Boston -114 -- Sat. Dec. 26

Boxing day, reasons to celebrate, but this didn't pan out very well. Got up okay on a pretty frigid day and headed to Bill's to give him a ride to the Snowstorm 10K. Arrived in time to get nearly two miles of warm-up, but probably not enough (1.79 sez GPS). Nice group, not too large, and the start was fairly easy (Bill started fast, then moved to the head and eventually won the whole thing!) -- I could see the leaders and I felt I was being a bit restrained. By mile two was ahead of Billy R, but he didn't let go. As we finished mile 3, I could just sense the numbleg approaching, so when he came up on me I didn't push back very hard. As we approached the reentry point to the park I was totally numb, and had to stop, pretty much falling over as I did. Massaged it a bit, then started off again, just muscling my way ahead by balancing with other parts and the other leg. Managed to keep a 7:20 ish pace for two miles, then with one to go I pushed a bit and got a sub-7 for the last mile; ended up thus:

Time: 42:21 (42:19 GPS)
Distance: 6.2 miles (6.34 GPS)
Pace: 6:50

Then after the run Bill and I took off for my standyby cooldown run, adding another 2.8 miles or so (2.67 sez GPS), me full of frustration but at least with sensation in the leg again.

Comment: So I got my weekly mileage up this week, but the cost to my back/ongoing training is yet to be figured out. Must concentrate on miles not races from now, until I'm more comfortable again and up at 50 or so miles per week
The reason I can't give full details is that I then managed to leave behind my GPS, hat and gloves -- arg!! (ETA -- now retrieved and added)

(Fortunately a club member picked them up and will bring them to the next run... but I was worried for a couple of days, and even drove back to the park in the afternoon, but couldn't access the building. . .)

Boston -116 -- Thu. Dec. 24

Spent all morning cleaning house, and ended up with a sore back. Nicely mild day, just above freezing, and eventually a bit sunny. Headed out about noon, aiming for 8-10, a reverse Enfield like Sunday. Started on GeoHannum, then Jackson, then Howard, then under 202 and through to the trail out to HS drive, then back up OldSpfld and across to Jabish; pushed on the trail bit, so relax on the downhill, then start up Enfield: aiming for a negative split, so keep it to 7:40 ish. Then start trying to keep pace up a bit, heading down to water's edge, round the trail and back up--hard work, but mainly enjoying it. Keep pace solid (7:15 ish) to about top of Allen hill, then with two to go aim for sub-7:00's. Down to 202, along to VFW, sprint across 9 and push to almost the development:

Time: 1:13:23
Distance: 10.03 miles
Pace: 7:19s

Comment: solid negative split, FTW. Last two miles 6:33 and 6:29. Sore enough afterwards, but (I hope) good training!

Boston -118 -- Tue. Dec. 22

Cold and windy, and me still feeling sneezy coldy, but by about 10 a.m. I felt up to an outing -- main problem was pain in shoulder from torn muscle? that got suddenly worse yesterday and kept waking me up in the night. Took ibuprofen and F rubbed in some linament, and I headed off for an eight. Wore shorts, but three layers on top and hat and gloves. Wasn't too bad, as the sun was warm and the wind not as cold as Sunday. Down GeoHannum and on to Boardman, stopping to stretch at about 2 miles (asked by concerned driver if I'm okay--must look feak and weeble?), then all the way to 202 and left up to Eskett, then down and round to Rural, picking up pace just a little at about 4.5 mile mark. At GeoHannum go left to Stebbins, then turn round and head homewards, deviating for more mileage by taking Jackson up to the rail trail, stopping clock at 8 miles, thus:

Time: 58:03
Distance: 8.03 miles
Pace: 7:14s

Comment: after that took rail trail along back to GeoHannum and back home directly, getting a gentle mile top-up, or more accurately: 1.13 @ 8:15s. Goal was tempo: two of the later miles of the main run were sub-7, and one other was 7:00; quite satisfying, as the pace felt mainly easy. I was gentle with this one as I didn't want to be sleepy in the p.m., but for tempo I think I need to redefine to sub-6:45 now...

Boston -120 -- Sun. Dec. 20

Snowed in the night, then turned to wind. Really not very nice, but headed off (clearing the powdery snow, maybe 1-2 inches, off the car as we'd used the van for 8 o'clock) and skidded into DnD at 10. Only Andy and Bill there, and we chatted a bit; Andy called Amy, but she was going to arrive much later, so we headed off for a ten mile reverse Enfield. Andy had Santa hats, so I took one but Bill didn't want to. I carried other hat just in case I needed it. . . Round through the school it was fiendishly cold, especially as I was in shorts, but once we got out to OldSpfld it was better; up over town center and down Jabish, now properly warmed up (but making nicely gentle progress--pace of 8:00 or so), Andy ragging on Bill about the hats (which were surprisingly warm). Then up Enfield feeling pretty good, working hard to overcome the snow slippy ground; pulled Bill a bit near the end, then as we turned into Allen he went ahead and Andy slipped back a bit, so Bill got the Brandywine. Andy mentioned he was having achilles trouble. Then we slogged up Brandywine, pretty tough, and at last down into Sheffield, where I drifted ahead again; got a tailwind as we turned uphill once more to return to Allen, and I figured I'd keep pushing a bit; Bill took up the challenge and caught up, but then I stuck with him to the top; definitely feeling good. Then down Allen, cross 202 (Bill slipped; he did 21 miles yesterday and is feeling dodgy) and to Hamilton, where Bill started to move ahead; Amy appeared and ran with Andy so I tried to stick with Bill, which made for a tough last two miles. Got back at exact mileage, amazingly:

Time: 1:19:11
Distance: 10 miles
Pace: 7:55s

Comment: Definitely back into training now; hope I can keep it up, aiming for 30-35 this week. Keeping this cold at bay will be the challenge...

Boston -121 -- Sat. Dec. 19

My first snowstorm (and the day before the first real snowstorm of the year, it seems), at the new earlier time: I was really in two minds about it, but finally got up at about 7:15 and was ready to go just after 8. Arrived to pay the $3 park fee (fortunately not increased) then took my usual spot and jogged down to the Boathouse. Paid my $4 (only $3 next week, once I get my GSH membership) and changed to go and warm up. Wore longs, hat, gloves, t-shirt, fleece, and marathon jacket: still cold! Did a mile to start, then stretched in the warmth of the outhouse, and did another mile round the big field back to the Boathouse. *Tons* of people there, and only five minutes to wait. Stretched a bit, then down to shorts and out! Brr. Nice crowd (Billy R had greeted me with "It's half marathon man!") and I took a place near the front.
Off and up the hill -- behind the main front pack, and feeling numb in both legs (cold, mainly). But settled in okay, and the first mile was quite gentle; had good targets ahead, and worked on them. Then in mile two picked off a couple, all the while watching but not gaining on a fast female runner closing on Billy, and started to move up on main target (Marine man). Caught him at end of mile 2, just after the main road, then tried not to lose any more time compared to fast female (who turned out to be a local ex-college runner). Pushed down the hill, getting a 5:40 for mile 3, but faded a bit towards the very end (which is uphill just where it hurts). Here's the data:

Time: 19:26 (GPS 19:25)
Distance: 3.1 miles (GPS 3.22)
Pace: 6:16s (6:02s)

Comment: with a gentle 2.19 miles before, I then added 4.17 miles after at a good pace (7:23s), though it felt easy enough. So, a PB on this course, I'm pretty sure (and managed to come in 9th of 112), and a week that topped 20 miles. Good stuff. Now to get back to real distance building!

Boston -123 -- Thu. Dec. 17

Totally frigid today: dry, windy, bright sun, but temperature was in the low teens, but the wind chill factor took it close to zero. So, well wrapped, with longs and a windcheater (hood up over hat), I took to the woods to keep out of the wind. Also the trails were tricky and hard going, which kept me warmer--if slow. Entered trails by development, followed right at tree and along the top, then down the hill and back along the rail trail, up slope and down to the Yamaha tunnel, under the tracks and back towards the sledding hill; then briefly on to the road to get as far as the woods trail leading to Wallace pond. Up that hill, *hard* slog, then along and round the pond, along to the police station then back through the state school; cross to rail trail and along all the way to GeoHannum and finally stop at the exit, by the baseball field.

Time: 47:31
Distance: 5.72 miles
Pace: 8:18s

Comment: well, ice-bearded and pretty tired out by the time I got back, but this was a good workout. No pace sections, but lots of little hill bits. Hopefull this will lead to at least 20+ miles this week.

Boston -125 -- Tue. Dec. 15

Feeling enough back from the cold's first wave to go out and take a gentle outing on the roads. Do a basic reverse Rural: to GeoHannum, all the way along to Rural, left round to Boardman, then back up all the way stopping the clock at the development:

Time: 40:33
Distance: 5.41 miles
Pace: 7:30s

Comment: Took it very gently at first, and by three miles I was feeling warmed up enough to stride out a bit. Felt fine overall, though very sleepy later. It was pleasantly not too chilly (wore shorts), though I kept my hat on the hole way.

Boston Prep -- late, but here we go

It's been a while since I posted, for a couple of reasons. A busy week last week, the final one of the semester, and on Friday I got hit by a cold. This week has been busy too, but I've got two runs to report (phew!).

So, first weekend without running for ages--and Sunday was supposed to have been the first day of my Boston prep. Not the best start for that, but I can hope it gets better. My mileage is down so low I'll be starting from a clean slate, about 20+ miles, and aiming for a peak of 75. I haven't worked out the details yet, but it'll be a slightly modified version of the first marathon prep plan I used. The two main challenges will be sub-20 F weather (bound to be some of it) and then fitting in training during the 9~10 weeks of semester before the race. I'm teaching four classes (despite initial plans of only doing two), so I'll have to be very determined. But I'm optimistic at this point.

And I need new shoes, I realise. Xmas, good timing.

Yosh!

SRRC outing -- Sun. Dec. 6

Up for lectoring, then chores, and end up leaving a bit late, hurrying off to arrive at DnD just after 10. Nice crew already there: Andy, Amy, Bill, Nick, Steve L., and the recent additions Rob L & Tim. Bill's aiming for 14 via Harris Mountain, but I'm only up for 8-10; fortunately Amy and Steve L want similar. All start together, along Howard to Jackson, then to Hamilton, with Steve and Andy setting a stiff pace, but I hang back w/ Amy and Nick (also chat w/ Rob L briefly). Head left on Bay down the hill and along to Metacomet; there most turn off, but Amy, Steve and I go on, so (now warmed up) I'm running with Steve, a bit faster. Go up to Stebbins, then along to GeoHannum and wait a bit stretching; Amy catches up, then we head on again. Pick up pace a bit and eventually, heading back to DnD directly, pushing all the little hills, run 2+ miles at sub-7:00. End up thus:

Time: 1:08:14
Distance: 9.42 miles
Pace: 7:14s

Comment: Satisfying, now I've learnt my lesson about Steve (don't run with him until thoroughly warmed up!). It was very cold--though in shorts I had fleece *and* marathon jacket on top--but the sun was glorious on the sticky snow all around. Nice first real winter run.

