Joe B. Raymond III

Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon Weekend

Posted by joebraymond on May 18, 2013

Posted in: Races, Rite Aid 2013 Cleveland Marathon. 2 comments

The 4am alarm came early on Friday morning. I rolled out of bed, grabbed my bag and hit the road. I had a 6 hour drive ahead of me to get to Nashville and weather predictions showed a nice thunderstorm plaguing my entire day. With Monster in hand I headed north to Memphis then east to Nashville. As I was planning this trip I was searching for alternatives to parking my car at the airport for the weekend. One of the Marathon Maniacs turned me on to a company called Global Airport Parking. Through this company I was able to book a parking place for the entire weekend for less than $15 at Holiday Inn just a few miles from the airport. The hotel provided a shuttle to my terminal. I made it through security and had a couple of hours to sit and rest before boarding the flight. It was a quick flight to Cleveland, I landed right at 4:30pm. My friend Kirsten picked me up at the gate and we went straight to packet pick up just a few miles away.

Friday evening Kirsten & I went to the Cleveland Marathon VIP reception hosted at the Hyatt Regency downtown. This was a great way to finish up my travel day. There was great food available, I had a few cuts of pork loin, pasta, and a salad. There were a few speeches given by race organizers and sponsors. The highlight of this event for me was getting to meet all of the other Cleveland Marathon bloggers. I have been reading their words and talking to them on Twitter for 6 months, it was great putting living bodies with the still images that have filled my iPhone screen since December.

Saturday morning I headed out to a local 5k. No, not to run. A friend from drum corps was running and I wanted to visit. I haven’t seen him since Summer 2010. After catching up for a few minutes I left to head back to the I-X center to visit the Health & Fitness Expo.

I wasn’t able to do much Friday other than grab my bib and leave so I wanted to check out the vendors and enter a few drawings. There are always a few raffle drawings for race entries & gift cards so I walked around and put my name in for several of them, picked up a t-shirt here, a drawstring bag there, looked at new products, and tried some old ones. I always enjoy visiting with small business run shops and companies striving to provide innovation to the activity. It was great seeing all of the support for Boston around the expo. Cleveland is truly running Boston Strong.

Leaving the expo I hurried quickly back to Kirsten’s house and her husband & I rolled into downtown Cleveland to watch the Indians take on the Seattle Mariners. I love when I can squeeze in a baseball game to a runcation. We had great seats to watch the game in left center field. The tribe won 5-4.

We had take out pasta at home for dinner. Nice chicken breasts and a rigatoni in meat sauce. Delicious pre race meal. It was early to bed to get ready for race day.

Sunday morning we were out of the house just before 5, only to quickly turn around to retrieve Kirsten’s bib from her staircase. We were out of the house by 5:15 and heading to our parking lot downtown by the Cleveland Browns stadium. All pre race activities were in and around the stadium. This was great! There were plenty of restrooms to use and everything was clearly labeled to get to gear check and starting corrals. There was even a concession stand open selling granola bars and coffee. I went through all my pre race ritualistic stretching & warm ups and took my place in my corral at the starting line.

The weather was perfect for race day, a little humid but very cool with a nice wind coming off of Lake Erie. That wind stayed with us the first 4 miles as we ran west down the Shoreway alongside the lake. I started with the 3:25 pace group and as the muscles got moving I pushed ahead of them by a few seconds. We took a couple hard left turns and zig zagged our way south east for a few miles. The chatter was unusually quiet for a race. There weren’t many people looking to talk, in the opening miles.

I felt great in the opening miles, I was very satisfied with my 10k split and as was my plan started to push the tempo just a little bit more. We crossed over a beautiful bridge at Mile 11 as we headed back into the downtown area and on to the half split off. As is usual this was when the day becomes very lonely. I’m always amazed at how quickly the race goes from shoulder to shoulder to no one else around. I felt great as I crossed the halfway timing mat. I knew I was putting up great numbers too when my I could hear my phone in my pocket buzzing with messages, tweets, and Facebook friends.

The next few miles spit us back out of town and off to the west. This was where things started to go wrong for me. At Mile 16 I started to feel significant pain in my ankle. I didn’t know what had caused it or where it came from. I made the decision as I was running down Chester Ave to take more walk breaks and shorten my stride. Just before mile 18 I watched my goal pass by as the 3:30 pace group zipped around me. I posted a message on Facebook that I was in pain and wasn’t going to meet my goal. My 30k (18.6 miles) split showed that I had decreased pace but was still moving and looking to finish.

