Tempo Tuesday

Managed to get to the treadmill at Y for tempo run today. Cold rain with strong wind outside.

6 total. 3 fast @ 7:12 then 7:01 then 6:40. Very happy with that.

Later this week I have to do a long run and keep the focus on May 2nd - Broad Street 10 miler. I heard that the registration has closed with the 30,000 runner cap already met!

Haddon Adrenaline 5k

yeah - first blog post of the new year . . . been busy (doing whatever?)

Ran two 5k's recently. February's plan of getting really speedy workouts was mostly a bust due to the extreme snow situations; however, my racing was still decent. First ran the Logan House 5k. A few hills but nothing too bad. Ran something like 21:10 and was okay with that.

This past Saturday ran the Haddonfield 5k and did better than expected. Hoped to break 21:00 and ended up with 20:34. Very happy. Will probably be my fastest 5k of the year since I had planned to focus on speed & short runs for the first months. Now I have to look toward Broad Street 10 miler and so must get back into long runs. The longest I've gone in the last 10 weeks is like a 7 or an 8 miler. So I've got about 5 weeks to build back some endurance. I might do some other races during these weeks - done as my speed work while i focus on long runs.

Looking forward to getting back onto trails too - most of the past few months have been treadmill at Y.

PDR pic

here's a pic from either PDR in September, or Rothman in November. which one? Looks like I'm working very hard, eh? I hate these pics, who pays huge money for these prints???

Ramblin' Wreck

Yo, haven't written anything in a while.
*EDIT*

Been rockin' some long runs lately. 22 in freezing rain last Sunday. mostly roads, still hurting from that effor.t
2 weeks before that I did a 20 on the trails at Fair Hill, MD. Felt crappy almost right from the start. Got lost like friggin' 5 times. Hate that feeling of being off trail. Makes the day stretch out soooo f'ing long. They got some hills out there. Estimate course is 3,100 climbing over 31 miles. doesn't sound so bad when you say it that way. Felt so good toward the end after ditching hydration pack and tacking on a few extra miles. 16, 17, 18 were fun. Then fell down at 19. no damanage.
2 weeks b/f that did a 20 at BCSP. seemed to take forever. This was also a very cold rainy day. I seem tob e slowing down big time. My dream of 5.half 50k is way out. 6 or even 6.half is more like it. okay, watever. this ain't a race so much as a "can you finish it" sort of thing.

*EDIT*
I know that Positive Mental Attidude is important for these longer races, but i just cant seem to turn the corner. Seriously thinking of dropping from the 50k down to the shorter race. that will give me a mental advantage. I am completely unable to concentrate on my work, my home, or my running. Everything has gone fuzzy, don't know why.
i should delete this post, but will read it in the morning and re-evaluate.

21 miles SLOWLY

I had my heart set on a long slow run for the end of last week. Friday I farted around all day and never got out for any run. The crapped weather played a part in that, altho I don't mind running in the rain too much. Then Saturday turned out to be a effed-up schedule because of all the rain storms over the past few days. Soooo, Sunday early a.m. I was ready to hit the trails for a maximum distance effort.

Decided to wear my new hydration pack for the first half. Ended up being 11 miles with pack, felt much better than before. Even stopped to stuff in an old bottle along the trail (yes, new hobby is bottle collecting. Sounds so olde fuddy duddy I know, but I like old crap, history, etc., and I've found a few spots in the woods with what I will call farm dumps (ok, so they're trash piles... but they're old trash piles so the stuff is like practically antiques!). Anyway, I'm getting comfortable with the hydration pack. And I came home with a circa 1940's ASCO brand vinegar bottle for me new collection.

21 miles never goes down too easy. Felt tired almost right away. Stopped back at the car every 3 to 6 miles for water, gatorade, Gu & cereal bars. Avoided most of the hills, total climbing over 21 miles was approx. 1200 feet. Time: 3:32 which is about exactly 10 minute pace. That includes a good 10 or 15 minutes of stoppage time for the car refueling pit stops. Quite muddy out there, but I purposely avoided the worst of it. Warm for mid-November; start 50 & end 60 degrees. Did a good bit walking - top of every steep hill plus a few short breaks in the last couple of miles.

