Getting back to Boston

Treadmill intervals today at Altman. I was frankly surprised at how well they went. Did 880 X 5 at 8.1 mph (7:24 pace) with 440 recovery intervals, then 0.61 at 8.7 mph (6:53). I think I probably could have done all six reps at 8.7, and 440 yards was plenty of recovery time.
Total of 7 miles even in 60:42.

I'm even starting to think about finding a late August/early September race to go for a BQ, if I can maintain good training through the summer. Part of that, I guess, will depend on whether I get into London, and if I can pull off joining the medical team at Boston like Ali has done. If I can do that, no reason to bust balls to get a BQ. Just run it for fun and try to qualify for 2013.

I needed something to renew my motivation after Boston, and I found it: Fatness. I don't like all the weight I've gained, and I'm now motivated to run it off. So while I'm doing that, I'll work on other things. I'm also going to emphasize XT, particularly upper body work. If TTM can haul butt with all that upper body muscle he's carrying, why should I look like a straw?

Indoor run at Altman. Seventy laps, 5.28 miles, took 47:39. 

Treadmill run at Altman before the baseball game. Felt pretty good after six miles and decided to bump it to MP for the last three miles. Or actually for the last 24 minutes, which worked out to three miles. I planned an 80-minute run and got in 9.05 in that time. Up to 33 miles this week; I could even get a 50-mile week if I throw in a double-digit run sometime this weekend.

Did 135 laps at Altman this afternoon, which works out to 10.19 miles. Average wound up at 8:55. I wore the Garmin just to check my heart rate, which averaged 139 once I remembered that I hadn't programmed the monitor into the new watch. Once I did that, it worked just fine. Anyway, 139 isn't a bad heart rate for sub-9 average for ancient flatulence like me.

Legs were still pretty stiff from yesterday's progression run, plus running seven straight days after taking so much time off, but it worked well enough. It got me over 50 miles for the week, which I haven't seen in a while.

Hit the dreadmill at MAFC today for an easy 6. Actually ran for exactly an hour and got in 6.27. Had a little twinge in the left calf left over from yesterday; didn't feel any worse during the run, but didn't get better either. Might be time to take a day off tomorrow and let it rest. Liza was there and did an hour on the elliptical at a pretty good clip, so no ill effects from her 5K yesterday. Eight straight days now with a total of 56 miles; if the streak doesn't make it to nine, that's OK.

Started working on a training plan for a BQ attempt this morning, either at Top of Utah or Fox Valley. I think I'll do four weeks, see where I stand, and if things are going well, I'll go ahead and enter one of the two. Right now, I'm leaning toward TOU, largely because I think there's a better chance of cool weather there. Plus I can get a cheaper flight to SLC than O'Hare.

Back to work tomorrow after a much-needed nine days off. Oh well. Gotta pay the bills somehow, and it beats digging ditches.

Took last night off with this twinge in my calf. Not entirely gone today, but enough better that I thought I could test it  with a little treadmill run. Did 3.5 in 31:28, and the calf seemed to loosen upas the run went on. Possibly that was because of some gait alterations I made that seemed to reduce the stress; I tried to be light on my feet.

Did 100 laps at Altman after work, a bit of a progression run. Wound up with 8:46 average. Calf was tight at first, again loosened up. I felt tired, overall, but sucked it up and did the run anyway. I know full well you have to suck it up and train on some days you'd really rather not.

Really trying to modify my diet and get some of this weight off. More veggies, less meat, certainly less fried stuff, more water, less soda. That and the running will have to work together

Easy treadmill run, with the last quarter at MP. Took 65:39. I'd taken three days off from running, although I'd lifted and done core work in between, so the legs were fairly fresh.

Combo run at Altman -- four miles on the track, four miles on the mill, four miles on the track.

First four took 35:35, an 8:53 average. The four on the mill took 35:39, or 8:54. The last four on the track took 34:25, an 8:39 average. And that last four on the track HURT. It felt really slow because the legs were so heavy, but obviously I was able to maintain some kind of speed (which maybe should tell me something).

It's 95 days until TOU, if my math is right. I'll probably need to decide something by July 1 so I'll have basically an 11-week cycle to get ready. Eleven weeks is plenty for me if I have a deecnt base (see Memphis 2009), maybe even a bit too long.

Lifted for a few minutes today, then 6 on the mill. These little 15 minute lifting sessions aren't gonna do a whole lot of muscle building (which is probably good given that I'm still running marathons), but it'll maintain tone, add a little strength and maybe rearrange my pounds a bit. The run was basic; 6.2 mph, threw in some incline because the left calf was a bit twingey, then cranked up the incline to 4% for the last mile. Which almost impersonates HBH. I have to start doing some outside runs, though. Maybe on Friday; have a noon work meeting at the hospital tomorrow, then I'll run afterward. Time to do some more TM intervals, I think.

A little VO2 max pounding today on the mill: 6 X 880 at 5K pace, with 440 recoveries. With warm and cool, a 7.25 mile workout, which took me 62:39 if I remember correctly. Set the mill at 8.7 mph (6:57 pace), which would be a 5K PR. Legs weren't overly thrilled about the workout, but I managed it without undue distress. Probably need a few more of those this summer. Maybe I can even do a couple on the track without DM "assistance."

Got the Kinvaras today and went to the track to try them out/break them in. I'm coming to a realization -- I have a hard time running much over 9:00 pace if I don't have the TM to slow me down. First mile was about 9:30, second mile was 9:08, you get the idea. If that's my new "slow" pace, than why can't I run faster than 8:06? The Kinvaras were fine. I've run in enough minimalist shoes that it's not much of an adjustment at all, between all the Adizeros and the Green Silences.

