Heron - 11 miles (310 total)

11.18 miles
1:31:09
8:09 pace

Originally planned to run 6 miles this morning, but Chris was home with a sick kid, and I am taking a few days off, so decided to go a little farther.

Saw a big heron in a marshy section of water between the Art Museum and Boathouse Row. It must have been about three feet tall and was very picturesque. Wish I had taken my phone and gotten a photo.

Will rest for a couple of days and run again on Thursday or Friday. Legs and left foot were starting to get achey again today after all the long runs, so this break is coming at a good time.

Wet 13 Miles (298 total)

13.01 miles (plus .69)
1:45:07
8:04 pace

Tried to do 15 miles this morning, doing the normal East Falls loop, but starting and ending at my front door. Only managed to make 13 before giving in to exhaustion, then tried again as I took the walk of shame home, but only added another 7 tenths.

15 miles would have broken 300 total, so I guess that won't happen until Monday. I think if Chris had been running we would have made the 15; it's a little easier to give up when you're on your own.

On the positive side, even though I thought I was running a slower pace, it ended up being 8:04, which would have been a record for me less than a month ago. It think the PDR might have ratcheted up my internal pace-setter. This was also a record week for both distance and speed - 43 miles, with an average pace right around 8:00.

Speed Run - 6 miles (285 total)

6.01 miles
44:44
7:26 pace

I'm thinking about breaking new ground Saturday and trying a 14-15 mile run, so decided to do something shorter and faster today. (Plus I was late starting and in a hurry.)

Ran at a pace that felt a bit faster than what I did for the PDR, but the final according to my Nike+ was only a few seconds faster per mile. (Nike+ had me at 7:30 for PDR; 7:26 today.) I should mention that the Nike+ had me at 13.25 miles and about 40 seconds faster for the PDR than the official time, which is what I posted. The mileage difference seems within the margin of error, but I'm a bit puzzled by the time difference.

Recovery Run - 10.25 miles (279 total)

1:25:35
8:20 pace

I must still be excited about the PDR, because I started out planning to do seven miles, if I wasn't hurting too much anywhere. Legs did ache a bit in the beginning, but got better after a few miles. Weather was about perfect - this is the best time of year in Philly.

Decided to go an extra couple of miles since I was feeling good, and ended up turning around just after the boat race reviewing stands on Kelly Drive. Broke 100 miles for this month (8/26-9/25) and still have one more run left.

Here's another article from yesterday's Inquirer about the race.

2008 Philadelphia Distance Run

13.1 Miles
1:40:00
7:38 pace

Beautiful day for a race. Sunny and in the 60's the whole way. Felt really strong into the 12th mile, and spent by the end. The splits on the PDR website showed that I got faster as the race went on, and that's what it felt like. A little achey at the beginning, as usual, but no pain at all after about the 5 mile mark.

I'm really happy with the time - last year I ran 2:02:38 - a 9:22 pace. This may be a hard one to beat next year. After the race Chris and I talked about possibly doing the marathon along with Scott next year. I think that will require a different kind of training.

Legs still feel good 3 hours after the race. Hope to be able to run again on Tuesday.

Carb-loading at Ralph's - 1.5 (255 total)

Scott organized a pre-race dinner tonight at Ralph's Restaurant in the Italian Market section of South Philadelphia. That's Scott in the center of the picture, with Chris to his right and Scott's friends Karen and Jeanette. Karen is a high school friend of Scott's and she and her sister Jeanette have run 3 marathons together. They were in Utah for a 50k in July. We'll all be running tomorrow.

We all had pasta - I had mine with mussels and "red gravy" which is South Philly for tomato sauce. Delicious and filling. I don't know if carb-loading is really helpful or just a myth, but it makes a great excuse for a satisfying meal. This is the first time I've been to Ralph's; they claim to be the oldest restaurant in Philadelphia under the original family management. Afterwards, I was glad to have the bike ride back home.

This morning Doug and I went down to the river path to time him in the mile run. He wants to try out for football in high school next year and needs to be able to run a mile in under 8 minutes. We did a couple of quarter miles to calibrate his Nike+, then did a mile in 7:30. I wasn't able to keep up with him at a couple of points!

Quarter Complete - 8 miles (254 total)

8.09 miles
1:06:49
8:14 pace

Finally, the cool fall weather is here. I think it should last at least through the race on Sunday. Chris and I left the office about 7:15. Chris had a sharp pain in his thigh after about a half mile, so we stopped briefly and did some more stretching. After that we took the rest of the run at a slightly more leisurely pace than usual, but ended up running a bit longer than our usual pre-work run.

I was happy with the pace - my calf didn't hurt at all, though I could certainly feel it when I stretched after the run. I think I should be able to run the race at this pace for about ten miles, then try to increase the pace for the last three.

Broke 250 miles today - one quarter of the way there.

Inquirer PDR Article

Article in today's Philadelphia Inquirer about the Philadelphia Distance Run with profiles of some of the "typical" runners.

