Some Colorado Adventure

It has slowed a hair, only a hair though. So I though I might take the opportunity to update quickly. So The last entry ended up being more of a race cap, than anything else. This time, lets talk about some of the fun adventures I have been on in the past 2 weeks.

 

Started on July 3^rd. Headed out to Ohio, for a friends wedding. I went to the Doo Dah Parade on July 4^th, in Columbus. If you have never been to the DooDah, it's a must go event. I can't even tell you about it. Then, we headed to Troy, Ohio, and did the Tri the next morning.  An awesome event, HFP Racing puts on a terrific local event. I would definitely do it again in the future. After the race, we rushed back to the house to shower up and get ready for the wedding; not much down time. We went to the wedding, yada-yada. We then flew out early the next morning for CO for a week.

 

Arrived CO, and went to town on that place. We did everything from running, to white water rafting. I did a few hill workouts, which blew my legs apart. Later that day I went fly-fishing. The cold, cold water felt great on my legs from earlier that day. That is a fun sport, so relaxing. It is always nice to slow things down a touch, and just enjoy nature pass by. The guide we went through was Crystal Fly Shop. They were a great outfit, and real knowledgeable. I would recommend them to any one looking to learn and experience the art & sport of fly fishing.

We spent a day on top Aspen Mountain playing Frisbee golf. Always a blast. We played the front nine only, I shot a four on every hole except for the first and last; talk about consistency. Following, a couple of us went down to the Village, and relaxed with some cocktails and seafood apps, before heading back to Sagewald for some pizza and beer.

Next day we spent some time on the bike along the Colorado River, followed by a nice hike, and then back on the bike and back into town. That was an awesome day, with some real hardcore playing.  You gotta love playing outside Colorado Style. The day was capped off with a another nice wedding along a stream bed

Now, you would think that the next day we might relax and take it easy; nope! Went back out and at it again. We went down the Slaughter House Falls. That's right, white water rafting down Class 4 rapids. This was a blast. We went through this awesome outfit called Kiwi Adventure Ko (KAK as they more affectionately go by). This was an amazing group of guides.  Each raft was intimate in that it only had two people, plus a guide. This allowed the raft to twist and turn a lot easier, and even flip and send us floating down the current on a couple occassions.  This was a blast, and the guides (mostly from New Zealand) were absolutely outstanding. I would definitely recommend them to anyone looking for an awesome, thrilling adventure.

What next you ask? Your's truly got engaged. That's right, I am now fianced. Looks like this year will be even busier then thought.

It is now back to normalcy though in New York. Trying to unpack everything after our move, busy with work, and trying to keep up with my training. The weekend runs are getting long.

 

Well, this has been a lot of writing, so I will cut it off here, and let you get on with your day.  Look forward to the next entry, and get back to some basics of training. Until the next adventure…go play outside!

Been A Whiiiiiile

It has been some time since my last post. So much has happened since then. I have moved apartments, done two triathlons, traveled to Ohio and Colorado for two weddings and a vacation, and got engaged. I have gone white water rafting (class four rapis) and fly fishing for the first time ever. I went for a 30 mile ride followed by a run 1.5 miles up a 1,200 foot incline to the most beautiful lake and waterfall overlooking a mountain range. Plus so much more. The whole time I have been able to keep up with my training for the most part which is a complete puzzle to me. For the most part, training is going well. I feel like some days have taken a hit because of too much going on.
There are days where I have done so much, that by the time I get to bed it feels like morning was ages ago. So, what do I write about first? How about my first two triathlons ever...

