~Philadelphia Marathon 11/23/08~

[lourodrigis]

Mike - Nice job on the 20 miles and, yes, I'm jealous. I have no idea how I am going to get the LR in this weekend.

Cindy - Good luck with the 10K this weekend. Hope the weather holds out for you but things look pretty bad here.

Dave - Sorry about the cold. Nice job getting in 3 miles anyway.

Jodi - I hear you on not feeling like running today. It's pretty miserable here. No way I would go outside.

I managed to get in 5 very unmotivated miles on the TM today in 46:30. I was so tempted to turn the thing off a number of times but I forced myself to finish. I figured I would need the miles because the LR I have planned this weekend is in doubt due to the weather. I'm hoping I can find 3 decent hours on Sat or Sun to get outside and run.

Booked my airfare for WDW today. DW and I will be flying Southwest. We got the "ding" today and there was finally a decent rate from PHL to MCO. So the trip in January is set. Flying in on SW and staying at CBR.

 

[Optimator]

You are done, done? Isn't the marathon exactly a month away today? So that is 4 1/2 weeks isn't it? I plan my 20 miler on Monday which is a day shy of 4 weeks and I thought I had a long taper?!? Do I have my weeks mixed up? Having a senior moment here.

Colleen - Done, done? If only! No, I was talking much more short term done. I'm still shooting for another 20 miler week after next (I'm of the short taper camp).

Good job getting your 5 in. Treat yourself to a new pair of shoes. You deserve them! BTW, any change in shoes in order with the switch from running to walking?

Jodi - Nicely done doing 6 before the snow. You know the only reason I went long today was because of the iffy forecast here for the weekend.

Lou - 5 unmotivated miles counts for more than 5 fun miles in my book. Anyone can run when it's fun. Good luck with the weekend weather also.

Congrats on finalizing your flights. I hope you didn't go to the "Jodi School of Travel Planning" and schedule your departing flight 45 minutes after your anticipated marathon finish time!

Toodles!

 

[msblrobs]

Hi guys I've got a funny story for my fellow MCM'ers.

Last night was my local running club's Christmas Party. It was at a restaurant and we took the DD's with us. They knew what it was for so when we were entering the place they start asking, "is Dave going to be there?" "Where's Jodi?" See, my DD's only think I run with WISH'ers as a general rule and don't get that I am also an officer in my running club and I do have local running contacts as well. They are really looking forward to WDW and for cheering on runners for hours on end .

Mike - Nice job on the 20-miler!! I am so jealous since I have zero motivation at this point to crank one out, let alone two, 20-milers .

Lou - 5 miles is 5 miles...kudos for you for putting it in when it was feeling less than fine . Booking flights a month out .

Jodi - I'm with you. This should be a short week this week with 20 miles next week and then the taper. I am so off course now that I don't know what I am going to do . I should do more than the 4 miles I did last weekend

Colleen - Get those new shoes so you can give them a few wearings before the marathon . Nice work on the 5 miler .

Chester, Cindy, Dave -

No running for me this morning since I had to bake cookies at 4:30 a.m. I am going to try to put in an hour tonight . No real feeling yet for what this weekend will bring with respect to mileage .

Happy training to all this weekend

EDITED TO ADD: NO STINKIN' PACKET TO DATE!!!

 

[Mouse Skywalker]

Good Morning MCMers:

I'm getting over my cold. It didn't last too long. Thanks for the well-wishes everyone. Thursday I ran a hill workout of ~5 miles outside in a snowstorm with no iPOD. It was pretty fun actually. The snow tapered off from when I started, and I was running in Mt Hope Cemetery and they plowed off the roads. So there was no traffic, and the roads were pretty snow free. They were slick though. I fell twice on the down hills. I still laughed and had fun though. I did 4x hill repeats - I was shooting for 5, but 4 was quite enough. This morning I'm going to head out and run a LR with the Fleet Feet team.

Sara- How are you feeling? I loved your story about your daughters wondering where we were at the Christmas Party. Why weren't we invited? Tell them I said hello, and Merry Christmas. Give my best to your DH too. How's his WDW 1/2 training going?

Mike- Good for you on your 20 miler. WTG!

Colleen- How are your new shoes?

