Update

I'm struggling to find the right shoe for my feet. I continue to rotate between three pair of Brooks. Ordered most to least support: Adrenaline, Axiom and Radius. I scrapped the custom orthotics, because they were kicking over my left foot too much and causing severe forefoot discomfort (under the first three toes). Now I have no additional support but need it, particularly for my right foot, which doesn't have the support of an arthroesis (the titanium implant in my left foot).

It's difficult to find the right balance of additional support given the fact that my left arch is fully supported by the implant and my right arch collapses completely. Until my pre-op appointment on November 4, I'm going to go back to what worked last summer--Brooks Adrenaline and $25-over-the-counter arch supports. I hope to be able to run the Philadelphia Half-Marathon on November 23, but I'd like to have the implant removed as soon as possible. It continues to cause forefoot and rearfoot discomfort, as it locks my foot in a neutral position and prevents any pronation whatsoever. That's not a very good shock-absorber.

Hartford Half-Marathon: Chapter 2

Congratulations to my brother for completing his first half-marathon yesterday in a time of 2:10:37. I planned to run, too, but it sold out the day before the race. It felt great to witness my brother cross the finish line strongly--and smiling--though. Also, I saw that Geoff completed the full marathon. Congrats!

Hartford Half-Marathon

My brother is registered to run the Hartford Half-Marathon on Saturday morning. I've decided to join him, though I'll have to register on race day. I just hope that the race doesn't fill up before then.

I don't know that I'm in sub-2 hour half-marathon shape, but that seems like a good goal.

I read in the latest issue of Runner's World that the Hartford Marathon (including all associated events held on the same day as that of the Marathon) is one of the "greenest" races in the US. Apparently, in lieu of the use of thousands of paper/plastic cups, there's a gigantic container of water from which all runners can share.

I need new shoes...

Anybody have any good tips on place for getting a good deal on running shoes? Sierratradingpost.com is my usual source but they seem to be low on deals.

Marathoning

Feeling inspired, I've registered myself for the Disney World Marathon on Jan 11. I'm not a huge fan of Disney but it is 15 weeks away, and my dad is going to be visiting my grandparents Daytona Beach that time so it seems practical. It was f'n expensive to register. $133 bucks. Plus the race starts at 6AM.

Now I just need to start running more. Perhaps the philly half would make a nice training race?

Haile Gebrselassie

It's worth noting on this blog that on Sunday, in Berlin, Haile Gebrsellassie, arguably the best distance runner of all time, broke his own record in the marathon by running a 2:03:59!!! That's 4:44 per mile!!!!! A link to the video of the race can be accessed via www.marathonguide.com. It's pretty impressive.

Half-Marathon Training Progress Report

I start my fifth week of half-marathon training today. The first four weeks went well. I'm running about 20 miles/week (~3 hours and 15 minutes--I'm trying to emphasize time as opposed to distance--e.g., 1 hour on Wed. and Fri. and 1-2 hours on Sunday)--two short runs during the week and about a 10-mile long run on the weekends. My longest long run will be 12-14 miles. My brother is adapting well. He likely will smoke me.

Week 5: 1-hour runs on Wed. and Fri.; Highland Lake 10K on Sunday

Weeks 6, 7, 8: same; 1-2 hour long run on Sunday

I might add 20 additional minutes of running on Monday or Tuesday night just to work on ridding muscles of acid build-up and cardiac development. I feel tired during Wednesday's workouts. In addition to all of this running, I bike one or two times per week and do a lot of core strengthening exercises.

Month 3

I just started my third month of running since my surgery in January, and I'm beginning to feel the effects of increased mileage. Or perhaps it's my pace. My surgically repaired foot is fine. It's my right side that's beginning to bother me. I ran 40 miles in July and 60 in August. My average pace in June: 9:44; July: 9:38. That's almost 30 seconds faster than my average pace in the same month (first month of marathon training) last year. I need to slow down, which I've done over my last two runs.

