Run To Boston - 2009

Post-Race Party

2009-04-21T23:00:00.002-05:00

Less than 24 hours after the Boston Marathon and I feel pretty good. My time was 3:49:17. That puts it after my 2 Green Bay Marathons (3:30:35 and 3:42) and my best Chicago time (3:36:01). All of these were about 40 degrees when the race started, while 3 of the slower races were 60, 80 and 90 degrees.

I pick up my gear past the finish line, and when I check my cell phone, I already have a text message from Alan congratulating me on my time. I stretch, and start to change out of my wet clothes, and put on warm-up pants, and Megan is calling me on the phone. She wants to know all about the race, and if I experienced the same thrill that she did the year before. I have to cut her off, because I am getting chilled, in between switching between wet/dry clothes. I call Laura, and find out she is just getting out of the T-station, a good 45-60 minutes after I met her at the 21 mile mark. I meet Laura near the Boston Public Garden (where they have the giant swan boats you may have seen in movies like “Fever Pitch” with Drew Barrymore.) We are both on the verge of tears, hugging and kissing each other. Laura tells me how proud of me she is, and how happy she is that I achieved one of my dreams, and I know she means it. I feel so relieved that she was able to be here, since she had started a new job, and that she saw me on the course, even if it was only once.

It turns out that our hotel is only one short block from the runner’s exit, so if you want the closest hotel to where you meet people after the marathon, stay at the Park Plaza Hotel. Just ask for a room that is not above HVAC units, because those kept me up at night some.
Laura is her usual attentive self, and she gets me ice from the hotel ice machines, and then goes back down to the street to get me a soup and sandwich. I take my time stretching, on top of the stretching I did after the race in the gear-pickup area. The water in the tub has had plenty of time to get chilled by the pounds of ice Laura dumped in. I set an alarm on my cell phone for about 12 minutes. Okay, I have done this dozens of times before, and I know it’s going to help my recovery, but it feels especially cold. I don’t know if it’s because hotel ice melts quicker, or because my body’s core temperature has still not recovered, but I’m shivering. The soles of my feet felt like they were burning up for most of the race, and now the nerve endings are so sensitive, it’s like thousands tiny, icy needles. Laura comes back with the food, and I figure it has been 10 minutes. She checks my phone’s clock, and it has only been 4 minutes. I must have misjudged the time, and I get out to drain the water, and get into a hot shower. After I’m dressed, with the heat turned up in the room, and I have the hot soup and sandwich, I feel replenished. We order a hotel movie, and I stay on the bed or sitting for a good 2 hours.
Laura is unsure about my plans to go to the post race party at Faneuil Hall, but I am feeling pretty good. My right ankle and right knee feel a little sore. It may have been due to altering my gait because of a blister under my right big toe. We leave the hotel room, to take a cab in the rain to Faneuil Hall. First we go to dinner at McCormick and Schmick’s Seafood. I have a 1.5 pound lobster dinner, and plenty of side dishes and a creamy artichoke dip for an appetizer. I have already been snacking to add calories (my GPS estimated that I expended over 3100 calories during the marathon- that gets added to my usual 2000 calories a day when I don’t run). A lot of the restaurants in this complex offer a discount to marathoners, and of course, most of us are wearing jackets, medals, caps, so it adds to the atmosphere.

After dinner we go across the complex to the post-race party. We got an extra entrance ticket for Laura from the woman who ran the 5K with her, since she flew home tonight. It is at a nightclub associated with the Irish bar “Ned Devine’s”. I guess it is named after that seminal film on Irish playboys “Waking Ned Devine”. It’s a pretty cool space once we walk up the spiral staircase (note to organizers, please don’t make runners do stairs after a race – going down is especially hard on the quads.) They have free bottled water set out, and other leftover post race snacks. Besides the bar setup, they have a room showing video of the race. In the center room is a very active DJ playing hip-hop/rap music. He has a trio of backup dancers to help him show the crowd the moves to dances. I’m kind of tired overall, but I feel like I could dance. But it’s not really my kind of music and our hands are full with drinks, water and jackets. Overall, the crowd is really active, considering the vast majority of us just ran one of the world’s toughest marathons. After a while, we meander out, and catch a cab back to the hotel. Our nightcap is Ben and Jerry’s Fudge Brownie Sundae - to bring the calorie deficit back in line. We are mainly packed, so we will fly out of Boston after a sound sleep.

Ticket to a Dream

2009-04-21T14:00:00.000-05:00

Running the Boston Marathon was everything I expected, and more. It was the perfect cap to a great weekend, and the 4 years that I have been running long distances.
Last night, we ate in Little Italy. (Laura is getting tired of pasta after 3 nights in a row). I have 2 alarms set, plus my cell phone, and I still wake up 15 minutes early. I have all my gear set up, and the coffee maker plugged in the bathroom. Earlier in the weekend, we heard Dick Beardsley talk about how his parents gave him money for graduation, and had a card that said it was for a plane ticket to fly to Boston to run the Boston Marathon. I thought that was great how they encouraged him to dream big. As I kissed Laura good-bye in the dark, I tell her “Thanks for the ticket.” Ever since I decided to run a marathon, she has believed that I could run Boston. Everyone needs someone to “buy them their ticket” to the place of their dreams, and I have my wife, Laura.

There are a lot of runners in the lobby of the hotel. I talk to a guy from Bristol, England, who actually grew up in County Tyrone, Ireland, so I talk about my Irish connections. After a cup of coffee, and visit to the last indoor plumbing I would see before the end of the race, I walk the 2 blocks to where the buses will pick us up. I cross the Boston Common, site of the Boston Massacre, and many famous speeches and gatherings in colonial, and revolutionary Boston. There are dozens of school buses lined up, with hundreds of runners waiting. I get waved over to a bus with empty seats, and I am off to Hopkinton by 6:15 am.

As we drive in the fog to outlying towns, I join a conversation with a couple of guys around me. One is grey-haired, and running his fourth Boston Marathon. The other is in his early 20’s, and running his first Boston Marathon like me. The older fellow had started running accidentally at age 55 when his thought his wife had registered him for a 5K walk, but it was a run. About six years later, and he is back at Boston for the 4th time. We talk about the races and conditions we have run in –me from Chicago, running in the 90 degree heat with Laura in 2007; The young guy was in the Lewis and Clark Marathon in Missouri, when rains influenced by Hurricane Ike flooded part of the course, and turned it into a 10 mile race. The 3-time veteran of Boston has been chased by coyotes and run near sites of mountain lion attacks near his home in Albuquerque. We have other things in common, like the Albuquerque guy was an investment advisor (I got his email for networking), and the young kid had gone to college at Concordia near Chicago – but obviously what we shared most was our love of running, in spite of conditions, at any age – that’s what gained us our initiation into this fraternity.
The conversation on our favorite topic (marathon running) passes the time quickly, and soon we are getting off the buses at the Hopkinton High School (“Where it all starts”). They have giant tents with water, Gatorade, bananas, bagels, and of course, hundreds of porta-potties, (that you know will still not be enough 15 minutes before race time). It is quite a festival atmosphere. Someone is handing out shamrock temporary tattoos saying “Boston 26.2”. I got one to match the shamrock cap, and my “Lucky shamrock socks”.

Today it is about 44 degrees at the 10 am start, and go up to about 50 by the time we neared Boston. It is mainly overcast, and rain is not expected until late afternoon. There is a light wind of about 8-10 mph starting to blow the fog away, and it supposed to pick up to 15 mph about halfway through the race. It is an ENE wind, so we will be running straight into it. Hopefully, those famous Newton Hills will block some of the wind as we plow up them. In running, especially a race, your body temperature will raise 5 degrees after about 3-5 miles, so staying warm should not be an issue once we get going. The trick is to stay warm before the race to conserve energy. I am running an a long sleeve top and shorts. I wear a billed cap to catch initially keep warm, catch the dripping sweat, and shield the sun. Even though the forecast calls for clouds, the weather can change over the course of 3-4 hours and 26.2 miles. I also wear sunglasses, because squinting , even just a little can cause you to tighten up, from the head down to your shoulders. I have cotton gloves that I have worn for hundreds of miles in cool weather, and in half my marathons. If they feel too hot or cumbersome, I’ll toss them away at a water stop.

Before the start, I have a baggy old shirt I got from a race, and some warmup-pants that are frayed, and have broken zippers. Volunteers go around the race start, and collect these “throw-aways” for Big Brothers and Sisters of the Poor. In addition, I have a golf wind-shirt to wear around the Athletes’ village. What I see at this start that I have not seen before, is a lot of people bring camp chairs and blow-up air mattresses to sit on the ground . I have been pampered at the Chicago marathon. Even for the 2 years after we raised money for the Arthritis Foundation, we were welcomed guests in their heated runners tent , with chairs and refreshments, and easily accessible porta-potties. The Buffalo marathon was so small, and we did not have to get to the start hours early. At the Green Bay Marathon, one year we had the start right near a convention center/hotel complex, and I stayed inside until 15 minutes before the start. The year I qualified, I parked my car 100 yards from the start in the parking lot at Lambeau Field, and then hung out in the indoor atrium part of the stadium. Your reward for running yourself into the ground to qualify for Boston is that you get to wait in mild discomfort before the real pain begins.

It’s all good, though, and I find a spot up against a wall, and start to talk with a local guy from a nearby town, who had been wanting to run the marathon since he grew up watching it. I’m glad I bought my cell phone, because I see a text message wishing me good luck from Scott. Last night, I got one from Gil – those guys are the next ones to get here: 3:30 in Chicago this October guys- You’ve done an Ironman- you can get to Boston. We all do an 8 minute pace, and we come back here in 2010. We saw some Multisport Madness jerseys this weekend – now we need the Southside Chapter to get here in Force!

Soon, I get a call – it’s Sue from the Park Forest Running Club. She and her husband Rob are running Boston for the third time. We make eye contact through the crowd, and I join their group of about 15 runners. Mainly, they are with the Chicago Area Runners Association (CARA), that runs in Yankee Woods in the south suburbs. Laura will be with their cheering section on the back side of heartbreak Hill. I see some of people I met at their pasta dinner the other night, and Sue shares an extra garbage bag, so I don't have to sit on the wet grass. We talk about the race, and the weekend. I make another trip to the bathroom, and I am about to consider another one when they call for runners in the first wave to drop their gear bags on the buses. I wish Sue luck, and I head out through the crowd. It's an impressive logistical feat - they have side windows of the buses open, and every 500 entrants or so pass in their gear bags to each bus. They will drive back to downtown Boston, where we claim them at the finish. I keep the bare minimum, and I start following the crowd to the start. It looks like we have to walk about 3/4 mile to the starting corrals. With my 3:30 time, I am in the second-to-last corral of the first wave start. Just as I get to the entrance of the corral, they sing the National Anthem. As I show my bib number to enter the corral, some Navy fighter jets do a flyover. (Of course, they will make it Boston even faster than the elites.) As the time gets closer, I peel off my cotton long-sleeve shirt, and the track pants, and pass them to a volunteer collecting them. Hopkinton is a postcard New England town, with white clapboard churches, and general stores. We ooze forward to the start, and we hear the gun, but it takes 5-8 minutes for me to get to the starting line. People are cheering us madly, and the course starts on a downhill, so I'm careful not to run too fast at the start. But the size of the crowd of runners prevents that.

As we run down the winding Route 135 out of Hopkinton, I am in awe to be following the course that so many great runners have followed before me for over one hundred years. I thought I would be super anxious and nervous, but I feel pretty calm. The first six miles are like a roller-coaster at a carnival. It's like a Mardi-Gras for runners. Still, I manage to keep my pace around 8 minutes for the first mile. If my downhill pace starts to get faster than 7:30 minutes per mile, I slow it down, because going to fast on the downhills can wear out your quadriceps when you need them later in the race.

I find myself picking out the same few runners to try to keep pace with, but we have different paces on the varying terrain and hills. I skip the first water stop, and when I stop to get Gatorade, the middle table I happen to pick does not have any poured. I don't want to get low in sodium like I did in the Green Bay marathon, so I come to a stop to wait while the volunteer pours one. A guy who picked up his cup at the table before, plows into me, and spills his drink on my arm. I'm glad I have long sleeves on.

There are some impressive runners running alongside me, not as many characters as you see in the Chicago Marathon, but the few here are good ones. Like an man and woman in colonial garb - Pinned to her back it says "The British Are Coming". On his back, it says "The Kenyans are Long Gone." Later, I will hear everyone cheering for Wonder Woman. When she catches up to me, she is a middle aged woman, in full costume- flesh colored tights, headpiece, and I think a fake wig to give her the dark hair.

Laura wrote out a sticker with my name on it, and I slapped it on my chest. About every half mile, I get people cheering out "Go Tom!", and it really helps keep my energy and focus up. We segue from the town centers of places like Framingham and Natick, to the rural outskirts flanked by ponds, and cranberry bogs. As I run, I exchange words with a few fellow runners, commenting on the crowd, or finding people who talk about running Chicago. But I don't really get synced up with anyone and start a conversation. For the last 3 marathons, I have run with Tom Flynn, run with a pace group, and run with my wife. So, it seems different not having that interchange. But I'm soaking it all in, and enjoying the crowd. I keep hearing the crowd chant for someone named "Laura", and it reminds me of when Laura had her name on her shirt, and it feels like she is with me today.

After about 6 miles, the course gets flatter, but still has winding turns and short hills every so often. I have a timer on my GPS watch set to let me know when 45 minutes elapses, because that is recommended time to take a Gel pack. We start to see groups offering beer along the way, but I don't notice any runners take any. People along the course have turned it into a part. One group seems to have rented a "Dino-jump" inflatable to keep their kids happy while they watch the race. In one of the towns, there is a a group of about 10 kids bouncing on mini-trampolines as we run by. It seems to be a gymnastics team or school. Today is a holiday in the state of Massachusetts - Patriot's Day, commemorating Paul Revere's ride to warn that the British Are Coming.

