This is the year...continued...

Julie wrote:Great job, and I agree it sounds like you are well on your way to hitting your goal.

What is your goal for the HM in 10 days?

I am hoping to be in the 1:28s...

Chance of rain showers on the 18th. But anything can happen and actually that sounds pretty nice right now.

Julie wrote:Chance of rain showers on the 18th. But anything can happen and actually that sounds pretty nice right now.

Then you can use "I'M ON A PAIN TRAIN COMIN' THROUGH THE RAIN" as your motto...

Mike MacLellan wrote:

Julie wrote:Chance of rain showers on the 18th. But anything can happen and actually that sounds pretty nice right now.

Then you can use "I'M ON A PAIN TRAIN COMIN' THROUGH THE RAIN" as your motto...

because right now my motto is "Jerry says don't be chicken droppings"

Julie wrote:Chance of rain showers on the 18th. But anything can happen and actually that sounds pretty nice right now.

Thanks for the update Julie...it's still too far out to be concerned...

8/8 -



Unscheduled off day...

I woke up Thurday morning with a huge not in my right calf. It really hurt to walk and I knew that there was no way that I was going to get a run in...I am not sure what the casuse was. I did not feel any pulls earlier in the week and went to bed feeling normal. I just woke up and BAM!! There it was Very disapointing, as I was having a great week...

9/9 -

Scheduled off day...

My calf was still really sore, so I scheduled an ART appointment for the afternoon. After my treatment things really loosened up and I could barely feel the knot. This being my peak weak, I really wanted to get in all of the runs. After about 10 minutes of debating, I finally talked myself out of trying to run and give it one more day of rest. I was extremely disappointed, because I was finally going to to break the 70 mile mark this week

9/10 -

13 miles...

So, I woke this morning feeling great. I am so glad that I did not try to run on it last night, even though it cost me a 70 mile week. My calf felt so good, that I was able to run up the stairs without feeling any pain. The know was 95% gone and the pain in the muscle had disappeared, as well. So, out the door I went.

I felt fast this morning, which gives me more confidence in my fitness level and training. Today is Badger Gameday, so when I got to Camp Randall Stadium, I had to bob and weave my way through tailgaters and fans already there at 8:00am. I was feeling so good, that I decided to push the pace around halfway through the run to test my calf and see how it would react. Everything felt great and I was able to push to middle miles close to marathon pace (7:06 and 7:08). I continued on my way back home and decided to push the pace of the last full mile a little and finished that one at 7:10. Overall, I completed 13.42 miles at a 7:30 pace and an average HR of 141. The HR is a little higher than normal, but I attribute that to the three faster miles.

Tomorrow I have my last 20 miler of the training cycle on the schedule And it is going to be a tricky one at that, because the Ironman Wisconsin is going on tomorrow, as well. Of course, my 20 mile running route takes me smack dab into the middle of the Ironman race. So, I will have to get creative with my middle five miles...unless I want to get run over by a few hundred bicyclists

Like I stated I am disappointed that I was not able to break the 70 mile mark, but I do not think that missing the one day will have any affect on my training...The main key is staying healthy and making it through race day!!!!

Oh, so this is what a smart runner does. I'm taking note - it is hard to have the confidence to know when to back off, but you obviously have put in a ton of work already and it did you well to heal up. That shouldn't be as hard as it is, but I commend you for making the right decision. Good luck with the 20 and don't get run over by Randy E.!

Good job, Nick. A 70 mile week would have been good but meaningless if it made the knot worse and compromised the upcoming week.

JohnP wrote:Good job, Nick. A 70 mile week would have been good but meaningless if it made the knot worse and compromised the upcoming week.

There couldn't be truer words...Thanks John!

John Kilpatrick wrote:Oh, so this is what a smart runner does. I'm taking note - it is hard to have the confidence to know when to back off, but you obviously have put in a ton of work already and it did you well to heal up. That shouldn't be as hard as it is, but I commend you for making the right decision. Good luck with the 20 and don't get run over by Randy E.!

So I am a smart runner, huh??

I just chalk it up to experience and faith in my training...

9/11 -

Last 20 miles of the training cycle...

To quote the Beastie Boys, "Low and slow, that is the tempo." I started out on my last 20 miler (and 5th of the cycle) this morning just wanting to put the miles in, plain and simple. I did not want to over exert myself or hurt myself. The first few miles were basically warm up miles, to get the blood flowing. Everything after that was just running...I made my way down to the lake, where the Ironman Wisconsin participants were getting out of the water after the swim and on their bikes. I made it down to the lake at a great time, because I was able to get across the bike route and keep my normal 20 mile running route. And no John, Randy did not run me over...It started getting warm around the halfway point and the lack of shade in that area did not make it any better. But I made it through to mile 14 and I knew that the last 6 miles were going to be shaded. I finished the run feeling great!!