Hot Chocolate 5K -- Sat. Dec. 5

Thought this was a 9 a.m. start (forgot to grab the brochure before leaving the office Friday night), so up early, shower and tea to wake up a bit, then off on a chilly morning with various gear combos to drive to NoHo; stop to grab coffee on the way, to stay warm. Arrive in NoHo just after 8, find a good parking spot and pay for 2 hours. Head to find registration; get my number and chip, then jog back to car and change to warm up. Head out for a mile, mainly on the newly extended rail trail; stretch achilles, etc., then run another mile, heading back to car. Get chip sorted, and then it's time for the start: jog down in just t-short and shorts (w. hat and gloves), helping another runner find registration (a bit late, I thought. . .), then to the start. . . but there's hardly anyone else ready. So I ask, and discover: start is at 10.!!

Jog back to car, quickly putting more clothes on to stay warm, but realise I'll have to move the car (it's a 2-hour meter). And I'll want another loo visit if there's an hour to kill; so, to Dunkin's for a recharge of my coffee, etc. Then park in a closer spot, and head out to do an extra warmup--meander around town for more than a mile, then back to car again. Finally, off to the start again, finding *lots* of people there this time. Do final stretches and find a line-up spot, then at 9:58, announcer says "About 15 minutes to go. . ." Arrggh!

Line for portaloos is too long, but no other option: bah. Realise also I've forgotten my gloves (ouf!), but try to stay warm, and say hello to Joe F and one or two others. See Sanjay A and line up behind him -- he's aiming for 19 something, so I'll see if I can stick with him for a bit.

Start is uphill, then mainly flat. New course is rolling, with little slight slopes periodically; suits me fine, and I'm feeling fine, not very hard pressed. First mile I'm aiming for 6:30, and digivice says I'm spot on (though course marks mile a bit earlier, says I'm doing 6:10). Start picking off a few people in mile two, but close to the end of the mile, lose track of Sanjay; too bad. Push a little bit more on the last mile, and then at the final stretch a guy I've just passed comes bombing by, so I latch on and push toward the end, right through the line, with the clock saying 19:01. My digivice has 19:04, but I stopped it after I'd stopped running. The official results:

Time: 19:01 (new PB -- results here)
Distance: 3.1 miles
Pace: 6:09s

Comment: *very* happy with the time, even if the chip timing mats probably added a few seconds. Felt fine afterwards (though sore next day, naturally). Andy D (German) and then Todd C (ISOM) crossed the line a bit after, so greeted them both, then got my hot chocolate w/ lots of marshmallows--AWESOMEly delicious, and had my beaming face photographed. Definitely a bit more where that pace came from, so I'll see if I can get sub-19 in the next year or so. Snowstorms, maybe--but that course is harder, so maybe not.

Enfield in the dark -- Thu. Dec. 3

Home early thanks to car trouble; after chauffeuring R to 柔術 head out on a mild evening with some moon/cloud to light the way. Aiming for 4-5 miles, but feel good enough to open up a bit and stretch it. Start on an extended 5K route, to 9, then right to 202, and left up towards Allen, but then decide to go right instead of left, aiming for the Quabbin. Up Allen, warming up a bit and pushing the hills, and then left and go all the way to the water's edge, then turn round and head back all along Enfield to 9, then right and straight back towards home, stopping the clock just past the supermarket:

Time: 53:31
Distance: 7.11 miles
Pace: 7:34s

Comment: didn't push too hard, either on distance or pace, but all in all this felt pretty good. This will be my warm-up for the Hot Chocolate 5K. . .

SSRC outing -- Sun. Nov. 29

Arrived to find a good crew: Bill, Nick, John, Jim F. and Eddy G., then Andy & Amy joined us, and Ken, then three newcomers: Bob L., Norm F., and Tim D. With me, that made a dozen--excellent group! We chatted a bit, then headed out for an Allen Rd first Enfield (with Tom Brady hill for some)--Eddy G. took the shorter route, pacing himself as (一寸残念) noone else up for slow pace. Took it steady, feeling okay but with sore ankles and achilles.

Ran a bit with Ken, then pushed up to join the second string aiming at the Brandywine line (beat John and Norm with some hard hill climbing), but then they all (Ken too) peeled off for the Brady hill and Nick, Amy, Jim and I went straight on. Nick and I led a bit, and at Jabish we both picked it up a bit and got into a good tussle, even all the way (though I pulled ahead at the very end). then we added the high school loop, and again at the end I picked up pace a bit--felt good.

Time: 1:09:26
Distance: 9.6 miles
Pace: 7:40s

Comment: a nice recovery/pace run after the race. With a 5K race coming, I'd like to stay loose during the week, but even if I don't get out, I should be okay; this was just right.

Talking Turkey race -- Sat. Nov. 28

Left at about 11:30 after a slow morning (late porridge breakfast; picked up a coffee & bagel en route), and as usual got a bit lost in Holyoke. Turned round and found the place enfin, parked same as last year, and jogged up to get bib number, etc. Crowded, and no loos except in the Lodge (not enough for 1300+ runners and all the spectators); back to car to change: *very* windy, but mild otherwise, so hat and gloves, but single T-shirt, with jacket on until racetime. Set digivice and jog off round parking lot field, then up to the start area, and at one mile stop and do ankle stretches, slowly. Then jog another mile scoping out the trail. Back to the start and meet up with Nick D (noone else I knew in sight), then wait for the cannon; he's aiming for sub-42, and I'm figuring I'll be happy ot beat 40. Shuffle start, given the crowd, but break out after a couple hundred yards; then find a pace and start to settle.

My goal was to split at around 20:00~20:30, and then do the second half a bit quicker. With the shuffle start, I kept the first mile to 7:03, and then carefully picked up a bit: next two were 6:45 and 6:44, so halfway was 20:32, leaving 19:28 or less to finish. Okay: I was still very nervous about numbleg, but feeling fine, so I didn't pick it up any more, and the next mile was 6:50. I was continuing to pass a person here and there, but with four miles gone I started to open up a bit: next mile was 6:30, and I realized I needed to go a lot faster to break 40 minutes. Passed Rich C. and chatted briefly, then really started to go for it. On the final uphill, after a good cheer from Steve L. and April's mum, overtook a younger female runner who'd been my target for a bit, and then she pushed me right through to the end (I stayed ahead, just). Really flew for the last mile: 5:38! Almost caught one lad in the final sprint, but then ended up dry-heaving while waiting in the chute. Here's the overall (per my GPS):

Time: 39:31
Distance: 6.00 miles
Pace: 6:35

BUT: there was a hitch! Two vols who saw me retching came over and one said she'd take my tag for me, so I tore it off, gave it to her, and then sat down to steady my stomach. Unfortunately, it seems that she never turned it in--when the results finally went up online, I wasn't listed! Gah.

I worked out that I placed #62, which was fine, and the pace was okay, given my condition. But it's not very satisfying to be dropped from the official record like that. I've emailed EORC explaining the situation. Just have to wait and see what happens. ところで, I ran 2.04 miles before the race (8:21s) and about a mile after, cooling down.

Rainy shortie -- Fri. Nov. 27

Out close to noon for a gentle 5K plus, starting on road. Wore hat and rainjacket, but no gloves, as it wasn't too cold. GeoHannum to 9, round the DB mart and up 202 as far as Allen, then left, up and over to 9, back up to Bay and down to Hamilton, then to the rail trail and take that as far as the baseball field, then back by the road:

Time: 31:35
Distance: 4.1 miles
Pace: 7:43s

Comment: back felt okay (touch wood!), though neck/shoulder was still a bit tight, and legs in general feel like beginners. When did four miles feel like a real run. Sigh. I'll have to take the first three pretty easy tomorrow (6:40-50s, I think--it is at least a mainly flat course, and hills make the leg worse) and then only increase a tiny bit, or numbleg is a dead cert. Last year, *with* numbleg, I managed to average 6:30s, for a 39:06 time. This year, if I split at 20:00~20:30, that would mean booking the last three (6:30s) to get a clean 40:00 finish. Just have to see, I guess.

Condition

After that Sunday run I was in pain in multiple places--right thigh, lower back, and then upper back on Tuesday. Somehow my back was so bad I was on ibuprofen by Tuesday evening; then, perhaps because I was tense from that pain, I pulled a neck/shoulder muscle on Wed. and consequently couldn't sleep properly.

Thank goodness Thursday was a holiday, and I could take it easy, and go for a walk in the afternoon.

Today I was feeling more or less better all round, so took off for a short run midday. But the message is clear: don't try and run hard at the weekend only! I've been coasting on close to empty, in terms of condition/base, but that's all used up now. I've hit bottom and have to build from there. Two more weeks of classes, in which I'll keep distances shorter (or proportional to weekly mileage), then I start on the marathon workup, from the bottom. Ouf.

SRRC run -- Sun. Nov. 22

Arrive to find Steve L. also arriving, and Nick and Jim F. already inside. That was the crew for the day (Bill and Ken away; Andy and Amy no-shows). Decided on a Jabish canal 8, and started on rail trail; pretty soon it was clear that Steve (who claimed not to have run for a while, but then mentioned he'd done some good running over 2+ wks in Shanghai and done a near PB running up Mt Tom on arriving back in MA) wanted to run at a good clip, so we drifted ahead of Jim and Nick. Stopped at the canal turn-off to regroup, then took off again, adn this time stayed ahead--very nice along the canal, though I was feeling the pace (a 6:37 mile and then some more), which steadied back up to just over 7 once we came out onto 21 and started back uphill. By the time we reached the right turn into Old Spfld I had pretty complete numbness in my right leg--from not being warmed up enough, running too fast too soon, especially on the uphill (maybe I work my back harder on uphill?); Steve decided not to run on ahead, and I made what pace I could. Back through the high school for that one last climb, and then Steve did stretch out a bit, and I just kept going at my pace, thus:

Time: 53:25
Distance: 7.63 miles
Pace: 7:00

Comment: This was a tough one -- figured it would be useful to try some pace work ready for next week's 6 mile race, but I was feeling wooden from yesterday (especially thighs, not calves; that despite the hills...), and then the numbness: forewarned is good, I guess. Last year I had to stop multiple times in the race, and I want to avoid that this time. Maybe a longer warmup (2+ miles) and some back stretching during the week will help. I hope so.

Hard trails -- Sat. Nov. 21

No runs during the week, alas, but ready to get out and do a double digit today. For some reason wanted to try Holland Glen, so: at about 1 p.m., mild and sunny day, out and on to 9, left and along to Federal, then down to the rail tracks--join old rail trail, round to town beach, and along to isthmus: still flooded at latter half, so back and follow rails to rejoin past the pond, and eventually out to M&M trail. Follow back to 9 and cross to Holland Glen, already feeling the effort (a bit congested, too, which doesn't help). Very wet, water springing out of the ground at umpteen sites that are generally dry, so its a slippery climb and I get one shoeful; at the top, follow M&M on up to the next level, the trail up to the outlook and on to Gold St. Pass a few hikers, and finally out onto the road at the top, then along and join Gulf Rd., heading downhill. GPS loses signal for most of the way down, unfortunately; go straight across 9 and join Federal, then take rail trail to Cheryl, and Federal again. Slog up that hill and then run until digivice says 11 miles (by the supermarket). But: at home, measure the run on Mapmyrun, and find that the lost signal period missed a bit, about 0.7 of a mile, so here's the adjusted figures:

Time: 1:33:57
Distance: 11.78
Pace: 7:59s

Comment: this was a *hard* run. The third bit of trail hill (beyond Holland Glen) was a bit much for me today, and I ended up falling to a walk at two points; just not in good enough shape for it. So, I'll have to go back and do it again during the winter break, as a measure of updated strength/fitness. Still, it was nice to get out there and get muddy, do some real trailing -- perfect day for it. And two of the miles were sub 7:00, despite the slow average.

