Harrisburg Marathon After All?

No no... I'm not going to run the full marathon. In fact, my training has really tailed off over the last couple weeks. But, I've got a fun opportunity and I'm taking it. A friend of my wife and I from college (I went to HS with her too) emailed me the other day about running in a relay at the Harrisburg Marathon. Funny enough, I didn't even know that they were doing a relay at the race. But, it looks like a fun time.

After thinking a little bit about it, I think it's a great idea. That will be a little bit of closure for me for that race. And, I've never run a team race before. Should be a blast. The preliminary plan is that I take the longest leg (8.8 miles). That's fine with me... however, I think the one guy on the team is faster than me. So, it might make sense for him to run that leg. I don't mind running the longest leg though. I feel a bit of pressure to train harder now that I am part of a team. Before, the only person that I could hurt was myself. Uh oh...

On that note, I finally got back to running. I ran on Wednesday before all the baby stuff started heating up. I ran a 3 mile loop on the Hands on House Half Marathon hill (I'm running that race in just under a week). Then, yesterday, I got a 7.3 mile run in. I intended to run farther. But, my head just wasn't in it yet. This half seems like it will just be a warm up at this point for the Harrisburg Marathon relay. I really want to do good on behalf of the team.

You want em? You got em (baby pics)...

I'll be back to regular posting shortly... But, until then, enjoy the pics.

The Girls...

Juliana Sucking Her Thumb..

Sleeping...

Minutes old...

New baby girl!!

No pics available to post yet... But, we had a baby girl, Juliana Nicole Gervase. I'll post pics as soon as I have them. For now, everyone is doing well (minus a little jealousy from our oldest, Sophia). But, we are excited about the new addition.

No plan...

I don't really have a plan right now and it's kind of interesting. Since my wife could go at any time now (have the baby that is), it's kind of hard to construct a plan. So, I'm just going to try and get as many running days in before "it happens". That said, I got a nice paced 6 miler in over lunch today. Justin, Lisa and I ran the first 3 at a pretty nice pace. And then Justin and I really turned it up for the back 3.

I probably owe some of the pace over the last couple workouts to Justin. It's really nice to have a training partner again. We are VERY similarly paced. That's pretty hard to find. Not only that, we tolerate each other (just kidding, we get along great). But... that's helped me a lot and I really appreciate it.

So... Justin and I are going to head over to "the hill" on the Hands on House Half course to check it out. Nate and I did that last year and it really minimized the anxiety for that hill. We're gonna run a basic three miler just to see what its like. I've obviously run it before, but it will be a nice reminder. I'm stoked to see how Justin does... I think he's gonna kick butt.

Run recap- 6.0 miles, 54:32, 9:06 pace

Hands on House Half? Maybe...

Justin swung by my house early this morning to go on an 11 mile run. I rarely get to do my long run with someone else and I rarely get to show someone else my running routes around my house. So, this morning's run was a special treat. Not to mention... I had forgotten how fun it is to run longer distances with a friend.

Justin is training for his first half marathon, the Hands on House Half. Coincidentally, this one was my first as well. It's in Lancaster and it is super hilly. But, a nice course for sure. So... we went out for our 11 miler and it quickly turned into a pace test. It was a cool morning, the kind that you wish appears on race day. And, we really took advantage.

After a few miles, it was clear that neither of us planned on slowing down and we were really going to put in a quick time. But, neither of us expected the time that we ended up putting in. We finished our 11 miler in just under 9 minute pace @ 1:38:24 (8:57 pace to be exact). And... maybe even more interesting, we got stronger as we went. Our last two splits were 8:40 and 7:59.

So... it got me to thinking. Maybe I'll run Hands on House as well. It is on October 4th. So, the baby should be here by then. And... it will be something good to do with all this fitness that I had built in the marathon training. It appears as if I'm more than ready for a half in terms of distance/fitness.

Post Quit Running...

Simple equation to get faster.... Train for a distance far more than you're mentally prepared, decide to quit just past the mid-way point, proceed to run shorter distances than your used to... It's worked for me every time I've done it (this once).

I ran 6 miles today in 53:30. That's about 8:55 pace. I'd have to say that is the fastest I've run that distance in a long time... Wanna know something else? The second half I thought we slowed down and I was Chatty Cathy the entire run (ran w/ Justin and Lisa). But... we actually sped up. We ran the first half in just over 9:00 mile pace. We ran the second half in 8:45 pace. I was shocked when I looked at the times in our post-run cool down.

So folks... The moral of the story? I'll take this one from the Simpsons.. ""well, son...you tried your best and you failed miserably...lesson is: never try." Apparently quitting makes you fast. Who knew?

Feeling Better

I still have not decided what it is I want to do. But, it was fun to go out tonight without the impending long run hanging over my head. I will run long this weekend. But, not 18 miles. So, I had the rare opportunity (maybe not so rare anymore) to run fast. Lots of fun and I really got to enjoy my run tonight. Apparently, running doesn't have to be a chore... :)

Run recap- 3 miles, 25:52, 8:38 pace

Bdee Bdee Bdee... That's All Folks...

I've pushed and pushed... I've come up short on multiple long runs. My body is tired and beaten. And... I've got a new baby coming any day now. Phew... That feels good to let all that out. What does all this mean?

Well... I'm giving up on Harrisburg this year. It seems to have been a flawed plan all along. But... I'm finding that my heart/mind just isn't in it. And, I respect the distance far too much to believe that I can do it without being "all there". So, I just need to let it go for this year.

Funny, it doesn't even hurt that much to admit it. I think that's how I know it's the right choice. I'm still running (no race in sight). But, I'm feeling much better now that I'm not chasing. My apologies in advance if you think this is the wrong move. But... it's not. :)

The Blogosphere Has Spoken...

