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Log for October 2 & 3 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th.  Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time.

Sunday

• Rest – Sunday is almost always a running rest day for me, and I took today especially easy. After morning worship and brunch, I stayed off my feet while watching the Titans game and even iced my knee for a bit (chronic tendonitis for the past 1.5 years). Taper weeks always feel strange for me. I know that the “Hay is in the barn” as they say, but I can’t help but feel like I should be doing more. This final week of taper will only include 12 to 15 miles before the marathon on Sunday.
• Cross-Training – Olivia and I normally do an ab-workout on Saturday night, but we were not able to get it in yesterday. We ended up doing P90X: Ab-Ripper X tonight, which I followed with a half set of P90X: Chest and Back. The swelling in my hand has finally gone down enough for me to do push ups again.

Monday

• 5-Mile Recovery Run – Today Nathan and I did a VERY easy 5-mile run on our normal nature center loop in Edwin Warner Park and the Harpeth River Greenway. My legs feel good after the 15K on Saturday, with no lingering soreness, aches, or pains. The goals for this week are pretty simple (1) Don’t get injured (2) Get plenty of sleep (3) Hydrate and fuel properly. Part of not getting injured is to keep running, even though the distance is greatly reduced.

Log for September 30 & October 1 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th.  Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time.

Friday

• Rest – I took today off since near the end of my 2nd week of taper. If I get my planned mileage tomorrow at the Shelby Bottoms Boogie 15K (with Warmup and Cooldown), then I should be right at 35-miles for the week, which is about right. Next week should be between 12 and 15-miles before the race on Sunday.

• Cross Training – I’m not doing any resistance training with my legs since I’m tapering. Also, it is very hard to do anything upper body with the wounds on my hands. Kind of in Limbo.

Saturday

• 15K Tune-Up Race (9.3 Miles) + 5-Miles Warmup & Cooldown – Today was the Shelby Bottoms Boogie 15K, which is the first of 3-consecutive races over the next 3 weekends for me (Chicago Marathon, Murfreesboro “Middle” Half Marathon). The goals today included:

  1.) Partial simulation of Chicago pre-race routine (food, hydration, warmup).
  2.) Get in one last, good tempo run before Chicago.
  3.) Stay within myself regarding average pace. If anything hurts…slow down.
  4.) If my body allows it, run at a pace that would make marathon pace feel slower.
  5.) Build confidence going into Chicago!

  This is the 12th year of this race which is held on the Shelby Bottoms Greenway and in Shelby Park. The course is almost completely flat, so it is a good place to prepare for Chicago.

  Nathan and I arrived early and did a 4-mile warmup through Shelby Park, starting at an easy pace and slowly building toward race pace. We finished the warmup with 4 x 100m stride-outs to get the lungs going and our legs ready for a faster pace. The only difference with this and my Chicago plan is that my warmup will be no more than 2 miles with 4 x 100m stride-outs.

  As we finished the warmup, we finally ran into Dan and Paxton from our running group and made our way to the starting area. I had planned to start out at goal marathon pace (7:26) and then work my way down based on how I felt. However when the gun sounded a pace just over 7:00 min felt VERY comfortable, so I decided to hang out there for a while. The first 7.5 miles is on the greenway, with a turnaround at 3.75 miles.

  For the first 3 miles I settled into a pretty smooth rhythm with miles of 7:03, 7:05, and 6:59. On the way to the turnaround I counted about 25 runners who were ahead of me and were already on the way back. After making the turn, I completed mile 4 in 7:01 and was feeling fantastic. Since I was feeling so good, I started to pick up the pace a bit and began trying to pick of the runners ahead of me.

  My final 3 miles on the greenway were 6:56, 6:45, and 6:42, and I was able to catch and pass at least a half dozen runners. Once we were in Shelby Park, I could see the lead female runner about 50 yards ahead of me. I decided that I would try to catch her in the last couple of miles. I finished mile 8 in 6:40 and passed several other runners . About halfway through the 9th mile I caught and began to pass the lead female, but she accelerated to match my pace, and stayed within a couple of strides of me for the rest of the race.

  Now that I was slightly ahead of her, there was no one else I could see in front of me to chase. I finished the 9th mile in 6:25, and then tried to remain smooth through the finish. My official time was 1:03:39, which comes out to a 6:51 average pace per mile. This was good enough for 12th place overall, and 3rd place in my age group (35 to 39).

  I was happy that at the end I felt like I could have kept going and nothing was hurting me. Even though the pace was fast, it felt comfortable and controlled. This is a HUGE confidence boost going into Chicago. I was also happy that the other three members of our running group, Nathan, Paxton, and Dan all placed in their age groups. Nathan was 1st in 25 to 29; Paxton was 3rd in 30 to 34; Dan was first in 55 to 59. We all had a good day, and are ready for Chicago!!

Log for September 28 & 29 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th.  Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time. 

Wednesday

• 4-Mile Barefoot Run – Since I’m not running on Friday (tapering), I moved my normal 4-mile Saucony Hattori run to Wednesday night after Bible Study. I kept the pace very easy, and it ended up being a very enjoyable run (even though it was solo).

  On a side-note there doesn’t seem to be any ill-effects from my fall on Tuesday. Even though I was pretty sure I only injured my hands, I was afraid that when I woke up this morning something else would hurt.

Thursday

• 7.25-Mile Easy Run – Normally I do track with the JSRC on Thursday, but tonight is Olivia’s birthday, so I decided to meet Nathan for an early morning easy-run through Bellevue. I also didn’t feel the need for a speed workout since I have a tune-up 15K race on Saturday.

