needling...

Tuesday evening:

So Tuesday was the first of my two in row rest days to properly rest-up for the Indy Mini half this coming Saturday. So after work I headed over to my very first ever acupuncture appointment whom was recommended by my massage therapist. I went into this with an "open" mind looking for a short-term (and maybe long-term) solution for my lower back/leg problems I have been experiencing over the last several months. After the initial consultation the Acupuncture Doctor gives you an idea on what’s going wrong with your body and a course of action to help heal your body properly thru acupuncture. So the acupuncture part lasted about ~45 minutes after the Dr. "needles" you with needle adjustment every 15 minutes following. Only 10 acupuncture needles were used; some in the lower arms/hands, just below the knees on the outside of the calves, upper part of the feet and one right smack-dab in the middle of my forehead.

The Doc removed the needles after treatment and gives you a course of direction on about how many sessions this may take to help heal my body. They did say though that you will not feel an immediate effect from the acupuncture until after 24 hours of treatment time and it may take a few days longer to feel the real results. There was no pressure from the office for a follow-up appointment but they just recommend in about 10 to 14 days and to schedule at your convenience. At that time I did not schedule a follow-up because I would like to see if it helps over the next 3 to 5 days timeframe.

I do have to say the experience is in a way very similar to a really good massage but believe it or not much more relaxing. After I got home from this treatment I pretty much was really relaxed, ate some dinner and passed out at 8:15pm & slept like a baby all night…

The first real test will be Thursday morning when I go out for an easy 3 mile run to see how I feel then…I shall keep you posted.

b

whats with the sleeting...

Monday evening:

Since the weather outside was kinda nasty all day and the sleet arrived just afterwork I skipped the active rest day easy 30 minutes run and just rode the tri-bike in an ez HR zone for 30 minutes instead in the comfortable confinds of our homestead. I covered 9 miles in that timeframe with an average HR of 105bpm with a max at minute 20 of 123bpm. My average cadence was spot on 91rpm which is right where i wanted to be at similar to my running cadence...

So today Tuesday and tomorrow are complete rest days from any sort of exercise at all for my mini-taper to the Indy Mini this Saturday morning...

Tuesday night I'm actually looking forward to my first acupuncture treatment session for my lower back and legs...

b

lakefront and more...

Saturday mid-morning:

K and I headed down to the lakefront on a very windy day out of the west to get in the 8 miler run for the day. After our well wishes to each other we parted our directions on how we were going to run the 4 mile out an back loop along the lakefront since the wind was so strong. I headed north for a half mile before turning around to head southward to the turn-around point just before Navy Pier. It really didn't matter which way you went beciause at a couple points the winds just about stopped me cold in my tracks...

I pushed on comfortably during the 8 mile run duration quite close to what the FIRST half program needed me to pace the run at near ~7:38 per mile. I completed the run in 1:01:21 for an aveage pace of 7:40 miles with an average HR of 146bpm and a max withing the last quarter mile at 155bpm. Mission accomplished for the run and now it's a true taper cycle till the Indy Mini half marathon next Saturday...

Once we got home I took a 30 minute ice bath...
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Back before I started running again in the summer of 2004 in late 2001 and the summer of 2002 I was diagnosed with 5 bulged/herniated discs in my spine...in the Lumbar region it's the L4 & L5 discs, in the Thoracic region it's the T6 and in the Cervical region it's the C4 & C5. The Doc's all stated they were not of the surgury requirement type because post-surgery scarring would out-weigh the benefits. It took me a couple years to adjust but by spring 2004 I was feeling healthy once again...

I mentioned that I have been running thru some health issues since mid-February this winter and it all stems from lower back "Sciatic Nerve" pain which has only worstened since then...running is quite painful at this point even as I mentally blocked it out during yesterdays 8 mile run. I used two icy/hot back pads on my lower back/glute region during this run in the form of an inverted V sign "/\" which masks the pain only so much...I have tried everything over the last two months such as lite core strength training, my yoga routines, stretches, ice baths, heating pads, etc...these are short term solutions at best. My glutes hammies, calves and heels of both legs besides my lower back at what are affected the most. These major running muscle groups never get a chance to recover hence when I run (or sit/walk) it always feels like any one of these major muscle groups are going to cramp/knot up at any point which affects my running stride length drastically...anyhow...

I'm confident that I can overcome this setback with proper treatment once again. I will be seeing a highly recommended Acupuncturist this Tuesday evening and I have a appointment with a running group friends Chiropractor as the Doctors are marathon runners also on May 5th...

