Mike's Marathon Training Blog

Medium pace, race recovery, felt great

5 miles on 88Crime course with Laszlo

3 miles and 200 push ups and situps with Blue Pants Racing at night

1.25 to the track, 1 mile warm up 10x 400m @ 76-78 seconds .25 mile cool down 1.25 miles home(night running) 

3.1 mile warm up, 4.7 mile 2 minute moderatedly fast, 1 minute fast with Jeff, 2.2 mile cooldown brought in Shay nice and easy

14.05 miles!  10-11 with Laszlo, the rest on my own. Felt great. Aroud a 7:30 pace. I definately could have done more, but thats what next weeks long run is for.  I have a busy week coming fast at me.  I have to be a groomsmen tonight in a wedding and then I fly to San Diego in the morning and will be back on Friday.  I fly everyday so I am hoping I have some good places to run nearby.  Anyone that knows good places to get in good runs in SD let me know!

Flew in to San Diego. Set up my room, in les than 30 minutes, I was out and running in balboa Park.  I got in a quick 3.5 miles...tough to gauge perfectly....  It was a very nice run, SD is beautiful.  Its really HiLly too!!!!  It was a beautiful day, and i also found they have premade running routes at the front desk, so I need to check on that  I plan on getting in a good 30-40 miles this week.  I did drink a few beers tonight, but it was a good time.

Tried a 5 Mile urban route from the hotel.  It wasnt too bad, other than stopping eery 10 seconds for traffic lights.  Once I got to the Harbor trail it was nicer, but then it wasn't eactly clear where to go.  I took a few long cuts and eventually made it.  I am estimating and additional mile.  I took a nice loop out to a park and back to the Harbor Trail.

Overall not too bad, but wish it went smoother as I was trying to squeeze in 6.6 -9 depending on time...

AWESOME RUN!!! Wow, San Diego is beautiful and the running is great!  Im still getting used to the urban running thing, but its coming along.  I am figuring out the routes which makes it a lot easier too. My run today was 2 different routes offered by the hotel, a 5 mile and 4 mile.  I joined them together and got in a great 9!  Balboa park is gorgeous and its so cool with some great scenery, all around.  I saw an awesome dog park, its really cool, I wish my "kids" aka dogs could be here to enjoy it.  I think I will make some trips out here once in a while, now that I have a fuel efficient vehicle...

Yet another fantastic run in SD!  Today I split up my run a little bit. I ran the first 3.5 to the Aerospace Museum.  Its FREE entry for active duty military, so I had to take advantage while I could.  I stopped and soaked in the sights, read a little bit of history and checked out some old planes.  It was fun and its great to see the history of aviation, which I take to heart since I fly for a living.

The second half of my run was good, but I will have to get out earlier tomorrow.  Too many people on the streets at lunch time and I had to stop quite a few times to wait for a clear spot in the sidewalk. 

All in all it was another great 10.5 miles.  Tomorrow I think I will try to hit some of the trails if I can figure out how to get on them....

A quick 4 before the flight home...I will miss the running in San Diego, but I WILL be back...

8 miles on Seven Falls Trail, pretty fast since I was alone and we had to get to the Arizona Distance Classic... .4 in here and there mileage through parking lots and to trail heads...

7.6 miles slighty slower pace on Sabino Trail.  Those Goretex shoes are nice for the water crossings, but I can feel the weight difference.

Overall, good day, but I needed to eat more, I was feeling it in my stomach pretty early, around 10-ish miles.  All the traveling and miles this week contributed some I think.  Also this was day 8 in a row of running, even though there were a few short days I should probably rest some.  I can't tomorrow as I am a Pacer for the Arizona Distance Classic, but maybe Monday or Tuesday? I could use a massage soon too!

6 weeks to my marathon...

Today was the ADC, Valley of Gold Half Marathon.  Blue Pants Racing provided 7 pace groups for the event and we all did great.  All but one was within 30 seconds!  I paced the 1:40 since we had noone else and I did run 16 miles yesterday that were pretty hard...

Pacing is a blast, I highly recommend it to any of you who have never done it.  My group was scattered and few in between, but in the end David and I crossed the line setting his PR and his first ever sub 1:40.  We also led in Nick and a couple of others that where right there around 1:40.  Many runners told me that they just kept me in sight and it was extrememly helpful.  I enjoy helping others and providing my public service.  I did not realize just how many were with me until about 10 people approached me after the race to thank me.  Its gratifying to know that I was a help.  I was happy enough just to get David his PR and in on time, but its even better to know I helped more than a handful.

