Spring is Coming

Well the morning of rain showers held off for us to do a lovely 5 mile loop with the birds happily chirping around us. I was able to breathe a little better than Sunday but still not up to par...Can't wait til it's sans-shirt weather again. I miss those days of little laundry. My watch said we were running for 51 minutes and I do believe that we were going much faster than 10 minute miles. so who really knows how far it was....or am I just getting really old and really slow now that I'm about to be 25????

Morning Has Broken

Sunday morning was absolutely gorgeous for a run! We/I did a lot of it along the rivers too, so that made it extra beautiful. Planned 20 mile long run; after I mapped it, I found out it was actually only about 18 - 2:50.

Why walk when you can run?

4 x 1600 at target pace of 7:00-7:05 - 7:13, 7:17, 7:31, 7:35. Those mile repeats don't leave much time for talking in between!

For the Half-Marathoners

Here is the same program that Lisa and I are using for the marathon, just tailored for the half. I might be up for doing this in the summer/fall timeframe!

http://www.runnersworld.com/cda/article/0,5033,s6-51-55-0-9369-7-1X2X3X4X5X6X7-8,00.html

Old Marathon Course

I had trouble finding this via google, so I thought I would just post it here so that I have the link.
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/project/systems-jhutz-1/marasnap/index.html

Official Energy Source of the Country Music Marathon

I AM a huge jelly belly fan - check this out! It was just announced as the official energy source.

http://jellybelly.com/msib21/PromoSites/SportsBeans/SportBeans.html

8 Mile Tempo - Beechwood Loop

8 mile tempo run at target pace of 8:10-8:15/mile - 9:11, 8:15, 8:38, 8:38, (missed hitting the lap button for one, so took the average of the two), 8:24, 8:45, 8:18, 11:36 (longer than a mile).

Also, I almost got taken out by the paper delivery boy after I left you guys. He threw one paper out the window right in front of me, so I proceeded to keep running, but alas, it was an apartment building and he still had another paper to throw - Close call!

For your reading pleasure

So here's the gossip from the locker room after this morning's spinning session -

(Lisa you may have gotten some of it, but don't know if you got it all...)

Apparently some woman is trying to supply the large man who wears the small shirts to expose his large belly with appropriate attire. She gave him a turkey trot shirt and said, "we are trying to get rid of these, so thought you might like one." He is also bound for a nude beach in Italy in the near future, so steer clear.

My own personal gossip - I think we should tell the girl of the inseparable couple, that her boy should wear shorts that do not expose his butt crack sweat. Nasty!

Girls - please tell me if I am ever grossing people out w/ my sweat patterns or choice of workout attire...

mapmyrun.com

A revolution for road runners! Nathan had this idea long ago, and is mad that someone has done it before him, but it IS amazing and just perfect for us...though the spray paint is lots of fun too!

www.mapmyrun.com

Break-in at the McKinneys!

The plan was to run the "Deborah's house" route, which Amber and I started and then I went solo from Rita's. It was a beautiful run today - chilly, but super sunny! I got to Deborah's house around 6:50 and was kind of unclear on whether I was really invited to be there or not. I figured I would stop by and see if there were any lights on. When I got to the back door, I noticed it was unlocked, so I figured I'd just go in quietly and grab a glass of water. All worked out and no one woke up. Although, I found out later that Deborah had already been up and thought she missed me.

Also, I tested the Clif Shot Bloks - "an organic supply of electrolytes" - today. They are like gu in a fruit chew form and were better than gu, but still not fantastic. Since it was so cold out they were a little stiff to chew and they kind of stuck to my teeth, but you are supposed to take them w/ water anyways, so as long as you have enough time to stop, chew and swish water around in your mouth, you should be okay.

