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.

Back to Reality

It is hard to believe that there is really only one more week of summer (not calendar officially or vernal equinox officially, but in terms of real life officially).  Up until last week, it was also one of my more successful summers of running both in terms of miles and injuries in that I ran a lot of them and none occurred.  Oh I have a couple of little niggles due to tightness and just training in general and even though I wasn't happy with the last week of runs, I really have had a good summer of training.  As for those bad runs, they do happen and sometimes it is hard to face up to that age thing in terms of pushing myself.  After all, I'm complaining about an aborted LT run (ran 3.5 out of 5 LT miles just 3 days after a tough 5K race (2.7 hilly miles) and 5 days after a 20 on very tired legs and then my last long run in which I did only 8 instead of 12 MP miles (in high humidity and after being chased by a dog) - so really I have nothing to complain about.  Yup, it is just hard to accept that they will not all be perfect days - type A personality - welcome to the club.

Highlights of the summer were big though:

     1) I ran the most amount of miles in a month than I had in many years - 198 in July
     2) I nailed 3 out of 4 of my LT runs  ( and the last one was the one described above)
     3) I successfully slowed down my long runs and have felt real good on all of them with the 20   
         being kind of easy and not a trial or slog fest
     4) I ran the fastest time on that 2.7 mile hilly race since 2004 (I ran 19:35 in 2011 and thought I 
         was in great shape and ran 19:30 this year)
     5) The hills are feeling easy (even if I don't run them as fast as I used to) and 6 miles feels like the 
          new 3

It will be interesting to see what I feel like when I get back to Cleveland on flatter terrain but in slightly warmer temperatures and I'll get my first dose on Sunday when I pace the Rock Hall Half Marathon.  www.rockhallhalfmarathon.com  I'm the 2:00 hr pacer which should be a relatively easy pace and I sure hope that it is.  I always worry just a bit, but for the most part I should be fine especially after this down week of mileage.

And a quick recap of last week's mileage:

Monday - No running, but worked out in the gym with Annie
Tuesday - Comfortable 8 miles (8:57 overall pace) with 10 20 sec pickups
Wednesday - Easy 12 miles (9:33 pace) with Chris on Fran's Loop (hilly) followed by an hour of
                 yoga
Thursday - Recovery 6.6 miles (9:33 pace)
Friday - Yoga class
Saturday - 16 miles with 8 @ LT (supposed to be 12); 9:06 overall pace per mile
Sunday - 5.5 miles (8:44 overall pace)

WTD:  48.1  YTD: 1242     

Last year at this time I had run 1122 miles - so I've got 120 more miles with some downtime in early February.