The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Good
news is that my doctor has given me the all clear at my latest follow-up visit. The results from the pathology report showed that the cancer was confined to the prostate alone and had not spread beyond to adjacent tissue and or lymph nodes. What this means is that surgery has removed all of the cancer and no further radiation or chemo treatment is required. Yay!! I will need to monitor my PSA levels at regular intervals (6mo or so) just in case there was some microscopic escape and to make sure it doesn't come back (or at least we will watch for it).

The Bad
news is that my doctor still forbids running for 2 more weeks and my do not do list remains long and detailed including no lifting of over 10 lb, no bicycling, no horseback riding, or activities that put pressure on the sensitive area where the surgery occurred for at least 2 more months. The nurse we talked to on a separate appointment also made it very clear that not following directions and inviting a 'setback' could be very discouraging and not to be done. Message was received loud and clear!
The Ugly
Just kidding, there is no real ugly to speak of and this was the closest thing I could come up with for an ugly picture and that's only if you don't like bugs or bees. The closeup of the flower makes it look a little scary with all those strange looking protrusions with pollen for the bee to rub up against. The real ugly if you care to peek is this photo showing the after picture or my scar which is healing very nicely on the outside. The issue my doctor and nurse has is the healing on the inside which can take much longer with a risk of nasty consequences if I don't follow orders and take it really easy for the next few months. Yes, yes I heard that!
So, I'm feeling very good but find that I tire easily and need my rest, often including short afternoon naps. Simple things like a trip to the doctor in Saint John (a 1 hour drive) and then a few hours of shopping at the mall can just wear me out by the time I get home several hours later. Yesterday, it was straight to the couch for an hour or so but then felt nicely refreshed and was able to stay up late to watch the exciting game 6 Stanley Cup finals hockey.

So, the plan is to do the things I'm allowed to do like walking on the treadmill, easy activities with no lifting around the house and of course some scheming and dreaming about a training program for my fall marathon. The clock is already ticking down to only 18 weeks and I'd usually be started by now! Not this time. Looks like another abbreviated plan after a build-up to 'normal' running by early September but I won't be stressing about it and will be taking it one day at a time.

Take care an good training out there!

A new month

Closing in on 750 miles for the year so far with only 63 last month for good reason. The last few weeks have been just walking on the mill with totals of 11, 15 and 18 miles. The walking keeps me active but is getting boring on the mill when the weather is so nice outside.

As you might guess my recovery is coming along nicely with no problems to speak of and each step is a step forward to getting back to normal once again. The doctor has put very severe limitations on me for 4-6 weeks with no lifting of anything heavier than my dinner plate (5lb), no running, no driving, no biking etc. While this has been quite limiting, I'm still allowed to walk as much as I want and so the daily treadmill routine. I'm now up to about 3 mi/day at 4mph and get a nice healthy sweat on by the end of it. However, I still get tired and need my naps in the afternoon! On Monday we get to see the doctor for the 1st time post-release from the hospital and I will get to beg for permission to do more things. The request list is long including driving car, motorbike, biking, running, lifting, and all sorts of other regular activity. Let the fun and games begin!

Speaking of which, "The 3 Blind Moose" have been busy scheming for our fall 2009 running get together and have narrowed the choice down to the Vermont Green Mountain marathon on Oct 18. Over the past few years we have done Wineglass (below), Mount Desert Island and PEI and after much discussion we picked Green Mountain for it's scenic venue, small but fast field and it's history as a good marathon.
As always the main plan will be to have fun, tell bad jokes and to run as well as we can. It should be an easy goal to complete. Have a nice week and keep on moving forward!

Walk Before You Run

It's a simple concept, start out slow and then taper or easy followed by hard but without straining. With running on the brain lately it becomes walk before you can run and since the doctor has forbidden running for at least 4-6 weeks then walking will just have to do.

My 'recovery' is coming along nicely with the staples removed one week ago and now I just need some more time for the wound to fully heal. The nurse says it's being a bit stubborn (just like me) but it will be fine. The main other issue is with the bother of the catheter which needs to stay in for 3 weeks so that the urethra (which was cut) can heal. It doesn't hurt but is a real pain in the butt at times, mostly when trying to sleep and not being able to roll over etc.