Lou- Wow, I'm impressed at your powers of waiting for SW to have a good DING from PHL to MCO. I would be soooo nervous about waiting for that to happen.

Hi Jodi Good luck with your LR today. Are you out the door yet?

So DW and I watched Samatha Brown's Disney Holiday Show on the Travel Channel last night. Oooooh, it really made me WISH I had a Disney trip coming up. I'm hoping we can go this summer.

 

[Optimator]

Hey, are all you northerners getting snowed upon??

So DW and I watched Samatha Brown's Disney Holiday Show on the Travel Channel last night.

Dave - We watched it too. It brought on a nice mix of "Oh, isn't it beautiful", "We've seen that", and "We're really sad that we aren't going to see all the Holiday stuff!"

It sounds like you had a bunch of fun running in the snow. Just be careful. You don't want to break a hip or something Those old bones don't heal as quick as they use to and with a birthday coming up soon...

How was your Fleet Feet bunch?

Sara - Still no packet? Is your mailman a runner? Maybe he/she (not to imply that you mail carrier is a manly women or a womanly man, just... oh, nevermind) is planning on taking your place.


I ran a nice, relaxed 6+ miles last evening. Didn't worry about pace at all other than I had to tell myself to slow down a couple of times. It was quite nice and ended up not really being that slow. I was pretty happy considering the 20 miles the day before.

Anxious to hear about everyone's weekend.

 

[Mouse Skywalker]

Hey Mike- Good job on the 6 miles. Wow, I always need a rest day after a 20 miler. Great job. No snow here yet, but it's a comin... (so they say).

Just back from my Fleet Feet run. It was good. It was cold out there 17 degrees and a little windy at the start. If I didn't have the running group, I definitely wouldn't get out the door. We did a little over 9 mile course. The first couple of miles I was running with a guy with a Boston Marathon 2006 jacket. We were chatting along, but I was clearly slowing him down. He was pulling me along a little faster than I normally run. He took off between 3-4 miles, and I was on my own. There was him and another woman in front of me, and a group of 4-5 runners far behind me. So I turned on my iPOD, and listened to the DIS Unplugged listener e-mail and voicemail show. Guess who had the first voicemail? JODI!!!

Jodi- That was you on the DIS Unplugged e-mail/voicemail show wasn't it? Jodi from CT, and I thought it sounded like you. Pretty cool to hear my MCM running buddy on there. I'd WISH you luck on the Christmas Day 7-day cruise giveaway, but I'm secretly hoping for it myself. Although if I don't get it, I hope you get it... aaaah, no I don't, I hope I get it.

Anyhow, I finished 9.23 miles in 8:58 mpm pace. I was pretty happy with that, and got in 20 miles this week. I've still only been running 4 days/week, and I've been hoping to get in 5 days/week. Maybe next week.

Have a great day everyone.

 

[Jodi]

Dave - Yep, that was me, dude! And the ONLY reason why I called that in is so I can win that cruise!! Actually, that's not true, I'd been wanting to call that in for a while & just needed that little extra push of a 7 day cruise dangled in front of me. Oh, and don't worry, I'll send you a postcard BIG KUDOS for getting out there today for no apparent reason . I may have to look into a running group soon, 'cause it's getting harder & harder for me to find a reason to go out in the cold! And I'm diggin' that pace, Dave. I'm starting to think i held you back @ MCM . Glad you feel better...now you can rest happily the rest of the weekend & enjoy the snow. Be careful on the ice...

Mike - WTget out there after that 20 miler. Makes for a nice relaxing weekend knowing you're "done", huh?

What did everyone do this weekend? Did the snow/weather get in the way?

I decided that it was a "short" Sat. & did 9 miles. Next weekend is the 20 miler then taper. I just don't have as much enthusiasm as SOME OF US on this thread & will not be doing TWO 20 milers, eh-hmm . It was cold & windy out there & I had to dodge cars & black ice but didn't get hit today , so that's good. I don't think my body ever really "warmed up", though b/c I was having some funky knee thing goin' on & scary little pains once in a while in my lower left calf .

Waiting for reports, people!!!!! We've only got FOUR MORE WEEKS !!

 

[lourodrigis]

Dave - Great job on the Fleet Feet run in the cold temps. I thought it was cold here.

Mike - 6+ miles after running 20 the day before? You're the man! The day after my LR's I usually can't walk, let alone run.

