Hanging by a thread: Week of 9/24-30

OK, so I'm prophetic, but not in a good way. My body broke down this week. I don't know what it was, because the cold I got last Saturday was not that bad. I'm guessing not sleeping much leading up to and including the Asia trip didn't help. Not surprisingly, when I woke up Monday morning, I just didn't want to get out of bed. The feeling lingered until Friday. In a way, I'm glad this is happening now, 8 weeks out from the marathon, because it won't have a huge impact on my performance down the line. However, it still feels crappy. Here's how this week went:

Mon: AM - core, too tired for the pool; PM - 7.1 miles @ 7:49, run felt ok

Tue: PM - 11.4 miles including (2x800, 3x1200, 2x400) @ 5:34 mile, had to tempo it to the track, intervals felt crappy, had stomach cramps and the pace just didn't feel comfortable

Wed: PM - 5.6 miles@ 9:46, 30 min. core work; feeling better today, but still not great.

Thu: AM - 10 miles @ 7:47, held MP for 6 miles and then had to bag it, felt horrible, last 3 miles were a death march

Fri: off

Sat: 22.2 miles @ 7:39, 10 miles @ 8:23, 10 miles @ 6:57, 2 mile c/d, rest day did the trick, felt much better today

Sun: 5.4 miles @ 8:20, nice run down in North Falmouth, legs were stiff, but feeling great.

Total: 61.6 miles

This week was a meltdown after coming back from Asia. Emotionally, I really wasn't back in the swing of things and my body was in no shape to run. I was really willing myself through the runs Mon-Wed. I was feeling reasonable on Tuesday, but the intervals took a lot out of me and it left me spent for my recovery run on Wednesday. In fact, I did everything wrong on Tuesday. I had a late lunch, only 2 hours or so before the intervals, and because i was running late, basically did a tempo run to the track. By the 2nd 1200, I was battling some bad stomach cramps. I was hanging on to the back of the pack after that. I had a standard 10 mile @ MP planned for Thursday, and I awoke to find it hot and humid. I took it out easy for the 1st mile, and then dropped it down to marathon pace. I was holding 6:50s fine until about the 6th mile, at which point things just started falling apart. I decided to shut it down after mile 7 and walk/jogged home. Very disappointing run. Many negative thoughts during the run today.

After my usual rest day on Friday, I didn't know what to expect on Saturday. I was feeling better overall, but my legs didn't feel recovered. I had a 20 mile fast finish run on tap with the Boston Fit folks. My plan was to run easy for the 1st 10 miles and then do an assessment at mile 10. I started running easy with Roger and it felt like we slowly picked it up all the way to the turnaround. At the turnaround, my legs were starting to tire, but overall I felt pretty good. I slowly picked up the speed and as I progressed, I noticed that I was feeling better and better. I basically turned this into a progression run, which I'd never done before. I was probably doing close to a 6:30 mile by the end and I felt elated. I hadn't quite hit my MP for the 2nd half, but I was feeling pretty good. This afternoon's run was a stiff one, but my body feels a 100% better compared to the beginning of the week.

So I feel like I dodged a major bullet this week. I thought for sure the cold was going to drag my training down the drain (especially after Thursday's debacle), but I salvaged it by the end of week. This sets me up well for the BAA Half next Sunday. I'm hoping to at least break 1:25 and if all goes well, break 1:23 and qualify for the NYC Marathon.

Plan for next week 10/1-7
Mon: 6-7 miles EZ
Tue: 11 miles including intervals
Wed: 12-13 miles on trails
Thu: 5-6 miles EZ
Fri: off
Sat: 4 miles
Sun: 17 miles, including BAA Half Marathon, Goal: sub-1:25

Till next week!

Lost in Translation: Week of 9/17-23

I'm so exhausted!! Don't get me wrong, I fully appreciate the opportunity for a week trip to Asia, but humans just aren't built to fly 24,000 miles in the span of a week. The combination of being sleep deprived from Reach the Beach, jet lag on the way out to Asia, cramming in lots of activities in Asia, and jet lag on the way back has just sapped my energy level. After spending most of my teenage years in Taiwan, I am quite used to the long flight out there, but on top of everything else, I think my body just went on strike. Now I have a head cold which I'm hoping doesn't blossom into anything more serious.

