Week 3 - NYC

July is supposed to be filled with 100 degree runs, exhausted bodies, and dehydration.  The past couple of weeks, I was running in Naples and that's exactly what I was given.  Now a week at home and I'm met with the Polar Vortex.  What?  It's July....what on earth does that mean?  Well, to me, it means amazing conditions for running and a good opportunity to find out where exactly the bar is set, and hopefully raise it!

Monday - 5 x Hills

The vortex hasn't yet arrived and mid-day temps were in the low 90s.  At lunch I decided to get in a swim at the Y and try to work out some of the soreness in my lats and shoulders from the prior couple of days.  Just what the doctor orders and the abs are starting to feel more normal now.  Back home and working, I kept an eye on the radar and could see that the rain would be arriving around 4:30-5:00 p.m.  By 6:00 I was jonesing to get out of the house and started checking my lightning detector to see how just how close some of these strikes were.  After a few minutes and lightning more than 6 miles away, I decided to start a run.  With a light rain and a temp that had dropped into the 70's, these conditions were perfect for a great workout.  Hill repeats at paces of 6:31, :29, :28, :25, and :28.  Exactly where I wanted to be.  Warm up miles at 7:41 and 7:24.  Cool Down miles at 7:39 and 7:26.  Workouts like these make me feel like a 'real' runner.

Tuesday - 8 Miles

I had planned to take this one slow after another great swim workout at lunch.  I managed to stick to that plan for about a mile.  The temp was 80 degrees and humidity was extremely low.  This was a great afternoon for a run.  Just over 3 miles in I ran up on Mark Buckreis and we ran together for a mile or so.  Like me, he was out for a longer mid-week run simply because the weather was so good.  Finished with 8.6 miles at 7:36 pace.  This run felt very, very good.  

Wednesday - 7 Miles

East Nasty!  I haven't been able to run with this group for a couple of months and was very excited to do so.  It's always great to see so many like-minded, positive people.  To see all those familiar faces and even the new ones.  It is especially motivating to see those people involved in the 'Potato to Tomato' 5K training program.  I believe it takes a ton of courage to take that first step toward some level of fitness.  Christopher and I ran 3.5 miles prior to the East Nasty route for a good warm-up.  The plan was to go around 7:30-7:45 for the 4.22 miles with East Nasty.  With a temp of 77 degrees, this very quickly turned into a pseudo race.  Erin and I quickly pulled away from the 8:00 group and were joined just after the first mile by Beth Meadows.  Anyone that knows Beth knows that she's the one guilty of pushing the pace!  ;)  4.22 miles at 7:07 pace.  Stoopid!  Overall  7.76 miles for the day. 

Thursday - OFF DAY

This was a stressful day for me.  Working remotely during the week meant working from the house.  Having an off day meant no run, no swim, and really not much of anything in terms of physical activity.  Add to that another perfect day for running and I felt like a drug addict in search of his next fix.  

Friday - 7 Miles

Friday is my 'marathon pace' run day.  I'm getting closer and closer with each week that goes by.  Thankfully the polar vortex is sticking around to help me out.  I know that these temps won't last much longer, so I'm pushing it a bit on these runs.  7.2 miles at 7:16 pace.  The last 3.2 miles were sub 7:00 pace.  Runs like this give me confidence to believe that maybe I can break that 3 hour mark.....maybe.  Still a lot of hard work to be done.  

Saturday - 14 Miles

My alarm goes off at 4:30 a.m. on Saturday mornings.  Usually this gives me time to eat, drink, use the facilities, brush my teeth and drive to wherever I'm meeting people to run.  Not on this morning.  As I got out of bed I could hear it raining and decided to check things out before starting my routine.  I opened the door to look outside and saw a 'frog strangler' going on.  I then went to my computer to look at the radar.  Green and yellow everywhere!!  3 minutes after getting up and I'm back in bed!  YES, I get to sleep in!!!  I woke up about 6 hours later (yes, 6) and knew that I needed to get my run in.  The rain had cleared and the temp was starting to climb.  I decided to do the route that was planned by PR Bandits for earlier in the a.m., just because I knew of a couple of water stops along the way.  Bongo to Bongo it was.  I took my time and enjoyed a trip through the heart of Nashville.  14.07 miles complete at just over 8:00 pace.  

Sunday - 7 Miles

An early flight to Naples to start the work week.  The plan was to spend the afternoon on the beach and I knew that I needed to run as soon as I got checked into the hotel.  I clicked my heels together to find out that I was not in Tennessee anymore and that the polar vortex had not reached south Florida.  90+ degrees and 70% humidity.  It only took me a few hundred yards to realize how fortunate I was for the past week to have such amazing running conditions.  I would not need to remind myself that this is a Sunday 'recovery' run and to take it easy.  7.34 miles at 7:56 pace.  Random Thought: One of the coolest things about running in Naples is that there are sidewalks and bike lanes everywhere.  I was able to change up my route and run as far as I wanted without being concerned with being forced into traffic because the sidewalk/bike lane ended abruptly.  