July 2007: 94 miles; 10:06/mile
August 2007: 142 miles; 9:37/mile
September 2007: 169 miles; 9:01/mile

What I need to do is repeat the approach I took last summer building up for the marathon. As you can see, I ran a lot of slow, aerobic miles initially, and my pace fell naturally, despite the increased mileage. It's all about base-building--bulking up on fitness. Base-building is not easy, but “Training a little bit beyond your capabilities is the only way to get better," says Dr. William Krauss, a runner and cardiologist at Duke Univeristy. I can attest to that, as I remember last July as a real struggle, but once I got over that initial hurdle, my body could handle more, volume- and intensity-wise.

I look forward to this new challenge and hope that I can regain my fitness of a year ago.

Philly Mary and Half-Mary

My brother and I started training for the Philadelphia Half-Marathon this week. It's in 12 weeks--November 23rd. Dan is on the fence for the marathon.

Our plan is anchored by three runs per week--Wednesday, Friday, Sunday (long)--two optional XT days and two rest days. MPW: 17, 20, 22, 26, 23, 29, 29, 28, 33, 25, 19, 6+race

Finding runners

I found another runner yesterday! Since Jason is teaching, we live on campus at the boarding school where he works. Shortly after we moved here, our neighbors introduced themselves and I have been running a few times with Shari. Yesterday, I was running on my own and as I came out of our road onto the main road, I noticed a woman running just a bit in front of me. So I ran to catch up with her. Her name is Crystal. Turns out, I may be able to find quite a few people to run with around here if I so desire. Great!

More Olympic results

Women's 5k

1 Tirunesh Dibaba ETH 15:41.40
2 Elvan Abeylegesse TUR 15:42.74
3 Meseret Defar ETH 15:44.12
9 Kara Goucher USA 15:49.39
10 Shalane Flanagan USA 15:50.80
14 Jennifer Rhines USA 16:34.63

Men's 5k

1 Kenenisa Bekele ETH 12:57.82 (Olympic Record)
2 Eliud Kipchoge KEN 13:02.80
3 Edwin Cheruiyot Soi KEN 13:06.22
9 Bernard Lagat USA 13:26.89
13 Matthew Tegenkamp USA 13:33.13

Men's Marathon

1 WANJIRU Samuel Kamau 2:06:32 Kenya (Olympic Record)
2 GHARIB Jaouad 2:07:16 Morocco
3 KEBEDE Tsegay 2:10:00 Ethiopia
9 RITZENHEIN Dathan 2:11:59 United States
10 HALL Ryan 2:12:33 United States
22 SELL Brian 2:16:07 United States

I watched most of the men's marathon on Saturday evening. In only his 3rd marathon, the 21-year old Wanjiru claimed Kenya's first Olympic gold medal in the event (believe it or not!), and in olympic-record fashion. He ran his first late last year. First mile: 4:41. First 5k: well under 15 minutes. No one thought that they could sustain that pace for 26.2 miles in 85+-degree heat. Ritz and Hall knew that they couldn't, so they dropped back and hoped that the lead pack would eventually follow suit, but it never did. Despite sustaining a stress fracture in his foot 12 weeks ago, Ritz ran well. Hall didn't run as well as he has in the past. He ran a 2:06 in London earlier this year and said that he didn't have those same legs in Beijing. I think it was the heat. His previous three marathons were run in ideal weather conditions: two Londons in April and the Olympic Time Trials in Central Park in November. Sell plans to return to his job at Home Depot. This is the first time since the 70s that two Americans finished in the top 10; overall: good showing. Fourteen-Hundred some odd days until London.

Beijing 2008 -- Men's 10K

1 Kenenisa Bekele ETH 27:01.17 (Olympic Record)
2 Sileshi Sihine ETH 27:02.77
3 Micah Kogo KEN 27:04.11
13 Galen Rupp USA 27:36.99
15 Abdi Abdirahman USA 27:52.53
25 Jorge Torres USA 28:13.93