Miami Beach 13.1 Race Report

The good news? I knocked off 7 minutes from my previous Half Marathon pr.

The bad news? I ONLY knocked off 7 minutes from my previous Half Marathon pr.

The Miami Beach 13.1 began EARLY Sunday morning, start time 6am. I always like to give myself at least 2 hours of "awake" time before any race, so if you do the math the day began before the rooster sang-- and I mean that literally. I was staying with friends who live in a very nice community in Miami but somewhere nearby there was a rooster that performed it's duties quite well-- sounding it's natural alarm at the ripe hour of 4:30am daily! This is not something you would expect to find in a suburb of Miami-- but it is a city full of interesting characters!

Moving on. The temperature Sunday morning was well..... for Miamians, Cold, for a Buffalonian like me, perfect. It was in the 50's but as the sun began to rise-- so did the temperature. The race was well managed and organized. It began on Ocean Drive-- not far from one of my favorite bars-- The Clevelander!!! There were about 2,000 others registered but the start line was wide enough so there was not a lot of crowding.

Without too much fanfare (which I like) The gun sounded. We were off!

I felt really good from the get go. I was keeping my pace to try and meet my goal of finishing closer to 1:30-- That is until mile 4 when my pace slowed. I did not feel tired-- in fact I was barely sweating. My Polar watch had broken the week before the race so I had no instant indicator telling me my pace which was driving me nutz. I relied on the mile markers which each thankfully had a clock. By mile 4 I had noticed my pace was down from 6:55 to 7:30's. I could have pushed even harder here but was concerned of burning out too soon. Next time I will know better.

Also during mile 4, I was forced to do what I've always said I wouldn't: make a mid-race pitstop. I consumed WAY too many liquids pre-race (coffee, gatorade, protein drink, red bull) I could not hold it one more second. I hit one of the many Portapotties along the course route. I made it quick but it still took away 1 minute 23 seconds!

The last leg of the race there was a very challenging hill, which in "flat" Miami is hard to come by. This incline was man made but still pretty tough. The worst part is you climb it twice. The course took you across the Julia Tuttle Causeway, which connects the beach to the City of Miami, and then back again. As challenging as it was by the time you were done with the Causeway-- the race was almost over. Just 5K's left-- and 5 very flat K's!

I was still running strong-- slower thanks to the 2 monster hills , but beginning to pass several people. I finished strong but knew I was going to be closer to 1:40 as opposed to 1:30.

I crossed the line at 1:39:24. A time, given the effort put in, I am quite happy with... not thrilled-- but happy. I told myself before the race I wanted to finish strong and not "burn out" towards the end. I never did "burn out" but I do wonder if the end result would have been better had I pushed it a bit harder in the beginning.

Next time maybe I will.

Results,

Chip time 1:39:24

age ranking: 27th out of 132

Overall: 124th out 1557

Miami Beach Bound!

FROM BUFFALO


TO THE BEACH!



I am getting things ready for this weekend's Miami Beach 13.1 and getting very excited. I have been training pretty hard and hoping it pays off next Sunday.

It's so nice now that I am no longer a Marathon or Half marathon "virgin". I know a bit more about what to expect and really feel like I am going to enjoy the experience without having too many pre-race jitters.

It was last May when I ran my first half marathon and I can still remember the anxiety I felt leading up to it-- but now-- no more. I am not putting a lot of pressure on myself. I have worked hard and I am confident things will go smoothly ( as I currently knock on wood).

I am still going strong with my plan of a 5k a day with a long run on Saturday-- this past Sat. I ran 11.5 miles and felt pretty good, in fact was able to continue after that with some weight training.

I am shooting for a time of under 1:40-- or at least better than 1:46 which I logged when I ran the Buffalo Half Marathon back in May-- above all though, I am going to enjoy the scenery, the blue Miami skies and water, and the event itself which is promising to be pretty energetic-- full of LIVE music and entertainment along the route.

I am also pumped to hear the course finish line has been moved to take place along the beach!!!

Blogging Break.. I'm Back with a New Plan!

Hey guys-- If I still have friends on here :)

I have been terribly busy with work-- and workouts-- and have not posted on here since my marathon report. I promise you though this does not mean I have abandoned my love of running!