Sara - Sounds like you had a great time at the party. Baking cookies at 4:30AM? Are you nuts? We still have a lot of cookies to make at our house. I say "we" but I mean DW. I usually just eat them as they come out of the oven.

Jodi - I'll be thinking of you as I do my 20-miler next weekend. I hope the weather cooperates for us. "4 weeks"...I know. It's starting to sink in and I'm getting psyched.

Well, I got in a 17-mile LR yesterday. I went to Philly and did 2 laps around the 8.5 mile loop by the Art Museum and Boat House Row. I actually felt great in spite of the chilly temps (30 degrees) and wind. However, we had no rain or snow here yesterday.

It's easy to get motivated in Philly because lots of people run along this route no matter what the weather is like. It was one of the better LR's I have had in about 2 months. I still have the groin pull problem but I'm learning how to deal with it and how hard to push it. I figure I will have to deal with this in January so I am just going to have to suck it up.

I finished the 17 miles in 2:40:52 for a 9:26 pace. However, I ran 16.1 of those miles at an 8:56 pace says the Garmin. I was pretty happy about that. What killed me on that other mile was 2 bathroom breaks (sorry for the details) and the fact I ran up the Art Musuem steps. The steps killed me because I was at Mile 15 and was pretty beat. I had to do it though. You can't run by the steps and not want to climb them. Especially now that the Rocky statue is at the base of the steps.

All in all I feel pretty good today. Not nearly as sore as last week.

 

[CynthiaCindy]

Morning all!

Lou - Nice job on the run - glad that you weren't forced inside by snow and ice.

Dave - Glad that you found a running group to help you get out the door in the crazy cold. Nice pace!

Mike - Where was your first marathon in May?

Dave - Yep, that was me, dude! And the ONLY reason why I called that in is so I can win that cruise!! Actually, that's not true, I'd been wanting to call that in for a while & just needed that little extra push of a 7 day cruise dangled in front of me.

That's so funny! I listened to that podcast on my Wednesday morning run and when I heard the voicemail, I immediately wondered if it was you. I was going to post something, but, since I don't know your voice, I thought I was being silly in assuming that Jodi from CT had to be you. Guess not!

Sara and Colleen

So, I ran the Rudolph's Red Nose 10k in Fairfax VA yesterday. This was actually the tenth race I've ever run (I keep all my bibs and I counted them) and it is the first that I would say that I really didn't like. The main reason is that I didn't think that the course was very safe. It was run mostly on major, multi-lane roads where 1 lane had been coned off for runners. Of course, this became a problem when people were trying to turn onto side streets (and into shopping centers). At most places, there was no one directing traffic, so cars were just waiting for any small gap between runners and then going for it. I saw a number of runners have to stop short to avoid getting hit. One part of the course was a 4 lane road where we were running in the far right lane and the course shifted through a major intersection so that we were than running in the far left lane. Obviously there were police there for that and it completely stopped traffic. People were honking horns and one lady got out of her car and was screaming at the police officer that she had somewhere to be and needed to get through. Just not a very pleasant experience.

The course was also very, very hilly. I knew this, so I'm not complaining, but as you all know, there is a differenct between "knowing" something is hilly because you've driven it and knowing it because you've run it. My knees, however, ARE complaining and are not happy with the number of short, sharp downhills.

Also, I knew this before, but this race certainly confirms it, 10k is not my distance. I am just not fit enough to run fast for that long. My 5k PR is at an 8:22 pace. According to running calculators, that should mean that I should be able to do a 8:40 pace for a 10k. I know that there is no way that that is possible. I was kind of hoping for a 9min/mile pace here, but I ended up with about a 9:14 pace (according to my watch). That is only 16 seconds faster than my 10 mile PR pace. The training plan I'm going to use for the half marathon in March has some good speed work/tempo runs, so maybe that will improve my pace at the 10k distance.

I want to try to get some running in today since I've only run 3 times this week, but I have a ton of Christmas shopping left to do and I am currently waiting for the Verizon Fios repairman to come, so I'm not sure the running is actually going to happen.

Happy Sunday everyone!

 

[SilverE]

Hi Everyone,

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but shhhhh, don't tell anyone: I just got back from a week at Disney World with the family! It was rough with the above-average temps of 82-85 degrees, but we suffered through it . Only ran twice, so I guess that's an early start to my taper?