The amazing part is I can tri-bike and swim with very minimal dis-comfort...

Sorry for the rant in my blog about the health issues I'm experiencing currently for the last several months but I thought I would bring that out into the open...

Thank you all for patience and understanding

Brian

dreaded 'mill...

Thursday evening:

I needed to run a 6 mile FIRST run last night with a warm-up 2 mile portion then 3 miles at short-tempo pace (~7:00 miles) then finish with a mile cool-down. I headed over to the health club after work and was able to hop on my favorite treadmill, so as I up'd the incline to one degree and slowly quickened the pace I noticed my legs were just not striding 100%...it was more like 50% and very painful in my glutes, hammies and calves...usually that feeling melts away quickly!

So I decide to make a quick call and modify both the workout and the mileage. After a mile w/u I did 3 - half mile repeats with a quicker recovery run/jog of a quarter mile in between them then a mile c/d...below is my half mile split info:

3:36 - AHR 138bpm - MHR 142bpm
3:32 - AHR 142bpm - MHR 146bpm
3:35 - AHR 144bpm - MHR 147bpm

I ran a total of 4 miles in 32:59 with an average HR of 131bpm. To be honest the run was quite painful so hence why I modified the workout...

Tomorrow will be the test to see how I feel during my 8 mile lakefront run in the morning...

b

ice is nice...

I failed to mention I took a 20 minute ice bath after the 1k repeats on Monday evening...my body core temperature was very hot!
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the heat definitely crimped my pace the other night and yes, unfortunately I'm kinda in an exercise funk right now I'm doing my best to snap out of it but I haven't mentioned this before but since mid-February I have been dealing with some personal health issues that have unfortunately only gotten worse overtime...I will write more about that at a later time but for now mentally I'm doing my very best to work thru these challenges
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Wenesday night:

I decided to ride my tri-bike via the Kinetic trainer at home in the office room as the Galena Duathlon is approaching rather quickly. As a cross-training activity to the FIRST program I needed to keep things at a manageable pace on the bike so I focused the ride in the level 2 to 3 zone with a quick repeat at the end which took me into the level 4 category...

I rode for 50 minutes with 3 fans focused right on me to minimize the sweat & to stay cool. I did a proper 12 minute warm-up and 10 minute cool-down at the end. In between I had two sets of 2 minute repeats w/one minute recovery between each. The first set had 3 repeats and the second set had 4 repeats.

I covered 14.9 miles in that time frame for an average rate of speed of 17.9mph with a max speed of 31.4mph at one point. My average HR was 114bpm with a max on my last repeat at 146bpm. Average cadence was nicely placed at 94rpm with a max cadence during a repeat at 113rpm, I focused on 100+ cadence during the repeat portions to maximize the workout routine.

That was a very satisfying workout

b

who cares about runners...

Tuesday night:

I decided to wait till after 7pm in our neighborhood to run my 1k repeats after a very light dinner. The temps were still at 74 degrees then with no wind at all with ~80% humidity so I ran in August style running clothes during this run...good training if it's warm & muggy as it can be at the Indy Mini.

Per the FIRST half program I'm following and the McMillian calulations to wishfully think I might run a 1:37 half at Indy my projected 1k long-distance runner times needed to be in a zone of 4:06 to 4:16 with 3 minute recoveries in between each...

Below are my 1k split times with average & max HR values:

4:21 - AHR 150bpm - MHR 156bpm
4:22 - AHR 149bpm - MHR 158bpm
4:29 - AHR 148bpm - MHR 154bpm
4:26 - AHR 148bpm - MHR 156bpm
4:21 - AHR 149bpm - MHR 156bpm

As you can see I was well off the pace even after a easy 2.1 mile warm-up. Repeat #3 I had to dodge a car whom didn't even care about anyone else on the rode and on repeat #4 several pedestrians crossed right infront of me abruptly. Even so I'm not even close to the pace I would like to run at the half in 10 days times.

Total mileage for the night was 7.4 miles at an average HR of 131bpm...

b

a day at the park with our friends...

three wolves...

Saturday morning:

K & I headed down to the lakefront so that we could run our scheduled last long run for the Indy Mini half marathon in two weeks time. She was able to run with her group of friends since they were running twelve miles also.

