Ok, so after my less then perfect run last Sunday where the hills of Northbridge made a 10 mile run into 8.5, just ran out of steam. So I took Monday off as I normally do and then Tuesday the heat and obscene humidity set in and made the lunch time run just not something I wanted to do and the next opportunity to run was at 9:30 PM and that wasn't going to happen. On Wednesday I got hit with a stomach bug and migrane that stuck around till under just yesterday.
So today was the first time I felt up to a run and boy was it nice to get out there. I went out to my favorite trail since the humidity had broken it was a great run. I did a relaxing run at 76% MHR and listened to Phidip 197, who could ask for a better run. After coming out of the woods the light sprinkle that I felt was actually a downpour that was being sheltered by the big trees. So my last .67 mile was in a down pour. Nothing beats the motivation of a downpour to get the last pace in at sub 9 pace.
So I am back from feeling like crap and look to get 5-8 tomorrow and 10-12 on Sunday.
Cheers,
Tim
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Something to look forward too...
I have one child, he is 6 yrs old and his name is Alex and he is just me in a smaller frame. I feel bad for my wife because he has all of the traits that I know drive her crazy from me. He doesn't sit still, he has no "mute" button so he just talks 100% of the time he is awake during the day.
So every time him and I square off it is usually me arguing with him over something he did that I do all the time. As my wife says I am just fighting with myself. He is a great kid and the hardest part of being a parent for me is to remember he is a kid and I need to cut him some slack. He likes the fact that his dad runs and he enjoys going to my races or going to the track with me. He has no concept of the distance so me running 20 miles or 2 miles is out of his grasp. Heck when we say the trip will take 2 hours and he asks how long that is we say it will be "4 Sponge Bob episodes" and that he understands. When on my runs and my mind wanders one recurring thought is that when he gets 10-12 and is old enough to run I really hope he will want to run with his old man.
As much as I like my alone time or in some cases the time I take to escape the demands of parenting I think to run with him once a week would be great. I never did anything like that with my dad but if we could use the time to chat about life, what he has going on in school or just about the Red Sox or NE Patriots would be time that I would cherish. So as he grows up I am not going to push him into running but I hopes he takes to it and if he does I look forward to a new running partner for my Sunday morning runs.
Tim
So every time him and I square off it is usually me arguing with him over something he did that I do all the time. As my wife says I am just fighting with myself. He is a great kid and the hardest part of being a parent for me is to remember he is a kid and I need to cut him some slack. He likes the fact that his dad runs and he enjoys going to my races or going to the track with me. He has no concept of the distance so me running 20 miles or 2 miles is out of his grasp. Heck when we say the trip will take 2 hours and he asks how long that is we say it will be "4 Sponge Bob episodes" and that he understands. When on my runs and my mind wanders one recurring thought is that when he gets 10-12 and is old enough to run I really hope he will want to run with his old man.
As much as I like my alone time or in some cases the time I take to escape the demands of parenting I think to run with him once a week would be great. I never did anything like that with my dad but if we could use the time to chat about life, what he has going on in school or just about the Red Sox or NE Patriots would be time that I would cherish. So as he grows up I am not going to push him into running but I hopes he takes to it and if he does I look forward to a new running partner for my Sunday morning runs.
Tim
Monday, July 20, 2009
Milestone, first 10 miler since Boston
Last week was a nice week. Overall the sun was visible in my world, I almost didn't recognize it, so we had a real nice week. I was able to get in 5 runs through the week for a total of 28 miles including a 10 mile run on Sunday. Since running the Boston Marathon I have averaged about 20-25 miles per week but most of my runs have been in the 5-8 mile range. As part of my training for the fall Half Marathons I am building my base up so this was my first 10 miler in 3 months and it was nice to know I hadn't lost it.
I traveled down to Norton, MA to run with my training partner Jill in her backyard since she has been driving 40 minutes to Northbridge for the last 4-6 weeks. Well Sunday morning arrived the weather was amazing and Norton was a great run because compared to my town it is FLAT....
So we headed out with the goal of focusing on the distance not the time since this was Jill's first time at this distance. I ran by heart rate only and kept my HR at 73% average and we did 10 miles in 1:43:40 (10:20 pace) with no problems. It was one of those runs that reminded me of my Marathon training were once I got past the first 4 I got into a zone that as long as I fueled I could keep going. The plan of running by HR has been working, this week I need to add a 85-90% HR run on Wednesday at the track and a tempo run on Friday were I do the first 2 miles at 70-75% then 2 miles at 80-85% then a 2 mile cool down. The next week I will shot for doing another 10 miler.
Cheers,
Tim
I traveled down to Norton, MA to run with my training partner Jill in her backyard since she has been driving 40 minutes to Northbridge for the last 4-6 weeks. Well Sunday morning arrived the weather was amazing and Norton was a great run because compared to my town it is FLAT....
So we headed out with the goal of focusing on the distance not the time since this was Jill's first time at this distance. I ran by heart rate only and kept my HR at 73% average and we did 10 miles in 1:43:40 (10:20 pace) with no problems. It was one of those runs that reminded me of my Marathon training were once I got past the first 4 I got into a zone that as long as I fueled I could keep going. The plan of running by HR has been working, this week I need to add a 85-90% HR run on Wednesday at the track and a tempo run on Friday were I do the first 2 miles at 70-75% then 2 miles at 80-85% then a 2 mile cool down. The next week I will shot for doing another 10 miler.
