Today I ran a double. Pfitzinger says that when your recovery run reaches 8 miles, you can split in into two (morning and evening), and that gives better recovery. So I did just that. I do feel fresh now, even though I ran my evening run crazy fast, especially the end, but my legs felt great and I had to go to the bathroom. :)  Also, I'm totally puzzled that according to weather.com, I did my run 89 degrees, but I didn't feel hot at all. I even had my shirt on. That supports the notion that it's not the temperature that matters. When I run in the same air temperatures in late morning, the sun is out bright, the asphalt is hot, and the humidity is much higher than it was now, I think.

I finally bought a new pair of sunglasses today. My favorite brand of sports sunglasses: Foster Grant's Ironman sunglasses. They are perfect for running. This is my third pair. The first I lost at sea in Charleston, and I think the second pair broke, but I don't remember how...

Today I ran 14 miles in 88 degrees, and I drank one liter of Gatorade and one liter of water, and I still got dehydrated! It's not even just the temperature. It's somehow the temperature, the sun and the pace together. And I did get up fairly early, left for the run before 8 o'clock. I'm happy it's over. This training through the summer is hard.

Let me copy my mileage plan with Sunday week start dates:


07/08 (week 10): 56 miles
07/15 (week 9): 60 miles
07/22 (week 8): 56 miles
07/29 (week 7): 61 miles
08/05 (week 6): 65 miles
08/12 (week 5): 63 miles
08/19 (week 4): 56 miles
08/26 (week 3): 58 miles
09/02 (week 2): 54 miles
09/09 (week 1): 49 miles
09/16 (race week): 40 miles

So next week, starting tomorrow (maybe with a rest day, I haven't decided yet):

Total: 56 miles.

Long runs: 14 and 10 miles.

Tempo: 4 miles fast, with 2+2 warmup and cooldown: 8 miles.

Easy runs: 8 miles each or 2 x 4 miles AM and PM.

If I do the Siltstone trail tomorrow, that will give me plenty of mileage, so I may not need the doubles.

Right after finishing my previous post (below), I realized that due to the extra miles I ran previously in the week, I only have 5.5 miles for my easy run (and of course 14 for my long). So I decided to go and do the easy run, even though it's 93 degrees and the sun is close to the zenith. It's fucking hot, but I did it.

Yesterday I did the trail run in Seneca Park with the trail running group. Even though they are generally slower than I am, it is always fun to run with them. But today I couldn't get myself to get up early, and due to 100+ heat and bad air in the afternoon it is hopeless to get a decent run in. I probably could have done it from like 10 to 11, but in the last few days I realized that 90 degrees with the sun close to the zenith is just as bad (or worse) than 100 degrees with sun on the horizon. Maybe I could do the run from like 7 to 9 in the evening, but the air will almost certainly be quite bad. We'll see, but most likely I'll just take a rest day. That's OK: I'm not shifting to Sunday week start, but I pushed mt RD to Friday this way. Maybe next week I can have it on Saturday, then Sunday, then on Monday and the week start is then automatically shifted.

OK, it happened again... I didn't want to race. I'm in high training mode. I ran 10 miles yesterday. I haven't had enough sleep in the last few days. But how should I spend my 4th of July? My family is away, it would be really hot... sure, I can grill some burgers, maybe I could even work, but I didn't want to work. My first July 4th as a permanent resident of the US, and I already decided to fly the US flag on our house. No, I'm not going to work.

I do have some speed training for this week. It's 5 x 2:30 uphill. Not exactly like a 5K. But why does Pfitzinger want me to do this? I know why: at this point in the training cycle there are many disadvantages going to the track, let alone race! I guess the biggest danger is injury. Well, my body holds up pretty well, and not injury prone at all. 5 x 2:30 is 12:30 of hard running. Even if part of the 5K is about LT, even if the end is anaerobic, wouldn't everybody agree that there is at least 12:30 of VO2 max work involved? The last worry is overtraining, but it is hard to overtrain by running only 20 minutes. So it was decided. I'm running the race.

The Great Buffalo Chase 5K Race Report


Goal: maybe PR (19:11), but it's hard to know what I can do in the middle of training, after 10 miles the day before, and fairly warm temperatures. B goal: 20 minutes. If I can't do that, I would be ashamed.

I had to get up at 5 o'clock, because the race was in Frankfort, KY, on the grounds of the Buffalo Trace distillery. Buffalo Trace is one of my favorite whiskeys. You can't beat it with $25 for a bottle: IMO to find a better whiskey you will have to fork out at least $40. This was an important reason for me to do the race. Even if I can't do well, I get to see the distillery. The disadvantage was the hour long drive from Louisville.

I got there well in time, and the last-minute registration was very smooth. Surprisingly there were even enough bathrooms/port-a-potties. The race was quite large with 690+ runners, and the winners in the last years had Kenyan names....

I started to warm up, and by this time I knew I ate too much before the race. I'm always too worried that I wouldn't eat enough, so this time I had a big dinner and a big breakfast (albeit at 5:30am). Now this was definitely too much, and I experienced some GI discomfort. It was also warm, 76 degrees with high humidity, so I decided to run shirtless. I have to say it was a great decision.

I lined up at the front and off we went at exactly 8:00. I decided to go out at around 6:00 pace. This is because I didn't want to deprive myself the chance of going under 19 minutes, however unlikely it may be. We were running in the shadows of the buildings of the distillery. Interesting course with the typical black molded brick buildings and the barrel tracks across the roads. The black mold is called the Angel's Share fungus, and it feeds on the evaporated alcohol from the aging barrels. It may have been the mold or the alcohol vapor that I could very distinctively smell, but I developed some minor breathing difficulties. It went away when we left the vicinity of the warehouses, but it came back again during the award ceremony, which was again among those buildings.

The first mile had a hill in it, but it wasn't too bad, and in fact the mile was net downhill. I was going hard, but there were pros in the field and they left us quickly. I just tried to settle in the field at around the 6 minute pace. I felt fine at the mile marker.

Mile 1: 5:56

We left the buildings, and we were out on some road in a field with no shadows whatsoever. It was hot here, and I knew it would affect me. But other people slowed around me more than I. I wanted to be careful, so I just held my position, but eventually I passed a few runners. I think only one guy passed me, but he was not in my age group. I decided not to worry until some potential age groupper passes me. I skipped the aid station at Mile 1.5. I though I could pour some water on my head, but they distributed something in paper cups from Gatorade coolers, so I didn't want to risk pouring Gatorade over my head. :) We made a loop, and started to go back. I entertained myself watching the runners coming from the opposite direction.

Mile 2: 6:15

The big hurt started here, as usually; I already forgot how painful is to run 5Ks. :) It's been more than a year since my last one. My legs were also tired, and the 10 miler from yesterday made itself remembered. The last mile was basically the first mile backwards, which means a hill, and this time it was net uphill. At 2.5 mile I was slowing so badly, that it became clear that the 19-minute dream is over. In fact I was already slower on average than my PR pace, and I was very tired.

Mile 3: 6:28

For the last 0.1 I put together everything I had, and I tried to catch one more guy who looked like my age from behind. I came up just a bit short: he finished just ahead of me (turns out he was one age group younger). The kick was at around 5:30 pace according to my Garmin.

Finish time: 19:17.

I missed my PR by a few seconds... if I knew maybe I could have tried harder in the third mile... but actually I don't know if I had even just one second left in me. Maybe if I go out slower... but I'm not even sure of that. Obviously this was not a prime race, and was not meant to be a prime race, so this is a great time.

Postrace food was fine, though their bananas tasted terrible. The awards started at around 9:30, and I got second place in my age group! I won a nice silver medal. The winners all had African sounding names and the winning time was 14:12.

I decided to go on the distillery tour at 10:00. It was great fun, and included some sampling. Not enough, of course, so I bought a bottle of Buffalo Trace and a nice whiskey glass in the gift shop. I'm sipping this great Bourbon as I'm writing this report.

Happy 4th of July!

Thursday I had to miss my group run - the temperature was 101 degrees and the air quality was "unhealthy". Actually most likely everyone bailed, so it would have been a group run of one. Anyway, this had the consequence that I had an URD, and I didn't switch to Sunday week starts.

Today I ran 13.5 miles in the morning, and it was really hard. It was only 79 degrees, so I don't quite understand why it was so hard, but I felt I was done at mile 9... maybe the humidity, or my old shoes, or whatever. I ran shirtless for most of the run, only put on the shirt in last 2 miles on the highway overpasses, because the sun was up high, no shadows there, and I didn't want to get sunburned. Nevertheless, both my shorts and my shirt was completely soaked with sweat. I hung them out to dry and they dripped so much that they produced this fairly large puddle of sweat. Gross, but sort of funny, too. I lost 3 lbs during the run, even though I drank about a liter of water.

My pair of New Balance is now well over 500 miles, so I really should retire them. They don't feel right any more. I already ordered the new pair. But I think I'll still use the good old NB tomorrow, because I want to go for the trail run in Jefferson Memorial Forest. I miss the trails, and I only need a 7.6 easy run to complete my week.

