by ·Comments Off on Longest of Long Runs

On all marathon training plans I’ve seen and have actually tried, there is always a peak long run which is typically two weeks from the marathon run. Today was the day—the longest of my long runs—around 20 miles!

With my hydration pack on my back, I set my pace to be a very easy one.  I felt sluggish.

At mile 10, I had to take a pit stop as my bladder was starting to affect my run; I could not avoid it like I have in the past.  Luckily there was a McDonalds on my route which allowed for it; and did it feel good.  I don’t feel as sluggish as before, but I didn’t feel as fast as before.

The next 10 miles was a struggle.  I started to feel my left ankle get sore.  This just reminded me to keep my running form and to minimize the pounding.  At 11 miles, I started to eat some gummy bears.  I ran out of the GNU gels a few weeks ago and didn’t get a chance to get more.  The gummy bears seemed to have provided me with the necessary energy past mile 15.

At mile 17 I ate my second pack of gummy bears.  I didn’t feel the onset of weakness at all—a good sign.

My running plan has me do 4 striders starting at about 3/4 of a mile from the finish.  With my feet already tired, I pushed to accelerate over a rough distance of 100 meters, then took a little 30-second jog.

My total running time was 3:45.  Hydration and energy were definitely not a factor in this run.  However, the soreness and the call of nature seemed to have contributed to it.

Anyway, I’m about 2 weeks from the main event.  I’m suppose to taper off on training from this point on to give my body a chance to heal and recover.

by ·Comments Off on Road to Chicago Marathon: 19 miles, longest run yet

Today’s temperature (lows in the mid 60s, highs in mid 90s) wasn’t ideal for a long run, but I had to make do. I know I can no longer deal with running later in the day when the temperature gets too high. So I woke up early, real early–about 4:30 am! By around 5am I was loosening up.

Based on my own estimate, I figured today’s run was going to take me around 3 hours. I took it easy, with the goal of basically just  finishing this long run.

At the onset, my legs felt somewhat heavy. By mile 10 they were getting sore; and by mile 15 they were hurting, and the hot weather didn’t help either.

I finished the run in 2 hours and 56 minutes. This put me at an average pace of around 9 minutes 20 seconds per mile. Not too bad.

Overall, I’m glad I was able to run today.

 Next weeks run is going to be even tougher–20 miles!

Right now as I type this, I am reminded of this morning’s run as my legs are still sore.  I might just take 2 days to recover; I’ll know by tomorrow.

by ·Comments Off on Long run: 10.7 miles, longest run so far

This morning’s run was my longest long run to date.  For some reason I could not maintain a steady pace.  The Nike+ graph showed I was bouncing all over the place in terms of speed.  I’m not sure why.  I think part of it is because I was drinking mixed water-cranberry juice.  I was too worried about spilling the drink on my clothes for fear it will stain permanently.  On top of that, the drink didn’t help much to quench my thirst; as a matter of fact, it dried up my mouth or lips.  I also dropped the bottle and had to go back a few feet to recover it.

This is the first time I’ve run this particular route.  The bad part about it is that some parts of the route don’t have sidewalks.  I had to run on the dirt a couple of times to avoid oncoming traffic.  I also heard many barking dogs.  I’m always afraid that one of them will run after me.  Of course I’m always thinking that if a dog ever attacked me, the best thing to do is to stand my ground and see if I can scare the dog.  I always thought that if it doesn’t back down, that I’ll have to hurt the dog just to show it not to mess with me; fortunately, I’ve not had any bites.

Mile 7 and 8 were tough.  That’s when I started to feel the tiredness of my gluts and knees.  I remember feeling this when I did the 8+ mile route for the first time.  My gluts were sore, but I concentrated more and more on my stride.  With about 1 mile left, I slowly increased my pace.   Then with about a half mile left, I sped up even more.  I completed the 10.5 mile run in 1 hour and 38 minutes.

I might just have a chance at doing the marathon in less than 4:30:00.

by ·Comments Off on Road to Chicago Marathon: My 8.5 mile long run

Last Sunday was my long run.  On my plan, I have to  run at least 8 miles.  The course I layed out happened to be 8.5 miles.  Having just come back from a cruise where the primary activity was eating, I knew I had to take the run easy.  So I did. 

Since the run was long, I decided to bring a mini-water bottle which I held in my left hand for the entire run.  I took a sip of water at about every two miles.

The pace I ran–about 9:15 per mile–I think will be my marathon pace.  At this pace, I’m not gasping for air, but am able to breath comfortably.  I was doing pretty good, even at mile 4.   Even at the 6 mile mark, I was able to run uphill (on the Union Ave freeway overpass).  However, what I found is that after mile 7, I started noticing that my legs were getting sore.  I wasn’t tired, but needed to focus more on my form to ensure that the most minute sloppy movement doesn’t cause more problems.

Within the last half mile, I was able to increase my stride and finish the 8.5 mile run strong.  I then drank what was left in my mini-water bottle.

As I finished the run, I thought to myself…”this is just less than a third of a marathon…can I do this run 2 more times?”

The pessimist in me said “my legs are sore, I don’t think I’ll last”, but the optimist in me said “hey, I think I can make the entire marathon!  I’m not even tired.  My legs are sore, but with training, it will be better.”  So I listened and leaned more towards the optimist in me.

by ·Comments Off on Road to Chicago Marathon: My first hill

I just finished my long run today.  It is at least 6.5 miles, and guess what…I ran over my first hill today.  The reason this is a momentous event is that where I live it is very flat, but the route I took today got me running over a freeway overpass.  It gave me about a 1/10 mile uphill run.  I actually felt pretty good going up that hill.

The nike+ sensor/pedometer I was using said that I ran 6.97 miles for the entire route; but I know that as I as get tired my stride tends to get a bit shorter; that is why I think the run is around 6.5 miles.  So my pace is probably about 9:15 minutes/mile since it took me just about 1 hour to finish the run.

Based on this run, I think I should be able to maintain this pace for a long time.  So this might be my marathon pace. 

Next week, my long run will be 8 miles–week 10 of the 26-week training plan.  This will be a challenge since I will be on a cruise during the week.  As you know eating is the main activity on most cruises.