This was an overall great week of training.  I'm feeling good about where I am physically.  Mentally, I have a bit of work to do and still need to find more motivation on some of these more 'challenging' runs.  3 weeks complete, 15 weeks to go.  

Week 2 - NYC

Summertime is very much here and training is underway.  Physically, I feel good, not great.  I'm struggling a bit with motivation right now to keep pushing through the miles.  I almost feel like my mileage hasn't yet reached that threshold of 'serious' training.  I know that I have to work on this and get to a complete focus if I want to achieve my BHAG (Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal). 

Monday - 30 Minute Tempo
I haven't done a real tempo run since last November and really didn't know what to expect as I started out.  I had planned to see if I could drop the pace down to about 7:20 and hold that for 30 minutes.  I had also planned to get this run done before heading to work on this morning.  It was pouring rain when the alarm started blaring at me and I got in an extra hour or so of sleep.  Luckily, the sun didn't come out until late in the day and I was able to do this run at lunch in somewhat comfortable conditions.  After a warm-up mile (7:54), I started dropping the pace to see what I could do.  7:29, :30, :22, :18, :12 and a 'cool-down' half mile at 7:23.  The 7:12 seemed to be the mile of least effort.  Maybe I need to re-evaluate my paces for these runs?  6.47 miles.

Tuesday - 6 Miles
The training calendar calls for 6 miles.  The weather calls for something more.  Again, great conditions for a run.  It was very hot when I started but a big storm cloud rolled in bringing a cool breeze that begged for me to run.  Doing 'out & back' routes for me is a good thing.  I'm always aggressive and confident in the first few miles (and not very good at math), but know that have to get back and running is the only option.  After coming off a faster run, I didn't expect to run this fast.  7.45 @ 7:30 pace.  Now I know that I need to re-evaluate my speed paces.

Wednesday - 6 Miles
The heat returns.  Heat Index of 107 as I leave the office to do this run.  I knew after two faster days of running that I must take this one slower and the heat reinforced this.  6.57 @ 7:54.  This one hurt.  Probably more than it should.  Not sure if it was the speed of the prior couple of days or if the heat really hurt me that much.  Either way, I was glad when this one was done.  

Thursday - OFF DAY
Very quickly, this is becoming my favorite day of the week!  ;)

Friday - 7 Miles
Back home and glad to be able to unpack the suitcase for a week.  Word is that the 'Polar Vortex' is returning.  Good timing to be home for a week.  Luckily, the humidity is low, whereas the temperature is not.  90'ish degrees for a late afternoon run on the greenway after my first swim of the training season.  My body is beginning to question what the heck we are doing!  I once was very bored with this route because I ran it way too often.  Now with the incredibly flat ground of South Florida as my weekday training ground, I'm excited to run this.  Friday's are marathon pace runs and this one got a bit closer.  7.18 miles @ 7:31 pace.  Felt a bit 'weak' in the core, but I attribute that to the swim.  

Saturday - 13 Miles
Decided to run with Christopher, Lindsey, Emily and others.  The route would be opposite of the PR Bandits, PWP to Radnor route.  We altered the route a couple of times, even from the start.  The first 5 miles were pretty good and then we stopped for what seemed like an eternity for a water break.  I feel as though I drank too much water while we were stopped and never really recovered from this.  I was also feeling this run in my core from the prior day's swim.  Very quickly this became miserable and I just wanted it over.  12 miles @ 7:52 pace.  I think I needed one of these difficult mental runs to bring me to a more complete focus.  Walking away from a run where I come up short on the mileage haunts me until the next day's run when I can get it out of my system.  This one would be no different.  It was there, at the forefront of my mind, the remainder of the day.

Sunday - 6 Miles
The intent for Sunday is simply time on the feet and to get the legs moving again.  I feel like I type that sentence every time I write one of these things, but it's very important for me to remember and focus on during these runs.  6.59 miles @ 8:00 pace.  This felt surprisingly good considering the temp, the swim two hours earlier, and the prior day's mental struggle.  

Overall a very good week.  I know that I need to re-evaluate my training paces for my faster runs.  I also know that I need to start focusing on some core strength.  Being home for a week gives me an opportunity to do both.  With a polar vortex moving in, I should be able to determine what a true pace feels like and adjust from there.  Just over 46 total miles for the week with a couple of good swims.   

2 weeks down, 16 to go.  

NYC - Week 1

Wow, it really is here.  The TCS New York City Marathon is 17 weeks away.  That seems like forever as I sit here writing, but I know that it's coming quick and it's time to get ultra-focused and start paying attention to the details of my running, diet, and rest schedules.  I've said for the past couple of years that I don't want to start out my training plan struggling to complete the workouts.  For me, I want the first 3-4 weeks of the training plan to be about the daily run and dialing in my paces for specific workouts.  That said, the week prior to the first week of training resulted in a 48 mile week with a 14 mile 'long' run right at 8 minute pace.  This was the highest mileage in a week for me since mid-November and thankfully my body felt really good after this.  I needed this week for the confidence that it gives going into the first couple of weeks of dedicated training.  

