Fri 2006 Sep 29, 3 mi, 45 deg

Lake Elmo Ave 3.0 mi, 23:30, pace 7:50. Time and pace are approximate, because my watch didn't start until mile 1. Tsk. Gloves too thick? Splits were 7:47 and 7:41 after that. Again I tried to hit a pace of 8:05, but went a little under. This was the first run of the fall in the dark; I wore a reflective vest and two shirts. Nice morning, no wind to speak of. Last run before TCM, last run of the month. No problems at all; I feel good. Even the cold symptoms have abated. Walk tomorrow with the SCV runners in Stillwater.

New marathon strategy: Hal informs me that GUN time, not chip time, is used for ranking runners in the Grand Prix. I thought it was the opposite. Furthermore, all TCM awards including age group awards are based on gun time, not chip time. So the strategy of starting toward the back of wave 1 is no good; we should start between the 3:30 and 3:40 pace teams and stay between them. Back off if we're catching the 3:30 team, speed up if the 3:40 team is breathing down our necks. But stay closer to the 3:30 team until mile 20, then maybe slow down a bit on the hills as necessary.

Wed 2006 Sep 27, 5.2 miles, 52 deg

Woodbury Runners 5.2 mi, 41:18, pace 7:57. Measured a new route on Google Earth, and it turned out to be just as hilly as the regular 10k course. Tsk. Wanted to run 8:10, so this was just a bit faster, and it included one dead stop for at least a minute at a stoplight. Can I run this fast for five times as far next Sunday? Here's hoping! Great running weather tonight, with a sunset the deepest red I've ever seen. Just beautiful. The rest of the runners stayed for the annual "party," but I went home for chicken soup and early bedtime, treatment for early cold symptoms. No pains, I feel very good. Three more miles at marathon pace Friday, three walking miles Saturday, then the marathon.

Tue 2006 Sep 26 Legion 2-miler, 46 deg

Legion 2-miler, 16:10, pace 8:05. Was shooting for 8:05, so the average pace was perfect. Unfortunately, the splits were 8:24 and 7:46, not quite so perfect. But it's normal for me to start out a little slow and speed up after the first mile. I'll try again tomorrow night with a 6-miler. What a lovely day it was to run this morning, temp 46 degrees, bright sun, little wind. One can only hope for that kind of weather for TCM. Only pain is a slight ache in the right hamstring, the one that failed during the 2004 TCM. Hmmm

Sun 2006 Sep 24, Myeloma 5k race, 51 deg

MMRF Race for Research 5k, Lake Phalen, 21:30, pace 6:55. My PR is 8 seconds less, but I couldn't really have run any faster. I ran my very best today in this race. Goetzke, who finished first overall, wasn't happy with his time either; he thinks Lake Phalen is a difficult course. But it was such a wonderful day to run! Couldn't have been more delightful. I did win a nice medal for first in age group,and I was also the first myeloma "survivor." This was the last hard run before TCM. No pains! Met Carrie Tollefson. Way more women than men at this race - we met at least two myeloma widows.

Sat 2006 Sep 23, 5k race, 57 deg

Fall Roundup 5k Stampede, N St Paul, 22:10, pace 7:08, not certified. I intended to run marathon pace, 8:05 or so, but ran a minute faster instead. Tsk. I am such a poor judge of pace. First mile was 6:34, but I figured the marker was misplaced and sure enough the second mile was 7:56, for an overall pace of 7:15 to that point. Last 1.1 mile was 7:40. Met Derek Dippon and his wife; each finished first in their gender. Such nice people. Before the run, A & S and I went to Stillwater (SCV) and walked a 5k with Jim. Lovely walk, bright blue & white sky, best weather of the day. Nice to chat w Jim. No pains today, except a slight pull in the left hip that feels very temporary. This was a fun race; I'll run races for a long time if I can keep it this fun. Something to think about.

Planning to run TCM with Randy, using the strategy discussed on last Tuesday's log. Getting anxious to start; half anticipation and half dread. Sigh.

Thu 2006 Sep 21, 4-mi run, 48 deg

Church & Legion 4-mi route, 31:59, pace 8:00. Meant to go 8:00 to 8:10, which is my intended TCM race pace. I think the second half of this run was faster than the first half, which is pretty normal; the first mile or two are slow. Excellent running, wore two shirts, gloves, ear cover,and shorts. No pains! I love that. Feeling some upper-body muscle soreness from yesterday's resistance training, but that's a good thing. I did skip last night's run with the Woodbury runners, because I was concerned about overtraining. Morning pulse rate has been up a few beats in the last week. Easy does it from here to TCM.