This trip has been in the books for awhile, but it started mostly because I hadn't seen my parents and grandmother in awhile, and they happened to be visiting Japan with my grandmother. So we decided to surprise my grandmother with an impromptu visit. This blog entry will stray a bit from the usual running focus and will include my two other passions, eating and travelling. Here's the itinerary:

9/16: Boston to Seoul
9/17-9/20: Seoul, hiking in Seoraksan National Park
9/20-9/23: Tokyo and Inatori
9/23: Tokyo to Boston

Sunday/Monday
Coming off of the RTB relay, I rushed home and hurriedly packed. I still had to make a pit stop in lab to tie up some loose ends before leaving. I'm still amazed I didn't forget to pack any crucial items. Fortunately, since I had rented one of the team minivans, I had free transportation to the airport the next morning. Once I got on the plane, I promptly passed out and missed most of movies. After a brief layover in Tokyo (during which I got a private room to take a hot shower), I arrived in Seoul Monday evening. Just to give you a little background, my wife is Korean-American and spent an entire year in Korea as a Fulbright Scholar. So, I didn't have the same sense of trepidation at arriving in a new country. Also, having spent most of my teen years in Taiwan, it was nice to be able to blend in somewhere besides Chinatown. We checked into our hotel (which to my surprise had a computer with internet connection and 50" flat screen TV en suite) and promptly went in search of Korean BBQ. We spent the remainder of the evening grilling fatty red meats (Galbi and Samgyeopsal, my wife's favorite) over a real wood coal oven and washing it down with cheap local Soju.

Tuesday
The following morning, I was wide awake at 6AM, and decided it was time to explore the city on running shoes. I headed in the general direction of Namsan Park. I did a double take when I passed by Din Tai Fung, a famous dumpling restaurant imported from Taiwan and my all-time favorite restaurant. Soon, I was surrounded by trees and making my way up the steps that led to the summit of Namsan. What had initially been a pleasant drizzle when I left the hotel had now evolved into a full fledged downpour. I hadn't passed a single runner yet, but there were plenty of senior citizens doing various poses of what looked like Tai Chi. I paused briefly to admire the close-up view of Seoul Tower, then headed down the tarmac road that emerged from the other side of the summit. The rest of the run circumnavigated the park. Today's agenda was to do some sightseeing in the city. We spent the morning hunting down a porridge place, which in retrospect was my favorite meal in Korea. It was like being transported from the middle of the city to a mountain hut somewhere in the country. You could really taste the vegetables and the broth in the porridge. Unfortunately, the rest of the day was a total wash-out thanks to Typhoon Nari. We grinned and bared it through Deoksugung Palace. My wife and I are huge fans of the Korean drama Dae Jang Geum, so imagining ourselves living during the Joseon Dynasty took the edge off the dampness. The rain made for some haunting pictures, but by early afternoon, we were hiding from the rain in the Kyobo Bookstore. The rain relented briefly, and we took the opportunity to browse some of the stores in Insadong, an old part of the city that specializes in antiques. Tired from the day's sightseeing, we retired to our hotel room for some R&R in the bathtub jacuzzi. Dinner tonight was quite a treat! On the recommendation of the hotel concierge, we had the opportunity to try Korean royal cuisine at Yongsusan. The meal was an experience, on par with a tasting menu at any 5-star restaurant. The dishes just kept on coming, in a dizzying array of colors, ingredients, textures, and temperatures. It was another taste of Dae Jang Geum. We went to bed with full stomachs and happy hearts.

