Uncharted waters

How are things on the West Coast?
I hear you're movin' real fine.
You wear those shoes like a dove.

Those were the lyrics that came pumping through the earbuds of my ipod as I legged out the final few yards of my 14-mile run on Saturday out in Anaheim. Funny huh? It's the opening three lines from an Interpol song and it was certainly fitting after I just completed the longest run of my life.

Thus the title of my post. Since my last entry, I have steadily increased my weekly long runs, putting in distances I've never done before now. Going back to the week of my last post, when running in Boston inspired me to get my butt back in gear, that week I put in 20 miles, including a 9-mile run (no biggie) along the Toronto lakefront on May 3.

The next week, my long run day fell on May 10, when I was in Cleveland for the Jays-Indians series. Unfamiliar with where to run in Cleveland, I headed down to the lakefront and ran laps around Browns Stadium until I reached 10 miles. That brought my weekly mileage up to 24 for that week.

The following Saturday (May 17), my long run just so happened to be the same day I was supposed to stand up in my brother-in-law's wedding back home in Chicago. Undeterred, I got up early and put in 12 miles that morning around Thornton, setting a new personal record, and then did the whole wedding thing. My left knee was barking that night, but no issues since.

Back in Toronto the next week, I upped it to 13 miles on Saturday, logging 23 miles for the week. I once again ran along the lakefront, running from near our condo to nearly where Kelly works. I had a kink in my neck after that run, probably from looking at the great views of the skyline from 6 miles down the lakefront, and I cramped up really bad for the last two miles.

That brings us to this past week. I was out in Anaheim for the Jays-Angels series and the Jays' strength and conditioning guy pointed me toward a great bike trail near the stadium that the players use for jogging when they're out in Cali. I put in 14 miles, finishing in almost exactly 2 hours with a break halfway. So, a little under 9 minutes per, I think.

But, my 14th mile clocked in at 7:30. So, needless to say, I had PLENTY left in the tank. I cramped up again in the 13th mile, but the fact that it happened toward the end of my run two weeks in a row makes me think the cramps come from my mind relaying to my body that I was near the finish. This time, I sped up as soon as I felt it coming on, and it went away quickly.

I'm in New York right now and got in a cool 4 miles on the treadmill this evening. It wasn't a fun 4 miles, though, but I think sitting on a plane all day from Cali to the Apple will sap your energy. I'll be back in Toronto on Saturday and I'll aim to get in 15 miles. It was really encouraging that I felt so great on my last run and I've finally gone beyond a half marathon.

I'm not worrying about times right now. If I do the marathon at 9 minutes per, I'd finish under 4 hours. I want to be around 3:30-45, though. Once I get up to 19-20 miles on a run, I plan to back off for a while in terms of long runs and then, when I begin building up again, the second time through I want to focus more on my speed.

Anyway, just thought I'd toss an update on here. I visited some family out in the L.A. area last night and my aunt pointed out that I hadn't updated this in a while. Well, things are going swimmingly right now. I feel like I'm in the best shape of my life and logging these 12, 13, 14 mile runs has really revealed how intimidating running a marathon is.