February 26 through March 4

Monday, February 26th: 6.3 miles with the dogs.  I ran the first 4+ with Riley and last 2 with Lulu.  It was another mild morning.  My legs were definitely feeling it today and I felt like I had no go.  All in all, it felt like a Monday. Tired as usual.  It was another fairly mild morning and I have a good streak of wearing shorts going.

Tuesday, February 27th: 6.1 miles with the dogs..6:57 average pace.  No go today

Wednesday, February 28th: 6.3 miles..5k warmup with Riley and then 8X1:30 H with 35 to 40 second jog rests.  Solid workout..need to keep up with the hard stuff.  Tired.

Thursday, March 1st: 5.6 miles..first 3+ with Riley and an additional 2+ with Lulu.  The moon was beautiful this morning.  Enjoying the lighter mornings.

PM-PT Session # 7.  Received more active release on the neck and upper back. 

Friday, March 2nd: 40 minutes of stretching, rolling, and doing whatever I can to remain mobile.
Later in the day, had to deal with side effects of nasty storm that came through.  Had a big tree fall down, a leak in my basement, failure of my sub pump, and a smashed grill in my backyard.  It ended up being the most impact I've personally experienced from a storm since being a home owner.  Good times.

Saturday: 7 miles solo.  6:52 pace.  While the wind was still whipping and there was even some light rain, I enjoyed checking out the area and small impacts from the storm.  Snuck in the golf course to run for a bit before quickly retreating when I ended up getting sick of the wind.  Busy day of clean up.  In the afternoon,  I went down to Misquamicut with Shara and her friend, Kathryn, to check out conditions and pick up numbers for the upcoming Ocean's Run Half.  Many of the roads were flooded and there was huge question if the race would happen at all.  By nightfall, we heard the race would be a go.  I wasn't thrilled with the course conditions or high winds that I'd be dealing with, but knew I needed to do it as a workout for Boston.

Sunday: Ocean Run Half, 3rd overall,  1:21: 28, 6:11 p/mile pace.
Warmed up for a 1.5 miles and ran into Turtle Zac K, who I have always been fond of.  We discussed race intentions and planned on working together in the race.  My goal was to get a good workout in and I had a feeling it would be a slow day with conditions.  Zak had similar thoughts.

The race
Waiting for the start was freezing but things quickly warmed up once the race was underway.  Paces for the first 5 miles all ranged between 6 flat and 6:18 per mile.  It was tough to get into a rhythm and I just wanted to stick to getting in a workout at slightly faster than MP.  I had a big surprise and highlight around the first mile when the Gazelle appeared to cheer on the runners and he even ran with Zak and I for about a 1/2 mile while blaring AC/DC.  I was pumped and this small portion of time served as the highlight of my race! Jeff then shot off to do a 10k in the South County 4th Season Race Series.  Thanks Gazelle!

Before Mile 2, cruising along
Photo credit: Gazelle Photography

The next portion of the race-Atlantic Ave, Cove Road, and Shore Road area ended up being a struggle and Zak pulled away from me with authority.  I ended up being in "no man's land" and was feeling the impacts of the wind but knew I needed to stick to it despite not running the paces I'd hoped.  Things improved running down Noyes Neck and I moved into 3rd for the remainder of the race.  Coming back up Noyes Neck to get to Knowles was brutal with the small hill climb and a whipping wind.  After coming through Fenway, I saw my parents by the Weekapaug Bridge as they came to cheer us on.  From there, it was the cruise home.  There was a slight tailwind on Atlantic Ave but I couldn't avoid running through some of deep water as other runners were coming in the opposite direction.  I finally finished in 1:21:28 and can't say I'm happy with my time or how I felt but I do find the effort valuable and hope it will pay off later.  It was also fun running and catching up with Zak for a bit. 

Notes: Shara ran very comfortably and paced her friend through the half.  As I write this post, she reports no ill effects of running long, which she attributes to the slower pace.  Special thanks to Gazelle and my parents for their support it helps. Mileage for the day was around 16.5. 

Shara and Kathryn post race. Shara was no worse for the wear.

Weekly Miles: 48.2
Synopsis: another solid week of grinding through.  Some of the same things to report: on/off neck/back issues, daily fatigue and tiredness, wishing I had more total miles, and a feeling like this process is a grind.  The reality is a marathon is a grind-so logic tells me maybe I'll be well prepared.  I was happy to get in two solid workouts.  It was a good week of running for the dogs as well.