Next week (#11), beginning on 7/2:
Total: 53 miles.
Long runs: 10 and 14 miles.
VO2 max: 5 x 2:30 uphill. Recovery: min 1:15, max 2:15. Even with 2 miles warmup and 2 miles recovery this will be roughly 7 miles. Round it up to 7.25 to make it equal to the easy runs.
Easy runs: 3 x 7.25 miles

Edit: Now I have mild cramps in my calf muscles. I think I have electrolyte depletion... I should get back to Gatorade for my long runs, at least *some* Gatorade. Maybe that's why it was so hard today.

I was partying with music fans on Saturday, so I missed my Sunday long run. I was just too tired to get up in the morning, and also, too much alcohol the night before - then I just basically chose to work on my car late into the night instead of running late into the night. So last week I finished 13 miles short. Not ideal, but I may be OK. As long as I do fine this week.

Week -12: Let's consider it to have started on Sunday (6/24).
Total mileage: 53.
Long runs 9 and 13.
LT: 2 x 2.5 miles intervals. Trying to get them down to around 6:30, but it seems hard. 6:40 will do in a pinch. 3 minutes jogging in between. 8 miles.
Easy 7.67/run.

I was in Halifax for most of the week, and I didn't have enough time to run, but I still managed to get some running in in the beautiful city, mostly in Point Pleasant Park.

The Big Hit HM opened up registration: it is $64. It looks like they may have had this up for a while, but I don't think the main page linked to it, or I may have just missed it.

LSC HM: Registration is $50 before 7/2. I think I wrote a wrong date before. It goes up to $65 until 10/1, then to $75.

Louisville HM: Unsurprisingly, still no info. But it probably will be on 10/14, because I found this date on the organizer group's website.

Today I finished the week with very hard run in the heat. No matter what, it doesn't seem like I can keep up any reasonable speed if temps are over 80 F. Today, it was barely over 80 (fairly high humidity, of course), and I was fine until mile 6. Then cut. I was able to manage a 8:15 pace after that, but that's it. This probably didn't come out back in SC simply because I never ran sub-8 miles back then. In fact 8:15 miles were considered to be too fast.

Week of 6/17-18 (Sunday or Monday):
Total: 49 miles.
Long runs: 9 and 13 miles. We'll see what pace I can do, but do come in under 8 minutes.
VO2 max: 5 x 3:00 on grass, golf course or trails. This will probably be "trails". I'll be in Halifax for this, but the place seems like there are plenty of trails nearby. ~7 miles.
Easy runs: 6.67 miles each.

Yesterday I ran 2 x 2 miles of tempo intervals. Trying to get to the next level with speed: the splits were 6:34, 6:28 (recovery here) 6:22, 6:36. My pacing sucks and was also harder than some tempo should be, so maybe I should back down just a little.

Training plan is starting tomorrow:

Week of 6/11 (eventually I'll change to starting my weeks on Sunday, because the warmup races will be probably on Saturday -- surprisingly, the Big Hit HM is on Sunday -- but for now, Monday start will work just fine).

Total: 46 miles, including:

Long runs: 12 and 9 miles at 8:30 to 7:30 pace. Meaning starting at 8:30 and finishing at 7:30. This will be a new way of doing these; though I have read this at many places, I always thought it would be too hard to accelerate, not slow down. Which may have been true in the past, but it should be doable now.

LT: 2 x 2 mile intervals. 1.5 miles warmup, 2 miles fast at 6:30/mile, then 3 minutes jogging, then another bout of 6:30 pace, then 1.5 or 2 miles of cooldown. Approx. 8 miles.

Easy runs: 5.67 miles each at 7:30 to 8:30 pace, as slow as comfortable within that range.

Still building, on my way to 49 miles this week. I slept in today, so by the time I got out to run, it was 80-some degrees. Stupid me picked a course that was basicaly full sun. It was quite hard to keep my average pace under 8 minutes, which was my goal. But I did it: 13.2 miles in 1:44:53, 7:57 pace. Next week I'll start my training cycle. I'm targeting the Big Hit HM on September 23rd, but so many things can happen, I don't sign up just yet.

I resumed regular training right away with 6 miles on Sunday, and of course it was hard, even though I ran it slowly. I ran almost 8 today, and it was already a lot easier. I'm quite fine actually. The most significant reminders of the weekend are my sore quads.

Bernheim Forest Trail Half Marathon Race Report


Goal: No time goal, because it is a trail race. Just run it as fast as I can.


I jumped into this race in the last minute. I certainly didn't haven any cross country training, in fact I slacked out after the Derby, so (unusual of me), I didn't expect to run a great race. The main reason I still wanted to run it was that I always wanted to run the Millennium Trail in Bernheim Forest as training, and now I would have a cleared trail, lots of signs, aid stations, etc. I knew it was hard but that just made it more attractive.

About 150 runners got together for the race on this cool, gorgeous June morning. A little over 100 would run the half marathon, which was, as I implied, essentially the Millennium Trail. The rest did the full. I talked to Jim, the race director after registration, and he said, if you can run a 1:30 road HM, you will be good for a 2:30 here. He said that I should get a good position in the first mile before the single tracks, then go conservatively till about mile 7; then my road experience will drive me home. I actually took his advice word by word.

Bernheim Forest is a beautiful nature preserve close to Clermont, KY, which is about 30 miles from Louisville. I always have to mention that it is right across the road from the Jim Beam distillery. The terrain consists mostly of steep limestone hills, and it is completely forested. There are no high mountains here, but the terrain is unforgiving. I don't want to jump ahead, but I can say that this was the hardest race I have ever done, and in fact probably the hardest athletic achievement of my life.

This was also National Trails Day, so there were lots of events in the forest. The scene was busy around the visitors' center. I started my warmup at around 7:35, because I wanted to be ready to run fast in the first mile. I needed to use the bathroom, but there were only 2 port-a-potties for all these people (the visitors' center building hadn't opened yet), so I chose the bushes. I finished the warmup, and went to the start line.

The start was on an asphalt road by the visitors' center. I wasn't really sure how to line up, so I tried to stay close to the front. Last year's winner gave a little speech at the beginning, which was sort of like a prayer, but the John Muir way. Our church is the forest, and our religion is nature. I really liked it. Probably because that is what I believe in. When I die, I want my ashes to be scattered in the forest. Preferably at a place where no building, no city, no civilization will ever ruin the holiness of nature.

(Here I took a long break of writing this report to read about John Muir again. He is my prophet. I am so touched by his writings. If you haven't heard about this man, you must look him up.)

At exactly 8:00 the race started. It was a much more relaxed start than most road races. People honestly tried to find their place before the single track. I decided to let a few people pass. I was doing a 6:50-7:00 pace, anticipating major difficulties later. (I was right.)

At around mile 1.5, we hit the single tracks. And up we went! My run slowed to a jog first, and then to a walk. I didn't feel too bad, because most people were walking around me. I mean, it was hard enough to walk fast there, and whoever tried to run were not actually faster. I'm talking about really steep climbs. In about 1/2 mile we gained close to 400 feet of elevation. Now I understood why Jim said 2:30. I tried to keep up with the people around me, but I was worried that I would kill myself at the very beginning, so I let a few more people pass. One guy, in particular, in a gray UA tee shirt, was hesitant first, but he decided to go for it and pulled away. The rest of the runners who passed me stayed in my general vicinity. There was one more very young guy, who ran shirtless (actually banditing, as I learned later): he was in front of me, but I lost sight of him eventually.

Four of us stayed mostly together. A latino looking guy, a girl, who was the leading female runner, an orange tee shirt and I. At around mile 2 or 3, the orange tee let us pass, and I never saw him again. The sun was coming out, the forest was beautiful, and I felt the spirits of the forest around me. The exertion made this feeling even stronger. I was hurting, but the pain was pleasurable .

The three of us followed the following formula: the latino guy was in the front, I was in the middle and the girl at the back. The latino guy pulled away on the climbs, and we both caught up on the downhills. There was virtually no flat surface. In fact the downhills were also so steep, that it took more effort to run on them than on flat road. We had to constantly brake, slow down, otherwise a fall would be inevitable. In fact the latino guy had a few close calls, and once he sprained his ankle. I was watching him from behind, and it looked bad, but he kept running.

At around mile 3.5, I started to feel really thirsty. There hadn't been any aid stations yet. I asked the latino guy if we passed any. He said no, and he also said we will have one in every 3-4 miles. At mile 4, I started to  worry. At mile 4.5  I was really thirsty and I started to really worry. I knew if I won't have water in about a mile, my race is blown. The latino guy was so nice that he offered to share his dwindling resources, but of course I couldn't accept it. Fortunately we hit a gravel road at mile 4.7 (the first one), and there was the aid station! Now on trail race, it is different than on the road. At least that's how I see it: on the road, you pick up a cup (or two), and take it with you. Drink the water and throw away the cup. It's fine, especially if you do it in a few hundred meters of the aid station: the volunteers pick up the cups. On the trail, throwing away a cup in the woods sounds sacrilegious to me. So I stopped, drank a cup of water, threw the cup into the trash, then went on. I probably should have drank two cups, but I didn't want my company to leave me behind.

