7.5 mile mole run

Today I ran 7.5 miles around town. Busy work schedule kept me from running too much. Working hard, but not as hard as this mole. This mole hill extends beyond what is shown here.

The goal is to work hard today and tomorrow and do a really long run Friday. If I can't wrap up a work project by Friday morning early, Friday will be a short run too.

5 miles in the rain: Year of "Speed"

A good 5 mile run this morning in the rain. I kept a fast pace during the run.

I'm making this year (till the end of the next philly marathon) the year of speed. I'm going to focus on getting faster. Last year I focused on running my first Ultra and doing two marathons in 5 weeks. This year I'll likely do the same races and thus will focus on doing them faster*. This is not an all out attempt at going as fast as possible. I'm still not a fan of speed work and the goal is to have fun in training not just on race day. However, I will try to increase the pace of all runs and keep the pace closer to the front of my mind on runs.

*Doing the ultra faster is only a goal if the weather is the same or better. It was lower 70s and overcast. If it's sunny and warmer, the goal will be just to finish. Last year two or three days after the ultra it was in the upper 80's and humid.

5 mile run

Today I did the Starbucks 5 mile run. No soreness felt during the run and my pace was fine. When I stopped my legs did feel more tired than normal but not bad. Recovery from the marathon is on pace. Soreness was gone by Friday morning.

Up next: Sunday 5 mile run.

Coming week: two 8-12 mile runs.

26.2 Miles Sunday (Philly Marathon)

Sunday I ran 26.2 miles in the Philly Marathon. My time was 4:40:52. So about 2 1/2 mins faster than my last Marathon, not too much faster but faster. I guess I'm not thrilled with my result but not upset with it either.

It's possible I ran the first half too fast as I ran the first half with an average pace of about 10 and my overall pace was 10.42. My legs are rather sore today, likely from pushing the first half and having to hang on to beat my last marathon time.

Marathon review: This year saw improvements in the area of porta-potties as I believe there were more but took a step backwards in t-shirts and cups. I got the wrong t-shirt in my bag (half-marathon) and two water stations were out of cups. They poured water into our hands.

Up next: Training for Strolling Jim Ultra in the spring and maybe the same two marathons in the fall. I may take off until this Saturday.

5 miles and marathon pace plan.

I did the Starbucks run today without the iPhone. The danger of major rain kept the iPhone inside. Good run.

The marathon plan is to stick with the 4:30 pace group for 20 miles and then try to finish anywhere from 4:27-4:40. A 4:30 finish would be about 30 seconds faster per mile than my last marathon and the fastest I have run a marathon. If I'm feeling great at mile 20, I'll try to pick up the pace by up to 30 seconds per mile for a 4:27 finish. If I'm hurting, I can slow down at least a minute per mile and still end up beating my last marathon time.

Goal 1: Beating my last marathon time of 4:43:31

Goal 2: Finishing around 4:30 +/- 3 mins.

The goal of just finishing a marathon is gone now.

There is almost no chance of me running faster than 4:27. I plan to stick with the 4:30 group for 20 miles even if I feel great. If I feel great, I'll go then but not so much faster I crash - so maybe just about 30 seconds per mile.

3 around the complex

Odd run. Great first, rough second, and good third. It was like a longer run wrapped up in a short one.

Up next: 4-5 tomorrow.

Forecast for Sunday in Philly. Low 60's and cloudy. I'd take lower 50's but I'd be happy if the current forecast holds.

3 treadmill miles

Not a fan of the treadmill but sometimes it's all there is. Steady but not fast pace.

Up next: maybe a 3-4 mile run outside tomorrow night.

10.2 Miles (5.1 + 5.1)

Today I ran 10.2 miles (0.8 liters of water, 90 calories). It was a very good pace run and good last true workout. The rest of the runs before next Sunday will be short maintenance runs.

This run was done in two parts. Five miles, then I took a phone call, and then another five. It actually worked out well as I was able to have a fast pace for each set of five.

Up next: I'm on full time kid duty for the next three days so I will do some short treadmill runs at marathon pace.

Easy 5.7: Busy boy

Today I ran 5.7 miles. My work load increased again (again good for bank, bad for having time to run). I'm not sure I would have run much more anyway. I should be on a taper and my legs were somewhat sore from the last 20 mile run. Last year I did my last 20 miler 3 weeks out, this week I'm going with two weeks.

Up next: Friday an 8-10 mile run.

5 miles: About perfect

I ran 5 miles this morning. It was a near perfect run. Great weather (sunny but cool), little traffic, I felt strong, and my pace was good. My legs were a bit sore but it didn't seem to slow me down. I felt in shape (funny how I can do 5 miles sometimes and not feel in shape).

The Starbucks run (this run) is a good one. Four of the five miles are in some of the best parts of Franklin (tree lined non-busy streets and a park). I can think of some areas I would rather run in other parts of the country but for living here it's the best spot for running.

20 miles: Decent last 20 mile run

Photo: taken roughly around mile 10 on map below.

Today I ran 20 miles (3.0 liters, 450 calories). Overall it was a decent last run long run. A bit of a foot problem at mile 3 almost canceled the run but it seemed to go away. Overall good (not great) pace, running yesterday at a good clip probably didn't help today's pace but was probably the right thing to do.

Now on to the tapper. It's the first one I am looking forward too. My legs are tired.

10.3: Good pace run

I ran 10.3 miles today (0.6 liters of water, 90 calories). It was a good pace run (a bit faster than marathon pace). Put off the 20 mile run till tomorrow due to work.

6 miles

Short run today as work piled up and I plan on doing my last 20 miler this week before the taper for the marathon.