My calf issue - 100% non issue

My knee issue - 100% non issue

My body - 100% unscathed

Overall, I completed 20.40 miles at a 7:55 pace with an average HR of 139 (75% of max). So, I missed 70 this week, but finished the week with roughly 64 miles and am looking forward to an easy week next week. It is kind of a mini taper, because I have my annual Fox Cities Half Marathon. I use this HM as my warm up to race day. Time to test nutrition, shoes, singlet, and shorts...My goal for the race is to be in the 1:28s. If I can hit that, I feel that I should have a good shot at sub 3:05 at Steamtown on October 9th.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace	Avg HR
1	0:07:59	1	7:59	125
2	0:08:00	1	8:00	130
3	0:07:56	1	7:56	132
4	0:07:58	1	7:58	133
5	0:07:55	1	7:55	136
6	0:07:53	1	7:53	139
7	0:07:50	1	7:50	132
8	0:07:52	1	7:52	136
9	0:07:56	1	7:56	141
10	0:07:58	1	7:58	143
11	0:07:57	1	7:57	138
12	0:07:56	1	7:56	141
13	0:07:52	1	7:52	144
14	0:07:56	1	7:56	139
15	0:07:57	1	7:57	139
16	0:07:54	1	7:54	143
17	0:07:54	1	7:54	146
18	0:07:52	1	7:52	146
19	0:07:54	1	7:54	144
20	0:07:42	1	7:42	142
21	0:03:13	0.4	8:08	147
Summary	2:41:32	20.4	7:55	139

Those are some damn steady splits, Nick. I still envy your ability to warm-up at pace. I always have to tack on a solid 30-60 seconds/mile for my first few before settling in. Glad the body's cooperating again.

Mike MacLellan wrote:Those are some damn steady splits, Nick. I still envy your ability to warm-up at pace. I always have to tack on a solid 30-60 seconds/mile for my first few before settling in. Glad the body's cooperating again.

Thanks Mike...I have always been able to just stretch and go. Normally, my first mile or two are 10 seconds per mile slower. Also, on race day I normally warm up for a mile or two...

Great job on the 20 miler! 5 of them this cycle? Wow! You will do great at Steamtown!

I think the weather Sunday will be fine, although Tues-Wed this week looks incredibly awesome (lows in upper 30s, highs 50s). Oh well, we can manage with 50s to 60s just fine.

Hope your week leading up to Appleton goes well Nick! You've definitely put the work in. Congrats on a nice 20.



BTW, I am informing you that unless Nebraska improves by leaps and bounds in the next several games, Wisconsin should have a solid win on October 1. NU has too many problems both on offense and defense and with your home field advantage it could even possibly get ugly. I am hoping not, but I'm seeing a lot of problems that can be taken advantage of by a solid team which Wisconsin appears to be thus far.

Julie wrote:Great job on the 20 miler! 5 of them this cycle? Wow! You will do great at Steamtown!

I think the weather Sunday will be fine, although Tues-Wed this week looks incredibly awesome (lows in upper 30s, highs 50s). Oh well, we can manage with 50s to 60s just fine.

Thanks Julie...That's right, I had 5 of them on my schedule this year. That's not including the 20.4 that I raced at Ragnar in a 15 hour period. I also had an 18 mile run, as well...

9/12 -

3 miles recovery

3 miles recovery tonight and my legs felt great coming off of my last 20 miler and 33 mile weekend. Looking forward to the race this weekend to see what I can really do. Final stats...3.13 miles at an 8:39 pace...

What a great long run. Steady. It is nice to go into a race without being dinged up somehow.

good training, Nick!

OK, I am not trying to be a weather freak, but I just read a special weather statement of a smoke warning from a fire in MN bringing smoke to NE WI. Do you smell anything or really think this will be a big deal?

then it says use caution in strenuous exercise and prolonged outdoor times. Hope this all clears off in a few days. I can only imagine coughing for 4+ hrs trying to run a marathon.

Julie wrote:good training, Nick!

OK, I am not trying to be a weather freak, but I just read a special weather statement of a smoke warning from a fire in MN bringing smoke to NE WI. Do you smell anything or really think this will be a big deal?

then it says use caution in strenuous exercise and prolonged outdoor times. Hope this all clears off in a few days. I can only imagine coughing for 4+ hrs trying to run a marathon.

Sorry Julie, I live in the southern part of the state and have not heard anything about a smoke warning. Appleton is closer to East Central Wisconsin, than North Eastern. I think that we will be ok

Nice job on the big weekend! And a true recovery run even!

Good luck in the half this weekend.

Your 20 mile run needs to be framed and put up on a wall. Some steady ass splits and what I like is the steady HR not much drift at all shows you are ready for this race. enjoy a bit more easier running until race day!

Kenny B. wrote:Your 20 mile run needs to be framed and put up on a wall. Some steady ass splits and what I like is the steady HR not much drift at all shows you are ready for this race. enjoy a bit more easier running until race day!

Thanks for making me blush...but I'm still 4 weeks out and still have some more work to put in...