20 Mile Failure

Okay, so the title of this post might be a bit misleading. I attempted a 20-miler today (after delaying yesterday's 20 miler on account of being in Chicago and opting to ride the bike along the lake instead). However, I only ran 16 miles. Apparently, leaving Chicago after a Bears game (at 1:30am EST) to drive to Louisville doesn't quite suffice as preparation for a 20-miler.

Although it may be the end of September, the temperature in Louisville is in the mid-80's. The customary humidity has been absent though. Unsurprisingly, the lack of humidity seems to affect the amount of water a runner requires. Today's run started off well. I was fast through 12 miles. I had planned what I thought was a sufficient number of water fountain stops along the route. However, at about the 15 mile mark, I started to feel a bit dizzy. This was new. I kept running in hopes that it would go away. However, it became clear that additional symptoms had appeared: sweating had stopped and the mouth was dry. At about 16 miles, I stopped and was forced to relieve myself of my footing. Luckily, I had stopped to sit down in the grass for a spell before I seemed to have perhaps experienced a minor black out. It was a bit scary. After a few minutes, I stood and walked myself to the nearest water fountain.

After a mile of walking, I attempted to run again. Not happening. The legs were like lead and the mouth was too dry. Water didn't seem to be helping. In any case, the remaining 3 mile walk was among the more unpleasant experiences in recent memory.

The whole experience is consistent with dehydration and heat exhaustion. Quite a set back for my final long run before the taper. Hopefully, it was just a result of lack of sleep and lack of water.

In better news, The Bears/Eagles game last night was great. The new spaceship that landed on Soldier Field doesn't completely ruin the experience. Both defenses were solid, especially The Bears in the final minutes of the game. Orton looked confused much of the time, but did manage to play fairly well, throwing a great touchdown pass to Devin Hester and one to TE Olsen on the Bear's first possession. The entire stadium was shocked to see The Bears come out and score quickly.

Chicago is great this time of year: cool and breezy.

On Target

So far, I'm on target this week. 5 miles on Monday, 8 yesterday and 5 more today. Yesterday's run was rather fast (criminally reckless drivers infuriated me to such an extent that I forgot I was running while fantasizing about turning over their cars - apparently the adrenaline kicked in and my legs kept moving. quickly). 8 miles in 58 minutes. I need to find a way to harvest that anger, perhaps refine it into some sort of gummy, fruit flavored block. Runners would buy it. I've seen far stupider, more gimmicky products successfully marketed.

Update: I just took calls from Jason Giambi and Roger Clemens. They inform me that a similar product already exists. But, they'd definitely be interested in a tasty, gummy delivery mechanism.

25 miles to go this week. 5 for Saturday, 20 for Sunday. However, since there's a trip to Chicago scheduled, I may have move the 5 to Friday and the 20 to Saturday morning.

Oh, I feel compelled to mention that Brad Pitt is a poor actor. Always has been. He has never been remotely good. It was funny, in Burn After Reading, when Malkovich punched him squarely in the nose, but, otherwise, he added nothing to the movie. The man lacks any palpable energy or charisma. I think there's a good chance Pitt will go down as his generation's Bogart: revered and loved in his time, but unfathomably dull to later generations. I know it's anathema to question the awesomeness of Casablanca, but accepting the idea that Ingrid Bergman's character could have fallen for the rigid, boring Rick is ridiculous. At least Laszlow is daring, exciting and handsome. Perhaps she was humoring him by pausing before boarding the plane. Or, more likely, she was posturing for us, the audience. Nevertheless, under no circumstances does Ingrid Bergman go for Bogart. It makes no sense. He was preternaturally elderly-acting. Even more absurd is the so-called chemistry between Bogart and Bacall in The Big Sleep. Interesting movie, but Bogart as Philip Marlowe doesn't work. Elliot Gould was a yillion times better. Apparently, Clive Owen will play Marlowe next. Could be good, but he's kind of blank too.

Lonely Horse

I've fallen off the stupid horse again. After skipping my 12-miler on Sunday, I completed a three week circuit of shameless underachievement. However, I'm hopping right back up on that horse this week. I'll have to dig deep to find the motivation, but it's got to be down there somewhere, probably in the general vicinity of the toes.

This week is my final long mileage week before the taper, so it's probably quite important to hit my mileage. 20 miles on Sunday will be the longest run before the marathon. It will also be tread along Chicago's lakefront before a trip to spaceship-Solider Field to watch the Bears attempt to keep up with the high-flying Philadelphia Eagles.

Perhaps a new iPod Nano will supply adequate motivation? I really need that Nike Plus feedback. Not having it is killing me.