Have I been bored with all the free time and not being able to run or exercise? No, at all because there doesn't seem to be enough time in the day to do the things I'd like to do. I've been reading, on the computer a lot, now doing the Twitter thing which is fun, watching TV with hockey and basketball playoffs, and just generally taking it easy and enjoying it. There are also the requisite afternoon naps (would you believe) that I really need because I do tire easily and tend to wear down after mid-day. Nothing like a little 1.5hr 'Power-nap' to fix me up for a long evening of sports playoffs!

As far as the walking thing I started on Monday with 1 mile on the treadmill in 20 minutes (3mph) and have worked up to 2 miles today (Friday) in 37:30 for a total of 7.5 miles thus far. It's a very gentle walking speed, feels great and goes by very quickly while watching the morning news. I'll just keep slowly increasing the time and distance for the next few weeks until I get the clearance to begin some easy running. Can't wait ;-)

Have a great weekend!

Not for the faint of heart

I'm not sure how to start this...
I'm about to reveal a very personal story of what has been happening to me over the last week or so. This is not a running story but rather a tale of my recent medical treatment and is aimed directly at my family and my two sons in particular. Part of the reason that I keep up my blog is because I know that my 3 children (who are all away from home) as well as friends and relatives read it and it helps them to keep up with my goings on. It's also fun to share my little running adventures with my many (10?) other readers most of whom I've never met and probably won't (but would like to).

The short story:
I have/had prostate cancer. It was diagnosed early and I underwent major surgery (radical prostatectomy) on May 8 that was intended to remove all of the cancer. I say 'had' cancer but you never know for sure and only time will tell. My wonderful surgeon Dr. Scott Bagnell was very positive about the outcome and that's all we can say right now but no further treatment is planned (radiation/chemo). I am now home resting comfortably in recovery with a minimum of 6 weeks with no lifting of more than 5 lb (2 kg) and no running. I'm walking around, feeling stronger every day (it felt like getting run over) and have some expected soreness and tiredness but otherwise am feeling great.

The longer story:
Prostate cancer is very common in my close family with my grandfather (age 72), father (age 71 ) and several uncles on my father's side dying as a result of it in their 60's and 70's+. I also have one cousin on my mothers side who went through the same thing as me at the same age (early 50ies). As a result, I have been proactive with my health by having annual physicals which include prostate exams and blood tests for my PSA levels since I was 45. The result from my blood test last fall showed that my PSA level had increased steeply over the previous year from 2.3 to 3.2 although it was still in the normal range of 0-4 for my age. Because of my family history a followup with the urologist was scheduled with a consult on Dec. 26 and a biopsy on Jan. 20th.

On Feb. 6, 2009 I received the diagnosis of prostate cancer with a Gleason Grade of 6/10 at stage T2 - indicating early diagnosis with apparent confinement to the prostate organ alone.

On Feb. 8, after having a few days to absorb the news Joanne and I again met with Dr. Bagnell to discuss treatment options and timing. Since the cancer was caught early at stage T2 the surgery option was considered the best but because this appeared to be a slow growing form of cancer there was no immediate urgency. My only concern (after realizing I wasn't getting a death sentence) was whether I could run Boston in just 10 weeks. While Jo was not very keen on this idea the doctor allowed that it was not an unreasonable thing to do given all the variables but still no guarantee of course. However, the surgery needed to be scheduled ASAP after Boston with a few weeks of rest from the race.

On April 2oth, I ran my 10th Boston in a time of 3:33 and had a blast!

Two weeks later on Friday, May 8th I had nerve sparing prostate surgery and things went extremely well and I wasn't even nervous! [joke for A]. There were no complications and I don't remember a thing for the 2.5 hours. Some surrounding lymph nodes were also removed for testing to ensure the cancer had not spread but these results won't be known for several weeks.

• This surgery is a one-time procedure.
• As the whole prostate is removed, it potentially removes all cancer cells.
• The operation has a long history of use, and many surgeons and medical centres specialize in the technique.
• Follow-up procedures are well established, and the results of the surgery are relatively easy to monitor through PSA testing.
• If cancer is left behind, other localized treatments, such as radiation, are available.
• Many specialists believe that the radical prostatectomy offers the best chance of long-term survival for a man with localized prostate cancer.

