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Log for August 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.

Thursday

• 6.5-Mile Track Workout – After having a few fall weather teases over the past couple of weeks, tonight Summer came back with a vengeance. I knew it was going to be bad, so I decided to try a trick I read about in a recent Runner’s World. One article suggested drinking a Slushie or Slurpie type drink within the hour leading up to a run to lower core body temps. So, on the way to our track workout tonight I stopped at Sonic and got a large, cherry Slushie and downed it before the warmup (more on this later).

  At the time I began my warmup it was in the mid 90s with humidity through the roof. It felt like running through a bowl of hot soup. I had decided before the workout that I was going to try running as much of it as possible with my new forefoot stride. This was not a problem during the 2-mile warmup, and felt fantastic during our 6 x 100m stride outs. I actually felt really fast during strides, and wasn’t even in my top gear. That is very exciting! I can definitely tell that the forefoot stride allows for the potential to run much faster than my old heavy, heal-striking ways.
  
  The workout tonight consisted of 3 sets of intervals with a mixture of longer and shorter repeats. Overall I was able to use the forefoot stride for just over half of my total miles tonight, but I still have a ways to go in developing enough strength in my lower legs to go further.

  Through the first set I could definitely feel the heat and humidity, but felt very strong. I actually ran a little too hard during the first set for the weather conditions, and ended up paying the price. I could feel the heat radiating from my face, and knew I was getting close to being overheated.

  For the second set, I slowed down slightly for the first interval, but still felt crummy. After that first interval I took a little extra recovery time to hydrate, and let the group go without me. I started about 30 seconds later, and though I still was not feeling great, I was able to run very consistent splits with the first set.

  Before the start of the third set, I took one of my water bottles and dumped about half of it over my head. This felt fantastic, and revitalized me just a bit. I still felt rough, but kept my pace pretty consistent and finished strong. After our recovery lap, I again dumped water over my head and just walked for about 5 minutes. After those 5 minutes I was feeling MUCH better, and slowly jogged a couple of cool-down laps for a total of 6.5-miles.

  I don’t want to overstate things, but I cannot remember a track workout where I felt worse than I did tonight. This has not been a great week so far, and I’m sure much of that has to do with the 20-miler we ran last Saturday. As for the pre-run Slushie…I would call that one a big FAT failure! Will be a while before I decide to try that again. Not saying that was the reason I felt so poor, but it definitely did not help.

Log for August 24 – 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

• 6.6-Mile Recovery Run – This morning, Paxton and I did our normal “Nature Center” loop backwards as a recovery run. My legs were feeling pretty beat up, but we kept the pace very relaxed. Slowly as the run progressed my legs started feeling better and better, and by the end we picked up the pace just slightly. As I always say, you know it was a good recovery run when your legs feel better at the end, than at the beginning. Mission Accomplished today.
• Cross Training – Because my legs have been feeling really beat-up and tired the last couple of days I decided to take the night off from cross training, and focus on rest. Gotta be ready for track tomorrow night, and a tough marathon workout on Saturday.

Log for August 22 & 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.
Monday

• 5.1-Mile Trail Run – It was really good to run with Nathan again. It seems like we haven’t run together in a long time. Along with Paxton, we did the Blue, Yellow, Orange & Candy-Cane trails in Edwin and Percy Warner parks. My legs felt really good considering the 20-miler on Saturday, and I even ran most of the route with the barefoot stride I’ve been practicing in my Saucony Hattoris. I’m starting to think about fully transitioning to this stride prior to the Chicago Marathon. May write a blog post dedicated to this transition soon.
• Cross Training – Tonight was P90X: Shoulders and Arms. I continue to use slightly less weight on the dumbbell exercises and put much more focus on form.

Tuesday

• 9-Mile Tempo Run – Today’s run was a solo effort through the streets of Belle Meade. I had hoped to average around 7:45 pace, but I just didn’t have it today plus it was very humid at 6am. Even though I felt pretty good during the trail run yesterday, my legs just didn’t respond this morning. I’m guessing this is still carryover from our 20-mile run on Saturday.
  
