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Monthly Archive for: ‘September, 2011’

Quest for 3:15 – Chicago Training Days 87 & 88

Log for September 28 & 29 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th.  Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time. 

Wednesday

  • 4-Mile Barefoot Run – Since I’m not running on Friday (tapering), I moved my normal 4-mile Saucony Hattori run to Wednesday night after Bible Study. I kept the pace very easy, and it ended up being a very enjoyable run (even though it was solo).

    On a side-note there doesn’t seem to be any ill-effects from my fall on Tuesday. Even though I was pretty sure I only injured my hands, I was afraid that when I woke up this morning something else would hurt.

Thursday

  • 7.25-Mile Easy Run – Normally I do track with the JSRC on Thursday, but tonight is Olivia’s birthday, so I decided to meet Nathan for an early morning easy-run through Bellevue. I also didn’t feel the need for a speed workout since I have a tune-up 15K race on Saturday.

    Even through the temps were fairly cool, there was a thick fog which made it slightly uncomfortable. Our first mile was 9:30, but we steadily increased our pace as the run progressed for an overall average of 8:32. Even with the fog, the run was very enjoyable due to the easy pace and good company.

    It is hard to believe that the Chicago Marathon is now just a little over a week away!

I just finished watching the 6-part documentary “Rising: Rebuilding Ground Zero” after it was recommended to me by @PaxtonB & @Keaton_Bell. I almost consider New York to be my second home, and this documentary was very moving for me. Whenever I think about “ground zero,” I am reminded of this picture that I took at site after the 9/11 attacks. It is my understanding that this cross will be included in the memorial museum, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to see it again. We will never forget.

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Quest for 3:15 – Chicago Training Days 85 & 86

Log for September 26 & 27 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th.  Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time. 

Monday

  • Rest Day – Since I’m firmly in my taper for Chicago, I need to get my total mileage this week down between 32 and 35-miles. With that in mind I decided to take today off to prep for a tough tempo run tomorrow.
  • Cross-Training – Tonight Olivia and I did P90X: Ab-Ripper X + I did one “max out” set of push ups to track my overall progress.

Tuesday

  • 10-Mile Tempo Run – My schedule called for an 11-mile tempo run at marathon pace for today, however since I’m running the Shelby Bottoms Boogie 15K this weekend as a tune-up, I didn’t really feel the need to reach marathon pace.

    Unfortunately Paxton couldn’t run today due to illness, so Nathan and I met at the main gates at Percy Warner Park. We decided to two 2 loops through Belle Meade (one long and one short) to try and reach a total of 11 miles, with a hydration break in-between. Our first mile was 8:29, and was essentially a warm-up mile. After that, most of our miles were right between my goal marathon pace (7:26) and Nathan’s goal pace (7:50). We even threw in one around 7:16 for good measure.

    Our first loop was 7-miles, and I was quite pleased at how good my legs were feeling, and Nathan seemed to be really strong as well. However, at the end of the 3rd mile in our second loop, I tripped over a stray piece of concrete on the side of Highway 100 and fell straight forward onto my outstretched hands (my 2nd fall while training for Chicago). I quickly got up and did an assessment of my condition (WARNING … Gory Description Coming).

    My left hand was cut up pretty good, and I had a few scratches on my right hand and finger. However, other than my shoes, nothing else seemed to have hit. When I looked closer at my left hand, I noticed a small white spot on the top of one of the cuts. At first I thought it was just a fleck of something, but after trying to flick it off I realized it was the top of a rock that was embedded in the palm of my hand.

    The wound was still numb from the fall, so I quickly tried to get the small rock out before the feeling started to return. I couldn’t pull it out, so I essentially squeezed it out like it was a pimple (not fun btw). Once it was out, the wound started to bleed significantly, and I began to worry about getting it stopped. Just as Nathan and I were standing on the road trying to decide what to do, our friend Janna Dedman drove up to say hello. When she saw my hand, she immediately told me to hop in her vehicle.

    This was incredibly fortunate for two reasons. 1.) Janna lived less than 1/4 mile from where I fell 2.) She is a nurse. Nathan and I quickly hopped in her SUV and she took me to her house where I continuously dripped blood on the driveway while Janna and her husband Marc were getting first aid supplies. Janna cleaned up the wounds and applied compression until the continuous bleeding stopped. She then bandaged them up, gave me an ice pack, and graciously drove me back to my car at Percy Warner Park. The Dedmans are awesome people, and one of the many reasons why I LOVE my running group so much.

    So, my planned 11-mile run abruptly stopped at the 10-mile mark. Even with the fall, there were plenty of positives from the effort.

    1.) I’m VERY fortunate that my only injuries are to my hands. Anything more than that would have been very hard to recover from in time for Chicago.

