Crossing My Training And Crossing My Fingers

Thanks Dave!

Hope you aren't running in those combat boots in this heat!

Michael Enright wrote:Did my early bird six miles this morning.



When I was done, I sat down for a while at our kitchen table (all water-impervious surfaces involved!). I literally left puddles under the table that I had to wipe up. Haven't been that wet without jumping in a pool or shower in a while.

Water impervious furniture or not, my wife would have been serving me with divorce papers if I dared sat down as sweaty as that after a run!

I'm glad your house wasn't damaged too badly by the tree. We had a similar experience some years ago. A tree on our property fell and totally destroyed out garage. Thank God for the homeowners policy!

Seth Harrison wrote:

Michael Enright wrote:Did my early bird six miles this morning.



When I was done, I sat down for a while at our kitchen table (all water-impervious surfaces involved!). I literally left puddles under the table that I had to wipe up. Haven't been that wet without jumping in a pool or shower in a while.

Water impervious furniture or not, my wife would have been serving me with divorce papers if I dared sat down as sweaty as that after a run!

Ahhh, you see, she doesn't get up that early!!!

I can sweat all I want before about 7:45!

I was pondering what to do with my long run this weekend. I could do it today (forecast for upper 90s and dew points in the mid to upper 60s), or wait until tomorrow (supposed to cool off, but still no picnic). The day I don't run, I plan to bike about 25 to 30 miles (easier in the heat).

Well, at about 9:00 am it was cloudy and still not all that hot. Seemed like a decent time to run. Told my wife I was going to go. She thought I was absolutely nuts. She joked (well, it sounded like she was joking) about where she should go to look for me if I didn't come back.

So I got ready and headed up to the rail trail. Lots of shade there, in case the sun did come out. I decided to do a 7 mile out and back, and then to run short loops (no longer than 4 miles) after that, leaving water at the car, and carrying with me, so I would never run out of water. That was a good idea!

Saw some friends on the trail, which was nice. I just took it real slow, and drank a lot of water. Ended up drinking over a half gallon on the 15 mile total I ran. It was warm, but bearable, and quite muggy/sweaty - I was drenched! - but the worst part was that it was really buggy! Gnats, gnats and a few flies thrown in for good measure. They love this hot, still weather. The gnats were with me lots of these miles, flying around my face and ears. After a while, you kind of get used to them, but they are annoying.

After the first 7 miles, I stopped at the car to replenish my water supply, and texted my wife about my progress, then headed back out. I was back at the car at 11 miles, and did the same. This way, she knew that I was not dead. When I got to 15, I was glad to be done, and did some nice stretches and headed home.

I realized about halfway through the run that I had forgotten to eat breakfast, so after a quick dip in the pool, had some lunch. Then I decided to try to put this tow bar I bought on the minivan. Wow, what a pain, and doubly hard because of the intense heat in the driveway (its just shy of 100 right now). Actually had to give up after about an hour. I need a lift for the minivan and more muscle than I had at my disposal. I may ask the professionals to do it. Then I whacked all the weeds and crabgrass growing out of my two patios. When I was done, I decided to take a shower. But when I turned on the exhaust fan in the bathroom, it wasn't working, so (standing there, dripping sweat still in my jockey shorts), I took it apart. When I did, all this antique insulation and other junk fell down on me, sticking to my sweaty head, shoulders, arms and torso. Yech. I finished fixing it, cleaned up around me, and finally got my shower.

Man, I am tired!

Good run, though!

I waited out the rain late morning (well, I thought I successfully out-waited it!) and headed out for a bike ride about noon. As things ended up, I had a fair amount of rain for the whole trip (just under 26 miles). I also had my friends the gnats with me any time I would slow down to go uphill, and there were a lot of hills. I am on good terms with them. They don't bite me, and I don't bite them (if I can help it - although, it seems they are a good source of protein and occasional accidental snack). I have never seen so many of these gnats as this year. Must be a combination of all the wet weather we had followed by this heat.

It was cloudy, so not as hot today (though plenty warm) and quite humid. Haven't seen any statistics for the day, but I'm guessing dew points are probably upper 60s - probably not into the 70s today. Not too bad, really.

