Week XV

Week a XV

34 miles

I started this week with a five mile run from my trustee route from home. I like this one because I don't have to think about my trip and there is a public restroom halfway though. 

I've had the 20 mile peak long run on my mind all weekend and decided to get it over with to get it out of my head. I ran this one at night to avoid the heat. The run started out ok enough. I wasn't feeling it going in, but the first five mile lap was pretty relaxing and I settled in pretty well. I didn't even need a drink during the lap. 

The second five mile lap felt similar. I ate a gel at mile 7 and had only expended about 5oz of water.  By the end of the lap, I had begun to realize this was going to be a fight. 

Lap three was pretty annoying as it was the only period of uphill in the run. I had to stop to use the restroom and found myself in Taylor, which doesn't seem to have sidewalks. I still felt ok. The hip was hurting pretty badly, but my calves and knees were golden. 

Lap four was brutal. It was one dark road without sidewalks after another. The hip became a real problem and now the knees had begun to cramp and tighten. I stopped every mile or two to do a quick stretch, but they weren't getting better. I gave the run over from skill and technique to heart and guts. My pace slowed and I gained about :30 per mile for the final three miles and I reached mile twenty limping in severe pain in the knees mostly. They hurt so bad that I actually forgot about my hip for a moment. I finished with a 9:35/mile pace, which isn't bad, but the pain makes 26.2 miles all the more daunting a task. Took an ice bath and a beer. I'll take a few days off to recover. 

The next two runs were forgettable. The first five miler was painful, but the only injury I feel is my hip. The knees are ok, so I'll chalk that pain up to knee cramping. The next four miler was better. 

Time to taper! Next week will peak at a twelve miler. 

Week XIV

Week XIV
29.8 miles.

Started the week with my 8 miler in the trails from work. It felt a bit labored, so I took the pace back. I'm learning to listen to my body instead of the numbers on my watch.

I coasted through a fun 3.8 with my wife and friends at the RunDetroit beer run, then followed it up with a Growler of Hop-A-Peel. I had a great time and someone who won a raffle gave me a free entry into a 5K next Saturday. If my twenty doesn't tax me too much, I may go for an age group win. It's a small race, so I can probably beat most of the field. But it depends on my legs.

Decided to get to the longish run of the week. I visited RunDetroit to try on some shoes. My Altras was wearing holes in the forefoot. I ended up with a new pair of Newton Gravity III and a pair of CEF compression calf sleeves. I ran the run. I met up with my friend Rudy at mile three and left him at mile nine and finished strong. I was tired on this run. It was a little warmer than last weeks long run, so maybe this was the issue. I ended up with a solid time of 8:58/mile for the run. I felt good about it because this would only be about 4:30 minutes off of my half marathon PR (1:52) if I had kept that pace for that distance. Not too bad. I wasn't trying for speed, so I was happy with it.

I finished the week with a six mile run after work with a very motivated kid from work. Made me feel good to see someone work so hard, using sheer will.

It was a pretty good week. I ended it by watching 4 Minute Mile with my wife. Now I want to run fast, right now. I took about 45 minutes and rolled out the legs and stretched. Every time I do this, I am reminded that taking care of the legs is the best thing you can do as a runner.

I've been thinking about getting a GoPro and filming some of my runs with some commentary. No one is likely to watch them, but I'm sure I will want to when I can no longer run. I'll look into it.



Sing.
Migrate.

Week XIII

Week XIII
34.2 miles.

Started the week off well with a trail run after work with my new and quite sizable run club. It's really nice to have people to run with after work. It takes the monotony out of running the same boring routes, listening to the same boring stuff. I think the run club has reached 11 active members. This is a very large group for one nursing unit. It has meant that I seldom have to run alone, which is cool.

Next run was at Gallup Park after work. Gallup is a flat course, so I preferred it to the trails this day as I was gearing up for my 19 mile long run. Again, the long run has been in my head all week. I got a decent 18 miler in last week, but felt pretty puny at the end, which is discouraging because I still had 8.2 more to go for the marathon.

Did you know that the first person to run the marathon was a courier that was just delivering Jimmy Johns to the King? Did you also know that upon arrival, he promptly died?

In other news, I can't be distracted by these terrible facts. The 19 miler was upon me. Due to schedule constraints, I had to run it in the late afternoon/early evening. I got really lucky with a fast approaching Michigan autumn and the day was chilly. I chose to run this one from home, as Brian couldn't make the date. I decided to run places in my past that spanned a large part of four different cities. I felt great at the start and let the fall air carry me through Wyandotte, to Lincoln Park, to Taylor, and finally Southgate. I hydrated well, but noticeably less than usual. I stopped to eat a gel three times and pushed forward. I was never in trouble on this run. I finished in three hours flat, with a decent pace of 9:39/mile. I felt so relived to be done, but also so ecstatic that I felt so strong during this one. I was encouraged and once again began to believe that I could really do this.

I finished the week with a 5K run (Growler Gallup) and a two mile make-up run to finish the five miles. I drank some beer and celebrated a great week with my family and friends.

I needed this one.

Next up, a step down week.



Sing.
Migrate.

Week XII

Week XII
36 Miles

This was the hottest week of the summer. I don't do well in the heat, so my anxiety woke me up for the first 5 of the week, so I ran with the wife at 4:45 AM. It was humid, but the temp was low so the run was a wet success.

The next day, my heat anxiety got me up at 5:25, just after my wife left for her 8 miler. I pulled myself out of bed and ran 8 beautiful miles in the closing hours of the night at a speedy pace. I got home feeling like I was strong despite the pain in my right hippish area.

The next five I ran in the trails after work and enjoyed most of the run as I do the majority of my trail runs. I opted to run the easy trail course instead of the hard one due to the fear that my legs couldn't handle it. I've been really careful with my legs and treat them like they are a very fragile family heirloom these days. I think I sometimes underestimate myself.

I had a last minute change of plans for the long run (18 miles). I forgot about my fantasy hockey draft, which is one of my favorite days of the year. It fell the night before my long run. A dilemma, as beer is a common temptation at the draft. I was moderate and went to bed at 1:30 am to be up at 7 am. I woke at 3 AM, never to find sleep until I had to be up.

I was nervous about the lack of sleep and the run itself. I had bonked my last three long runs over 14 miles due to the heat, I think. I got up and was determined to be better than what my body had previously allowed. I was scared and embarrassed, but angry enough to find a way to make this one better. I got some luck with the weather.


I ran hard and felt good. My legs started hurting at mile 10, but I kept my mantra repeating in my head that "I am better than this, I have fought through worse, and I can endure any pain left to endure." I powered on at a good pace. I had to stop a few times to stretch out cramps, but I finished on my feet with gas in the tank. I needed this one. I am proud of this run. It made me confident that given a cooler temp, I will be able to achieve my goal of twenty-six point two. The last four miles got hot without shade and I felt it and it put me into the battle again, but it was too late to bonk me. 4 miles isn't enough misery to lay me down.

Next week is 5, 5, 5, 19. Two more long runs until the biggest and most daunting run.




Sing.
Migrate.