Nice 5 miler this morning. Made it out around 4:15. It was pretty cold at the start and I walked about a 1/4 mile and then shuffled for about a mile when I finally warmed up. I tried the run 15mins walk 1 and it seemed to help. No tiredness in the legs and I had plenty of wind. Each time I stopped it seemed like I picked up my pace a bit on the next section. I will do this this weekend on my extended long run and see how it works. I have a route in mind but I would like to throw some hills in so I may try and do a 4 corners and finish it this weekend. I did a 3/4 4 corners last weekend but lost the light. My left ankle has been killing me just walking. It stops after being stretched out by walking but it is really tight. Last night while watching Tinker Tailor (Love Alec Guinness) I did some balancing on the left foot and it really felt great. A good stretch and at the same time strengthening.

I'm off for free coffee and cake.

Saturday i went out around 3:30 to run in the woods. It was my intention to run at least three hours. It was around 43 when I started. I ran in shorts, a tech tee covered by a long sleeve tech gloves and a baseball cap the Injinji socks and the Asics trail shoes. I started at the usual location and headed east on the upper trail out to the 100 steps and then I crossed to the other side of Lincoln Drive. I was pretty much alone over there just one biker and then out of nowhere this runner passed me on a hill. I saw lots of chalk markings on the trail and figured there was some group run that had either happened or was happening. When I got to the cross over at Lincoln and Rittenhousetown I couple of other runners came out of the woods to cross at the same time. They were apparently with this group run.
I headed west on the north side upper trail very conscious of the waning light and the dropping temps. I was starting to get cold. I made it back to the Inn and was going to cash it in because I was really cold. I hit the bathroom which was about 80 and instantly warmed up and started to feel better. I really wanted to get 3 hours in so I took off up the southside to the upper trail after Wise's Mill. I made it out to Catherdral and the light was getting dim and I was getting dimmer. I crossed over at Rex and decided to head back on the lower trail. I just love this section and wanted to run it because it is pretty and technical. My body was getting really cold and I was trying to run as quickly as I could. I crossed back to Forbidden at the Inn and the wind was just whipping down the creek into my face. Thank goodness for the beard. I made it back to the car in 2:44 and called it a night 13.72 miles. Not bad but I really wanted to do 15. On this run I used Powerbar gummies. I liked the consistency as they did not stick to my teeth. I also drank Nuun. I really like that It's really light and good tasting.
My plan is to do a 20 miler this weekend with a 15-1 walking pace. I took some good walking breaks on this one but I found I was not regular and at the end of the run I was dragging. With a little over 4 weeks to the Hat Run I would like to get at least one good long run in and do it in the run walk training mode.

Yesterday my legs felt like hell so I headed to the gym and did stationary bike on the random setting for 50 minutes. It did help the legs a little bit but today they still feel a little fatigued and my left knee is a bit unstable. My ankle pain is still pretty consistent and I have been doing some self massage that is helping. Also somehow I have dropped 5 lbs. I don't know how or why but I am happy with that. Another 5-10 and I will be really happy. The only explanation I can think of is that I haven't been lifting. I am planning on stopping until after the HAT to see what happens. If I can drop the weight it will make the run much easier. And being a bulky guy the lifting just makes me carry a lot of extra weight.

I was lucky enough to get a good run in yesterday. I ran in the wood and ended up on Forbidden. I was over dressed wearing tights, Bridgedale wool socks, and a long sleeve and jacket. It was in the low 40's and I was sweating my butt off. My arms were totally soaked by the end of the run and it wasn't because of the light rain. The rain did keep all other runners off the trails, which was a bit creepy and comforting all at the same time. I ended up doing almost 6.5 miles in a little under 1.15 hours. Good to get a decent run in in the middle of the week. The HAT is in about 5 weeks I need to get the long runs in so I feel good about myself.

With the day off yesterday I wanted to get a run in. I took Sunday off to rest after a pretty miserable run on Saturday. I went out late around 8. I had to be back by 11 so I decided I would go for about 10 and having done the Lincoln drive loop once before I knew it was around 9. I parked at Fountain for a change and then headed over to the Mt Airy side on the upper trail. I was alone and the weather couldn't have been better. I had music on shuffle on the Ipod and well it was a great time. At Rittenhousetown I crossed over Lincoln Drive and went toward the Schuylkill. The ground was rutted by mountain bikes traveling through mud which was now frozen. At the Falls I crossed and went up the 100 steps passed the monk hut and had to dodge several fallen trees and bushwack a little over the hills because the trees had covered the paths. It felt really good. I found out when I got back that I could have stayed out for a few more hours and was a tiny bit bummed for the whole day as a result.

I think the kids walking on my legs helped break down some of the scar tissue that had built up in my thighs.

Dreadmill run on friday night. I did 5 miles and kind enjoyed the run. Today i got up early and hit the trails and had a bit of a horrible time. It just wasn't comfortable. I walked a lot and ended up cutting the run in half. I did jump my mileage for the week by 5 miles. Tomorrow I am going to take it a little easy to recover and I think I will do several more runs of shorter distances during the week.

