Test the Waters

I'm signed up for the 3000 at the January 6th Cornell meet. What are the chances you guys (Gordon, more likely) would be up for a race there?

Training

So, I am putting sub-1:50 out there as a goal, but not necessarily the goal. At this stage, I want to see what I am still capable of. That being said I have certainly had that number on my mind for a long time, and I can empathize with Steve(Sam)'s sub-15 blog (in fact, I think about it every time I open that website).

As for the video from the Nittany Half, I will be posting that after finals week has ended (this week) when I can load the video and figure out how to edit it/post it.

So, I won't go into great detail about the past few months. My first month I was consistent in running 60 minutes every day and 90 minutes on Sundays, but I had to scale that back after I started doing workouts because I was getting really bad tightness in my knees. I put a post on Letsrun to see if there was anyone to workout with here, and I got a response from the PSU Track Club and recent PSU graduate Ryan Foster. I ended up not having the time slot for the track club available, but I have run a few long runs with Foster, which has worked out much more to my advantage since I am much slower/older and less driven than him (he's in the process of qualifying for the Australian Olympic team).

Anyway, so skip ahead a few months of workouts. After trying to think of things to do to make myself fast I went ahead and got Will Seidel to put together a workout calendar for me, and thus far, things to seem to be going smoothly.

Last week:

S: 90 minutes

M: 60 Minutes

T: 45 minutes + 10 short hill sprints

W: 2 x 8 x 200 (36/35 for the first set and 34 for the second set) with 100 meter jog in between and 4 minutes between sets) --> The first set should have been faster but I had to run it on an outdoor track in the snow and the track got pretty slippery. So, I went based on effort.

R: 60 minutes

F: 45 minutes

S: 600 meter TT - 1:26 (200 splits: 28, 28, 30) again solo on outdoor track with some wind - I think I could have gone faster if but for the wind, but I'm happy with the time.

So, that's last week. As for things to look forward to, right now it looks like I'll either be running at Bucknell on January 7 or at Cornell on January 5. Either way, I'll be running a 500/3000 double.

le Trois - Sam

About a week ago Ross and I ran the Nittany Valley Half as a tuneup. For Ross, this would be a tuneup for the Boston marathon this coming April, and for me, this would be a tempo run of sorts as I train for some kind of track season this spring.

I am no longer a teacher, and this means that I have a lot more time on my hands. I would say that I am still busy, but my time is not as structured as it was, and I am nowhere near the level of busy-ness that I kept while I was living in NYC. Over the summer I ran a bit (40-50 mile weeks), but I wasn't sure what I was training for. Sometime around August I started thinking about running another marathon or trying something new like a triathlon or tough mudder. So, I got in touch with Ross and Sam, but, unbeknownst to me, Ross and Sam had both decided to take advantage of their Boston qualifying times and race another marathon this April (as they, admittedly, should).

I am sad to say that I was disappointed to hear this. I should have been happy for my friends, but, owing to the fact that I flamed out at the Pittsburgh marathon like a communist rocket, I would not be racing in Boston alongside them. So, come April, I will head up to Boston to watch, but not to run. Maybe another year.

Now, I had a decision to make - what was I going to be training for. I suddenly had time to train, but I wasn't sure what the goal should be. I had always said that I wanted to run sub 1:50 for the 800, but I had not done so in college. So, I decided that I'd see what I could do on the track as a 27-28 year old, and that's the plan right now.

Anyway, this is a long explanation of why I was calling the Nittany Valley Half a tempo while Ross was tuning up for Boston. We were both hoping to improve on our times from last March's Race For Life Half where Ross ran (I think) 1:25 flat and I ran about 1:26:30. We were both hoping for about 1:22.

We ended up with Ross at 1:23:22 and myself at 1:25:00 placing 18th and 28th respectively. I think our initial reaction was to feel disappointed, but, after having given it some thought, it was a pretty good showing. The course was very hilly, there were few stretches that were not on some sort of incline/decline, and the inclines and declines were very steep.

Ross and I got through the first 2-3 miles in 6:30 pace before we began dropping it down to 6:15ish. We had heard that the there was a big downhill around mile 8 and that the last 1.5 miles of the course were all uphill. Our plan was to use the big downhill to relax and save up for the last 1.5 miles, but the downhill (which seemed like it was 1.5 miles straight downhill, like we were descending into the Earth) ended up being more taxing than we anticipated. The next hill at around mile 9.5 was straight up for about 400 meters, and I had to say goodbye to Ross or risk not finishing. So, I slowed. From there the rest of the run was all about maintaining dignity while trying to catch my breath. I was by myself - there was no one else behind me or ahead of me, and I think this aided in me slowing down because there was little to gauge myself on. The last uphill was horrendous, but satisfying when I finished.