Around 10 miles, it starts to feel like a race, and I realize that I am in this for the long haul. It's weird, but I seem to run faster up some of the hills, because I am focused on charging up them, while I try to slow down on the downhills to save my quads. Pretty soon, we are coming by one of the famous parts of the race at around mile 12- Wellesley College, the all-women's school where the young women scream for about a half mile, and offer kisses to runners. I run by high-fiving, and one calls out "Nice Shamrock!", so I stop to let her kiss it. A few dozen yards later, a girl has a sign that says "Kiss Me. I'm Irish", so I tell her "Me, too!", and peck her on the cheek. It's pretty exhilarating and impressive that they are out here for 5-6 hours. I'm not sure if it has raised my energy, or sapped it when I am past them, but it was a nice distraction.

I have not been too concerned about my pace, but I can tell I am slowing down. I try to pick up speed when I can. At times, the wind chills me, and I feel my arms sore from pumping up the hills. My right calf feels tight, and I try to ease my stride, keep getting Gatorade, so I don't get a cramp. If it still is tight in a mile or two, I'm going to stop and stretch it. I also can feel some aches in my knee and ankle. There's a blister on my right foot, I think my sock has bunched up underneath my toe. My back and arms hurt, but I don't think it's because I am tense, I must be pumping my arms going up the hills.

Besides finishing this race, one of my goals is not to be crushed by the Newton Hills, and not to walk up Heartbreak. I start thinking about Laura running in the Chicago Marathon, and our friend Michelle battling cancer. Their pain dwarfs what I'm feeling, and is with them every day. Mine will subside in a few hours, and the soreness will be gone in few days, provided I don't injure myself. I feel so lucky to be running in this marathon, I want to honor it by running strong, not necessarily fast, per-se.

I pass mile 17, and we make a sharp turn near the Firehouse in Newton, so I know the Newton Hills are coming up. When I get some water for a Gu, I walk, and make sure I ingest the whole pack. I want to make sure I have fuel for these hills. When I was riding a spin bike for my cross-training, one of the songs on my I-Pod was "Heavy Fuel" by Dire Straits. It's a very tongue-in-cheek song about a hard-living guy who says "If you wanna' run cool, you've gotta run on Heavy, Heavy Fuel,", which for him is "Six hamburgers and scotch all night, nicotine for breakfast just to put me right". Not my lifestyle exactly, but the driving beat sticks in my head as I take these hills on the way to Heartbreak. People call out my name, calling good job. The next couple of miles have several very long hills. People are lining the course, and I need the help. At some point I realize that I don't have my name stuck on my shirt anymore. I focus on being ready for Heartbreak Hill, and I'll see Laura right after that. I see the hill, and people have signs up and there is chalk written on the sidewalk. I hear a guy panting next to me, and I call out to encourage him. I'm sure my pace is slow, but once I'm past this, any more hills will seem easy. I get to the top, and I am cognizant of not trying to speed up on the downhill (like I even could).

Now we are at the campus of Boston College, and I am supposed to see Laura and the Yankee Runners group. As we get to the heart of the college, the crowd is thunderous - the bass section to Wellesely's soprano screamers. Even Laura's cheering would be drowned out by this. I want to glide down this hill and cut a tangent on the curve, but I slow down by the right side, looking for Laura and the Dunkin' Donuts they are supposed be hanging out by. In Chicago, roadside Dunkin Donuts usually are in cookie cutter buildings with big signs. In Boston and New England, they seem to be in picturesque, unique building s with more discreet signage. So, I am starting to worry that I will miss my one chance to see her. Then, I see the Dunkin Donuts on the left, and as I am scanning the crowd, I see her. I can feel my face light up, I'm slowed down so much that she can't really get a picture of me running, so much as sauntering up her. I give her a kiss, and tell her I love her. Then she starts to tell me to "Go, get going". She has the misguided idea that I could actually PR in this race. I want to enjoy this accomplishment, and share it with her, so I
ask someone in the group to take our picture, and then my competitive wife pushes me on my way.

There is more of a downhill, and then it seems like we are getting into a more populated area outside Boston. A lot of people are out grilling, and the smell makes you hungry. We are running alongside the tracks of the "T", the light rail system that Laura will take back into Boston. People are meandering along one of the tracks, so I don't know if the train runs on only one track today. The crowds are like the ones in the Chicago Marathon, now, 4-5 deep, hanging out of windows of apartment buildings. I see the Citgo sign, and I keep chugging. Megan gave a card with that Citgo sign on it after she ran Boston, and I was going to try to qualify. I posted above a rack with my other marathon medals to give a pinnacle to aspire to. Now that pinnacle was in sight. I was past mile 24, and heading to 25. I knew a while back that a 3:30 time was not possible today, but 4 hours was well in reach, if I did not break down. We must be in the area near the Red Sox game. I'm not sure if it is over yet, but I heard along the way that they were winning. Commonwealth Avenue is a broad boulevard separated by the T-tracks and pedestrian bridges. There must be a guy near me with "James" written on his shirt, because whole blocks of guys chant "James! James! James!" as he comes by. I wish I had written my name on my shirt, then I could hear that cheering for me to pump me up at the end.

As we turn off Commonwealth Ave, I imagine how incredible it must have been for Dick Beardsley and Alberto Salazar to hear the crowds cheering for them as they battled to an epic finish. I recognize the Hynes Convention Center where I have spent a lot of time this week, so I know the remaining distance to the finish line. I try to use what little kick I have today. I hear the announcer calling people's names and hometowns, and I want to hear mine from this storied reviewing stand. I pass a couple of people. The clock time is under 4 hours, still so I know my finish will be close to 3:50, probably under. I smile and raise my arms for the camera, and I go under the finish stand. Crowds are cheering on both sides, and its time to get my best medal ever.

Watching from the Sidelines

2009-04-19T13:55:00.005-05:00

On Sunday morning, we get over to the race staging area for Laura to run the Inaugaral BAA 5K. We meet a woman leaving our hotel who apparently trusts us enough after the 5 minute walk to leave me her cell phone and credit card until after the race. I stake a spot out in the bleachers near the finish. They have a race announcer and a JumboTron, so it is pretty cool. The top men's finisher does a 14:29, and the woman runs a 17:37. The fourth place woman was only 5 seconds behind at 17:42 (and 2 seconds out of 3rd place) - Joan Benoit Samuleson, 1983 Boston Marathon Champion, and winner of the first Women's Olympic Marathon in 1984 in Los Angeles. (Joan is now 51!) Katherine Switzer was instrumental in getting the women's marathon added to the Olympics. Laura saw "Kathy" moving to the back of the pack before the race, and after race was talking to Joan. At first Joan was going to take a finisher's medal, but when she saw that Laura's had "Inagural BAA 5K", she decided to pick it up.

After the 5K, they had an Invitational Mile race, another first for Boston. First they had two top High School runners from every town along the marathon route run. The girls finished in about 5:10. The boys in about 4:37. It was three loops around the city block by the finish line, and real exciting with the video screen, and the announcers. There was a real strategy, and it was definitely more about winning than a certain time. I talked to the coach of one of the girls teams, and she said they treated the kids great, and gave them about $500 in merchandise.

The elite men finished in about 4:11. The woman's elite field featured Carrie Tollefson, and Shalane Flanagan, an up and coming Boston runner. Shalane lead most of the race, but the woman that trailed her (Anna Willard) until the final lap, pulled ahead in the last 200 meters to win in 4:38. It was pretty exciting. I don't watch many races, because I am usually running myself. So, it was a nice change to see this, and get psyched up for the marathon tomorrow. The rest of the day is about rest, carbs, salt and fluids.

Whirlwinds and Legends at the Expo

2009-04-18T08:50:00.002-05:00

It's been a whirlwind weekend in Boston, and the marathon hasn't even started. On Friday afternoon we arrived to 70 degree temperatures, and it stayed in the 60's all night. We got to the marathon expo by 5:30, and Laura went to get her 5K bib, and I went to get my marathon bib and chip. (They had never sent me the confirmation card, so I was a little nervous about that.) I also made sure I picked up an official marathon jacket, because we heard that they sell out quickly on Saturday. Overall, the expo and packet pickup was well organized, but I have to say that the Chicago Marathon expo in McCormick Place has a better layout. You might think that its an advantage that the expo is within walking distance of the downtown hotels in Boston, but I have felt the energy drain in my legs from walking back there 3-4 times. In Chicago, you have to drive, or take a cab or bus to get there.

On Saturday morning we got a kind of late start, because we slept in until 9 am (even 8 am Chicago time is late for me). We decided to change hotels because the Hyatt Downtown Boston was a little too far from the expo and the finish line for us. We switched to the Park Plaza Hotel, which is classy old hotel, we just have a smaller room. There are also a lot more restaurants and shops in the neighborhood of this hotel. It was 12:30 before we got to the expo, and we just missed seeing our friend Dick Beardsley the New Balance Booth. His time for signing autographs was up, and he only had a half hour break before he was going to speak at a Runners World Panel. we were confident he would have his autographed book for us, so we decided to catch up with him at the panel. So, we went over to the Adidas "booth", the official merchandiser of the Boston Marathon. This was about the size of medium-sized grocery store. I saw a cool singlet I wanted to get, another guy was sorting through the racks to find a medium, and his wife came over with one. Then my wife, the Power Shopper that she is retraced her steps, and got me one. Now the only thing was that the line to check out snaked around the entire exhibit, BEFORE you got to the official roped-off line to the cash registers. I spent almost an hour in the line, but I did have a nice chat with runners from New Jersey and Minneapolis. When I finished that, I popped into a panel discussion, the Runners World "Legends". Besides Dick Beardsley, there was Amby Burfoot, the '68 Boston Champio, and Greg Meyer, who in 1983 was the last American male to win Boston, and Katherine Switzer, who in 1967 was the first American woman to officially run Boston. (She snuck past their "men-only" rule at the time by registering as "K.V. Switzer", and the race-director, Jock Semple, tried to drag her off the course. ) Laura just finished Katherine's book I bought for her - "Marathon Woman: Running the Race to Revolutionize Women's Sports" . Laura told Katherine her own story about how she had to fight her high school to run on the boy's cross-country team, because there was no girls team yet in the early Title IX era. Katherine autographed her book "It's not just running, its overcoming the impossible. You rock, girl!". We heard Katherine talk about the changes in women's running, women's sports, and the worldwide condition of women since then. Greg Meyer talked about epic running battles in the Boston marathon and trying to keep up with the legends while he worked in Bill Rodgers' running store, and trained. Dick told a variant on the story that's told in the book about him "Duel in the Sun: The Story of Alberto Salazar, Dick Beardsley, and America's Greatest Marathon", where Beardsley and Salazar ran neck and neck the whole way to a world-record time, with Beardsley finishing just 1.7 seconds behind Salazar. Salazar acknowledged the great competition they had just been in by lifting Beardsley hand in victory in the podium. Dick said that has meant the most to him of anything in his running career. After the talk, we came up to Dick, and he greeted us like old friends with hugs and smiles, and a two-handed handshake. He asked about Laura's arthritis, and congratulated me on making it to Boston. He had a copy of the book he wrote, "Staying the Course", which is about how he resurrected his running career and his life after becoming addicted to painkillers after a farming accident nearly killed him. He is an inpsirational speaker, but also a genuinely warm, upbeat human being. He autographed a copy of the donated book to give to our benefit for our friend Michelle, who is battling cancer. Later in the afternoon, I went for my last run before the marathon. Our hotel is only a couple blocks from Boston Commons, which is about a mile square park criss-crossed by paths. I only had 3 miles to run, but 2 of them are supposed to be at my goal marathon pace of 8 minutes per mile, so that is a little fast for a city park with kids, and frisbee players. But there are other runners, and I try not to cut people off. There are some good hills in one corner of the park. Of course, just like I have a tendency to do, I go too fast at first. But it feels good to go out and run. I have been surrounded by others runners, talking about running for 2 days, and finally, I am running in Boston! I go back to the hotel to stretch and shower, and then Laura and I cross the street to Maggianos. A group from our favorite running store, Running for Kicks in Palos Heights, IL is hear with about 25 people. The owner, Mel Diab qualified, and is shooting for about a 3:30-3:45 time like me. Mel and his staff have beena great help to me and a lot of other runners in the South Suburbs and around Chicago. He puts on a number of races throughout the year in the south suburbs, his signature one being the Palos Turkey Trot 4 miler on Thanksgiving day in hilly Palos Park, IL. Last year he started the Palos Half Marathon, which I used as a 13 mile training run 2 weeks before I qualified for Boston in the Green Bay marathon. Mel's group has 2 tables, and we know a handful of people from the running community in our area. About 15 of them are going to run the Boston marathon, and about 10 are going to watch it. It's kind of early for us to join them for dinner, but we get information on where their group will be, so Laura can meet them at Heartbreak Hill. South-side of Chicago, Represent!

You Are Now Free to Move About the Country

2009-04-17T18:06:00.000-05:00

Today we leave for Boston. The last couple of days have been really hectic. My wife is working full-time, and I have been trying to keep the house under control, look for a job, help with the fundraising benefit we are involved with, and get ready for Boston. People have been emailing and calling me to wish me luck, and it’s been really uplifting. I started running because I wanted an exercise where I wasn’t reliant on a gym being open, or making an exercise class, or having enough guys on a team. While I do all of my weekday runs, and half of my long runs by myself; I don’t feel like I’m going it alone. If Laura sees me when I come back, she wants to know how my run was, and I get to replay it for her. Or if I am debating over a certain route to run the next day, she listens, and sometimes will comment what she knows about which direction the wind is supposed to be in the morning, or mention that some people in her triathlon club are running in a certain place. And there are so many people that we know that are runners, or want to run, or are curious about our quirky habits like “carb-loading”, and “fartleks”.
Today will be my second rest day this week. Yesterday, I rode a bike at the health club for half an hour. Earlier in the week, I swam for 40 minutes. Everything feels good so far. I think I will run about 3 miles near the finish tomorrow, and then also take off Sunday to watch Laura run the 5K.
I am nervous and excited. Part of it is the race, and also some stress about finding work and things that we need to get done at home. I am hoping that with 3 days in Boston before the race, we will soak in the atmosphere and I will put that out of my mind. The trick is to mainly use this computer for blogging, and not for checking email, or writing cover letters for jobs. We are flying east towards Boston now, so I’m on my way.

All Downhill From Here

2009-04-15T13:51:00.000-05:00

My last week before the marathon only calls for me to run 3 times. But since Boston is run on a Monday, and my last long run was on Saturday, I figure I can get in one more run, if I don’t make it too strenuous.

