Catching Up

Blog Catchup Time, Five Posts in One

Tuesday, Nov 6:

North St Paul Community Center indoor track, 13.5 loops per mile, my usual winter running venue. Somehow this felt a bit like a race today, as I tried to keep the pace faster than 9 min/mi. That pace should be easy for me, but didn’t seem so today, though I did find some legs in the last mile. Time overall was 1:27:44, for a pace of 8:46. Maybe that’s good enough considering I’m still training up from taking most of the summer off, plus a marathon nine days before and an 8k race two days before. Breathing was four footfalls per full breath until the last two miles, when it dropped to three. Splits: 8:54, 8:37, 8:48, 8:40, 8:54, 8:49, 8:58, 8:47, 8:59, 8:18. I took water after 2, 4, 6, & 8.

Issue: Over the past five or six weeks my weight has been dropping, now down to 144 and change, which is the lowest in perhaps 30 years. A very appropriate weight for me I believe. Most people would celebrate this, and I do too, sort of, but I’m logging it just in case it’s a symptom. It does coincide with my return to running, and I have run two marathons during those weeks, but in the past my running has not caused that much weight loss. It also coincides with a new myeloma treatment regimen which includes a new drug, new supplements, and diet. That’s most likely the cause. If so, it puts me in the happy position of needing to eat as much as I can, perhaps more than I want, because I don’t think I should lose any more. I can hear you say "poor baby!"

Sunday, Nov 4:

Rocky’s Run is a Minnesota Grand Prix race every year, either the 5k or the 8k, alternate years. This year it was the 8k. I started fairly cautiously, I thought, but nevertheless ended up walking up quite a few of the rolling hills. It’s a tough, hilly course, with soft ground which sucks energy from the shoes. But it’s outdoors and the weather was perfect; I had a great time, but needed 44:14 to complete the course.

I may have finished last in my age group too - two guys finished well ahead of me, and I don’t know of anyone who finished after me. None of the other Grand Prix runners in my age group were there.

Saturday, Nov 3:

St Croix Valley Runners regular five-mile Saturday morning run. This time I ran most of the way with Roy, finishing in 42:02, for a pace of 8:24. Nice run, lovely sunrise, good friends, it doesn’t get much better than this.

Thursday, Nov 1:

North St Paul Community Club indoor track, three miles, meant to be a marathon recovery run but it turned into something better I think. The first mile took 8:48, not bad, the first one is always slowest. The second took 8:22, which is as fast as I thought I wanted to run today, but the third mile was 7:50, a pleasant surprise. It felt good, too.

More about the Grand Rapids Marathon, Sunday, Oct 28:

This was one of the most delightful of my 27 marathons. First,the people are wonderful. It’s run by runners for runners, but ALL runners of all speeds are accommodated, even encouraged. Second, it starts at the Grand Rapids YMCA, a nice warm building where runners can sit around (and yes - use the restrooms) while waiting until it’s time to line up. Third, a lot of the course is on paved trails in wooded lanes. Fourth, in this case, the weather was perfect.

On the other hand: (1) the marathon doesn’t tour any of the sights of the great city of Grand Rapids; (2) Some of those trails have a great view of a busy highway through a thin veil of trees; (3) Some of the run is through industrial areas; (4) there is that little jog past the sewage treatment plant. Twice.

But on the whole, the plusses far outweigh the minuses and I’m very glad we ran it. That part of Michigan is incredibly beautiful at that time of year, and I’m from Minnesota where we have pretty good fall color too.

I decided in advance to try to run a 4-hour marathon, and then slow up at the end if I ran out of gas. That strategy seemed to work in last year’s TCM, when I made my PR. Four hours was just an estimate - last year I ran all six marathons under 3:50, but this year I’m not well trained because of the plantar fasciitis problem (now cleared up).

I started with the “Will Farrell” celebrity pace team aiming for a 3:56 finish. After a few miles I was feeling good and found myself slightly out ahead of the team, but around mile 17 I was slowing and they passed me. From then on I walked and ran, finishing in about 4:04. Good enough to qualify for Boston with 12 minutes to spare (it helps to be old). Actual splits: 9:16, 8:59, 8:59, 8:17 (wow), 8:42, 8:33, 9:07, 8:52, 9:17, 8:52, 8:41, 9:13, 8:53, 8:53, 8:53, 9:01, 10:23, 9:23, 10:07, 9:51, 10:13, 10:14, 10:03, 9:58, 9:58, 10:22, 1:55. It was a mastepiece!



Today's breakfast: Organic oatmeal (under there somewhere), organic nonfat milk, banana, organic grapes, blackberries, dark Dove chocolate.


Yesterday's lunch: Organic gluten-free veggie pasta, organic sweet potatoes, organic pasta sauce, organic parmesan cheese.


Monday's salad: Organic romaine lettuce, pineapple, organic seedless grapes, avocado, blue cheese, jicama, raspberry vinegar. Might be a little organic olive oil on the lettuce too.