Wednesday
Morning greeted us with a break in the weather (yes!). Today, we had our sights set on a day trip to the famous Seoraksan National Park. This park has been the inspiration for numerous paintings, and this picture (yes its a photograph) says it all. We made it on the 6:30AM bus, but not without much confusion (isn't all international travel like this?). In fact, we were still unsure of where we were getting dropped off when we got on the bus. Three hours later, and much gorgeous scenery, we were dropped off in Donghae with little direction. Fortunately, the No. 7 bus stop we were looking for was only a stone's throw away. We had our ticket into the park! When Korean’s think of autumn leaves, Seoraksan Mountain is the first thing that comes to mind. We were about a month early, but the scenery was gorgeous nonetheless. Can you imagine the picture bathed in the red and orange of autumn? We decided on a 5 hour hike through the Cheongbuldong Valley up to the Yangpok Falls (5 Ribbon Falls). There were more photo opportunities than we could count.!I envy the individuals that have been able to walk the valley at the apex of foliage season. The hike back down the valley was equally enjoyable, and about twice as fast. We were back at the main bus terminal by 3:30. Once on the bus back to Seoul, we sank heavily into the leather, reclined the seats, and savored our Asian pear slushies. And wouldn't you know it, it started pouring shortly after the bus pulled out. Dinner tonight was sushi, Korean style. What a treat! Fresh fish on a huge bed of glass noodles. The local fish was very different from Japanese sushi, full flavored and dense versus the delicate flavor with which I'm more familiar. Of course being in Korea, we had to cap off our evening at a Soju lounge, so we headed to Apgujong (like Rodeo Drive) in search of a place called Ahn (peace). We selected yogurt soju and pineapple soju, which arrived as a large concoction within a hollow pineapple seated in a bowl of dry ice. What a production! Fortunately, it tasted as good as it looked. What a day! Off to Japan tomorrow.

Thursday
As we had a 10:15 AM flight to catch, I dragged myself out of bed at 5:00 to get in a run. On our way to Seoraksan, I had noticed a nicely paved bike path along the Han River. After a little searching, I found the entrance next to a bridge and got in a nice run along the river. Although dark and drizzly, it was meditative to getting lost in my surroundings, listening to the quiet power of the river flowing. Based on the km markers, I think I got in about 7 miles at a good clip. We caught the 7:15AM airport shuttle, but due to unbelievable morning traffic, we arrived at the airport at 9:45. Check-in and immigration was nerve racking, but we both caught our flights with time to spare. In fact, I don't think I've ever made it through in 15 minutes. Tonight's culinary adventure is my favorite tempura place, Tsunahachi. Some interesting history on tempura: "Before the mid-sixteenth century, the Japanese had no deep-fried food, and little fried food. Tempura was introduced to Japan in the mid-sixteenth century by early Portuguese visitors. The word tempura may be derived from the Portuguese noun tempero, meaning a condiment or seasoning, or from the verb temperar, meaning "to season". There is still today a dish in Portugal very similar to tempura called peixinhos da horta, 'garden fishies'." Food just seems to taste better with a little history behind it! Our chef even spoke English well enough to describe each dish to us. It was fascinating watching him work; he really babied the deep fryer, much like a neonatal nurse does with a newborn. Every piece came out perfectly fried, light and pale gold on the outside; juicy and succulent on the inside.

Friday
We finally reached the raison d'etre of our trip. My grandmother has been having some chronic hip pain, so a trip to the hot spring was just what the doctor ordered. My parents were planning on visiting her, but she had no idea that we were coming as well. Our final destination was the resort town of Izu-Inatori, on the east coast of the Izu Peninsula. Before getting on the train, we made a brief pit stop at the Daimaru food court to stock up on some Japanese goodies (can you believe the $5 apple?). The trip down offered up some great scenery of the coastline, which was a great backdrop to lunch. When we arrived at the our hotel, I was just unprepared for the look of surprise on my grandmother's face. She was slack-jawed for a good minute; that alone was worth the trans-pacific trip! After a spot of afternoon tea, we checked into our rooms and headed straight for the onsen (hot spring). If you've never experienced onsen before, its a sex-separate nude affair. Being Japanese, the facilities are spotless. There's even a guy who's sole job is to take your slippers, wipe them down with disinfectant, and then lay them down in a row. After a cleansing shower, you have the option of either the indoor or outdoor bath. On the heels of a hard training week, there was nothing better than just laying out in the hot spring, soaking up the clean seaside air. I could run 60+ miles for weeks if I could to do this every other evening. Dinner tonight was in a tatami room. Dishes were brought in that I had never seen before. This hotel's specialty is the "dancing abalone," which I will admit is a bit cruel for a dish. Fresh, live abalone is served on a cold hibachi stone grill. The charcoals are lit and the abalone proceeds to put on dance show while still on its shell. I think if I had liked abalone, I would have been less struck by the cruelty of the dish. After dinner, we ventured outside in our yukatas to work off the meal. Here's my dad and I doing our best Marilyn Monroe impression.