My legs & feet feel remarkably good. The slower pace must really work for saving the body! Also I love these trail shoes - Asics Trail Sensor 3. Never dreamed I'd go back to Asics, but being forced into these shoes has worked out great. I am def buying another pair soon before they friggen change (i.e. screw up) them.

Overall impression: i don't know how the heck I'm going to do this 50k race that is now 6 weeks away. I hear the hills ain't too bad over at Fair Hill NRMA, but just the 31 miles itself is daunting. I didn't eat well the night before this 21 mile training run, so maybe I can get some energy there. Also, this is my longest effort since May, so maybe I can add to my endurance some more before taper begins. This run was 3:30 . . . I figure the race may take 5:30 so I really need to increase my 'time on the feet' over the next 30 days.

Anyone want to join me for a four & a half hour trail run next weekend? yeah, didn't think so! and I've got the last race of the year (Rothman 8k) so I guess that 4:30 LSD will have to wait 2 weeks.

Snake Pit Wednesday

I did a small easy trail run today. Kind of an unfocused week for my training, so I decided I'd explore every new trail I saw that I haven't been on yet. Plus I did my usual yellow trail loop & red trail loop both backwards. Woo - hoooo, living dangerously! Total mileage 6, 4 running & 2 hiking.

Funny, when going the opposite direction you really do see things differently. Some side trails that typically look so minor were like open invitations to run down. And I did. Kind of warm day, and I saw deer, squirel & chipmunks all busy and scampering wildly when interupted by random human running down their trails. Most interesting sighting: one new trail led past an old house foundation. I stopped for a few mins and explored around. Stone bldg, with 'newer' front & back patios of yellow brick. Those looked to be 1950's -ish add ons to an older (1920's ish??) house. Basically I suck at knowing how to date these things so I could be way off. House collapsed both into the basement and along the sides. Piles of stones, just a few bricks. Up & just a few feet away was an old hand dug, stone lined well (more in a sec on that). Down the path about 50 feet was another stone foundation that appears to me as a work house of some sort. More crudely built and it's right over a spring that runs out an arch at the one end. Still standing, some wood & hinges intact. But back to the well. I peered down for a moment - hard to guess the depth but maybe 20 feet. Lots of sticks down there, no water visible in the bottom. The 'drum' which used to hold the rope & bucket have been dropped down into the well. Cool stuff, i like to explore old sites like this. Anyway I thought I saw something like maybe made from leather stuck in the wall most of the way down. Maybe some kind of climbing gear that was left behind by someone? Would I dare to climb down there and trust that I could get out? I moved to the other side to get a better view - and damn if the thing didn't move!! It was a big black snake. Very thick and strong looking. Then my eyes focused on several more down there. 2 big ones and 2 smaller. Three appeared black, at least one of those with a white underside. The forth guy was maybe a garter with short stripe pattern (not lengthwise), or maybe even some other type of snake. Freaky snake pit ! I wonder if they were getting ready to hibernate of if they've fallen in there and can't climb out?

Anyway, it was way cool as I like to explore & discover stuff like that. When I got home I quick grabbed my boys and we went back with flashlights so I could show them. We were all Indiana Jones snake-pit exploring style. I try to instill them with a sense of adventure with stuff like that. In fact, we were having so much fun that I lost track of time and my son was late to soccer practice. Oops.
I did alot of exploring around when i was a kid. The best line of the day: my younger son said, "I wish I could invent a time machine so that Joey & I could go back in time to when you were a boy. Then we could do nature hikes & explore with you when you were a boy."

Awesome.

All Choked Up

Whoa - something super scary happened last night. I almost choked to death on a dried out "hockey puck" hamburger. No shit, the wife was already on the phone with 911 operator when the chunk of meat popped out.
Like 10 times since then I've repeated silently to myself "must take smaller bites & chew completely". I'm sort of not looking forward to lunch today (not normal for me). Haha, trying to keep the mood light. Here's how it went down... (or not!)

I got home very late, was very hungry & had to turn around to go pick up my son from religious ed. So I had called the wife and she had a burger cooking on the stove when I got home. I remember seeing her smashing it down in the pan with the spatula and thinking that's not good 'cause it always dries it out. But she was trying to speed up the cooking since I was in a big rush. I was wolfing it down, about halfway done when the fateful bite got totally wedged in my throat. My younger son & wife had already gone into the other room to watch Jeopardy & do homework.

