Exact depiction of what goes on in your head...

Pancakes anyone?

Recovery - Weeks 1, 2 & 3

Its been a couple of weeks and between school, work, running, and other responsibilities my blogging fell by the wayside.  I have been trying really hard to work back into running without injuring myself which is definitely frustrating at times.  After all of the miles from marathon training, my brain is conditioned to fight through any pain and even sometimes ignore it which is the last thing you want when you are trying to come back from injury.

I have read tons of articles and anecdotes on how much fitness you lose per week of non-training and most people say you don't really lose anything after 2 weeks off and after that it starts to decline.  Well, I can tell you from experience that after taking 3 weeks off it definitely felt like I was starting from square one again. I was huffing and puffing on the treadmill after a mile and I am sure those old ladies who I blogged about that reeked of booze and cigarettes were just walking there laughing at me as I got bright red in the face and thought I was going to pass out.

However, slowly but surely things are starting to get back to normal after about 3 weeks of training. I heard that on average it takes twice as long to get back in shape as the number of weeks you took off which means I'm looking at another 3 weeks to get back to feeling good which actually feels about right.

My first week back I did the whole run-walk treadmill thing because I knew I needed to take it slow. Here is my first week's log:

Week 1 Total: 19.5 miles.

Monday:		2 miles
Tuesday:		3 miles
Wednesday:		4.5 miles
Thursday:		2 miles
Friday:		Rest
Saturday:		3.5 miles
Sunday:		4 miles

For a first week back the mileage may have been a little on the high side but I had a lot of pent up anxiety and stress that I needed to work out.  For the 3 weeks I wasn't running I had problems sleeping at night, always felt sluggish and was generally very irritable, which I am sure Tina appreciated. I also became extremely obsessed with my weight which is a touchy subject as within a week or so I had gained about 4-5 lbs and was still eating right, but I am guessing now that was mostly water since I was actually not constantly dehydrated.  The weight came off pretty quickly after starting to run again so that is definitely a helpful boost in my confidence that I can maintain my weight loss forever.

Thursday was the only sketchy day where I felt a bad twinge in my foot on the treadmill so called it quits and took a day off.  I would soon come to find out that twinges after injury are just par for the course. I am not sure if they will ever go away but I definitely occasionally feel something that just doesn't feel quite right in my foot/ankle but doesn't hurt.  I may at some point go get an MRI just to see what is up but I have heard that after 3-4 months the twinges go away.

The next week was really the first week of real running as I didn't do any run-walk because the long run on Sunday of 4 miles felt really good. I started back mostly on the trails because the surface is softer and more forgiving on the joints and god knows I needed it.  I felt like a truck hit me after every run that week. I did my new stretching routine, rolled my muscles to release tension and just about anything else I could do to stay loose. I haven't felt as out of shape running since I started two summers ago as I did during this week.  You can see below that I logged decent miles but man did I struggle, although I did survive a 10 mile long run when I only was planning on running 8. It was pretty hard to believe I was struggling to run 10 miles when I had just ran a marathon a month before.

Week 2 Total: 36 miles.

Monday:		5 miles
Tuesday:		6 miles
Wednesday:		5 miles
Thursday:		6 miles
Friday:		4 miles
Saturday:		Rest
Sunday:		10 miles

I was finally starting to get back into a rhythm training wise in week 3 but my body was still really feeling the effects of trying to get back into shape.  Needless I dragged my ass through quite a number of the runs that week.  In the middle of the week I ran the Ayer Thanksgiving 5k which I'll write up a separate post on shortly.  I ended the week with another good long run covering a half marathon (HALF WAY BACK BABY!).


Week 3 Total: 44.85 miles.

Monday:		6 miles
Tuesday:		8 miles
Wednesday:		6 miles
Thursday:		3.1 miles
Friday:		8 miles
Saturday:		Rest
Sunday:		13.75 miles

Right now my training is really geared towards building my base aerobic fitness to where it was for the marathon.  The plan is basically to build my mileage back up to where I can run 70 mpw regularly in preparation for my next marathon where I hope to peak somewhere around 90 mpw. After the base building but before marathon training (not sure if it is going to be spring or fall) I am going to start working on speed.  My big goals for next year are to drop my 5K and 10K times significantly as I need to be comfortable running fast so that the marathon pace feels slow.

My extremely ambitious goals can be found on the "Training Info" page but basically 17:30 for the 5K and 36:00 for the 10K, which are some serious doings.  My new training paces and schedule is geared towards a 2:50:00 marathon which should put me comfortably under my 3:00:00 goal and my Boston qualifying requirement.

Only time will tell and just hope and pray that my ankle and foot hold up to the training stresses.

Post-Marathon Injury and Recovery

It has been a rough couple of weeks for me despite the strong showing in the marathon. I tried to get back to running the week after the race and after a 3 runs it was apparent something was wrong.  I had consistent pain in my foot and the day after could barely walk. Thus begun my saga with the medical professionals...

Over the course of two weeks I saw roughly 5 doctors who all seemed to have different thoughts on what was wrong.  The worst by far was the podiatrist who just shrugged me off as a crazy runner and gave me a $400 foot brace and said to staff off my feet for 6 weeks.  I went back to him to pick up my x-rays and questioned him about his diagnosis and he said it was very plausible that I did have a stress fracture or dislocated bone in my foot.  I did end up finding a podiatrist/orthapedist who specializes in running injuries.  He said that it was most likely tendonitis but I could get a bone scan to rule out the fracture for sure.  The scan showed no stress fractures so I was somewhat back to square one.

I believe I have been able to maintain some of my fitness by aqua jogging and spinning. I really disliked stationary bikes because they were always really uncomfortable but I actually am finally getting used to it.  The aqua jogging was brutal because I run intervals in the pool for 45 minutes and always feel completely wiped afterwards.  For all of you who think water aerobics are for old ladies in swimmies I challenge you try and spend 10 minutes running intervals in the pool.

Since I haven't had any pain in my foot for over a week or more and the bone scan was negative I was given clearance to start running again.  I will be doing some lightweight run/walk exercises this week to see how my foot handles it.  I am also working on transitioning away from stability/neutral shoes to more minimalist shoes as they supposedly are better for your ankles/feet in the long run.

I am putting together a schedule to see if I can get back to normal base (50-60 mpw) in about 4-6 weeks. This will be very dependent on how I feel because if I get sore or any pain I'll ramp down or if I am feeling good I may ramp up faster since I have the fitness level and have had plenty of rest.  Stay tuned to find out how my recovery goes and what my schedule is going to look like for my next goal: sub-3:00:00 marathon.

Happy Belated National Married-To-A-Runner Day!

I inadvertently forgot to say thanks to my wife yesterday which was "National Married-to-a-Runner day.

I will admit I am not always the easiest person to be with but my wife has done an amazing job and putting up with me. I have an addictive personality that lends itself to becoming extremely immersed in something I am interested in. I keep telling her at least this time around its something that makes me healthy!

Thank you Tina for being understanding of everything that goes into my running. I think it is best summed up by this quote from Runner's World:

"Because, as we all know, being romantically attached to a runner is not the easiest thing in the world. Besides the weekly long runs, there's travel to races, early bedtimes, pre-marathon germ anxiety, piles of sweaty laundry… Let's face it: Our significant others put up with a lot."

You can pretty much check off each of those things as things my wife deals with on a regular basis. I have to remember to mark my calendar for next year so I don't forget this holiday again as it probably is more meaningful than Valentine's day to her.

10-Miler, Taper, Marathon & More!

Apologies to those of you that follow my blog for being AWOL for the past month but this post will make up for it and I'll start being better once again about posting interesting things since I am in a period of recovery.

Marathon Training - Week 13

After the 5Km, I was feeling pretty high on life from both the fast time I posted and the long run the following day that was the fastest and best I have ever felt during a long run. I was hoping to ride that feeling into the final 3 weeks of training but nothing goes as planned. The week after the race I came down with a combination of the flu and bad fall allergies, which sidelined me for about 4 days. The first few days back were really rough as I felt extremely sluggish even running 6 mile recovery runs. I was also basically stuck in the middle of wanting one more quality week at 70+ miles and starting my 3 week taper, so I decided to push through and get one more quality week in then taper in 2 weeks. This quality week included a 20-miler to make sure I still had it in my legs and a 10-mile race.

So if you have been following my blog, you know I have a love hate relationship with Harvard, MA. The town is beautiful and there is a good race series that is run there, but those damn hills are absolutely brutal. I can't imagine living in Harvard and training in those hills daily, although it might be a good thing.

