18 weeks down, Marathon on Sunday.
I'll give more information later today and earlier tomorrow on race tracking, etc.
Just quick "hello", now... and a recognition that the day is nigh.

Speed and endurance to all.

The taper to the marathon continues:
Six miles last night, and only three miles tonight.

Riding a bike, along with marathon training, is really making me tired. My legs are more tired than during peak training, and I'm hungrier and more physically tired than previously in training, too. Seriously going to look into taking it easy, and laying down the bike for a little while... at least until the marathon. Because also however insignificant, the bike draws on calories that I'm supposed to be saving right now.

Hey, mates.

First day of classes, today, and a quick four miler. This is the second week of tapering... only four miles today, six miles tomorrow, and a measly three on Thursday.

A quick note--ran with the New Balance on the four miler last Thursday... and they actually felt really good! Maybe even more comfortable than my Asics. Maybe it was just running on a treadmill... idk. Treadmill or no, they felt noticeably lighter than the Asics. Stiffer, yes, but not unpleasantly so. I think they might've just needed to be broken in a little more.

Ran pretty fast for part of the four today. Felt good.

PS-Welcome, Facebook newcomers. You're my favorite.

Been a little too long...

20 miles on Saturday actually went very well.

At the end, I wasn't anywhere near as trashed as I was at the end of that hilly 18 miles three weeks ago. In fact, I reckon that I could've run another 6.2 miles...

Running on the Towpath Trail after running on pavement for weeks can be likened to driving a Mercedes or Lexus after living your life in a Chevy Cobalt. Cinders are wonderful to run on. They're so plush... this, combined with the excellent cushioning in my Cumulus', makes for a comfortable 20 miles of cruising. I'd also misremembered the Towpath Trail as being uncomfortably sunny. This couldn't be further from the truth. The shade/sun ratio is probably a little over 50/50 in favor of shade. Most of the trail, in fact, is wooded.

Definitely running here again.

Electrolyte chew strategy: This run, I tried to chew one every two miles, and down the rest of the package at the very end.

Bloks!!!!!

This worked pretty well. I'll probably stick to it for the marathon.

The next three weeks are all taper. i.e. that 20 mile run was the longest I'll run before the marathon. The program is laid out so that my peak milage (last week's) is cut by 25%, 50%, and then 75% in coming weeks. Today is a 5 miler, tomorrow 8 miler... and I don't know about the rest of the week. But next week is much less, and then the week of the marathon I should be running only as many miles as during the first week of training.

Quick update--

This week is my peak week of training... I ran 5 miles today, run 10 tomorrow, and will run 5 on Thursday. The crown jewel is a 20 mile run Sunday, for which I'm planning to run the length of the Towpath Trail.

The Cumulus 11's are kickin' it, and I'm loving them. They're so cushy, and are probably one of the cooler looking pairs of shoes that I've owned. I still haven't yet returned the New Balance... I'm waiting for a short run to test them again. It seems fun to have a second pair of shoes so that I can switch it up every once in awhile... but then I wonder why I'd ever switch if the Asics work so well.

(If you want an answer to that question, I'm considering that I don't want certain muscles in my legs to atrophy as a result of being pampered by one pair of lovely, cushy shoes day in and day out.)

Looking forward to the taper that comes with the approach of the marathon.

One more thing. If you've been reading, and haven't yet donated to the cause, I'd really appreciate if you'd consider donating. The parent site for this is (if you didn't know already) diggsy.net, and there's a link there that'll guide you to the ACS donation site.

Sure, I'm still $280 from my $900 goal.... but more importantly, the American Cancer Society is a seriously important organization, and I'm proud to be running for them.

My affiliation with this group means that this marathon bid isn't just for me and you.

Thanks so much.

Rest day.

Tomato pie is pretty good.

Skipped my nine miles last night to hang with my brother in Columbus.

Back on it tonight, with a five miler.

Excitement is sort of building. And I'm eating and sleeping to excess.

I usually don't post these things, but I just like this picture.

Cecile visited for Labor Day.

Mates--Shhhh. I bought two new pairs of shoes...

...New Balance 758's

...and Asics Cumulus 11's.

The New Balance were purchased first--they're pretty firm, and are actually a little bouncy to run in.

Not completely satisfied with the NB's, I went for the next generation of my favorite trainer, the Cumulus'. 18 hilly miles later, I can say with confidence that the Cumulus is the right shoe for my foot and gait. 50/50 right now on whether I keep the NB's. It's sort of fun to switch shoes every once in a while.