Saturday
I woke up with a scratchy throat this morning. I thought it was just the dry air, but it turned out to be worse. Unfazed, I set off early to do my weekly long run and in the process, explore the coastline from Inatori down to Shimoda. It was still dark when I set out, so the roads were relatively clear. I had to remind myself to run on the right side of the road, because cars drive on the left here. The run was hilly, but the ocean views were fantastic. The route took me along inlets that dotted the coast, and one larger size community where I watched a couple surfers negotiate the waves. The tunnels were a little hairy, as there were no sidewalks, so the exhaust sounds were magnified. I really thought I was going to get run over a couple times. I ran for about an hour south, made it to the outskirts of Shimoda, and then turned around for the return journey. I ended up averaging a 7:39 for 15+ miles, and the temperature was just right. Hard to imagine a more beautiful route. I made a beeline for the hot spring room and jumped right into the ice cold bath for a post-run soak. Breakfast was quite a treat, although I don't think I could name a single dish. After one more soak in the onsen, it was time to catch our train back to Tokyo. The ride back to Tokyo involved a lot sleeping. On the menu tonight was tonkatsu, at the oldest tonkatsu restaurant in Tokyo, Honke Ponta. One of the curious characteristics of many Japanese restaurants is their singular focus on preparing one dish perfectly. This is certainly the case here, and the owners know this: their hours of operation are only from 11-2pm and 4:30-8pm. Clearly, work does not get in the way of life. The fried pork was better than the tempura we had Thursday night, and the hand-cut shreds of cabbage looked like they had come from a deli slicer. Following dinner, we took the Tokyo subway to Roppongi to explore the swank new shopping/entertainment/residential complex of Roppongi Hills.

Sunday
Ah.... the trip has come to a close. My wife and I spent the morning exploring Ueno Park in our running shoes. It brought back memories of my grandfather taking me to the Ueno Zoo when I was not even 10. I remember how much I used to hate Japan when I first moved here and now, I don't want to leave. We spent the last hour or so wandering through a toy store near the Ueno train station, and then sipped on Starbucks coffee as we recounted the trip with my parents. For the first time on this trip, there were no travel incidents on the way to the airport. While waiting for our flights, we shared a last taste of Japanese sushi before boarding our flight home. Even the flight back was great... I got to catch up on all the movies I'd missed during the summer. I'm glad I didn't spend money on Shrek 3 or Ocean's 13 because they were a bit rehashed.

So the trip, in summary, was a cultural cornucopia of East Asia. I don't think I've ever crammed so much into 6 days of traveling. Like I said, now body is on strike. Let's hope this doesn't get worse.

Recap of the week
Mon: off
Tue: 8 miles @ 8:30, tough run in the rain up and down Namsan
Wed: off
Thu: 7.2 miles @ 7:48, easy run along the Han River
Fri: off
Sat: 15.7 miles @ 7:39, hilly run along the coastline of Izu Peninsula
Sun: 5.5 miles @ 10:54, recovery run in Ueno Park
Total: 36.4 miles

Its cool to see these exotic locales in my running log.

Plan for next week 9/24-30
Mon: AM - pool & core, PM - 7 miles EZ
Tue: 12 miles including interval work w/ BAA
Wed: AM - pool & core, PM - 6 miles EZ
Thu: AM - 10 miles @ MP
Fri: off
Sat: 22 miles w/ 10 @ MP
Sun: 6 miles EZ
Total: 63 miles

Hampton Beach or Bust! Week of 9/10-16

Wow! What a week?!?! This is my favorite time of the year to run in New England, and nothing gets me more excited than the arrival of the Reach the Beach Relay. Not only is it a great excuse to take a day off from work, but it marks the beginning of the fall running season. Let me put in a quick recap of the week leading up to the relay, and then I'll get on with the relay report.

