Burma Road PR

I call Burma Road my favorite local dirt trail, but, in all honesty, I have not actually run on it very much. The problem is that its trail head is three uphill miles from my home. While I have run to it before, such workouts have merely incorporated a one-way mostly downhill stretch of the 2.5 mile long trail. I really need to drive to it if I want to focus on it as a five mile long out-and-back because its steep elevation changes can be exhausting.

Since this upcoming Saturday's half marathon is mostly trail based, I have been compelled to drive to Burma twice in the past five days...primarily to practice running on its hilly, uneven, and rocky surface. This also gives me a chance to get reacquainted with my Asics Kahanas (which, surprisingly, have covered almost as many miles in trail races as training runs). I have owned them almost as long as my first pair of Kayano 13s of which I am quickly wearing down my fourth pair.

Fortunately, the Kahanas still feel great. No hot spots to report.

Actually, my legs feel great, not just my feet. I think I have finally worked through all of the ankle, arch, and blistering issues I encountered last year. The knee has not been giving me problems since I recovered from the marathon. I suspect reducing my mileage has been key. I have not attempted more than a 14 miler in any one day since...and I have kept my average under 30 miles per week.

That said, I have been improving my pace. On Friday, I averaged 8:51/mile...way faster than previous efforts. I shaved another thirty seconds per mile off my average this morning. This is a trail I could barely average ten minutes per mile...today I ran only one mile that slow.

The Great Race is just days away. I am looking forward to it.

Last 14 Miler Before Great Race

Hoping to minimize chance of injuries before the Chesebro Half Marathon (just two Saturday's away), I figure today will be my last half marathon distance run before it. I would have run over the weekend, but cleaning my home office and helping host a party has a way of zapping time and energy.

So, not having run since accidentally running 10.22 miles on Thursday (seriously, I planned to do only 8), I set out to run 14 miles today with the plan to start slow and finish strong.

On my first (fortunately slow and uphill) mile, I trip and fall...scraping both palms. I use probably an eighth of the water in my bottle to rinse the wound and bleed for the rest of the run, but survive the distance averaging a respectable 8:45/mile.

Definitely started slower and finished stronger than my last 13.45 miler a week ago Sunday, but I had hoped my average pace would have improved.

The Great Race Training Update

Chesebro Half Marathon is only three weeks away, so I am starting to step up my pace at half marathon distances (and I can no longer to avoid do so without including significant elevation change). During today's solo run over and around Palos Verdes, I hit 1:53:30 at 13.22 miles...my third fastest time at this distance (even faster than my first half marathon race which was on nearly flat terrain).

Even though I am wearing a fairly fresh pair of my favorite Kayano 13's, I have picked up blisters on the balls of both feet and now detect the faint hint of shin splints on my right leg (probably aggravated when I came down Hawthorne Blvd at a sub 7 minute pace). I need to be more careful. I would not want anything to throw off my training this close to a registered event.

I do not expect to top my personal record during this upcoming race, but, based on my progress, I will be very disappointed if I do not set my second fastest time.

Leaving for Mammoth

Valerie and I are driving up to Mammoth for our second four day trip of the season. Running is on hold until we return.

No More Dog Runs

An unexpected turn of events has permanently ended my lunchtime Dog Runs. I am not giving up running, nor am I saying that I won't ever run again with Justin...it's just going to be less convenient for me to do the latter (and the phrase "Dog Run" is no longer applicable).

And Yet Another 10km PR

I've now gone sub 44...averaging exactly 7 minutes per mile! I guess I do need Justin to push me after all!

100 Miles in 2009 and Counting

Since the beginning of the year, I have totaled 100.88 miles at an average pace of 8:32 per mile. Of those, 48.28 were lunchtime runs with Justin, during which my average proves to 7:34. Not a bad start for 2009!

That said, I actually thought I'd reach this milestone a week earlier, but I let rain limit one of my weeks in January to only seven miles. Rain continues to affect my choices this month, but I refuse to drop below twenty miles per week.

I got drenched during the second mile of this morning's run, wind chilled after that, and, just as the sun came out, I collected heavy clay on the soles of my week-old shoes...all while my wife and brother-in-law enjoyed homemade strawberry waffles.