Speaking of those 18 miles. This past Saturday was my first 18 miler.

Stupidly, I chose a really difficult course, ran close to midday, and as a result was totally totally spent by the end of the run. Sidewalks weren't present for most of the course, so I had to jump around treelawns next to traffic. Most of the way home, I was running some variation of uphill. The grand finale 3 miles was basically one big hill, of increasing difficulty. There was even a trail section.

Really, I think the 18 hilly miles ran like 22 flat miles.

Needless to say, the 20 miler next week will be on an easier course.

Pronation, etc.

Decided to go on Runner's World, and found that there's a lot more to pronation than I mentioned:

http://runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-240-319-327-7727-0,00.html

I don't like to misinform. I think I got basics right... and I provided sources. But I think I'd take this source over those.

If you care, please enjoy.

More later today. 18 miles this Saturday!

Maybe new shoes later today, because my Ghosts have shrunk and now may be cramping my feet.

Hello, company.

If you were in Strongsville on Pearl, 82, or Prospect and drove past a nearly naked kid running through the rain--you caught a glimpse of me, just closing off my first 16 mile run. Next time, stop and say hi. I'll appreciate the gesture.

Casualties of the run:

iPhone... he got way way too wet during that rainstorm, and now is all glitchy. i.e. keeps turning on and off and on again, without pausing on a friendly "hello" screen. Hopefully he'll turn back on again. Because if he doesn't, I'll have to shell out some serious cash that could've been used for splitting a netbook with Cece, to buy a new phone. Ouch.

My use of "gels". (FYI, when I say "gel", I mean basically these little packets of gel-consistency pure sugar, mixed with some salts that your body loses when it sweats). I drove on over to Vertical Runner in Hudson, OH (where I bought my teensy running shorts) and got schooled by the main employee that day on my /not/ using gels. The conversation went something like this:

Me-Hi.... I'm thinking of trying these gels out. Last run, I felt some fatigue from lack of sugar in the last few miles. Any suggestions? I don't want to get hooked on them...

Employee-Why don't you use them?

Me-Well, I guess I don't want to bother, and I don't want to get hooked. Run fast with them, slower without.

Employee-You mean you don't want to FUEL yourself?

Me-...........

Me-Um. Okay.

I bought some gels. They were a hassle. They're a pain to eat while you're running, and juggling them and water without any sort of little fanny pack... ugh. I /was/ able to run faster at the end of my run today.... but it isn't worth it. Really.

I'm going to try the chewable blocks next week. I'm guessing they'll be more manageable.

This coming week is a stepback week... I'll be taking it easy, and living it up.

Sorry---no pictures, today. iPhone is toast for now.

Fingers crossed that he gets better.

Out, and clothed. Diggsy.

8 miles before breakfast and water is a very bad idea. Totaly exhausted for a few hours but give it another hour and I'll be ready to go again.

4 miles tomorrow.

Oh. And let's hear it for the fact that grocery stores everywhere are now playing Jack Johnson. Very grateful for that.

4 hours until 15 miles... Jon krause---I'm running to your house from mine.

Last Day in Madison.

4 miles felt good.

I skipped weight training because I wanted to skip it.

I still did the core workout.

15 miles Sunday.

Seven

Seven "plus a little" miles in the arboretum last night felt refreshing. It was great to run the trails and think that I'll be back in Ohio soon. Mind you, there were a ton of other thoughts thrown in for good measure. I was able to get some good stretching in afterwards, too, so I feel limber and ready to go for today's four miles.

Four miles today, and then a 2pmish departure from Madison tomorrow... Sweet.

I'll probably be switching my Saturday and Sunday activities this week... Usually, long runs are supposed to happen on Saturdays and cross training (biking, walking, swimming, etc.) on Sunday. But we'll be stopping in Chicago on our way back, and I don't want to run in the afternoon heat... and the morning should be pretty full. So I'll go on a bike ride with Cece Saturday morning, and then run the Metroparks (or some other massive variation... Towpath?) on Sunday.

Sunset in Ohio... Hmm. This should be nice.

24 hours to go.

Thwarted, yet again.

3.0 miles today, at a little faster pace than usual... the rec center pulled a fast one on me changed its hours in this flux time in Madison (it's moving week... leases end and begin) and started closing at 8pm.

So, I didn't have any time to strength train. Just a hurried 3.0 miles before close, and then back to the abode.

Tomorrow, 7.0 miles. It'll feel great. Probably going to run to the Arboretum, around the loop, and then walk back. Maybe I'll take an iPhone photo.

