so last i wrote, almost 6 months ago, i was training for the pittsburgh half marathon and hoping to break 1:40. my race weekend preparation wasn't the best (primanti brothers for dinner and the bucco's game for entertainment) and at the start line i felt i was still carrying some of that turkey and cheese sandwich. the one time i saw a set of porta-johns around mile 6 i strongly debated whether i should stop and relieve myself. while i would have felt much better, i would have lost a ton of time and not been anywhere close to my goal. as it turned out, i finished in 1:41:28 (that's 7:45 / mile pace) and got to see jen and dave twice cheering me on as well as chris and erin in the south side! it was great to run in my hometown city and if i didn't want to run a half in every state, then i'd consider running pittsburgh again.
so this year's fall marathon will be the hampton rockfest sponsored by smuttynose brewing co. in hampton beach, nh. the race is two and a half weeks away, and i think my longest run (and i won't even call it a training run) was 8.1 miles back on july 31st! i've been logging mostly 5 mile runs, but this weekend i'll definitely be doing a 7 miler, along w/ a 3 miler and a 2 miler - all in the same 24 hour period. jen and i were lucky enough to grab two open spots on a relay team that's running the reach the beach relay that takes place in nh. i actually don't think the running will be the toughest challenge. i'm betting that it's all the logistics and situations that occur as part of a 12 person 200 mile 1 day relay!
i've actually wasted away a beautiful boston day. maybe one of the last nice days of the year until may peaks it head out from the 4 feet of snow that boston is sure to see this winter. most of the day has been spent in doors, searching for jobs, though i have been able to get out to move my car from parking spot to parking spot. it's been weighing on me heavily - the fact that i haven't been taking advantage of my time off, and this gorgeous day especially. but, i'm also waiting on a pair of new asics trainers to be delivered by ups (who i did see a job posting for, but didn't apply - it was for a driver!). hopefully my increase to a size 10 gives my foot a little more room as my 9.5's have been tight, and i can get out for a run this evening w/ jen and a couple of others on our relay team.
maybe this relay is what i need to get me started blogging a bit more. and perhaps i'll tweak the content as well, though my blog's name is "runstrong." i'm sure hearing that my last four holes were bogey, bogey, par, birdie wouldn't interest you as much as it would me.
Showing posts with label pittsburgh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pittsburgh. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Friday, December 26, 2008
burgh
it's been over a week since my last run, and even longer for a real run, i finally made it out this afternoon. i'm back in pittsburgh for christmas for a week to celebrate w/ family and friends. but due to the proximity of my gym from my brother's place where i'm staying, as well as the freezing temps and social obligations, [and insert a good excuse] i haven't logged any miles. although my bro and i did walk around for some errands on christmas eve, but nothing worth blogging about.
so i figured i'd take advantage of the nice late-december pittsburgh weather by running a few k. i threw out the suggestion of trail running, as i wanted to stay in the sun, so we mapped out a route on mapmyrun.com that was a good mix of a residential and urban sights. the sun was actually shinning (shockingly, since it's been reported that there are 59 of such days per year here), and equipped w/ my polar hrm (sans footpod to measure any type of distance or pace) and oakley’s i headed out for what i thought would be a little more than a 5k. after 10 minutes or so i was on 5th avenue in oakland and could have hit my halfway point to start heading back at st. paul's cathedral (where my family went to christmas morning mass). but i was feeling good. and it was a beautiful day. and i needed to experience a more urban feel. so i continued down fifth past the university of pittsburgh's campus and made my turn to go by pitt again and headed up to carnegie mellon university. i haven't gone by these universities in anything but a car for years, but running by them and seeing the details of the surroundings reminded me of years ago when these universities were clients of ours and i worked there.
around cmu the flatness of pittsburgh ran out and i was i heading up a small incline. it leveled out, but my bigger concern was that now i was on my own and off the familiar path. but i have driven around this area a lot 3 years ago, so as the oncoming traffic was halted by a green arrow the way i was going, i jetted across the street onto beeler st. i've driven this road a bunch, and remembered it being really short. so after a few minutes of running on it, i came to the a good right in the street and after making the turn could see the end of the street was much further than i had remembered. oops. this is where the hill training started - the left onto fair oaks street was fun, as well as the left onto s. negley, but even better was when i crested the hill and started the decent. i swear that my first thought was "this is as steep, and as long, as a ski run!" most importantly i took caution on the sidewalk so i didn't end up tripping on a crack or slipping on some loose stones and doing a 'header'. thankfully i didn't and shortly after i was back near my brother's and cooling down.
while some people are lucky enough to have a hot tub at home and can just jump in for their post-run recovery, mine is the stick! i'm just glad i was smart enough to use it!
so i figured i'd take advantage of the nice late-december pittsburgh weather by running a few k. i threw out the suggestion of trail running, as i wanted to stay in the sun, so we mapped out a route on mapmyrun.com that was a good mix of a residential and urban sights. the sun was actually shinning (shockingly, since it's been reported that there are 59 of such days per year here), and equipped w/ my polar hrm (sans footpod to measure any type of distance or pace) and oakley’s i headed out for what i thought would be a little more than a 5k. after 10 minutes or so i was on 5th avenue in oakland and could have hit my halfway point to start heading back at st. paul's cathedral (where my family went to christmas morning mass). but i was feeling good. and it was a beautiful day. and i needed to experience a more urban feel. so i continued down fifth past the university of pittsburgh's campus and made my turn to go by pitt again and headed up to carnegie mellon university. i haven't gone by these universities in anything but a car for years, but running by them and seeing the details of the surroundings reminded me of years ago when these universities were clients of ours and i worked there.
around cmu the flatness of pittsburgh ran out and i was i heading up a small incline. it leveled out, but my bigger concern was that now i was on my own and off the familiar path. but i have driven around this area a lot 3 years ago, so as the oncoming traffic was halted by a green arrow the way i was going, i jetted across the street onto beeler st. i've driven this road a bunch, and remembered it being really short. so after a few minutes of running on it, i came to the a good right in the street and after making the turn could see the end of the street was much further than i had remembered. oops. this is where the hill training started - the left onto fair oaks street was fun, as well as the left onto s. negley, but even better was when i crested the hill and started the decent. i swear that my first thought was "this is as steep, and as long, as a ski run!" most importantly i took caution on the sidewalk so i didn't end up tripping on a crack or slipping on some loose stones and doing a 'header'. thankfully i didn't and shortly after i was back near my brother's and cooling down.
while some people are lucky enough to have a hot tub at home and can just jump in for their post-run recovery, mine is the stick! i'm just glad i was smart enough to use it!
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