Ike, Heat Wave and More Nike Plus Trouble

I must apologize to each and every reader of this blog for my truancy the past two weeks. It's been over 10 days since I last posted. In the blogosphere, 11 days is mathematically equivalent to 6 millenia. Much has happened since the last post:

The economy has collapsed. Americans have ceased to care about hockey moms from Alaska. Hurricane Ike reminded the citizens of south Texas why it was never a good idea to colonize south Texas. Ike also blew through Kentucky, proving to be the most destructive storm. Ever. He was kind enough to drop a tree on my car and the cars of many others and leave 100's of thousands of people without power. Ike reminded Louisvillians that, in spite of our Starbucks stores and our beloved Hard Rock Cafe, our municipal infrastructure hasn't improved much since Precambrian times. With any luck, President Roosevelt will fix all of these problems and save our sorry state.

The running has been coming along. Life-related issues have been interfering a bit though. The last two weeks (before the current week) were the only weeks since May that I have fallen short of my mileage target. I'll hit my target this week though. And next week is my last long run before the great taper. I definitely feel like an 18 week program might be overkill, but there's no harm in slowly building up. I'm looking forward to the marathon, if only for the hope that the weather might be more fall-like in mid-October.

The temperature in Louisville is still in the mid-to-high 80's. We're one day away from the equinox and it's still hot. Not okay. I was hoping that, as a silver lining- consequence of a destructive inland hurricane, folks around here might come around to the realization that climate change might be a consequence of human behavior (e.g., wastefully tossing perfectly good bottles of water at airport security checkpoints). However, I'm pretty sure that my fellow yokels have allocated the destruction to their god's vengeance overhead account. Apparently, their god is mad because California changed its marriage licenses to read "party One" and "party Two" rather than bride and groom. The nerve of those godless west coasters!

Last Sunday's long run through the wind-ravaged south end and downtown of Louisville was quite nice. The temperature briefly dipped into the low 70's. The running path around Iroquois Park was like an Double Dare obstacle course with downed trees. I followed the course of the upcoming marathon and found the first half to be quite nice. There's a 6-8 mile stretch that is pretty gross, so I'll have to really speed it up through there. Hopefully the roads will be closed to prevent rabid, pick-up driving yokels from running me over in their haste to get to church and gain absolution for their sins (apparently they don't count the wind storm as penance).

12 miles scheduled for today. It's a nice, sunny day, but the temperature is too high. I'll have to wait until early evening.

Oh, and the Nike Plus has gone kaput. The port on my iPod has become unresponsive. It's terrible. I am so reliant on that little device. My motivation is nil without that little bit of feedback. I think it's time for a new Nano.

Stupid Nike Plus Armband

Back in July, I purchased a Nike branded armband made especially for my 1st generation iPod Nano. It seemed to work fine, but shortly after buying it, my first Nike plus receiver/sensor combo seemed to stop working reliably. So, I bought a new Nike Plus kit. Problem solved.

Except it wasn't. This past week, the new iPod receiver started behaving badly. In the middle of a workout, it would announce that the workout had been completed. That soothing female voice can be hugely unpleasant when it makes unwanted, premature announcements.

Although I could be missing something obvious, it would seem that the design of the old Nike Plus armband is flawed. The ipod slides into a neoprene sleeve. The receiver rests at the closed end of the sleeve, supporting the weight of the iPod. Apparently, with all of the bouncing around that tends to accompany running, the receiver works itself loose, thereby ending one's workout.

So, a possible solution would be to buy a new armband. Perhaps one of the new 4th generation devices, which appear to offer a great deal of new colors, er, features. Or maybe now is the time to go for a Garmin Forerunner.

5 miles today under overcast skies with temperatures topping out in the low 70s. First taste of fall. Can't wait for more.

Thoughts on Football

No run today. So, instead, I'll share some thoughts on the first full week of college and pro football:

NFL:

1) Three quarters into their season, Jay Cutler looks like one of the two or three best QBs in the NFL. So far, this really feels like a torch-passing season for QBs. Brady's out. Peyton Manning looks uncharacteristically unprepared and confused. Granted, McNabb looks great, but he's always an injury risk (I hope he stays healthy. Inasmuch as any player deserves to win a Superbowl, Don McNabb does). But, there are several emerging young stars who will very likely be the next superstars. Cutler has to be the favorite. Ryan and Flacco looked really solid as well.

2) The Raiders will go 0-16. There is something terribly wrong there. Do they have coaches?

3) The Bills will be the best in the AFC East.

4) The Redskins are a total mess. I wonder how long a sudden-death match between The Skins and Raiders would take? It would likely be as intriguing as a McCain speech.

5) The Bears are actually going to be good if Kyle Orton can continue to not suck.

College:

1) What's going on in Southbend? Do they really think that installing Klaus Kinksi behind center is going to make a difference? How can a team with top 10 recruiting classes manage to be so slow, weak and small? Are these top 10 academic classes?