I did not take much time off after the marathon. Although it was still tender a few weeks post marathon, my ITband is doing much better. One thing I have not done since the race? Run outside! And it's killing me. The weather here has been snowy and cold and after running 26.2 miles in miserable conditions, in Orlando of all places, I am DONE with the cold.

My new best friend? The treadmill. I still dislike it compared to running outside on a nice Spring, Summer, or Fall day but I am learning to live with it. I am also doing some stellar speed work and enjoy the instant data the treadmill provides.

I have decreased my mileage per week quite a bit, averaging about 20 to 25 miles per week.

I am essentially running a 5K every day, 5 days a week. 1 day is a long run of 7 to 10 miles. I am also adding SERIOUS weight training to the schedule which has been going great. I am looking/feeling better than I ever have.

OK- the next race? Well, plenty of 5ks planned over the next couple of months but I need another big goal.. I am planning to run the Miami half marathon in the beginning of March... But ready for a full marathon after sometime in April. Any ideas?????

Hope you are all well and I look forward to checking out your blogs!

The LATE Disney Marathon Report

If you are in a hurry, I will give you the short version:

I did it! I finished. I hit my goal of under 4 hours by running a Negative split. It was cold, painful but it was fun.

If you are still around, here's the full race report:

I set out for Florida three days before the big event. My direct flight to Orlando was perfect, on time, and comfortable. Everything was going smoothly. Everything except the weather! The high on Thursday was in the 50's. By sunset, it was approaching the 30's!!! So much for escaping the Buffalo chilly weather!

As disapointing as the chilly temps were, I am not one to let weather dictate my mood. I checked into my hotel and called family and friends who had arrived a day earlier. I threw my luggage into the hotel room, and hopped on a bus straight for the Disney Marathon Expo. It was a very cool experience. The Expo was huge, and had some pretty cool exhibits, inlcuding the KT tape booth. If you've been following my blog, you know during training I was struck with ITBS. A common but painful injury for runners, often times due to overtraining. I had purchased an ITB strap which is placed around the knee to provide support. It was not working well and I still experienced a lot of discomfort during my last few runs that week. I noticed the KT exhibit was offering free tapings of IT bands. This specific tape is allegedly used by professional athletes and the gentleman working the booth really sold it as a "miracle" cure to the pain. I agreed to have it taped up-- which he said would last through the race. Upon getting up off the table and walking around I did notice immense relief and was VERY optimistic that I was going to be just fine come Sunday.

I woke up early Saturday and made my way to EPCOT to watch friends cross the finish line for the Disney Half Marathon. It was very difficult navigating around Disney that day. Many roads were closed and it took me an hour to reach the finish line. I was super dissapointed I did not get to see Brian from " A Runner's Blog" come in. He hit his goal finishing under 1:30.. Congrats to him! Especially considering the weather was downright miserable. Record Cold with freezing rain... It really was like I never left Buffalo!

After enjoying a late and high calorie mexican lunch with my family, I returned back to my hotel room to get things ready for Sunday's marathon. The forecast called for a dry but VERY chilly morning, high in the 20's!. I laid out my MANY layers of clothes, gels, gloves, hats, etc., popped an Ambien, and was out by 8pm. The alarm quickly went off at 2am. I consumed one powerbar, and two cups of coffee. I met my fellow runners with Roswell in the Hotel lobby, after some photos, we hopped on the bus and were shuttled off to the start line. As any big Marathon, there was quite a bit of waiting outside, in lines, to get to the start. This normally would have been fine had it not been so damn cold out there. Many of us were huddling to stay warm. One of the big highlights of this moment, In the thousands of people there-- I did get to meet fellow blogger B.o.B. from Discom-BOB-ulated Running. She was not running but there to cheer on a friend. She is as beautiful in person as the photos on her blog.

After checking our bags, visiting the porta potties, we were off to the start. It was a long but nice walk. My pacer Brenda was keeping me excited and motivated. She was very concerned about my IT band but I still wasn't feeling any pain again, convinced this KT tape was making it all better.

