I've been running consistently now since mid-November. Having a next door neighbor who's eligible to run NYC Marathon this year because he's been denied entry the last two times in the lottery certainly has its advantages.

So far so good with staying under the radar of the injury gremlins.

The first back-to-back week of 20+ miles in longer than I care to remember. New shoes, too. Saucony Trigon Ride 5's. They feel great but I wish Saucony would hire a better designer.

Mental tricks for runners—a good article on mind over matter.

So much for my "Run long on the weekends and you can skip the days in-between" theory. As this article points out, you quickly lose conditioning without regular runs. Some more eye openers from the article:

• . . . training is exquisitely specific: you can acquire and maintain cardiovascular fitness with many activities, but if you want to keep your ability to row, or run, or swim, you have to do that exact activity.
• . . . people who work out sporadically, running on weekends, for instance, will never reach their potential. [this we all knew but I hate to see it validated]
• 'When training time is limited, Dr. Coyle said, “you have to decide where you will get the biggest performance bang for the hour you spend.” The key, he found in his research, is to substitute intensity of effort for time. “A runner who’s been running doesn’t need much time to maintain his performance,” Dr. Coyle said. “But the training needs to be almost like racing.”'

• But the good news is that it takes much less time to regain fitness for a specific sport than it did to become fit in the first place. Even exercise physiologists are surprised at how quickly the body can readapt when training resumes. Almost immediately, blood volume goes up, heartbeats become more powerful, and muscle mitochondria come back.

The Personal Best column in The New York Times is a favorite of mine. Lots of articles about improving your fitness for a particular sport, often focused on running. Here's a timely one on starting out too fast in the marathon: Keeping the Gauge Off 'E'.

. . .

The Houston Marathon, one of the two marathons I've run, is well organized, has great crowd support, and starts and finishes downtown. It's popular and this January's race is capped at 17,000 runners, 2,000 more than last year. On Friday's All Things Considered, NPR ran a story [listen here] about scalpers selling their Houston Marathon slots. You know it's a good race when people are selling their bibs on eBay.

I'd been waiting for bottled Accelerade last year during my training and kept hearing it would be available soon. It's now been out for several months and I picked up a couple bottles today at my local supermarket. I'm not running far enough to justify it but I figured having it ready when I needed it would be a good idea. At $2 per bottle it's not cheap but it tastes much better than the powder mix version.

A handy comparison chart here.

As with so many things where you sit and wait, the start of the marathon seemed to come suddenly. One minute I was walking around trying to stay warm and the next everyone was moving off of the grass onto the road and walking towards the start. I wasn’t sure where I was going, just that the mass of humanity was moving towards the Verrazano Bridge.

I had stuffed my jacket, ski cap, and warm-up pants into my bag and dropped it off at the UPS truck for post-race pickup. I still had my sweatshirt on and at 10:00 a.m., ten minutes before the start, I pulled it off and threw it along the side of the road with the thousands of other garments. This sweatshirt had an IBM/Vanstar logo on it and it was a favorite of mine. But I figured losing it here was a noble end, and presumably all this clothing gets picked up and donated to charity.

With so many runners you’re far from the starting line. I couldn’t hear any pre-race announcements or the national anthem. I only knew the race was about to start when a U.S. Coast Guard plane buzzed the crowd. I tried to remain calm as I stood there waiting for the race and my heart rate indicated I was doing a fairly good job at this—around 50% of MHR. This was much better than when I ran Houston and the anxiety of starting the race had me above 80%. Then a huge cheer came through the crowd and I knew the race had started. Within a few seconds the crowd began to shuffle forward.

As we moved towards the starting line I took a quick personal inventory: body—ok, legs—ok, energy—good, nerves—good. I felt like this was going to go well.

Coming through the starting line and seeing the Verrazano Bridge up ahead was a great experience, especially with Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run blasting from the speakers surrounding the starting area. Spectators and runners were cheering and you couldn’t help but get goose bumps as you started up the bridge.

I wanted to take my time on the bridge and take a walk break if my legs felt tight. After sitting around for almost four hours on the cold ground I didn’t want to push myself while being tight only to pay for it later in the race. With the crowd of runners it was hard to run anything faster than a 10:00 mile and I think the slow start helped me—I didn’t need to slow to a walk to stretch out my legs.

I don’t know how many times I heard the “When you get to the bridge, take the upper deck. Otherwise you’ll get sprayed from the runners above you peeing off the side” advice. Someone told me in San Antonio, Sister told me she heard this from someone, and then she heard some girls discussing it in the restroom of the race expo. It was the only advice I got—take the top deck. Well, I didn’t have a choice—the corral I was in must was assigned a certain route and it happened to be the top deck. I never saw any area where you could pick an upper or lower deck. Regardless, I think I only saw five guys peeing off the bridge and with the concrete wall that’s on both sides, you’ve got to be decently tall to get it over this wall. I think the “Upper Deck” advice is an urban myth (but fun to repeat).