The next mile was flat or downhill. The girl told me she wanted to pass me, and I said OK, but I stayed on her heel. Actually I felt that they were blocking me a bit, but I didn't mind. I remembered what Jim said to take the first 7 miles conservatively. We were still quite fast. In fact at one point we descended so fast that my ear popped. I have never experienced that on a narrow, rocky, technical trail. In fact a guy after the race told me that he saw me run downhill in the beginning, and he doesn't understand how can I be so fast. I told him that I'm simply crazy. When I race, nothing else matters. I run fast or I die. It must be the ancient fleeing reflex working in me.

At close to mile 7, the marathon course diverted, and we almost took the turn. Right after that, a brutal, one mile long climb started. The latino guy first pulled away, as usual. The girl jogged a bit, and I just walked. I basically did the same pace walking as she jogging. Soon she stopped and let me pass. I told her that she might pass me back soon, cause I'm just as tired, but she seemed really exhausted, so I passed here anyway. In 50 meters, the latino guy exclaimed "shit!", and he stopped. So I passed him walking. I gained 50 meters on them by the end of the climb (walking!), and then when the flat(ter) stage started, I thought it was my time, so I decided to open up a gap. I went hard. The course was somewhat flat here (meaning rolling hills), and I did leave them behind. So much so, that when I reached the aid station at mile 8, I drank two cups of water, and they didn't catch up. After that, it was a downhill mile, and I really went berserk, I couldn't believe myself how much risk I was willing to take. I glanced back, but but my two former companions were nowhere in sight.

I reached mile 9, the valley, all by myself. I hit a fire road, and the course followed this road for a few hundred meters. The signage was somewhat confusing, and I stopped, and ran back a little, but then I figured out the way to go. I immediately realized the dangers of running alone... Anyway, I only lost about 30 seconds. I heard after the race that some people kept following the fire road for over a mile before they realized they went off the course. Well, I guess this is part of the difficulty of trail races.

After the turn off the fire road, I started to count back the miles. Only four miles left... I started to hurt real bad... on the top of this, all of the mile from 9 to 10 was uphill. I tried to run here and there but it was really hard. I started to talk to myself. "It's a fucking race, you asshole. Run, like you mean it!" When this stopped working, I started to imagine the latino and the girl as a lion chasing me (don't laugh now). I seriously induced fear in myself to produce some adrenaline. "You run, or you'll fucking die here." I was gasping for air. When a blackberry bush scratched me at one point, I felt a kind of a relief. Because it was a different kind of a pain, not nearly as bad as the one I felt running.

I looked at my GPS watch at one point, and I could believe I only advanced a half of a mile... but at the end I somehow made it to the top. Mile 10, and another aid station. Almost too soon. But they had Coke! I drank a cup of Coke, thanked them and I was off.

You probably noticed that I haven't written about my splits and pace. It is because in this race it was essentially meaningless. After I left latino guy and the girl behind, I suspected I was in the top 10, and all I cared about was my position. I wanted to finish in the top 10. In particular, because those are the runners, who are listed on the main page of the results. My overall pace at the mile 10 aid station was 9:41/mile, which slowed to 9:43 by the time I finished my Coke. It sounds pathetic, but I swear it was a lot harder than the 6:40 pace of the Derby Half.

Rolling hills followed the aid station, and lots of vegetation. It was hard to see the ground, or anything for that matter. I did a steady pace, until suddenly, I saw the bandit guy walking 50 meters ahead of me. When he saw me, he started running, but it was hopeless. I made a point of running him down fast, so he would be demoralized. Later he told me he didn't feel ethical to drink anything at aid stations, so he was very dehydrated by that time. No wonder! He asked me how far from the finish we were, and wished me good luck.

I continued to press on. I didn't know this guy was banditing, so now I wanted to defend my new position. A downhill section started, and then who did I see? The gray tee shirt guy, who passed me before mile 2. When he saw me I told him: "Well, I see you again." He responded: "Hi! Go ahead, I'll stick with you." I didn't respond, but I thought: "You wish!" I passed him and then I ran really hard. I opened up a big gap immediately. In a half of a mile, he was not in sight.

There was one last really hard climb. Starting at mile 11.5, it went all the way to almost mile 13. I was struggling more than ever, but pressing harder than ever. The gray tee passed me on an uphill back at mile 2, so I thought he may come back any time. But only a mile and a half left. I tried every trick in the book. Lions, out-of-body, he-is-right-behind-me, etc. I was hurting real bad. Probably the hardest mile and a half in my life. I felt nausea, and I *wanted* to puke, but my stomach was empty... I didn't stop, of course. I hallucinated a weird guy in white clothes by the trail. I thought it was a spectator, but when I looked at him directly, he disappeared.

I hit mile 13, and an asphalt road. A black arrow pointed to the right, so I took the right turn. I expected the finish line any time, but it didn't come. Neither I saw any ribbons or blazes that were used to mark the course. I glanced at my GPS: it showed 13.25. I started to panic. I slowed down a bit... I'm lost. I can't believe I get lost a quarter mile from the finish line. Where is the finish?! I must have hallucinated the arrow! What now? Should I run back?

Then I spotted a ribbon finally! I ran hard, and I saw some cars ahead, but it was only a parking lot. Then some people... that must be it... but its was only some spectators. At least I knew I was almost there. Then I saw a finish clock, and Jim. The chute was marked with cones, but my brain was gone, and I didn't quite understand where the finish line was supposed to be. Nevertheless, Jim signaled me where to run and I finished the race in 2:10:02. Garmin 13.64 miles. Of course, a trail half marathon is never exactly 13.1 miles, and these trail runners are tough as nail: I'm sure they would only complain if the course is ever shorter.

It turns out that I made 6th place! Not bad, out of 99. Especially, because the runners are more serious here than at road races. The organizers were also impressed, because they knew I wasn't in the trail runner circle, it was my first trail race, I ran in road shoes, and Jim also said that I was the first finisher who didn't fall. :) I was also the fastest guy over 30 (I'm 36), but there were no age group awards.

If you had patience to read this whole thing, you see why I said it was the hardest race I've ever done. It was a lot harder than the KY Derby half. It was a lot harder than the Kiawah Island Marathon. It was a lot harder than any of my two completion of the Gazlo mountain bike endurance event back in Hungary (close to a 100 miles in the Bakony mountains, virtually all off road and rough elevation profile).

Trail runners are the nicest people. I hung around, chatting with people until noon, when they had the award ceremony. The winner's time was 1:45. Unreal. The latino guy finished with 2:18, the girl (who indeed won the female division) finished with 2:15. Trail runners are super modest. I think they are a lot tougher than an average road runner, but there is a lot less bragging here. The hyperbole in "Born to Run" has some truth to it after all.

They had the best food, because they grilled burgers and hot dogs! I had two burgers, plenty of Coke. After the ceremony, I left for home. Only a handful of the marathon runners had arrived by that time. The winning time was (I think) around 3:36. Wow.

After this great event, I still think that trail racing is not for me. It is too hard. It is very hard to prepare for. Hard to measure your progress, because times are meaningless. But is was a lot of fun!

PS: Funny that I just found this on Bernheim's website:

"Half Millennium Trail Hike
Take a hike – a long hike! Tony Cecil and other Bernheim Volunteer Naturalists will be your guides on half of the 13.75 mile Millennium Trail. This is a rigorous hike; experienced hikers only please. Bring a bag lunch, snacks and plenty of water."

So if *hiking* *half* of the trail is rigorous, and for experienced hikers only, how about *running* the *whole* trail *as fast as possible*. Well, I can barely move now...

Thu: 4.4 miles on Seneca Park trails. Shoes: NB. 83 F, cloudy. No GPS, time was 37:22.

I went to check out the Louisville Trail Runners club for this one. This was supposed to be a "faster" run, and after the disappointment I had with the university running club and their serious runners, I wanted to find something more serious. Nevertheless, I didn't have any expectations.

Well, let me tell you, those miles were hard! The terrain was hard, and running 8:30 miles was challenging! I think I've found my group.

I plan to jump into the Bernheim Forest half marathon in the weekend. The winner time is usually about two hours, so it must be tough.

Wed: 6 miles in 83 F, sunny, Brooks.

Sunday's run was a mess. In 92 degrees the 12 miles was too ambitious, and mixed in with a bout of diarrhea, it was more than my body could take. I ended up cutting it short, taking many breaks, and running it really slowly. I created a new category for these runs and I named it "failed". Fortunately I'm still in building phase (not for long though), so it doesn't matter all that much. Still finished the week with roughly 41 miles.

Provided I'm running the Big Hit HM, here is how the mileage plan should look like:

Week of
05/28: (building): 45 miles
06/04: (building): 49 miles
06/11 (week 14): 46 miles
06/18 (week 13): 49 miles
06/25 (week 12): 53 miles
07/02 (week 11): 53 miles
07/09 (week 10): 56 miles
07/16 (week 9): 60 miles
07/23 (week 8): 56 miles
07/30 (week 7): 61 miles
08/06 (week 6): 65 miles
08/13 (week 5): 63 miles
08/20 (week 4): 56 miles
08/27 (week 3): 58 miles
09/03 (week 2): 54 miles
09/10 (week 1): 49 miles
09/17 (race week): 40 miles

Thu: 6 miles in 86 F, sunny, Brooks.

