Running For My Life

I am still in the midst of a significant mileage buildup phase.  Last week I ran 58 miles, which was the 8th time in the last 10 weeks that I have eclipsed 50 miles.  This week I am doing 59 miles.  Consequently, my legs don’t like me very much right now.

I am not doing any speedwork or tempo runs, just slow and steady miles, usually at an 8:45 to 9:00 pace.  I find this pace to be very enjoyable, much more so than when I am doing faster runs.  I have still been able to run outside in the dark, even though the temps are getting nasty here in Wisconsin (yesterday morning it was 19 degrees with 15-20 mph wind gusts).

The purpose of my runs right now is solely to get a base of miles under me prior to starting my Boston Marathon training program.  I am “building the engine”, if you will.  I have continued to do cross-training on Wednesdays, and have been doing a lot of strength training, including weight lifting for my upper-body and some workouts for my hamstrings and quads.

I have also been working on increasing my turnover rate, which is measured by how many times my feet hit the ground during one minute of running.  Ideally it should be 170 to 175.  When I started measuring, it was around 160.  I have since gotten that up to about 168.  This has been a great time to work on turnover rate and running form since I am not paying attention to my pace.

Right now my legs are in pretty bad shape.  I am experiencing pain in my right calf, hamstring and knee, as well as my lower back.  I think the two days off each week are the only thing that is allowing me to rack up mileage like this.  I only have three weeks to go and then I am taking a 10-day break before I start my Boston training, so hopefully I can stay in one piece until then.

Workout:

• Type: Cycle
• Date: 11/28/2007
• Time: 05:00:00
• Total Time: 00:59:40.00
• Distance: 35 miles
• Average Speed: 35.2 mph

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 11/27/2007
• Time: 05:00:00
• Total Time: 1:27:40.00
• Distance: 10 miles
• Average Pace: 8:46.32/mile

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 11/26/2007
• Time: 05:00:00
• Total Time: 1:28:20.00
• Distance: 10 miles
• Average Pace: 8:50.19/mile

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 11/24/2007
• Time: 05:30:00
• Total Time: 2:37:40.00
• Distance: 18 miles
• Average Pace: 8:45.55/mile

My wife and sister-in-law decided to experience “Black Friday” with a 3 a.m. trip to Circuit City (and it turned out to be an unsuccessful trip as they did not get a $299 laptop computer before they sold out).  And since the kids were still sleeping at 5 a.m., I had to stay inside for my run this morning, as I would not want them to wake up to an empty house (they are 12, 10 and 7).

Prior to jumping on the treadmill I went to move the TV in a position where I could see it so I could watch an episode of Star Trek during my run.  Unfortunately, I slid the TV too far and broke the cable connection, and now the TV is kaput.  This is the $700 flat panel LCD TV that I bought earlier this year.  I am still holding out hope that I can find someone to repair it; otherwise, it was an expensive morning…and I didn’t even get a new laptop.  At least my knee is feeling better these days!

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 11/23/2007
• Time: 05:00:00
• Total Time: 1:29:00.00
• Distance: 10 miles
• Average Pace: 8:54.12/mile

Forget the white Christmas; we woke up to a white Thanksgiving!!  It continued to snow throughout my run, which spiced things up a little, especially when I fell on the pavement at around 8 miles.  Fortunately I was able to catch myself before I landed, but it still didn’t feel so good on my arms.  Ironically, I fell right in front of the house where one of my youngest son’s friends lives, and even more ironic, this boy broke his arm while playing at our house a few weeks ago!  The irony would have been complete had I broken my arm!

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 11/22/2007
• Time: 06:00:00
• Total Time: 1:27:30.00
• Distance: 10 miles
• Average Pace: 8:44.78/mile

Workout:

• Type: Cycle
• Date: 11/21/2007
• Time: 05:00:00
• Total Time: 1:00:00.00
• Distance: 40 miles
• Average Speed: 40 mph

It was a remarkable 45 degrees at 5 a.m. this morning when I went out for my daily run (yes, I am still outside attempting to conquer my fear of running in the dark).  For mid-November in Wisconsin, you don’t see temps in the 40s at that time of day.  Now they say the snow is on the way so I may be forced back inside to the treadmill later this week.  We’ll see….

As for my run, there’s not much to say.  It was the sixth straight day of running for me (10 miles-10-8-5-10-10) which is normal for me.  I typically take Sunday off but since I had a race that day, I didn’t.  Tomorrow I will get a day off from running, but will do a 1-hour workout on my exercise bike as well as some weight training.

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 11/20/2007
• Time: 05:00:00
• Total Time: 1:27:20.00
• Distance: 10 miles
• Average Pace: 8:44.02/mile

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 11/19/2007
• Time: 05:00:00
• Total Time: 1:29:36.00
• Distance: 10 miles
• Average Pace: 8:57.31/mile

Yesterday was race #19 of the season for me, and it was a mixed result.  The good: I finished 4th overall out of 156 runners and 1st in my age group, and posted my 2nd-best time ever (18:46).  The bad:  I did not achieve my main goal of breaking my PR of 18:34.

 I have a few excuses: 1) there was nobody pushing me; the 3rd place runner was way ahead of me and the 5th place runner was way behind me (like 40 seconds),  2) I was coming off a 53-mile week and my legs weren’t fresh, and 3) there were several 180 degree hairpin turns on the course which slowed me down.

All in all, it was a fun event.  The race was held at Wisconsin State Fair Park and we spent much of the time running around the famed Milwaukee Mile, which is one of the oldest race tracks in the country.  The weather turned out to be great…sunny and low-to-mid 30s.   I just wish I could have run about 15 seconds faster!

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 11/18/2007
• Time: 09:00:00
• Total Time: 00:18:46.00
• Distance: 3.1 miles
• Average Pace: 6:03.27/mile