Dave's Addiction

Still feeling a little tight in the lungs from the Sunday's minor cold, so after yesterday's rest I did 1 mile at 11.8, 1 at 12.1, 800 at 12.5, 800 at 12.8, about a mile of recovery at 9.3, and .25 at 14.0

Very fun EZ treadmill run, feeling great

Negative ramp, I found the most efficient stride ever so it was easy all the way to minute 24. I still dropped back for a minute at 27 because I might race Saturday but I think I could have made it to the end without too much trouble. 9.1 to 11.9 with a 13.2 last minute.

Run to the gym and back, then ride to Spanish Fork after work cause I forgot I was going to meet Lance (1 hour)

Trail run! Mcdonalds route, 1 mile up the canyon to make it 14.

I tried the new cadence on the 4x1 run. Wow! This is crazy. I am 3-5 BPM on the heart rate more efficient, and the 12.5 isn't particularly hard any more. 12.8 was a bit hard but I could have finished, instead at .75 I dropped back for 60 seconds to 7.0 and then did 14.0 for .25. No problem. This could be significant. I might actually try hard at Boston :)

Run to and from the gym + 1.6 on the TM to make up 4, a little hill stride at the end like usual

Fun six mile run in the neighborhoods, I really felt like I was getting fast at the end, probably should have taken the watch :)
 

Wow Wow Wow!

The new stride pattern is for real. I nuked my tempo record on the 100 ft aided course today. I broke my 5K record in the middle by 10 seconds - on a tempo run! 4.5 miles at 5:45 avg, 17:22 5K at the beginning (first mile is aided, last 1.6 miles is uphill)

Splits were 5:14, 5:41, 5:48, 6:12, 6:00 for .5 pattern is down, flat, flat, up, up

Now I should try the secret weapon with the new stride :)

Run to and from gym, ride bike to and from work

I was really feeling it on my last long run before Boston - I ran up the canyon with the crew and then Tony, Jacob and myself turned around at 10K. We were going to temp at whatever pace felt comfortable but I got a resonance with the new stride pattern and was dipping down to the low 5s with ease. Fastest mile was 5:28, as I slowed up and waited for the guys. Tony made us burn it at the end down to 4:45 for a tenth or so. Great way to cap off training, now just having an easy rest week after calves and squats and hill repeats on Monday.

Run to gym, 10x10 hill sprints at 14 MPH, starting at 7% and ending at 11.5%, squats (135/185/205), calf raises (140 on leveredx2, 395 on machine), core, upper body, run back.

Now it's all easy runs until Boston.

Ow. Very sore from yesterday, absolutely perfect. No major, just a lot of minor.

Less sore today

Zippy, marathon-pace quickstepping miles. I should have taken the Garmin, I think I was flying. Last run until I jog to the hotel!

Running through the airport

Went to the expo, tried out a 15 MPH treadmill, stopped after .25 because Iwas worried about taking the edge off even though I wasn't really having cardio distress yet (how crazy is that) Got lost in Chelsea, had to make it back to my hotel by noon to check out, just barely made it but I had to get help in at least three different languages :)

Ran to dinner, to gym where my clothes were being stored next day, and back

Too much running, uh-oh
 

I went to this race to have an experience, and I succeeded. It was completely different that anything I could have expected. First of all everyone treated the runners like royalty, no matter how fast. Before, during and after it was like we were honored guests coming to perform a great work. Everyone was polite and helpful, and I would be shocked to learn that a single crime occurred in the city Sat-Mon. I arrived Sat night late and the middle eastern taxi driver told me I should take the hotel shuttle, which I did not know about, instead of being his fare. This was just one of many incidents of helpful and honest people, Sunday was spent at the Expo and checking out the finish line, including a group photo of at least 200 of the Utah people at the marathon. How great was that? Monday came and I was greeted by a huge plume of black smoke outside my hotel window as I woke up. Really??! You have to be kidding. Then I realized the finish line was to my south and the window faced northeast. It was just a truck on fire on the freeway. OK, that was wacky. I ran to the busses and jumped on.The garbage bag I brought as a windbreak and solar heater worked out great,I  was perfectly warm up to the start.