Constraints

If anyone knows me, they understand that I am not a true, avid runner. I enjoy doing it with friends and am motivated by them. For me to run on my own, especially a track work-out, takes a lot of coaxing on my part. So, I am happy to report that because I couldn't meet Megan last night, I went to the track this morning. It was great! It was so quiet and the birds were chirping. It's great just to see the sun start to rise. The sky was beautiful! Although, due to time constraints, I was only able to run 6x800's, as opposed to 8x800's. My times were pretty consistent, ranging from 3:35-3:43. It was not bad. Getting up early to work out is so refreshing...it's just the matter of getting myself out of bed! Yeah for FRIDAY!

Rising Times

Fairly uneventful run - I was really tired and didn't want to drag myself over to the track, but I told myself, "Megan, at least get out there and start running. You can do at least 6 of the repeats." My times started out decent; not as good as if Amber and Lisa would have been there, but I was pleased. Then they started getting longer and longer and on my sixth lap I said, "Megan, run this one faster than your last, but if you don't, then you are done." I really did try, but just don't think I had it in me, so I cut it off at 6. Planned workout 8 x 800 at 3:25-3:30 pace: 3:39, 3:37, 3:36, 3:47; 3:46, 3:49.

Summary of Recent Runs

Scheduled 18 mile run on Sunday afternoon - Amber and I cut it a little short, but probably did 14-ish. We both had somewhat of a blah-running day.

5 mile tempo run on Tuesday evening - only time we could fit in running was 9 pm - yikes! Did the route to Oakland and back. Windy, but a decent run.

Don't know if I am going to be able to fit in the track workout at all this week.

Giddy Girls

12 x 400 at target pace of 1:40 - 1:45. We blew this workout out of the water! 1:32, 1:36, 1:37, 1:36, 1:38, 1:38, 1:37, 1:37, 1:38, 1:39, 1:37, 1:35

Fast Tempo

3 mile tempo at target pace of 7:40 - 8:02, 8:11, 7:38 (Is that last mile a little short?)

New Kicks

I know you guys are going to be very excited to hear that I finally ordered my new shoes from the internet. Now you don't have to hear about how dead my shoes are every time we go for a long run. And that brings me to my next point: My marathon color scheme. Originally, I thought I'd wear a different color for each marathon. But my shoes are red and white and silver. SO - we're going with the red theme from head to toe. It's going to be very exciting! I know I'm psycho for having this already planned out. But there's only six weeks left in tax season and that means 8 weeks until the marathon. Wow. semi-scary thought! Can't wait for both events!

In like a prowling (not attacking) lion...

So our first run in March came as quite a surprise since we got maybe an inch of snow from the time that Megan and I left work til we got to the track. It definitely made for an interesting run since we ran on treadless snow the entire time, the wind kept blowing us backwards and hiding our lines in the snow so we'd know where to stop and then they turned the lights out on us as if there was no one on the track. Our workout was 3 1600 at 7-7:10 pace: 7:27, 7:22 and 7:26...Not quite to our goal (but see the above conditions) but again we are so stinkin' consistent. So that's encouraging. Even more impressive though was the three guys we've seen every week. They come and stand around a lot and then eventually run the length of the football field...It was cold and windy and they just kept on standing!

Snow and such

Since altering my training a bit to include more longer runs, and not so many speed workouts for the month of March (we'll see how that turns out for me in the end) - I had a nice run around the lake a couple times in North Park yesterday. I must say I was pretty happy when the rain turned to snow. It was very peaceful. Hope you guys survived in the dark and cold too!

Handicaps for Runners?

So I met Megan and Jeremiah for a delightful lunch in the middle of busy season. On the way back to the office Megan and I stopped at the Apple Cookie Company. Of course, instead of buying one or two cookies like a normal person, I bought a dozen. I did give two to Julia but now just over an hour later there are just two left here on my desk. You do the math. And because I probably did just eat a pound of butter just hours before our speed workout I think that it's perfectly reasonable that, instead of our goal time of 7 minute miles (3), I am allowed to run them in 12-15 minutes....

Fresh Footprints

Our fresh footprints in the snow didn't last too long at the track last night. By the time we made it one lap around they were already blown over and filled in. Considering the conditions our times were not all that bad - 3 x 1600 at target pace of 7:00-7:05 - 7:29,7:30,7:30. Consistent to say the least.