As we came off the bridge and into Brooklyn we already had two miles completed. Mile 1 took me 10:25 and mile 2 was 8:29—fast for me but this was coming down the bridge. My legs felt good, no shin splint pain and no pain from that spot above my left ankle. There were spectators the entire way from this point forward at a minimum of 2 people deep. For the rest of the race you’re running by spectators on both sides cheering and screaming. I noticed a guy in a bushy mustache and a Yankees cap holding up a  sign that said “At this point finishing is your only fucking option”. It was funny and inspiring. I’m not sure why, just seemed big hearted that this guy who looked like he’d live in Brooklyn would be holding up that sign to all the runners coming down the bridge.

My plan was to average 9:08 splits and come in just under 4 hours. Everyone told me that New York is a tough race for amateurs to finish within their time goal but I thought that if I could do 9:30 or so on the first half the second half would thin out and I could make it up. It was crowded though. I was passing people and people were passing me. A few times I’d accidentally run right in-between two people but when I’d apologize they’d always be great about it. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves at this point.

The course drink was Gatorade Endurance Formula which as twice the sodium as the regular Gatorade. I always get abdominal cramps from this so I knew there’d be none for me. The other drink was Poland water. My plan was to drink the 20oz. of Accelerade I was carrying for the first 10 miles or so and supplement with Clif Shots every 5-6 miles. The first water/drink station was mile 3 (I think) and it was well organized—available on both sides of the street and spread out enough that it wasn’t too disruptive for the runners who didn’t stop or slow down to drink. I kept going, knowing that I had my Accelerade if I was thirsty.

Miles 3 and 4 were 9:22 and 9:15. This was just about where I wanted to be (a little faster, actually) and I felt good with my pace considering the crowds. At mile 5 I took a Clif Shot with some water. Mile 5 was 9:01, another good split. The weather and crowds were really keeping me motivated. The spectators were incredible—stacked on the sidewalk screaming, garage bands playing really bad and loud music, people hanging out windows, there was no letup in their enthusiasm.

Mile 6 and 7, 9:10 and 8:51. My splits were right where I needed them to be for a sub-four, I had made up the time lost in the slow first mile and I was now trying to pace myself, trying to stay around 9:08. Mile 8 was 9:02 and mile 9 came in at 10:03. I’m not sure what happened at this mile, I may have slowed down to drink some water at the aid station. Things were still going well. I wasn’t drinking my Accelerade, however. Usually I’m down with 20oz. by 12 miles and this wasn’t going to happen today. The cooler weather seemed to have dampened my thirst and the Accelerade was a bit warm since I had mixed it with tap water earlier that morning. Accelerade can be thick and if it’s not ice cold it’s not that quenching. I knew I was going to have to increase my intake of it because I didn’t think the Clif Shots with water would be enough to get me through 4 hours of running.

Mile 10 was 9:01. This is where the race began to get a little tougher. You’ve been running for 90 minutes and you’ve got 16 more miles. Still, though, my body was holding out and I felt good about my prospects for sub-four. It was at this time when my IT band on the outside of my left knee began to complain. I’d had this happen on a couple long runs, once so bad I had to take a walk break every mile or so. It wasn’t bad, but I knew that it hurting this early in the run meant it would be bothering me. I moved to the right side of the road, so my left leg was on the shorter strike. I typically run on the left (against traffic) and I had read that cambered roads can induce IT band issues on the leg that’s making the longer strike. Mile 11 came in at 9:24, a bit slower than my other miles but still within range of where I needed to be.

Mile 12 took 10:30. My IT band was really hurting and I knew I was in trouble. I took a Clif Shot while I slowed to a walk to try and stretch my left leg. I wasn’t really sure what I was doing, but the knee felt better when I took exaggerated steps with high knee lifts. It seemed to provide some relief and when I resumed running I had a high knee lift for my left leg.

At this point I decided that I’d run through the pain and not try to accommodate it other than the knee lift which seemed to be helping. I’d been training for this marathon for 5 months and I could take weeks and months off when it was done to recover so better to run and finish with a decent time than to nurse it and save it for some other race. What other race? Finish this one and be done with it.

Mile 13 was 9:29, a big improvement over the previous mile and my time at the halfway mark was somewhere around 2:00:27. I figured I could make up the 27 seconds on the second half because while it was still crowded it seemed to be opening up a bit.

Mile 14 was 9:25. These multiple miles above 9:08 didn’t have me feeling good about my time given that I was supposed to be making up 27 seconds and any second above 9:09 was putting me further into the red. Still, my IT band seemed to be getting better somehow, the pain was getting less intense, and I thought I was still within striking distance of sub-four.

Things started to get tough at this point. The sun had gone behind the clouds, the crowds were still there but this portion of the run was more garages and warehouses, and I was getting into that zone where you’re tired, cold, hungry and depressed that you still have 11 more miles.

Mile 15 was 9:40 and my spirits were flagging. You’re in Queens and you can see the Queensborough Bridge (a.k.a. 59^th Street bridge) up ahead but you’re wondering when you’re going to get to it. It’s this bridge that takes you back into Manhattan. You still have 10 miles to go once you cross this bridge but at least you’re in Manhattan. Crossing that bridge would me a big milestone and I wanted to get it behind me.

The bridge crossing itself was the lowest point for me, mentally. It’s a long slow climb to the center of the bridge and there’s a covered portion in the center that’s unlit. It was dark enough in there that you’re bumping into other runners and you can’t see your footing very well—you’re tired and running blind—a bad combination. Still, I had heard coming off of the bridge into Manhattan’s 1^st Avenue is a real high plus I knew my family would be somewhere in that crowd cheering me on so you just keeping running, trying to get over the bridge and onto the rest of the race.

