Second At-Bat to BQ - Hartford

Thanks Michael.

Well this has been a nice step back week.

Monday lunch - 8M. 2 x 1M @ 5k and 2 x .5M @ 5k. Been having some cooler weather. Amazing how you can hammer when the temps drop. Although I think I pushed this maybe too hard as I was a bit wiped after.

Monday pm - 4M. Easy. Took this real slow.

Tuesday - 10M. GA. Was still feeling it from yesterday. After doing this run smarter the past couple of weeks I reverted back to not being smart. So the second half was slower which I never want on this run.

Wednesday - 6.5M. Easy to GA with 6 x 100m. Felt decent on this and my pace just naturally got faster.

Thursday - First non-running day in 5 weeks. Did some core work and walked a bit at lunch.

Friday - 5M. Felt sluggish on this. Did a few quick bursts towards the end. With today off at least it wasn't a 4am run.

I've got the Gulf Beach Half tomorrow down in CT. No real goal. I'm just going to run it and see how I do.

Weather should be good tomorrow - have fun!

Good luck with the race. I hope the weather we are having now comes through either tonight (as the morning temps are supposed to be below 50F even at the lakefront) or after the race.

Thanks Michael and Michele.

Well believe it or not I actually won my age group today. And that was with me missing a turn and running close to an extra half mile. Granted the best runners were probably at Boston running the BAA Half but i don't care. I went through 13.1M around 1:31:25 which is a 85sec PR and total time was 1:33:51. I was actually a bit stunned for the Half time as I had no idea where my speed and endurance is at this point.

A few others longed the course too. Hopefully next year they'll have someone or a better sign at the particular area where we went off. The last .1M was on a beach which made it kind of difficult. Overall it was fun.

Got about 4 weeks now until Hartford.

That's crazy, but great! Congratulations. Hartford should be a great race for you.

Thanks Michael.

Saturday - Gulf Coast Half. About 1:31:25, 1st AG. Mistakenly went off course after mile 11 with some others for about half mile so official time of 1:33:51. Stopped watch at 13.1. Last .1 on beach so couldn't really sprint.

Sunday - 11.5M Easy. Actually felt pretty good considering I raced the half.

Monday - 13M Easy to GA. Off from work so instead of a double just went a longer single. It was nice out and just cruised along.

Tuesday - 5M Easy. In the rain for this one.

Wednesday - 13M. 3 x 3M MP-20. I had debated doing 10M at MP, but thought this might be better.

Thursday - 4.5M Easy. This was actually about 10hrs after my Wednesday night run as I had to do this early thanks to all day meeting. So this was kind of a double over two days.

Friday - 8M. 8 x 100m. Another 4am run in the books. Next Friday should be the last 4am run.

Tomorrow is the final 20M.

Nice work, and enjoy the 20!

Thanks Michael.

Saturday - 20M LSD. Ran this one a little faster, plus the last two at MP. Felt pretty good out there. The temps out there were pretty ideal.

Sunday - 11.5M. Easy. Again pretty good weather out there.

Today will be a speed day. Three weeks to go.

It was a good weekend for those runs, weather-wise. Hopefully the trend will continue and you will get good weather for Hartford.

Of the three times I've lined up for Hartford, the weather has always been at least decent. In '07 and '10, it was a nice fall day, sunny, and a little warmer than ideal, but not bad at all. In '09 (which I DNF'd, but not because of the weather), it varied quite a bit during the race. Was cool at the start, and a bit too humid, but ok because not too hot, and then it turned cooler, cloudy and windy later in the race, but not too windy.

Just keep it up, and you should turn in a really good time!

Thanks Michael. We'll see.

Monday lunch - 8.5M with 5 @ HMP. Felt good. Just cranked away.

Monday pm - 4M Easy. Legs felt decent once I got going.

Tuesday - 5M Easy. Feel free to skip ahead as this is gross. Had GI issues and was forced into the woods. Lets just say I used bad leaves and now I have poison oak/ivy or whatever right where you don't want it. Not good.

Wednesday - 12M GA. Ran it smart again. Cruised along. Was dark by the time I was done. Daylight getting shorter.

Thursday - 4.5M Easy. I know things are well when these runs are just naturally faster.

Friday - 7M with 8 x 100m. My last 4am run. It was raining out. I felt pretty good.

Two weeks to go. Tomorrow will be 17M with a fast finish. Then it's taper time. Still dealing with Tuesday's issue which flat out sucks.