The sun was really starting to shine and temperatures were rising fast. As I passed through mile 20 I started to suffer from intense muscle cramps in the bottom of my quads and the tops of my calves. At first I was having to walk after every half mile of running, then every quarter, ten barely that. It took everything I had to keep moving in the final 5k of the race. I had to take a walk break between mile marker 26 & the finish! I was so thankful to be done with the race. Any other day, any other race I would have been very happy about running a 4:06, but not this day. I was fighting off disappoint in my performance.

I was in immense pain, heart rate was high, and over heating. I crossed the finish line, staggered my way through the finish area and headed straight to the medical tent. They sat me down and have me pretzels and water to help stop the cramps and iced my knees to help ease the pain. Kirsten ran the half and she was there waiting on me as I left the medical tent and we found some shady grass to lay under for a while so I could really stretch and hydrate.

After taking a whole to stretch and relax I was up and moving because I had places to go and baseball to watch. Kirsten dropped me off at Progressive Field where I took great pleasure in reloading some burnt off calories from the morning and relaxing in right field where I watched the Indians shutout the Mariners 6-0. It was a beautiful day for baseball and a great way to wrap up my Cleveland Experience runcation.

Here are the final results.
Finish time – 4:06:13
Age Group – 97th
Gender – 597th
Overall – 779th

GoodGuys

Dumbo Double Dare Medals

Posted by joebraymond on May 8, 2013

Posted in: Uncategorized. Leave a Comment

After almost 6 months of anticipation runDisney released images on their blog today of the medal designs for Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend including the new Disneyland 10k & the Dumbo Double Dare. With how great the medal designs were for WDW Marathon Weekend I must saw I was a little disappointed.

The Disneyland Half Marathon “D” medal remained the same design as last year’s, I was really hoping for a lot of color in the 10k design though. The tea party theme is a great one, but I want color Disney! I was also hoping the dumbo design would be more like Goofy, focusing on Dumbo’s face and putting emphasis on the ears. It is clear to me that Disney’s 19.3 mile challenge bling is designed to be significantly less impressive than the 39.3 Goofy Challenge. But alas, it is what it is and I am no less excited to get to Los Angeles and pick up these 3 medals and the extra Coast to Coast medal.

The Taper

Posted by joebraymond on May 8, 2013

Posted in: Rite Aid 2013 Cleveland Marathon, Training. 1 comment

When you commit to living a healthier, more active lifestyle the hardest thing to do is to take time off and slow down. However, this is vital going in to race weekend. Gearing up for marathon #8 since January 2012 I’m no stranger to the taper. Different people do it for different amounts of time depending on their bodies, but most settle in to a 2 week taper ending with race day. These 2 weeks are generally low mileage, slower paced runs. Gone are the days of tempo runs & intervals & hill training. The goal for the next 9 days is to stay loose, stretch, keep up quality nutrition, and keep the legs well rested for Cleveland. I am shifting my training from 4 runs per week to 3 runs, none of which will be more than 5 miles. Most will be on the treadmill to help keep me honest and well paced.

The ultimate goal is to walk on to the starting line in Cleveland ready to run without feeling overworked. Week 1 ill cut total weekly mileage to about 60% of my normal training and week 2 will be at 20% total mileage.

Another added level of difficulty to the taper is nutrition. I’m burning significantly less calories than my body is used to. An increased appetite over the course of training turns into a constant state of unsatisfied hunger in the taper. I’m working to keep myself reminded that I won’t be running off that extra soft drink for another 10 days, where’s it going to go?

QOTW: What’s your plan when you taper?

Indy 500 Mini Marathon

Posted by joebraymond on May 5, 2013

Posted in: Races. Tagged: 13.1, half marathon, jonnies goodguys. Leave a Comment

A week or two ago I made the decision to travel to Indianapolis to meet up with Jonnie’s GoodGuys as they ran the Indy 500 Festival Mini Marathon. The Mini holds a special place in the history of the GoodGuys. It was the race that Jonnie & his wife were training for at the time of his passing and created the beginning of the group that has taken me in and provided support, friendship, encouragement, & made running about more than myself. Since Jonnie’s passing the GoodGuys have toed the line at the Mini year after year in celebration & remembrance. My plan had been to ride up and spend the race morning on the sidelines cheering for my friends. Unfortunately, one our team mates was injured a handful of weeks ago and was told by the doctor not to run. I was offered the bib to run in their place. This was after the transfer deadline set by the race, so if you a race director of any type reading this I apologize for breaking the rules I completely understand why I should not get a bib from a person and compete in the age 40-44 division. My plan going into the race was to pace a friend and turn back in the last mile or so to find other GoodGuys to run with.