Monday - 4x1 Mile Repeats @ 6:30'ish
Really, is this how we're going to start this out??  Actually, the training plan called for hill repeats, but working in Naples doesn't exactly create easy opportunities for hill repeats, so, to the track I go.  I've also been trying to run in the heat of the day down here to acclimate my body to those conditions.  It's getting a bit easier, but I know that it'll never be truly easy.  It was 92 degrees with a heat index of 106 when I left the office.  I knew this was going to be tough but, after a 1.25 mile warm-up run from the hotel to the track, I nailed the first two miles and was just a bit off on the 3rd and 4th.  I'll take it for the first hard workout of the plan.  Then I had to drag my butt back to the hotel 1.25 miles away.  That might have been the hardest part of the workout.  Total elevation gain during the run..........5 feet! 

Tuesday - 6 Miles
Another lunch time run.  90 degrees with a heat index above 100.  I took this one nice and easy as the legs were feeling the prior day's workout.  Just under 6.5 miles at 8:00 pace.   Total elevation gain......10 feet!  WooHoo!!! 

Wednesday - 6 Miles
This was supposed to be a bit of a faster workout, almost like a tempo run.  The heat however had other ideas for my body and the run. Another 90 degree day with a heat index above 100.  After a mile to warm-up and ease into it, I tried to pick up the pace and there was absolutely nothing in the tank.  Two miles in I was soaked in sweat again and frustrated.  I decided to pull the plug on this workout and run again later in the evening when the temp wasn't so intense.  4.3 miles.  Total elevation gain......10 feet! Seriously....can a brotha get a hill to run???

After work I got back to the hotel and took my time getting back out on the street.  I could very much tell a difference in the conditions when I finally got back out.  The plan was to only do the two miles necessary to get my 6 for the day, but what's the point of getting all sweaty for just 2 miles, right?  3.6 miles and just under 8 total for the day.  Total elevation gain.....9 feet.  I am not amused!  

Thursday - OFF DAY - TRAVEL DAY

Friday - 6 Miles (Half the distance of the long run)
Welcome home.  I tried to gather a couple of people to run on this morning because I knew the temp would be nice, but most everyone was either racing or complained about my planned pace.  I wanted to do 6 to 8 miles at 7:30 pace.  I like to try to get my Friday runs down close to marathon pace.  While this isn't quite marathon pace yet, it would give me a good idea of how out of shape, or not, I am.  So, when no one wanted to join me, I decided to sleep until I woke up.  Hello 11:00 a.m.!  Guess I was wiped out.  I took my time, grabbed a coffee, had some breakfast, started some laundry and then decided it was time to knock out my run.  I ran from my house and through the neighborhood for 6.5 miles at 7:25 pace.  That felt incredibly good and was a huge boost of confidence.  I really didn't think I could pull off that pace.  Total elevation gain.....280 feet.  I really love running some Tennessee hills and think my body does too.  

Saturday - 12 Miles
During my first 3 years or so of marathoning, I always did my long runs alone.  Now, I don't know why I chose to do that.  A couple of summers ago a 'Facebook group' was started called PR Bandits.  A group of people that simply wanted to continue to run long following the Country Music Marathon and through the summer.  It's turned into a great group of people that are there for all sorts of reasons; training for the next marathon, triathlon, or just trying to stay in some sort of shape.  There are all different paces and everyone fits in somewhere.  This weekend's run was in my backyard and I had to make this one.  Friday night ended up being a bit later than planned because of firework related traffic, but I was up at 4:30 a.m. to be there and running by 6:00.  The group was small on this morning as most people raced or were out too late the day/night prior, but it was 57 degrees at start time and I wasn't about to miss this.  Christopher Murrey has become my Saturday morning pace partner.  Today, he's in much better shape than I and could probably drop me very easily if he wanted.  We ran together the previous Saturday and did so again on this day.  We decided we wanted to be at about 7:45 average pace for the day and proceeded to get after it.  12.34 miles at 7:44 pace.  I'd say we nailed it!  Great run.  Total elevation gain..........542 feet.  That's better!!! 

Sunday - 6 Miles (Half the distance of the long run)
The Sunday run is supposed to be a nice, easy recovery effort.  I'm not very good at this as I tend to get loose and just run with what's comfortable.  That tends to become a much faster run that a 'recovery effort' is intended.  One thing I want to focus on during this 18 weeks is the execution of each workout.  I was very intent today on keeping this slow and easy while mixing in a few more hills.  6.6 miles with 281 feet of elevation gain.  

Overall this was a very good start to the training.  I'm very much satisfied with my efforts and my willingness to adjust on the fly.  I like being very regimented and try to stick to the plan come hell or high water, but I've got to learn how to relax with that a bit and do exactly what I did in the middle of this week.  46.5 miles for the week.  One down, 17 to go!