I was released from the hospital on Monday (3 days later) and am now home resting comfortably for awhile with lots of time on my hands.

The not for the faint of heart part:
I even took some pictures of my scar for posterity because I like to take pictures of just about everything but am reluctant to scare/shock you with the image directly here on my blog. Instead if you'd like to see the damage done to me you can see it by clicking here. Be warned if you have an aversion to such things but I thought it was a rather nice scar. The nurses seem to like the workmanship. It's healing very nicely and the staples come out tomorrow and I'm not looking forward to the home care nurse ripping off the clear protective bandage for a 3rd time. Ouch!!

I'm running out of steam on this 1st post but want to remind the guys out there and the gals with guys to remind them to get PSA tested once you reach the 40's and 50's depending on your family history. It's just a blood test and then you have a baseline to compare it to in coming years. Talk to your doctor and be proactive about your health. I was and I'm glad I was!

Time for a little nap now, still recovering and I get tired easily. They say this will take several months but it's only been 6 days so far. Thanks for listening and have a nice week!

Rest and recovery

Has it really only been 2 weeks? It seems like a year ago already but I think the legs still beg to differ. The recovery has gone nicely with a bunch of rest days and some easy running mixed in as shown in my workouts sidebar. Boston has now scrolled off the display and the 5 recovery runs are there if you dare to look (but you need to be really bored to go there)!
The most interesting run was my Sunday jaunt with Andrew which he so nicely describes in his post. It was a perfect cool spring morning for a run in the park on the deserted roads and trails of Moosehorn Refuge with barely a warden in sight. He complained about my moving too fast during the run but certainly didn't waste any time getting home and describing our little incident with the Forest Patrol. I'd completely wiped from my memory thinking it was not of consequence but apparently her pointed questions hit a nerve with Andrew.
This was the subject of her interest, my new Honda Accord, due to the lack of a proper Canadian licence plate and only a temporary permit. I had checked at both the Canada and USA customs when crossing the border and so was not too concerned about it. Maybe Andrew liked her gun! Afterwards we hit the Dunkin Donuts for some heartstopping fare including breakfast bagels and strawberry danish. Mmmm, Thomas would have loved it!

Plan for this week is more of the same. Easy running, more rest and more recovery, at least as much as my body will allow. For whatever reason, every time I lace up the shoes the pace just seems to ramp up. I can't just jog along really slowly because it feels better to pick up the turnover and just roll along. Ah well, I'll enjoy it while it lasts because I just love to run ;-)

Take care and have a nice week!

Boston Madness

OK, OK! I promise this is the last post about Boston for awhile but I just had to show you this composite of all the video I managed to do while running the race. Well actually, this is only a small part of what was actually recorded since I ran into a file size limit when trying to post to the RunCastTV site and had to cut out some bits. But you'll get the idea...

So here's the video that I promised. Warning it is almost 6 minutes long and the Rocky music may wear on your nerves. Use the 'mute' button as required.

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Meanwhile, back in the real world I managed to get my 1st recovery run in today with 4 miles covered at a very easy feeling pace of 8:20/mile. The heartrate was elevated to near 140 for such an easy run and my legs felt sore and achey with some cramping happening in the hams during the later part of the run. Still, my head and lungs felt fine and my mind is way ahead of where the body recovery is at right now. I'm feeling good mentally and want to get out and run fast but can't just yet. Soon I hope, so I'll just keep it at easy every other day running for a few weeks and go from there. There are no races planned for the near future either but more on that later.

Take care and have an nice week. The weather here is just like summer (almost)!

Boston magic

Our local paper did a little article on my Boston adventure. I think they did a nice write up and got most of the facts right. Front page too! No hiding now...

The marathon photos also now up and I seem to be holding a camera in my hands quite a bit. It helped to keep me distracted from the pain in my legs and feet! Recovery has gone quite well and I feel almost normal today, 3 days after the race. I've only done some easy walking, ice packs on the 1st day and a bit of ibuprofen for a couple of days. May go out for an easy short-short run on Friday, or not. The urge to run is there but I'm not sure if the body is quite ready yet.

See you later!