Mon: AM - 30 min pool run; PM - 7.0 miles @ 7:59, easy run on a very hilly course, relay prep
Tue: AM - 5 miles @ 7:57, easy run, stride felt smooth
PM - 9.4 miles including 2 x (1200, 800, 1200) @ 5:36, intervals felt good, surprised I could hold the pace
Wed: Noon - 8.6 miles @ 7:25, slightly faster run, but felt very comfortable; PM - short game of pick-up basketball
Thu: off, travel day
Fri: AM - 1st leg 7.7 miles, PM - 2nd leg 8.2 miles
Sat: AM - 3rd leg 8.6 miles, PM - total 3m w/u and c/d for legs
Sun: rest
Total: 59 miles

I squeezed a good chunk of miles at the beginning of the week so I could get close to 60 this week. It was a good solid running week leading up to the relay, so I knew I was in good shape.

RELAY REPORT
For the uninitiated, Reach the Beach (RTB), is a 200 mile relay race through the mountains of New Hampshire comprised of 36 legs spread between 12 runners. It traditionally starts at a ski resort (this year it was Cannon Mountain), and finishes at Hampton Beach. You can find a longer description of the relay here. This is my 2nd year doing the relay, and with 11 out of 12 runners returning (the 12th being a runner's boyfriend), we were all comfortable with each other. I still can't put my finger on why I get so juiced about this relay, but part of it maybe that running for me is normally such a solitary endeavor that my craving for a team activity has finally been quenched. If you have not considered doing one, there is nothing like it! One of the coolest running experiences for me is running down a highway with nothing but moonlight and the steady beat of your safety light to guide your path. Of course, there is nothing quite as painful, but at the same time gratifying, as gutting out your last leg on three hours of sleep.

The relay course went through some major changes this year, so when it came time to select my leg, I had nothing to go on except distance. So, I picked Leg 3 because it had the most cumulative mileage at 24.5 miles. Little did I know that I ended up with the "hero" leg. If you read on, you'll find out why.

1st Leg: Leg 3, 7.8 miles - 10:15AM, Friday
The beauty of this leg lay in its simplicity.... grab the baton and head straight uphill. Prior to the course change, the "hero" leg was the opening leg of the relay. The first runner would charge straight up one of the ski runs at Bretton Woods, and then turn around and run straight back down. The website described it as, "the toughest 5K you will ever run." With the exception of the most fit runners, no one made it through the leg without doing some walking. The new "hero" leg was not quite as steep, but it more than made up for it in length. Over the course of almost 8 miles, I was facing a continuous climb of more than 1700 ft along the famed Kancamangus Highway.
I picked up the baton from Ramses (leg 2 runner) and settled into what felt like marathon pace effort. The first 20 minutes were pretty comfortable. I keyed on runners that were ahead of me and slowly started to reel them in. This distraction kept me going for about 30 minutes, at which point maintaining the pace started to become more challenging. At one point, I passed a masters runner and gave him some words of encouragement. He fired back with a challenge, "Are you trying to show me up?" I still don't know why he got so fired up, but he proceeded to keep pace with me for about 200m, at which point he declared, "I can't keep this up." While we're on the subject of strange comments, another guy I passed yelled out, "Don't hurt yourself." There was great crowd support from the other teams along the entire leg.
50 minutes into the leg and the lactic acid was really starting to kick in. I thought I was averaging about a 7:30 mile, which worked out to an ETA of around 57 minutes. By 55 minutes, I was craning my neck around each turn hoping Josh would be standing there ready to rescue me. Is it getting steeper? Is there a headwind? Is the lack of oxygen making me loopy? The exchange zone finally came into view over a long straightaway, and I was so happy to hand off the baton. Bar none the hardest 8 mile run I have ever done. Here's a pic of me from the leg; it must have been early on in the leg because I'm still smiling.
Leg split - 1:01:09 (7:47/mile)