First: Flat As A Pancake Sprint Tri: June 27th
This was an awesome event, and even better first event to introduce triathlon. You could definatelt tell it was a local event, which are always the best. It was out in Staten Island. The swim was in the Ocean. For never having practiced the swim, and not having a wetsuit, I guess it went as well as could be expected. The water was freezing, and saltier then heck. I finished quite poorly in that leg. I hustled out the water, and into transition, grabbed the bike quickly and out T1 I went. I hopped on the bike and started full steam ahead. I began to start picking them off one at a time. The bike was going well for me, and my body was feeling great. Looks like being an endurance runner has helped condition the legs for triathlon quite well. I kept biking, fueling, and hydrating and eventually parked the bike in T2, slipped on the racers and was passing through RunOut in no time. The run was an 5k out-&-back. Legs felt great, and I was flying through the k's like no ones business. I rounded the turn-around and headed for the finish. I was able to negative-split the run, which is always a great thing. I made it to the finish and there was tons of cheering, and an all around great feel in the air. It was fantastic. I reflected over the race, and came to a few conclusions, I didn't stop smiling the entire time, tiathlon is awesome, really, really awesome, the community is cool and chill, and I suck at the swim; and I mean suck.
We stayed for the awards ceremony, and I got a nice little surprise, a trophy for 2nd place in my divission. Not bad, huh? It was a great first experience with triathlon, completely hooked.

Second: Caesar Creek's Wheelie Fun Triathlon: July 5th
The was a great event taking place in Waynesville, Ohio. Again, totaly a local event, with homemade PB&J sandwiches (in a bucket) served at the end. This time, the swim was in a nice warm, gentle lake. I am still bad at the swim though, but at least this time it wasn't as painful; despite the fact it was double the distance of the first one. Again, I speedily ran out of the water and into T1. I donned the helmet and shades, grabbed the bike, and out T1 I went. I hopped on the bike and was off. I biked, hydrated, and made my way through the VERY hilly course and sped my way into T2. I ditched the helmet and the bike, slipped into my run shoes, and out T2 I went. As I rounded the first turn, I caught a glimpse of the athletes ahead of me ducking into the woods. WHAT?!?! The website made no mention of trail running. Oh well, can't do anything about it now, lets go on the adventure. So, I headed into the woods, and made my way down the single track run course. When I passed people, it was in calf and knee deep wheat grass, or on a steep, gravely ledge. I was on an all out cross country run course. Made my way around the turn around point, and headed for the finish. I was surprisingly feeling great, and picked up the pace some more. I made it to the finish line in great time, and celebrated with some PB&J and watermelon...mmmmmm. I'm telling you, you can't beat local races. I finished with the second fastest run time, inside the topr 50 overall, and 4th place in my age group. Triathlon seems to be going pretty well for me so far; I am hooked.
I learned a few things this race too. 1. I will always try and keep local races in my seasonal schedule; 2. Websites sometimes withhold major details about their course, like single track runs, and incredibly hilly bikes; 3. I don't stop smiling when I do triathlon (no matter how much pain I am going through) and 4. I still SUCK at swimming :).
Well, I think that is enough writing for now, I am sure you need to get going. I will write more later about all of my recent adventures. Until then...

Kickin It

It's been just another week of training out there. I have been busting the chops with training last week especially with such a hectic schedule t work again.

 

Here's a quick run down of last week:

Monday - Easy recovery 6

Tuesday - 1m warmup, 5m@10k pace, 1m cooldown

Wednesday - Easy recovery 5

Thursday - 1m warmup, 3 lower loops tempo (each 3 seconds faster)

Friday - Recovery Day

Saturday - Easy 5 recovery, plus cross train

Sunday – Brick, 20m cycle, followed by 5m run (run was the Father's Day 5 Miler; Happy Father's Day, Dad!!)

 

The brick went great.  The ride was a little hard to get into, but once I hit transition, I started to fly.  The run went real well; each mile was a negative split.  Hit all the fluid stations, and body handeled everything perfectly.  Still felt energized after the race too.  Good sign heading into this weekend.

The sprint tri is this weekend, haven't practiced the swim as much as I should have, but I definitely feel ready for the bike and run.  This should be interesting. I can't tell you how excited I am to get out there.  I have been watching tri on TV (Universal Sports Network, my fave, check it out) for some time now, and have been anticipating this for a while.  It all just looks so amazing, the swim, the fast paced transitions, flying around turns on the bike, and then hammering it out on the run; leaving it all out there on the course.  I am looking forward to this weekend, and I can't wait to tell you all about it.

