucleosis on Webmd.com to see if that was a possibility.

I felt fine enough early Sunday morning. I drove down with a neighbor friend who was also running the race. The weather was truly perfect, which makes this story all the more frustrating.

The race start was jam packed. The first mile was a dodge 'em. No seeding meant slow people all over the front of the corral.

I ran 6:50's for the first four miles. However, all along, something just didn't feel right. I just felt zapped.

When I saw 7:08 on the 5th mile, I knew I was going to struggle mightily. I did not know I would barely be able to hold 8's toward the end of the race.

Although I somehow managed a 6:50 mile 6, I felt my body want to slow. Inexplicably, the 7th mile showed 8:39. I'm not sure how this happened, but that's what my watch said. I was exhausted. I just didn't have energy, it seemed. How I could I feel so tired on such a cool morning?

I rested on Saturday. I ran an easy six recovery pace on Friday. And I rested on Thursday prior to that. I should have been ready to go, right?

The rest of the way was a disappointing mix of miles in the 7:45-8:00 range, including a couple of walks at water stops. I couldn't race. I was spent. What had happened? Was I sick?

It was one of the most humbling experiences I have had in a long time. I wanted to quit mid-way, to be honest.

The point of a race is to give your best. For whatever reason, my body was unable to allow me to give my best on Sunday. End of story.

I've been considered a "glass half full" kind of guy, but I am struggling to come up with positives on this one. Some days are better than others. And some days you shouldn't even get out of bed.

When I finally crossed, my watch said 1:38:35. Worse yet, the results posted later showed me at 1:39+. Go figure - even my watch was slow on this day. It doesn't matter.

I spent more time on the couch in the evening on Sunday. I went to bed early hoping I would feel better and regain some energy.

I don't have much more to say about this disappointing day. I need to put it behind me.

It does not matter what happened yesterday. What matters is how I respond. I need to figure out how to get rested up and recovered. Then I will decide how I will bounce back.

Progress and Prep for the CDC

2008-08-06T21:07:00.010-05:00

This past weekend, we visited my in-laws in the South Hills of Pittsburgh. On Sunday, my daughter, Alivia, was baptized.

Last week's mileage total was moderately light at 38 miles. However, it included a sweet 16-mile run on Saturday in the 'Burgh. I met up with my good friends, Aaron and Steve, to run the Peters Township trail.

I wanted to get in some pace miles, as is scheduled at this point with the Pfitz plan. For now, I decided a reasonable goal marathon pace for which to strive is in the 7:00-7:05 range.

The Peters trail has a steady grade for much of the trail in one direction. So you'll see slower miles in the front - and faster miles on the return. There was an add-on out-and-back leg in the middle that also had some relatively steady descent/ascent. This was a very good run, with an overall avg pace of 7:11. Great stuff given the humidity and all the hills.

For this week, I will be again slightly light in mileage to ease up for my race. I will be running the Chicago Distance Classic on Sunday for the third year in a row. It is the most popular half marathon to prep for the Chicago Marathon. I hope another PR is in the making.

Did I do enough tempo work to finally achieve sub-1:28? Or even sub-1:29? It largely will depend on the weather. Last year was brutally hot, but the forecast looks good at this point.

Tonight, I banged out a really solid 11.5 miler after work at 5:30 PM. I felt pretty strong and avg'd 7:29, with a really strong finish. It's always nice to nail double-digit milers mid-week. It was good thing I hit it this evening, too, because I was upset with myself for missing out on a perfect morning of weather to run.

I will now mostly rest and do some light recovery mileage before the race on Sunday.

8.5 weeks until Twin Cities...

Back on Track - 50 mile week

2008-07-28T20:45:00.003-05:00

It's Monday night here in my hotel room in Connecticut. I have yet another few days planned at the head office this week.

I had a great week coming back to the Pfitz plan, even if I am still slightly below the mileage right now. The TCM is 10 weeks from yesterday. I nailed 50 miles this week - the first time I have had a 50-mile week since the week of April 21st.

Recap of this past week

Mon - Rest
Tue - 6 miles recovery 8:42 pace
Wed - 11 miles general aerobic - 7:39 avg pace
Thu - Rest
Fri - 9 miles w/5 miles at 6:36 pace (tempo)
Sat - 4 miles - recovery 8:40 pace on treadmill
Sun - 20 miles - 7:37 avg pace

Total: 50 miles

I stepped up my mileage substantially compared to where it was the two weeks ago.

I had a very successful 20 mile run yesterday that I finished reasonably strong. Paces were reasonably consistent and my fastest mile was my 20th - a 7:25. Avg pace over the entire run was 7:37.

OK, I'm not where I was last Sep when I crushed 20 at 7:07 pace on a solo training run. However, it's still early days. I have two more 20-milers before TCM.

I went into this summer again focused on targeting that elusive 2:59. I've not given up on that. (Perhaps I never will). However, the CDC 1/2 Marathon is in less than 2 weeks and will give guidance on what is realistic.

I know I can set a major PR in TCM if I work hard. However, I do not want to over-work and miss out on my parenting time. It's a sensitive period in my life. Career is flying high. Running is peaking. And we have a new family.

This week will require a minor stepback. Once I get back to Chicago on Wed, we will head to Pittsburgh on Friday for Alivia's Christening. I am anticipating a 43-mile week with an important pace run on Saturday.

Resurrection

2008-07-20T21:03:00.005-05:00

My running has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride since my last post. I ran that 5k a week ago Thursday, which went OK, I suppose. In retrospect, maybe I wasn't as fast as I thought.

I attempted a solo 20-miler last Saturday morning, hoping I was recovered from the race. Apparently, I wasn't.

Due to some wicked storms in the area, I started off on the treadmill that morning. I knocked out 10 at an easy 7:53 pace. The only problem was that it didn't feel as easy as it should have. I cut it at 10 since I saw the rain stop, and I headed home to continue my run.

By mile 14, I could barely keep my pace in the low 8's. My body was spent. I decided to cut it to 16 miles and go back to the drawing board last Saturday. I needed rest.

Sure, the impact of the 5k from Thurs night played a factor. However, I felt my endurance has suffered due to the very low mileage the FIRST program called.

I was exasperated. This is when I gave up on the FIRST Program. I wanted to get back to putting in some decent mileage.

I hope I can retain some of the gains from the speed/tempo work. However, the fact is that these intense FIRST workouts left me with nothing for the Sat long run, and I was not building confidence for the long run either.

This past week, I made a risky transition back onto Pfitz's 55 mpw plan, which has been tried and true. I find that what has helped me is that crucial med-long run mid-week. The 10's, 11's and 12's that Pfitz works in.

As of last Sunday, bear in mind that I have averaged a paltry 31 miles per week over the last six weeks.

This past week, I banged out 47 miles (out of the 50 in plan) on 4 runs -- capped off by a 19-miler today at the Waterfall Glen trail. This week also included a solid 5-mile tempo run on Monday, as well as a breathtaking 7-mile 7:26 avg fartlek along the coast of Lake Michigan in Western Michigan, where we vacationed this past weekend.

I won't claim today's 19 miles was easy. In fact, I felt fatigue early on but completed the run in 7:50's. But this week felt like a step back toward the marathon training that I know works for me.

I get frustrated when I think back to last year knowing I was completing these runs with far greater ease. I somehow am not as far along in my training.

I have gone back to the drawing board. I am in the process of resurrecting my running. I will take aim at putting up my best possible time in Twin Cities on October 5th.

Bittersweet 5k PR - 2008 Joliet Sundowners

2008-07-11T19:13:00.007-05:00

Deja. Flippin'. Vu. That's how I felt about last night's 5k.

Yes, I won my age group again as I did last year. Yes, I set a PR by a whopping 2 seconds. However, I did not make the progress (i.e. run sub-19) I had hoped.

6:03
6:03
6:34 -- say what the #&$@!?
0:40
19:20

I was shocked when I saw my split as I approached mile 3. Sure, it was tough, and maybe I slipped slightly off pace. But no way did I feel like I slipped off pace by 30+ whole seconds. Same thing happened last year. Here my splits from last year's race.

5:50
6:04
6:38
0:40
19:22

I asked around and many runners had the same experience -- a strangely slow 3rd mile. For this reason, call me crazy, but I am convinced the course's mile markers are off. Are they off and the total distance is right? Or is the course long? I am not sure.

As a whole, my training with FIRST is progressing (at least, so I thought).

Last week's 17 miler was my best long run in several weeks at 7:30 avg pace.
I am hitting all the tempo runs at the pace prescribed by the FIRST plan for a 2:59 workout. This week I nailed a 4-mile 6:28 tempo pace workout at very nearly even splits.
I am only slightly off by a few seconds from hitting the targets on the speed intervals (typically ranging in the mid 5:00's for pace)

The above reasons are why I thought I was in decent shape to break 19 last night. Oh well. Still got burgers, hot dogs and a bunch free beer after the race - sweet! Here is a pic of me and Liv posing with my 1st place AG trophy (yes, it is the Dick Pond's hat).

I may do the Viking Sunset 5k at the end of the month. Maybe this will tell me if the Joliet course is long or that I am just not able to hold the third mile of a 5k.

No time to worry about that now. Time to get to bed early for a very early solo 20-miler tomorrow. I am going to experiment with Waterfall Glen. Can you believe I've lived in the Chicago area for 2+ years and never run it? I hope to beat the heat at 6AM on the shaded path.

Still Running Strong - Happy 4th of July

2008-07-04T10:20:00.009-05:00

Happy Independence Day. You may have noticed that my frequency of posting has slowed. Don't worry, I have not stopped running.

Parenthood has happened. If I am not at work, I need to be there for my wife and daughter. Add in some travel, which was two days last week and three days this upcoming week.

