I am not sure if it was just finishing my tax return or reviewing my marathon training program, but I feel a bit down. For the St. George Marathon, the same week of training, I ran a 18 mile run at a 8:08 pace. Today I did 16 miles and only could manage a 8:48 pace. That is a huge difference. I just don’t seem to have the same speed and I guess that means my marathon time is not going to be as fast as last October. It might be the effect of dual training for cycling at the same time and just not having enough rest in the legs. The left leg still smarts from the fall this morning. I think all I need is some good sleep (it is now 1 am) and a good bike ride tomorrow to get my head back straight. 58.98904 and counting!

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I did my long run today, a total of a sweet 16 miles. However his time I got kissed by the hard ground when I took a tumble after mile 3. I had to shake myself off and get back into the grove, but I never got back to the pace I was hoping to run. I ended the run at 8:48 pace. It is interesting that this is exactly the same pace I ran 20 miles last Monday.

On the run backwards, I saw what I had tripped on, one of those cement utilities boxes that was bout 2 inches above the ground but covered by the grass. I am not sure if it was the fall, the day I took off yesterday, or the 140 miles of hard cycling only 40 hours earlier, but the run today was not what I would call sweet. But I finished it and I guess that is what counts for my marathon training for Boston. Now I am going to take a shower and head to Costco to get a hot dog.

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I went on my first 20 mile run today training for the Boston Marathon. I took my iPod and listened to the top 20 hits (actually the top 20 hits of prior decades). I also ran in warmer weather than I expected. I only took two 7 oz . water bottles because that is all I have needed, so I ended up rationing water. That is not a good way to train unless you are training for the Foreign Legion. I only averaged a 8:48 pace, but I was happy with that coming off an injury and not running that many miles the last two weeks while I was ramping up my biking miles. You can see from the graph below that during the last 6 miles of the run I had to take my heart rate up from the relatively easy 145 range to the high 150′s and even 160′s to keep the pace. That shows I need more training, especially speed workout, before I run the marathon.

Click image to enlarge.

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Okay, I know it is “Go West Young Man” and I also know I am no longer a young man, but we are headed East to Boston. I ran 6 miles easy this morning and didn’t notice the running injury so I have now booked flights to Boston to run the marathon. I may not get a PR but I now feel confident I can train enough to finish the race and still train for the double century cycling event in Solvang two weeks before the marathon. I will resume speed works next week and run 20 miles on Monday.

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Previously I wrote I was considering bailing out of doing the Boston Marathon due to the running injury I am dealing with, the cost of the trip and my desire to buy a new bike. Well I bought the new bike yesterday so I have removed that from the decision process

I did an 8 mile run this morning. It hurt somewhat where I was injured but taking the day off yesterday really helped. I am now inclined to stick with my plan to run the Boston Marathon and will make the final decision tonight. I found a real good fare on American Airlines for non-stop flights.

So I am on a roll. The last two posts have four “B” words in the title. So what other word starts with a “B”?

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After struggling through yesterday’s 14 miler with an injury, I started to wonder about doing the Boston Marathon. Much of the thrill was just getting in but now I am down to crunch time because I have before me the 20 mile training runs and also I need to make airline reservations (which will non refundable). I figure the cost for me to continue from this point is about $2,500, including airfare for Ann and myself, hotel, meals, etc. I am losing interest. The cost to get out now is only the entrance fee and $30 to cancel the hotel. I need to decide by tomorrow. I am thinking more now lately about getting a new bike.

Hum ….

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Last Wednesday I got injured running and have taken most every day since they off running, but kept biking (which may not have been totally smart). I needed to get in a long run today since next Monday I need to run 20 miles. So I went for a 14 mile run this morning. I had to deal with the injury (same old place I keep getting injured) through all the run, but I kept the pace slow (8:57 average) and felt alright. I figured that since I only ran 10 miles last week for the long run and it has already been 2 weeks since I ran 17 miles, I had to run at least 14 or pay a big price next week running 20. I swear, this is going to be my LAST MARATHON, unless of course I decided to run the NYC marathon with John in November. The weather was beautiful, in the mid 60′s and sunny skies.

After resting for an hour I went out on a very casual 22 mile bike ride. I could not resist being outdoors on a day like today.

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