Tue 2006 Sep 19, 8.5 mi run, 46 deg

New 30^th & West Lakeland 8.2-mile route, plus 0.3 mi miscue, 1:10:50, pace 8:20. Ran with Cap'n RB, who is still working his way back into marathon condition after time off to heal an injury. He ran very well today. This was an exhilarating run: cool, windy, and cloudy with an occasional spritz of rain. Excellent morning. Pace was about what I had hoped for, even though we did walk a couple of times for water or gel. No pains except a slight hint of overuse in the right hamstrings. Good time to be tapering for TCM! Hopefully that taper will allow the hamstrings to fully mend before the marathon. Meantime stretches and exercise are in order.

Today's pace would get me a 3:38 marathon, which would be a PR for me, but I'm hoping for a little better yet. Current marathon strategy, subject to modification: There are pace teams at 3:30 and 3:40. I'd like to run about 3:35. So start at the very back of Wave 1, with eyes forward on the 3:40 balloons. Cross the start line perhaps a minute after the 3:40 balloons. Then when I catch them, I already have a 1-minute advantage. They usually go out a little too fast, so let them stay ahead past the hills at mile 2.0 to 2.5. After that, gradually catch up and pass the 3:40 balloons, probably between mile 7 & 10, but not before Lake Calhoun mile 5. OK to run with the 3:40 pace team for a mile or two, especially if they're helping with a facing wind. But leave them no later than mile 10, along Minnehaha Parkway, or there will be no way to gain four more minutes. They should run about 8:20, and I want to run about 8:05, average, for the first 20 miles. Then slow down to 8:35 if I have to, but preferably only for the two miles of the Summit Ave hills. If I do slow down to 8:35 for the entire last 6.2 miles, I'll run 3:35. If I can hold the pace at 8:05 for four of those 6.2 miles, I'll run 3:33. Should be possible, because I ran 8:06 for the entire Bear Water 20-miler, which was a little hilly and without the benefit of a taper. All of this assumes perfect weather, as we had at Bear Water. If it's too warm (or too cold?) then maybe start the same race but stick with the 3:40 pace team much longer, maybe all the way to the end.

Sun 2006 Sep 17, Tubbs Memorial 8-miler, 61 deg

Tubbs Memorial 8-mile route, 1:08:03, pace 8:30. Sure seemed like a faster pace than that! This was a very tough run with Cap'n RB, starting and finishing at his boat. It is hilly, with a total elevation change of 275 feet. We did stop to walk up the Main Street stairs, and a few times for water & gel. But we really raced the last mile, especially the last 2/10 mile, full sprint. It's hard to take it easy when running with RB, because we're both a bit competitive and we're so evenly matched. So was this a good run for tapering? Maybe not. No more like this, except the MMRF 5k race next Sunday. No pains!

Sat 2006 Sep 16, SCV Runners 5.27 mi, 63 deg

New SCV Runners route 5.27 mi, 39:52, pace 7:34. Seemed plenty fast, more than marathon pace, though I was four-breathing most of the way. Several guys ran out in front at the start including Randy, Tom, Wayne, Mike, & myself. Randy then went ahead. I caught up with him and we came in together, finishing the last mile sub-7 according to Randy. Also running today were Al, Gauss, Charlie, Dave, Roy, & Paul, plus A & S. Al is new; I met him in Woodbury Wed night. How good to see Paul again! Been a long time. Some of the guys took a shortcut which shortens the run about a mile. Weather was misty but the temperature was nice. No pains.

Thu 2006 Sep 14, Legion & W Lakeland 5.1 mi, 51 deg

Legion & West Lakeland 5.1 mi, 41:30, pace 8:08. Coolest morning run so far this fall - first time wearing a LS T-shirt. And gloves. Wanted to run marathon pace of 8:06, got very close! Felt OK, but I couldn't have run 21 more miles at that pace today. Then again this run completed 40 miles for the week, including a 20-mile race, so I probably should feel a little tired. Taper time for TCM officially begins NOW! :-) No pains - yay.

Wed 2006 Sep 13, Woodbury 5.8 mi, 69 deg

Woodbury Runners 5.8 mi, 49:03, pace 8:27. Beautiful, cool evening. Six runners, including a new guy Al, ran with him because the other guys were all faster. How did Bill get faster? Good for him. Fairly easy pace, no pain, no strain.

Good news from the cancer doc Monday - the myeloma does not appear to have increased much in the past three months. Celebration time! Live one day at a time and make it a masterpiece.

Mon 2006 Sep 11, LE Park 9 mi, 53 deg

LE Regional Park 9 mi jog, 1:16:54, pace 8:33. Up LE Ave, along the tracks, down into the park, & return, with a water fountain halfway. A favorite run. Plenty fast enough for a recovery run after a 20-mile race two days before. Wonderful, exhilarating weather, cloudy, cool & breezy. What a joyful celebration of the coming of fall. Wore a long-sleeved shirt for the first time since June. No pains, no problems, though still a bit stiff from Saturday. But it's a good stiff - that race will make me stronger for TCM.