Paying the Price (again)

They say that 'old dogs can't learn new tricks' and perhaps in my case that just might be true. I accomplished my goals in yesterday's Boston marathon of having fun and enjoying the experience but paid the price in terms of going out too fast (again) and dying even before the hills (again) and crawling home to the finish at a survival shuffle (again). But I have to say I had a wonderful time doing it and as soon as the pain in my legs subsides I'll be planning how to repeat the experience again in another year (maybe).


My 5k splits over the past 6 years are remarkably consistent in their pattern and general slowing right from the get go. As Thomas just said, "Mike, you still don't know how to run Boston." He's right, I typically get to the 1/2 way point and fall off the cliff in the same manner each year. Note that the red-line in my greaph was for 2004 was the heatwave with temperatures in the 80'ies at the start.
You can read all about our journey to Hopkinton in Thomas's post but here we dropped him off at his corral about 45 minutes before the start with plenty of room to get to the front. The weather was on the cool side and we were shivering until in the corrals with lots of other warm bodies around.

I met up with my cousin Jerry and some other running friends from New Brunswick in my corral and look to be ready to rumble in this picture. When asked what my pacing plan was, I replied "going out slow at 8:00 pace and save it for the hills and the end". Ha! That didn't last long. After a 1st crowded mile in 7:53, the next few were 7:23, 7:30, 7:24, 7:39, 7:36 and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. It felt absolutely like jogging and with people streaming by me I kept looking at my Garmin in unbelief.
Just before the 10 mile mark I hooked up with this lady (I can hear Andrew raising his eyebrows already). With her green singlet and flaming red hair, I though she just had to be from Ireland which was why I started to talk to her but it turned out she was Canadian. We had a great conversation for a few miles and I found out she is running her marathon in honor of her mother who died suddenly this past Easter weekend. Her mother who was also a marathoner was a great inspiration to her in the way she lived and her faith in God that she passed on to her. I stayed with her until the Wellesley girls scream tunnel where I got distracted doing my video etc. The half went by shortly after in 1:40, predicting a 3:20 with even splits (ya, right).

Shortly thereafter, as per usual the wheels started to fall off and holding anything even close to an 8:00 pace became more than I could manage. How you can go from running easily at 7:30's to struggling to hold 8:30 is just beyond me. Mile 15, 16, 17 came in at 8:13, 7:46 and 8:32 to start the 1st of the Newton Hills at the fire station. My legs were now toast before even starting the 1st 'official' hill and the rest of the race became a simple struggle to maintain forward motion. It's hard to explain the feeling exactly of what the legs felt like at this point, a soreness that slowly increased to a throbbing pain, quads that became rock hard requiring massaging on the run, calves ready to cramp at any point, and a near overwhelming desire to stop and walk.

Miles 18, 19, 20, 21 in 8:41, 8:15, 8:35, 8:58 as I navigated the Newton hills and Heartbreak with only the final downhill miles left to complete. By this time my quads were so shot I was just putting one sorry foot in front of the other and hundreds, even thousands of people streamed past me. The last miles were even worse with splits from 8:30 to 9:17 in the final very painful mile. However, I still found time to take pictures and video clips of the crazy, crazy crowds and even the final glorious steps through the finish and relief to finally be able to stop.
I met up with my cousin Jerry at the finish. He ran a MUCH smarter race (his 1st Boston) letting me go out like crazy and then passing me at the 25k mark then finishing in a strong 3:27 as planned.
Thomas and I met up at the buses and then made our way to the Boston Commons at a nice slow walk. After a coffee and doughnut, we then both tried one of the locally famous Fried Dough from a streetside vendor. MMMMM, heartstopping fat, sugar, blueberries and more sugar!!! Thomas had one too ;-)
And then on 'home' to our wonderful hosts for a fine meal, great drinks, good company and certainly more good times. The memories of this fine weekend will only be good ones. I feel so lucky and blessed.

Have a wonderful week! Signing out from Boston!

Good Times

ephemeral \ih-FEM-er-ul\, adjective:
1. Beginning and ending in a day; existing only, or no longer than, a day; as, an ephemeral flower.
2. Short-lived; existing or continuing for a short time only.