On Thursday night I loaded up the car at around 9pm and drove north from Jackson to Grenada, woke up and hit the road the next morning at 5am to finish my very rainy drive to Memphis. In Memphis I met up with GoodGuy Otto and we started the 8 hour trek through Nashville & Louisville heading toward Indianapolis. We were thankful to finally escape the pathway of rain during the drive. We arrived in Indy Friday evening just in time for GoodGuys carb dinner. In a house full of runners we sat around catching up and discussing life since our time together at the Disney World Marathon, we also squeezed in a little bit of planning talk for the upcoming Dumbo Double Dare in September in California.

Saturday morning came early, as it always does on race morning. 6 of us loaded into the car and headed downtown for race meetup and start. We met up with a handful of other GoodGuys pre race for a picture and well wishes. This almost was immediately followed by a Half Fanatics meetup and picture.

I filed into Corral F and awaited the race start. I was touched by the moment of silence for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings. It was humbling as the field of over 30,000 runners froze to show respects for the entire running community. After this the corrals joined together singing the anthem of the past month around the country, Sweet Caroline. Since Boston it has become a sign of unity and was nothing less than that in Indianapolis. The weather was perfect for a run, low fifties with a little wind. The race began and I immediately started dodging & weaving my way through the crowd. Within the first mile I found GoodGuy Jeremy who wanted me to help pace him through the race so I stayed with him. We passed by GoodGuy Ed in the first few miles and wished him well as we continued on. I made a quick restroom stop inside of mile 3 and caught back up to Jeremy as we made our way out of the Downtown Indy area and headed towards the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. As a fan of auto racing I was very excited to run into the Speedway and along the track surface. Entering the track I stopped for a picture with a spectator who was in costume on an inflatable horse. No particular reason, she was in a group cheering and I like to make people smile.

Little be known this was the last time I would see Jeremy. We separated after my abrupt stop and were unable to find each other again. Running along the Speedway was a course highlight for me and I took in every moment of it. I talked with a handful of runners nearby passing the time of the few miles inside the track. As I ran down the straightaways I thought about the dozens of races I have watched on tv that took place on the asphalt underneath my feet. I had no choice and had to stop on the start/finish line to take a picture on the brick line.

After leaving the track I was without anyone that I knew and approaching mile 8. I ran the next few miles at a steady pace, just pushing forward taking in a few sights around me. I really enjoyed the themed water stations here, one group fully embracing “May the 4th be with you” and dressed in full Star Wars regalia. I crossed the 11 mile line at 1:23:23 and as I always do immediately started to do math. I set my half marathon PR of 1:38:21 in February 2012 in the Mercedes Half Marathon somehow I managed to end up a situation where I could make a push at that time if I really worked through the last 2 miles. I started pushing, glanced at my watch and saw 6:30 min/mile pace and kept pushing, blocking out everything around me and focusing on my stride, form, and breathing cadence. I didn’t notice when I passed by a GoodGuy who was cheering on the side by mile 12, later she told me I had my “serious face” on. I came through Victory Mile and spotted the finish line as my watch ticked on. One final exertion of energy and I crossed the line in what I believed to be enough time to reach my impromptu goal. After collecting the finisher medal and a banana I found the results table to check an official time and here is what I was given.

It’s unfortunate that this time will never be officially associated with my name, that’s what I get for breaking the rules, but I was happy with the result of scoring a new fastest race time in the half marathon. One day soon I have to find a half that doesn’t edge up against another bigger race and try to really blow the clock out of the water. The medal is nice and the support/entertainment along the course was great. In light of recent events I was surprised at how safe I felt in an event of 30,000+ runners. There were military personnel everywhere along the start & finish areas. A big thank you to all race organizers for creating that safe, fun atmosphere that the running community expects.

Post race we showered ate a little recovery meal and I grabbed a quick nap. Then we all headed back downtown for a post race GoodGuys dinner at Ralston’s Draft House. A few drinks and a great meal with friends were the perfect way to wrap up the day.

Many thanks to Jonnie’s GoodGuys for another weekend of sore quads and great memories.