That should be it for now, this is carrying on longer then I imagine you would like to read.  I'll talk to you all later.

Cheers!

Took A Digger

Holy Hectic Batman, it has been a crazy week and a half. I have been in one bike accident, dog sat for a friend, doubled my longest bike ride in one day, found/signed a new apartment, went to a fundraiser, and saw Hangover. Some how I still found time for my training, unfortunately it wasn't a hard week of training. This week is off to a better start. Last Monday feels like a year ago, nothing is faster paced then NYC.

Here is the training through this past Sunday:

Monday (8^th) – 8 miles easy

Tuesday – 6 miles easy

Wednesday – Crosstrain

Thursday – 25 mile bike (with one crash in the middle, and a broken helmet)

Friday – Recovery

Saturday – 12 mile run

Sunday – 63 mile bike (easy out, hard back)

That was last weeks training. Nothing too hard, except for Sunday's ride. This weeks intensity will be MUCH harder. The crash last week was pretty brutal. I was going around a turn, when a pace line of "roller bladers" came towards me and wouldn't yield or move at all. Forced me to veer of the road and sent me head first over the handelbars, onto the asphalt. Ended up with a little road rash, a torn jersey, and a broken helmet. The rash isn't too bad, I've had worse; a little on the arm, and shoulder, down the back, and a great raspberry on the tush; sorry ladies for no pic of that, but we have to keep it PG on here. My helmet split through and through, clean crack from the base up to the crown. One hell of an argument for always wearing your helmet, no matter how advanced/experienced you are; it saved my life. I had some pretty bad whiplash though, took about 4 days for that to subside. Dr. Shure took care of that nicely yesterday and did his magic on my neck; feels amazing now, the man is great at his job. I don't think I could train the way I do without his help; check him out.

The rest of the week was easy, nothing hard. I guess it was a good recovery week for how much I have been slamming back into things the past few weeks. I feel great now coming into this week of harder training. The first Tri is coming up, and I think I am almost ready. I need a little more work in water, but the bike, run, and transitions are pretty in line. Things are looking good heading into next weekend. I have been digging the multi sport training, and I think it is doing wonders for my running times too. With that said, I have signed up for two more Sprint Tri's by August; one through NYRR, and one in OH. I am sure I'll find a few more too. Well, that has been a lot of info, so I'll cut it off here.

Training Week

Hey Everyone!!  Well, I had an exciting week last week for training.  By exciting, I mean, hard, challenging, and fun.  Most of all, I think it was very beneficial.  Lets go through the run down for the week.

Monday: Cross Training: Lunges, Push Ups, Etc.  Brutal, sore for two days after this.

Tuesday: 8 mile Tempo, with a push on the hills.

Wednesday: 4 mile warm-up, 3 miles of hard hill-sprints workout, 2 miile cool down.

Thursday: 2 mile warm-up, 5.4 mile Tempo

Friday: first recover day in 3 weeks.  Hot damn it felt good.

Saturday: 20 mile cycle, followed by 10 mile run

Sunday: 40 mile cycle, followed by one flat tire right before I got home.

If I haven't said it before, I'll say it now, I love being back into the full swing of training again.  Energy levels are back up, sleeping like a baby at night, diet is on par.  All in all, I feel great.  I am hoping to be in great shape for the Pancake Tri in a few weeks; it's going to be fun.  Until the next write up.  Cheers. 

Go out and have fun today!!

Back To Full Training

Alright, finally back into some harder training.  Lemme give a quick rundown for the past week.

Monday:  BolderBOULDER 10k (aka altitude training?)

Tuesday:  Easy 5 miler

Wednesday:  2m tempo, 6 Hill Repeats, 2 mile cool down (8.5 miles total)

Thursday:  20 mile tempo cycle (morning), Easy 7 miler (evening)

Friday:  18 miles easy cycle

Saturday:  20 mile easy cycle, followed with 8 miles easy run

Sunday:  4mile race (morning), BRICK Workout (Bike + Run) (evening)

 

Oh Baby it feels good.  The energy levels are back up and soaring again now.  The body is completely back to normal and ready for hard training again.  I can't wait to start getting into the thick of it this summer.  Here is the race plan so far for 2009.