  Even through the temps were fairly cool, there was a thick fog which made it slightly uncomfortable. Our first mile was 9:30, but we steadily increased our pace as the run progressed for an overall average of 8:32. Even with the fog, the run was very enjoyable due to the easy pace and good company.

  It is hard to believe that the Chicago Marathon is now just a little over a week away!

Log for September 26 & 27 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th.  Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time. 

Monday

• Rest Day – Since I’m firmly in my taper for Chicago, I need to get my total mileage this week down between 32 and 35-miles. With that in mind I decided to take today off to prep for a tough tempo run tomorrow.

• Cross-Training – Tonight Olivia and I did P90X: Ab-Ripper X + I did one “max out” set of push ups to track my overall progress.

Tuesday

• 10-Mile Tempo Run – My schedule called for an 11-mile tempo run at marathon pace for today, however since I’m running the Shelby Bottoms Boogie 15K this weekend as a tune-up, I didn’t really feel the need to reach marathon pace.

  Unfortunately Paxton couldn’t run today due to illness, so Nathan and I met at the main gates at Percy Warner Park. We decided to two 2 loops through Belle Meade (one long and one short) to try and reach a total of 11 miles, with a hydration break in-between. Our first mile was 8:29, and was essentially a warm-up mile. After that, most of our miles were right between my goal marathon pace (7:26) and Nathan’s goal pace (7:50). We even threw in one around 7:16 for good measure.

  Our first loop was 7-miles, and I was quite pleased at how good my legs were feeling, and Nathan seemed to be really strong as well. However, at the end of the 3rd mile in our second loop, I tripped over a stray piece of concrete on the side of Highway 100 and fell straight forward onto my outstretched hands (my 2nd fall while training for Chicago). I quickly got up and did an assessment of my condition (WARNING … Gory Description Coming).

  My left hand was cut up pretty good, and I had a few scratches on my right hand and finger. However, other than my shoes, nothing else seemed to have hit. When I looked closer at my left hand, I noticed a small white spot on the top of one of the cuts. At first I thought it was just a fleck of something, but after trying to flick it off I realized it was the top of a rock that was embedded in the palm of my hand.

  The wound was still numb from the fall, so I quickly tried to get the small rock out before the feeling started to return. I couldn’t pull it out, so I essentially squeezed it out like it was a pimple (not fun btw). Once it was out, the wound started to bleed significantly, and I began to worry about getting it stopped. Just as Nathan and I were standing on the road trying to decide what to do, our friend Janna Dedman drove up to say hello. When she saw my hand, she immediately told me to hop in her vehicle.

  This was incredibly fortunate for two reasons. 1.) Janna lived less than 1/4 mile from where I fell 2.) She is a nurse. Nathan and I quickly hopped in her SUV and she took me to her house where I continuously dripped blood on the driveway while Janna and her husband Marc were getting first aid supplies. Janna cleaned up the wounds and applied compression until the continuous bleeding stopped. She then bandaged them up, gave me an ice pack, and graciously drove me back to my car at Percy Warner Park. The Dedmans are awesome people, and one of the many reasons why I LOVE my running group so much.

  So, my planned 11-mile run abruptly stopped at the 10-mile mark. Even with the fall, there were plenty of positives from the effort.

  1.) I’m VERY fortunate that my only injuries are to my hands. Anything more than that would have been very hard to recover from in time for Chicago.

  2.) My overall pace for the run, even with the warmup mile, was 7:40 and did not feel overly fast. I definitely felt like there was another gear there. This also makes sense, since I did a 10-mile run last Tuesday at 7:10 pace. Should be able to further test out my readiness to hold a 7:26 pace at the Shelby Bottoms Boogie 15k on Saturday.

  3.) My heart rate never went above 170, even on the 7:16 mile, and my overall heart rate average was 155. I’ve run half marathons before (last year), with an average heart rate of 175, so this is again a positive sign. I know that the longer I can hold my heart rate down, the longer I can hold a 7:26 pace.

  I plan to get right back up on the horse tomorrow for a 5 to 6 mile shakeout run, but I’m hoping to stay vertical this time

Log for September 24 & 25 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th.  Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time. 

Saturday

• 15-Mile Long Run – Today the Bellevue Trio/Triplets (Paxton, Nathan, me)  did our last long run for Chicago on the Shelby Bottoms Greenway. The weather was very cool (high 40s), but the air was heavy with fog rolling in from the river. We started with an almost 2-mile warmup around the pond and baseball fields in Shelby park.

  After a short break to hydrate, we began a series of 3 intervals out and back on the greenway. The goal was to average around 7:50 pace, which is the goal marathon pace for Nathan and Paxton. I was not concerned about reaching my goal pace since I had done a 10-mile workout on Tuesday at a pace 15-seconds faster than marathon pace.

  Our first interval was 5-miles, and we were almost dead-on a 7:50 average. I was pleased because the pace did not feel overly fast, and my legs felt good. After another short hydration break, we did our second interval which was 4-miles. On the first 2-miles out on the greenway, the pace picked up a bit to around 7:40 pace. As we made the turn back, my legs were feeling really good so I decided to push it up a couple of notches and see how that felt. My next 2 miles were below 7:00 min average, and my legs still felt strong.

  The final interval was 3-miles, and I again ran with Paxton and Nathan after separating from them on the second interval. We ran the first 1.25 miles on the greenway, then then the rest around the baseball fields and pond. Our average was around 7:30 and we finished strong. After the last interval, we did a 1-mile cooldown around the baseball fields for a total of 15-miles.

