BANGLE

Very cool. Being the cool Aunt is so much better than the daily rigors of actual parenting... Yes, kid bikes still have the pedal brakes. Or at least they did when my kid had one. which was I guess over 15 years ago now... Maybe ask someone younger...

I feel like all my posts have been full of dread and woe for months as I complained about aches and pains and slowness. Yet here I am in the midst of Monster Month, with four weeks to race day, and somehow I'm feeling energized and optimistic! Go figure. Shouldn't I be exhausted and sore and negative about now? Well, not so much. Just finished my two biggest weeks, with 54 and 51 miles. And my gimpy ankle has healed up. My balky knee still aches sometimes, but less and less. It seems the prescription for healing was More Miles. Sure I'm sore and achey after my long runs, and getting up off the couch can be difficult. But by the next day I'm able to get back out there relatively unscathed. I guess this training thing works. It helps running in perfect weather conditions. Winter training sure beats summer training. I never overheat, and don't need to worry about hydration. Enjoying the beauty around here is good for the mojo as well. I've had several great runs along the Pacific coast cliffs nearby. There are some great trails there. I got to see a whale as I went by a whale-watching spot. I also enjoyed running with hundreds of butterflies as we are in the middle of a huge butterfly migration at the moment. I can see for hundreds of miles all across the LA basin and to the snow-capped local mountains as I climb over our local hills. It's pretty great. A week ago I did my first 20-miler for this cycle, to close out a 54 mile week. I expected to be tired and just go at whatever pace worked. I ran along the flat coast virtually the whole way and just enjoyed myself. The pace gradually dropped to about 8:10-8:15 for miles 8-19, which was about as good as I had hoped for. I didn't fade until the last mile when I started to wear out. My pace is still slower than a year ago, as it has been on all my runs, but I've accepted that. Just glad to get the miles in. Last Wednesday I repeated my 4x1 mile workout, and I was able to find more speed than a few weeks ago. I managed 7:00, 7:02, 7:00 and 7:16, which beat the 7:20s I ran before. That was encouraging, although still slower than last year. And I had nothing left on the last one. But still, encouraging. Saturday I ran a very hilly 13 with a friend and the pace was decent. Then when I got back to the car I realized I had lost my key somewhere along the way. Phone was locked in the car, and friend was running home. I had little choice but to run the extra 3.8 miles home. But I still felt pretty strong after 13, and it was another beautiful day, and it was all downhill or flat...so I trotted on home and was happy to do it and log more miles. So this week is not too tough, but it finishes with a 21-miler over a huge hill that is my usual pre-marathon litmus test. If I can do that without dying too bad, then I will feel ready. Right now I feel pretty good about it. All systems are go. My Boston goal is just to have fun and break 4, but I'd like to do about 3:45 if all goes well. I know I can run about 8 minute pace for 20 miles. It's all about that last six. Long term, I'm thinking Chicago 2020 may be my next one. So to qualify to skip the lottery I need sub 3:40... So many of my friends are fighting injuries, so I'm just happy to be healthy, and getting another decent marathon done. At my age, I never know when it might be my last. Enjoy your runs. Life is good.

Welcome back!

Such a great confidence-boosting run!

Yeah, that Strava feed is pretty dull! Pretty impressive knocking those last two miles out. My last two of 20 are usually the slowest.

Update: Monday's run after a rest day went very well! Felt the mojo returning!

Stupid old bodies won't cooperate... and who does a farmer blow INSIDE?!? Dude!

Yes, be happy. Enjoy the workouts without the stress. And keep sharing!

I've already got Boston on my weather app. Spring is coming, right? So, six weeks sounds pretty close. Still plenty of time to get in better shape though (thank God). I've got three more heavy weeks planned and a gradual taper. So far I have been able to stick to my plan. Haven't missed any runs yet. No real injuries to derail me. Just the usual aches, pains and constant fatigue. Last night I slept ten hours. It was wonderful. So, let's see. A week ago I was supposed to do 17. I met up with the Saturday group run, which is normally 10-11 miles in the hills. I planned to add some miles at the end after taking advantage of the camaraderie for a while. I ran with a couple of friends who kept pushing the pace just a bit faster than I was comfortable with. After three miles I let them slip ahead because I was working too hard for long run day. I was sucking wind and feeling pretty demoralized so I took a walk break. It was frustrating, but my attitude was one of just keep plugging at whatever pace and get the miles in. As I restarted at an easier pace I started to feel better. I skipped a section so that I could meet back up with the group a little later. By then I felt the mojo returning and was able to run with them the rest of the way. We added some miles at the turnaround, some trails along the cliffs above the Pacific Ocean on a gorgeous day. It was splendiferous. The pace was reasonable and we took some more walk breaks later and by the time we finished at 14.6 miles I figured that was enough for today. Instead I added miles to Sunday's run. I figured Sunday to be rough after that effort, but the legs surprised me and had a little spark left. I did 8.6 miles at my usual pace and finished the 47 mile week confident! Maybe I can do this! The left knee pain is not going away, but it's not getting worse either. It settles into a constant ache. Lately the right ankle/achilles has been the problem - feeling weak when I push off it. Tuesday was 9 miles where I just plodded along and again the pace was disappointing and the right leg was letting me down. Wednesday I was looking forward to a track workout or mile repeats on the track, but the track was closed due to a lacrosse game, so there was no group workout. Instead I went home and did 4x1 by myself along the beach again. Felt even worse than last week with the leg feeling weak and I couldn't get any speed going. I just did what I could, which was 7:44 for the first two, and then 7:20, 7:24 for the second two. With very little rest. The legs did start to feel better after I warmed up, so at least that was a little encouraging. The plan was an easy six Friday and then 18 on Saturday. But a forecast for heavy rain and winds on Saturday made me switch those up and do 18 on Friday. I skipped the woodchips and just did a straight out and back along the beach. And I felt pretty good! Not fantastic, but I kept a nice steady pace and the legs behaved. Again, the right leg felt off, but after about five miles it seemed to loosen up and feel normal. The knee doesn't really bother me. The pain is just there. By the last six miles, all the other fatigue-related pains are all that I'm feeling - sore muscles mainly. Tight hamstrings, etc. I clipped along in the 8:20s and then the 8:10s until the last three miles where I faded a bit to the 8:30s. Pretty wiped out by the end, but definitely happy to still be on track. The idea of 8 more is terrifying, but that's true every time. I'll count that as my snowbuster entry, even though I wasn't racing it. 2:31:05 for 18 miles. The next day I dragged my tired legs out for six, and it wasn't too bad. It was fun to run in the rain at 8:45 pace for six miles. Another week done. This coming week is a big one with 54 miles topped off with a 20 on Sunday. It's mostly gravy after that. Life is good.

Whoa. That heart rate chart is...concerning. Almost like an artery suddenly clogged up.

So, what was your PR time, grumpy-pants?

Digging the Deadpool colors

Gotta love those races!

I did some quarters under 6:00 pace last month on a day I ran two sub 7 miles, so I guess I'm just tired.