Work is more challenging than ever with managing a team of seven. I also need to find the time to train. It's all I can do to keep up with the with my work and family.

I am continuing to follow the FIRST Training Plan. I am on track this week. Last night, I completed a 7 mile treadmill run, which included the middle 5 miles at 6:44 pace, which is considered my "long tempo pace" in my FIRST plan.

Earlier in the week, I had a really challenging speed workout that was comprised of 1200m, 1000m, 800m, 600m, 400m, 200m intervals - with 200m slow jog rest intervals. I ran all of these very close to the recommended pace range of 5:40-5:20, which is where I need to be for the 2:59 marathon, says our FIRST authors.

I do think my VO2 max and lactate threshold are improving. However, I am still concerned about the loss of my endurance. My 15 miler in 7:40's last week again was a struggle, which may have been driven by the 90% humidity.

Nevertheless, when I was doing 45-55 miles/week, I had no problem knocking out 15-17 milers on the weekend. However, those weeks included a lot of easy miles vs. my current approach is to run fewer, but much harder miles.

I think the high intensity VO2's/LT workouts during the week are draining me as I approach my Saturday long runs.

This Saturday, I plan to run with a group, which is something I have not been doing at all.

I signed up for the 2008 running of this local 5k race, which is set for next Thursday. I really hope this year I can break below that 19-minute barrier for this 5k. My speed work says I am there. I hope I can repeat as the Men's 30-34 winner.

Downers Grove 10-miler - PR Streak Restarted!

2008-06-22T16:29:00.007-05:00

My daughter Liv came out to see her Dad race for the second time ever. She had far higher expectations for Dad on this 10-mile race vs. the Soldier Field 10M last month, where I cramped up badly and crawled in at 1:10.

This is the third year I've run the DG 10-miler and I really look forward to it. I love Downers Grove. The race volunteers and citizens are so friendly. I really would consider moving to this beautiful Chicago suburb, which is about 20 miles NW of where we live today. The sprawling trees, the ornate classic homes and the rolling hills all add up to true Americana.

Along with Liv was my wife and my mom who has been visiting us from Utah. It was a real family affair today. We had some unexpected car trouble on the way to the race. Luckily, we made it to DG, but I knew there may be an issue to deal with when I finished.

The race offers 5 and 10-mile distances; the latter of which is simply two loops through the town. I ran this course last year in 1:07:45, and 1:11:52 in 2006.

My goal this year was to break 1:07, knowing that I need to start showing some progress to inch down toward sub-3 marathon conditioning. I planned to target 6:40's, which would get me in at 1:06:40.

I was hoping my FIRST speed training would help me improve slightly over the past few weeks - not knowing if my endurance was there. I am pleased to say my final two miles felt very strong. My final mile was a 6:28, my fastest of the day.

First half: 33:14

Second half: 33:36

Finish time: 1:06:40 (6:40/mile) - Goal time exactly achieved. New 10M PR by 1:05.

The race director announced a glitch with the timing machine and the results would be delayed. She said she would mail all medals to the age group winners. Little did I know I placed third and will be getting one!

OK, so I need to be able to run a 1:04 10M race to be in sub-3 shape. But today was progress. I have 15 weeks to the TCM.

After the race, our car began to overheat again. There is a problem in the thermostat in the engine. We got it to a service station and waited several hours, hoping for a quick fix. We were able to enjoy a fat lunch at Fuddrucker's while waiting, but no luck on the repair. They couldn't get the part they needed today.

Our car waits to be repaired in Downers Grove at this very moment. The four of us taxied home in a cab driven by an older, far more ornary version of "the Dude" featured in the film, the Big Lebowski.

Upon my request that he remove the piles of newspaper, cigar wrappers, coffee trash and other debris from the passenger seat, our faithful driver replied: "I know, dude, but your're going to have to a minute!" What a prick.

See you again next year at the DG 10-miler.

Digging in my heels

2008-06-17T21:24:00.006-05:00

Interesting how yesterday, on what was supposed to be my first day of the FIRST training program, I already deviated from plan. Instead of getting on the bike, I decided I wanted to run an easy five.

For the last couple weeks, I "pre-trained" on the FIRST model before truly beginning the 16-week program this week. I started to question my plan on Sunday even before I really even began.

Why? My last two long runs have seen me fizzle toward the end. I can barely get through these FIRST-specified speed workouts - even if I do cut pace. Maybe the speed+bike workouts of last week took more of a toll that I thought?

Part of me feels like my struggle to finish my long runs have been partly due to letting my mileage slip. How is it possible that I would struggle on the final 2 miles two consecutive weeks on 16 and 18 milers when I ran a pretty decent marathon on May 18?

Maybe I didn't recover all the way from Green Bay. It's a possibility.

So, yesterday, I wanted to run -- even if they were "garbage" miles, it sure beat sitting on a bike in a stuffy gym.

I remember a short several weeks ago how I would breeze through Pfitizinger's program, knocking out 50-55 miles in a week without missing a beat.

I must mention that life pressures, namely work and fatherhood, are having an impact. With recent increased responsibility at my job, I have to work harder, longer than I used to. I am not sleeping as well right now with our baby. My diet feels like it is harder to control right now.

I want to run more. The med-long runs in the Pfitz program typically gave me the confidence to crush the long runs on the weekend.

I think I will stick to plan and a evaluate in a few weeks. I hope I can feel better about my running. Right now it just feels like I am moving in the wrong direction.

I have a 10-mile race on Sunday, and I do not know what to expect of myself.

Life changes constantly and I need to adjust. Time to keep faith, have patience and continue to work hard.

Unveiling my "FIRST" TCM Plan

2008-06-08T19:43:00.008-05:00

I am anxious and to unveil my 16-week training program for the Twin Cities Marathon, which has been borrowed from the bright folks over at FIRST (see below image). My plan is set to begin on June 16th, so one more week of preparing.

I've read the FIRST book and all the testimonials. What's more, my friend Steve keeps selling me on the principles of specificity - and I refuse to argue with his 2:51 in Boston, and his continued progress since with the low mileage+high intensity formula.

I am ready to be amazed as I strive for the elusive sub-3 again this year. I am scared to death of some of these track workouts scheduled for Tuesdays this summer.

Another concern is my diet. My weight is typically anywhere from 168 to 174 lbs. I really want to try to get down to a race weight of 165 lbs, which should improve my chances for sub-3.

I eat a ton. It feels like it, anway. This is not too mention all those empty beer calories and my hankering for ice cream toward the end of any given day. I went out shopping today and bought a ton of healthy fruits and vegetables. I am eating much better these days, but the weekends truly test my willpower.

I started pre-training with the FIRST model this week with a cross-training workout on Tuesday. Maybe my first step towards tri'ing?

I capped off the week with an early Saturday 16-miler at the I&M Canal Trail, during which I ran pretty consistent 7:36's (GMP+45 sec). This made for a paltry 27 miles for the week, which included a couple of shoddy speed and tempo workouts.

The final two miles were tough and I felt quite dehydrated. I've got a million miles to go to sub-3 shape, it seems - despite running a 3:12 only three weeks ago. However, I know the humidity was a major factor.

My streak is alive. I was denied entry into NYC. That makes "0-fer-2" on lotteries this year.

On a bright note, I'll be marathoning in Texas in 2009. I just made arrangements to head to Austin in February for a family/marathon visit.

Contemplating the TCM Plan

2008-06-01T18:09:00.005-05:00

Today is June 1st, 2008. And I'm torn.

The TCM is 18 weeks from today. I'm still a little fuzzy on how I will devise my plan.

Initially, I was committed to the Pfitz 70-mpw plan. But I am rethinking that idea.

I've since come to terms with the unpredictability of being a supportive father of a 4-week old daughter -- as well as a compassionate, committed husband to a new mother who needs help. Right now, I can't just drop everything and run 70 miles a week when I want.

I also have been reading about the FIRST Program and am debating if I will follow some variant of it. Maybe I run four days a week and really focus on nailing the three quality runs.

On the bright side, I knocked out a solid 14-miler that I started at 6:30 AM today. It was a good step toward figuring out my plan.

I ran 30 miles this week, which included three days in Connecticut. I finally think I am ready to ramp up a bit since the GB Marathon.

In addition to my long runs, I plan to do a tempo and track workout each of the next three weeks before the DG 10-miler on June 22.

Soldier Field 10M --> FIRST Training?

2008-05-25T09:18:00.020-05:00

Last week, I stated that I would not run a step until yesterday’s Soldier Field 10-miler. I was able to hold out until Friday morning. I decided an easy two-miler would be good to get my legs going again since last Sunday’s marathon.

Prior to those two miles, I spent my free time recovering, kid-sitting, planning and researching. I finally started to read about the FIRST Training Method that my good friend, Steve, now swears by after his phenomenal 2:51 in Boston, a six-minute PR for him.

FIRST recommends a "3+2" weekly training schedule: three high-quality runs and two x-train sessions. The theory is that focusing on pace intensity and race specificity, and allowing the body to recover will enable the busy runner more effectively his achieve his running potential. The plan weeds out all the junk miles and reduces injury risk.

Three runs per week: (1) Track repeats (VO2 max), (2) Tempo/LT and (3) Long runs. Toss in a couple of bike, row or swim work-outs, and that's it. I do like the fact that the program includes five 20-milers over the 16-week program, which is two more than Pfitz's 55mpw 18-week plan.

The plan worked wonders for Steve, who came off knee surgery last year only to nearly beat Lance in Boston this year. Should I give it a try?

As for yesterday’s race, I kept my expectations for my time in check. I never had run a race of any kind six days after a marathon. I decided to see if I could hold 6:45'ish, which would put me on track for a PR at this distance and see how things went.

