Music Monday

Since I will be racing this weekend.  I thought I would share two songs with you since they are related.  I like to make a new mix for every race I do and I start them all off the same.  The first song is always Ecstasy of Gold.  It is the intro music for Metallica.  The song is a classic instrumental that I think is perfect for the start of any race.  My next suggestion is my all time favorite song.  It has been my favorite since the first time I heard it and I doubt I'll find a song I enjoy more.  That song is Blackened by Metallica.  I include it in most of my run mixes, but I put it closer to the end.  This video is the live version with the Ecstasy of Gold at the beginning.

Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon - Week 15 training

Week 15 is now complete.  The hard work is done.  It is time to taper, rest, and prepare for the big day in 3 weeks.  First off, this has been another great week.  I couldn't be happier with how my training has gone in 2012.  Last year was a struggle and I learned a lot.  I was excited this year to not only apply what I learned through training, but also through the marathon.  This week was my 3rd and final 20 mile run.  I continued my improvement with each one.  My first was 3:12, the second was 3:09, and Saturday I busted out 3:00!!!  I couldn't believe it.  It was a full 1:36 per mile pace better than what I raced.  This race was a huge confidence booster for me.  I know all runners pick up time from their long runs to the race, but I always worried I would not be able to run 9 minute miles on race day.  On Saturday, that is exactly what I did.  So, I am ready to rock.

This next week will be the start of dialing it back.  The temps here are going to jump this week to the high 70's.   We haven't had temps like that since early March.  I had planned on riding a lot this week as I wanted to not only get work in, but give my joints a break from the pounding from running.  Part of me thinks I may be better off running as it will help me get used to the heat.  Not sure what I will do yet.  I'll see how the legs and make a decision then.  This weekend I will be heading to Indianapolis Indiana for the Indy Mini Marathon.  It is the largest half marathon in the United Sates.  It is a race from downtown Indianapolis to the Indianapolis speedway.  Once you make a loop around the track, you head back to downtown.  I am not worried about a PR as I will not be passing up the opportunity to kiss the bricks!!



Monday
Rest day

Tuesday
5.00 run at 8:51 pace

Wednesday
26 mile run at 17.6 mph

Thursday
5.01 run at 8:44 pace

Friday
Rest day

Saturday
20 mile run at 9:01 pace

Sunday
7.75 mile recovery run with @clecraftbeerrun

Miles:  70.78
Time:  7 hours 37 minutes
Cals burned:  7,053

BEAL

Music Monday

Sometimes when building a run mix you need a power song.  A song that really lights a fire and gets you going.  This song has been a favorite of mine and I place it at the end of all my playlists.  Its a banger for sure.  The song is Poison by Vagabond.

Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon - Week 14 training

This turned out to be another great week of training.  I am really satisfied with how things have gone lately.  The weather warmed up a little this week and I took advantage by getting some quality miles in on the bike.  The good news of the week is that my favorite bike/hike path re-opened.  I mainly use it for my long runs and it had been closed for the past 5 weeks while new bridges were installed.  I also had my last swim lesson this past Thursday.  Having private lessons helped a lot.  I still have a lot of work to do and i'm looking forward to focusing more on swimming while I taper for the marathon.

This past Friday, the Cleveland Marathon announced a partnership with Coca-Cola.  They also announced that they electrolyte to be provided would be Mountain Berry Blue Powerade.  My first thought was, thank goodness for no more lemon lime.  Lemon Lime flavoring has always made me sick to my stomach while exercising.  My next thought was Mountain Blue Berry??  What an odd choice.  I went to the store on Friday and stocked up on it and began training with it on Saturday.  Immediately, I could see why it was chosen.  It is a real light flavor and is actually nice while running.  I think this flavor will be appreciated on race day.  The best news is that it does not give me any stomach issues.  It will be nice to finally be at a race that I can take in more electrolytes.  In the past, I've taken in more GU and water to compensate.  

