Philadelphia Marathon

Just a quick post to say that things hadn't gone as planned. Hip flexor which had been the cause of my recent hamstring issues seized up by mile 21. That part wasn't very pretty.

First half was really good. 1:39 even on my watch which included refilling my bottle for the 2nd half. So this was good.

Went through mile 20 in 2:21 which was a little off already but okay.

The issue with the hip flexor caused me to run with a very awkward uneven gait. The left leg just wasn't flexing through the stride.

By the end of km 35 it was clear that even 3:30 wasn't possible hence it because just an effort to complete. The next 4 kms were more walking than running. By km 39 all the walking had loosened things up again enough to run through the last 3.2 km. It wasn't pretty but it got me to the line quicker.

Temperature was unseasonably cold for Phili. Only about 2 or 3 degrees at race time and didn't warm up much during the day. More details later.

On last detail. The chiptime on the site shows that same as the gun time. It wasn't. Not quite sure what's gone on with that. The difference should be a bit more than 2 minutes. Also the 30 km split is way off. Something odd about the results for sure.

Friday In Phili

Steps from Rocky movie ... check

Got a short run in this morning to keep things loose and moving. Body was a little stiff today after travel all day yesterday. We didn't arrive here until after midnight.

Overall things are feeling good. :-)

We're off to the race expo at noon to get that done and out of the way. Now if I could only leave my credit card at home ;-)

Weather is really pleasant here. The temp is on the cool side but it certainly doesn't feel cold at all. They're certainly will be no problems wearing shorts on race day.

Ran up to the race start this morning to get a sense of that area (and the steps from Rocky). Todays run was basically the following:
- w/u for 10 minutes
- 4x 1' Z2(4:15)/5'LowZ1

This was good to flush things out and loosen the legs up.

More later as the day progresses.

In Montreal

The day you leave town is often a little crazy. Today was that day.

The hamstring is coming back around. It’s been particular good when I get more stretching and/or yoga in. This is the key right now and for the next several days. On the last two runs I didn’t feel that the hamstring was a factor. It’s about time.

I’m continuing to take my iron supplements. It’s hard to say if it will help much or not but why take the chance.

I’m glad we left today for Montreal. This forced us to get out of work and get going. After today the rest of the week will be relaxing. Tomorrow morning we catch the training to Phili with a layover in New York for supper. It will be a long day traveling tomorrow but at least we don’t have to drive.

The only thing that couldn’t be done today was run. I may think about running a bit before breakfast to shake things out before the train trip.

Weight is good this week for the race. Not quite where I was in the spring but several pounds less than I was in Edmonton.

Time to relax a bit before sleepy time.

Time to post again

It’s has been a little while again since my last post. I’m 10 days away from my “A” race for the fall. I will attempt to blog all this week around the race. I won’t try and catch up on everything that has happened since Edmonton in August.
So a couple of points to start:
1. My Lactate Acid accumulation tests taken in September show that I am where I need to be to run my Boston time. This is good.
2. Two weeks ago I found out that my iron levels where very low. I went to see my doctor who in turn sent me for tests. The results where that my iron level is 24 when a normal male is 40. Bring on the iron supplements.
I talked to the pharmacist to see how much iron I could safely take each day for the 2 and ½ weeks before my race. We agreed on 1 more tablet than was subscribed. This means that I’m getting 100 mg per day plus Lactoferrin(sp?) to help with absorption in the stomach . It won’t be resolved in this time frame but if it helps, great.
3. Since the first week in October I’ve been working through some hamstring issues. Just when I think their okay, they come back. Touch and go to say the least. Fortunately it’s just the left side. My stride has somewhat been compensating for the imbalance. During the last 2 weeks I’ve been trying to keep the string consistent, even and fluid; especially fluid.
4. The train during this block has been really good. Not that it has been easy but I felt that we’ve genuinely progressed since Edmonton. My long zone 2 runs have really helped on the mental side.
Okay so those are the basic points.
Today is a day off. I’m off to see Paula my message/ART person shortly. This stuff really helps.
Last night was 10 min. warm up and 45 minutes @ 4:15-4:20. This is half the time of my longest run at this distance and wasn’t as hard to work up to. The shorter time is part of the taper.
So I’ve got runs from here until we leave next Thursday morning. All of them short, some with intensity. At least the taper runs don’t take too long.
This is a good start.