I knew immediately something was very wrong. I was trying to cough but nothing was happening. After a few coughs I realized not a bit of air was getting in or out. My wife called in "are you okay?" and I couldn't talk or get any air in. Not breathing totally sucks! I started banging the table with my hand loudly. I remember getting up and spitting out a bite of burger back onto the plate, but that wasn't the bite blocking my throat. I could see a panic stricken look on my wife's face as she came into the kitchen. As I tried to cough it up, there was absolutely nothing happening. Thinking about it now I don't remember any sound. I was gagging and each time I just tried to get a breath in, but total blockage. I could feel a sort of vacuum pressure in my chest. I think I was trying to expand my chest to get even just a little bit of air to come in. In retrospect that was probably just wedging the chunk deeper into my airpipe by creating a suction from within the ribcage.

My wife asked if she should do the Heimlich - and I motioned for her to go around behind me. Unfortunately she was sort of on the verge of tears already and drew a blank on how to actually do the maneuver. The first thrust was with her arms around my rib cage. I pushed her hands down to my belly, but she moved right back up with her hands over the bottom end of the sternum for the second pull. I moved her clasped hands down again and tried to hold them there and indicate a motion to thrust from the lower position by pushing her hands in at that level. At this point I was getting a bit panicked myself. Why was she not doing this right?? She released her grip and said "can't you do it yourself onto the table or over a chair?" I thought yes, but wanted to scream "help me".... but of course couldn't say anything.

I pointed over to the phone and tried to motion for her to call 911. I was just thinking if she couldn't get this thing out of my throat then an ambulance had better get rolling because I wasn't going to be conscious for too much longer. Of course in hindsight the whole incident at this point had to be less than a minute. Maybe like 45 seconds, although I'm not actually sure. Thinking about it now, if the first responders on the scene would take 5 or 6 minutes, then another minute to take charge of the situation and Heimlich out the obstruction. Plus the minute I was already choking. That's like 8 mins. That's scary to think about 8 minutes without any breaths of air. I can't imagine how freaked out my wife & son would've been waiting for the ambulance with me unconscious on the floor.

I could see her talking to the 911 operator. I tried to calmly and softly get an inhaled breath to get past the blockage. Nothing. I tried again. Relax, slowly and softly just suck in a gentle breath. Nothing - but a building pressure in my chest. (I'm actually getting a bit jittery while typing this now). I threw myself down hard onto the back of the chair and immediately felt a change. I coughed, gagged, and got a breath of air. I remember that I swallowed, I coughed, and I took another breath and then started coughing. But now it was real coughing. I said "I got it." and I could see she was already saying "wait." It's okay, it's out. She told the 911 operator, "yes, I'll hold on." And she asked me if I was okay and I said yes. I could talk & breath in. I noticed she was crying. I saw my son for the first time. He wasn't crying, but he was standing against the wall and was looking really scared. I told him I was okay. I became aware of a instant splitting headache in my right temple. I remember looking around for the burger chunk... and then realizing that I must have swallowed it after it came up. I felt like I might puke, and my head was pounding. I burped a few loud belches. My wife asked if she should just hang up. I have no idea how fast or slow time was moving. I told her to just stay on hold to confirm that I was fine. I didn't want to sit down, I was gulping in big inhalations and then coughing on each exhalation. I was a little dizzy, but so relieved to be breathing in & out.

the 911 came back on and I spoke to them to say all was fine, crisis averted. It was over.

This morning my abs are a little bit sore, and my neck too. I have a scratch on my collarbone right at the throat - I don't remember how that got there. I still have that headache just on one side (weird) and my eyes are really really bloodshot.

A close call. Within 5 minutes we were all over it; our house returned to it's typical calm quiet harmony. We had a review of how to do the Heimlich once my older son was home. My younger son knows how to dial 911. I kind of wished I had motioned to him to place that call rather than my wife. But I know next time he'll be ready. Hopefully there's never a next time. "must take smaller bites & chew completely."

Please review with those around you how to perform the Heimlich.

LSD for fun

I've decided to begin my long runs for January's 50k. I don't remember if I've even mention yet that I'm going to attempt a 50k trail run - this will be my longest run ever!

