Track Workout - 7 Miles

I headed to Manayunk for a track workout this evening. There were only two of us on the track as Todd (coach) kept our times and our spirits high; especially with everyone in the entire city and surrounding towns getting ready for the World Series. I warmed up with a two mile run at a 8:40 pace. As I stretched waiting for Marissa to arrive, Todd had me start without her. The first order of business was to run two miles at half-marathon pace. I was able to hold a 7:45 pace consistently throughout the quarters. Next, I ran two miles at marathon pace. I struggled to get a constant pace during the run. I was aiming to run at a 8:30 pace, but was very inconsistent with the pace ranging from 8:10 to 9:00. Finally, we ended with a one mile cool-down.

7 Miler

I decided to train indoors today rather than bear the cold and darkness of the outside. It was the first time I hit the weights in over a month. I have been putting most of my focus on running, but still enjoy a great lift once in a while. Following the marathon, I will make the weights a priority again.

Following the circuit training, I headed onto the treadmill for a 7 miler at a 8:34 pace. I forgot my Ipod and had to listen to CNN for the majority of the time. I do not know about you, but I am so tired of hearing about this election. The big news of the day was how Palin is now a DIVA?

21 Miler

On Saturday, we headed for our longest run yet; 21 miles. The weather was rainy and unusually mild for the late October morning. The forecast called for the day to be a wash-out, but this did not keep me from heading to Manayunk for our group run. I was a must for me to get this twenty miler in due to the Philly Marathon only being weeks away. I was determined to run an hour and a half out to get my first three hour run under my belt.

After mile 6, Marissa turned around to head back; she was sick the entire week and just felt weak. Another mile in, Lisa figured she would turn around and try to catch up with Marissa. After mile 9, Lindsey decided to turn back for Cadence. This only left Steve and myself for the long journey. Steve just kept laughing at me because of my will to run three hours. We had great conversation until about the 2:15 mark. We both focused in on our running and were probably too tired to talk.

As we finished the race and headed back to Cadence, I was rewarded not with a medal or a t-shirt but with a sealed envelope from the City of Philadelphia. It was a twenty-six dollar parking ticket (two hour limit). So lets get this straight:

Cost of signing up with Cadence to run - $350.00
Cost of paying the toll on the Expressway - .50 cents
Cost of paying the toll on the Ben Franklin Bridge - $4.00
Cost of parking on the streets of Manayunk - $1.00
Cost of your time expiring on the streets of Manayunk - $26.00
Cost of running 21 miles on a Saturday Morning - Painful but Priceless

The Mule In The Well

The following story was told when I was in HS by our football coach minutes before the game:

This parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer's well. The farmer heard the mule praying or whatever mules do when they fall into wells. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbors together, told them what had happened, and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery.
Initially the old mule was hysterical! But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back, a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back, HE WOULD SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP!
This he did, blow after blow. "Shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up!" He repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows, or how distressing the situation seemed, the old mule fought panic and just kept right on SHAKING IT OFF AND STEPPING UP!
It wasn't long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well! What seemed like it would bury him actually helped him . . . all because of the manner in which he handled his adversity.

10 Miles

Today, I ran on the treadmill due to the days getting shorter in daylight. I headed to St. Matthew's Baptist Community Center for one of the three treadmills only working in the entire gym. I was able to keep a decent pace at 8:34 for 10 miles. Maybe someone can let me know, but the pace on the treadmill seems much faster than on the road!

Bike 48 Miles

Today felt like the first day of the changing of seasons; just the wrong season. The cold air was whipping me around the road like Dorothy in Kansas. I felt very strong for the first 30 miles of the ride probably because the wind was at my back the entire time. During the ride, I stopped at numerous places on the journey to catch the scenery of the ride.

Hill Repeats - 11 miles

All week I was planning for my 20 miler until our coaches wanted to pull us back for a shorter distance; hill repeats. I was a little down due to the fact that I want to be fully prepared for the Nov. 23 Philly Marathon.