2nd Leg: Leg 15, 8.2 miles - 7:15PM, Friday
I don't know what it is about this relay, but I find myself more nervous before legs than most races I enter, even though its not "technically" a race. Maybe its because I build suspense into each leg by seeing how many runners I can pass. My second leg had the added incentive of possibly putting us into 1st place on the road. When Aaron (see pic), our 1st runner, got the baton from Van 2, we estimated that we were between 13th-15th place. When he handed off to Ramses, we were in 8th place. Ramses ran an equally blazing leg, passing another 5 runners. Meanwhile, I was waiting nervously in parking lot watching two runners go by and trying to estimate how much of a time gap I would have to make up. I was rearing to go when Ramses rounded the bend. This leg had a net elevation drop, so I knew I could fly. I caught the 2nd place runner about halfway through the leg. The leg itself was beautiful, taking us along Squam Lake, which seemed to disperse the moonlight and emit a soft glow. It gradually went from twilight when I started to almost pitch black. Like I said before, there is nothing cooler than running the night time leg. I kept pushing the tempo, but was never able to reel in the last runner. That task was left to Josh, who displayed some admirable trash-talking on his leg. After being passed by the same runner on his 1st leg, he ardently pursued her on this leg, kept paced with her up a steep incline, and then proceeded to overtake her while having the presence of mind to say, "Hills are where are shine." Here' s my semi-artistic rendition (or just poor photography) of our team in 1st place.
Leg split - 54:17 (6:37/mile)


3rd Leg: Leg 27, 8.6 miles - 7:15AM, Saturday
After a restless night of sleep in Bear Brook Lake Park, we dragged our weary bodies into the minivan and set off on our final leg. Light showers had set in towards the end of the night, and it was a full on downpour by the time it came to run my final leg. Fortunately, light had also returned, making the leg a bit more bearable. Regardless of when you do your last leg, it's always a gut check. Aaron handed off the baton and promptly declared, "I'm done with Reach the Beach. That leg just wasn't fun." He was of course smiling as he said this, showing again that you never know what to expect from a guy that spent most of the relay driving the minivan with a Darth Vader mask shouting out choice phrases like, "sexy time with Darth Vader." As for me, my mind was revved up for the last leg, but my body just wanted to go back to sleep. It's oddly reminiscent of sitting down for the last final exam of the semester after pulling an all-nighter. I set off at marathon pace effort again, and found that my body was shocked into playing along by mile 2. The rest of the leg was relatively comfortable except for a short, steep hill at mile 5. The Gogo Girls, headed by the indefatigable Audrey (see right), kindly provided mileage marks so I knew how much further I had to go. After making a left turn, the final stretch of the leg is a long downhill. So I picked it up a notch. Unfortunately, my own van was waylaid behind some slow vans, so I was left waiting at the exchange zone for a minute or two. I felt surprisingly good at the end of my leg and was looking forward to a hearty breakfast of real food. Here's the final exchange from our van... note, we're still smiling!
Leg split - 56:08 (6:29/mile)


Another relay draws to a close. I always get a little nostalgic at the end. I guess it's not totally unexpected after sharing such an intense experience for 30 some odd hours with 11 other people who are equally passionate about running. We got to the beach faster than we did last year, despite losing our fastest woman.
Chasing Amy - 29:16:07 (8:31/mile), 61/154 Mixed Open Category

In total, I put in close 59 miles this week. After three high mileage weeks, I'm heading into a cutback week, which perfectly coincides with my vacation week. It should be interesting trying to fit in runs with all the traveling. Ryan somehow manages to do that and work, so I have no excuses.

Game plan for week of 9/17-23:
Mon - still on the plane, maybe core work
Tue - AM: 7-8 miles
Wed - rest
Thu - AM: 7-8 miles
Fri - rest
Sat - AM: 15-16 miles
Sun - AM: 5-6 miles
Total: 34-37 miles

1st ever 60+ week: Week of 9/3 - 9/9

So I did it this week! After years of thinking that my body couldn't handle more than 60 miles in a week, I took the plunge. Explored a new frontier. I have been planning on averaging 60 mpw for 3 out of the 4 weeks of September, but I still wasn't sure how my body would react. Last week was pretty exhausting between doing the extra biking and driving back and forth between Boston and the Cape twice.

Here's a recap of the week:
Mon - 10 miles in 1:04:35 (6:27 pace) - Laborious Labor Day 10 miler - see below for report
2.2 mile cool down - keeping my wife company
Tue - AM: 20 min. pool run, exhausted
PM: 6.7 miles @ 8:17 - nice easy recovery run, legs feeling better
Wed - AM: 10.2 miles including 6x800m, 4x400m @ 5:53 pace - legs were dead
PM: 6.1 miles @ 9:30 - easy recovery run with wife, felt lightheaded at the end
Thu - AM: 30 min pool run, 30 min. core exercises
PM: bagged the afternoon run; way too tired
Fri - off!
Sat - 20.2 miles @ 7:41 - 9 miles easy, 9 miles @ MP (6:48), 2 miles easy - awesome run!
Sun - 5.8 miles @ 8:26 - easy recovery run, felt great

Total: 61.3 miles!