Apple Harvest Ramble (10M)

The 10-miler was a stacked field because it is marathon season and most good marathoners use these races as fitness tests. My goal pace going in was 6:46/mile but it turns out that this course was even more ridiculous than the previous 5-miler I ran earlier this year. There was a 3/4 mile climb at mile 4 that really cleared out the field and I saw people off to the side looking like they were going to hurl. The middle miles were pretty normal for Harvard, lots of rolling hills and some quality climbs, but I held my 6:50/mile pace through mile 7. However, the next mile had me face to face with that same hill that made me walk previously. I was determined this time to not walk and I made it running the whole hill. After the race a woman came up to me who I was running with and said I carried her up that hill because all she wanted to do was walk. I ended up finishing in a respectable 14th given the quality of the field.

Marathon Taper

The two taper weeks were a new experience for me since I haven't run such few miles in probably almost 6 months. The goal of the taper is to reduce volume, sharpen speed and recovery while maintaining a consistent intensity. The first week this was easy, I just pulled my 2 doubles out and dropped to 50 miles for the week and started feeling really good. The Sunday long run of 13 miles was nearly the fastest I have ever run half marathon and I barely felt like I was trying which gave me a ton of confidence.

The second taper week was really hard on me; primarily because I am crazy OCD about my weight (unfortunate side effect of at one point being almost 300 lbs). The lack of volume was causing me to retain more water weight than I was used to and so I was overcompensating and not eating enough. I think this contributed to the mid-week feeling that I was getting sick with the flu which also stressed me out.

So for many of you this may sound crazy, but one of the worst part of the taper week was having to carbo-load and needing to eat nothing but carbs for 2 straight days. I can imagine most people would like a free ticket to just eat and eat whatever they want but that is really hard for me. I had to consume roughly 500g of carbs Friday and Saturday without getting sick or losing my mind from the temporary weight gain. In case anyone is interested in what 500g of carbs looks like here was Friday's menu:

- 1/4 Box of Kashi Go Lean
- 3 Kashi Granola Bars
- 1 Banana
- 1 Apple
- 1 Grilled Chicken Sandwich on a Bulkie Roll
- 3 Servings of Mini Pretzels
- 1 Box of Kellog's Cracker Chips
- 1/3 Loaf of French Bread
- 1 Cup Garbanzo Beans
- 2 Cups Spinach-Mushroom Risotto
- 1/2 Box of Peanut Butter Puffins
- 1/2 Box of Kellog's Special K w/ Red Berries
- 1/2 Bag of Popcorn Chips

Just seeing that list makes me sick to my stomach, and having two do it two days in a row was even worse.

Baystate Marathon

This was definitely a new experience for me from a racing perspective as I have always at least run the race distance once prior to a race and in training the longest I had run was 22 miles. I think maybe this is really what the magic of the marathon is all about because you just don't know what is going to happen over those last 4 or 6 miles that you haven't run before.

I had a hard time sleeping from the excitement and anxiety so I only got about 4-5 hours of sleep the night before but Tina did a great job of keeping me organized and the morning was actually not very stressful at all. She made sure the car was packed and basically I just had to throw my clothes on and get in the car. We got to the race with plenty of time for me to get ready and fight the porta-potty lines.

On the starting line I was feeling a pretty wide range of emotions with everything from complete adrenaline to the sinking feeling of "What the fuck did I get just get myself into thinking I can run 26 miles". I lined up with the 3:15 pacers because that was about the time I was thinking I might be able to run if everything turned out as planned.

When the gun for the race went off, I learned an extremely valuable lesson which is nothing ever goes as planned. I had 2 energy gels in my waist band and one fell out! I got a sinking feeling that I was in trouble but I settled myself and adjusted the plan to take one of the gels they were giving out on the course and use that in place of the one I lost. Within the first half mile I realized that the 3:15 pacers had no idea what they were doing as they were running 8:20/miles which is way too slow even if you want to go out slow. In retrospect, this was the best possible scenario as running a marathon is about running based on feel and you shouldn't race based on someone else's fitness or feeling that day.

The first 6 miles or so flew by and were a complete adrenaline blur. The big question mark on the day was whether I could handle the water stations as I wasn't wearing a water belt. The first water station I missed because they only had Gatorade or at least none of the people called out that they had water. I knew this was okay because I typically only took water in training every 4 miles. The second stop I got water and luckily saw someone doing something awesome to drink, they took the cup, pinched the top and then folded the top down to create a tiny opening to drink from. I copied it and it worked like a charm and 14 water stations later I am a pro at drinking from a cup now!

The race basically consisted of two 10 mile loops along the river in Lowell with 3 miles to and from the loop. The loop turned back around the 8 and 18 mile marks over this really weird bridge. The bridge itself wasn't weird but the walkway that we ran over was so strange, it felt almost like rubber and the bridge itself would bounce up and down as cars drove by. It actually was a nice break for my legs and I looked forward to it on the second loop.

For pace, I had figured based on my training runs I should run somewhere around 7:20/mile but one thing to note about this race is it is designed for Boston Qualifiers so there are packs of people running at the various qualifying times. There was basically a pack around 7:00/mile and 7:30/mile, neither of which worked for me. I chose to hang with the 7:00/mile pack for the first half of the race. This actually led to an official PR in the half marathon with a split of 1:34:49 which I am pretty happy about given it was in the middle of my first marathon.

In the world of marathons, miles 13 to 20 are considered "No Mans Land" and can be some of the toughest miles. The first creeping feeling that maybe I had bitten off more than I could chew was around mile 15 where I was like holy crap I still have 11 miles to go. At that point I was still on 7:10/mile pace and I could feel fatigue starting to settle in. I decided to back off and drop away from the pack and try and hold the 7:20/mile I planned from the start for the remainder of the race. I was feeling pretty good at that pace and definitely started feeling like I could actually finish this running this race and not walk.

As I was running over the mile 20 marker, I noticed on the ground that someone had spray painted a message, "Welcome to the Wall!". For those of you that don't know, the "Wall" is the point in an endurance race where your body runs out of fuel (it usually equates to mile 20 regardless of pace because of the rate at which your body burns fuel at various paces) and is something everyone tries to avoid hitting. I was feeling really good at that point and had run 22 in training without hitting a wall and not taking the my 3rd energy gel at mile 20 so I was hopeful that I would make it through the race without meeting the "Wall". I had executed my plan which was to try to get to this point as if the race was only half way over as I had read that mile 20 is the halfway point in a marathon regardless of what anyone says.

Miles 22-24 were tough but I definitely had yet to hit that point of utter exhaustion although my pace was slipping which you can see in my splits below. I think the 3rd energy gel helped me get to this point in relatively good shape, but there is only so much that science can do in these situations.

I now completely understand what marathoners mean when they say that you learn a lot about yourself as a person in those last 2-3 miles of the marathon. Those 2 miles were the longest I have ever run in my entire life and felt like they were as long as the 24 I had previously run. It became a 16 minute war between my body and my brain. All I wanted to do was stop running and walk but I told myself that I would never forgive myself if I did as I wanted to run a marathon not walk. The road literally felt like it went on forever as I looked for the final bridge but around each turn was more race course. I thought about how I needed to keep running for Colin, Tina and everyone else who had supported me through the training. I am not sure exactly where the strength to keep going came from but I certainly didn't do it on my own.

I finally came to the final bridge and knew that I had done what I had set out to do. At that point I did get passed by a few people including a guy carrying his shoes running barefoot but I didn't care who passed me. I was going to finish the race and nothing could stop me. As I turned the last corner I did almost lose it emotionally but held myself together. I started thinking about how two years ago I was nearly 300 lbs and would get winded walking to the car from the office and here I was finishing a marathon. I even got to have the announcer call out my name at the end of the race as I raised my hands and crossed the finish line which was a truly surreal experience.

My final time was 3:17:08 which wasn't far off my stretch goal of 3:15:00. It also was only 7 minutes off qualifying for the Boston Marathon in my debut race. All in all I ran the best possible race I could have that day and it was an experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. I am now happily recovering and looking forward to some much needed rest and enjoying the accomplishment before I move onto my next goal, a BQ and sub-3:00:00 marathon.

Marathon Splits

Split		Pace
1		07:11.10
2		07:06.20
3		07:11.70
4		07:06.00
5		07:12.00
6		07:17.20
7		07:13.00
8		07:12.70
9		07:08.30
10		07:11.30
11		07:08.00
12		07:09.70
13		07:10.50
14		07:26.00
15		07:17.70
16		07:21.00
17		07:24.00
18		07:26.20
19		07:27.00
20		07:27.70
21		07:41.50
22		07:42.00
23		07:54.20
24		08:10.50
25		08:09.20
26		08:45.70
0.2		03:38.00
Total:		03:17:08.40

The one thing that this experience has taught me is that nothing in this world is impossible and you truly can accomplish anything if you work hard enough.