For more on the GoodGuys be sure to check out my post “Who are GoodGuys” from January.

18 days & Counting

Posted by joebraymond on April 30, 2013

Posted in: Rite Aid 2013 Cleveland Marathon, Training, Uncategorized. Leave a Comment

Training this weekend almost saw a capsize. I went out for my 20 mile training run and only made it through 6 miles. I felt over dehydrated and hot. Getting off to a late morning start start was not helping the fact that I did not have enough water in my system from the day before. Poor preparation creates poor performance. So I drop back and look ahead at what’s next and what I can do to max out the little amount of time left between now and the Cleveland Marathon. Race weekend is only 18 days away! Just enough time to focus in my cross training and take some pressure off the legs, reduce my total weekly mileage, start to put extra emphasis on my nutrition.

This weekend I’ll be in Indianapolis for the Indy Mini Marathon. A nice half marathon weekend spent with Jonnie’s GoodGuys. If you don’t know about the GoodGuys here is a link to a post I wrote shortly after the Disney World Marathon. They are a great group of friends all working towards promoting heart health.

Training will be thin for the next 18 days, I want my legs to be as fresh as possible for race weekend. Geared up to set a new PR!

Thoughts on Boston Marathon

Posted by joebraymond on April 16, 2013

Posted in: Uncategorized. 4 comments

One of the elite runners that I look up to is Shalane Flanagan. She took an Olympic Bronze medal in the 10k in 2008 and was the highest finishing woman in the 2012 Olympic Marathon in London. She is inspiration to many around the country and the world. I had the opportunity to meet Shalane at the Marine Corps Marathon Expo.

I spent all of yesterday morning constantly checking updates on Runners World and the B.A.A. iPhone app following Shalane’s progress. I was on the edge of my work seat between classes as the lead pack crossed mile 22 and Shalane was pushing in to the finish line. I was estastic to see her finish fourth overall and the highest finishing American female with a time of 2:27:08, just 33 seconds behind the winner. Her drive and preserverance keep me motivated to push myself to be better everytime I lace up.

Following the finish of the elite athletes I quit following updates. The bulk of the field had started their race. Qualifiers and charity runners had started their journey from Hopkinton to Boston, as a non participant it was just another race happening elsewhere in the country. Then the unthinkable happened and my phone started buzzing. The first text message I recieved during my last class of the day read “Did you hear about the explosion at the marthon?” I wrapped up class and headed to my computer to check out the B.A.A. website and began to see the reports rolling in of the attack.

Immediately I hit twitter and Facebook to check on those members of Team #runDisney and Marathon Maniacs that were running. All accounted for. Details started to come in and flood my Twitter feed and many questions and concerns began to flood the hearts and minds of the country. Why would someone do this? What hate exists that would drive this action?

I have been at the finish line of 7 marathons in the last 15 months. Every one of them have been filled with people, spectators, family, and friends cheering and supporting me. I don’t know who they were, they were strangers to me. They were cheering of my accomplishments and I have always felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. 26.2 miles is an incredible feat no matter how you look at it. The thought that this could happen at any race at any point is a scary one. I have run some of the big races. I’ve towed the start line with tens of thousands of strangers all united in trust and running.

Thank you for all of the messages asking if I was in Boston yesterday. The compassion & concern of my friends and family is truly humbling.

The most asked question I received yesterday in the aftermath of the tragedy was “Are you still going to try to qualify?” You bet I am. Now more than ever I want to toe the line in Hopkinton. Now more than bet I want to cross the finish line on Bolston St. and celebrate the resiliency of the spirit of the marathon. Boston has been a goal, an ambition, a drive. It will continue to be those things and much more for the running community. My thoughts and prayers are with the families, the runners, the city, & Dave McGillivray. I am overly thankful for all the emergency personnel on course at each race. I always try to thank them as I run by, regardless of how I’m feeling.

Boston is on my mind.

I will keep running.

Boston Marathon

Posted by joebraymond on April 15, 2013

Posted in: Uncategorized. Leave a Comment

Prayers go out to all effected by the tragedy at the Boston Marathon today. The running community is a tough crowd to push around.

