The Longest Run

Great entry at Science of Sport with a look back at the mental challenge of breaking through the 4-minute mile barrier: Mind vs Matter . Love this quote: we can each improve within ourselves by reframing our expectations, by challenging our beliefs, by identifying our own mental barriers and then breaking them down

Came across an article today in the New York Times that's quite timely: The Pain May Be Real, but the Scan Is Deceiving . I'm currently enjoying my own medical odyssey - trying to get to the bottom of what's up with my back and leg pain and soreness. After seeing an orthopedist yesterday, my next step is to see a physical therapist who specializes in runners; I'll see him next week for a video analysis (!) of my running gait to check if there's something I'm doing that's causing the problems. No running for now, but I have been cleared to do biking; lots of spin classes in my future! The lack of a clear diagnosis of the cause of the problem is a bit frustrating....but I'm hopeful that connecting with a good doctor will lead to some answers.

Dear Mrs. Longest Run: there are others who know your pain: For Those Not Running, Training Can Be Just as Taxing .

Over the weekend I found a cool website called The Science of Sport . There's a lot of great material on the site, run by two guys with Ph.D.'s in Exercise Physiology, on things like hydration, shoes, running form, etc. It wouldn't surprise you to know I found the post Chicago Marathon 2008 - The data do not lie: The actual environmental conditions from the course to be MOST interesting. Related articles by Zemanta Around Town: 2008 Chicago Marathon Chicago Marathon Sends 61 To Hospital, Starter Numbers Down

I'm a big fan of the Runners Lounge website and blog; it's been a great source of information during my training. I recently signed up to participate in a 21-Day test of a self-massage tool called 'The Stick'. I'll pick up the stick at the Marathon Expo in Chicago this weekend and will write about my experiences in a dedicated forum on the Runners Lounge site. Related articles by Zemanta Announcing The Stick 21-Day Challenge Get Ready for Chicago! Carbo-Loading the Chicago Way

Here's the week 16 training update: Week 16 target mileage: 27 miles Week 16 actual mileage: 24.2 miles Target cumulative miles through last week: 612 miles Actual cumulative miles through last week: 586.1 miles Variance: (25.94) miles Training miles to go: 14* At this point I've got just 5 days to go until the race; it's hard to believe that it's so close after more than 9 months of thinking about it, planning for it, and training for it. Last week's training - the second week of a three week taper - was ok. I didn't feel particularly relaxed or refreshed from the reduced mileage, and while my knees and ankles feel great, the soreness in my groin/thigh got worse. I've talked with a number of people about what to do and the one point on which there is great consensus is that I should not run any further this week. I have to give a particular shout out to Tom at Runner's Lounge , which is a terrific running community on the web. Tom is one of the co-found...

Here's the week 15 training update: Week 15 target mileage: 35 miles Week 15 actual mileage: 28 miles Target cumulative miles through last week: 585 miles Actual cumulative miles through last week: 561.8 miles Variance: (23.15) miles Training miles to go: 41 Last week was ok. I had a great couple of runs in the middle of the week ( including Wednesday's new PR ) but somehow ran out of steam at the end of the week. Torrential rain knocked me off my game Friday morning (I couldn't run my typical 3 mile warmup in Central Park before doing strength training) and the hard session with my trainer Friday left me sore and achy going into Sunday's long-ish run; the run was supposed to be 15 miles but I went out assuming I'd only do 11. Conditions were gross - warm and humid - and it was one of those runs where every step was a chore. I've not gone back yet to look over the full training program, but I have the sense that my good training weeks (such as last week) are oft...

GREAT run in Central Park this morning, aided by perfect conditions - clear skies, light breeze, and cool temperatures (55 degrees). I set a new personal record for the loop - 47 minutes, 20 seconds (7.83 minutes/mile). Fastest mile was 7:36, slowest was 8:09. I was particularly pleased with my pace for the miles which included the two toughest hills (when running counterclockwise) - Cat Hill on the east side and the hill in the northwest corner of the park - both were just slightly above 8 minutes/mile.

Here's the week 14 training update: Week 14 target mileage: 45 miles Week 14 actual mileage: 46.7 miles Target cumulative miles through last week: 550 miles Actual cumulative miles through last week: 536.7 miles Variance: (16.2) miles Training miles to go: 76 Last week was terrific. Somehow I rediscovered the joy of training (after a day off last Tuesday I went to bed excited about my run the next morning!) and almost all of my typical aches and pains disappeared. The only physical concern at this point is a nagging groin injury; it's mostly just sore when I get started running each morning, but I am slightly concerned about it. I also hit some milestones last week, including most miles ever in a week (46.7) and longest run ever - both in terms of distance (22.05 miles) and time (3 hours, 36+ minutes). I feel ready to go and super-excited for the race!

Just finished the last long run of my training program. 22.06 miles at a pace of 9:49 per mile - in case you are wondering I was out running for 3 hours and 36 minutes. I would like for the time to have been a bit better but I receognize that it's been a long training week; including last Sunday's Queens half-marathon, I've run nearly 60 miles in the last 8 days. I'm definitely looking forward to a day off.

Good article by Gina Kolata: When Training Backfires: Hard Work That’s Too Hard .

Had a great run this morning; I'm loving the return of cool fall temperatures and running at dawn in Central Park. Ran 8.66 miles this morning at an overall pace of 8:19 per mile. I was very close to a PR for the 6 mile park loop but since I missed marking a split on my stopwatch I can't be sure if I did or didn't. In any case, I did run today's route a full 6 minutes faster than I ran it a week ago, which I think counts as great progress. While running I was thinking about this article from Runner's World magazine: Think Fast . Great insights on the mental aspects of running.