As you come off the bridge you loop around 270 degrees (I think) onto 1^st where you head north. The crowds here and all along 1^st Avenue are incredible—10 people deep and cheering. Wifey had told me the family would be on the left side of the street so I was looking for them. I wanted to see them but I wasn’t too worked up about it—I knew they were out there somewhere and it was enough to keep me going.

Still though, I was thrilled to see my Mom, Dad, Sister, and Wifey with a PATRICK sign. I waved to them as I ran down the street, yelling hello and picking up my pace. You can’t help but run faster when you know someone is watching me. 1^st Avenue was a definite high point and probably my favorite part of the race. But 1^st Avenue is long—really long, and you can see runners stretched out in front of you all the way to the top of Manhattan. There’s something about running on the same street for mile and miles, like you’re not getting anywhere, and it was obvious that I’d be on 1^st for a long time.

But it was at this point that I knew I could do a sub-four. My ITB pain had completely vanished, my split times were okay, and I still felt like I could pick up the pace. I’m going to do it, I thought. I’m going to beat my one and only marathon time at New York.

Mile 16 came in at a slow 9:54. I wasn’t too concerned, the Queensborough Bridge had been a tough, slow haul and my pace was in the 10:00/mile on the uphill portion of the bridge. I focused on picking up the pace to sub-9:08’s for the remainder of the race. Knowing I could do sub-four kept me going but it was also a bit of a curse because I had no room for error and I would have to push to make it. It made enjoying the rest of the race difficult because I was focusing on my times and not the scenery or the moment.

Mile 17 and 18 came in at 9:04 and 9:00. I took another Clif Shot around mile 18 with some water. I was hungry for something salty and the gel wasn’t it. Miles 19 and 20 were 9:10 and 9:22. You head into the Bronx for a short mile or so and then come back across into Manhattan for the last few miles into Central Park. As I came back into Manhattan from the Bronx there was a big crowd and they had the theme from Rocky blasting. I kept thinking to keep cool and keep pushing because I was going to make it if I could last a bit longer. I was tired but I felt strong. Mile 21 was 9:04. I knew I had some time to make up and I was trying to figure out how much. It was going to be close but I thought I would make it right under the wire.

The street started to narrow because there were so many spectators standing off the curb. My legs were tired, my ankles were sore, but it was just regular running pain as opposed to any injury. Keep up the pace, you’ll make it, I thought. The street was getting more crowded with runners and I could feel I was running a bit low on energy so I decided to take some Gatorade. I might have stomach trouble but I could make it the last 5 miles with stomach issues if it meant my energy levels would maintain.

Mile 22 was 9:12, a bit slower than what I wanted but still keeping me within range. Four miles to go, push yourself here and you can sleep and eat forever, I thought.

I was trying to pick up my pace but I couldn’t seem to do it. At first it was really strange because you’re not accustomed to telling your body to do something only to have it not happen. I was aiming for a sub-9 mile but I could feel myself slowing down—quickly.

Around 22.8 miles I fell apart. Within a span of a couple hundred yards I went from running to jogging to shuffling. I had no energy—I was spent and I could tell it wasn’t coming back anytime soon. I had no gas in the tank and my body didn’t want to run much less run faster. I took another cup of Gatorade and tried to suck down a big swig of Accelerade (I sill had plenty) but I knew it was no use. I was now fighting to finish but I still held out hope that my energy levels would return and I could finish strong though not under 4 hours.

But as my energy levels continued to sag I only got slower. I desperately wanted to walk. Runners around me were beginning to sense the finish and were getting energized by this and picking up the pace while I was struggling to not fall out.

Mile 24 said it all—10:24. Just 2.2 miles to go and I was barely functional. I knew if I stopped to walk I wouldn’t be able to begin running so I kept shuffling along. My family was somewhere up ahead and I wanted to look somewhat composed as I passed them. It was all I could do to keep going.

Mile 25 was 11:28. Somewhere I passed my family and managed a feeble wave but I just wanted to get to the finish line. We were in Central Park at this point and there are some gentle hills that seemed like mountains. The crowds were intense this close to the finish line and you could hear the commotion and music at Columbus Circle, just a couple hundred yards from the finish line. But there was no making me go faster—I’d finish the marathon and consider myself lucky.

Mile 26 was 11:10. The last 500 yards or so are marked off every 100 yards and I counted them down desperate to get to the finish. Even the last 385 yards (.2 miles) was tough. I could see the finish line and don’t even remember what the clock said above it. I just wanted to finish and be done.

Finally, I crossed the line. I wasn’t so much tired as I was exhausted. The difference is that I was completely wiped out, starving, cold, and light-headed. I stumbled through the finish area, got my Finisher’s medal and reflective blanket, and stood for in a mass of runners shuffling to the baggage pickup and family reunion area.

If you only run one marathon in your life, New York should be the one. With 37,000 runners and 2 million spectators, I don’t see how another marathon could live up to New York.

As the marathon date approached I began to worry. I’d been laying low the week before the marathon—work had been busy and I had to travel the week before marathon week. Sure enough, I came down with a cold on the Monday prior but with lots of Cold-Eeze, some Cold-FX, and rest I had it well under control by Wednesday. I rarely get “easy” colds, mine usually hang on and on so I considered myself lucky.

