Road tripping

Take a good look at the above photo. That is the enemy. I think the theory behind making construction fencing like that a bright orange color is so that it's easily visible. Well, when the sun has set and you're running on a lakefront path with no lighting besides the moon, it turns out this type of fence is invisible.

I had just gone over 17 miles and was moving at a decent pace on my way to 20 last night. I had to start the long run when the sun was already setting due to a rare weekend day shift I drew for work. So, by the time I was 17 miles in, it was dark and I was finishing up my run near our condo along the lake.

Apparently, the city is doing some sort of construction on the path I frequent, though you couldn't really see as much in the dark. Running full speed -- probably at about an 8:30 per mile clip at that point -- I met up with a waist-high orange construction fence that came out of nowhere. My legs went right into the fence and my upper body was thrown toward the pavement.

Fortunately, I have pretty good reflexes. I was able to get my arms up just before my face hit the concrete. I was rolling around on the ground -- I think one foot still tangled in the fence -- in agonizing pain, trying to figure out what just happened. It wasn't one of the situations where I saw the fence at the last second and braced myself.

I was on the ground, and I didn't know how I got there. It wasn't until the pain let up some that I got it together and saw I was laying on the other side of this fence. I could've easily knocked my teeth out or hit my head. Instead, I wound up with some cuts on both arms, a swollen left knee, a cut on my left ankle and a really sore back the morning after.

I stayed on the ground for a few minutes, moaning in pain with the wind knocked out of me. Not what you want to happen at any point in a run -- let alone a 20-mile long run. Once I got up and walked a little, realizing I hadn't seriously injured myself (thank you God!), I decided I had come too far to quit because of a stupid fall.

So I turned around and walked/jogged/ran until I finally completed the 20 miles. At a little over 18 miles, I was right by my condo and I nearly quit and went home due to the pain I was in. I actually stopped and started walking home, but after a few steps, I snapped out of that mindset and continued the run.

All in all, while running in below freezing temps, with double layers on my upper and lower body, running on top of snow and ice for much of the path, and after enduring that nasty spill and the really slow 3 miles that followed, I finished the 20 miles in 3 hours, 8 minutes. Considering all the circumstances, I was thrilled to have simply finished.

For the first 10 miles, I ran at an 8:38 pace, and that's including two walking breaks to drink some gatorade. I didn't stop and rest at all during the run -- minus the laying on the ground in pain moment. I kept moving forward and used four walking breaks to refuel. After the fall, though, my times of 10:59/13:28/9:46 to finish the 20 really killed my overall time.

It's good that this week is a lighter week running wise. I need some time to regroup from the general soreness from that run, along with time to heal up some from the fall. If I feel as sore tomorrow as I do today, I may not do the nine mile easy run I'm scheduled to do. Then again, I didn't let a scary spill stop me from finishing on Sunday.

Stay tuned for more...

Of medals and music

This is a picture of my new first marathon "trophy" case, hanging in our den here at our Toronto condo. Kelly needed to go to Michael's craft store yesterday, so I made the trip worthwhile by finding this frame.

It's a diorama-type frame, so it's deeper than a normal one, allowing you to put bulkier stuff inside it. So, as you can see, I've got my Chicago Marathon finisher's medal, a photo my sister Melissa took and my bib from the race on display. Pretty cool huh.

A quick update on my running week so far: Ran nine miles along the lakefront on Tuesday at an easy 8:31 pace, did an eight-mile speed workout on Thursday with eight Yasso 800s (four miles) and four other regular miles at roughly 7:45 per mile, and three easy miles on Friday at about 8:20 per mile.

I was originally down to run nine miles on Friday, but my legs were really sore -- likely from the two hours of volleyball I played with Kelly and some friends on Thursday night (AFTER my speed workout). So after three miles on Friday, I cut things short to rest up for my 20-miler today (haven't gone yet). I'll still hit 40 miles for the week.

