Saturday 6/19 - 15 miles

To change things up a bit I decided to take a drive down to Colorado Springs and run at the Air Force Academy. I heard it was a nice run so me, my girlfriend, and another friend decided to give it a try. The trail was all dirt which was nice but unfortunately there was no tree coverage. The first 4 miles was flat and wide open as if running through the desert. The next 3.5 miles had steep but small rolling hills. Then we had to turn around and do it all over again. I liked the trail but next time I think it would be a good idea be out running before 9AM if the forecast is hot and sunny.

I ran with my friend for the first 6 miles at a somewhat inconsistent pace. He is training at a slightly slower pace and we kept alternating from a pace that I felt comfortable at to one that he felt good with. This was definitely not done on purpose but it's just the way it turned out. My friend turned around here and I kept going for another 1.5 miles. I felt great until about mile 10. I don't know if it was the heat, the hills, or dehydration setting in but I began to feel pretty bad at this point. I've been trying to run near race pace for the second half of my long runs and I did until I hit all the hills.

My new approach for nutrition seemed to be a success. I normally eat a Cliff bar every hour and alternate drinking water and Gatorade. This time I ate 2 GU Chomps every half hour then took a GU gel at mile 10. Surprisingly I didn't feel hungry at all during my run. The only problem I ran into was failing to drink enough. I ended the run with half of my fluids left. I think this might have played a role in the way I felt at the end of the run. Next time I'm going to force myself to drink more and I'll try eating the same thing to see what happens.

Friday 6/18 - 3.75 miles

I ran this one with my girlfriend at a comfortable pace. The run was supposed to be 3 miles and I often skip Fridays for a bike ride but I figured I needed some extra miles this week since I already missed a few workouts.

Thursday 6/17 - 5.5 miles

This was my first day of running back at altitude. While my legs felt great during the run, my breathing however did not. The 7:07 min/mile pace should have felt like an average run but it felt more labored than I remember it being. All in all I can't complain too much and I'm still happy with my progress.

Wednesday 6/16 - 16 mile bike ride

My first day of exercise since coming back to Colorado. I was a little nervous to jump back into training after being at sea level for a full week so I decided to go on a easy bike ride. My heart and breathing rate seemed relatively normal and the ride felt easy.

Tuesday 6/15 - Day off

Hung over from going out with old friends from NY the night before. Luckily this is early enough in my training that it won't affect much.

Monday 6/13 - (4) mile repeats @ 5K pace

This was my first interval session for this marathon. I drove around Long Island for nearly an hour looking for a track. I finally found a "track" made of broken pavement with a little bit of crushed stone on top. The mile repeats definitely didn't feel like a walk in the park but it turned out to be the fastest I've run since high school.

Mile 1 - 6:02
Mile 2 - 5:53
Mile 3 - 5:50
Mile 4 - 5:45

Sunday 6/13 - day off

Supposed to be a 3 mile run but I decided to play tennis instead. I think cross training on days with short mileage might be more beneficial than doing the run.

Saturday 6/12 - 10 miles

Saturday was an easy 10 mile run. It didn't feel nearly as good as my first 2 runs at sea level but I still managed to run around a 7 min/mile pace. My legs began to feel fatigued around mile 6 but that's probably because my legs aren't used to running at this pace for this distance 3 days in a row. I tried to pick up the pace for the last 3 miles but wasn't able to determine how much faster I was running.

Friday 6/11 - 4 miles

Supposed to be an easy 4 mile run through a park in Montauk but it didn't feel so easy. I was actually a bit sore from my run the day before and the humidity didn't help either. I ended up running at a sub 7 minute pace but it didn't feel nearly as good as my 9 mile run.

It was nice to run in the woods in the northeast again. It almost felt like running in a rain forest compared to the arid parks I usually run in. While I did enjoy the surroundings, I did not enjoy the humidity. I forgot what it was like to walk outside and break into a sweat without any physical activity. Overall I don't think it slowed me down too much.

Thursday 6/10 - 9.25 miles

This was supposed to be a 10 mile run but I didn't have a computer to map it out at the time. It was my first run back at sea level and I had no idea what to expect. I've read plenty of articles about high altitude training but never had a chance to experience it until this run. My plan was to pace myself based on my rate of breathing. I ran completely based on how my body felt and it turns out my body felt great at sea level. Normally I'd run 9 miles on fairly flat terrain around a 7:45 pace. I ended up running at a 7 minute pace on a very hilly run! The entire run felt great and the best part was that my breathing and heart rate never seemed to affect me. If anything my legs weren't used to running at that pace for that distance.

About 30 minutes after coming back from the run I took a 22 mile bike ride. Again it felt incredibly easy. I biked on another road with large rolling hills and had no problems the entire time. I think running the marathon at sea level is going to turn out to be a good decision.