My other worry going into the marathon was my left leg. I noticed that the inside lower leg bone, right above the ankle, was tender. It didn’t hurt to walk on it but moving my hand over it with pressure created some significant localized tenderness. I’m no doctor but I figured it was probably the early symptom of a stress fracture.

Getting to the marathon in decent shape is half the battle so when I arrived in Manhattan feeling good with just a bit of leg pain I considered myself lucky. Wifey and I arrived on Friday where we met Sister and Parents. I wanted to get to the Javits convention center on Friday to pick up my race packet so I could stay off my feet on Saturday and rest. Plus, I figured Saturday would be even more of a madhouse than Friday.

The packet pickup was easy once we found a cab to take us there. It was crowded but no significant lines for the race number or the marathon shirt. The race expo was nothing special—the standard layout and vendors I’ve seen at the Houston and Austin marathon expos. Sister managed to get her picture taken with Sponge Bob. Dinner Friday night was Italian where I, of course, had pasta.

On Saturday, after a big breakfast of French toast, I struck out on my own while Wifey and Sister ran all over the city. I actually had to go back to the Javits convention center to exchange my marathon shirt for a smaller size and then I headed to Whole Foods at Columbus Circle to buy lots of snack food to eat in the hotel and for breakfast the next morning. Then back to the hotel where I took it easy, read a book, and tried not to get too worked up about the race the next day. I kept checking my left leg hoping that it was a bruise (and knowing that it wasn’t) but the tenderness was the same—no better and no worse. As long as it didn’t hurt when I walked on it I figured it would last through the race.

Dinner with the family on Saturday was Italian again. I ordered bow tie pasta not knowing it came with a cream sauce but Mom gladly traded me for her spaghetti with marinara sauce. I didn’t want to try anything even slightly exotic the night before the race.

The weather on Sunday was predicted to be ideal—a low of 39 with a high in the upper forties with it clear and cool and no wind. Perfect running weather. But, this presented a challenge because while the race started at 10:10 a.m. you had to be at the bus pickup between 5:00 and 6:30 a.m. where you are then taken to Staten Island to wait for the start. So this meant I had to figure out what I would wear before the race, what I was willing to essentially throw away during the first mile or so of the race, what snack food to bring, etc. Anything you wanted to take with you on the bus had to fit in a large clear bag provided to each runner. So before bed Saturday I got all my stuff together—snacks, drinks, gloves, hats, etc.

The cool weather meant I could wear my CW-X running tights—I rarely get to wear them in Texas and running tights really do give the legs some additional support. On top of those I had some regular warm up paints, a long sleeve Dri-Max shirt, a sweatshirt, and a shell jacket. I had a wool ski hat for the pre-race with the RoadRunner Sports gimme hat for the actual race. I didn’t want to expend any extra energy before the race trying to stay warm. I debated bringing a blanket but decided on a hotel towel thinking it would be easier. I should have brought the blanket.

After a fairly decent night’s sleep I woke up at 4:05 Sunday morning, took a hot shower, had a cup of coffee with a whole-wheat English muffin, got dressed, and was out the door at 5:20 for the six-block walk to the mid-town bus pickup. Sister, Dad, and Wifey accompanied me for the short walk. As soon as we stepped out of the hotel and turned the corner onto 5^th avenue you could see the buses. There were hundreds of them lined up picking up the runners to take them to Staten Island. It was a fast walk and within a few minutes I was on a bus sitting next to a girl from London who was about to run her first marathon.

The bus trip didn’t take long, either. Within 15 minutes we were at Staten Island where we unloaded and went to our appropriate waiting area (determined by your badge/number color—orange, blue, etc.). The waiting areas were well organized with Dunkin Donuts tables lined up with bagels, donuts, and yogurt drinks. Getting a bagel wasn’t a problem. Coffee or hot water, however, was. There were just a couple coffee dispensers and the line for coffee was long the entire waiting time. They had a couple open-walled tents set up so you could get out of the elements a bit but they were all filled by the time I arrived at the waiting area. The smart people had air mattresses, blankets, and pillows and I saw lots of people snugly napping while they waited for the start to arrive.

I put my towel down in an open area that had some sunlight, ate my bagel and Clif Bar, and tried to rest. It was tough though. While forty degrees isn’t frigid, if you’re sitting on the cold damp ground it can be a bit miserable. Especially because you don’t want to be hopping around trying to stay warm. I wanted all my energy focused on the race.

So with four hours to kill I tried to doze, did a lot of people watching, and made some small talk with a guy named Joe from California who was running his first marathon and had a goal of 3:30. As the race start time approached people began to shed their clothing, drop their stuff off at the bag check, and eat some last-minute carbs.

I was relatively calm. I’d run a marathon once before and I figured with the number of runners participating in this one that it would be one long slow shuffle so I wasn’t worried that I wouldn’t finish. How long it took me to finish was another matter entirely.

To be continued . . .

4:08:10 in a tough run. Race report soon.

Place

Gender Place

Age Place

Runner No.