Today was my 3rd day of 6 miles each, and frankly, I feel I didn't really lose any fitness (probably not quite true, though). The biggest problem is the heat: today it was 84 degrees, sunny. I also wear my shirt (for the first time since the break), because I'm more afraid of the sun (as in radiation) than the heat.

After a 3 week break, I ran 6 miles at slightly below 8 min/mile today. It felt great, although the 76 degrees humid weather felt quite hot (and I ran shirtless!). I'll plan 6 miles/day until Friday, and 13 miles in the weekend, and I see I feel afterwards.

As for racing plans, I'm in for another half marathon. Probably none of the fall races can be as ideal as the Derby Half was, so I will just shoot for a PR, if only by 1 second. Training paces will be set per McMillan determined by the 1:27:11 HM.

Potential fall races:

Sept. 23: Big Hit HM: Course is very similar to the Derby HM, but one has to climb the Central Avenue overpass twice! Last year the field was only about 1000 runners. The race is a little early, plan should start on June 10, if no interruption is anticipated, and it might be too warm. No registration info is on-line yet.

Oct. 16: Louisville HM: This is one running from the Water Tower, on River Rd and on the Riverwalk. Extremely low key, probably not that well organized. The website is unprofessional, they did't respond my email, and I doubt even the date is correct, because it's a Tuesday. Sponsored by Ken Combs RS. Some concrete sidewalks! No registration info is available (and probably won't be).

Nov. 3: Louisville Sports Commission HM: It looks like a real "runners' race", but the course runs through the Cherokee Park hills, which are quite hard! It might be too cold in November. Registration is $65 before 6/2. At the Derby expo they said 2000 runners, if I'm not mistaken.

Kentucky Derby Mini (Half) Marathon Race Report

Goal: 1:29:59

I heard that 18000 runners signed up for this race (full and half marathon together), so I was worried that it would be impossible to park in any reasonable distance from the start line. I got up very early (4:30), and I left home at around 5:25 for the 7:30 start. I found a parking spot (the lot was empty) less than a mile from the start line, and I relaxed in the car until about 6:20. Then I walked to the start area, found a port-a-potty (really needed it this time, but there were no lines!), and then I found my corral. I was starting in corral B, right behind the seeded runners. I was actually running more like the seeded runners' pace, but this was my debut half-marathon, so I had no chance to get seeded.

The weather was ideal: 53 degrees and cloudy, but no rain. I warmed up in the corral for 15 minutes, mostly just by jogging in place and in small circles, because there was no space to do anything else. But it was OK. Corral adherence was great: I only saw one or two people who didn't belong there.

I finished the warmup at 7:15, and for the remaining 15 minutes, we heard the national anthem, we watched the wheelchair racers to start, and at 7:30 to the second, the race started. I went out at a pace that was about the same as the runners' around me, which proved to be a little faster than intended. But I felt relaxed, so I didn't worry about it.

Mile 1: 6:43

Pretty much the same was true for the next two miles. We were running through some working class neighborhoods of Louisville, but the residents were very supportive, cheering us on.

Mile 2: 6:42

Mile 3: 6:50

I was still pacing off of people around me, i.e. I fought the urge to start passing people. We turned east on Broadway into some substantial headwind, and I found myself in no man's land fighting the wind myself. I decided to accelerate to pull myself close to a big guy to help me draft.

Mile 4: 6:47

Due to my acceleration I now was running among 6:45/mile runners, but I had no problem keeping the pace. I was slightly worried that I would die at the end, especially because I was planning 6:50-6:52 pace, but I'm a gambler.

Mile 5: 6:45

We were running through the beautiful Old Louisville with the Victorian houses. The spectators were amazing. An aid station offered oranges, but I skipped it.

Mile 6: 6:45

I caught up to a guy, who seemed to follow a tactic of sprinting 100 meters, then getting winded and slowing down, then recovering and repeating the pattern. I'm not kidding: he was doing this until at least mile 8.5, when I finally left him behind for good.

I started to feel thirsty, and that worried me. I skipped the very first aid station, and they only gave very little water in small plastic cups in the later ones, so I didn't take in enough. My worst bonks happened due to dehydration, so I was worried that I could ruin this race despite starting so promising.

Mile 7: 6:40

There was an aid station right after the mile marker, and I took two cups of water just in time. After this I took two cups in the next two aid stations (skipping the last one at mile 12), so hydration was fine.

Before the race I debated if I should bring my Garmin to the race, and finally I decided I would do so. But I also had a detailed pace chart (my wife was so nice that she laminated it for me), which proved to be very useful later in the race, when the Garmin's error grew large enough, so that the mile markers didn't line up with the Garmin any more.

Mile 8: 6:47

After the mile marker followed one of the most prominent features of this course: we entered Churchill Downs, one of the most famous horse race courses of the world, which will be the venue of the Kentucky Derby a week from now. We didn't run on the track, of course, but on the service road inside the track. We crossed two tunnels to go under the track. Even though this is a trademark of this course, I didn't like it that much. The tunnels feel claustrophobic, too many turns, and my Garmin lost signal in the tunnels, so it's data was very inaccurate after this.

Mile 9: 6:42

OK, 4.1 miles left, I was still fine, my breathing was still 2-2 pattern. Maybe it's time to accelerate. I changed to 2-1 breathing, accelerated, and started to pick out people in front of me. Maybe it was the liberation from restrains, but I started to feel better, even though I was running faster.

Mile 10: 6:34

There was one mishap here: I forgot that the Garmin would only display the minutes of the total time beyond 1 hour (at least in the display mode I was using), so I wasn't sure any more how much ahead of pace I was. But it did display average pace, and I knew I was running fast, so I knew that barring disaster, sub-1:30 is in the bag. So I just concentrated on the remaining distance and I tried to gauge my effort for that. I was fast and passing runners all the time. For a while I was running behind a tall guy, who did the same, but eventually I passed him, too.

Mile 11: 6:33

Straight road, close to finish, running fast, passing people. No pain, euphoria.

Mile 12: 6:27

We were back downtown, took our last turn before the finish line. The course had a slight incline here, and I started to doubt my strategy and that maybe I accelerated too early. But it's OK. Remember, if you don't struggle, you didn't run hard enough. I passed a few more people.

Mile 13: 6:33

Finish line, downhill, usual euphoria, out of body experience. I saw the finish clock showing 1:27:xx. Dropped the hammer and shot down to the finish line in 30 seconds (4:28/mile pace).

Total time: 1:27:11 (chip time; clock time was 12 seconds slower).

Overall 122th place (out of 12108), 103th male, 14th in my age group. No awards of course.

It makes me wonder that I could have run faster if I started out faster, because I ran the last 5 kms in 20:02 (according to Garmin), which is a pretty good 5K time by itself, and down right amazing after a 10 mile warmup at race pace. But it's not that clear: the first few miles felt relaxed, but not too easy. I think that I probably could have saved a minute, tops.

The past race party was fun. I met up with friends, had some snacks and a beer. It's funny that running makes everything so much better: I liked the taste of Michelob Ultra.

With this performance I can get seeded next year. However temping it would be now to start to work on my marathon goals (I think I could BQ after a cycle), it is even more tempting to run this race next year. The organization was perfect. Seriously, I had to think hard to find just one thing that wasn't perfect. (And I did: the plastic cups. Paper cups are so much easier to drink from while running.) The last 5K suggests I'm not at the limit of my abilities. I could drop a few more pounds, devote another year for half marathon performance, and I could probably go sub-1:25 or better.

For now, I will take a bit of a break. I haven't decided what it will mean, but probably a month of very little running. Though it's tempting to eradicate those very soft 10K and somewhat soft 5K PRs of mine.

I'm ready for the race tomorrow. I got my third Hep B shot today; I hope it won't affect race performance. I was fine after the first two, so I took the gamble.

We are planning a visit to the Corvette factory next Wednesday with my father-in-law, so I'll replan the rest of the training to make that day a rest day. So tomorrow's rest day is postponed for Saturday, but that'll be fine, because I ran 5.6 miles today at 7:53, and not only I felt fine, but in fact I feel great.

Fri: 12 miles at around 8:00. Don't push it! It can't feel hard.
Sat: rest.

Week of 4/22 (37 miles):
Sun: 9 miles easy.
Mon: 3.5 miles easy.
Tue: 7 miles easy.
Wed: rest.
Thu: 3.5 miles very easy.
Fri: rest.
Sat: Race.

Last hard workout went perfectly today. In slightly warm conditions (72 F) I ran 3 x 2000 meters in 7:55, 7:51, 7:51. Felt fine, too. I probably could have done one more. I chatted with a middle school running coach, who leaded a training there afterwards. Fun day.

Heavy legs on the 5.5 mile recovery run today. It was also 81 F. Still I averaged well under 8 minutes per mile. I've definitely gotten faster. It is very tempting to find a 5K just like the week after the HM and try to piggy back a sub-19 5K on the HM training, LOL. Especially because 5Ks are so hard, and the training sucks, so I don't feel like doing another 5K cycle.