I drop of our copy of our state tax return at the post office (I “e-filed” the federal last week), and I drive over to an empty subdivision about a mile/two west of my house. I read in Runners World that it was good to get used to running downhill for Boston, but doing it in a more controlled way. So I chose this spot because it is near the peak of a 2 long, gradual hills. I run about ¾ mile to warmup, and I head down one of the hills. I want to keep my speed close to 7:30, only 30 seconds per minute faster than my goal marathon pace. But within a few hundred yards, I am showing 6:19 per mile. I slow that up and see the Garmin GPS watch show 8:00, so I maintain that speed, and I let gravity and momentum gradually increase my speed until it’s about 7:40 minutes per mile. This is a cool road, it transitions from the empty subdivision to a 150 year-old cemetery, with a gated estate next to it, and a big bond with a horse barn on the other side of it. Even though there is no shoulder to buffer you from the cars, it is wooded, and hilly, so it is a diversion from the cookie-cutter suburban streets. I get close to the bottom of the hill, where a small bridge goes over a creek. I have run a half-mile downhill, so I turn around and jog back up. I give myself some chances to walk, which I almost never do, unless I need to stop to tie my shoe, or fix something with my running gear.

I go past where my car is parked, and climb further up to the crest of the hill. Now, I am at the top of what my wife calls “the Never-ending hill” We usually run from the other direction from our house, and this street winds through the neighborhood, first with a steep downhill dip/hill, and then a series of gradual plateaus to where I am at. I run the half mile or so down this hill, keeping my speed between 7:30 and 8:00. Before I get to the bottom, I see a walking path that creates a shortcut back to where my car is. I want to keep the distance down, and I think this route will not go as much uphill as reversing my route.
As I run though this nature path easement between the developed neighborhood, and the empty subdivision, I think about the effect of the housing mortgage crisis on this area. Not just that I am out of work, but that this is a hole in our community. There haven’t been any problems that I can see, but it is sad that several hundred lots sit vacant. As I get closer to my car, I see a truck drive by, and I hear hammering. Through the tree line, I see one house being built, next to a model home that has been there for a while. Maybe the economy is starting to turn. Going uphill isn’t easy, but you have to do it to get to the top.

Band of Brothers (and Sisters)

2009-04-11T13:06:00.007-05:00

Today was a 10 mile run - my last long run before the Boston Marathon. I met Megan, and we had run about 3 miles when we saw Bill, wearing his Boston Marathon jacket, the same one I used to see him come into the health club wearing about 5 years ago when I got the itch to run a marathon, and dare to dream about earning the right to wear that jacket. Bill ran with us a couple of miles, before he spun off to run back home, about 2 miles north of the trail.

I'm getting down to the last week before running Boston. I'm excited about the event, but I'm also feel very grateful for the journey. I have gotten a lot of help from many people I have run with - both those that have pulled me along in their wake, to run faster, and those who have taught me the real meaning of endurance, as they move along at their own pace, in spite of challenges and setbacks.

I have been lucky enough to personnally know about 8-10 people who have run the Boston Marathon. I have either run, biked or trained with them in some way:

Bill
Chris
Megan
Nicole (in the picture above with me at the 2005 Chicago Marathon)
Helen
MJ
Pam
Sue
Donna

Oh, yeah, another Boston Qualifier I have run with - Dick Beardsley - 2nd place to Alberto Salazar in the 1982 Boston Marathon, by about 2 seconds. The other picture is me with Dick, the keynote speaker at the Arthritis Foundation's Pre-Marathon Pasta Dinner - with his opening act - the Lovely Laura Nolan, famous for her Energizer Commercial for the Chicago Marathon.

I once heard a storyteller say that we make great strides when we stand on the shoulders of those that came before us. I have to thank them for letting me stand on their shoulders (or step on their heels a few times). They gave me example of dedication and perserverance.
Beyond the times we have spent running/biking/or swimming, what they showed me is an appreciation of this accomplishment and the Boston experience.

I'm proud to join this "...few, we happy few, we band of brothers (and sisters)".

A Good Run (not spoiled)

2009-04-10T13:41:00.002-05:00

The Master's Tournament is in full swing this weekend. I'm not a huge golf fan, (some call it "A Good Walk Spoiled")but I like sports, and this is the big Kahuna. You have Tiger coming back from knee surgery, my Irish homey Padraig Harrington trying to build on his success last year, and 54 year old Greg Norman back knocking at the door (I suppose to keep his new wife Chrissie Evert in the style she is accustommed to).

They did a survey of golfers, and asked them which they would choose:

Playing a round of golf at Augusta National where the Masters is held; or -
A date with Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model Bar Refaeli.

78% of the Golfers chose Augusta.

That made me realize that the Boston Marathon is Augusta for runners. So, I guess I'm living the dream.

Winding Down, Stretching Out

2009-04-09T13:31:00.003-05:00

Once you get your last 13 mile run behind you, there is a drop off in mileage in marathon training. However, most programs encourage you to still keep the intensity level up. What is nice about the FIRST program is that the paces are still pretty brisk for this week. On Tuesday, I ran 5 x 1000 meter intervals. The pace was supposed to be 4:03 per 1K. I only hit that in the last two, but I was under 4:09 for all of them, so I thought that was good.

Yesterday, I swam, and last night I got a massage. My wonderful wife arranged these monthly massages during my Boston Marathon training, including one just before the race, and another right after. It helped work out that knot in my glute. My massage therapist is really good at recommending stretches, too. She offered to stretch me out this weekend after my 10 mile run. She has done a few marathons and triathlons herself, so she is very in-tuned to runners bodies. I will take her up on her offer, and I am planning to compensate her with my special Baileys-Chocolate Chip Irish Soda Bread. The chocolate appeals to her German half, and the soda bread/Baileys to her Irish half.

Today, I ran 6 miles - a 2 mile warmup. Then 3 miles at 7:14 pace, and a 1 mile cooldown. I made sure that I stretched a lot after the run.

The Lone Runner

2009-04-04T15:10:00.003-05:00

Today I have a 13 mile run. It is a lot shorter than the 18 and 20 miles that have been the staple of my weekends for months. But, the prescribed pace in my training plan is 8 minutes per mile. That, not so coincidentally, is the goal pace in the marathon, too. The idea is to get my body used to that pace before I (try to) run it in the Boston Marathon in 2 weeks and 2 days. I know I can run 13 miles at an 8 minute pace. My first half marathon, 4 years ago was at that pace. I have run several half marathons at faster than that pace since then. The component that I have to watch is my mind, and my focus. As my body tapers off the longer runs, my legs may feel like they are able to run a 7:30 pace for 4-5 miles. But that could wear me out for the last 4-5 miles. Or, I could be cruising along for 8-9 miles, right at 8 minute splits – but if I lose focus, I could drift down to an 8:15 or 8:30 pace. The prevailing wisdom in marathons and half marathons is to have an even pace throughout, or run the first half slower, and the second half, a few seconds per mile faster. Of course, that works best for flat courses, and Boston is all over the (elevation) map.

I see someone I know from the health club getting ready to start a run with a friend. He doesn’t recognize me at first, with a black skull cap, dark sunglasses and black tights. We say hi, and it looks like he and his friend are ready to go before I am. I wouldn’t mind running with them, because the guy I know wants to qualify for Boston in a fall marathon, and he will need close to the same time I had (or maybe 5 minutes slower). We have run together before, and he can definitely keep up with me- but I’m not sure how much of a runner his friend is; he looks younger, but stockier.

Today I am not the best prepared. I left the house without any gel packs, and this is when I am supposed to finalize running with my race gear, shoes and nutrition. Now I realize that I did not grab mt nylon running shell. It is about 35 degrees, so it is good to have a vented windbreaker, that you can unzip if you warm up. I had dressed in a softer polyester warmup jacket, which I like to wear afterwards. It is heavier, and more of a porous fabric, so it does not guard against wind or rain. Well, you go with what you got, so off I go.

Today I am going to run out and back on the Old Plank Road Trail, west from downtown Frankfort through the south end of my town, Mokena. The Old Plank Road was an “old, plank road”, a road made out of wooden boards. It ran through this part of the state in the later 1800’s. Later, a railroad was built, but fell into disuse. So, about 15-20 years ago, a group worked with the parks, and forest preserves to turn the unused railroad right-of-way into a mixed use trail. It is a great resource to the area, and it’s amazing to think that some homeowners in the area resisted it. Now, I see that houses near it list the trail in their ads as a selling point, so it definitely has increased property values (and lowered blood pressure).

About 3 miles west, there is a spur going north across US Route 30, reaching into a Will County forest preserve holding. They call it the Hickory Creek Junction, but there are 3-4 paths with Hickory Creek in their name around here, so we just call it "the hilly loop".

Just before I get there, I almost catch up to the guys I followed. I was not trying to, because my pace was fast as it was. They keep going straight. This path is going to get hilly, which is what I want. I should end up with 8 miles flat, and about 5 miles of hills. My wife Laura told me some people from her tri-club were going to go to Lemont to run the route of the Quarryman Challenge today. It’s a 10 mile race happening in May, in one of the hilliest areas around Chicago. I would have loved to have trained on that terrain, but this far into my training, it might be too intense. Plus, the pace I am looking for would be hard to hold on all hills for 13 miles.

So, I stick to my home turf here as I run towards my home in this wooded area, with about a half-dozen deer grazing under power lines in the distance. I keep my pace close to 8/8:15 per mile, and I count on picking up speed on some of the downhill stretches. I come up to the turnaround point near Schoolhouse Road in New Lenox, right across from Lincoln-Way Central High School. I am wearing new shoes today (the ones I will wear for Boston). This is about my 8th pair of Mizuno Wave Riders. I break in a new pair every 200-300 miles, and I wear the older ones in lousy weather/muddy paths, and use the newer ones for races and long runs. My feet have been feeling like they are slipping in the toebox, which is odd, because this is the same size I have had for all my other pairs. Even though I prefer not to stop during my runs, I decide to stop and re-tie these shoes (which I am terrible at). I usually put self-tying elastic shoelaces in my running shoes (Yankz). I just haven’t got around to it for this pair. This will also give me a chance to stretch, because a couple of days ago, my left glute started to feel tight. Most of my aches are below the knee, and a lot of people get hamstring or quad problems. It hasn’t been hindering me, but it is such a big muscle, I want to keep an eye on it.

The last ¾ miles have been uphill, so as I come out of the woods to the parking lot, the flatter terrain allows me to speed up. A couple of women have just crossed the street at the stop light, and are angling toward the same spot as me on different branch of the path. We all stop by the tables/water fountain/bathrooms. They seem like pretty good runners, and are talking about one of them not noticing something the other did or was wearing when she was in front of her. So I chime in – “Sort of convenient that she doesn’t remember details when you’re in front of her.” They laugh about this, and one of the says “Well I hate it when someone with a dog is able to pass you”. So I counter with "getting passed by a Mom with a baby jogger". We trade info about the routes we ran, they say 7-8, I tell them I’m halfway to 13. They say that they can’t even think about that. As I start to head off, I say “Well I have to; I have 26.2 to run in Boston in 2 weeks”. They hoot out, “Oh, you are a good runner, if you’re running Boston!”, seeing through my self-deprecating remarks about the baby jogger.

And the man in black runs into the sunrise …

100 Miles Down - 26.2 to Go

2009-03-27T10:47:00.002-05:00

Today I am running my last of five 20 mile runs. The F.I.R.S.T program has you alternate between 20 miles, then 18, then 20, then 15, then 20 again. You have to work at that recovery in order to come back for long runs. My first line of defense is an ice bath after any run 13 miles and more. I also make sure I get protein to repair the microtears in muscles caused by running that far. This week I am cheating a bit, because it is not a full week since my long run last Saturday. But the weather is nice today, and I am going to start my run before 6 am, and meet Megan at 6:45, so she can run 10 miles or more, and get back to take her kids to school.

I woke up at 4:45 am to get my son to his off-season football conditioning. I am somewaht glad to have this obligation -first because I am proud of the dedication he puts into football, and secondly, because once you have the habit of waking up early to workout or run several days a week - it is worth keeping it, because it is hard to get back into that routine after sleeping late.

My next stop is our health club, to bring a lockbox with tickets and money for our sales for our friend Michelle's benefit. One of the other trainers is going to staff the table starting at 6 am, and I notice she is into her own workout, so that means she got here at 5 am. As of Thursday evening, we had raised $4,500, so it has been a profitable, and uplifting week, to see the support from Michelle's friends and patrons of her healthclub - Body Tech Total Fitness in Mokena.

When I get to the running path, it is still dark and cold out. I put on a lighted reflective wristband, so I can be seen by any cars when come out of the trails to cross streets. It is sort of eerie to run through woods this early in the morning. But it's not as remote as some of the other paths, because yards back up to this linear path. This is one of the rare times when I don't see a single other person on the path. I get 4 miles in, and meet Megan at about 6:45 am. My pace has already been close to 8 minutes, so I make sure we don't go out too fast so I can hit an 8:15 pace for all 20 miles. We run the hilly loop, which gives us 11.25 miles. By the time we are halfway through, the sun is warming us. We meet Scott from the Park Forest Club. He shifted the Saturday Run to today, too. I feel bad abandoning the group, because I just won an essay contest they had to publish an article in the club newsletter. I re-used one of my Blog postings about running with Pat, the Navy Vet. (I even won $100! It's a economic stimulus package for unemployed runners!) I decide to leave water out for them tomorrow, even though I'm not running with them.

Just as Megan peels off to run home, I get a call from a friend who works for the Federal Government. I sent her my resume to review, because she has experience in HR. I talk to her for a few minutes about negotiating the hiring process. I walk and stretch, and then she has to get to a meeting. So after that 5 minute break - I finish up with 4 more miles, and I'm done. The next time I run over 20 miles, I'm not stopping until Boylston Street.