I've just about come to the conclusion that I'll be entering Top of Utah. London looks extremely unlikely due to high demand and some Seven Continents Club that I didn't know about until it was too late. SCC is apparently their VIP club and gets first crack at in-demand races like London. And Top of Utah is the right weekend to give me a chance to get a sub-3:30 before open season starts on BQ-4:59 and less.

I'll go ahead and submit a request for London, expect to be turned down, try to qualify at Logan for Boston, then do the AAMA team if I don't qualify (or don't get in if I do qualify). Training is going well enough that I should at least have a shot at a BQ, although what I'm going to do with really long runs in the summer heat is an open question (5 a.m. vs. treadmill). I suppose I need to do at least a couple of them outside, starting probably a week from Tuesday.

Just noticed that I've now done more mileage in the first 17 days of June than I did in 31 days in May. Probably will be close to 200 miles in June, over 200 in July and August, health permitting.

First outdoor run of the summer. BLEAH! Felt like I was running after donating six units of blood. No energy at all. Complete slog.

LT intervals on the mill. This time 2 X 1.5 at 10K pace (8.1 mph -- 7:24). With warm, cool and recovery, a total of 7 miles, making 51 for the week. Wasn't easy, wasn't horrible. Legs were a little stiff from last night's slog through the heat, but they loosened quickly.

Easy indoor track run. Actually had somebody to run with, sorta. Attractive chica passed me on 2nd lap, but wasn't going fast enough to leave me behind. So I trailed her for 2.5 miles, largely for the scenery. Since she was at ~9:00 pace, worked out fine. Just maintained the same pace after she peeled off to lift weights and do lunges.

I'd considered a rest day after feeling really blah all day at work, but wound up doing a good mill run: 7.18 with 3.26 at 7.6 mph, which is roughly my GMP. Went better than I expected.

Guy on the TM next to me was walking at 4.5 mph, which is a really fast walk. As I was doing the cooldown after the MP, he asked if I was training for a marathon. I said I was. He said I really made it look easy. That was a nice compliment. Then a personal trainer stopped me in the locker room and asked how much running I was doing. I guess people are noticing.

Tomorrow, not sure. Maybe an easy 4 or 5 after the soccer game, maybe a rest day. We'll see how I feel.

Slow 67 laps at Altman (5.05) at 9:17 pace. Had no problem keeping it slow, and was interrupted early by a page. Chica was there too, running some, doing more lifting. I also did some lifting after the run, all upper body and core. Haven't noticed my right glute niggle lately; maybe the strength work has taken care of that (knock on wood).

Semi-progression run on the track at Altman after work, 4.00 in 37ish. Last mile was at GMP. Kept it shorter than usual because the plan is to get up at dawn tomorrow and get in a run before work, and I don't wanna do that one on dead legs.

Run before work was a fail; goofball failed to realize that MAFC doesn't open until 7 on Saturday, which does not compute when I'm officially supposed to be at work at 7.

So what I did instead was run during work; finished my rounds, went to run instead of to lunch, and decided to keep going until (a) I finished 10 miles or (b) I got called to the ER. B happened first, but not by too much; I got in 8.20 miles before I got buzzed. Pace was somewhere around 9:20, not pushed but not EPMC either.

Silky's running Western States today. Dude is crazy, but I have to give it up to him. He's raising like $13,000 for the Wounded Warriors with this particular stroke of insanity covering 100 miles and who knows how many hours.

Oh yeah, date tomorrow, woman named Colleen (I think that's how she spells it). Thanks to the fix-up elves, so I haven't met her, but we had a nice phone conversation last night. She raises dogs for a living. I gotta decide on a restaurant that's open on Sunday night and call her with time to meet.

Indoor run at MAFC. And boy, did I bonk. Maybe I should have eaten more than one small bowl of oatmeal in the preceding 16 hours. Felt like to push it farther risked missed a couple of days later in the week, so shut it down instead of going on toward the goal of 14 to 15.

Progression run at MAFC. Cranked it up for the last 20 laps to MP or even a bit faster. Then I did some lifting afterward. Running and lifting both seem to be getting a bit easier. Not really losing any weight, though.

Had a little spice thrown into my easy 8-miler today at MAFC. As I was reaching the 4-mile mark, a young woman named Crystal stepped on to the track and started running in the inside lane. I'm guessing Crystal's probably 25 or so. I passed her in the outside lane, still plodding along at my easy pace, probably 9:30 or so. Half lap later, I look over and she's trying to pass me on the inside.

Normally I would have just let her go, but not today. I decided to play the game, and I accelerated to match her pace -- which meant I was running faster just to keep up, since she was on the inside lane. This went on for four laps; she'd push even faster and I'd counter, just staying beside her. Felt like we were at HMP, roughly. Then after four laps, she slowed and I heard a "Damn!" from her. Exactly what I'd wanted -- run her into the ground. Then she waited for me to come back around and gave me a big thumbs up. Which put a huge smile on my face.

After I finished my run, I went over to talk to her as she lifted weights. I told her that was a lot of fun, which it was. Nice to get the competitive juices flowing. And it turned a dull run into something to remember.

Now I'm about to get ready for Date #2 with Colene. Speaking of fun.

Ladder intervals on the mill at MAFC. One mile at 8.1 (7:24), 1K at 8.4 (7"08), 880 at 8.6 (6:57), and 440 at 9.2 (6:32), with 220 jog intervals, twice. Total of 8.65 in all. Sweated like a pig, but got through it pretty well.

Finished June with 165 miles. Not great, but not bad as I ramp up for TOU. Figuring about a 55 mile week, maybe a touch more.

Still nothing definitive from Marathon Tours. I called them; they said they had my app and I'd hear something within a week. Oh well. All I can do is wait. It would be easier (and cheaper) if they turn me down, but I hope they don't. If they do, I may plan on Berlin in the fall.