I also go to thinking this week about what I would consider my Top 10 songs to run to. Not my favorite songs of all-time, or what I consider the best songs of all-time (yes, those two lists would differ), but my favorites to run to, whether it be due to the beat or the lyrcis or whatever. After going through my iPod, I came up with this list.

In no particular order (with links to youtube):

Da Funk by Daft Punk -- This techno song makes the cut because it reminds me of my Cross Country days at Thornwood High School. It was a favorite for us runners to have pumping through our discman's during warmups before a meet, OR pumping through the cd player we'd tote with us to races. It has a steady beat that is easy to use to set a nice pace.

Confusion by New Order -- This is another techno song that I like to use during longer runs. Like Da Funk, it has a good beat to help establish a strong pace. And the song is lengthy, which is good because it can last for more than a mile of running for me. That helps my mind avoid trying to count songs (usually it's about two normal songs per mile on average).

Cochise by Audioslave -- This rock ditty, the first big single by Audioslave (the band formed by former members of Rage Against the Machine and former Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell), has heavy guitars and a strong beat that is awesome for faster workouts. Key lyrics: I've been drinking life, while you've been nausous." This one always pumps me up.

Going the Distance by Cake -- The title says it all doesn't it? The song has lyrics more in line with a horse or car race, but it can easily be applied to us runners. I'm not big on listening to lyrics, but these are hard to ignore and easy to get into when you're running: The sun has gone down and the moon has come up, and long ago somebody left with the cup. But he's striving and driving and hugging the turns, and thinking of someone for whom he still burns. He's going the distance! He's going for speed!"

More Human than Human by White Zombie -- Again, not really reflective of my favorite type of songs. But this heavy rock tune is awesome for workouts. The chorus of "More human than human" being basically shouted over and over is great for getting the ol' blood flowing. Besides, when you're pushing yourself to the limit, you do feel more human than human. At least I think so.

Hail, Hail by Pearl Jam -- PJ is my all-time favorite band and there are a number of songs I could include here. But Hail, Hail is a short, fast song off the album No Code that I really get into when working out, especially during speed work. Key lyrics: "I find I'm on the run in a race that can't be won, yeah." So what? It's about crossing that finish line, not always about coming in first.

Hard Sun by Eddie Vedder -- While I'm on still on the subject of PJ, this single off the Into the Wild (great film, by the way) soundtrack by PJ singer Eddie Vedder is another favorite of mine on the run, especially for longer distances. It's not as hard or fast as other songs, but it works for me. Key lyrics: "There's a big, a big hard sun. Beating down on the big people, in the big, hard world." That's sure what the Chicago Marathon felt like.

Thunderstruck by AC/DC -- It'd be easy to list a number of AC/DC tunes, but after going through them this one stands out as my favorite to run to. It starts off slow and slowly builds as the song goes on -- great for the start of a long run. Key lyrics: "I looked 'round, and I knoew there was no turning back." Ain't that the truth.

Heinrich Maneuver by Interpol -- One of my favorite of the newer class of rock bands. Of course, I liked Interpol when hardly anyone had heard of them and before they signed with a major label. But I digress... This song really worked for me when I was out running in Anaheim this past year, when I was starting to set new personal records for long runs. Key lyrics: "How are things on the West Coast? I hear you're moving real fine. You wear those shoes like a dove. Now strut those shoes, we'll go roaming in the night."

Shipping Up to Boston by Dropkick Murphys -- This song is short, fast and it simply flat-out rocks. It's been made famous as the warm-up music of Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon. In the marathon world, Boston is the promised land for elite runners. Someday, I'd love to be able to qualify to run there. This song is fantastic for short bursts, like the 800s I do during some speed workouts.