  It is always great to run with my friends Nathan and Paxton, and this run was especially good. All of us had good runs and appear to be in good form heading into Chicago in two weeks. I’m very pleased with how good I felt after a pretty heavy training week. I’m also pleased that my average heart rate was only 152, with a max of 172. Starting next weekend, I will be doing 3 races in a row with the Shelby Bottoms Boogie 15k, the Chicago Marathon, and the Murfreesboro Middle Half Marathon. Should be a wild ride.

Sunday

• Rest Day – After running 7 straight days, including 22-miles last Sunday AM, it was good to have my rest day back again today.

Log for September 21 to 23 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th.  Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time. 

Wednesday

• 4.5-Mile Recovery Run – After several days of running at odd times due to business travel, I finally got back on schedule this morning. Paxton and I did a very easy recovery run on the Harpeth River Greenway and in Edwin Warner Park.  We normally run 6 to 7 miles on Wednesday, but cut back a bit today to 4 1/2 since we are in our taper for Chicago. My legs could definitely feel the effects of my hard 10-mile tempo run last night, but they slowly loosened up as we progressed through the run.

Thursday

• 6.6-Mile Track Workout – I missed the last 2 track workouts with the JSRC due to business travel, so it was good to be back tonight. The weather was awesome at 6pm with temps in the low 70s, overcast skies, and a slight breeze. After a 1.25-mile warmup + 6 x 100m strides, we did a workout that was a variation of one of my favorites. It was three sets consisting of 3 x 400m, 5 x 250m, and 3 x 400m. While I felt absolutely fantastic during the workout, I did a really poor job of running consistently between intervals. I’m not very happy about being inconsistent, but am pleased with how good my legs felt, especially in the last set.

Friday

• 3-Mile “Barefoot” Run – Today was the first day of fall, and the weather made a big change in response. At 6:30am, the temps were around 50 degrees with a slight drizzle after very early morning rains. Paxton and I ran a modified version of our normal Friday loop through Bellevue, and it felt fantastic. I wish that I could bottle up the weather this morning and take it with me to Chicago. We kept the pace very easy, and it was an extremely enjoyable (but short) run. Just as we finished, the rain started coming down hard again. Crossed the 50-mile mark in my Saucony Hattoris, and I’m very glad that I added these “barefoot” type runs to my training for Chicago this year.

• Cross Training – Tonight I did P90X: Ab Ripper-X with Olivia, followed by P90X: Chest and Back.

Log for September 20 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th.  Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time. 

Tuesday

• 10-Mile Tempo Run – I really hate running at night, but my training schedule has been disorganized this week due to early morning work commitments. Since I didn’t get to run this morning, I hit the streets of Bellevue tonight after getting Sara to bed for a 10-mile tempo run. At 7:30pm the temps were a little higher than last night (mid 70s), and the humidity was still crazy.

  My goal tonight was to at least average goal marathon pace (7:26), but I felt really, really good from the very beginning. I finished the first mile in 7:23 and never looked back. My route consisted of many of the same streets that I ran on for the 22-miler on Sunday, and I felt very strong throughout the run. As I ticked off the miles, my pace continued to get faster and faster with 5 of the 10 miles under 7:10 pace. At the end of the run I was completely soaked, but still felt really good. My overall average was just under 7:11 per mile.

  I’m extremely pleased with the run, because my pace was 15 seconds faster than marathon pace, and (1) I’m only 2 days removed from a 22-mile training run, and (2) It was very humid tonight. This run is a BIG confidence boost heading into Chicago.

  I also used tonight’s run to tryout the hat (Nike), shirt (Pearl Izumi), shorts (Pearl Izumi), and shoes (Saucony Kinvara 2) I’m planning to wear in Chicago. Everything worked great, including my new Kinvara 2s which feel awesome. This is my second run in them, and I’ve decided to stick with the factory sock-liner instead of using my replacement insoles. If the temps are cool/cold in Chicago (as I hope they are), I will most likely add arm warmers, gloves, and a beanie hat to the ensemble.

Log for September 19 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th.  Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time. 

Monday

• 4-Mile “Barefoot” Run – I decided not to run early this AM since I got up at 4am yesterday morning to run 22-miles. My schedule called for 4 easy miles so I decided to go out for a “barefoot” run in my Saucony Hattoris after the kids were in bed. Funny thing is….my legs do not feel sore at all after my 22-miler yesterday. This feels kind of surreal. Even my chronic aches and pains were not bothering me tonight.

  Since my legs felt so good, I ran a bit faster than my normal “barefoot” run with miles of 8:45, 8:14, 8:02 & 8:37. One thing about tonight was that even with temps below 70, the humidity was crazy. I was dripping wet after only 4 miles.

• Cross Training – Tonight Olivia and I did P90X: Ab-Ripper X immediately after my run.

Log for September 18 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th.  Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time. 

Sunday

• 22.2-Mile Long Run – After missing the opportunity to run with friends on Saturday morning due to business travel, I needed to get in my last long run for Chicago this morning before worship services. Our church begins worship at 9:00am, so this meant I needed to get started by 4:30am….OUCH!

  My goals for this run were simple: (1) I wanted to complete at least 22 miles (2) I wanted to spend at least 3 hours 15 minutes on my feet in the aerobic zone. Other than this I didn’t have any specific pace objectives in mind. On my long runs this training season I’ve been slowly pushing my time spent in the aerobic running zone longer and longer with a goal of making my last long run the same time as my goal marathon time.

  I started out from the Edwin Warner Park nature center in the dark, and began by running down the Harpeth River Greenway with a short excursion into the park. It started raining during the first mile and continued for several miles before letting up. I came to the end of the Greenway after four miles with an overall average pace of just over 9 minutes per mile, and was feeling relatively good.