Maynard 5K Road Race 2012

So this was my first road race since I hit the peak of my marathon training and it proved to be exactly what I had hoped for....

My first age-group win!

So here is a picture of me, Brandon and Colin before the race.  Colin is in his typically pose, sprawled out in his stroller relaxing!

I'll start off with a recap of Brandon's race as that was part of the reason why I was so amped up. I had been talking to Brandon for a while about running a race together and he decided he would come up and run his first road race in Maynard.  He has been training hard for the past few months to come up and do it and he delivered on his promise in a big way. Before the race, he said he was going to run around 10:00 min/miles so after I finished we were waiting around and almost missed him coming up to the finish line because he actually ended up running 8:24 min/miles and finished in 26:34. I can tell you that most people when they run their first race or really any race typically will overestimate their ability and training but apparently Brandon had trained harder than he thought and the adrenaline of the race did him good.  I do remember my first race last year and how it turned into quite an addiction so you never know, Brandon and I could be dueling it out next year for top honors.

Now onto my race recap.  I knew I was going to be one of the faster runners in the race so I made sure to stay to the front which turned out to be easy because no one knew where the starting line actually was and I just made sure I stood in front of the mass of people.  Here is pic of the start of the race:

Most of the people who finished in front of me are on the left hand side of the picture including the guy who sadly was running with a stroller and still ran 5:49 min/miles.  The race started off with a pretty decent size hill up from the intersection above and that was really the only hill on the course.  My goal was to see if I could run a comfortable first mile under 6:30 and if I was feeling good I would keep pushing it. My first split was 6:22 which gave me the green light to push hard and try to break 20 minutes.  At this point, I saw about 3 people ahead of me and really no one behind me.  One of those guys started to fall off and I passed one other and ran a 6:30 for the second mile, which concerned me slightly because the goal in 5Ks is to make sure that 2nd mile doesn't fall too far off target pace.  I had to pick it up and I saw a younger high school kid in the distance that I tried to reel in during the last mile.  He proved to be just a little too fast for me and I wasn't ever able to catch him despite a 6:15 closing split. At the end there was a dash to the finish and one of the guys I passed earlier had caught up and out kicked me to the finish to beat me by :02.  I finished 7th overall in 19:29 and got my first ever age-group win which is great because once I turn 30 I move into the bracket where most of the legitimate road runners are.

Marathon Week - 11 & 12

So I know I am a little late on posting these last two weeks but the training has been keeping me very busy and it has been pretty boring as of late so there hasn't been much to blog about.  Weeks 11 & 12 were two more solid 70+ mile weeks which has given me a ton of confidence that my training is headed in the right direction.  The double running days are getting easier, my recovery runs are all dipping sub-8:00 min/miles and overall I feel like even when I am completely beat up I can slog through 6 miles at a decent pace without struggling.

My long runs have been coming down in speed and been significantly easier especially in the later miles.  My last two long runs were both sub-7:30 min/miles for 22 miles with all miles being in the 7:00-8:00 min/mile range which is a huge improvement since my longs previously all ended with multiple miles in the 8:00+ min/miles some even closing in on 9:00.  I had been concerned that I was just going to hit a wall hard post 22 miles since that is the longest I am going to run, but now with a trusty goo at mile 20 and the training going well I think I am good.

One big change over the past few weeks has been the amount of mileage I have been running on the local trails. I have moved all of my recovery and easy runs to the trails and it has really helped to keep soreness to a minimum.  Plus it has provided some interesting and humorous content for my blog.  For example, the other day I was chased by a pack of 3 cockerspaniels for about a mile as I dragged them away from their house, man they are fast.  Or the time I was running on the trail and saw what appeared to be the brawny man in a tent on the side of the riverbank. Or there was the high school girls who were on bicycles who were singing and dancing while riding behind me.  Or the gang of snapping raccoons that wouldn't let me pass, oh wait nevermind...

Week 12 was an interesting week as it was my first race in a long time and really proved to be a true test of my fitness. See my race post for all the details.

Week 11 Total: 74 miles.

Monday:		46 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Tuesday:		AM: Intervals 3x[800@6:44; 400@6:22; 400@5:53; 1200@6:58]. 10 miles PM: 46 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Wednesday:		53 minutes easy. 7 miles.
Thursday:		AM: 45 minutes easy. 6 miles. PM: 45 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Friday:		65 minutes threshold @ 7:10 + C/D. 11 miles.
Saturday:		Rest.
Sunday:		Long Run @ 7:29. 22 miles.

Week 12 Total: 71 miles.

Monday:		48 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Tuesday:		AM: Intervals 3x[800@6:47; 400@6:27; 400@5:50; 1200@6:53]. 10 miles PM: 53 minutes easy. 7 miles.
Wednesday:		50 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Thursday:		AM: 84 minutes easy. 11 miles PM: 46 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Friday:		Rest.
Saturday:		5K Road Race. 3 miles.
Sunday:		Long Run @ 7:25. 22 miles.

Marathon - Week 10

This is my first 70+ mile week after a rest week so I was really interested to see if my the sluggishness in my legs I had been feeling over the previous 70 mpw sessions was simply due to mileage or because my body was getting adjusted to the new level. This week really makes me optimistic about my body's potential.  I had quality runs all week including the interval and threshold sessions which had gotten very difficult recently. However, the run that makes me really hopeful was my long run which I held 7:30 min/mile average for 18 miles which puts me only about 30 seconds per mile away from BQ. I don't think it will happen in my first marathon but I really am starting to believe it is possible with some more time and quality miles on my legs.

I bought few new books this week in honor of my bumper sticker that Tina won't let me put on my car that says "In my dreams, I'm a Kenyan." There has been a lot of speculation about why Kenyans are such good runners and many people chalk it up to genetics but there are a few books out there written by people who actually spent time in Kenya watching them train.  The book that really seems of most value that I am reading is "Train Hard, Win Easy. The Kenyan Way".  It chronicles some real-life training regiments from the Rift Valley runners who are the elite marathoners.  They run some sick schedules, 3-a-day workouts, 140+ mile weeks, multiple days of hill training, group thresholds at sub-5:00 min/mile pace.  For my next marathon I think I am going to see if I can incorporate some of these things, especially the hill training into my schedule as I really think the harder you train, the easier the race will be.

On a side note, I am in 9th place in the Nashoba Valley Grand Prix Road Race Series and could probably have been higher if the 10K was now since my fitness level is so much higher.  It got me thinking about adding some new goals to my goals page, so I added one for placing in my age group, winning my age group and winning a race.  I hope to do the first one in the Maynard Road Race, just one year after I stampered across the finish line.  I will have to run around 6:30 pace to do it based on last years results, which equates to about a 20 minute 5K, so my goal is going to be to try and break 20 minutes.  I've done some test runs to see how my low end speed stacks up and I have been able to run miles between 6:00 and 6:20 the question is, can I maintain that for 3 straight miles or not?

Weekly Total: 74 miles.

Monday:		44 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Tuesday:		AM: Intervals 3x[800@6:47; 400@6:27; 400@5:50; 1200@6:53]. 10 miles PM: 50 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Wednesday:		56 minutes easy. 7 miles.
Thursday:		AM: 65 minutes threshold @ 7:00 + C/D. 11 miles PM: 48 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Friday:		Rest
Saturday:		Long Run @ 7:40. 22 miles.
Sunday:		47 minutes easy. 6 miles.

Marathon - Week 9

WINNER - MAYNARD HURRICANE HALF MARATHON!

Place    Name           City         Bib No  Age Gend Time      Pace  
1        BRIAN BENTO    MAYNARD  MA  1       29  M    1:34:26   7:12/M

[Please ignore that there was only one entrant into the race]

Irene threw a wrinkle into my week as the hurricane caused my half marathon to be cancelled.  In retrospect, probably a good thing because running in a 30mph headwind could have been problematic.

I decided to run a time trial instead on Saturday to see how I may have faired in the race.  I am very happy with my performance as I ran a 1:34, which would have met both my sub-1:40 and sub-1:35 goals!  I have never run that fast for that long before and towards the end it was starting to get pretty painful as I started getting cramps and side stitches, but I got through it.  I realize I do have quite a bit of work to do in order to get to the sub-1:30 mark but it is possible.  The race predictors now say I would be on pace to run a 3:20 marathon which I think I would be ecstatic about for my first ever as it would put me within 20 minutes of qualifying for Boston.