Honorable mentions: Beautiful People, Marilyn Manson; Lust for Life, Iggy Pop; No Way Out, Stone Temple Pilots; Pug, Smashing Pumpkins; Burden in My Hand, Soundgarden; Aenima, Tool; Mr. Brightside, The Killers; Super Bon Bon, Soul Coughing; I Might Be Wrong, Radiohead; Shut 'Em Down, LL Cool J; Neighborhood #2, Arcade Fire; Bombs Over Baghdad, Outkast; Stage, Live; I'm So Sick, Flyleaf; Personal Jesus, Depeche Mode; Paper Planes, M.I.A; Disco Science, Mirwais; Falling Away from me, Korn; Getting Smaller, Nine Inch Nails; Not for You, Pearl Jam; Comatose, Pearl Jam; Do the Evolution, Pearl Jam; Rearviewmirror, Pearl Jam; Tahitian Moon, Porno for Pyros; Let Down, Radiohead; There, there, Radiohead; Bulls on Prade, Rage Against the Machine, People of the Sun, Rage Against the Machine; Killing in the Name, Rage Against the Machine; Around the World, Red Hot Chili Peppers; Untreatable Disease, Sparta; Punk Rocker, Teddy Bears; Ball and Biscuit, The White Stripes; Seven Nation Army, The White Stripes; Song 2, Blur; Rabbit in Your Headlights, U.N.K.L.E.

Gee, think I could've fit any more songs in there?

Stay tuned for more...

Mail run

So we've all heard the unofficial motto, or similar versions of it anyway, of the United States Postal Service, which begins: "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night..."

Well, it was hard not to think about that old saying while slogging through an 18-mile run this morning with my running buddy, Kev. When we started, it was sunny and gorgeous out, considering it's mid November. As we got deeper into the run, we fought strong winds, cold rain and the first snow flurries of the season.

Making matters worse, this was one of those runs where I wished every single step I took would've been my last. I was just not feeling it today. I wasn't sore or battling an injury -- I just did not feel like being out there running. But, despite all these factors, we pushed through and completed the 18 grueling miles.

We did the run in 2:32:12, or roughly 8:27 per mile. That's including a two-mile warmup (8:46/8:57 splits) and a 5K cooldown (8:51/8:56/8:49). In between those two periods, we averaged 8:18 per mile for the 13 in the middle. Considering the elements we were dealing with, I can live with that pace.

It's the second time this week I had a run where I really just didn't want to be doing it. The other was a tempo run on Thursday. For that 8-mile run, I did a one-mile warmup and cooldown with six-mile splits in the middle of 7:56/7:55/7:55/7:48/7:48/7:28. I was really happy with the time on that run, which are closer to what I hope my half-marathon on Dec. 7 resembles.

Today, it was a good thing I had Kevin with me, and I made sure to tell him so. Had I been by myself, I probably would've worked in a few more breaks or walked some. With him running a few strides ahead of me the whole way, I did my best to suck it up and push through. He was probably getting sick of my whining though!

Overall, it was a strong week for me. I had the 16-miler last Sunday during which I suffered the right hamstring issue. This never came up this time around and was no longer an issue by Thursday night, when I did my tempo run. This week I logged 45 miles, establishing yet another personal high. Seems to be a weekly trend these days.

On Tuesday, I did a nine-mile run along the Don Valley path, which I blogged about in the last post. On Friday, I was down for another nine-mile easy run and this time I did it along the Toronto lakefront. I was taking it nice and easy (8:32 pace), and I felt good, so I actually stretched it into a 10-mile run, last mile clocking in at 7:41.

My mileage this week brings me to 1,161 miles over the past 389 days. That's an average of 2.92 miles a day -- this includes all my days off, mind you -- over that period. So I'm almost back up to a 5K a day for more than the last year. The distance? Well that's almost exactly how far it is between Denver, Colorado, and Grand Rapids, Michigan. Yeah, I looked it up.

This coming week, barring some kind of setback, I'll log 46 miles with a 20-mile long run lined up for Sunday. That will move me over 1,200 miles and will mark the quickest I've run 100 miles since I've started keeping track. I will have breezed through the century mark in nine runs, or more than 11 miles per run.

Stay tuned for more...