By the time we reached the start and got in our corral the first wave of runners ( the elite gang) were off. The start was good but did not seem as great as last year's at least judging by the video I saw of it on Youtube. There were fireworks, and music, Video screens, and of course all the cast and characters of Disney. We were off... SLooooooooowly. I had wanted to maintain around an 8:30 to 8:42 pace. This was impossible for the first few miles. The road was packed with runners. Brenda said we were holding around 9 minute miles. This left me a bit frustrated at the time but now believe it was for the best, forcing me to slow it down and not use up all the jet fuel.

By the time we reached mile 6 it hit. Remember the so called "Miracle Tape" that was supposed to "wipe the pain away"?? Well, it failed. Miserably. My IT band was killlling, worse than ever. Luckily, I was carrying my IT strap, which I was told I would no longer need with the tape. We stopped at the next aid station, Brenda had to go use the porta potty, while I sat on the side of the road, stretched my IT band and wrapped the strap around my knee. The pain was awful but ironically walking seemed to make it worse, running made it feel a bit better.. Strange right?

We continued on, although in the back of my mind I feared my knee was just going to completely give out. It was easy to get distracted though by looking at all the wonderful "sideshows" they had along the route. The best part is around miles 10 and 11 when you run through the Magic Kingdom, zipping down Main Street USA and through Cinderella's castle, and then greeted by hundreds of screaming supporters on the side. By mile 12 our pace was picking up but we were still destined to hit the halfway point in just over 2 hours--- If I didn't pick it up I could kiss that sub 4 hour goal goodbye.

By mile 15 it all started to come together. The pain never went away in fact only became worse but thanks to tylenol and my very energetic pacer we began to sail. Each mile passed by VERY quickly, miles 20 and 21 outside Hollywood Studios were a bit boring. You run up one side of the road and down the other. The lack of distractions here made me realize the pain in my IT band was joined by major aches in both feet and legs. But I still did not "hit the after mile 20 wall" everyone talks about. Yes I was in pain, but not at all tired and by this point I had consumed just 1 energy gel. We zipped through Hollywood Studios. This last leg of the race was pretty cool. Lots of crowd support and great scenery. By mile 23 I was feeling the pain everywhere but we were holding our pace. Brenda and I were determined to finish this thing under four hours... At times, running 8:10 to 8:20 to get the job done. We passed miles 24, 25, and were greeted by the singing choir at mile 26. I could hear the crowd, see the finish, and at this point, the pain began to dissapear. I held back the waterworks but was feeling overwhelemed by emotion at this point. We crossed the finish line at 3:56:28!! I ran a "negative Split" running the second half faster than the first. I am still amazed by this. I have always lost it in the last part of any race.. But this day I had my eyes on the prize!

I greeted my family and friends, took pictures, picked up my bag, and then.. it was done. I was satisfied. Content. The hard work, weeks of training paid off. The experience was incredible-- unforgetable. I truly enjoyed running 26.2 and will absolutely run another... When, Where?? Thats for another post, another day. For now, I celebrate. Mission Accomplished!

T Minus 5 Days and Counting!

There really is no turning back now. The Walt Disney World Marathon is next Sunday and I am as ready as I can be.

The past couple of weeks have been rocky to say the least. I was stricken with ITBS, forced to sit out the past two weeks only picking up training this past weekend. The good news, My pace is on target. My IT band is still a bit tender but nothing a shot of cortisone won't temporarily take care of. I am meeting with my doc tomorrow where he will hopefully give me the injection. If not-- I am confident I will finish the race. My knee is tender-- but those two weeks off really made a difference.

My goal time is under 4 hours.

I leave Thursday so I can partake in all of the race weekend festivities which include, from what I am told, a kick ass expo!

After the race-- a well deserved vacation in MIAMI!!!!!!

I will keep you all posted and hope to update through my travels!

Help!!

Ok-- As I told you in my last post-- I had a bout with ITBS. I have taken the past week off. It feels better but I am soo afraid to push it.

I HAVE to pick up marathon training soon-- I have finished all of my long runs but at this point worried about losing my fitness level-- any idea how long it takes to lose, pace/speed/etc?

I.T.B.S.

It really stands for:

I: Illio
T: Tibial
B: Band
S: Syndrome

It SHOULD stand for

I: I
T: Think it's
B: Bull
S: Shit

The pain started a couple of weeks ago and then really got bad during last Saturday's long run-- since then it's on and off.

