This Week In Running 12/25/16

Merry Christmas!

Total Mileage: 41

Tuesday: 4
Wednesday: 8 - including D5K (23:28)
Thursday: 4
Saturday: 8
Sunday: 17
1.  11.11
2.  10:44
3.  10:20
4.    9:47
5.    9:52
6.    9:44
7.    9:47
8.    9:57
9.    9:49
10.  9:53
11.  9:54
12.  9:44
13.  9:39
14.  9:59
15.  9:47
16.  9:53
17.  9:53

This Week in Running 12/18/16

Total Mileage: 37

Tuesday - 4
Wednesday - 7 including the D5K (24:37)
Thursday - 4
Saturday - 7
Sunday - 15 (running my 5 mile loop around the mall in the rain)
1.   11:24
2.   10:15
3.    9:46
4.    9:57
5.    9:44
6.    9:49
7.    9:38
8.    9:35
9.    9:47
10.  9:30
11.  9:45
12.  9:36
13.  9:26
14.  9:42
15.  9:30

This Week in Running

Tuesday - 4
Wednesday - 6 including the D5K (24:09)
Friday - 4
Saturday - 6
Sunday - 13 (running my 5 mile loop around the mall)
1.   11:37
2.   10:58
3.   10:22
4.   10:05
5.   10:08
6.   10:06
7.   10:07
8.   10:03
9.     9:53
10. 10:02
11. 10:06
12.   9:59
13. 10:08

Weight Diary

If I'm going to continue this long distance running, I've got to get my weight back to where it needs to be. I'm going to keep a weight diary here with my Wednesday weigh ins. Today: 194.5

Devil's Chase 6.66 Miler

The Saturday prior to Halloween (Oct. 29) I ran the Devil's Chase 6.66 mile race in Salem. This is a fun race where nearly all the runners (but not me!) dressed in costume. Here is a guy dressed up as Beetlejuice:

And the line for the port-a-potties including a runner dressed as the Pope:

Since I'm running the Bucks County Marathon next weekend, I didn't run the race all-out. Instead I cruised fairly comfortably at an 8:18 pace and finished in 55:17. Next stop: Bucks County.

Beverly 10 Mile Road Race

This past Sunday I ran the Beverly 10 Mile Road Race for the second year in a row. Last year I set my 10 mile PR with a 1:16:52 in pouring rain. This year there was no rain and it was actually a little warm, and I ended up running a 1:18:05, a minute and 13 seconds behind my PR. That was actually pretty good as I'm in the mid 190's for weight, about 15 lbs heavier than I ran it last year.

My weight is in a strange state right now. I don't feel or look fat - I'm not the only one who says so - and judging by where I am on my belt notches, I should be in the low to mid 180's. But I'm a good 12 lbs heavier than that. And I'm running a lot faster than I should be given my weight - I really should be feeling that extra 15 but I don't seem to be. If the weather was a little cooler on Sunday I might have come close to the PR (the consensus among the runners was that most everyone was slower this year than last). In any case, I'm not going to sweat it. After battling injuries from November to March, I'm just happy to be healthy enough to run.

Ethan ran the race with me, but unfortunately pulled a groin muscle around mile 4. He finished the race but it slowed him down quite a bit. He iced it when we got home and it doesn't seem too bad.

For me, this week is my last peak mileage (50 miles) week before the marathon on July 10. After this week a two week taper.

"Fast Half" Marathon, Hamilton MA

Ethan and I ran the Fast Half Marathon in Hamilton this morning. This is a new event in the YukanRun series. The course is advertised as flat and fast, although it is not quite flat. There are a few not insignificant hills but it's not a bad course. I run part of it as part of my regular Wenham training loop.

I wasn't expecting great things today. I've been building up my training in preparation for the Mad Marathon in Vermont in July, but I still weigh in the neighborhood of 200 lbs, more than 20 lbs heavier than I ran the Goofy in January. I better not be this size when I run the marathon in July!

My plan was to take the race out comfortably and see what happened. I ran in the neighborhood of 8:30 miles in the first 5k and sped up a bit as the race went along, ending with a 1:47:57 at an 8:14 pace. I ran hard but didn't put it all out there, as avoiding injury is a lot more important to me at this point than shaving a few seconds off of a half marathon time.

This was Ethan's first half marathon. We ran together for about the first 4 miles, then I pulled ahead a bit after that. He finished in 1:49:40, which will give him a good corral at the Disney Marathon next January. He also came away with some big blisters on his feet, a typical rite of initiation for first time half marathon and full marathon runners.

Here are Ethan and I prior to the start:

And Ethan just after the start. I'm just in front of him and you can barely see the top of my head.

Here we are rolling in to the finish:

 

 

Tapleyville 7 Mile Race

This is the second year for this race, and the second time I've run it. The start in downtown Danvers is just a half mile away from our home, so how could I not run it?

Last year I ran it in 56:01 and I improved this year to 53:24, which works out to a 7:38 mile pace. Ethan ran it as well, finishing in 53:09. He had trouble finding the start and didn't actually start until more than a minute after the gun had gone off. (This doesn't matter for your time as your race bib contains a chip that records when you cross the start and finish lines).

Next up is a half marathon in Hamilton, MA on May 15.

I'm also running the weekly 5k - the D5K - here in Danvers on Wednesday evenings. I've been lowering my times each week and I'm down to 22:10 for the 5k. Hoping to break 22 minutes in the next few weeks. These results are posted coolrunning.