216!

216!  Well not only is it the area code for Cleveland, OH, it is also the final total number of miles that I ran in August.  So after running just shy of 200 in July which was my highest total in many years, I surpassed it easily in August, and I must say that I am actually surprised because I felt like I was running less mileage this month than last.  This past week was my first week after leaving CHQ, so many of those miles were done in "flat" Cleveland and in very cool weather (for August) as we had a cold front pass through.  That was kind of odd as the end of the week was spent in Boston and it was much, much warmer there.

The week started with my pacing of the Rock Hall Half Marathon in downtown Cleveland on Sunday, the 23rd.  This was a brand new race for the area directed by the group out of the Mentor area that directs the 10 and 20 Mile Drop Races in April, the Hill Yeah Half in June, and the Northeast Ohio Half and Full Marathons in early October.  The half marathon had over 100 finishers which I think was excellent for a first time race especially in August and the week before many schools started for the new year.  I do think some may have boycotted the race believing it to be the resurrection of the Rock 'N Roll (Competitor Group) race from 2013, but it was not and I hope that the word spreads.  

I was the 2 hour pacer and I finished at 1:59:35 (clock time).  Misjudged a bit forgetting the 15 sec off the chip but still maintained a very steady pace that I was pleased with.  I had a group of 20-25 runners for much of the way and many of them who had never broken 2 hrs successfully did just that. It helped that we were blessed with relatively cool weather with lower for an August morning and it didn't get into the mid-70s until my group was at 11 miles.  The course was pretty flat with a nice, shaded downhill on MLK Blvd.  All in all, to me it was well run and well attended for a first year attempt.

The cool weather stayed for the week along with some overcast skies which were very welcome for both my 2nd speed session of this training period (and first on a real track) and my long run on Wednesday morning.  Managed to run my second 20 miler around Bay and River by myself which will definitely help my mental strength going into October's race. I worked at keeping the pace slow in the beginning and ran the last two miles comfortably at 9 min pace for an overall 9:24 pace.  That combined with a successful track session has me believing that I am fit to run a marathon, but the last aborted MP run still has me a bit concerned.  I won't be running my usual half marathon this month to give me some confidence, so I will have to rely on another MP run and an LT/MP run when I head back to western NY and the hills next weekend.  I plan to spend another week there running those hills and then capping off the weekend with my third 20-something run as part of the Erie Marathon.  The current plan is to run 22 of the 26 miles very comfortably - so I hope the weather is good.

A recap of the last week of August is as follows:

Monday - 6 recovery miles after pacer duties

Tues - 7.14 miles of Speedwork (2K, 1mile,1K, 800m); Core work and weights with Jake

Wed - 20.25 mile long run

Thurs - Drive with Shannon to Boston for Senior Year!

Fri - 6.0 miles in Natick

Sat - 5.45 miles on Esplanade before returning to CLE

Sun - 10 easy miles in the Metropark

WTD:  54.84

I expected to be very tired this morning especially as I attended my first core class of the Fall, but I easily ran 5 recovery miles and hope to be able to run a decent track session tomorrow night even if summer has returned just a bit. Had to continually slow down this morning to keep the pace and HR in recovery territory.  Never sure if that is good or bad. Headed back to the hills of CHQ this weekend.  We will see.  

That 5 miles capped off the 216!  216 - let's hope it is a magic number.

The World Is Flat

Those four words used to be the slogan of the Columbus (OH) Marathon.  Obviously a play on dear explorer, Christopher Columbus, after which the city is named probably because it was the edge of western expansion in the early 1800s and all the grass made it look mighty flat.  The marathon is fairly flat although not Chicago flat and it well organized and well liked even by non-Ohioans.  I had never been to Columbus other than on the highway(s) (both I71 and I75 border on the east and western sides accordingly) and I was pleasantly surprised last October when I went down to run the half marathon that is held the same day as the marathon.  it is a young city still as compared to Cleveland and Cincinnati and although listed as the 3rd largest, it really is the same size as the other two large Ohio cities.  My daughter also has an interest in re-locating to C-Bus after she graduates as it still has growing suburbs, a large young(ish 20-30 something) population, an excellent graduate school of Education at OSU, and most importantly, and NHL team with affordable tickets.  Any way, most of my local running group gears off and runs either the C-Bus full or half as Akron is a little too early in the fall and C-Bus is strategically placed in the middle of October.  History has indicated good weather, if not too cold, and lots of BQ times.  I would love to be as fit as I was last fall and have a good course on which I might just be able to run sub 3:45 at least one more time.  We will see.

That goal being said, I am working once again on slowing down on those long runs and recovery days. When I was coming back from injury and surgery back in 2012 and 2013, I did just that, but as I got more fit, I started to run faster paces for those long and recovery runs, and I know that I paid for it by crashing and burning earlier this year.   I read a recent article in Running Times that so nailed the Masters runner that I am in that it identified those of us who have been running  tend to train too fast and with all runs at the same speed except identified fast pace runs which of course, we run faster.  I guess it just goes way back to my running everything in training at a 7 min pace back when I was in my 20s and 30s.  I mean that is what we did mimicking the likes of our running heroes in the Bill Rodgers era.  

I must say that slowing down my recovery runs have been the hardest and with the advent of summer (coming and going over the last few days), I have been able to run them around 10 min pace.  I also ran a successful long run this weekend where I averaged 9:24 pace.  Still maybe not slow enough, but it was a hilly course with uphill being around 10 and downhill around 9 allowing gravity to do its job.  With the slowing down and general lack of sleep these past few days (Stanley Cup Final and the Cavs), I was worried about yesterday's first LT run.  Thankfully the real hot weather had left and it was just a beautiful 75F with moderate humidity and I was able to run the 8 prescribed miles with the 4 LT miles at 7:57, 7:57, 7:58 and 7:29.  Oops on the 7:29, but this guy caught up to me that was also running harder miles and I was not about to let him pass if I could hold him off until my watch beeped for the 6th mile (lol).  After all , he was a lot younger and I'm sure did not appreciate getting chiced even in training.

Back to the grind, I guess, and I hope to keep this up to date!