(Black) Swan Song

2009-03-25T13:34:00.001-05:00

I had planned for today to be a rest day. I was going to run hills with Megan tomorrow, but the timing will be tricky with her kids in school. Plus, it looks like Saturday will be nasty, cold rainy weather. So, I’m thinking about using my new “flexibility” to do my last 20 mile run on Friday. The only tricky part is that means I need to get a tempo run in today. I already agreed to meet with my old boss, and explain some transitional items to him. It was bittersweet – I had to turn in my signed severance agreement, and check some HR items out. But people were very gracious, and genuinely wished me well. Before I knew it, I was there for over 6 hours. There is a financial theory called “the Black Swan”, which says that planning for 99.99% occurrences is not enough- there is that one in a million event that can be so out of the ordinary – like a ”Black Swan”. My office mate had a professor at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business who developed this theory. Last summer, I suggested that we have this academic speak at our conference of mortgage banking clients. There was no response, so I’m not sure if a Black Swan or an Ostrich was the operative bird, but in any case, the chickens have come home to roost.
I am going to miss the office, which had great camaraderie, which I was in the middle of – in my own way. Although I was one of the oldest, I was known as the marathon runner in the group, since I had actually run more than just one or two marathons. People came to me for advice, and I think I encouraged and helped them. I started our Chase Corporate Challenge team, and we had teams for 5 years. At first, I was the fastest one on the team, but we have some fast young guys who are almost a minute per mile faster than me for these short races.
I take home the personal papers and accumulated personal hygiene items, and I am headed home from this downtown Chicago High-rise for the last time. I get home just before 5 pm. I check with my wife on the ETA for dinner, and I figure I can get in my seven mile tempo run. I am supposed to run at an 8 minute pace, but every mile is under 8 minutes, and about half of them are right about 7:30. It’s windy and it’s a hilly route, but it’s amazing how stress can make you faster.

The Real Long Run

2009-03-23T08:44:00.000-05:00

Today, I get up early to sell raffle tickets at our health club. We are raising money for my wife’s friend whose breast cancer has come back for the third time – and this time it has spread to her organs and bones. Her lifetime medical benefits are running out, so we are holding a fundraising benefit to ease her family’s expenses. Michelle is personal trainer at Body Tech Total Fitness in Mokena. She was the one who got my wife Laura to start competing in triathlons. We are going to have a table here and sell tickets, water bottles, and bracelets all week.
I take the table for an hour, and pass it off to some friends, and then my wife shows up. It seems to be going well. I go home, and do my speed workout – ten 400 meter repeats at 1:35. It’s tough, but I get most them between 1:30 and 1:3.

Somehow, the discomfort of this pace, or the anxiety over my unemployment doesn’t seem so bad in the grand scheme of things.

Wheels of Fortune

2009-03-22T08:24:00.000-05:00

My wife talked me into going on a bike ride with her tri-club friends today. It is supposed to get as warm as 60 degrees. Usually, this group leaves at 7:30, but a few of us decided 9 am would give it time to warm up. Yesterday, I ran into a friend who told me her husband was going to be riding with my good friend, John today. So, I called John, and told him they should join us on our ride. Later in the day, we saw the time was changed to 9:30 am, so I had to let John know. We get it straightened out, and John meets us, and we have about 8 of us. Just then , his friend Ron, texts him, and asks “Up for a Ride today?” John takes a picture of us on our bikes, and texts him back the answer. Unfortunately, Ron is 15 miles away, and won’t be able to meet us.
We get started riding on the Old Plank trail. Rich is a really strong rider, and takes the lead. One of the women is not so strong, but determined, so our line gets drawn out. We are close to 15 mph starting out. I like these rides, but during my marathon training, I avoid pedaling in the upper gears. They recommend a faster spin rate to simulate the fast foot turnover you want running. I can keep this up for 20-30 miles, but the group is talking about riding to a town called Elwood,

(Map to Elwood), which is about 42 miles round trip. My cross training days are supposed to be 45-60 minutes, not 2-3 hours.
It’s a gorgeous day, and there is not much wind yet. We head west on a pretty desolate country road. Now we start picking up the pace to 18-21 mph. My friend John is 6’6”, and has a really steady pedaling cadence, so he is great to draft behind.(now you know why I invited him!). Actually, John is one of my good friends, and I want to tell him about my unemployment situation – both for ideas, and also for reassurance. We have some in-depth soul-searching talks on these rides, about careers, religion, our children, our marriages, getting older- and the normal, sports, cars, home repairs, funny movies, beers, and our glory days as teenagers in the ‘70’s. Today he tells me that his brother works for Blue Cross, which he thinks is doing well, so I should pass on my resume. A few years ago, I thought that I should learn how to play golf, because that is what guys in business do. I got a book, and went to the range, and I started to try to play with friends. On a business outing with clients, I was awful. I guess I should have taken lessons. It’s not that I don’t like to golf, but if I invest so much time, I want to get something back, like an improvement in my health, or a medal. As I started to get serious about running (which made cycling easier), I found that people I met really wanted to talk about it- my colleagues, and my clients. What I have concluded is what people like about golf is – Camaraderie (including shared frustration and misery); Dedication to improvement; Passion about the journey. Acknowledgement of accomplishments - both your own and others. All of those things are there in running and endurance sports for me, so when I meet people with similar interests or aspirations, it creates a bond. This weekend, I have made two connections related to my job search, and the previous miles I have covered with these guys will pave the way for introductions.
John, Rich and I are leading the front, but we are so far ahead that we have to stop and wait. It sounds like John wants to go for a ride with his wife later, so we decide to turn around at the Chicagoland Speedway on the outskirts of Joliet, which will give me about 28 miles roundtrip. We see another group heading east right before the turnaround point, including one of the triathlon coaches, who invites us to join them for the ride back. We still haven’t sorted out who is staying and who is going, so we wave them ahead. I kiss my wife goodbye, and one of the other guys says “Where’s my kiss?”. I tell him I just met him, but I think he was referring to my wife. We ride back, and John and I hold back to ride with the slower riders. I don’t mind because this makes my cross-training less taxing, and keep in low gear. We reach a point where we have to wait for traffic to cross a street, and we end up waiting for someone in the group who couldn’t make it across with us. When we get started again, John and I are in the lead, and we just get farther and farther ahead. It is only about 5 miles to go, and they know the way. John picks a different street to turn on, and we end up cutting through a subdivision. That’s one of the great things about bike rides with John – he carves out different paths – sometimes we get chased by dogs, or see cows standing in the middle of the road; ride on gravel roads, or pick our bikes up to cross bridges under reconstruction.
John heads off the trail towards his house, and I go back to the parking lot where my van is parked. When I get there, I see John’s wife with their son, riding bikes. I tell her that John just went home to meet up with her, but it seems like they missed the connection. At least I got ride 10-12 miles with my wife. She’ll put on 40+ miles today, but biking is her thing, and running is mine.

Running with the Pack

2009-03-21T21:33:00.005-05:00

Today is 4 weekends until Boston. But I have a slight speed-bump in my plans. late afternoon on Thursday, I was informed that my department, and hence my job was being eliminated. Considering that my company provided software and consulting to mortgage banks, I suppose it is not a total surprise- but it was a shock at the time. I feel guilty about all the money I have committed to travelling to Boston. My wife and I have a hotel for 4 nights, because i was intially thinking about bringing our kids, and taking my son to a Red Sox game at Fenway. My wife is about to start a new job, so we are lucky for that income.

Today is supposed to be above 50 degrees, but when I hit the trail at 7:30, it is still just around freezing. The gloves I am wearing are too thin, and my fingers get numb. I turn back after a mile, and I go back to the parking lot, and get thicker pair. I run another mile, and get back to the lot for the 8 o'clock start time. I let the group know that I left water about 4 miles west. Some people I know from my wife's triathlon club are here, getting ready for a bike ride. My wife was going to get here and run, but she isn't here yet. The running club wraps up their announcements, just as my wife shows up. She finds someone she met at our running club Halloweeen party, so I take off to get the rest of my miles in.

In the next half mile, I find out another Boston Qualifier is backing out of going because her husband lost his job. I tell her I might be interested in switching to her cheaper hotel room, since I lost my job. Since I got that uncomfortable topic out of the way, I now have an opening to talk to one of the other runners, Kurt, who is a commodities trader. Since I worked for the futures exchange, maybe he'll hear of something.

It's warming up now, and for the next five miles, I have a group strung out at various paces, each of whom I can run with for half-mile, or one or 2 miles. I find myself going at a faster pace than I want, so I let some of them run ahead. But at a bathroom stop, the rabbits make a pit stop, and I keep going. I miss the company, but it was tough changing those paces just to keep up with someone, especially if we were on hills. Now it is flat the rest of the way, but I will only see people I know running the other way. Like our friend Rich, who tells me that I have to run faster because my wife is ahead of me. I don't know if he realizes that I ran the 11 mile loop, and she probably ran 7-8. But I would like to catch up ot her, not to show her up, but to go by the parking lot running, and lay a sweaty kiss on her, without breaking stride. It's tricky, but I have managed it in all the marathons she has watched me run, and I plan to do it in Boston, too. Unfortunately, she is already gone when I get to the parking lot, and I have another mile to go, so I loop back and cool down and stretch. I guess I'll give her a kiss standing still at home.

Pace Yourself

2009-03-19T21:17:00.000-05:00

I had a cross-training day, and then a rest day, but this 10 mile tempo run caught me by surprise today. I need about 90 minutes of running time to run my 10 miles at 8 minute pace, and a 1 mile warmup. So I wake up at 4:30 am, and I am off running at 5 am. I have a cap with little LED lights, and a light-up wristband. These early mornings are eerie and set me on edge a little bit. So, after a half-mile warmup, my first mile comes out to a 7:03 pace. Well, its a chilly morning, so that warms me up. I have a hilly loop that goes just under 8 miles. So, I run into an empty subdivision that has about a 1.75 mile set of streets. It is handy to run through, and not have traffic. But this gated community was laid out 3 years ago with all the utlities, and now there is only a model home, and a house built for a raffle for the local high school. This is a telling sign of the economy.

I keep seeing my miles well under the 8 minute pace, and I keep hitting hills, and running into the wind. Maybe I am anxious so I don't miss the train to work, because this run takes a lot of time. Of my ten miles, only 2 of them are over an 8 minute pace, and my average is 7:44. I make sure I have protein when I get back home, and I make my train.

Up to Speed

2009-03-16T19:14:00.001-05:00

The weather is finally getting to above average for this time of March. But while we may get 50, 60 even 70 degree temperature for this time of March, the mornings are still 30s and 40s. I skip the running tights today, but I still put a jacket, cap, and wear gloves. I have 3 1 mile repeats (actually 1600 meters). This is the 3rd time I have had to do this workout, and I have not made the goal pace yet. I’m determined to give it a good shot today. I feel it is as much focus as stamina. I run about 2/3 mile warmup, and I get started. By the end of the block, I hear the pace alert that means I am hitting the goal pace. That’s a good sign, but if I keep hearing that, it could mean that I get worn out after the first interval. In the second half of the mile, I hear the beeps again. I finish in 6:49, about 5-10 seconds slower than I wanted, but it is better than some of the 7 minute plus times I have had in workouts like this weeks ago. I get a 400 meter rest interval, so I walk/jog to my driveway, pick up a water bottle, and have a drink while I meander back and forth. Then I start off to run another mile; this one is just over 6:50. Another rest for 400 meters, and my last one is 6:45. That’s what I was hoping for – its 4 seconds slower than the goal pace, but its an improvement.

Luck of the Irish

2009-03-14T19:17:00.000-05:00

Today’s going to be a busy day, so I plan to start my 20 mile run at 7 am. Laura and I are hosting the triathlon club at our house for a St. Patrick’s Party, so I have to help clean the house and get things ready for the 20-30 people we expect. Plus, there is an Irish Soda Bread contest at a nearby bar, and for years people have told me that I should enter, so I made a few loaves last night, and one of them will be my entry.
I drop some Gatorade about 4 miles away from the start of my run, because the Park Forest Running club will be out. I’m already running late, because I forgot to get some Gel packs to eat on the run. Right now, I am using GU, and Power Shots, but they are getting harder to find outside of running stores. I should probably just order a box online. It is after 7:15 when I start my run. It’s sunny, still, but cold. I have lighter tops and jacket on, but I still have tights. Within the first 2 miles, I wish I wore thicker gloves than these white cotton throwaway ones. I get back to the car, and I put on some fleece gloves over them, and I keep going. I aim to get back at 8 am, when a bunch of the park Forest people will be there and Megan and Gil will join me. My goal pace today is 8:30, which it was for my 20 miler 2 weeks ago. The weather is more favorable today, which is good because I did not make that pace the last time.
I see a lot more people on the trail this weekend. I think they have finally caught up with the time change, and are coming out earlier since it is light out. The weather is not as sloppy as the last few weeks. I also see people that I know are going to run the Shamrock Shuffle at the end of the month. It’s almost as if all the St. Patrick’s parties and parades this weekend reminded them “Oh – St. Pat’s! I better get ready for the Shamrock Shuffle!”
I get about 4.5 miles in, and I see Megan running up, and I recognize Gil pulling his car into the lot. What surprises me is that a group of bike riders is gathering, and I know some of these nut-jobs. It is maybe 35 degrees, and it might hit 50 degrees by 2 pm today. That would be about the threshold temperature for me to ride a bike. A few of these guys are invited to our party, so I check in with them, and also let the Park Forest Runners know that I left water and Gatorade out.