  My pace through the first 7-miles was around 7:58. Since I wasn’t feeling great I decided to focus on stride and ended up doing about 40% of the run using the new barefoot stride that I’ve been working on using my Saucony Hattoris. This is beginning to feel more and more natural and I’m almost at the point where I feel like I can go faster with the new stride. By the time I finished mile 7, I finally started feeling better and did the last two miles in 7:35 and 7:06. This pushed my overall average down to 7:50. While I wasn’t thrilled with how I felt, I am happy to have finished strong and to have done so well with the forefoot stride.
• 1-Mile “Barefoot” Run –  This little run was not planned, but I decided to do an easy mile when the opportunity presented itself. Today my wife Olivia went back for her 4-week follow-up after being diagnosed with tibial stress fractures in both legs. Her doctor told her that the healing had progressed to the point where should could begin walking 3 days a week. To get in her walk tonight we went to a little park down the street that has an asphalt track and a playground. Olivia walked the asphalt while I played with the kids on the playground. When she finished, we traded places and I did a mile on the track in my Hattori’s.
• Cross-Training – Tonight Olivia and I did P90X: Ab-Ripper X … BRING IT!!

I had already pretty much decided that I was gonna go with Saucony Kinvara’s for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in October. I actually still have one pair of the first Kinvara’s in the box that I have not yet used. However, a few days ago I saw that Saucony has released some new colors in the Kinvara 2, and I am now smitten with the new Red and Black model pictured below:

I know it would be more economical to go with the unused pair that I already own, but I am such a big fan of red, and these are SWEET!

Log for August 19, 20, & 21 – 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.

Friday

• 4-Mile “Barefoot” Run – It was unusual to have a full 24-hours of rest before my Friday “Barefoot” run in my Saucony Hattori’s.  Normally I have track on Thursday night, but this week I had to run on Thursday morning due to an event at Kate’s school. Paxton and I did our normal 4-mile route through Bellevue at a very relaxed pace. I continue to gain confidence running in the Hattori’s, and am also more confident than ever in my decision to add “barefoot” running to my schedule with the information that I’m learning from the book Born to Run. As usual, Paxton and I commented that we felt better at the end than the beginning, which is the tell-tell sign of a good recovery run. Tomorrow is my first 20-miler of this training season, so I needed a good recovery run.

Saturday

• 20-Mile Long Run – My goals today were simple: (1) Finish 20-miles (2) Spend 3 moving hours on my feet. On my 18-mile run two weeks ago, I spent 2 hours 45 minutes on my feet, and want to continue to push my aerobic threshold out past my marathon goal time of 3 hours 15 minutes.
  
  There were 8 of us (Paxton, Marc, Jenny, Megan, Marti, Dawn and Lisa) that met out at Wave Country for a 20-mile long run along the Stones River Greenway. My morning did not start off great. I woke up late and was in such a hurry to get ready that I forgot to bring anything to refuel after the run. I did remember to grab a Cliff Bar, gels, Gatorade, and water on the way out, which was good. Unfortunately the heat and humidity has returned to Middle Tennessee, so hydration was going to be critical.

  I’m grateful that the group waited on me even though I was 10-minutes late. With the frantic morning, it took me quite a while to get into a running groove. The pace for the first 5-miles was only around 9:30, but I still felt our of sync. We intersected with Ed and Judy around mile 2, and they joined us for a significant portion of the run.

  At the 5-mile mark I had to run over to Jack-in-the-Box for an unplanned pit-stop, so I told the group to go on without me. I knew the planned route included a couple of out-and-back segments, so I was confident I could intersect with them pretty quickly. After the pit-stop, I subconsciously picked up my pace to around 8:45 and slowly started getting faster and feeling better. As I ran down the first out-and-back segment, I expected to see my group, but made it all the way to the end and they were nowhere in sight.

  Through what turned out to be weird timing, I continued to miss them until I was running my 12th mile. As I approached Percy Priest Dam on miles 9 and 10 I really started feeling better, and after turning around at the Dam I felt fantastic. I finally saw my group on the second out-and-back, but they were running in the opposite direction. I wanted to turn and run with them, but I really needed some water, and there was a fountain at the end of the out-and-back, so I kept going.