  Next I turned left onto Harpeth Bend Road, and then right onto Beach Bend Road after a couple of miles. At the end of Beach Bend Road, I continued onto Sawyer Brown and followed that all the way to the vacant Bellevue Center Mall. At this point I had completed just over 8-miles, still averaging just over 9 minutes per mile, and feeling really good. At the mall I took a very short break for a Gu and some fluid.

  When I started back I completed a lap around the Mall and then came back out on Highway 70 running east. I followed Hwy 70 all the way out to Old Hickory Boulevard before turning around and running west on Highway 70. When I turned left on Colice Jeanne road I had just completed 12-miles, still averaging just over 9 minutes per mile. At this point I was very pleased at how good I felt, and was also happy that the sun was beginning to rise.

  After a short run on Colice Jeanne, I turned right on Baugh Road and followed that all the way back to Sawyer Brown. From this point I followed Sawyer Brown to Gen George Patton, back to Sawyer Brown, then back on Beach Bend. I came to the end of Beach Bend just as I was completing mile 15, and started feeling awful. This came on all of a sudden. I stopped briefly and felt very shaky. Don’t know if this was the caffeine from the gel, or just from being tired, but I started to wonder whether or not I would be able to finish. I took another Gu (without caffeine) and some fluid and decided to run again very slowly down Harpeth Bend Road. Over the next mile or so I began to feel a lot better almost as suddenly as I started feeling bad.

  When I came to the end of Harpeth Bend, I crossed Hwy 100 and went back into the park just as I was completing mile 17. My average pace was still just over 9 minutes, and I was feeling really good again. I realized that I could begin picking up my pace if I wanted to get in 22 within the 3 hour 15 minute goal. With this in mind I finished mile 18 in 8:27.

  I grabbed a little more fluid at my car before heading back into the park for the final 4 miles. Even though my legs were fatigued I was feeling good enough to push the pace even more through the finish. My last 4 miles were 8:16, 8:18, 7:55 and 7:22. I ended up needing to run an additional .2-miles to finish a full 3 hours 15 minutes.

  Overall I’m very pleased with this run. Both goals were accomplished, and with the exception of that weird episode at mile 15, I felt really, really good. I’m also pleased that I met both goals, and was able to run some faster miles at the end. With the final long run in the books, it is now time to taper toward the race which is 3 weeks from today.

Log for September 14-17 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th.  Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time. 

I’m behind on posting my training logs due to a business trip to Scottsdale, AZ. This will be the first of two posts to catch up.

Wednesday

• 6.4-Mile Easy Run – After a moderately difficult 10-mile tempo run on Tuesday, Paxton and I took it very easy today on our normal “Nature Center” loop. The temps and humidity were a bit higher than Tuesday, but overall it was still very pleasant. My legs didn’t feel too bad after the tempo run run, but we kept the pace around 9 minute miles throughout.

Thursday

• 6-Mile Easy Run – Today I am in Scottsdale, AZ for training. My first session didn’t start until 9:00am, so I got out on the road for an easy run around 6am. Even this early, the temps were already in the mid 80s, and I could really tell it during the run as I felt pretty crummy. It is amazing to me how fast my heat tolerance is evaporating with the cooler temps in Tennessee. My original intention was to do 7-miles, but decided to cut it short since I felt so poor. I tried a couple of times to pick up the pace slightly, but just didn’t have it.

• Cross Training – Tonight I did P90X: Chest and Back after having a WONDERFUL dinner at Oregano’s in Scottsdale. Best pizza outside of New York or Chicago.

Friday

• 4.4-Mile Moderate Run – After feeling so crummy on Thursday, my run this morning in Scottsdale felt a lot better, even though the temps were still pretty high at 6am. Since my legs felt stronger I ended up turning this into a progression run with miles of 9:12, 8:34, 8:06, & 7:46. Really glad to feel better today.

Saturday

• Travel – My flight home was originally scheduled for Saturday morning, but I was hoping to switch to a Friday evening flight if training let out early. It did let out a bit early, but all of the flights going home were booked. Hate that I missed running with some friends from our running group today.  Guess this means I get to do my last long run of 22-miles by myself on Sunday morning before worship…Bummer.
• Cross Training – Tonight Olivia and I did P90X: Ab-Ripper X

Log for September 12-13 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th.  Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time. 

Monday

• 7-Mile Trail Run – It had been a couple of weeks since my last trail run, so it was good to get back out there today with Paxton on the White + Red trails at Percy Warner Park. The temps are much cooler, and this made for a very enjoyable run. We kept the pace pretty relaxed throughout, but I could tell a huge difference in my ability to breathe while going up some of the steeper inclines. On a normal trail run during the summer it was common for us to take a quick break at the top of some of the more extreme slopes, but today we just kept going with only one bathroom break and one stop when my shoe came untied. Not bad after a 20-mile marathon workout on Saturday, and not bad on a 7-mile course with over 1,400 ft of elevation gain. Great run.
• Cross Training – Tonight was P90X: Ab-Ripper X with Olivia and then P90X: Shoulders and Arms.

Tuesday

• 10-Mile Tempo Run – My training schedule originally called for a 9-mile tempo run today at goal marathon pace (7:26). However, with the hard marathon workout on Saturday (which included almost 15 miles at or below goal marathon pace), I knew that doing another marathon pace workout so soon would likely do more harm than good. With that in mind, I decided to dial it back just a bit today and bump the mileage up to 10.