Cheers,
Tim
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Back from vacation, race report
Hello, I am back from vacation and other then 400+ emails in my work email inbox I am very relaxed and refreshed. This is the second year that I have taken the week of the Fourth of July off to go camping (don’t get crazy, I am talking about an RV not sleeping on the ground) with the Family in Maine at Kokatosi Campground (http://kokatosi.maine.com/). We use a company in Maine that we rent an RV from; they deliver it, set it up and then remove it at the end of the vacation. It is a nice vacation because it allows my wife and I had the opportunity to relax, swim, hang out and work on my sunburn and get in some running. The campsite is located up Route 302, then Route 85 in Raymond Maine, as much as I thought the “RV Crowd” wasn’t my thing I found out last year that it is a great family vacation. I have one child, a very social 6 year old who really wishes he had 6-7 siblings so a vacation that allows him the ability to be around other kids all day is the perfect vacation for him.
One reason we go to Maine is to run the Bridgton 4 on the 4th road race (http://www.fouronthefourth.com/) in my wife’s hometown. This is a race that has been going on for 32 years and is one of the largest races over the holiday. It is a great race with 1722 runners this year. The course goes flat for a quarter of a mile then climbs up hills through mile 2 then one more hill at mile 3 before you run downhill for the ending. Last year I ran it in 32:53 and this year I did it in 33:51. The strategy for this year was to get out of the start quicker and run at under 85% of my Max Heart Rate through 3.5 miles then finish strong. I was successful at this and I monitored my HR not my pace during the race but I did get splits at each mile that had me running a steady 8:30 pace for miles 1-3 and then my final burst for the finish went from the last ½ mile to the last ¼ of a mile.
I was happy with the results and though I was off my PR by 58 seconds but it was a good finish for the race. I came in 417 of 1722 so top 25% and 27/62 for my age group. The time is also consistent with what I ran my 5k in this year. See the PR from last year was right after my PR for the 5k and then I got injured last year after this race and I have yet to get back to the 8 minute mile pace for 5k to 4 miles.
The rest of the vacation was very relaxing, I wanted to run at least 5 days while on vacation and get in a 10 mile run if possible. Well on Monday I tried to run the local roads but after being almost run over by a logging truck doing 90 with no interest in sharing the roads I asked around for some trails to run. The one trail I was told about was more of a run up a mountain and ¼ mile into it I discovered the trail was washed out so there went plan B. So my week of running wound up being laps on the 1 mile dirt road within the campground. It wasn’t an exciting run but I chose “Life and Boredom over the thrill of dodging tractor trailers on the area roads” and I survived.
Most of the runs through the week were focused on me keeping my HR at 75% which on most days was between a 9:45 and 10:05 pace for the 5 miles. I got back on Saturday and ended my vacation with a trail run through my back yard West Hill Dam route with Jill.
So back to reality and back to my training, I am still planning on running the Portland Maine and Bay state Half Marathons in October I just don’t know if I will be running Portland with the goal of a PR or just run to enjoy the course. Until then I am letting my HR set my paces and focusing on the time on the roads over the distance and the pace. This is tough for me but it is working I just need to remember that I “enjoy running” and that is what the goal is not how fast….
One reason we go to Maine is to run the Bridgton 4 on the 4th road race (http://www.fouronthefourth.com/) in my wife’s hometown. This is a race that has been going on for 32 years and is one of the largest races over the holiday. It is a great race with 1722 runners this year. The course goes flat for a quarter of a mile then climbs up hills through mile 2 then one more hill at mile 3 before you run downhill for the ending. Last year I ran it in 32:53 and this year I did it in 33:51. The strategy for this year was to get out of the start quicker and run at under 85% of my Max Heart Rate through 3.5 miles then finish strong. I was successful at this and I monitored my HR not my pace during the race but I did get splits at each mile that had me running a steady 8:30 pace for miles 1-3 and then my final burst for the finish went from the last ½ mile to the last ¼ of a mile.
I was happy with the results and though I was off my PR by 58 seconds but it was a good finish for the race. I came in 417 of 1722 so top 25% and 27/62 for my age group. The time is also consistent with what I ran my 5k in this year. See the PR from last year was right after my PR for the 5k and then I got injured last year after this race and I have yet to get back to the 8 minute mile pace for 5k to 4 miles.
The rest of the vacation was very relaxing, I wanted to run at least 5 days while on vacation and get in a 10 mile run if possible. Well on Monday I tried to run the local roads but after being almost run over by a logging truck doing 90 with no interest in sharing the roads I asked around for some trails to run. The one trail I was told about was more of a run up a mountain and ¼ mile into it I discovered the trail was washed out so there went plan B. So my week of running wound up being laps on the 1 mile dirt road within the campground. It wasn’t an exciting run but I chose “Life and Boredom over the thrill of dodging tractor trailers on the area roads” and I survived.
Most of the runs through the week were focused on me keeping my HR at 75% which on most days was between a 9:45 and 10:05 pace for the 5 miles. I got back on Saturday and ended my vacation with a trail run through my back yard West Hill Dam route with Jill.
So back to reality and back to my training, I am still planning on running the Portland Maine and Bay state Half Marathons in October I just don’t know if I will be running Portland with the goal of a PR or just run to enjoy the course. Until then I am letting my HR set my paces and focusing on the time on the roads over the distance and the pace. This is tough for me but it is working I just need to remember that I “enjoy running” and that is what the goal is not how fast….
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