2 Weeks Till PIttsburgh

    Happy Easter Everyone!!!!!!!

    Good luck to all the runners that will take to the streets of Boston for the marathon tomorrow. I can't even begin to imagine what the atmosphere will be like on the streets.  This year has so much meaning behind the race. It shows the resilience of a city, fans, and runners.  I wish each and every runner the best of luck and I pray they have the perfect day to run.

     While Boston may be tomorrow for a lot of runners, 2 weeks is all that stands between a lot of us and the start of the Pittsburgh Marathon.  Yesterday I did my final long run, 18 miles. I honestly felt like shit for most of the run. My calf muscles were screaming in pain and it took about 7 miles to loosen up. Once I got loose I felt good but the pain would come back here and there. I am hoping the pain was from some bad decision making the night before. I attended the Pittsburgh Pirates game and may have drank a few too many beers.  So I am sure I was dehydrated the next morning. It also didn't help that I was out of Energy Bits. No need to worry I just received another shipment of them.  I have to weeks now to get in some good foam rolling and massaging and hopefully work out any tightness.
     This week was also a lot of speed workouts. Monday I was doing a tempo run but made the mistake of running by my old high school. Just my luck there was a track meet going on. So now I am left with the decision keep running or stop and watch some of the meet.  Like I said once before I am a sports fanatic and would watch people dodge traffic if it was a sport.  Side note on the track meet, I don't know if when I ran the guys were just that good or the kids have lost a step. I was not impressed at all by the times. When I ran though there were a good amount of above average runners so I guess I can't say to much about the times, but I left wanting to see something amazing.
     Tuesday I ran 5 miles and my goal for the whole run was to run negative splits. I started at a 9:23 pace then dropped down to a 7:50 pace for the last mile.  I felt really good for the run and it was a huge confidence booster. During the marathon my goal is do negative splits for most of the race. If everything goes as planned my final 6 miles will be my fastest.
     Wednesday I cross trained at the gym and rode the bike for 6 miles and did some core work.  I feel that every time I am in the gym everything is improving. From riding the bike to lifting, I have gotten stronger and my stamina has improved so much.  I use to be one of those runners that would rely on raw skill. As I get older I have come to the realization that I need to encompass all aspects of training.
     Thursday I ran 7 miles and held a 8:20 pace for the entire run. I felt really good and the only problem continues to be my asthma. The weather has not been cooperative at all to runners this season. 70 degrees one day 35 the next. How can the body get used to that? I mean really if someone has an answer please share with me. I did however push through the run and I am finally starting to feel like the old Shaun.  The confident runner that was cocky and thought he couldn't be beaten in a race. I obviously know I will not win, but I am starting to take the attitude of if there is thirty thousand runners in a race. 29,999 are in my way and you can either step a-side or come with me and challenge me. I know this sounds super arrogant but sometimes that is what it takes to light that fire under your ass and get you to conquer your goals. 
     Friday was my day off from training.  Like I said my wife and I went to the Pirate game with friends and enjoyed the night out.  Also Friday is the day I received my email saying what corral and my race number for the marathon.  Look out for number 635 in corral A. 
     This week I will still run but it will be a short hill workout, a speed workout, and a few 6-8 mile runs with some cross training thrown in. 

     How is your training going if you are running the marathon?
     What Corral are you in?
     And is it wrong to take on a cocky attitude when running?

4 Week Countdown!!

    4 weeks is all that stands between a lot of us runners and the start of the Pittsburgh Marathon.  Over the past few marathons I have learned that is okay to take a week and kind of take it easy on the runs.  I still did the mileage I wanted, but I didn't push myself to hard.  The last thing I want to do is tire myself out with the race creeping up.

Monday
I set out to do five miles at a easy pace and ended up running 6.78 because I felt so good.  I still did a course that is rather hilly though. My time was 1:01:41 and was a pace of 9'05".  My legs were kind of tight for the first few miles but eventually loosened up around the 4th mile. The only problem I really ran into was with the change of weather it made my breathing difficult.  My asthma was really bad, and I needed to use my inhaler at the end of my run, which is very unusual.

Tuesday
It was my birthday this day, so I took the day off and went to Pittsburgh Steak Company with my wife for dinner.  I am a steak lover so this was just what I needed. A nice 20 oz. T-Bone steak.  

Wednesday
My plan was to run a nice easy 7. I ended up just going a bit more, only because I didn't feel like walking to my car.  My time was 1:08:54 and my pace was a 9'29". Obviously I was taking it really slow on this day.  I just wanted to have nice relaxing run on this day.  I felt really good and once again the only problem I had was with my breathing.  I have come to realize that it is going to take a few runs in the warm weather to get my lungs used to the weather again.  So hopefully we get some warm weather for a few consecutive days here soon.

Thursday
I used this day as a cross training day.  I went to the gym and lifted weights for about 45 minutes and rode the bike for a half hour followed by a half hour on the elliptical.  I really have never used an elliptical until this year of training and I give these girls at the gym credit for how hard they go on that machine.  It literately beats the shit of out me, but I can feel it really helping my hips out.

Friday
I ran a quick 4 miles. I didn't track it with my Nike App because I wanted to run without headphones.  At some point in the marathon I will put my headphones on but for the most part I don't want to wear them.  I like to enjoy the elements around me on that day.  Once I feel tired and need motivated I will put on my music and go from there.  So this day was just about getting use to feeling things without having something in my ear telling me my mile splits.  I ended up running a 8'20" pace.  This is right where I want to be for the first 6 miles of the race, so I was very pleased with the run.

Saturday
I was really excited to get up and run yesterday.  Mainly because I recently just purchased Energy Bits from Kristy over at Pittsburgh Runner, and was anxious to see if they really worked.

 I decided to do 11 miles, since next weekend will be my last real long run up until the race.  Let me just say WOW do those energy bits work.  I felt awesome the entire time I was running. Even when I was done I just felt like I could keep going and going.  My only gripe with the bits were the taste.  But lets be honest here, most supplements or anything you take for performance taste like shit.  I will be purchasing more of these little bits very soon.  For some reason my body felt like playing tricks with me on this run.  First my left ankle was bothering me then my right ankle. Then on mile 6 I had to go to the bathroom, luckily there were a lot of trees on this section and I dipped behind one take a quick pee.  Not one of my finer moments on a run but it needed to be done.  Even with all that though I still felt really energized and had very minor problems.  Also my breathing was under control. Probably because it was cold out again in the morning.
My time was 1:42:43 and my pace was a 9'20".

Today I will use this day as a stretching and foam rolling day.  This week coming up will be more of a go hard week and Saturday will be my last real long run. I will use this as my dress rehearsal for the race, and I will run with exactly everything I plan on wearing during the race. The last thing you want is unexpected rubbing or scratching from your clothes.

How is your training going? Do you do a dress rehearsal or do you just wing it?