Ridin' the Storm Out

2009-03-08T08:38:00.000-05:00

Today’s run is 15 miles, at an 8:20 pace. Gil is coming out again, but we are on standby because there have been torrential downpours overnight and more are predicted, with thunderstorms today. I am actually wondering if part of the trail might be underwater. We set the clocks ahead for Daylight Savings Time last night, so we are getting started at 8 am. When we start the sky is cloudy as far as we can see, but they are not dark clouds, and the rain stopped about 30 minutes ago. So, we take off, and decide we will run until the lightning gets too close. We run the same route we did last week, and sure enough, when we get to a footbridge over a creek in the woods, the trail is flooded from the overflow. The bridge is safe, but the creek is more like a river now, and is flowing super –fast and high. Luckily, the trail winds up hill from here, so we leave the low-lying water behind, but our legs pay the price. We are about five miles into our run, when it starts to rain. We can either turn around and run the hills in reverse for a 13 mile loop, or take to a straight route on the streets for just over 11 miles. As the thunder and lightning gets closer, we opt for the shorter route. Out of the shelter of the trees, the cold driving rain feels more like sleet or hail. When we run by a Walgreens, I suggest waiting out the heaviest rain under the drive-through. In retrospect, inside the store would have been the place to go. The problem in running in cold rain is that if you stop, your body stops producing the extra heat to counteract the cold rain. It’s only about 42 degrees, and its windy, so its almost like swimming in water that cold, because we are immersed. There’s a psychological boost when we get back to the trail, and have a straight 4 mile path to our cars. The water is collecting inside the sleeves of my jacket, sealed in by the elastic wristbands. The water running down my back has also found a spot to pool in the crotch of my running tights and shorts. Good thing my wife is out of town, because lower temperature raises sperm count, and we’re not looking for any little surprises 9 months from now.
Gil says his ankle is hurting – it is something that has been bugging him for a while, and changing his shoes has not helped. He decides that he will cut it short at 11.25 miles. I brought a change of clothes for after the run in the van, including dry shoes and socks. By the time we get back, there is only an intermittent drizzle, but the sky is still a heavy gray. Gil stretches, and gets in his car to leave. I’ve got the seats folded down in the back of our Toyota Sienna, so there is plenty of room for me to get out of the wind and strip of the top half of my sopping wet running clothes. I put on a dry t-shirt, a zip-up warmup jacket, and a dry hat. I put on the dry socks and shoes. I find one cotton glove, and a earwarmer band to wrap around the other hand. I guzzle some water and the last of my Power-Gels, and I ditch my water belt, but I keep the GPS on my wrist, and put my phone in my jacket pocket, I keep heading east for some new scenery. Shedding the pounds of water from my clothes, and getting the short break gives me some energy. Plus, the relief of getting through the storm safely is psychological boost. I run about 1 mile and ¾ and turn around. I am able to estimate the distance perfectly to end up with 15 miles. I open up the back of the van. Then, it starts to rain, I climb in the back, and pull the tailgate closed behind me. The van is tall enough for me to use a bungee cord and lay on my back and do a hamstring stretch. The sole of my foot might just touch the ceiling if I was good at straightening my leg fully. When I get home, I take a bag with my fist change of clothes. I stand on the scale with them and without them and see that they weigh 5 pounds.

In Like a Lion...

2009-03-01T08:37:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I lifted weights at the health club while Laura did bike class. I usually will do the class with her if I am not running on Saturday, but I figured I needed a break before running 20 miles today. My friend Gil is a little out of synch with his training for the Illinois Marathon on the University of Illinois campus in Champaign-Urbana. He has six weeks to go, and he has not run a 20 miler yet. This will be my third of 5, and he is supposed to be following the same program as me, but 1 week ahead. I don’t think he has run over 15 miles in a month. Since he is trying to qualify for Boston, and he is starting to stretch the bounds of sensible training, I resolve not to pursue my 8:30 pace, my make sure he gets the 20 miles in, if he is willing to do it.
We meet Megan at the Old Plank Trail parking lot. It is kind of clear, and a little breezy, temperature in the mid 20’s. The ice on the trails has melted, but we expect there will be some icy patches from runoff from the hillsides. Our pace starts out kind of quick, closer to 8:00 minutes than 8:30 for a few miles. We settle in before we get to the hills. It is a little winding going north, until we get to more winding terrain that switches directions while meandering northwest, and eventually is pretty wooded. There are some spots where the sun shining down on the black pavement makes us pretty warm. We get to our turnaround path, and get the wind at our backs. We decide to opt to head straight back to the start, so Megan can cap her run at 13 miles. Right after we make the turn east, out of nowhere, the wind picks up, and it starts snowing, even though the sky is blue with just a few puffy clouds visible. This really makes the run tough. It is so windy, it makes me think this actually lake effect snow being blown way south.
After Megan peels off to run less than a mile home, Gil and I have seven more miles to go. We keep heading east, hoping for more cover from the trees. But with the trees bare from winter, they don’t block the wind much. Our pace slows considerably after we loose Megan’s chattiness to distract us.
We turn around for the last 3.5 miles, and now the other side of our faces get pelted by the stinging snow. The last 2 miles, our pace slows past a 10 minute mile. We keep chugging , and finish in just under 3 hours (2:57). Gil points out that this is the first time he has run 3 hours since the 2007 Chicago Marathon. Since that was 90 degree weather, I am pretty sure he ran a lot longer than 3 hours.

Marvelous Night for a Moon Dance

2009-02-27T08:35:00.000-06:00

Today was an exercise in creative scheduling. We have a deadline to deliver a new version of our software by March 1st, so today is the last chance for me to get documentation in. I had been resigned to sacrifice a run, because the way the schedule worked out. But I get into work real early, and I am able to get done before 5 pm. My wife is going out to work on afloat for an upcoming St. Patrick’s Day parade, so I ask her to get some dinner for the kids before she leaves, and I change into my running gear. It is weird, because it is dark, like the morning, but the moon is in a different part of the sky. I have a 1 mile warmup, and 4 miles at 7:29, and then a mile cooldown. It is a pretty cold night, but for this distance, its not so bad, and I am glad to be out at all. My neighbor asks me if I’m cold, and I tell him not anymore- which is true if you keep moving and wear the right clothes. I am back in the house by 7:15, which is the time I have been coming home on most nights this week, and I have stretched, showered and eaten dinner by 8:00 pm.

Mystery of Time

2009-02-24T08:34:00.000-06:00

Today I do speedwork using the mile loop around my house. I’m supposed to run 1600 m at 6:41, 3200 at 13:42, and 2 800s at 3:13. There are rest intervals varying from 400- 800 meters. I am nowhere near hitting the paces on any of these runs. I can barely get below a 7 minute pace, and for the 2 mile interval, I’m running at a 7;15 pace, which is what I was supposed to run for 1 3 mile tempo run last week. I have done these workouts in 2 previous marathon training seasons, and while I may have not nailed each one of them, I had way better overall results. If I am slower for speedwork, I can accept that. I want to know why I am slower – is it because I am older, heavier, my plantar fascistis, bone spur on my left foot. Could it be because I am not doing the type of plyomtric drills I did before I ran green bay last winter? What is odd is that my indoor track workouts are way faster, for supposedly some of the same distances. It makes me wonder whether we have the distance wrong for that track, and its really not 200 meters. I am going to start asking around.

California Dreamin'

2009-02-21T08:33:00.000-06:00

Today I have 18 miles at an 8:30 pace. It is about 15 degrees, out, with the wind chill at about 5 degrees. It’s too icy to run on the trails, so I decide to run a couple of 8 mile loops from starting from my house. Everyone else has decided to run indoors this weekend, but I can’t stand the idea of 20 miles on a treadmill. I have multiple layers on, and I plan ahead and leave dry clothes and shoes waiting for me just inside the garage door. When I’m about ¾ done with my run, I’ll stop and quickly put on the dry layers, so my core temperature does not go down too much from the cold sweat on my drenched clothes sticking to me. I start the run with my Yak Trax on, but some parts of the streets are snowy, but others are not, so it may not be good for metal on them when I hit bare pavement. Instead of coming back on the streets, I stick to an unpaved access road next to the railroad tracks. Some trucks and cars have tramped down the snow with their tire tracks, but it doesn’t get plowed and salted. It’s better for the Yak Traks, but the terrain is tougher and it is about a half mile gradual incline.
It’s one of those days where water bottles freeze, especially in the nozzles after you take your first drink. So I only carry a little, and I loop back to my house after 6-7 miles and grab a water bottle I keep out of the wind in my garage. I also toss the Yak Trax. On my second loop, I have about 3 miles left. I just get to the corner of my block, and I see some people I usually only see running on the Old Plank Trail. They started from our Park District field house, and stuck to the streets for better footing. Instead of picking up a water bottle, of my last leg, I opt for the company. Pretty soon we are swapping tips for the best hills to run to train for a hilly marathon, and they are trying to talk me into running a marathon through Napa Valley in the summer time. They told my wife about their trip, and now she wants to take a winery tour, where we would have to go to the Sonoma Cutre vineyards, and sample the Russian River Valley chardonnay that we first had on Valentine’s Day 2 years ago at Sullivan’s Steakhouse in downtown Chicago.
I only run a mile with this group, but having any company at all is a godsend on a long cold run like today. I run back to the house, toss my belt, and run just less than a mile past it and back, and I am done. I am SO done!

True Love

2009-02-15T08:32:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was Valentines Day, and we had five couples go to a “World Marriage Day Dance.” I drove three of the couples in our van, and held myself to 1 glass of wine. The people who went with us are all in my wife’s triathlon club, and there were 2 Ironman, 7 marathon competitors and 5 triathletes. Plus, I liked that all of us were married between 15 and 25 years.
One of the guys with us last night also had to do a long run this morning, and I told him I was “running 13 miles at 8:15, starting at 7:15 (am)”. Expecting a late night, he kept on trying to talk me into “running 8:15 at 8:15 (am).” But I had already committed to Alan that we would start at 7:15. I got to bed by 11:30, so it wasn’t too bad, except I had to drive a little bit to get to our starting point. We ran an out and back through hilly forest preserve trails (so we did the same hills both ways). The finish was going up some hills, but I think I finished pretty strong, with the last mile well under an 8 minute pace.

Crushed Ice

2009-02-12T08:30:00.001-06:00

On Tuesday, I swam laps at the high school. I only swam 2 sets, because we have been busy at work. Last night, I was supposed to get a massage, but my massage therapist was sick with a cold. Her husband has been out of work, so she has been picking up extra clients, plus she has a 1 year old baby, so I’m not surprised she got sick. My wonderful wife arrange monthly massages during my marathon training season for Boston. My legs have been in good shape, but I was interested on having my forearm massaged, because my elbow has been sore since chopping thick ice around Christmastime (and I don’t mean for mixed drinks).
Today I get out and do a 6 mile tempo run. The goal pace is 7:44, and I have a 1 mile warmup and cooldown. There is a slushy covering on the streets, and its about 15 degrees and windy. I have to bundle up, and it just on the verge of the distance where I think I should have fluids. Because I like to have my cellphone on me when I run, I carry my water belt. I feel pretty weighted down, and I’m wearing a face mask for the wind. I have to improvise to get a path on streets that are not icy, so more of my miles are straight into the wind than I would like. I would have liked to run an 8 mile hilly loop, but now I am kind of glad I kept to flat streets, because I am struggling. I end up with about a 7:42 average, but in the past, I have blown the doors off this pace. I feel my running is strong, but the I can’t wait for milder weather so I can have a good footing, and not be running with so much heavy gear on.

Windy Twenty Miler

2009-02-07T15:17:00.000-06:00

It has been a while since I have run on a Saturday. This will be a challenge, since I ran 18 6 days ago on Sunday, and I had back-to-back tempo and speed work Tuesday and Wednesday. With 20 miles, at an 8:45 pace, this will be a “3 blocks of ice” day. I usually freeze 2 plastic bottles of ice during the week – empty gallons of milk or 2-liter bottles of pop. My caring wife was nice enough to freeze 2 for me, and I added one myself. I think it helps my recovery, and injury prevention.
The weather took a turn for the warmer this week. It was 5 degrees on Tuesday and Wednesday morning. It got above freezing Friday, and they are talking about 40-50 degrees today -BUT possible rain showers and 20-25 mile winds. I figure bI have done the snow and subzero and ice, so I might as well take the rain and snow, too.
Another detriment is that Scott will be running 13 at an 8:30 or 8:15 pace, plus he likes to run on Sunday. And, I found out Friday that Alan has been sick, and he is going to wait it out until Sunday. I feel bad, because he could not run on Sunday the last few weeks, but I already made a commitment to put water out for the Park Forest Running club. They are trying to stake out a longer route, since the trail is still iced over, so I feel kind of obligated to be around to shepherd some of the group through the area.
Well, it does not look like rain this morning, but it is windy. My thermometer says 45-47, and they are predicting it going up to 56, which it will get lose to in the 3 hours I will be running. With no rain, I am going without tights. After I drop the Gatorade, water and cups a couple of miles out on the route, I head to the Old Plank Trail parking lot. My car is the only one here. It is already 7 am, so I will barely have time for 3 miles. I get my gear together, and head out for a warmup run. The streets are clear, and I quickly warm up. I wore windpants for the warmup run, and I will not miss them when I get back to the car. I stay pretty near my target pace, and I see 2.8 miles at about 21 minutes. I figure I can loop north of the parking lot, and come back. But then I see a clock tower that says it is already just after 8 am. The running club will be gathering, and I want to let them know about the water, and icy patch on the route, and I have some fundraising coupons for a friend of ours, Michelle, who is fighting breast cancer.
I run a few miles, and loop back, and see the Park Forest Running club. I head out with a group that is going to run the streets. One of the runners in this group is a wildlife biologist who goes by the nickname “Frogger”. I’m not sure if it’s because of his work or his spring legs. He’s a few age groups ahead of me, but just a few minutes behind in marathon time. He qualified for Boston at a pretty hot Chicago Marathon in October 2008. Since then, he has run 3-4 others, in pretty good time.
After about 5 miles, I have slow down my pace to keep this up for 20 miles. I fall back, and run a few sidestreets with hills. I go past my son’s high school, and reluctantly wait to a stop light to cross a major street. I’m not familiar with this neighborhood, but when I get across, I’m rewarded with winding, hilly streets with min-mansions on wooded lots. I am able to get about 6 miles added to my run in this new territory, so that is a nice distraction, since I’m on my own. As I head west, it is even windier, so I divert north to get out of the wind. Unfortunately, that takes me on one of the biggest hills in this area, Ironwood Drive in Frankfort. To prepare myself, I ditch my waterbelt and jacket and gloves. My friend Bill trained on these hills before he ran Boston, so I bear down, and try to keep my pace. I get through that, and head south, where I refill on fluids at the water and Gatorade I left out for the club. It’s hard to judge the distance on a new route, and when I get back to the lot where I parked, I am bout 2-3 miles short. I run further east, knowing I’ll be heading into the wind for the end. On a whim, I veer off this busy street to run by my friend Scott’s house. I estimate that I should turn around at the end of his block. I see a couple of women running really slow. They are talking pleasantly, and I say hi. A few hundred yards past them, I turn around. It doesn’t take me long to pass them, and when I do, one calls out “Just go ahead and pass me without saying Hi!”. I turn around, and it’s Megan, my running partner from last year’s Boston Qualifying training. She has some Boston gear on from when she ran the race last year, with the logo on the front, so I replied, “Your Boston logo was too small to see”, and besides, I usually don’t pass you, at least not at the end of a 20 mile run.”. She is running with her cousin, helping her train for the Palos Half Marathon in May. I finish up with them, and catch up with what’s going on with Megan. The pace is slow, even for the end of a long run, but the company is definitely welcome.

