Run #67

26.2 miles, 5:01:03, 11:29 pace, 169 average heart rate.

28.2 miles this week, 414.2 miles total.

Hey, I ran a marathon today. The weather was perfect (for my Minnesota blood). It was in the low 40's with a mild breeze when the race started at 8:00. The sun was out for a bit, which warmed it up nicely, but then clouded over around 9:00, keeping it cool for the rest of the race.

I woke up at 5:30, had a bagel, banana, water and Gatorade in my hotel room. I've had a slight head cold the past couple days, and added in some stomach troubles this morning. That was rather worrying, but didn't have any problems during the race. Just had one bathroom stop around mile 20.

Generally, the first 22 miles weren't too bad at all. I was averaging around a 10:45 pace, which meant that my parents and sister missed seeing me at mile 13, but I saw them at St. Thomas. A big thanks also to Justin, Jessi, Dave and Jackie for coming to the race. Seeing all you added a big boost to my energy. My left knee did feel a little shaky at mile 17. Not sure why, but it stopped acting up after about one half mile.

The hill up Summit Avenue definitely kicked my butt, though. Around mile 23 I had to walk for about five minutes. By then my running pace was over 12:00, too. I probably walked about one mile out of the final three. That's what you have to do in order to finish, I guess. Once I had reached mile 23, though, I knew for certain that I'd finish. My legs were close to wasted, but my lungs felt fine.

I was able to run the last half mile toward the capitol. I tell ya, the last 2/10 mile felt like they took ten minutes. My family made it to the end, as well, though I was totally focused on crossing the finish line, so I didn't see or hear them.

I've read about people feeling overwhelming elation when they finish a marathon. Knowing myself, I didn't expect to have that reaction, and I certainly didn't. I was just glad to be done running. It's kinda weird how I went the whole race without my muscles feeling that tight, even when I walked through all the water stops and stopped a couple times to stretch, but as soon as I knew the race was over...damn, super tightness. I met my family near the steps of the capitol, which was a brutal uphill walk. Getting into my sister's car was a challenge, too.

After the most amazing shower ever, we went for brunch at Key's in Minneapolis. After an hour, I started getting some function back to my legs, though my calves are still a bit tight now, six hours later. Should be fine tomorrow morning.

So, overall, not a bad day. The marathon advertises itself as the most beautiful urban marathon in America, and the route definitely is scenic...around the Chain of Lakes, across Minnehaha Creek, up and down the Mississippi River, past all the old mansions on Summit Avenue, and ending up in downtown St. Paul. As I finished the race, I thought, "Not doing this again," but I may have different thoughts after a couple days. We'll see.

:)

Run #66

2 miles, 20:22, 10:11 pace, 151 average heart rate.

2 miles this week, 388 miles total.

Last training run. My training schedule really fell to shit these past three weeks, and I didn't get close to all my runs done. I suppose the upside is that it was the taper period, but I'm still not happy about it. Still, I feel alright heading into the race.

My flight arrives in Minneapolis at 1:20 PM on Saturday, I have to pick up my race packet in St. Paul and then I'm settling in at my hotel in downtown Minneapolis. The latest weather forecast says a high of 52 F, cloudy, with a 20% chance of rain. Sounds good to me. Hope it stays dry. Here we go.

Run #65

10 miles, 1:52:13, 11:14 pace, 159 average heart rate.

10 miles this week, 386 miles total.

Decent run tonight. Not great, but not terrible. Actually, my legs and lungs felt just fine, but for some reason my heart rate was really high throughout the entire run. My first mile was too fast. I slowed down after that, but my heart rate stayed high. It's pretty humid here, but only mid-60's temperature. Maybe I was dehydrated from the weekend. I didn't feel that tired when I got home from NC last night, but I ended up sleeping 11 hours last night.

I didn't feel any soreness behind my left knee during the run, and don't feel anything now. That's good.

Run #64

5 miles, 49:09, 9:50 pace, 148 average heart rate.

18 miles this week, 376 miles total.

Much better run today. Of course, it was only 5 miles. I must have tweaked a muscle or something behind my left knee a few weeks ago. I felt it a bit back then, but then it hurt fairly bad (when I extended my left leg) for about 24 hours after the longer run on Tuesday. There wasn't really any pain during last night's work shift, and I can only feel it a little bit now.

Between the cooler weather and my increased cardiovascular health, I've been getting good numbers from my heart rate and pace, so that's good. Hopefully, my legs will get all nice and recovered during the next couple weeks, too.

Run #63

13 miles, 2:22:19, 10:57 pace, 151 average heart rate.

13 miles this week, 371 miles total.