Ali Shuffle 10K race report

Goal: 40:00

My in-laws are staying in our house for a few weeks now, and late night my wife wanted to practice singing, because she has a performance today, so I had no place to sleep until like 1:00am last night. I tried to catch some sleep on the living room sofa while my mom-in-law was watching TV, but it was terrible quality. No wonder I was quite tired in the morning when I got up at 6:15.

I also had some weird stomach issues in the morning, so after an extended bathroom break, I left home a bit late. I arrived to start area at 7:35, and the race was scheduled to start at 8:00. I jogged a bit more than a mile to warm up. I felt I might need to go the bathroom again, but the lines at the two port-a-potties discouraged me. So I lined up at the front and hoped for the best.

This was an extremely low key event with less than 100 runners. Still, the idea was beautiful: start a race in the working class neighborhoods of Louisville, where Ali grew up, and finish it among the skyscrapers in downtown (at the Muhammad Ali Center). "Connecting communities one step at a time" was the motto of the race. It is also an unusual (and great) thing to see that about half of the runners were black. And the mayor of Louisville started the race!

It was supposed to start at 8:00 sharp, but apparently there was a car wreck on the course, so they delayed the start "by a few minutes". At 8:22 finally we started. The weather was great, low 60s, cloudy, no wind. The first 4 miles were almost completely flat, with a very gradual elevation of ~10 feet.

A couple of young guys shot out at the start, and then they slowed dramatically after like a 1/2 mile. I smiled when I passed them, but at least two of them still maintained a fairly good pace during the race: I saw them close to the end (the last part of the race was out-and-back), so I think they have potential, if they learn how to race. :) After I passed the younguns, there were only two guys in front of me: a 20ish guy in a black T-shirt and a 50ish in the lead, who told me before the race that he aimed for 6:05/mile. I knew I had no chance to ever catch the older guy, because he looked like a very experienced racer, so I knew he wouldn't make any rookie mistakes, but I decided to keep the young one in sight. Even though this meant I had to be a little faster than planned (about 6:15 pace), I realized this was do-or-die moment, because I have never been on the podium in any road race. The pace felt hard, but manageable.

Mile 1: 6:17

After the mile marker I was just fixated on the black T-shirt. He increased the distance, and I let him pull away, because when the adrenaline was mostly gone in mile 2, I knew the pace was too fast. I confirmed at a water stop that I was in 3rd place. I looked back in a long staightaway, and nobody behind me was in sight. So I dialed back to a more manageable pace.

Mile 2: 6:30

Not much I can remember from the next mile. It was completely straight, flat, leading to downtown. I managed my pace (not too fast), but I still saw the black T-shirt maybe like 200 yards ahead. He didn't seem to increase the distance any more.

Mile 3: 6:28

We were still running on this long, straight street, approaching the skyscrapers. The black T-shirt guy glanced back a couple of times. I started to see some subtle change in his stride. "He may be getting tired" I thought. "Maybe I should intimidate him just a bit." I started a push a bit harder. I was also quite tired, so I had to be careful, but a second place is just so much better than a third place, right? It was weird that in all my races so far, I was basically just concerned about my time, and now I found myself in a racing situation.

Mile 4: 6:24

I was closing on the black T-shirt. The next mile was all downhill, and the middle quarter was steep down (we would have to climb back up at the end). We passed the finish line, and the out-and-back portion started. Like a bloodhound in a hunt, I saw nothing but the black shirt. I'm a pretty good downhill runner, so I was closing in fast. By the end of the mile he was maybe 50 yards ahead. He kept looking back, and I think he was a bit demoralized. We chatted after the race, and he told me he didn't have a GPS watch, and he thought (hoped!) that the turnaround point is just around the corner.

Mile 5: 5:51

I remembered Pfitzinger's racing advice here. When you pass another runner for a position, you should surge, and don't slow until the other guy is considerably behind. Don't look back, because that shows weakness. So I did just that. I pulled my last reserves together, and passed him. He uttered "Good job!" when I went by. I only looked back after about 1/4 mile, and he was way behind. Still I expanded so much energy, that I was seriously tempted to stop right there. I also didn't help that we started to climb back up in this mile. But my extra effort is obvious from my split:

Mile 6: 6:17 (net uphill!)

The last portion was the steep uphill to the finish line, but once I see the finish line, it doesn't matter to me any more. No pain, just euphoria. I pushed as fast as I could, and I clinched my second place in the finish. The last portion was measured only 0.13 mile on the Garmin.

Last 0.13: 0:41 or so (waiting for the official results)

In the finish, I almost passed out, and very kind young guy asked me if I was alright. I couldn't answer for a good few seconds, I just nodded. After I caught my breath (by which time the black T-shirt also finished at 3rd place), we all high-fived with the podium finishers. I got some Gatorade, and then I hung around the finish area. It was pretty cool that people came to me congratulating, and a volunteer asked me about running, like I knew this stuff, LOL.

The course was not certified, and it was probably short, so I can't really claim this as a PR, but if I trust my Garmin (which I really shouldn't, because a portion we ran under the interstate, and the readings were hectic), I would have run about 39 minutes. In any case, almost certainly under 40. Looking at the early Garmin paces and the considering the final push, 39 minutes sounds plausible. I haven't decided how I will claim this yet.

The organizers really messed up the awards and the post-race activities. Have you ever been to a race where they forget to recognize the 2nd place runner? Because that's what happened. They went only by age groups, announcing only age group winners (and mentioning they overall place), and apparently I was in the age group 35-64, where I got 2nd place, with the 50ish guy beating me. But they didn't read the age group age limits correctly, so it looked like they skipped my age group, and when I asked them after the ceremony, they just basically gave me a medal and congratulated... weird. I think what really happened is that they were so inexperienced, they simply forgot that women are in different age group (I heard this as a rumor), and when they tried to rectify it, it was chaos.

Then I tried to board the shuttle that took back runners to the start line, but it just filled up in front of me, and I wasn't going to wait for another bus. I just jogged back to the start line (4.5 miles) for my car.

Last two weeks:

Week of 4/15 (46 miles):

Sun: 5.5 miles easy.
Mon: 9 miles at 8:00 or faster.
Tue: 5.5 miles easy.
Wed: 3200 m warmup; 3 x 2000 m at less than 8 minutes each, with 800 m recovery; 2800 m cooldown. Total of about 8.5 miles. This is the last hard workout. Nothing should feel hard after this.
Thu: 5.5 miles easy.
Fri: rest.
Sat: 12 miles at around 8:00. Don't push it! It can't feel hard.

Week of 4/22 (37 miles):
Sun: 3.5 miles easy.
Mon: 9 miles easy.
Tue: rest.
Wed: 7 miles easy.
Thu: 3.5 miles very easy.
Fri: rest.
Sat: Race.

Tuesday, 60 F sunny, Brooks.

14 miles long run today and for some reason I didn't feel great. I struggled a bit to keep the run under 8 min/mile. Probably yesterdays run was too hard (because of the terrain), or the fact that this was my 8th day without a rest day (+travel). Either way I'm glad it's over.

I just came back from mini road trip in the weekend from Asheville, NC. Still, managed to run every day. I did 6 miles in the Amboy greenway on Saturday in pitch dark - I was barely able to make out the (paved) trail, but I still managed sub-8 min paces. On the other hand, I did one of the the most beautiful runs of mine on Sunday in the Smokies: I ran 5 miles on Big Creek Trail that was leading to beautiful waterfalls.

I finished the week with 54 miles, if I count Sunday to next week (otherwise it was actually 59). My plan was 54, and I do mean to shift my week starting on Sundays, because my races are on Saturdays, and training works better this way.

Today it was 85 degrees, but I still managed 4 x 1600 meters at or close to VO2 max on the high school track. The sun was out, shining at full power, and the heat over the black surface of the track was brutal. I kept pouring water on my head during my 800 meter recoveries, and I took them really easy. I managed 6:22.82, 6:20.65, 6:26.55, 6:21.88. Average of ~6:23. Which is pretty good, because goal was 6:24.

Weekly mileage table for the rest of training.

04/02: Week 3, 54 miles.
04/09: Week 2, 50 miles.
04/16: Week 1, 46 miles.
04/23: Race week, 37 miles.

Week of 04/02:
-------------

My week is really messed up, because of the travel and all.

Mon: 11 miles at no slower than 8:00.

Tue: 4 x 1600 meters at 1 sec/lap slower than 8K-10K goal pace. McMillan gives me new goal paces for the 8K-10K as 3:57-3:59/km respectively. That is 94.8-95.6 sec/lap. So with the extra 1 sec, it should be ~96 sec/lap (how familiar, huh? the famous 4 min/km I needed for the 20 minute 5K).
Summary: 2.25 miles warmup and cooldown, 4 x 1600 m at 6:24 (1:36/lap) with 800 m recoveries: 10 miles. I hate to do this on a teaching day, but this is what happens when real life messes up the week.

Wed: 5.67 miles easy (7:39-8:09. Easy run is mandatory, Paul's visit).

Thu: 16 miles at no slower than 8:00 (on a teaching day - ugh).

Fri: 5.67 miles easy (travel day).

Sat: 5.67 miles easy (travel day).

Week of 04/09 (04/08):
---------------------

Sun: I'll try to start the week on Sunday, 04/08. This is so that Saturdays, the race days are the end of the week. It will give me more rest before the races. 4.67 miles easy.