Saturday was a lighter long run for me.  My plan called for a 15 miler to help recover from last weeks 20 miler.  I was excited to get back on my long run route, but not excited about the weather forecast.  Rain and cold temps had been forecasted all week.  I ended up getting lucky as the hard rain had stopped by the time I started and was only misting through the morning.  I felt really good through the first 7.5 miles and even ran in too fellow #Dirtyrunner Christian.  He is currently training for the Indy Mini Marathon and Cleveland Half Marathon.  At the half way point my average pace was 9:08 per mile and decided to push the pace a little as I felt good and wanted to work on running my race pace.  I continued to run well and picked up on speed as the miles went by.  I finished with an average pace of 8:56!!!  I've done half marathons under 9 minutes per mile, but I've never done a long training run that fast before.  I couldn't be more excited with how it went.

This week is the beginning of the end as my miles during the week start to taper off and I have my last 20 miler this Saturday.  The weather is looking pretty cool again and they are focusing for 2-4 inches of snow tomorrow.  So, I doubt I will be able to get in a lot of bike miles this week.  My plan does call for 2 off days this week.  I can't remember the last time I had 2 days off in a week.  It will be nice to rest up the legs a little before Saturday.  

Monday

Rest day

Tuesday

6.10 mile run at 8:52 pace

4 mile recovery ride at 16 mph average

Wednesday

26 mile ride at 17.6 mph

Thursday

Swim lesson

5.00 mile run at 8:52 pace

Friday

25 mile ride at 17.4 mph

Saturday

15 mile run at 8:56 pace

10 mile recovery ride at 17.2 mph

Sunday

8 mile run at 9:22 pace

Miles:  99.50

Calories burned:  7,982

Time:  9:23:29

The marathon shoes.  I began breaking them in this week. 

Music Monday

Another Monday can only mean one thing....more music!!!  I have a pretty odd taste in music as I am not only a huge fan of uptempo dance music, but I am also a big metal fan.  I  really enjoy listening to both while I run.  The past 2 weeks I have recommend some new house music I've found and I thought it was time to make a metal recommendation.  This song is old school and one of my favorites from the 90's.  I love listening to it while I run and place it towards the end of my race mixes as it always gives me a boost when I am struggling.  The song is called In My World and it is by Anthrax.  Enjoy!

Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon - Week 13 training

Who knew how aero tomato wheels could be.

Lucky number 13!!  This week got off with a rough start.  My legs felt dead on Tuesday and were not much better on Wednesday.  Finally, by Saturday they were feeling somewhat back to normal.  Besides the fatigue, I had been fighting a tight achilles all week.  I switched brands of shoes 2 weeks ago and when I switched back on Saturday.  The tightness went away.  Good news is that I have spare pair that is brand new and I can break them in for the marathon.  Overall, I am pretty happy with how the week went.  I did my 2nd 20 mile run this weekend 3 minutes faster than 2 weeks ago.  I even ran my marathon pace from miles 10 through 15.  I was feeling so good that I got stupid and skipped my GU at mile 15.  I ran out of gas on the next climb and lost pace the rest of the way.  Thursday was my 3rd swim lesson.  I'm now working on getting my shoulders properly rotated when getting air.  Its really challenging getting everything straight.  There is so much to remember while trying not to drown.  

Week 14 will be much more of the same.  Lots of running, cycling, and swimming.  My long run this week is 15 miles.

Monday

Rest day

Tuesday

6.00 mile run at 9:19 pace

Wednesday

8 mile run at 9:14 pace

Thursday

Private swim lesson

5 mile run at 8:57 pace

Friday

21 mile ride at 14.9 MPH average

Saturday

20 mile run at 9:31 pace

Sunday

8.00 mile run at 9:14 pace

20 mile ride at 17.9 mph

Totals

Miles:  94.35

Time:  10 hours 43 minutes

Cals burned:  9,324

Weight loss:  1 lbs lost.  YTD loss is 18 lbs.

Proof I have the best fans in the world.

