Gadgets

I found this on the Garmin Connect website. Very cool technology. There is no display on it. It wirelessly connects to my GPS watch or to my computer. Automatically transfers lots of data. A little pricey but at some point will be mine.

Here are the details

Speaking of data. I recently was reviewing some of my runs last year on the Garmin Connect site. Looking at my Burning River 100 information reminded me of how 5 miles out of 100 can deeply impact the overall results. Check out the splits for miles 43, 56, and 61. Miles 82 to 86 were the Perkins Trail at night.

Running Update
I am treading water between the National Marathon and Cleveland Marathon. Good news is that I am very fit and marathon paced miles come easy. The hard part of the training is the motivation. Good weather helps and it is getting lighter earlier each day. It just has been a long training period since December.

Chaney Events Update
We are finally getting into the season. Weekends are becoming busy....which is good news. I will be taking on more races than I originally planned. Look for a few cool and unique events this Fall and Winter.

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Round 2

Well things almost went as planned at the National Marathon. Jo and I had a very good trip. Got to see the sights. Got to rest. Got to meet up with a few great friends. Race morning was perfect. I felt amazingly fresh and good up to mile 18. For the first time ever I started to develop a cramp in my right foot.....between my arch and my toes. It felt like a sharp stabbing pain. I stopped at the next water station to try to stretch it out, which seemed to work for only a minute or so before the pain returned. I backed my pace down and did a combo of stop - stretch - run continuously until the end of the race. I wish I knew the cause. Shoes...maybe, gait...maybe, freakish issue...maybe. I do know that by the afternoon following the race my legs were still pretty fresh. I ran this morning before we left town and no issues seem to linger. I feel like I just did a standard long run workout....which is great news. I have put together an 8 week plan in prep for Cleveland and will give it a go there. I hate seeing opportunities go by but maybe this is a good thing.

I am also going to try to perform double run log duty with Running2Win and Daily Mile. R2W has been my base since 2004 and my running groups are there, so I won't give that up. Daily Mile can take my Garmin data directly so a once or twice a week update will probably happen.

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National Marathon Week

The National Marathon in Washington DC is this Saturday. The weather looks very favorable and I am really ready to go. Full race report in one week.

Mon: 5 miles

Tue: 2 easy + 2 @ marathon pace + 2 easy

Wed: 8 group miles

Thu: 4 easy miles

Fri: 2 easy miles

Sat: 26.2 National Marathon

Sun: off

Total = 52 miles

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Wacky Weekend + Training

Friday Maddie had a sleep over with 6 other girls. We did Laser Quest which was fun. I kind of wanted to smack one of the teenage boys there as he kept running into me. Next time for sure. After that we went back to the house for cake and pizza. The girls were very noisy but good for most of the night. I think they finally fell asleep at 4am. Unfortunately I had to wake up at 4:30am.

Next I timed the Green Jewel 50K. Standing outside from 5:30am until 2pm can take a toll. I would have been better off running. By the time I got home at 3:15pm...I was beat. At 8:30pm I was in bed until 8:30am on Sunday.

Sunday I ran the Shamrock 15K. My body was beat from the beginning. The first 4 miles were way too fast and the final 5 miles were way too slow. I will take away that it was a good workout on tired legs and mind. Fortunately I was still able to win my age group....but my time was far from what I had hoped to run.

The bib numbers for the National Marathon have been posted. I was assigned number 40. The good news is that I get to be up in the 1st corral with the elite runners. I have looked at my competition for the day and there are 10 of us, in the masters group, who have predicted our average pace between 5:30 and 6:30 per mile. I am trying to decide if I write these numbers down and have Jo keep me posted as to my position within the group. Maybe. Maybe not.

Training this week (less than 2 weeks to go before the marathon)
Mon: 10 miles with Matt
Tue: 4 x 1200 repeats
Wed: 8 group miles
Thu: 6 easy miles
Fri: 8 easy miles
Sat: 4 easy miles + timing a 5K
Sun: 10 easy miles with 2 @ marathon pace
Total = 53 miles

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Rockin' in the Free World

America Rules. Enough said.

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Summit Attempt

I am now in the final three weeks of my training for the marathon. With my last long run out of the way today (more on that in a moment) I am left with 3 speed sessions, 1 race, and a bunch of maintenance miles. It will be good to pull the miles back while maintaining the intensity of speed.

I "participated" in the Last Chance for Boston marathon in Columbus today. The goal was to work my 22 mile workout within the 26.2 mile event. If the conditions were perfect I would run the extra 4 miles and finish the race. If not...I would decide the distance on my own terms. I hit the segments of the 22 mile run faster than planned and felt great. I tacked on 2 more then called it a day.

I am 46 years old. I am trying to hit a Personal Record (PR) for the marathon distance. This is not an easy thing to do at my age. The window of running these things relatively fast is closing quickly. I have approached my training a little like a mountain climber trying to reach the summit. It takes days and weeks to move from base camp up the mountain. Each camp along the route is established. Days are spent acclimating to the environment before moving up closer to the top. If all goes well and the conditions are right...the successful climber will reach the summit after a few attempts. Reaching the summit doesn't always happen. Climbers have turned away literally tens of yards from the top due to unfavorable conditions, smartly retreating for another summit attempt on another day.

My run in Columbus today was like that. I stopped with two miles to go. I had accomplished what I came down to do and did not get greedy by going for it. I am saving that for Washington DC. Could I have pushed it? Sure. Would it jeopardize the National Marathon. Yes. As one of my good friends always tells me..."plan your work then work your plan". So far so good.

Training Week March 1st to 7th
Mon: Cross training. No running.
Tue: Kent State Track - 4 x 1200 meters
Wed: 13 group miles
Thu: 8 easy miles
Fri: 4 miles with striders
Sat: 4 miles with striders
Sun: Shamrock 15K race

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4 weeks to go

I am now inside of 4 weeks before the marathon. I actually feel really good about my progress and where things stand right now. I have my final 22 miler this Sunday. I had considered wrapping it inside of the Last Chance for Boston marathon in Columbus....but with a crazy $85 price tag (you get a high quality $4 shirt) I will just go solo again.

The Shamrock 15K will be the only race I run. I am pretty sure I am past my course PR days...but I hope to run the most complete race I have ever run there.

We had a nice club get together on Saturday. I am a little bummed that the club (and I) didn't take the opportunity to thank everyone who attended, promote our club by using all of the blank LCD's hanging on the wall, or at least make a few announcements and pass out race applications. Captive audiences are rare and you really have to take advantage when you can. Enough said.

Training Schedule 2/22 to 2/28
Mon: either off day or something easy
Tue: Repeats at Kent - 3 x 1 mile, 3 x 1000 meters, and 3 x 400 meters. All intense.
Wed: 13 group miles
Thu: 9 miles
Fri: 8 miles
Sat: 8 to 12 miles
Sun: 22 miles with 2 warm up + 4 marathon pace + 10 easy/medium + 4 marathon pace + 2 cool down

Total = 76 miles

Friday will also be Maddie's 12th birthday. She is having a sleep over party....so once again not much sleep that night.

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