Back to the grind stone

Last night I talked to a buddy I hadn't heard from in a couple of months; I told him all I felt like doing these days is sleeping and eating. Aside from the once or twice weekly commute from Greenbelt and some mountain biking (until 2 weeks ago) I've pretty much been completely slacking since Jerseyman... Ouch. I'm officially feeling like a out of shape slob. I've run 1 time since, haven't touched a pool or weights and have barely spun the pedals. Mix that with the amount of food and candy I've been shoveling in my face lately I think the description really works.

Ok, so my goal is to run the National Marathon at the end of March. Looks like it's time to start my training! A couple years ago I used the training program supplied by the folks with the Shamrock Faestival Marathon down in VA Beach which worked well so I'll be keying off it again. This time though I'm using the 20 week advanced program which coincidentally started last week. Looks like I'm supposed to be doing 10 miles this weekend... I think I'll ease in to this one a little bit.



Took the day off Tuesday (best day for a day off ever, except maybe a Wednesday) to hike Sugarloaf Mountain with Brain and the dogs. Did a nice 6.5 miles over steady up and down terrain with some fairly intense little sections along the Orange trail from the East side lot. I highly suggest the Northern Peaks Trail for a solid hiking effort and if you don't mind a little scrambling take the Orange Trail from the East view parking lot to the meet up with the red then blue. Very fun and some nice views included.

Instead of writing a long boring post with a bunch of random stuff in it like usual I'm breaking this one down a bit.

Last year I remember hanging around my house one February weekend morning and suddenly hearing and seeing a steady stream of people running down the center of Ridge Rd. I had no idea what was going on but just figured it was running group... with a LOT of people, and spread out at some highly variable paces but still a running group.

Turns out it was the 47th Annual Washington's Birthday Marathon which start in Greenbelt and does a few loops around the Beltsville Ag Center and heads back into Greenbelt for the finish. I found that out when I headed out for my own run a bit later and accidentally "won" the marathon in a time of about 2:20 or something... They weren't too pleased when I threw my hands up in a "what is going on here" motion coming upon the finish... Sorry guys, that's my normal running route!

Anyway, I'm hoping they hold the race again this year because now I really want to run it. For one, it's in my backyard, and I train on the very roads it follows. My long run yesterday as a matter of fact I saw this morning was essentially a loop of the marathon coarse. In reading some reviews of the race a lot of people mention how tough the course is with the rollers around the Ag center and the "killer" hill at mile 25 which is where i do most of my hill work so I've got a definite home field advantage on that one.

Because of the fitness level I'm at right now I was recently considering grabbing up a transfer for the Marine Corp Marathon and running that though when I mentioned it to Aimee the additional training time didn't sit too well plus I don't need to pay out another $100+ to jump into another race. So, instead I'll have this to keep myself motivated, give myself plenty of recovery time after the 1/2 IM and most importantly spend some serious time on running specific speed work and endurance so I can really give it my all come February.

Here's to George Washington! Well, and a race start I can run to in under 5 minutes from my doorstep! :)

Batimore Half Marathon

This past Saturday I mounted my scaled down attack on the streets of Baltimore in the Baltimore Running Festival. Unfortunately my training regiment over the past few months did not allow me to compete in the actual marathon as I had hoped but I didn’t want to just not take part so I managed to just sneak in off the waitlist for the ½ marathon. What a great race! The half joined up with the marathon at about the half way point and basically ran the second half of the race with them. Not sure that was the greatest experience for the marathoners but for us in the half it sure was cool.

I had what I felt were reasonable expectations of myself for the race and figured I’d clock somewhere around 8 minute miles for a modest finish that’d be slightly better then my marathon time back in March. The weather was perfect and I was feeling pretty good so I took off at a moderate pace from the start line. By the two mile mark (I missed the first mile marker) I realized I was cruising along at a bit under 7:30/mile and was feeling just fine though I figured I’d slow up a bit later in the race. A bit later came and I was still running strong, encouraging the folks with full stickers on their backs (full marathon runners) every time I got the chance.

When I crossed the finish line I looked down at my watch and realized I’d shattered my expectations for myself in the race. My brain was a bit too fried to figure out any details but crossing the line in 1 hour 36 minutes and 3 seconds was far better then hour forty-five I had expected, and a full 40 seconds per mile faster. What was even better is I still felt great. I obviously only did half the distance, but if I could manage a full marathon at this pace I should probably even be able to qualify for the Boston Marathon (my new next running goal!).

