Redemption: 2013 Hamilton Road2Hope Marathon

07.06.13 -

6 mile fartlek...Warm'n this morning for my fartlek, but I got it in.  Started out with a nice and easy 8:10 warm up mile and then kicked it down for the middle four miles, before cooling down the last mile at 8:20.  I finished a total of 6.23 miles at a 7:41 pace.  Time to rest up the legs for tomorrow's 15 miler.  It is supposed to be a warm one again, so I will be up at the crack of dawn to get it in.

07.07.13 -

15 miles...I knew that I was in for it today when I work up at 4:45 and it was 72 degrees out.  So, I knew that I was going to have to take it easy this morning or risk blowing up from overheating.  One thing that I have found this year is that I must be starting to get old.  It now takes me around 2 miles to shake the cobwebs out of my legs and really get dialed in to my pace.  Where as in the past, I was able to pretty much be at the pace I wanted after about a mile.  I was instantly sweating from the warmth and humidity.  It was like I was running through sprinklers...haha...I made to the halfway point in pretty good shape, but as I started making my way back this began to get tougher and tougher, as the temps kept rising.  It was at this point that I grit my teeth and decided that I was going to finish the run.  I ended up completing 15.16 miles at an 8:11 pace.  much slower than I wanted to, but with the conditions, I will take it.  I did have to stop and walk for about 30 seconds to pour some water over my head to cool, but I needed it!!

And so ends Week 2.  I totaled 36.16 miles for the week.  Next week is the first stepback week, before increasing the mileage.  After today, I think I definitely need a stepback week

Nicely done in less than ideal conditions.

You feel old? Give it another 25 years or so!
 

Man, I would take a day that started at 72 most of the time down here.  I got lucky this morning and it was in the upper 60s with a bit of a breeze when I headed out.  It got warm quickly, but the humidity wasn't too bad today.  My battle today was that at about a mile and a half in, I realized I forgot to grab a gel.  That last mile was a bit of a struggle as I was running out of gas.

Way to get it done!

Michael Enright wrote:Nicely done in less than ideal conditions.

You feel old? Give it another 25 years or so!
 

Oh, I can't wait!!

mul21 wrote:Man, I would take a day that started at 72 most of the time down here.  I got lucky this morning and it was in the upper 60s with a bit of a breeze when I headed out.  It got warm quickly, but the humidity wasn't too bad today.  My battle today was that at about a mile and a half in, I realized I forgot to grab a gel.  That last mile was a bit of a struggle as I was running out of gas.

Way to get it done!

It wouldn't have been so bad if the humidity wasn't so high.  Plus, the temps rose pretty fast...

Just getting caught up, but I think that BQ is just about in the bag.  Looking forward to following along!

Dave-O wrote:Just getting caught up, but I think that BQ is just about in the bag.  Looking forward to following along!

I am hoping so, but I still gotta put in the work...

Thanks!!

07.08.13 -

Cross-training...Hit up the gym today for some weight training.  Softball followed the weight training and I had to lose some water weight with the humidity that we had tonight...Back to the running grind tomorrow with a good 4 miles and the first stepback week of the cycle.

There is nothing like the smell of a new pair of running shoes!!!  I came home today to find my new pair of training shoes waiting for me at the front door   Now I am off to break them in...YAY!!!

07.09.13 -

4 miles...Nothing like a hot and sweaty 4 miler to break in a new pair of training shoes.  I think that my run on Sunday helped me turn a little bit of a corner when it comes to being acclimated to running in the warm weather.  Tonight I ran 4.23 miles at a 7:40 pace, but even though I was sweating to beat the band, it did not seem that bad.

As far as the shoes I broke in tonight.  They are the new Mizuno Wave Sayonara and they have replaced the Wave Precision line of Mizuno shoes.  I actually ran my first marathon in a pair of Wave Precisions.  Anyways, this shoe seems pretty great (although I only have 4 miles on them).  They are extremely light for a trainer at 7.9oz (size 9).  Especially with all of the cushion that the shoe has.  They seem to be a little roomier in the toe box in comparison to other Mizuno shoes.  The one thing that will be interesting to see is if the 2mm difference in heal to toe drop from my normal trainers makes any difference in my training.  My normal trainers (Mizuno Wave Elixir) has a 12mm drop, where as the Sayonara has a 10mm drop.  Like I said, I only have 4 miles on them, so only time will tell.  So far, though, I like them

I wore Wave Precisions in the past, so I might have to look at these.  Doubt that you will notice a difference between 12 mm and 10 mm drop.  I wear shoes from 9 mm to 12 mm and don't notice.  When I tried 4 mm, I did get hurt though.

