Another good week

Last week ended up being a good week of marathon training. Not great, not horrible. I lived up to the title of my blog and did a race. Yes, I was able to keep my race a month streak alive.

It was the Steps Challenge 5K. I had a fun time at it. Not my best race time for a 5K but right where I expected to be. I guess everyone in my age group was at the Boston Marathon because I won my age group. Got to love small races, just under a 100 runners

Then, on Sunday I got in this weeks long run, 15 miles. Nothing spectacular to report. I met Rick at the Lilly Pond parking lot. Ran 15 miles, with a couple of pit stops. Tryed the chocalate hammer gel, no problems with it but not chocalate fanatic.

Update

I just did a 3 mile run today.. I cann't remember last time I ran that short. But due to time constraints lately and that looks like im going to be running 6 days this week instead of 5 I thought keeping it short was good idea. I'm signed up for a 5k race this Saturday, I did it for 2 reasons. First my cousin was talking about it and doing it has she is working out trying to lose something like 70 pounds. Plus it keeps my streak of a race a month alive. I believe it makes it 26 in a row. Go Me!

Amazing Grace

Sunday went for my long run, only 14 miles this weekend. After running 20 the weekend before 14 was seeming shorter. Hate to say it but the run last weekend went better then this weeks. I met Rick at the Lilly Pond with our plan to get in 14 miles. It did contain a few highlights, like doing a few loops around the track at Chaney High School and seeing the new water fountain installed by the Old Mill in Mill Creek Park.

But the oddest moment had to be while running up along Cohasset rd in the park. The road is closed but on other side of it is a church that was having service out doors. It was a nice of enough day for it and my friend Sue says she goes there and they always do it outside weather permitting. The strange occurance was they were singing "Amazing Grace." We were looking at each other. Are we that bad that we need saving? We need to have devine intervention? It was surreal. I have had run that could be considered spiritual (or I was badly dehydrated) but that was more then normal.

Long run

I got in my 20 miler today. It went well, better then the last one. I didn't totally crash like last time. Legs were sore when I got done but no worse then expected. I also discovered that tropical hammer gel isnt for me. No problems with the other flavors I have tryed so just going to avoid that one.

Earlier this week I finished Born to run. Yes, hard to believe I had never totally listened to the Bruce Springsteen classic to now. Ok just kidding I actually finished reading the book Born to Run by Chris Mcdougal. It was a good read, might like it even if you dont run. It's the book that got the barefoot running debate started. If you like to run barefoot great for you. I just dont see me trying it. I understood there concept that people are born to run without shoes. And did bring up some good points.

One point was that there wasnt all the injurys like there is today till they started running in running shoes. Ok but before the running boom of 70's there were lot less runners. With more runners, more likely there would be more injurys. Also today the shape and sizes of runners are much differnt then before. In the 60's and before most runners were skinny and built like distance runners. Now you have people like me doing marathons who back in the day would never have thought of lining up for a race or marathon.

Kenyans, built like you would want a runner to be built like were mentioned how they ran barefoot and didn't get injured has much. Of course alot of that running is on dirt trails. Alot of my running is on concrete roads. I do some trails, but usually at Mill Creek Park where its technical trails with lots of rocks and some road crossing.

The one point I did take from reading about barefoot running was form may be more important then just going out and doing what feels natural. Especially if you have been injured.

Take it for what its worth, but I reccomend the book, not for the barefoot running debate but for a good read.