Success is very ephemeral. You depend entirely on the desire of others, which makes it difficult to relax.
-- Eva Green

Rather, we must separate what is ephemeral... from the things that are of lasting importance.
-- Patrick Smith, Japan: A Reinterpretation

Yesterday was a long, busy but very good day. It was fun to drag Thomas around the city, the expo, the course, to finally meet Michael and then to have a wonderful meal with Mark and his family. It's hard to pinpoint any one moment in particular but we all enjoyed each others company and the non-stop running babble kept us totally entralled in our plans and ambitions for the big day on Monday.

We're all ready and raring to go too. Thomas just went off for an early Sunday morning jog and he's more than ready and now suitably impressed or at least forewarned of what is in store for him. Michael is also very keen and looks super fit and ready to tear up the course from his dangerous position in the 1st corral. Me, I'm as ready as you could expect given the ups and downs of the last several months but am ready to give it a strong effort with the emphasis of savoring the experience of Boston once again.

Very little running this past week, just following the old Pfitz plan (see the sidebar). Did 12 last Sunday, then 7 miles with 2 at MP on Tues with the pace feeling really easy. Finally an easy 6 miles on Thurs after work and once again was feeling good with 8 minute pace coming easily. I'll do a little 2-3 mile jog/run this morning just to refresh the legs as we have no plans today except to laze about and enjoy the hospitality of my good friends here in Boston.

The forecast is looking good for running, cloudy, cool but maybe some wind. Have a great day and good luck to everyone running tomorrow!

Fresh Legs

It really is wondrous what a couple of good nights sleep and a day off will do for both your mental spirit and the bounce in your legs. The past couple of weeks have been tough due to my work schedule, deadlines for reports, meetings and then presentations and review of said reports before the usual critical audience. Enough about that, it's over and done with, no excuses and it went better than expected.

I'm now back to my usual 8 hours and in fact woke up this morning after 9 hours of solid sleep but with some soreness in my hams, maybe from too much lying around? This worried me at first because my rearranged schedule called for Pfitzinger's famous final speed workout of 8 miles with 3x1mile at 5k pace with 2:oo jog rests. Given that I haven't raced since last fall (Moncton 10k in 43:34 which predicts a 20:54 5k) or done a 5k since Sept 2007 (Fredericton Fall Classic in 20:31), it's hard to know if I'm meeting the standard or not. OK, just run hard but not to crazy so as not to hurt yourself and see what happens.

It went very well! I did get a dissaproving look from 'Coach' for running in shorts with overcast/cloudy, windy conditions at +3C and a the occasional snow flake but a pair of light gloves more than made up for it. After a nice easy warmup and some stretching I was off to the races, starting at mile 0 of our St. Andrews Father's Day race route which was calibrated with mile marks last spring. First mile in 6:42 and low average heartrate of below 90% but the fresh legs, tailwind, and slight downhill helped push me along. After a 2:00 jog it was off in the opposite direction and this time the headwind, slightly tired legs and uphill made me work much harder for less in results (7:02 split). The 2:00 jog break was not long enough this time and the beginning of the next mile was lactic hell until I was able to get into a nice rythm as the wind and slight hill gave me a break. Able to manage a 6:49 this time and all that was left was an easy jog back home. Great run, nice to pick up the pace but feeling it a bit in the aftermath (MUST REMEMBER TO STRETCH AND DO MY EXERCISES!)


Meanwhile the countdown is on in earnest and we now have our 1st forecast from 10 days out!

You can't predict the day but at least the trend of temperatures around that weekend looks good, not too hot and no nor-easter's predicted which is just what we want. A low spectator index is good because not perfect spectator numbers often translate to nice running conditions. Let's hope! Have a good weekend or what's left of it!

Hiatus

Missing in action, taking a break, as in a hiatus

Still running but have been as busy as hell for the last 2 weeks. Just back from a 4 day work trip with 24/7 work, meeting, work and repeat but at least it's a taper week and easier to fit the runs in. Staying right on track and have been sticking to the schedule as per Pfitz and so am feeling really good about my fitness for Boston. It's not the hardest training I've done but I've done what was possible for me given the many life variables and will be ready to rock and roll on race day!
Have a great Easter weekend all!

What are friends for?