Race morning conditions were absolutely glorious. Gathering in front of Soldier field at the start with 7,500 runners was exciting and entertaining experience.

All went well for the first seven, at which point I thought I would try to get that PR. However, shortly after taking a gatorade at the 7th mile marker, I was struck with a violent side stitch. That discomfort coupled with some breathing issues brought me to walk.

I mustered a 6:59 final mile, which was strong given how I felt on mile 8. Finish time was 1:10:05, which is 2:23 behind my PR.

6:39 + 6:42 + 6:49 + 6:56 + 6:47 + 6:48 + 6:55 + 7:43 + 7:49 + 6:59 = 1:10:05.

It was Liv’s first race spectator experience. She did great! Here we are celebrating in the Soldier Field concourse after the run.

I’ve decided to rethink my plan of running one of the few half marathons in early June and get back to training. I don’t feel like putting up another 1:28-1:29 right now, which is probably where I’ll land best-case. It’s time to get back to work and try to make some gains.

Next race is likely to be the Downer's Grove 10-miler four weeks from today. I want to work toward putting up a 1:06. I need to work toward a 1:25 half in August.

Will I be able to run a 1:25 half this summer and a 2:59 at Twin Cities in October on three runs per week?

GB Marathon - Favre wouldn't fade in the 4th quarter like this!

2008-05-18T20:34:00.009-05:00

I successfully completed my twelfth marathon today in Green Bay, WI. In the end, it was my third fastest time. I take pride in finishing strong in all of my races when I can. Unfortunately, I suffered a classic marathon fade today. Nevertheless, it was a solid effort and a positive race experience.

First Half: 1:33:45 – Second Half: 1:38:15
Finish Time: 3:12:00 – Positive Split: 4:30 (Ouch!)

See all the splits below.

The weather today was very favorable. Temps were in the mid-40’s at the start. The winds would become somewhat of a factor later in the race.

First half of the race was pretty strong. I felt very good and I thought I was on track toward another near-PR performance.

In fact, if you check out the race plan I posted yesterday, I came in through the ½ point exactly on the money at 1:33:45 to the second, as planned! How’s that for race execution? It would not matter in the end, however.

The backslide really began at mile 17 when we hit the bridge across the Fox River. Although the winds running along the Fox River were very challenging from miles 17 to 23, I know the winds are not the reason I faded. It merely was the tipping point. I simply could not hold on for the life of me.

Once we hit the path along the river heading back to GB, the best I could muster were 7:20-25’s. It was extremely frustrating. Then the doubt set in and things started to slip even further.

The mile markers disappeared after 23, which was the lone organizer faux pas of this race. Had I not had a BQ in the bank this year, I would have been really upset since I didn’t know where I was.

My final 3.2 miles would be comprised of avg pace of 7:55. This included a jog around Lambeau among the aura of the historic greatness of many NFL champions.

Bottom line: I simply was not in 3:07 shape today. As I feared, I think the zany schedule and the lack of tempos caught up with me. My training was too imperfect for me to keep the PR streak alive.

I also made zero stops to the porta-cans, so I cannot even blame that for a second half meltdown. Wait, the excuse monkey wants to say: "Hey, you just did have a baby 2.5 weeks ago, which obviously messed up your sleep and taper for this one!"

It’s all good. I am very proud to have run another marathon, put up a very respectable time and add yet another state to my repertoire. So my P.R. streak is officially snapped at FOUR: A marathon, a ½ marathon, a 8k and a 10k from Feb through April.

I would like to think I made little Alivia proud, as I thought about her a lot during my 28-hour journey away from home.

Race Evaluation

Green Bay put on an extremely well-run and and enjoyable marathon. I recommend this race to anyone who wants a medium-sized field in a small, but well-known city and the experience of running into to an NFL stadium. What’s more, the course was decent and really pretty flat.

I was able to score a last minute local GB hotel by calling around yesterday morn. They had shuttles running to the start and the gear check was well handled. There was even a free pasta party included to race entrants inside the Lambeau on Sat eve. Running into legendary Lambeau on your 26th mile = priceless! Summary: Very good race - and only $85!

Come to think of it, I have finished marathons in two NFL stadiums now; the first being Heinz Field in Pittsburgh back in 2002 and 2003.

Up next, I will run into Soldier Field for the popular 10-mile run here this weekend, which will make THREE NFL stadiums covered. Pretty cool, huh?

Editor's Note: Ryan will not run a step before the Soldier Field 10-mile race on Saturday.

Marathoning Through the Hall of Favre

2008-05-17T08:12:00.002-05:00

Green Bay is here. Tomorrow. As I reviewed my training over the past several weeks, it dawned on me what perhaps may have been missing: Lactate Threshold training.

I really have not had any solid tempo runs in several weeks. I recall a run over the Christmas break where I completed 7 miles solidly at 6:40 pace. I think it was one of the key workouts that gave me the confidence to run a 3:07 in Columbus (not to mention that it prepared me for the numbing repetition of a LCFB Marathon course that is 1 mile x 26.2 laps).

The point is I do not have a similar run in recent memory at that 15k-1/2 mary pace. My last half mary was on March 14, which was a 1:29. With the taper for Boston, and ultimate decision to bow out of Boston, I hopped back on Pfitzinger’s program.

Pfitz places most of the LT work up until the final 3-4 weeks, so LT was not scheduled in recent weeks. While I’ve had a handful of decent speed workouts at 5k pace (e.g. 600m, 1200m and mile repeats), tempos are lacking.

So this training cycle has been a bit screwy. The long run is what matters most, right? I am banking on that 21-miler just a few weeks back, in which I finished the final 3 miles at 6:50 pace. That one left me spent, I will say. I also have a 31:20 8k on March 30, which I suppose is a good indicator of VO2 max. I also have a 10k PR on April 20, though it was a little slower than anticipated.

What does this mean for my race strategy? Assuming manageable weather, I am going to try to flirt with my PR and break if I can. However, I do not anticipate an earth-shattering PR, as I am not trained up for one. Any PR would be a celebration!

Weather outlook is has turned somewhat sour. Potential high winds, slightly cold and likely very wet.

Current PR: 3:07:46 – 2/17/08
GB Race Goal: 3:06:59 – with a negative split of 30+ seconds.
Goal is to come through the ½ at 1:33:45.
No bathroom breaks, please!

Regardless of my finishing time, I look forward throwing up a Favre-like fist pump as I blast a strong final mile into Lambeau.

Shunned by St. George -- Here I come TCM!

2008-05-10T11:55:00.003-05:00

Did I mention I am running Green Bay next Sunday? Should I wear my Detroit Lions jersey for when I run into Lambeau?

I suppose taper is going OK. It's a weird taper, since I was tapered for Boston, then bailed for my daughter's birth. I then ramped up quickly (to the extent I could) and tapered again. Not to mention having a 8-day old daughter throws some curves into the schedule. Let's call Green Bay somewhat of an experiment.

The news of the day was that I am apparently not so lucky when it comes to marathon lotteries. It appears that I am an official "loser" of the St. George lottery, despite having a 71.4% chance to gain entry and two tax-paying parent-residents. Maybe I'll have better luck for NYC?

The back story is that my parents are retired in St. George and we had a family outing planned with our new baby centered around the marathon. We'll postpone our visit by two weeks for Plan B.

I decided Plan B is to enter Twin Cities, which is the same weekend as St. George. I am officially registered as of this morning. My only hesitation with Twin Cities was the elevation chart that tells me miles 20-23 are a steeper climb than Heartbreak. I suppose it's a minor obstacle for my first sub-3, but I am going for it anyway. I welcome your thoughts if you have run TCM.

I am set to run Green Bay next week, recover for a couple of weeks, and start the 18-week 70mpw Pfitz program for TCM on June 2nd.

Tapering and Parenting

2008-05-04T19:43:00.007-05:00

I have felt extremely busy since Alivia's birth - that is until today when a power failure gripped our village for about 5 hours. At least we were able to go to our first pediatrician visit during this time.

I have not been to work since I left the office on Tuesday morning at 9:30 AM to go to the hospital. In addition to holding my girl, I have been working on the yard and trying to support Jen when I can with the baby.

Despite my daughter's birth on Tuesday, I managed to hit all 39 scheduled miles in taper week #1.

On Saturday, I did some hard speed work. Then I did a 16-miler yesterday, in which the last two miles I felt myself crashing.

Once again, long runs after speed work tend to be a challenge for me. I did not run with anywhere near the intensity of last week's 21-miler. I think the poor diet and lack of sleep I have had over the past week may be a contributing factor.

For now, I will throw my hat in the Green Bay ring this week and see what happens. Maybe some Yasso's on Wed after a recovery run tomorrow. That'll build some confidence, won't it?

I am a Daddy!

2008-05-01T20:24:00.008-05:00

I am delighted to announce the arrival of our beautiful daughter to the running world:

Alivia Paige
Born April 29, 2008 at 6:52 PM CDT
7 lbs - 8 oz
21 inches long

Liv and Mom just arrived home from the hospital today. Though just celebrating her 2-day anniversary into the world, she has long, athletic running legs.

Her dad is hopeful that he can talk her into joining him for his 50th marathon in 50 states in circa the year 2026. Until then, we'll get her trained up for the baby jogger over the next year.

Baby, where are you as I plan for Green Bay?

2008-04-27T16:34:00.008-05:00

Jen asked, so I will report that I am not a father yet. :( All of this waiting, putting life on hold... UGH. Not traveling for marathons or work. I suppose it's all part of the experience, right?

I caved and bought my 2nd Forerunner 305. I tried everything to reset the old one and it wouldn't take. It frustrates me that I got only 19 months of life on the first one, but it was still worth it. And blowing $400 on a 405 didn't suit my fancy.

