I wasn’t sure which title to go with, so I ended up using both. They work together pretty well, I think. Anyway, I’ve been worried lately that I’m slipping into a comfort zone with my running. I push myself during races, but I haven’t really been giving a 100% effort during all my training runs. And although I’ve been making improvements in my race times, they haven’t been as significant as I’d like them to be. So, I realized that I need to step up my training if I wanted to get better results. My plan is to increase both the quantity and quality of my weekly mileage. This week’s little milestone was a first step towards that goal. I finished with a total of 50.7 miles in 5 hours, 55 minutes, and 44 seconds. I know there are people who do fifty miles a week all the time, but for me, it’s kind of a big deal, so I’m going to recap the week’s runs here:
- Sunday: 13.1 @ 6:40/mile – Manhattan Half Marathon – Full Post
- Monday: Off
- Tuesday: 5.01 @ 8:00/mile – Hudson River – This was probably the slowest recovery run Sarah and I have ever done together. We were both still so beat up from Sunday, we just really couldn’t move any quicker. (She also finished sub-1:28 in the Half, winning her age group and taking home 6th place overall.)
- Wednesday: 0.95 @ 7:40/mile – East River – This was the one I got soaked on and had to return home.
- Later Wednesday: 5 @ 6:47/mile – treadmill – Full Post
- Thursday: 5 @ 6:36/mile – treadmill – An uneventful, but fast run. When I finished, the guy running next to me (who had been stealing glances at my treadmill screen) turned and said, “You’re my inspiration to keep running today.” That felt good.
Then, Thursday night, I went with Elizabeth down to a Q&A session with Kara Goucher and Bernard Lagat. It was so great to be able to meet such amazing runners in person. Humbling, in a way. I got autographs from both and a photo with Kara Goucher. (I look like such a dork in that picture. And, I was being a total dork the whole time I was around her. I just sort of stammered and couldn’t really get out any full, intelligent sentences…) One of the things that stood out most to me from the Q&A was hearing Kara field a question about the pain of running. She said, Running hurts. If you’re having a bad race it hurts a lot and if you’re having a great race, it hurts too because then you’re pushing yourself harder. It was reassuring to know that these elites with their insanely fast times go through the same stuff as the rest of us.
- Friday: 5.54 @ 7:09/mile – East River – It felt so good to be back outdoors. There was a light snow falling, the temperature was perfect, and it was just so relaxing. My body kept wanting to speed up, but I forced myself to slow down and save energy for the long run.
- Today: 16.1 @ 7:05/mile – Central Park – First thing this morning, Sarah called me to say that she had been taken to the E.R. after collapsing after her 15 mile run last night. Apparently it was severe dehydration and/or an iron deficiency. She finished her run strong, but afterwards things quickly went downhill. Obviously my first reaction was concern was for her health. Then later, I began to think about my own long run that was less than an hour away and felt more than a little uneasy about it. I made sure to drink plenty of water and picked up a bottle of Gatorade on my way down to the park.
I met Antonio near the Harlem Meer and we started running. I asked him what his target pace was and he said 7:30, to which I replied, I’m pretty sure we’re going faster than that. Want to slow down? He didn’t. Just a few weeks after his long tendinitis-induced running hiatus, and he was already running stronger than me. I apologized a few times for slowing him down.
The run was tough. Even before we started, I was feeling fatigued from the week. Adding the sixth day of running in is going to take some getting used to. Plus, it was very windy and cold (the CNN clock said 22 degrees). About an hour into the run, I had to stop at a cart for Gatorade. It was only a couple minutes that we stopped for, but still I am really trying to keep from having to make those.
We saw Kara Goucher running the other direction on our first lap. That was very cool and gave a little burst of motivation. Later on in the run, I’m not sure I would have even noticed her. I kept drifting out mentally. It wasn’t like I was unconcious or anything, it was just that I had completely zoned out. It was actually kinda nice because it blocked so much of the pain.
I’m feeling pretty good now considering that I ran for almost two hours this morning. I’m definitely tired, but it’s the good kind of tired that comes with knowledge that you’ve accomplished something. Next week will be lighter as I get ready for the Bronx Half Marathon, but after that, I’d like to push up the quantity again. Hopefully this is the first of many fifty mile weeks.
Awesome dude!!!
Very awesome! I am so inspired by you!!! Makes me want to be a faster runner!!!!
By the way, you don’t look dorky at all!!!
It’s a great photo!!!
Ha ha! Maybe you were faking it just to make me feel better ;-)
And you did not mention that I had to drop at mile 14 because of cramps, while you finished the planned 16 miles.
Good luck next week. I know you will do great.
Well did you at least cop a feel? I HAD to ask, your arm was around her, no? ;-) I kid!