What are friends for? This video may give you some ideas..


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To keep you company when the road gets tough.
To tell bad jokes when your brain is fried.
To tell funny stories when you need distracting.
To be there when your legs hurt and are ready to fall off with yet another story

20 miles today around Boyden Lake and I caught the poor guy off guard, he didn't even know what hit him until it was too late to pull out. In fact, I think he enjoyed it (at first) but he did get rather quiet in the final miles.

The video tells some of the story but I didn't spring my plan of the 2x5 mi at marathon pace until well into our 5 mile warm up. I'm sure that he was forewarned last week but he said that he didn't remember. Anyway, very easy run to start (see Latest Workouts sidebar for the splits and details) with stops to record song bird noises for Ewen. I couldn't make out what kind of bird they were except for the racket they made as they swarmed together in the trees. Definitely another sound of spring. Shortly after we began our 1st 5 mile set at 'my' marathon pace of sub-8 minute pace over rather hilly terrain. It went reasonably well but we may have been pushing the pace slightly while 'running scared' and watching the Garmin splits and average paces. The 1st set came in at 7:42 avg pace and 1:31 under pace for the 5 miles. Sweet!

The next 5 easy miles felt rather 'ragged' and lacked any easy rhythm or smoothness. We made one detour to chase some Canada geese in a field and to record their noises for Ewen again. Another couple of miles to the Otis sign, stretched, sucked back a Powergel and off again for another hard 5. This time it felt alot more like work but the pace was nearly the same as the 1st set. A couple of sharp hills made it even harder but again the avg pace was 7:42 and 1:30 under overall target with avg heartrate up by about 5 beats with the effort. A great run but darn happy to have it over, right Andrew? Hey, what are friends for?

Thanks Andrew!

It's springy out there!

At last! Being able to run with only one layer and not even a jacket is such a long forgotten luxury. Surely the removal of all that extra weight and motion restricting long pants will result in a bonus 15-20 sec per mile. And then there's the incentive of the crowds which I have to admit can be both good and bad. When you're having a good day (or early in the race) they just push you along even faster that you might intend but then when things go bad and you'd like to just crawl away or stop, then there is no place to hide. Amby Burfoot, winner of the 1968 Boston marathon puts it "Every runner loves the crowds at Boston, and the crowds seem to love every runner".

You might be able to tell that I'm starting to get a little bit excited. I've done this many (nine) times before but every year the excitement returns and the long hard winter of training seems to be suitable penance for such a wonderful event. It certainly keeps you honest when you're into the middle of an interval workout like I was today (see my training log sidebar). Doing 4x1200m repeats at 5k pace/effort during a 10 miler on tired legs wasn't exactly my idea of fun but you do it. The workout went well and it's one more hard effort out of the way with just a handful left as I begin to wind down .

Aaaa Boston!! The website sent me an email today reminding me it was 26.2 days to go (as if I didn't know)! Have a nice week.

That was nice

A near perfect morning for a 17 mile long run with Andrew. Calm, not too cold (-5C and rising), beautiful sunrise, and an easy gentle pace was the order of the day. Not that much to report, no dog incidents, only one bad joke about why a flamingo stands on one leg, and my legs were fine with just the usual aches and pains that seem to come and go.

Saturday's tempo paced effort of 9 miles with 5 at 'race pace' was my attempt to get a 8-15k race as listed in the Pfitz plan that I'm trying to follow. He sticks in races late in the program to give you a chance to test your fitness. However, the complete lack of races in the frozen north this time of year makes this impossible and it's also very hard to put out race pace speed/effort alone in a workout. But try I did with a tempo pace workout that was dismal with paces from 7:07 to 7:50 (hills) but at least my heartrate was up over 150 or about 88% of max for the duration.

Other than that it's been easy runs and rest days which you can see in my latest workouts now logged at the RunningAhead website. I love the charts and graphs and the ability to easily upload your Garmin gps data with all the splits and other details.

Only 4 more weeks to go! Wow, just a few more training efforts and then its taper madness time. Have a great week!