For those who don't know, ITBS is a common knee injury amoung us runners-- and thankfully not terribly serious-- but the pain can be awful.

Last Saturday at mile 15 it really hurt-- Although tempted, I did not stop and thanks to the snow we had last weekend I had an instant ice pack after the 20 miles--I just knelt down into a pile and kept my knee "frozen" for 10 minutes. I have a physical therapist as a friend who told me I need to keep it iced, compressed, and get some (the word we all hate) rest! I took Sunday and Monday off- but picked it back up--- running 4 miles Tuesday, 4 today (weds). It's going well-- it REALLY hurts when I have to climb stairs though !

I should count my blessings. Another runner in our group had to stop at mile 15-- his foot soo bad he could not continue. I volunteered to run ahead, get my car, and pick him up.

Anyone else had a bout with ITBS? Advice? marathon is less than a month away-- I want to play it smart but also want to continue training.

I survived!

Pheeeeew! The party is over. Normally that statement brings me a bit of sadness but not this week!

My Ugly Sweater Fundraising Party is done. Complete. Finito! It was a great time and the best part??? I reached my fundraising goal for Roswell Park Cancer Institute-- and then some! Here's a look at my sweater?? What do you think?


I decided to go "homemade" because I just could not find an ugly enough sweater befitting the host!

Now I can focus no my training-- which, by the way-- in spite of a VERY stressful week of planning for that party-- is going VERY well.

I am logging 45 miles per week, will run my second 20 miler this week. I ran with my group last saturday (the morning before party) and we ran 17 in 2:37! The training coach for Roswell, who is a running machine, was quite happy. I was hoping to qualify for Boston but will settle with a 3:30+. This race is really about enjoying the experience!

Here are some more pictures of last Staurday's party!





SOME OF THE RAFFLE ITEMS



PEOPLE HOPING TO WIN RAFFLE


BAND





and finally.......


After the party-- when I could finally get my drink on!!

Buffalo Turkey Trot 8k

It started out well...The weather was great-- cool but dry and pleasant. I met my running group from Roswell Park Cancer Institute early this morning-- Did some LIVE shots for my TV station at the start line... waited... waited... and waited-- felt great-- pumped-- ready.

Then, Bang!

This is when things go down hill. I had planned to maintain a 6:50 pace throughout this race. In my past couple of weeks of marathon training doubles I have kept this pace many times for 4 milers, surely, this being 5-- I could hold it for one more... NOT!

I knew something wasn't right from the start. My breathing was off-- I felt as if I was pushing HARDER than EVER before-- I was confident I was holding a 6:20 pace... I looked down at my watch: 7:10 pace!!! What???? Mile 1: totally BEAT, 2, 3, 4-- just as bad.

I finished at 35:43-- Not at all what I was hoping.

What went wrong?

The wind-- was a bitch-- and hard on other runners too. There were hills- but nothing I haven't encountered before.

Should I also mention I drank some wine last night-- maybe more than I should have??? I hope that's the reason.. I thought the carbs would help-- but the alcohol apprently did not.. Oh well.

I had fun-- there were some great costumes-- and the race was filled to capacity with 12,000 runners.

These Old Shoes & Doubles

I said goodbye to an old friend.

Actually two old friends.

I didn't think it would affect me. I didn't think I would be a tad bit sad. But I am.

It was last week, I visited runnerswarehouse.com and was uber excited when I clicked 'Confirm" and purchased my new sneaks (Mizuno Inspire 5). I didn't think at all of my old pair-- that is until the new one arrived.

My old sneaks, also Mizunos, were well past expiration. I held onto them longer than I should have-- not for emotional reasons- but because I am cheap. I NOW suspect though that I might have been subliminally holding onto them for sentimental reasons.

This the is the pair I picked up in the infancy of my new running addiction.

They got me through some tough times.

They were there when it pained me to run 5 miles.

They were there when I ran my first sub 30:00 5k, then my sub 25:00 5k, sub 23:00-- so on and so forth.

They were there when I ran through snow, sleet, and rain.

They were there when I ran my first half..... etc., etc, etc,

Yes, they're just shoes, but they and I have been through a lot. Shared a lot...