Since this was my down week I figured I would try and start doing some trail miles as it is supposed to ease up some of the pounding your legs take.  I ran two of my 6M runs over in the Assabett Valley Wildlife Refuge which was a nice change of scenario and it shaded me from some of the harsh sun and heat. I am going to try and continue running some more on the trails because it also saves me from the stupidity that are Mass-hole drivers.  I have had far too many encounters with the hoods and bumpers of cars as of recent as people can't seem to understand that they need to look both ways when making right turns as people can be on the side walk. And to the 80+ year old, douche bag driving the Aqua 1980s Toyota Corrolla, if I wanted to try the hurdles I'd do it on the track not over your f***ing hood.

As for the training week, it was a nice down week, my legs were very heavy most of the week and only really started to recuperate towards the end of the week. Here is to hoping my legs got enough rest for next weeks return to a real training load otherwise I might be nearing the edge of over-training.

Weekly Total: 51 miles.

Monday:		50 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Tuesday:		Intervals 2x[800@6:47; 400@6:27; 400@5:50; 1200@6:53]. 7 miles.
Wednesday:		42 minutes @ 7:00 pace. 6 miles.
Thursday:		76 minutes easy. 10 miles.
Friday:		46 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Saturday:		HM Time Trial 1:34:07 + C/D. 16 miles
Sunday:		Rest

Marathon - Week 8

If you had told me in May when I was working hard to get ready for my first half marathon struggling to make it to 30+ miles a week, that in 3 months I would run a 70+ mile week I would have told you that you were crazy.  Now instead my wife is the one that is telling me I am crazy!...Unfortunately she may be right because I think you have to be just a little off to want to run a marathon.

I have read on forums about 70 miles being the magic number where your body truly starts to respond to the stimulus of distance running and I can say for sure that it certainly does.  My legs are completely wiped this week and I am just thankful that it is a rest week.  In terms of adding mileage, I added an extra speed interval on Tuesday which really did a number on my legs and left me looking like I jumped in a pool when I got off the treadmill.  I also added an extra 2 miles to a recovery run so now I don't run less than 6 miles in any one run.  I definitely noticed some heaviness in my legs on my tempo run and it was humid so I had to pull back to 7:15 minute/miles but I continued that pace in the afternoon recovery run to make up for it.

I am really looking forward to the rest this week and my half marathon in Springfield this weekend.  Colin and Tina will be joining me and it will be Colin's first night sleeping away from home so hopefully all goes well!  As usual I have multiple goals going into the race, in this case the most feasible is breaking the sub-1:40 mark, the other two, sub-1:30 & sub-1:35, are going to be entire dependent on how much I can recover from this hard week of running.  I am hoping that after a little rest this week and the use of my trusty energy Gu that I'll be able to match my sub-7:00 minute/miles from my training tempo runs and break the 1:30 mark. If I do it will be a pretty big milestone on my way to my ultimate goal of qualifying for the Boston marathon, something I still wonder if I am physically capable of.

Weekly Total: 70.5 miles.

Monday:		47 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Tuesday:		AM: Intervals 3x[800@6:47; 400@6:27; 400@5:50; 1200@6:53]. 10 miles. PM: 47 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Wednesday:		49 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Thursday:		AM: 65 minutes threshold @ 7:14 pace. 9 miles. PM: 45 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Friday:		48 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Saturday:		Rest
Sunday:		Long Run @ 7:50 pace. 21.5 miles.

Marathon - Week 7

Another 60+ mile week and my legs are holding up pretty well.  I have 1 more week after this one before my step back week so hopefully my legs will hold up and I won't get injured as I have really jumped the mileage up quickly.  After my stepback I am jumping up to 70 miles a week for 4 weeks before tapering for my marathon. I have re-evaluated my goal for the marathon though as qualifying for Boston my first time out is pretty much out of the question.  I can hold a really great pace in the 7:30-7:40 range on my longs up until about mile 18 or 19 when I hit a wall. It may be because I don't take another Gu (only taking one at mile 7 and 14) but there is no way I could run the 6:55 pace even with a taper.  I do still plan on trying to get close but if I had to guess its unrealistic for me to finish in under 3:20:00, but I will give it my best shot. I would just have to shave 20 minutes off my time.

So one of the ways I have been staying healthy is with some new recovery compression socks from SmartWool.  They make it much easier to get those 2nd runs in on the double days because my legs recover much quicker.  The only drawback was the initial backlash from Tina asking why the hell I spent $30 on a pair of socks from Socks.com.  All I have to say is that if you are running a lot I highly recommend them. The only word of advice though, is don't wear them during the day to work with dress pants as it looks pretty funny when you look down in a meeting and can see grey and blue socks with black dress pants.

I ended up moving my long run to Friday this week because of plans we had this weekend and we ended up going to the Southwick zoo with Colin, Elliott and Casey.  My legs were pretty wiped from the run and I wished I was the one in the stroller for half the trip but I made it through it and Colin seemed to have a great time and even wanted to go into the cage with the tigers.

The highlight of my training week definitely was the sick threshold run I threw down on Sunday.  I nearly ran in the 6s for it but came in right at 7:00s flat.  My fastest miles in it were the first 3 and the last one at 6:30, 6:42, 6:50, 6:50, respectively.  I need to keep improving my speed especially if I want to run some fast times in the 5Ks and 10Ks I have scheduled for this Fall.

Weekly Total: 65.5 miles.

Monday:		51 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Tuesday:		AM: Intervals 2x[800@6:50; 400@6:30; 400@6:00; 1200@7:00]. 7 miles. PM: 46 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Wednesday:		46 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Thursday:		Rest
Friday:		Long Run @ 7:50 pace. 21.5 miles.
Saturday:		48 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Sunday:		AM: 63 minutes threshold @ 7:00 pace. 9 miles. PM: 32 minutes easy. 4 miles.

Marathon - Week 6

This weeks training update comes from San Francisco, CA, which is where I was away on business all week.

Coming off a hard week last week I was a little concerned about how my body would respond but go figure, I pumped out my first 60+ mile week and another 20+ mile long.

The highlight of the week was running with my boss in the Presidio of San Francisco which is a park that encompasses the Golden Gate Bridge.  We ran a 7 mile easy run that included a small section of dodging cars on Rt. 101 (oops, I think we took a wrong turn at Alburqurque). I have never run with anyone else before so it was an interesting experience but I found it great to have someone to force me to run my recovery slower than usual as it left my legs feeling refreshed.  Also, we both had a chuckle when we passed a lady on a bike, seriously I am not sure how she was able to even stay upright on the bike at that speed.

The rest of the week was relatively uneventful other than the freezing cold mornings, which I wasn't prepared for. However, the cooler temperature and flat terrain made the training runs much easier on the legs than my normal hilly routes in humid conditions.

I had been planning on bumping up my mileage consistently for 3-4 weeks then cutting back before I make my second push but I am already at the next plateau so instead I am going to try and hold steady in the 60-65 range for a few weeks.

I am still trying to decide if I am going to run the Springfield Half Marathon as a tune-up race for my fall marathon so stay tuned for more info.

Weekly Total: 62 miles.

Monday:		56 minutes easy. 7 miles.
Tuesday:		AM: Intervals 2x[800@7:00; 400@6:30; 400@6:00; 1200@7:13]. 7 miles. PM: 32 minutes easy. 4 miles.
Wednesday:		32 minutes easy. 4 miles.
Thursday:		AM: 64 minutes threshold @ 7:02 pace. 9 miles. PM: 32 minutes easy. 4 miles.
Friday:		48 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Saturday:		Rest
Sunday:		Long Run @ 7:55 pace. 21 miles.

Marathon - Week 5

This has been an interesting week of running as it included everything from running in the pouring rain (twice) to running in 80 degree/80% humidity to running in 60 degree cold weather.  You have to love New England!

After my down week I was really looking forward to getting back to a hard week of workouts. This week was full of firsts for me, my first 20+ mile run and my first 50+ mile week.  I actually didn't find the afternoon run too bad actually, it was the run the next morning that was rough!

I do have to say thanks to the folks on Heritage Lane for the use of their sprinklers every weekend. It serves as a nice way for me to cool down at the 10 mile mark. I am just glad I can count on them to water their lawns rain or shine and regardless of the current town water ban.

Stay tuned for my update next week on my adventures in San Francisco.

Weekly Total: 52.25 miles.

