Help me, Clarence! Get me back!

Looks like a nice time down there so far. The TStorms are on the way.

Alex Kubacki wrote:Looks like a nice time down there so far. The TStorms are on the way.

Thanks for the warning! Nothing got here until late evening, and by then it was just rain.

But we're going to get a brief one in just a little bit...

Wrapped up my Rhode Island shore running with an 8 miler this morning. It was warm, but not too warm, and quite humid. And I was tired from the last few days of running and cycling. I averaged 9:25 and was glad it was in the books when I finished.
I should have juggled my running schedule differently, though. I discovered too late that there is a 10 mile road race this evening not far from here. Would have been a bit warm, but I think I would have liked that one. Oh, well.
Tomorrow is pack up and travel back day, followed by yard work, weather permitting. Then, back to the long run on Sunday.
It's been a good vacation!

Got back home without incident yesterday. Took the bike to the shop to get it tuned up (I get three freebies with the purchase, and this was my last freebie). It needed it - it was making funky noises in the front crank on the way back during my 40 miler Wednesday, and the chain was actually looking rusty. Also, there tends to be a lot of drama when it shifts from the 6th to the 7th wheel on the back gears, so I asked them to take a look at that. I was surprised that they insisted on getting it done the same day. I told them that I probably wouldn't ride it until next weekend, but they said it would be ready. And so it was. I went out and weed-wacked everywhere on our property that needed it (and that's a lot!) in anticipation of mowing it all today, weather permitting, and just as I finished, they called to let me know it was ready. It looked pretty threatening out, but I wanted it back at this point, so drove over there to put it on the rack. While I was there, the deluge began, and we got inches of rain. I walked around the bike store while I waited out the worst of the first burst of it. That was fun. They have some road bike on sale in there for $5500! Yikes. Bought some gu, which I need for my training runs, now that I'm back up to real long run territory.

And so, I had fuel for my 20 miler today!

I wasn't sure about the weather - when I went to bed last night, they were predicting rain off and on all day today. So, when I got out of bed just before 7 this morning, I flipped on the tv news. The weather guy showed the map, and it looked like the worst I would risk was a prolonged shower. Not a big deal. I drank my coffee, read the paper, waited it out a bit, and was ready to roll by about 8:15. Headed up to the trail, planning to do at least 18, and more likely 20.

It was relatively cool (maybe 70?) and super humid and overcast. I swore I'd just take it easy. First mile came in at over 10:00 on the (slightly) uphill for the warmup, and that was perfect. I ended up running 4 out in the that direction on that leg, a little farther than usual - I extended it by running out onto the town streets once I came to the end of the rail trail. Kind of fun to do something a little different. Then back to the car, and I was just over 8 miles - I stopped to chug about half a quart of gatorade, grabbed another bottle of water and a gu, and headed out the other way. You can see the impact of the stop at the car in my time for mile 9. I also stopped/walked briefly in mile 10, to get a particularly nasty little stone out of my shoe. I collect a lot of them on the trail, which is stone dust for the most part, and usually can run with only minor discomfort, but this one was killing me. So, mile 10 was slow, too. Mile 11 was slow just because I was lazy!

At the start of 13, I ate the gu. I walked briefly to do this and to drink about half the bottle of water I'd brought, and that slowed me again. But 14, 15 and 16 surprised me with their consistency! I was back at the car for the start of mile 17. I stopped and chugged the other half quart of gatorade, grabbed another bottle of water, and headed out for the final 4 miles. By now, I was sure I could finish the 20, no problem. The sun had come out, but it was not bad out, but still pretty humid. I felt pretty tired for the rest of the run, but picked it up a bit just because it was almost over. Nice run.

I had extra water left in the car when I finished (these days I take a lot with me - I never want to get caught short when it comes to hydration!). It was good I did. As I was doing my post-run stretches (not much to them, but I like them), a fellow who was walking two little pug-type dogs asked if I had any extra, because the dogs were thirsty, and they'd already put away more than he'd expected. I gladly gave him what I had - so the pups got to have a glug on me!