(…the fun ones at least)

Flat As A Pancake Sprint Triathlon (First one, here we go!!!) – June 27

NYC Half Marathon – August 16

NYRR Sprint Triathlon – August 23

Fifth Avenue Mile (yes just 1 mile) – September 26

ING NYC Marathon Tune Up 18miles – September 27

Maine Peak Performance Marathon – October 4

ING NYC Marathon – November 1

Knickerbocker 60k – November 21

I'm sure I will find some more fun events to throw in there.

 

Another great week of training is ahead this week, I'll update with all of it at some point.  Until then, keep looking for the next big thing.  Cheers!

BolderBOULDER

Happy Memorial Day!! The BolderBOULDER was this weekend. It was great. It’s the worlds largest 10k road race. Takes place in Boulder, CO. With over 54,000 participants, it went amazingly smooth and efficient; couldn’t believe it. Yours truly finished inside the top thousand. With that said, the race personally for me was awful. My body started to fell apart right from the start. I never knew what role Altitude plays in endurance sports. Right from the start my body was hit with no O₂, and I could feel the lactic acid begin to produce and circulate. With each mile I could feel my body, and my race for that matter, begin to shut down. I finished over eight minutes slower then I ordinarily would for that distance; when we’re talking about a 6.2 mile race, that means over a minute per mile slower…ouch. I guess that means +1 for altitude training; -1 for sea level training.

Molly’s sister, Betsy, ran it too. Her first 10k road race…EVER. Go Betsy!!!!! For better or for worse, she didn’t even train for the event; she just went out and ran it, and pretty well at that. Kudos Bets!

Another fun thing, I got to meet Chrissie Wellington. She is perhaps the nicest and sweetest person in the world, yes the world; and so humble. When I introduced myself, and became speechless, she responds with (in her cute English accent) “Oh my goodness you’re speechless, you shouldn’t be, talk to me.” As we chatted for a few moments, she continued to ask ME all sorts of questions about my race, and my sports, upcoming events for the season. I couldn’t believe it, I had so many questions for her (the world’s fastest long course triathlete), and she was asking me questions. That's all for me. Until my next post.

Past Few Weeks

Well, it’s been quite busy lately, sorry for being MIA. Just now getting back into the full swing of training. I had a small 5k race last night. The NYRR Wall Street Challenge 5K. It was a great turn out of a little over 4,200 completers. The race was at night, which was a great change of pace from normal. I finished in 42^nd place, which I’ll take, considering I haven’t trained for, much less run a 5k since high school. It was also a great surprise saying as how I lost my Polar in CA, and had no watch to use during the race. I could only more or less “guess” I was going the right pace throughout.

This coming weekend I will be heading out to CO for the BolderBoulder 10k on Monday. It is the nations largest race, and one of the fastest 10ks. It should be interesting, saying as how I have never done high-altitude training, let alone racing. I can’t wait to get out there though and measure myself against some of the big boys in the sport.

I also am looking forward to after this hectice week of races. I will be able to sink fully into a great schedule of training hard, working, and all around summer fun. I just signed up for my first triathlon yesterday. So, I will now be including those additional two sports into my training. I will be participating in Flat As A Pancake Tri on Staten Island. They serve free pancakes after the race J Can’t wait!!! Well, I think that was a lot just now, so I’ll let you all go. I will update again after the race. Cheers, Alll!!!!