Monday:		45 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Tuesday:		AM: Intervals 2x[800@7:00; 400@6:30; 400@6:00; 1200@7:13]. 7 miles. PM: 32 minutes easy. 4.25 miles.
Wednesday:		46 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Thursday:		Rest
Friday:		64 minutes threshold @ 7:13 pace. 9 miles.
Saturday:		Rest
Sunday:		Long Run @ 7:50 pace. 20 miles.

Marathon - Week 4

This was a nice little rest week for me after bumping my mileage up to 45 mpw for the last 3 weeks. Unfortunately the heat wave forced me onto the treadmill for all but one run this week. It was starting to remind me of my training this winter where I basically ran all of my runs except my long inside.

The treadmill has its perks and drawbacks; from a training perspective its great because I can force a pace and my body can't slow down or slip as easily out of that pace. It is also good for learning to run even pace which is how most coaches recommend you run these days.  The drawback, its boring as boring gets. There is nothing like staring at a blank, brown wall for an hour. At least when I run outside I can sight-see and watch all kinds of different things from the local goat man to other runners to the scenery. I'll be very happy when the heat wave is over so I can get back outdoors.

The only interesting thing I saw all week was a guy who was probably close to 250 pounds hanging with me for nearly an hour run which I found extremely impressive.  He kind of remind me from those guys from World's Strongest Man, but this guy was running at a decent pace. Also, I found out that there are like 3 woman who come in reeking of cigarettes and booze and walk on the treadmill at literally 1 mph pace which is just plain pathetic because I don't even think they break a sweat.

Next week starts the ramp towards 60 mpw and hopefully some pretty significant gains in performance.  I am also starting to run doubles for the first time so my body is going to have to adjust to running twice a day.

Weekly Total: 40 miles.

Monday: 49 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Tuesday: 1M w/u & c/d, 10 x hill repeats @ 7.5% grade . 6 miles.
Wednesday: Rest.
Thursday: 64 minutes threshold @ 7:13 pace. 9 miles.
Friday:  48 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Saturday: Rest.
Sunday: Long Run @ 7:49 pace. 13 miles.

1000 Miles!

In case you missed it, I have broken the 1000 miles run mark! I didn't start tracking my miles until October so it probably happened sooner but in just under a year of running I've racked up 1000 miles on these legs.

My goal for 2011 is to run 2000+ miles which should be doable given I have been running between 30 and 50 miles a week and it is only going up.

See you at 2000!

New Kicks, Tech & Tunes

Running is one of those great hobbies that really doesn't require too much money to get started, but there are always some great toys you can buy if you want to. I went on a mini-spending spree recently and bought some new stuff.

Kicks

Shoes are probably the only thing that are required, except maybe clothing, for running. I bought two pairs of shoes in March and the goal was to alternate them to make them last longer. I thought I would get 6-9 months out of them but my ramp up in weekly miles has basically ensured that I now need to buy 2 pairs of shoes every 3-4 months. Meet the first shoe in my new rotation, the Asics DS-Gel Trainer 16. I first started running in what the guy at the store called "clunkers" so when I bought shoes he didn't want to move me to something to much lighter in case I needed the extra support. Now I am moving down to a speed trainer which weight what feels like nothing. I am going to run in these for a little bit until I see if they provide enough support for longer distances and if they do get another pair of speed trainers, otherwise I will get a pair of GT-2160s which is what I was wearing previously for my longer runs.

Tech

I have been using my iPhone since October to track my runs and unfortunately the GPS on it is rather terrible, so I would have to go into MapMyRun.com figure out how far I actually ran and update the route. I have been in the market for a running watch for a while but I wanted something small and not too bulky. I found the Garmin Forerunner 610 but the reviews were terrible and they said the GPS was worse than the iPhone so I waited. About 2 weeks ago, Garmin issued a patch for the watch that improved the GPS to near 100% accuracy so I bought one. It is so much more comfortable than wearing an armband for the iPhone and I love seeing real-time paces so I can adjust prior to splits. Some of my favorite features:

• Vibrations Alerts @ Splits
  
• Designing custom workouts that can be sent to the watch
  
• Easy configuration of interval workouts.
  

Despite the hefty price tag, I'd recommend it to any serious runner and I haven't even started playing around with the heart rate monitor which is supposed to be awesome.

Tunes

Since I wasn't going to be lugging around my iPhone I could no longer use Pandora, which is probably the only drawback to this whole new configuration. I ended up opting for a cheap solution in the iPod Shuffle since it could just be clipped anywhere and has nearly no weight to it. I did end up buying some songs on iTunes to round out my library, which Tina likes to make fun of me for since it resembles a teenie bopper playlist. I like running to club/pop songs with really good beats so I gravitate towards Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Ke$ha, Jennifer Lopez, 3OH3 and the Cataracs.

Marathon - Week 3

This week started off nicely with some recovery runs and a speed workout on the treadmill.  I really like running speed workouts on the treadmill as it forces me to maintain a steady pace and not back off when things get tough.  The 6:30 pace is starting to feel comfortable but the 400 @ 6:00 is still tough. I still am amused by the noises that the treadmills make when running at 10mph and the looks I get by people in the gym.

The highlight of my week was the tempo run as it was pretty comfortable and the weather was pretty nice as I was able to get out early because Tina took Colin to day care.  The heat and humidity of the summer are starting to take a toll for sure and that really showed on my long run this weekend.

My long run was probably the hardest workout I have ever done. I went out early to try and beat the heat but it all caught up as the day heated up quicker than expected.  At about 13 miles I started feeling nauseous (good sign heatstroke is creeping in) so I took a break walked a few blocks and stopped into Dunkin Donuts for some water.  While inside some guy came up to me and said, "Hey, you should be on the commercials for Dunkin Donuts, I guess America does run to Dunkin."  Despite his good intentions, he was a moron, wrong slogan and I was just there to get some water so I didn't die.  The run was decent for the next 3 miles until I found myself about 2 miles from the house and with mild heatstroke.  I walked a few blocks and ended up covering the whole 18.3 miles but only ran 17.8 of it.

In case any of you run into a situation like this, after the run an ice bath made all the difference in the world and Tina seemed to take a sense of enjoyment in dumping ice into the freezing cold water I was sitting in and watching me freak out.  Next week is a step back week which I am long over due for and then moving up to the next mileage milestone which is 50-55 mpw.

Weekly Total: 43.8 miles.

Monday: 32 minutes easy. 4 miles.
Tuesday: Speed workout 2x[800@7:00;400@6:30;200@6:00;1200@7:30]. 7 miles.
Wednesday: 48 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Thursday: Rest.
Friday:  66 minutes tempo @ 7:25 pace. 9 miles.
Saturday: Rest.
Sunday: Long Run @ 8:02 pace. 17.8 miles.

Great Harvard 4th of July Road Race

I wasn't looking forward to this race because I prefer to run either 5K or 10K but it turned out to be a lot of fun.  I heard at the starting line that there was a "hill" on the course but I didn't know what was in store until I actually got there.

The hill was 1/3 of mile long and 18% grade, nearly everyone except for maybe the top 2-3 people walked up it.  I started off at a nice pace, 6:42, 6:52 for my first two miles and then came the hill.  I dropped down to nearly 10:00 min/mile pace and it sure took a lot out of me.  I did finish strong though with finishing miles of 7:10 and 7:20. 

I finished 33rd overall which is pretty cool. I am still getting a feel for how fast I can run at shorter distances as I was barely tired after the end of the race and felt like I left a lot in the tank.  I'll post some pictures of my cheering section tonight.

Marathon - Week 2

Weekly Total: 45.2 miles. This was an interesting week because I had to ramp miles and run a road race.  The 5-miler was a ton of fun minus the 1/3 mile, 18% grade hill in the middle of mile 3 (course designer has some screws loose imo). See post for results.  As for training, was a really tough week as my legs were wasted from the hilly race but I got through it. I had to back off my tempo run this week because of the fatigue and the heat/humidity which was like 80 degrees and 85% humidity during my run.  However, my long run made up for it which was a huge jump in mileage and I felt like I could have run another 2 miles but held back to make sure I didn't hurt myself by ramping too fast.

Monday: 5 mile road race + hills.
Tuesday: Speed workout 2x[800@7:00;400@6:30;200@6:00;1200@7:30]. 7 miles.
Wednesday: Rest.
Thursday: 72 minutes tempo @ 8:05 pace. 9 miles.
Friday:  48 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Saturday: Rest.
Sunday: Long Run @ 7:56 pace. 18.2 miles.

Marathon - Week 1

Weekly Total: 42.6 miles. So it begins, first week of marathon training and beginning to ramp up them miles.  Target is to be 55+ mpw at peak during training which is pretty insane but we will give it a shot.  Started taking a 2nd Gu gel on longs because I was hitting a wall around 15 miles.