So I broke out the "new" Garmin and saddled up for a 21-miler today. This after 29 miles earlier in the week, including a nice 4x1200 workout on Wed.

This 21-mile run was important since Green Bay is three weeks off, and I wanted to build some confidence that I am in decent shape to at least have a crack at a PR.

It was a strange week of running, in that I have found it slightly more difficult to get my mileage up into the 50's as I did in the winter. I am not sure if I am recovering as rapidly from some of these runs. I nearly bonked during my 10-miler on Friday. These 8k and 10k races seem to drain me for a couple of days after.

So today's run was a success. Based on this run, which was a 7:20 pace and a strong final push, I suppose I am am prepared to submit my entry to the Green Bay Marathon. I have to admit, however, I was feeling pretty much spent when I was done. I didn't leave much left in the tank. I guess when I average 6:50 for miles 19-21, that's to be expected.

Chalk up 50 for the week. I now begin another taper period - and wait, wait, wait for our little angel to arrive.

Cheering Boston from a Distance

2008-04-21T17:53:00.004-05:00

So I was not in Hopkinton today. I was at my desk in Plainfield, Illinois. And our little bundle of joy has not arrived yet. Damn. I think I would have been landing just around now in Chicago back from Boston. Oh well, I know I made the right choice.

I had mixed emotions as I began obsessively tracking individual times on the baa.org website today.

I am inspired by some of the performances I saw through the splits on the computer screen, which I know tell very little of the Boston experience for my running friends.

For example, I was inspired by my friend Steve (who basically gave up on his blog), who came just short of his 2:49:59 goal by about 90 seconds - only to see Lance Armstrong gallup in a scant 34 seconds ahead of him. I "watched" a handful of others I know personally and through blogland on the race site. My heart was racing as I hit that refresh button every minute.

Congratulations to all of you that I tracked through Boston today. You know who you are: Jen, John K, Wayne, Chad and many others who I'm probably forgetting - or don't blog. I'll see you in Beantown next year - maybe with wife and baby in tow.

On Saturday, I came in 4th overall and won my age group at a local 10k race. I was quite upset I didn't break under 40 min and couldn't understand why my splits felt slow.

The course was a bit zaney with a lot of repeat loops and several hills in a local park. There were volunteers pointing directions at multiple turns and I am only guessing I went the right way.

Finally, the race director was forthcoming at the end and announced he think most of us ran long due to confusion on the race course on where to make certain turns. Oh well, it was a first time small race and at least I got a medal and a good workout. I guess it is a PR still, since my best race 10k recorded was a 41:52. So my 2008 P.R. streak is alive.

On an even more depressing note, my Forerunner 305 completely died during yesterday's 18 mile run. I must confess I'm a bit disappointed. It's not even two years old and it completely crashed. I cannot even revive it.

The new 405 is being released this month and is $399 with the HRM. Ouch. I can replace my 305 for $202 right now. Half the price. I think I will re-buy the 305. $400 is a lot on a technology gadget that has not been released and is still unproven.

Time to focus on Green Bay on May 18th - and get my wife to eat some spicy food to get this kid into the world!

A New Beginning

2008-04-17T21:11:00.009-05:00

I am now making it official. I am bowing out of Boston. I am simply unable to risk missing the birth of my first child to travel.

Actually, it's one of the best reasons in the world that I can imagine to miss heading to Boston. Can anyone think of a better reason? I think not.

I look forward to the time when I will tell the story to my daughter on how I was trained up for a sub-3 and how I sacrificed it all for her. OK, so that's slightly a stretch, but I am thinking 3:05 at least, right?

Jen is experiencing the occasional mild contraction and, as of this evening, is 2cm dialated. This means she could go tonight... or three weeks from now. It's like the weather, I guess.

I cannot put into words how wonderful my life is right now. I have a awesome wife, a wonderful home, a great career that intellectually challenges me and pays the bills - and my running which ties it all together for me. Now, enter our little beautiful miracle, which makes life even that much more unimaginably, undeservedly charmed.

Sure, it would have been nice to go to Boston and then have the baby. But that's OK. There is always next year. On the bright side, I look forward to bringing my little angel to Hopkinton next year to cheer me on at the start and greet me with special daddy kisses at the finish downtown.

For now, I will plan to run this 10k on Saturday in Aurora, IL -- assuming we do not head to the hospital by then. I will also adjust my training toward the Green Bay Marathon on May 18th.

I read the first couple chapters of The Runner's Guide to the Meaning of Life last night. Amby Burfoot talks about the beauty of new beginnings as one of the wonderful gifts that running offers to us.

He's spot on. That starting line is new every single day, and some are more significant than others. This is one my very significant, new beginnings. I am so proud and fortunate to be at this place.

And I am still planning to run that sub-3 at St. George in October, with my parents, wife and baby girl rooting me on. Sweet.

Bracing for a Boston-less baby bash!

2008-04-14T19:44:00.004-05:00

Today is Monday, April 14, 2008. I am t-minus who knows what from becoming a father.

I put in an unusually paltry 35 miles this past week. 35 miles doesn't seem like a lot in a week relative to my usual weeks.

However, one must bear in mind that I had a very busy week of travel, meetings -- and even attended an event in support of this honorable charity at a Times Square hotel where this ground-breaking, media mogul spoke a few words. I'm quick to self-criticize lest I forget I banged out runs of 20 and 16 last week.

All of this low mileage was planned, mind you even further, since, technically speaking, I am in taper. Yes, I am registered for the granddaddy of all marathons which is to be run exactly one week from today.

In the spirit of reality checking, I do not think I will be boarding my flight toward New England this weekend. It's a hard pill to swallow - with a killer PR set back in February and some steady running ever since.

We must all consider that there is a larger and more life-altering experience in the making - to which virtually all child-bearing women in the world would boast with disgust: "How could you even think of boarding that plane on Saturday?!" We're still two weeks out from the due date come this weekend, but there's no consolation to be found anywhere if I lose this gamble.

I've laid out a "Plan B" (i.e. for BABY!) for when I officially come to terms with canceling my trip to Boston, which is currently set for Saturday. Again, I've not made this call - but I am slowly realising (yes, English spelling intended) that this will be the honorable, wise and ultimately "right" choice.

With Boston 2008 dreams dashed, and a new found and far more impactful miracle about to enter my life, my next challenge might be to enter this marathon, which will invite the new challenges of sleep deprivation and a new, far more meaningful inspiration for my next PR.

On another exciting note, if I "win" two marathon lotteries this year (which bring about as much wealth as ... ?), I could potentially be 20% complete with the 50 in 50 challange. Only 40 to go at age 33? NO PROBLEM!

Preparing for running daddyhood

2008-04-07T11:52:00.001-05:00

I ran 54 miles this week and proved to myself that I am in very strong marathon shape. However, there is still a great deal of uncertainty than I will head to Boston.

I have to admit that I was a bit dejected on Monday afternoon when I bonked when trying to run a 20-miler. Apparently, I was more spent from Sunday’s 8k race that I realized.

Here’s what went down: I left work earlier to go to Springbrook Prairie and start my 20-miler by 4:30 PM. I was spent by the fourth mile and cut back to recovery pace. I was smart enough to call it quits after 6. It was the low point of the week and I channeled that frustration in to a first for me.

I rested up on Tuesday and vowed to redeem myself by attempting something I never had in the past: Doing a 20-miler before a full workday. This required meticulous planning.

On Wednesday, I rose at 4:30 AM and hit the pavement by 5:00 AM. I banged out a solid 20-miler before work and made it into the office by 8:15 AM. How many can say they’ve done that?

This weekend brought loads of friends and family to celebrate J’s baby shower. Even with all the fun, chaos of hosting 6 adult guests and my 20-month niece at our house, I squeezed in 28 miles over the weekend.

Friday was a fun fartlek, which included 1.5 miles at 5k race pace and the final two at MP of about 7:05.

On Sunday, I crushed 16 at the Morton Arboretum in the beautiful 60-degree weather. It was a great run. Most encouraging was that I ran a 7:18 avg pace and held an average heart rate of 151. That’s a substantially lower HR than I have ever seen for this kind of pace running through the hills.

I am keeping Boston as a possibility but am keeping our pregnancy as priority #1. J had a dr. appt earlier this week and the initial prognosis is that she is ahead of her May 5 due date. She has another appt this week with her primary doc, which we hope will really tell us if she is ahead of schedule.

Recap of March 31 week

Mon – 6 miles at 8:04 avg pace – bonked on failed 20 mi attempt
Tue – Rest
Wed – 20 miles – 7:27 avg
Thu – Rest
Fri – 7 miles – Fartlek – 1.5 mi at 6:03 avg pace – final 2 at 7:07 pace
Sat – 5 recovery – 8:36 avg paceSun – 16 miles at Morton Arboretum – 7:18 / 151 avg HR

Shamrock Shuffle 8k Report

2008-03-30T14:52:00.013-05:00

Today, I was one of thirty thousand plus runners who gathered to kick off the Chicago running season with the Shamrock Shuffle 8k. It is a very large race and starts and finishes right in the vicinity as the heralded Chicago Marathon.

Weather turned out to be cool but manageable -- high 30's, heavy clouds and threats of rain. All the precipitation held off and the conditions were very comfortable, despite some decent winds.

My goal going into today's race was a 31:30. I accomplished my goal.

I ran a 31:21 today (6:18 per mile), which is a 31 second P.R. over last year's time at this exact same race. My splits were reasonably consistent ranging from 6:15-6:23. This result is consistent with a 3:05 marathon.

Overall, I am pleased with it. However, I know I have so much more potential. Fact is I don't train for 8k races.