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:I wore Wave Precisions in the past, so I might have to look at these.  Doubt that you will notice a difference between 12 mm and 10 mm drop.  I wear shoes from 9 mm to 12 mm and don't notice.  When I tried 4 mm, I did get hurt though.

I don't think that I will see much of a difference either.  My current racing flats (Mizuno Wave Ronin) have a 10mm drop and the Wave Musha that I used to race in had a 9mm drop.

07.10.13 -

7 miles...I completed 7.51 miles tonight at what seemed an easy 7:45 pace.  So much, that I had to actually slow myself down multiple times during my run.  It was one of those times when the legs just wanted to go, but I am only on my third week of training and didn't want to over do it.  I think I easily could have ran lower 7:30s to upper 7:20s tonight.  One thing that could have put a spring in my step is that some of the humidity that we had the past few days lifted a little.  Although looking ahead at next week, it looks like the 90s are coming back.  I can't wait  

07.11.13 -

4 miles...A very easy 4 miler tonight as I totaled 4.11 miles at a 7:45 pace.  I wanted to take it pretty easy, because I will be up early tomorrow to get in my stepback week long run.  Now, you may be thinking, "Nick, why would you be running your long run on Friday?"  Well, I scheduled my first stepback week a little differently than my other weeks to accommodate the weekend.  Tomorrow afternoon I will be heading up to Oshkosh, Wisconsin to participate in one of the largest volleyball tournaments in the country, called the Waupaca Boatride Tournament.  Teams come from all over the upper Midwest to participate.  This year I believe that there are over 650 teams in the tournament.  So, because of that, I will get in my long run prior to the weekend and then if I am feeling good, I may get in a 4 mile recovery run on Sunday afternoon/evening.

I know this goes against my training, but The tournament only comes but once a year.

07.12.13 -

12 miles LSD...A good stepback week 12 miler this morning.  I started out a little slower and then just put it in cruise control and put in the work.  I completed 12.38 miles at a 7:58 pace.  I was pretty consistent throughout the entire run.  The first miles was at 8:04 and every mile after that was between 7:55 and 8:03.  My heart rate backs up the easy effort with an average of 134 beats per minute.  Which is nice and low for me (max~185).  Happy Friday and enjoy the weekend!!

Nice run.  Sounds like your training is going well.

Enjoy the tournament this weekend.

07.13.13 -

Waupaca Boatride Volleyball Tournament...

What a beautiful day to play volleyball.  I played male grass triples (teams of three). My team played really well.  We won our pool and got a decent seed in the Championship Bracket.  From there we won our first game in the playoffs, but was then eliminated in round 2.  With pool play we got in a total of 8 games and our record was 5-3.

07.14.13 -

Off day...With the step back week coming to a completing, I finally get an off day.  Just in time to rest up for the upcoming week 4.

Pretty good job at the tournament! Good thing that coincided with a lower volume week.

JohnP wrote:Pretty good job at the tournament! Good thing that coincided with a lower volume week.

 Thanks John...I was sooo glad that it fell on a step back week too

07.15.13

Cross-training...Hit up the gym today after work for weight training.  After the gym came softball.  I was our second to last game of the year.  Next week we are playing for the league championship    Back to the running grind tomorrow...

07.16.13 -

5 miles...The heat is on!!!  Lower 90s this afternoon with a heat index of 99 for my run.  Very sweaty, but I slowed things down a bit and made sure that I was hydrated before starting.  I completed 5.21 miles at a 7:52 pace.  A sweaty 7:52   It is supposed to be very warm all week with the 90 degree weather subsiding on Friday.  That should be just in time for my weekend long runs...yay!!

Man, it was brutal down here today and will be for the next 3 days as well.  I took my intervals to the mill because of it.  I probably would have done an easy run outside, but it was way too nasty for anything other than that.  Nice job getting it done!

mul21 wrote:Man, it was brutal down here today and will be for the next 3 days as well.  I took my intervals to the mill because of it.  I probably would have done an easy run outside, but it was way too nasty for anything other than that.  Nice job getting it done!

Thanks...Yeah, I think it is pretty warm right now no matter where you go.  But it has been a cooler summer than last year.  I try to not let the heat prohibit me from running.  I mean, I can't control race day, so I might as well run in it.