Got home, sorted out the latest feud over who gets which car for the day, ate a couple of sandwiches and had my ibuprofen and my chocolate milk, and now am thinking about cutting the lawn. Sort of hoped it would rain and I would get away without doing it!

I was surprised how good I felt after the 20 miler on Sunday. And yesterday, too. And even this morning! My 5 miler felt just great, better than expected. Felt like I had some spring left in my step. Helped that I replaced the shoes when they hit 400 - the new ones felt just fine, thank you very much.

Probably also helped that it seemed nice and cool this morning. July has been kind of a slow month pace-wise, but that just felt like what I had to do. This morning I felt a lot stronger. We'll see what tomorrow brings...

Good time for things to start coming together with the September race.

Alex Kubacki wrote:Good time for things to start coming together with the September race.

Thanks Alex. I was thinking exactly the same thing!

Another nice run this morning. Felt good and did 6 miles, instead of the 5 minimum. It's all good. Heading to Chicago super early tomorrow, so no time to run, but will plan to squeeze one in Friday morning at my Dad's house on the south side. Ah, flat! I do love that...

I predict a 8:XX mile thrown in during the Friday Chicago run. Hometown discount or something like that.

Chris M wrote:I predict a 8:XX mile thrown in during the Friday Chicago run. Hometown discount or something like that.

Wouldn't surprise me. I get ahead of myself running those streets and flashing back a little. Just had an invite to maybe run on the lakefront at 5 am - that would be awesome, but I doubt I'm getting up that early on Friday...

Long couple of days. Yesterday, got up at 4:00 to catch a flight to Chicago, so slept poorly. Then a whirlwind of a morning, leading up to a client lunch at one of those Texas de Brazil (or whatever it's called) meat places. I like meat as much as the next guy, but that was a bit much. Ate too much, and there is nothing worse in the middle of a hot day.

Then, had to wait for a cab out by Woodfiled Mall for what seemed an eternity. The cab driver finally showed, and we asked him to take us to the River Road stop for the Blue Line, so we could take the cta into the loop. The guy had to stop for gas (I love that!) and then had no idea where he was going. He ended up following the gps, which was a slow route. Finally got to the blue line and headed into town. At least that wasn't too bad. Then I took the metra down to my dad's house, which is about half a block from the 95th street station in Beverly.

The old man was sitting around in his underwear at 4:30 pm, with the AC barely on. We talked for about an hour (me sweltering, in the meantime), then he got dressed and we drove out to the far southwest burbs (Romeoville or Lemont, wherever White Fence Farms is) for a big family dinner. That was a lot of fun (other than his driving - hey, it's tough being a passenger in a minivan with an 85 year old man driving - a real lesson in letting go and letting God!). I got to see four of my siblings, their spouses and three of their kids. Nice. Then back to my Dad's.

For some reason, he turns on the tv, while we talk, and there is a political talk show on, so he leaves that on with the sound down. I do not know why. He would comment on the two talking heads occasionally, and would even say he didn't know who the one guy was. So why are we watching this while we converse?????? Who knows.

I told him I would get up early for a run, so he wanted to make sure I knew where the milk was in case I wanted it to eat some cereal early. It is in a mayo jar in the fridge. So I asked why it's in a mayo jar, and he explains that he keeps the gallon jug of milk in the basement fridge (why an 85 year old man who lives alone still needs both fridges (and a chest freezer) is way beyond me anyway), so I bite and ask why he keeps it down there. He wants to keep it in a fridge that he doesn't open and close a lot. OK. Uh, OK. I took a pass on the milk in the morning. Too full from all the food anyway!

I slept in the old front bedroom. He didn't put the AC unit in it this year (don't blame him for that - my one night in there is probably the only use it will get until I'm back for Christmas), so it is hot. I open the windows, which means now it's really noisy (the trains coming and going until 12:30 a.m. on the metra line, and then the ambulances taking shooting victims to Christ Hospital down 95th street, etc.), and the street light is beaming right in my eyes. Too bright even with my eyes closed. I had to sleep the wrong way in the bed to get the light out of my eyes. Even so, with the heat and noise I slept really poorly.

