Ferdinand

I still exist.

I just haven't been running too much. Work has forced me into a long lay off w/ about 8 weeks in inhospitable for running conditions and weather. Then more travel that was not conducive to running. I've tried over the past two or three weeks even did a race this weekend. Considering how much I've been running, I really can't complain too much.

I do have 'A Plan.'

I have 3 more races this summer. I have no expectation of doing any better on them than I did last year when I ran the same ones.

Yesterday, I did what was supposed to be a 4ish mile run. I went with one of my normal running partners. Unfortunately, neither of us had been on this route for a while. So our 4ish mile run became about 10k (9.8 if you're counting).

The profile is below. It was good and hilly. And my legs are tired.

And here's the profile for the race from Saturday. You may remember from last year, this race was longer...

(not as cool as last year, eh?)

I (would have) Love(d) Paris in the Spring Time

Well, it was probably inevitable. Work has gotten in the way of the rest of my life. As I almost predicted in this post Paris is off.

I'll be away for six weeks to a locale that does not support the runs I'll need (think: climate and safety...not necessarily in that order). Since Paris would have been my first marathon, I'm not willing to go into it without doing the requisite training.

It's all a bit disappointing really. I'm going to do some shorter runs/ races in this area after I get back, and try again for the late summer/ early fall time period. Hopefully, things will be better then. As the saying goes: Hope is not a course of action.

Refreshin news

This story just restored some of my faith in the educational process. Odds of something similar happening in the U.S.?

My favorite quote:

"It's all down to the approach. You can bore people of any age with the wrong approach and you can enthuse people of any age with the correct one."

Long Run after lay-off

Twelve miles yesterday. I'm not sure I've gone about this in a smart manner. I need to be a bit more intelligent and thoughtful about how I'm running.

As expected, I got one of my three programmed runs in last week. I was away the first portion, and just not in a good spot to run. Where the lack of smarts comes in is the week before. The previous week was a recovery week: three short easy runs. Last week was a mileage building week: long run (12 miles-which I accomplished), a tempo run (6 miles) and a short easy run (2 miles). If I'd been a thinking man, I would have run last weeks program two weeks ago, and used the travel week as the recovery week, thereby not missing the speed work. I'll need to keep this in mind.

As for yesterday's run, it went as well as could be expected. I didn't quite hit the goal pace (12 miles at 10:04-I did 12.1 at 10:34. I think, looking at the graph it was the end that really did me in. I felt slow during the last 2 miles or so. Just like I had to keep pushing the pace to get anywhere. (The fact that it was almost all uphill probably didn't help matters much.)

As you might discern from above, I'm not too happy with the run from yesterday. My legs are still quite sore. I'm hoping it's due to the one week layoff.

It was busy out there yesterday. In and around a park area there was significant traffic on the foot paths. Everyone from kids in strollers up to people so old I was surprised they could still get around and walk. The down side was, I had to wait to pass people sometimes. It was also very muddy (but luckily not icy). This is probably related to the fact that I ran in mid-afternoon, instead of early morning.

On the Paris front: I am now in possession of my medical certificate. That means the only thing between me and Paris is training.

Easy Run - Rougher Near Term

I did a nice easy 6 miles today. The weather was warmer than it has been for a while. But, to be honest, I could have cross country skied out there today. It wasn't too icy though, so I again managed to stay upright.

This was an easy week. The miles start to pick up again next week. And on that note:

Tomorrow starts the rough part of my Paris Marathon preps. I'll be gone for a few days this week, and it only gets worse from here until March. I'll have to make a large effort to get the miles in.

On another note, you'll soon be reading in these pages how I've gotten hopelessly lost while out running. I've taken to just running on the trails that suit me at the moment. Today I ended up fording a mostly fozen stream, before climbing a snow crusted, pathless hill to find another trail to run on. Much fun.

On the subject of ice

As proof that ice is not necessary for a good slip and fall, you only really need to watch the first 20 seconds or so.



(H/T to Minken)

Recovery Run Today.