Club run -- Sun. Nov. 15

Arrived a tad after ten after phoning home, to find Andy with Yarrow outside, and Jay, Bill, Nick, and Christine (from Smith) inside. Jay's decided to rest his injury long-term now, so he didn't run, but chatted; Ken arrived shortly after, and we decided on a 6-8 group (Andy. Christine and Nick) and a 10 (me, Ken and Bill). Warm, but no rain now: along the puddled trail we go all together, Ken and Nick getting their new shoes mudded up. I slipped sideways into a big puddle, mud up my shorts, but not too cold (!) and no harm done. At the underpass, we three bailed out on the others and headed down NoWash and on to SoWash, then left at Barrett; all the way across to Bardwell and back up to NoLib and then back up all the way to the trail again; good 7:40s ish pace for the first hour, then on the trail picked up pace a bit, getting sub 7:00 for over a mile, coming in finally thus:

Time: 1:19:32
Distance: 10.54 miles
Pace: 7:33s

Comment: good to get muddy sometimes, and this was a perfect day to be out running (never mind that it's halfway through November, and I want to see some ice and snow!). Pretty sore after, and tired, but nothing unusual -- good hard workout. Wore alternate backup shoes (grey ones), which seem to squash one toe; time to get a new pair, very soon!

Rainy day run -- Sat. Nov. 14

Mild but wet, alternately light showers and heavy drenching ones. I got a bit of both: started at about midday, in shorts & long sleeved shirt (from this year's Monson) and marathon jacket, plus hat and gloves. A bit stiff, but ready for some hills and about 10 miles? Headed down geoHannum to the old high school x-country trail , and started up that hill (met a walker and two dogs, also soaked but cheerful) and along that mile or so of trail to come out on 202, then right and all the way to Summit: left and start up the hill, and continue by turning right into Oak Ridge, all the way to Mountain View. Hard climb, and then the long and occasionally hard descent (got sub-6 just briefly, though not pushing), to cross 202 and into Eskett. By then over 7 miles, and feeling a bit low on energy, so decide to go directly home rather than add Rural. Keep pushing up Boardman, and reach 9 miles, then with all uphill to go decide to stop a bit short of home and then cool off. Stop just after the sledding hill enfin:

Time: 1:09:37
Distance: 9.54 miles
Pace: 7:18s

Then jog the remaining bit home, 0.62 miles @ 9:34 pace.

Comment: this was a tough hilly course, with trail and mud and rain, so I'm pretty happy with the pace. At the one hour mark I saw it was under 7:30s, but that was pretty much where I was hitting the limit of comfort. Not really up to 10+ milers except at an easy pace right now, and I didn't want to put too much effort in as there's tomorrow's SRRC run to consider. For the record, this run makes it the first week in many that I've reached 30 miles (since the marathon?).

Dusk outing -- Wed. Nov. 11

Feeling oppressed/depressed by busy work, but instead of having a nap (it being a vacation day, I ended up coming home from work) I figured a run would be more productive. It was getting darker (the day had been pretty gloomy), and I had an errand: take pictures to Dave from Erik. So that was two miles, with very sore tendons, road all the way, slowly (8:10s?). Then without resetting the clock I went down 202 and all the way along (in darkness now) to Eskett, then in to Boardman, along to Rural, and then GeoHannum and home:

Time: 1:02:58
Distance: 8.17 miles
Pace: 7:43s

Comments:
1) Took it very easy at first, really just flowing with no effort. Finally at mile 6 I figured I was actually ready to open up, but just to a 7:15 or so, then a slower one with the final uphills. So now my calves are sore, but it was a useful run. Definitely felt Sunday's race still, but the blister was not a problem, woot!

2) it was a busy time for traffic, between 5 and 6, but all the cars were fine. Except one, when I was nearly home: it seemed not to know which way to go as it approached, and then the passenger (young male) yelled out something about not going out after dark. This got a swift F you called out from me, partly to try and get them to stop so I could really tell them what I thought. But they didn't stop. I had a reflective top, white shorts, and a flashlight; they were in theory license-holding vehicle operators, and part of their job on road without sidewalks is to look out for pedestrians. Gah.

Monson Half -- Sun. Nov. 8th

No SRRC this week for me, and no other Swifties in the run, as it turned out. Headed out in good time, leaving about 10:30 and arriving on a gorgeous, sunny and mild morning. Monson filling up fast, so I parked in my usual spot, off the main road, and then went to register. #33, which felt kind of lucky (?) -- and the race shirt is a much more pro longsleeved one (wicking fabric instead of cotton). Take a couple of pics, then back to change for a warmup, then a bit more coffee and gatorade (fortunately not too long a line for the loos yet) and out for a mile. Run back up 32 as far as the bowling lanes, then back to center to do my stretches after just over a mile (8:22, easy pace). Then last run to car to leave long-sleeved top and head out to the start. Good crowd (300+ in the half this year), and though no Mark or Ivan, spot Sri, Joe F., and a couple of others. Chat with Sri at the startline: he's qualified for Boston too, same time as me almost, though he'll still be stuck in the 40-45 bracket.

Everyone's chatting, and the "Go!" command is almost inaudible, so we all scramble off, and I tag on to Sri to keep and even pace. First mile very conservative, 7:30 -- so I start to pick it up a bit, and move ahead--it's hilly but as long as I'm not racing I should be fine, and if I bonk I've got the gatorade. Hills feel good, and 7:07 feels about right for mile 2. Then progress at that pace, hills notwithstanding, with a 6:56, 6:56, 7:06, 6:57, 7:12 -- that takes us to mile 8, and finally we're heading back with some downhills. Mile 8 is 6:43, then 6:28, 6:30, so with ten miles done I'm finally averaging sub-7:00s, just.

At that point discover I'm getting a major blister on right foot--feels pretty bad, and I'm starting to tire a bit, but nothing for it, so push on: 6:37, 6:52 (mile 12 is always rough!), and then the guy behind me finally catches me. I try to stay close, and at the very end make a bit of the ground back, with a 6:27 for mile 13, and keep that pace to the end, thus:

Time: 1:30:38 (official)
Distance: 13.1 (13.18 gps)
Pace: 6:56s (official)

Comment; came in 29th, one place and a dozen seconds behind my PB for the course, done in 2006. Very happy with the outcome, considering; places 5/42 in my age group. The usual solid eats afterwards, including Guinness Beef Stew (*mmm), and say hi to April's folks and various others; catch up a bit more with Sri, then head home. Chuffed.

Pre-Monson shortie -- Sat. Nov. 7

Another week with not a single chance to run, and too little sleep into the bargain. But, this morning dawned clear and warming, so a midday shortie was a real treat. Did the extended Hamilton I tried last Friday, starting with a bit extra by going round the development -- this meant that when I ran the trail up behind S&S (to look at the Tall one's brush clearing work) I'd done a mile, and could stop and do stretches. Then back to road, across 9, past VFW and up 202 to Allen, up and over to 9, back up to Bay, down to Hamilton, and home:

Time: 38:04
Distance: 5.02 miles
Pace: 7:35s

Comment: Took this very gently, wanting to save pace for tomorrow. Tried at mile 4 to do my target pace, 7:00~7:15, but got a 6:45 instead. Need to watch the clock very carefully tomorrow, and take Gatorade, so I can finish without blowing up.

SRRC run -- Sun. Nov. 1

The extra hour of sleep seemed to go by in no time at all--arrived at Dunkin's and it still felt like 10 a.m. (lectored at 8, so busy start). Joged the half mile loop to warm up, then joined Jay, Andy, Bill, and Nick inside. Noone else showed up; Jay was not running, so we four headed out together through the high school and then back uphill into town, starting a reverses Enfield. Steady slow pace at first, but on Enfield Nick slowed down and the others picked up; I tried to stay with them, which was a good workout especially as Andy surged towards the Brandywine line. Then they turned off to do the hill climb route, and I went back to join Nick again, and we ran together as far as Hamilton; he slowed a bit and I slowed too, but as we hit Jackson I heard voices and thought it was Andy and Bill, so I took off to try and stay ahead. They closed fast, but then I realised they were cyclists (!) but I was moving fast by then so I pushed the final whole mile and ended up with a 6:41, then slowed down and jogged to the end, thus:

Time: 1:10:52
Distance: 9.18 miles (plus 0.5 warmup)
Pace: 7:43s

Comment: a beautiful day -- could have gone t-shirtless even (Andy did). This was both a bit longer and harder than I'd planned, but enfin I felt pretty good, and this should serve well as miles for the Monson prep. Yo~sh!

1/2 M prep -- Sat. Oct. 31

My Hallowe'en run was a final long run before the Monson Half next Sunday. Given my condition and relatively few recent outings, I just wanted to get into double digits, whatever pace, to remind myself how it feels (saving a bit for the Sunday run). Decided to include hill work, but not at hard pace. Headed out just after 1 p.m. on a slightly drizzly but mild day, down GeoHannum, down to Boardman, then Eskett and out to 202; cross over and head up Barton. The two-mile climb is not quite as harsh as I remember, probably because I was taking it gently. Then along Oak to Summit/Turkey, and head right out to 21, then right again all the way to Jabish canal; head back up that trail (dams all pretty much removed now, though I got one foot a bit wet at the overflow--the water level was very high) and then across to the railway trail and back along there. Start to feel a bit sore, at about 11 miles, so aim to try for 12, but realise I'm spacing out, so call a stop just short of OldSpfld, thus:

Time: 1:31:17
Distance: 11.76 miles
Pace: 7:46s

Then I took the rest of the run home (trail all the way) even slower, 2.01 @ 8:50 pace.

Comment: pace was comfortable, and if I didn't have work to do I'd maybe have pushed a bit more to the end. Overal distance longer than a half, so mission accomplished (and fingers crossed).

Evening shorty -- Fri. Oct. 30

After a predictably busy week, made more complicated by being off sick all Monday and a.m. Tuesday, I somehow found energy on a Friday evening to go out for a quickie, aiming to do at least 3 via Hamilton. Decided to avoid early downhill, so to 9, going right to the Town Mart, then back up 202 all the way to Allen, up and over to 9, straight on down to Bay, then back up to Hamilton and home via GeoHannum, thus:

Time: 33:29
Distance: 4.37 miles
Pace: 7:40's

Comment: This extended route was pretty handy, a nice varied workout. Took it easy as I had Saturday to think of; 7:40 felt quite easy. Pleasantly bright evening, with thick cloud cover.

SRRC (ish) -- Sun. Oct. 25

Head out to DnD a bit early, so do 0.6 of a mile to warm up, then in and wait for company. Bill arrives running, but no sign of anyone else (Andy not v. into running right now だって). So, we head out for a reverse Enfield, first through high school, then up into town, down Jabish and cross to head up Enfield--sunny, slightly chill wind, but we warmed up once out of the wind. Good pace up the hill after a v. gentle start; chatting all the way (about the Run Across Massachusetts 2010, inter alia), we also had to stop on Hamilton to return a stray dachshund (chubby and cheerful, quite cute), then we pushed on to Jackson and Howard, and under 202 to finish up (Bill added a tiny bit to round out the mile):

Time: 1:09:08
Distance: 8.89 miles
Pace: 7:46s

Comment: this was a good follow-up to yesterday, and I felt good (if sleepy at the end). This week, a couple more short ones, then the Monson Half!!

