Labor Day weekend

It's Labor Day weekend here in the US, but this morning was just Sunday morning. This of course means that Utpal and I went for our Sunday morning run. I was feeling pretty good, but he had a hard time in the marathon last week, so it was his run to set the pace. We did what I call the 10k loop and about 4 miles in he called a walking break, which we did for about 1 minute. So Sunday's are back on schedule.

Wow really good!

Early this morning a band of thunder storms came through the area and dropped quite a lot of rain,as a result it was very humid again for the 2 mile race, but at least it was not raining. Since it is a week after the marathon my usual expectation is to run around 16 minutes, but last week I was a little better than that 1 day after the marathon. So this I thought maybe I can match it. I thought I was running quite fast, but was not sure, unfortunately there was no split time at the 1 mile this week. I was really surprised when I started my sprint into the finish and could see the clock reading 14:30. I crossed the line in 14:34, my fourth best time this year!

A week since

It is now a week since I ran the marathon and the 2 mile race the next day. I have run just easy runs all week, there is still some stiffness in my upper legs, but I feel OK. I am quite happy with my recovery and now trying to decide what my next races will be.

The marathon is not easy.

People often say to me, " Oh you are an ultra runner the marathon must be easy for you", but that is so far from the truth. Unless you are world class, you do not run an "ultra" with the same kind of intensity that you do a marathon. Of course you know you can run the distance, but you are trying to run it much faster. So running a marathon is never easy, but I try to have as much fun with it as I do all my races no matter what the distance.

A bit better today

I slept very well last night. This morning there was still some soreness, but Utpal and I had arranged for our usual Sunday run and there he was waiting for me ask I came out the door. Of course we were both feeling the marathon, so it was a gentle run. We ran what I call my 5k loop and then stopped to get a drink. Once again the morning was pleasant.

Surprised myself

Yes my upper legs felt a little stiff this morning and I jogged over to the 2 mile race not sure if I would run. I did run and expected to run really slow, but as the race progressed I started to feel OK.I went through the first mile in 7:57 so I thought I could finish with a low 16 minute time that I would be happy with. As I approached the finishing line I saw that the clock said 15 something and was surprised to finish in 15:54, with my second mile also being 7:57.

The temperature was in the low 60's F, humidity around 80%.

Very Happy

So today was the Marathon. It was in the beautiful Rockland Lake State Park. The weather at the start was quite cool. The first loop around the lake is 2.7 miles and each 1 of 8 more loops is I think 2.95 miles. I felt quite good until 18 miles and then I started to mix in some walking. At that point I was well ahead of my past from last year. With about 4 miles to go I started to struggle a little and my pace slowed. I had been on course to reach my goal of 4 hours and 30 minutes, but I was very happy to finish in a time of 4:45, which is 6 minutes faster than last year. When I got home I weighed myself and I was 4.5 pounds lighter than before the race. I feel really good and if I don't feel too sore tomorrow will try and run the 2 mile race.

Cool mornings

The last 2 mornings have been nice and cool with temperatures around 60 degrees F and it promises to be the same tomorrow. The Marathon is upstate and inland a little, so it could be even cooler at the start, which is at 7 am. Ran comfortably this afternoon, so I'm ready to go

Nice race

So here we are 5 days before the marathon and conditions for the 2 mile race are excellent. I didn't want to run too hard because I only have a few days to recover, but when you get into the middle of a race it's hard not to run fast. Anyway it felt like I was running well and I was quite happy with the time of 14:32, which was still fast for me but slower than previous weeks.I am feeling good about the marathon on Friday.

No race today

Due to some scheduling problems there was no 2 mile race today, it will now happen tomorrow. So Utpal and I decided to do our Sunday run today. We ran the first 5k together at a nice easy pace, but when I left him to come back I couldn't seem to stop myself from running at a strong pace. A few of my friends have just come into town.

1 week away

The Self-Transcendence Marathon is just 1 week away and I am feeling quite confident. Almost as if on cue my right Achilles said "Hello" to me this afternoon at the start of my run, but it seemed to loosen up and I don't anticipate a problem with it next week. I will take the week as it comes and should go into the race relaxed.

Started Tapering

This morning it was around 65 F when I went out for my run. The humidity was a little high, but it felt really nice to run. I am 12 days away from the marathon and although I am still running twice on Saturdays and Sundays, I am running less. I am starting what we call a taper. I ran only about 5 miles yesterday and 9 miles today in 2 runs each day.
I am trying to catch something of the Olympics, which seems quite interesting so far. Happy that GB got a Gold in cycling this morning.

Not so fast

My 2 mile race this week was not as fast as last week, but still probably my second fastest time in a couple of years. My breathing didn't feel so great, but everything else was going well. My time was 14:28 and I am very happy with that. We were very lucky that the temperature was in the mid 6o's F and the humidity was also in the mid 60's. So good conditions and a good result.

My friend Abichal finishes 3100 miles

Abichal Watkins from Wales, who I consider a good friend finished the Self-Transcendence 3100 mile race race today in a New Welsh and UK record of 54 Days 11 hours 36 minutes. I was very happy to hand him the Welsh flag during his last lap.

Nearing the end

My friend Abichal is on his lat full day of the 3100 mile race. He has been out there for 54 days and should finish about half way through the 55 th day. He trained hard all winter for this race and will improve his best time by almost a full day. Pretty amazing!

Chiropractor

I have mentioned the problem with my Achilles before and that I thought the real problem was my calf. Well it happens that a friend of mine from Chicago is in town for a couple of days and he is a non practicing Chiropractor. He uses the Applied Kinesiology technique. He diagnosed it as a stretch response problem with the fascia of the calf and gave me a treatment. This is the same guy who fixed my foot problem last year.

A full day

The weather was really nice this morning, not so humid and a cool breeze. I ran 8 miles in the morning. When I went out again in the afternoon, it was a little hotter and even less humid. I did 4 more miles. I had enough time to get home and shower, then get back to the 3100 mile race in time to see Pranjal from Slovakia finish. The Slovakian Ambassador and his family came out. It was a nice ceremony

A Tradition

It has become a tradition for the 3100 mile runners to run in the 2 mile race, before and after they finish. So today Aprihanal ran the race after 4 days of rest. He ran an excellent time of 12:42, finishing 3rd amongst the men and 4th overall.
I was also very happy with my race. From early in the race I was running with 2 sisters who usually beat me quite easily. When they passed me as they usually do, I kind of looked inside myself to see if I had the capacity to stay with them and I did. For the next mile we see sawed back and forth, with them eventually opening up a 7 yard gap on me. They had however pulled me along to my best time in at least 2 years. A time of 14:08. Very very happy!

100 Days

Yesterday was the 100 th day that I have run at least 2 miles each day. I had gone 60 days at the beginning of the year, so this is my longest streak for quite some time.
With my increased training and the summer heat, the extra pounds I gained after stopping my raw food diet have almost all melted away. It is just 3 weeks now to the marathon. I was thinking of running a 12 hour race tomorrow, but decided against it.