  Paxton broke off from the group and started running with me, which I am very grateful for. After getting some much needed water, Paxton and I started pushing the pace all the way through mile 15. We got some more water at 15 (and a gel), and then kept going. We kept the pace around 8:30 for the next couple of miles before getting back into a very hilly section.

  I continued to feel pretty good through mile 18, but I could tell that Paxton was beginning to really feel it. This was not surprising since he had run that entire distance with no Gatorade or gels. I’m really not sure how he made it that far. For the rest of the run I either waited for him at the top of the hills while he walked up, or walked with him up the hills. When I got back to Wave Country I was right at 20-miles, and even though I walked up two significant hills with Paxton, my overall pace was still 8:50. This was actually faster than I wanted to run because that was only 2 hours 57 minutes on my feet.

  This was by far the best I’ve felt on a long run this season, and actually felt much worse after I stopped. It was almost like my body was in shock. I started taking in as much fluid as I could and resisted the urge to lay down in the grass and kept moving. After about 10 minutes I started feeling lots better, and was very thankful that Paxton had brought an extra banana since I forgot to bring any of my recovery bars.

  When I got home I took a 20-minute ice bath because my legs felt really beat up. I’m not sure which is more painful, the final 2-minutes of a 20-mile run, or the first 2 minutes of an immersion ice bath.

  Overall this was a very successful long run. Felt great in spite of the heat, humidity, and frantic start to the day. Lots of confidence gained today.

Sunday

• Rest Day – As usual, Sunday is my rest day. My legs feel pretty good today after the 20-miler yesterday. This was another good training week. My mileage was just under 50-miles (48.7), which is slightly less than planned, but they were still quality miles. I’m at 146-miles for the month, and am pushing to try and get in 200+ miles for the month of August.

Log for August 17 & 18 – 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

• 6.75-Mile Recovery Run – Paxton and I ran this morning through Belle Meade at a nice and easy recovery pace, after a hard progression run yesterday. We kind of made up the route as we went along, trying to avoid hills wherever possible. The temperatures were pleasant, though the humidity was still high. As with every good recovery run, my legs felt better when we finished than when we started.

Thursday

• 5.5-Mile Track Workout – I was not able run with the JSRC tonight for our regular track workout due to “Meet the Teacher” night at my daughter’s school. Since this was the case I did a solo track workout this morning at the Harding Academy track. I decided to do one of my favorite workouts which consists of 3 sets of 3 x 400m repeats. These were done with a 200m recovery between each repeat and a 400m recovery between each set. I also did one repeat per set at “good” pace, with the rest at “fresh” pace. My “fresh” intervals were between 83 and 85 seconds, while my “good” intervals went from 80 to 78 to 76 in the 3 sets. Other than a little tightness in my right leg, I felt strong throughout the workout, with plenty of gas left at the end. Hate that I missed the JSRC workout, but happy with the way things went this morning.

• Cross Training – Tonight was P90X: Chest & Back. The soreness in my right hand is FINALLY starting to subside after my fall almost 2 months ago.

Log for August 16 – 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.

 Tuesday

• 7.25-Mile Tempo Run – Paxton and I decided on a highly modified version of our “Steeplechase” route this morning, where we actually combined our “Nature Center” route with our normal “Steeplechase” route. The schedule called for an 8-mile tempo run with an average pace between 7:35 and 7:45. A couple of things were working against me on reaching this pace today: (1) We had very cool temps at 6am (mid 60s), but unfortunately the humidity was very high. (2) I did a 5.25-mile trail run last night along with P90X: Legs & Back.

  With all of this going on, today’s run became more of a progression run than a tempo run. It took a little while for us to get warmed up, and my legs could really feel the hard effort from last night. Our first mile was just over 9:00 min pace and the second mile was around 8:05 pace. After that, our last 5-miles were all under 7:50 pace, with a final mile of 7:19. Even though our overall average pace was around 7:50, I’m very pleased with the pace of the last 5.25-miles. We decided to cut it a little short of the planned distance for two reasons (1) It was obvious that neither of us were feeling our best (2) We got in a significant number of tempo miles last Saturday, so there was no need to push it too far.