This was a real nice ride. Its mostly on back roads, with some state highway thrown in. Most of the state highway isn't much more than a back road! But some of it is a little busy. The good news was that the traffic was really light everywhere I went. I think people are so sick of the heat and humidity, they just want to stay inside and watch tv.

If I can remember how to do it, I'll paste in the elevation chart. The worst hill isn't the biggest one, its the one at about 19 miles. Its even got a name the locals use (the runners I know) - "Huff 'n Puff" - its spray painted on the road surface where somebody marked the route, probably for the HS XC runners, I'd guess. Anyway, after 19 miles, its a tough uphill. The good news is that it doesn't last long. And to add insult to injury, there is one of those radar guns there with a sign that automatically posts your mph (there is a school just past it, so it must be intended at a deterrent for school day speeding). Its right near the top of this biotch of a hill. I posted a 6 mph! And that seemed pretty good...

Another 6 miler at 6 a.m. today. Weather was a bit cooler, and it was cloudy, so it was pretty nice. I was a bit tired from the ride/run miles over the weekend, so the first mile (uphill warmup) was a little slow, but standard easy kind of pace after that, and pretty typical overall.



The insurance guy came out about the damage to the house from the tree, and people have come by to quote and/or fix their piece of it, so that seems to be in good order. Its a lot of work dealing with them all. Glad I don't have to do it



Getting geared up to go on vacation for a week (Rhode Island beaches) starting Saturday - that should be fun - can't wait!

Spectacular morning here - 60s and sunny. Wow, felt chilly on the bike!

Not much to report - had a nice hour-long ride in my standard loop around town. This route has some hills, but nothing killer - only a couple of long stretches of uphill, and those aren't steep, and a couple of steep stretches that aren't too long - perfect balance!

I do find the x-training really helps me from a recovery perspective on the PF, and just in general.

At the same time, I'm hoping my running doesn't suffer too much from limiting it to 3 days a week. I think next month it will be time to throw in some MP and tempo runs, because I feel like I will be up for it by then (after next week's vacation), and I think that would be a positive.

Michael Enright wrote:Spectacular morning here - 60s and sunny. Wow, felt chilly on the bike!

Not much to report - had a nice hour-long ride in my standard loop around town. This route has some hills, but nothing killer - only a couple of long stretches of uphill, and those aren't steep, and a couple of steep stretches that aren't too long - perfect balance!

I do find the x-training really helps me from a recovery perspective on the PF, and just in general.

At the same time, I'm hoping my running doesn't suffer too much from limiting it to 3 days a week. I think next month it will be time to throw in some MP and tempo runs, because I feel like I will be up for it by then (after next week's vacation), and I think that would be a positive.

Michael, how long to you plan on running only 3 days/week? I realize that you may have no choice due to injury, but when I was limited to 3 days/week through much of my Boston training, I found that it left me woefully undertrained. I don't know if you're using the "Run Less, Run Faster" philosophy, but I think the limited amount of running was the biggest factor leading to my poor performance at Boston. I didn't have a choice, so I wasn't really disappointed. I hope you're able to resume a more regular training schedule before too long.

Seth: So far this summer, its been pretty much "wait and see" on going beyond three days a week. At the moment, I think I may be getting close to getting over that hump. But I have to be honest with myself - after my 15 miler on Saturday, my wife immediately noticed and said to me "you are limping" - which I was. That right foot hurt. I'm not past it yet. It is getting better. I'm hoping soon.



By the end of August, the biking midweek will have to end, because I will have to shift to evening training (getting kids to school in the morning will make morning training impossible), and the chance of me getting out on the bike before dark (and I'm not riding around these parts after dark) are pretty much zero given my schedule. So if I can transition sometime in mid-August to four days of running and one day of biking, that would be good.



All I can do is keep hoping, not worsen it by trying to advance too quickly, and get lucky. That harkens back to the blog title.



Thanks for the insight re your experience - that's exactly what I worry about. Also the reason I have kept my goal in check so far this summer.

Michael Enright wrote:Seth: So far this summer, its been pretty much "wait and see" on going beyond three days a week. At the moment, I think I may be getting close to getting over that hump. But I have to be honest with myself - after my 15 miler on Saturday, my wife immediately noticed and said to me "you are limping" - which I was. That right foot hurt. I'm not past it yet. It is getting better. I'm hoping soon.