I think my effort on a flat course would have been worth about 1:23:30, and I'll bet Ross's would have been 1:22. The last 3 miles of the course made all the difference.

Chances Slim

Episode 1 is now up on the sub-15 blog. I'd like to take a moment to reflect upon how mutually exclusive my current running goals are. As if running a fast Boston or breaking 15 minutes (when I could never do it before) weren't hard enough, I'm dumb enough to try to do them in the same year. Goal number three, therefore, has to be not getting a femoral stress fracture. Enjoy.

Back From Vice City

Apologies for the lack of new blog posts. I've been away at a conference in New Orleans, and as a result, my running and blog posting have suffered.


By day, I drank coffee and was stuck in a suit for 12 hours at a time. By night, I was a hell cat, and considering our locale, this took its toll. New Orleans is basically one loud tranny bar filled with cigarette smoke. I didn't mind the fact that there are video poker machines at gas stations, but I did object to the fact that from Thursday to Tuesday, I had one long mild headache. This was the result of copious amounts of coffee and alcohol with little water in between and little sleep to boot. No one to blame but myself.

Running-wise, I guess I finished "Week 1" around what I wanted with a mid-40's performance. This week will be far worse than expected, though, as I haven't run since Saturday.

Thanks to Steve for posting the Sub-15 blog. I'm not sure when that little experiment will start, though I'm sure it will be very painful and fun to watch.

The Quest for Sub-15:00

So the blog idea that Sam alluded to earlier is a quest to break 15:00 for 5k. Each week he and I will complete one workout here in Syracuse. The catch is that the workout will be created by blog readers and can be comprised of just about any sort of repeats imaginable. We will keep a video record of our training and rate each workout when we are finished. Here is the link to where these videos will be cataloged: http://sub15minutes.blogspot.com/
If you have a good workout idea feel free to post it in the comments section after you watch the pilot episode.

A Word on the Second Coming

This is mostly a housekeeping post. I thought it would be useful to get some logistical things out of the way as we prepare for the (re)launch of Marathon à Trois.

First of all, it should be clear to everyone that the format has changed dramatically. You'll now be able to access links under the banner (e.g. "About", "Log", etc.), which is something you couldn't do before. I think there is a way to create a subpage within Blogger without creating a post, but I haven't figured out how to do it (hence the posts entitled "About" and "Log"). If one of you guys stumbles upon the solution, let me know. Hopefully you all agree that the color scheme is a lot cheerier. All in all, I think we're in a better place with the new layout.

Second, I wanted to tell you how the running log feature will work. I created a form using Googledocs, so now instead of posting a weekly recap, you can just go to the log and fill out your mileage. You can even do this a couple of times per week if you want. Just make sure you don't double up on reporting different days. Everything you input goes to a big spreadsheet, which I can share with you if you want. From that spreadsheet, it will be super easy to create graphs and shit. Cheeah. Welcome to 2011.

Third, Steve proposed an idea on the run today, which I thought was excellent. I'm thinking we'll devote a link to it so that we can track its evolution from now until summer. I'll let Steve describe it in his own post, though.

Finally, I just wanted to extend a warm welcome to le trois neveux: Oliver, Steve, and Will. Make us proud.

About Marathon à Trois

Gordon, Ross, and Sam were all middle-distance runners on the track and field team at Cornell University. As is the case with many collegiate athletes, their lives devolved into the petty swill of the prosaic American dream after graduation.

In late 2010, these three -- better known as "le trois" -- developed the zany idea of running the Pittsburgh Marathon in order to salvage some of their former glory. This blog, which derives its namesake from a friend's food blog, followed suit as a chronicle of their successes and failures along the way.

Pittsburgh was a painful experience, but everyone made it to the finish line. Sam and Ross got Boston qualifiers and have set their sights on the ballyhooed April race. Gordon cramped up early on (we're talking like mile 4) and missed the standard, but he's gearing up for another go in the spring--possibly with swimming and biking attached.