Back of the bus

It's starting to feel like spring! (it was +4C here today)

And...they put up the Boston bib numbers today but my PEI time of 3:21 only got me into the 9th corral with bib #9024. It seems like there must be an excess of fast people running Boston this year because I'm usually in the 7th or 8th corral with a similar time. Thomas on the other hand (one of those fast guys) is way up front in the 3rd corral and will have to deal with all the crazy runners zooming by him in the early going. Being at the back gives you even more people than ever to pass! It will also be fun having my cousin Jerry with me in the same corral running his 1st Boston.

A couple of decent runs are now in the bank this week after the nice 20 on Sunday. Again the gory details are available by clicking on the sidebar of my recent runs but here I get to muse about how it actually went. Yesterday's interval run was a bit rushed as I finally figured out how to program the new Garmin. It's cool having the watch push you along, warmup.... run hard for 0.x miles... rest.... repeat. I was doing 5x600 m repeats and felt off at first as I ran the 1st one too fast and got wobbly by the end. The next one was too slow on partially recovered legs and I didn't really get into a good rythym until the final one. I then ran up a steep hill and joined a fun run group that was meeting by the hotel. I did a very very easy 3 mile loop with some beginner runners before peeling off home to finish.

Here is a cool/weird graph of the intervals to keep your head spinning
Today's 11 miler went better than expected which seems to happen when I allow my pace to just 'be' what it is and not look at the watch. Despite some residual stiffness from Tuesday's speed session the legs felt quite good and the run just rolled along smoothly. I think my hamstring issues are almost behind me now but just have to remember to continue the stretching and stability work. And it actually started to 'RAIN' towards the end of the run! Woo hoo! Another sign of impending spring which is due at 8:44am local time this Friday!

Happy Spring (almost)!

Pretty numbers!

If you want to get lost in numbers and graphs, just click on any of "My latest workouts" in my new sidebar. I noticed that Ryan was logging his workouts at at RunningAhead.com and so gave it a try today and found it very easy to use. It will take all your Garmin GPS data automatically and the log format is great with lots of fancy reports and graphs. But now because it's all there in living color and gory detail, I suppose I should have more time to go on about the actual running itself.

Today's long run of 20 miles with Andrew went very well. In fact he didn't even have to tell a bad joke until the 17 mile mark because things went so smoothly (something about a guy who was having trouble with his vision and a piano). I was up very early this morning so we could meet at the midway point at 6am to drop my van. We then drove to the start and after a 3 mile out/back were on our way. It was a perfect calm morning with the sun just peeking up as we started and the mild temperatures just around 0C/32F with no wind were a welcome relief after the rough winter we've had. Not too much to report, no dog attacks, the legs felt decent for the 1st 15 miles and I made a deliberate attempt to hold back the pace and be gentle on the hams. Of course Andrew had fresh legs, not having run since Thursday, and was actually hopping (bouncing up and down) as he waited for me to stretch before the start. One of these days.... still, a nice run, good company, great day and sore legs now but to be expected.

Have a great week!

Almost there (5 weeks to go)

Not that I need too much inspiration to get me excited about my upcoming 10th running of Boston but browsing over last years pictures certainly helps. Another week is now in the books and my up and down running continues with the winter blues still a factor with the roller coaster temperatures we've had lately. In the last 24 hours it's gone from -15 to +4C (5 to 40F) and that's without mentioning the 'stupid' wind.

So... a total of 47 miles for the week in 5 runs with 6hr 30m on my feet.

Sunday - good 15 mile run with 12 at current (hoped for/planned) MP
Monday - rest
Tues - 8.5 instead of the planned 12 when I ran out of time before heading out on a work trip
Weds- slow 6 on icy concrete sidewalks in a strange city
Thurs - rest
Fri - 12 mile with planned 7 at 1/2 mar pace turning into barely 5 at MP. The cold and wind was a factor but basically my hammy was sore and I just didn't have it on this day
Sat - nice easy 5 today running basically the same overall pace as Friday but with no perceived effort. It was one of those great float runs that seem to be few and far between. The legs were a little tight and sore but the hams were much better.

And "that's all she wrote" as I now have taken the rest of the day off in preparation for a 20 miler (hopefully with Andrew) in the morning. Wish me luck and good karma from the bad jokes!

Just the Numbers

It's been a rough week.