Check me out cheesing for the camera with two thumbs up. MarathonFoto was at the event and took more pictures of me then I've ever seen for a race.

Things to come

I’m officially in for the Baltimore Marathon in October so I’ve got a nice little season laid out for myself. I also registered this morning for a 4 pack of the Greenbelt Training Series races on Wednesday nights so I can get a little bit more road racing experience under my belt without the hefty fees and (probably more self imposed) high pressure situations of all out races. I’ve heard great things about this series so I’m looking forward to getting out there next Wednesday for the first one.

Haven’t figured anything else out officially for the year, but I’m thinking it would be pretty fun to try out a beginner mountain bike race this season and I’m also considering the Marine Corp Half Marathon which would be 2 weeks after the Baltimore full. I think that would be enough recovery for me as long as I make sure I stretch consistently and get back out for some light jogging the day after the marathon. My legs were sore after the Shamrockfest Marathon, but I got a nice spin on the trainer in the day after and was back riding “hard” either one or two days after that. If the Ultra Marathon Man can run 50 marathons in 50 days in 50 states then I can do this for sure.

I’m also eyeing up a May 12th brick session “race” through the dc tri club down at hains point that is a run bike run session of 6 total miles running and 15 biking. Reviewing the times of some of the previous sessions I don’t really expect to vie for any kind of top spot, but I think it would be a great opportunity to get out and get a feel for where I’m at on what I believe will be my two stronger areas of the triathlon. Throw in a nice sprint tri sometime in June and I should be good to go, and what’s more is I may even have a clue what I’m doing when it comes to the transitions in Pittsburgh.

The dangers of my printer

This morning for whatever reason I’m feeling a bit over zealous I guess. I guess the lingering feelings left over from the race on Sunday combined with the soreness from yesterday’s core class had me poking around the Baltimore Marathon website this morning. As I looked through the different pages (of what is a really nice race website by the way, especially compared to the Pittsburgh Triathlon page) the blood started pumping a little bit faster and the adrenaline started flowing and the next thing I knew the course maps were printed and sitting here on my desk.

Now you’re probably thinking, ok so what you opened the maps and hit print so what? Well, it’s kind of a big deal really… This means unless something big happens in the very near future I’m signing up and I’m in. For these things I tend to kind of poke around the idea a bit, throw it around in my head and maybe bounce it off a couple of running friends before making any real decisions about it. When I actually get on the site and print out the course map though that’s pretty much it. Within the next couple of weeks (days or maybe even hours in this case) I’ll be signed up, paid and officially training.

I think this should work out really well to round out my season and will be my final big event for the year. I’ll have the triathlon on July 15th in Pittsburgh and then the Baltimore Marathon on October 13th with at least one sprint tri before the main tri and some road races (or at least a few races of the Greenbelt Training Series for some more experience). Then if I can get my hands on a cross bike in time I’ll be able to get in a fun season of cyclo-cross racing to close out the year. This is going to be fun! Hopefully if all goes well then next year I’ll try for a half Iron Man.

Why tri?

Poking around the DC Tri page I ran across some “articles” written by some of the other members of the club with a handful of the recent one’s being “Why I Tri” presumably to offer motivation through the difficult cold winter. Reading through the most recent one (effectively getting me motivated and excited about my first tri coming up) I started to think about why it was I am so interested in them. None of my friends around here are into triathlons and aside from my fathers running for health purposes no one else in my family is even all that active.

So what is it that makes me want to do all of these things? Why do I keep jumping in head first to all of this new stuff? What is that draw that is pulling me in? Better yet, where do I start on this? Sure I want to be in shape and I really like doing things outdoors, but I think there is so much more to this then that. There is a deeper meaning and feeling behind the sort of soul searching that I think these events help me with; they can tell me so much about myself that I never knew and bring a tremendous feeling of accomplishment that can not be found anywhere else.

I guess it all really started back in college during a race I’ve probably mentioned here before. With a team of about 12 guys we raced very few 8 races and when we did we never really expected too much against some of the larger teams we’d be up against that could field two or more 8’s with their numbers. At one fall head race (5-6K instead of a 2K for spring races) everything in the boat just clicked right out of the shoot and we fired on all 8 cylinders through the entire race watching all of the other boats die far, far behind us. My parents were at that race and I can remember our coxswain using that to motivate me specifically and running through everyone in the boat with specific words of encouragement that sent shockwaves through our bodies. (I’m getting an adrenaline rush just thinking about and writing about this).