  One thing I know is that I’m gonna have to change my night for doing P90X: Legs & Back. Doing it the night before my tempo runs is just not working.

• Cross Training – Tonight I did P90X: Ab-Ripper X with my wife.

Log for August 15 – 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

• 5.25-Mile Trail Run – What an awesome run. One of the most enjoyable of the summer. We got a BIG break in the heat and humidity today, and my legs felt exceptionally good after a day of rest yesterday. I ran on the Blue, Yellow, Orange, and Candy Cane trails in Edwin and Percy Warner Parks, and ran at a much faster pace than normal for this summer (on trails). My normal trail pace has been between 10:15 and 10:30, but today’s pace was 9:14. It was fun to be able to blast up the steep hills and not feel like I was about to collapse.

• Cross Training – Tonight I did P90X: Legs & Back, but was only able to finish about 3/4 of the workout.  I tried to do this only a couple of hours after my trail run, and just didn’t have the gas to finish it with the energy that I wanted. Decided to save some fuel for the tempo run in the morning.

Log for August 14 – 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.  

 Sunday

• Rest – As always, Sunday is my scheduled rest day from running and cross training. This was another good week, with just over 46 total miles completed. My legs are a little sore, but felt much better today that I thought they would after the hard workout yesterday. I’m really looking forward to my trail run in the morning, because we are getting a big break from the heat and humidity for the next few days.

Log for August 13 – 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

• 16-Mile Marathon Workout – As I mentioned in my post yesterday, I was really nervous about this workout. The plan was to do 4 sets of 30-minute intervals, 30 seconds slower per minute than goal marathon pace. My goal marathon pace is 7:26 minutes per mile, so today’s goal pace was 7:56. As usual, this workout was put together by Dan Ashmead from our running group. Up to this point, most of our bi-weekly marathon workouts have consisted of shorter intervals at either marathon pace or tempo pace (~20 seconds faster than MP). Dan told us that the purpose behind today’s plan was to allow for longer intervals and more miles. The repeats would still be high effort, but the slightly slower pace would provide for faster recovery after the workout. We were instructed to keep the pacing as consistent as possible throughout all of the intervals.

  I was nervous because I knew this would be hard, having already done two tough runs this week on Tuesday and Thursday, plus an 18-miler last Saturday. The slightly lower temps continued this morning, however the humidity was back with a vengeance (it even rained for a few minutes).
  
  We started the first interval after an easy 5-minute warmup. Unfortunately, there was no one else running at my pace today, so most of the workout was done by myself. My legs were a little sluggish at the start, but I think this was mostly due to the short warmup. I settled into a pace around 7:58, and quickly started feeling much better. At the 15-minute mark, my pace was exactly 7:56. On the way back to the staging area I subconsciously picked up the pace a little and ended up finishing the first interval with an average pace of 7:53.

  We took 5-minutes to hydrate, and then started the next interval. I was feeling really good during this one, and followed a slightly different route. At the halfway point I was just over 7:50 pace, and again subconsciously picked it up on the way back to finish the second interval with a average pace of 7:49. Even though both of these intervals were too fast, I was very pleased with how well I was feeling.

  After another 5-minute recovery, I took a completely different route for a change of scenery. While the first two routes were relatively flat, this one was quite hilly. I continued to feel really good, but ended up pushing it way too hard on this interval. My average pace was 7:43, and I was quite winded at the end.

  My mistake during the third interval made the final one exceedingly difficult. Both Paxton and Dan said that they wanted to do this one with me, and we hung together through the first 1/2 mile at about 7:49 pace. At that point Paxton began to pull away from Dan and I, and I did not attempt to follow his pace. After almost 2 miles, Dan pulled away from me as my pace began to slow a bit to just over 7:50. My legs were exhausted, and I was struggling. I kept telling myself to not think ahead, stay in the moment, and maintain pace. With 10 minutes to go, Paxton and Dan were well out ahead of me, but my pace remained consistently around 7:50. With five minutes to go, even though my legs were shredded, I again subconsciously picked up the pace and finished the interval with a 7:48 avg (my second fastest).