I've been racing quite a bit, and got some new PR's. The last race I've signed up for this fall is the Rothman 8k (same day as Philly marathon). After that I plan a phase of longer trail runs at easy pace. I just feel a bit burned out from the same old 5k / 10k race circuit so next year I want to focus on fewer races overall, with more trail races, and longer distances. Then maybe next fall I'll be ready for my marathon redemption.

The best of my recent racing was my PDR half marathon 1:31:13 in late Sept. This is a new PR by several minutes. That race was followed by an awesome 10 mile trail race, very challenging course. Next was the 15k which was a PR by about 30 seconds. Then Sunday - i haven't written the race report yet - I nailed another PR. This time it was 10k distance and only 9 seconds over the old PR. I ran some other races in the last few months, but those 4 are the highlites.

I like that the PR's came in order from longest distance to shortest. And the longest race was a PR by alot of time, and the short distance was a PR by only a few ticks. The race in the middle was PR'd by an amount in the middle. That's nice. It's not symmetry, what's the word for it? Fung shwei? NOT. Balance or harmony or something. Jeez, I wish I was better with the written word.

Anyway, I usually don't do long slow runs unless they're aimed at a speific target. Last Wednesday I headed out to the trusty woods for a scheduled 5 or 10 depending on how I felt. It was a crappy rainy morning, and I was very close to not running at all due to the weather. I didn't want to do the treadmill . . . but I wasn't really looking forward to the mud bath. I had actually mentioned to a few people in the morning that I was schedule to run long in the woods and was going to cancel. But I forced myself to get out there. I'm glad I did.

The rain was mostly over by lunchhour when I started. Light drizzle with huge puddles. Right away I felt good to be out there when nobody else was around. I planned to do a 5 mile loop back to the car and decide how I felt. I wore my new Coleman hydration backpack. After a few miles I was feeling much better about running in the weather. I purposely took the creekside trail. Wow, it was totally flooded. Some of the puddles were 8 or 10 inches deep, but i kept going. When I got to the creek crossing I had to turn back. The river had backed up so far that the creek was like 4 or 5 feet deep. No way was I going to try it. I was having fun but that was just too much to attempt. Not worth it. I could see the fallen tree that acts as a bridge. First of all it's grounded on the other side. Secondly, it just disappeared down into the murky water. So the prospect of jumping into there and hopefully landing on the log and then climbing up & out the other side was just too much. So I back tracked to get back up onto the ranger road.

Most of the rest of the run was uneventful. As the hours passed the sun did come out a few times. The warmth felt good. I ditched the back pack after just 5 miles. Pretty uncomfortable, will take some time to get used to running with that thing on. After 2 of the 5 mile loops and wanted to keep going. Luckily nothing scheduled for the afternoon that couldn't get done any other time. So I ate my 'after run' snack at 10 mile mark, and finished the last of my water ( I hadn't planned to go so far). And I headed back out. I saw a solitary deer. I felt the same as our paths crossed and we headed separate ways inthe woods. I found a light from a mountain bike. It was flashing on the side of the trail. Weird, but I couldn't get it to turn off. Later at home I took it apart, dried it out, and then it switched off.

In all it turned out to be 16 miles. Done in 2:41 - just about perfect 10 minute pace. About 2x3=6 minutes of that was refuel at the car. So actually running pace is closer to 9:30.

Followed up this LSD with a rest day on Thursday. Body feels good except for toes which took a pretty good beating. Then Friday 5 miles easy on flat trail in woods. Legs wiped out tired.

Tues'blues

Why is this cold hanging on for so long? It's really just a cough that won't go away, all other symptoms have cleared. Sometimes I have a little coughing fit that's followed by a moment of dizziness - which I don't like.

Monday was a day off to rest. But today I was supposed to run and I've blown it off. Tomorrow I may bail on the tempo hard effort in favor of something like LSD at an easy to mod effort. Just don't want to push too much effort until this cold is totally gone.

RaceReport: Radnor 5 miler

My running was in the crapper last week due to being sick. I skipped Wed-Thurs-Fri-Saturday and had already signed up for the Radnor 5 mile race. So Sunday morning, feeling less than 100% I headed up there to run.

The carpool was the most interesting part. I was driving up with Carole - and another club member, a new guy named Epi. A mutual friend put us together for the carpool, so it's a chance to meet another club member and runner. I was really hoping the Epi spoke english (which he did) and was glad that he was going to race because I've seen his name in the race results and he's fast. Our club needs more fast runners if we've gonna hang onto 2nd place inthe club challenge.