Georgia Marathon Weekend Recap

Posted by joebraymond on April 14, 2013

Posted in: Races. 1 comment

Saturday morning came early as most of my running friends were making their way to downtown Jackson for the St. Patty’s 5k I loaded the car and started my 7 hour drive to Atlanta for the 2013 Publix Georgia Marathon. Getting intow town was quick and painless, only a little St. Patty’s day traffic in the way between the interstate and the World Congress Center for the expo. Publix, the main race sponsor, put up a supermarket facade leading into the expo and a mini sotre setup as you enter. The expo was packed with vendors and races. mostly the same as any other race through, a selection of shoes, goos, and apparel. I did find a new product that I purchased and used called the Roo Pouch. this is a magnetic pouch that clips to the waistband of your shorts so you can carry extra food or gels without having to wear a full race belt. I’ll have a full review soo but the bottom line is that I loved the idea. Fast, smooth packet pickup, great looking race shirt, and a great expo. 5 stars for the expo!

After leaving the expo we left the downtown area to a dinner meet up with Further Faster Forever, an online running and fitness community, at a local restaraunt called Figo Pasta. it wasd a great dinner, great food, and dincredible athletes all preparing for either the half or full marathon the next morning.

Race day started great. We made it downtown and to the parking garage at the Phillips arena where we had arranged a free parking pass without any traffic or time issues. A quick walk just a few blocks away and we were in the starting festival area. The first thing on the agenda was a 6:15 meet up with a handful of members from team #runDisney. We all met in front of the World of Coca Cola, chatted a little, took a quick picture, and wished each other a magical race.

Up next was 6:30 meetup with the Marathon Maniacs. this was my first race since joining the Asylum and had a great time meeting with fellow Maniacs. After a few pictures and well wishes we made our way to the starting corrals and awaited the start.

The race started downtown on Marietta Street next to the CNN center. one thing I really enjoyed about this course were the several college campuses we ran through, the first of which was Georgia State university. it was still dark in the first few miles so it was hard to appreciate the landmarks we passed by such as Martin Luther King Jr.’s childhood home and several Victorian houses around Inman Park. The race was a little more crowded at the beginning than I would have liked in the opening, but I was enjoying the comments on my costume.

The crowd thinned along the streets quickly after mile 7 when the half marathon course split and suddenly I was on the road with a much smaller crowd as the sun began to rise in front of me. We ran through Agnes Scott College and through Decatur. As I passed the 13.1 mark I noticed 2 things. The first was how good I still felt despite all of the hills along the course. The second was that I noticed the clock, 1:54:48. That was not only on pace for a PR, but a shattering PR and on a difficult course to boot. It was decision time, i was caught off guard and wasn’t planning on that pace but decided i was going to work for the next 13.1 miles. The focus came off of the costume and was reset to keeping pace.

I hit mile 22 at 3:12:23, still on pace for a 3:50:00 finish with just four miles to go. kAs i passed through the Georgia Tech campus and in to the final 5k i felt the breakdown (and quite possibly the beer from mile 9) starting to slow me down and the final miles became brutual. As I entered back in to the downtown area I was struggling to maintain a run. I was battling the wall and doing my best to push through to the finish line. As I came around the final turn and the announcer said my name I watched the clock tick by as I crossed underneath. I conquered my most challenging course to date and finished with a 5 minute PR!

3:56:41

Overall, this was a great course (despite the hills). The crowd support along the course was incredible from beginning to end. I love that the finisher’s medal had the St. Patrick’s Day reference. The Publix team did great work putting together a fantastic race.

Official Results:

Finish time – 3:56:41

Overall – 426/1834

Men – 342/1182

Division – 30/118

Under 40

Posted by joebraymond on April 9, 2013

Posted in: Rite Aid 2013 Cleveland Marathon, Training. 3 comments

The countdown is on until the 2013 Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon. With just 39 days left until race day I am focused and goal orientated kicking off the month of April. I have 40 days of eating right. 40 days of not skipping a run. 40 days of not missing cross training. 40 days of pushing through every mile at the desired pace. I feel fully recovered from last months Publix Georgia Marathon and am pushing forward to attempt Cleveland in under 3:30:00. Last week’s training schedule looked like this.

Tuesday night was a 60 minute, 7 mile run along the Natchez Trace with the Fleet Feet Pace Group. Wednesday night I worked late and ended up on the treadmill at my gym for 6.5 miles in just over an hour’s time. (treadmill running is always much slower for me than outside running) Thursday and Friday were both rest days as I was travelling to Atlanta, GA on a field trip with my students for a performance and an Atlanta Braves game. (Go Braves!) Saturday morning was an early morning treadmill run at the hotel in Atlanta. I logged 3 miles in just over 30 minutes.