  Nathan, Paxton and I ended up running out and back on Old Natchez and Del Rio. We started off fairly easy through the hilly section with a 9:05 first mile. After this, we picked up considerably for the next three miles with times of 8:07, 8:02, and 7:43. Just before the end of mile 4, we stopped for a hydration break and Paxton decided to head back early due to some discomfort in his calf muscle.

  Nathan and I continued on down Old Natchez and then onto Del Rio for the next two miles with times of 7:56 and 7:58. After another quick hydration break, we finished out the run strong with miles of 7:25, 7:37, 7:42 (back in the hilly section), and 6:53 for a total of 10-miles with an average pace of 7:50.

  My legs felt really good today, and at no point (except the very, very end) did the pace feel fast or out of control. My average heart rate was 151 for the run, and it only got as high as 171 even at the end. I’m starting to feel more and more confident about Chicago, though the butterflies are also starting creep in as the race gets closer.
  

• Injury Update – Quick update on my “freak” back injury from tripping while turning off my alarm in the dark on Saturday morning. I’m lucky that it doesn’t really affect my running motion, but it is a constant aggravation that seems to get worse after a run and throughout the day. Sometimes it is just really sore. Other times it goes into spasm. There is now a visible bruise where I hit the chair when I fell. I’m not sure how well it is going to heal as I continue to run, but have no plans to cut back on training unless it gets to the point where it affects the mechanics of my run. 

Log for September 10-11 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th.  Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time. 

Saturday

• Freak Injury – When my alarm went off at 4:30am this morning I tripped over a table as I was going to turn off the alarm on my dresser. This caused me to fall very hard and hit the middle of back against a chair. I knew immediately that my back was hurt, but at that point it just felt like a “catch” and really didn’t affect my movement. It was an annoyance during the marathon workout described below, but really didn’t affect my running. However, after the workout it began to spasm and continued to get worse throughout the day. I’m fortune that it’s my mid back and not lower back. So far this training season my two worst injuries have come getting out of bed and playing with my daughter on the playground. Go figure.

• 20.25-Mile Marathon Workout – I honestly believe this was (on paper) the most difficult bi-weekly marathon workout we have done as a group over the past three years. I don’t say this as a criticism at all, because I also think it was the best designed workout and the best marathon simulation we have ever done. Hats off to Dan Ashmead for putting all of our workouts together this year. They have been fantastic.
  
  The workout started at 6am, but Nathan I got there about 30 minutes early to get in a couple of extra warmup miles before the start. After the group arrived, we did another couple of easy miles around the lake outside of the Shelby Bottoms Greenway. My total warmup was 4 miles at 9:41 average pace.

  After the warmup Dan began going over the workout and emphasized that everything we were doing was all about the last 20 minutes. The workout was designed so that the last 20 minute interval would simulate the fatigue one would feel at the end of a marathon. With that in mind, our first set consisted of 2 x 10 minute intervals that were to be done at 20 to 30 seconds faster than goal marathon pace (7:26). From the beginning of these intervals, I felt fantastic. My average pace was 6:58 for the first interval, and 6:49 for the second interval (2.91 miles).

  Our second set was 30 minutes at goal marathon pace. Again I felt really good even after the hard effort in the first set. My pace on the first 15 minutes was right at 7:26, but I sped up a little in the second half for an overall average of 7:23 (4.07 miles).

  For the third set, we slowly jogged over to a hilly area for 5 x 30 second hill repeats. These were intended to further fatigue our legs as we worked toward that last 20 minute interval. These were pretty difficult, but I still felt strong. After the last repeat, we ran easy for just over 10 minutes. The totals for this set including hill repeats and the easy run were 2.22 miles at 9:08 average pace.

  The fourth set was another 30 minutes at goal marathon pace. By this point my legs were beginning to feel pretty fatigued, but I still felt really good during the interval. For the first 15 minutes my pace was right at 7:26, but I picked it up quite a bit for the second half for an overall average of 7:21 (4.09 miles).

  Our final set was the infamous “final 20 minutes” which were to be done at a pace 20 to 30 seconds faster than goal marathon pace. Just before the interval Dan said “my legs feel like lead,” and that exactly described how I was feeling as well. I knew that I had pushed it a little too hard during the fourth set and would have to pay the piper.

  As we started I noticed that my legs were beginning to feel exactly like they do in the closing miles of a marathon. My mind was focused on this….I knew that up until that point in the workout I had hit or exceeded the designed paces in every repeat. Now all I had to do was finish this last set at a pace faster than goal marathon pace. No need to blow it out of the box….No need to be a hero….Just needed to finish strong with a consistent pace.

  I ran with Paxton for most of the first mile, but he was pushing just a little harder that I wanted to go, so I let him ease away. My legs were SCREAMING, but I kept going. At the 10 minute mark, my pace was just over 7:00 minutes, and shortly thereafter Nathan and Susan passed me. I tried to remain consistent even though everything in my body was telling me to stop. At the 15 minute mark my average pace had dropped to 7:08 and I resolved that even on tired legs I was going to finish strong. Over the last 5 minutes I dropped my overall average back down to 7:04, with a total distance of 2.83 miles.

  I was completely exhausted, but what a huge confidence boost to stay consistent throughout the workout and finish strong even with shredded legs. My overall totals were 20.25 miles completed at 7:55 average pace (this includes warmup miles). I know that 3:15 is still going to be a HUGE mountain to climb this fall / winter, but workouts like these give me confidence that it IS possible.

• Cross Training – I did a partial set of P90X: Ab-Ripper X with Olivia, but was not able to finish because of my back injury. I also did 4 sets of pushups.

Sunday

• Rest – Since I missed running Thursday, I briefly toyed with the idea of breaking my normally scheduled rest day and going out for a recovery run. However with the hard workout on Saturday and my middle back injury I decided not to push it and give myself one more day to recover.