Revival of the Pittsburgh Marathon?

Don't get too excited, don't think its going to happen anytime soon, but I found the article that was in the Post Gazette in 2004 about the marathon being dead. (I think I've read it like 20 times after googling "Pittsburgh Marathon" just hoping that it will read differently when I try again.) Anyhow, I got e-mail addresses for all those included in the article and sent out an e-mail asking about any updates anyone is aware of. I'll post the replies as they come in:

From Tom Rooney of Rooney Sports & Entertainment (as in a REAL Pgh Steelers related Rooney) -

Greg Smith of the Elite Runners and Walkers stores in Monroeville and Coraopolis was our mover and shaker on this. But when the city went broke and couldn’t pick up all the traffic and medical staffing costs (some $250,000) it doomed the race. Last I heard Greg was working on a 20K or a 10 miler.

From Dan Holland, former president of the Pharaoh Hounds and organizer of the Great Replacement Race -

I believe a marathon can be assembled and run here in Pittsburgh. But after my experience in putting on the Great Replacement Race, I'd rather not be involved. I loved working with my fellow runners to offer a high-quality event for runners. It brought us closer, and since we are all seasoned runners we knew what to do.

However, I didn't have a very good experience with the city police and paramedic unions. They required us to pay up-front (the only ones who did), incurred the greatest cost, required an unnecessarily large force of people, and then required us to pay them for four hours, when it's a two hour event. Some didn't even show up.

I live in the city and enjoy it here. But I see the waste that goes on--way, way too many people working for a city of this size. It's big government at its worst.

The key will be to attract some deep pocketed donors who are sympathetic to the cause. If you can tolerate working with the city, then I say go for it. I'd love for the marathon to come back.

Second reply from Tom Rooney:

Tom Murphy is a runner and he loved (and ran) the marathons, too. That being said there is a new mayor and a relatively new county executive. They could take a fresh look at it……maybe we should organize something. Pgh will celebrate 250 years in 2008….maybe we can get together with the two as a team.

Reply from Kevin Smith, owner of Elite Runners & Walkers and the "mover and shaker" referred to by Tom Rooney (I believe he was speaking of Kevin when he mentioned "Greg Smith"):

It is interesting on the timing of all these emails. I am currently working with Dr. Brad Henderson of the the Pittsburgh Youth Network to put on a large event for them as well as bring life back to the city. I had sent in an email to Mike Radley about a week ago outlining plans for a ten miler to be held in May 2007. This distance was chosen as it is long enough that runners have to train and short enough that many more people will attempt it vs a marathon. This has been proven in other cities where the 10 miler is two times bigger than their marathon, i.e. Philly. In addition, due to the shorter course, the cost is more manageable given the current economic climate of the city. If we get enough ground support, I am sure we can morph this concept into a marathon for the city which is what Brad and I had discussed right from the beginning.

I have also been contacted by a former member of the marathon board who is interested in helping revive the marathon as well. It is reasonable to assume there are more like her plus some corporate executives who may be ready to commit again.

If anyone is truly interested, I am willing to work as the point person in getting this going as I aready have a base budget and have been working with a few race directors in similar cities to assess true costs of a marathon in a city our size.

Thanks,

Kevin J. Smith
Elite Runners & Walkers
We Run This Town!

tel: 412-490-0881
fax: 412-490-0882
toll free: 877-RUN-WALK
mailto:ksmith@eliterunners.com

Shuttle Routes

Looks like there IS actually a shuttle from the Hotel Preston; we'll have to check out the details at the Expo b/c I think you need to purchase tickets ahead of time.

Number Crunching Won't Do Anything For Your Abs

Well, what can we say - no John today for spinning. I think the most grueling workout of the day was lugging an overstuffed audit bag from Blvd of the Allies garage over to the office - that's what I'm talking about. Who says "number crunching won't do anything for your abs"?