I looked around for anybody familiar but I was unable to see anyone, then we went to the corrals. I remarked to the guy next to me that now that we could see a big sample of people as fast as us, it was obviously impossible to tell how fast someone is by looking at them. Then the elites showed up and I took the comment back. We were all towering giants next to them, with oaken arms and oversized heads. I toyed again with the thought of running up front with them for a mile or two but banished it right off because they were going to go out at 4:30. Turns out that Seth managed to pull it off (you rock Seth) and they were going out at 4:50, so I could have kept up for a mile or two. It would have been cool to have a Utah fist bump on the USA today site :)

The race started, and I was swept away as I knew I would be. I just swam in the river, gleefully watching the miles go by at a disasterous clip, 5:55, 5:41, 5:48, 5:51, kachink kachunk. Breathing was easy, but I could feel the muscles working hard on the uphills and I knew that I was running suboptimally. But I just didn't care. The crowds were amazing, I couldn't help but grin like an idiot and give two thumbs up all the way to Wellsley. But running the first 5 k 30 seconds off my record, the 10k 1 minute slower than my record, and the half 2 minutes slower, I knew I was in for destruction and death in the last half of the race. I backed off at the half to a more reasonable 6:30 and hoped for the best. Sadly, I had not been hyrating enough in the early part of the race, as I took nothing until mile 7 hoping to avoid overhydration but did not take into account the warm weather.

At mile 16 I felt the first warning signs of an empty tank as we hit the first hill. Just to be safe I walked a little, to avoid early cramping. I usually despise gels but at 17 I was willing to try anything to make it to the end of the race. I grabbed the gel and it tasted like ambrosia. That's when I knew I was in real trouble and should take it easy if I didn't want to have to use the Charlie card that was burning a hole in the plastic bag safety pinned to the inside of my pants. I started walking every two minutes on the hills, but managed to keep the average pace under 8:00 still. But by mile 22 the bonk was massive and I was climbing through the 8s relentlessly. I was determined to finish at any cost, even if I had to walk the rest of the way, and the remainder of the race was spent running to the edge of cramps, then walking to take the heat off. Everyone continued to yell encouragement from the crowd, which gave me no choice but to push back to running speed again. I had to walk up the massive hill at the overpass, and the huge mountain after the underpass was truly daunting.

I could not dishonor the race by walking on Boyleston street however, so I walked the hill up to the turn and went to a determined run. The finish looked so far away! About a tenth of a mile from the finish every muscle in my left leg seized simultaneuously and I almost went face first into the street. I somehow managed to keep running all the way to the line and gave a victory yell, then started walking (sort of since the leg was on FIRE) and hoping to find water and gatorade or anything at all. I was sleepy and disoriented, and had difficulty maintaining a straight line. The peaches were liquid gold. I had to lay down on the warm soft sidewalk for a few minutes but after the second offer of medical assistance I figured I should move on to the gym where my clothes were stored. That was the hardest mile and a half I have ever moved. But a glorious shower awaited, after which I was almost human, then I took the subway to the airport and bestowed the remaining 5 days of Charlie Card on a random stranger. After two more offers of medical assistance, a smoothie, a burrito bowl, and a 30 minute nap with my legs up agains a wall, I was back to (a very slow moving) normal and managed to snag the early flight back to SLC.

It's a good thing that marathons aren't 26.3, I think somebody would have had to carry me :) It was way better than a day at work.

Hill sprints with Lydia, got to make her fast before she turns 9

Hill sprints with Lydia, she likes to run!

Run to and from gym, calves and deep muscles still healing, right shoulder still sunburned

Time to get back in the saddle, ran 3X1 at 11.8,12.1,12.5 then 800 at 12.8, 400 at 13.4, and 400 at 14. That should send a message to the legs.

Ow. Run to gym and back, 2.5

EZ run on the Springblades just for fun, almost forgot pants again