I had a nice little warm up run with Jeff and Atilla of .7 miles. As for the race, it was semi-hilly, not too bad and overall a pretty nice course.  John "The Penguin" Bingham has a solid company and puts on a good race.  He is a pretty nice guy too. It was cold today and mildly windy, but not bad. 

Overall it was a GREAT time! BPR had 7 pacers, two support runners/tent watchers and an additonal 5-10 runners in race on their own.  Good showing, you should be able to see the pictures soon on www.bluepantsracing.com

Easy recovery...with a pit stop.  I ate like crap today since I had to fly unexpectedly.  Bad move on the food.  I usually have stuff there, but I haven't been around for over a month with ym last 2 trips and my vacation time in between.... I paid for it and I learned my lesson.

Felt GOOD!  Tonight I went early to the BPR workout and I did our police substation route 4.7 at Tempo Pace.  I ran 6:29.  I felt great and very comfortable at the pace.  I actually went a bit faster because twice I had to stop and tie my shoe :(  It would have been about a 6:22 pace without the shoe lace issues.  I was warm and sweaty, but could maintain that pace for a half marathon for sure. That make me happy since my goal is to break a 1:25 and that would be close. 

My last 3 easy miles were with the team at a very easy pace.  We did our normal Tuesday night 5X40 Pushups and Situps for a total of 200 each plus our 3 miles.

As I am nearing my marathon I am debating on my pace to run.  I think I will shoot for about 6:45 which is a 2:56 and some change.  It will be suffice and meet all my goals while not pushing too hard.  The other plus sides are 1. If I feel really good at 20 or so I can bump up the pace easily. 2. If its too fast I can slow it down, but I know it won't be TOO fast and I shouldn't have to slow down too much and my goal of 3:10 for Boston should be there, but I may lose out on my sub 3hr marathon.

Lastly 10 days straight of running and I know I need to take a day off, but I don't want to.  Tomrrow is perfect though because I am flying at night and will miss the BPR workout regardless.  I may try to get a massage in the morning, but my normal therapist is not working :(.  I will also try to get the dogs out for a hike or walk.

Took my day off from running.  I took the dogs on a walk and then went and got a 90 minute sports massage.  The girl did ok, but I will stick to regular gal from here on...

AM;

1 mile w/ each dog. 

Will try to get in 4.7 easy and 4.7 Tempo tonight...

PM:

5.85 Interval run.  2 minutes hard/ 2 minutes conversational pace

37:29 total for an overall 6:25 pace.  I felt grrrrrreat!  It was a nice hard pace and still decent on recovery.  I ran with Jeff and Atilla, Scott was on for a while but was dehydrated and dropped off some.  I felt wonderful and could have hung on a lot longer.  My body is feeling awesome and I can't wait for marathon day to come and its still 43 days out.

Additional .15 easy to clean up 6 for the night with Jeff

I did not run my additional miles tonight because I am going to do an easy 10 with my new boss in the morning...

Nice easy 10.3 miles with the new boss.  Its a nice loop around the airfield and back to work.

Today I ran 3.7 on my own before the group showed up.  I ran it in a 7:28 pace.  nice warm up for the rest to come.

With the group I ran 2.7 5miles with Laszlo and Scott, then Scott and I branched off tot he west and hit "A" Mountain, we did 3 loops around the top and headed back down to the Santa Cruz River trail.  We finished the normal out and back course for a total of 14.5.  We had a pretty good pace while moving on the flats, but we took our time climbing up to the peak of A mtn.  We paced out at 8:30 miles in the end, but we were cruising ok and lost a lot of time on A mtn.  We talked the entire run too which helps. Overall for an 18.2 I felt great, even on the hills and my confidence is good for the marathon in 42 days... :)  Next weeks 20 miler will be a bit more interesting since I am camping and will be at 5400 ft elevation, a bit higher than Tucsons 2100ish.

On the way back I was being nice and informed a nice lady that had her dog off leash of a stray dog ahead.  She asked a question and I strayed off path a bit and ran over a pricker bush....Below is the pic of my legs as they are now....

8 mile tempo run.  Paced out at about 6:40/mile.  Nice run, although the 8 mile loop from my house out, around Reid Park and back is not near as beautiful as San Diego was.  Its still not a bad loop and I also had the pleasure of seeing who I believe was the USAT Olympic team.

