Getting back to Boston

New brand of torture from Brad Hudson tonight. Five miles easy, then alternating miles at MP-15 and MP+60, total of 15 miles. Pretty much nailed it as planned, after giving my legs a day off Monday. Ran 4 easy to start, so I could try to get the speedwork done before it got too dark to see my watch. Goal was 7:35 for the fast miles, 8:50 for the slow ones. Averaged 7:35.2 for the fast, 8:42 for the slow. Then cooled down with an extra mile to get to the total of 15. Total time 2:09 and change.

Definitely would not have wanted to try this workout after working until 7 p.m., but had early admit duties and ER was slow, so got to leave early. Waited until almost 5 anyway, hoping it would cool down some; high was pushing 70. Wasn't too bad anyway, then it cooled pretty quickly once the sun started to set. It was probably low 50s when I finished at 7:15ish.

I think I do a similar workout in a couple of weeks, although with the fast miles a little slower (and more of them) and the slow miles a little faster. Definitely built some confidence tonight though.

Easy 6, hard 2 around the tennis courts. Whole thing was a progression, really, but put the hammer down for a lap and a third. Took about an hour-15. Legs not too bad after the tough 15 last night. Back in time to eat and watch hoops.

Workout fail tonight. Schedule called for 2K @ 10KP, immediately followed by 1K @ 5KP, times 4 (I think; I'll have to go back and look). Quickly determined that 5KP was not happening tonight with these legs, so dropped that part of it. Even 10KP was a major struggle. Then during the second rep, I started getting some twinges. Decided the possible benefits weren't worth the risk. Then jogged out three more miles to finish with 8.25, only that "jog" was at 8:30 pace and very comfortable. If MP feels that comfortable in Boston, I'll be in good shape.

Couple of developments today on the social scene. Last one first. When I got to the track tonight at 7, the stadium lights were on, a lot of cars in the lot and a lot of people leaving the stadium to get in their cars. And they were all women. A few more women were still inside, some walking laps around the track, and I saw lots of the departees carrying water bottles. I'm presuming this is some kind of a women's fitness group. If this is going to be a regular Thursday night thing, this will be an excellent place to meet fitness-minded women. Some of whom might actually be single :)

Then this morning. I'm making rounds, sitting in the work room on 6 West, and Connie's there. Connie's the nurse who asked me back in November if I were single; answer at that point was "not yet." She asked the same question today. Answer: "I am now." So she proceeds to inform me that she's going to fix me up, and there's a new nurse she wants me to meet. Liza's there, to make it even better. So she brings in the new nurse, named Kay, to meet Liza and me (Liza first, so the matchmaking is not quite incredibly obvious). Later on, she slips me Kay's phone number.

Let's just say Kay has potential. I'm not gonna call her this week, but we'll see what happens. I went back up there later to see another patient; Kay was in the work room, and I was able to determine, with the facilitation of the case manager, that she is a golfer but not a runner. So we've got that in common. Might be time to dig out the clubs this summer... 

Slow run in the rain. Not easy, but slow. Then ran eight hill sprints at the end. All I can say is I got it done.

URD yesterday. Just needed to sleep, and did. Tonight, a full 12 hours, then 10 miles at the track. Took the Walkman and tunes kept me distracted. Felt a twinge in the AT area which reminded me of the tendinosis, but it's not swollen and the twinge went away after I ran 200 meters or so with forefoot strike. Surged the last couple of miles, a bit, but not up to MP.
That's OK. I still plan to do 20 tomorrow, so I didn't want to empty the tank. Now to go refill it with carbs before I sack out.

Twenty miles today. 30 miles in the last 18 hours. Time today 3:05:28. As close to an ultra as I'm ever likely to get... And boy, am I tired and sore. Still gotta drive to Bryant before Red Nelson's funeral tomorrow, too. Gonna go soak, take a nap, eat and drive down.

Started yesterday in Bryant, drove through torrential rain to Arkadelphia (man, I need new tires) for Mr. Nelson's funeral, then back to Fort Smith. Got in a late run at the track, just an easy 6 with strides thrown in.

One of the speakers at the funeral invited us to imagine the inside of the store. Boy, that brought back some memories, since I spent a lot of time in that store. I still like hanging out in sporting goods stores, and Southwest Sporting Goods is why. My running career really began in that store, I guess. The track shoes I wore at AJHS came from there. So did my sweats and singlets and warmups and jockstraps...

But more than that, Red Nelson was just a good, friendly, decent man. You could see why he built such good relationships with his customers. I'm glad I got to know him, and it's obvious that where his kids were concerned, the fruit didn't fall far from the tree.

So what did I do last night after my run? Went to a sporting goods store and bought some sweatbands. Red would have preferred I buy them from him, but I think he'd understand.