Things brightened up pretty fast with the hills! I was looking for a tough workout and that is what was in store. We headed down West River Drive then made a right onto Montgomery Drive. From there, we ran the famous Belmont Plateau twice. The course is the home of many hs and university cross-country teams. The day was absolutely beautiful; chilly morning with the sun shining down on us. The picture is a look of the Philadelphia sky line when running back down the hill.

Following the cc course, we headed back with a strong headwind in our faces. When we were on the brink to start feeling sorry for ourselves, a surprising thing happened to us. The Breast Cancer Walk For A Cure was taking place in Philly; that is three days walking equaling 60 miles to raise money and to find the cure. The amount of energy we received from the walkers was

unmeasurable.

Swam 1800 yds

Swam at St. Matthew's Baptist Church tonight. I warmed up with 500 yd freestyle. Following the warm-up, I did 5 sets of 100 yd freestlyle. The first 50 yd at sprint pace then an easy 50 yd as a cool down. The next exercise was 1o sets of 50 yd freestyle. The first 25 yd at sprint pace followed by an easy 25 yd as a cool down. I followed the sessions with a sets with the floatation device and the kick board.

10 miles + Swim

I had off from work today due to the celebration of Columbus Day. I am an Italian American and thought that the perfect way to celebrate this day would be with a painful ten miler. I planned on getting out on the road early; more like 11 am. On a day off, one must enjoy his morning with a nice egg white omelet and COFFEE before putting in his work.

The work was the run today. I did not feel myself for the first six miles; probably due to the rough weekend. I had a great Saturday with my long run and a healthy breakfast and lunch. This is when things went for the worse. My brother Jeff and his wife Colleen hosted a party Sat. night with a ton of CHEESE dips and alcohol. I fell to the weakness all of these treats not just on Sat. but again on Sunday.

I headed through the streets for the run looking for a new route, but only found more traffic. I ended the run at Williamstown Track for the last four and half miles to make sure I was running my marathon pace. I felt stronger in the last four and half miles; running an 8:50 pace.

I believe the 8:50 pace is where I can comfortably be at during the Philly Marathon. The next six weeks will be crucial in my training; I must be under 4:00

16 Miles on River Drive

Today was my long run with the Cadence Team and boy was I looking forward to it. I had a terrible week of training; was only able to get out on the road twice during the week due to my grandmother's passing then followed by a little sickness. I knew I was going to get sick when a father picking up his daughter from the school was coughing and sneezing in the office all over the place! The second he left, all the windows were opened, but I believe it caught up to me. I was able to rest a little yesterday in preparing for the run today.

The course today resembled the Philadelphia Distance Run with a few more twists and turns. Steve and I separated ourselves from the rest of the runners after mile five (5). The pace with the team was around 8:30 then we moved in the 7:50 to 8:00 min./pace for the rest of the run. We were running on River Drive then Kelly Drive; really a perfect morning with all the runners, bikers, and college rowers on the river.

As we came across the Philadelphia Art Museum, we couldn't resist running the steps just like Rocky! During the run with Steve and Todd (coach) on the bike, conversation was inspiring. Todd was telling stories of when he turned pro (triathlete) and his first race had Chris McCormack by his side.

Overall, a great run after such a shaky week of training. I feel more confident in my training for the upcoming weeks. I am going to have to put more focus on training rather than the social thing!

Total 16 miles = 2:11:36

17 Miler

Today was my farthest run and probably my best in how I felt. Todd, one of the coaches wanted to me to go out at a 7:50 pace. I began to laugh to think that this time was realistic in any way. The group headed out onto the trails at around an 8:00 pace for the first 8 miles. As we completed the trail and headed onto the side roads, the run became very confusing and HILLY! Around mile 7, I forced myself to run with Steve whom is the best runner in the group. He pushed me through the next 7 miles at a pretty intense pace due to the addition of the inclines. Everyone regrouped in the middle of a town (no idea what town) and decided to take a chance by heading on Cathedral St. towards the trail. The problem with this was no one has ever been on Cathederal including the coaches! After a mile on Cathederal, two Philadelphia Cops pulled up to us to let us know that we were going in the wrong direction. We were able to regroup ourselves and head back to Cadence. I felt very strong the last four miles; the pace was at least 8:00.

What I learned from the run:
I can run a solid pace for long mileage; all mental
Know the course before you run it