Mon: 14 miles at no slower than 8:00.

Tue: 4.67 miles easy.

Wed: 10 miles at no slower than 8:00.

Thu: 4.67 miles easy.

Fri: Rest.

Sat: Ali Shuffle 10K and back to start. Total of 12 miles.

Sun: Start next week with an easy run.

Papa John's 10 miler Race Report

Goal: 1:08-1:10.

I considered this race as a tune up for the half marathon, so there was no taper, no special peaking training, and I still ran 10 miles on Wednesday, and left no rest day before the race. Especially when I learned that there are some nasty hills in the middle of the course, I decided that I would certainly not aim to run anything faster than HM race pace (6:52), and even 7:00 min/mile would be fine. I have never raced anything beyond a 10K seriously, so I had no idea what to expect. I knew that I was always struggling at least a little in training when I had to maintain this 6:50 pace, even for just 5 miles. On the other hand, I had run 10Ks at faster pace, but 10 miles is quite a bit longer that 10K.

In the morning I felt somewhat sleepy, and interestingly, I felt butterflies in my stomach. I'm not the nervous type before races, but this time just too many people knew that I was running and they know about my ambitious half marathon goal, so I felt if I ran like 1:15, it would be a disgrace.

I arrived to the parking lot of my workplace (1 mile from race start) at 7:30-ish, and then after a bathroom break, I slowly jogged to the start line. This was a really large race, so I asked around people who already lined up what pace they wanted to run, and when they heard about my sub-7 goal, they all told me to get farther ahead. Until I found myself basically just behind the seeded runners.

At 8:00 (5 minutes before the announced start time) quite unexpectedly, the organizers started the race! I tried to get into a groove, but my Garmin showed I jumped out way too fast, like at sub-6:30 pace. I forced myself to slow down (good decision), so I started to run at pace that felt quite comfortable. Still, finished the first mile quite a bit ahead of pace.

Mile 1: 6:35. (Note: every split I'll give here is by my Garmin, which is not perfectly accurate.)

After the split, I still tried to slow down. Kept telling myself: relax, relax. I thought at this pace I would blow up at the end. At this point we were running on a pretty flat, wide, straight street, and there was a small crowd around me, but there was still plenty of space to run.

Mile 2: 6:38

Still too fast. Relax, relax. The weather was absolutely perfect, 56 degrees and cloudy. I felt fine, but I wanted to slow down, because I knew the hills were coming. I let a whole bunch of people pass me - they ran a smarter race with more even splits. At the end of the mile, the first (not too steep) hill started.

Mile 3: 6:49

OK, this was more like it. At this point I thought there is no need to slow down further. Apparently I was doing better than expected, but that's fine. Clearly the finish was still far away, so I just made sure I don't start to accumulate lactate (I can feel it when it starts).

I ran the course a bunch of times in training so I knew the elevation profile exactly. Miles 4, 5 and 6 are hilly with no flat stretch. But the two hardest hills are the first and the last. The first started now. I knew it was long, so I cut back my pace, and I pictured a big red circular sign with "LACTATE" crossed through in the middle. I picked up some water here and drank 4 or 5 big sips before I threw it away.

Mile 4: 6:49

Nice split! On the top of the hill! In reality it was probably a bit slower, because (I'm guessing) due to the winding road in the park, I didn't run the tangents very well, and my Garmin reached this split before the actual mile marker.

I tried to maintain the effort level, and kept picturing the "no lactate" sign. I think knowing the course was a distinct advantage here, because when I knew a hill was short, I didn't bother to slow down much.

Mile 5: 6:51

I started to get tired, and the second nasty hill was still ahead. But this mile started with a downhill, and I'm a good downhill runner. No braking! It also helped that I realized that my ancient 5 mile PR was 35:xx something, and I just broke it by a big margin (although it doesn't count officially if it's not a 5-mile race).

The nasty hill started, and I turned on my imaginary diesel engines (slower, but strong and steady). No lactate!

Mile 6: 6:48

By this time, my Garmin was significantly ahead of the markers, so I knew that my Garmin "average pace" was not real. I stopped paying attention to that and I just focused on the individual mile splits and the total time, doing the math in my head.

This mile was all downhill. Started steep, then it became rolling, but it was steady down. I turned on the rockets, and I ran like crazy. There was only 4 miles left, and I still felt fine (though a bit tired).

Mile 7: 6:12

Kept going fast, but I was a bit afraid that I could still blow up before the end. It would be a shame to ruin such a great race. I started to feel some side stitches (now where do these come from??). The field thinned out, and I found myself a bit alone, though I never lost sight of other runners. There was a group of 10-20 people ahead of me at a distance starting like 20 yards.

Mile 8: 6:35

Around this mile marker I picked up some water (only the second time in the race). I drank a few sips, but not too many, because I knew there was not really enough time left for the water to get to my blood. I poured the rest on my head: it wasn't warm, but I still started to feel hot doing this pace. I don't exactly know why, but I started to feel worse and worse quite quickly. Side stitches started to really hurt, pain in my legs, cardio system felt like working at maximum level. I switched to 2-1 breathing just before the mile marker (I think), and I started to feel like I was falling apart. But then I told myself: "It wouldn't be a real race if I didn't feel like crap close to the end. Just keep it together." I slowed down a bit to maintain my form, and I started to feel better.

Mile 9: 6:42

Not such a bad split after all! (Though remember, my Garmin was behind in distance.) I didn't have much time to contemplate this, because we went through an overpass, and it was steep. It was also windy, and it was after 9 miles of hard running... still I kept on going, and on the top, I decided to start a careful kick. We were supposed to be 1/2 mile from the finish. I passed a few people, and then when we entered the stadium (the finish line was on the grass of the stadium), I started to run really hard. I almost passed another guy at the finish, but he beat me by a fraction of a second. I think it was really cool to run in the stadium, while people were watching in the audience.

Mile 10: 6:23
Last fraction due to Garmin measurement error or not running tangents: 23 seconds

Finish time: 1:06:49

The race had some 7000 participants, so no award for me this time. I was 101th place overall and 16th in my age group.

Needless to say that this is better than my wildest dreams. It corresponds to 6:41 pace. According to this, I should easily go sub-1:30 in the half marathon. The weather was perfect, but the elevation profile (though not very hard) wasn't the easiest. Let me include a picture for the readers to decide:



The most amazing thing is that I didn't mean to peak for this race, and I didn't feel totally spent at the end. I jogged back to my car as a cooldown, and I'm sure I can do all kinds of chores today. The only body parts of mine that hurt now are my nipples (ouch). I forgot to use Body Glide.

I'm looking forward to the 10K two weeks from now. I believe it's a flat course. Maybe I can go sub-40?

Oh, and one more remark. This race gives you a seeded place if you have a 10-miler of 1:05 or better. It sounds quite tempting... I'm not that far.

Plan for Saturday:

Get up: 6 AM.
Leave home: 7 AM.
Get to campus 7:30 or earlier.
Get to the start line: 7:45 or earlier.

Revised week. Goal of 52 miles out of which I already completed 31.1, including the long runs. With the warmup and cooldown, race day will be easily 11+ miles. Only 10 miles left, which I will do in two very easy 5 mile installments tomorrow and on Friday.

Looks like my weeks mileage is all messed up. I can't add. I have to revise the week tonight.

Finished the week with 59 miles and all my ailments are gone! My fast workout on Sunday was 5x1200 meters and the splits were very respectable 4:47, 4:51, 4:51, 4:48, 4:46. All the while aiming for 4:57, though I quickly realized I can do much better than that.

Log: Sunday. ~2.25 warmup to track. 5 x 1200 m fast with 800, 800, 600, 6000 recoveries respectively. ~2.25 cooldown home. 60 F, cloudy. NB shoes.

Finally temps are down a bit today; in any case, I did manage to do my longer runs on Monday and Wednesday. So I'm at 42 miles for the week on Thursday. This must be a new record. Only 7 recovery today and 10 with speedwork tomorrow.

Monday afternoon, 12 miles long. Temperature was 84 F, sunny. Shoes: Brooks.

On today's run, after about 5 miles I called it quits. I had various pains, it was hot and I was still somewhat tired. I decided not to risk my health and my body's integrity for stupid mileage goals.

So training was bad this week. Starting with the Monday, when I hurt so much I had to stop, continuing with record breaking temperatures, and then the stupid dehydration...

But let's try to salvage what we can from here. Since I'm racing in two weeks, I'll shift long runs to the beginning of the week. Detailed plans follow:

Week of 03/19 (59 miles).
M: 12 miles at 8:00 or faster.
T: 7.33 miles easy.
W: 15 miles at 8:00 or faster.
T: 7.33 miles easy.
F: 7.33 miles easy.
S: 5 x 1200 meters at 99 sec/lap, with 800 meters recovery (in no more that 4:27/rec). With warmup and cooldown to the track and back it will be about 10 miles.
S: Rest

Week of 03/26 (52 miles):
M: 13 miles at 8:00 or faster.
T: 8 miles easy.
W: 10 miles at 8:00 or faster.
T: 8 miles easy.
F: 5 miles really easy.
S: Papa John's 10 miler
S: Rest.

