Author: Mark Allman

Nice morning for an early long run. Temperature around 68 to 74 degrees, some breeze, cloudy and rain at times.

I ditched the bars earlier in the run and went with some Beta Fuel mix I’ve had for a while. One 20-oz bottle of that with a scoop of electrolyte mix, and a second half bottle of electrolytes in the CamelBak. That and two gels later in the run. Training runs are where you experiment with this stuff. Didn’t feel too bad throughout the run.

Today’s run was a rolling 24.8 mile route. Pace was 9:53. Total climb was about 1050 feet.

Another day of running in the later morning in the heat. Temperature around 85 degrees and baking Sun. Wasn’t too bad.

I have a hat that has a snap-on piece that hangs down over the sides and back. Think something you’d see people wearing in the desert. I’ve never tried it out. Perfect day to see how it feels. I think it definitely helps. It keeps the Sun off your head and neck. Interesting. I’ll be packing it for the upcoming races.

Today’s run was a 5.1 mile hills route. Pace was 9:11. Total climb was 275 feet.

Switched up the plan to do some running in the heat. Running on asphalt in the baking sun is a bit warm. Temperature when I was out was about 86 or so degrees. Probably over 100 on the asphalt. Whew.

Today’s run was a first run in the heat. Route was 4.23 miles and rather flat. Pace was 9:22. Total climb was only 165 feet.

Time for very warm weather training. Temperature at around 4AM was about 67 degrees, and it was well over 70 with the Sun up at the end. I’ll take it. Sunday was 47 degrees in the morning. That’s not summer training weather at all!

Today’s run was a 13.12 mile rolling hills route. Pace is a guess at around 9:45. It’s hard to tell how long I needed to stop for traffic at intersections. I crossed U.S. Rt. 1 twice, and in early rush hour that’s “challenging.” Total climb was about 645 feet.

Hills work day. The upcoming race in VT has well over 2000 feet of climb. Fortunately, there’s a hill not too far away that’s a perfect training course.

Today’s run was a 1.96 mile warm-up (1.09 miles) and climb (0.87 mile) route. The climb is an average 9% grade, and stretches are 15+%. Overall pace was somewhere around 10:55. Total climb was 430 feet.

I decided to do some bike work today. No impact stress while working some key leg muscles. It’s a good route except that, on a bike, there’s a small section where you’re pretty much forced to putt along on the sidewalk.

Today’s ride was a 7.15 mile mostly flat route. Pace was about 4:33. Total climb was about 195 feet.

Time for some distance. A clear, cool morning for an early run. It’s almost all in enough daylight so that I can see the potholes and drivers can easily see me (both are important). Didn’t feel too bad at all, and better than I expected.

Today’s run was a 13.12 mile rolling hills route. Pace was 9:23. Total climb was about 645 feet.

An easy recovery run day. In some ways, these are worse than running the race. It gets better after about a half mile or so.

Today’s run was a 2.18 mile mostly flat route. Pace was 9:22. Total climb was only about 90 feet.

Race day. Very cool with scattered rain and a bit of a breeze. Temperature was around 53 degrees.

Felt pretty good until about mile 16 or so. Legs started to really drag. The lack of roadwork the previous few weeks surely contributed to that. Whatever. I was still keeping a decent pace and intermixing short walks for about 10 to 20 breaths. It could’ve been a much faster time had I been able to pound out the training road work.

Today’s run was the Lake Placid Marathon. Split pace was about 9:30, and overall pace was about 9:50. Total time was 4:17:43, which is a PR by about 8+ minutes.

One more cool, clear early morning. Temperature in the low 50’s, no real wind, and mostly clear skies. At this time of year, it’s light for almost all of a longer run. It’s easy to get used to, and then in later July the darkness starts to creeping back. Enjoy it while it’s here.

Today’s run was a 13.12 mile rolling hills route. The time was about the same as last week, at a 9:18 pace. It’s hard to estimate how long stops at traffic lights are. Not really important. Weight was 147.0. Total climb was about 640 feet.