Rainy 8 -- Sat. Oct. 24

Yeah, another week without runs, and at least two flu cases at home, so I'm feeling like a good run outside today. Of course, it's raining too: showers, mainly but a couple of them pretty heavy. Fortunately it's not very cold (mid-50s?) so off in shorts and marathon jacket, and hat and gloves: head out to Hamilton, as if for a regular Enfield, but on crossing the bit of Allen between 9 and 202, head right along 202 back to 9, then left along to Enfield, so now I'm doing a reverse Enfield; come down Allen to 202, then head straight for home, powering along 202 to VFW and across as far as the supermarket, thus:

Time: 58:55
Distance: 8.08 miles
Pace: 7:17s

Comments: first 4 miles were in 31 minutes, so figuring I'd aim for 60 or so to get a negative split, but there were two fast miles (6:15 and 6:29), so a solid negative split. This is a useful course, for future use, I think. Pretty sore at the end, with definite threshhold running, but it felt good.

Peaked Mountain -- Sun. Oct. 18

Didn't manage to get out on Saturday, as Friday night was very late in the office, and I didn't want to impinge on freshness for this race. Unfortunately, the weather tanked: rain, chill breeze, and even eventually sleet. Still, much of this race is in the woods, and it wasn't bad. Lay in a bit, and headed out to Monson at about 9:15; got registered as soon as I arrived, then headed out for a warm-up. Left on Butler, for about 3/4 mile, then stretched and jogged back to find everyone lining up. Took jacket off and put shorts on, but kept long-sleeved fleece on top of t-shirt. Very small crowd again: took off after Mike T., keeping pace but not pushing, and a third guy was right there with me. We all took off up the hill and instantly I felt it: a bit more than I was ready for. Mike was not too far ahead, but gradually I wanted to fade, and chap behind came past. Then at the top I recovered quickly and pushed ahead of him and on the downhill (usual crazy swirl!) gained on Mike and caught him at the bottom. Then as we hit the road his pace was faster (sub 6:30?) and I let him go, but kept position. Stayed fine as we headed into the woods, but the terrain there tired me, and just before the lake I got confused re course, and stopped briefly, allowing chap behind to catch. He was feeling fresher, and he overhauled me in the final woods bit and headed after Mike; I was losing pace. Back on the road (grabbed a swig of water, as despite the rain I needed it) I kept them in sight as #2 gained on #1. I wasn't in contention, but tried to keep pace up. Ended up solidly in third, just matching my pace from two years ago:

Time: 31:50 (digivice)
Distance: 4.5 miles (digivice)
Pace: 7:04s

Comments: Official distance was 4.4 miles, but time is probably right to within a second or two. Given the conditions it's not bad, but I'd like next year to really attack this course. Maybe.
Distance: I also did 1.5 miles before and 2 miles after, gently, so total of 8 miles.

[Backpost] Thu. Oct. 15

Repeat of the course I ran on Monday, a bit later in the evening and raining lightly, pretty chilly. A tiny bit further as I looped further round on Stebbins, but I was feeling stiff after Monday, so the pace was a bit slower overall:

Time: 1:00:42
Distance: 8.06 miles
Pace: 7:32s

Comment: Again a couple of sub-7:00s, and this time I ran without any stops at all. Hopefully this will keep building to my refamiliarisation with speed; felt the numbleg a little bit, as I sort of thought I might. I'm aiming to work through it before the Monson Half, I hope.

[Backpost] Mon. Oct. 12

Finally got out in the evening for a Rural loop, aiming at a tempo run. Started gently, though the downhill kept pace up; stopped and stretched at one mile, then on, picking up on mile 4, then pushing on 5 and 6; then stopping to take off one layer (it was a cold evening!) and run the two more miles home. Route was GeoHannum, Boardman, left on 202, left on Eskett, left on Boardman, then right onto Rural through to GeoHannum, left out to Stebbins, then back all the way home. Here's the overalls:

Time: 59:23
Distance: 8.04 miles
Pace: 7:23s

Comment: Two good sub-7:00s, so I'm happy with the speed here; also a negative split, after pushing on mile 7 as well. Feet and ankles sore afterwards, still. Hm. But little by little, as well as getting frequency back up, I'm hoping to keep picking up the pace. . .

[Backpost] Sat. Oct. 10

[Been so busy at work I've still not got back to regular running, but I'm hoping to break out of that soon. . .]

Saturday run after a week stuck indoors, so aimed long. I wanted to run Mechanic Street over this side of Norwottuck, and the round trip was going to be at least 14 miles, but I felt up to it. Took the shortest route, to 9 then down Bay all the way and along as far as Mechanic; then start up the hill, grabbing some autumn raspberries as I passed (handy!), finding the going tough but still good. Got a bit lost once well up in the woods, but eventually, with some doubling back, made it out on to Batchelor, then back along the usual way, elading to GeoHannum. Starting to feel pretty bushed as I approached, so stopped clock near Rural, then jogged on much more slowly towards home, eventually walking the last bit:

Times: 1:36:57 and 19:06
Distances: 12.25 miles and 2 miles
Paces: 7:55s and 9:33s

Comment: a bit of a bridge too far, this one. Live and learn. It being a holiday weekend, I could at least puch my Sunday run off to Monday.

Club run -- Sun. Oct. 4

Arrived at DnD to find Andy, Amy, and Jay: the former two dressed for biking (Amy with ongoing hip/groin strain, mending slowly, hence no running) and Jay still not running. Chat a while (first time I've seen them since the marathon), then since noone else had showed up, headed out solo. Trail run, puddles notwithstanding; all the way down to 181, not too hard, then back up road to Jabish Canal, heading in there to rejoin railtrail and back to start again:

Time: 1:09:49
Distance: 9.33 miles
Pace: 7:29s

Comment: looking at the details, this was a negative split, just a little, but that's good given that it's downhill on the outbound and uphill back. Felt pretty tired after day before, but this was a worthwhile run. Ankles still very prone to soreness and aches, sides as well as Achilles...

Midweek shortie -- Thu. Oct. 1

Pretty sore Monday and Tuesday, and busy, but Wed. evening thought I might manage a run--ended up arriving home way too late, so Thu. a.m. headed out before going in to work. Not much time and didn't want to risk geting tired, so only a Hamilton loop. Started out on trails to add some warm up: it wasn't mild, and I was in track pants and the Adirondack Marathon top. Came out onto Hamilton at the rail crossing, then along to Bay, down to Allen, up to 9, up along to Bay and down again to return by road all the way, thus:


Time: 33:20
Distance: 4.13 miles
Pace: 8:04s

Comment: worked for what it was, at least. The aim was to move gently, and hit 4 miles/30 mins. It's a (re)start.

SRRC run -- Sun. Sept. 27

A bit tired, but arrive at Dunkin's early to find myself the only one. Just at 10, Bill arrives, looking pretty sore after his half marathon at 6:08 pace yesterday -- congratulate him, and chat till Ken arrives. That's all; Bill not running, so Ken and I set off in the misting rain for a reverse Enfield. Ken's set to go faster than I felt, so after two 7:40 ish miles, really feeling yesterday's run, I slowed us down a bit. Howard, Jackson, Hamilton, to Allen, then all the way to Enfield (no sprinting to Brandywine today!) and up Jabish, then the shorter route, straight down to the end. Not tired exactly, but sore, even at the milder pace:

Time: 59:58
Distance: 7.42 miles
Pace: 8:05s

Comments: as Bill said afterwards, I need to go gently back into post marathon running, it seems. Still, given how busy I am during the week, I won't be adding miles for a while. Maye b one more outing this week before Sat.?

First post-M run -- Sat. Sept. 26

Felt recovered enough by Wednesday to want to run, but too busy at work to get home for more than eat and sleep and back again, so finally today I got out for my first run. Lovely cool and dry autumn day, and figured I'd do 8 or more, but no route planned. Started down GeoHannum, stopped att the waterworks to do stretches (Achilles still sore, though not as bad as I feared they would be when I was running mile 24...) then up into the woods and across to Wallace pond--good hill workout, and warm up, too. Out on to 202, then cross to 21 and head all the way along to Jabish Canal; left into that trail and right through to 181, then follow road up to town, but peel off on to OldSpfld to avoid B'Town Fair traffic, heading finally along the rail trail back all the way to the development. Stop clock as I cross Jackson, thus:

Time: 1:18:26
Distance: 10.33
Pace: 7:36s

Comment: various bits hurt at various levels--sore on soles of feet, ankle tendons all sore, but breathing and (until the very end) back and arms feeling great. Hamstrings a bit tender, but most noticeable was pain in calves from mile 4 or so. Partly this was from teh hilly start, maybe, but also from the accumulated three weeks of minimal running (except, weirdly, a marathon!). Still, very happy to be back into just running, and the pace was good too -- enough of slow running for a while. Just one sub-7:00 mile today, but there'll be more. Tomorrow, even.

MDay -- Sept. 20, continued

Just some data to add my digivice recorded the race as follows:

Time: 26.27 miles
Distance: 3:20:32
Pace: 7:38s

Comment: results printed out on the day showed I came in 17th, with net time of 3:20:28, and gun time of 3:20:32. The results online then listed me 16th of 210 full marathoners, with the same times, and pace recorded as 7:39s.

Still totally satisfied! And walking, more or less normally. That might have to do with the massage I got after the race and the wading in the lake I did after that.

MDay -- Sun. Sept. 20

Ate a bit too much Sat. night (the very friendly House of Pizza in Whitehall), but slept early in our little cabin on the marina, and woke at 5:55 a.m. We (R and F along with me) were packed and on the way to Schroon Lake by just after 7, driving through mists as we crossed Champlain and headed up to Ticonderoga, then across on 74 to the marathon village. Chilly morning, so stamped around a bit, ate some bagel, and then found start. Bill found us and told me the plan: he gave me his watch to start at the gun, and would meet me about a mile up the course. It seemed cold with just a shirt and shorts on, but I kept moving, and made loo breaks--not feeling brilliant, but not bad either.

Finally, right at 9 a.m., we were fired off -- straight up the main street, happy to be moving. Quick loop down one sidestreet (needed to get the distance exact, I guess) then back on main course and there's Bill. Hand off watch to him and then we're really rolling: I can't quite believe it's actually happening, but I follow the plan, keeping on pace and not following faster runners, drinking early to keep fluids up, and generally enjoying the scenery. Chatting w/ Bill helps keep me calm and the pace comfortable -- it really feels like a Swiftie training outing.

First half of the course is hilly, with a couple of real doozies, but we knew they were coming, and stayed comfortable: first hour we covered just under 7.75 miles, with miles 5 and 6 being slower than 8:00. Bill relaxed a bit after that, and I was feeling perfect at 10 miles, and pulled a fast (7:16) at 11 miles, so we slowed again, but I was evidently getting ready to go: 7:04 for mile 13, so Bill made sure I was slower for mile 14, then he peeled off, and headed back to the bus to get a ride to the end. His advice was to stay under control (7:40s) until 20, then take it like a 10K, attack each mile with 7:35 as target each time.

But: the route was finally flat, and sunny, and I knew the last 5 miles were going to be tough (rolling, uphill). I found I was doing 7:20s, and didn't try too hard to slow it down -- it still felt like gentle running. This stayed good up through mile 20, but then, rather than feeling like doing a 10K I just wanted to keep going -- lots of bits feeling sore by now. Also, getting pretty desperate for a loo stop, but just *didn't* want to lose the time... Quite hot at this point, sun-wise, but dry too: not sticky, but probably needing hydration (but bladder was not happy at that thought!).

