Drive for 4 Hours, Run for One Hour and 29 Minutes

I literally went over the river and through the woods to get to last weekend's run at Rockefeller Park--a trek that began with a 4:30 a.m. wake-up call at the lake in Pennsylvania, a drive through New Jersey and over the Hudson River, and an arrival time in Sleepy Hollow, NY by 7 a.m.

Then there was the small matter of actually running the 11 miles I had traveled all that way for.

We ran fast. Too fast. It's almost like we weren't in control -- some weird force of nature stole our common sense.

Maybe it was the stunningly gorgeous weather. The cool breeze was a welcomed reprieve from the humidity we had been training in for weeks.

Maybe it was the ever-beautiful surroundings of the park that inspired us to speediness.

Or maybe we just ran too fast.

Doing core work after the run

The purpose of our run last Saturday was to keep a constant pace (not constant effort) on the plentiful (and rather big) hills throughout the course. The thing is, based on my pace group's past experiences, our pace should not have been any faster than 8:30 minutes per mile--what we refer to in the Race with Purpose marathon-training program as our Commute Pace.

We ran an average 8:05 pace instead. Why? I don't know, but it did feel good in a "I'm going to barf" kind of way.

I'm waiting to be sore. I am tired, but not sore. My left Achilles is a little tweaked, but I'm taking care of it. I'm working hard -- I'm doing the core work, the lunges, the squats, the hill workouts, the tempo runs, the recovery runs -- I'm doing it all and yet my legs aren't revolting yet. It worries me a little, like I'm missing something.

Other than feeling general fatigue (which I can't say is totally a result of marathon training, but just my hectic schedule in general), I am suspicious that I'm entering a recovery week not feeling more beaten up. Does this make me a freak? Maybe to some people, but I know there are others who know exactly what I'm saying.

Like all things in marathon training, patience is in order. Before I make it into the recovery week, I have to get through Saturday's 20-mile run. Chances are, it will produce some soreness. I'm looking forward to spending some quality time with my running buddies Moffat and Alan. The three of us haven't run together at the same time all season--in fact, the last time the three amigos embarked on a long run together, it was the start of the New York City Marathon last November.

And it's a good bet that we'll have more than 1 hour and 29 minutes to catch up.

Drive for 4 Hours, Run for One Hour and 29 Minutes