Monday: 31 minutes easy. 4 miles.
Tuesday: Speed workout 2x[800@7:00;400@6:30;200@6:00;1200@7:30]. 7 miles.
Wednesday: 48 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Thursday: 67 minutes tempo @ 7:33 pace. 9 miles.
Friday:  Rest.
Saturday: Long Run @ 8:07 pace. 16.6 miles.
Sunday: Rest.

Week of June 20th

Weekly Total: 37.25 miles. Good week, slight step-back in preparation for marathon training which starts next week. My tempo run on Thursday was probably the hardest workout I have ever had but it felt really good to cover that many miles at nearly 7:00 pace.

Monday: 32 minutes easy. 4 miles.
Tuesday: 10 x Hill Repeats @ 7:40. 6 miles.
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 70 minutes tempo @ 7:23 pace. 9 miles.
Friday:  48 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Saturday: Rest.
Sunday: Long Run @ 8:09 pace. 12.25 miles.

Week of June 13th

Weekly Total: 41 miles. Quality week and another 40+ mile one.  I think my baseline fitness is holding great where it is which is a good sign for my upcoming marathon training. Also, I had a sick tempo run this week which makes me think I can step up the pace overall on all my training.


Monday: 32 minutes easy. 4 miles.
Tuesday: Speed work. 2x[800@7:30;400@7:00;200@6:30;1200@7:40]. 7 miles.
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 70 minutes tempo @ 7:30 pace. 9 miles.
Friday:  49 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Saturday: Rest.
Sunday: Long Run @ 8:00 pace. 15 miles.

Week of June 6th

Weekly Total: 40.2 miles. This was the first week I did hill repeats outside on a real hill instead of a treadmill and man did it kick my ass.  It took me almost 3 days to recover from that workout.  I'd like to keep with doing the repeats on a real hill as I am sure in the long run it will make me stronger.  I had to bail on a tempo run because of the heat and humidity but was able to do one the next day.  Back-to-back hard workouts are becoming easier for me which means I should be able to start introducing doubles when I start my marathon training.


Monday: 34 minutes easy. 4 miles.
Tuesday: 8 x 200 Hill Repeats. 6.5 miles.
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 54 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Friday:  Cancelled tempo run, 22 minutes. 3 miles.
Saturday: 70 minutes @ 7:50 pace. 9 miles.
Sunday: Long Run @ 8:00 pace. 11.7 miles.

Week of May 30th

Weekly Total: 41.3 miles. I am going to be keeping my mileage steady to maintain a solid base for the next few weeks to rest up prior to the start of my marathon training.  I am trying to see if I can maintain the workouts from my peak weeks during the half marathon training as my base, which will give me a great starting point to start my marathon training.  I was only scheduled to run 14 miles this weekend but I felt great so I kept going and ran the longest I have ever run and hit my most miles ever in a week.

One thing I really need to work on is my paces for my runs, specifically my tempo runs and speed work.  I really like my long runs being around 8:00 min/miles and and my easy miles are around 8:40-9:00 min/mile which shows my fitness has greatly improved, but I feel like I am no longer making progress in my speed since my tempo runs are right around the same pace.  I think I need to start pushing the pace on my tempo runs which I did this week but it poses an interesting dilemma. If I push the pace down far enough to really have to work on the runs then I have to reduce the distance which means I need to move the miles to another day. I guess I will have to read up on how to best improve your tempo, maybe it is a slow burn where every week I try to run 10 seconds faster per mile.

Monday: 37 minutes easy. 4 miles.
Tuesday: Speed work. 2x[800@7:45;400@7:15;200@6:45;1200@8:00]. 7 miles.
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 70 minutes @ 7:50 pace. 9 miles.
Friday:  49 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Saturday: Rest.
Sunday: Long Run @ 8:00 pace. 15.3 miles.

Boston Run to Remember - 1st Half Marathon!

So after 18 weeks of training, the day finally came...my first half marathon!

I didn't really know what to expect as I have never been to a race this large before, a total of 5800 runners were signed up for the race. It was quite the experience to say the least, the crowds were crazy and on the way to the finish people were pushing out into the street and we literally ran through what felt like a 3 foot wide chute to the finish line.

Now on to the actual race...

Based on some advice, I decided to start near the front, near the 6:00 min/mile pace, as supposedly people don't line up based on their actual pace.  After the gun went off, everyone took off pretty quickly and with all the excitement I was right along side them.  After about 2 miles in the first time clock was showing under 14 minutes which is when I realized I was running way too fast.

My first four mile splits were: 6:05, 6:15, 7:25, 7:45.  I tried to slow down but didn't want to slow down too much and the people around me were passing me so it was tough.  I finally settled into an 8:00 pace which is where I wanted to stay.  I did have some issues at the water stops as drinking out of a cup while running is something I have yet to master and I had to go back to get water twice because I got Gatorade.  Around mile 10, we hit two back to back hills that took their toll on me and many others who started walking, so I had to drop my pace way down.  I would say mile 11 was by far the hardest simply because I was running out of gas and it felt like it dragged on forever. 

My official net time was 1:49:22, just about 4 minutes slower than I was hoping to run on the perfect day, so I was pretty happy since it was pretty hot and humid compared to the weather I trained in.

If I learned one thing from this that I will take forward, it is that you need to run your own race as I proved in training I could hold an 8:00 pace for all 13 miles but by going out too fast I hit a pretty hard wall.  I am going to run another half marathon at the end of the summer near the conclusion of my marathon training so I am hoping to break the 1:40:00 mark this year.

I hope to have some pictures to post shortly from the race and afterwards.

So ends my 13.1 adventure and now after a few weeks of some base maintenance I'll be moving on to a new one, 26.2...

Half Marathon - Week 19

Weekly Total: 30 miles. It is race week and I tapered slightly, cut back my pace run and pulled out some recovery miles.  Between this and carbo-loading I was ready to race.  See my results post for details.

Monday: Rest.
Tuesday: Speed work. 2x[800@7:45;400@7:15;200@6:45;1200@8:00]. 7 miles.
Wednesday: 48 minutes @ 8:03. 6 miles.
Thursday: 37 minutes easy. 4 miles.
Friday:  Rest.
Saturday: Rest.
Sunday: RACE DAY!

Half Marathon - Week 18

Weekly Total: 33 miles. Rough start to the week as I was still having issues with the infection. However, my body took care of the issue and on Thursday I got the all clear to exercise from my doctor.  Friday's pace run started off well but after about 5 miles I wasn't able to hold the pace and had to bail out a mile early.  I decided to try and run another pace run the next day and turned out to be great and I ran a sub-8:00 pace. Considering I didn't have a long run the mileage for the week was still in the range that I have been trying to keep at.

Monday: 55 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Tuesday: Rest.
Wednesday: Rest.
Thursday: 36 minutes easy. 4 miles.
Friday:  68 minute pace run. Tried to hold 8:00 min/miles but unable. 8 miles.
Saturday: Quality pace run. 70 minutes @ 7:50. 9 miles.
Sunday: 52 minutes easy. 6 miles.

Half Marathon - Week 17

Weekly Total: 26 miles. This was supposed to be a step down week that turned into a very large step down. After Friday's run I ended up having an issue with an infection in my groin that made it very difficult to run or walk.  I am going to see a specialist this week and figure out what it all means.

Monday: 38 minutes easy. 4 miles.
Tuesday: 57 minutes easy. 7 miles.
Wednesday: 2x[800@8:00; 400@7:30; 200@7:00; 1200@8:30]. 6 miles.
Thursday: Rest.
Friday:  80 minute pace run w/ 2M pickup. 9 miles.
Saturday: Rest.
Sunday: Sick.

Half Marathon - Week 16

Weekly Total: 38.8 miles.  Another quality running week which is doing wonders for my confidence.  I ran my tempo/pace run at 8:00 min/mile even with a severe cramp. Also, I celebrated my 29th birthday this weekend by running the half marathon course in Boston plus some.  It was a lot of fun and the course is much flatter than what I train on daily so I am feeling really good.  4 weeks left to the big day and now I am just going to work on sharpening, hopefully down to an actual 8:00 min/mile pace on race day.

Monday: 10 Hill Repeats @ 7.0% & 8mph. 6 miles.
Tuesday: 57 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Wednesday: 38 minutes easy. 4 miles.
Thursday: Rest.
Friday:  64 minute pace run w/ 1M pickup. 8 miles.
Saturday: Rest.
Sunday: 2:04 long-run. 14.8 miles.