Back on the trail

The picture on the left is another from the Chicago Marathon in October. That was one of the more enjoyable sections of the run, I want to say around mile 9 or 10 or so. The trees provided some welcome shade on that 85-degree day.

What I'd give for some warm temperatures now! To think I was complaining that it was too hot! Kidding, of course. Luckily, it hasn't been brutally cold. It's been chilly up here in Toronto, but the real bitter cold hasn't arrived yet.

Yesterday, it was about 35 degress out when I convinced myself that I'd be fine testing out my sore right hamstring with a nine-mile run. If it hurt too bad, I could always turn around and shorten the distance, so what's the big deal?

And it turns out it wasn't a big deal at all. Sure, I still have a small bump that's tender to the touch on the back of my thigh -- what I believe to be inflammation. But it doesn't hurt when I walk, didn't hurt when I ran and it felt much improved after icing and elevating and all that jazz.

I completed the nine miles in 1:15:06, or roughly 8:21 per mile. Last week I did the same run in 7:57 per mile, but this time I worked in a two-mile warmup to test my leg and a one-mile cool down on mile No. 8. Following the cool down, I pushed hard through the end and ran my fastest mile with the last one.

Here were my splits:

8:39/8:42/8:22/8:10/8:11/8:12/8:19/8:31/7:54

I'm resting today -- no gym even -- and I'll be back at it tomorrow. I did a core workout on Monday and tomorrow, Thursday, I'm down to run 8 miles with a tempo workout. So one-mile warmup and cooldown with 6 miles at marathon pace or a little faster, depending on how my leg feels. I'm skipping the speed workout this week.

On Friday, I'm scheduled to do a nine-mile easy run and I'm down for 18 miles for my long run on Sunday. Next week, that jumps to 20, which will be my first 20-miler since the marathon. I've been fortunate so far this winter to have all the Sundays providing good weather for the long runs, minus some light rain here and there.

Of course, I probably just jinxed it...

Temporary setback

Courtesy of a google image search, above is a photo of a section of the Don Valley bike/running path here in Toronto -- introduced to me by my new running buddy. It's a very picturesque path that runs northeast of the downtown, taking you through some nice wooded areas and away from the windy conditions along the lakefront.

It's been a pleasant run every time for me, until this past Sunday. In a week during which I logged a personal-best 41 miles, my right leg finally began to complain. During our 16 mile run on Sunday, about 9.5 miles into the run, I was greeted with a stabbing, grabbing, biting -- however you want to describe it -- pain behind my right knee.

The pain was so sharp, I had to stop, which is something that hasn't happened before. With past injuries, I've had to slow down and could usually push through it, or I'd stop after trying to jog on it with poor results. This was the first time I've had something so sharp that it forced me to stop right then and there.

We had been going at a nice 8:18 per mile pace for the first nine miles or so before the pain hit. For the rest of the run, I was forced to slow to a 9:10 pace -- a clip that I could keep up without any jarring. The pain popped up a few more times, when we'd try to pick up the pace again, but I was able to at least complete the 16 miles.

So, all in all, even with the pain, we finished the 16 miles in roughly 2 hours, 19 minutes, or 8:42 per mile. I guess that's not too bad for running with a really sore leg. I iced it for a while when I got home and today, a day later, I can feel what seems like swelling on the back of my right leg, above the knee. I'm pretty sure it's a hamstring issue.

It was a disappointing conclusion to what had been a very good week of running. On Tuesday, I did a nine-mile run at 7:57 per mile, which is what I hope to be around for the Vegas half marathon on Dec. 7. On Wednesday, I did some weight training legwork, which could've contributed to the injury. Who knows?

On Thursday, I did a speed workout (8 miles) with six Yasso 800s (half miles) mixed in on the indoor track at our gym. I did a 7:23 mile warmup, followed by 3 miles in the Yasso format: 3:28 800 run (3:32 walk), 3:26 (3:32), 3:30 (3:30), 3:26 (3:33), 3:27 (3:35), 3:20 (3:36). Then, I did 4 miles alternating running/jogging: 7:50, 9:19, 7:28, 9:29.