Ugh. Remember those super easy runs last week? Distant memory. Technically, this was supposed to be the long run from last week. I was all set to go for Friday morning, but it was raining pretty hard. Then I got started in my current stretch of night shifts. Blah, blah, blah...excuses. On top of it all, this was supposed to be 20 miles, but after working 12 hours last night, I just didn't have it in me. A couple miles in the middle felt okay this morning, but almost everything else was a big struggle. I was tired and sore throughout. At least the weather was nice.

With the marathon less than three weeks away, it's not a good time for my training schedule to get out of whack, but this weekend I'm going to North Carolina to see Logan, to Minnesota the following weekend for a cousin's wedding, and then back to the Minnesota that next weekend for the race. Hopefully, this was just a one time setback.

Run #62

5 miles, 49:56, 9:59 pace, 145 average heart rate.

20 miles this week, 358 miles total.

This run didn't feel quite as easy as yesterday's, but still not bad at all. It was only the second time in the past two months that my pace ended up being below 10:00. Less heat and humidity is nice. I wonder, though, since it's likely to be even cooler and drier on the day of the race, putting downward pressure on my heart rate, if I should slow my pace anyway so my legs don't get too tired.

At this point, rain is forecast for all of Friday, which is when I was planning on doing the 20 miles. I could just suck it up or wait until Sunday. We shall see.

Run #61

10 miles, 1:45:09, 10:31 pace, 148 average heart rate.

15 miles this week, 353 miles total.

I was *this* close to postponing today's run until tomorrow. I ran last night after work, was exhausted this morning, and had a hour with the personal trainer this afternoon. However, that would have thrown off my plan to do the long run on Friday unless I skipped tomorrow's normally scheduled 5 miles, and it's better not to skip runs. So, I bit the bullet and ran tonight.

Turns out this was about as easy a 10 mile run as I could imagine. My shins did burn a little during the first mile, but everything after that was cake. The temperature was still nice, but it was on the humid side. Other than that, smooth sailing.

Run #60

5 miles, 50:34, 10:07 pace, 145 average heart rate.

5 miles this week, 343 miles total.

I'm doing each of this week's run one day early. This way I can do the weekend long run on Friday morning before I start my night shifts.

Last Monday I told my personal trainer that I hadn't felt any shin splints in over a month. Seems like the exercises and stretches he showed me were working. So, of course, my shins burned for the first mile or two of each run the past week. Today it lasted a full 2 miles, then went away.

Overall, today was very easy. The temperature is 70 F with a light breeze. There's some humidity, but not too bad. A few days ago I read something that made me wonder if there is any correlation between how well a person is hydrated and their heart rate while running. Generally, I've done a good job keeping hydrated, but there have been a few lapses.

Run #59

14 miles, 2:41:17, 11:31 pace, 153 average heart rate.

28 miles this week, 338 miles total.

I worked a day shift today, so no running in the morning, though there was an extra guy on the desk, so I got to go home early. The question, then, was whether to run in the mid-afternoon when it was hotter and be able to go to bed early, or wait until evening and end up running after dark. I decided to go earlier. It was 77 F and by the time I got home it was still 73 F, so I guess it didn't matter much. Nice to be done before dark, though.

However, that was all that was nice. I was very sluggish for the first four miles, picked it up a bit for the next 6 miles, but the last four miles were a struggle. Not soreness or anything, but my muscles and brain were very tired. Despite that, my pace was right around average for these long runs. Around mile 13 I saw some people sitting on out their front porch enjoying the nice weather and I suddenly got a strong desire for a Grey Goose & tonic. Perhaps not the most recommended post-run beverage, but as soon as I get done stretching, I'm heading into town for a drink.

This was the last step-back run before next week's 20 miler. That's the longest training run, and then it's three weeks of taper. The Twin Cities Marathon is in one month! Sunday October 4.

Run #58

5 miles, 52:15, 10:27 pace, 150 average heart rate.

14 miles this week, 324 miles total.

This run was on Thursday. Felt much better than the night before. The weather has warmed up this week, but only into the low 80's, and it's not that humid. I don't remember anything in particular about this run, so it must have been alright.

Run #57

4 miles, 41:28, 10:22 pace, 155 average heart rate.

9 miles this week, 319 miles total.

This (Wednesday) was supposed to be a 9 mile run, but around mile 3 I started to not feel very good, so I turned back home. I also sped up the pace to get home quicker, so that shot my heart rate up. All in all, not a good night.

Run #56

5 miles, 51:47, 10:22 pace, 147 average heart rate.

5 miles this week, 315 miles total.

Normally, my long weekend run would be on Saturday, but this past weekend I ran on Sunday, so I'm still feeling a bit tired and tight, which showed up in today's run. Didn't really feel bad, but wasn't loose and easy, either. However, my lungs and heart seemed to do alright. And the weather, 65 F and sunny, is absolutely perfect.