It was another cold day here in Germany. But I hornswaggled a co-worker into a 5 miler at lunch. It was a good run, just not exactly perfect.

-Whenever I run with someone, I pick the pace up. Even though we both tried to control the pace and keep it slow we failed. We ended up at about 9:50 /mile which was 20 seconds per mile faster than desired. The really sad part is that we knew we were going faster than we wanted. We checked several times. And while it's great having an instantaneous pace on your watch, and calculating rough average pace in your head, it's another thing altogether to control that pace. Still, I was armed with the information, so the problem is in my head, not with any bit of kit.

-It's been cold here for a while. I can't remember the last time the temperature was above freezing for any length of time. So today, when it finally started to snow (it's been in the forecast for weeks, but never actually occurred) the light dusting nicely covered up the icy patches. There were a couple of instances of slippy-slidey, but neither of us bought it.

-I got some good mental satisfaction from the run today. Not necessarily because of quality, but mostly because the two of us went outside for a run, while so many others decided to stay in because of the weather. That probably says something about me.

-It's definitely January. The gym locker room was packed. (Another good reason to run outside.)

-The next two months will be telling regarding my dedication to the Paris Marathon. I backed out of a personal mental conception of running the Dublin Marathon last fall because I didn't think my work schedule was going to permit the necessary training. I felt pretty weak for doing so after the fact. Hence, I made an open, public and financial commitment to run Paris this spring. Now, of course the work schedule is miserable-far worse than last fall. I have at least three and possibly four trips between now and the end of February. I'm going to need to remain flexible and get the long runs and quality tempo sessions I need or I'm going to be in trouble come April. Because I'm going to Paris.

-Next time I say I slipped and fell, if I can't caveat it with something along the lines of 'even though I put screws in my shoes' I'm going to feel stupid.

Morning Run.

Really need to put those screws in my shoes...

Ran past some reservoirs this morning. One of which was bone dry. But the two next to it were pretty full. I'm guessing it's some sort of flood control measure? Or maybe maintenance on the pumping system? Goodness knows we've had enough rain/ snow to put water in them.

Scared the bejeebers out of a doe. Poor thing, kept running down the path I was on to get away from me.

It was cold: 20F when I left. Not much better now, but morning is the only time to get a long run in w/o having it take over your entire day. I must not be the only one who thinks so, despite the weather, I saw another 9 runners out this morning. That plus the deer, plus two Polizei out on foot patrol with MP5s. Not that many dog walkers out this morning though, only 4. There are usually many more of them out and about.

Odd things weather can do. I left the house with about 24 oz of water. I barely touched it. Maybe I was a little better hydrated to begin the run, but I suspect the weather. In the final phases of my workup for the Stuttgart half last June, I was putting down over 24 oz of water on runs of about the same distance. During the race itself (which was unseasonably hot) I did all my water bottles, plus just about every hydration point except the first.

Pure Nerd

Yes, that's what they say I am here. Of course, this comes from a dating site, so I'm sure they're trying to make me feel better about myself. How that's supposed to happen I'm not sure. How, Blunoz (from whom I stole the entire concept of this post) ended up there, I'm not sure. If I were Sagey, I'd be worried!!!!!

My 'official' results are 72% Nerd, 17% Geek, and 26% Dork. I'm not sure I entirely agree with their assessment, but I'll live with it. I assumed that my dorkiness was a little lower than that. I'm waiting for the LW to take her test, but I suspect, like Blunoz' wife, she'll be absolutely normal.

Yes, that really is me to the right. From a recent holiday no less.

2008 Running Review

Here's a quick summary of my last year in running:

(Note to self, it's easier to do this on the Runner's World training log, if you do it New Year's Eve, not New Year's Day.)

Miles Run: 519.13
Races Run: 5 (2x half marathon, 5ish mile, 5k, 5ish k)
Personal Bests achieved: half marathon 1:56:52

Goals for 2009:
Paris Marathon 5 April
If all goes well, one local marathon later in the year
Stuttgart half marathon
Find a decent local 10k to run
Avoid injury.