    2.) My overall pace for the run, even with the warmup mile, was 7:40 and did not feel overly fast. I definitely felt like there was another gear there. This also makes sense, since I did a 10-mile run last Tuesday at 7:10 pace. Should be able to further test out my readiness to hold a 7:26 pace at the Shelby Bottoms Boogie 15k on Saturday.

    3.) My heart rate never went above 170, even on the 7:16 mile, and my overall heart rate average was 155. I’ve run half marathons before (last year), with an average heart rate of 175, so this is again a positive sign. I know that the longer I can hold my heart rate down, the longer I can hold a 7:26 pace.

    I plan to get right back up on the horse tomorrow for a 5 to 6 mile shakeout run, but I’m hoping to stay vertical this time 🙂

Quest for 3:15 – Chicago Training Days 83 & 84

Log for September 24 & 25 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th.  Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time. 

Saturday

  • 15-Mile Long Run – Today the Bellevue Trio/Triplets (Paxton, Nathan, me)  did our last long run for Chicago on the Shelby Bottoms Greenway. The weather was very cool (high 40s), but the air was heavy with fog rolling in from the river. We started with an almost 2-mile warmup around the pond and baseball fields in Shelby park.

    After a short break to hydrate, we began a series of 3 intervals out and back on the greenway. The goal was to average around 7:50 pace, which is the goal marathon pace for Nathan and Paxton. I was not concerned about reaching my goal pace since I had done a 10-mile workout on Tuesday at a pace 15-seconds faster than marathon pace.

    Our first interval was 5-miles, and we were almost dead-on a 7:50 average. I was pleased because the pace did not feel overly fast, and my legs felt good. After another short hydration break, we did our second interval which was 4-miles. On the first 2-miles out on the greenway, the pace picked up a bit to around 7:40 pace. As we made the turn back, my legs were feeling really good so I decided to push it up a couple of notches and see how that felt. My next 2 miles were below 7:00 min average, and my legs still felt strong.

    The final interval was 3-miles, and I again ran with Paxton and Nathan after separating from them on the second interval. We ran the first 1.25 miles on the greenway, then then the rest around the baseball fields and pond. Our average was around 7:30 and we finished strong. After the last interval, we did a 1-mile cooldown around the baseball fields for a total of 15-miles.

    It is always great to run with my friends Nathan and Paxton, and this run was especially good. All of us had good runs and appear to be in good form heading into Chicago in two weeks. I’m very pleased with how good I felt after a pretty heavy training week. I’m also pleased that my average heart rate was only 152, with a max of 172. Starting next weekend, I will be doing 3 races in a row with the Shelby Bottoms Boogie 15k, the Chicago Marathon, and the Murfreesboro Middle Half Marathon. Should be a wild ride.

Sunday

  • Rest Day – After running 7 straight days, including 22-miles last Sunday AM, it was good to have my rest day back again today.

It’s like breathing through a straw in a refrigerator.

Tim Agee (@timagee) during a foggy morning run at 50 degrees. (via inthewright)

Quest for 3:15 – Chicago Training Days 80, 81, 82

Log for September 21 to 23 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th.  Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time. 

Wednesday

  • 4.5-Mile Recovery Run – After several days of running at odd times due to business travel, I finally got back on schedule this morning. Paxton and I did a very easy recovery run on the Harpeth River Greenway and in Edwin Warner Park.  We normally run 6 to 7 miles on Wednesday, but cut back a bit today to 4 1/2 since we are in our taper for Chicago. My legs could definitely feel the effects of my hard 10-mile tempo run last night, but they slowly loosened up as we progressed through the run.

Thursday

  • 6.6-Mile Track Workout – I missed the last 2 track workouts with the JSRC due to business travel, so it was good to be back tonight. The weather was awesome at 6pm with temps in the low 70s, overcast skies, and a slight breeze. After a 1.25-mile warmup + 6 x 100m strides, we did a workout that was a variation of one of my favorites. It was three sets consisting of 3 x 400m, 5 x 250m, and 3 x 400m. While I felt absolutely fantastic during the workout, I did a really poor job of running consistently between intervals. I’m not very happy about being inconsistent, but am pleased with how good my legs felt, especially in the last set.

Friday

  • 3-Mile “Barefoot” Run – Today was the first day of fall, and the weather made a big change in response. At 6:30am, the temps were around 50 degrees with a slight drizzle after very early morning rains. Paxton and I ran a modified version of our normal Friday loop through Bellevue, and it felt fantastic. I wish that I could bottle up the weather this morning and take it with me to Chicago. We kept the pace very easy, and it was an extremely enjoyable (but short) run. Just as we finished, the rain started coming down hard again. Crossed the 50-mile mark in my Saucony Hattoris, and I’m very glad that I added these “barefoot” type runs to my training for Chicago this year.
  • Cross Training – Tonight I did P90X: Ab Ripper-X with Olivia, followed by P90X: Chest and Back.
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