Run #55

18 miles, 3:30:00, 11:40 pace, 145 average heart rate.

36 miles this week, 310 miles total.

Another longest run ever. I started off really slow and was able to maintain pretty well throughout. The weather was fairly cool, considering I started at 5:30 AM. Not too humid, but it has been rainy this weekend. I was surprised that my heart rate stayed that low. It didn't really jump up until the last two miles. That seems to have been the case on previous runs...it generally stays low up until I pass whatever distance had previously been the longest. I had just a little bit of soreness the rest of today, but nothing serious at all. Seems like I should have more to say about this, but not much happened. Felt decent at the end, but was happy to stop running.

Run #54

5 miles, 53:29, 10:42 pace, 147 average heart rate.

18 miles this week, 292 miles total.

Normally, I workout with a personal trainer for an hour on Monday since that's a non-running day, but the guy was on vacation earlier this week, so I met with him today and then ran. Not that big a deal, but I did feel pretty sluggish for the first half mile. After that, my legs loosened up and it was quite easy. The high temperature was a bit lower and even though the actual humidity was higher than yesterday, it still felt pretty nice. I'm definitely having pizza for dinner.

Run #53

9 miles, 1:41:17, 11:15 pace, 156 average heart rate.

13 miles this week, 287 miles total.

Compare today's and yesterday's pace and average heart rate. 1:18 slower today, but 4 beats/minute faster. To quote Pete from O Brother, Where Art Thou, "That don't make no sense!" I guess it was a little hotter today, but still...

Speaking of, considering how disgusting the weather has been the past few weeks, today's marks of 80 F and 70% humidity felt downright autumnal. I even noticed some slightly yellow leaves for the first time. I'm really looking forward to running when it's 55 F and truly dry.

With 1/3 mile to go, I got bored with quick, small steps and decided to open it up a bit. Right at that moment, two guys who must be on Princeton University's cross-country team came up from behind and blew right past me. That was humbling.

Run #52

4 miles, 39:48: 9:57 pace, 152 average heart rate.

4 miles this week, 278 miles total.

It's finally dried out a bit here in New Jersey. Made for a much more comfortable run. I spent all day thinking this was supposed to be a 5 mile run, so it was a nice little surprise to see that I only had to do 4.

I didn't stretch after the weekend run (I know, bad idea), so it took a mile or so for my legs to get loosened up. After that, it was very easy. I didn't realize my pace was under 10:00, though I probably should have slowed down a bit to lower the heart rate.

Run #51

6 miles, 1:04:38, 10:46 pace, 147 average heart rate.

23 miles this week, 274 miles total.

I was in North Carolina last weekend. It was hot, humid, and I was exhausted from the previous week of work, so I cheated and only did 6 miles of what was supposed to be a 12 mile run. Since it was a step-back week, I don't feel entirely guilty about it. As long as I'm not cheating on the long runs...

Anyway, like I said; hot, humid and gross. There was a fairly significant mile-long hill starting around the 2-mile point, which made for a challenging first half. Beyond that, it was okay. The first and sixth miles were flat, so my heart rate stayed nice and low.

Run #50

5 miles, 55:29, 11:06 pace, 151 average heart rate.

17 miles this week, 268 miles total.

Another day of craptastic weather, but at least it was a short run. Last night it crossed my mind how I now have a different idea of what constitutes a long run. 8 miles doesn't seem that far anymore. 26 miles still seems very far.

Anyway, my shins burned a little bit in the first half mile, but that went away. After that I was just kinda tired from the accumulated lack of sleep this week. Decent run, though.

Run #49

8 miles, 1:39:13, 12:24 pace, 157 average heart rate.

12 miles this week, 263 miles total.

Turns out I'd rather run in the rain, at least compared to 85 F with 80% humidity. Partly because of the weather, and partly because working day shifts means a lack of sleep, my heart rate was high the entire time. Aside from that, I felt pretty good. Just kinda tired at the end.

I'm thinking the standard "220 minus age" formula for maximal heart rate might not be accurate for me. Even on the runs when my heart rate has been too high, based on that formula, I've felt pretty good. I've never had that tested professionally, and it probably doesn't matter at this point, but I may look into that another time.

Run #48

4 miles, 41:24, 10:20 pace, 148 average heart rate.

4 miles this week, 255 miles total.

The weather was really hot and humid today, and I worked a day shift, so I waited on tonight's run as long as I could. Watched some of the Favre press conference and then fell asleep on the couch. Woke up at 8:00 PM and it was still gross. Out the door, anyway. After one mile the wind picked up and the temperature dropped suddenly. One mile later the skies opened up. Luckily, I was halfway done, so I just turned around, but that was a soaking last two miles. On the plus side, the accumulated dirt got cleaned off my shoes.

Regarding the run itself...pretty easy.