Thursday, August 7, 2008

Two 9's

I don't have much time, but I wanted to fill you in on the Tuesday and Wednesday runs. They were both 9 milers to be run at an 8:25 pace. Most of my short runs from now until the last two weeks will be in the 8-12 mile range, with the longer runs still coming on the weekends. It can get tough, because the length of the runs means I have to be out for at least an hour every run. One way around that would be to add a fifth day of running, but I don't want to do that. I have done five day training weeks in the past. I would usually end up with one mediocre run because you're always running at least three days in a row in a five day a week running plan. Some people will tell you that you have to run 5 or 6 days a week to train for a marathon. I feel you have to find the right plan that you can tailor to your own individual strengths and weaknesses, as well as time constraints.

So the runs went well. I came in at a 8:03 on Tuesday and an 8:16 last night. Everything felt good, which is a huge plus coming off of the 20 miler on Sunday. It's not unusual to be sore for a few days after a 20 mile run.

We're looking at another 9 miles again on Friday, although the pace will be picked up for the middle 6 or 7 to a 7:17. That one is going to be tough. That's pretty close to my fastest 10K time. I should add that I have only run two 10Ks, so there's not exactly a huge pool to draw from. I am going to do the same 10K on August 24th.

I also signed up the the Chicago Half Marathon on September 14th. I like to get a half marathon in before the full marathon. It's a good practice run and can pretty much tell me where I am at in terms of physical and mental race shape. It also gets me some practice of running in a larger crowd, drinking and running at the same time and helps me pace a little more evenly.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I've tried drinking and running a few times myself. Here's the thing: it's good for the first 800 meters or so, but then your side inevitably starts hurting as your liver is working overtime to try to break down the booze.
This pain, often referred to as a "stitch" in running circles, is usually a sign that would make most people stop running. That is a luxury I don't often have while running under the influence, however, as when I'm on these runs I'm frequently being tailed by the "5-0" and, if the circumstances are particularly unfortunate, the "K-9" as well.
So, my advice is to avoid drinking while running at all costs, no matter how big or small the crowd is you happen to be running with. This seems pretty obvious and I'm frankly a bit startled that you're this far into your training regimen and haven't figured this out. I'm starting to doubt whether you have actually completed those earlier marathons that you mentioned (but I am starting to believe that other person's suggestion that you might be sporting a beer belly).
While I'm doling out advice, chew on this: don't drink and drive as you might end up on the Youtube, as this gentleman unfortunately did. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ckcw8hhwgE