back in the saddle
during the noon hour i moseyed off the reservation for a run. temps were in the mid-60’s and it was very pleasant outside. i ran past the lake and got hissed at by a group of canadian geese. hopefully they’ll be flying south for the winter soon. there was a slight detour to my normal route as some sidewalk demolition was happening but i turned around at 2.5 miles shortly after 20 minutes. heading back, the group of geese had moved away from the sidewalk so i passed by without incident. overall, i ran 5 miles at 7:55 pace with minimal soreness. it’s nice to see the legs have something in them.
lfm 26.2
briefly put – we had brutal conditions. record temperatures plus a 70 degree dewpoint made for a long day. i ran with my friend dana for the first 2.5 miles at just over 7:00 pace to help him avoid a "jackrabbit" start. i then backed off the pace and tried to use my HRM to keep me effort in check with the intent of just recording a finish. by 13.1, i made it through in 1:45 which put me onto a 3:30-ish finish projection, which i thought was reasonable. shortly thereafter the wheels began falling off and i dropped into a "run-walk" mode while taking in as much fluids as my gut could take. by 20 miles i was in full walk mode with my calves, feet and back spasming on and off.
admittedly, i wished that i could just drop out but my wife & kids were waiting at the finish and i couldn’t bear to explain to my 6 & 4 year old that dad had to quit. therefore, i soldiered on and kept moving toward the finish. with 3/4 of a mile to go, i started a slow jog and spotted my family shortly after 26 miles. i stopped to give each of them a kiss then headed for the finish line.
after grabbing a water, i was sitting on the grass with my family waiting for my dad to finish while my 4 year old bent over and wagged a finger in my face saying…"daddy, next time you’ve got to run faster…ok?" unreal.
my dad arrived about 45 minutes later. both of us recorded "PWs" – personal worsts – but tallied finishes nonetheless. (him #11 – me #19)
it’s been said that the marathon can be a humbling experience…to which i wholeheartedly agree.
take it easy
say hello to october. i packed gear and ran 5 miles during lunch. i had forgotten to pack a watch so i’ve got no clue how fast i was running. six days to 26.2. i started looking at weather forecasts…big mistake. this far out, it’s pretty much guesswork. i’m hoping for a cool day with a brisk wind from the north that’ll make the journey a bit easier.
i signed up jade & alia for the colorama run out at lapham peak this saturday. the girls had fun last year so we’ll try it again. this year they should get t-shirts since i pre-registered. we made the decision late last year and all they got was a pin with smokey the bear on it.
as of saturday, i was just over 1600 for the year on 200 days of running which works out to being an average of 8 miles per run. saturday was the 271th day of the year so i’m averaging a little over 5 days and 40 miles a week, year to date.
tune up
i moseyed out the door at 9AM with temps in the mid-50’s. after my GPS watch got synced, i made my way south down commanche and picked up the glacial drumlin trail heading to wales. there weren’t many folks out but i did see two guys with roller skis, no doubt they’re hoping for some measurable snow this approaching winter. i made 5 miles in 39:35 (7:55 pace), made a quick pit stop and then began rolling for home. for the first two miles heading home there’s the added benefit of an elevation drop followed by a mile of level running before the last two miles of uphill running. my 5 mile return trip took me 33:25 (6:41 pace) and left me with a degree of confidence that i’ll have something in my legs next sunday.
for the week, i managed 31.5 miles which is fine for the 2nd week of tapering. last week i was at 40 miles and i had three days off from running in that span of 14 days. i’ll likely sleep in tomorrow and do some 5 to 6 mile efforts this week to keep my legs loose.
MTD – 185
YTD – 1602.5
Odometer – 25,940
got TP?
this morning i headed out with temperatures in the upper forties and rolled south toward the glacial drumlin trail. about a half mile from home, the trees of a house was decorated with long strands of toilet paper…no doubt it’s homecoming in waukesha. the moonlight was very helpful this morning as it lit up the normally dark sections of the glacial drumlin trail. i headed down the trail toward town and made the turnaround at 3 miles. on the way back, my legs started to move a bit more fluidly and i picked up the pace. making my way back home, i passed the house decorated with toilet paper and admired the handywork. i stopped my watch with a little over 6 miles covered in an average pace of 8:15 and then took out the trash.