I am three for three in setting P.R.'s in my 2008 races so far. My goal is to P.R. in every single race I run this year. This is a long shot, but I will try to keep the streak alive through the spring and summer.

Mileage was down for this week given today's race. Total was 41 for the week. However, I will crank it up to 56 miles next week.

Plan is to get in the long run I was supposed to do this week tomorrow -- 21 miles, if I can swing it. Difficult to do on a Monday, right? Plus, forecast is for steady thunderstorms most of the day.

Life is starting to get really busy and I sense my running will be affected. J's baby shower is this weekend and family/friends will be visiting from all over. I also just was assigned a new position in my company and now have seven direct reports. A promotion, I guess, given all the new responsibility, so many challenges lie ahead.

J is 5 weeks away from her due date and her tummy is growing by the day. Leaving her to go to Boston three weeks from now is still a question mark.

I am preparing to learn how to run with long work days and sleep deprivation. I'll find a way.

Light week needed to recover

2008-03-24T12:36:00.005-05:00

This past week's training was fairly uneventful and a bit lighter than planned. Most notably, I found that I needed more recovery time after last Sunday's half marathon. I was sore for a couple of days afterward and have been struggling to feel really fresh all week (did that sentence sound like a commercial for some sort of a feminine product?).

In fact, on Tuesday's evening run, I simply ran out of gas. Strange to bonk on a short run, but doing the 5x600's when I was not recovered from the race must have zapped me.

Recap of 3/17 week:

Monday - Rest

Tuesday - 5x600m repeats - Did the repeats for a total of 4 in the sweltering, humid gym. Then decided to finish up outside. Struggled and finished with just under 8.

Wednesday - 11 miles steady - 7:48 pace. No stops.

Thursday - Rest

Friday - Gym treadmill. Ran 5 miles at close to 8k target pace (6:20) in intervals : 2.5 / 1.5 / 1 mi with 2:00-2:30 in btw each - total of 7.3 for the day

Sat - 18.4 miles at the Aboretum - guesstimate of 7:40 per

Sun - Rest

I decided to opt out of Sunday's "recovery" run - largely because I felt I need some inactive recovery as opposed to the active kind.

Total mileage was 44 this past week.

I slept well last night and did a recovery 6 this morning. I hope to hit a good speed workout of 4x1200m in the morning.

Goal mileage for this week is only 41, since I will push the 21-miler to Monday due to the 8k race on Sunday. I should be back in the mid-50's next week right before taper.

March Madness Half Marathon - 1:29:21 P.R.

2008-03-16T14:20:00.011-05:00

I set a new half marathon P.R. today. OK, it was by a whopping nine seconds, but it is still a P.R.! I ran 3:30 faster than last year's time at this same race.

The Cary half marathon course has some pretty wicked hills. It's a great pre-trainer for Boston in April. It is not widely considered a P.R. course. But I P.R.'d today. I'm totally confident that I would have run a 1:27 on flat ground today. I'm hungry to rock out a 1:27 at an upcoming flat, cool half-marathon.

The race itself went pretty well. No serious pain. Just lots of speedy heartrates and wheezing up and down hills. This is a very well run race on a challenging course. Weather today was better than expected - in the 30's with much sunshine. In fact, I was over-dressed for parts of it.

Today's race offered me the chance to re-connect with a number of the CARA Wheaton runners that I have not seen all winter. Most notably, I ran with Anthony, who I trained with quite a bit last summer. He qualified for his first Boston with a 3:09 in the Grand Rapids Marathon after our meltdown in Chicago on 10/7/07. This was 3 weeks after Chicago - the same day that I crashed and burned and put up a painful 3:22 at the Chicago Lakefront Marathon.

Anthony and I ran into one another at mile 9 and we chatted casually until the final mile. That SOB left me in the dust on the last hill and finished 7 seconds ahead of me. So much for a friendly finish! :)

If I play my cards right over the next four weeks, I think I have a chance to P.R. in Boston - even if only by a few seconds. I am going to for it. But before I go for it, J (my wife) has to be OK with me going to Boston.

Up next is the Chicago Shamrock Shuffle 8k downtown in two weeks. This is considered the unofficial kick-off of the spring running season here. Sold out once again, the race has a field of 30,000. I put up a P.R. of 31:52 there last year in some very warm weather.

I plan to beat 31:52 this year. My absolute "A" stretch goal would be 30:59. However, that time is probably slightly out of reach with my current fitness level. My more realistic goal is a 31:30.

After arriving home today, I strutted through a recovery 4-miler at 8:30 pace. I chalked up 48 for the week.

Happy St. Pat's day, everyone! Drink some Guinness to celebrate the wonderful Irish holiday!

Mad Planning For A March Half Mary

2008-03-10T21:07:00.011-05:00

Last week's running schedule went exactly as planned. I love it when a running plan comes together.

My goal was to hit exactly fifty miles, which would include a 20-miler through the hills of the Morton Aboretum on Saturday. I nailed the week exactly as I said I would.

I had hoped to get up to meet the CARA group up there on Sat, but it was 9 deg windchill. I'm tired of freezing my sack off, so I delayed the run to mid-day.

This would be my first hilly terrain workout of the entire season. I was pleased with a 7:28 avg for the 20-miler, three weeks after a PR Marathon. I celebrated with blissful rest on Sunday.

I am a mad planner anymore when it comes to sneaking in my workouts.

Tomorrow, I've decided to try to take a longer lunch and run when the temps are supposed to climb into the forties. I love getting my runs out of the way before work, but, as previously stated, the icy, windy cold blows. A warm-up starts tomorrow and I want to feel it!

Sneaking out for a meaningful lunchtime run requires careful planning. I have a reasonably flexible work environment, but you never know when something may pop up.

My day is lighter tomorrow, so I plan to jump out of work at 11:20 AM, drive the nearby HS track and knock out 1000M repeats. I will get in 9 miles total, which should take me 1:07. Note: This means hitting the five 1000M repeats at 3:45 (ouch!) - with a 2 min jog in between.

I'm excited for the March Madness Half Marathon on Sunday. I'm already fired up to race again. It may seem like I'm sand bagging when I say I'm hoping to break 1:30, but the course is VERY hilly. Then again, I just ran a 3:07. I should be trying to break 1:29.

Today, I started the week with a steady general aerobic 8-miler. I will plan for another 50-52 total this week, including Sunday's race day. With speed tomorrow and a race on Sunday, it should be a high quality week.

Six weeks til Boston. Eight weeks (I hope) til Daddy-hood. Woo hoo!

Primed

2008-03-02T17:53:00.008-06:00

I ran a comfortable 33 miles during my second recovery week post-marathon. I capped it off by running a solid 12-miler through a neighborhood in Aurora-Naperville called "White Eagle Club".
This is the second weekend in a row I ran in this neighborhood -- both times due to the stubborn ice and snow that refused to disappear from Springbrook Prairie's running path.

I have to admit that I felt somewhat spent during my easy 7-miler on the treadmill that I had this past Monday, which I ran at just under 8:00 pace. So yesterday's run is good indicator that my active recovery from the LCFB marathon is progressing.

I am primed for the spring running season. This could be the best year of my life - period. Life is going well on all fronts, with the start of my family being the highlight. My running ties it all together for me.

Up next is the March Madness half marathon on March 16. I ran a 1:32:50 there last year, which was pretty good since (a) it is very hilly and (b) I was coming off an injury. I am hopeful I can crush this time.

However, I have ZERO hill training to this point in 2008, so the upcoming half may be a good test. More importantly, I need to get on the hills for Boston - like, soon.

Conceivably, I could run four marathons this year: LCFB (completed), Boston (registered), St. George (trip booked, set to register) and NYC (lottery entered). It is crazy to think that I could set my marathon PR three different times this year, but it's possible.

I've PR'd already at LCFB. I will try to do it again at Boston, if I can go. And I would try a third time in St. George. And NYC I would just run for the experience, but, hey, it's New York - and that would be cool. This week's schedule:

Monday - VO2 max - 8 miles w/5x600m
Tuesday - 11 miles med-long
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - 7 miles general aerobic
Friday - 4 miles recovery
Saturday - 20 miles long
Sunday - Rest

Total: 50 miles

Recovered & Ready to Ramp Up

2008-02-24T20:38:00.007-06:00

I must say this week of recovery flew by pretty rapidly. Having President's Day off was perfect timing after Sunday's race. I didn't leave the house on Monday.

Since then, I have relaxed, eaten like a pig, enjoyed a great deal of downtime and have run a whopping 13 miles. So much for downtime... Boston is eight weeks off and I need to start preparing.

I plan to start ramping back up this week. Plan is to get to around 32-34 miles this week and then crank back up to at least the low fifties the following week.

J and I went to Lamaze class yesterday, but had to miss today when she came down with the flu suddenly. The more I learn about a woman's first childbirth, the more I think that it is highly unlikely that J will go two weeks early (which would mean Boston is OUT).

Of course it's possible if there are complications, but hopefully my little girl will root me on in Boston from the womb so I can meet her when I get back. We will visit the doc right before the trip to get his guidance.

I registered for Boston earlier this week and have received my confirmation. The lottery for NYC opens up tomorrow, so I am going throw another $150 at a race tomorrow. I don't have expectations I will get in, but I do want to do NYC someday, and it may take a few years. (Seems easier to pay than to run a 2:55 to qualify).

Next, I will have to sign up for St. George in early April. The fees are adding up - which means the peak running season is nearly upon us. Yippee!

LCFB Marathon - Race Report

2008-02-18T08:02:00.013-06:00

I qualified again for the Boston Marathon yesterday. Here is a recap of my race experience.