It’s not everyday that everyone in the boat just clicks and when that happens it is obvious to everyone involved that there is something special going on. That was the first day I had ever felt those feelings, the run in the boat, the perfect catch and release throughout and watching the boats all fall further and further away behind us; it was the most spiritual feeling I have ever had in my life. I was near tears coming down the course passing the shore where everyone was cheering us on and finishing the race all knowing that we had won and completely dominated our usual equals like they’d never been in a boat before.

While my current endeavors may never amount to the level of teamwork involved in rowing, the feelings of personal satisfaction from them can be as great if not greater. Just a year ago I never would have thought I could get out and run more then maybe a dozen or so miles. But I got out there and did it and the feeling of personal pride I got from that was incredible. Also with that sense of accomplishment came that same spiritual feeling I felt during that race; a complete and utter satisfaction upon the completion of a goal that could very well have been unattainable. When I crossed the finish line after my run, those tears of joy and satisfaction were back glistening in my eyes.

Now that I’ve done one though I can’t stop there, I’ve got to do more; more miles, more races, more workouts and naturally more events. I want to challenge myself with something that I don’t know if I can complete and then see what happens. If I complete it, then it is that much more special while if I don’t I’ll keep going back for more until I do, working harder and training longer then I did before. This is my religion and the outdoors are my sanctuary; my spirituality comes when I truly get in touch with my self and learn what I’m really made of. My next step is the Pittsburgh Triathlon and after that there will be more.

Sham-rocked it and ready for another!

One of the greatest experiences ever!

Well, we did it! We completed the 2007 Shamrockfest Marathon in well under our goal of 4 hours and had a blast doing it! For Teddy and I it was our first marathon while Cole ran the Marine Corp Marathon back in October as his first. All in all we were/are all sore as can be but otherwise we're feeling great! My right knee is pretty sore but I think that is due to me twisting it a few weeks ago during training and should be back to normal soon. Otherwise my muscles feel a bit like they would after a hard day of lifting in the gym but nothing more then that.

The three of us started the race with the 4 hour pace group and ran a good pace to open up the race. We averaged around an 8:45 minute mile for the first 6 or 7 miles before picking it up to around 8:30 where we held consistently through somewhere around mile 17. At this point we started to let our minds into the race a bit too much, especially as we compared heart rates and mine was still consistently at least 10 points lower then Cole's. We also hit a stretch of the race where supporters were few and far between and we were left with only the sounds of our own breathing and our shoes on the pavement.

We also through this period hit a steady and torturous head wind which we were left to fight through. Occasionally we would catch a pack and I would jump behind a taller runner to draft, but my lack of discipline had me pulling quickly by them as I wanted to continue my pace. We figured on the way back down though we would get this wind as a tail wind and we would get blown in to the finish with help. Unfortunately the wind was shifting and we only managed a few bursts behind us to help us along, not to mention by this point in the race leg movement was hindered by the soreness in our hips and knees so that help from the wind was only refused by the legs.

While we ran together we stuck three abreast and for a good portion of the race had a following of 4 or 5 runners that stuck behind us and joked along with us as we ran. While this was certainly not the best strategic approach (especially as the other runners drafted behind us through some of the toughest sections of wind) it felt good to be setting the pace three abreast with two of my closest friends.

The three of us though managed to stick together through somewhere around mile 20 or mile 21 were we lost one at a water stop and the distance was never recovered. I lost the second at a water stop a little further down and was left alone in front trying to chase down the 3 hour and 50 minute crew that we had just let slip away. As I watched them run off ahead and knew my friends were falling off behind I tried to fight off the pain in my legs and carry myself through the last few miles. The last 5 miles were by far the hardest miles of the race and the final 2 or 3 were probably some of the toughest accomplishments of my life. Every part of my body was telling me to stop, but I knew I had to keep going for just a little bit longer.

From miles 24 to 25 as I ran by myself watching people pass me I hit the lowest point of my race here and I knew it as I went along. I ran my slowest mile at 9:17 and just wanted to be finished. From 25 to 26 I managed to pick it up just a bit as I knew I was getting into the final mile and it was just a matter of minutes until I would be crossing the finish line with my hands held high. I came to a corner and figured the finish was just around the bend, came to another corner and another with the same hopes until finally I hit the boardwalk and saw the finish line in the distance, probably less then 1/2 a mile away.