The weather was damp and around 50 degrees with low cloud cover which made the run very nice in these conditions. I was scheduled to run 13 at a approximate ~7:40 mile pacing per the FIRST half marathon training schedule. I covered the 13 miles in 1:41:00 flat which is a 7:46 mile pacing which was the best I could give it yesterday out there. My average HR was 143bpm and I reached a max HR in the last half mile of 155bpm. My best miles were the opening 4 miles and then the closing 4 mile segment. The middle miles just felt like I was training at marathon long run pacing, just couldn't get the legs & body to move at proper speed throughout the run duration.

Afterwards we all went out to a great breakfast joint on Michigan Ave just near Balbo known as "Yolk". The food was great and truely needed When I got home I took a 30 minute ice bath to help aid in a speedy recovery...

b

out with the roadies...

Thursday evening:

Straight after work I headed out to where the local Thursday night bike shop rides are at which are a one mile repeat sessions with a one mile recovery portion after that so its a big loop they do as a group in a local industrial parkway area in our region. I would say with the nicely weather we were experiencing there was about 25 riders and about 95% of them are pure roadies...

On the mile repeats they all ride in the slipstream of each other which is fine if your a road racer of bikes but when you race time trials/duathlons/triathlons drafting is completely illegal. So I made it a point to follow no closer than 15 meters from the riders in front of me to get the full benefit of the ride. Plus I used the biking session as a recovery mode of the running repeats earlier in the morning.

I covered a cruiser 11.8 miles in 39:30 minutes for an average pace of 17.9mph. My quickest mile repeat was at 23.9mph in 2:30 minutes...not bad against the wind, solo with the small riser/roller hill 3/4's into that mile...

The ride actually felt really good since I took it at a comfortable pace. Not a'ton of miles covered due to daylight going away but it was nice to ride in the outdoors once again...

b

not fig newtons...

Thursday morning:

After deciding late yesterday afternoon to not to go to my first group track workout for the season due to not only the very high winds in our region but some nagging post-marathon semi-injuries I’m dealing with I made it two complete rest days in a row as I took a ice bath last night for 30 minutes to help speed up healing…

So this morning I had 4 – 1200 meter repeats to do with 2:15 recovery walk/jog time. I’m following McMillian’s forecasted time for the 1200’s to be between 4:56 to 5:11 time frame. Below are my split times with both average & max HR values per each:

1200meters – 5:07 – AHR 146bpm – MHR 151bpm
1200meters – 5:08 – AHR 145bpm – MHR 154bpm
1200meters – 5:12 – AHR 146bpm – MHR 155bpm
1200meters – 5:11 – AHR 146bpm – MHR 152bpm

I ran a total of 6.8 miles as I did an extended ez warm-up to get my body going and a slightly extended cool-down portion. I also worn my Newton running shoes to break them in a little more and I gotta say that I am liking them so far. As for the repeats themselves they felt pretty good every though I was not pushing them 100% mainly due to my body still recovering some what…

b

Time Trial trim before...

returning back to training set-up...

sweaty...

Monday evening:

Since it’s only a few weeks time before the Indy Mini half marathon race on May 3rd 2008 this week I will resume some form of interim training towards this event. I will be following a slightly modified to fit my schedule Furman Institute of Running FIRST half marathon training program leading up to the half marathon event.

On the schedule per the FIRST program was a 5 mile mid-tempo run with a w/u before and c/d afterwards. I starting running on the health club treadmill at about 7:30pm later last night and as unfortunately usual it was warm & stuffy in there. Below is my 5 mile tempo time with all the good details:

5 miles mid-tempo – 36:35 – pace 7:19 – AHR 147bpm – MHR 158bpm

I ran a total of 6.5 miles with w/u & c/d included at a varying 0, .5 and 1 degree incline throughout the run. I achieved my max HR right at the finish of the tempo run as I cranked the mile pace to 6:54 which helped me to bump up the LT level during this tempo run. This run did me in and was exhausting to say the least…

So today I’m taking a rest day from any sort of exercising to let my body heal up some more…and wouldn’t it figure it’s a beautiful weather day outside...

b

20k time trial race report...

Early Sunday morning I woke-up to snow flurries in our region at 5am as I prepared myself for the trip up to southern Wisconsin for my first cycling bike race of the 2008 season know as the Single Bong 20k Time Trial by a town name Burlington. As I was driving northward to the event I passed the IL/WI border the flurries went away as did the cloud cover but at a price, the winds picked up to a constant 21mph out of the NNE with gusts to 30mph but I knew all the other bike racers would have to deal with this weather also. The race headquarters are actually based out of the Kansasville Elementary School, which is nice for getting ready, and plenty of parking available. Since I raced this event last year knew what to expect and this was a big “roadie” event since it kicks off their Time Trial series for the year so competition is always top-notch here.