I know, I know: "You took a trip to Disney four weeks before marathon weekend?" Well...long story short: we were all going for marathon weekend, then I started freaking out about going to bed early, eating different food, running all over the place without the family, my wife having the three children all the time, etc, etc. So after DW picked up on my stress, she shocked me by saying "You should really just go alone and enjoy the experience." Best gift ever! Of course, we had the kids all worked up for Disney, so we took the family trip earlier. My oldest daughter is 9 so it wasn't too bad pulling her out of school for the week; glad we did: zero crowds.

Anyhow, this weekend's Nor'easter stranded us at JFK last night upon our return; had to rent a car a drive 5 hrs north to get home at 1 am. I just came in from snowblowing a foot of snow--welcome back to New England!

I'm still catching up on the posts. I hope training is going well for everyone. I'll be blowing the dust off the running shoes tonight and gearing up for the final training LR this week. Take care.

 

[princessmomma]

Hi Everyone,

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but shhhhh, don't tell anyone: I just got back from a week at Disney World with the family! So after DW picked up on my stress, she shocked me by saying "You should really just go alone and enjoy the experience."

Shh! Don't tell anyone, but we are doing the exact same thing. Actually leaving this Wednesday and picking up my DNeice18 and DNephew10 from Canada at MCO on Thursday. I am going to the marathon solo as well. I have done both, with DH and kids and without, and I enjoy going solo so much better... less mothering on my part, making sure the family is happy...going solo is ME time and I am free to do what I want.

As for training, nothing Friday or Saturday because I was at Swim Meet with DD8 at Chapel Hill. She did great! First place in 25 backstroke and 3rd place in 25 free and 3rd in 50 backstroke . I am really tired today, but did get 4 miles in walking. I have my 20 miles planned for tomorrow because I have to teach Tuesday and pack for our trip, we leave Wednesday. Oh, those AP's just create a vicious cycle.

Dave, so impressed you are keeping up your miles! Oh, and the new shoes are great! I was so ready for new ones.

Cindy, sounds like the 10K was a little scary on those busy streets.

Lou, great pace on those 17 miles. How is the groin?

Sara, cute DD story! NO packet yet? That is crazy, well, hate to say it, but it doesn't look good that you will get one before the marathon.

Jodi, so you decided to go short this weekend? Don't blame you, I would put off the 20 too!

Mike, have to admit, I gained a little pleasure knowing you are not done, done! This time tomorrow, I will be done, done. Good luck with your run next weekend.

Where's Chester?

 

[rKyDeX]

Colleen
I'm here. I've just been very busy with some freelance projects.

Well, I didn't get any mid week runs in last week and I didn't get my Sunday LR in. But, I did get 9 miles in on Saturday. My freelance projects are out of the way now, so I will try to get back on track. This is week scheduled to be my highest weekly mileage yet - 48 miles.

I went to the gym this morning to find the doors locked and the building emptied. It seems that they have been bought out by another gym in town and the memberships have been transferred. The new location is farther from the house and work, so now I will have to get up ealier in order to make it in to work on time.

This weeks runs are planned thusly:

Tuesday 5 miles
Wednesday 8 miles
Thursday 5 miles
Saturday 10 miles
Sunday 20 miles

Saturday's run may end up getting bagged, unless I feel like getting up early and running through Ft. Wilderness. We area heading over to WDW Friday afternoon for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party and will be staying overnight in the motorhome. It's going to be crowded - Me and Tracy, my Sister, DS and his GF, DD and her BF, and 2 shelties. I think DS and his GF are going to be staying in the guest tent.

Happy and healthy training to all,

Chester
W.I.S.H. Half-Fast Missing Link Marrathon Team

 

[lourodrigis]

Quick post before I head out this morning. I got 5 miles in this AM on the TM in 45:30. I say this as I am knocking on wood...but I actually feel pretty good right now. Very little pain anywhere (groin, feet or knees).

I looked at my running data in SportsTrack this morning and found that Saturday's LR was the best run (pace, consistency) I have had since October. I pulled my groin muscle during the last LR before the Philly Marathon and I have not run well since. I almost always start off with a nice pace but my pace starts dropping around 9 miles do to pain. It looks like that is finally starting to change. Hopefully I can keep this up for 4 more weeks because it would be nice to run well at WDW.

