Back to the Island

224.8

Ran 3 laps (6.9K) in 38:18. Started gently (14 minutes) then ran a couple of 12 minute laps. The workout felt pretty good, the soak in the ocean afterwards was even better.

A Fresh Start...

......kind of.

227.4

I'm off to test my leg at Mackworth Island. Each lap is 1.5 miles, I'll start slowly and see how far I get. The leg feels fine in all non-running activities.

I'm excited about training for a Half Marathon. It may be the ideal race distance. An M/2 is a serious endurance test without the need for all the gels and nutrician concerns associated with a marathon.

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I ran 4 laps (9.3K total) with no hamstring pain. I'll try it again tomorrow. Mackworth is great, the day is lovely and the wade in the ocean post-run is a treat.

Hit the Road, Fatboy!

230.2 (the fatboy reference)

Phase II transition starts today. More milage, more consistency, more food and drink discipline. I'll run my regular 10K route this morning.

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A Problem:

I have an (minor, I hope) injury. During the last mile of the race my right lower hamstring started to hurt. In addition, my left hip started hurting. The hip thing comes and goes. The hamstring is new, I think (I believe it was my other hamstring that I injured in 2005). All the pain seemed to be gone until I ran this morning. The hamstring injury became disabling and I had to stop and walk home. I ran 37:28, let's call it 7K. I may or may not run tomorrow, I'll see how it feels.

Boston

I went to Boston last week with Ed and his son, Tike. Sam also went. Our plan was to watch the Sox but we didn't have tickets. We finally paid a lot to get seats for Tike and Sam. We watched the game from a couple of bars, including Bukowski's tavern. The Sox are undefeated when I get a drink at Bukowski's on game day. Bukowski's has a tremendous beer selection but I opted for the spin (above), knowing that I was comitted to whichever beer the wheel landed on. I spun something called "WWJD". The J in question is Jesus, not Jenna Bush, so I drank a glass of wine, not jello shots.

it was a good day. The Sox won.

Beyond Beach to Beacon

Relaxing after the race with friends and training partners Scott and Sam. We're on my rooftop deck, the haze that was the source of the humidity is evident in the background.

Future key workouts will be a Wednesday morning alternately threshold and upper end aerobic, and an endurance building long run on Saturday mornings. Other running days will be Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday.

I need to lose more weight, get faster, and stay healthy. Is that asking too much?

The Race

227.0

You won't find me in the lead pack. I was about 20 minutes behind these guys.

I ran 45:54, continuing my trend of running slower than I thought I could run. I like the race and the day though, and will make it an annual event.

It was humid, a condition I really struggle with, and the hills also hurt me. I should train on the course next year.

I wanted to avergae 7:15 miles. I ran:

7:00 (nice downhill start)

7:21 ( predominantly a steady, gradual, uphill mile)

7:14 (back on target. I passed 5K in 22:26 or so.)

7:29 (and hurting. Uh-oh)

7:24 (some nice downhill stretches although this mile finishes up in what is foreshadowing for a nasty series of hills during mile 6)

8:02 (nasty. ugly.)

1:26 (After the dreadful hill entering the stretch in the park is great)

Now on to other things. Most immediately: The Maine M/2 on the first weekend in October. Serious training for this starts on Wednesday morning (8/8).

Closing In On Race Day

224.8

A nice pre-race workout yesterday: 3 miles on the track. The first mile was low end aerobic, during the second, we ran the straights briskly (striders) and jogged the curves, the third mile was an aerobic warm down.

Off to the gym for some stretching and core work.