SO... Here's to my shoes! I shall never forget you and cherish the memories. Thanks for being there!

Am I a lunatic??? Or Has anyone else had trouble parting ways with their sneakers?

DOUBLES

I remember back in High school when I played football. In the month of August we would pull "doubles" (some call them "Two a days"). I dreaded these terribly. We were up at 6am, running drills, hitting pads for three hours. Then back on the field to do it all over again in the hot afternoon sun. It was brutal. I hated August in high school.

Ironically I am performing "Doubles" again but this time I actually kind of like it. I am tired, hungry all the time-- even a bit cranky at times-- but I really like it.

I get up at 6AM-- run, hit gym for ab work.... I then break from work around 3PM and embark on round two.

I will put in more than 44 miles this week because of it and I feel stronger, faster than ever before.

As my old shoes could tell you-- keeping a 7:13 pace on a 4 miler was inconceivable months ago-- today, it's much easier!

Time FLIES! and Ugly Sweaters

Wow-- It has been a couple of weeks since my last post! Read on and you'll understand why.

The last few weeks have been nutz.

First: training!

Other than a brief lapse due to a brief sickness my training is going very well.
I am up to 17 miles-- and shooting for 18 this Saturday. The weather in this part of the country has been unseasonably warm so that has helped!

Next: Fundraising!

If you did not know, I am running the Disney Marathon for a cause- benefiting Roswell Park Cancer Institute here in Buffalo. It feels great to know I am working for something that is bigger than me and my own goals. It also makes training and getting ready that much tougher.

I'm not only begging, and probably annoying, friends and family to donate to my cause-- I am also holding a fundraiser.. An UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATER fundraiser, check out the picture on my fliers:



That is NOT me by the way... My sweater-- will be much uglier!

Anyways-- I have been VERY busy setting up this darn thing. I had to get the place, plan the menu, send out invites, find a band-- not just a band-- but a band that will perform free of charge, find items to donate-- so far LOTS of gift certificates and items from the Buffalo Sabres and the Buffalo Bills! I had to decide cash bar or open bar-- it's open... Etc, etc, etc.

I am tired-- still motivated but tired. So, my apologies to all of you who have probably written some kick ass updates to your blogs-- I will catch up this week.

Oh yeah.. If you're in Buffalo -- or want to fly in-- My fundraiser is Saturday December 5Th. Fonatana's Ogden's Restaurant, 1834 William Street, Buffalo NY

Bring Your Ugly Christmas Sweater................

16.5!!!!

Saturday Morning.

9:55am.

It was cold (50), cloudy, and a bit windy.

I ran 16.5 anyway!

I began by waking up around 7:45am, filling the coffee cup, and downing a bowl of Rice Chex cereal. I gave my system time to catch up and--sorry to be gross-- but clean out.

At the start, I decided to push it harder than last weekend's LD. I averaged an 8:40 pace-- holding it for Miles 1-10. I once again brought no gel packs, and stupidly consumed no water along the way. It didn't matter.

After mile 10 I felt great--no--amazing. I stepped it up averaging 8:10-- even hitting a few strides of 7:30's. By mile 15 I was beat and slowed it down to the 10:00/11:00 mark.

I finished at 2hrs 31m!!!! I am proud of that. If I can hold the pace I had for miles 1-10 and not try and push it-- I might make my goal.

next weekend: 18 miles!

Detroit Paranoia

I am sure many of you have heard by now. Three runners, two of them quite young, dropped dead at the Detroit Marathon this past weekend. Anyone else having trouble getting this out of their heads?

As soon as I found out this morning-- I googled news articles about the story. I also went to RunnersWorld.com, and much to my dismay, there was only a brief mention of the deaths. An interview with their cardiologist/contributor Dr. Thompson filled in some of the blanks but I still have sooo many more questions.

At this point, the deaths, are a mystery-- even to the Medical Examiners. They've performed the autopsies and declared that more tests are needed to determine a cause. This is strange. If the deaths were merely "cardiac related" , which most seem to believe, the Coroner would have easily been able to rule that after a standard autopsy. What is a bit alarming is they need to wait for results of blood and toxicology tests to try and determine if there was something in their systems leading to death. The tests can take weeks. In the meantime all anyone can do is speculate and bloggers in Detroit are doing just that!