Log for September 7-9 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th.  Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time. 

Wednesday

• 5.25-Mile Recovery Run – Paxton and I ran the standard Nature Center loop this morning as a recovery from our tempo run on Tuesday. Even though it was a recovery run, we ran it like a slower progression run getting faster every mile. Our splits for the 5 miles were 9:37, 9:08, 9:05, 8:52, 8:18. The temps were still cooler, but not rainy and windy like Tuesday. All-in-all it was a good recovery run.

Thursday

• Rest – Even though this was not a scheduled rest day, running was just not an option. I had to leave my house at 6am this morning to catch a flight to NYC for work. After finishing our meetings in mid-afternoon, I headed out to Flushing Meadows (Queens) for the US Open tennis tournament. I got there too late to get in for the remainder of the day session, so decided to hang around for the night session which started at 7pm. Unfortunately play was suspended for rain between Federer and Tsonga after only 5 games. The rain delay lasted over 1 1/2 hours which meant I didn’t get back to my hotel until 12:30am. Fun night, but made for a very long day.

Friday

• 4-Mile “Barefoot” Run – After getting home from NYC around 8:00pm, I went out for an easy-paced run through Bellevue in my Saucony Hattoris. After taking Thursday off, my legs feel really fresh. This along with cooler temps made for an enjoyable run. However, It was weird to do my normal 4-mile Friday loop without Paxton. Now need to get some sleep to be ready for our 20-mile marathon workout in the morning.
  

Log for September 5-6 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th.  Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time.

Monday

• Crash – One day removed from the Tupelo 14.2, I took Labor Day as a rest day. I didn’t even set my alarm, and my awesome wife got up with the kids and let me sleep-in. Without an alarm or kids to wake me up I slept till NOON! Other than days when I’m sick, I can’t remember a time in the last 10 years where I’ve slept till noon. I guess it’s obvious that my body needed it. I also ended up taking a nap in the late afternoon while Sara was asleep. It is nice to feel rested and refreshed.
• Cross-Training – Even though it was a day of mostly rest, Olivia and I did one set of P90X: Ab-Ripper X.

Tuesday

• 7.25-Mile Tempo Run – The remnants of tropical storm “Lee” have brought much cooler weather to Middle Tennessee. At 6am this morning it was in the mid 50s with steady rain and wind. Tuesday is normally my tempo day, but didn’t know if this type of pace was possible only two days after a race. I started at the PW Park gates with Nathan and Paxton, and told them I’d let them go if I needed to take it easy. The plan was to do two loops with a stop back at the cars in-between for some fluids. I stayed with them for most of the first two miles, but after that I started to fall back as my legs were feeling a little heavy. I also cut off the route a little shorter than they did for a pit stop at the golf course. My first four miles ended up being 8:39, 8:21, 8:13, and 8:11.

  I ended up meeting them back at the cars, and we decided to run the second loop down and back Belle Meade Boulevard. Even though my legs felt heavy for the first loop, they felt GREAT for the second loop, and I began to pick up the pace. My last three miles were 7:41, 7:01, and 6:11. It was like the cooler temps had taken the shackles off of my heart and lungs, and I felt like I could run as fast as I wanted. I know that Nathan and Paxton thought I was crazy, and honestly it probably was to run a 6:11 final mile. Regardless, it felt really good to run fast, and it was a big confidence boost to know how much more speed is there when the temperatures are lower.

• No cross training tonight, as Olivia and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary with a nice dinner at the Stockyard, followed by coffee at Starbucks.

Log for September 2-4 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th.  Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time.

Have not posted a log since my awful track workout last Thursday. Just wanted to step away for a few days and not think about training plans, workouts, etc. Now that the Tupelo 14.2 race is behind me, I’m ready to get back on task toward Chicago.

Friday

• 4-Mile Recovery Run – After feeling terrible during the track workout on Thursday night, Paxton and I ran our usual 4-mile loop through Bellevue at an easy pace.  I normally do these Friday runs in my Hattoris, but wanted to take extra care not to put more stress on my feet with race coming up on Sunday. We ended up picking up the pace a little for the final 2 miles, to finish with an average of 8:31 per mile. This is a little faster than our normal shakeout runs, but actually felt pretty good. Nice to feel good after an abysmal track workout.

Saturday

• Rest – Saturday was a travel day as we made our way down to Tupelo for the Race on Sunday. No running or cross training today, and tried to stay off of my feet as much as possible.

Sunday

• 14.2-Mile Race + 3.6-Mile Warmup & Cooldown –  I intend to post a full race report for the Tupelo 14.2-miler in a couple of days, so this will be a brief post. The race started at 5am, so at 3:45am I started what ended up as a 1.6 mile warmup. This included a steady run which started at easy pace and ended at race pace. It also included 6 x 100m stride-outs about 15 minutes before the start of the race. Since this was a Chicago tune-up race, my goal coming in was to finish with an average right around my goal marathon pace (7:26). However, race-day weather cause me to re-evaluate this.  It was 81 degrees at 5:00am, with high humidity. I was able to handle the temps fairly well for the first 9 miles, but after that the heat really started to get to me, and I was never able to pick up the pace at the end as intended.

  I finished with an overall average of 7:36 which I feel pretty good about considering the conditions. Jeff Galloway says that when temps are between 75 and 80, you should expect a 12% reduction in pace. For a goal pace of 7:26, this would add an additional 53 seconds (8:19). Considering this, I’ll take 7:36 all day long. My finish was good enough for 12th overall (11th overall male), and 2nd in my age group (30 to 39).