Hellooooo team!

10 miles never happened this past weekend. Juggling diet and exercise and circadian rhythm slips... I thought I'd just collapse back into the previously posted sickness.

But this morning, I had to jog because I was late for something... Holy cow. It was so comfortable. It felt so natural, and like something I'd been missing.

So needless to say, I'm stoked for even my meager three mile portion tomorrow.

Home to Ohio this weekend (WOOHOO) and then 15 miles on Saturday.... 15 miles! Wow. If you'd told me all of this 10 years ago, I would've first asked for ice cream, and then hit you (or something like that). Two years ago, even...

It's actually working, guys. How cool is that?

A shot of my bike... in its present condition.

Check one two

Quick new post

Hi, all.

Just jotting down a quick post update.

The training has been going well--getting thinner, but also building more muscle. Weight training seems to be keeping up its end of the deal, and running isn't turning me as sticklike as I'd anticipated.

This week was a step-back week, but it'll be followed by the 15 miles next week and 16 the week after. Getting up there, right? The peak run during training is 20 miles, which will come about four weeks from now. You can pretty much assume that I'll be running my weekends in a linear progression (14mi, 15mi, 16mi, etc.) save for step-back weeks, during which I run less overall.

Had Jamba Juice's oatmeal two weeks ago, and forgot to post about it. It was incredible. I need to buy some steel cut oats and do more than microwave water to splash on them.

Half down, half to go.

10.53am CST; Monday August 3, 2009

So this past weekend, I ran longer than I ever have before. Somewhere between 12 and 14 miles... I think that it was closer to 14. And you know what??? It was actualy pretty painless. I wasn't completely out of energy at the end, wasn't hurting all over, and I wasn't even dead fatigued on Sunday. I felt a little bit of tightness in my calves at the end of the run, but that's pretty much be to expected.

Now for a little edu-buh-cation.

As hinted in a previous entry (last Saturday), the way legs align, and the way feet hit the ground during a running step is extremely important. Hence, serious training requires serious footwear. Buying the wrong footwear can seriously affect a runner's performance by misaligning joints, etc. Which leads to strange pains and aches, and can stop training dead in its tracks. Hence, purchasing the correct footwear is ultra-important. This means that being willing to shell out $100+ for a pair of shoes. But in the long run, given the impressive list of health benefits from running, and its relative low cost w/r/t other activities, $100+ is really a bargain.

So what am I getting at? Last time I was at home, a couple weeks into the Madison extravaganza, I bought a new pair of shoes. I thought they were perfect for my step and gait (Brooks Infiniti 2's). But a few weeks into their use, I started having some serious pain in my left knee (more on runner's knee in later entries).

The shoes and my cashew butter and banana sandwich. DTW, flight from home to Madi.

At the suggestion of a friend from last summer (Fr. José Pimentel, Dominican priest extraordinaire), I stepped into my older Asics Cumulus 10's. The pain magically disappeared.

But the shoes are really pretty close to being shot. So I took a trek to may well be the best running store ever (Movin Shoes, in Madison) and took a look at some kicks.

Boxes and boxes of shoes were opened and tested and rejected. And in the end, Brooks' Ghost was the winner.

The best part?

$64. Total. Movin' Shoes automatically takes 10% off the MSRP (just because they can... this is one reason why Movin' Shoes is the greatest running store ever). But this was last years' model, and there was a sale going on. $64. So amazing. I won't bore you all with how cool the Ghosts are, how light they are, and how they distinguish themselves from most of Brooks' models (which is already my favorite brand of running shoe... based on company philosphy, environmental measures, and yes... their marketing).

Pictures!

Metra sweet Metra: Chicago's private public transport.

A friend of mine.

Now you know what covers my feet when I'm running.

Next weekend... 15 miles. Sweet.

Playlist:

Sleeping at Last - Storyboards

Last.fm - Manchester Orchestra Radio

THWARTED!!!

9.19pm CST; Tuesday July 28, 2009

Madison, WI

Thwarted. I've been thwarted.

Guys... I usually eat nuts and berries, with a side of bark. (I also like cakes and pies, but that doesn't matter here). This past weekend, I was visited by my Uncle Ray and Jason (brother). Totally spectacular weekend that involved lots of planning for visiting a firing range next time, and lots and lots of Family Guy and The Office. Also a spectacular weekend in that I ate things like whole pizzas and massive hamburgers.

For those of you who aren't quite 2+2'ers... nuts+berries≠pizza, etc.