Catch Up

So, I am sitting thinking about my own training and some races coming up. I then start thinking back over the past few weeks of races and what I want to update on.  It then occurs to me; I have not congratulated my sister on a job well done in her race a few weeks ago.  My sis Sue ran her first ever 1/2 marathon here in beautiful NYC two weeks back.  I coached her through training over the course of 3 months.  Yours truly had her doing long runs, recovery runs, hill workouts an some tempo runs.  Come race day on the 26th she was ready to go.  She gets to the start line and because of shear heat, they cancel the full marathon, and turn the 1/2 into an unofficial fun run (no timing chips).  Even still she powers through and boasts an astounding 2:08:26 for her first 1/2 EVER.  How about that?  I got a call from her the next day saying she want to do another one; this running thing sure gets addicting.

So in this blog, I would like to give a HUGE shout out to my sister Susan, on an awesome job well done in the More & Fitness Magazine Half Marathon.  Congrats Sue, you should be proud.

Well, the week is done for me. That means I am CA bound in the early AM. I'll be in charge of the Avia Wildflower Triathlon this weekend. I can't wait to get out there and watch my athletes compete in the Olympic and 1/2 Ironman events. The event will also be four nights of camping; can't wait to get out there.
I have still been in recovery mode this week, which means not too much running. The few runs I have done have not been very long or hard. I am definitely missing it. In the words of New Balance; I saw Running today, and Running looked great. But I still have a couple more weeks before I am back in full on training mode. I have a 10k event on CO in late May. Along the lines of recovery, I promised some video of what I am recovering from; my weekend at the 113th Boston Marathon. After watching, click the "Comments" tab at the bottom of the post and leave one.

That's all for now. Time to start packing for my trip.

So, I’m sure everyone is wondering how the 113th Boston Marathon went. So here it is.

I started out fast, then I picked it up and went even faster, and then I used up everything I had left!!

And then for the second mile……..

No, no, no, just kidding.

The race was amazing, and it went pretty well. I must say though, Boston is a tough course. Toughest I have run yet. It is neither for the faint of heart or weak of foot. The hills, both up and down, are positioned to break even the best of runners. The race begins 26.2 miles straight shot West of center Boston in the town of Hopkinton.

The course starts for the first 16 miles with a huge net elevation decrease. But don’t let that fool you, there are quite a few rollers throughout. Once at 16, for the next 4-5 miles, you have a series of 3 large hills rolling right back up to where you started. Once you crest the third (the infamous Heartbreak Hill) you are confronted with another series of downhills bringing you right back down to the bottom again. You have another brief uphill on your way to the finish for a little under a mile, and then for the first time in the race you have flat road (2/10 of a mile) as you coast to the finish.

I trained very well, with quite a bit of hill work. The uphills went splendidly. However, underestimating the role of downhills in this race, those bad boys broke me by the end. I rolled into the 13.1 mile mark right on time at 1:30:00 (yes, exact; how’s that for great pacing). Everything was going to plan. I continued my pace through 16. Having a touch of time to spare, I pulled back on the hills just a smidge, to prepare for the last 5 miles. Body felt great going up the hills. I could hardly feel them (made me love all those hills I hated doing in my training). Then I crested Heartbreak Hill (still feeling great, nothing I haven’t done a hundred times in training), and was hit with more downhills. About 30 seconds into the downhill stretch, I realized my quads were blown apart by all the downhill running in the beginning. Then it occurred to me, this race requires as much downhill training as it does uphill training. Those next 5 miles felt like someone had ripped my leg muscles right clean out of me L. At that point, I realized that I might not hit my goal of under three hours. I decided to start damage control right away, and readjust. I decided since I wasn’t going to make the 3, then just control myself, and make sure I make the qualify time for the next year (under 3:10:59). That is exactly what I did. I strolled into the finish line at 3:09:27. Not bad. It was an amazing day, perfect weather, AMAZING crowd support. Really was one of the best days of racing I have ever had; I almost don’t even care at all that I didn’t hit my goal; I know I’ll do it next time. And, I can’t wait for next time, I’ll train even harder and faster then I did this time, and I’ll include downhill training this time too.

So, that is my race. I’ll get some footage and pics up soon. Leave a comment, I’d love to hear your thoughts. No major training for the next couple of weeks, just small easy exercising. Real training will resume in about 3 weeks. Looking forward to it. Until the next entry, go out and enjoy the nice weather.