Yesterday I bonked badly after overheating and dehydration... stupid me, I went for a long run in 78 F, sunny, and with no water and not enough Gatorade. From mile 12, it was a death march. Fortunately I came through a park and a residential area, so I was able to pick up water twice (after not picking up enough in the park), so I resumed continuous running for the last 3-4 miles, but it was still slow and hard.

I should have learned my lesson from the several times this has now happened, but it's hard. First you are fine, just a bit thirsty, then suddenly it all over.

I still completed 17 miles, but the end was slow and grueling. I'm not sure about the training effect of a run like this. Maybe I should repeat it next week... I'll plan my next week tonight.

Tempo run today at 6:46.5 fast portion with a little longer that 5 miles, and accelerating (starting at around 7 min/mile, finishing at around 6:35). A good tempo run, especially in 71 F.

Thursday: Easy 7.8 miles in 1:03:45. 70 F, cloudy. Old Saucony shoes.

81 F today in Louisville, hotter than ever in history on this day. I ran 11.5 miles. My legs/shins/ankles are fine, but I got really tired from running in such a hot weather, especially that I'm not acclimatized.

I ran 7 miles. Wanted to turn back after 0.6. I hope my shin holds up. It hurts some.

After 200 meters I bagged my run today. I had such bad shin pain, I had to limp back to the office. I hope I can start my week tomorrow...

The most annoying thing: shin splints are back, but guess what: it's now the other leg. Just a few days ago I had a scary bout of bad shin splints in my right leg, and now it's the left. It came on gradually on yesterdays long run, and got bad at around mile 10. I still finished my run (15 miles), and I didn't even slow down much. (Am I crazy?) I can alter my stride so that it won't hurt. Though it makes my running a bit less efficient, so it was more tiring at the end of the run.

It's probably just my crazy mileage of 57+ miles a week. I'm not sure how I will deal with the 61 this week. I haven't even decided if I will run today, but in no case I will run anything but easy. Really easy.

My foot is better, no pain this morning, but for scheduling reasons, and also because of a bit carefulness, I'll just go easy today. That is, 7.1 miles.

Next week (week -6), week of 3/12.

Total of 61 miles (record mileage if I can make it), including:

Long runs of 17 and 12 miles.

LT run: this is supposed to be a 4-mile time trial, but I will run a 5-mile tempo instead. After botching the tempo two weeks ago, this is more important. I might even make it longer, like stretching it out to 40 minutes (almost 6 miles). I will try to do sub-6:50, but a 6:30 first mile is unacceptable. The length of this run will be about 9 miles.

Easy runs: 8 + 8 + 7 miles.

I got shin splits today at the end of my run. It's bad, I could barely drive home, it hurt so much to move my right foot between the gas and brake pedals. I hope it will get better by tomorrow, because I want to go long (15 miles) on Saturday and easy on Sunday. This would be somewhat important, because I want to do a quality workout on Monday again. I want to shift the two long runs to the beginning of the week (like long run Monday, second longest Wednesday), so that I can do speed in the weekend. This would be nice, because weekend racing starts soon (to be exact in 3 weeks with the 10 miler).

By the way, I ran the course of that 10 miler this week, and the middle part is ridiculously hilly. It seems like it would be a small miracle if I could finish it in 1:08:40, which would be my HM pace on 10 miles.

Week of 3/7, week -7:

Total 57 miles.

Long runs: 11 and 15 miles at 8:00 or faster.
VO2 max: 5 x 4:00 moderately steep uphill, total of 8 miles.
Easy runs: 7.67 miles each, 3 times.

So I did my 16 miles from 7 to 9am this morning (7:56 pace overall). It was cold and snowy. The run was fairly uneventful, but I just don't like to run in the cold, so I was happy when it was over. I hit the record mileage of 56 this week. 57 is planned for next week.

Yesterday I tried a 5-mile tempo, and side stitches almost ruined it... I got some after a (too fast) 6:30 first mile, and though I managed to control it until mile 4.5, it came back so bad, that I was physically unable to run or walk -seriously, I had to stop. I was standing for about 10 seconds, then I could run again, and finished the last mile in 7:00. The splits were 6:30, 6:54, 6:41, 6:52, 7:00 for an average of 6:48. Which is not bad, but I have to get better with pacing. I think I'm not used to my new endurance. I used to run tempos just going out hard, and maintaining it for 20-30 minutes. Now I have to run over 30-minute tempos, and I have a speed that if I go out hard, I'm too fast at the beginning. My physiology has changed, and I didn't adapt mentally. I will have to start the tempos, and especially the races slower, otherwise I will crash and burn.

After looking at my training plan, I have to redo this week. Here is the detailed plan:

Mon: Forced rest (travel).
Tue: 8 miles easy (done yesterday).
Wed: 8+epsilon miles, out of which 5 miles at tempo pace.
Thu: 6.5 miles easy.
Fri: 11 miles midweek long run.
Sat: 6.5 miles easy.
Sun: 16 miles weekend long run.

Long time no write...

So I didn't skip the run, and it went fine. My ankle did hurt, especially at the beginning, but you can't not run forever... So I ran uphill sprints at VO2 max, and those obviously hurt quite a bit. I did this in Iroquois Park, which has a big hill in the middle and a moderately steep paved road up to the top with no vehicular traffic allowed most of the time. The distance to the top is about 1 to 1.5 miles (depending where you start), so it is a perfect place for the "uphill spring, downhill jog" repetitions. Since you are always faster uphill than downhill, you slowly creep up the hill, but you still pass sometimes the same person multiple times up and down. This happened on Wednesday with a lady walking two small dogs, who, after seeing me like the third time, sprinting uphill with pain on my face, exclaimed with thick French accent: "WHY ARE YOU DOING ZIS??" I was too out of breath to respond... but isn't it funny?

On Thursday, my ankle was actually better, though it still hurt. On Friday I flew to Atlanta, worked all day, and it was just too intense for me to go for any in the evening/afternoon, let alone a 10-mile run. So I didn't run, but on Saturday and Sunday I made up for it by running 10 and 14 miles respectively. I still only finished 47.66 miles instead of the planned 56.

Crap! While writing this I realized that the long run was supposed to be 15 miles... Total disaster for the week then.

OK, maybe it was naive that with an aching ankle and a conference I can do my regular week. Replanning.... I guess I'll just cut the cutback week.

02/27: Week 8, 56 miles instead of 52. Do week 9's long runs, but week 8's LT workout (whatever it is, I'll have to look when I get home).
03/05: Week 7, 57 miles.
03/12: Week 6, 61 miles.
03/19: Week 5, 59 miles.
03/26: Week 4, 52 miles.
04/02: Week 3, 54 miles.
04/09: Week 2, 50 miles.
04/16: Week 1, 46 miles.
04/23: Race week, 37 miles.

My ankle hurts a bit after yesterday run. I want to run uphill sprints today... or should I skip it?

Monday: Rest. My left ankle is misbehaving, so I try to take my rest day in advance. That means I'll have to run through the week: a visitor here all week long, plus the conference in Atlanta in the weekend.

Tuesday: I forgot to bring my Garmin, so I just ran with my watch. I will have to measure the exact distance later: it is a bit over 7 miles. The usual route from work to the intersection of Cardinal Dr and Cross Bill Rd by the golf course in 58:09. The temperature was 50 F and the shoe is my pair of New Balance.

Week of February 20:

Total of 56 miles, including
Long runs of 10 and 15 miles.
VO2 max: 8 miles, including 5 x 3 minutes uphill sprints.
Easy runs: 3 x 7.67 miles.

Today I averaged 6:41/mile on my fast 4 miles of the tempo run. Probably the best so far, and it wasn't even that hard. Perfect pace for tempo, progress is good. Weather was absolutely perfect though, 50F and cloudy. I have some nagging small pains in my left leg/ankle, but they didn't last longer than the first 1-2 miles.

A had one my most unpleasant runs today. It was 14 miles in -4 C, but there was a strong northern wind, which was so bad that the weather service reported -12 C wind chill effect. One can easily withstand it for 30 minutes, even an hour, but this run lasted almost two hours. You just can't dress for this weather. I'm glad it's over.

Week of February 13:

Total: 52 miles (all time high)
Long runs: 14 and 10 miles at 8:00 or below.
Tempo: 7 miles, 4 miles fast at tempo pace. Aim for ~6:45, but 6:52 should be worst case.
Easy: 3 x 7 miles.

Week -12 finished successfully.

Week -11 includes 49 miles again.

Long runs 14 and 10 miles.
VO2 max: 5 x 2:30 moderately steep uphill, jog back in 1:15-2:15. Total of 7 miles.
Easy runs: 3 x 6 miles.

Easy runs between 7:45 and 8:15, long runs are at 8:01 or faster, and the uphill sprints at VO2 max. (Where will I find the hill?)

I tried a 2 x 2.5 mile tempo intervals yesterday and it went fine until the last 0.5 mile. It was slightly uphill and I just died on it. So I have plenty of place for improvement... My pace was also quite inconsistent - I ran some 6:36 miles and some close to 7 min. The first interval averaged at 6:41/mile, the second one was 6:40 for the first two miles, but the last 0.5 mile brought it down to 6:46/mile.