Here's the week 13 training update: Week 13 target mileage: 42 miles Week 13 actual mileage: 37.4 miles Target cumulative miles through last week: 505 miles Actual cumulative miles through last week: 487.1 miles Variance: (17.9) miles Training miles to go: 121 Just four weeks to go until race day and one more week of training before the taper begins. In anticipation of the Queens Half-Marathon on Sunday I skipped one run (let's call it a mini-taper), leaving me five miles short of the week's target mileage. Over the past two weeks I've not felt great - either mentally or physically - and have had the sense that all the miles are taking their toll. The good news is the race went well and I'm feeling better. I'm optimistic about this week's training, which includes a 22 mile run on Saturday (which will be my longest run yet).

Very helpful post over at Runner's Lounge yesterday: Tapering: The hay's in the barn . Only ten days remain before I begin my taper. One of the bloggers over at Runner's Lounge (Tom, a regular participant in the Chicago Marathon) recently left a comment on a post of mine. In the comment, he says: Thanks for leaving a comment and glad you get some benefit from Runners' Lounge. Seems like you made the right decision to skip the workout. And glad you had a good 20+ mile run. You'll do great at Chicago. I love running Chicago and have run it many years. I can be of any help, let me know. Keep up the good running and posting! Nice to have the support out there!

Here's the week 12 training update: Week 12 target mileage: 45 miles Week 12 actual mileage: 43.3 miles Target cumulative miles through last week: 463 miles Actual cumulative miles through last week: 449.6 miles Variance: (13.4) miles Training miles to go: 163 As I mentioned earlier today , last week was really tough - probably the hardest week yet. For the first time I feel like I'm getting sick of following a schedule, so thank goodness the end is in sight. This week is a fallback week and will include a half-marathon on Sunday, so that should help ease the monotony just a bit. Only two more full training weeks to go before the eagerly anticipated taper begins. I've been collecting some new running books and reading a lot about what to do in the final weeks and days before (and after) the race. I'm also very happy that we once again have weather that at least approximates fall on the temperature and humidity front.

After a lot of deliberation, I decided yesterday to head out for the long run I had scheduled for last weekend. First, some background: The last long run I did was my best yet - fast and comfortable on a hilly course. Since then, though, virtually everything has felt like a struggle. Running last week in the city was particularly difficult given the return of warm and steamy weather. Figuring I might be overly run-down, I debated whether it might be to my advantage to skip this long run. On the plus side it would be a good break - mentally and physically. On the minus side, I felt I'd be opening a slippery slope to skipping future workouts and that I'd be putting a ton of pressure on myself to successfully complete the long run that's due two weeks from now (a 22-miler!). I also thought that I'd be making a bad situation worse if I haven't given myself enough recovery time along the way. In the end I decided to postpone a day - which meant missing a short workout s...

<a href="http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/ny/new-york/126488386037">NYRR Queens Half-Marathon 2008 (approximate)</a><br/><a href="http://www.mapmyrun.com/find-run/united-states/ny/new-york">Find more Runs in New York, New York</a> If you click through to the full screen view on the map above (the approximate route for next weekend's Queens Half-Marathon) and switch to Satellite View, you can see Target (quite clearly) from outer space. Wacky. I'll be running this race next weekend with my good friend Jordi , who is coming up to NYC with some of his family for the race and a Yankees game.

With the impending arrival of Tropical Storm Hanna, tomorrow's 20 mile run will be put off at least a day if not cancelled outright (which might be an ok thing as I'm feeling pretty worn out). During hurricane season I like to geek out at the National Hurricane Center Website and particularly enjoy reading the detailed overviews written by the forecasters; here's the discussion on Hurricane Ike . Reading it makes me want to learn more about weather forecasting. The overviews are updated every 6 hours at 5 and 11.

Here's the week 11 training update: Week 11 target mileage: 42 miles Week 11 actual mileage: 35.8 miles Target cumulative miles through last week: 418 miles Actual cumulative miles through last week: 406.2 miles Variance: (11.8) miles Training miles to go: 208 Last week was totally brutal, especially the medium-long run on Saturday where my pace was almost 11 minutes per mile. Week 10 was so good that the struggles last week were pretty surprising. On reflection, though, I think there are a bunch of reasons the week was tough: the psychology of being on vacation, irregular eating habits (more wine, desserts, and rich food than is typical), irregular sleep habits, the strong pull of other fun activities, the boredom of running basically the same route for two straight weeks, and most significantly, coming off a 45 mile week where I averaged just over 9 minutes per mile for the entire week (fast for me). The off-day yesterday seems to have helped as I ran 7 miles this morning and was...

Here's the week 10 training update: Week 10 target mileage: 45 miles Week 10 actual mileage: 45.3 miles Target cumulative miles through last week: 376 miles Actual cumulative miles through last week: 370.4 miles Variance: (5.61) miles Training miles to go: 250 Last week's training was helped by what may have been the best stretch of August vacation weather I've ever experienced - cool and dry every day; this week looks like more of the same. Average pace was 30 seconds per mile faster than the last 45 mile training week. I feel like the end is in sight - just four more weeks of training (two weeks of 42 miles and two weeks of 45 miles) before I begin my two week taper.....