15 Miler...Done..Whew!

Left at 8am, overcast with temps at 62. Have a water bottle holder dealie that straps around the waist, but also brought another bottle to drop in a park I run by (smartest decision of the day!). Took a strawberry Clif shot (has the 1/2 shot of caffiene in it) and brought 3 GU gels along. This is probably the most prepared for a run I have EVER been, lol!

Overall, 2:26:15 for 15.05 miles. 13.1 split was 2:08:00, two minutes better than last week and I really didn't do anything different, which, I guess is good? Took the gels at the recommended 45 minute intervals and they worked great as many of you have said. Fee asked about the difference in the blocks versus the gels I think. The gels being like a packet of goo that you squeeze into your mouth and wash down with some water. The blocks are like more solid jello that you chew a bit and wash down with water. I did pick up some blocks, but didn't use them on this run. Starting to really get used to the gels now and since they work I'm pretty psyched! Wore the heart rate monitor again and noticed that I was able to keep the heart rate down, on average, better than last weeks long run. I'm guessing this is partly due to the lower temps, and man was I happy about that! I think I'd love running if every run were in 60 degree temps... Still, I'd like to bring the HR down a little more at the same pace for the longer runs. I'm around 77-80% of max HR on average and would like to be closer to 75%. Any heart rate experts out there?

Anyhoo, I'm really happy with this run and will have to plan hard for the next long run as next weekend is my daughter's 5th b-day. I'm going to be busy with two parties and such...fun fun... If you haven't done so already, get over to Mike-Speeds blog and check out his trivia! Tough stuff for the novice like me. :-)

A little nervous..

Big run coming up tomorrow.... I've decided on at least a 15 mile run, but not on the location yet. I may work from home and run it in the early morning, or head out of work at noonish and run it down here in New London.... Topography is more favorable at work as there are little to no hills, just slight inclines. However, I'd rather run it in the morning as it's going to be like 60 degrees and nice out, but the hills in my area can be killer on a run that long (at first attempt anyhow). Either way, I'll let ya all know how it turns out.

Did make a trip out to Dick's Sporting Goods and picked up a number of Clif Shots and Blocks to use for the run. How did I not try this stuff sooner! Criag W. introduced me to the blocks at the WDW Half and I was amazed at how well even one "dose" worked. Would love to hear your learnings about the useage of these products. I know some of you have already commented a little bit on the topic, but it's intriguing to me. :-)

Closing in on 100

Got another run in prior to lunch and had none of the dizzyness issues I felt yesterday (thankfully). Kept the pace slow again and only watched my heart rate zone. Oddly enough I was faster than I had been the past couple of runs, but kept my heart rate the same or lower for the most part. The article I posted the other day seemed very logical, but I didn't really expect to see results this quickly. Of course, I'm tempering my expectations as 3 runs is not exactly conclusive data. :-)

So I ended up with 5.25 miles bringing me up to 82.53 for the month. I'm not 100% sure yet, but I'm thinking about a 15 mile goal for my long run and trying to get it in after work on Friday. The weather here is great and getting better (sunny and cooler) as the week goes on. Looking like high 60's/low 70's for Friday down by the CT shoreline, perfect!

Still thinking about my plan for January and potential ADR's.... I'm thinking Mama Melrose for Friday early evening as we're planning on spending most of the day at DHS, any reviews from T.V. out there? Still not sure about the ADR for post race....probably in Epcot though as the plan is to spend whatever is left of the day there. Perhaps give Le Cellier another try. I wasn't overly impressed with the prime rib, but everything else was great (including the company...Heath, Bill, and my buddy Chris). Ahh, the memories ;-)

Update

Mike (the other intro guy) asked if we were going to get hit by remnants of Hurricane Bill. The answer is, I have no clue! Guessing we would have already seen it if it were to get us, right? The other Chris (who ran the Disney half with me in Jan.) was on a cruise to Bermuda last week for his honeymoon.....I haven't had a chance to talk with him yet, but I'm guessing that one didn't go according to the planned itinerary...

Went out for a planned 6 miler this afternoon only to cut it short at 4.5 miles. I've been feeling lightheaded all morning, but figured it was just sitting in front of the computer too much and a need for some sun. The weather is fantastic here today, mid 80's but lower humidty than in days passed. My legs and breathing were great, but about mile 3 the dizzyness creeped back in. I walked for a tenth, drank the water I brought, and cut the route for home. I'm guessing it's just some kind of allergy thing or needed to eat (blood sugar thing perhaps), we'll see.

Anyhoo, I'm up to 77.28 miles for the month and have recently picked the situp/pushup thing again. Working from home again tomorrow and will try to get back out for that 6 miler.

Half Marathon Fully Run...

The plan was to get out for my long run early this morning. Woke up at 6am to thunderstorms and heavy rain, went back to sleep. Woke up at 7am and it appears that the storm passed and I could get ready to roll. By the time I got out of bed, ready, stretched it was closer to 8am. Still, not bad timing as I beat the heat that was to come this afternoon. The run was good, I slowed the pace down based on the article read the other day and I tell ya what, it sure felt like more of a workout. So I did two other things different on this run as well 1) Used two gel packs, and 2) brought water along. The water obviously was a huge help as even at 8-9 am it was humid and I was sweating like crazy. I purchased one of those belt dealies that has a water bottle holder that sits right up against your lower back (needed to make sure it was tight, but worked fine otherwise). The weight from the water was a little different for me, but I knew it was necessary. By mid-run it was half gone and I didn't even notice it after that. The gels were different for me as I typically don't use anything. They felt like they really gave me an energy boost where I don't typically have one, so I might give them another go on the next long run.

Overall, I put in 13.1 with a .6 mile warm down. 2:10:xx for the 13.1 and just in time as the sun was starting to come out of the clouds making it pretty unbearable. So, overall, I'm on track for my 17 miler by early Sept. although, I might try to plan out a flatter course for my first attempt at that one. :-)

Half Marathon Fully Booked!

The final piece outstanding for our January trip was booking a hotel. I really wanted to rent DVC points again for a stay at the Beach Club Villas or Boardwalk Villas, but there just wasn't availability at either place. Definitely not a lack of people who were willing to rent points. Really love that option as it's a huge savings over rack rates at some of the best Disney properties. I paid 180 a night for a "studio" at the Beach Club for the Half this past January. The rack rate for a similar room was over 300/nt.

Anyhoo, I have been checking the Swan/Dolphin rates for a couple of months now and found my buying point last night. The rates were holding steady around 260/nt for the past couple of months, but dropped pretty dramatically at the Dolphin. 142/nt (plus tax and such)....SOLD! I realize there are better deals out there (Pop-X resorts), but we really wanted to stay in the Boardwalk area. Just love the location (not to mention my love for the Studios :-)).

Looking forward to making ADR's for this trip now.

Training: Long run still planned for this weekend (perhaps tomorrow morning if I can get myself out of bed....), but planning a nice easy. low paced, run this afternoon. I've put in around 12 miles so far this week and should finish in the 24-26 mile range depending on the long run distance (minimum 10 miles).

RUNNING 101 - Running in Heat & Humidity

If you haven't read this one yet, it's totally worth the read!

http://knol.google.com/k/amy-halleran/running-101-running-in-heat-humidity/yk2yn42l1nhl/2#

And subsequently, an article on slowing down to get faster? This one blew my mind! I was like huh? what? http://www.counterpartcoaching.com/articles/slowdown.php

I tell ya what, I'm going to pay much more attention to my HR by wearing my monitor on these crazy/super hot and humid runs I've been doing lately. I think I may have been putting myself at more risk for trouble than I realize.... I'm also going to try the slowing down thing as well...

Sweating Buckets

Another hot day, another 5 mile run.  Speed was okay, averaging 8:53 and there was little variance.  Slowest mile was 8:57 and quickest was 8:41 (I’m pretty sure), so consistency was the key.  This close to the Hartford marathon I’m not really concerned with time, but I think it helps to push it on the shorter runs to help build strength for the longer ones.  I’ll let you know how that works out. The toughest thing for me on the marathon is going to be dropping my pace dramatically in order to “Go The Distance”…. I’m going to work on that this weekend with my long run, trying to run it much slower than I’d like to on purpose…  Open to suggestions on the strategy as this will be my first race/run over the 13.1. 

Up to 56 run miles for the month.  Still targeting 90-100 total which will give me my best month of the year. J

Disney stuff….  Sooo, Heath mentioned a dress code at the Yatchsman, and I would have thought it was the case anyhow.  However, after looking on-line for a menu I noticed a blurb about dress code (below taken straight from the website)…  Not really all that much of a dress code if you ask me… No hats and tank tops isn’t all that restrictive, but I’m guessing there are plenty of people out there that would be bummed by this….who knows….  As for the Sci-Fi Drive in..  Justin is going to provide us his take, but even though I haven’t been there in years I do recall the milkshakes were really good…and I love the cheesy movies (big Mystery Science Theatre 3k fan!)  The question I raised was to Jeff W’s report about the cost….I’m thinking that we might skip it on the cost/benefit for our family with young kids.  Let’s face it, they will be all over the place and I’ll be chasing them causing no one to really enjoy the novelty that this place is.  Perhaps the 50’s Prime Time would be more suited…let someone else yell at our kids about their behavior at the dinner table, ha!

• Dress Code Guidelines:
  Men: Khakis, slacks, jeans, dress shorts, collared shirts.  Sport coats are optional.
  Ladies:  Capris, skirts, dresses, jeans, dress shorts.  (Not permitted in dining room: Tank tops, swimwear, hats for gentleman, cut offs, or torn clothing. While T-shirts are now allowed, the policy remains that T-shirts with offensive language or graphics are not acceptable.)

 

Run like your house is on fire....

You've heard the phrase 'Run like you stole something", well, I had an interesting twist on that yesterday. Left for my 5 mile run and also left a pot with boiling water (or at least it WOULD be boiling soon) on the stove. Had set it up so when my wife got back from the store it would be set to get some macaroni boiling for a picnic we were going to (time was running short, thus the pre-boiling). So I left for the run and didn't turn it down a little like I had planned...not knowing how long she was going to take at the store, crazy thoughts started to enter my mind at about mile 1. So, I started to pick up the pace as I had the house on fire (in my mind) by mile 2. Needless to say I only put in 3.3 miles, but did average a pace in the 7:50 range. Hmmmmm, maybe I'm on to something here.... LOL

Anyhoo, the house was fine (huge pot filled 3/4 of the way so it probably could have boiled for an hour without issue) and I was bummed that I didn't get my full run in. I'm technically off today, but think I might get a treadmill run in this evening. The one issue I'm having is in my right leg. Had this same issue when I cranked up the miles last year in June. Painful, yes, but something I worked through then and will continue to work through now. With the full marathon coming pretty quickly (Oct 10) I've got to add some miles to that long run and plan to this week. 10-12 is the goal, and then 13.1 the following week. 15-17 once I hit Sept. I'm not looking for speed at all in my first full marathon, just looking to finish (and would love to actually run the whole thing).

Someone asked about the ADR's we made for Nov. One is for Chef Mickey's with the whole family (like 12 of us I think). Another is for the couple of days we have prior to the extended family arriving (Cape May Café since we’re staying at the Beach Club). I’m looking to add a couple of more, one for the studios…Mulling over Sci-Fi or not since Jeff W. was less than impressed when he just went. Any experience’s at Mama Melrose with younger kids (2, 5)? Want to try it, but wasn’t sure if it’s the best choice at the studios with the kids. Another one I’m thinking about is a “guy’s night out” at the Yachtsman Steakhouse. Would like to take my father/brother in-law out for a nice steak and this seems like the place to do it (without having to go into a park). Yeah, I know it’s pricey…

More hot sun, more run..

Took Wed/Thurs off as the legs needed it. Got out yesterday in the afternoon sun for my long(er) run. Goal was 7 miles, ended up with 8.4 and pretty darn exhausted at the end. The watch says 8:50 average, but it felt alot faster (maybe the heat was messing with my mind). It was my "hill" route, so that might have messed with my numbers as well. Either way, it felt good after a jump in the pool to cool off :-)

Up to 45.6 miles for month thus far (best miles pace yet this year). Time to finish the month strong.

Rest Day

Today is a rest day as my legs have asked for it off. :-) After taking Saturday off I ran Sunday (as previously mentioned) and put in 3.1 Monday and another 5 yesterday in what has to be the hottest day of the year thus far. The heat didn't really bother me till after mile 4, so I take that as a good sign of endurance (or just plain craziness..). it's possible that I'll take Thursday off as well and go for my long run on Friday, but will have to play it by ear as I've got a wedding to go to Friday night. The friend of mine that came down and ran with me for the 2009 Disney Half is getting married, for those of you who met him while we were down.

We made some of our ADR's for the Nov. trip yesterday, always an exciting event. :-) With the kids being pretty young still I think we'll do alot of counter service, but had to at least setup a couple of sit downs with some charachters thrown in for good measure.

Congrats to Rae on signing up for the Ironman! We'll be here cheering you on the whole way!

Weekend Run

I was indeed able to get the long run in on Friday. 9 miles averaging 9:05/mile. Tried to stay in the shade as much as possible, still ended up with a little sunburn on the stretch by the beach. Followed that up with a day of rest on Saturday from five consecutive days running (24.1 miles), then 5 miles today (8:45/mi average).

Time to break out the new shoes as the old ones have about 450 miles.... I would have shelved them sooner, but they have still shown a good deal of bounce, but it's time for them to hit the trail.

Another day, another run..

For the 4th consecutive day I got out and ran. A light 4 miler yesterday with no watch, so I don't know what the pace was (guessing around 9/min miles). Felt good, just a good paced jog to log the mileage. I'm going for my first "long" run since May this afternoon. The plan is for at least 9 miles and the weather appears to be outstanding. The only question is how my legs will handle it since I've run the past 4 days. However, I don't think it'll be an issue, a little sore, but not an issue. The extra 9 would put me at 24 miles for the week which is where I've been trying to get back to in the first place. Between 20-25 is the weekly goal from now on, or at least till school kicks back in mid-September (may have to lower the goal to 15-20 at that point due to time).

Yes Mike, football is indeed in the air :-) Mike Vick starter for more than one game this season? I'll take the over, PUT IT ON THE BOARRRRD!!!! The way the Red Sox have been playing and getting hurt, I'm thinking that football is coming just in time! Eagles camp appears to be going well, lots of good young talent as well....I think they'll miss Jim Johnson alot this year both physically and his crazy defensive schemes....This is where losing Steve Spagnola and Jim Harghbaugh is so huge.... but they are doing just fine on their own....What's all this talk about how Bilichick produces all these great coaches...they have done squat!!! Spangnola basically won the Super Bowl for the G-men with Jim Johnson's defensive scheme...and Harbaugh is doing something similar in Baltimore.... Of course...then there's Brad Childress....although he at least still has a job and had a winning record.... LOL

Got a copy of Race to Witch Mountain yesterday and plan to watch it over the weekend...stay tuned and I'll let you know what I thought. We'll see what "the Rock" says.... Watched Mary Poppins last weekend for the first time in a long time....outstanding! and the kids loved the music too.

More run in the hot sun...

Worked from home again today and decided to get out for a noon run. Well, weather.com says it "feels like 91", whatever that means... I've heard of dressing as if it's 20 degree's warmer for running during cold weather, so what does that mean for this stuff? Run nude? Oh yeah, that would go over well with the neighbors.... :-)

Anyhoo, figured I'd do a quick 5k since it was supposed to be a day off. Ended up being a really quick 5k, 24:45 to be exact. Wow, I felt like I was moving pretty fast, but didn't realize how fast. Quickest 5k of the year for me so far. Like with the 5 miler yesterday, my lungs were a little fatigued by the end of the run, but my legs and core felt great. I'm thinking the speed thing is coming down with the shrinking of my mid-section, as I'm shedding the weight I gained during June and early July. Apparently I thought Juneathon was an eating contest....

Side note - I'm really not sure where to book accomodation-wise for marathon weekend. Since it's kind of a 10th anniversary trip for the wife and I (one and a half year late...) we really want to stay on the boardwalk (or vicinity). The DVC point rental thing doesn't look good as there is no "studio" availability during that time with the exception of Saratoga Springs and we don't really want to go there this trip. So it appears I'm stuck with the rack rate thing. The most inexpensive I can find in the area is the Swan/Dolphin for 261/night. Not overally horrible, but not exactly the deal I got last year when we had a Beach Club Villa studio for 180/night.... I'm guessing more people are catching on to the DVC rental thing.... Where is everyone else staying? Is there any reason I should hold out on booking the 261/nt rate at the Swan or Dolphin? Any inside information on hotel deals coming up? I'm figuring that since it's marathon weekend that the specials will be limited...

I run for fun in the hot hot sun...

oh me, oh my, what a lot of funny things go by....

Yeah, I've been reading Dr. Suess to the kids too much lately. But seriously, I took a run at noon today since I'm working from home and really underestimated the heat. I'm not one to take water with me on my runs (even the longer ones) as I try to camel up all morning so I'll be ready, but today really tested that theory. The first 3 miles felt great, but started to wear on my by 4...4.5...on to 5. Still, the run was a good one, averaging 8:42 a mile on my hill route (2 very large and long hills and 2 medium sized hills). High of 8:53 and a low of 8:17 (on the flat) so it was encouraging.

I've still yet to get my 9-10 miler in since mid-May, perhaps this weekend as I think I'm ready to start stretching it out again. Just in time as well since I've really got to get on that marathon training....

Side note - I've finally started to catch up on pod casts! Listed to AATM's last show, DisUnplugged, and a couple of WDW Today (easier to catch up on since they are so short). I really miss the Disney conversation. Since the trip in Nov. is fast approaching it's a good time to catch up.