I also ran most of my HM race route on Monday (almost 10 miles of it). It is very flat, wide streets, long straights, so it is a perfect course for great time.

I did a strange VO2 workout on Thursday: I went to Jefferson Memorial Forest, and ran on the trails. I did 6 miles, including 5 x 3 minutes of fast intervals, most of them uphill. I was exhausted, and I had a terrible bout of DOMS that hurt even today. I had a miserable long run (13.2 miles at 8 min/mile), because my legs were still trashed from Thursdays run.

On Thursday it also became clear to me that I never want to do a trail race. When I tried to go fast on those twisting trails, many times I almost killed myself running off a cliff or similar. I think trail racing is too dangerous.

I finished the week with 46 miles.

Plan for week of 1/30 (week -12). Total of 49 miles, including:

Long runs: 13 and 9 miles.
LT workout: 2 x 2.5-mile LT intervals. Total of about 8.5 miles.
Strides: 8 x 100 meters.
Easy: 3 x 6.17 miles.

Mon: 6 miles easy, 50 F, cloudy, NB. I did it at 7:49/mile, and it felt super easy.

Week -14 successfully completed with 43 miles.

Week -13: total of 46 miles.

Long runs: 13 and 9 miles at 8:00.

VO2 max: 5 x 3:00 on grass, golf course or trails. (Is a track really so bad?) Approx. 6 miles. Recover for 50% to 90% of the duration of an interval.

3 easy runs of 6 miles each.

I kicked ass today on my LT run. 2 x 2 fast miles at 6:27, 6:45, 6:36, 6:37. I ran the first mile by effort, trying to run 6:45, and when I saw 6:27, I was like "Whoa...". I never changed from the 2-2 breathing pattern, and it wasn't that hard. I'm back in game, baby. 1:30, here I come!

Wed: 35 F, cloudy, Saucony.

Tue: 50 F, cloudy, wind, NB.

Time to structure the plan. Let's peak at 61 miles: that way I will have one week cutback and then just a very slight increase from the week before.

01/16: Week 14, 43 miles.
01/23: Week 13, 46 miles.
01/30: Week 12, 49 miles.
02/06: Week 11, 49 miles.
02/13: Week 10, 52 miles.
02/20: Week 9, 56 miles.
02/27: Week 8, 52 miles.
03/05: Week 7, 57 miles.
03/12: Week 6, 61 miles.
03/19: Week 5, 59 miles.
03/26: Week 4, 52 miles.
04/02: Week 3, 54 miles.
04/09: Week 2, 50 miles.
04/16: Week 1, 46 miles.
04/23: Race week, 37 miles.

Week of 1/16: total of 43 miles including 12 and 9 mile long runs (two!), 8 miles tempo day (1.5 to 2 miles of warmup, 2 x 2 miles at ~6:45, 2-3 minutes jogging to recover between the intervals, and then cooldown). Easy days: 3 x 4.67 miles at around 8:00 min/mile.

Th, 32 F, snow, NB.

Today's tempo averaged 6:48 min/mile for 4 miles. Worse than last week but I'll take it. This course was a bit harder than the one I ran last week.

Tues, 55 F sunny, NB.

Log: Mon, 53 F, sunny, NB.

After the 45 miles this week I'm healthy and feel fine, so let's plan 46 next week. We'll see how to go on after that. It's a good idea to cut back somewhat for the first week of intensive traning, but I just haven't decided exactly how much. 40 miles sounds fine and it also gives a nice simple conversion factor to the Pfitz plan.

Week of 1/9: total of 46 miles, including
13 miles of long run, 7 miles of tempo, 4 times 6.5 miles of easy runs.

Easy runs at 7:45-8:15, long run should be 7:45-8:00, and tempo pace is 6:45-6:50.

Today, in beautiful weather, I ran a 6:45 paced 4-mile tempo. Awesome. I did have to switch to 2-1 breathing pattern at around 1.25 miles into the fast part, which is somewhat scary, because I'm not sure how long I can breathe that fast, but maybe OK. In fact I should be happy that I can sustain high oxygen intake for longer and longer. Maybe those years of smoking are to blame for destroying enough of my lung tissue?

I successfully completed the 44 miles planned for this week, which included a 12 mile run on January 1st. No problem. Why slow down now? Let's do 45 next week.

Plan for week of January 2.

45 miles, including a 7 mile tempo, a 13 mile long run, and 4 times 6.25 miles easy runs. Easy runs and long run at around 8:00, fast portion of the tempo is at 6:50.

I plan 46 miles for last pre-plan week of 1/9, then cut back some for the first week of the plan. How much exactly will be determined then. That will be an important decision, because it will also determine the peak mileage for the plan. Originally I thought I would cut back to 40, because there will be a step up in the intensity. That still sounds like a fine idea.

Today I had a hard tempo run at 6:49/mile for four miles. It sounds like a good pace (goal was 6:50), but I was really strugling toward the end, so I'm wondering if it was really so beneficial. I'm not sure what's going on with me, maybe it is just colder than ideal and this is close to the limits of my abilities. I'll definitely just try to keep up this pace for this distance for the rest of the pre-plan training.

I guess it was naive to think that I could keep up my training during Christmas. So let's try to repeat the plan for last week for this one.

Plan for week of Dec. 26.

44 miles total, including
13 miles long run, 7 miles tempo (4 fast at 6:50), and 4 x 6 miles easy. From now on easy miles should be run by feel, unless we go out of the 7:45-8:15 interval. Long runs should be at around 8:00 min/mile.

Time for reality check. After a rather disastrous tempo today, I have to settle that I can't run reliably faster than 6:50 tempos this season. Let's revise the goals for pre-plan. For the beginning, I will use the following McMillan paces:



The pre-plan MPWs are unchanged:

12/26: 40 miles (no long run)
01/02: 44 miles
01/09: 45 miles

The plan weeks will go as planned, but with the McMillan paces above. In an optimal case, I can still break 1:30, but the paces as of now are for an 1:31:20 HM.

Plan for week of Dec. 19.

44 miles total, including
13 miles long run, 7 miles tempo (4 fast at 6:49), and 4 x 6 miles easy. From now on easy miles should be run by feel, unless we go out of the 7:45-8:15 interval. Long runs should be at around 8:00 min/mile.

Fri, 40 F, cloudy, Rides.

Summary of my progress: Last week I completed 42 miles, and I'm now around 6:50/mile for my regular 4-mile tempos. My highly structured training plan starts on Jan. 16 (HM is on 04/28). My pre-plan goal was to reach 45 MPW and 6:45 tempo for at least 20 minutes. The former is definitely doable, but that 5 seconds per mile on tempos seems a bit harder...

The tempo fast pace was 6:49.3. On spot. I'm note sure I can keep pushing this time though very far. Though this may be just fine as a starting point for the HM training.

Tue: 47 F cloudy.

Monday run is in 50 F, sundown, in my Rides.

Plan for week of 12/12:
43 miles, including 13 miles of long run, 7 miles of tempo (fast portion at 6:50), 6+6+6+5 miles of easy runs at 8:06.

Very nice tempo run today in quite nasty (windy, cloudy, cold) weather. The fast 4 miles were at 6:50.2.

My training is falling apart again. It is hard to keep up, when it keeps raining outside. I had a mild knee ache, too, so I decided to skip the second half of last week, only completing ~20 miles.

Try to get back on track. Plan for week of 12/05:

Total of 42 miles, easy runs at or below 8:07, tempo is at 6:51, or whatever I am able to.

Long run is 13 miles. Tempo is total of 7 miles. Rest is 4 x 5.5 miles.

Thursday: 36 F, in Jazz.

Today I couldn't do any better than 6:55 on the tempo... That's 3 seconds/mile worse than I wanted, and a lot worse than 2 weeks ago.

Week of 11/28 plan:

41 miles total, including:

13 miles long run, 7 miles tempo (4 miles at 6:52), and 4 times 5.25 miles of easy (at 8:08).

Thu, 46 F, cloudy, Jazz.

Somehow I seem to be able to outdo myself every week on the tempo run. Today my fast 4 miles were at 6:46.7 / mile.

Week finished as planned, though the 13-mile long run on Sunday was harder than expected.

Plan for week of 11/14.

Total 39 miles, including 13 mile long run, 7 miles of tempo (4 fast), and 4 + 5 + 5 + 5 miles of easy run. The 4-miler will happen today. Easy miles at 8:10, tempo at 6:54. This should not only be doable, but in fact I achieved the whole set last week.

Today I ran my tempo and my fast 4 miles averaged at 6:51.3. Very nice pace indeed.

Mon: 65 F, partly cloudy, Ride.
Tue: 73 F, partly cloudy, Jazz.

Plan for week of 11/07.

38 miles total, including

13 miles long run
6 miles tempo (4 fast at 6:55)
5 + 5 + 5 + 4 miles easy at 8:11.

Thursday, 53 F and fucking rain! Ran a little over 5 miles in the Rides. Forgot to bring my tech T, so I ran in my regular T-shirt. Of course it had to rain today.

Wed, long, 55F, Jazz.

Tue: easy, 66 F, sunny, Ride.