Since the start times (individual rider goes on every 30 seconds) were pushed back 15 minutes I actually started at 8:59:30am, which I found out when I arrived at the starting area. This was actually good as I went back to my car to put on more clothing over the two layers I was already wearing and heavier skier type winter gloves. With the temps hovering at 29 degrees and the winds as strong as they were, I felt like I should have been at a skiing race not a time trial bike race. Since the course starts southward the opening 2.2 miles I warmed up quickly once I was released from the start line with a nice tail wind which I made the most of while it lasted as I cruised over the rolled terrain of southern Wisconsin with a race max speed here at 34.5mph. Then the course turns right…

for the next 4 miles in the westward direction. Since this region of Wisconsin is farm fields and this time of the year the fields are bare soil the winds hit you at all times while out on the course. This section was tough with riding the strong cross-wind as 3 riders whom started behind me got by me like I was standing still in this segment but I was riding aerobically preparing for the next right turn which…

heads directly Northward for 2.2 miles into the brute force of the wind hitting you straight head-on wanting to push the rider into the ditch at all times plus the only hill on this course is in this section. One rider only passed me on this section just before the uphill as I held my ground till the next right hand turn…

which heads the racer back to the finish line Eastward for the last 4 mile section. I held my own in this section as no other rider passed me before the finish line. This 4-mile section was almost as tough as the Northward section in a way that the NNE head/side wind was brutal in this zone also.

Per my Garmin 305 I rode the 20k (12.4 mile) TT yesterday in 33:35 for an average pace of 22.1mph. I have no other techy data from this bike race as I forgot my HR transmitter belt at home by accident so I racing this event by perceived effort. For comparison at this event last year (2007) I finished with a time of 32:08 – 23mph but the weather was absolutely perfect. Also I have to remember that I ran a marathon just a week ago so I was still recovering from that plus the day before I ran a ten-mile recovery run. After I got back to the car I loaded up everything quickly into the car and totally de-frosted myself on the drive home…

b

Gravel run...

Saturday morning:

K & I headed down to Lake Michigan to get in a run earlier Saturday morning of about ten miles to keep our condition going towards the Indy Mini half in three weeks time. Kristen ran one recovery run weds evening after the marathon and I did not run till this lakefront run...

I ran with some controlled anger for a couple reasons for 10.3 miles and the run felt fabulous. Temps were at 40 degrees with a little rain the whole time we were out there with the usual lakefront swirling wind...I could have used this day a week ago

Anyhow with my body still recovering I covered the 10.3 miles in 1:24:59 for a mile pace of 8:15. My average HR was slightly high even in the cooler temps at 144bpm with a max at one point near the end at 157bpm.

That run felt really good and thats exactly what I needed

b

some random thoughts...

A couple observations for the near and mid future:

I don't know yet if I'm gonna follow the FIRST program again after the last two marathon training programs following the FIRST advanced marathon training has yet to net me the results I'm looking for...time will tell on that final decision.

As for the Chicago Marathon 2008 I will not be focusing on this race for a proper 16 week training cycle heading into this 'thon. To be honest I'm really looking forward to the Half Ironman Race on August 2nd 2008 in Benton Harbor Michigan "Steelhead" This is my next peak race of this season plus I will be able to cycle 56 miles in this race which is where my real sporting talent is at...I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to this event.

b

total recovery spin...

Since last weekend things have been rather hectic for me as K & I traveled to the Marathon and flew back home very quickly after the race was over. Both of our vehicles have required some serious repair issues due to the nature of our Chicagoland winter (which still continues ) so each night afterwork I drive down in Chicago by the lakefront to my good friends European import repair/race shop to drop-off one car and the next evening do the same routine so tonight I finally pick-up repaired car number two. Also I have been preparing my TT/Tri-bike for a my first cycling 20k Time Trial this Sunday up in southern Wisconsin…at this point Mother Nature is forecasting snow for our region Saturday evening thru Sunday morning…go figure? Even though Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were non-exercise days for post-marathon recovery I’m still feeling wore down…whatever!
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Thursday morning:

I rode my tri-bike via the Kinetic Trainer for 40 minutes this morning to help speed up my recovery process and much to my surprise the ride felt really good. I spun the small chainring upfront with easier gears on the rear cassette to help maintain a level 1 ride with slightly higher cadence values. 11.7 miles were covered in that time at 17.5mph with an average HR of 105 (still recovering) and an average cadence of 94rpm. It felt really good to casually exercise once again…

So right now I’m doing the non-snow/rain dance for the biking TT this coming Sunday...they are predicting snow on Saturday thru Sunday morning still...

b

cycling attack mode...