Have you gotten a cortisone shot for it? That would clear things up much quicker than any other treatment might. I was even more miserable than you are once as the poison ivy sap got into my blood stream and I was itching from the inside out. Nothing like popping Vicodin to knock yourself out because your skin is crawling from internal poison ivy itch!

Alex - I've been there with the GI issues; however, I just used and ditched my shirt. Granted, it was a white cotton T instead of a singlet or tech shirt, but I think I'd rather toss that one away than risk bad leaves. Sorry to hear about it, although it's kind of funny .

Training's looking great going into taper.

Oh, man, that is awful to even think about.

I am great at spotting poison ivy, so I doubt I'll have that problem.

Had to dump in the woods once last year - not my idea of a good time.

The good news is that if you could run those runs the next days afterwards, it could have been worse!!

Look for Zanfel for the poison ivy. That stuff works best when used right away, but it still might bring some relief!

mul21 wrote:Have you gotten a cortisone shot for it? That would clear things up much quicker than any other treatment might. I was even more miserable than you are once as the poison ivy sap got into my blood stream and I was itching from the inside out. Nothing like popping Vicodin to knock yourself out because your skin is crawling from internal poison ivy itch!

I'm a little hesitant on taking something this close to the race. It's not effecting my running so I'll let it be.

Mike MacLellan wrote:Alex - I've been there with the GI issues; however, I just used and ditched my shirt. Granted, it was a white cotton T instead of a singlet or tech shirt, but I think I'd rather toss that one away than risk bad leaves. Sorry to hear about it, although it's kind of funny .

As many times as I've ducked into woods before I've never gotten poison ivy from using leaves. Must have been lucky I used the right ones in the past. Oh well lesson learned.

Michael Enright wrote:Oh, man, that is awful to even think about.

I am great at spotting poison ivy, so I doubt I'll have that problem.

It's just annoying. It is what it is.

carleenp wrote:Look for Zanfel for the poison ivy. That stuff works best when used right away, but it still might bring some relief!

Thanks Carleen. I'll have to look for that.

Saturday - 17M Last 7M MP. One of those raw, rainy, cool mornings. Felt a little sluggish but overall it went ok.

Sunday - 10M. Easy. Perfect weather out. I'll take that for the race.

Monday - 9M. 8 x 100m. Did this easy to GA.

Taper mode. Easy run tomorrow then the last speed run on Wednesday.

Everything is looking good, I hope we all get some nice cool weather this fall.

I always carry a few Handi-wipes with me in my shorts pocket. They take up almost no room and are good to have in the situation you described. Though I hate when it happens, it does once in a while.

How was the speed work yesterday? In the rain?

Early indication on the Hartford forecast is good - of course ten day forecasts are worthless, but the overall trend seems favorable.

Hope your taper is going well. If I run this puppy, I'll try to find you prior to the gun to wish you good luck! Will keep you posted...

Michael, haven't looked at the weather yet. Trying not to until next week.

Tuesday - 5M. Easy. Ended up having to do this before work. Thought I was done with the early morning runs. At least it was closer to 4:30 as opposed to 4.

Wednesday - 8M. 2 x 2M MP - 20. Last speed run. Felt pretty good out there.

Thursday - No Running. Did some core work and did walk for about 30min at lunch.

Friday - 6M with 8 x 100m. Did this at lunch. It was around 70 or so. Kind of hoping it's not like this in a week.

So I've got a week to go. Tomorrow I'm doing 13M and probably do the last 2 or so at MP.

You are going to do well. Solid training in the last few weeks!

Have fun in Hartford. I hope the weather is perfect.

E Greenie

EugeneGreenie wrote:You are going to do well. Solid training in the last few weeks!

Have fun in Hartford. I hope the weather is perfect.

E Greenie

I hope so to. Thank you.

Saturday - 13M with last 2M MP. A bit warm and humid again. Hopefully it's not like that next Saturday.

Sunday - 6M Easy.

Well Here I am 5 days away and I've got a small cold. Noticed it towards the end of yesterday's run when I had to start clearing my throat. I've been popping Zicam and drinking water non stop. Normally I'd still run today because it's not that bad, but I probably won't with the race Saturday. I'll see how I feel when I get home.

Forecast is good. Keep warm, get some extra rest, sleep well and hopefully that cold goes away!

Good luck at the races!!

All the work is done, now it is time for the party. Have a good one.

Good luck this weekend!