October London trip!

Flew out of DCA to Philly at 6
Waited for 4 hours with my friend Steve who lives in Philly and we got dinner and a drink at the airport hotel bar
Arrived Wednesday morning around 11 met with my brother-in-law's step-brother, Brian who works by London Bridge went by bus to his place to drop off my stuff, took a nap, then came back into the city for a run with his running club (Serpentine) for a 7 mile jog around Hyde Park and Green Park (8 total with warm up) - and I ran those at 7:30 pace. Went for drinks after the run
Bar one after running club. Three Youngs there. Bar two the Clarence. One ubu.
Thursday morning I went to tour the Economist, my parent company, and had a great tour and met some coworkers.
Went back to Loughborough for lunch at a sushi place and then a nap. Then took a 13 mile run into London around the Thames Bridges stopping at various points to take pictures and make videos.
After came back into town and hit a pub then a club with a girl I met there - then went to the Chamberlain Hotel where I stayed with my brother-in-law, Ryan, and his dad, Neil.
Friday morning we wandered around town for a bit first hitting the Churchill War Rooms and Museum then wandered to the Eye (didn't go on it) and then went on a bus tour of the city
After, I ran back to Brian's (7.5 miles) and picked up the rest of my luggage as I stayed in the hotel the rest of the time. That night, we drank beer near the Hays Galleria along the Thames then went and ate some really good Indian food near London Bridge before heading back to the hotel where we drank at the hotel bar as more of our crew arrived. Then we went across the street to The Peacock where we put some more beers down. I met a young Welch lady and her aunt and uncle before finally calling it a night roughly around 3.
Saturday morning tour of Westminster Abbey; walk to Buckingham Palace; lunch at Borough Market; tour of the Tower of London; nap; ride on the London Eye; dinner; Piccadilly Circus; then three bars including Medievel Banquet (only day of rest from running)
Sunday 14 miler (double loop of bridges); lunch at a pub then Patriots game then Dominoes pizza
Monday ran the Bridges 8 mile loop; went to Camden and bought a shirt looking like Che but it was Peter Griffin's face (should have also bought the shirt that said "Sloth love Chunk" with Sloth's face from the Goonies); walked to the London Zoo; went and ate lunch (sushi) at Harrod's and had two scoops of their gelatti after; went to Parliament and sat in on a session of the House of Commons then a session of the House of Lords; went to dinner and packed
Tuesday - got up at 5am for my last run in London - Bridge Loop again - then flew back. Sammy was very glad to see me. We ran 9 this morning and she is happy I am home!

Running Through My Dreams

I had a dream last night that I was about to finish the Philadelphia Marathon in 3:09 which would give me time to spare to qualify me for Boston, but I couldn't find the finish line. I was getting really scared and annoyed because the seconds kept ticking by and I was at the end of the race, but I just couldn't cross the finish because it wasn't there. That was the fun dream I had last night - it was nice that I can dream that I will do well, so that's a plus.

On the plus side, my friends qualified for Boston with some strong running this weekend at Chicago. I am happy for them and jealous at the same time. I'm jealous because I'm frustrated I have not qualified yet. I think I've done the work, but it hasn't all come together yet. I have some great shorter distance times: 1:28:54 half and 66:21 10 miler on a hilly course. I should be able to do a 3:10 marathon.

Today I ran a solid 12 with 4 at tempo. I did 2 with Sammy to warm up and then did another 2, then 4 at tempo (27:40 total) and then 4 cool down. I ran to the Zoo and looped back - the hardest part is the hill at the end going up Rock Creek to Calvert and Connecticut. I was at 3.5 miles and gave equal effort up the hill, but it's a killer. I have to remember that I live by so many hills so my times will be a bit slower than they should be but I should not grow discouraged by this.

A good week of training

This week was one of my highest mileage weeks. I'll top out at 70 when I run 22 in a few weeks, but this week's 66 is right up there. I find that "water" therapy and light stretching keeps me healthy and able to run. I'm battling a nagging left calf strain that sidelined me for July and pushed my marathon back from Steamtown to Philly. I took two days off last week and (knock on wood) it seems to be holding up with just the occasional "hey, don't forget me!" hiccup. My bigger problem is my hallux limitus, diagnosed back in April. Basically, the way my feet are causes a bunion-like growth to rub against a nerve in my foot causing pain. Or, that's what originally happened after my last marathon. It didn't go away until I regularly started icing it in a bucket of water with ice for 20 minutes twice a day, and I keep that routing up today as preventative measure. I also soak my body in a bathtub a few times a week for at least 20 minutes. I use lukewarm water and let it soak into my muscles. Some decent stretching keeps me feeling fresh too.

My running week is pretty standardized - Saturday is my long run, Sunday or Monday is a day off with the other day serving as a recovery run, Tuesday is tempo or marathon race pace, Wednesday is recovery, Thursday is speed work at the track, and Friday is recovery. I was pleased that I posted a solid run on Tuesday with 4 good miles just under my marathon race pace including a tough Hill on Calvert near Rock Creek. Thursday I posted 4x1 mile repeats ranging from 6:24/21/22/18. Those are right where I should be if I want to run my 3:10 Boston Qualifier. Today I ran with Sammy and she loves the run. I was reading a book I have about pet care and it says exercise is important for dogs - and the way she trots/prances is perfect for her. Plus, the vet says I can feed her more food and she loves to eat!

And now, for a new feature of my blog:
Kitty Kounter = 1 (1 yesterday and 0 today)
Squirrel Scoreboard = 3 (2 yesterday and 1 today)

Finally, good luck this weekend to all Chicago runners. Most importantly, good luck to Brian and Adam - Brian's trying for his BQ and Adam is running only his second marathon. Good luck to both and all running!

My favorite running partner

My dog Sammy is my favorite running partner. What I like most about running with her is her enthusiasm. Every morning the same thing happens - I awake early and start my morning routine and she starts to really show excitement when I reach for my running shoes.

Putting on her leash is an experience. She jumps up and down and licks me while I hold the leash and drop it to the floor. Then, she proceeds with "The Sammy Dance" which is her trotting back and forth in front of the leash until I finally grab her front legs and loop the leash around her like a harness. She'll dart out to the front while I grab a couple of bags and dart back as if to say, "Daddy - are you coming? Hurry up!"

She is an English Spring Spaniel with possibly a little beagle in her face. Those black freckles on her white snout light up with her eyes and tongue hanging out, a smile. Her undocked tail waggles as she prances - a white featherduster waiving like a flag in the breeze.

Her highlight comes when she spots a squirrel or even better a kitty! Sammy will creep toward the critter and then sprint after the victim. I have yet to see her catch one - she wouldn't know what to do with one if she caught it - but the case is where she gets her joy. The other day, a cat stood up to her and started to go after Sammy. Sammy whimpered and retreated as the cat followed for a few blocks. Tough on a leash, no doubt! But, she later found a kitty that gave her her confidence back.

As running partners goes, she's the one I have the most fun with. In the winter, we've run up to ten to fourteen miles, but the summer we are limited to five to seven. I love when other people tell me how pretty Sammy is or how happy she looks.

She's a good girl!

Test

This is a test - please start to follow my blog.