After much research during the winter time on what biking Time Trial aero helmets are certified here in the good 'ole USA both the governing bodies of Triathlons, et...USAT and American Bycling Racing...ABR only above very few aero TT helmets that you are allowed to wear at any of their races in USA...so below is the helmet I choose to purchase in late March with some b-day monies I rec'd earlier that month...

This was the best choice for me from a company out of Spain but their much are much better time trial helmets available but they are not legal in the USA...

b

Athens Ohio Marathon race report 04.06.08

It’s taken me a little time to write-up a race report about the Athens Ohio Marathon that K & I ran this past Sunday but here we go finally. I picked this spring BQ attempt race for several reasons but the main reason being that it was a flat & fast Boston qualifier race so I wouldn’t have to wait till Chicago again in October 2008. I followed the advanced Furman Institute of Training FIRST program once again for 16 weeks as I did for Chicago 2007. My training cycle was very strong even with the normal style Chicago winter we have had this year. My cross training days were spot-on for those 16 weeks also but there’s one variable that we cannot control at all when it comes to race day and that is…

Mother Nature…

At the start of the un-chipped race at 9am it was already bright sunshine & 56 degrees and when I finished on the Ohio University track at 12:41:49pm it was even sunnier & warmer at 73 degrees with a very constant 12mph southeast wind all day long. I ran the race in my summertime track workout style singlet & shorts so it wasn’t a problem of over-dressing at all. It was just that my body was not acclimated to this very quick change in weather so abruptly when you’re used to training outdoors in the 20 to 30 degree temperature range. The course is an out and back on an asphalt bike path which is a converted rails to trails path. A lot of the path is in wide open fields following the Hocking River and at the sections that have tall trees that didn’t help much as their where no leaves on the limps. This equaled being hit by direct sunlight for at least 90% of the time while on the race course.

At the starting gun I was on the startline with the full & half marathoners and as the cannon went off I controlled my pacing the first mile and a half to the trail head as we all then headed northwestward to the turn around point at mile 13.1. As I cruised at a comfortable normal training pace of 8 minute miles or very slightly under, drinking enough water with my eGels & lava salts every 5 miles I went through the 13.1 mile turn around at 1:45:02 and was immediately greeting by a very constant southeast head wind which would last till the finishline a half marathon later. I only used my Polar HR monitor with it’s watch to lap time my mile split times and that’s the only time I saw my HR values since I was running by PEL. By mile 18 my body was just locking up from my lower back all the way down both legs to my feet. It was a strange new feeling to me as if my legs lost all their stride-ability. I try everything over the last 8.2 miles to over-come this problem but nothing was working as the direct sunlight, wind and warmth had done my body in basically.

The last 2 miles you follow the Hocking river southeast (which was even windier) towards the Ohio University track that you run a 600 meter lap to finish I was dicing with a young man that was about half my age but the really benefit was he was 6’6” tall with a Mohawk haircut. I used my cycling knowledge and drafted him to break the winds and as we entered the track I remained in his draft until 200 meters to go I decided to use the track energy for the pass on him and as I pulled along side of him my first (and only) cramp of the day knotted my right hamstring badly so I back off the throttle and cruised around the last track corner. In the corner I noticed the fresh water in the steeplechase pit and though how refreshing that looked to lounge in at that point but with 100 meters to go I crossed the finishline with a time of 3:41:49…not a bq, not a pr but the best run I could do on this given race day.