  Overall, it was a really good workout and I learned a couple of valuable things. (1) Early pacing mistakes can seriously affect the amount of gas left in the tank near the end. My poor pacing in the 3rd interval made the 4th one much harder than it should have been. (2) Even though I was really struggling during the 4th interval, I was still able to stay in the moment and maintain pace. This has historically been very difficult for me in marathons, so this is a good confidence boost.

  I finished the workout with 16 total miles including the short warmup, with an overall average pace of 7:50 per mile.  Even with the mistakes, I’m still happy with the effort at the end of a tough week, on what was a very humid morning.

• Cross Training – Tonight I did P90X: Shoulders and Arms and P90X: Ab-Ripper X. Over the past few weeks I’ve noticed my form getting a little sloppy with the dumbbell exercises, so tonight I cut my weight across the board and really focused on form. Amazing how good it felt.

Log for August 12 – 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.

 Friday

• 4-Mile Barefoot Run – Paxton and I ran our normal 4-mile route this AM at a very easy pace after a hard track workout last night. There was a nice break in the temps and humidity which made this an extremely pleasant morning. I broke out my Saucony Hattori’s again after taking a break from the “barefoot” run last week. My big toe is still sore, but it didn’t bother me during the run. Glad this was an extremely easy effort because I’m a little nervous about our workout tomorrow AM. It is going to be 4 X 30 minute intervals at just over goal marathon pace, and I have a feeling it’s gonna be a tough one.

• Cross Training – Tonight I did P90X: X-Stretch. I could tell throughout the day today that my hamstrings were very tight, so I decided to get in some good stretching before the workout tomorrow.

Log for August 11 – 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.

 Thursday

• 7-Mile Track Workout – While the temps were still in the high 80s at start time, we did get a very welcome break in the humidity today. I didn’t feel great during my 2-mile warmup or during our 6 x 100m stride-outs, but felt really good during the workout. It was an unusual combination of intervals ranging from 200m to 1000m, but overall I really enjoyed it. In the middle we did 5 x 200m repeats with recovery across the infield. This was followed by 1000m of straights and curves. I commented to Paxton that it was hard to gauge how much effort you could put into these repeats and still be able to maintain a consistent pace through the rest of the workout. Overall my pacing was very consistent throughout, though I did push it a little too hard during the last 600m interval. With warmup and cooldown the total mileage was just over 7-miles.

• Cross Training –  Tonight was a highly modified version of P90X: Chest & Back. I modified it to focus solely on chest since I get plenty of back work in Legs & Back.

Log for August 10 – 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

• 6.3-Mile Easy Run – Today Paxton and I got an amazing break in the weather, with starting temps in the 60s. It was quite refreshing to feel a little coolness in the air. After a hard tempo run yesterday, the goal today was just to get in some easy recovery miles. We ran a modified version of our normal “Nature Center” loop on the Harpeth River Greenway and through Bellevue, slowly picking up the pace as we went along. We started at 9:00 min pace and were at 8:25 when we finished. Both Paxton and I commented that our legs felt much better today than expected after the hard run yesterday. I guess some of this was related to the cooler temps which tend to provide a much appreciated “energy infusion.”

• Cross Training –  Tonight I missed out on cross training because I absolutely could not put down a book! I had about 150 pages to go in Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, and it had me in a death grip. One of the most fascinating books I’ve ever read.

Log for August 9 – 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.

 Tuesday

• 8-Mile Tempo Run – My training program for Chicago this year includes 3 cycles of successively longer mid-week tempo runs. These start at 7-miles and increase one mile weekly to 11-miles. After 11, the cycle starts back over at 7-miles the following week. Each cycle is designed to be done at progressively faster pace, with the goal of doing each run of the third cycle at goal marathon pace. Living in the south in the summer can make pacing these runs extremely difficult. For example, my goal marathon pace is 7:26 min per mile, but what is the equivalent pacing if it is 85 degrees and 80% humidity?

  None-the-less, today marked the beginning of the second cycle, so the plan was to start back over at 7-miles after finishing 11-miles last Tuesday. Most of the runs during the first cycle were done between 7:45 and 7:58 min per mile, so the goal during the second cycle is to go below 7:45 as I work my way toward 7:26 (with adjustment for heat & humidity as needed).
  
