"No Pressure"

Nice job pacing without the watch.  I also have a tendency to rely on mine to much.

Hope the 20 miler went well.

08.31.14 - 20 miles

Set out for 20 miles on what I knew was going to be a warm one. My goal was to try to save myself for a faster finish the last 5 miles (3/1). I went out at around an 8:10 pace and held around there through the first half finishing 10 miles at an 8:08 pace. By then the sun was out in full force and the temps had already crept into the lower mid 70s. I continued on my way back home with the sun whipping me every mile. By mile 15 I was still maintaining an 8:08 pace, but that's when the wheels fell off. With the temps now approaching 80, my body fell victim to the warmth and started to slow down. The last couple of miles were extremely difficult, but I plodded on and finished 20.11 miles at an 8:15 pace. I was happy to be finished, but also leaving myself with question marks. I gave a lot of time back in the final 5 miles, instead of making up time like I had planned. So this run was ok...

My training will now move oversees this week and next, as I am heading to the Netherlands and Italy...European soil, here I come!!

It's the humidity doing it to you, nothing wrong with your running. The humidity has beat the heck out of me a few days lately. I don't know how the guys here from Houston make it through their summer months.

Jim Lentz wrote:It's the humidity doing it to you, nothing wrong with your running. The humidity has beat the heck out of me a few days lately. I don't know how the guys here from Dallas make it through their summer months.

No doubt. This was actually the first run of the cycle that left my legs shredded. As I was typing up my post above, I thought the same thing about the runners from Texas.

Nick Morris wrote:

Jim Lentz wrote:It's the humidity doing it to you, nothing wrong with your running. The humidity has beat the heck out of me a few days lately. I don't know how the guys here from Dallas make it through their summer months.

No doubt.  This was actually the first run of the cycle that left my legs shredded.  As I was typing up my post above, I thought the same thing about the runners from Texas.

In 3 weeks, we should have our first cool front coming through.  That's how we get through the Summer.

(Alerting Homeland Security on your departure.  )

Bon Voyage, Nick! Can you manage to get Gu into those little TSA-approved bottles, or will you just run with a jar of Nutella?

Mark?  I wonder how the Brewers will survive without him?

I guess we can trash up the place, while he's slummin' in Italy & the country formerly known as Holland.  When did that occur anyway?  Maybe Nick can retrace that for us.

ounce wrote:Mark?  I wonder how the Brewers will survive without him?

I guess we can trash up the place, while he's slummin' in Italy & the country formerly known as Holland.  When did that occur anyway?  Maybe Nick can retrace that for us.

Well, as you can see by the standings, they missed me. I come back and they are 1.5 games out of the Wild Card. Ugh!!

Mark B wrote:Bon Voyage, Nick! Can you manage to get Gu into those little TSA-approved bottles, or will you just run with a jar of Nutella?

The little lady checked a bag, so it was pretty easy for her to mule them over for me

I made it back from Europe in one piece!!!!

It was a great trip to the Netherlands and Italy. I have posted a few photos below from each location for your enjoyment. I was able to get in a few runs while I was there and will speak to them in another post. I got back home a little after twelve in the morning on Sunday the 14th. I decided to stay up the whole time, so that I could get back on the appropriate sleeping habits here. It seemed to work out.

While on my EuroTrip, I visited:

Netherlands -
City Center
Red Light District
Vincent Van Gogh Museum

Italy -
Colosseum
Palatine Hill
Pantheon
Piazzas and Fountains
Vatican City
Ostia Antica
Mediterranean Beach Front

Here are some photos:

Amsterdam




Italy

Glad you had a great trip.

Very nice!

Welcome back.  Looking forward to hearing about the running adventures that were part of your trip.

More importantly...have you submitted your Boston registration?  I got my email...I can't believe I'm actually going to do this!

Welcome back.  Have the Brewers painted over your name on your parking place?

nkrichards wrote:Welcome back.  Looking forward to hearing about the running adventures that were part of your trip.

More importantly...have you submitted your Boston registration?  I got my email...I can't believe I'm actually going to do this!

I submitted my registration on Monday and now am playing the waiting game to see if I get in on my time. Registration just closed about an hour ago, so I should find out within the next day or so.

ounce wrote:Welcome back.  Have the Brewers painted over your name on your parking place?

Not quite. I have one game left in the regular season when they come back home to close out the regular season against the Cubs.

I paid my playoff ticket deposit prior to leaving for vacation.

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:Glad you had a great trip.

Jim Lentz wrote:Very nice!

Thanks!!!