Got up at 5:30, when the first train came through, and got out for my run at 6:00. Warm humid day, but not bad at that hour. Ran from his house down to about 89th and Leavitt, then back down to 110th and Bell, over to Longwood and back to his house. About 6.5. I took it easy, being quite tired and way too full of meat and fried food! Averaged 9:16 per. And did not break into any 8:xx paces! Just too tired for that.

Then headed back to his house, and he was up, so we sat and had a nice visit for a few hours, then headed to Midway (he decided to allow an hour to drive from his house, roughly at 94th and Damen, to get to Midway, so like 55th and Cicero - of course, it took a little less than 30 minutes). That gave me time to eat at Midway, so I had a nice Italian beef at the Gold Coast Dogs in the terminal and was happy with that.

Got back to the office in Hartford right at 5:15 and worked for a little over an hour and came home.

We are having my daughter's high school grad party tomorrow here (kinda late, it is more like a going away to college party), so it is nuts here, and tomorrow will be crazy. A lot of moving things and setting them up for me in the hot weather here tomorrow.

Can't wait!

I think I'll do a short run tomorrow and save the long run (which is short this week anyway - probably 13.1) for Sunday, post-party.

Ahhhh, it's good to be home.

Gotta go see if we have any milk in mayo jars in the fridge...

Yesterday was crazy. Started full throttle party prep operations a little before 9:00 am, and worked on that pretty much non-stop until about 1:00. Sweated through a couple of t-shirts to the point of not being able to deal with them and just swapping them out. Hot. Low 90s by noon. Humid. Dew points well above 70. Ugh. Drank a lot of fluids, including 2 quarts of gatorade, while doing this work. Bought 320 lbs of ice for this party!

At about 1:30 I started my run. I realized just before the start that I hadn't eaten anything all day. Just ice coffee, apple juice, milk, gatorade and probably some diet soda. Given how hot it was (about 93, dew point about 73, I think), I just decided to take it slow and do the 6 miles I'd planned. I did that, but it was really nasty for the last couple of miles. Wanted to quit. Good thing I had to get back to the car, or I would have! Averaged 9:22, but it was a lot slower at the end than at the start!

Then back home and more party prep, and then running the party. That all went really well. Everyone seemed to have a really good time, and the kids didn't even keep me up late!

Up early this morning and off to church to help with some things at the service, and just dripping through my duds. Wish we had AC! Home and then out for a run. Thought I'd do the 13, or call it quits at 12 if I was tired.

Conditions not good. 87 and really humid (dew point in the 70s again) at the start. Oppressive. Based on how I felt yesterday, I was wise enough to start out really slow. Like 10:07 per mile slow. And I kept it there for the next mile (10:10) and the next one (10:09) and the next one (10:10). Even so, I was getting gassed. I felt really tired at the start, and it was not going away. I glugged down a half liter of water starting at about 3.0 and finishing at 4.5, which helped some. But I was drenched, not feeling better, and thinking I would have to bag it when I got back to the car (6.0). I think that thought helped, because the next two miles, which are slightly downhill, were faster - 9:36 and 9:42. I think I just wanted to get where I could stop!

And as if to ice that idea, as I approached the end, I somehow picked up a nasty piece of gravel off the trail in my right shoe, right at the top of the shoe, at the heel, jammed between my shoe and my sock. Ow. Was bad enough I had to stop and get half out of the shoe. I finished, but it was still in there. If I'd continued, I would have had to sit down and take it off and get it out, etc. I don't see how my enthusiasm for the run would have survived that opening to just call it quits. Anyway, that is what I did. So, I'm either getting smart or lazy. That leaves me with no long run for this week. And that's just fine by me!