Monday - 0
Tues - 5mi recovery on the treadmill due to poor road conditions
Weds - 10mi w/5x1000m attempted but only managed 4:13 to 4:40/k on dead legs
Thurs- 6.5 mi out of 12 planned (too tired)
Friday - 0 rest (needed a break more than making up missed miles)
Sat - 6mi easy, slow but legs feeling better
Sun - 15 miles with 12 at MP for avg pace of 7:49 and HR of 143 which turned out to be more comfortable than expected and left me fairly pleased with the result.
Monday - 0 with nicely pleasant tired feeling all day

And on we go with a work trip keeping me on the run for the rest of the week. I'll be bringing the running gear and hoping for the best. Have a good week!

Running with Tigger

Prelude...

Mike: long week, plenty of miles, pre-run quad smash by car door, dead legs

Andrew: long week, low miles, fresh legs (aka Tigger)

What more do you need to know? It was the longest 18 miles I've done in a long time and if not for the really bad jokes that Andrew saved up for each hill along the way I don't think I would have made it around. Let me see, there were;

1. 3 strings were trying to get into a bar...
2. a lawyer, a Boy Scout and a priest were on a plane...
3. 2 salesmen were visiting an older lady...
4. a man walked into a bar and ordered a beer...
5. a Frenchman and a German...
6. a newspaper had a contest for the best pun...
7. and on and on....

And this was before my brain froze over from the -13C /10F temperatures plus windchill!
18 miles in 2:38 (8:49 pace, avg 138 HR but climbing at end)
Finish to chocolate brownies and hot coffee! Mmmm! A tough day but we got'er done. Thanks for sticking with me Andrew!

February Blues

I'm not usually one to complain (much) or get bothered by the winter, being a northern New Brunswicker by birth, but this 'winter' is starting to get to me. We easily got 12+ inches (or 30+cm) of snow last weekend resulting in closures of most businesses in the area. It took Jo and I about 2-3 hours to dig out.
This is our backyard looking in through a 4 foot fence. See how the drift is higher than the fence on the right!
The winter has been a pain but at least it hasn't affected my running. Here are my February blues runs nicely plotted by Buckeye Outdoors where I've been logging my runs and participating in challenges such as running 2009 miles in 2009. The Feb. total is 176 miles in 20 runs (with 8 rest days) in 25hr and 15 min.

I'm still on track with the Pfitzinger plan with the past week ending with a total of 51 miles in 5 runs. Despite falling back to an easier (Plan B) plan of 55 miles per week or less, I've found this plan more challenging than expected. It has more rest days than I'm used to but the other days more than make up for it, with fairly strong contrast between days.

The Pushup Challenge has fallen off the radar screen lately with nada a faceplant in about 2 weeks now. I'm not sure if I got bored with the plateau and lack of progress or it was just other pressures on my time and energy lately.

Weekly run down:
Sunday - 17 miles around Boyden with Andrew at a relaxed 8:24 pace

Monday - rest and shovel out

Tues - recovery 5 miles with heavy legs (8:38 pace)

Weds - 12 miles medium long run which went like a dream. Despite feeling a bit off and not wanting to get out the door, once I got started things just fell in place and the nice gentle pace felt effortless. Average 8:28 pace and heartrate 137.

Thurs - rest day

Friday - 11 miles with 6 at 1/2 marthon pace (which I read it as a hard/tempo effort). One of those tough workouts that you look forward to with a sense of fear and dread. You get very little sympathy from non-runners on this one. Their opinion is simply 'why would you want to put yourself through such misery anyway?' Put myself though it I did, with a 4 mile warmup and then 6 miles at my new harder pace which translated only to 730-750 mile pace. For some reason the legs just wouldn't co-operate and my heartrate stayed stubbornly low at 140-150 (80-90% of max). Final result was a sucked out runner laid out on the couch for the evening. Such is the price of maintenance/improvement with the goal now only 7 weeks away.

Sat - 5 miles very very easy at 8:48 pace. The legs were grumpy at 1st but gradually accepted the slow gentle pace. More strange weather with a drop in temperature and approaching series of storms predicted for most of next week.

That's it for the week. Still busy but at least still on track and hoping to cling on for a few more weeks to get the requisite fitness to put on a decent show for Boston. Have a nice week all!