Half Marathon - Week 15

Weekly Total: 38 miles.  Great week of training. Solid speed work and some real quality miles.  I am feeling much better now that I got my 3rd race distance long run of the training and held a pretty good pace of 9:00 min/miles throughout.  Also, had a really good pace run on Sunday despite feeling a little heavy in the legs during the first mile or so.

Monday: 2x[800@8:30; 400@8:00; 200@7:30; 1200@9:00]. 6 miles.
Tuesday: 57 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Wednesday: Rest.
Thursday: 2:05 long-run. 14 miles.
Friday:  38 minutes easy. 4 miles.
Saturday: Rest.
Sunday: 64 minute pace run w/ 1M pickup. 8 miles.

Half Marathon - Week 14

Weekly Total: 32.7 miles.  The start of the week was great with lots of quality miles including 8 miles at a sick 8:00 min/mile pace.  However, I may have pushed it a little too hard on Thursday as Friday I came down with a nasty head cold and was forced to lighten up my long run.  I have 3 longs at 13+ scheduled so as long as I get those in I should be fine.  Still trying to figure out what pace I am going to try and run at the half marathon, going to probably be 8:00-9:00 depending on how I am feeling that morning.

Monday: Rest.
Tuesday: 8 Hill Repeats @ 6.5% & 8mph.  5 miles.
Wednesday: 52 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Thursday: 8M pace run w/ 1M pickup. 8 miles.
Friday:  Rest.
Saturday: 1:40 long-run. 9.7 miles.
Sunday: 42 minutes easy. 4 miles.

10K Groton Road Race 2011 - So close...

I ran my first race since January this week and I had forgotten just how much fun it was!  It was also my first race that my son Colin attended, so it made it that much better to know he was out rooting for dad.

As for the race itself, I came in having two goals. First was to run under 54:00 minutes or a sub-9:00 pace and the other slightly more lofty goal was to try and break 50:00 or a sub-8:00 pace.

My final time was 50:05.

I wish I had know that it was going to be close so I could have pushed a little harder, but at least now I know I could do it.  The course was definitely tougher than my previous 10K and had ton of rolling hills and some really windy sections.  By far my favorite part of the race was the last mile or so, where I started to turn it on and just started passing everyone as they ran out of gas.

Half Marathon - Week 13

Weekly Total: 28.2 miles. A lighter week of training this week and my first race since the beginning of January.  I had some quality runs this week and was very happy with the pace run on Wednesday that was 8 miles at roughly 9:00 pace. Next step for me is to figure out what pace I want to target for the race in May as I originally thought 10:30 but now its look like I should aim lower.

Monday: Rest.
Tuesday: 2x2M@8:30; 3x200@7:10.  5 miles;
Wednesday: 8M pace run w/ 1M pickup. 8 miles.
Thursday: 52 minutes easy. 6 miles.
Friday:  42 minutes easy. 4 miles.
Saturday: Rest.
Sunday: 50:05 - 10k road race. 6.2 miles.

Half Marathon - Week 12

Weekly Total: 33.8 miles. Another solid week of training and my 2nd training run at race distance. I am starting to really get the hang of running distances of 10+ miles. Also, I was able to get in both a full 10k at sub-9:00 pace in preparation for my upcoming race.  I am hoping I can drop the pace down to at least 8:30 for the race and come in under 50 minutes.

Monday: Rest.
Tuesday: 8 Hill Repeats @ 7.5% & 7.5mph.  5 miles;
Wednesday: 10k pace run @ 8:50. 6.2 miles.
Thursday: 52 minutes easy. 5 miles.
Friday:  42 minutes easy. 4 miles.
Saturday: Rest.
Sunday: 2:07 long run. 13.6 miles.

Half Marathon - Week 11

Weekly Total: 33.1 miles. Not sure if it was the lighter than normal week last week or that I was finally not feeling sick but I busted out some serious running this week.  In addition to some quality speed and pace runs during the week this is my first time ever running a half marathon.  It was definitely brutal but part of that is probably because I ran the first 10k at a personal best averaging sub-9:00 miles.  I am starting to feel much better about the race in May and really looking forward to seeing what I can do at the 10k in Groton as I am going to push hard and see if I can run a sub-54:00 10k.

Monday: Rest.
Tuesday: 2x1M @ 9:00 + 2x800 @ 8:00.  5 miles;
Wednesday: 42 minutes easy. 4 miles.
Thursday: 5 miles @ 9:50 + 1 mile pickup @ 9:00. 6 miles.
Friday:  Rest.
Saturday: 2:11 long run. 13.1 miles.
Sunday: 55 minutes easy. 5 miles.

Half Marathon - Week 10

Weekly Total: 27.1 miles. This was a step back week for me with some reduced mileage. I haven't really done one of these yet but I was coming off being sick at the start of the week and my body was feeling pretty beat up. I guess we will see next week if it makes it any easier or harder. I've got about 6 weeks of training before I taper and I'd like to get at least 2-3 race distance long runs in.

Monday: Rest.
Tuesday: 6 hills @ 8% grade & 8mph + warm-up/cooldown; 4.5 miles;
Wednesday: Rest.
Thursday: 5 miles @ 9:30 + 1 mile pickup @ 8:45. 6 miles.
Friday:  40 minutes easy; 4 miles.
Saturday: 1:34 long run. 8.6 miles.
Sunday: 42 minutes easy; 4 miles.

Hooray for Gu!

For those of you following, I had been having issues for the past 3-4 weeks on trying to break the 10M mark for my long run.  I finally broke it last week but it wasn't a fun experience by any means.  The recovery was brutal and I struggled through my speed workout 2 days following it.

That brings me to this week which I will say is quite a breakthrough for me.  After 45 minutes of my run, I ate a Gu Roctane Energy Gel:

These things may be the greatest invention ever; within a few minutes I could feel the small rush of energy from the small amount of sugar and then for the next hour my legs felt great from the release of energy from the complex carbs that make up the rest of the gel.  I have only really been drinking water up until this point on my runs but now I realize that was probably why I was struggling so bad later in the long runs.

In short, I highly recommend these and the pineapple ones actually taste great.  Just watch out because the consistency is something that will surprise you at first because its like gritty jello.


Nutritional facts: 
100 calories, 25g carbs, 5g sugars, 125mg sodium, 55mg potassium

Half Marathon - Week 9

Weekly Total: 30.3 miles. An extremely good training week for me posting the most miles I have ever run in a week and my longest run to date.  I started using Gu Energy gels on my long run and the difference is night and day. I no longer hit that hard wall around 9-10 miles and this week even after 11 miles I had some gas in my tank.  I also ran a great pace run on Thursday running 6 miles or so at sub-goal pace.

Monday: Rest.
Tuesday: Good speed workout. 2x[1200@9:30; 800@9:00; 400@8:30]. 4.5 miles.
Wednesday: 37 minutes easy.  3.5 miles.
Thursday: 5 miles @ 9:50 + 1 mile pickup @ 8:00. 6 miles.
Friday:  Rest.
Saturday: 2:07 long run. 11.3 miles.
Sunday: 54 minutes easy w/ 1 mile pickup @ 8:00. 5 miles.

Half Marathon - Week 8

Weekly Total: 28.3 miles. Interesting week to say the least.  Tuesday I had to cut my workout short because I forgot my shoes at work and the backup pair I have are not made for running.  Wednesday I woke up and had something weird going on with my throat that was making it hard to breathe, but the doctor cleared me later that day. I ran a double session on Friday for the first time to give me a break before my long and because my dad was visiting.  Sunday was the first day I have run a double-digit long and I always said I would officially sign up for the half marathon after I could run 10+, so I am going to sign up this week.

Monday: Rest.
Tuesday: Easy 3 miles plus some rowing. 3 miles.
Wednesday: Rest.
Thursday: 2x2M@10:00 w/ recoveries + cool down. 6 miles.
Friday:  Morning: 56 minutes easy. Afternoon: 6x200 hill repeats at 9% grade & 8:30. 9 miles.
Saturday: Rest.
Sunday: 1:56 long run. 10.3 miles.

Half Marathon - Week 7

Weekly Total: 27.2 miles. This is the most miles I have ever run in a single week and in terms of small victories I ran the equivalent of a marathon this week.  I am finding that the speed work is really helping my aerobic capacity as the runs following it are really smooth.  I ran some sprints after my last run on Sunday on the treadmill and realized that I have the ability to go much faster than I used to.  I could probably have held the 6:40 pace for at least a half a mile if I gave it everything.  I am going to probably see if I can schedule a 5k in as I want to see if I can break 25:00 now which would be nearly 5 minutes faster than my last 5k.