Boston's getting closer. I need to call and make one more change to our Sunday night reservation, but that will be it. Down to about 40 days. Dad wants me to back off my training afterward. I'll probably take some time off, but I don't think I'll back off all that much. Enough to have some time hopefully for a love life, though.

Mile reps tonight at the track, on the second try; track practice was in progress when I went over there at 4. Back a little after 5, track clear. Goal was 5 @ 10KP. Not too far off; reps were 7:46, 7:17, 7:19, 7:21, 7:28. I'd say my goal 10KP right now would be around 7:20, so pretty close except for that first rep, when I was still warming up (and with mid-40s and quite a stiff wind, warming up is an accurate term).

Worked on Maclin's pace sheet today trying to figure out a plan. I still think even effort is the way to go for me; take advantage of the downhills without going crazy, relax a tad on the uphills. So I cut out and laminated a pace band for that strategy. Also bought name tags for the FE dinner and a white marker to mark my name on my shirt for Boston. Nope, not obsessed a bit...

Thursday was kinda all messed up (when I finish this, it will be obvious why I refer to it in past tense). Two work-related meetings, on my off day. I mean they were OK, one was useful, one was actually fun, but still they took about three hours out of my day. Plus I got like zero sleep Wednesday night. Finally got some shuteye around dawn and slept for about three hours, but man, I was dragging. Tried to take another nap in late afternoon and failed.

Anyway, so the second meeting (more like a party) was at Fuji at 7. Ate way too much. Fortunately laid off the alcohol, which is more than I can say for some of my colleagues :) But I was still stuffed when I left at 9:15, and I hadn't run a lick all day. Dark force was very strong -- bag it and get some sleep. But I felt I needed to run. Waited an hour to let the salmon hibachi settle, then headed to the track. Stomach was OK. Legs weren't. Dark force again very strong -- walk, stop, go home, curl up for a nap alongside the track, anything but run. But I kept going, and actually managed a "progression" for the last two miles, which probably took me down to 9:15ish. Not sure I didn't snooze during the run, which took 75 minutes and change. Finished at 11:35 p.m. Came home, soaked, and went straight to bed, so the update is being written at noon Friday.

Big earthquake in Japan yesterday. Kinda scary. I know the New Madrid is gonna let loose one of these years; it's been quiet for 100+ years. And when it does, watch out. We won't have a tsunami like Japan and Hawaii are having, but a whole lot of buildings aren't built to earthquake code in the Mid-South and the walls will come tumbling down. And the people inside them...

So we're down to 38 days. Really, really close now. Really only 2.5 weeks of intense training left. Then taper madness. I'm nuts anyway, so a taper just puts me farther over the edge. I've been reading up on Aussie carb-loading (think I'll try it for the half next weekend) and worrying about my paces (they're OK) and whether I'll be able to hit all the key workouts in the next three weeks (we shall see). Ordered some Ultrafuel for the carb-loading, but Gatorade Pro may work just as well (have some of that too). Also expecting a new pair of Nikes to arrive either today or tomorrow. Will those be my Boston shoes? We shall see. If I don't like them, I'll send them back and order some Adidas, I guess. Or I may still use the Brooks GS for the race shoe.

Easy run today, or should I say runs. Went to BG and did two road laps around the tennis courts, but the Garmin refused to lock in. So went over to the track. It still wouldn't lock in, but at least I'd know the exact distance. So I ran 18 laps plus, 4.5. With the BG laps, total of 7.3. Puts me over 50 for the week, 98 for the month.

Craptastic evening at the track. Garmin took forever to lock in. When it did, it was wildly inaccurate with distance and therefore pace. Plus the legs were just dead. Plan was for four miles at HMP. Didn't happen. At least not four miles nonstop at HMP. What it worked out to was one mile, one mile, then I just decided to go eight laps nonstop and see what happened. Turned out that the two miles were better than either one of the miles. Paces were 7:45, 7:28, 7:25 and somehow 7:12. No idea how I got these legs to do a 7:12 tonight. It was 75 degrees, I was sweating like a pig and the legs had no life.

I've decided that at this point, I can't do three quality runs a week. Maybe I could if I cut back (or out) on the recovery runs. I can do two decent interval workouts, or an interval and a long run, but I can't do intervals twice and a long run. With 37 days to go, I guess I'll just muddle through until the taper.

At some point, was gonna get the interstate run out of the way. Run across the Garrison Ave. bridge to OK. Did it yesterday. Legs actually felt fairly good. Total was 10.25 in 1:33. A little more than scheduled run, but it was OK. Finished the training week with 67 miles.

Now back to work.

Tonight's run went amazingly well. Warmed up, did 3 miles at 7:53 average, jogged a mile, di 3 miles at 7:26 average, then warmed down for nine laps. Total 9.75. Goals probably would have been 7:50 and 7:25, so pretty darn close. Especially considering I had such a lousy run 48 hours ago, then worked 12 hours today.