The race itself: I tried to go out easy. This course has several big hills. I was really hoping that I wouldn't go into one of my wheezing/coughing fits like the ones plagueing me the past few days. The first hill is from like .5 to 1.0 and my one mile split was 7:18. So mission accomplished on slow first mile.
Mile 2 is downhill; done in 6:32. Total 13:50 at 2mm, so avg 6:55 which I was happy with. Mile 3 has the nastiest hill. Steep near the bottom and then a long steady grind. 7:55 for that one. I wasn't feeling too good at this point. Note on course: this is right where you are passing some serious kick ass mansions. They've got some real wealthy types in Radnor, PA. I swear a few of the homes look like castles with huge acreage and personal tennis courts, Bentley's in the driveway, etc.
Anyway, mile 4 is flatish, with some small ups & downs. 7:18. Total time 29:03 which i realize is about 7:15 pace and the effects of my cold are obvious. Most of miles 4 & 5 I run along side a woman who is looking very strong. In the end she pulls away to beat me by about 5 or 10 seconds. She gets 1st a.g. 35-39. I struggle to finish. Basically I don't try to kick at all. It's more of a maintain pace while coasting on in. Mile 5- 6:48 so the final clock is 35:50 @ 7:10 pace. I don't care, given the situation.

Next weekend is the Bridge 10k - hopefully I can get a fast tempo effort mid week and then be in good health for Sunday's race.

Sick Day

I felt this coming on, but couldn't do anything to avoid it. I'm home sick today. Fever, nasty cough. I'm signed up for a race on Sunday so I guess we'll just call this lack of running my taper.

Who takes a one week taper for a 5 miler?

Beat L.A.

Manny sux.

He's right up there with this cast of characters:

exhibit a:

Del Distance Classic 15k RaceReport

A bit overdue, but here we go:

Weather was ideal. Cold fall morning, not a cloud in the sky. I think the start temp was around 45. Some runners had gloves or arm panties. I like to run in the cold so I was as bare as possible.

Since I know the course and this race is very close to my house I had volunteered to help with set up. I put up a few banners for our club (race sponsor) and the RRCA. But there really wasn't much else to do. Being a local race, plus the good club turnout, I saw lots of folks that I know. I pretty much said I would go out at a PR pace and just hope to hold it. This was based on PDR Half marathon 3 weeks earlier, and I felt rested/hadn't pushed too much in the week leading up to this race.

I did very minimal warm up - which for me is typical of 'longer' races. My outlook is "the first mile is the warm up for anything over 10k." Actually I farted around long enuf that I barely got my Gu on time & then changed into my race shoes before it was time to line up. I tried to be about 5 or 6 rows deep figuring that 50 or 60 guys in front of me is about right for the finishing order with a race of this size (300 entries). As it turned out I crossed the line 45th so that's just about right.

It's cool how during the first mile some of the runners along side will end up being far ahead, and others will be way behind. Only a few match my pace all the way. I enjoy noticing stuff like that. A few young kids were on the front line. I passed them within the first half mile. I fell in behind Greg Vitale (who I was introduced to after the race, but I already recognized from the circuit) who was obviously running together with a woman (maybe they are in the same club?). Anyway, as we approached the 1 mm he accelerated away never to be seen again, and I was left running alongside his partner. As things worked out, she & I spent the entire race trading the pacing efforts, spoke just a bit over the course, and met after the finish. Matching up with somebody about the same speed as myself is a huge advantage during a race. Keeping up with Mary, and trading the pace making with her, definitely helped me PR this race. The early splits:
1 - 6:45 PERFECT PACE FOR NEW PR!
2 - 6:58 small uphill
3 - 6:41 the downhill
4 - 6:41

It was during that forth mile that I really decided I would try to stay with Mary's pace. The water station at ~3.25 slowed me a bit (hydration is key for me when going longer than about 5 miles). I fought hard to catch back up with her along the Riverwalk boards section. I remember seeing my 4 mile time, 27:05, and thinking 1 minute under a 7:00 min mile pace ... 7x4=28 ... math is so difficult when giving 100% effort . . . wait for it . . . ah ha, 6:45 pace thru 4 miles. I knew this was right on track for a PR. But could i hold this pace? The middle splits:
5 - 6:48
6 - 6:59
7 - 6:56