Inside Speed

2009-02-07T08:30:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I rode a stationary bike at my health club -Body Tech in Mokena. I start up an I-pod shuffle with a mix about a ¾ mix of fast-paced songs (Fallout Boy, Thanks for the Memories, Nickeback- Animals) and slower songs (Little Feat – Dixie Chicken). My program calls for moderate resistance on the bike, and high-spin rate of about 90-110 RPM. This is supposed to better training for running than the high-resistance, “power-pacing” of bike classes where you simulate hill climbs. I ride for about 45 minutes, and do some core exercises, like situps on an exercise ball, and side planks.
Today I am going to the local high school to do my speed workout. I have a 1 mile warmup, the 6x800 meter intervals at 3:13, with a 2 minute rest. Supposedly this track is 200 meters, so that means 4 laps. I have a timer set on my watch, and I should be running a 48 second split for each lap. The splits work out to about 45 seconds each, so my first 800 meters clocks in at 3:05, and I even held back a little bit on a few so I would not tire out. Each of these intervals is under 3:10. This is encouraging, because my speedwork outside has been slower.

Back-to-Back

2009-02-04T18:04:00.000-06:00

On Tuesday, it was about 5 degrees, with a strong wind, so it is probably a double-digit minus wind chill. I reluctantly go to the health club for my Tempo run. (Yesterday, I swam). I have a 1 mile warmup, and a 5 mile run at 7:30 per mile pace, with a 1 mile cooldown. As I often do, I shorten the warmup and cooldown – today a half mile each. I am armed with an I-pod shuffle, a bottle of water and a bottle of Gatorade. I take my usual treadmill, right under the ceiling fan. Bill is already there, but he has an earphones on, too, so we don’t talk too much. The treadmill works out okay – it keeps me at an honest pace, which was hard for me to do on my own outside last week.

Today, (Wednesday Feb 4, 2009)
In violation of the 3-plus-2 policy of my training program, I am going to do speedwork the day after my tempo run. At least I am going to run in the evening, so there is like a 36 hour rest period. Scott and Gil will be doing speedwork at the indoor high school track. I get there early. I run all of my 1 mile warmup, and I am just starting my intervals when Scott shows up. I do 2 1200m intervals at 4:55. By now, Scott has finished his warmup. I have 4 x 800 at 3:13. Scott’s entire workout will be 6x800 at the same pace. So, we run them together, and after we do 1, Gil and Jerry show up, so they do a quick warmup, and join us.
Everyone of our intervals is under pace. I take a good time to cooldown while they are finishing, and also make sure I stretch. I get dressed, and who do I see on the way out, but my wonderful wife on the way in to swim with the Masters swim club/triathlon club. By the time she gets home it will be bedtime, so this is definitely a ”2 ships passing in the night” moment.

Super Sunday Run

2009-02-01T18:03:00.000-06:00

I went to the Saturday morning bike class yesterday, for the second week in a row. It’s okay, and challenging, but I feel out of place, because the instructor is big on putting on lots of resistance to emulate going uphill, and standing up from time-to-time. But all the recommendations on cross-training for runners says, keep resisatnce low, and keep spin rate high.
Today, Scott and other guys from the tri club are coming to my house for a long run. I have 18 miles at 8:45 pace, Scott is 1 week ahead of me in the program, so he has 20 miles at the same pace. I told him to get here at 7:45, and run a 2 mile loop around my house, then I’ll join him
We are starting a little later than usual because we went out last night to see an Irish band at Gaelic Park. It’s a wonderful center promoting Irish sports (hurling and Irish football), music, dance and theatre. They have an impressive banquet hall and a quaint pub. In spite of the proximity to us, and my Irish heritage, we have only been there a handful of times in the 20 years we have lived in the area.
It was fun, we met our friend, Rich from the triathlon club, and his wife, Louise, who is from Ireland, and a couple of their friends. I managed to hold myself to 2 pints of Guinness.
Gil shows up right after Scott starts, and he is going to try to run 18 with us. He hasn’t been out for a long run since the first week of January, when he ran 15 miles. Rich jogs up with a backpack full of bagels he carried from his house about three quarters of a mile away. Rich and Laura will wait afew minutes more, in case anyone shows up a little after 8 am. Gil, Scot and I take off.
It was warm the day before, but while the snow that was left on some streets melted, it got froze again last night, so there are patches of a really thick frost you have to watch around corners. I lead these guys on the 8 mile Riivendell loop, and we are keeping a pretty good pace. It’s actually sunny enough that I’m glad I have my sunglasses. I dressed a layer lighter today, and I am glad that I did. We do okay, and we get back to my house in a little over an hour. Some bathroom stops are made, and we compare notes with the other group, who ran 6 miles. Another husband-wife couple joined the group, with another woman. The marathon training groups heads out to move into the double-digits.
On the first loop, Scott said he had a cold during the week, and while he ran some, he did not do the planned speed and tempo workouts. But he seemed to do fine for his first 10 miles. On this loop, however, at about 2 miles in, he slows to a walk at the end of what my wife calls “The Neverending Hill”. We get onto flatter ground, and just when we are about to hit a long gradual decline, he urges us to go on without him. Something in his leg is bothering him, and he is going to cut it short, and “find his way back”. Gil and I run ahead, but I don’t feel right leaving him. If he wants to cut is short, I know the shortcuts better, and ever since Bill collapsed on the trail 4 years ago, I have been nervous about leaving people on their own.
So, I figure Scott turned around, andi walking/jogging back. So I convince Gil to try to catch up with him. We keep running, and we don’t see him – until about 1 mile from my house, we think we see someone running the end of the route we did on the first loop. I keep leading Gil on shortcuts, thinking that we will head Scott off. I’m thinking- okay he had a head start, but if we can’t even see him, he must be feeling okay. We don’t see him back at my house, so we finish by running about 1/3 mile back to the end of the route. Still no Scott. I let Gil into the house with orders to stretch, because now he feels some pain in his knee/IT band. Now I think Scott went another way, and is walking. (I did try calling his cell phone, but I did not have his number.) I tell Laura that she should get in the car and go look for him, so he is not cooling down, all sweaty in the cold. Gil and I have run about 14.5 miles, so I need 3.5 more. I run back on the route for the 3rd time, and on the fist street, I see a runner. I head that way, and see it is Scott, like I suspected. I call home and cancel the rescue operation. After I drop Scott at my house, I have exactly 15 miles in the bank. Just an easy 3 mile loop that we have marked off in my neighborhood. I’m glad after the first 1.5 miles to turn around and get the wind at my back. My pace has picked up for this last leg, but I start to flag, and drop to a 10 minute-mile pace.
But I finish strong, for an 8:40 average time. Much better pacing than last week.

Sluggin' Through

2009-01-27T19:38:00.000-06:00

I am feeling sluggish and a little nauseous this morning. Yesterday, I did a light upper-body weithtlifting workout for the day after my first 20 mile run. But I still had to wake up early, and then there is tha whole “work” thing I have to do Monday – Friday from 8am – 5 pm. The temperature is still in the low teens (but no wind). I was thinking of running my speed workout at the indoor high-school for the the third week in arrow, but today my wife starts a new job, so I want to be supportive and be around to help get the kids up in the morning. Plus, today’s workout is 1600 meter intervals, which means I would have to run 8 laps without stopping at a 6:41 pace. The streets are dry for a change, and it’s not as cold as it was on Sunday morning, so I decide to run the mile loop that is formed by my street and the one next us.
I am still pretty bundled up, and feel okay by my two-thirds mile warmup. My legs are a little chilled, I have 1 pair of my thickest tights. I have my Garmin Forerunner 201 GPS programmed for three 1600 meter intervals at a 6:41 pace, with 1 minute rest intervals. (This was the first speed workout 1 month ago, so we’ll see if I can do better this time.) A dedicated distance runner around the corner from my house measured out this course with a measuring wheel, marking out 200 meter intervals. As I pass one of them near my house, I start the interval program. After a couple hundred meters, I hear the pace alert telling me I am going faster than the 6:41 goal. Good, but I don’t want to be way under this early on my first interval. I drop back a notch. I was wearing a neoprene mask for my warmup, and I pull it down, so I can easily get more air. But around the half-mile mark, I feel burning in my mouth and throat as I breathe the frigid air. I have heard about needing to warm the air you breathe when it is this cold, but In have not had problems before. I pull up the thin, tight spandex balaclava I have over my head and neck, so the breaths in and out of mouth are warmed. Then I see someone in front of me by about 200 m. It must be Jim, another serious runner in the neighborhood. Not a marathoner, but day-in/day-out he puts in the miles, and a faster pace than me. He must be running a cooldown, because I actually am gaining him. Just as I reach my finish, I call out to him from about 5-10 feet back. It startles him in the dark, we exchange greeting – I grab Gatorade I have perched on a garbage can in my driveway- he picks his pace back up to stay warm, and head home. 6;54 for this first lap. 13 seconds per mile over!
My next 2 intervals are over 7 minutes per mile. My slowest (7:15) is only 5 seconds faster than a 7:20 mile I ran during my 20 mile run 2 days ago. I am so disappointed that I totally skip my cooldown, and go right back in the house (plus I have to go to the bathroom really bad).

Okay, I am disappointed with these mile intervals, especially today’s. But I’m not so disappointed that I am going to send back my Boston-Qualifying ticket. I ran 20 miles, 20-30 seconds faster than my pace on a bitterly cold day two days ago. Plus, my nutrition the day before and following the run was dubious, my sleep has been shot; work is extremely stressful; there are some home and financial issues we have to deal with. I know a half-dozen people personally who have lost their jobs. Some of that stress, I take on, too. BUT – I am lucky I’m not one of them. Plus, I am healthy now, and my other runs have been pretty stellar, so I can improve on this speedwork. I have learned that much from my previous training programs – you take them as a whole, as a process, not each run as a pass/fail.