BAA put up the bib numbers today. I'm #12603. Apparently Corral 1 will be numbers under 1000, so I'm still in corral 13, right in the middle of Wave 2. Right where I figured I would be. Also found out my fellow Crackhead Ali will be there running with the medical group; we're gonna get together for some liquid carbloading, I think. That'll be fun.

EStimated 5.16, slow, around the mall. Legs pooped, body more so. Got 2 hours sleep last night, if that. Then got slammed at work. Still felt like running, but not much and not fast. This qualified as both. Now shower and early bed and maybe feel better tomorrow.

Solid progression run at the track. It was supposed to be 6 easy, 2 hard, but I pushed it a little earlier as I got comfortable. Averaged under 9 for the easy 6, averaged a little over 7:30 for the last two. If I'm still running 7:30s in the last two miles Saturday, I think I'll like the outcome. Now to really back down for the race. And see if I can arrange some after-race diversions... :)

Five easy including strides and drills. Six strides and highknees, buttkicks and lateral run. A little sluggish, but got 'er done, and the strides felt OK.

Pretty momentous day. Asked Kay out and she said yes! Connie and Eve were both there to add to the pressure/embarrassment. First unattached date in 28 years. Yikes. I think I've figured out how to handle myself, but we'll see how I do when the pressure's on. I just hope I don't disappoint her.

What a screwed up mess this was! Most of the field, including me, took the first wrong turn we could, less than a quarter-mile from the start. A guy I was with figured it out, got me turned around, and we eventually ran the entire course plus about 1.4. We met people going the wrong way so many times, people were taking wrong turns everywhere, the volunteers were little or no help, and the poor race director is asking everyone at the finish how far they ran. My legs didn't feel very good this morning. It was surprisingly cool, which was good, and windy, which wasn't, but the wind was not too much of an impedance. I didn't have the Garmin, or any watch at all, so I just kinda ran by feel once I left the guy who got me back on the right course. If his Garmin gave us the right distance, I ran an average of 8:09 miles. Basically a long MP run. I was running this race to train. I had hoped to run faster, but once we got off/back on course, it turned into an MP run, and I thought I did that part OK. Not too beat up now. I'll take a soak, a nap, and get ready for my date tonight. Where I placed? No telling. I think a bunch of people were lying to the race director about how far they ran, and she's going to hand out prizes based on those works of fiction. Forget it. I got my finishers' medal (a dogtag) and a T-shirt, and that's fine. Hopefully I'll feel pretty good for the date, which is more important to me than this race anyway.

Boy, I've fallen behind on my updates. Typing this on Wednesday. Took Sunday off; I was just exhausted after work. Got out for 10K easy at the track Monday night, then drove back home and did 8 hill sprints up Duncan. Lots of kids at the track at 9 p.m.; it's spring break week, I take it. One was singing along to ... Bohemian Rhapsody. Maybe there's hope for this generation yet. Run went OK. Still a bit sore from the "half", but no problems, and the sprints were OK too. This starts off my peak week. Which is not how I scheduled it; thus, the schedule represented cerebral flatus. One, I need a three-week taper. Two, next week is a work week, so doing 70 miles after work is completely insane, even if I manage to get home early a few times (22 miles after work? What was I thinking?). So I'll do 22 on Sunday, early, then start the taper. Man, it's down to the home stretch now. I have to take it in stride if some runs don't quite go as planned. One run at this point is not going to make or break my performance on the 18th, unless I do something stupid and get injured. I know I'm in shape, I've done the vast majority of my scheduled runs, and I've been healthy since the sciatica and the AT cooled off. That's all I can ask for. Finish the training, eat right, sleep right, and do my best. And I must say, my attitude is much better since my date Saturday night. It's unfortunate that I need validation from others, but I do. And having a good time with Kay, and seeing her have a good time, was a whole lot of validation. Hoping for more where that came from...

Revising this week's schedule on the fly, as usual, although I actually went back to the originally planned run tonight. I had intended to do intervals tonight, as part of changing peak week from next week to this. But I was still a bit sore from Saturday's "half"/MP run, and I waited too long between watching the HI board for news on the basketball coaching search, and chatting with LooHoo1 on FB. So stuck with what was written on my schedule all along, 6 easy followed by 2 hard progression. Went well. Did the 6 at 9:15 average and the 2 at 7:40, and the 7:40 really felt comfortable. I thought I was more in the 7:55 to 8:00 range, then looked at the watch at the end and it said 15:20 for the two miles. Maybe 7:50 pace is more in my range than I thought.