There's a water stop just after the 5 mm - I really wanted to slow down and drink a full glass. It wasn't the water so much as I just wanted to slow down. Do you ever get that feeling during a race? It used to happen to me alot, but not often the past few years. Anyway, I knew I'd lose 5 or more seconds to Mary and so I just got a small splash to gulp down. She moved ahead on the small hill at 5.5 and I tried to make it back on the downhill side. I was pushing hard here and after the turnaround point we approached the same hill again. I forced myself to catch up with her before the hill. I felt like I was working very hard. I was actually weezing a bit at the top of the little hill, and then on the way down, past the 7 mm, I saw several runners going up from the opposite direction (they were at 5.5) and I got a boost of energy from exchanging greetings. Later at the finish line when Mary & I introduced ourselves she said "well I know your name's Dean from so many people calling out to you on the course." Mental math game #2: at 7mm my time was 47:48 which I figured was close to 48 mins. 7x7=49 so now I was still about one minute faster than 7 min.pace. Not good since i was slipping away from PR pace. I told myself I still had a shot if I could accelerate ever so slightly over the last miles. We were side by side thru the water station at 7.25 ... I didn't even think about any more water breaks. This race was oN!

Through the 8th mile Mary & I traded position several times and I tried to push the pace. The split was 6:52 Ugh, not fast enough to guarantee a PR. This was going to be very close. Starting at about 7.75 mm I decided to play the game where you try to pick off a runner (or 2) in front. We had been gaining on the solo runner in front of us, and so I put in a push to close the gap. We caught & passed at around 8.25. Turns out he was a runner I know thru some other folks (Chuck from Y). He didn't seem to be working too hard because he was able to give me a few words of encouragement to which I could only reply "garble gurgle". I tried to say something (what?) but I swear it came out all mish-moshed and I'm sure it was completely un-intelligent. Whatever. I'm working hard over here. He's striking up a conversation like this is an easy effort or something!

At this point I was no longer aware of Mary's location. She was behind me but I don't know how far. I focused onthe guy in front of me. But he began his own finishing burst and really took off away from me. As I approached the 9 mm there was no one in front of me within striking distance. That other dude had moved up to a small group and was passing all of them, but they were too far ahead for me to even think about it. I really focused on my own thing at this point. Strong finish, don't let anyone catch & pass me, run for the PR now. Mile 9 split was 6:44. Yes. I'm doing it. Total time now 1:01:24 with a third of a mile to go. Mental math #3: if the final stretch takes 2:30 I'll still get a PR by a few seconds. And if it's more like 2 mins flat then I'm totally rockin' this PR!

I cover the last .3 in a 2:09 and PR with 1:03:33 which is about 30 seconds better than last year's race. Chuck was only a few seconds behind me, and Mary another 5 seconds back. Wow, good thing I didn't let up because they both would've passed me.

I worked so hard during this race. This was an evenly measured out effort with the pain spread across the entire distance. I've certainly had races where I felt more pain, but those were all bad situations when I had gone out too fast and couldn't hold pace. I really worked my ass off for this race. This has got to be one of the best executed races I've ever done. Honestly, I don't know how i could ever get another 15k PR without somehow getting my fitness level lifted up one whole step to a new plateau. Because for the level of fitness I have now, this race was run to the max for the full 15k's. Very satisfying. But I'm not sure where to go from here and how on earth to get there? One observation of this race: I was focused 100% on the race effort for the entire distance. Usually that happens for me during a 5k or 5 mile, but longer races are always marked with a 'zone-out' during the middle somewhere. Usually I catch myself checking out the scenery, or spectators, or architecture, etc. This is the first time I remember almost nothing except the race effort itself.

Hiatus

Ugh,
I haven't run in days.
Just got back today from a Cub Scout camping trip. Don't tell me boys I said this . . . but these trips are BRUTAL. Sleeping on the hard, albeit rain soaked, ground on the top of a bluff overlooking the Chesapeake Bay. Sounds like it would have potential, but then factor in the cold rain for the last 24 hours, gusty winds. Then there's the crappy food - which was only lukewarm (WTF?). Standing around waiting 'our' turn for archery, BB guns, etc. Paying $65 for the privilege of all this fun...

