Last Summer run...

Labor Day has come and gone, and just like the seasons, a new school year, a new fall, a new season have come.

We were in Florida over the long weekend, and let me tell ya, it is hot down there. Nothing like what it has been in summers past, but still, 92 and humidity still feels awfully hot after the mild summer we have had here. In fact, it was very strange getting off the plane back in New York and feeling ... fall. The temperature in NY is now in the low 70s. So much cooler than Florida. And, if you watch the US Open night matches, the people in the stands are freezing. I ran once in Florida. That was the product of running on both the day I left to go to Florida and the day I got back (Labor Day), but neither day in Florida.

So Saturday, I ran 18 miles in Florida Saturday. I started at 7 a.m and finished about 9:45. Ended up finishing 18.24 in 2:32 for 8:14 average pace. Splits are below, and I ended up running the second half faster than the first. But heart rate was higher too. The sun was really bright and it was getting hot (83?) by the time I finished. I wouldn't want to start any later in the day. As I was coming home, feeling pretty good, this guy in triathlon gear was jogging the other way. He was serious, hard core, and absolutely flying. Waved and smiled at him, and he did the same. One thing about running near the beach in Florida -- people with boat trailers! I hope they realize that the boats are wider than the cars. Can get kindof scary seeing these boats come whizzing by...

One thing I did to prepare was to hide water along my route the night before my run. I had an out and back route, so I hid water at 5 different places along my route, and ended up with 10 water stops along the way. That helped tremendously, not only because of the hydration, but also because it broke my run up into small segments. I was constantly focusing on the next water stop ... where did I hide it again? Did someone see the water and, thinking it was trash, throw it away? (That happened to one of them.) It was a really positive run though, and glad I pushed through the heat to make it.

I formed a couple of conclusions, too. The Nike LunarTrainer experiment is over. They are kinda cool shoes, but for me, just not practical for long training. I have now run about 100 miles in them, and have decided they are nice for short distances, but not long ones. I wore them on this Florida long run, and finished with a massive blister on the side of my big toe, and a blister on the end of my second toe also. Today, when I ran at home in New York, I ran in my Gel Kayanos, and it felt so much better. Like meeting up with an old friend for lunch.

Second, I like using Gatorade Endurance for long runs. I have a bunch of Accelerade thanks to a sale at GNC, but I really like the Gatorade Endurance better. It is smoother, doesn't have any aftertaste or funky smell (I find Accelerade has this bad smell), and just goes down easily.

And anyone who hates Tim Tebow should read the profile of him in this month's GQ. If you don't like him after that, then I don't know who you would like. An admirable young man for sure.



Time Distance Split time Elev. chg.
0:08:03 1.00 8:03 -6
0:16:30 2.00 8:26 -2
0:24:48 3.00 8:18 +29
0:33:02 4.00 8:14 -14
0:41:16 5.00 8:12 +23
0:49:38 6.00 8:22 -1
0:58:02 7.00 8:23 -7
1:06:25 8.00 8:22 +17
1:14:44 9.00 8:18 -21
1:22:45 10.00 8:00 -10
1:30:49 11.00 8:03 -21
1:38:52 12.00 8:00 -5
1:46:59 13.00 8:07 -8
1:55:05 14.00 8:04 +28
2:03:12 15.00 8:06 +3
2:11:21 16.00 8:08 +11
2:19:29 17.00 8:08 -23
2:27:42 18.00 8:11 -5
2:30:58 18.41 3:16 +13
2:30:59 18.41 0:01 +0

First FIRST long run

This weekend was the first long run in my marathon training program. According to FIRST, it should be 13 miles at Marathon Pace plus thirty seconds. For me, that means 13 miles at an average pace of 8:30. I ran two loops around my hilly seven mile course in Westchester County, which has about 300 feet of elevation gain and loss per loop. A couple of tough hills and then other rolling pieces and some flats. Plus, I know where to strategically hide water and gel along my route so that I don't have to carry it with me.

Without getting into boring splits (which I'll post below for my own review later in this 16 week cycle), I ended up going 14.1 miles with average pace of 8:21. Felt pretty tired after, and my left calf muscle was killing me. Tight, and just sore. It is still sore two days later, but not so bad.

For gel, I tried something new -- Accelerade Gel. It was good, and I liked it. Accelerade's hook is that it has some protein in it, so, according to its science, it is absorbed faster by the body. I couldn't tell really. But it tasted OK, had a decent texture, and did not upset my stomach. I also drank Accelerade sports drink, and it tasted OK I guess. One thing I did taste and seemed to give me a boost was Amino Vital drink. Amino Vital supplies amino acids, and given that amino acids are supposed to help create energy in cells, the theory is more amino acids means more energy. I have no idea if that is correct. But I did have a chug of drink at mile 7 and it seemed to really help. I am little hesitant to build too much of it into my workouts because it is not available in any race or in the marathon.

As for diet,I forgot how hungry a big run can make me. I ate like a mad man all day. Pretzels, chips, bread, steak, potatoes, beer, you name it. Now I remember why it is so hard to lose weight while training -- my appetite is just huge. And yesterday (Sunday), the day after, I was still starved and gorged on carbs too. But my weight was only up three pounds from my carb-less state. (Eating or not eating carbs significantly affects water retention, and for me can produce a swing of up to 5 pounds.) So, I am not worried about relative weight right now.

One week down, 15 to go. This week's long run will be 15 miles at 8:45 pace. I may run on flat course this week to give calf muscles a week off from hard stuff.

And I had many technology glitches this weekend. Managed to erase my iPod Touch. And I left my Nano at the gym, which is a real disaster because it had all my running lists and tunes. And I love that Nano -- so much so that I am giving up my Touch soon.