  After most of our group had finished we did 2 really, really slow shakeout miles. It was hard to get moving again, but my legs felt much better after we finished than when we started.

Log for August 31 & September 1 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th.  Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time.

Wednesday

• Rest – After the debacle that was Tuesday’s run I took today completely off. Did some lower body stretches in the evening, but no running or cross training.

Thursday

• 4-Mile Track Workout – (Warning – Contains a lot of venting) After taking Wednesday off, I was very hopeful for a good track workout tonight. Unfortunately there were a number of things leading up to the workout which were not ideal:

  (1) The heat and humidity was back with a vengeance. Temps at 6pm were still 95 degrees with high humidity.

  (2) I did not hydrate enough during the day. And to exacerbate this I had too many drinks with caffeine.

  (3) I got to track late, and was only able to do a rushed 1/2 mile warmup before it started.

  (4) I’ve been trying to fight off a cold since Monday night.

  So what did all of this add up to….I felt AWFUL!! With the Tupelo 14.2 coming up on Sunday, my plan was to run the entire workout at a relaxed pace. However, after the first two sets, even the relaxed pace felt ridiculously bad. On the third set I ran with the leaders just to try and shake things up a bit (and felt better), but then ended up feeling even worse for the last two sets than I did at the beginning. 

  It is very discouraging to feel this bad after putting in so much hard work. I know that the factors above contributed to my feeling fatigued tonight, but I still can’t let go of being ANGRY at how bad I’ve felt during the last two runs. If I feel this bad on Sunday, I’ll be lucky to break 2 hours, much less try to maintain goal marathon pace. 

  On top of this, I’ve been dealing with a weird tingling sensation between my first and second toes and on top of my foot. It doesn’t really hurt in a structural sort of way, but is worrisome and annoying. I don’t know if this is (a) a shoe issue (b) an issue with my new forefoot stride (c) lingering issues from my “playground” accident last week with my daughter.

  Well, enough of the pity party. Time to get my mind right and get some rest.

• Cross Training – Tonight I did a modified version of P90X: Legs and Back, just doing the chest exercises.

Log for August 30 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th.  Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time.

Tuesday

• 6.7-Mile Easy Run – Today, the wheels fell off the bus. My training schedule called for a 10-mile tempo run, but there were a couple of reasons why I made some modifications for this week:

  (1) I don’t have a big need for tempo work this week due to my 14.2-mile tune-up race in Tupelo this weekend.

  (2) I had an early morning meeting today, and didn’t want to start my run at 5am to try and get in 10 total miles.

  My thought going into today was to try an get in 6 easy miles, and then do a 10-mile moderate pace run tomorrow. Paxton, Nathan and I started off together from the Nature Center, but I quickly told them to go on without me because I was going to maintain an easy pace, and because I was feeling TERRIBLE. Anything under 9:00 minute pace made me want to shut it down. I just felt fatigued, my legs felt heavy and achy, my feet were sore. I was determined to finish the run today, but by the end I knew that my body was telling me I needed to rest. No Wednesday run for me. I’m thinking that for the rest of the week I’ll do my normal track workout on Thursday night (at a more relaxed pace), 2 or 3 easy miles on Saturday, and then race on Sunday. That would cut out my normal Wednesday and Friday runs, but I really think I need it. Today was one of those runs that is just a confidence killer.

  Since I’m not running tomorrow that means that I’ll finish the Month of August with 207 miles completed. That’s a new monthly record for me by 33 miles.

• Cross Training – Tonight Olivia and I did P90X: Ab-Ripper X

Log for August 28 & 29 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th.  Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time.

Sunday

• Rest – As always, Sunday was my regular rest day from running and cross-training. I didn’t feel great on many of the runs this week, but finished pretty strong on Saturday. Overall I completed another 48 miles, and am at 194 total for the month of August. This is 20 miles over my previous record for a month, and we’ve still got 3 days to go!! Hoping for a finally tally of 216.

Monday

• 6-Mile Trail Run – I decided to switch things up a bit this morning, and do my normal Monday trail run on the horse trails in Percy Warner Park. These trails are a little easier than the Red, White or Blue trails, and I want to take this week fairly easy since I have a 14.2-mile tune up race in Tupelo on Sunday. The temperatures at 6am were awesome, and that made for a very pleasant run. I was able to do all 6-miles using my forefoot stride, and never felt the urge to fall back to my old stride. I have noticed that later today my feet are fairly sore, but I’m pleased with how good it felt during the run. I saw lots of wildlife this morning including wild turkey, deer, and even an owl that flew over my head and landed in a tree just off the trail. What a fantastic morning. That now makes an even 200 miles for the month with 2 more days left in August.

• 2.5-Mile Hike – After I got home from work, I took my daughter Kate to Edwin Warner Park for a hike on the Blue trail. We went at a fairly easy pace, but she did pick it up to run in spurts. This was the first time that she has ever worn her Vibram FiveFingers on trails, and they did fairly well except on large, smooth rocks. Unfortunately she did take a big spill near the end, but didn’t do too much damage. I was proud of her for shaking it off fairly quickly and getting back up and finishing. Overall it was an awesome way to spend an evening with Kate.

• Cross Training – Tonight was P90X: Legs and Back.

Log for August 27 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th.  Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time.

Saturday

• 15.7-Mile Marathon Workout – Today’s workout consisted of intervals that were a variable mix of paces, times, and distances. We started in Percy Warner Park at the Beech Woods picnic area, just at the base of 9-mile-hill. The temperatures at 6am were in the mid 60s, with fairly high humidity. As the workout progressed, the temperatures rose into the mid 70s, but the humidity dropped dramatically (which was nice).