And... I've been chosen for one of the most prestigious awards available... The Weekly Pacesetter at the 26point2ers blog. If you haven't read their blog, it's team written and a lot of fun. I'd highly recommend it. And... they obviously have great taste in blogs... so, they've got that going for them.

So anyway... Thanks again for interviewing me ladies. It was fun.

1062s...!!

I was so excited to go running yesterday. It was my first run in a new kind of shoes. I went for a 6 miler over lunch and was literally bouncing with excitement. Then... it happened. About 2 miles into the run I started getting a weird feeling in my left forefoot. It was kinda like what would happen in my Asics last year when I hurt my feet....

So.... wah wah... I may have just spent $117 on a pair of new, really attractive, casual sneakers to wear around. We'll see, I'm going to give them a chance on a longer run (my 9 miler on Saturday). But, if they still persist in giving me problems, they are going to become my cool new casual shoes.

And.... back to my ugly 882s.

My Crazy Fun Sunday Night...

So... as many people (ok, anybody that counts) know, the NFL started up this weekend. I am a huge Philadelphia sports fan and an even bigger Eagles fan. So, opening weekend is one of my favorite weekends of the year. Couple that with the fact that I had Phils/Mets tickets for Saturday night and I really was having trouble containing myself.

And... that's where the logistical nightmare begins. On Saturday night, it rained cats and dogs and it was pretty much a given that the game would be called off. So, the makeup game would most likely be earlier in the day on Sunday (right when the Eagles play). Since I'm a bigger Eagles fan than I am Phillies, I had to see the Eagles opener. So... I decided to switch my tickets out for the Phils closing game at Shea in NYC at 8:00 pm.

So... I live in Lancaster/Reading area in PA. For those out of the area, that is a rough/long train ride at that time of night (Amtrak doesn't run that late and you are left to regional lines). Anyhow, long story short. I watched the Eagles game in Trenton near the train station and got really, really, really loaded. Then, I took a train to Penn Station and a train to Shea. 3 hours and a Phillies loss later, I was on my way home (at midnight). Ugh.

I ended up sleeping in Manayunk at 3:30 in the morning (my Aunt's house) and taking a half day of work. Then, on Monday, I went to sleep at 9:00 and didn't get up until 7:00. What a weekend. I'm DEFINITELY not as young as I used to be. But, boy was it fun.

Garmin Not Working...

I went for my 9 miler (turned into 8) on Saturday in the pouring rain. I called it short because I thought it was stupid that my 11 miler was preceded by a 9 miler. And, I figured it couldn't hurt to save my legs a bit as I head into the home stretch.

Anyhow, I ran my 8 miles and and then my 11 on Sunday with my Garmin.... Then, when I went to record my 11 miler on Tuesday (long week so far), my Garmin wouldn't turn on. I thought maybe it wasn't charged or something. So, when I got home tonight I tried to put it on it's charger and it didn't react at all. I haven't had the chance to research. But, I thought I'd put it out there to others that might have experienced something similar. If so, let me know.

Otherwise... Off to the Internet to dig around...

Embarassed or Thankful (Lititz Freshburst Run 08)?

So, I wrote a post (here) a couple months ago about a race I ran in Lititz. I run the race most years and it was actually my first ever race well before I even took running seriously.

So.... we went to get the mail today and there was a package there for me. I had no idea there was anything coming, so it was kinda fun. I start opening the envelope... and what is it? A T-shirt.. It was a large T-shirt that I had complained about not getting at the race. I can only assume that the race director saw my post when they Googled the race and sent it to me.

So... now I'm not sure if I'm embarrassed or thankful or both...? At any rate, I know that I am thankful. The note was signed Sara Young Fisher... so, thank you! But... I guess you should be careful what you say on the Interweb... ;)

Just another reason to like this race. Very random and very cool. I really appreciate it.

New Shoes...

I've spent a lot of time considering what type of shoes I wanted to replace my old ones. In the process, I've been putting more mileage on my current ones. So, I actually got myself to a place where I NEEDED new shoes. Which, because I have a wide foot, is kind of a bad place to be.

So, I went to the Inside Track after work today in hopes that they would have something in stock that would be a change of pace in my size and width. Unfortunately, that is kind of a tall order. So.... I bought the same shoes.... again!! Ugh.. Anyhow, it's certainly a safe pick. But, I made sure to place an order for the 1026's that I really wanted. So, this won't happen next time.

I'm left with this.... longing for the shoes that are on the way (See below).

Old Guy in My Shoes...

No, I still have not bought a new pair of shoes, though I need a pair BADLY. But, I was traveling in NYC yesterday for work and saw an old guy in my shoes. So, I took a picture of him with my phone (like a good blogger) to show you how lame my shoe choice is. I'm really considering changing my shoes based on looks... Yes, I also pick my football teams because "their jerseys are so pretty"... Seriously... If this guy wears my shoes, what does that say about me?

Time to Reevaluate?

I came up short on my LSD yesterday. In all fairness, I think it's just because I haven't built to the distance yet and it was residual from missing the other LSD's. That said, I'm kind of sick of chasing this plan. I upped the intensity on the plan and am doing Hal Higdon's Intermediate II. But, I've been missing the long run almost every week (not missing, shortening).

Anyhow, I've been doing 5 runs a week, right on target. I've been running the required mileage during the week, right on target. But, my long runs are more on target with Novice II. So... I'm going to continue to do the weekly runs for Intermediate II and the long run from Novice II. It's that easy folks... I already feel a weight lifted off me.

One change though... There is only one 20 miler in this plan. I may try to do 2 (and replace one 19 miler with a 20). We'll see. But, I'm just sick of chasing something that isn't happening.

Run recap- 15.0 miles, 2:35:11, 10:21 pace