The paltry blog readership has also been reduced by 20% for this go-round, as Oliver, Steve, and Will have been tapped as honorary authors for launch part deux. They have disparate goals on the roads but one shared vision for blogging greatness.

So with that, thanks for coming. Lord knows what's in store for the new-found six-some as we trudge on to Boston and beyond.

Running Log

Status Post-Pittsburgh

The Fickleness of a Long-Distance Runner

By now, dear readers, you may have heard the news. Ross has (understandably) bowed out of the early winter 2012 marathon agenda to focus on school and not going bankrupt. These seem like good reasons.

As for the marathoning, that leaves me and Gordon going a deux, which is fine, if not a little sad. The good news is that Oliver has expressed an interest in running Disney. Just like that, one friend is swapped for another. How fickle.

Now, I know what you're saying. Sam, every time you bring up that big fat bag of shit getting back in shape, it's like watching Lucy pluck the football away from Charlie Brown's earnestly swung leg. Yeah, yeah. But this time it's different, you see. This time, Dear Uncle Walt is involved, and we all know that Oliver can't say no to him. Sure, the question still remains as to whether it's Oliver or myself living in the Land of Make-Believe, but we'll know soon enough--once we get something nailed down with registration.

Disney is probably somewhere in the low double digits when it comes my ranked preferences among the early winter marathons. But, hey, who am I to complain if Gordon took the time to Google a JPEG of Mickey Mouse and post it on the blog? I am game for anything as long as I can complete my dream of dominating the Made-Up Upstate Mile Series (Wilber-Duck, Ithaca Festival, Charlie McMullen, East End) in 2012. Running Disney in January gives me time to do that, so game on.

Caroline White; Runner in the Boston Marathon

Caroline White, a LT in the United States Air Force, ran the Boston Marathon in April in a big PR of 2:37:32. This is a 8 minute PR over her old marathon best of 2:45. This also qualifies her to compete in the Olympic Trials under the A standard. She will be training between now and next January with high mileage, lots of track work, and race at shorter distances in attempts to see another PR in Houston.

Her story is found here: http://csmng.com/2009/08/20/discovery-of-running-talent-a-pleasant-surprise-for-air-force-lieutenant/

The Disney Proposal

While we hash out the details surrounding the next marathon, I'd like to throw a few considerations out there regarding Disney. Some are pro and some are con.

#1 - I have not been to a Disney resort since I was one year old and got stung by a colony of red ants.

#2 - The last time I had the opportunity to go to Disney was in California when Oliver, Gordon, and Mongeon went. I opted instead to take a nap and pocket what was left of my meal money. I ended up investing that money in Netflix stock, which eventually paid for the down payment on my house. Was it a good decision? The jury is still out. They did seem to have a lot of fun.

#3 - By my cursory count, Disney is 22 weeks from Gordon's wedding. This actually seems to be a pretty good time frame since I don't want to think about marathon training before then, but I want to make sure that it works for the soon-to-be Honeymooners. Natalie and I ran most days on our Honeymoon if I remember right, but I can't really remember the runs. It'll probably be harder if Molly insists on you feeding her grapes all day.

#4 - The race starts at 5:40 am on a Sunday. Do we go down on Thursday, get a park park-hopper pass on Friday, and then chill out Saturday/hit the less physically demanding stuff? Will it be crazy busy if we do it this way? One backdoor option to consider would be to go down on a Saturday, relax, race Sunday, and then hit the rides early in the week. The obvious problem with this plan is our physical condition. I'm pretty sure I will cramp up if I have to make any sort of muscle contraction post-race. History tends to repeat itself.

#5 -Cost for a base pass (one park) is $80, and a park-hopper pass is $133. The race costs $135. When you add lodging, airfare, and food, we're probably looking at $750 pp easy. I'm thinking Disney will be about twice what any other East Coast marathon might cost, but this is just a guess.

#6 - Would a Disney trip lure anyone else into coming over other winter marathons?

#7 - Disney's course looks really challenging. http://as1.wdpromedia.com/media/ewwos/pdf/rundisney/2012WDWMarathonMap.pdf

#8 - #7 was a joke. Here's the real elevation profile: http://www.marathonguide.com/coursemaps/elevationchart.cfm?MIDD=481100110

The Long Awaited Pittsburgh Video

Thanks also to Natalie, Carrie, and Team Gehrke for filming and comedic commentary. I had you in the credits the first go-round but left you out accidentally in the second edition.

