Usain Bolt Barefoot

Screen cap from iaaf.org of Usain Bolt during an Olympics victory lap.  Checkout his shoes....  'nuff said ~

Workouts: November 10-16, 2008

Started the official marathon taper after Tuesday's 14 mile double.

I Ran to Work & Philly Marathon Thoughts

I had been thinking about running to work for a long time.  I have been able to ride my bike to work since school started on September 2nd.  I have driven my car only seven times since then.  I decided to do this run to work because my last few runs have felt really great.  I feel in better cardio shape than I have in about a year and a half.  My legs are feeling unbelievably strong, as evidenced by my riding my Dawes SST single speed.  It is really great to feel the fitness from the two activities of running and cycling coming together - I remember that feeling from back when I was a fairly serious triathlete, about 1985-95.

I felt a bit of pressure to get to work fast, since I left only about 10 minutes earlier than when I ride my bike.  I figured it would take me about an hour to cover the 7 miles, thinking I might take some walk breaks.  I have done this run before, to work and back, on a weekend leading up to some long race last year, for a regular nonstop long run, so I had some experience with the timing.  I didn't take any walk breaks today.  It only took me 53:49 = 7:42/mile.  Pretty good, considering my backpack, though packed light, was annoying me.

It was a cool but sunny run.  Tech long sleeve, last year's NYC Marathon shirt, polypro gloves and tight sweatpants did it just fine.  Ms. Click beeped at me and Mr. Dobson yelled "Go Mr. G!" from the window of his car when he passed me.  I gave him a double fist pump, even though I didn't know it was him until I saw him inside later on.  A couple of other teachers saw me and asked how my ride was.  I told them I ran in today.  Of course they said I am crazy.  Maybe I am, in a good crazy way.  I didn't tell my family I was running in today, because I didn't want them to think I was getting nuttier about this commute-as-workout thing.  But if I do qualify for Boston, I will be doing it more often December-March.  That might be the best way to deal with inclement weather this winter - on days when biking would be dangerous or really too cold.  Plus, it will be a great offset to all the days of running I miss due to skiing.

One of the main reasons I ran to work today is because I  needed to get in a long day today, since it is getting close to the Philly Marathon, and I certainly don't have enough long runs behind me.  I figured two seven mile runs in one day will be a good long day.  It isn't exactly a 20 miler, but it is something.  I have no 20 milers at all leading up to this marathon.  The last time I ran anything close to that was 30K for the Escarpment Trail Run in the end of July, during the days of the broken toe.  I have a bunch of long-ish days, but usually spread over two workouts.  I feel fitter than I have for the last two years going into the NYC marathon, because of cross-training on the bike.  Hopfully a taper next week will be enough to run at least a Boston qualifier.  In 1983 I ran 2:41 at the Philly Marathon.  I am fairly sure the course was different than it is today.  So 25 years later I am hoping to run a 3:30 or better.  That averages to exactly 8 minutes per mile.  Using the MacMillan race predictor calculator with my 1:32 Newport-Liberty Waterfront Half-Marathon time, it predicts a 3:14.  That is a good sign.  I am in a lot better shape today than I was for that race.  Using my most recent race, 32:29 at the USATF-NJ 8K XC, it predicts 3:12!  That was XC & barefoot - but don't get too excited, because it was a shorter race.  Predictions must be more accurate when the predictor-race distance approaches the actual race distance.

Training: November 3 - 9, 2008

Losing The Shoes (off the roof of the car)

I ran with my son's cross-country team this morning. It is the last practice on a week off from school for them, before Saturday's state sectional meet. With no more dual meets, only varsity is working out now, and only one girl. Our high school team is not exactly a cross-country power, but I am glad my freshman son is running usually 6th man on varsity, and that there are no seniors on the team. The coach seems to know what he is doing for training them, though they generally lack strong "Eye of The Tiger" motivation right now. Definitely a building year.

We started with laps on the track, sprinting the front 100m straightaway on each lap. They wanted to just start with that cold, but I convinced them to run the entire first lap before hitting the first sprint. I couldn't keep up on the sprint, even with the one girl that showed up for practice. It took me about a mile to warm up, is why. Youth...

After a couple miles on the track, we moved to the football field for the rest of the workout. I took my Saucony Killkenny XC flats off, but couldn't get any of the kids to take theirs off. They should have, since it was a damp day and the field was wet. At this point, I had no problem sprinting with them, as they tired and my 35 years of endurance kicked in.

After the workout I put my shoes on the roof of the car for a minute, so I could clear my back seat to give a couple of the kids a ride home in my little Ford Focus. When we got home, I realized I left the shoes on my roof! So I retraced my drive. I found the shoes on the edge of Greenbrook Road where it curves near West End Avenue. Those shoes rode my roof for at least a mile, taking a few accelerations and turns before ditching!

Workouts : October 27 - November 2, 2008