I flew into Columbus on Saturday morning. I spent Saturday driving around in my rental car. I revisited the places where I began my career and spent my first years after college. This included trips to the satellite college for the university from which I earned my MBA, my old apartment and the office of the company where I started out ten years ago.

After I got the trip down memory lane out of the way, I checked into the hotel. After picking up my chip and what I would call a questionable race windshirt, I stepped out of the hotel and ran a few recovery miles on the course.

My friends, Steve and Aaron, drove over in the evening from Pittsburgh. Both are registered for Boston and had planned to help pace me. Aaron decided to run the half at the last minute.

We got up at 5:30 AM on Sunday. As I gain more race experience, I've learned to not fret over the weather forecast for race day. The fact is that no one knows which way the wind will blow.

Forecast was for solid, steady rain with high winds and temps in the 40's. Had this not been a small race with me staying right on the course, I probaby would have over-dressed. The race was at 8:00. I made a call at 7:20 to wear shorts and two long-sleeve layers and a hat.

The course is set in an office park that includes various buildings, a few hotels and a Max and Erma's. Thrilling, right?

At race time, the rain died and the winds were mild. It was great. The weather was going to cooperate, it appeared. I knew I would be shedding my top layer pretty early in the race.

They set the marathoners 0.2 behind the start, so your first lap is 1.2 miles. Although they used a chip system, everyone was on "gun time". As usual, the start was a bit chaotic and my first 0.2 was slow. Then I over-compensated by running a 6:45 first mile.

This was a high-traffic race the entire way through - especially in the beginning, since a 5k, 10k and half were all being run. The course was marked by pylons and the pathway was very narrow. Most annoying was a very plus-sized woman walking in the dead center of an already very narrow path. Couldn't she have walked on the outside edge of the pilons?

There were quarter mile markers, which is the main reason my splits were so consistent. After I got the lay of the course, I would hit 1/4 around 1:45 (this marker felt slightly short), the 1/2 at 3:31, the 3/4 at 5:17, which would get me in around 7:08-7:10 for the lap. I needed a couple of miles to figure this out, which is why my first mile was too fast and my second was a little behind.

After I knocked out 5.2, Steve hopped in with me to run the final 21 miles. He was running strong. Later, after completing his half, Aaron would join us for the final 5. Steve and Aaron pulled me through the last few miles.

Really the majority of the race was uneventful. I just kept nailing splits. Winds became increasingly a factor, but only for 0.5 mile increments. The benefit of a 1-mile loop is that you are never in the head winds for more than 1/2 mile at a time.

Once I had six miles to go, I knew I had a BQ. When I hit the final three, I wanted to be sure I got a 3:07.

To summarize, this race is not about getting any scenery or fanfare that comes with large marathons. It is not for those who need spectators to cheer them on. It is about predictability. It is for those who want to meticulously plan out there splits and want to know where they are on the course at all times.

Although it sounds painfully monotonous, running the 26.2 laps wasn't that bad. When I hit 20, it actually felt easier counting off the final miles six knowing exactly what to expect. It took away the uncertainty.

I attribute this comfort to training also. I think back to a tempo run I had on the track over Christmas time. I ran 48 laps on the track, including 7 at a very consistent tempo pace. This workout helped prepare me for this particular marathon.

The official race results show that I finished 8th overall with a 3:07:46. Never dreamed I would be a top 10 finisher in a marathon. Okay, so it wasn't exactly a Chicago-sized field. No matter, it is a BQ and a PR!

Obviously, I am pleased that I ran the race. I think what it is astounding to me is that I had no tune-up races whatsoever this training cycle and no training partners to run with. I know I have more minutes to shave. I negative splitted even after you take out my 35 second pee break on mile 8.

In short, I know I can go faster. I had gas left in the tank and my training was not all that difficult. I may kick it up to the Pfitz 70mpw when I am ready to go for sub-3 again.

So would I do this marathon again? Not likely. I'd need to be pretty desperate to get into Boston and have no other options. I do recommend it for people that are experienced marathoners who need a BQ. This is not a first time marathoner's race. The organization was fine. However, there is only so much appeal to paying $80 to run around an office park.

For now, I will plan for Boston, which will be a last minute call depending on Jen's doctor's input. I have the March Madness Half Marathon in four weeks.

Victorious! New Marathon PR Set in Dublin, OH

2008-02-17T11:32:00.003-06:00

I set a new marathon PR today here in Dublin, OH. I am feeling great about today's race. Below are the splits.

We are heading out to celebrate with a great meal before I travel back to Chicago. Race report to follow.

1:38 - 0.2 miles completed first
6:46
7:14
7:18
7:11
7:10
7:06
7:10
7:47 - pee break
7:08
7:11
7:13
7:10
7:08
7:09
7:07
7:08
7:07
7:09
7:10
7:08
7:14
7:10
7:07
7:04
7:08
6:53 - final mile

Final time - 3:07:45 -- PR by 2 min 19 sec's

Bring On Marathon #11 - LCFB in Dublin, OH

2008-02-15T19:44:00.014-06:00

Some final thoughts before I travel to Columbus tomorrow morning.

Forecasts call for above average temps in the 30's-40's with threats of winds and steady rain. I suppose it beats single digits and sunny.

I reflected on this November 20th post when I thought I injured myself. I've had an outstanding winter of running since then. No injuries and plenty encouraging results. It's been a fantastic three months of training.

This training cycle seems special, since it went without incident and I did it pretty much in solitude. I have found a way to integrate the 55mpw Pfitz plan into my life with absolutely no issue. I just put it the miles and they come easy. I plan. I work. I run. I plan more. I adjust. I work. I run.

What's more, despite the fact that most of the speed work was inside, I feel I put in more quality miles than I did last summer.

My friends Steve and Aaron will be driving over from Pittsburgh to run part or most of the race with me. They've already earned this year's ticket to Boston. Now I am going to get mine.

I have decided that I will be going out at 3:06 pace. That is steady 7:06's if I can swing it. I'd be less than forthright if I said I wasn't nervous. However, based on some of my long runs, this should be right in range where I should be for marathon pace.

On Sunday, it will be time to reap the benefits of my hard work. It's time to show how commitment leads to success.

Before I race, I will say a prayer for the fallen victims at Northern Illinois University. I will say a prayer for the health of my unborn daughter. I give thanks to God for my family, my health, my freedom and the drive that keeps me running. Then I will go run with courage, pride and determination -- and give it everything I've got.

Final Taper - 7 Days 'Til Dublin

2008-02-10T20:17:00.000-06:00

I realized today that it has been nearly 3.5 months since I have run my last race. It was the Lakeshore Marathon on October 26th. I have run 633 miles in training since then. Man, that feels like forever and a lot of miles ago.

I am excited to visit Dublin, OH next weekend to hopefully knock out a strong race. Dublin is where I lived when began my first "real" job after college and the place I began my true adulthood. I guess you could say I feel some personal history was created there. I grew up dramatically between the ages of 22 and 25 while living there.

For the race, assuming decent weather, I plan to pace toward a 3:07-3:08 through 20 miles and take it from there. I will have some help as my Boston-bound friends Steve & Aaron will drive over from Pittsburgh to help pace me for most of the race.

I capped off another taper week with 12 miles on a treadmill today at 7:45 average pace. It's wicked cold here as it is throughout the midwest. I completed Pfitz's recommended 32 miles to a "T" this week.

I want to give a plug to Derek's Road to Boston blog. His website design prowness and his determination to get Pete P's permission to publish the Pfitz plan gives me ready access what is now my baseline training program anywhere at the world without carrying the book.

I can almost feel the spring running season coming upon us. Regardless of what happens during next Sunday's LCFB Marathon, I am very pleased with my decision to train through the winter. I am in very strong running shape right now. I'm hungry. I am ready to line up races throughout the spring until our baby's birth in early May.

Should I go for 50 marathons in 50 states?

2008-02-08T13:06:00.001-06:00

OK. I am 32 now. I’ve got 10 marathons under my belt.

Pittsburgh (PA) – 2001, 2002, 2003
Virginia Beach (VA) – 2004
Houston (TX) – 2005
Tampa (FL) – 2006
Boston (MA)- 2007
Chicago (IL) (including Lakefront marathon) – 2006, 2007 (2)

That makes six states covered.

I will hit Ohio this month for the LCFB Marathon on Feb 17th.
I have St. George, UT planned for Oct.

I will have at least 8 states covered by the end of 2008. Depending on if I go to Boston or not, I may be able to sneak in another midwestern state this summer.

That leaves 42 to go. Hmmm….

See more progress on: run 50 marathons in 50 states

Another 10k PR - 2 Weeks To Go

2008-02-03T16:20:00.000-06:00

I am ready for the LCFB marathon in two weeks.

I am thrilled about yet another 10k PR that I set on the treadmill yesterday during a simulated tune-up race.

I know it's unofficial since it is not by any means a sanctioned race, but I am counting it as my PR. My "official" 10k race PR is 2:34 slower and just doesn't line up right with my other times. I bet I can run faster on pavement with the adrelanine of a race kicking me long.

Instead of fellow runners pounding the pavement with me, I had Foo Fighters "Best Of You" blaring from the IPod during my final stretch. I think the lady walking on the treadmill next to mine became a little frightened when she saw me pumping my fist and about to break into tune with a screeching Dave Grohl.

Warm-up mile: 8:45

Mile 1 - 6:34

Mile 2 - 6:31

Mile 3 - 6:28

Mile 4 - 6:22

Mile 5 - 6:16

Mile 6 - 6:00

Final 0.2 - 1:06

Total 10k time: 39:18 / 6:19 per mile -- McMillan marathon predictor: 3:04:26

I am curious what others think, but with the kind of pace progression in this 10k, I may be able to run a bit faster.

