Pete Tanguay

Had the annual Holiday run at Don Potter’s house where we run an easy 3 miles and enjoy potluck breakfast together.  Nice easy run through Centennial Valley and along the golf cart path on the course and back to his house.  Great friends, food and friendship. 

Interesting watching the interview with Ryan Hall after the New York City marathon.  He speaks of it as a humbling experience, something he’ll get over and focus again on getting ready for the next race.  Says it just wasn’t his day today.  Well, he finished 4th with a 2:10:36 time, less than 3 seconds/mile slower than the winner at 2:09:15 and a minute 45 seconds in front of the 5th place runner.  It’s a good life lesson that everything is relative and it’s good to set tough goals, be humbled by our results when they are not what we were shooting for and work hard to meet our goals.  But at the end of the day, it’s also important to remember that everything is relative and keep a good balance on what we do and appreciate what we have and the results we achieve.

Meant to sleep in this morning.  Didn’t set the alarm but I woke up anyway.  Laying there thinking – should I run?  No just rest.  I’ll just go for an easy run.  No, the group is doing 14, you don’t want to do that.  Someone will be there running shorter.  Just go back to sleep.  I better get going or I will be late. 

Ran with a slower group – nice easy pace with laughing and conversation.  They were going 14 and I cut off after 6 1/2 and picked up the pace a bit and ran it back in.  Wanted to see if I could get back to a 4 hr marathon pace without pushing too much and I did.  I’m going to taper this week and give it a shot at doing the Memphis marathon next week under 4 hours.  I can feel the mental battle brewing up there.  The battle makes my blood pressure go up and my legs fatigued!    No pressure, really, I want to run with Brad and at least hang with the 4 hour group through about mile 20.  I think I will be ok then and will either finish with them or pick up the pace in the last few miles if I can.  Regardless it will be an excellent year end measurement to see where I am.  I know I am a little fatigued from the marathon last weekend, but don’t really feel it.  Had a good running week this week – 61 miles and 9:41 hours.  It’s been a great Thanksgiving rest, weather has been beautiful and so thankful for family time. 

Memphis marathon elevation chart – much nicer than the Flying Monkey.  Mile 14 – 19 is uphill but if you notice the elevation on the left, it is only 100 feet over 5 miles.  I remember it as a long gradual incline. 

First run this Fall with temps under 30 degrees.  Started at 6 so it was light before too long and warmed up, but just slightly.  Started by myself but caught up to another running friend in the second mile and we ran a make it up as you go along route.  Ran the back of Salem hill and also Bainbridge hill.  I always look for hills now when I run.  I’ve learned how good they are for you and don’t pass up a chance to go up over one.  Wish we had more of them and didn’t have to look so hard to find one!  Kept a good pace and was able to talk along the way.  Slowed down a bit at the end after Bainbridge hill and just ran it in at a comfortable pace.   With the marathon I’ve logged 52 miles this week with one more day to run.  Feeling good and am going to taper again next week and see what I can do at the Memphis marathon. 

Great way to start the day – and especially Thanksgiving Day!  Smaller Thursday group with everyone out of town and started at 6 instead of 5 since it was a holiday day.  That meant we got to run with the sun coming up and as we ran along the top of Country Club hill the sky was orange and the air was a fresh 40 degrees.  Nice mile warm up with a 3.5 mile tempo, not pushing it too hard but keeping a good pace.  Waited for a group at the top of the hill and then ran another 3.5 miles with a plan to take it easy but we kept picking it up for some reason.  Just listening to the body and running what it wants to run and having fun doing it.  I’m real surprised how well I feel after the marathon.  My muscles never got to the complete fatigue state in the marathon and so I’m able to pick it right back up just as if the marathon was any other long run.  We went to the Waffle House for coffee and when I get home everyone is still in bed.  Nice to have this added part of my day to get out and run.  No work today, lots of thankfulness here. 

Took yesterday off after the marathon but wanted to get back out today, even though Tuesday’s we alternate hill work and speed work and this week was hill work.  The first mile was a little difficult but once I warmed up I felt good.  How can you beat running up and down a hill in the dark with a bunch of friends?  I guess playing golf and drinking beer with friends comes pretty close.  Did 5 hill repeats and headed back with 3 others.  I was a few minutes late and it was a good thing because the first mile was definitely not pretty.  I have found out how injured I was after the Oklahoma City marathon.  It took me a month before I could run again.  I’m pacing a friend in the Memphis marathon in 2 weeks (only planning to run the first half but may stay with the 4 hour pacers as long as I can) and so it’s taper time again!  

When I got back to the fitness center a group of runners were standing around with one hand behind their back and when I got close they all awarded me with a banana for my race.  Really is special to have such great people in my life, especially at Thanksgiving when we stop and give thanks for the many, many blessings that we have. 