On Freep.com (Detroit's major newspaper and sponsor of Sunday's marathon)the comment section at the end of the article is full of all kinds of allegations. From the obvious suspected causes: heart problems and/or over exertion-- to the more outrageous: "Tainted water" at the refueling stations...

"Tainted water"???

At first I thought it was a ridiculous statement. A far fetched scenario created by someone's extreme paranoia. But then I thought about it. Why is it so hard to believe in present day that some sicko would compromise something all of us runners deem to be a safe "bet"-- water stations at races.. Who in the world would tamper with that???

Well....

Who in the world, would attach bombs to their body, walk on a bus, and press the red button detonating themselves-- and countless of innocent others?

Who in the world, would spend years training to become a pilot only to hijack a plane, fly it smack into a building, intending to murder thousands of people?

Who in the world would hide along a highway-- and for weeks continue to shoot and kill innocent people-- fueling up their cars-- sniper style?

Paranoia-- maybe. But, 'tis the day and age in which we live for it not to be a sick possibility.

I hope that's not the case.

Any answer, really, that comes out of these three tragedies will be unsettling to all of us runners. If all three are natural? What questions will you ask your doctor? Or should I ask before my marathon? If it is-- God help us-- something sparked by a terrorist or other attention seeking sicko-- I hope they catch the creep (I have much stronger terms) and punish him/her accordingly.

Most of all-- My thoughts and prayers are with the families of these three men and hope for their sake-- the answers, whatever they maybe, come quickly!

14.5 Miles and counting!

What a great weekend! I had my second "serious" LD training run for the marathon. I set out to go 13.5. I added a mile!

Saturday was a beautiful and somewhat chilly day here in Buffalo. To me, the cooler the better. I run stronger and faster in these unseasonably cold temps-- partly just to stay warm.

I mapped out a great course that took me around the city's waterfront, then around the Naval Park, into downtown, up to Delaware Park-- That's the park I have written about many times before-- an "Olmstead" designed park. It was a very cool course and with several hills, also very challenging.

I felt awesome-- one of those runs you wish you could have every time. The odd part--I made it 14.5 without any nutrition along the way. I forgot my GU packs-- I didn't even have water, still it went well.

I learned a valuable lesson. I started out slow-- If you've been reading my blog for the past few months you know this is HUGE for me. My first 7 miles I maintained only a 9:00 pace (approx)-- stepping it up the last half:

Mile 8: 8:46
Mile 9: 8:37
mile 10: 8:37
Mile 11: 8:30
Mile 12: 8:13
Mile 13: 7:57
Mile 14: 7:45!!!

I finally "get it"! I usually and when I say "usually" I mean ALWAYS break that cardinal rule-- and start out of the gate running strong-- only to lag behind the last leg of any run. The pace, if followed in January, definitely won't get me across the Disney finish line at my target time of sub 4 hours-- But remember, I felt fine afterwards. Next time I will know I can step it up a bit earlier. I took the advice. Advice Glenn (The Running Fat Guy) and Brian (A Runner's Blog) have been telling me since I started this darn blog-- Training is all about tweaking- taking it slow here-- pushing harder there-- working-- to get the pace you desire.

I like the new me! Lets just hope the old guy doesn't come back to haunt me!

Disney Training Runs

If the Disney Marathon in January is half as fun as my training runs-- I am going to have a blast!

I first met with my group a couple of weekends ago. There are about 30 people from the Buffalo area running for the same charity as me. The training groups are broken into 3 different groups with 3 different coaches. The northern suburbs, southern suburbs, and the city. I am with the city group-- Our first run was through a cemetery-- which sounds creepy but it's a GREAT run.


It's the Forest Lawn Cemetery-- not to be confused with the one in L.A. where Michael Jackson is buried-- although it has plenty of celebs there. We ran past Rick James' grave and President Grover Cleveland's resting place. This course is also very challenging-- full of hills. We ran a good 4 miles through the cemetery and then into Delaware Park:

The total run was 8.5 miles. I ran with the husband of our main coach-- He's a great runner with several marathons under his belt. He is also very fast and kept me going hard. We maintained a 7:50 pace-- not bad for a first training run.