So, while on vacation I was able to get in a few training runs. I had packed enough clothing for four runs. I was able to get in three runs, between all of the site seeing and traveling from country to country. All three of my training runs came in Italy. The Bed and Breakfast that we stayed in was less than 3/4 of a mile from the Colosseum. I made sure to include it on my running routes. The thing I found about where we stayed in Rome, is that there are a lot of hills to traverse. The first hill is on the way to the Colosseum. It was a pretty steep grade that went for a 1/3 of a mile. The good thing about this hill is that I strategically placed it at the beginning of my runs and was fairly easy to get up and over. Also, I found a park near where we where staying that had a good 3/4 mile loop around it and allowed me to get in some extra mileage without having to go anywhere. The park too was included on my routes.

The weather in Rome was comparable to the summer months in Madison. The highs were in the mid to upper 80s and the lows were in the lower 70s. It was fairly warm in the mornings, as I would head out for my run. One caveat to the warmth was that Rome has a lot of water fountains along their streets and I was able to stop a couple of times to re-hydrate, as I did sweat a lot.

Overall, I was able to get in two 5 mile runs and a 7.5 mile run while I was there. All of the runs were at around a 7:40 pace, which I found to be pretty good considering that I was running uphill most of the time. Aside from the running on my trip, I got in a lot (and I mean A LOT) of walking. On average, each day in both Amsterdam and Italy, I probably got in 3.5-4 miles of walking. A lot of the walking was up and down, so more like cross training. I couldn't believe that when I got home and weighed myself that I lost around 2.5 pounds during my trip. That alone was surprising considering I had a lot of good food (mostly carbs) in Italy.

Sunday morning (the day after I got back) I went out and got in a good 17.20 mile run. I averaged 8:15 for the run, which I considered decent. Especially since I was running on jet-lagged legs. Although, I felt pretty good the entire time. I will admit, though, that I fell asleep that night before 8:30pm.

09.17.14 - 7 miles

Only 7 miles tonight, as I wind down this training cycle. I have a half marathon on Sunday, which will help me determine my actual fitness level and what my goal time will be for my marathon on the 5th of October. A pretty easy run, as I have come home to fall and cooler temperatures. I completed 7.11 miles at a 7:28 pace.

Nick Morris wrote:Sunday morning (the day after I got back) I went out and got in a good 17.20 mile run.  I averaged 8:15 for the run, which I considered decent.  Especially since I was running on jet-lagged legs.  Although, I felt pretty good the entire time.  I will admit, though, that I fell asleep that night before 8:30pm.

Why 17.2?

Jim Lentz wrote:

Nick Morris wrote:Sunday morning (the day after I got back) I went out and got in a good 17.20 mile run.  I averaged 8:15 for the run, which I considered decent.  Especially since I was running on jet-lagged legs.  Although, I felt pretty good the entire time.  I will admit, though, that I fell asleep that night before 8:30pm.

Why 17.2?

I was scheduled a 17 miler, but I am an overachiever

Nick Morris wrote:

Jim Lentz wrote:

Nick Morris wrote:Sunday morning (the day after I got back) I went out and got in a good 17.20 mile run.  I averaged 8:15 for the run, which I considered decent.  Especially since I was running on jet-lagged legs.  Although, I felt pretty good the entire time.  I will admit, though, that I fell asleep that night before 8:30pm.

Why 17.2?

I was scheduled a 17 miler, but I am an overachiever

Nice!

Jim Lentz wrote:

Nick Morris wrote:

Jim Lentz wrote:

Nick Morris wrote:Sunday morning (the day after I got back) I went out and got in a good 17.20 mile run.  I averaged 8:15 for the run, which I considered decent.  Especially since I was running on jet-lagged legs.  Although, I felt pretty good the entire time.  I will admit, though, that I fell asleep that night before 8:30pm.

Why 17.2?

I was scheduled a 17 miler, but I am an overachiever

Nice!

Nah, he was still on the metric system and forgot to convert back. 

ounce wrote:

Jim Lentz wrote:

Nick Morris wrote:

Jim Lentz wrote:

Nick Morris wrote:Sunday morning (the day after I got back) I went out and got in a good 17.20 mile run.  I averaged 8:15 for the run, which I considered decent.  Especially since I was running on jet-lagged legs.  Although, I felt pretty good the entire time.  I will admit, though, that I fell asleep that night before 8:30pm.

Why 17.2?

I was scheduled a 17 miler, but I am an overachiever

Nice!

Nah, he was still on the metric system and forgot to convert back. 

I think he was stuck somewhere in the middle, 11 miles and 10 K in one run.