Cheers!!

Practice Race

Today was a brief and easy practice race. It was a 10k, and my goal was to hit 8's. I just needed to practice holding back, and behaving. That is exactly what I did. My goal was achieved, and I was able to average out my splits to just above an 8 minute mile. We are looking good for next Boston, next Monday. I carried a touch fast going down some of the hills, which I guess just means I need to practice holding back even more. It was a rainy 45 degrees today. It was perfect weather to do a short race in, keeps the body temp perfectly regulated. It was also a Team In Training event for us, so we had a lot of athletes from TNT representing, and a lot of course support. It ws a great event.
The event, The Scottland 10K, was put on by NYRR. All entrants were entered to win a trip for 2 to Scottland, and entry into the Lochnes Marathon. Your's truly did not win. Oh well, what are you gonna do?
All in all, it was a great day.
The rest of training this past week, has been going well. It's is just a taper period, so that means nothing hard or strenuous. Name of the game right now is rest, relax, and rebuild the muscles and body to peak performance for next week.
Bring it Boston!!!

Whirl Wind

It has been a few whirl wind days for me. Had family come in for the weekend :) , which is always a lot of fun. Went to STK for dinner Friday night, had some great wine, and steak. Nothing better then the pairing of a great wine, and a great cut of meat...mmmmmmm. Although, going out Saturday morning for a 15 miler was a bit. I could definitely tell I did not fuel with the best options (wine and cocktails) the night before. But hey, what are you going to do? Saturday was fun too, went out and hung out for the day. Did a little clothes shopping, and picked up some new jeans for the first time in a while. I don't know when the last time I bought clothes that weren't made of spandex, Lycra, or coolmax. Then went out to Maz Mezcal for some awesome chicken mole, and margaritas. Great night with great people, and some indulgent food. It's good for you every once in a while. Or at least that's what I tell myself.

The training the past few days has been great. Nice and easy is the name of the game now. The intensity is down, and now the mileage is coming down. Dipped down into single digit mileage for the first time in a long while. Starting a nice two week taper before the big day. It's all about resting the body up, and letting all the ware and tear from the past couple months heal back up. Another tempo workout tonight, i'll let you know how that goes later. Ok, time to get some more work done. Later!!

RunNYC

Hey everyone!!
Tonight was an okay night. The run was great, although it wasn't the workout I was suppose to do. I went to the Nike Town run tonight, which is conducted by my old coach, and he pushed me kinda hard, but that always feels great. I went there thinking I would be able to do the workout my present coach gave me. So, what does all this mean? Let me break it down for you.

Scheduled Workout:
5 Mile Warm Up
5 Mile marathon pace (6:52miles)

Actual Workout:
5 Mile Warm Up (to NikeTown and joined group)
1 Mile Easy
5 Mile Tempo Pace (6:10miles)

So, to sum up, I did one mile extra, and the hard 5 was 42 seconds faster per mile then scheduled. Hhhhmmmm. Felt great out there though, running with some quick folks and being pushed always helps. Even after the workout though, I feel terrific, refreshed, and still have tons of energy. Since that was my last hard workout, that means I now enter a full on taper. Its been a hard, challenging season, and I think it paid off. We'll see in two weeks. Bring it Boston!!!
**A mini shout out to my Sis Susan, who ran her longest distance ever this past weekend 12 miles, in preparation for her first ever half marathon. The big shout out comes when she finishes.**

Argh

Went out for my run lastnight. We discussed priorities the previous night, and there was another example of it last nigth. I had a meeting at work until five (of course it ran over) so I had to rush home, and fit in my workout, because I wanted to attend a concert downtown at night. (amazing concert btw. The band, Playing For Change, is a band comprised of individuals from around the world who come together and play to try and inspire peaceful change in the world. They ar non profit, so all proceeds go towards their charity which builds music school in impoverished areas around the world, because the feel music is the universal language that can inspire peace accross all cultures. Again, they are amazing, check out their site, and keep your eyes peeled for when they play again. This was their first time playing in NYC. Again, AMAZING. But, I digress...) Regardless, I had to rush home to fit in the workout. It was an okay workout:
3 mile warm up
4 Mile Tempo (no watch, no timer, no anything)
3 mile cool down