  I saw the group of ladies first, cruising along the path on Alvernon, then about a mile and a half later around the corner of Country Club and 22nd I ran right through the middle of an oncoming group of around 15-20 guys.  They were actually pretty nice, one of the guys up front noticed me and had the team make an opening for me.  I passed through with a Whats up guys? and Thanks and most of them actually responded.

Both groups of them where going pretty fast and since Laslzo said he saw them last week in the gym, I know they are in town. They were somewhat uniform, not exact colors, but it was very obvious they are a team of some sort.

2 more easier miles 1 per dog.

AM
Quick 2 dog miles, 1 per dog.  On my way to work before 9am and got home at 2am...love the new office job :(

PM

3 Miles easy with LnL and it was nice, followed by our Tues night 3 miles 200 push ups, 200 sit ups.  A couple miles were fast because Jeff's hernia hurts if hes going slow.

AM

EZ 6 miles on base with Tam'Ra

PM

1 mile with 2 dogs.  I will go back to 2 miles,1 with each.  Plus an Aussie Shepard that was loose came and attacked my Pitbull :(  They are ok, but it was not cool.

1.25 to the track EZ, 1 Mile warm up, 1 Mile Time Trial (see below) .5 cooldown, 1.25 home.

Time Trial

1 mile in 5:34.  As you can see above I had already put in 9.25 miles and it did not help with being fast.  I also only ran with Robert who was 1 minute behind.  Jeff was late due to work and he ran a 5:14.  It would have helped if we ran together, or at least close.  Some sort of gauge/competition helps with speed.

Overall I am satisfied, but glad I decided to level out my mileage around 65 this week instead of jumping up to 70 or so.

3 miles alone fast around Reid Park.  Around a 6:20 pace.  5 miles, most with Laszlo, 2 minutes easy 4 minutes fast.  6:50ish pace overall.

My legs are getting a little tight, I will take it nice and easy with a few strides tomorrow to get my legs loosened up a bit.

1.3 to PT, 1.4 at PT, plush push ups and situps, etc..

1.3 back to work.

17 miles on the way to the 5K.  LnL + Natalie went and registered us for the 5K and came back and picked me up and took me to the race. 

I started my 17 miler 2 minutes late at 5:17am, but I made up some time on my pace.  I started pretty close to on pace/slightly fast, but after 4 miles or so I needed to hit a bathroom badly.  Luckily around 6.5 miles I found a starbucks and ran in there.  Came out, felt great and light.  I was about 5secs/mile faster than my planned 7:40 at that point, but the rest of the run went great.

I was feeling good and going by my mile markers on my little sheet of paper with just my splits and some emergency contact numbers since I did not have my cell phone.  I was getting better and faster each mile...and it wasn't the easiest or flatest course out there.  I ran a mild uphill on the way there and had a light headwind.  Over 17 miles I ran a net elevation gain of 539 feet.  Not bad, but there were a couple of small hills that made me work.  I ended up getting picked up 4 minutes ahead of schedule with a pace of 7:27 overall.

THE RACE

I lined up for the 5K, I could tell there were a couple of quick guys, but not many.  I thought I had a chance of taking overall.  The HS and my main two competitors took off quick and I settled in to a nice comfy 6 minute pace.  I passed the slowing HS'ers except for one by mile 1.  That left me in fourth.  I pased the next couple of guys and by mile 2.5 I was in second.  I ran a 6:10, 5:55 for my first two. Not sure they were exact.  I turned it up slighlty, but first was out of reach about 30-40 seconds ahead with only .5 to go.  I pushed and finished second in a pace of about 6:06. 18:58! First loser by 39 seconds.  Not bad at the end of 20.1 miles for the day.  Definately feeling ready for the marathon, but I am not getting over confident, that last 10K can break even the most experienced runners.

Blue Pants Racing had a good showing once again.  In addition to my placing: Lisa, Lauren and Natalie took first-third for O'all females respectively.  Lauren and Natalie took AG 1st and Lisa 1st O'all Female!  Great Job team!!!

Overall for the day I paced out at 7:14! Thats pretty good for training. Only 10K more and I would qualify for Boston.  I am still shooting to break 3 hrs and this was a good sign!

Vail 5k

2 Dog miles easy, 1 dog at a time.

3 miles at Marathon Pace (6:50ish)

5 miles just aroud a 7:05 pace with Laszlo..it was supposed to be a bit easier...oops :)