Enjoy.

Marathon Vacuum

I still want to write a full follow-up similar to Ross's, but this post is just going to deal with the direction of the blog now that we're in the post-race emptiness.

Before I say anything else I'm going to make a plug: January 8, 2012 Disney World Marathon

I was really excited to run a marathon for the same reasons that Ross listed: get to see my friends, gives me a reason to go out and train (not just jogging), gave us two reasons to get together (the half and the full marathon), satisfaction with the fact that I'm not dead and I can still carry myself a reasonable distance on my feet, and, of course, the blog.

With the exception of the blog, these were the reasons that I asked Sam and Ross to run another marathon. That and the fact that I really enjoyed running the NYC marathon. I would not say it was about racing, beating other people, or even getting a good time (which ended up not applying to me anyway). For me, it was about running with friends, which was my favorite part of being on a college team in the first place.

I do still enjoy competition, but I'm not compelled to compete the way that I did when I was in college. I'm also apt to throw in the towel when the going gets rough because I feel like I've already proved my point competition-wise. Post collegiate racing feels like an attempt to recapture something rather than discovering something new.

With all of that said, I would like to put out the idea of doing some joint 5ks, 5-milers, 10-milers, and the like. I'm all for completing another marathon a year or so from now, but I think this would be lower pressure with less pain and less hiccups to training (or less need to train up for them). I've been running these with Mongeon in NYC, but I'll soon be all moved out and I'll have a car and a functioning license in Pennsylvania.

This would also allow for many more meetups. We could even cycle. One in Pittsburgh, one in State College, and one in Syracuse. Smaller races would also mean no reason to take days off (unless we wanted to). Also, with smaller races there's always the off chance that one of us could actually win.

Anyway, I've been trying to pick a good 5 miler in Pittsburgh in either August or September, but I would be open to others if you know of any.

What do you think?

Where We Go From Here

I've basically taken a week off from running and from blogging; it's been a nice week. I think I've logged less than two miles since the race and I feel great.

A few months back, I had initially kicked around the idea of running a local road mile last Friday. I thought that despite running a marathon, if I didn't run a step all week, I might be recovered in time to turn in something in the ballpark of 4:30. The early post-marathon signs--extreme stiffness followed by extreme soreness lasting well into the week--were not promising, although by Thursday afternoon, I was feeling good enough to try jogging up a hill on campus to get to a seminar. The result of this little experiment was a deep pain in my calves that couldn't really be described as a cramp. If I were to throw out a medical term, I'd probably say that "claudication" describes it best. This phenomenon is experienced when blood supply to a particular area of tissue is no longer present.

Natalie and I went to the race on Friday, nonetheless, because, by this time, I had convinced Natalie that she could win the race (and the $100 prize money) pretty easily. I warmed up with her for about a mile, and this put the nail in the coffin of any cockamamie ideas ff running the race I might have been cooking up on the drive over to Oneida. Natalie did indeed pull out the victory, although she wasn't too pleased with her time. On the bright side, she's got no where to go but up this summer, and she seems pretty motivated. As a bonus, we met a guy who offered us free registration to Biolermaker (which I didn't realize is already closed :( ).

So other than missing the mile, I have to say I've really, really enjoyed not running this week. My initial rah-rah attitude about getting back on the training saddle has taken on a more tempered perspective. I still want to do it, but I'm at least cognizant of how much I like being lazy.

With this in mind, I thought Ro$$'s post on the race and his relationship with running was well done. I completely get it. For me, the idea of giving up competitive running is certainly not something new. I've in fact done it several times with reasons falling everywhere over the spectrum of purely circumstantial to fully intentional. That said, each time I say goodbye to the prospect of ever setting a PR again, it sparks a tinge of regret somewhere inside of me. I suppose the marathon experience was fun because it gave me something to look forward to, a goal I could achieve as long as I was willing to run over the winter.

I'm pretty sure it was this latter reason--the process toward a greater goal--that made me think so readily about another marathon. It's also nice that people have become so fond of our little blog. So, where to from here?

A few weeks ago, I had tossed around the idea of running the inaugural Empire State Marathon in Syracuse this fall. Maybe I still will, but while it's nice to run fast, I've mostly seen the marathon as a means to an end (getting in shape), and the prospect of two marathons in a year doesn't excite me much.