First Name

Last Name

Age

Team

State/ Country

Official Time

5K Time

10K Time

15K Time

20K Time

1/2 Mar. Time

25K Time

30K Time

35K Time

40K Time

Pace/ Mile

14555

11633

4175

16389

Patrick

Nolan

37M

TX

USA

4:08:10

0:29:46

0:57:44

1:25:38

1:54:03

2:00:27

2:23:58

2:52:14

3:20:54

3:53:02

9:28

Fly to NYC tomorrow morning. Am packed, reasonably composed, and know where the bus picks me up Sunday morning and the location of the closest Whole Foods (have to buy my carbs somewhere). Weather forecast is for cool and clear—perfect running weather.

Yesterday's final long run of 20 miles didn't go nearly as well as I expected. To begin with, it was wet and misting heavily. This made for a wet shirt, heavy shoes, and slippery conditions. My pace was slow, too. The plan was to run the first ten nice and slow with the second half considerably faster. But it just didn't work out. By mile 16 my ITB was really hurting, forcing me to take a walk break every few minutes.  The ITB pain seemed to go away around mile nineteen and feels okay today so I'm happy for that. But, it would have been great to have yesterday's 20-miler behind me with a sub-4 hour pace and no ITB pain.

Less than 30 days . . . running is okay, my mileage bank is overdrawn but I did a 20-mile a week ago and it went pretty well. This Sunday I'm going for 21. Provided I stay healthy I know I can finish the marathon without too much trouble but I'd like to do it under four hours. People tell me New York isn't the place to get your personal best but sub-four is a good goal for me.

18.2 miles on Sunday, the first 12 at a blistering pace for me as we all tried to impress the female running with us. My ITB on the left leg started hurting, probably due to the pace, and it was painful by mile 18 when I quit due to running out of water, gels, and energy. It was a long walk back to the car, the whole time craving candy bars, chocolate milk, and root beer. The Fleet Feet store, where I met the runners, is next to a CVS pharmacy and I kept my mind occupied during the walk thinking about what candy I'd buy first. A cruel joke because I had forgotten my wallet . . .

Now I'm fighting a relapse of a cold (or a new one), hoping it's not moving to my chest.

November 5th is 44 days away. What grade do I give myself on my preparation? Somewhere between a B and a B-. My longest run to date, almost two weeks ago, is 17 miles. Since then I've been consumed by events, sick with a mild cold and then a hum-dinger a week later. If I can run 19 this Sunday, get back to some decent daily mileage and resume the Yasso 800's I had been doing then I'll be feeling pretty good. Lance Armstrong's longest run for NYC is only 13, maybe there's still time . . .

Governor of Arkansas loses 100 pounds and runs a 3:38 4:38 marathon? That's an 8:19 pace! I don't know if that's inspiring or depressing. Now if he could just do something about his politics . . .

*Corrected* As Colleen points out, The New York Times had it wrong. It was 4:38. Still impressive, but I'm now not feeling so ineffectual.

Typically no blog means no running. But not this time. The running is going well and the body is holding up (so far).

. . .

Got to spend 5 days in Colorado a few weeks ago with the family. Daytime highs of 73, lows in the upper 40's. People actually live like this? Summers are enjoyable and a time for outdoor activity? I had no idea.

We did lots of outdoor activities, biking, hiking, and running. The biking was great, paved asphalt paths connecting the towns, bikes to rent everywhere, trailers, everything you need. The altitude took some getting used to but the cool weather and dry air more than made up for it.

I only got one good run in during those five days but probably made up for it with the biking and hiking.

. . .

Dam '09 Triathlon was this past Saturday and it was a fun event, very manageable and well organized. Wifey and the kids were there to cheer me on and afterwords we indulged in humongous cinnamon rolls at Broadway Daily Bread. I tried not to kill myself during the tri because I had a long run scheduled on Sunday and I didn't need an excuse to miss it. And, I'm proud to report, I made the long run of 14 miles Sunday morning with the San Antonio Fleet Feet running group (best $3 I've spent in a long time—more later).

Things are good with the running, for the moment, so I'm trying to enjoy it. Ran fourteen miles this morning and it went very well, despite the heat and humidity (77° with humidity somewhere north of 70%). It's remarkable that my run of twelve miles just two weeks ago could go so badly and this one go so well. Averaged 8:59/mile which I'm happy with given the heat.

I prepped for this run a little more seriously, trying to stay well hydrated at work on Friday as well as making sure I had plenty of carbs throughout the day. Plus, I went to bed early Friday night (and managed to sleep!) so I was able to rise at 4:15 and have plenty of time to have breakfast and prepare for the run. My right foot had been bothering me on Friday and it was a bit sore this morning but I decided to take my chances and run on it. It held up well during the run and it's okay for the moment (but I'm wearing supportive shoes all the time—a must, even in the house, when you're dealing with plantar fasciitis).

I also hit the Accelerade a bit earlier in this run to keep my energy level up and to compensate for the warm morning. This lasted until mile ten when I then switched to Gatorade Endurance Formula. This is what they'll be handing out in New York so I figured I better get used to it. I've tried it before and the extra sodium in the Endurance Formula (twice the sodium as in the regular version) gave me abdominal cramps. I decided to try it this time towards the end of my run, just in case. I've got to hand it to Gatorade, the taste is good and after ten miles of Accelerade it tasted really good. I was pretty thirsty by this time in the run and had to be careful not to drink too much because of the cramping issues. But, at 12.5 miles I could feel the stuff moving into my gut and within a few minutes I was pretty uncomfortable. With some mental concentration I was able to get through it but I had a moment or two of panic knowing I was two miles from home with no restroom in sight.