Mile 23 was the last good one: feet getting sore, but able to pass a couple of runners and pull a 7:20. About then Bill reappeared on his bike, with fresh gatorade for my bottle (awesome dude, truly). He handed out specific targets for each mile, and persuaded me (against my complaints) that could make it to the end. My right calf had clenched up, and then the achilles tendon felt like it was being stabbed a few times. Everything was beginning to hurt at this point, and I wanted it to be over -- miles 24 and 25 were 7:55 and 8:14. Then the end was in reach, and I could hear the taiko drums, and the cheers at the finish: managed a 7:48 for mile 26, and the last bit was at 6:32 pace as I pushed for the line.

For a second, I was elated, happy I hadn't gone wobbly or retched -- then I felt my legs seize up and just blaze with soreness and stabbing pains. But hey -- 3:20, and Boston qualified!!

Bill was just amazing, and all that Swiftie training paid off -- it felt like I had a secret weapon, a full support team. Totally chuffed, enfin, and looking forward to getting used to this.

MDay -1 -- Sat. Sept. 19

No run today: last chance to rest. All I have to do is pack, feel nervous, and then we're heading out this afternoon.

Fingers crossed. With any luck I'll make a report tomorrow evening when we get home again.

26.2 miles. This time it's going to be three 8 milers and a cool down run, maybe with a burst at the end. (Next time I hope it'll be two 8 milers and a 10 miler, plus a final burst).

MDay -2 -- Fri. Sept. 18

Another week spent all at the office, so not even any short runs, but Friday night got home just after 9 p.m. so went out for my final pre-marathon warmup. Cool dry night, so layers on top and shorts; slowly did an extended Hamilton (GeoHannum/Hamilton/Allen/9/VFW/202 and home). First mile was 7:40 on the nose, then slowed progressively, so for the fourth picked up a bit and measured a 7:30. Totals:

Time: 32:48
Distance: 4.17 miles
Pace: 7:52s

Comments: seems that I've pretty much got a feel for the 7:40ish pace, which is all I can hope for at the moment. I hope to manage a tiny bit under that tomorrow, but anything under 8:00s is a qualifying time, so I can't be too choosy. Very nervous! But also pretty psyched.

MDay -7 -- Sat. Sept. 13

Off sleepy after an early start to the team at 10. Bill, Andy and Amy at the triathlon, so Jay, plus two new guys (Tim and Steve -- henceforth Doc Steve? -- both from Amy's workplace). Then Ken also appeared, so we were five. Chat a while, then head out for a railtrail/Jabish Canal/21/OldSpfld/HighSchool route. Thought it was 8, but apparently not (though digivice lost signal a few times). Ken tugging pace after a very slow first mile, and by 21 he started to head off solo; from OldSpfld Jay went after him, and I ran with Steve (from Alaska, late 30s, and done lots of marathons) with Tim bringing up rear. Kept pace at 7:45ish, good comfortable chatting pace, after a quicker mile or two in the middle. Here's the data:

Time: 59:33
Distance: 7.54 miles
Pace: 7:54s

Comments: another one of those perfect days, a tad muggy but otherwise summer-autumnal. Felt fine, though right achilles is a bit sore (and was so last night too). Must stretch a bit tomorrow, but no running. Only days to go now!!

MDay -8 -- Sat. Sept. 12

Tentative run, but turned out okay. Late morning, headed out aiming for 6-8, taking it easy (goal was more or less MPace). GeoHannum and down to Hamilton, then down Bay and along to Metacomet, across to the lake, then left onto Federal briefly before going off on to the dirt road on the right. Stop clock a bit and run trails briefly, but the critical connecting path is still under water, so loop back and start clock on rejoining Federal. Along and up the hill to 9, then pretty much directly home, stopping the clock at the super market:

Time: 58:31
Distance: 7.51 miles (plus untimed half mile or so on trails)
Pace: 7:47s

Comments: felt fab at first, then at the end of the first downhill (after a half-mile or so) I could feel the spot above the knee...but then it went away as soon as I hit the flat. Felt good at the end, if tired later. Hoping it will stay fixed, and planning to do the final week as per the schedule.

MDays -13~-9 Mon. ~Fri. Sept 7~11

All I could do was rest the knee and hope it got better. Went biking on Monday in Adams, after watching Bill and Steve L (and sundry other familiar faces) run the Mt Greylock Summit road race. Iced the knee, avoided stairs for a day or two.

By Thursday it felt a bit better, though I was too nervous and anyway too busy to try running. Stayed off it Friday as well, just to be sure.

Not the best way to go through the penultimate week before a first marathon, but if it works, then no complaints.

MDay -14 -- Sun. Sept. 6

Figured my knee would be good for 6, given that it didn't hurt on the 6 miler on Wed., so I biked off to SRRC on another *perfect* morning aiming to do 6-8 miles easy. Good crowd, oddly only blokes today: Bill, Andy, Jay, Ken, Steve L., Jim, and me (and a dog or two). Headed out on rail trail at an easy pace, though it felt a bit tough for me, somehow. By the turn around point, at four miles, my left knee was getting too sore to ignore...Jay had turned back, Ken, Jim and Andy did the 181 route, and I tried to keep up with Bill and Steve on the rail trail, but eventually had to drop to a walk. Arrgh!! It was getting breathtakingly sore, and I was afraid of doing something to the other leg in compensating for it. Here's what I got before I dropped out:

Time: 42:35
Distance: 5.69 miles
Pace: 7:29s

Comment: given the pace (and I know the first mile was very slow, 9 min pace) it's no wonder I felt it in my knee. The whole crew came out and commiserated with me, very good of them; we also talked a lot about upcoming races and events. Jay said ice and ibuprofen, with specific instructions, which I followed. Fingers crossed it gets better in 2-3 days.

MDay -15 -- Sat. Sept. 5

Schedule was for a final longer run, so I set out first thing (which, on Sat., means about 9:30) and here's Bill coming down the road -- so I jogged with him and turned out he was ending the first loop of a 20. I took him up on the invitation to run along for the next 10+ at my MPace, or a bit slower (given that I'd run yesterday). We went down GeoHannum all the way to Stebbins, where he let me see if I could set pace right. Along to Bay, then back all the way to the hill...up to Allen and then up and over Allen, then down to 202 and VFW back to Bill's place, completing 8 miles and starting into the next 4. We kept pace down GeoHannum and Jackson to Howard to my turn back point, with Bill going out for one more hill.

Unfortunately, by this point my knee area was flamingly sore, and I slacked off, deciding not to go above 12, for all that I wanted the mileage and I wasn't tired at all. Here's what I got:

Time: 1:36:52
Distance: 12.29 miles
Pace: 7:53s

Comment: it was a *perfect* day for a run, and the pace was dead-on (for a run the day after a double-digit run) but this injury is a spanner in the works. Iced it a couple of times in the afternoon, and slept. See how it goes in the next few days

MDay -16 -- Fri. Sept. 4

Grabbed the bull by the horns and went out first thing, more or less: rail trail out and back, with the longer start (via GeoHannum) and a stretch session after a mile or so. Felt quite good, nice and cool on the trails, so pace was comfortable, but pretty close to MPace in the end:

Time: 1:20:16
Distance: 10.33 miles
Pace: 7:46s

Comment: Can't do much about the mileage this week, but this at least was a quality run. I was late for my 11 a.m. appt, but it was worth it!

Note: soreness and bruise on left knee (from near fall last Sat.?), not really evident until now, became a bit of an issue toward the end of the run. Not sure what to do about it.

MDay -17 -- Thu. Sept. 3

Schedule, revised on the fly given the week I'm having, was for a ten miler, but again didn't get home until late (after 11) and so no run. Time to panic?

MDay -18 -- Wed. Sept. 2

Longer days starting at work so it was after 9 when I got home. Managed a donut run at least, and will have to pick up miles later in the week. Headed out for a Hamilton basic, but then decided to go down Bay to Metacomet, and back up Federal on to 9. Going directly home on that route brought me over 6 miles, just right:

Time: 51:33
Distance: 6.34 miles
Pace: 8:08s

Comment: took this one very easy deliberately and also as it was late in a long day. Felt good to move, and the night was cool. I'm worried about the abrupt drop-off in mileage, but can't help it now.

MDay -19 -- Tue. Sept. 1

Schedule had me down for a medium run, but I ended up getting worn out driving to the aerial adventure park and monkeying around in the trees for 4 hours.

Chalk this one up to x-training, and incipient taper...

MDay -20 -- Mon. Aug. 31

Schedule says bike day, and I was home in time to get out for two hours in more or less light. Chased the sunset up Gulf Hill, over NGulfRd and then up Meetinghouse, all the way to Atkins reservoir. Took a few pics then home via Cushman and railtrail, etc. Data, approximately:

BIKED 29 miles in 2:10.

Comment: not so fast, though I stopped a bit. Was aiming for steady, and didn't feel too zippy anyway. Given the hills (1400+ feet of climb, nearly all in the first half), I'm happy enough.

MDay -21 -- Sun. Aug. 30

Feeling tired and stiff, but out for the SRRC run. Again nine people there, on a somewhat cooler morning: Christine D, Savanna, Nick, John, Andy, Jay, Bill, Jim F and me. I was planning on 6-8 easy, per Bill and Andy's advice yesterday. Jay wanted 10, but said he'd add a loop to our 8. Andy and Christine did rail trail out and back, as she's avoiding hard surfaces (apparently at brisk pace: 7:25s). We did an Enfield, starting up OldSpfld -- where Bill and John attacked the hill and I enjoyed the show from a distance. Then down Jabish, long pull up Enfield (Savanna bailed at 9, aiming for a shorter run as she has her first 1/2 next week) w/ Jim, and catch up w/ the others at Brandywine (which they'd sprinted for, natch). Three went down through Sheffield, but Nick joined Jim and me going straight back. Down to 202, over to Allen, on to Hamilton (lost Jim briefly) and along Hamilton, Jackson, Howard (trailing Nick at that point, as he was easing off) and 202 back to Checkers. Looped a bit behind to get to exactly 9 miles, thus:

Time: 1:11:03
Distance: 9 miles
Pace: 7:54s

Comments: we started quite slow, over 8:00s, so it took a few quick miles near the end to make the average sub-8. A solid negative split, and a good set of miles after yesterday. But I'm looking forward to tomorrow's rest/bike ride.

MDay -22 -- Sat. Aug. 29

Massive thanks to the guys from SRRC -- Bill arranged the run today, and Andy came along, and Jay showed up for support mid-way (he was on a bike, but came by). It was rainy, but no downpours, and while it was cool it wasn't cold. Bill picked me up at 9, and we drove to the Station Rd parking spot. Andy appeared and we set out. I wore a rain shell, but didn't put the hood up; we were all in shorts, too. Plan was 8 warmup + 8 pace + 4 whatever. Warm up was StationRd, Shays, 116 up to Amherst, down Main to SE, then back along to SoAmherst and Station Rd again back to cars. Bill called laps, and we started a bit quick, then backed off. There were some hilly bits, but nothing serious. Bill reports the overall thus:

Warmup 8 miles @ 1:00'42" = 7'35"/M

So a bit quick, but it felt very controlled, no strain. Next, off on the pace training: 4 miles out on the rail trail towards the mall, then back again. Bill kept laps, but didn't tell me times, just whether we were fast (quicker than 7:40) or slow. He let me lead so I was trying to gauge the pace: it was very difficult, but the results were progressively better. Tripped over a fallen tree at midpoint, saved from sprawling by Andy's outreached hand, but otherwise no incidents. Bill led for the latter half of this, and we got a really good rhythm going. Here's his data report on the 8 mile pace workout:

M1 - 7'30"
M2 - 7'57"
M3 - 7'48"
M4 - 7'40"
M5 - 7'53"
M6 - 7'38"
M7 - 7'43"
M8 - 7'40"
total - 8 miles @ 1:01'47" = 7'43"/M

Felt really good at the end of it, so for our last loop we attacked the hill on StationRd, then back down WWright past the rail trail to Wilson, then back and do the rail trail section to NoSt again. Felt so good that I picked up the pace and then went for it at the end, outsprinted by Andy but managing a decent spurt. Bill had figured this would be a cool down...