Today, I logged a steady 16-miler at an avg pace of 7:38. I trotted through it with confidence and no self-induced pressure of worrying about my pace all too much,

I put a taper-licious 42 miles this week including that smoking 10k and another speed workout with 5x600m repeats earlier in the week.

For my final upcoming pre-race week, I will again follow Pfitz to the script with 32 miles. Wednesday brings 2x1600m repeats, which I will run at the newly established 5k pace of 6:05. I will round out the week with an easy 12 next Sunday.

Given my indicators are trending closer to 3:05, I may reset PR pacing strategy for marathon day. I will not make a decision on that until race day, as the weather will obviously play a huge role.

Bring on the LCFB Marathon

2008-01-27T18:57:00.000-06:00

I went into today's planned 21-mile run a slight degree of trepidation. Sure, I know I can run 21 miles. That's not the issue. However, would I be able to run it at a pace that would give me a strong indication of PR potential on Feb 17?

The temps were beautiful today in the Chicago area. Much sunshine with a high of 36. I waited until 1PM to start the run so that I could run in peak warmth.

Just a brief word on solo running. We all run solos. It's part of the drill. However, I do not underestimate the fact that every single training run I have put in during this marathon cycle has been on my own. I can only wonder what I could accomplish if I had a coach and a demanding, fit partner with whom to run.

Knocking out a near-marathon-pace 21-miler with no breaks (i.e. straight through, carrying your fuel belt and darting through intersections to keep your pace) is hard enough with a partner. Doing it in solitude is something in which I take great pride.

Why 21 miles? Pfitz had me scheduled for 20 but I wanted one-up him. I figured I could use the extra confidence.

Here are the results of today's run: 21 uninterrupted miles - avg pace: 7:17 - final five miles avg was 7:02 (final mile at 6:37).

I am thinking this kind of run, coupled with my other strong runs, will put me in good shape for a potential PR on February 17th. However, I believe the weather will need to be on my side. If it is zero farenheit, all bets are off. My best runs have been with temps in the 30's.

I really was surprised at my ability to hold sub-marathon goal pace towards the end. There were some tough miles due to wind and grade in the middle of the run. But when I hit 16, things got easier. I was able to kick into to overdrive and cruise through goal pace mileage with no issue.

Here is the recap for the week:

Mon 1/21 - 17 miles @ 7:38 avg pace
Tue 1/22 - Rest
Wed 1/23 - 10 miles w/4x1200m repeats - Nailed this workout on treadmill - repeats were done at 5k pace of 6:07
Thu 1/24 - Rest
Fri 1/25 - 9 miles on treadmill at 7:56 avg pace
Sat 1/26 - Recovery 5-miler at 8:38 avg pace
Sun 1/27 - 21-miler at 7:17 avg pace (2:33:09). NO STOPS WHATSOEVER. Final 5 miles at an average of 7:02.

Total: 62 miles

So my lovely, pregnant bride and I celebrated my run with a satisfying meal at ... of all places... this wonderful eating establishment. Of course, where else should I eat after that kind of run?!

Three weeks until the LCFB Marathon. Time to taper.

Battling The Deep Freeze

2008-01-20T17:52:00.000-06:00

My training highlight of the week took place yesterday during a visit to the gym treadmill.

On the schedule was a “tune-up race” between 8-15k. I do not think Pfitzinger wrote his training schedule for those of us who train in Chicago winters for February marathons in Ohio.

There actually was a local 5k race yesterday, but it was –5 degrees at 8AM. Okay, call me a wuss, but I didn’t see how this short race in extreme temps would benefit my marathon goal. So off to the gym I went.

My plan was to put in a “simulated 8k race” at around 6:27 pace, if I could get there and hold it on a treadmill without going stir crazy.

I warmed up with an 8:45 mile and went into 6:39 pace for my first race pace mile. Each mile, I upped the speed gradually. By mile 4, I realized I was feeling really strong. So strong that I decided I would extend my planned 8k “self race” into a 10k.

It’s worth noting that I do not have a 10k PR that lines up well with my other PR’s. However, by mile 6, I was pushing 6:15 pace and planning for a sub-6 pace finish, which would crush my 10k PR. Here’s how I ended up:

1 - 6:39
2 - 6:35
3 - 6:31
4 - 6:27
5 - 6:25
6 - 6:12
0.2 - 1:10
10k time: 39:59

A 39:59 10-k is a PR by 1:53 for me. Okay, so it was on a treadmill, so it’s not a “real” PR, but it is a strong indicator of my fitness. This lines up with a 3:07 marathon. I was pumped with this result.

Today’s high temperature was about 14 degrees, with a real feel of 7. It was actually warmer than initially projected. Given tomorrow’s MLK holiday off from work, I postponed my 17-miler until tomorrow, when the temps will be into the balmy 20’s. I did a recovery 6 on the treadmill again today.

My total mileage this week was only 37 due to my schedule adjustment. With a 17-miler tomorrow and a 20-miler on Sunday, it will be a huge final week before taper. I am targeting 61-63 miles this coming week. Most notably, I have 1200m repeats scheduled for Wednesday and a hard 20-miler on Sunday.

Four weeks until marathon Sunday.

Re-energized & Determined

2008-01-13T20:01:00.000-06:00

I have increased my level of focus on achieving a PR in my upcoming marathon five weeks from today. On the schedule today was a 17-mile run with 14 at marathon goal pace.

Goal pace range at this point is 7:10-7:14. I hope to put up a 3:09 or better at the LCFB Marathon.

I set out to run the first mile slower than goal pace then kick into steady pace miles for 14. I carried the fuel belt with the hopes of avoiding, or at least minimizing, stops. The plan was if I felt good, I would hang on for my final two "bonus" miles at goal pace.

As you can see from the numbers, things went well: 17 miles at an avg 7:09. Today's run was a huge lift. I felt really good most of the way through.

I did feel a little fatigue at 14, but that's not surprising. I only stopped a couple of times along the way - once for a minute at the half point to pee, and a second to wait for traffic to clear. All and all, I exceeded my expectations and am feeling that I am progressing toward a new marathon PR.

I know I could run these workouts even harder and faster if I had a training partner. Right now, however, I simply do not have one. I also know that I would be faster on pavement. The trail is torn up from the winter and the horse tracks. It needs resurfacing.

I turned in 50 miles for the week.

Every day for the next 5 weeks, I will focus on what I need to do to deliver my best marathon on Feb 17th.

Three key areas of focus:

(1) Nutrition / Weight Control -- My weight was up to 172 pounds today (damn choco chip cookies my wife made -- too good!). I think I need to be closer to a race weight of 167. I will try to shave a few over the next five weeks.

(2) Cross-Training -- Especially over the next two weeks, I want to maximize my fitness and avoid injury. Cross-training & stretching are critical.

(3) Mental conditioning -- This worked well for me during my Chicago '06 PR. I need to visualize my success and build it into my mind that I WILL PR.

I am going to get that PR that was due to me this past October.

Regaining Purpose in Running

2008-01-12T07:20:00.000-06:00

I just purchased three running-related books that I received from Amazon this week:

Boston Marathon or Bust: A Proven Step-By-Step Program That Helps You Achieve Your Life, Sports, and Business Goals in Record Time.

I began reading this one right when I opened up the box. I'm already halfway through. It's a really easy read. Despite its title, It's not so much about running, as it is about goal setting.

The Last Pick: The Boston Marathon Race Director's Road to Success

I read the first few pages of this book to get a sense of what it's about. It is written by Dave McGillivray, who is the Director of the Boston Marathon. He seems like one hell of a motivated and successful person, based on what I read in the foreward by the myriad of athletes he has inspired. Anyone who runs from Seattle to Boston for charity is someone I want to know and learn about.

Runner's World Performance Nutrition for Runners: How to Fuel Your Body for Stronger Workouts, Faster Recovery, and Your Best Race Times Ever (Runners

I have only peeked into this one, but the bottom line is that I need to take my nutrition more seriously. Not only for running purposes, but more so to keep my energy levels up and my weight in check. After all, I am 32 1/2 now. I hope to learn and build some positive habits from this book.

I hope this book will build some inspiration and focus for me. I have found that am simply just going through the motions. Yes, I am putting in all of my runs. But I do not feel like I have been running with purpose. I plan to really focus on why and how I am running through some of my readings.

On a positive note, I will say that I feel good about the 5x1000m workout I nailed in total darkness on a windy high school track on Wednesday morning. No overhead lights to guide my steps.

I have run 27 miles this week so far. I will run a recovery six today. I then have an important 17-miler with 14 at goal pace (7:10-7:14) tomorrow, which will put me at 50 for the week.

The First 48 of 2008

2008-01-06T17:40:00.000-06:00

I completed 48 miles this week, which is right on task with 6 weeks to go to the marathon. Honestly, it felt like a low mileage week -- until today's long run, anyway.

Talk about drastic climate changes. I did wednesday's 11 miler in 8 degree weather - and today's 18-miler in mid-50 degree weather.

I am not going to pretend today's run was easy. The splits look pretty good, but I did not feel as strong as usual. I was tired, to be honest. I believe there are some reasons.

First potential factor was the hard treadmill mileage I did yesterday in attempts to simulate a race of some sort. I did 6:45's for the first four miles of seven for the day.

Second point may be the seven or eight beers I had at a neighbor's "couples" baby shower last night, along with lasagna, chocolate cake -- not to mention a cookie before bedtime. OK, not the smartest move, but they were going down easy and I barely got buzzed off of Beck's Light 64 calorie beer.

