September 2006 Archives

An old car may perform beautifully for years, dutifully chaufeuring its owner from place to place, never showing great signs of distress, only to suffer a major breakdown when asked to push to the limit on the open road. Runners are not much different, which is why the marathon tends to bring out the worst in us.
- Don Kardong, "Thirty Phone Booths to Boston"

Well I won't back down, no I won't back down
You can stand me up at the gates of hell
But I won't back down

Hey baby there ain't no easy way out
Hey I will stand my ground
And I won't back down
No, I won't back down
- Tom Petty

The deep pain in my left leg (hamstring/glute) that surfaced Saturday has not gone away. Monday was my usual day off, but I didn't run on Tuesday either in the hopes that an extra day would help the pain go away. And it seemed to be working, as the pain lessened and by yesterday I didn't really have any at all.

Until I ran, of course.

One of the things I like about running marathons is that they are (usually) events. You focus on it for 16-18 weeks, and then, between the expo and the race, have a whole weekend devoted to it. It feels like a large accomplishment. Maybe it's because I used to race 5Ks every weekend from late August to mid December, but I just don't get the same feeling from a 5K. It's just not a big enough event for me to want to specifically train for. That's not to say that a 5K can't be a big accomplishment - it's just not for me anymore, while the marathon still is.

Running: 7:21:30 | 50.2 mi (138.7 mi MTD | 1174.85 mi YTD)

AKA: The race that almost wasn't

Marathon Training Week #6: July 24 - 30, 2006
Running: 5:42:02 | 37.08 miles
Walking: 0:37:30 | 2.5 miles
Elliptical: 0:30:00 | 2.18 miles
--------------------
Total activity: 6:49:32

Marathon Training Week #7: July 31 - August 6, 2006
Running: 7:32:03 | 50.36 miles

Marathon Training Week #8: August 7 - 13, 2006
Running: 8:08:23 | 54.58 miles

Marathon Training Week #9: August 14 - 20, 2006
Running: 7:09:58 | 47.12 miles

Marathon Training Week #10: August 21 - 27, 2006
Running: 6:13:32 | 43.22 miles

Marathon Training Week #11: August 28 - September 3, 2006
Running: 7:24:19 | 50.15 miles

Marathon Training Week #12: September 4 - 10, 2006
Running: 8:28:36 | 57.52 miles

I'm horrifically behind on e-mail and reading, but I've been cutting back on my computer time. I have a bad habit of just mindlessly wasting time on the internet, so I've decided to limit my time and pursue other activities. My next step will be to use my limited time usefully - I have things I want to do, like read/respond to e-mail, but then like an "ooh shiny" I get distracted. In the mean time, I've started making good use of the library. I really like our library system - I search the catalog and make reservations from home. They then pull the books for me and I just have to run in to grab them and go through self-check so a trip to the library takes a very short time unless I start browsing. If my library doesn't have a book I want, I'm able to request it from other libraries in Minnesota. So I've been reading a ton lately - I think I'm going through at least 5 books a week, at a rough estimate. I used to read all the time, but the internet kind of replaced that. I've also done some cleaning and cooking. I spent a lot of Labor Day cooking - I made a lasagna to freeze that morning and then made some herbed potatoes and baked ziti for dinner.

I've been getting in all my training runs, although I've flipped some weeks around. I've got a bunch of unfinished entries that need to be posted; guess I'll do that next.

Prior to today, I had 2 training PRs:
1) The longest training run I'd done was 21 miles (all on the treadmill, Jan '05)
2) The most I'd run in a week was 56.5 miles (Aug '96)

Today I ran 22 miles, to round out a 57.52 mile week.

It's amazing what a difference a day can make sometimes.

I probably lean more towards the "glass is empty" side of things than the "glass if full" side. So it isn't so surprising that as I finished my long run I started wondering when the other shoe is going to drop.

I guess it's a sign that I've come to expect bigger things from myself when I set a 2:03 PR for 10K and yet am displeased with how I ran.