Monday: Cross-training, 30 minutes of rowing.
Tuesday: 1200@10:00, 2x800@9:30, 4x200@8:45. All w/ recoveries. 4 miles.
Wednesday: 35 minutes on treadmill. 3.5 miles.
Thursday: 1:43 minutes easy. 9.2 miles.
Friday:  Cross-training, 30 minutes of rowing.
Saturday: 2x2M@10:00 w/ easy recovery. 5 miles.
Sunday:  60 minutes easy on treadmill w/ 6x200@6:40. 5.5 miles.

Chasing Double Digits...

Thought today would be the day that I would finally rack up my first double digit run even though I was only scheduled to run 9 miles.  The run started off amazing and I was at 5 miles. I checked my Runkeeper and I was running full marathon pace without even breaking a sweat and had nearly all of my water left.

Mile 6 was the turning point.  I tried to dial back the pace because I knew I still had the hardest section of my run, which is all rolling hills and 2 huge uphill sections.  Pace dropped to 11:00 then 12:00 and finally 13:00 and I was only at 7.5 miles.  I was able to stay at 11:00 pace for the whole run which is my target but ended up crashing at 9.2 miles. 

Normally I would be happy because I extended my longest run ever today but at mile 5 I really thought I could hang on for the full 10 miles.  I guess there is always next week...

Half Marathon - Week 6

Weekly Total: 25.5 miles. Interesting week to say the least.  4 of my 5 workouts were on a treadmill including my first ever long run.  I think my new running route with the rolling hills seems to be improving my aerobic capacity because the 8.5 on the treadmill with no hills seemed like a breeze.  Although mentally, being on a treadmill for over an hour and a half can definitely make one feel like a hamster in a wheel.

Monday: Rest.
Tuesday: 4x200m hill sprints at 7 incline, 1 mile warm up and cooldown. 3.5 miles.
Wednesday: 35 minutes on treadmill. 3.5 miles.
Thursday: 58 minutes, 2x2M @ 10:30 w/ recovery jogs. 5 miles.
Friday:  Rest.
Saturday: 55 minutes easy on treadmill. 5 miles.
Sunday:  1:38 minutes easy on treadmill w/ 1 mile pickup. 8.5 miles.

Half Marathon - Week 5

Weekly Total: 24.5 miles. Very good week back in training after being sick.  Swapped my long to Saturday instead of Sunday because it was sunny and 40 degrees.  The 8.2 miles was pretty tough but I think I could have pumped out a mile or two more which is a good sign.

Monday: Rest.
Tuesday: Speed intervals w/ recovery jogs, 1200m @ Race Pace; 2x800m @ 10K pace; 4x200m @ 5k pace; 3.5 miles.
Wednesday: 35 minutes easy. 3.25 miles.
Thursday: 45 minutes. 2x2 miles @ 9:30; 4x100m Sprints. 4.5 miles.
Friday:  Rest.
Saturday: 1:35 at 11:30 pace.  8.2 miles.
Sunday: 60 minutes easy. 5.0 miles.

Half Marathon - Week 4

I am changing the format of my weekly posts moving forward. It will include a quick overview of how my running was and a breakdown of the trainings from each day so that I can better see the workouts I did.

Weekly Total: 14.25 miles. This was definitely a rough week. I had come off a really good week of 23 miles and felt like I was getting back into the swing of things but got grounded with a nasty head cold.  I was finally over it enough on Friday to run but man was I sluggish all weekend.  My long run was cut short because I could barely take another step despite it being beautiful out, felt like a waste of the nice weather we were having.

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Sick
Wednesday: Sick
Thursday: Sick
Friday: 34 minutes easy. 3.25 miles.
Saturday: 55 minutes easy. 5 miles.
Sunday: 1:10, 3 miles easy; 2 miles at marathon pace; 1 mile recovery; 6 miles.

Lesson Learned!

Despite my hesitation to share this story, thought people would enjoy it because it shows how little common sense I have...

I do my hill workouts on the treadmill which is basically 1/2 mile warmup and cooldown with 30 minutes of intervals of sprints with a large incline.

I hadn't done them at the new gym I joined yet and at my work gym I was doing 6mph at 10% incline. I tried this at the new gym and boy was I surprised at how much steeper the setting was,  I tried to jump off because the incline and speed were nearly impossible to keep up with and I missed the foot rest.

Ouch!  Huge bruise the size of an orange on my knee and I'm sure people in the gym were like WTF is this guy doing.

So the lesson is, always slowly increase the settings on different equipment....

Half Marathon - Week 3

Looking back, I would really consider this my first week of real training although my mileage is about at the level it should be at week 3.  I ran my full 23 miles for the week, with 16 of it being on the "dread"mill but I really enjoyed getting back out onto the road for my long run.

I also have switched to a new running app called "RunKeeper" and now I can post my runs details.  Here is my long run for the week:

http://runkeeper.com/user/brianmbento/activity/24745122

I will still keep my stats updated on the blog for PRs, total miles and longest runs but if you want to see my running routes or split times at any point you should be able to just go here:

http://runkeeper.com/user/brianmbento/

This will show you an updated look at my runs for the week. And yes this weeks splits were terrible, 11:00 minute miles are not something i'm completely proud of but hey its a start.

Next week is my last week of 3-3-5-5-Long, as I am scheduled to move to 3.5-3.5-5.5-5.5-Long, which may not seem like much but 2 miles extra plus 1 mile extra for my long is probably going to be rough but hey no pain, no gain, right?

Half Marathon - Week 1 & 2

It has been a little hectic in the Bento household over the past few weeks as we prepared for the birth of our first child. I am happy to announce Colin Michael Bento was born on January 15th at 10:22PM. After about 5 sleep deprived nights, he is settling in nicely and I have been able to get back to my training, albeit slowly.

The week he was born was supposed to be my first week of training but I missed my long run since we were in the hospital. I still managed to log 18 miles that week including an absolutely amazing 5.5 miles of trail running in the snow in the Audobon reserve near our house. The trail running was at a slower pace, but I could really feel the increased cardio requirements on my body so I am going to try and do one of my medium runs on the trails each week to improve my endurance. The first week home very little running happened because we were getting adjusted but I joined a local gym that is 24 hours so I can go running whenever I find the time.

Here is my new running schedule given that I am going to actually try and be ready for the Boston "Run to Remember" Half Marathon in May. I am going to ramp up the mileage from 25 miles a week to 45 miles over the course of the training which should coincide nicely with the Spring, where I will be much happier running long distances outside.

Schedule Monday: Medium Tuesday: Short Wednesday: Strength/Stretching Thursday: Medium Friday: Short Saturday: Long Sunday: Strength/Stretching

Run Description Short: 4-6 Mile w/ Hill Sprints or Fartleks Medium: 6-8 Miles @ 10:00 Pace or Trail Runs Long: 8-15 Miles @ Half Marathon + 1:00 Pace

10k Training Reflections

The biggest thing I learned from training for the 10k was that making the jump to the next distance requires a lot of work and even when you think you are ready you need to push it a little bit further. I thought 12 weeks would be plenty of time and I even had 10+ runs over 10k during my training. However, I am not sure if it is the adrenaline or nerves from race day, but those runs always seem to be tougher than I anticipated.

My next goal is to run a half marathon at some point during 2011. With the birth of our son, yes I am sure you all want to know his name but its a surprise, my training schedule might be a little light for a few weeks so I am leaning more towards the Fall when I will have some more mileage on my legs but we will see how it goes.

As I look to my next goal, I am going to really take the training more seriously and add long hill sprints/fartleks into my training routine to really strengthen my legs and core. Also, I want to learn more about how to handle nutrition during training. I have been on a pretty restricted calorie diet to cut weight, but hopefully in the next 3 months or so I will get down to my ideal running weight and can really focus on nutrition for training instead of weight loss.

10k at Lowell 1st Run

So after about 3 months of training I was ready for my first 10k race. The turn out was really good for it as Tina said they announced 1500+ registrants. The weather was insane for the middle of winter with the peak temperature during the race somewhere around 60 degrees.

I ran a really good first split of 31:46, but I struggled a little towards the end of the 2nd split. Also, I learned a valuable lesson which is to bring my own water bottle because it is pretty hard to drink water from paper cups while running. Both times through the water station I poured water up my nose trying to drink from those stupid cups.

My overall time was 1:05:15 which is my new personal best for the 10k, so overall I am happy and it is good to get my first 10k under my belt.

Here are two pictures from the race: