Saturday's Ten

Spent all day writing, and then dragged myself out around 6.30 for ten miles. I did the river path up past Strawberry Mansion (which, I am sad to say, is lit up at nigt with what look like bridge-glowsticks, like some teen raver in Ibiza. Yuck!) to the 3mi hash. Then came back around the musum, down the parkway and all the way down 22nd to the front door. Took it nice and slow, about 1h20m I think. Hope it works and I have plenty left for the longest run of my life tomorrow...

Pottruck Compromise

To make up the rest of this week's miles, I should have run a 45min tempo. To get some rest in after yesterday's 14mi (I woke up feeling great, but could feel myself stiffening up all day), I should have done nothing. Instead I did a short, intense 3mi, and then did 10min easy biking. 30mi this weekend!

"Unless of course you wanna take that scenic view"

"...Then East or West River Drive is right for you." That song came on right as I was running on the West River Drive, next to I-76. G-Love == word.

Did my evening 10 miler: Pottruck to the river path to W River Dr to Strawberry Mansion (the best bridge), down the stairs to Kelly Dr, then to the water fountain by the rowing shell where I saw John Blitzer. We've been talking about doing workouts together and we ran the last ~4mi back to Penn. Wrapped it up with a very brief lifting circuit at the gym.

Up all night...

I couldn't run yesterday. Chris is leaving for six months in the UK/Oman so I arranged to throw him a blowout goodbye dinner party. My contribution was way too much (but not too much for Teagan and I) butternut squash (about 3 or 4 quarts?) and two apricot/shallot-stuffed pork tenderloins. Klara and Andre brought some of their never-ending sourdough batch, a chivey and goat cheesy spread on melba, and an expensive box of wine (no joke!); Teagan made a fantastic salad and peach buttermilk dumplings for dessert. Tasty all around. I'd arranged to have everything in the oven, or ready to go in by 5.30 and was going to head out for my 10 miler, but Chris got caught up at the Penn Museum so I had to stay to watch the oven. It was perfectly reasonable, not his fault at all, and he was very considerate in letting me know bad he felt. But dammit, I was itching to run! I tried not to let my inner hissy fit ruin my mood, but sometimes it's hard not to be bitchy sheep...

After dinner I was up until 4am writing, not particularly well. All nighters, and even near all nighters, are for the birds. Was grateful for Allegri's beautiful Miserere in my ears as I burned the midnight oil.

This morning: 4mi up to Boathouse Row and back. Will try for the long one tonight.

Pottruck Recovery

Another crazy Tuesday. Algebra TA did a better job with recitatation this week though, so I didn't mind being at Penn until late. Then 4mi on the treadmill @ 1% incline, 8.4-8.6mph. Four miles is a good distance. Better than three, which is really just a little more than a warmup, but still short enough to be anti-strenuous. Then lifted usual arm circuit. Home to work on TLDI submission (and listen to Mollie's radio show allll niiight! Jam bands, baby, jam bands!)

Long Run

The plan to wake up and do 19 was replaced with an afternoon run of 15. I don't feel like I'm at a wall training-wise, but it's just really really hard to find more than 2 hours of daylight with the semester in full swing. So this'll have to do for this week. The run today was good. It was a beautiful fall day, if a little cold for no shirt (oops). After 1:40 of keeping the pace nice and slow, I hit the 2 bridges just past US Grant and decided to go a little. I was glad to see that I had energy in my legs for those last ~2.5mi. The whole thing was just a few minutes under 2hrs.

All that said, I am a little worried because my knee has been giving me some subtle trouble ever since the Strawberry Mansion run last Tuesday. I think I went too fast on a steep downhill and may have strained it. It feels fine while I run, but as soon as I stop, I feel the stiffness. I'll have to ask Johanna--she had ITB issues after her half-marathon last fall and may know more. Or maybe it's time for new shoes? The pair I'm rotating have each seen a lot of miles since I got them in late June.

A few random tidbits:

• As seen in Van Pelt this morning: "Classics Resource Room: This room is primarily for those using the Classics Room." In other news, tautologies are indeed true in every possible world.


• Slate has a story on the lameness of mass-marathoning that has been getting a lot of (negative) action in the Fray.


• Google Maps replaced their Philadelphia satellite photos with new ones! Better resolution and has the whole river path. Here's US Grant:
  

Feeling weak :-(

Rain is back. Ran 4.5 on the 'mill at Pottruck. Yick. So tired.

Je ne suis pas rapide.

The Parkway 5k was this morning. I was nowhere close to my goal time (19:30); instead I finished nearly 2min off that for 21:20. Sigh. Even my 8k time was better, pace wise.

Pavol, however, kicked butt and reached his goal of finishing within 2X the world record :-)

Stretching out...

Today is an off day, but I was feeling frisky around 7.30pm, so I went for a run up to the Art Museum. Got going at a good pace for the second mile, then stretched out at the top and walked home. I think it's exactly what I needed for a pre-race workout: get the sluggish feeling out of your body, but don't tire out. I'll see how it works tomorrow.

The plan for getting this week's miles in is to do the 9mi tomorrow late morning after the race, and then wake up early and do the long run--19mi--up Kelly Dr to Manayunk and continuing the Forbidden Creek trail.

Bike, PDR Photos

Going to a Demography party tonight (?) but hit the gym for a quick workout beforehand. 30min on the bike = 15mi on the nose. Then lifted (bench, rowing, press, tris); went up 10lbs on bench and presses!

The real highlight of the day though, was getting these pictures from PDR. As I was coming down the chute I was passing people left and right, including this guy:

Yes, that is a pink tutu, pink sunclasses, hot pink Nikes, and, although you can't see it in this photo (it is in the first photo below), a pink princess wand. I was hoping that my finish photo would have a shot of both of us and it did not dissapoint.

Here are the rest of the photos:

All talk

I want to train harder, I want to run outside, but instead I find myself at Pottruck doing a half-assed 'speed' session. Sigh. Doing a training program but cheating on the long run and the speedwork is ... well, just running a lot of miles. I suppose it's good for one's health, but I'm not going to get fast this way. Double sigh.

But enough bitching, here are the stats: just under 5mi total, 2mi warmup, 4x800 at paces varying from 9.0-10.0mph (the 10.0 hurt!), a cooldown. Lifted legs (press, hamstring, reverse curl thingees).

Tuesday & Wednesday

Tuesdays are busy: 3.00-4.00 Distinguished Lecture (attendance by PhD students strongly encouraged), 4.30-6.00 Optimizing Compilers, and 6.30-8.30 Abstract Algebra Lab. I went to Pottruck after it was all over--it was too dark out to run on the river--but there was no way I was getting 9mi in on a treadmill, watching every 1/100th of a mile tick by. My body wasn't too tired for it, but my head was. Too tired to blog even. So I did 4.5, and saved the 9miler. Today I started at Pottruck and did a loop up W River Dr, over the Strawberry Mansion bridge, and back down Kelly Dr. I then returned to Pottruck and did a short upper body circuit (bench, press, bicep curls).

Running outside is so much better than the treadmill. Today was especially beautiful--one of those early fall days that are made for being out-of-doors, and Iron & Wine's 'My Lady's House' provided a surprisingly good song to run with. The even tempo, emphasized by the guitar strum and a soft drum, match up perfectly with that of my footstrikes. I listened to it 3X in a row for the stretch from Columbia Bridge up to Strawberry Mansion. It put me into a nice groove where I was keeping up with some (ok, slow) cyclists. This song might be enough to make a skeptic believe in love again:

There is light in my lady’s house
And there’s none but some falling rain
This like a spoken word
She is more than her thousand names

No hands are half as gentle
Or firm as they like to be
Thank God you see me the way you do
Strange as you are to me

It is good in my lady's house
Every shape that her body makes
Love is a fragile word
In the air on the length we lay

No hands are half as gentle
Or firm as they like to be
Thank God you see me the way you do
Strange as you are to me

But enough rambling... back to running: the rain and early sunsets have put me in the gym more often than I've wanted the past month. Recovery runs and weights are great for Pottruck, but I must get outdoors more, especially for long runs.

Pottruck

Ran 3mi in 20:40--1mi warmup, then 2mi @ 6:45 pace. I want to kick up the intensity of all my workouts a bit for the second half of the marathon program. It felt good to get a little winded. Then did my usual arms circuit (bench, row, shoulder press, pulldowns, tris), then biked 5mi and stretched a little to loosen out.

Philly Distance Run

Gun:	5k	10k	10M	Finish	OverAll	Gender	Division
Chip:	23:21	46:24	1:14:26	1:36:50	963	811	144
Race Pace:	7:31	7:28	7:27	7:24	11080	5725	763
Lap Pace:	7:31	7:26	7:25	7:13	Place / Total

Ran in my second PDR this morning. The race went roughly according to plan, albeit more slowly than I sketched out last week.

Pre Race: I wanted to empty my bladder, but after checking my bag, running a light warmup, and finding my way to the toilets, I was afraid I'd miss the start so I jumped out of line and into a corral.

Mile 1: typically bunched start for a run with 12,000 runners. First mile down the Parkway in 7:30.

Mile 2: picked up the pace for the bend around Penn's landing, 7:15. Thankful for sunglasses for the east segment. Stomach feels like a rock after last night's burritos (why oh why did we eat burritos?). Bladder also feeling full.

Mile 3: Chugging back up towards the Ben Franklin Parkway, another 7:20ish mile. Feeling better, wondering if I can just run through the knots in my stomach and full bladder.

Mile 4: Feeling good and the little uphill up to the art museum finally spreads the field up. I hitch on to the back of someone faster than me and we kick up the pace around to W River Dr. Then he kicks it up again and I let him go.

Mile 5: Burrito/bladder cramps return. Sear into my brain that beans are not good pre-race food. Slow it back down to 7:30ish to see if that will help.

Mile 6: Something malfunctions with my watch, so I don't know splits after this. Cramps are coming and going, but starting to believe I can just run through. Find a nice pack of people ro run with at what appears to be 7:15 pace. Enjoying the rhythm and having some company rather than just passing people.

Mile 7: Still chugging away, grab some water.

Mile 8: Approaching the Strawberry Mansion bridge and my mind wants to pick up the pace but bladder is killing me. Zip into the woods for a whiz which loses me 30-40 seconds. Run hard for the next mile and catch the gang I was running with by the mile marker.

Mile 9: Bagpiper on Falls Road bridge gives me a pickup. Then downhill back to Strawberry Mansion. Plan was to kick here, but find myself sticking with the group and going just faster than the main pack. A few stronger runners are surging forward now.

Mile 10: Someone in the pack I've been with takes off and I try to match pace but can't. Still reeling in other runners, but not yet kicking like I want to. Don't believe I can run 7s-ish for 3 miles.

Mile 11: Take a last water, finally picking up pace; at least it feels like I am.

Mile 12: Can't remember. Estimate that I'll finish in around 1:37-8 when I pass the mile 12 marker.

Mile 13: Pass the mile 12 marker and decide to kick for real. Passing lots of people. See Andre and Klara at the start of Boathouse row. Their cheers pick me up another notch. Then it's a longer bend around the Art Museum than I remember. I ease up a bit.

Mile 13.1: The course closes up into a chute for the last few hundred meters. Go back to a faster pace and then a sprint. Pass another clump of runners (why is no one kicking?), including a man in a pink dress carrying a fairy wand (totally sweet).

It's not the low 1:30s I was hoping for, but 15 minutes faster than last year. So I'm neither especially dissappointed nor especially pleased. I know I can still run faster than that, but also that my marathon training has been emphasizing distance over speed. To do your best at a half-marathon, you should train to run the last 8-10 miles at close to your limit. I was definitely did not do that today. But being a big race, and a perfect day, I still had a lot of fun. And I learned a bit about what (not) to eat, and about pre-race potty preparation, which will be valuable knowledge for November.

Parkway Run

Biked all over South Philly (GoHo represent!) borrowing Aerobeds to put up the 9 Emma folks + JeRM descending on Thornton Manor tomorrow. Luba is getting married next weekend and her guests have been going up and down the east coast. We are the natural Philadelphia spot. I'm not going to Luba's wedding though--I'll be doing the Parkway Run. I ran it (slowly) last year, but still enjoyed the race immensely. It's a benefit for CHOP and has a great atmosphere and a fantastic post-race brunch, catered by the Four Seasons.

Tapering

Ran a little more than 30 minutes, first 20minutes at 7:30 pace with a little stair up to 6:30 pace in the last ten minutes. Just under 4.5mi total.

Pottruck Recovery

Ran 3 1/3 easy miles (8.0-8.6mph), then did a leg lifting circuit (press, hamstrings, extensions), then biked it out for 10 minutes to loosen up.

Long run

If I keep continue to cut my long runs short by a couple of miles, I will be in for a world of pain in November. I did 14mi out of an assigned 16... sigh. But there's a silver lining: bad news for November is good news for this weekend, and I want to enjoy the race. Last year I ran too many miles the week before, topped it off with 2hrs of volleyball on Saturday (just to make sure my legs were good and toasty), and then hosted a party at our house that kept me up past midnight. This year will be different... I've been thinking about my race plan, and trying to pretend what it will feel like during these workouts. I'm dividing it into an 8mi race followed by an 8K. If I can run even 7:00 splits through the first 8 miles, that will carry me to just past Strawberry Mansion. From there it is very familiar territory, so I should be able to turn up the pace on the bit around the Falls Bridge back to Strawberry Mansion on the Kelly Drive side, and then give it everything from Columbia-ish back to the museum.

Monday

Ran 4mi on the 'mill: 1mi warmup, then a 5K in 21:00 on the nose, then .25 very slow cooldown. Lifted arms/back (bench, rowing, vertical press thingees).

Sunday is Tuesday is Sunday.

I never seem to get my long run in on the weekend. I did 9.5mi today: easy pace for the first 6, then kicked it up to regular pace for the last bit. So Tuesday will be my long day. Next weekend is the Philly Distance Run, so I gotta think how I can take it easy at the end of the week. I guess 4 tomorrow, long run on Tuesday, 3 on Wednesday, light 6 on Thursday, off, 2 on Saturday, then race. I want to run it in the lower 1:30s, but that may be ambitous...

Saturday

I went into the office this afternoon. On the way there, I was patting myself on the back (in my head) for going into work on the weekend... only to arrive and discover my officemates already there! Sheesh.

Ran 7.25mi at a good pace; 52min total.

Biking

The Spinning ® really helped loosen out my legs, so I decided to do another quick one today before happy hour: 30 minutes hills, middle intensity, but kept it above 100rpms, so got the heart going. Then lifted veeery briefly (bench, rowing, pulldowns). Then beer. Delicous beer.

Tempo

Whew. Today was maybe a bit much. Walked over to Pottruck with Alex and then did my 40min tempo: I took a nice long warmup for the first half, then stopped for water, then up the ladder to 9.3, and finished the last 7min climbing back down.

Tomorrow's workout is beer.

Spinning ®

Woke up wikkid early and went to the 6.30am spinning class at Pottruck. It was fun. I'd never done it before and I thought that the instructor somehow controlled the tension on all the bikes. I realize now that doesn't make any sense at all, but I was a bit disappointed that it was so low tech.

Anyways, it was quite a workout! I love the spinning bikes, they are much better than the LifeStyle [they make condoms, not fitness equipment!] LifeFitness stationaries in the main cardio room. And though the instructor was a little peppy for the early hour, she led a great workout: pushed it up just to the red zone, but not so hard that anyone had to quit early. My one gripe was that she kept lying (while maintaining this peppy, almost ditzy, persona). "Last sprint in this set" means last sprint, not three more! I guess I would rather be yelled at, in that macho boy-sports way, but know how much I have to do up front. Maybe most people who frequent fitness classes don't mind being lied to, as long as it's done in an encouraging, upbeat way.

My iPod, which was working for the first 10secs of each song last night, is completely toast now.

Nate, killer of iPods

NatePod #3 is dead. It appears that I sweat through my armband holster thing yesterday during my long run, let it stew overnight in that moist environment, and fried the circuitry. Damn. This is getting ridiculous. I hope I can just do a swap at the Penn Bookstore, and don't have to bike out to Ardmore for service.

Ran 3 silent miles on the treadmill, then did an upper body lift.

Classes are free this week at Pottruck. If I wake up early enough, am going to try a spinning class tomorrow to see if I like it.

Finally!

How to do a long run on a treadmill:

• Eat everything in sight at new student orientation welcome picnic


• Have officemates recommend music for a new iPod mix


• Pick treadmill next to dumpy looking dude for first hour, so as not to bruise ego when running at less than 8mph, or worse, to up the speed and kick his butt


• Do not run > 8mph for first 10 miles


• Cover clock on treadmill with NYT Magazine, pick machine as far as possible from wall clock, and in front of US Open TV


• Arrange mix to be bluegrass/folk heavy for first hour, hip-hop heavy for second hour

It's that easy.

(I ran 15mi today. Still not quite up to the progression suggested in training plan, but in the ballpark, and will still get me up to 3x20mi runs and a nice gradual taper before the race.)

Catching up

Hamptons weekend was great. No time to write a proper blog, but to summarize: too much beer, too much sun, but lots of fun and great to catch up with Alex, Allyson, and Lisa. I did squeeze in some workouts: a 1hr run along the Dune Rd as Ernesto raged on Saturday. I don't know the distance, but the time was about right. The sections into the wind were like running up a mountain and the sections going with the wind felt like flying. It was epic. Yesterday Alex dropped me in Westhamption and I did a 53 minute loop along the ugly, busy Montauk Highway. Tonight I did 3mi easy at Pottruck. Also played a lot of football on the beach, which has my hamstrings all tight. Need to get a true long run in soon. I feel like I've fallen off this training program and time is ticking!

Pottruck

As if on cue, the weather has turned cold (and very wet) for the return of the undergrads. It is amazing how quickly we go from the lazy days of August to the hubub of September.

Ran a pre-train 3.9mi, including a 5k in the middle right in 20:00. My 19:30 goal for 3 weeks is still a stretch, but maybe with some dedicated speed work I can push the first few miles 10-20 ticks faster. Cooled down with a (coincidentally) 3.9mi spin on the bike.