I picked up my pace just a little bit more here and started to pass other runners offering words of encouragement as I went by. When I got to the 26 mile marker I lengthened out my stride for the last 2 tenths of a mile and went barreling across the finish line as fast as my legs would allow. As I "sprinted" for the finish I could hear people calling out my name since I was all alone out in the open lane. My face twisted from agony to ecstasy and back again as I ran past all of the supporters and clanging cowbells.

Looking back on this even as I still sit here in pain, everything about it was entirely worth it, even the searing pain in my knees and the ankle that was rubbed raw from the chip strap. I feel like for the first time in a long time I set a goal for myself that wasn't an easy accomplishment and I overcame my fear of failure, worked hard and completed my goal. It feels even better that I essentially smashed my expectation of time by nearly ten minutes finishing in 3 hours, 50 minutes and 21 seconds (though I am a little disappointed by that damn 21 seconds!).

Now as I start to think about number two I'm thinking a good goal should be around a 3:30. I know 20 minutes is a lot of time to drop, but I think now that I've got an idea about the race and the confidence in me to know that I can do it I should be setting another tough possibly unattainable goal. I think 3:30 is about right; not to mention my ideas about a possible triathlon. I've officially become a DC resident now so it is probably about time for me to start using those public pools for some swimming training!

T minus 23 hours

And we're on our way. Full race report hopefully with some pictures to follow Monday or Tuesday!

Let the countdown begin

Well, the wheels are now officially rolling on the last stretch of my marathon road. Right about now the Pittsburgh contingent of the marathon Crew is loading up a car and leaving to join me here in DC. We’ll probably grab an early dinner at one of the great local Italian joints down the street, watch a movie and get a good nights rest before leaving tomorrow morning for Virginia Beach. Work is next to impossible today but that is to be expected.

Last night I spoke to my father for a little bit as yesterday was his birthday. He and I have very similar feelings about our birthdays in that neither of us really care to celebrate them and we will almost never tell anyone about them. So, in that fashion my father spent his day up in Piscataway, NJ in meetings for work. My father is a runner and has been as long as I can remember in that he has logged thousands of miles over the course of his running “career”. When I was younger he would enter road races on a regular basis and he ran the Peachtree Classic in Georgia for a number of years. This got my sister and I out running the Peachtree Jr. for a few of those years as well and I will never forget seeing them cheering me on while I tried to be tough and not smile.

Last night while we talked there was very little mention of the race aside from the good luck wishes and typical pre-race encouragement. One thing he said though that kind of got me thinking was “don’t forget to finish”. Not that this was the first time I thought about it but really just a couple of days ago WAS the first time I realized that there is a chance I could not be able to complete this run.

I don’t think I have anything to worry about in regards to my fitness, but there is always a chance that my body won’t be able to take the strain. I’ve read stories of marathon favorites having to drop out because of one type of body failure or another. While I know it is unlikely but it is still a possibility and it is lingering in my mind. Hopefully once the rest of the crew arrives it will be blocked back out of my mind and I’ll forget about it until after the race when we are sitting around drinking cold Yuenglings and eating big bowls of Irish stew.

Training recap ramble

WARNING: This post will babble on probably incoherently at times and will likely be very boring to read. Proceed with caution.

As the last few days before my marathon have been winding down, I’ve bee trying to assess the last few months of training, both physically and mentally. I basically decided back on October 29th while I watched my friend Cole run the Marine Corp Marathon that I wanted to run one as well and soon after that I had decided on the Shamrockfest and began my training.

I started off with a bang, and went through a number of highs and lows with my consistency in training and overall motivation and now the time has come to see where it has gotten me. Sunday is the day; my mind is already there even though physically there are a few days left. I think I’m ready for it and can’t wait to get going; some people don’t even blink an eye when it comes to a marathon, but right now in my mind, this is one of the biggest and toughest goals I have ever set for myself.

The first run of my training program back on October 30th was supposed to be a quick easy 2 mile run. I knew I was in better shape then that and would go out and run 4 miles on average normally so I started off with a 5 miler. I went through the rest of the week completing slightly more mileage then the program called for on each run. The first Saturday of the program was supposed to be a quick 4 mile run but my over ambitious self wanted to get out and see what I could do. 12 miles later I was hobbling another mile back to my apartment to rest away my Saturday afternoon.