Well, it’s over.  It was definitely a great experience and a beautiful run in the park.  My goal was to go out relaxed and run controlled and push when I could.  I wanted to get through the race without getting to that point where I never wanted to run another marathon again and where my body was totally gone.  I definitely did these things and had a good time doing it.  The hills were big and many.  The park was beautiful and serene.  The people were nice and everyone had a lot of fun.  There was a big group of “Marathon Maniacs”, people who spend their life running marathon after marathon.  One girl was on her 206th, another person was in his 400th+.  It definitely had a unique feel and I’m glad I ran it.

Started out with Larry, who is the person who had told me about the race.  We ran the first mile together, which started out across a grass field and then went straight uphill, and he was going a little slower than I wanted so I eased ahead.  Curt went with me and I picked him up at mile 3.  He really helped me a lot, continually telling me to work my arms on the hills and “do not look up” so I wouldn’t see how big the hill was.  You’d be running up a hill and hear people up high to your left and then realize that that would be you after the switchback ahead.  You’d get to what you thought was the top and it would keep going up.  But, there were down hills too.  Lots of them.  I was very cautious to take care of my legs going down the hills, kind of sat back and tried to glide.  My pace would go up quite a bit.  I pushed when I can but basically kept the pace I found and focused on keeping it the whole way.  I tried cutting all of the corners and running the shortest possible route and ended up with my Garmin saying a little less than 26.2.  That’s better than Berlin when I ran 26.64.  Curt left me at mile 23 and I ran the last 3 miles on my own and worked to have a good finish.  Had a couple people pass me but I worked my way by 5 or 6 runners who were walking hills by now.  I don’t feel nearly as sore I would expect and will be back out running tomorrow.  I learned a lot in this race that will help me in the future.  It’s good to get through it and it was a great experience.

More race pics available at Elly Foster Photography’s website.

Ran an easy 4 mile run this morning with the group.  Nice cool morning in the upper 30’s and felt real good and relaxed.  Now it is rest, an easy warm up mile or so run on Saturday when I get to Tennessee and then do the Monkey.  I weighed myself after my run today and was under 195 for the first time since I can remember.  Goal was to be down below 190 but I don’t focus on it a lot.  I just watch what I eat, run and see what happens.  Down from a high of about 218 about a year ago.  Every extra pound gone makes it easier to run longer and faster. 

Looks like a perfect weather forecast for the race:

Here’s the training log for my marathon training.  I did 9 runs over 15 miles including 3 20 mile runs.  Also worked in about 6-8 spin classes.  I cut back my running to 3-4 days per week but had longer runs.  I used to think of a 10 mile run as a long run.  Now a long run is 13 or more miles.  I’m learning to do the longer runs and enjoy them more.  I already have some new goals to start working on after this race, but for now, I’m ready and tapering.

It’s different doing 3-4 mile taper runs.  When I’m training a 5 mile run is as short as I’d ever run.  Why run unless you are going to run 5?  This week is taper week and it’s been a couple of 3-4 mile runs.  I meant to get out this morning but I’ve been feeling under the weather and slept in.  At the end of the day I really wanted to get out and just enjoy and easy run and that I did.  Put some music on and ran down the golf course trails in the dark, my Garmin recording the run but not pacing it.  That is how I like it now.  Let the body decide how fast to run.  Let the Garmin report how the body was feeling. 

Other than my chest and head cold, I feel very healthy, injury free and ready for the Flying Monkey.  The days leading up to the Oklahoma City marathon were days where I had a lot of pain from a torn abductor muscle in my inner right thigh that I was ignoring because “I had a marathon to run” and tremendous mental pressure to finish under 4 hours and then the bright idea that I might be able to run a 3:35 and qualify for Boston.  The days leading up to the Flying Monkey, 7 months later, are relaxed, feeling ready, looking forward to a very difficult run in the park with a friend from Louisville, KY I have not seen in a couple of years and 2 friends I run with regularly who are going with me to run with and pace me.  I intend to rise to the challenge with the intent to do well and cross the finish line to see what well is.  I am amazed that I am running another marathon and happy to be doing such a unique one. 

On my run tonight I felt very good, can tell that I have lost some more weight and that my body is ready to run.  After running about 3 miles I thought about extending it to 5 or 6 and had to remind myself that I am tapering and not to go for a hard run.  I’ll do one more taper run in the morning with the awesome running friends that I have, letting the fast runners go off and run the scheduled tempo run while I cut it short at 4 miles at a slower, easy pace.  This time next week the soreness from the hills may be beginning to subside and it will be time to close the office door for Thanksgiving.  Man, do I have a lot to be thankful for this year.