Music Monday

Don't have a case of the Mondays cause its Music Monday!!  This week I am gonna recommend another house track.  The song is called Together and it is by Dj Chuckie.  I've been running to this one for 2 weeks now and it is a good one.  Enjoy!!

Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon - Week 12 training

Happy Easter everyone!!  I hope everyone is enjoying some quality time with their families.  This was another good week of training for me.  It was one of my shorter long run weeks and I was off Friday.  I took advantage of it by doing some hard bricks.  Our weather has continued to be really good.  You know you are having a mild Spring in Ohio when it is 50 degrees and it seems chilly.  We've really been spoiled this year.  It was a fun week as I got out for runs and rides.  I also spent some quality in the pool.  I am currently working on the breast stroke.  My trainer feels it will be necessary if when I get off course in open water.  Now, I will be able to pop up and see where I am at without losing momentum.  So, I am working on that as well as my freestyle breathing.  My breathing is getting much better, but now I am getting water in my ear at times.  So, trying to figure that out.

This week will be a big week.  Next up is my second 20 miler.  I was thinking to myself while running this past weekend and realized this week begins a critical 3 week period.  My training plan calls for 20 this week, then a 15 miler, and then a final 22 miler.  So, I've got 3 weeks before its time to start dialing it back.  I really really want to run well and do something special on 5/20.  So far I think I have put myself in position to potentially do that, but I need to take it to another level the next 3 weeks to really finish strong.  I can be my own worst enemy sometimes, especially when it comes to 20 mile runs.  I am not going to let myself dwell on it and focus on the positives.

Wore the BMC kit on Saturday's ride.  Good thing my ride when better than Thor's did today. 

Monday

Rest day

Tuesday

6.13 mile run at 8:56 pace

Wednesday

6 mile run at 9:02 pace

12 mile ride at 19.2 MPH average

Thursday

Rest day

Friday

13.1 miles at 9:05 pace

11 mile ride at 16.3 MPH average

Saturday

8 mile run at 9:01 pace

16 mile ride at 17.5 MPH average

600 yard swim

Sunday

6.13 mile run at 9:13 pace

600 yard swim

Totals

Miles:  78.51

Time:  8 hours 21 minutes

Cals burned:  7,809

Weight loss:  1 lbs lost.  YTD loss is 17 lbs.

Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon - Week 11 training

Wow, what a week this was.  My plan going into this week was to focus on running.  On my long during week 10.  I was not happy with the amount of effort it took to run the pace I was at.  Most likely it was the humidity, but I was heavy on the cycling that week and I didn't want to leave anything to chance for that being the reason.  So, I primarily just ran this week.  It also was my first 20 miler of my training.  Each day the weekend grew closer, the more I began to worry about it.  My training this year has been going much better than last year, but I was still worrying.  I started out my run at an easy pace running the first 16 in the 9:40-9:45 range and decided to run the last 3 hard.  The last 3 miles I managed 9:24, 9:11, and 8:35.  The best news is that I finished the 20 miles with an average pace at a full minute faster than my pace during last year's marathon.  Needless to say, I've been floating on cloud 9 ever since.  

This week I will be mixing it up with running, riding, and swimming.  I have a light long run of 13 miles this week and will probably add in a few 8 milers.  

Monday

5.01 mile run at 9:23 pace

Tuesday

6 mile run at 8:55 pace

Wednesday

8 mile run at 9:25 pace

Thursday

30 minute private swim lesson

Friday

3 mile run at 9:12 pace

Saturday

20 mile run at a 9:38 pace

Sunday

25 mile ride with an average speed of 17.6 mph

Totals

Miles:  67.31

Time:  8 hours 1 minutes

Cals burned:  6,544

Weight loss:  0 lbs lost.  YTD loss is 16 lbs.

BEAL

Music Monday

As the marathon grows closer and I begin building a playlist for that race.  I decided to started sharing some new/favorite running songs of mine.  So, check back every Monday to see what I'm running too now.