After the run I soaked both feet in ice water to keep the plantar fascia happy and sucked down a serving of Endurox. I've grown to like the taste when I mix two scoops with just 4 ounces water and ten ice cubes—makes a tasty slushy. Felt fine the rest of the day, a little tired but not nearly the way I felt after the twelve mile disaster.

The yin and yang of my running continues . . .

My thirty day return window on my Saucony Triumphs was approaching and since I was still having problems with my plantar fascia, I decided to return them. Road Runner Sports has a thirty day return policy but it wasn't until I read the fine print that I noticed the clause about the shoes being in "new condition". If you're a member of their Run America Club (just $39.00!) you get forty-five days to return shoes and they can be in any condition. So I joined the club and then returned the shoes. Not sure if that grandfathers me into this policy but since I also bought another pair, I'm not expecting any problems. I'm not one to buy extended warranties or cancellation insurance but the $40 is well spent if I can return the shoes with no questions asked. You can't tell how a shoe works for you until after the run, sometimes days after. A quick jog on a store treadmill isn't going to tell you much.

I'm a bit conflicted about not patronizing a local running store but I don't need the guilt and angst that comes with trying to return a pair of shoes to an independent retailer. I did it once in Houston with no problems but I had bought several other pairs from that place. Road Runner gave me a free return shipping coupon and gives me free shipping on the new pair—nice.

The new pair is the Saucony Trigon Ride. I had a pair of Trigons a few years ago and loved them. Somehow I was upsold to the Triumphs which have served me well until their most recent style change. The Trigons are working out very well. A bit of achilles stiffness in the morning but no pain in the arch.

. . .

Training is going well. I have fourteen planned for Saturday which is a bit of a stretch but I'm off to Colorado with the family on Sunday for a few days and I doubt I'll get much running done. So I'll use this time to recharge the proverbial batteries and, even though I'll bring my running shoes, not worry about my mileage numbers.

Monday's long run dud had me in a bit of a funk when Wednesday's four short miles came due. I got a late started (like 9:30 a.m. late) and it was plenty warm when I walked out the door but it was a good run because I was in no mood to hear my body bitch and moan about anything.

Feeling a bit sluggish, having problems with the pace? Too bad, keep going or I'll make you go faster!

Thirsty and hot? Should've asked earlier!

Heart rate too high? I'm not listening today, milquetoast.

Nothing like a little annoyance to give yourself the proverbial kick-in-the-pants. Or, as I though about it, an exorcism to rid myself of whatever dragged me down Monday. I punished myself as I ran essentially as fast as I could. As I crested one hill towards the end my heart rate reached 96% of maximum and I thought for a minute that I might pop something in the cardio department until the voice in my head shouted "Die another day, p%*#y!"

It must have worked because I did nine on Saturday and despite some real hills and another late start (read hot) I averaged 9:02/mile. I'd like to do New York in less than four hours and this means an average of 9:08/mile. The first couple of miles will be slow with the crowds so I'm training for even splits of 9:00/mile. Even this won't get me under four if my first mile is something ridiculous like 11:30.

. . .

Signed up for a sprint triathlon on 8/19, the Dam '09. It's right in the neighborhood and it should be fun even if my performance isn't great. My swimming right now is non-existent so instead of worrying about it, I'll go to the back of the line and try and make it up on the transitions. The low-hanging fruit for me is the transition. I could swim between now and the 19th and not save as much time as I could by practicing my transitions.

. . .

Mea maxima culpa. I've confirmed that the Polar Speed Sensor on the bike is working very well. No issues since I broke out the figurative micrometer and made sure that the magnet crosses the speed sensor in the exact center. Polar should have this in a troubleshooting FAQ or something. I'll take the lumps, however. I love having my cadence and speed right in front of me . . .

My longest run to date, 12 miles, was scheduled for this past Saturday. As usual, I prepped the night before, making sure I had all my gear (watch, bottle carrier, Accelerade, etc.) all in one place so I didn't have to hunt around for it in the dark. I had the extra pressure of having to be back by 7:15 a.m. Saturday so Wifey could get to the airport. That meant the run had to start by 5:00 a.m. (and I'd still be cutting it close). By the time the kids were in bed Friday night I noticed that the ache in my left foot, which has been hurting off and on since changing shoes to the latest Saucony Triumphs, was now constant—not bad, but constant. I don't need much the night before a long run to make me apprehensive and all of this put me over the top, sleep wasn't coming easily and by midnight I decided to bag the run and try it again on Monday (which then allowed me to fall asleep immediately).

So Saturday morning I went for an easy bike ride and tried the latest adjustments to the Polar Speed Sensor. I said I gave up on it but it was still bugging me and a search on the Pursuit Performance's Polar Forum found this post:

I recently installed the s725 on my bike and set it up according to the instruction manual. First I put the measurement recommended by the book for my 700x23c wheel size as 2096 mm. When I rode the bike my speed showed as what looked like approximately double the speed I was traveling at. So, I then measured the circumference of my wheel at 2120 mm and programmed that in. No change. I then halved the number to 1060 mm and used that. The speed seemed realistic after that. Interestingly, at very high speed, the HRM showed a speed that was half of what I was moving at. Once I slowed down, the speed went back to the "correct" speed for how fast I was going.