Third factor was likely the 20+ mph head winds I faced from mile 9 to 13 heading south today. You can see my HR in the 160's during this stretch when running 7:50's, when I normally would be in the high 140's for such a pace. Once I made the turn to head back east, my HR dropped back into the 150's and I was running 7:30's.

I'm looking forward to rest up tomorrow. Goal for this week is 51 miles with an important marathon goal pace run on Sunday (14 miles out of 17 total). No business travel planned for the foreseeable future. I am in pretty good control of my schedule and hitting all of the miles.

I have run every mile on this training cycle by myself. It's not ideal as I enjoy the camraderie, but I believe that I am one mentally strong runner. I hope I am pushing myself hard enough for BQ fitness.

I can't wait for my new Asics Gel Nimbus 9's to be delivered on Tuesday. I am at 350 on this pair and ready to switch out.

Reflecting on '07 / Goal setting for '08

2008-01-02T20:48:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year, everyone.

For just a moment, I will reflect on what a great year for running 2008 turned out to be for me.

Firstly, I am amazed I ran 2,101 miles this year. That's over 40 per week on average. I put in five 60+ mile weeks with the peak of 67 back in August. This crushes last year's output of 1,632 miles.

I ran three marathons, my single year PR. I'll never forget my experience on April 16th when I ran my first Boston Marathon despite the feared nor'easter storm. What an experience it was. I'll never forget learning of the Va. Tech massacre upon returning to my hotel, which overshadowed the glory of the race day.

Chicago was nearly as memorable as Boston with the heat and adjusting my goal from a 3:00-3:05 target to simply finishing, which I did in 3:32. Man, it was a scorcher. Not to mention that I tapered for Chicago in China, which made the experience that much more interesting.

And knocking out my third marathon just three weeks after Chicago was quite a another accomplishment. Though I didn't get that BQ, I set my 2nd best time and showed that I can travel across the globe and still train for a marathon.

Along with setting a PR for running mileage, I set another PR for airplane mileage at the same time with all of my 2007 business travel. I made Exec Platinum with AA and ran in some fascinating places. I ran in London several times in 2007 and put in a great deal of mileage in the city of Chengdu, China on my 4-week assignment there.

In round numbers, assuming conservatively an average pace of 7:45, I ran for over 271 hours or nearly 39 total days in 2007. This means that there was over a 10% chance you could find me running at any given moment in 2007.

It's goal setting time. I am not going to set a total mileage goal, since I am not sure I can beat this year with my daughter coming to us this year. I figure if I can hit the races below, it will be a decent year of mileage.

Here are my running goals for specific races I plan to run in 2008:

- Run 3:10 or better at the LCFB Marathon – 2/17/08
- Run 1:31 or better at the March Madness Half Marathon (last year’s time 1:32:50) – 3/16/07
- Set a PR at the Chicago Shamrock Shuffle 8k (last year’s PR: 31:53) – 3/30/08
- Run my second Boston Marathon* – 4/21/08
- Run the St. George (UT) Marathon** – 10/4/08

*NOTE: Running Boston is contingent on running a BQ at the LCFB Marathon and, more importantly, the condition of Jennifer and the impending birth of our child. (Her due date is May 5th).

**NOTE: I am not setting a goal time for St. George since I will spend the summer adapting to fatherhood. I simply do not know how I will balance my newly acquired daddy duties and my training.

Here are PR’s by distance I will aim to achieve regardless of race selected:

- Set a new 10k PR – Goal: 40:30
- Set a new 5k PR – Goal: 18:59
- Set a new half marathon PR – Goal: 1:27:59

Recap of my final week of 2007

2007-12-30T14:52:00.000-06:00

With today's long run, I completed my 55-mile week right as planned. I put together a very solid string of training runs in sync with Pfitzinger’s schedule for the LCFB Marathon. This was by far the most mileage I have ever put in during Christmas week.

I was visiting my in-laws in South Pittsburgh for the holiday and completed four of my five workouts there this week. They live near the Montour Trail, which is a series of scenic paths that surround the south and west of Pittsburgh, tucked within the suburbs.

Mon 12/24 – Rest / travel to Pittsburgh

Tue 12/25 – Christmas Day – 6 miles with 6x100m strides

Wed 12/26 – 12 miles with 7 at LT pace (6:38-6:40) – 1:26:50 total (7:14 avg pace)

This was a killer workout on the local high school track. Pfitz calls for MP for 7 miles on this run. However, I wanted to run LT pace, since I had struggled to put in some of the schedule LT miles due to weather.

I warmed up with a mile and then picked it up to target 400m splits in the 1:38-1:40 range. In summary, I nailed 28 straight – only stopping for 20 sec’s to grab some Gatorade. I then finished up with another 16 laps at 1:50-1:55 per split.

This workout indicates I could easily crush my 10k PR (which is not surprising to me, since my 10k PR is not in line with my other PR’s) I never in my life dreamed that I could run 48.5 consecutive laps on a 400m track, but I did it on this day.

Not to mention the fact that I did it in 1:26:50 (which equals 7:14/mile, right on BQ pace).

Thu 12/27 – Rest

Fri 12/28 – 12 miles – 7:22 avg pace – avg HR: 158

There is steady grade upward on the Montour Trail for several miles when heading north from Peters Township, PA, which makes for a really fast second half of an out and back. I averaged 7:03 for my final 5 miles as I cruised down the grade. Rockin’ workout.

Sat 12/29 – Montour Trail, PA - 5 miles recovery – 8:32 average

Sun 12/30 – Plainfield, IL - 20 long – 7:38 average – final mile at 7:05

With my workouts quite intense on Wed and Fri, my goal was to run this 20 around 7:40-7:45 avg pace. I took the fuel belt and explored new territory of the western side of Plainfield. My hope was to make no stops on this 20-miler, but I took a brief break at Larry’s Diner to use the can.

All and all, it was a very good long training run. My overall average pace was 7:38. My avg HR of 151 suggests very good conditioning. I won’t say the run was easy, but no solo 20-miler ever is.

Total for the week: 55 miles

With a planned rest day tomorrow, I am done running in 2007. I have finished with 2,101 miles. I will reflect on my year in running tomorrow and post my 2008 goals on New Year's Day.

If you are blogging these days, I look forward to reading your running goals, or whatever personal goals you may have for 2008. This is the best time of year to set goals. I feel such life and energy when the new year approaches. We all should take time to celebrate our successes for ’07 and plan an even more prosperous ’08.

Best Winter Form Ever

2007-12-24T09:26:00.000-06:00

The LCFB Marathon is 8 weeks away. I will continue to work toward setting a marathon PR on Feb 17th. However, I may have to work a bit harder than I would in fall temperatures according to this RW article.

"When your core temperature drops below 98.6°F, your body requires 15 to 20 percent more oxygen to maintain the same pace". Great. And the temperature will be, what, 15 degrees if we're lucky?

For this past week, I kept right to schedule with Pfitzinger's 55mpw program by running a step back week of 43 miles.

Some highlights:

Wed - Did 5x600m repeats on subdivision streets since the local track was covered in 6 inches of snow. I targeted 2:15 in 0.38 mi increments, which is about 6:00 min pace for 600 m. Finished with 8 miles
Sat - Carried the fuel belt and ran a solid 14-miler with no breaks. Finished with a 6:31 mile (7:30 avg for the entire run).
Sun - Hid from the 40mph wind gusts and hit the gym treadmill for a steady 8-miler.

I've arrived at peak mileage week in the program. I am eager to hit 55 miles this week while visiting the in-laws in Pittsburgh. Provided I can juggle family commitments, I don't anticipate any difficulty in doing so.

One important workout this week is the 12-miler on Wednesday, which includes 7 at lactate threshold pace. I haven't had much LT work this training cycle, so I plan to be very disciplined and to the splits on a track. I'm guessing my LT pace is about 6:40.

On Sunday, I will push my planned 20-miler in the range of 7:25-7:30 with a fast finish. I hope the weather is cooperative on Sunday. This run will put me over 2,100 miles for 2007.

I am really good shape for December 24th. In fact, this definitely the best running shape that I have ever achieved in mid-winter.

Time to set your 2008 running goals, if you haven't already. I will be working diligently on my plan over this week's Christmas break.

Happy Christmas to all who read this.

Breaking M2K

2007-12-16T17:38:00.000-06:00

I logged 50 miles this week, which peaked today with a killer 12-miler in the snow at faster than goal marathon pace. I am stoked about the outcome of today's run given the struggle I had yesterday.

I intended to knock out 15 with 12 at MP yesterday at the Aboretum, but something wasn't right for me. Suppose it's not wise to schedule a MP run through such rolling hills. Either way, I did not have the pep or the energy level, so I retired after seven. I stormed back today.

Over half of my 50 this week came during four days spent at the Connecticut office and contending with the usual tribulations of the winter weather. I did 4 miles at LT pace on the track early morning on Tuesday as part of a 13 miler.

Recap of 12/10 week

Mon - Rest / Travel to CT
Tue - 13 w/4 at LT
Wed - 7 rec+hills -8:23 avg pace
Thu - 6 - 7:42 avg
Fri - 5 rec - 8:24
Sat - 7 G.A - 7:42 avg pace
Sun - 12 at MP - 7:05 avg pace

TOTAL: 50 miles

I'm thrilled to report that I broke the 2,000 mile barrier in 2007 with today's run. I stand at 2,003 YTD. Depending how I juggle the schedule, I should land somewhere between 2,101 and 2,109 miles for the year. Fun fact: This is the approximate distance from my house to San Francisco!

Comparing 2,100+ miles in '07 to last year's total of 1,632 really amazes me. What's more, I earned Executive Platinum status on AA, so you could say that I had some traveling to juggle.

Nine weeks until the LCFB Marathon on February 17th, 2007. I'm motivated to get that PR in the depths of winter.