4 miles cool-down @ 27'48" = 6'57"/M

OVERALL
Time: 2:30:17
Distance: 20 miles (I got 19.85 by mapmyrun, but I'll take Bill's data)
Pace: 7:31s

Comment: amazing! I had instant hunger queasiness with the sprint at the end, but otherwise I felt incredibly good. Totally wiped out later in the day, but very encouraging overall. Three weeks to go. よ〜し！！ This is also a double PB: distance in one run, and weekly distance (62 miles). Maybe also duration, but I'm not sure on that.

MDay -23 -- Fri. Aug. 28

Schedule says rest day. Tomorrow morning, the 20 miler. Something to think about.

MDay -24 -- Thu. Aug. 27

Schedule called for a track session with 8 miles, but I figure a hill run is okay instead, and I don't even need 8 miles for the week. After work stopped off at MeetinghouseRd, a bit late (7:40) and in gathering gloom headed down the loop-ended out and back course that Mark and I have done many times. Cool and dry, very nice for running. Felt stiff, and the digivice was having trouble keeping a lock. Stopped after a mile, run at a slow pace, stretched, then continued up the hill. Good hard run, harder than I remembered, and dark enough that I was a bit concerned about footing at the top on the dirt road. But then back down again, much faster (clock had one mile as well below 6:00!) and back almost feeling my way on the last rough section to the parking area again, thus:

Time: 58:07
Distance: 7.5 miles
Pace: 7:45s

Comments: take off the first slow mile and the average pace was more like 7:25s. Definitely another hard run, and now I'm set for the last long one on Saturday. Then, taper...

MDay -25 -- Wed. Aug. 26

Schedule called for 8+ miles, and I dithered about routes, but after GeoHannum->railtrail->Jackson, I did my one mile stretch session and then set off down Howard to hit the rail trail and then Jabish (retracing my Monday bike ride and a run last week). Aiming for an MPace run, easy enough at first given the gentle terrain; stopped clock at about 5 miles so I could ford the canal overflow with shoes off -- didn't fancy running with wet shoes as I have cuts on two toes. Then restart and reach teh road section, up 21 and into OldSpfld along as far as the HS, up through there and then through the State school to head down Jackson to GeoHannum and up the hill as far as the baseball field. Results:

Time: 1:19:43
Distance: 10.32 miles
Pace: 7:44s

Comments: Hot, but drier than last week; quite nice. A bit sore, as this was less than 24 hrs from last run. Still, for MPace, I'll take 7:44 (it may still be a bit optimistic, but it's a target).

MDay -26 -- Tue. Aug. 25

Schedule was for an 8 miler, but complication: it was beach day! Well, nothing wrong with a run along the beach, so that's what I did. Mapped out the distance from Salisbury, at the mouth of the Merrimack (our spot of choice) north as far as the next river. This turned out to be about 5 miles -- longer than I'd planned, but fair enough, and easy not to get lost. It was a bit later than I'd planned, too, as we left home late due to work email. Two hour plus drive, so it was 1 p.m. when I jogged off, in very full sun, but not too hot (mid-80s), and with a nice sea-breeze.

Out along the road exit of the reservation (stopping at one mile to stretch), then down to Salisbury Beach, under the pier, and off north. Mainly firm sand, and managed to stay just above the waves (beach very crowded due to high tide) except at one spot. Pace was quick for some reason, and I stopped once I reached the rocks at the next river. Then back via roads, simply for the change and to avoid the crowds on the beach. Feeling a bit tired/sore at that point, but plugged on; back into the reservation and stopped clock there. Stretched again, then jogged gently back the last mile and a half, for these results:

Time: 1:06:53 + 10:06
Distance: 9.02 miles + 1.23 miles
Pace: 7:25s and slower

Comments: somehow felt like a bit more pace today, though it made for a different kind of soreness a the end. Had no water bottle, which was unfortunate, but had good water right before and after the run. Double digits, so only need single digits tomorrow. Nice!

MDay -27 -- Mon. Aug 24

Schedule says rest day, and I'm happily going to take it.

ETA -- got out for a 13 mile bike ride, varied pace and mainly trails. Nice for a change!

MDay -28 -- Sun. Aug. 23

Four weeks to go! Feeling sleepy after an early starts, so really needed company today. Good crowd at DnD, all milling outside for some reason: Jay (running again now), Bill, Andy, Amy, Steve L., John, Savanna, and another college student 女性 from Smith ex-BHS (with a wrist in a cast--keen cyclist, apparently). Add me and almost double digit turnout (well, include Yarrow and you get 10!).

Various distances planned; I wanted 12, but Bill said 13, so I agreed, but begged off Barton hill (tendons too sore). Rail trail start, good pace with Steve and Andy up front. All the way to the end, then Bill and I headed up MSears while the others did 181. Up past the orchards, out onto 9, then left along to Enfield: up there to Allen, and down there to 202, then straight back down to cross 9 and head up into town. Mileage was a bit more than planned, and Bill picked up pace as we headed up the hill; tough but I got into it, and then I was towing him as we got to Jackson, which we went down to Howard, then along and through the underpass to get back to start at just over 14 miles with a strong finish:

Time: 1:50:57
Distance: 14.11 miles
Pace: 7:52s

Comment: Bill's reaction? "Steve, you're ready for that marathon." Most encouraging, as I'm pretty knackered all the time right now, but he says that's normal. He also agreed to accompany on my last long run, the only 20 miler I've got time for. I'd planned Thursday, but I'm happy to move it to next Sat. to get his company and expertise. And then, the taper begins...

MDay -29 -- Sat. Aug. 22

Another dead muggy day after an airless night, so slow starting; it was almost 11 a.m. when I set off for the scheduled 12 miler (down from 15 after I added up mileage for the week and found I was ahead -- phew!). Headed down the railtrail (with bugspray on), with a stretch session at the one mile mark, crossing Jackson. Lots of puddles, but good surface, not cloggy; turned left at Jabish canal, upstream towards 181--very peaceful. Right at 181, to Cordner; then up to Sabin, right past yellow house and Cold Spring to MSears, along to 181 again, and then cross to rail trail, to follow it home from there, stopping clock on Jackson before walking up the trail to the development:

Time: 1:37:21
Distance: 12.34 miles
Pace: 7:53s

Comment: pace was not bad considering terrain, etc. I wasn't pushing, but aimed at a negative split, which I got, given the early miles being 8:00s. Pretty tired at the end; nothing specific, just sort of generally. Added it all up and found the week's mileage was a new PB, 56.04. One more big week to go before the taper...

MDay -30 -- Fri. Aug. 21

Switch to morning so I'm ready for weekend: schedule said 45 min. tempo run for 8 miles: feeling very stiff and a bit sore, but game for the 8 mile bit. Head off just after 10, airless muggy day, sunny too, so aim for shade. To GeoHannum and into rail trail, then stop on Jackson to stretch. No GPS device, left it at work, so time with cell phone. Start stopwatch after stretches: on to Howard, then back into rail trail, along to underpass, and then switch to Jabish Canal heading to 21. No sense of time, and not aiming to push here; keep it steady as far as the road, then slowly open up a bit. Sun was tough (no sunscreen), but better once I'm on OldSpfld; decide to take the shorter way home, not via school but back on trail, and push through on to Howard and then stop clock just by Stone Soup farm. Jogged home (tree down on rail line! -- call in to DPW), then calculated distance on web. Details:

Time: 9 + 1:06:40
Distance: 1 + 8.75 miles
Pace: 9 & 7:37s

Comment: after a very gentle start, I must have picked up pace quite a bit. Given how much trail there was, I think the last couple of miles came close to tempo. So, okay for now. One more run for the week, and I should be back at full mileage again.

MDay -31 -- Thu. Aug. 20

Brought Friday's schedule forward (so we could go and see Ponyo!), so REST DAY.

MDay -32 -- Wed. Aug. 19

Revised schedule a bit to compensate for the biking interval, so today called for an easy long run of 13 miles. I ended up mis-remembering the toughness of Gulf hill, so easy is not what it felt like, but the pace was reasonable, at least. Went out just before 7 p.m., the heat not so intense but muggy as ever. Rather than face the uphill on 202, I went out to 9 and then along to Federal, down the hill towards Gulf that way. Took a small part of the rail trail from Cheryl Circle to Federal, then started on the long uphill. Gulf all the way, veering left on to NGulf and round to Packardville, then take a right back towards Meads Corner. The uphill was tough, but I kept it steady, worrying a bit about achilles tendon wear. Startled a snake (who then startled the heck out of me!) midway across the pond causeway, and another even bigger one further on; running out of water by the time I got to 202, and feeling hungry (should have eaten before going out for more than double digits). Downhill helps: pick up pace a bit, aiming to end up with a decent negative split. Head back via VFW road, and come to 13.1 just by the supermarket:

Time: 1:43:49
Distance: 13.11 miles
Pace: 7:55s

Comment: Felt pretty hard at the end, as I'd pushed a bit to go from a first half at about 8:10s to the eventual overall average of 7:55s. Still, the mileage is good, and the hills were an unplanned bonus.

MDay -33 -- Tue. Aug. 18

Missed a chance at a morning run, so out after work, having arrived home in good time. Well over 90° F today, and pretty muggy. Aim for double digits, but not sure how I'll hold up (heat making me feel pretty washed out). Decide on a rail trail start, so out to GeoHannum, enter the trail (following a motocross bike, judging by trail and smell). Along to Jackson; stretches, then Howard and back to trail, all along as far as the underpass. Dry rough going, and not pushing it; goal is slow M-pace (7:40s or so). Cross road and head off trail and up Jabish Canal path to 181, then right along to Cordner, up (steep) to Sabin and left along to 9. At that point approx 7 miles done, so no need for an Enfield loop; instead, turn left on to Jabish, start up hill, then do Johnson + Jensen loop, with the run around the baseball field added in, and up to common, along and down 202 to 9 and home. Stop clock after 11 miles has gone by, just after the supermarket:

Time: 1:24:44
Distance: 11.15
Pace: 7:36s

Comment: felt pretty steady the whole way, a good pace in varied terrain and with some short but real hills thrown in. After 10 miles let rip on the way from town common, clocking a 6:20 over mile 11 -- useful to stretch out a bit there. Beginning to feel back on track, but so little time left...

MDay -34 -- Mon. Aug. 17

Rest day; missed a chance at biking as I got home from work too late for light.

Not many days now, arg!!

MDay -35 -- Sun. August 16

New week, back onto the training schedule -- FIVE WEEKS left, arg! 何とかなるけど。

Missed SRRC meeting again. Instead, found myself in Delmar, so planned out a route using the old railway trail, hoping that it'd been fixed up since I last biked it. It was just after noon by the time I could get out, having driven up in the a.m., so I took water and had sunscreen on; aiming for 9 miles.

