Finished at Kiawah Island this Sat. Didn't hit my goal time of <3:50, but did break 4 hrs. & got a PR of 3:56:04. Two of my personal rules of running are: never be unhappy about finishing a marathon, and never be dissatisfied with a PR -- so I'm perfeactly fine with the results. I've been looking for photos online but haven't found any yet. Perhaps I'll post some of me if I find them, along w/ a detailed account of my run. For now, I'm too tired, as I took an exam this evening & came home to work on a 2,500-word assignment due Fri.

To make a long story short, Kiawah is a good marathon. The course is flat, the people nice, & the island beautiful. I'll be back next year, but will do the half so that I can have a real vacation. As a matter of fact, I have no immediate plans to do another marathon. That is not to imply that I'll naver do another; but as of now I plan to take a break from them for a while, as they take up too much time & interfere with other races.

Posted by MHB at 10:14 PM EST

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I have a turkey trot 5k tomorrow. Normally I would not be doing a 5k at this point in my marathon training; but I'm a bit ahead of schedule, & this race is right across the street & comes with good food & plentiful door prizes. Thus I have spent the past couple of days filling my nasal passages full of Zicam in an effort to ward off a cold that has been going around and may already have invaded my system. I can't tell for sure, as I am full of Zicam; but my head doesn't feel good -- & although I have no performance goals for this race, I don't want to have to run 5k in freezing weather tomorrow & then stand out in the cold for two more hours with aches, chills, & a head full of snot.

I've always been willing to cut Lance Armstrong a lot of slack, if for no other reason than my respect for his work lobbying for cancer research. But what the hell?

Posted by MHB at 10:05 PM EST

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Pacing has always been a difficult thing for me. The Garmin Forerunner 205 the I got last Christmas has helped somewhat with that, but the benefit that I have gotten from it has been purely prophylactic, as I still cannot gauge appropriate training paces without it. Those who are sufficiently attuned to their bodies to hold a pace range based solely upon perceived effort are to be envied.

As I ramp up my training in order to take my running to a new level, I find that the fine gradients of pace with which I am now working are quite difficult to lock into & hold. A good example of that is yesterday morning, when I set out to run 10 miles at marathon pace as part of a 14-15-mile training run. I went out too fast as usual, but quickly reined in my pace to between 8:45 & 8:50, which is just what I will be shooting for at Kiawah. Yet I was not prepared for the difficulty of making a physical distinction between an 8:25 pace & and 8:45 pace, & as a result kept ramping up the pace despite my better efforts to keep it modest & my frequent glances at the Garmin.

As I ran lap after lap around the mall at Furman (one of the flattest training courses available to me in the neighborhood), my pace kept inching up: 8:40; 8:38; 8:36; 8:35. By 6 miles, it had become clear that my MP run had become more of a steady-state or long tempo workout; but I decided to hang on just the same & get the 10 miles in at that pace. As I often do when dealing with the rigors of marathon training, I reasoned that I have a choice: to feel bad now or feel bad in mile 22 of a marathon. I chose to feel bad now.

So I kept pushing: harder & harder, until my cumulative pace got down to 8:30. Then I hung on, for 2.5 more miles, until my watch turned over at 10 miles for the segment. I was tired, but near the end of the segment I found that despite my fatigue, I could still keep my form. Sweet. Perhaps I really am becoming proficient at running.

Still, I can tell that pace is going to be a problem unless I can make some headway with in during the next 4 weeks. I did make some progress with one aspect of pacing today, however, as I was able to make a much-needed recovery run today at a real recovery pace (10:07 -- on the high end of the McMillan calculator range) instead of my usual 9:30-9:45 spent obsessing over going too slow. All I needed was a little something to flush the waste out of my muscles, & it appears to have worked.

Posted by MHB at 10:53 PM EST

Updated: Friday, 16 November 2007 10:14 PM EST

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It does no good to look back.

I guess that must be the thought for the evening, for that's what came out after several minutes of pondering over a blank blog template. One thing that this technology can't do is to write the damn entry for you -- which, contrary to what some automatons out there believe, would not be a good thing.