Sat 2006 Sep 9, Bear Water 20-mile race, 52 deg

Bear Water 20-mile Race, 2:42:01, pace 8:06. A PR by 8 minutes, though I haven't run a 20-miler for at least two years so it was time for one. 2^nd in my age group, after Norm. Excellent weather for running, 50 at the start and 53 at the finish with a dew point of 40. The grass wasn't even wet. I was going to run an 8:15 pace, but got a bit ahead of that and was able to keep going. Experienced some vertigo at mile 15 and from then on, enough to slow me a little. This is not totally a new thing, but this time at one point I wasn't sure if my feet were under me; I might have fallen. What to do about that? Dunno. No serious stomach upset this time! Why? Differences: (1) No food between late Friday evening and the race start; (2) Black coffee on the way to the race; (3) Clif Shot gel at mile 2 & every 4 miles up to 14, with caffeine shots at 6 & 14; (4) Ginger afterward; (5) Accelerade 8 oz afterward; (6) Popcorn afterward; (7) Cool, dry weather. No knee pain, no pains at all. Met Darrell C, nice guy. A & S ran the 10 in 2:27! Very nice. A few runners lapped them, but I wasn't able to.

Thu 2006 Sep 7, LE ave 3 mi run, 58 deg

LE Avenue 3 mi, 25:04, pace 8:21. Tired at the start, fresher at the end. Four days in a row with running, it will feel good to take a day off tomorrow. After today's run I do feel good, though maybe a nap later in the day ... . Little if any pain in left knee, no pain anywhere else. Cool morning, light fog. Next run: 20-mile race in WBL! Carb up tomorrow night.

Wed 2006 Sep 6, Woodbury Runners 5.8 mi, 73 deg

Woodbury runners 5.8 mi 46:15, pace 7:58. Very enjoyable jog with MS. We were the slowest, but took both shortcuts so we didn't finish last. Also JM, Pete, RC, and Jack. A & S came with me this time, and ran the 2.2 mile loop while we ran 5.8 or more. Nice evening, warm but not too humid. No pains. The left knee has been bothering a little, but not during this run. Lovely evening.

Tue 2006 Sep 5, White Bear Lake 10 mi run, 68 deg

White Bear Lake Bear Water route, 1:28:28, pace 8:51 for the 10 miles. Then jogged three more, walked another three, total 16. Nice easy pace, just wanted to heap some miles on tired legs for the training benefit. A & S did the run too. I finished and jogged back, then walked in with them. Left knee hurt a little even during the run. Tsk. Feels pretty good as I write though. Looking now toward the Bear Water 20-miler on Saturday, though that race has little importance beyond training for TCM.

Mon 2006 Sep 4, Victory 10k Grand Prix race, 60 deg

Victory 10k race, 43:55, pace 7:50. Whoee what a race! A new 10k PR by 40 seconds, total gain this year more than a minute and a half. Splits: 7:01, 7:06, 7:23, 6:50, 6:51, 7:13, 1:27. But not good enough to beat LS, who finished 45 seconds faster yet. He trailed me until the water station at about 4.5 miles, then went ahead. I kept up for a half mile, but then had to drop to a brief walk a couple of times and simply could not keep up in the last mile. The temperature was so lovely this morning, unusual for the Victory race, but the relative humidity was right up there, dew point 56. I'm having the post-race upset stomach as I write this. History suggests that it will last all day. I did eat two Clif bars three hours before the race, and suspect that those things are connected. I never used to have this problem, but I also never used to eat before a race. I'll try other foods, but may need to go back to not eating the morning of the race. No problem during the race, only later. No pains at all in this race, but I did tear a little skin off the left big toe after the race when removing the band-aid that protected the black toenail. Tsk. This too shall pass.

LS is a good runner, and still faster than I am. I'm sure he'll take the lead in the Grand Prix after this race, and more power to him. He should. He's in good position, because TCM is the only race left for me, and he's every bit as good a marathoner as I am. Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to that race because a marathon, even if much longer, is so much less intense.

Sat 2006 Sep 2, Eau Claire Buckshot 2-mi run, 68 deg

Eau Clair Buckshot 2-Mile race, 15:54, pace 7:57. Concerned about the left knee and right hamstring, I ran with brother in law CT. Nice tempo run, about my half-marathon pace, good for keeping in trim and looking toward the Victory 10k on Monday. Finished second after CT in my age group too. Also from Minnesota were RH, CA, and PR. The only pain is the left knee, though I didn't notice it while running and it's not too annoying at other times. I'll ask the doc about it when I get my physical in a couple of weeks. Hammy feels fine.