Author: Ben Hauck

First Run since the Philly Marathon

I set out today bundled up in a goose-down vest compliments of Nurse Jackie and other warm running gear for my first run since the Philly Marathon. I had set out to do 8 miles but settled on 4.7 miles (the bathroom was calling), a distance which was fine by me. The hills are just great here, especially the final one before arriving at my place. I tell ya, it’s about a 20 degree angle, which probably doesn’t sound that bad, but it’s unrelenting. Here are the deets:

Running with the added clothing (as opposed to shirtlessness, which has tended to be my trend) was a more motivating experience. It might smother my breathing a bit–not sure–but it definitely gets me out there.

I didn’t really set out with goals more than “just run,” which is like saying “just endure.” My dad asked me later in the day whether I have a tough time with hills. I really couldn’t answer him. I wasn’t really focused on them. I was focused on just running, and by my 8:22 pace, you can see I was closer to jogging than running. 🙂

Despite Slower than NYC, I’m Happy to Have Learned Something!

This morning I was in Philadelphia to run the Philadelphia Marathon.

This was my second running of the race. Last year I achieved my marathon PR of 3:07:32, and this year I didn’t expect to achieve the same because my training just wasn’t as intense. I did, however, hope to do faster than my NYC Marathon time of 3:27:27, which I’d done just two weeks ago. I didn’t beat my NYC time, but I’m okay with that. My official Philadelphia finish time for 2010 was 3:29:39. I thought that because this was an easier course than NYC that I’d do better, but I didn’t probably because I only did one training run between NYC and Philly. My happiness after Philly is that I learned that that was probably the reason, and that training is important: Two weeks off from training can spell a significant diminishing of performance even if the race is easier.

Unofficial Race Stats per Garmin:

Garmin was a nice friend to have in this race. It showed that my early pace was pretty fast. I didn’t feel all that fast, interestingly enough, and for quite some time I had about a 4-minute lead on the 3:20 pace I was shooting for. Little by little my speed dropped, and so did that comfortable lead, until around Mile 16. On Falls Bridge, I noticed my comfy 4 minutes was down to 1:30, and I knew I probably would eat up that 1:30 in no time. (Also, Garmin started to show Low Battery and I thought I was going to lose my Garmin mid-race! It stayed alive.) Sure enough, I ate up that 1:30, and my speed started to drop so much that by the end, my last 4 full miles were super-9:00s. I just couldn’t get my body to go faster!

The course was similar to last year’s course and familiar to me, but there were a few changes like the inclusion of Falls Bridge, a reverse of directions on Kelly Drive, a divergence from Kelly Drive that I don’t remember, and a change to the area where you’d pick up your first Gu packets (if memory serves). My familiarity with the course was helpful, as I could anticipate hills and pick up some speed on them. Knowing the course also gave me something to look forward to. It’s a nice course.

Other than just not letting me run faster, my body cooperated pretty well. Post-race, I feel a lot better than I did after NYC, which drained me for days and left me with knee pain in my right knee which I felt pretty immediately. After today’s Philly race, my legs are a little tired but I have joy and energy back! I was a little clumsy trying to take a few steps of a jog, but stairs up and down weren’t that bad. My calves are a little tight and I have some chafing (I got one bloody nipple plus some undisclosed chafing); we’ll see how I am in the morning!

But the REALLY good news is that my girlfriend, Elizabeth Corkum qualified for Boston in her very first marathon! Elizabeth needed to run a 3:40, and instead she went and ran 3:32:33! Incredible! She was only about 2:30 behind me, so she nearly SPANKED me! I was so happy to see her when I was on the way back from Manayuck. She wasn’t injured and she looked strong, both of which made me relieved and happy!

Back to (Running) Life

This evening I got out and did 7.97 miles partially with Elizabeth. We jogged around her pace up to Great Hill, sprinted up it (she caught me at the top!), walked down it, then I split and finished off my run while she did other work. It was my first time running since the NYC Marathon last Sunday and catching a cold on Friday. Saturday I was in bed much of the day, as was I this morning. I wanted to test out my legs and particularly this right knee sensitivity I have taken on since the marathon, mostly now when going down stairs. Fortunately it played no issue in running. Although I was a bit slower, my legs and body seemed okay. Here are the deets, keeping in mind I walked about .25 miles down Great Hill:

The temperature was 55 and it was getting darker as we started our run. We were around a pace which is good for her, one she’s hoping to be around for the entirety of the Philly Marathon this Sunday. Myself, I’m concerned how much fitness I’ve lost since last weekend’s race–hard to tell. Catching a cold hasn’t helped my motivation. It’s one of those colds, though, that running aids. Loosened up my phlegm and mucus.