Any ideas???

 

So I'm not crazy. And someone replied that if the magnet isn't crossing the speed sensor exactly in the middle you'll encounter this issue. Well, I've checked my magnet several times but decided to check once more and it wasn't exactly in the middle, maybe on the figurative 42-yard line. Adjusting the magnet is easy, a simple screw and it's now centered. It works! My short ride isn't absolutely conclusive, I'll need a few more rides before I'm sure that I've slayed this bug, but I typically get several errant speed displays over a ten mile ride and it didn't happen on Saturday.

If Polar had just responded with a "We've heard of this particular issue, please try this, this, and this" instead of the standard reply on how to troubleshoot all signal issues I might have resolved this issue earlier. If I were king for a day . . .

. . .

Back to the long run. Running long on a work day isn't my favorite, I've done it before but Saturday is a better day—I've got almost two full days to recover. But, I wimped out on Saturday so my punishment was running long on Monday.

What a wreck. Didn't have anything to do with it being Monday, however.

Everything was going well, I was on the road by 5:30 and the legs felt strong. But around mile 3 I got that weak-kneed feeling as if I hadn't eaten before the run. I haven't had this in a long, long, time and I attribute it to avoiding all simple sugars immediately before a run. I used to have some whole wheat toast or wheat English muffins (both from Whole Foods and neither containing corn syrup or sugar) but I'd put jelly on it and my coffee would have a teaspoon or two of turbano sugar in it. Since going sugarless in the mornings I've noticed that I hadn't experienced the sugar crashing feeling after a few miles into the run. I'd manage it when it would happen by slurping a bunch of Accelerade but it was a tough mile or two until the body bounced back. A side benefit was my Accelerade was lasting much longer during my runs because I wasn't having to use it so early in the runs.

But the empty feeling never left me, I started to slow down and couldn't get my speed back. Around mile 5 I considered bagging the run but I knew that would put me in a serious funk plus I'd have to do the run over again. I figured I'd shake off the feeling but it never left. I never got any speed and I just shuffled along at a 10-11 minute pace, feeling crummy the whole time. Then, around mile 10 I had abdominal cramps for a few minutes, probably from mixing the Accelerade a bit too rich. For what it's worth I finished the twelve miles but it was the roughest run that I can remember. I ran 10 the week before and flew right through it.

That's one of the reasons you run long, to figure out what works and what doesn't. What was different with this run?

• Two cups of coffee when I typically only have one. I was a bit too leisurely before the run and decided to have a second cup of coffee, probably because of the second different issue about this run.
• One half of a Chlortrimeton allergy pill the night before. There were a couple of reasons for this but the main reason was that I thought it would help me sleep. When I woke up at 4:00 a.m., however, I could still feel it in me.
• A piece of sprouted nine-grain toast in addition to the English muffin. I was still hungry after the English muffin and figured I could use the carbs. The nine-grain bread is sweetened with raisin juice but I'm not sure if it's that significant, it's way down the ingredient list.

A bad long run can be unnerving but I've had enough good long runs to now it was an aberration. Still, I'm sticking to my known-good regimen: cup of coffee, wheat English muffin, and no antihistamines the night before.

Some Lemon Lime Accelerade showed up at my door a few weeks ago and I tried it out this weekend. I've always used the orange flavor so this was a nice break. The taste is good, more lemon meringue than lemon lime. Because Accelerade contains protein it's going to be a bit thicker than other sport drinks like Gatorade and it tastes best we it's very cold (what drink doesn't?). This isn't always an option when it's being carried in the small of my back but I try to stick the by bottles in the freezer for thirty minutes or so before a run.

. . .

Here's an article on marathon preparation and strategy in the New York Times. The idea of distributing your calories throughout the day is an area where I could do better. I'm often starving late in the afternoon which means I overindulge at dinner. A couple of energy bars throughout the day sounds like a good plan but I've about had my fill of Clif Bars and most of the other bars on the market are loaded with ingredients I don't recognize.

As if on cue, I have my first "condition" that I'll have to manage if I want to run New York on November 5th. As I feared, the new shoes are introducing some issues. I've been careful not to switch to the new shoes cold-turkey; I wore them on a short run, switched back to the old shoes for the next couple of runs, and then again to the new pair. They're both Saucony Triumphs but the shoe style has changed (Triumph Grid versus Triumph 3's) and my left foot is having issues with the switch. This is the same left foot that had me limping around for a week with a raging case of plantar fasciitis a while back when I switched from Saucony to Asic (only to switch back). Well, the plantar fascia is complaining again. It's sore, nothing like my last episode, but I'm much more attuned to this issue and I can feel that it wants to hurt, it's just looking for a reason to get really bad, really quickly.

So tomorrow's run, a super short 3 miles, is postponed until Friday. This means I run the day before my long run on Saturday, something I typically try to avoid. But I really want those 3 miles—I'm needing every mile I can get for my weekly total.