Long Jog - 8.5 miles (246 total)

8.54 miles
1:13:29
8:36/mile pace

Ran by myself this morning, trying to be very conscious of my healing calf. Kept the speed down to where it did not feel like I was straining it. Since I was going slower than Chris and I usually run together, decided to go a little farther. This is probably closer to the pace I will run for the race Sunday. Much cooler and less humid this morning, and that made a huge difference in the comfort level.

Opposite Day - 8.3 miles (237 total)

8.28 miles
1:07:26
8:08 min/mile

Chris and I met near the office at 7:00 this morning and did our normal river loop, but looped in the opposite direction in order to take the Sweetbriar cutoff back to where we started. We ended up walking two or three miles back, but the walking is probably a good thing.

I'm glad we quit running at 8 miles - calf was starting to hurt, and had to slow down significantly after 6. Did not want to wait for my leg to completely fail before quitting. Humidity was awful; in the 90's according to weather.com. The photo above is from last Sunday, but the weather was similarly hazy today.

I guess I'll do one or two 6 or 7-milers before the PDR next Sunday. This was not a confidence-building run, unfortunately, although I am glad that the pace that feels most comfortable now seems to be close to 8 min/mile - big improvement over a year ago.

I'm hoping that we get some fall weather for next week. It's supposed to hit 91 today, and the humidity is still at 75% now at 11:00am.

Back on Track - 7 miles (229 total)

7.05 miles
56:34 min
8:01 min/mi

Didn't know what to expect this morning. Called Chris last night and said I was going to try, but didn't know whether it would be a full run or more likely just a mile or so. I wanted to pay attention to what my calf was doing and not irritate it or worse, have a repeat of Saturday.

I could feel it from the start, but it did not seem to get worse, and by about mile 5 was feeling better than the start. After we climbed the 2 flights of stairs to get back to street level at about 6.5 it was hurting, but not bad enough to cut short the last half mile. It tightened up a lot a few minutes after stopping, and I am trying to keep it stretched while cooling down. I'll give it some ice.

So far, so good. Depending on how it feels, might try a longer run on Saturday - last chance for a double-digit run before the PDR on the 21st.

Calf Heart Attack?

Ended up with a very sore muscle about the size of a banana on the inside of my right calf. Iced it a couple of times Saturday, and massaged it with a tennis ball. Doug and I did a 15-mile bike ride Sunday, and it was less sore; today felt more tight than sore. I've been trying to stretch and massage it gently.

Did some reading on the web, and think it might have been a muscle spasm or a minor pull or tear. Up to this point I haven't had any problems with my calves or achilles. Also never had an injury that happened so suddenly and really stopped me cold in the middle of a run. A couple of articles about calf problems used the term calf heart attack and that describes the feeling perfectly.

The consensus seems to be RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) and a week of rest, followed by some careful jogging. I may wait until Friday and try an easy run, bailing if it seems to act up at all.

Injury - 3.7 miles (222 total)

Met Chris at 36th and Spruce and headed to the River trail. My right calf felt sore to start out with, about an inch or two above the achilles tendon. We were about 3.5 miles along West River Drive when I felt a pop and couldn't run any farther. Tried to stretch it out, but it would relax, then suddenly tighten up again. Limped back past the Philadelphia Zoo and through Mantua. Chris walked back with me - I feel bad for messing up his run too.

Will ice it and rest today and see what happens.

New Land Speed Record! - 7 miles (218 total)

Started from Presbyterian Hospital at 39th and Market after seeing B off for a procedure early this morning. Ran through town and picked up the river trail at Chestnut Street. Backtracked to the turnaround and then took the trail north to just past Fountain Drive (4.25 miles). Ran back to the turnaround and hit 7 miles ascending the ramp to Chestnut. Would have gone 8 miles, but heard a clang outside 30th Street Station and thought I had dropped my car keys, so ended the run at 7 and a third (with an even 8:00/mile pace!)

This was a record time for me (in the post-40 era) for any distance over a mile - previous record was a 5-miler at the track at an 8:06 pace. For the past few runs I've tested my current abilities for both distance and speed, and will now try to pull back a little before the PDR on 9/21. Don't want to risk an injury before then.

(B's surgery went smoothly; spent time with her at the hospital after the run.)

Schuylkill Loop from Philly Art Museum - 11 miles - (211 total)

Running on my own this morning, thought I would take advantage of the 3-day weekend and do another longer run. Originally planned to do a shorter version of the usual loop along the Schuylkill River to the Falls Bridge, starting and ending at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Was a bit achey starting the run - left the house a little later than planned, and since I was warmed up from the bike ride to the museum, did not stretch as much as I should have. Otherwise was feeling good. By the time I made it back to the Art Museum (8.4 miles) was feeling strong enough to continue on to the turnaround point (9.6) and then back to the museum. Hit 11 miles at the parking area behind the museum. Still had some strength at the end - last two miles were under 8:00.

Beautiful day, sunny and less humid. Lots of cyclists and runners out. Tried to get Doug to come out with me on his bike, because I thought West River Drive would be closed to traffic as it is on weekends. It wasn't closed off, so maybe it's just as well that Doug slept in.