Good luck to everyone out there that is trying to get their runs in this week with the cold weather.

 

[Mouse Skywalker]

Good Morning MCMers

Lou- Nice job on your 5 miler. I'm glad your groin seems to be healing up. Sounds like you're healing up just in time for Disney.

Chester- Nice job with your 9 miler on Saturday, and good luck with your high mileage week this week. Oooh, your weekend visit to Ft. Wilderness sounds fantastic. I'm jealous. Labor Day weekend 2005 was our first ever stay on site, and we had a cabin in Ft. Wilderness. I really loved that place. It was wonderful. Have a great time, and good luck with your runs.

Colleen- Awww man, you're heading to Disney again! Whawwww, I wanna go.... Have a great time. You are making great use of your APs this year. How did your 20 miler go?

SilverSteve- Wow, what a great gift you got, to go to Disney with your family for a week, and to have a solo trip for the marathon. Sounds wonderful. Good for you.

Cindy- Oooh, that race doesn't sound safe at all. I don't like the idea of cars darting between the runners. Yuck. Nice job getting out there and keeping the running going though.

So I got in 5 miles on the treadmill on Monday, and did about 4.5 miles for my hill workout in Mt. Hope Cemetery yesterday. Yesterday I felt really tired during my run. I think part of it was one of the trails I run on in the cemetery was covered with calf deep wet snow. It really seemed to sap my strength for running. I had planned at least 4x hill repeats, but I could only do 3. Oh well, at least I was out there. It was sunny and not too cold so that was nice.

Have a great day everyone.

 

[lourodrigis]

Colleen - Have fun at WDW! Good luck on the 20 miles. I have 20 planned this weekend too. The weather should be better in NC then NJ though.

Chester - Holidays and freelance work can be a killer when your training. What type of work do you do? 30 miles over the weekend should be fun...good luck with that.

Dave - Nice job on the hills. I wish I could find some hills but the only hills in South Jersey are speed bumps. I guess any good weather in Rochester is a big bonus this time of year.

Jodi - I heard you on the Podcast. Good tip. I'm sure finding a place to hang out on property on New Years Eve is an adventure. Can't go wrong with an Irish Pub.

Alright...I'm FIRED UP today! I did a 10-mile run this morning and knocked it out in 1:26:47 (8:40 pace). No groin pain...no knee pain...no feet pain!! Other than stopping to tie a shoelace I never stopped running under 9:00/mile. I think this is the best mid distance run I have had since September for the Philly 1/2 Marathon. That's also the last time I ran this far without any pain.

I don't want to get too overconfident but it feels great to be feeling like this before the marathon. My biggest hurdle now is getting this 20-miler in on Saturday without getting hurt. The 20-miler is what killed me in late-October and it has taken 2 months to heal up. Plus I ran a 10K race 2 weeks before the Philly marathon and sprinted the whole race. I sprained my knee like an idiot and had to run the marathon with a knee brace.

I figure if I can survive Saturday I will take it real easy over the holidays. Nice runs at easy paces and get to WDW in one piece.

 

[msblrobs]

Stop the presses - The packet has finally arrived. I guess that means there will be an attempt at a LR this weekend .

This thread seems to be dead lately so I won't feel too bad about lurking I am sure that is due to the holidays and the continual training getting pretty old. Oh, and Colleen being at WDW .

Dave - Thanks for posting and keeping the thread alive. I agree that the most important thing is the attempt to run was made and you're still managing to stay motivated in this weather. The winter is a motivation killer for sure

Lou - Glad to hear your running is inspirational these days . Nice job on the sweet pace It's great that you're pain-free now and there's not long before the taper so I am sure you'll be in fine shape for an awesome marathon time .

Chester - Yet another teammate headed over to WDW for the holidays . I hope you guys have an awesome time and don't sweat what you can't fit in over the weekend. Just be realistic and enjoy the time with your family.

Steve - DW sounds like a keeper for sure Glad you had a great time on your family getaway. Having 3 kids myself I can tell you that is is a lot less stressful when they are not in the equation on marathon weekend.

Cindy - Sorry about the nasty race but at least you learned to steer clear of 10k's .

