-FredrikXanTrekNavy in Action
Yesterday, I completed my longest run ever: an 18-miler! I felt great and look forward to this week, which is the culmination of my marathon training program, with the highest mileage and the longest “long” run at 20 miles on Sunday. After that it’s time to taper and get in shape for the race.
This was a long, slow, distance (LSD) run.
For details, check out the Garmin Connect link: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/25891745
I’m entering the last stretch of my marathon training program. Tomorrow calls for a 6-miler with twelve minutes at 10K pace and on Sunday I’m taking on an 18-mile LSD run. Looking forward to it and hope the weather will be decent. Tomorrow’s run will probably be wet but Sunday looks promising.
Put in a solid 8-miler on Thursday with my friend, Brian, including five hill repeats. My left Achilles tendon keeps nagging me but hasn’t flared up yet. I’m praying it will hold up for another month of stress.
I’m currently in Phoenix, awaiting my connection to Portland, and enjoying a couple of Stellas.
This has been an interesting trip and I don’t think I’ll plan anymore visits to the East Coast in the middle of winter. The weather is too unpredictable and it seems there are always problems. If not outright cancellations, then at least delays.
Last night (Tuesday), I got stuck in Harrisonburg, Virginia. I had an appointment in northern West Virginia this morning but the snow started to come down hard and we decided to play it by ear. It became a dilemma because I had a flight out of Dulles in the afternoon.
When I got to my hotel and called US Airways, I learned that my flight had been canceled (not sure why Expedia didn’t notify me). They offered a flight out of Richmond on Friday, but I had no desire (or enough clothes) to spend another two nights and it was becoming increasingly clear that I wasn’t going to make it into WV. So I got my flight re-booked from Charlotte to Portland, via Phoenix.
That meant a 300-mile drive this morning and fortunately I made it! It was not pretty getting out on the freeway and the first two hours were miserable. A bit of adventure in February. I’m glad to be west of the Rockies. Almost home!
Great start to the second half of the Superbowl! I’m watching it from my hotel bed in Lincolnton, NC, after watching the first half at Mike’s house. He was kind to invite me over and enjoy the game with his family and friends. Lots of nice treats and I managed to stuff myself.
Today’s trip was about as perfect as they come. I was very nervous yesterday, with the reports of airport closures all over the Northeast. Looks like the snowstorm stayed away from both Chicago and Charlotte. Both flights were on time and arrived early.
The second leg (from Chicago to Charlotte) was particularly enjoyable, since I managed to upgrade to first class. To make it even better, the guy across the aisle from me looked familiar. When I saw him read a book on running, there was little doubt. Unfortunately, a woman to my right was blocking us, so I never had an opportunity to introduce myself.
As we left the airplane, I had to chase him down. Sure enough, it was Joe Friel, the well-respected triathlon coach and author. I’ve been a big fan of his ever since I started racing, and have used his training methods to improve every year. I admit that I was a bit start struck. Cool moment!
Today’s run was my hardest to-date. I went skiing on Friday and still hadn’t recovered completely from that. Yesterday, I skipped my first scheduled run in seven weeks because my body was screaming “no”. It was the smart thing to do.
On top of sore muscles and an achy Achilles tendon, I had to deal with 40 degree-weather and pouring rain during the entire run. It was a rather miserable affair and I’m glad it’s over. I was so cold at mile eight that I decided to pick up the pace to get home faster. I would normally stick with my long distance training pace but not today. Oddly, I felt much stronger during the last five miles than the first ten. That’s probably a good thing!
Feeling comfortably sore and tired now and should be able to sleep like a baby tonight.
Surfing in Bali.