Such a statement might seem funny coming from someone who has devoted as much time as I have to studying history; but I have reached the point -- at least in a personal sense -- that I am tired of the rumination that has clogged my thought processes off & on for decades, tired of reliving all the failures & screw-ups, ready to treat each day as a new chance to start over.

And why not? One mistake that I have made consistently for many years now (I don't know quite when it began) is to take life way too damn seriously, when the truth is that life is a mysterious exercise that may or may not have any significance beyond one's own subjective experience, and that can end at any moment. So why do we assign so much urgency to it? Why do we increase our risk and decrease our enjoyment obessing over things that ultimately may mean nothing & have no signifcance? And why do we, as a consequence of this, set ourselves up for failure by not focusing on the issues, events, & decisions that, given our full and proper attention, could make our lives better, more secure, & more meaningful?

I have resolved to make a conscious effort not to do this, which is going to take a great deal of behavior modification on my part. It is not natural for me not to obsess over the negative, ruminate over past mistakes, & dread what the future holds. Would I be justified in continuing down that path? Yes. Does it help my situation? No.

I ran a trail run yesterday -- against my better judgment, as I have a marathon in four weeks & cannot afford an injury. Yet I could not pass on this one, as it was part of the track club's points series (I placed third in my age group, & thus received a much-needed 30 points) & just as improtantly, it was fun. And there were pancakes at the finish. What better reason to run a race? I didn't do as well as I normally do, as I misjudged my pace & finished about 3 minutes off my PR, but I was nevertheless amazed at how good I felt on the course, & took this as another indicator of how much fitter I am now compared to this time last year. Plus, I had enough left over today to get in 16.5 EZ miles this morning. The summer base training and all those long tempos paid off, and my running form has improved substantially, resulting in less wasted effort. Four weeks away from my fourth marathon, I feel good, & ready.

Posted by MHB at 11:10 PM EST

Updated: Friday, 16 November 2007 10:18 PM EST

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I have much to write, but only the time & energy for a few quick thoughts to update this blog. The primary reason for my weariness is a good one: I got a 20 in this morning, my first in over a year & one of my least problematic ever. By the time I finished, my legs hurt seriously below the knee, but I was not completely wiped out & was able to go on with my day with few restrictions ( I even did some yard work this evening). There was no acute dehydration, no blisters, no discolored toenails, & by noon I was ready to go to the grocery store with my wife, who also got in a 20 this morning. I did nod off a couple of times while watching NBC's recap of the NYC Marathon, but otherwise made it through the afternoon just fine.

Speaking of NBC: adding to the tragedy of the Ryan Shay situation is the fact that the network's "coverage" of the race Sat. never mentioned him, & his untimely death garnered little coverage on any of the other networks either (college football takes precedence, you know). But just wait: give them a couple of days to get their act together, & we will be seeing segments on the Today show that will begin something like: "Each year, tens of thousands of Americans run marathons. But how safe are they? Next we'll hear from some medical experts as well as from our own marathoner, Natalie Morales."

A lot more has gone on with me vis-a-vis running in the past few weeks, but for now I will have to synopisze it. Last week's Spinx RunFest was terrific: I spent the entire weekend there volunteering, helping my wife (who directed the kids' races), & finally running a PR (1:47) in the half Sun. morning on a course that I had never run before & that was backloaded w/ hills. It is clear from my performance that my summer of base training & corresponding emphasis upon long tempo runs paid off. There's more to it than that, including the expert advice that I discussed in my last entry, but suffice to say that it was the first really good race that I have run all year, & I hope that it will prove to be a sign of things to come.

Posted by MHB at 10:44 PM EST

Updated: Sunday, 4 November 2007 10:50 PM EST

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This weekend was a good one for running, due not only to the cooler weather but also to the results of my Saturday workout and my unexpected good fortune of Sunday afternoon.

For Saturday morning, I had planned an ambitious run, 14-16 total miles broken into segments of 5 miles at marathon pace, 5 at tempo pace, & the necessary warmup & cooldown miles in between. The morning started inauspiciously, as it took a good long while for me to warm up in the 50-degree weather & I had to take a bathroom break after a couple of miles. When I shifted gears into marathon pace at around 3 miles, I was still feeling a bit sluggish, & as a result pushed it just a little too hard, finishing the 5 miles at an average pace of 8:45/Mi., about 5 seconds faster than I should have run. As I cooled down for a mile, I pondered whether to go through with the tempo segment or simply do another 5-6 at MP. It didn't take me long to decide that I should follow the original plan, at least as long as I could stick it out without crossing over into the Realm of Diminishing Returns, a place that I am getting to know intimately.

