Olympian Apolo Ohno and I are Running the Same Two Races This Year

From today's Chicago Tribune:

"Short track speedskating legend Apolo Anton Ohno will run the Sept. 11 Chicago Half Marathon as preparation for his marathon debut Nov. 6 in New York."

So, I will be running two races with a two time olympian and 8 medal winner!  Both races are within a few weeks of each other, yet in diffent cities.  Since it sounds like this will be his first marathon (and likely first 1/2 marathon) I am hoping to beat his times.  Although, he is an Olympic athlete so it will be interesting to see how we compare.

Lincoln Square/Welles Park Recovery Run

Morning: A leisurely jog aroung the Lincon Square area.  6 miles @ 8:05/mile.

Evening: Jog to pick up some hamburgers.  Anyone care to guess which restaurant?  Hint it is approximately, 0.8 miles from home?  1.6 miles @ 8:11/mile.

Miles so far this week: 44.6 of 70

8 Mile Marathon Pace Run by the Lake and a Late Night Potbelly Run

Marathon pace training is the hardest part of training.  It is supposed to mentally and physically prepare you for the actual race.  So, right in the middle of your weekly mileage, you throw down 7 to 10 miles of actual racing pace on tired legs.  Throw in running with a water bottle/belt, contending with dust and dirt in your face from street sweepers and lawn mowers and you have quite a challenge.  My marathon pace goal is 6:52/mile, so that's what I needed to hit.

Mile 1: Starting out, I was running fast, but my perceived effort did not reflect a good pace on my Garmin watch.  Started thinking "Maybe today is not my day, maybe my easy days aren't easy enough."   Also, start to reconsider my goal of a 3 hour marathon. Must. Banish. Negative Thinking.  7:21/mile
Miles 2 and 3: Okay, I'm really pushing myself to hit my target pace, surely I won't be able to keep this up? 6:53/mile, 6:52/mile
Mile 4: This is the last mile before the turnaround, see the flags waving at Belmont Harbor, and realize I'm running into a headwind.  Now I know why I'm working so hard.  6:48/mile
Mile 5: Get hit in the eye by a piece of flying dirt from a guy mowing the lawn on the East side of Lake Shore Drive. It's still in my eye as I type this.  6:50/mile
Mile 6:  The headwind is now a tailwind!: 6:20/mile
Mile 7:  I need to back off a little, as I surely have my average pace.  Just need to ease on home. 6:38/mile
Mile 8:  Last mile, feel good, and I go for broke for the last quarter mile, may pay for this later... 6:25/mile.

Goal: 8 miles @ 6:52
Actual: 8 miles @ 6:46
Last Tuesday's MP run, was slower than goal pace by 6 seconds and this week I was faster than goal by 6 seconds.  Funny how this stuff evens out!

Evening:  Run to Potbelly Sandwich Shop to pick up dinner then to Laurie's Planet of Sound to buy a music cd.

Weekly mileage so far 37 of 70

Ravenswood Jog and Welles Park Recovery

Morning recovery run of 6.75 miles @ 8:32/mile.  Preparing for marathon pace run tomorrow.  Temps were very comfortable in the upper 60s. 

Evening recovery from my recovery run.  About 4 laps around Welles Park.  Needed to stretch my legs after sitting at my desk all day. 70 degrees.  2.5 miles @ 8:05/mile.  8 miles at marathon pace looms tomorrow.

Miles so far this week: 26.75 of 70.

Lakefront Run then a River Run

8am:  8.5 miles to the lake and back.  Beautiful morning. Not quite 70 degrees, breeze off of the lake.  Much easier to run today vs. yesterday.  Could have run another 2 miles easily.

3:30pm: 9 miles along the Chicago River North Branch trail North past Devon.  Weather still nice.  Lots o' bikers and a handful o' runners.  Ran around the North Park University Track a few laps to get the mileage.


Total miles this week: 17.5 of 70

Run by the Lake

Morning Run: 9am:  Hot, humid nearly 80 degrees by the lake.  The lakefront trail is now super crowded with all of the marathon training clubs running in packs.  Throw in the walkers, bikers and rollerbladers all trying to get out there before the last days of summer end and you have a mob.  It was a tough 9.5 miles, lost about 4 pounds, but gained back two right after I downed a few glasses of water upon my return.

