Week 15 (77.2) - Stronger

I'm not sure that it was a breakthrough per se, but it was a really good week. After running long last Sat and Sun, I ran 14 on Monday, and actually ended the run early because I had to get into the office. I drove to Houston that afternoon and was surprised that after nearly six hours in the car, I wasn't twisting and shifting trying to find a pain free position. It's funny how all this extra pounding has had the opposite effect - I don't wake up sore much at all, and shaking off the morning cobwebs seems to get easier and easier.

I desperately needed to sleep late on Tuesday, and had planned to run the neighborhood that afternoon, but it turned out to be a five-step turnaround. (My first day-off in nearly two weeks.) Wednesday morning midway through the 7-mile LBL loop, I felt like I was running way too slow and took a detour to the Austin High track where I ran 3x800's in 2:55, 2:52 and 2:49. It didn't feel particularly smooth, but it was nice to open up. I met Roger for speedwork on Thursday, but his hamstring was tight, so I ran solo on the track - 4x800 in 2:50, 2:49, 2:45 and 2:46 and 4x400 averaging 79 seconds. I'd always heard that big slow miles sap speed, but I'm not too far off normal. Friday was a recovery day - 8 miles at 64 minutes.

Saturday, Peter and his wife ran with us from Barton. I listened to Allison talk about how she really didn't have the time to devote to running right now since she just accepted a teaching job at UT, but we ran at a 7:30 pace up Scenic and Mt Bonnell and she and Peter kept going and going. I suggested that they run back to Lake Austin Blvd via Exposition, but neither was interested in cutting the route short so we ran UT and Congress and never slowed. I offered gels all around, but discovered that my zipper was down and the gels had fallen out. Peter and Allison did 16 miles and made it look easy. Mike and I added another 5 for 21 total. Great day. No ice bath. Long nap.

On Sunday, I ran to the Rock and then then did the 10 mile LBL loop in 72 minutes. Didn't intend to run that fast, but felt smooth and I found myself picking up the pace from mile marker to mile marker. Hard to believe that I'd just run 21 on Saturday. I got back to Barton with 15 miles under my belt, but jumped in with Ken Fries for one last mile, which put me over 77 for the week. 15 minutes left for a free soak. All good.

Just 31 days to go before Day 1; three weeks of serious training left. Home stretch. Next Sat, Sun & Mon (Labor Day) I'm hoping to run a total of 52.4 miles (2/3rds of the Triple).

Week 14 (76.6) - All that ends well...

The week started out as a head-scratcher. Early on, everything I put in my stomach either hurt or made me nauseous. Strangely enough, all I had to do to feel better was not eat or drink. But of course, this makes distance training especially tough. Still, I ran an easy 11 on Monday morning, then slept in on Tuesday which forced a 7 miler on Tuesday night in 102 degree heat. Wednesday morning, it all caught up with me and about five miles into my run I had to stop. So, I cut the morning run short and scheduled a doctor's appointment. It turns out that I had an inflammation of the stomach lining or Gastritis caused by handfuls of aspirin (the only thing I could find) that I'd taken for a toothache last week and "body stress". The doctor gave me some acid reducers and by Thursday, I was feeling much better. As much as anything else, it was good to know it wasn't anything serious. Thursday afternoon, I ran a quick and mighty hot 10.

That night I ordered a big pizza and did some research on the Tahoe races; specifically, the top 10 runners from the past couple of years. The guy who finished second last year, "Charles Hofacker", had run 3:27, 3:21 and 3:20, which doesn't sound that impressive. I looked his non-Tahoe times up on "Athlinks" and decided he and I were roughly compatible ...although he's a bit younger and faster and probably has a better hair line. Most of the other runners had impressive non-Tahoe times, but got slowed badly by the Triple. I also read a few descriptions of the actual Tahoe marathon and am starting to believe that the course is far from friendly. It's not really discouraging, so much as a relief. Suddenly, a Triple in the 3:30 range sounds reasonable and acceptable.

Saturday, it was a bit cooler out. Mike, Roger and I had a loose plan which including swooping by the Mopac footbridge to pick up Peter, turning east on the trail to rendezvous with Floyd Watson who was running from his new place around Far West. Surprisingly, we found both Peter and Floyd in the dark and headed toward Scenic. The pace picked up to what felt like the low 7's for a while, which was probably a result of cool weather and new guys in the running mix. We eventually lost Floyd at the cleaners and Peter back at the Rock. The other guys were done at Barton, but I added another 5 for a total of 21.

Sunday, it was even cooler and I got in 15. If I wasn't so hungry, I would have done more ...so it was an encouraging run. Tomorrow, I'll shoot for another 12 to 14 in the morning, then take a nap before driving to Houston for a school board meeting Monday night.

Nothing hurts. The foot/ankle issues I had when I started training a couple months back seem to be gone. My knees are holding up well. My achilles tendons, which are always sore, feel better than they have in ages. My mileage this week is a new high. I'm on track for 300 to 320 miles in August. I'm still nervous and don't expect to be as prepared as I would have liked, but with a little over a month left, I know I'll be okay.