The entire first month of my training went similar to this though I did not continue running myself to my limit on the weekends after the cold walk home the first weekend. Around the holidays my training and motivation began to slack a bit, understandably before I picked things back up for a bit. A few weeks of traveling and heavy biking in late January and early February sidelined my training for a bit again before I picked things back up in mid to late February for my build up to my longest pre-rave runs of 18 and 20 miles. Both of those runs fell just short of the intended mileage, though due to my poor preparation this does not worry me too much for race day.

Overall, I would say I’m not terribly surprised by the way my training went for this race; I tend to start off with a bang and fizzle when I get excited about things like this and I certainly couldn’t have kept up my early enthusiasm throughout my training. One of the most helpful things I could have had would have been a training partner though for the times when motivation was low and the only thing I had to rely on was my own inner voice telling me to get up and go. I think a bit shorter and more intense training program would also have served me well with less time to keep up the enthusiasm and a more structured and prominent program which I would be more likely to adhere strictly to for the shorter time period.

I think I proved to myself that my base level fitness is high enough that the early easy training is relatively unnecessary for me and that without even changing the program I followed I could cut off the first half of the training entirely and just keep up my typical activities for that time period. To begin with this would probably be a much better option then the strung out program which I followed this time around. I think when training for my next event, whether that is a cycling race, a road race or a triathlon, I think the general lessons I’ve learned from this experience will transfer well into my next program.

I think that mentally the shorter training program would be huge; four and a half months is a long time to stay focused and motivated on a single goal, especially as my team is preparing for the season and spring outdoor activities are starting back up full steam. While it is possible and beneficial to do a number of cross training activities, the majority of the training needs to be in the specific area of whatever I’ll be training for so the shorter program will require less time in activity specific training.

The shorter time frame would be easier to keep a focused training diet going for a time period. One of my biggest vices is food and I find it hard to keep up on a healthy diet for long periods of time. I think I will save this for a future post however as this one has rambled on far enough. Teddy and Cole will arrive in DC tomorrow evening and we’ll leave Saturday morning for Virginia Beach to catch the Expo and get out packets etc… I think once they get here and the ball gets rolling we’re just going to snowball to the start of the race (and probably to mile 20 when things are supposed to get really hard). Until then though, I can hear the seconds slowly ticking away.

Things NOT to do the night before a 20 mile training run:

Things NOT to do the night before a 20 mile training run:

1. Go to a shuffle board challenge for Happy Hour

2. Drink multiple pints of heavy beer

3. Skip dinner and instead eat nachos from the bar.

Ah, the lessons I like to teach myself; I guess the egg and cheese sandwich in the morning before my run didn’t help too much either.

Overall the run was actually not too bad; started off pretty slow and gradually got up to speed once my body had warmed up. Felt great up until I got up to around mile 8 or 9 when I reached the Georgetown Branch Trail and started heading west. The knees and hips were a bit sore at this point, but nothing I wasn’t used to so I kept on going. The unpaved trail was actually pretty nice as most of the areas the snow had melted off and it provided a nice break from the hard pavement and cement I had been running on up to this point.

When I got out to Bethesda I felt mostly fine and started to pick it up a bit coming down the trail back into DC. The hip was bothering me a bit so I took shorter and quicker strides so I wouldn’t be moving it as far with each step. Around this point my chest also started to burn a bit which was a first for me in my training. At this I slowed up a bit and kept it to a more reasonable pace. When I reached Fletcher’s Boat house I mentally was feeling great since from what I remembered I was just around the corner from Georgetown. That just around the corner turned out to be more of a bike corner then a running corner and within the amount of time it took me to get from the boat house to the start of the Capital Crescent trail I had all but mentally given up on the run.

I ended up completing about 18 of my planned 20 miles and grabbing a cab home since the sun had pretty much set and it was too cold for my wet body to stay warm while walking the final 2 miles home. Probably the most epic bonk in my history though my preparation for the run was more to blame then anything else. While I am a little bit worried about the pain in my knees and hips I think those will be manageable given the couple of day’s rest I’ll have taken before the race and the other ills I felt should be non-issues once I actually prepare myself correctly for this type of run.