Sunday was my race pace long run. 15 miles was my goal when I started the run but decided midrun to bump it up to 16. I ran along Ross Barnett Resevoir and took little time to rest for water. I wrapped up the 16 miler in 2:01:36. I was shooting for 2 hours, but a few hills slowed me down in the last mile or so.

Now I look ahead to this week. Tonight I have a 60 minute run with Fleet Feet pacing the 12:00 min/mile group. So I should get 5 miles in. Tomorrow is the April Poker Run at Fleet Feet sports. Thursday will be a recovery jog, 30-45 minutes at a 9:30-10:00 min/mile pace. Friday is a rest day. Saturday I am debating taking part in an 8k in the Mississippi Delta (but I havent made up my mind on this yet). Sunday will be another long run but at less than race pace. 18 miles are on the schedule and shooting for a time goal of 2:30:00, which should average at around an 8:30 min/mile pace.

In other world news I have finally recieved my pictures from Marathonfoto taken in Georgia so look for that review to be posted in the next day or two. I am also incorporating a new cross training, strength building regiment into my training program. Last week I lifted 5 days in addition to running my training miles. Stronger runner = Faster runner.

Moving Right Along

Posted by joebraymond on March 18, 2013

Posted in: Rite Aid 2013 Cleveland Marathon, Training. Leave a Comment

I apologize for not getting a post in last week, Spring Break had me out and about catching up on some running and golfing. I am very excited and sore today as I write this post though. Last week’s training was very minimal and was part of my taper plan as I prepared for Sunday’s Georgia Marathon. Monday was a rest day, as usual. However, I did manage to find some time for 18 holes of golf on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Tuesday I ran with the Fleet Feet Pace Group. We had a scheduled 60 minute run. As the pacer for the 11:30/mile group I was able to squeeze in just over 5 and a quarter miles. Wednesday was a nice fun running atmosphere at Fleet Feet as they held their first Poker Run of the spring. This is a free 3 mile out and back run where there is no prize for the fastest runner and creates a no pressure even playing field for all participants. Along the pathway runners pass dealers and collect five cards, as you return to the store your hand is matched against the winning requirements and the best hand wins a prize. This week the winner was the best hand that had 9s or 10s. The advantage of running a little faster though is that for a very brief moment of time you can have the winning hand, regardless of how bad of a poker player you really are. I finished up these 3 miles in 22 minutes.

Thursday was a golf day, Friday was rest, and Saturday was travel to Atlanta. I had in my mind to use the Georgia Marathon as a checkpoint race. With 2 months to go before the Cleveland Marathon I wanted to see where in my training I was at as I push for a 3:30:00 finish in May. Atlanta is full of hills, I knew this in the summer when I ran the Hands Around the Hill 5k, but I am never one to pass up the opportunity to scratch off another state from my list and take on a nice challenge. I dressed accordingly for the St. Patrick’s Day race, this is only worth mentioning because of the numerous comments I was given during the race by runners and spectators, and towed the starting line in downtown Atlanta.

I pushed through the bulk of the race and was on a great finishing pace. Unfortunately, I felt myself butting up against the wall in the final 2.5 miles and fell off pace. All of that being said I am happy to report that my official finish time was 3:56:41! Not only is this a new PR by minutes it is also my first sub-4 hour marathon! (and a nice looking medal to make it even better). Average pace of 9:02/mile.

Now I look ahead to Cleveland in May. I am very pleased with my effort yesterday in Atlanta and think that on a course that is not so overly crowded with steep spiking hills that I can shave 10-12 minutes off of that finish time with the same level of work. So I still need to step up training and push through until May 19. This week is a lot of recovery time and slow paced runs to help with muscle soreness and tightness from the marathon. Here’s the plan:

Monday – Rest, Rest, Rest

Tuesday – 30 minute Recovery Jog (9:24-10:06/mi pace)

Wednesday – 40 minute Easy Run (8:15-9:18/mi pace)

Thursday – 30 minute Recovery Jog (9:24-10:06/mi pace)

Friday – Rest

Saturday – 60 minute Long Run (8:21-9:38/mi pace)

Sunday – 30 minute Recovery Jog (9:24-10:06/mi pace)

Look for a full recap of the Georgia Marathon weekend later this week on my blog. Speed work and interval training resumes next week! Ready for the final push over the next 2 months!

QOTW: How do you celebrate a PR?