Week 13 (68) - Really tired and ...zzzzz

I can't seem to string together three, or even two really good long runs, so I'm wondering yet again whether I bit off more than I can chew. The good thing is that there's only six weeks to go ...but the bad thing is I only have six more weeks to train. I looked at pictures from last year's marathon, and there was snow on the ground. Sounds good.

At the moment, I'm trying to decide what's wrong with me. I feel queasy, but not the kind of queasy where you feel like you have to hurl. Food just doesn't taste good. I'm thinking that I'm out of balance. Dehydration would be too simple, although my urine was bright orange this morning, so maybe that's part of it. I lost six pounds on Saturday's run and was afraid to weigh myself on Sunday. I'm too porous. I'm totally drained. Sleep would definitely help. It's been a while since I got even six solid hours. I've jettisoned vitamins and need to start up again.

Anyway, I got in 68 miles this past week and have run 16 out of the last 17 days, which sounds like a terrible idea now that I see it in writing. The Saturday long run was fairly easy. Mike, Roger and I ran 20 at a pace pretty close to 7:30. Sunday, I had no plan, but ran around the trail and doubled back and added miles here and there, and ended up with almost 16. (I think) I really need a new Garmin. Wasn't hungry all day. Thought I drank quite a bit, but maybe not. Late that night, I drank a couple beers with Sam, my neighbor, a bored ex-Air force guy in a wheelchair who just moved here and needs a friend. Stayed up too late because he wanted me to see "Generation Kill" on HBO. It was a good show, but it wasn't over until after midnight. I was too tired to sleep well.

Today (Monday/technically a new week), I ran an uncomfortable and slow 11 miles. Thought about taking the morning off and taking a nap, but needed to make headway on some back-burner projects.

I'd really like to log 300 miles this month - that just sounds like a lot ...to me anyway. Especially, since a more typical summer month would be less than half that.

Week 12 (73.8) - Signs of life

I don't usually run seven days a week, especially in late July, but it's been nearly impossible to log the kind of miles I need for this damn Triple, so I made an exception. The result was record mileage both for a single month (267 in July) and for the week. Hopefully, I can top out at 80 or so sometime this month. I don't think my body can handle much more than that. I'm still having big trouble with the heat, but am doing better with the fueling part - I bought a box of Cliff bars, am still eating oatmeal with blueberries and started snacking on whole grain cereal at night. Plus, I'm drinking gallons of orange juice, blue Powerade and orange Endourox ...when I remember I have it.

Monday, I took a vacation day from work (this really helped boost the mileage) and had planned on doing at least 15. But it was 82 degrees at 6:15, so I did 12.6, soaked in Barton for 20 minutes then went home and slept for several hours. On Tuesday, I tried to do some intervals at Austin High with Roger, but wasn't really inspired enough. I did manage 2x800 in 3:00 and 2:59, felt hugely sluggish and called it quits. On the trail, I ran past a guy running with his wife. He picked up the pace and hung with me for a mile or so. He told me that he had just moved to Austin, started training for the San Antonio half and wants to do a 1:16:00. He also said that he'd just run his first marathon last year and qualified for Boston with a near 3-hour qualifying time, but his strength was the shorter distances. His name is Peter Gallimore. He's a 40-year old masters runner from Boston. My guess is that we'll all be chasing him this season.

On Thursday, I pysched myself up to run tempo. About midway through the 7 mile loop, Roger waved me ahead and I finshed just under 47 minutes. Although I've run this loop 4 or 5 minutes faster in cooler days, the 47 felt fast and made me happy. On Friday, I was sore and stiff and thought about sleeping in, but hated to start August off with a big fat zero in the mileage column, so I jogged an easy 5 miles. This turned out to be a good idea, because Saturday I was loose and felt much better. I ran with a bunch of Gazelles that I didn't really know, along with Roger and Peter Gallimore. Peter wanted to do 12 and I was hoping for 20. The pace was a bit fast. I think we were showing off. Peter was hardly breathing. I did log 20, probably at a pace just south of 7:30. Afterwards, I took a three-bag ice bath. I'd read in Runner's World that some really good runner (can't remember who) dumped the ice in first, sat gingerly down and then filled the tub with water. I tried this. It was pure torture. Not recommended.

Sunday, I'd planned on doing 15, but took way too long to drag my tired bones up and out the door. By the time I started running at 6:45, the car thermometer read a sizzling 83 degrees. So, 11 miles was all I could muster. Even that was in question for much of the way. I did run into old pal Rob Mroski on the trail. He and I trained together seven or eight years ago. I've always felt that Rob pushed me in the days when I really needed a push.

Next week, I'm hoping to top 70 again, but am starting to get concerned about my inability to actually follow through with the planned workouts. August is really important ...especially in stringing together long runs. Maybe 20/20 next weekend?

Congratulations to Black Shorts member Greg Thomas - 18th out of 6,700 in the San Francisco Half today.