Nice day off yesterday, and much nicer weather this morning. Got six miles in starting at 6:00 a.m., and I bet it was in the mid-60s with low dew points. Felt great. Averaged 9:11, which is very typical for this route.

Today is my youngest's 14th birdthday. Happy Birthday Lucas! I still remember the first time I saw him - what a cutie. Not sure what we're doing for dinner - it's his pick, and I hear it's either sushi or brats. I guess he has eclectic tastes...

Wanted to get a sorta-long run in mid-week. Wasn't sure how far I'd go when I started. Thought I'd increase from six yesterday to seven today, or maybe more. I played it by ear. Ended up doing 8.3 and averaged 9:15 on a hilly route.

Headed out a little before 6 a.m. It was a pretty nice morning, but humid (maybe 70 degrees with a dew point approaching 70 - you could tell the air was saturated - had a light fog for much of the route).

I did my normal uphill mile warmup, and then kept going to the point where I would normally turn back - just a few feet onto the state highway. I decided to lengthen the run on that leg past that point, and headed up the next hill, tacking on another 1.3 in that direction, and then looped back and continued on the normal route, back past my house and out the other way. I set it up so if I turned at the other end of the road (as it merges with the same state highway again), I would be at 7.0 when I got back to my driveway. As I approached the turn around, I was sure I was going to turn back at that point, especially because I suddenly felt the urge to "go", but when I got there, the traffic on the highway parted like the Red Sea, and I took the opportunity to cross and do the little mile+ loop I do on the other side when I'm increasing mileage, so by the time I got back home, I was at the 8.3. Nice run. And then I bee-lined it for the head, because I really did have to go at that point! Nothing like a little urgency to finish the final leg...

I've been kind of out of the loop lately, so I had to read back a few posts to get caught up....LOVED the narrative about the visit with your Dad! My Mom is 83, and her hearing isn't what it used to be, so her TV is REALLY loud. I can only imagine what her neighbors in her condo complex think...I guess it's a good thing they are all around her age.

Nice running!

KathyK wrote:I've been kind of out of the loop lately, so I had to read back a few posts to get caught up....LOVED the narrative about the visit with your Dad! My Mom is 83, and her hearing isn't what it used to be, so her TV is REALLY loud. I can only imagine what her neighbors in her condo complex think...I guess it's a good thing they are all around her age.

Nice running!

Thanks Kathy - I know you've had your hands full! My Dad is "all or nothing" with the tv - it's either off, on with the sound off, or on with the volume full tilt!

Warm, humid morning here. Banged out another 6 miles somewhat dutifully. A little slower, about 9:19 average, but it was just fine.

Looking back over the training I've done this summer, it seems pretty light. That was pretty much the plan, but it looks odd in retrospect. After this week, I'm only four weeks out from a long-ish (3 week) taper. I'm not shortening the taper - I'm gonna need it to get my ITBS and the funkiness in my left foot (still sore from when I fell a few weeks ago and hyperextended it) under control.

But I don't want to look too far ahead. The idea this year was to enjoy the running and not worry too much about the results. Onward!

Michael Enright wrote:
But I don't want to look too far ahead. The idea this year was to enjoy the running and not worry too much about the results. Onward!

Yes...that's been my plan, too. Let's face it, we'll never run like we could have when we were in our 30s or 40s, but we can certainly Keep Pushin'!!

Looking good Michael. Like everywhere else the weather this summer hasn't helped. So if come race day you get nice running weather you could fly.

KathyK wrote:

Michael Enright wrote:
But I don't want to look too far ahead. The idea this year was to enjoy the running and not worry too much about the results. Onward!

Yes...that's been my plan, too. Let's face it, we'll never run like we could have when we were in our 30s or 40s, but we can certainly Keep Pushin'!!

In my case (and certainly not in yours!) I like to say that it ain't pretty, but it gets me down the road!

Alex Kubacki wrote:Looking good Michael. Like everywhere else the weather this summer hasn't helped. So if come race day you get nice running weather you could fly.