Back streets to the trail, stretch a bit, then off along the ballast-gravel surface (a bit hard on my thin trail shoes), enjoying the slight down gradient and feeling hot but ready to go with it (not pushing pace). After about three miles reach *that bridge* -- alas, more or less unreconstructed. Someone had bolted together the 3-4 loose ties in the open section mid-bridge, but there were still the other two open sections as well as the slightly crumbly sleepers right across. Ouf. Didn't want to risk pausing to think, or look down, just headed right out with careful steps. Very scary, but made it across w/o incident, inshallah, and kept right on going. Phew!

Trail ends up at railyard by SoPearl street, where I couldn't figure a way out: stopped clock and found a playground next to the yard, so with help of trees climbed the 8' chainlink fence and jumped down the other side. Threw water bottle, and it disappeared (temporarily) down a rabbit hole! Banged forearm on something in a heavy landing, but mainly okay. Out of the playground, then along road to McCarty Ave: up the hill and straight across until it intersects with Delaware. VERY hot, and running low on water, plus feeling the sun on bits I'd forgotten to protect. Mmmf.

Back along Delaware, then dive down into glorious shade on the yellow brick road. Down to the river, cross the old bridge and up the other side back to Delaware, seriously looking for water now. Icecream stand has an outside fountain, so stop there to drink and refill bottle, promising to go back later and buy icecream (which I did, with kids :-).

After that, simple run on back streets to home from home. Miss the turnoff near the end, and kind gardener sprays me with hose -- 快適！ Data:

Time: 1:17:25
Distance: 9.69 miles
Pace: 7:59s

Comment: this was *hot* and I was roasted by the end -- still, the running felt good, interesting if difficult terrain in places. Achilles tendon a bit sore, but planning a day off tomorrow after three days on. Good start to the week, I think

MDay -36 -- Sat. August 15

Hot again today, so out as soon as I manage to wake up and clear the decks, around 10. Good shade in places, but hot and bright too: aim for a medium length, on the Eskett/Rural figure of 8 route. Do the shortest option: GeoHannum, Boardman, Eskett, 202, Boardman, Rural, and GeoHannum. To get 7 miles in run all the way back to development, ending up thus:

Time: 54:07
Distance: 7.08 miles
Pace: 7:38s

Comment: pretty even pace throughout, treating this as a stiffer version of an "easy" mileage run (though I think this is going to be my marathon target pace, 7:40s). Brings me to about 33 for the week, which is not awful, but still leaves me a lot to do to get back on to a schedule. Long run tomorrow, in Delmar.

MDay -37 -- Fri. August 14

Dreamt last night that I missed the marathon; just wasn't ready, and couldn't get there. Ouf. Well, mileage was job one today, so once I woke up properly (night disturbed by sick dog; cleaning up and walking her between 5 and 6 a.m. was not helpful, so I crashed again until nearly 9. Out by 11 for an Enfield: very hot day after a cool night, so shade was important. Started on Hamilton, then over Allen (gently), aiming to do 5 miles warmup before looking for a pace; left on Enfield down to the water and round that trail before returning; notice slightly better distance at the 1 hour mark than on the Wed. run. Up Jabish partway, left onto Johnson and then back up Jensen; run round the baseball fields too, then up to common and all the way down 202 and home the usual way, running until 10 miles comes up, then stopping in shade at bottom of Greenwich. Walk and jog through the development home after that.

Time: 1:19:01 (sic! what are the odds of that, two runs in a row?)
Distance: 10. 11 miles
Pace: 7:49s

Comment: didn't feel so good at first, but again, at 5 miles it picked up a bit; also, this run consdierably more hilly than Wednesday's. Coming down 202 I was in the flow, and mile 10 was comfortably sub-7, though that was the only one.

MDay -38 -- Thur. August 13

Very busy day, and just ran out of time for a planned evening outing (ended up at ABC with Dave H instead, our once in a blue moon get together). So call this an R&R day.

MDay -39 -- Wed. August 12

Determined to get some miles on the clock, and feeling a bit more like running again. Out late, after 9, for a Bagg Hill run, but in reverse for a change: GeoHannum all the way to Stebbins, then left out to 202, across and all the way to the Chicopee Rd junction, then back over Bagg Hill and across 202 to Boardman. Slow start, planning to make second half a shade quicker: pace in mid 8:00s is plenty for me right now: five miles in 40+. Find at mile 6 I'm still running at that pace, but then finally feel loosened up and pick up to mid 7:00s, ending up with a fair negative split, thus:

Time: 1:19:01
Distance: 10.03
Pace: 7:53s

Comment: for a mainly flattish course that's a slow pace, but what I needed, and I did feel like I was actually running for the last 4 miles. Stopped clock at railway, then slowly jogged home.

MDay -40 -- Tue. August 11

Sore, busy and tired. Still needing time to recover from the biking, so a rest day.

MDay-41 -- Mon. August 10

Back to an improvised recovery schedule: start easy with a five miler. Rural loop, stretching at Boardman/GeoHannum junction. Stop clock once 5 miles comes up, and then jog most of a mile home.

Time: 39:27
Distance: 5.1 miles
Pace: 7:45s

Comment: Feels a bit weird to run again, but not too bad. Very slow, still under the weather I suspect, not just tired. Ouf. Getting a bit worried about whether I'll be ready . . .

MDay-42 -- Sun. August 9

Definitely a rest day, trying to recover from the bike trip.

MDay-50 through -43 -- Vacation Week

BIKE TRIP from August 1st through August 8th. 120 miles, then 25+, 25+, 25+, then 95, 95, 85, 100.
Very tired and sore at the end -- still ailing a bit from whatever biorhythm low or virus was getting me last week, but a good trip in many ways.

MDay-51 -- Fri. July 31

Last day before the bike trip, and schedule says I've still got a lot of miles to do for the goal: being realistic, aim for a gentle 6-8 miler. Out in reasonable weather, on to 9 and to Tilton's, down Federal and past the lake looking amazing, then Metacomet and back up Bay to Hamilton and cross to Jackson to loop round Stone Soup farm and then home, thus:

Time: 51:08
Distance: 6.79
Pace: 7:32s

Comment: this was a fairly easy-feeling pace, but the rest day helped keep me moving well. End the week with 42 or so miles, instead of the 55 planned. Ouf.

MDay-52 -- Thu. July 30

Considered a short run, but really too tired, so take a rest day instead.

MDay-53 -- Wed. July 29

Schedule said long run. My body's not so sure -- felt okay, after the rest, but not cured, as it were. Ouf. Also a *very* muggy day, pretty much one of the first 3H (hot, hazy humid) days this summer. Still, no pain, etc.

Mapped out a compromise run, 17 miles, with room to add a bit if needed. VFW, 202 (stretch), Allen, 9, Federal, Orchard, Warren Wright, North, Station, then cross SoAmherst Common to Middle, on to Bay, then Old Bay, Hamilton, and Jackson to Stone Soup Farm, then back home. I took a quarter sandwich (PPB & butter) and a big water bottle. Ate at 10 miles, though it took a mile to actually chew up and swallow the bread, with lots of water. No problems, fortunately--hunger wasn't an issue. However, I was running pretty gently the whole time, with only one mile just sub-7:00. Quite a few short steep hills -- total of about 550 ft ascent and same descent. I stopped the clock three times, but only for 10-20 seconds (pee, eat, and at 17.5, consider stopping, but decide to continue). Here's the overall data:

Time: 2:24:32
Distance: 18.33 miles
Pace: 7:53s

Comment: completed 13.1 in 1:42 exactly, so similar to last week's long run there. Pace slowed down in the remaining miles, but that's fine with me. The distance, including a last mile run very slowly home, is a new PB. Woot. I was well bushed, however, and ended up chafed as well. Not a good time in the biocycle for me (maybe a virus?), but in the longer run, I hope it still serves as useful training. I even got numb-leg at about 5 miles, though this went after relieving bladder pressure (!).

MDay-54 -- Tue. July 28

Rest Day, hallelujah. Actually feeling pretty biorhythm low, with a cold sore to boot. Bad when I have a long run planned for tomorrow, but 仕方がない。

MDay-55 - Mon. July 27

Schedule (revised) has me doing an easy 5 today, so out I went: Rural Loop, clean and simple. Muggy day, but fine enough for running; still tired from yesterday, so kept effort low. Did stretches at the i mile mark, by the water treatment place.

Time: 41:43
Distance: 5.47 miles
Pace: 7:38s

Comment: this is fifth day in a row of running, and though short, it was enough (I felt sore): time for a rest day.

MDay-56 -- Sun. July 26

New week, the last before the bike trip (which is going to mess things up a bit, but bouf). Met others at D&D as usual: Bill, John and Nick, with Jay there for advice but still not running; also Maddie and her dad appeared. The latter two decided to run by themselves, using the track; I had an almost 12 miler mapped out, and the other three agreed to try it. Goal was more than ten miles, but low hill component (this one has about 300ft). Rail trail down to NoLib (at the underpass), then follow that road all the way down to Bardwell, to go left and follow that down to the three way intersection with Michael Sears and Pine; back up MSears, and then cross 181 and continue to Sabin, up to Cordner and then 181 all the way to town. Slow first section, then Bill and I moved ahead a bit, as he needed to stretch out. After the uphill on MSears, John caught up with us, and we stayed together until we hit 181, where we saw Nick had followed Cold Spring and cut ahead of us. I then pursued, towing the other two, and we were all together briefly, before Bill and I pulled on ahead again, working a bit on the hill up into town. Then straight back to D&D, and the young lads came in a minute of two later:

Time: 1:33
Distance: 11.85 miles
Pace: 7:51s

Comment: A bit risky to do this with no stretch, but spend a good portion of the p.m. barefoot in Holland Glen stream, getting a cool massage -- very therapeutic! During the run we got one sub-7:00 mile in, without any big downhill, so despite the overall easy pace, this was a good workout.

MDay-57 -- Sat . July 25

This is a donut day, just to reach weekly mileage. After a long run late yesterday, wait till midday to go out for this one, having rested a good bit (TGISaturday). Hot, muggy, but nice breeze and still good cool in the shade: headed out onto 9 and go right, crossing 202 and follow along to Jabish, stopping to stretch at about a mile. Then down to cross river and up to Johnson, along to Jensen and then left on 181 to Jabish canal: follow that to rail trail and back up all the way towards home, stopping the clock at entry back into development:

Time: 52:53
Distance: 6.89 miles
Pace: 7:41s

Comment: nice donut run, this, bringing in weekly mileage at 50:15 (goal was 50). Also, on reentering development, take off shoes and barefoot jog on the roads to the common, then across and so to home. More ankle, calf work, all to the good, I hope.

MDay-58 -- Fri. July 24

Schedule called for a 12 mile long run this week, and this is my last chance; plus, I need to get mileage in for the weekly goal. So, a reverse Gulf road, via Jucket hill; goal is easy pace and 13-14 miles. Went out late afternoon, having done an M.A. defense in the morning. Muggy but not too hot. Past VFW to 202, up to Allen and do stretches. Then on to Juckett, up and over (gloriously full streams all about!) and left on the access road to exit across 202 and along Packardville; then down at Gulf all the way (getting a quick cooling shower from one of the roadside springs) and across 9 to Federal, then up the hill into town and home:

Time: 1:53 exactly
Distance: 14.46 miles
Pace: 7:49s

Comment: only one mile, I think, on the downhill went sub-7:00. Otherwise very steady. Deliberately didn't attack the uphills, figuring correctly I'd pick up pace a bit on any downhills. Only when the horseflies got to me did I work hard for a bit, to get out of the area. Pace was on the high end of easy (which should be around 8:00 for me), but that'll do for now.