  I ran today with Nathan and Paxton on an out and back route on Old Natchez and Temple Road in Franklin. This is an enjoyable route, though the first 3 miles are very hilly, and it can be very exposed on sunny days. Fortunately it was overcast for most of the run today with temps in the mid 70s. However, the humidity was ridiculous as usual this time of year. We started off the route with miles of 8:34 and 8:01 while we navigated the hilly section, but then dropped it down to 7:26 for mile three and 6:57 for mile four (too fast).

  After taking a brief hydration stop at the end of temple road, we started back up with a more sensible fifth mile of 7:42. From there we progressively pushed it faster and faster with miles of 7:33, 7:26, and 6:59 to finish out at 8-miles. Our overall average pace was 7:35, which is right in line with the goal for the second cycle. While 8-miles is one more than I had scheduled, I got in one less than scheduled on Monday, so it all worked out.

  My legs felt a little sluggish from the trail run on Monday afternoon, but overall I felt pretty good on a very hard run. I felt especially good on the hills, which has been the case for much of the spring and summer. I’m guessing this is related to adding trails and barefoot running to my program this year. Paxton and Nathan also looked very strong today, finishing a bit of a bigger kick than I was able to muster.

Log for August 8 – 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

• 5-Mile Trail Run – Even though I am NOT a morning person, I still hate it when I’m not able to get my training runs done in the AM. This morning I had an 8am meeting at a client that is over an hour away. Since Mondays are my scheduled trail days, I didn’t want to get up extra early and run trails in the dark. Therefore my only two options were to do either an early road run, or a trail run later in the day. Fortunately my schedule was such today that I was able to get home around 4:15pm, so I decided to just do an afternoon trail run.

  The bad thing about afternoon runs in August is that it is HOT….just over 90 degrees at the start with high humidity. I started off running the blue trail in Edwin Warner park, and immediately felt the sluggishness from my 18 mile run on Saturday. I ended up doing the blue, yellow, orange, candy cane, and red (partial) trails for a total of just over 5 miles. My legs finally started feeling better about 3 miles into the run, and were feeling quite good as I finished. The soreness that I started feeling in my big toe last week is now becoming more pronounced, and I’m sure that the 51-mile week last week did not help.

  Also today, I ran for the first time in my new Tifosi sunglasses that I got for my birthday. These feature red, fototec lenses that change tint based on the level of sunlight. They are also vented to prevent fogging. I was able to wear them on the entire run, even in dense tree cover, and never once felt like I couldn’t see the trails. Also, they never came close to fogging up, even in the high humidity. Definitely a good accessory for the arsenal.  

Log for August 7 (MY BIRTHDAY!!) – 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.

 Sunday

• Rest Day – Today was my scheduled rest day from both running and cross-training, and it also happens to be my 37th birthday. Amazing how much better I feel at 37, than I did at 27. Overall, this has been a really good week for running. Just over 51 miles completed, and just under 3 hours of cross training activities. Before this training season started, I decided to reduce the number of hours spent cross training, and add that time to running. So far I’m really pleased with this decision, and plan to continue with this through Chicago.

Log for August 6 – 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

• 18-Mile Long Run – Today was another one of those runs where the goal was to maximize my time spent in the aerobic zone and not worry about my pace. I’ve been very pleased with my speed work so far this spring and summer, but endurance is now something that I need to really focus on as I work toward Chicago. Our training group is on a schedule where we do these types of long runs bi-weekly, with marathon and tempo pace intervals workouts on the alternating weekends. Two weeks ago I did my first long run, a 15-miler where I spent a little over 2 hours 15 minutes on my feet. Today, my goal was to push that time to over 2 hours 30 minutes.
  
  Most of our group was meeting at 5:30am to do a series of 4 to 6 mile loops in Belle Meade and Percy Warner Park for a total of 16-miles. Nathan and I decided to meet at 5:00am to make sure that we got in at least 18-miles. We were lucky to get an overcast morning, with temps in the low to mid 70s at the start of the run, and low 80s at the finish. However, I’m not sure I ever remember a running in higher humidity without it actually raining. I had to lose my shirt after 7 miles, because it felt like it weighed 20 lbs. (We looked it up at the finish, and the humidity was at 91%).
  