Jodi, Mike - I miss you guys and I hope you're doing well I figure you're feeling as I am at this point and the last thing you want to think about now is running .

In case I don't post again before Christmas, I hope you guys all have a wonderful holiday with those nearest and dearest to you Even though the miles are getting a bit harder to put in, knowing I will get to see the WISH Team soon is enough motivation to get me out there even during this busy time.

Happy Training to All This Week

 

[rKyDeX]

Colleen
What days are you going to be at WDW and where are you staying? We'll be there Friday afternoon to set up camp and then head to the MK for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. Saturday we'll be at AK until 2:00pm.

Dave
Way to keep at it. I can't even imagine trail running in snow.

Lou
I'm an architect and I do some small freelance projects for a local contractor that remodels banks and installls banking equipment. Every once in a while I'll design a residence on the side.

Restraint is the key. It's good that you recognize where your past problems came from. The hard part is taking it easy. Good luck on staying healthy.

Sara
Thanks for the words of encouragement. When I look at my training calendar, I see a lot more "circled" dates lately than I see "crossed out" dates. But, that doesn't bother me. I'm happy with the way I feel after my runs, and most of all, no injuries. It's better to be "undertrained and healthy instead of overtrained and injured".


Looking forward to seeing my WISH Buds,

Chester
W.I.S.H. Half-Fast Missing Link Marathon Team

 

[Jodi]

OK, the only way I can post today is by ignoring everyone individually & just making blanket statements

To all of those in WDW, or going to WDW, or who just came back from WDW! Have fun, hope you HAD fun, although I do recall someone saying they had to rent a car to get home? What a nightmare!!! Gotta love New England!

All I see when I read these boards latey, is that EVERYONE is running more than I am . Even those who aren't TRAINING for anything in particular , sheesh! And I think someone got their packet...finally! . Is anyone done Christmas shopping? Are we all gaining weight by eating too many cookies & crap? .

I don't know if I posted that I ran 9 on Sat., nuthin' Sun., (snow/ice storm, roads covered) 45 min elliptical Mon., an hour planned yesterday...1/2 hour into running, though, I got WICKED stomach pains w/ a "JodiStop" knocking @ MY door, if you get my drift . However, with all wooded areas looking like a barren wasteland from all the snow & ice, even if I DID manage to find cover, I would have broke my neck on the way there. I toyed w/ asking 2 people who were shoveling driveways if I could use their bathrooms, but that would have been SOOOOOO wrong!! Alas, I was forced to walk home ('cause everytime I tried to run my stomach did funky crap, no pun intended) which took about 1/2 hour...So, while I DID get an hour in, I'd say about 4 mins. total was taken out doubled over in pain.

20 on tap for this weekend (the first 8 miles will be run VERY close to my home & toilet). I may take Fri. off & do it then, as my son has a 1/2 day anyway. I just wanna get this last LR OVER WITH!!!!! ARGHHH!

Sorry about the me, me, me aspect of this post. I trust everyone will keep running well out there, dodging cars & black ice (especially when you're trying to run a RACE

Happy Weekend!! (Oh wait, it's only Weds., CRAP).

 

[lourodrigis]

Sara - Good news on receiving the packet. A lot of people have been getting them late. My sister in law is running the 5K and still has not received anything. I'm assuming 5K people get them too.

Chester - We're pracically in the same business. I'm a civil engineer (licensed in PA and NJ). I work for a company in NJ but do some freelance work through my own company. Most of my freelance work has to do with GIS consulting for water/sewer utilities. As Jodi would put it I deal with clients that deal with a lot of "crap". Find me a utility in FL that needs a GIS consultant and we can split the fees. I could use some work down south this time of year.

Jodi - I thought I was the only one who had stomach problems. Anymore I make sure to eat the blandest food possible the day before any LR or race. Heck, I'll be honest, one of the main reasons I run in Philly is because there are plenty of bathrooms and porto-potties along my route. I rarely use them but it's nice to know they are there in case of emergency.

 

[CynthiaCindy]

Been crazy at work this week, no time for a real post, but I wanted to pop in to read how everyone was doing.

Jodi - sorry to hear about your Jodi Stop issues, but I love LOVE that you said Wicked. I do not spend enough time with others from New England.