Crap, lack of sleep has got me just complaining. I know my scout had fun so that's the point of it. Warning to younger readers: once you have kids then you have to do all kinds of shit that is not fun and you never saw it coming. Don't say I didn't warn you! Oh, and they cost tons of $$ also.

Maybe tomorrow I will get out for a run. Wednesday was the last day I ran. Thursday was a scheduled day off.
Skipped F-S-S.
Ugh.

thursday turd's day

I am officially in a funk as of today. I don't know why, but this seems to happen for a week or two after a good race. Perhaps the body is really tired and trying to recover? Usually the first few days I'm up on a buzz from good race, and then BAM! No motivation. I feel just 'blah'. Today the weather isn't helping as the mid day temp is 45 and there's been a steady rain all day.

I planned to have today off and then a scheduled 10 or 15 miler tomorrow. But my knee has been huring me for the last few days. It's a new pain... not one of the aches that I know so well that they are like an old friend when they re-appear. I don't need any new pains at this point. But I'll give it a few days and then hopefully it's adios to my new pain.

Supposed to have a Cub Scout camping trip this weekend but rain forecast to keep going for several days. I'm already secretly hoping that trip is cancelled. Lame, i know. But I'm a fair weather camper for the most part.

Here's two photo's from last weekend's DDC 15k. I'm psyched these 'freebees' look so good. In the first I'm running side by side with Mary B (fast woman!). We ran most of the race together which really helped me to hold the pace when I was beginning to fatigue. In the end I kicked to the finish and was about 10 seconds in front of her.

15k PR . . . and having fun!

Of course, by now you have figured out that life has become very busy for me, and blogging is taking a back seat to my other stuff. But the good news is that I've been insisting that running should not slip off my priority list.

Since my PDR half marathon PR i raced an amazing trail race, the Conestoga 10 Miler. http://www.lrrclub.org/Conestoga.html the course is approximately 3,000 feet of climbing in just ten miles. Think "steep ass hills" and then don't forget the downhills which were really kind-of dangerous in places. I had fun. My legs were completely shredded for a full week. Photo above is about half a mile till finish line.

But I managed to recover in time for this past weekend's Delaware Distance Classic 15k race. It's like the only 15k in Delaware and the whole Phila,PA region that I'm aware of so I try to do it every year. Result: a new PR @ 1:03:33 (6:50 pace). Also very interesting that in these last 3 races I've run side by side with fast women. And that seemed to motivate me greatly. All 3 cases I met these competitors during the race; the situation makes me think that maybe I should spend time with fast women more often! {PDR was Urszula, Conestoga = Marsha, and DDC I paced together with Mary. That's one amazing trio of hot chicks}

More later, I'm running late again...

Summer Trail Running+Pre-race Pasta@Mrs. Robino's=PR!

race report to follow, just a quick post:
I wasn'ty sure what would happen, but when out fast. Absolutely perfect weather for a run: cool & sunny September day. Had some issues mid race. After they cleared I was able to finish strong with a new PR! 1:31:10 on my own watch. Will wait to see what the PDR chip time is. Heard that Ryan Hall beat all the Kenyans to win with a 1:01:xx

Upcoming Race Schedule

Did a 4 mile treadmill run today (easy pace_8:30) with good stretch and then hit the weights for a bit of upper body. I had actually planned 5 or 6 but my calves felt tight and I had absolutely no energy. Even after warming up, when the running then gets easier, I never really felt like I was in the groove. So i cut it a little short and figured this is supposed to be an easy week anyway. A bit of taper for the PDR half on Sunday.

I saw a few runners at the Y today that I know. Chris, Scott, Carole *and their crew*. It's nice to say a quick hi to fellow runners. Chris is running Philly this weekend...not sure of others. Carole, you are looking great - very fit & fast. What's your secret to staying so lean?? awesome! Also today found out that Ray (in run club ) is running Philly. He & I have done a few runs together this year. Ray's much faster than me at long distance races. I can match him in 5k's. I'd be tempted to run along with him on Sunday, but the end result might be too fast and then leave me busted/bonked/walking. It's tempting....hrmmmm....