I worked in Philly yesterday and the new office is a block from Ross. I stop there to check on any deals on technical shirts and shorts etc. They usually have some great deals. Yesterday as I was leaving I checked the shoe rack and there was a pair of New Balance 1010's and they were $9.99. I tried them on and they fit perfectly so I picked them up. I ran in them last night and boy they are great. The only defect was that one eyelet wasn't poked through. That took me about 2 seconds to cure and I was on the road for one of the more miserable runs of recent times. The weather was perfect shorts and tee shirt 60's. I just never felt right. My ankle is killing me with all of these road miles that I have been doing. I was trying to do a 3 mile fartlek and I became tired very quickly where I was walking. Three miles I should not be walking but there I was sucking air. In the end I did 3.75 in 38 minutes which when I do the math is 10 minute miles which is where I wanted to be but it just didn't feel good at all. The shoes performed well. Just one of those miserable runs you do in training.

Weekend roundup. I got three runs in. I added another one Sunday doing a five miler in the early evening on the roads. I am enjoying this route out to city avenue and the St. Joes kids and all of the hustle and bustle that comes with running on a 4 lane highway. It's a beautiful gentle route that passes St. Charles Seminary, St. Joes University, McDonald's, Compuworld 2 7-11's three pizza parlors a BMW dealership a mini dealership a Starbucks three synagogues, a Korean church, an Episcopalian Church and a Catholic private prep schoool where M. Knight Shamalyn went to school.

Wow I really never thought about how diverse that little route is. My legs are sore today for the first time. I did more than I should but I really need to get the miles in just so I feel secure going into this race. 50K is a long way and I just need confidence. This weekend I am hoping for a 20 miler on Saturday and a longish run on Sunday. That means that I will have to get out of bed this weekend rather than just laying there enjoying the warmth.

While I have been enjoying, much to my surprise, this little bout of road running I can feel it taking it's toll on my legs with the aches I have today. My hammy is sore, my right ankle stops me in my tracks every now and then and I need a couple of steps just to get upright. Weight loss is key right now and I am trying. I am going to cut back on the weight lifting except for my legs and see if that helps.

I wanted to get some longer runs in this weekend and ended up not doing it but I did get two in a row that were about 2 hours each and they were within bout 12 hours of each other for a total of about 18 miles and I am hoping to get another shortish one in tonight. The trail run was incredibly icy and dangerous in several parts the road run was faster than I wanted and I spent a great deal of the run pissed off at my nike plus because it was almost 3 miles off at the end and kept saying my pace was zero.

Took a few days off from running. Just needed to decompress a bit and I tweeked my back lifting on Monday and it snowed about 6 inches on Tuesday. I am planning on going out for a short 4-5 miler tonight just around the neighborhood, maybe just around the park. I wanted to post a little something about some podcasts that I have been listening to recently.

Trilogy Running Shawn and Jason are brothers from LA who now live in GA and as I am from PA we share a vowel. They are funny as hell and are constantly jabbing at one another and everyone else in the podcast universe which is totally refreshing since some of those guys take themselves pretty seriously and these guys bring them back down. They are training for the ING Georgia marathon and are kind of newbie runners and recovering football players like me and they love Dan from 4feetrunning Give them a listen.

4feetrunning Nik and Dan are a married couple from Fall River MA we too share a vowel. Nik ran Philly and a couple of other marathons and Dan is a master of the 10k. They put out a biweekly podcast to motivate Dan to run. The thing I like most about the podcast is how well they get along. They really enjoy each other and it is endearing. Check them out they are a lot of fun and Dan has some pretty eclectic musical tastes.

runrunlive Chris Russell is a midpacker, front of the midpack runner from MA as well. He is knowledgeable and interesting and loves to talk to people. Each show pretty much has interviews with people related to running and a gear section. He is fearless and funny and he has Buddy the wonderdog accompany him on runs. The thing about Chris is he loves running and is positive about all that he does.

Ultradad Rob is a Canadian runner from the Northwest. He is of course a dad and he ran his first 50 miler this year. He takes you along on long runs and sometimes shopping trips with the family talking about how he fits running into his full life. Three kids a dog a job that he has to travel for volunteer firefighting/rescue squad keeps him jumping.

These guys/gal have kept me entertained on long runs and train trips. I hope you enjoy.

Two road runs and a treadmill run this weekend. Friday I did a nice 5+ miler, saturday an 8 and yesterday 7. First time I have done the roads that many times in a row for a long long time. The trails have been so icy and the last thing I need is a fall. I also liked the fact that my times were pretty good.
On friday I did the treadmill set it for an hour at 5mph and went. Not really a fan of the treadmill but it was a necessary evil. A side benefit was that I could watch others run and check out the different styles. a young lady got on in front of me and me being so old I was just watching her style. She really got a lot of height in her stride others like myself run closer to the ground.
Saturday i waited until the afternoon and wanted to do 10 but due to some biological problems had to cut the run a bit short. I almost got caught a bit short and had to call it quits
Then yesterday, I ran over to Haverford college thinking hat maybe the trails overthere would be better but no. so I turned around and came back only to see the aftermath of a person getting hit by a car.