I never thought that I'd make it the whole 5, but off I went, determined to go as long as my legs would take me without turning to lead. And a strange thing happened: I got tired -- hell, I was tired from the first -- but soon after it would start to hurt a little, the feeling of acute distress would  subside into something manageable & I would find myself cruising along at a pace that truly was "comfortably hard." When I finished, I was more than ready to stop: but I was victorious. I had planned this workout partially as a last-ditch effort before the half to train my legs to run fast when fatigued, & partially as a test to see if they would do just that. With the workout complete, I knew that I had accomplished both. Of course, I paid for it later in the day as my legs slowly turned to dead wood; but from the neck up I was energized, & looking forward to the half next week.

In anticipation thereof, I had made tentative plans to attend a lecture on pacing and race strategy at Furman, hosted by the Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training (FIRST). Now for me, "tentative plans" usually means "that would be a nice thing to do if I time/initiative/balls to do it." But as I am now making a conscious effort to reach beyond myself & do things that I would not normally do, I gave it a shot. To my surprise, I was the only one who showed up, & as a result found myself with the undivided attention of exercise physiologists Scott Murr & Bill Pierce, who by dint of their recently-published book Run Less, Run Faster are now recognized as among the country's foremost experts on distance running. For nearly an hour, we discussed tapering, mental preparation, race strategy, & pacing, & although I was already familiar with the FIRST philosophy & the works of these two scholars, I came away with an increased knowledge of the science of running & what I need to do to PR in both the half this weekend & the Kiawah Island Marathon in December.

In sum, it was a good weekend for running, & although I worked hard & got too little rest, I'm going into next week feeling good & anticipating good results in whatever I may do.

Posted by MHB at 11:21 PM EDT

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It's been a while. How long, I do not know. The past several weeks have gone by rapidly, distinct in the progression of days but hazy in terms of a clear point of beginning or, more significantly, of ending. But such is the nature of reordering one's life. I've done it before, so I kind of knew what to expect: tests to take, checks to write, budgets & schedules to make, new buildings, new parking lots, new people, new knowledge, new skills, old doubts. Decisions, decisions, decisions ... when to resign ... how much insurance ... how much savings ... plan B ... plan C ... worst case scenario.

All I know is that there's been a lot of that ... and a lot of running, too. I hate to make a catalogue, but that's the way my thought processes seem to be working now, so I'm going to go with it. Thirty-mile weeks 10 out of the last 11 weeks; resumption of speed work, first with extra strides & Fartlek, lately w/ track work -- the standard quarters, but also some mile reps (4 last Wed.) to get ready for the half in 2 wks & the full in Dec; 2 5k races, one strictly for charity due to a large crowd that made running for time impossible, & a small points-series race in which I ran well but was not recorded in the results (I'm still working on straightening that one out); a few weekend long runs, including 18.4 miles yesterday morning; a 4-day running schedule due to my evening class; a gradual decrease in recovery time that I hope signifies an increase in strength & endurance that will translate into better times in longer races.

Posted by MHB at 10:13 PM EDT

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It's high time I took at least a few minutes out of one of my daily tests of physical and mental endurance to write a bit in this blog, lest whatever powers that may inhabit the void into which these words are cast may not be fooled into thinking that my online presence is dormant.

Trey Anastasio is on Austin City Limits tonight, which will be OK for background music to which to type this entry but won't get much more attention than that from me. Sure, the guy can play; but lately cult bands (yeah, I know -- Phish broke up, but I might as well be listening to them all as to be listening to him right now) have simply annoyed me, and besides, this looks less like the intimate setting that is the program's trademark than like a full-blown arena gig, complete with beach ball. A view from the back of the stage reveals that it is indeed an outdoor show, taped at twilight and packed full of scrubbed, fratty-looking youngsters in various stages of music-and-chemical-induced exhileration. Used to be my scene, ain't no more. I'm too cynical now, too analytical. Give me a twisted but insightful take on reality over a pretty escapist dream. These are not the times. People living under a dictatorship cannot afford the luxury of fantasy.