2) College sports needs more afro'd dudes called Boo.

3) BCS Championship game: USC 35, Oakland Raiders 0

The Red Sox are 1/2 game out of the East. Although I'd like to see The Rays win the division, I don't think it's going to happen.

Two-a-Day

This morning started with a nice 5-miler with an old friend. Since I mostly run solo, it was quite nice to be able to converse while running. The loop we ran was a veritable tripe down memory lane as we passed 3 (and could have gone for 4) of the houses in which I was raised.

Although I was scheduled to run 13 today, my stomach was not exactly cooperating. The 5-miler was enough. So, I decided to postpone the remaining miles until this evening.

After a rather mediocre dinner with the family (@ Red Robin, a rather mediocre burger chain in a rather mediocre mall) involving a chicken burger (exactly what it sounds like) and a bottomless basket of steak fries (no thanks, I prefer bottomed baskets of steak fries), I decided to give the running thing another go. So, I set out to run 8. After 5.5 brisk miles, the stomach started acting up again, so I cut it short.

10.5 miles on a bad stomach isn't too terrible. Hopefully, this will go down as my "bad week" and I can regain my running mojo on Tuesday. This coming week will be a long mileage week culminating in a 20-mile long run next Sunday. Hopefully, the stomach will cooperate. Perhaps I should lay off the chicken burgers.

Poor Motivation Week

Since I've started training for this marathon, I've had no motivational problems. Until this week. Really, it was an amazing run: 50-something runs without skipping. Not once was I disinclined to go for a run. Until this week. Not sure what happened, but I just couldn't motivate myself to run my scheduled 5-miler on Wednesday. I planned to make up the miles between Thursday and Friday, but, when Friday came along, I was again unmotivated.

Today started out similarly, with a strong disinclination to run. However, after some coffee and a bowl of Total, I started to feel that old motivation again. I had penciled in an 8 miler, but felt so good while running, that I stretched it out to 11 miles. So, I've made up all but one of my lost miles. Hopefully, I'll be able to make that up tomorrow on my long run.

The temperature has finally dropped a bit. Today was sunny, clear and topped out at about 80 degrees. Beautiful day for a run. The run along the River Walk was pleasant, especially the 1.5 miles or so that meander through Portland Wharf Park, under the canopy of old trees.

Six weeks until the marathon. Three weeks until I start to taper. I feel pretty good and will hopefully clock a much better time than I would have expected when starting this.

Quicker Recovery

I'm pretty sure that I haven't been partaking of the steroids, but my recovery time after long runs has definitely improved significantly. Perhaps this is why we follow structured training programs?

I thought for sure that my legs would be useless the day after running a grueling 18-miler in the last day of August heat. Surprisingly, there was very little soreness today. A bit of tightness on the sides of the the old stems (iliotibial band issue?) was it. I felt as if I could have done another long run today. Wisely, I opted for a nice, meandering bike ride instead.

Very hot again today in Louisville. 20 or so easy miles, but with some hills. I'm very ready for fall. This 90+ degree weather is getting old.

This week is another regression week, peaking with a 13 mile long run on Sunday. It's pretty amazing that 13 miles seems like child's play. I'm looking forward to next week's 20-miler.

This UCLA-Tennessee game is getting good. That UCLA QB must have pounded Wheaties at half time. Totally different player in the 2nd half.

45 degrees

Today's high was 93 degrees. Strangely, the record low for this date in Louisville was 45 degrees in 1946. How is that even possible? What was going on in 1946? While 45 seems a bit cool for the last day of August, I am ready for the autumn chill.

18 miles in the heat was not exactly fun. I was a bit limited with my route today as the Ironman event had claimed several of my regular running lanes. So, I ran to the Seneca park loop (6 miles to get there), completed the loop 5 times (5 x 1.2 miles = 6 miles), then ran back. 18 miles seemed like a long way today. However, my new "fuel belt" (actually a Nike product) came in handy and provided hydration and a place to store my lemon-lime Cliff Bar gummy blocks, which are not terrible. I definitely prefer the gummies to the Gu. I also tried Gu brand Roctane (blueberry/pomegranate), but it, like most Gu, approximated the sensation of eating cake icing, or super sweet vomit. Disgusting. Not. Refreshing. At all.

Although I haven't even completed a marathon, I am now announcing my intention to complete a triathalon in the next 18 months. If only to piss off my mother, who thinks that triathalons are stupid. And she's probably right. Nevertheless, it seems like a fine goal and will be something to look forward to once I'm left goalless after completing the marathon.

Looking forward to not running tomorrow. I've been experiencing some tightness in the hamstrings with all of the mileage I've been logging lately. Nothing too worrisome, but a day off for the old stems will likely do me some good. Maybe a nice, meandering bike ride will be in order.