5 minutes into the warm up I had the worst cramp in the world in my left rib area. Only kept getting worse as the run progressed. I usually don't get cramps, so I wonder if it was due to my rushing around, and being stressed on my run about a time constraint, or if maybe I ate something bad. Hhhhmmm, I don't know. We'll see how tonight's run goes. Maybe I just need a good massage, to work out all the tensions and knots. Time to go.
Later, Enjoy the day.

Priorities

Well its a busy Monday. It's a busy couple of weeks coming up with planning Wildflower Triathlon for TEAM. So, that means its going to take some creative thinking trying to fit in my workouts. This also means it is going to take some understanding from work colleagues when I have to attend a meeting right after a workout. Thanks guys ;) Today I had a coaches meeting for our Fall Season. (We are offering a lot of great events this season, so check it out and run for a cause TEAM.) Anyways, now that I got my plug out of the way...
I had to squeeze in a 10 miler between work, and the meeting. Many people would forgoe the workout for the day, and that is why those who make training a priority will win the race. If you want to get good, you have to train good. It isn't always the most convenient, but you just have to fit it in somehow. So, I headed over to the West Side Promenade for an out-and-back. I will never understand how wind can be both against you on the way out, and against you on the way back. It always works out that way. Why is the wind never at your back on the way out, and at your back on the way back (Murphy's Law exist in running?).
Easy work out today, so that's all for now. Got check out TEAM, and sign up for an event for this Fall, you won't regret it.
Cheers,
Rob

Peace in the Park

Ah Sunday, well it has been an easy, lazy day. Went to Paragon, picked up some new gear, always a good thing. Finally got to the run at about 7pm. It was a Nice and easy run, about 10 miles. It was an amazing, and inspiring run. It was raining out the entire time, which turned into a lightening half way through. The temp was perfect, and it was a perfect cooling rain. Since it was smack in the middle of dinner time, and the given weather, not a sole was out there besides myself, and a couple other randoms here and there. It was perfect, NYC's Central Park has never been more beautiful. The foggy lights of Time's Square off in the distance, the red, yellow and green of the traffic signals in the park, and the street lamps along the paths. So tranquil, and peaceful. It was one of those runs that makes every aweful run worth every step.
Great way to end a tough week of training.
Like I said, it was a 10 mile run. So this brings the weeks grand total to 81 miles; my highest yet. All down hill from here until Boston.

Last Long Run!!!

YEAH BABY!!! Last long run under the belt. Banged out a measly 24 miles today. I did the first 20 at a nice easy pace, then put it into gear for the last 4 at marathon pace, hit it almost right on too. I hydrated and fueled correctly during the workout. That paid off because my mind and body felt amazing afterward. I still had lots of energy to do all my stretches and wolf down a whole lot of food. I love endurance training. Well, that being my last long run, that means I have some regular workouts this week, and then taper period. I'm feeling great right now, and I am ready for Boston.
Bring it!!!

Recovery Day

aaaahhhhhh...Friday I love recovery day. Took today off from running to let the muscles recover from the week's stress before a Saturday long run. Since I had some free time and the weather was perfect, I figured why not get some nice saddle time in. Got up to the park, and next thing I know it was two hours later. Cycled down to Starbucks and had a nice Signature Hot Chocolate...mmmmm.

Since there is no workout to report, I thought it might be a nice opportunity to talk about that new running style. So I read about this from two reputable sources. One being from Olympic Marathon Medalist Meb Keflezighi, and the second being from professional triathlete Jessi Stensland, who is currently trying to incorporate this as well.
It's running with the glutes. with each step as soon as your foot lands underneath you, you engage your glute to finish the stride and propel you forward, next with the other foot and repeat. This is particularly effective with ascending hills. I have only been practicing this for a short time, but I find it helps tremendously in creating a more effective stride. Plus I can't change things too much with a big race only a few weeks away. But again, I find it is effective and I will be working on making this natural during my conditioning period after Boston.