Went I got home I downloaded my Polar HR data and then that’s when I really noticed the real reason for my problems at the Athens Ohio Marathon…my average HR 149bpm in the opening 13.1 miles were about 9 to 11 beats per minute higher than that same minute mile pace I trained at home all winter in the cooler/colder temps especially via the 5 – 20 mile training runs I did for this race preparation. By mile 16 thru 18 my HR was bouncing into the higher red HR zone which is not good for a marathon distance even though my mile pacing did not quicken and then you could see via the HR chart when my body & heart had enough of this un-seasonable warm temperatures. My body went into a fail-safe mode for survival at that point even though I was trying to fight through this situation…

And on a different note…

Kristen had a fantastic marathon race as she really had no goal time in mind but I had a feeling see was looking to PR under her previous best at Maui in September 2006 when we ran together and she PR there with a 4:24:xx time. As I waited for K to enter the track she was well under the previous best time for herself but I could tell she was hurting, so I provided words of encouragement as she crossed the finish line with a new PR time of 4:18:44…I was very, very proud of her great performance and as she got her breathing back after a few minutes she informed me that she was fighting right-side stitches from mile 17 onwards which makes this even more of an incredible achievement for her

Below are some results links if anyone might be interested:
http://results.active.com/pages/displayNonGru.jsp?rsID=60994&orgID=234635&pubID=2

http://www.athensmarathon.org/results.htm

Thanks for your patience and spending the time to read our race report

b

a nice training run...

no bq, no pr...oh well :-)

The bib #

a well balanced number i do believe :-)

The cobbles...

A block away from tomorrow mornings 9am start time.

Where the race enters the bike path...

at about mile 2 then heading northward...

Mile 1 marker...

For a $35 entry fee it's old school...thank goodness for Garmin's

Yes that's me...

K took the tourist pic of me as she prefer's not have her's taken ;)

Were here...

We got in town around noon...

last one before the big day...

Thursday morning:

This morning in the house I did my last finally easy workout before Sunday’s marathon race. I rode my tri-bike via the Kinetic trainer for only 30 minutes at a level 1 rating which translates to very easy gears were used to keep my HR in the total recovery zone but spun out the last bit of lactic acid soreness in my legs & glutes. The ride went by quickly as I covered 8.2 miles for an average speed of 16.4mph. Also my average HR was recovery low at 94bpm with an average cadence of 92rpm. My body always feels better after these simple recovery rides…

b

done repeats...

Wednesday night:

Since it was 50 degrees out when I got home lastnight I decided to run in a mock race clothing set-up; long nike running shorts with a sleeveless bikers undershirt and a light tech long sleeve runners top. I also had on a thin skull cap with my ultra-thin pearl izumi gloves which were only used for the w/u & c/d portions of the neighborhood run...the test was a success!

Per the FIRST program I had a 1.5 mile w/u then 6 by 400 meter repeats at ~1:35 then a 400 meter repeat jog followed then by a mile c/d. Below were my repeat times with average & max HR values per each:

400 meter - 1:33 - AHR 148bpm - MHR 154bpm
400 meter - 1:30 - AHR 148bpm - MHR 156bpm
400 meter - 1:32 - AHR 149bpm - MHR 158bpm
400 meter - 1:32 - AHR 149bpm - MHR 156bpm
400 meter - 1:34 - AHR 146bpm - MHR 156bpm
400 meter - 1:31 - AHR 153bpm - MHR 160bpm

The repeats felt good as in each one (except#5 mind wandering one) I set the speed tempo within the first 50 meters of starting the interval and held it there till the end of each. The south wind was at 12mph pushing me in the face on repeats number 1, 3 & 5 but that didn't matter because I was feeling good out there, the taper & massage were working.

So with that positive last training workout I can now relax a few more days before the Athens Ohio marathon this Sunday...

b

petri dish...

Monday evening:

Went straight to the health club at 5pm right afterwork to get this ‘little 3 mile FIRST schedule run in for the day. The weather in our region changed from 35 degrees at noon to 61 degrees by 5pm with brutal winds outdoors hence why I went to the treadmill to run but the fieldhouse felt like it was at least 80 degrees inside and 1000% humidity! Plus the young woman that was deathly ill run on my favorite treadmill last Monday was back at it again still sick and blowing her nose every minute into her health club towel…gross, gross, gross! Conditions where ripe like a petri dish in the club fieldhouse…needless to say I stayed as far away as possible from her this finally week of taper madness.

Back to the run…it was a 1 mile w/u then 2 miles at projected 8 minute mile marathon pace and that was it. Below are my 2 mile tempo run stats:

15:53 – 7:56 mile pace – AHR 136bpm – MHR 142bpm

My HR was still high from the run the day before and the heat/humidity added to the high HR variable also…I guess maybe I should have run outside in the 35mph winds.

Tuesday late afternoon I have my pre-race massage as I always do 5 days before a marathon…

b

Shamrock Shuffle 8k long run sunday report is...

here...http://www.trainingpeaks.com/bbs-forum/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=36612&posts=1

b