  I made a small mistake before the run started, because I took a GU gel with 2x caffeine. While this is not unusual, I have recently been trying to cut way back on my overall caffeine intake. After Nathan and I finished our initial 2.5 miles before the group run, it felt like my whole body was shaking. I felt awful, and it was hard to believe how much effect the caffeine had on me. Luckily, this sensation subsided pretty quickly once we started the group run.

  I felt really good through the first two loops, maintaining an easy pace at just over 9 min per mile. For the last loop, we did the 5.8-mile route through PW park, which is extremely hilly. I still felt pretty good through the first part of this route. However, somewhat predictably, I started struggling once we crossed the 2 hour 15 minute mark, and the last three miles were really a struggle. The total run lasted just over 2 hours 45 minutes, and I was able to finish all 18-miles as planned with over 1,500 ft of total elevation gain.

  All-in-all, I’m glad to have this run in the books, and pleased with the overall length of time spent on my feet. My plan calls for three more long runs before Chicago (20, 20, 22), and my goal will be to make sure that I work my way past 3 hours 15 minutes in the aerobic zone, which is my goal time for this fall and winter season.

• Cross Training – Tonight I did P90X: Chest and Back. Glad that I didn’t have anything planned that involved my legs, because they are trashed from the 18-miler this AM. 

Log for August 5 – 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.

Friday

• 4-Mile Recovery Run – Friday’s are normally my “barefoot” days where I run easy miles in my Saucony Hattori’s. Sometime during the week the big toe on my right foot started to bother me (feels like a strain), so I decided to do today’s run in my normal trainers. This morning’s run was with Paxton through Bellevue, and it was incredibly HUMID. I completely soaked through my running clothes during a run that was barely over 30 minutes, and started at 6am. Also, my legs felt very tired and heavy after a hard track workout last night, but did feel better as the run progressed. We took this one very easy, and it was exactly what I needed.

  All week I’ve been joking with Nathan that he needed to setup an “aid station” for Paxton and I during our Friday runs. This is because our normal Friday route goes right by his house, and because he normally does not run with us on Friday. Last night at track, Nathan “apologized in advance” for not leaving out fluids for us during the run. However, this morning Paxton and I were surprised to find that Nathan had generously left water for us by the tree in front of his house. This was very cool, and actually very helpful due to the extreme humidity this morning. Big props to Nathan!! 

• Cross Training – Tonight I did one set of P90X: Ab-Ripper X. Didn’t want to go too hard since I have an 18-miler in the morning. 

Log for August 4 – 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.

Thursday

• 6.6-Mile Track Workout – Tonight’s track practice consisted of 400m repeats, and I felt REALLY good all the way to the end. I took the first two intervals relatively easy to try and adapt to the heat, which was again in the mid-90s. After these two repeats my remaining “fresh” intervals were between 84 and 87 seconds, and my “good” intervals were 79 or 80 seconds. I was actually surprised how good I felt. While the temps were high, the humidity was a little less than it had been, and we got a little cloud cover for the second half of the workout. With warmup and cooldown the total mileage was 6.6-Miles. It was good to have Nathan back at track after being off for a couple of weeks.

Log for August 3 – 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

• 6-Mile Recovery Run – After hard runs and cross training on Monday and Tuesday, it was good to run easy this morning with Paxton and Nathan. We ran through the Bellevue community and even worked in a lap around the vacant Bellevue Center Mall. The temps were mild when we started, but quickly heated up as we approached 7am. My legs were really sore when we started, but felt much better as we finished. I told Paxton that feeling better when you finish than when you started has got to be the sign of a perfect recovery run.
• Cross Training – Tonight was a P90X double-header: Shoulders & Arms + Ab-Ripper X. Some of my favorite words in the English language are “You’ve just completed Ab-Ripper X boys and girls” by Tony Horton. That is a great workout, but it is tough. Even after doing it for over a year, it still kicks my tail every time.