This is the game I referred to earlier—how do you manage your "team" so you get through the season culminating in the big event? Take a few days off and possibly lose some conditioning. Run through the injury and risk ending up on the IRL and missing the big game. Do you push yourself now, knowing you'll take a few days off when you get the inevitable cold or should you back-off and hopefully come back for a strong finish?

I'm trying to make this week's mileage by shuffling some days around, taking ibuprofen and bromelain, and switching back to my old shoes. If the training was trouble-free it wouldn't be any fun. Getting to the starting line is an accomplishment in itself. 

The training continues to go well. Ran 24 miles this week with a 10-miler today. Part of today's run took me through the newly refurbished Brackenridge Park. They've apparently converted some of the interior roads to hiking trails and I ran on one of them today. The longest one I could find was just over a mile but the trails are smooth and firmly packed. I'll be going back there again.

Tried out my new Saucony Triumph 3's on a short run today. I ordered these from Road Runner Sports because the three running shops here in town didn't carry them. Road Runner seems okay, I liked the way they handled my order, like the no-questions-asked return policy, and liked the coupon they provided in case I do return them. The shoes are pretty good, too. I've never been a big fan of the Saucony styling, they always look a bit like nurse shoes on my feet (an earlier version of the Trigon was the exception) but these Triumphs are much improved, aesthetically speaking. Ultimately it doesn't matter to me—I'm wearing some ugly ones now—as long as my feet like them. But some good styling is an added bonus.

. . .

I think the training is catching up with me. I'm only on my fourth week of real training and it's going well but these last few nights I've been beat. This Saturday is my "long" run of ten miles so I'm laying low tomorrow to prepare for it. It's been a long time since I 've run (ran?) more than ten miles (8/24/2005 according to my Polar running log).

On my long runs I like to carry the pre-mixed Accelerade in the 16oz bottles. The consistency is better than the ready-to-mix and it doesn't foam like the ready-to-mix does. I use the ready-to-mix all the time because it's cheaper and takes less room in the pantry but I figure I can splurge for my long runs. But now I don't see any references to it on the Accelerade web site. I use to buy it at GNC in Houston and haven't checked the GNC here in San Antonio but the missing info on their web site had me concerned. Then I found this blog that is sponsored by Accelerade and, lo and behold, guess who's bought Accelerade? The same group that's touting "100% Natural" 7UP. That's right, Cadbury-Schweppes, the name you kinda know but aren't sure what they make, has bought Accelerade and apparently has plans to be bringing the bottled version to the masses. Let's hope that goes better than their 7UP plans. So, unless I find some leftover cases of this stuff it looks like I'll have to mix it myself.

Polar finally responded to my inquiry about my troubles with the bike speed sensor. As I feared, they're assuming that I'm having problems maintaining a signal from the wrist unit to the speed sensor. That's not the problem—it's that the speed displayed on the wrist unit is often wrong. They suggested I ensure that the magnet is within two millimeters of the sensor (it is), that the sensor is close to the wrist unit (it is), etc. They also provided the documentation on how to boost the signal (which I did on the cadence sensor). I know about the issues with the sensor having to be very close to the wrist unit, I finally gave in on the cadence sensor and mounted the wrist unit to the bike so I could pick up the cadence signal (that now works very well).

I've resigned myself to living with faulty speed data that it's giving me. I don't bike enough to buy a different device and it does give me my cadence but I'll have to live with bogus speed and distance data. My best guess is that it's some type of interference. The problem with this theory is that with interference on the heart rate data you'd get really bogus results, a heart rate of 225+, for example. With my speed issue it always seems to jump to about twice my current speed and there's no drop of signal immediately before this happens, it just suddenly climbs. (see graph of this here if you're really interested)

. . .

A good training week. Just over 20 miles and the body seems to be holding up fairly well. One of the fun things about training for a particular event is that you're your own manager, having to decide when to push it, when to back off, whether the stretch for the weekly mileage target is worth it or whether you should back off and take the lousy mileage week in order to make it for the long haul. I like to strategize during my runs—how can I get at least two 20+ milers in before November 5th without killing myself and with enough time for my body to recover? Is a weekly "speed" session worth the chance that I'll aggravate my groin which is always lurking, ready to flare up any time it thinks I'm pushing my limits? Forget Fantasy Football leagues, I've got my own sports team to manage.

Buying running shoes has always been a challenge for me. But I never knew how good I had it in Houston when it came to where and what to buy. My shoe is the Saucony Triumph and I was able find these shoes in Houston at Luke's Locker, Run Sport, and Fleet Feet. But here in San Antonio, despite my efforts, I can't find them. My neighborhood Fleet Feet doesn't stock them, nor does Soler's Sports and Run Gear Run. Oh sure, they can order it for me, but if I'm going to have it wait for it I might as well have it shipped to my house so I can return it, if necessary, without all the associated guilt of returning an item the retailer had to order for me. Because the shoe styles change so often, you never know if your feet will agree with the new model.

So, despite my efforts to support my local running retailers, I've had to go online to Road Runner Sports. My new shoes are on their way with a 45-day no-questions-asked return policy. I wouldn't want to buy an entirely new type of shoe online, but if you know what you want it's sure easy to get them from these folks.

. . .

No response from those laconic Finns on my Polar speed sensor issue. Not even a "We've received your inquiry" automated response.