It started yesterday with a runny nose, and today it's in full force. I"m totally sick, with a warm forehead and a runny nose.

i.e. My workout plans for today (3 miles, with some strength training) have been thwarted. Arrrrgh. No worries, though... I can miss a workout every once in awhile. So long as it isn't one of the weekend workouts.

This also thwarts my plans for a massive bike-trek to the mall on the west side of Madison. No more casual white buttondowns... =(.

Here's a picture of a sunset I took next to next to Lake Mendota.

Soak up the strange wording.

Best.

Number Two... Finally online.

11.13pm CST; Monday July 27, 2009

Madison, WI

Well... I guess the first unveiling was sort of veiled... I never really informed anyone that I released the site, so it never happened.

Posts should usually be shorter than last time and this time, but I'll do my best to offer photos, etc. I'm still in the process of getting the site up and running... but doing so is something that requires both motivation and alotted time. And while I have free time outside of work, I've got a few things I need to divide this free time between.

Bigger and better things.

Yesterday was the longest distance I've ever run... somewhere between 12 and 13 miles. I took some substantial walking breaks. Not because I was tired, but because I received an important phone call (Cece is in Philippines right now, and I hadn't spoken with her in awhile). Also, my training program (Hal Higdon's, Novice 1) suggests learning to walk when taking drinks.

Hmm. I guess that was also a sort of special part of the run. My first ever, carrying a water bottle. I picked up a cute little kids' spill-proof bottle from Jamba Juice. Works really well.

The aftermath?

Well.. My quadriceps were more sore today than I've ever experienced. Which is to be expected. From the little bits of knowledge that Mr. Higdon offers along with his daily workouts, I've gathered that after 26.2 miles, quadriceps are usually what go.

Marathoners shuffle across the finish line.

I was also dead fatigued today... Actually bought a G2 Gatorade from the vending machine in an effort to get my body started again. Fatigue is a funny thing... it isn't quite tiredness and isn't quite a worn-down feeling in the body. It's more of an overall lethargy. I'd never experienced it until last summer (When it happened last summer, I had no idea what was wrong. In retrospect, it's pretty funny.).

Other news... I saw the movie corresponding to the following trailer this evening.

Enjoy:

Post numero Uno: The Runner's Knee
12.53pm CST; Saturday July 18, 2009
Chicago, IL

Six weeks into training, I'm finally unveiling (if you can call it even that) my website, and this training blog.
You'll have to excuse it all for right now... the code is ultra-sloppy, and the navigation links at the top of the page won't work for awhile (untile I have time to set up the rest of the site), but at least we've gotten this blog up, no? This is also my first-ever website, and first-ever attempt at code. So we'll see how it goes. (Many thanks to thrice.net for letting mesnipe their CSS source code. It helped, even if mine doesn't at all resemble theirs in the least.)

It's actually really interesting, how my body is adapting to its newer, higher stress environment. The most noticeable is probably how much I've learned to pay attention to my gait.

After doing some research I discovered that my normally bouncy step was a sign of having poor posture. And running training for and running a marathon with poos posture is a recipe for disaster. I won't go into all the details here, but essentially I shortened my step and tried running with more of an emphasis on hitting the ground first with my midfoot instead of my heel (more on this later).

Also. Hours of running give me time to listen to my step. As is the case for most people, each of my feet has a different stride from the other.
My left foot hits the ground fairly evenly (so my instep and outsteps hit the ground simultaneously). This is called "neutral pronation". But whenever I run, I hear the sound of two steps whenever I put my right foot down. I never understoods this until recently.
It seems that my outstep hits the ground far before my instep, which creates two pavement-slapping sounds. (The concept of the outstep hitting first is called "supination").

It's fine to have this kind of step. It's just the way I run. But I hadn't understood it until now.

Every third week in my training I have a "stepback" week, where I run slower and for fewer miles than the rest of the weeks. This was one such week. I'm pulling a John Kerry and flip-flopping my long run from Saturday to Sunday this week, and doing some weight training this afternoon.

Let's just hope I don't pull a George Double U and run the seven miles tomorrow too fast. 12 miles next Saturday (woohoo).

Now for life. In Chicago this weekend... I had a meeting with an architect on Friday (Leigh Breslau, at SOM), so I'm happy to be spending the weekend. Went out to dinner last night with Cece's roommate and saw "Up". Really sweet movie. Smuggled Snapple and Green and Black's (dark chocolate) past security.

Ironic, given the role of chocolate in the movie.