Of Mice and Marathons

Pretty good day. Humid and 68-70 degrees. Side stitch in the last ~1.5 miles. Cost me about 30 seconds there. A little quick to start (5:48) but purely effort based. Report to follow. For now it's epic brunch with Megan.

A really good weekend for elites here. Smoking fast times. And how about Deena Kastor?

REPORT

The last 7-10 days it's been in the lower to mid-fifties at night, but on Saturday the low was going to be 66-68. I knew my chances for a cool race like last year (~45-52 degrees) weren't going to happen so I just had to go with what I could do. It wasn't super warm but it was humid and it did affect me a bit.

Warmed up for 18 minutes and used the bushes in the Rodin Museum before doing a few strides and getting to the line. I felt quite good during the warmup, so I thought maybe I could run strong. Got out a bit fast but I felt pretty good, but then I got nervous and slowed a bit. Early on I recognized a runner from Maine who is faster than me, so I figured I would keep him in sight and see what the day brought. I passed him around mile 4 or 5 I think and he went through the first mile in ~5:44. Not sure what his training has been like or if it was a bit warm for him.

Effort felt pretty good early, but it wasn't easy (not red lining like I was the whole way when I set my PR). Ran with some folks here and there but ran pretty much by myself after Falls Bridge and coming down Martin Luther King by Fairmount Park East. Caught up with some guys around mile 11, but I started to get a side stitch (always happens during a marathon around 22-24 but never in training or shorter races), so I lost some seconds in those miles. Kicked past a guy at the end and I don't think got passed after the 5-6 mile mark.

I felt pretty good that I didn't bleed too bad in the last two miles (it felt more ugly than it shows in the splits). I was not happy because I tend to run my fastest splits in the final 5k on flat courses (as you should). I took sips of water and a little Gatorade, but I guess I wasn't hydrated enough or the fluids messed me up.

This is the third time I have broken 1:20, so that was good but I am hoping to continue to run much faster. Satisfied with the time today even though I wanted and tried for faster. Time to focus on the marathon though. Unless I find another half my half in late October will be a long MP tempo/long run most likely.

32 minute cool down. No shakeout run. I felt the time on my feet was sufficient this morning. I'll recover until at least Friday and see where I am at for a possible aerobic tempo.

Rich, chocolatey goodness: 5:48, 6:03, 5:58, 5:52, 5:58, 5:53, 5:59, 5:59, 6:05, 5:59, 5:57, 6:15, 6:18, 36.7

Springside Academy Athletic Fields and Track - 5 miles, averaged 7:42

Legs felt a bit beat this morning, but once I walked to the grocery store and to campus they felt pretty good. Air was very cool when I went out around 5:45 this evening. Lows in the 40s the next few days. Where were those on Sunday?!

Had a good dinner of chicken and pesto rotelle with roasted red pepper coulis from The Athlete's Palate. The red pepper coulis is a must. I call it "undersauce" because I don't know how to pronounce "coulis."

Lunch: VG Road + Forbidden Drive to NW and back - 9 miles, averaged 7:38

PM: Valley Green Loop - 5.25 miles, averaged 8:35

AM: Wyndmoor Key Loop - 6.5 miles, averaged 7:45

PM: Treadmill - 6 miles in 44:45. Did some incline strides.

Germantown to Forbidden Drive and up VG - 13 miles, averaged 7:36

rainy and cool. Lots of grit from Forbidden Drive made its way to the shower.

AM: Flourtown Temp Loop - 14.5 miles, averaged 7:20 w/ 8-mile AT Tempo (6:29 average)

Warmed up 3.5 with light strides, shed my shirt and got into it. Not much of a change in effort from mile 2-3 but the pace started dropping (probably because my legs got stretched out). My legs are pretty beat so this was a good workout. Cooled down 3 miles.

6:40, 6:38, 6:29, 6:28, 6:28, 6:26, 6:27, 6:20

Spanned the 60 degree range for the workout. If the high for Philly is 60+ it will be a heat wave. Effort was not easy breezy, but on par with what I usually do for this workout. Cooling down 300+ feet of gain isn't always fun but you get a good butt workout.

My shifting loyalty is going toward Saucony. I've never had a shoe so versatile as the Kinvara 5. Any shoe I can do long runs, recovery runs, tempo runs, and the occasional impromptu track workout gets 5 stars from me because I am very particular about my shoes.

PM: Neighborhood loop - 5 miles, averaged 8:13

Chestnut Hill College Hill Loop - 7.25 miles, no watch

83 degrees, sunny, and very dry. Amazing fall weather. Lot of people on Forbidden Drive.

Decided to do a 5k in the morning. It would be nice to get a race that's not completely under tree cover, so I can get an accurate sense of the course. As usual in a marathon buildup I haven't found a good time in my schedule to run a decent 5k. Maybe I can beat my legs into submission tomorrow, but I have to watch for pieces of ledge so I don't fracture my foot either.