Speaking of watch, sent the Garmin back to the factory for the second time today. I'm hoping I'll have it back in time for the 22-miler on Sunday, but not counting on it. May have to depend on RunKeeper for my paces instead. I'm not thrilled about carrying the cell on a 22-miler; although it makes sense from a safety standpoint, it risks water/sweat/falling off my belt damage. I already fried one cellphone by getting it rained on during a run. I guess I can go back to the ziploc trick and hope that doesn't mess up the GPS.

Nailed another specific endurance workout, and I didn't think I'd be able to say that. Goal was to do 4 X 3000 with each rep under 14 minutes. I did. 13:50, 13:54, 13:55, 13:59. With warm/cool and recovery, a total of 11.25 at the track. Track was quite busy tonight, including a couple of really cute blondes, but no one got in my lane and workout was unimpeded.

Easy 6 at Ben Geren, just took it slow, probably 9:35-9:40 pace. Gonna try to do another monster interval set tomorrow before going to Fayetteville for baseball. Saturday, either a shortie or URD, with noon appointment at the relationship counselor (figure that one out). Sunday, big mutha -- 22. Then it's taper time.

Intervals at the track. Went to Plan B, a bit; I had some nausea/GI issues early, which forced a 30 minute delay, then I needed to get done and leave for Fayetteville. So I did three reps instead of four, and ran at MP instead of HMP. Actually, they were in-between MP and HMP. But I think I got the benefit out of them, certainly more than if I'd bagged them entirely when the stomach started acting up.

Now to Baum for baseball. Dunno if T and CJ will go with me or not. They're welcome, but it's their call. I'm going either way.

Easy 6-ish today. Got my new pair of Adizero Adios today and immediately went to try them out. Felt very much like the Manas did, maybe a tad better cushioned, although the only way to tell would be to take them on a longer run. And I don't have too many longer runs left. I may take the Nikes on tomorrow's run and wear these on the 17 miler on April 4, then decide which one to wear in Boston. Then again, I might change my mind after I get to Boston.

Weather has cooled off nicely. Almost too cool this morning, supposed to be a bit cooler tomorrow. Good time to start off a 22-miler early and finish before it warms up much, not that there will be a whole lot of warming.

So basically I'm about 18 hours from the start of the taper. What a trip its been, starting when I looked in the mirror in NLR and didn't like those multiplying chins. Through the challenge with Julie, joining the Crackheads, the crash and burn at LR and the commitment to do it again and get it right, joining this blog, getting the encouragement from Sasha, getting hooked up with the RWOL loonies and all the tangential stuff, the move, the whack, the divorce, getting my professional and personal life put back together, the one thing on the horizon has been the marathon, specifically Boston. Now it's almost here.

I'll have to figure out something to do next. Maybe it will be going back to Boston, or going for a PR this fall at Sacramento or Tucson, or something. Maybe it'll be backing off on the running a bit and focusing on personal connections. We'll see. Running needs to be there somehow, though. It's my release, my safety valve, my makeup for too many cheeseburgers and strawberry shakes. And at this point, many of my friends are my friends because of running.

Last LR is in the books. Went out conservative, worked my way down to 8:47 pace -- and stayed there. Average remained right there for probably 14 miles, until the cellphone ran out of juice and powered off right after the 20-mile update. But since I know I was right by the monastery at 20, I could map the rest on mapmyrun: 1.91 miles. So there's my 21.91. Having to estimate my total time as well, since the phone shut down, but I'm assuming that at worst I maintained the 8:47 average, maybe even a bit of a closing kick in those last two miles. So 21.9 times 527 seconds per mile comes out to approximately 3:12. I'm happy, and I'm ready to go BOTT in Boston. The hard work is done. Taper down, sharpen up and hammer it.

Six easy with strides in the rain. That about it. Legs felt pretty good after 22 yesterday.

Note: run logged for Monday was actually run on Tuesday and logged on Thursday. Yes, I'm running behind...

Took last night off because I was beat. Did the workout tonight I'd planned for last night. Intervals at the track, 5 X 2400 at HMP. Nailed 'em. Each rep faster than the previous one, from 11:16 down to 10:56. Total of 12.44 (20K) with warmup, cooldown and recoveries. I'm really happy with how things are coming together late in the cycle.

Also have another date scheduled with an attorney named Shala. She actually called my back while I was running the first warmup lap. Good to be getting another date so soon, and it'll also be good to have someone for comparison to Kay, as much as I like her,.

For the question on Sunday's blog entry, this is a family forum, so I'm not going to define exactly what BOTT means. But it's the opposite of sandbagging, where you softsell your prospects and then go out and run way faster. I'm setting a very ambitious goal for Boston, and then I'm going to bust it for nearly 3.5 hours on the 18th to reach that ambitious goal. Which may mean that I crash and burn along the way. So be it. That goal: 3:25:00, which should get me safely in for 2012 regardless of the rolling registration.