Yesterday was the big threshold where I cross over the 200k (124 mile) mark. It has been an ugly ride. It has been hot. It has been muggy, and I have spent a lot of time of the ersatzlaufs. Eichelman-Wolfenbuttel saw 35 klicks (that's 14 laps). Harbor Park has seen 30 klicks (that's 6 laps).
And Eich-Wolf has really aged. Yes, I believe that routes age. You remember the good things that happen on a route and the bad things. I also like to rotate my routes, so that I am always seeing different roads, different landmarks, etc. Once I run a course, I choose not to run it again until I have cycled through all the routes of that distance.
Of course, with the ersatzlauf that rule does not apply. Now in downtown Kenosha, my current ersatzlauf is a beautiful course. Both versions are probably my best courses, but they (Eich-Wolf) especially have become the clutch runs.
They are the courses I use when the weather is marginal, too hot, too cold, too windy. They serve that purpose well, gi... Read full entry
Well, it seems like in July I have picked up right where I left off in June. Finally hit the 100k mark yesterday, my birthday, the 17th, with two laps around the ersatzlauf. My 100k split was 8:42:48.
The weather has been hot. Most runs have taken place in 85-90F temps. It is 90F again today and windy.
I did hit the 1500k mark for the year, officially on 16th, by GPS on the 12th.
Hoping to break out of this funk soon. Seems like it often happens after a major milestone in the main log, and the 90000 mark has been no different.
Another hot day in Kenosha WI. Was hoping to capitalize on my day off, but with the temp at 88F, it wasn't going to happen. So I made the 8 mile trip down to Illinois Beach State Park, and ran from there.
It went pretty well the first half of the run, started to fall apart around k6. Still held it together pretty well on the last 4k, even though I felt I was melting into the trail.
Finished with a 53:23, which is very slow, but I knew 10 klicks on a 88f day was ambitious, so it was good to finish in one piece.
I drank a liter of gatorade stopping at k2.5, k5, k7.5, and k9 to drink. Normally I expect a liter to last me about 25 klicks. Overall, I felt I ran pretty smart. Well, as smart as a person claim to run on a day like today. I walked... Read full entry
At last today, I hit kilometer 90000 in my main log. That is since 26 June 1982. I guess the main thing it shows is that if you stick with something long enough, you can rack up some impressive totals.
My totals for June were 212k (132 miles) officially and 216 klicks GPS, with a cumulative time of 18:08:43. I ran 25 days and rested 5. My longest run of the month was today at 12.2k, and I ran only 11 runs of 10k or more.
For the year, I am at 1413 kilometers (or 87k off my desired training pace.) Today was the day I also broke the 5 day mark for cumulative time, at 5:00:22:42.
It was a beautiful day for running and I ran up to Carthage College and back.
johnnyk8 says:
Carthage College ? where do you live?
Mury says:
Holy cow, you are on your way to 100,000. I think saying you've racked up some impressive numbers is understating it.
marathoncub says:
Carthage College is a small Christian college on the north side of Kenosha WI. From Highway 32 it looks more like a chappel with a campus attached.
marathoncub says:
If I were to go back to when I first started running, it would probably be closer to k97300, but I start from June 26, 1982, when each run for each day is listed. Not sure how I arrived at the figure 7261k for May 1980 to June 1982, so I don't count them.
Well, on the 29th, I finally did it. I broke the 200k mark for June. For me that is the boundary between complete and humiliating failure and the garden variety mediocrity that defines me recent running career. Still, I'll take it. There is something about seeing the two in the front of the monthly total that makes me feel much better about my running month overall.
So how did I go from 200 miles last month, to just barely breaking 200 klicks this month? I haven't run a single run of 15 klicks or more. There were a lot of hot humid days, and the week of pink eye and antibiotics did not help.
Still, mainly, I think I lost the momentum. Missed some days I shouldn't have. Didn't capitalize on some running opportunities as well as I could have. In other words, I drifted.
About to end this month, and July will be starting soon enough. If I want to run the Chicago Ultra in October, there still is plenty of time. Just need to get the train back on the tracks.
Today, I schlepped my butt down to Montrose Harbor to do the 2010 Proud To Run 10k. This was in spite of the fact that I had a 10k within walking distance. First, I did not know about the local 10k until I was signed up already. Secondly, the local was on streets and paths I run every day. Thirdly, it has been a long time since I exported any kilometers to Chicago or ran a gay roadrace.
It stormed a lot last night, so I did not get much sleep. The thought of the trip down also kept me awake worrying about traffic, parking, etc.
Left Kenosha just before 0600 and arrived at Chicago around 0720. I had Ron, my partner drop me off, and got my t-shirt, etc, then took them to the gear drop.
Ron went to Ann Sathers and had a cinnamin roll, which i... Read full entry
18 June marked the 5th year of running with GPS. It was 18 June 2005 that I shelled out $150 for the Garmin Forerunner 201. The first run was Run 6061.
I have run 14231 klicks since then, or 8837 miles. I have run a total time of 49:10:33:02.
I have learned that GPS running does have its drawbacks. It's accuracy is dependent on staying in touch with the satellites, but there again, once you accept that it is more accurate than most any other way of measuring courses, it is a useful tool.
I can't imagine living without it today. It has been dropped a few times. I have a pin that pops out once in while now. The distance alert has no sound. It has seen a bit of wear and abuse.
It has also changed the way i see running. I am more metric than I used to be. I like to track kilometer splits now. The huge ability to store splits for months on end has made my local log much more practical. I now use almost exclusively round distances: 5k, 8k, 10k, 15k, 16k, 20k, and 25k. All other distances... Read full entry