Well, that's all I have to say about that. Try it out if it isn't something you already do.
Talk to you after the long run tomorrow.
Cheers!

How is it feeling?

Gotta love tempo runs in the misty rain. Just keeps your body temp nice and cooled. My training is definitely paying off. I had a hard run today, and my energy level afterward was fantastic. I had a wetsuit and gear clinic tonight, so I got my workout done right before hand. Finished the workout down in Union Square, with some time in the bank, so I went to Whole Foods and had a huge salad, and some pineapple for dinner...mmmmm There is nothing like fueling your body with some real healthy earthy goodness after a hard run. Can't wait for the WF to open in my neighborhood soon. After some great eats, went right to the clinic, stood working and talking for about 2 hours, and felt fine. This gets my psyched about the way things are going; maybe my coach isn't killing me after all.

So, the details:
5 mile easy warm up (38 minutes)
7 miles at marathon pace (6:50 minutes per mile) right where I want to be

conditions were awful. Since I was running on the West Side board walk, the wind was super strong, and against me of course. But the misty rain felt great, kept me cool while I was fighting the wind. Overall, the run felt great, can't complain. I have tomorrow off (so maybe a lite bike ride, we'll see) and my LAST :) long run on Saturday. Mileage count so far since Monday...47miles! Here we come taper.

Oh, I also started trying a new running technique today, something I read. I'll talk about this in a different post, don't want things getting too long. Maybe tomorrow.
Ok guys, Later!!

Miles Anyone?

I can't remember the last time I had a workout that was not in double-digit mileage. I am eagerly awaiting my taper period; the legs are starting tire. Oh well, what are you gonna do?
I had an appointment with my chiropractor today. I am still trying to see if it is benefiting, hurting, or doing nothing at all. The "manipulation/adjustments I am not quite sure about yet. I feel a bit more free moving afterward, less restriction on overall body movement, but I am wondering if this will hurt long run. Although he also provides stretching during the sessions, which I am very fond of, and I am certain helps. Feels great after a week of long hard runs to be stretched properly by a therapist. We'll see about the rest I guess.

Well I need to do some stretching and watch dvr'd CSI, so let me get to the workout.

12 miles easy; all in the park and half on soft ground.

This brings this week's count to 36 miles since Monday. I might be setting a new record this week.

Simple workout for tonight. It is always enjoyable going out for these longer easy runs. Provides some good thinking and personal reflection time. It really lets you solve the problems of the world. Until next time, keep training.

Tonight's Workout

Good Evening,
Today was another great workout. I feel lucky, that for the past few weeks now, I have had great workouts, and really hit a groove with each one. I hope this is a sign of things to come.

Workout a la Conlon:
2 mile Warm Up
2 Loops Harlem Hill @ Tempo Pace (1.4miles each loop, very hilly)
1 Mile easy
2 Loops Harlem Hill @ Tempo Pace
2 mile cool down
The stats:
1. 9:41 2. 9:40
3. 9:32 4. 9:25
Looks like I need to work on my pacing a bit more.
This workout is one to keep for the books; definitely a hard workout.

My knee is hurting me again tonight; Tiger Balm and ice. Need to take good care of this now, before it gets worse. After the race, it is going to be some serious time to build joint and core strength, before the fall season. This isn't hurting at all during the runs though, just an hour or so after it starts; just need to get through Boston. Time for some recovery, good night.

Monday "short run"

Today was a Monday short run. Went out and did a 12 mile tempo run.
Mile warm up
5 mile loop (lower5) at 8 minute pace (actually at 7:51)
5 mile loop at 7:30 pace (actually at 7:20).
Mile cool down
Need more work on pacing and behaving.

Good roast chicken dinner with mashers and lots of fruit after....mmmmmmm

Everything felt great. I'm real pleased with how well the body is holding up to the stress these past few weeks. See you next post.