Coming on the heels of my 18 miler on Sunday, I really wasn't sure how I would handle the 10 mile race on Monday. I decided to do it on a whim mostly because I was trying to get my wife to get in her long run, as she will be joining me for the BAA Half Marathon in 4 weeks. Since it was so last minute, and since my legs were really fatigued, I didn't think this race really warranted a stand-alone race report. So, I'll keep it short. The race itself was small, 40+ entrants; entry fee was 10 canned goods to benefit the local food pantry. Awesome...low key race and a good cause to boot. My game plan was to go out at a reasonable tempo pace, re-evaluate at the halfway point, and save some energy for the ridiculous hill at mile 8 (check out the route!). Everything went according to plan and I had some company starting around mile 5. I let him take the lead going into the monster hill, pulled away midway up the hill, and extended my lead on the downhill. Overall, I felt great despite not having much pop in my legs. I was also surprised to find myself only 19 seconds off my PR effort at the Yankee Homecoming 10 miler. I hope this is a sign of good things to come.

The next two days were about slogging it out. The pool and recovery run on Tuesday helped. Wednesday was pretty rough with the AM intervals. I think I was running low on fuel by the afternoon, because I started feeling lightheaded during the evening recovery run with my wife. Given my physical state and the fact that when I included Sunday's 18 miler, I had put it in 50+ miles in the span of four days, the easy days on Thursday and Friday were a welcome respite. It was partly strategic, too, because I knew Saturday's run was going to be a tough test.

Saturday's run was a planned 20 mile fast finish run with my Boston Fit folks. We met at the Minuteman Bikeway. The plan was to run from Alewife to Bedford for 9 miles at an easy pace, then turn around and pick it up to marathon pace for another 9 miles, followed by a gentle 2 mile cool down. This was going to be a serious shaking out to see if a sub-6:50 pace is doable for the marathon. The easy run out felt great, and I was feeling pretty spry going into the marathon pace portion. The 1st 3 miles felt really smooth, but middle 3 miles got tougher as the temperature started to rise. However, I hit a mental switch around 7 miles, when it became apparent that I could hold the pace to the end. I think I could have held that pace for another 2-3 miles, but I was happy to shut it down for the cool down. Overall, the workout is a good indication that a sub-3 hour marathon is well within reach!

Highlight of the week: Despite two great workouts (10 mile race and 20 mile fast finish) and hitting 60 miles for the week, the highlight of my week was actually the warm-up run before the intervals on Wednesday. My friend coerced me out of bed for 6:30 AM, but I was rewarded with an incredibly serene morning. No cars.... and I even ran by a flock of wild turkeys ambling through the front yards of Brookline.

Game Plan for next week (9/10-16):
Mon - AM: 30 min pool run, core training
PM: 6-7 miles recovery
Tue - AM: 5 miles easy
PM: 10 miles including intervals
Wed - AM: 8-9 miles easy
PM: core training
Thu - 5 miles recovery
Fri - 16 miles (2 legs), Reach the Beach!
Sat - 8 miles (3rd leg), Reach the Beach
Sun - vacation, flying to Seoul
Total - 60 miles

Reach the Beach has finally arrived. I've been looking forward to this for the entire summer, and now that it's finally here, I have to say I'm getting a little nervous even though it's not really race. It's gotta be the spending 30+ hours with 6 other equally sweaty people! OK, gotta run!

August in Review

Whew! The month of August has just flown by... and now summer is over. Permit me to wax philosophical for a just a minute. I really don't know where summer goes these days. Growing up, summer seemed to last for an eternity... now its just another season in the inexorable rush of time.

Weekly Distance Totals (miles) Jul 30, 2007, to Sep 2, 2007 Printer-friendly graph Sport: Running Workout: all Route: all
Week of	44.25 |	46.75 |	49.25 |	51.75 |	54.25 |	56.75 |
Jul 30, 2007	52.50
Aug 6, 2007	53.57
Aug 13, 2007	54.10
Aug 20, 2007	44.25
Aug 27, 2007	51.40