Checking In

I know that I haven't written in a while, but I also know that there aren't a lot of people looking here too often.  I do realize the most people who come by stumble upon my blog when searching for race specific information or race results (thank you google analytics); so welcome people!

A lot has happened since I last wrote, and I don't expect to get into any great detail in this post.  The main purpose of this post is to let you know that I'm still here (sort of), and that I'm still running.

Races
Since my last post in late April, I've run 10 races. Four 5Ks, one 4 Miler, three 10Ks, one 15K, and one 1/2 marathon - to be exact (check out the Annals for specifics).  I've been generally happy with my progress.  Most of these races have resulted in PRs.  It's nice to run a PR and erase it shortly thereafter.  At some point in late June or early July, I decided that I should return to the type of training that I've always responded the quickest to:  Run hard.  For the past two years, I've been focusing a lot on making sure that I do the majority of my runs at easy paces, but even though I've made progress, I've felt like it's taken me longer than I think it should.  Since returning to hard workouts, I'm now running races this year with the double stroller at faster times than I ran them last year without a stroller.

Stroller
Speaking of strollers, I recently had the honor of receiving my first ever (and perhaps last) stroller medal.  The Run for the River in Clayton, NY has a dedicated stroller division.  Although I run with strollers a lot, and although I've run this event 2 times before this year, I have never run it with a stroller before.  Based upon last years' stroller winner, I figured I had to run the 10K in less than 50 minutes to take this division.  I ran a gun time of 49-flat.  The reigning champ, Sarah Yaussi, actually ran slower than the previous year, so I had more cushion than I thought I would.  As an aside, I'd love to get in touch with her to share stroller running "stuff."  So if you know her, point her this way...  Cool enough, like I mentioned earlier, this is one of those events that I actually ran faster than a year ago, even though I ran it with the stroller (and heavier kids) this year, versus running sans stroller last year.  I'm extremely anxious to run a 5K soon, without a stroller, to see if I'm finally back to sub 7 minute miles for that distance.  Last note on the strollers, our old one died.  We had one of those entry level double strollers that was really heavy and made for a casual runner, and as my wife and I took off for a casual run together, a horrid squealing ensued, followed by much friction, and an eventual POP, as the front wheel decided to spring ahead of the rest of the stroller.  Luckily, we were only about a quarter a mile away from home.  The kids enjoyed being wheeled home in "wheelie" fashion.  I was really hoping to get one more summer out of our double stroller, because our daughter is already over the weight limit for most doubles (50+ lbs.).  My wife talked me into getting another, even if we only get one summer out it.  I opted for the Bob Ironman dualie.  I really wanted to get the baby jogger double that accommodates a combined 175ish weight, but they stopped making them.  The point is, I don't know how much my improvements in times have to do with having a better performing stroller vs. having a better performing set of lungs and legs.  Hence, my eagerness to run a 5K without the stroller to get a comparison...  I still tend to think that I'm pretty close with my estimate of losing approximately 1/2 second per mile, per pound pushed (for the 5K).

Upcoming Races
As much as I dread thinking about the "wall" and the pain that ensued in my one and only marathon attempt, I knew somewhere in the back of my mind, that I'd revisit this task.  That being said, I had wanted to hit the Marine Corps as a first choice, the Chicago as a second, and the Wineglass as a third.  I got into none of the above.  As a result, I started looking at other marathons that I might be able to get into, and had narrowed it down to the Kansas City (my sister lives there), the Hambletonian (more of my family lives there), and the Empire State.  All of these choices were based upon "what are we going to do with the kids?"  Roll ahead...  We've registered for the Empire Marathon (for me) and the 1/2 (for my wife).  I'm now revisiting week 6 of pretty much the same training program that I did for Philly.  The major difference is that I'm trying to tailor all of my training paces to where I'm at, versus last time, when I trained at all of the paces that I thought would get me to where I wanted to be.  Other races on the horizon:  The Heuvelton 5k, and the Sacket's Harbor 18.12 - weird distance right?  I thought it would be a great lead up race to the Empire State Marathon, because 18 miles is exactly where I bonked in Philly in 2011.  I'm planning on using this race to see if my anticipated goals for the Empire State are good.  Currently, I'm shooting for a sub 3:50 time - I'll let you know if I adjust this goal.  There aren't a lot of other races on the horizon - mostly just going to hit local yocal races if/as they pop up.  Otherwise, I'm already dreading my 15 miler coming up this weekend.  It's kind of funny to me that the long runs seem so much more daunting to me when they are part of a training plan versus when you're just doing them because you feel like doing them.

Races Results for All?
I know, I've been slacking.  I'll try to update soon (for the one's I actually have results for).  I'm in no rush, because I really don't think many people are actually reading this blog.  If you are returning regularly, I'd love to know about it - leave a message - It'll make me feel good.