The next idea was Boston. With my time, I was basically assured a spot given the new qualification standards. The qualifier for our age group is 3:10, but if you're X minutes faster than that time, you're allowed to apply Y days early. There are two problems with Boston, though. First, Gordon might not be able to qualify unless his New York time gets him in, and I'm not sure that it does this late in the game. Maybe his half time? I'm not sure. Second, the race is in April. While a spring marathon got me through the Syracuse winter, it really precludes much in the way of track races in the spring. Will pointed out that I should just do something in January or February. This is a great option for several reasons, but there are strong rumors of a Hall indoor comeback coming out of the State College rumor mill. On the plus side, this time of year works pretty well for student schedules.

In conclusion, I'm not sure what should happen from this point for le trois, but I've got an idea for what my preference is. I would say for me, fall is out. I'd like to run some miles and 5k's in what's left of the summer, and the idea of starting another long build in a week or two doesn't sound too great. I'm sure Ross will agree with that idea. Again, May was nice in some ways, but I'm realizing now that it's also pretty late. At the expense of indoor, January and February seem like the best plan. Bonus reason: Why not sit on my butt for two weeks when there's two feet of snow on the ground?

So without further ado, I bring you my top-five candidates for a winter destination marathon. I'd also like to take this opportunity to gauge participatory interest from our followers, Cornell alumni and others. We will probably keep the name of the blog (which, despite the fact that I stole it from Kate Irvin's Melange à Trois blog, is pretty good), but might as well add a few contributors to keep things spicy. Ross and Gordon have not weighed in on this yet, though, so let's hear it.

5: Carlsbad, January 22, 2012

4: New Orleans, March 4, 2012

3: Houston, January 15, 2012

2: Birmingham, February 12 (?), 2012

1: Miami, January 29, 2012

More here.

RO$$'s Post-Race Thoughts

After a long-awaited week of doing nothing more active than plopping down in front of the TV upon returning home from work, it's high time I give my thoughts on last weekend's race and, more broadly, this whole MaT adventure. First, I'll cover the race itself.

At about 6:45, Sam, Gordon, and I took our final pre-race dumps and set off for the start line, elbowing our way through enough people that we were only about ten yards off the line at the start. The gun went off, and Gordon and I watched Sam quickly disappear before settling into a relaxed pace. Before the race I had reminded Gordon to leave the pacing to me, not only because of his exuberance at the start of our half-marathon in March and the fact that I'm a control freak, but also because at Pittsburgh the half-marathoners and relay runners start alongside the actual marathoners, so it's easy to get sucked into running faster than you should. Our first mile was 6:58, which was a little slower than I'd set out for, but seeing as how it's better to be too conservative than too aggressive in the early miles, I wasn't concerned.

We picked things up a little bit in the second mile, which we covered in 6:40. From there we started taking regular inventory of how we both felt -- how comfortable we were with the pace, how our legs felt, etc. We both felt pretty similar. Neither of us felt great, but we were slowly warming up. Over the next few miles, my mind slowly shifted from dreading how far we had to go, to resigned indifference. For me, the key to running 26.2 miles without losing your mind is to simply accept the fact that you're going to be running for a really, really long time and not worry about when you'll be done.

My primary concern heading into this marathon, as opposed to the ones I'd run in the past, was that I knew I was in good enough shape to run faster than I do on my everyday runs, but due to my lack of preparatory workouts, I didn't have a firm idea of how much faster. I figured we should shoot for 6:45 pace, and see how it felt. Then, right as we'd settled into running in the low 6:40s, Gordon's stomach began its violent rebellion. It was right after the 6 mile mark, at the end of a brief, but slightly steep downhill, that Gordon first mentioned his stomach hurting. Since we'd already taken water a few times at that point, I figured it was nothing more than a stitch. But as we left the North Side, crossed the West End Bridge, and looped through the West End before heading down Carson Street, it became apparent that Gordon's cramp might be serious.

I'd hoped that running down Carson Street, a mostly flat, 2-mile-or-so stretch, would give Gordon's cramp a chance to work itself out, but things only seemed to get worse as we approached the Birmingham Bridge, which leads to the one true hill on the course. Right at the midpoint of the bridge, Gordon said he had no choice but to stop and see if he could calm his stomach down. For the next fifteen miles, I would be on my own.