I tend not to have race days with "nice running weather"! Maybe once or twice. Usually it's much too warm or much too cold!

Michael Enright wrote:

Alex Kubacki wrote:Looking good Michael. Like everywhere else the weather this summer hasn't helped. So if come race day you get nice running weather you could fly.

I tend not to have race days with "nice running weather"! Maybe once or twice. Usually it's much too warm or much too cold!

"Nice running weather." Something we all dream of, huh? In the winter, I dream of feeling the sun on my skin as I run. In the summer I dream of a cool, brisk morning run.

KathyK wrote:

Michael Enright wrote:

Alex Kubacki wrote:Looking good Michael. Like everywhere else the weather this summer hasn't helped. So if come race day you get nice running weather you could fly.

I tend not to have race days with "nice running weather"! Maybe once or twice. Usually it's much too warm or much too cold!

"Nice running weather." Something we all dream of, huh? In the winter, I dream of feeling the sun on my skin as I run. In the summer I dream of a cool, brisk morning run.

Cool & Brisk would have been nice this morning. Instead, it was warm and super-humid. I was drenched at the end. Good thing my bride wasn't up when I got back, or I would have been in trouble for dripping all over the place!

6 more miles, quite slow (9:24, I think).

Tomorrow's 20 miler will probably be a real slow-motion sweatfest, since it'll be warm and very humid again, and my 5th day in a row running...

Yesterday, I said the 20 miler today would likely be a slow-motion sweat-fest. I hit the nail on the head!
Last night, I was so tired I was wondering how I could expect to even start the run this morning. Fortunately, after a real good night of sleep, I felt really good this morning, and ready to rock and roll. I started the run just after 9:00 a.m., and it was overcast, in the mid to upper 70s, with a dew point in the low 70s. Unbearably humid, but not so hot as to make the run impossible. The sun came out a few times during the run, and the temps got into the low 80s, but never worse than that. The dew point remained in the low 70s, though I think at some of the sheltered parts of the trail, it was even more humid. You could see the mist. In the last mile, it started to pour, so that my cool down walk was quite wet. I almost welcomed it at that point, though it made for a weird stretch at the car, and the lightning was getting a bit closer than comfortable.
I lost 4 lbs on this run, despite taking in about 7 lbs of fluid during the run (and never took a leak during the run). Pretty amazing.
I probably should have called it quits at 17 miles. I was back at the car, feeling really gassed, and worried that the run would turn into a total bonk. It pretty much did. I ran the last three miles in "end-of-marathon" death march mode. Even took a couple of quick walk breaks in that last stretch. Ugh. Just wanted to be done. Was getting some calf cramping if I wasn't really careful about it, and I was getting pretty dehydrated. Just sweated it all out. One of those runs where my feet are pruney post-run because of all the sweat in my shoes. Had to stop a couple of times to sit down and try to get the stone chips from the trail out of my shoes - when it's that sticky they tend to cling to my legs when I kick them up, and fall down into my shoes. Sharp little bastards, too.
This was the toughest 20 I have done in a long, long time. If they were all like this one was today, I think I would not do them any more!
Splits below - the longer times involve hydration stops and/or walking to ingest gu and water to wash it down (well, except for the last 3 miles, which were just SLOW).
Then home to rehydrate. Then tried to rig up a pump to get the water from our pond to the above-ground pool (the pool has dropped below the skimmer level, and our well is so weak, we are reluctant to risk drying it out by using it to fill the pool, so the pond water would do the job). Endless tramping up and down hill and through thick brush, dodging poison ivy, etc., trying to set this up. I was completely drenched and exhausted from this, too. Plus, it didn't work - the pump isn't strong enough to get the water up the hill to the pool. So it was a waste. Then I mowed the lawn. At least that was on a riding mower!
I expect to sleep well tonight (well, so long as I don't wake up every hour or so with cramping legs or feet).

Way to tough out the 20 miler, and then tackle the pond to pool experiment. Yikes!