The coaches asked what my marathon goal is-- I told them to finish under 4 hours. They feel it's very do-able. I am hoping they are correct.

I've been keeping with the training program they prescribed and at this point putting in 30 plus miles per week. I missed last weekend's group training because of a college reunion in the Poconos-- but back at it this Saturday.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Yes I am alive and despite not posting anything here in 11 days-- I am running hard.

This past week has not been easy. Have you seen the commercial, not sure which product it is pimping, but it targets runners. The woman, is snug in her bed. Outside her window, the leaves are falling, the wind blowing-- it's clearly a fall brisk day. Despite her sheets pulling her back into the warm comfy bed-- she beats down temptation, laces up, and runs. Thats exactly what I have been dealing with. The temps took a dive this week (averaging low 60's day, low 40's night) which is rather early even for Buffalo-- I have been SOOO tempted to stay inside, next to the fire, comforting myself and stomach with delicious high calorie foods-- a casserole or something-- but I fought back and like the woman in the commercial-- pushed myself out the door.

average mileage past two weeks: 34

8 miles today-- the temp: 51F

I am meeting with my running group for Disney training runs this Saturday-- Will let you know how it goes!

What a Weekend!

Thanks to everyone who weighed in on the debate over GNC whey protein-- I am staying away from it for now. Not that I have found any evidence it doesn't work to help power runs but at this point I would rather not depend on any substance, natural or synthetic, to train.

I am ending what has been a spectacular weekend running-wise. I put in a quality 8 miles Friday at a apace of 8:50, then 10 miles Sat. at a whopping 7:56 avg pace! I was on fire Saturday. I think Glenn is right-- You have good days and bad days try and not be so focused on consistency-- in running, really there is no such thing.

SHOUT OUT!

Congrats to Melanie from Mel Tries to Run! She is kicking butt and taking names-- setting new goals each week. It's great to read and see her progress-- a woman who has worked so hard to take part in this crazy world we all love-- a crazy, inconsistent world-- called running!

Loving Fall and GNC

It has been a beautiful couple of weeks in my neck of the woods-- perfect for running.

I love the fall in NY. We haven't quite reached the time when the leaves change and begin to fall. Things are still lush and green but the temperatures have been averaging in the 70's and are near perfect for pounding the pavement.

I have had a good last week. I ran 10 miles Saturday at an average pace of 8:56 rounding the week off with 33 miles... Not goal, but I'll take it.

I am finding my strength during runs is not consistent at all-- I'll run one day and feel great-- the next two, not so much. In the past few issues of Runner's World I have noticed advertisements from GNC. They are promoting their " Pro Performance AMP" Whey protein-- They are targeting runners, claiming the product will help with endurance and maybe, in my case, help bring me back some consistency with energy levels.

Does anyone use this or other supplements to compliment training-- if so, which works for you and why? Thanks for the help!

My Fellow Runners

I've taken a look back at past posts and-- Oh my-- how I've failed you and myself. That thing called life has once again interfered with my running and blogging... Not that I haven't been running at all-- I still put in a solid 27m last week but if you followed my past posts that is MUCH LESS than what I had planned so-- My fellow runners I pledge;
To be a better runner-- strive for the best
To keep my "Eyes on the Prize" ie, Disney Marathon
To not succumb to the evil taunts from friends who want to grab a drink after work
keeping me OFF the road
To eat better and not gain another pound (up 2 pounds since we last chatted)
To buy better shoes (my mizunos are WELL over their maximum miles)
To blog, blog, and blog-- it helps keep me motivated
To read your blogs-- which moticates me even more!

I feel better all ready!

Start with a BANG!

Kicked off the week well!

9 miles yesterday- average pace: 8:30!!!! I was a bit concerned about this run as I did not run AT ALL over the weekend-- no issues. I felt great and have gained control once again of my breathing. The weather also helps-- Buffalo slowly changing into fall mode and is quite pleasant.

On tap: 5miler today at 5k pace-- shooting to maintain around 7:00 min miles for the entire run.

Another goal-- Need to start eating better! I have had a friend in town all weekend and have been eating like a piggy-