On Friday, I was down for an eight-mile easy run. This was when the hammy issue first came up. I ran all eight miles at 8:24 per mile, but I had to stop after 7 miles to massage out what felt like a knot in the muscle on the back of my thigh, above the knee. It felt fine for the last mile, but it was similar, not as painful, as what flared up on Sunday.

I'm down to run 44 miles this week, which would set a new personal best, and am scheduled to run 18 miles on Sunday. I plan on sticking to the program, as long as my leg shows improvement by tomorrow. I'll ice it again today and hold off my Tuesday run (nine easy effort miles) until evening, to give it more time to rest and recover.

I don't think this will keep me sidelined long, but I have to be smart about it, too. More later...

What happens in Vegas...

Ignore the part of my last post that says I'm not going to Las Vegas for this December's Winter Meetings. Found out today that I will indeed be going and that means I can run the half marathon there on December 7th.

That will be a good way for me to test out my marathon "race pace". I'll aim for 8 minutes per mile and will push harder if I feel up to it. So, hopefully I can finish the half in 1:45 or faster. Our Yankees writer will also be running the half that day.

Stay tuned for more...

Getting stronger

As I get a little further removed from running the Chicago marathon, I can definitely tell that I'm starting to get stronger during my runs. The 12-miler I did last Sunday wasn't bad, but I didn't feel that great throughout. This past Sunday, I felt much better during a 14-mile jaunt with my new running mate, Kevin.

I think it helps that he's a bit faster than I am. Although, we'll be having a conversation and at times he'll be talking normal and I feel like I'm fighting to get words out because I feel like I'm about to die! But, on this last long run, I averaged 8:20 per mile (8:26 per for the first seven and 8:15 per for the last seven).

So we finished the 14 miles in 1:56:52, which would put me on pace for a 3:38:42 marathon finish, if I was able to keep that pace. That would be a time I'd be THRILLED with. I think I'm going to set my sights on finishing under 4 hours at the Walt Disney marathon, and anything I do beyond that will be icing on the cake.

I learned that I probably set too lofty a goal for my first marathon -- not really knowing what to expect and all. This time, I would still love to finish around 3:30, but I'm setting my goal as four hours, because I believe that's attainable and, if I finish faster, then that's just a bonus. I think that's a better way to set my goal this time around.

I'm kind of bummed, though. I signed up to run a half marathon in Las Vegas in early December, thinking that I'd be there for this offseason's baseball Winter Meetings. It turns out that our company if cutting back on travel costs where it can (thanks economy!), so not every reporter (I unfortunately landed in this group) is making the journey this winter.

Ah, well. I'll just keep training in Toronto and this now means I get to stay home with the Wife more this offseason. Being away from home for six weeks for Spring Training can be tough, so I'll take any extra days with the family that I can get! Maybe I'll look into the Las Vegas marathon next winter, who knows?

I'm glued to the ol' TV today watching the election coverage, but at some point I have to break away and run an easy nine miles. The cold weather has eased some over the past few days, so I think I'll be able to run in a t-shirt and shorts today! We'll see how long this keeps up. It'll be nice to leave the long sleeves at the condo, though.

Congrats to my fellow MLBdotcomers who completed this year's New York City marathon this past Sunday. I had fun tracking you guys online and rooting you on. Once you've run a marathon, you can see those times and understand just how hard it is and just how satisfying it is to cross that finish line. I can't wait to do it again in January.

I ran a personal-high 39 miles this past week and am down to set a new personal best with 41 this week. I've been dealing with some very minor discomfort in my left knee for the past few days, but have been able to run without any pain. I've been icing it and resting when it's bothering me, so I'm not overdoing it. I'm not going to take any risks if it really starts hurting.

So, hopefully that starts to feel better so I can continue with my training without any hiccups. So far, so good. Catch you all a few miles down the road...