Lone Cold

2009-01-25T19:37:00.000-06:00

Today is my first of five 20 mile runs in my marathon training program. The forecasts last night ranged from 5 degrees to 12 below, in some outlying areas. I wake up about 5:45, and the wireless display for my thermometer outside reads 7. It’s possible it is a couple degrees higher than the actual temperature, because it is in a sheltered area that gets a lot of sun from the south, so the bricks may retain heat from the day. Plus, I saw a 2-3 temperature difference between my car’s thermomoter and this one. But I’m glad to see a reading above zero, because the flag across the street that my neighbor has on a 30 foot flagpole is flapping around a bit, which indicates stronger winds than I expected.
I have all my gear downstairs, so I decide to go heavy. Tights and windpants, and 2 pairs of socks, which I don’t normally do. I wear a fleece type zippered sweater (100% polyester) under my windbreaker. This is one of my heavier jackets. I got it for writing a blog for www.nbwebexpress when I ran my first marathon in Chicago in 2005. It is a stiffer material, and pretty wind resistant, by well vented, too. I have a balaclava type hood, under a lined fleece cap, and a neoprene, vented mask that fits to my nose. Plus, I lather on Aquaphor ointment to give a little protection to any areas of my face left exposed. I wear two pairs of gloves, and I have handwarmers to carry inside them.
The last time we ran in weather this cold, carrying my usual 6 0z Fuel belt bottles, I found they froze too easily. So this time, I am using another water bottle holder that carries one larger one in back of me. My hope is that the larger volume of water will not freeze as quickly, and it won’t be as exposed to the wind as much (turns out, I forgot the scientific act that wind chill does not affect actual freezing temperature, only the way it feels on your skin). It’s hard to strap on my GPS with all this gear on, but I do it quickly, so I can get moving. It is close to 6:30, and the plan is for me to complete as much of an 8 mile loop as possible, and my wife and 2 people from her tri club will meet me running the other direction, starting out at 7:30. A boxy car passes me before I run a block – I am guessing it is Rich, who said he would bring bagels.
It is still dark out, and the route I take is into a prevailing wind, so I feel pretty stiff and cold. I keep wondering if I am dressed right, and try to jog my memory for times when I ran when it was this cold before. At first it feels like I am going slower than a 9:30 pace, but when I get to 4 miles, my time is somewhere between 34 and 35 minutes. So, I think I am 15-20 seconds fast per mile.
When I reach the point where I turn and will have the wind at my back, I reach for my water bottle. I feel a crusty material around the nozzle, and as I pull it out, I realize, I must have left it open, and splashing drops have frozen to the bottle and the water belt. Luckily, I can open the cap, and get a drink of icy cold water. I need it - I can feel my top wet with sweat, so I unzip my jacket to let it evaporate a little. If I am on a run longer that 7 miles in weather colder than 25 degrees, I invariably find my middle layers crusted with ice when I finish the run, and in cold enough weather and/or long enough runs, I feel it during the run.
It is starting to lighten up, and I wr where I will meet my wife and her friends. I choose this route because it has hills, which I want to prepare me for Boston. There is one particularly steep hill about 1.5 miles from my house. It would be a shame if the group hit that hill before I did – because then I would turn around to run in their direction, and I would not cover it on this loop. I make it a goal to hit that hill before they do, so I can double back with them and run it the other way, too. I hit that hill, and I keep looking for them. I have already had a Goo packet at 35-40 minutes, but when I drank the water, it was pretty frozen. I have a few other bottles with water and Gatorade in my garage, so they shouldn’t be frozen. The closer I get to the starting point without seeing them, the more determined I am to make it home so I can swap for unfrozen fluids. How long they will stay that way on my second 8 mile loop remains to be seen. I am hitting paces between 7:50 and 8:15 consistently, so I am almost a minute per mile faster than my goal pace. I figure this group will want to run slower, so I can take a rest then.
There a couple of streets where it is possible to take an alternate route, so I take care to look down them, just in case. Then, I get to my corner, and I see Rich’s boxy Pilot, and another similar one driven by Pam. I have a keyring-size garage door opener in my jacket pocket, and I open the door, figuring that the other runners will figure it is me, and come out and start.
I have some water and a Goo pack, and open the door to the house and call out. No one answers, so after a quick ceck, I realize that they must have already started, and we did not cross paths, like I intended. Shoot! I was looking forward to having company for at least the middle part of my run. When I look at the GPS, it is about 7:45 – later than I thought, but this group always starts late. Okay – if they have a 5 minute head start, and run at a 10 minute pace, how long will it take me to catch them at an 8 minute pace. It’s too cold for me to do the math, so I just start running. I take a short cut that means I miss the steep hill, but there are others. I keep looking for them, and at a street about 2 miles along where my wife takes a shorter route, I call out her name. I get to the far point of my loop, and I realize that by chasing them, I just distracted myself for a good chunk of my run. There is another shortcut I can take, but it means I would run a half mile on a busy road, and miss big rolling hills in area-lined luxury subdivision. I give up the hunt for sightseeing.
This is the direction I usually run this route, so it is more familiar. I walk for a few hundred yards while I drink slushy Gatorade. I still can’t figure out what point on the route I could have missed them. Even now, when I laying off the accelerator, I am still hitting well under my 9 minute goal pace. I try opening my jacket for a little while when the wind is at my back, but my tops are so soaked with sweat, it feels cold. When the wind angles towards me, I have to full up the face mask. This redirects my breath to the upper part of my face, so I know my eyebrows are frozen, so maybe it will damper the Mono-brow affect. But, then I realize that my eyelashes are also holding clumps of ice. Trying to blink, or brush them off does not make it any better. Now I start to think about my next stop at my garage. I can drink some water, take my 4th GU pack (I had one right before the run). Maybe I can call ahead, if my wife has finished her run, and she can bring me a warm washcloth, so I can finish the run. If I have to go inside the house, I will get too overheated. What I would love is of she could bring a short sleeve shirt and a long sleeve short. I have another jacket hung up in the garage. My upper body is always the sweatiest, so if I get dry stuff on, the last 5 miles should not be the usual frosty experience.
I make a turn north, and run smack into the snout of a Doberman aimed at my crotch. Damn it!
The few times I run this route this late in the day, about one out of 3 or four times, this old lady has this HUGE Doberman out. He is wearing a leash, but she is NEVER holding it. The dog is big, and he insists on coming over to check you out. He must be old, but he is still cut. One time she had duct tape on hios foot, which decreases my trust level of her even lower. He apologizes, and the shot of adrenaline I get makes up for the cooldown effect of stopping in my tracks. Once he is secure, and I pick up my pace, and now the adrenaline really starts to carry me.
(Note to self. If no cars are coming and it is after 7:30 ALWAYS take that turn wide. One of these times, I might surprise Bruiser more than he surprises me.)
At about a half mile out, I call home. My daughter answers, but Laura is not there. Huh? If they left before me I could get back on the first loop, I thought they would be inside having cocoa and bagels.
I come around the final turns, and I can see similarly clad people in front of my house, with spandex and skull caps. So either the Blue Man Group is scouting suburban locations, or Laura, Pam and Rich just finished. I dash in the garage Laura has just opened, and they stare at my frozen eyelashes. I get some water, and GU, and we discuss the possible places where we missed each other. I go in and get the dry shorts, and Laura offers me a dry cap. I keep all my cold weather outer gear in the laundry room off the garage, so I am able to quickly cobble together a costume change for my third set.
I dash out to run a 5 mile, loop –my first destination the steep hill I missed last time. Even though it is not sunny, I put on sunglasses to keep my eyelashes from freezing again. The problem is that vapor from my breath quickly frost them over. I court danger for a half block or so running with this diminished visibility, but when I get near intersections, or parked cars, or oncoming traffic, I pop them up again.
I have kept a pretty good pace off that hill, and my turnaround spot for this mini-loop comes much quicker, and that’s when I have some Gatorade. After about 2.5 miles however, I see my pace drop to 10 minutes per mile. That will happen when you run a 46 minute 10K in the middle of a 20 mile run. Luckily, I don’t feel the effects of the cold too badly. I pull up onto my block at about 2:54 – well ahead of the 3 hour time my 9 minute-mile pace would project.
I would have liked to have run with the group for a while, but one of the reasons I gravitated toward running as exercise is because I did not want to be dependent on a group (like basketball), an instructor (Martial Arts), or a place (weightlifting at a gym) for my workouts. And, I wanted the one that was least dependent on weather. Well, today’s run lived up to that. Sometimes you have someone beside you in the tough miles, and sometimes you have to go it alone.

Spin City

2009-01-24T11:39:00.000-06:00

I usually run on Saturdays, but today in the South suburbs of Chicago, it is about 8-10 degrees with a wind of 12-14 mph. Which makes for a wind chill of 5-10 below zero. My usual running partner can't make it today, so I am moving my first 20 mile run to Sunday, in the hopes of slightly "milder" weather.

So, I substitute indoor cycling, even though I just swam yesterday. My wife goes to spinning class twice a week, and usually rides by herself, or with a few others another day. She used to teach spinning classes herself. For me, its a pale substitute for road biking, plus the recommendation for runners is to use low resistance, and high spin rate, and most of these instructors are into cranking up the tension to simulate riding up hills. I usually just keep the tension low-moderate, and I don't stand up, or do the kind of crazy moves and jumps.

This class is really popular, so we have to get there early to get one of the few bikes that have cleats that fit into biking shoes. We know a few other people, and they save some bikes for us. It's a pretty rugged workout, but I would rather be running.

Get the Growth Off Your Back

2009-01-23T11:05:00.000-06:00

I wake up at 4:50 am, and after I get dressed, and get my coffee started, I wake up my son. He has off-season conditioning (weightlifting, agility) 4 days a week. On Fridays, he has to be dressed and ready to start at 5:30 am. We can’t leave too soon for him on these days. It works out for me, because I can swim laps at his high school.
I took swim lessons for a few years as a kid, but I don’t remember them actually telling me the mechanics of a particular stroke, just the basics of freestyle and backstroke.
In my adult years, I would always get in the water at resorts, and pools at hotels where I travelled, but I would only swim a few laps, and then just paddle around. When the kids were growing up, it would always be me playing in the pool with them, splashing, diving under, throwing them around, and their Mom would relax on the deck, sunning or reading. If she came in the pool, it was to swim laps, not so much to play. I don’t regret that, we played games like “Washing Machine”, where I held them, and bounced up and down, turning in a circle. Or when my son would climb on my back, I made it a game “Get the Growth Off Your Back”. We also played a game (“Shark”) where they had to cross the pool in one direction, and I would swim underwater in the other, straight across, and if I could touch them, the “Shark” got them!
So, I may not be a very strong, efficient swimmer, but if they ever create a triathlon with a “Get the Growth Off Your Back” swim portion, I have a good shot at winning my age group.

Clear Sailing

2009-01-22T20:47:00.000-06:00

Today I have a tempo run. 1 mile warmup, then 4 miles at a 7:29 pace, followed by a 1 mile cooldown. The dilemma is – do I wear the YakTrax and try to run in slushy snow, that I won’t be able to see unless there are streetlights, while I’m trying to keep up a respectable pace – or do I forge a route that is mainly clear so I can run on dry footing? I opt for the latter. On the way back from my monthly massage last night, I drove through a neighborhood about 2 miles south of me. It seems like their streets are clear. Bonus- there are some good-sized hills!
The temp is about 21 F, with no breeze, clear sky. Of course, the street directly in front of my house is still a mess with slushy snow, but once I get to the corner, I know I have a clear path in one part of the street or the other, for at least 1.5 miles. I head out at about 5:20 am, and sure enough about 1.5 miles in there is a street that still has snow on it for about 100 yards. After that, I am able to wind into this enclave of half million dollar homes (at least before the mortgage meltdown) called Old Castle Woods. I love running through here. The homes are varied styles, with lots of trees. The street connects through a neighborhood with the running trail with a pedestrian bridge over Route 30 – so you could get to a 30 mile bike trail without crossing a busy street. It’s walking distance to the train. The only downside is that there are no sidewalks, which we always wanted our kids to have (not that these houses were ever in our price range).
I am keeping up the pace, seeing a few cars along the way, and two other runners, one that I know. When I get to a part of the street that looks snowy, I turn around, and go down another street. I am more than halfway through the meat of the run, and I head toward the main road east of this neighborhood (Wolf). The hill is so steep, I can’t see the cross street below me. It goes past the estate of a local family that founded a well-known potato-chip/snack food company (Hint ‘Can’t Stop Eating Them). They had a factory in my childhood neighborhood in Chicago, and I some of my friend’s parents/brothers, etc. worked there. I turn around at the busy street, and chug back up the hill. This would be good training for my son the football lineman to build up his leg strength. There is also a hill on the road perpendicular to this one, that joins up with this neighborhood. Wolf road has a good shoulder, so if is not full of plowed snow, you could have a nice hilly loop. I know my route back will put me over my 4 mile tempo run, so I opt not to take Wolf Road, plus if I don’t have to run on a shoulder of a busy road in the dark, in winter on a weekday morning at 6 am – I won’t.
I hit my goal 4 miles at 29:52. That means I was I was exactly 1 second per mile ahead of my 7:29 pace. Nice! The only downside is that my cooldown is more than a mile – but that’s okay because my warmup was probably 0.75 miles. And, it frees me up to take it slow going across an intersection with railroad tracks and a three-way stop sign, and a little bit of a hill/blind spot. In the cool weather, the rubber separators they have between the railroad tracks get frosty and slick, so it’s smart to pay attention on them.
In get back to the house, and take of the soaking wet outer layers, and I have some Gatorade Endurance formula. My eyebrows and eyelashes have “icicles” on them . I think I have run in weather colder than this, and I have not noticed that happening this winter. I wonder if I was breathing up into my own face somehow. It wasn’t bone-chilling cold, and I wore a warmer middle layer than I usually do. I do a good set of stretches, and get ready for work.

In My Dreams, I am a Kenyan

2009-01-20T11:06:00.000-06:00

Today I run at the high school track. I have a speed workout with 1000 meter intervals, and it will be hard to find a continuous stretch that far of dry pavement in my neighborhood. I have never run in the morning at this track, and last week was the first time I ever did run workout indoors on a track. The fieldhouse at LincolnWay East is right next to the pool where I swim. When I get there, there are three ladies walking briskly in the outside lanes. I notice that a girls high school team is gathering in the hallway, so I expect to see them using the track in some form or fashion.
I run my warmup- it’s supposed to be 1 mile, but I figure 6 or 7 laps at 200m each indoors should suffice. Last week my friend Scott was doing this workout while I ran “ladders”. I am a week behind him in training, since our marathons are about a week apart. I am supposed to run 5 x 1000 m intervals in 4:03, with a 400 m rest interval. At 200 m per lap, I get 5 laps at about 50 seconds each, then 2 laps rest.
I must be channeling my inner Kenyan in honor of Barack Obama’s inauguration today, because I am way ahead of pace.

Spring in My Step

2009-01-18T20:40:00.000-06:00

I initially chose to run on Sunday so one of my friends could join me. He has 20 miles to run, and I’ll be running 17. The weather her has been real sloppy, but it looked like Sunday would be clearer and less windy than Saturday – my usual long run day.
Well, as the weekend approached, he decided to run inside on a treadmill, so that he wouldn’t riks injury on slippery streets. Luckily, one of my other running friends picked up the Yak-Trax I ordered for him at Dick Pond Athletics in Crest Hill. So, our plan is to actually seek out the snowier streets that have not been fully plowed and salted, because there is a hard snow pack, but it is not icy. We’ll run my 8 mile “Riivendell” loop twice, and then tack on an extra mile close to my house. We strap on the Yak Trax, and as we start down my block, they kind of make my feet feel springy (not surprising because they metal coils on the bottom of my feet. ) I let Alan known that he should the pace, because a better natural cadence than me, and I suspect by helter-skelter pace and dodging among the snow and pavement last week, may have thrown off his gait. I figured that he would opt for a steady 9:-9:15 pace which would be slower than our 8:45 goal, but understandable with the rough footing and rubber/metal contraptions strapped to our shoes. After a few miles, I see we are closer to an 8:15 pace – like I said ”springy!”
We have some hills on this route, and we have to cross plowed main streets about 5 times per loop. There are also a few stretches where about ¼ to ½ block are plowed, so we have to seek out the more snowier shoulder.
After 5 miles, we hit a long straight slightly uphill stretch. The houses are frosted with snow like gingerbread houses, and the snow clinging to bare branches glistens like crystal with the rising sun in the background. We are running in stride, in hard-packed, yet spongy snow, and the Yak-trax on both our feet beat out the same percussive rhythm – like a brush on a snare drum in a jazz combo.
The only real problem on this run is that once we take a drink from our water bottles, the spouts and caps get frozen, and they are no good they next time. Even if I can twist the cap off, the fluids(water and Gatorade) are turning to slush in the bottle.
When we get close to the end of the second loop, Alan decides he will forgo the last mile, so he can get to church. I open my garage door, and get us both some unfrozen Gatorade. As he stretches, I go to get my last mile in. When I get to the corner of my neighborhood, the streets have a dry strip across ¾ of the middle. So I take off the Yak trax, and I run a half mile out and back with no contraptions on my feet. Those things did a good job in the snow, but it feels good to have my Mizuno WaveRiders connecting with the road directly, with no steel, or snow in between. I have no problem hitting an 8:11 pace for this “cool-down” The overall pace for all 17 miles- 8:25.

Plowing Through

2009-01-10T20:38:00.000-06:00

Today, I’m supposed to run 15 miles. We got a lot of snow, yesterday, and as of Friday evening, almost the whole 8 mile running route was plowed, and clear. But it started to snow a “wintry mix” late last night, and it is still coming down. Some if melts on the street, but there is some slushy buildup. At first I thought I might have 3-4 people running with me for various distances, but injury, schedule and weather kept everyone away but Alan. He gets to my house about 7:15, and we head out. Lots of snow pack on the streets right by my house, but when we get to a busier (but still residential street, it is better). Where cars have recently driven, there is not so much snow.
But we have to move over for traffic a lot, and while we are only running in less than 1 inch of show, it is either grainy like sand, or slushy like oil. We stick to the more heavily travelled streets, because it seems like the Village plows and salts those more. But there is no sign of any of that being done over that last 2 days. It really seems up to the traffic to dissipate the snow. After about 8 miles, it is really wearing on us, even though we are on flat terrain. Alan’s knee starts to hurt, and it sounds like an Ilio-tibial band issue. There isn’t even a spot to stand to the side and stretch, because you don’t have dry ground to plant your foot. When we come within a half mile of our starting point at my house, Alan opts to cut his run short, even though we have about 3 miles to go. I finish by running on a busy street, which is somewhat clearer, but very hilly. It’s hard to keep the pace, and that lastb half mile to my house in SOME OF THE MOST UNPLOWED STREETS IN MY TOWN is grueling.
I usually don’t take ice baths until my runs get above 16 miles, but I decide that today would be a good day to take one. I also drive 20 miles in the increasing snowstorm to buy Yak-Trax, so I can cope with running in the snow. They only have one left in medium, so I call Alan, and he says put one on order for him.