MDay-59 -- Thu. July 23

Schedule was for a basic run: chose to do it at close to marathon pace. Out on a modified Baggs Hill run: GeoHannum (stretches), Boardman, Eskett, 202, Chicopee to Baggs Hill, then back on School to Stebbins and GeoHannum. Stopped clock at ten miles, then stretched a bit and ran home from there (DPW).

Time: 1:15:24 + 8:23
Distance: 10.03 + 0.96
Pace: 7:31s (for long section only)

Comments: This was a morning run, v. muggy, feeling a bit the worse for wear after the bike sprint the night before. But good experimenting again with "ball of foot" running, and got a negative split (5 miles came up in 38:12, so quite a close one. No sub-7:00s; fastest was mile 8, a 7:16.

MDay-60 -- Wed. July 22

Schedule says this is a bike day, moved from Monday. Our long postponed bike trip 家族そろって to the Miss Florence diner. It's 17.5 miles each way, mainly on railtrail. Did the out trip at a gentle pace, probably about two hours, ate hugely, and then back also gently--as far as the mall. Then the Tall one and I bombed ahead to get the cars to pick up the rest at the end of the trail. I just went for it, 10 miles hard, with all the hills too. Good workout to finish the day, so I skipped a planned donut run.

BIKED 35 miles in about three hours

Extended cross-train -- got sprinting, hills, and endurance all in there

MDay-61 -- Tue. July 21

Initially aimed to do my postponed Sunday long run, but combination of rain all day and my having to be chauffeur (with van at garage again) meant I only had a limited slot, maybe an hour while LMD was at martial arts. Parked car there and set off with hat and rainjacket, though it wasn't exactly cold, aiming for a loop run over Summit, with two laps planned. Very clunky stiff feeling as I went down 202, but then started to loosen a bit; no chance to stop and stretch as there was no rain shelter, so just went gently. Tried the barefoot style, running on the balls of my feet a bit, but that's harder to do that you might think, running in shoes. Still, practice makes perfect. Summit Hill pleasantly not too long, and round to 21 and back to start lap two in good time. Keep pace a bit higher once I'm warmed up, not wanting to leave LMD in the rain, and do second lap fine, back to parking lot just in time, thus:

Time: 54:47
Distance: 7.57 miles
Pace: 7:14s

Comment: Good enough--this counts as a tempo run, with two sub-7:00 miles after a gentle start. Felt quite good on the uphills, too, which is encouraging. Running in rain is its own therapy, I suspect.

MDay-62 -- Mon. July 20

Rest day, after four straight days running. Definitely needed.

MDay-63 -- Sun. July 19th

After three days in a row and with a sore right achilles tendon I wasn't sure how things would go today, but I went off to the SRRC gathering as usual. Only Ken and the two highschool lads there, plus Jay with his foot in an immobility boot. He was advising the youngsters, who'd just done a 5K race, so were on for a short slow run today. Ken and I figured 10 would be about right, so we set off together on the Enfield route--the lads turned back at GeoHannum and we two went on to Hamilton. Took it gently, getting a twinge as we crossed 9 going up Allen, but seemed to be transient. Chated all the way with Ken, and went left on Enfield to go down to the water and loop around (needed to get to double digits). Quite hot and a bit muggy, but nice enough. Back up Jabish and round onto OldSpfld, then rail trail back to start, thus:

Time: 1:25:41
Distance: 10.24 miles
Pace: 8:22s

Comment: This was a good easy run, leaving me clear to do a long run later in the week. Hopefully a rest day will bring tendons back a bit ready for that.

MDay-64 -- Sat. July 18

Aiming more for a donut run today, and combining it with a bike ride and an outing with R. Biked roads to Quabbin, then parked and did stretches, leaving my bike and running up the road to the tower -- pushing R when he got tired, which was quite often, so it was an extra workout, and not fast. Paused at the top: tower was closed due to the rainstorm last night, so not much viewing as I didn't have a quarter for the binocular machine either; still, R got a break, and then we were on the way down again. Of course, this was fast: no pushing needed, and I slowly stretched out until I was making a good sub 6:00 pace -- one mile, most of which was downhill, came in at 5:43. Then kept stride long and pushed hard across the dam, keeping in the low 6:00s to end up with this (stopped clock back at the bike, by the state police place):

Time: 40 mins
Distance: 5.39 miles
Pace: 7:25s

Comment: rounds out a good three day end to the week, all at marathon pace (and 27 some miles, a three-part marathon!). Also, biked a total of 9 miles, at gentle pace.
Next week, back to the schedule!

MDay-65 -- Fri. July 17

Aiming again to get a double-digit run in, so out by 8:45 on a muggy day with some sun, still cool in places after a cool night. Aim for trail with minimal hills: on to rail trail and then through State school and back onto trail; all the way down to the underpass, then turn right over the tracks to Jabish canal and chug along that trail. Feeling quite comfortable, keeping pace at 7:30-40 ish, after realising a negative split would be tough (downhill all in the first half, though road in second makes for some compensation). Back up 21 (someone in a van honks in a friendly way and waves--Rob?)and then into Old Spfld as far as the high school, through there and across to Howard, then on to rail trail again into the development and stop clock at just over 10 miles, thus:

Time: 1:16:07
Distance: 10.27 miles
Pace: 7:25s

Comment: this felt brisk, though the pace is my marathon target, more or less; clearly more training needed! Once in the development, took shoes off and walked/jogged barefoot to feel how it was--indeed, invigorating and tough both. Nicest was on the grass, of course, still cool with dew.
Very tired later in the day, but at least I'm getting back to a reasonable mileage for the week.

MDay-66 -- Thu. July 16

First run back in the US. Rested enough to want to do a bit of a longer one, so aim for a Harris Mountain, but in reverse. Nice day for it, a bit warm, but out early enough that there's still some coolth in the shade. To 9, into Federal (stop for stretches by Tiltons), along to Orchard, straight on past Elf hill and then double back on Bay to Harris Mountain. Good climb up the steep bit, then keep a decent pace--aiming for a negative split. Down the other side to Batchelor, then Stebbins, and back on GeoHannum. Run to a lap end just by baseball field, stop clock, then jog on home for an extra four minutes of cooldown.

Time: 1:27:16
Distance: 11.71 miles
Pace/speed: 7:27s/8.05 mph

Comment: after a couple of easy days, and back on easier terrain (after Dorset!), this felt much more like a good run. Good negative split, as the first few miles (up to 5) were 7:45s or slower.

MDay-67 -- Wed. July 15

Extra rest day, recuperating from the extended flight.

MDay-68 -- Tue. July 14

No time for a real run, but had ot get out and stretch before the flight. Started by heading from Tim's flat to his office to deliver his keys, then looped home again with an extra run to the end of Marylebone High.

Time: 31:52
Distance: 3.56 miles
Pace: 8:57s

Comment: Slight rain, muggy day, and feeling pretty comfortable - a gentle donut run.

MDay-69 -- Mon. July 13

Rest day -- riding a train to London.

MDay-70 -- Sun. July 12th

This is going to be a tricky week, with the flight home again and a day spent travelling to London. Today, last Dorset run, so -- reluctantly letting Pilsdon and Lewesdon wait for my next trip -- headed out in the early evening for a Bo'hampton and Shipton run. Started along alleys through town, then up Crock lane and up path to Hyde hill, right up to the very top -- fantastic 360 view of the town and more -- and then down the old way past the Buglers' out onto Church Hayes; up round the church and out onto Long lane, and all the way, connecting via the bridlepath, to Shipton Gorge. Quite a tough trail, though pace pickes up a bit down the hill to the village, then up again as I head out to reverse the Uploders--Shipton route I did earlier this trip. Steady all the way through Uploders, Loders, Bradpole, then out across Beaminster road on to Gypsy lane, up and over and down to Victoria Grove, then home, thus:

Time: 1:13:12
Distance: 8.9 miles
Pace/Speed: 8:13s/7.3 mph

Comment: Muggy evening, and definitely feeling the efforts of the last few days. Took a deliberately easy pace, even before I started to feel tired. Still, *almost* a long run to start the week with. Achilles tendon definitely freshly sore after the two tough runs on Fri & Sat.

MDay-71 -- Sat. July 11th

Managed a race today, which is a first for me in England, and it was a suitably challenging intro to the scene. Point had been to get S along either to participate in or to see a race, but the weather was so awful that she stayed at home rather than spectate. Race was called the Maiden Castle Loop, and started in Dorchester at the leisure centre at 7 p.m. -- fine for a warm summer day, but as it was the rain poured and the wind gusted and drove into us, so, barring muggy warmth, the season was hard to determine. Drove over and after some false starts found the Hardy's, signed up (£9-, not too bad) and went out to warm up. Tried to stay dry, running on sidewalks with tree cover, and did stretches in a bus shelter. Got my 2 miles in, near enough, with stretches, then ready to start. Good sized crowd (70 or so?), very few women, and mainly club runners, apparently, and older end of the spectrum. Race is like a super-10K, 6.5 miles.

Off abruptly and quickly into a more or less single file footpath; decided to just follow along for the first mile and see how it looked. Pace was varied -- good crowd off ahead of me, maybe 30 runners, but I was happy with the chaps nearby: quite competitive, holding position doggedly. Mainly downhill-ish to lanes and across to muddy lane leading up to castle itself, then it gets a bit tougher, and already getting pretty solidly wet. Up to the eastern end of the ramparts and then down the other side, down and round through a field leaving the castle behind (so the course was the opposite of what I'd expected, with the run round the ramparts at the end). More of the single file stuff, with tight turns through gateways; good marshalling, people standing in the pouring rain cheerfully pointing the way. Out on to a country lane, past the one water stop (chap handing out cups was in a wet suit!), and then finally to the field where we're going back up to the ramparts: *steep* climb, again single file at the edge of a field, and then even steeper up on to the outer rim of the castle. At this point we're perfectly exposed to the full wind and blowing rain, and by this point my shirt is heavy with water and my race number is threatening to tear off and blow away.

But once chugging along the ramparts I had energy to go ahead, so (calling an alert as I did so) I passed one by one a few runners, each time briefly leaving the narrow path; somehow managed it without taking a tumble off the edge, and each time got to enjoy clear view of the footing ahead--until I reached the next person. At the other end we doubled back on to another rampart ring, and then round and down a box stairway set into the chalk (nearly came a cropper there, hard and slippery) and at last out of the castle and down another lane until we're back on the path we started on. By this point I'm feeling yesterday's run and trying to maintain position as I hear at least one guy approaching. Hold him off all the way up to town, and then as we enter the last half mile he's only steps away; take shirt off for a bit more comfort and a tiny spurt of speed, but then with a few hundred yards to go, he strides by, and I just try to stay close. Come in 23rd at a very modest pace, but bloody hell it was hard work!

Time: 45:49 (GPS)
Distance: 6.55 miles (GPS)
Pace/Speed: 7:00s/8.58 mph

Also: 1.95 miles in 15:13 as warm up; no warm down run, too wet!

Comment: Now I know why the times from last year looked slow -- it's a tough course, like x-country at school! At the line they handed out nice badges, though they were flustered I didn't have my shirt on! "We need to see the number!" Lovely spread of cakes and coffee in the hall, and the results were up very quickly (S's boss did much better, under 43 and placed maybe 12th?). Oh, also, it turned out the cakes, etc., were *for sale* not freebies. Yikes! I paid up, but what a surprise to this US schooled club runner... Next year, if I can get back for it, S said she'd do it too. I'll make sure to rest the day before!