Satisfaction

I've been slacking lately onmy marathon training. My running sort of fell off due to my increased saddle time and then two weekends in a row being out of town took away my planned long "make up" runs. This week I really realized what was happening and so I get my butt back in gear and hit the streets a few times. Tuesday running in to work was a bit rough; I enjoyed the run but my it was obvious that my body had lost a bit of my previously built up training. I really enjoyed running though somewhat early in the day; the roads are less packed, the sun is just coming up and the handful of runners that are out then almost always give a wave and say hello as they pass.

Wednesday and Thursday I was feeling Tuesday's run, though that probably had more to do with the fact that I just didn't stretch out enough afterwards. I forced myself to brave the 30 + mile an hour winds during lunch including about an 11 degree windchill and got a nice 45 minute run in around the monuments and everything downtown. This time I put quite a bit more effort into my stretching and felt pretty good the next day. This morning when I woke up I was feeling great (besides the hangover after Mandie's birthday party last night at which I drank way too much heavy beer). Drove out to Fairfax in a Flexcar to pick up a trainer that Scott offered to loan to me and came home rearranged my bedroom a little to make some room for it and set it up.

I wanted to hop on and try an easy hour or something but today was way to nice and it was also being devoted to a long run. My schedule says 12 miles for today so I decided to head out and do something around there but really was thinking I'd do a few more miles then that. The run started off pretty badly as within the first 10 or 15 minutes I was getting terrible shin splints and just felt like overall hell (once again thanks to those damn but oh so tasty beers last night). Soon after I began to really question whether I was going to be able to do the run then my legs loosened up and the only bad left was the feeling and churning in my gut, so I ran on. I took my much loved route up Connecticut Ave, down through the Zoo and then out to Beach drive which I followed for about six or so miles.

The weather was pretty much perfect despite the cold air and the roads showed the expected number of cyclists and runners in the closed off park. Some folks waved as we passed, others said hello and those individuals who would prefer to remain secluded from all of society simply made every effort to avoid eye contact and went on their way. I never really understand this mentality by people, I mean I'm not even just talking about pretty girls that are afraid of getting hit on, it's all kinds of people that choose to "interact" in this way. But whatever, that is their perogative.

Anyway, I finished up my run at almost exactly two hours and completed something right around 13 miles though I definitely felt I could have run longer today. I came home and got in a good stretch and though the legs are a little tired they feel great. My pace was extremely slow today, especially the first few miles which felt like I was crawling along, but the good news is that I was picking up my speed pretty much the entire. For the last two or so miles I managed to speed up even more which felt great as it kind of opened up the legs a bit and really got the blood pumping. My heart rate stayed right around 160 or so for the majority of the run until this last couple where I had it running around 180 which really felt great.

This week I'll hopefully get out for three shorter runs during the week and then next weekend should be around 17 or 18 miles. then I think the following weekend is my pre-race peek milage at 20 before tapering down for the race. Can't wait, it's finally getting down to crunch time and the moment of truth for this. Now if I could just figure out the correct balance between my running and biking...

Marathoning on Ice

My recent training “regiment” has been ridiculously poor. Between two weekends in a row of traveling to snowy areas and poor roads for running I have not gotten out for a good long run for a few weeks and even the weeks before I was spending my time biking instead of marathon training. Oops; I’m feeling that now as I break back into my training and trying to pick up somewhat close to where I should be at this time. Along the lines of my official training schedule I should be putting in about 15 to 20 miles during the week this week and 12 on Saturday. I did about 5 or 6 this morning and am planning on taking a similar run tomorrow so I’ll probably plan on more of a 15 or so mile run on Saturday and maybe an easy bike on Sunday. Next weekend it’s around 18 miles and the following is the big 20 before tapering back down a little bit before the race so I better get cracking.

This morning was pretty great despite the frigid temperatures. After the first five or ten minutes I’d warmed up enough that I was perfectly comfortable and the ice forming out of condensation from my breath in my beard added a level of satisfaction you just don’t get on the typical run. It’s not really that I enjoy having ice in my beard; I didn’t really care about that one way or the other since my face was still warm enough that it didn’t affect me, but knowing that it is cold enough for that and I was still out training is a pretty good feeling. Hopefully I can channel that feeling even further into my training and keep myself motivated for the next 5 weeks up to my marathon.

As for my running attire, it looks like I may just have the right thing coming through my ultimate crew… SWEET!