9.5 miles @ 7:41/mile

3.0 miles @ 7:25/mile.  Evening run around Welles Park.  Done for the week.  Mega day tomorrow!

Total Miles this week: 65.2 of 65

Day off and Late Night Tacos

Schedule says "day off" so that's what I'll do.  Though I was tempted to log a few miles after eating 6 tacos and a bean burrito at 10pm last night!    Anyway, stay tuned for my Plan A, B and C goals for the Marathon....

Tomorrow two runs to clean up the 12.4 miles remaining for the week.

Still holding at 52.6 of 65 miles for the week.

Beer Aids in Marathon Recovery - NY Times Article

This just in, beer aids in marathon recovery!  Those Bavarian scientists hard at work. Unfortunately, the study only covered nonalcholic beer... :-(

Track Workout - Speed and a "Dog Treat" Run

Morning Run: Sunny, 75 degrees at North Park University Track by the Chicago River North Branch:
4 mile warm-up
1 mile @ 6:15/mile (.25 walk)
1 mile @ 6:08/mile (.25 walk)
1 mile @ 5:53/mile
2 mile cool down

So, my average speed was 6:05/mile for my three one mile repeats. So, that's a tad bit faster than my goal of 6:09/mile (10k pace).  But, not bad.
Total: 9.5 miles.

Evening Run around Horner Park, and picked up dog treats at The Barking Lot.  Total: 5.1 miles @ 7:25/mile.  Last 0.6 was carrying the treats, so an added workout! :-)

Total miles this week: 52.6 of 65

5.5 Miles Recovery

Welles Park run.  5.5 miles @ 7:44/mile

Weekly total so far: 38 of 65 miles.

7 Mile Marathon Pace Run - Brooks Hanson style

One of the main parts of the Brooks Hanson marathon training plan is to run a portion of your weekly miles at marathon pace.  This forces you (and your legs) to get used to the pace required to hit your marathon goal time.  To run a 2:59:59 marathon, each mile needs to be run at 6:52 per mile.  So today my goal was to run 7 miles at 6:52/mile.

Goal: 7 miles @ 6:52/mile
Actual: 7 miles @ 6:57/mile

First mile was a 7:28/mile on stiff legs. Considering the relatively quick increase in miles I have put in over the last few weeks, this was not bad.  However, the "slow" first mile served to pull my average up too much above my target for me to make it up over the following 6 miles.  The next 6 miles were all right around 6:52/mile.  Maybe next week, I should consider running a warmup mile before running marathon pace miles.

Evening Run 3 miles @ 7:28/mile

Weekly total so far: 32.6 miles of 65 miles

Monday - Recovery Run

Monday morning: 6.1 miles at 8:23/mile pace.  Recovery run from yesterday's 16.5 combined runs and prepare legs for Tuesday's 7 mile marathon pace tempo run.

Weekly total so far: 22.6 miles

Sunday Run includes Watching The Air and Water Show

Sunday 8/22: 16.5 miles total

Early Morning Run: 5 miles around Welles Park
Afternoon Run: 8 miles to the lake to watch the Chicago Air and Water Show.  Perfect weather, fun crowd down at Montrose Harbor.
Evening Run: 3.5 miles to 2 grocery stores and back.

Training for the 2011 New York City Marathon Goal: Break 3 hours

I am currently in the 7th week of a 16 week training plan for the NYC Marathon.  I am using the Brooks Hansons' training plan.  I used the Brooks Hansons' plan earlier this year to run a sub 3:10 in the L.A.
Marathon averaging 63 miles per week in the last 8 weeks (pre taper).

My Goal: Break 3 hours in a marathon for the first time!

Here are my stats so far (days run per week in parentheses):

Week 1: 11 miles (2 days)
Week 2: 26 miles (5 days)
Week 3: 37 miles (6 days)
Week 4: 45 miles (6 days)
Week 5: 40 miles (6 days)
Week 6: 53 miles (6 days)
Week 7: 60 miles (6 days including 13.1 mi. at the Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon)

Welcome to My Blog

Hey, welcome to The Lakefront Trail, named for the beautiful lakefront trail in Chicago where thousands run, bike and rollerblade during the summer.  And a handful of us run during blizzards in the winter.  Hope to update this periodically....