Swimming Against the Tide

2009-01-09T20:36:00.000-06:00

I dropped my son off at 5:20 am at the high school, for his off-season football weightlifting/conditioning session. The pool is not even open to the public yet, but within 5 minutes, I am able get into the locker room. I swim 2 warmup laps, and then I swim the same workout I did last week. I time my second set of 9 laps, and it takes me 10:15. It’s weird. I will be swimming a 2 fast lengths, and it takes me 57 seconds. Then I swim 1 fast and 1 easy, and it’s only 1:03. So, my fast laps just feel harder, faster –not so much.

Abs-olute Tempo Run

2009-01-08T20:33:00.000-06:00

Since I did strength and core work on Tuesday night, I took Wednesday off, to get into work early and do testing on our overdue Version 15. However, I did some abdominal exercises last night, that I saw in Runners World. Even though I had done crunches the night before, this article stressed that straight crunches only work your outer abdominal muscles, and you need to work the deeper (“core”) ones to really help your running efficiency. Or maybe it was just the photos of Olympic track star Lolo Jones in a midriff-baring top that inspired me.
Today is a tempo run – 1 mile warmup, 5 miles at at an 8 minute pace, then a mile cooldown. I usually cheat on the warm-ups and cooldowns, with about a half mile each. I’m not sure if this is wise, because the mileage on this FIRST program is so low already, compared to other programs.
This run should not be a problem, because my 13 mile long run on Saturday averaged an 8 minute pace. But it is cold out. We got over an inch of snow the last 36 hours, and this powdery stuff is drifting in the 10-15 mph wind. The snow on the streets would not be a problem at all, if the Village would do any semblance of plowing, and would not be so stingy with their salt supplies. I understand that the economy is bad, and that the price of road salt has increased – but maintaining and clearing the roads is one of the few vital services that these suburban towns have to provide – much more integral than paying for yet another $25-$50K study of what the depressed “downtown” area needs to do attract businesses and shoppers.
Today I put on a Dri-fit T-shirt as an inner layer, and then a long-sleeve wicking shirt, and yet another one with a hood. Then I put on a lightweight, vented “shell” jacket. I have cold weather tights, with shorts over them. Today I am going to try 2 pairs of socks, which I don’t usually do. I like my Mizuno Wave Rider 11’s (http://www.onlineshoes.com/ review), but the weave on the uppers is really light. I also wear 2 pairs of gloves, a thick, wicking hat, hat and a fleece face warmer.
As soon as I get to my driveway, I start running. By the end of my block, I am hitting my tempo pace, instead of starting at the slower warmup pace. I had planned to tack a mile out and back onto my 4 mile route, so I could get at least 6 miles overall. But after a half mile in these conditions, I realize that 8 minutes heading straight into a near-zero wind chill will freeze everything that faces that way, including my “package”. So, I divert northwest onto a more winding route that zig-zags in that general direction. In sipte of the 2 pairs of gloves, my left hand is getting numb from the cold. I wonder if the Garmin GPS on that wrist is constricting the flow of blood to that hand. So I retract my fingers out of the gloves fingers, and curl my hand inside the main part of the glove. I end up doing this a lot when I run in the winter. After a while, the fingers will warm up, and I wear the gloves normally. I am welling well under an 8 minute pace, because I am motivated to get warm.
The streets are mainly clear, except for icy corners, and some stretches where snow has drifted off open fields/lots to cover the streets -but it is not dangerously icy like the weeks before Christmas. I extend my route at its south end, and end up just short of 5 miles at tempo pace as I pass my house. It is very hard to keep going when I know the heat is cranking up in there, and I could be in a hot shower in 5 minutes. But I run to the end of the block to hit 5 miles, and I run one more time around the block for a woefully short quarter-mile cooldown. My total run was 6 miles instead of 7, but I was 22 seconds under my tempo pace.

Top Gun

2009-01-03T19:57:00.000-06:00

Today, I had arranged to run with Bill, Alan, Megan and Scott, Megan trained with me last year before she ran Boston. Scott is trying to qualify for Boston this year with a 3:30 in Champaign in April. Alan is a decent triathlete trying to improve his distance running, so he is shadowing my training, and then will see if it will work to train for a fall marathon. Bill is the Zen master, having run Boston in 3;30, with a sub-3:10 qualifying time. He has been in more of a middle-distance mode recently, and his hamstring is hurting. It turns out that Megan got sick, and she backed out at the last minute. Scott invited a group from the MultisportMadness triathlon club, so Gil Ken, Tom and pat came out.
We are starting from the Old Plank Road Trail in Frankfort. It is a paved, totally straight trail that parallels US Route 30 1 mile south from Joliet to close to the Indiana State line. This is the meeting spot for Saturday Long runs for my running club (Park Forest Running and Pancake club). I like to join them, but in the winter, it is too tempting to just start and finish at my house, so I can immediately get inside, and stretch and/or get out of my wet/sweaty clothes. Today it is a little milder, and more importantly, the snow and ice has melted from the streets and running path. I put out Gatorade and water and cups about 3 miles west of here, so we should be able to run past there a couple times.
I was thrown a curve early this morning, when I happened to check my email, and one of the PFRPC members told me there was a guy from the Navy who was in town, and wanted to run at my pace. I was given his phone number, but no first name. This was starting to get complicated. Scott wants to run 15 miles at a 9 minute pace, I want to run 13 at 8:45, and this guy could run 15 at 7:30-8 mins per mile. AND, my group is starting at 7:30, but this guy won’t get there until 8 am. I call him, to let him know we will double back to meet him. The cell phone connection is shaky, but I thought I heard him say his name was “Ben”.
Alan and Megan back out, so, I meet Bill and Scott and the Tri-club guys and we head out at 7:30. I want to go 3.5, but the group is determined to make it an even two miles and turn around. Even with the fast 8:15-8:30 pace we are running, it will be after 8 am when we get back to the parking lot to meet “Ben”. I try calling his cell phone, but a woman answers, and has no idea who “Ben” is. So I hope he will start out with the Park Forest Group to meet us. When we turn around, we split into 2 groups, because this pace is too fast for Scott’s long run pace. We see 10-15 Park Forest runners, and they tell me that the Navy guy – “Pat”, is waiting back at the parking lot. Oh. Pat.
So, we head out again, and Bill joins Pat and I and soon we are running a sub-8 minute pace. I know Bill will only run 6-10, so he’ll manage this pace, and I plan to back Pat down for the rest. We start to get acquainted – I had the mistaken impression that he was an old “Navy buddy” of one of the club members. But he is much younger (about 10 years younger than me), and is an active duty career military guy. His wife’s family lives in the area, and he had encountered some of our group out running, and struck up a conversation. He had a 15 mile run planned, and would welcome the company. Our club has an especially soft spot for the military, because one of our members, Danyelle, was deployed in Afghanistan for the last 18 months. After a couple of miles, Bill doubles back, and heads back to the parking lot.
I found out that Pat is a few years away from retirement. He was trained as surgical tech, and now he recruits medical personnel, like doctors and nurses. He is considering going to school for his nursing degree when he retires from the military. He started running in 2001, and he qualified for Boston with a 2:55 in the Marine Corps marathon. But, in Boston he had stomach problems, and ONLY finished in 3:25. He did some triathlons, and some ultramarathons, but recently had gotten away from marathons. The return of the Pittsburgh marathon had attracted him, so he he was starting to train for it. I decided to detour from our straight/flat trail to give him some of the modest hills we have here.
As we ran, we talked about his career plans, I told him about my wife’s prospects to be a Pediatric Hospitalist, using her Nurse Practitioner training. I tell him that he would be perfect for a Physicians’ Assistant. He told me about his travels in the military, and doing IVs in a Humvee, and seeing midnight mass in the Vatican, and visiting concentration camps in Germany, then treating an elderly cancer patient, with a concentration camp tattoo on her arm. I let him know that pretty much validates his mission, and the US military right now. Then I just bear down and try to keep up. I tell Pat about my nephew who is in the Navy on asubmarine right now, and it has seemed to give structure, and purpose to his life. I hope Ryan turns put like this guy in 10 years. I finish my 13 miles at the parking lot, and he carries on run 4 more by himself. We may never meet again, but I hope I am carrying some of his spirit with me in Boston.

For Those About to Rock

2009-01-02T10:42:00.000-06:00

Back to work today. I need to keep up the workout schedule before work gets even more hectic with everyone back from the holidays. I go to my health club, Body Tech, and I ride a stationary Bike for about 30-some minutes. My kids got new I-Pods for Christmas, so Dad inherited his daughter’s I-Pod Shuffle. Last night I ripped a lot of CDs to my laptop, and loaded my daughter’s I-Pod with MY kind of music. Good-bye Taylor Swift – Hello AC/DC and Dire Straits. The new variety helps pass the time on a day when the club is pretty empty, and I wish I wasn’t going to work, and I stayed up a little too late watching bowl games.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T02:01:00.000-06:00

New Year’s Eve was a rest day, at least as far as my running was concerned. Sleep did suffer, since we actually stayed up past midnight. Today I am joining my wife’s triathlon club Multisport Madness. My schedule calls for a 6 mile run -with 2 miles in the middle at a temp pace of 7:15. Our route will be over some of the hillier terrain in this area of Northern Illinois. It took until about the 2.5 mile mark when we past the biggest hills before we could hit the tempo pace, and at that point we were headed into a 20 mph wind. The guys I was running with, Gil and Alan are not particularly training for a marathon right now, but they have run Ironman and half-Iron man Triathlons over the last few years, and they have been regulars at 6-8 mile runs at the Swallow Cliff woods in the Cook County Forest Preserve in Cook County (where there really are some hills). So they are capable of this pace, but today might not be the best timing. Of course, gung-ho Gil had to finish our run with a Fartlek, so we end up sprinting for about a quarter mile, and then we are at the parking lot.
We stretch a little bit, but then decide to jog out to meet the rest of the group, which includes my wife Laura. After the run, we are going into one of the restaurants here, and have a New Years Day Brunch.

Don't Leave Nothin' But the Corn Cob

2008-12-30T10:47:00.000-06:00

Today is a cross-training day. I’ll be swimming laps at the local high school. My training program calls for three running days, and at least 2 cross-training days. When I started this program (FIRST) two marathons (1 year) ago, I struggled with the swimming. Along with stationary biking, it is the recommended non-impact aerobic exercise. I don’t know if I am much faster now, but I do feel more efficient in the water.

When I was recovering from the 2008 Chicago Marathon, and not running heavy miles, I tried to swim 1-2 times a week. I would usually swim 30-40 lengths. Today, my workout is
1 fast/ 1 easy
2 fast/2 easy
3 fast/3 easy
2 fast/2 easy
1 fast/1 easy
I rest 1 minute, and do 3 sets total. So, with 3 sets of 18 lengths, and 2 warmup lengths, that’s 56 lengths. So, it’s a step up. It took me about 35 minutes to do this workout, but I wasn’t flailing.
I think that swimming has helped my core strength. When I was near the finish of the Green Bay Marathon last May, and I was getting close to the time I needed to qualify for Boston, someone had jumped in to run with a friend of his at the end. He said “okay – arms and hips now”. I had known to pump my arms, but my hips had always given out so that my quads had to overwork. But I realized that my hip flexors were still strong, so I used them. I credit that to the swimming and biking.
Then this guy told his buddy ‘Give it everything. Don’t leave anything on the table” And the runner trying to finish followed up with “Nothing but the Corn cob”. And I decided to take that attitude, too – I was going to give it my all – qualifying time or not, I was going to cross that finish line knowing there was nothing left on the course. And I did.

Running Down the Dream

2008-12-29T10:19:00.001-06:00

This is the first week of my 16 week training program leading up to running the Boston Marathon.
I have run 7 marathons. I started with the Chicago Marathon in 2005, where I ran 4:07. I liked it a lot, and felt I could have finished in under 4 hours if I had not gone out so fast. So, I tried the Green Bay Marathon in May 2006. My time there was 3:42. I had started with a 3:30 pace group, and they went too fast. I got passed buy the 3:40 group, and their leader seemed much more involved. I figured if I had run with them, I could have finished strong in slightly under 3:40.
That’s when I decided to try to qualify for the Boston marathon. I came close in Chicago in 2006 – 3:36:01
The I undertook a high-volume training program to run Buffalo in May 2007. It was muggy, the course was mismarked, and I finished in 4:02.
For the Chicago Marathon in October 2007, I had already planned to run it at my wife’s pace. She has rheumathoid arthritis, so it was her first and only marathon. After that ordeal in 90+ heat, I was ready for a real race, and I qualified for Boston with a 3:30:35 at the Green Bay Marathon in May 2007.
To get that qualifying time, I used the F.I.R.S.T “Run Less, Run Faster” program from the Furman Institute for Running Sports Technology, which haves me run 3 times a week, and do non-impact aerobic training 2-3 other days. I am going to use it again to train for Boston.
I did speedwork today – three 1600 meter repeats at 6:42, with a 1 minute rest.
The first mile was 6:25, but boy that rest time seemed short. The next two intervals were at 6:52 and 6:53. I expected to have a little slower pace my first week, but the variation was greater than I expected, because it was mild (30 degrees) for a Chicago winter, with a light wind, and dry streets. I have tried to lay a running base the last few weeks, but with deadlines/organizational changes at work, and the holidays, and some extreme weather conditions that left the streets with inches thick ice refrozen from melted snow and rain, it was hard to do quality runs outside.
I feel good, though, I got some quality stretching in, and actually, my average time was 6:43, so that’s pretty close to the goal pace of 6:41.

Search Engine Submission - AddMe