By the end of August, the biking midweek will have to end, because I will have to shift to evening training (getting kids to school in the morning will make morning training impossible), and the chance of me getting out on the bike before dark (and I'm not riding around these parts after dark) are pretty much zero given my schedule. So if I can transition sometime in mid-August to four days of running and one day of biking, that would be good.



All I can do is keep hoping, not worsen it by trying to advance too quickly, and get lucky. That harkens back to the blog title.



Thanks for the insight re your experience - that's exactly what I worry about. Also the reason I have kept my goal in check so far this summer.

I'm sorry to see that the foot is still causing such problems Michael. I hope you are able add that fourth day. I think it makes a huge difference, but I know really well that you can only do what your body will allow. In the meantime, the bike is a great cross trainer.

Michael - great job this weekend - sounds like you really got after it!

As far as the cross training and being undertrained, Seth is right but I also want to offer a ray of hope. Cycling is an inefficient way to train for a marathon for sure, but in the triathlon world, many people believe in riding more and running less to gain more bike fitness but also save themselves from injury. I know Randy E. says that he runs in the 30-40 mile range a week when training for his ironman. Point is, I think you can train for a marathon while doing much of your training as cycling. Will you be as fast as you would be by simply running - probably not, but the injury tradeoff might be worth it. Bummer that the foot is still giving some problems, but I think you are following a good plan. I would think bringing everything along slowly is wise.

Keep up the great work!

Thanks John and Seth!

I am just going to proceed based on feel and hope for the best.

Must have been all the berries I ate last night (ended up sucking down a pint of blueberries and half pint of raspberries - I just love this time of year)!



I headed out for my standard six miler this morning and immediately felt really good. Powered up that 170 foot mile-long climb a full 30 seconds faster than Tuesday morning, and just kept going, averaging a good half minute a mile faster than I've been running this lately. Just felt good. Weather helped, as it was cooler (but humid - it was in the upper 50s but I was still breathing out steam!).



Just one of those days when everything feels real good. My legs are definitely feeling good. Now, if only my foot will join the party soon...

First nice run this morning and good to read you felt good. Hey if you could can you send some that 50F weather our way?

Michael Enright wrote:Thanks John and Seth!

I am just going to proceed based on feel and hope for the best.

I think that this would be a smart idea no need to push things or your foot. Like you said you know things are not completely back to normal when you have your wife noticing you are limping. I know it is hard to do but just be patience with it and do what you can and let it get healed.

Sounds like a wonderful run you had for the 5. I think you are playing it very smart with your running choices.

Schuey wrote:First nice run this morning and good to read you felt good. Hey if you could can you send some that 50F weather our way?

Michael Enright wrote:Thanks John and Seth!

I am just going to proceed based on feel and hope for the best.

I think that this would be a smart idea no need to push things or your foot. Like you said you know things are not completely back to normal when you have your wife noticing you are limping. I know it is hard to do but just be patience with it and do what you can and let it get healed.

Thanks Schuey.



It was amazing to think the temps were below 60! After all, six days ago it was 103.

Kenny B. wrote:Sounds like a wonderful run you had for the 5. I think you are playing it very smart with your running choices.

Thanks Kenny. I can't be as Zen as you, but I do what I can!

Michael Enright wrote:

Kenny B. wrote:Sounds like a wonderful run you had for the 5. I think you are playing it very smart with your running choices.

Thanks Kenny. I can't be as Zen as you, but I do what I can!

LOL. Not sure if you should be!

On vacation this week. Instead of our traditional summer trek to Saugatuck, MI, we decided this year to stay closer to home, and rented a house in Charlestown, RI, just across the road from one of the salt ponds at the shore (the name of this one is shortened to "Quonnie" - I can't spell the full name nor pronounce it, yet). It is beautiful here, and though the weather has been warm (not hot), its been perfect beach weather. With the house, we get access to a beach on the ocean, which is a nice short drive, and its beautiful. Very nice. Wish I had a kayak - the pond right across the street is huge and would be perfect for that. Maybe we'll rent a couple for a few days...