Wednesday 6/9 - day off

Wednesday was planned to be a 10 mile run. I woke up at 4:30am to fly to NY and hoped to do the run there. I was exhausted and it rained most of the day so I pushed back the run. I hate taking a day off and messing up my training schedule. I guess it's all part of the training.

Tuesday 6/8 - 4 mile tempo run

I woke up on Tuesday and didn't feel any discomfort after my hill workout on Monday. I was a little upset after I found out the elevation gain on the hills were much less than I thought so I decided to do a tempo run. The run was decently fast for me, 6:45 pace and made me feel better about a weak workout on Monday.

Monday - 6-7 hills

Ran 7 hill sprints today. First 6 were on a hill approximately .2 miles long while the 7th was about .1 mile long. The first hill was longer but not very steep, with an elevation gain of only 40 ft or so. The second hill was half the length but had the same elevation gain.

This was my first experience at running hills at a high elevation and made for a more painful workout than it usually is.

Sunday - 5.4 miles

My original plan was to run 14 miles today. However, many things led to a much shorter distance. The only thing I drank all day yesterday was beer and margaritas then finished off the day with a sausage sandwich. I figured this can't be a great diet the day before a 14 mile run. On top of that I was exhausted last night after the race. I didn't get to bed until nearly midnight so I decided to sleep in. I got out of bed around 9:45 and was running by 10:15. Once I got running in the heat I knew it wasn't going to be a good day.

My main goal after deciding to skip the long run was to just log in some miles. I'm sure that between yesterday's 7 miles and today's 5 I will be fine. I still have 17 weeks of training so there's no need to worry. I ran at a comfortable 7:30 pace and felt good.

Friday - 16 mile bike

Today was scheduled to be a 3 mile run but I'm not a huge fan of running under 4 miles. A 3 mile loop barely gets me to Cherry Creek State Park and back. In order to keep my legs loose and moving I usually opt for a bike ride on these days instead. I rode one loop with Justin in CCSP. We rode at a pretty decent pace and our speed probably averaged in the low to 20s. Picked it up at the end and even finished the last hill around 17-18 mph. Not bad in 90 degree weather.

Thursday - 3 miles plus gym workout

Today was the first time that I worked out in the morning and ran in the evening. It certainly makes for a pretty hectic day but I don't mind it as long as I go to the gym first. Today like most days I did the Spartacus Workout. The workout is a high intensity low weight workout but it kicks my ass every time.

I signed up to run with a group associated with a bar in downtown. I didn't have high expectations about the run and I was right. It's a very casual crowd that goes out for a 3 mile run then back to the bar for beer and free food. It was kind of fun but not very good for my training. I think I'll only do these runs if I get my workout in the morning first.

Wednesday - 7 miles, easy

Today was an easy 7 mile run at a 7:49 pace. I felt great for the entire run, even the last hill in the park which has a tendency to get me. Although I know I should run at a slightly faster pace I've been trying to take it easy. My right quadricep keeps feeling like it was tweaked from a bike ride up Deer Creek Canyon about a month ago and won't go away completely. I've decided to run a little slower than normal until it feels 100%. I just hope that will be my only injury.

BolderBoulder 10K

I took part in the US's largest 10K race yesterday. I used my qualifying time (20:20) from a 5K that I ran a few weeks ago. I thought my 6:36 per mile pace was a fluke and got pretty nervous since that placed me in a similar wave start for the 10K. I typically train at a 7:30 - 7:55 pace depending on the length of the run and thought that a 7 minute pace would be pushing it for 6.2 miles.

I started in the back of the AB wave assuming I had gotten myself in over my head and would get crushed by the runners around me. As usual I started off fairly fast then tried to settle into a comfortable pace. While doing this a girl wearing a ballerina skirt passed me. She looked extremely fit but I just couldn't let a girl wearing a skirt beat me in a race, so I followed her. Our first mile was a 6:41, probably too fast for me. Luckily at the time that pace didn't feel too bad so I figured I'd be able to keep up with her. Miles two and three were 6:43 and 6:48. That was right where I wanted to be, comfortable and consistent. After that the pace only got faster, mile 4-6 were 6:31, 6:19 and 6:24. I was hurting during the final hill in the last 200 meters as we entered the stadium but managed to finish in 40:51. I came in 695th overall and 25th in my division while getting a new PR by nearly 6 minutes.

The race came only 2 weeks into my official training and also served as a gauge of my fitness level. Now I have a good idea of what pace I should be running for tempo, interval, and long runs and will be able to see improvements or setbacks during future races. I'm pretty happy (and sore) with my results but I still have 18 weeks of training ahead of me. Now it's back to focusing on the task at hand, run a sub 3 hour marathon.