  Our first interval was a 45-minute warmup run, and I was not expecting the group to take off onto the horse trails. I was running in my Nike Vomeros (which I’m beginning to sour on as a road shoe) and it is hard to imagine a worse shoe for running tails. They have a really think sole and no lateral stability. Paxton, Nathan and I separated from the rest of the group a bit as we went up the trail.  The three of us exited the horse trail at the top of 3-mile-hill and then navigated our way back down 9-mile-hill to the staging area. At the staging area, we ran the 2-mile loop between the 7-mile and 8-mile markers to complete our 45 minute warmup with an average pace around 10:00 min per mile. My legs were a little sluggish during the warmup, so I was a little nervous about the rest of the workout.
  
  After taking a short break to hydrate, we started a 30-minute interval that was supposed to be done at goal marathon pace (7:26 per mile for me). A large portion of our group ran the 11.2 loop backwards towards the Harpeth Hills Golf Course (very hilly), but I decided to do my 30-minutes on the 2-mile loop between the 7-mile and 8-mile markers. During the warmup I was using my old heel-striking stride, but switched to my new forefoot stride during this interval, and felt really good. The first 1/2 mile of the 2-mile loop is all uphill, and my average pace at the top was around 7:45. I was slowly able to bring that lower on the downhill, and was right at 7:26 average at the end of the first 15-minutes. As I began to climb the hill again for the second loop, I switched back to my old stride for 1/2 mile before switching back for the remainder of the loop. I felt really good throughout the 30 minutes, and ended the interval with a 7:24 average pace (a little too fast).

  We took another short hydration break, and then set off on an easy 10-min recovery run that was supposed to end at the 7-mile marker to be ready for the next 2 intervals. The next interval was a 1-mile run uphill from the 7-mile marker to the 8-mile marker, which was designed to be done at tempo or half-marathon pace (~20 seconds faster than marathon pace). John, Sue Anne, and I ran this first mile together and reached the 8-mile marker in 6:47. This was again a little too fast, but I still felt really good. After the first mile we were supposed to take a 1-minute recovery, and then run back downhill to the 7-mile marker at tempo pace. Dan really encouraged us to try and remain consistent and resist the urge to pick up the pace going downhill. Nathan joined John, Sue Anne and I on the way down, and we ended up focusing so much on not picking up the pace, that we actually were 5 seconds slower at 6:52. I did both of these miles using my forefoot stride and continued to feel fantastic.

  We ran easy for 5-minutes back to the staging area to hydrate before setting off on the last interval, which was another 30-minute run at goal marathon pace. This time, most of the group headed for the horse trails, but again I ran on the 2-mile loop. I ran the first mile of this with John, and was very uncertain of my pacing because my Garmin was doing some weird things. At one point I asked John what he showed for our pace and he said it was hovering between 7:00 and 7:20. My Garmin was showing 8:30. John started to separate from me after 10 minutes, but I still felt pretty good through the first 15 minutes before my legs just revolted. The last half of the interval was tough, but I kept pushing through. Nathan caught up with me about 20-minutes in, and we ran together for most of the remainder before he pulled away from me at the end. At the end of the 30-minutes I was toast. My Garmin showed an average pace of 7:54, but I have no idea what it really was. I’m confident it was slower than my first 30-minute interval, but think it was probably a bit better than 7:54. I again ran most of the interval with my forefoot stride, but did revert back on some of the uphills.

  Overall this was a great workout, and I’m pleased at how good I felt through all but the last 15 minutes. The final tally was 15.7 total miles, at an average pace of 8:27 (by my wonky Garmin), including the warmup and recoveries. The forefoot stride now feels much better than my old stride, but I still don’t have the lower leg strength to use it all the time. My impatience doesn’t help with this, but I am excited about what the future holds.

  A week from tomorrow will be a Chicago tune-up race, the Tupelo 14.2-miler. I know I need to treat this race as a “dress rehearsal” for Chicago, and resist the temptation to actually race it. That would mean working my way down to goal marathon pace as the race progresses. However, I know that at some point my mind will start reminding me that I am capable of running 14.2 miles much faster than goal marathon pace, and my competitive nature might just take over. Of course, the heat and humidity could be so bad in Tupelo that reaching goal marathon pace might be a pipe dream.

Log for August 26 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th.  Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time.

Friday

• 4.1-Mile “Barefoot” Run – FINALLY a run this week that felt good! Too bad it took us running 10:00 min pace to get there!! Paxton and I started just before 6am on our regular “Wonky Track” loop through Bellevue. The temperatures were very mild, and it was a very relaxed, pleasant run. Even though I don’t yet have the lower leg strength to use the forefoot stride for all of my training, it does feel much more natural now. I actually had an occasion to run for a few strides during the work day today (to chase something down), and noticed that I instinctively went to my forefoot. That was cool! I continue to LOVE my Saucony Hattoris, and hope I can get to a point where I can use them for even more miles during my weekly training. It was nice to get in a nice and easy recovery run, because tomorrow we are facing another tough Marathon workout. It looks like it will be around 2.5 hours of running time with a mixture of easy pace, marathon pace, and tempo pace intervals. Should be fun!!

  On a side note, this month is now officially my longest mileage month in my life. My previous record was 174 miles (July 2010), and I’m now just over 178. With approximately 16 tomorrow, 6 on Monday, and 10 on Tuesday, I should finish the month with 210-miles completed.

• Cross Training – Since my legs have been feeling a little tight and beat-up lately, I spent about 20 minutes doing some easy leg stretching to get ready for tomorrow.