With all the running around getting ready to leave for a week on Saturday, and then the packing and travel here, I didn't get a run in on Saturday. It was the step back week "long" run, which wouldn't have been very long anyway, so I don't worry about it. Took it easy Sunday, and had a nice exploratory bike ride (it was nice to get the rack on the minivan and bring the bike along!), scoping out running routes. Ended up doing a leisurely 12 mile ride.

Today, I got up and had a nice 8 mile run. Very gently rolling terrain here by the beach, which seems just about flat to me. That was nice! I ambled along at just under 9:00 min/mile for most of the run. Warm this morning, and no shade here, it seems, and it was humid, so I was soaked at the end, and tired (last mile came in at 9:22, so I was showing it), but it all felt good.

Looks like another mellow day here. I think tomorrow I'm going to put the bike on the rack and drive over to the South County bike path, and ride the length of that, which will take me into Narragansett, and then ride around there a bit, then head back. Should make for a nice early morning ride, I think.

Sure is nice to be on vacation! I was thinking about it when we left, and I think this is my first day off of work (other than the national holidays and one day when it snowed two feet and we closed the office) this year. Needed a break.

Got up early on Tuesday of vacation week and loaded the bike onto the rack and headed over to the western end of the South County bike path. They just dedicated another couple of miles of this over the weekend, so I got to read about it in the local paper, and knew it was something I wanted to try. It runs from the RR station in West Kingston, which is about 20 minutes away, for about 6+ miles east to Narragansett. I wasn't sure what it would be like. It was real nice!

This is the old RR right of way for a spur that ran to Narraganset, I assume to take the summer crowds there. Its been paved nicely with nice road crossings. It meanders through quite a few little town centers on its way, so I needed to slow for these. Not bad. A few other cyclists and runners/walkers out early on nice Tuesday morning, but not crowded by any means.

It travels along regular roads at odd intervals, and isn't that well marked, but I figured it out (with one misguided detour that was actually kind of pleasant). When it gets into Narragansett, it travels along a nicely marked bike route on the roads, taking you down to the town beach and then north along Rte 1A, which is very nice. Lots of other riders out there. I turned around at 10 miles and headed back. So I got in a nice 20 miler before breakfast.

On my way in, I'd noticed a quirky looking coffee shop with baked goods, so stopped there to get coffee for my bride and baked goods for everyone. The place was perfect (they even had a nice scone, which is my wife's favorite).

Perfect way to start Tuesday!

10 mile run on a nicely cooler morning today. All went well. I love this relatively flat running near the beach! My elevation charts look a whole lot different than at home. Its also nice to see all the other runners and cyclists out so early, taking advantage of the increased shade and the lower temps. Hard to find a shady spot once the sun gets up to about 10:00 a.m. height. I think today is turning into another beach day. It was supposed to rain, so we were thinking about going into Watch Hill to cruise the trendy little shops, etc., but the sun is out and the temps are gorgeous, so another day of sitting under the umbrella in the sand. Nice, but "yawn" at this point. Fell asleep under it yesterday...

The owner of my company lives in Watch Hill Memorial Day to Labor Day. I've never been but I gather that its pretty spectacular. If I was up there, we could head out for a run together and then pop in on him and have him make us some lunch. For now, the closest I get to Watch Hill is just sending FedEx packages up there with things to sign.

Sounds like a nice vacation so far. Heard a bell on a bike while running along a "river path" this weekend and it reminded me of this blog, haha!

Chris M wrote:The owner of my company lives in Watch Hill Memorial Day to Labor Day. I've never been but I gather that its pretty spectacular. If I was up there, we could head out for a run together and then pop in on him and have him make us some lunch. For now, the closest I get to Watch Hill is just sending FedEx packages up there with things to sign.

Its a beautiful spot, but it ain't cheap there! Maybe I'll just run over there myself and demand lunch...

: )

Mike MacLellan wrote:Sounds like a nice vacation so far. Heard a bell on a bike while running along a "river path" this weekend and it reminded me of this blog, haha!

I used my bell twice yesterday morning, and was glad I had it! The bike path I rode on is beautiful, but a little funny in the sense that they post signs telling those on foot to walk opposite traffic, like on the road. This seems to lead to a lot of confused people (both cyclists and runners/walkers). But they seemed to understand the bell! Funny, ringing it makes me feel happy, like I'm ten again...