Today I signed up for the DDC-15k on Oct.11th and the Conestoga 10 Mile Trail race on Sept.27th. I've mentioned the Conestoga in blog before (maybe? where is that post??). DDC could be an obvious PR attempt if the weather is cool. Conestoga, I've heard about this one for years. Although it's short for a true classic trail race, it's considered very difficult for the distance. Very steep climbs & descents, some just too dangerous for running...more like hand over hand climbing. I've hiked most of the course, never run it, and it really is a tough section of trail. My 10 mile PR is 1:07:30 but this race will be more about finishing without getting hurt. Estimated run time is double the PR time! Even the course record seems incredibly slow, something like 1:35?? but it's because there's some parts that you just can't run, too dangerous!

Man vs. Mt Bike

Sunday I did get out into the woods for my planned 8 miles. Tried to take it easy on the pace. Had fun out there, lots of mud & downed branches. Several very large trees down including one huge oak that fell across trail (near the upper boulder area of Eden ridge). I like these obstacles to climb over, but i'm pretty sure they will clear them out quickly like always.

I did have a near miss head-on collision with a dingbat on a mtb bike. Crazy bee-otch! At the end I happened to see her & bf/hubby in parking lot. So I very nicely go over, strike up a conversation and steered topic to rules of trail/priorities. They were like immediately, "yeah, we know, but hadn't been out in a while and sort of forgot the courtesy of always letting hikers & runners take their line first. The dude was nice enough about it, but the girl never actually apologized. This is a perfect example why bikers should be banned from most single-track trails around here...too many users already...no manners (on & off the trails!)...and everyone knows the bikes do the most damage to the trails. It's losers like this lady that give mtb riders a bad name!

week end miles

Like a first run after a long layoff, I have to ease back into this blogger thing. Start slowly and hope to feel good after an easy warm up.

Today I ran 5 around the neighborhood. Was to be easy pace but got running a bit faster than planned. Typical.
Lots of folks out cleaning up after thunderstorm Friday night. A house in the back of the neighborhood burned down about 2 weeks ago, this is only the second time I'm going by it. It's still the same looking as the other day. They need to knock down what's left (not much, family got out safely, grill too close to siding and unattended).

Other news items: Cub Scout popcorn sale began today. woo-hoooo. We had fun standing outside grocery store for 2 hours today selling. big fun. Also... my older son scored a goal in his soccer game today! This is his first goal since joining the travel team last year. He was usually about 2 goals per season in the recreational level, but has been mostly on D or midfield since moving up to travel.

Tomorrow I plan on 8 miles in the woods...we'll see how muddy I am when I come home!
Philly Distance Run is exactly one week away. I have come around full circle since signing up for this race back in June. First I was going to nail a PR 'fur-sur'. Then I was going to focus my fall racing on trails instead, and so PDR was just for fun/nothing serious. But after some encouraging workouts I'm back to taking this race serious. A true PR attempt is still a dicey proposition - I don't want to blow up late in the race and finish in misery. When it's this close between maybe PR or not the weather & other race day situations will be key factors. So I'll probably wait till last minute to decide on pace. The pace needed for a PR is 7:05 (my current PR is 1:33:57).

Great Expectations

I really wish I was going out for a run in the woods today; however, with a busy schedule, a plan for 10 miles tomorrow, and my hip pain still nagging at me... there's no running today on my scheduled day off.
God, what an awesome early fall day! I'd love to be free to do as I wish. There is literally not a cloud inthe sky. Totally clear bright blue. It's so beautiful that it's almost making me sad that I don't get to enjoy it. Why do I react that way?? Some of my younger fb friends occasionally post "fml" (Fuck My Life). It's not all that bad, but I'd really like to ditch it all today and just run free 'n easy in the woods.

Recently I've:
not posted in a along time,
ran a fast 10k race,
had a red tailed fox cross my path,
got my mtb tuned up,
dreamed of a falcon soaring overhead,
caught a praying mantis & a bullfrog (younger son wouldn't touch first & dropped second after getting pee'd on by his first frog),
jumped in the surf of the Atlantic,
passed a test,
carved a piece of oak with my pocket knife,
got caught in a total cloud-burst downpour,
had dirty no-holds-barred 'secret' sex,
saw a big black racer snake,
been listening to The Gaslight Anthem,
found a small box turtle,
drove my car real fast,
got off trail & had to scramble over an unexpected boulder field,
got drunk all by myself & almost cried,
fell asleep on the couch & left the front light on,
been touched by a friend,
bought a new pair of trail shoes,

had some higher highs & lower lows.