Anyway, I got in a 17-mile long run this morning (nice segue, dipshit), exactly one week after doing a 40-minute long tempo & then coming down with the Head Cold From Hell, which still has me blowing huge globs of ropy, gluelike mucus form my nose (Aren't you glad you kept reading now? You're welcome). It's been a busy week, a busy month, a busy year -- and running has only been part of it. There's a lot going on right now -- marathon training, deadlines, my eventual exit from my job, some new stuff to help me make the transition -- and the next few months promise to be just as busy.

Posted by MHB at 10:50 PM EDT

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It's Thursday night, and I should be working right now. I don't have another deadline until Oct. 5, but I have another 1000 words due a week after that and will have some other obligations taking up several hours a week of my time starting soon and lasting through the end of the year. And yet I am not, because I am exhausted; and the cause is yet another thing that promises to take up a lot of my time for the next few months: training.

To the experienced runner, my training would not look that strenuous. I'm up to 40 mile weeks after a summer of nothing but EZ and tempo; my long tempo runs, done every other week, are now up to 38 minutes, my long-slow-distance runs up to 14 miles. If it hadn't been so damn hot this summer, I would have done better, and perhaps met my goal of 50-mile weeks and a 45-minute long tempo. But I am pleased with where I am, and prepared to get down to some real work getting ready for the races this fall.

My goals are multifold: to be able to run much better in the races I care about (a sub-22 5k, a half in 1:45 or under, a marathon somewhere in the neighborhood of 3:45), to have the fitness to experiment in less important races, and to glide gracefully across the course in races that I run for charity or just for kicks. I had a time trial of sorts in a 2-mile race on a track in July, and a charity 5k (Race for the Cure) on Sep. 29 that will not serve as a time trial due to the traffic jam at the start and the uncertainty of the (new) course, but will give me an idea of how my body will respond to racing this fall.

Jon Stewart is on, so I'm off. More on this topic later.

Posted by MHB at 11:07 PM EDT

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This weekend was one of mild aggavation and too little rest; but it still beats the hell out of going to work. First my garage door opener began behaving bizarrely, moving the door in the right direction for about a second at a time before reversing itself and going back about halfway to where it started. At that point I could have called a repairman; but it is my habit not to spend that kind of money on a repair job unless I am sure that I cannot do it myself, and often the only way to know is to try. At least I should be able to triage the thing and determine whether I am going to need professional help. So I took the housing off the unit, and it doesn't look good. The drive shaft is slipping, so much so that it broke the plastic inner housing that holds the main gear in place. I'm not sure that I can fix the damn thing, but I can unplug it, and as long as I can work on it without fear of getting electrocuted or crushing my fingers in a moving part, I will at least try to fix it myself. It's called self-sufficiency, and many among us have forgotten it or have been conditioned not to risk it for fear of screwing things up worse than they're already screwed. I have found that on balance, I save more money with DIY than I cost myself in during the rare moment of destructive incompetence.

Unfortunately, so far my DIY ethic has not worked on the drain that connects my two bathroom sinks, and which at present is probably the worst-clogged drain that I have ever seen. I've got some chemical drain cleaner in there right now - a last resort, as I have already tried several rounds of snaking and the natural baking soda-vinegar mixture. Yes, snaking was unsuccessful. I've never seen a drain that a snake would not unclog, and thus I fear that it may have been taking a wrong turn in there somewhere.

I am also DIY with my training, which has gone quite well of late. Going into my last week of summer base, I have built my weekly mileage up to a peak of 40.3 last week, and have exceeded 30 miles five of the past six weeks. Yesterday I did a tempo run of 38 minutes at 8:17/mi., which is well on the way to my goal of an hour at half-marathon pace by Kiawah in early Dec. By the end of this week, my long runs will be up to 15 miles -- perfect for starting serious marathon training. In short, running is one of the few areas of my life in which I have no complaints at present -- which is probably why virtually all of my entries of late have been focused upon it.

Posted by MHB at 10:45 PM EDT

Updated: Tuesday, 28 August 2007 10:34 PM EDT

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