I made my way through Oakland and Shadyside, waived to Carrie and Natalie, and prepared myself for the miles that immediately follow the halfway mark. In my experience, miles 15-20 are the most important ones of the race. No matter what, the last few miles are going to be a slog -- it's just a matter of how bad they'll be -- so it's in those aforementioned miles that you need to decide how hard to push yourself. Any temptation to pick up the pace must be tempered; you have to remind yourself that, even though you've already made it through sixteen miles, there are still ten to go. I continued to chug along in the low 6:40s, feeling good, but not so good that I felt dropping the pace down near 6:30 was advisable.

At the 19-mile mark, a band was playing "Smells Like Teen Spirit." I'd reached the point in the race where I started to lose my mind a little bit, and the relief of hearing a song I once loved/don't currently hate (there was a lot of "YMCA"-type crap out there Sunday) gave me a boost. Charging through the last seven miles, which are significantly net-downhill, seemed legitimately possible. But the boost was temporary. Somewhere between miles 19 and 21, I went from feeling really good about my race to desperately wanting it to end. Carrie and Natalie were waiting at the 21-mile mark. Carrie said I looked really good, and asked me if I felt good as well. I gave her a one-word answer: No.

The 23rd mile, which is entirely downhill, provided no relief. I covered it in 6:30, but had I been feeling decent at all I easily would have gone under 6:00. It was in this mile that a group of kids informed me that I was the first bearded runner, giving my race a much needed sense of purpose. I dragged myself through the last three miles, slowing down, but not drastically (two of the three miles were over 7:00, with the slowest one being 7:20 or so). My final chip time was 2:57:55.

A few months ago, as it became clear that I had no desire to do any type of workout other than an occasional long run (and even those were far from successful), I began to suspect that my training was merely guaranteeing that I'd break three hours, and nothing more. Well, that's exactly what happened. Around mile 20, I realized that dipping below 2:55 as I'd hoped to do wasn't going to happen, but I also knew there was no way I'd blow up so bad that I wouldn't break three. (When you run a time like 2:57, everyone automatically assumes breaking three was, in fact, your goal, so I've received nothing but enthusiatic congratulations all week.) But, as I've learned in the past, and as Gordon learned last weekend, the marathon can be so merciless that running slightly slower than you wanted is far easier to accept than it is in a 1500, so in no way am I disappointed with my time.

If there's one big lesson I've learned -- or, more accurately, relearned -- from this entire experience, it's that I no longer want running to play a prominent role in my life, at least when it comes to seriously training and competing. By the time I graduated from Cornell, running track and cross country had morphed into an elaborate way for me to bang my head against a wall. I was extremely sad to see my track career end, but I knew it was a healthy thing. In the five years since, I've continued to run regularly, because as long as I can use my legs I will run for fun and for fitness. But this was the first time since graduation that I'd actively set out to get in some sort of competitive shape, and for the most part I disliked it, as the gripes in my weekly training updates indicated. Unlike many people, I don't require the promise of future competition to make running tolerable; I simply enjoy it for what it is.

I still think that Gordon's original idea for the three of us to run a marathon together was a very good one. I'm glad it gave us an excuse to get together twice, and it spawned our incredible blog. Next spring, once I'm in grad school, and if I have a more flexible schedule, I may want to do it all over again. In the meantime, I'm glad that when I go for a run, it will be because I want to, not because I feel obligated to.

Soreness

Eventually I will write a breakdown of the race from my perspective, as I think we all should, but for now I'm just going to complain about how sore I am.

Man, even my abs are sore. I don't know about you guys but there are muscles in my arms that are sore.

I really hate stairs.

Splits

Splits tell a story that words need much more space to tell.

Sam:
1: 5:40
2: 5:52
3: 6:06
4-5: 12:08
6: 5:57
7: 6:03
8: 5:59
9-10: 12:07
ten miles: 59:54
11: 6:09
12-13: 13:22 (uphill)
half marathon: ~1:19:25
14: 5:35 (mis-marked?)
15: 6:23
16: 6:19
17: 6:18
18: 6:34
19: 6:51
20: 6:41
21: 6:49
22: 7:29
23: 6:44
24: 7:14
25: 7:12
26: 8:23
marathon: 2:49:34

The Finish - Part 3

The Finish - Part 2

The Finish - Part 1

Thanks to the Gehrkes for all the photos!

The Day After

[Pre-race dinner at L'Osteria, right before I pounded my two desserts.]

I've had 24 hours to reflect on yesterday's race. Generally, I feel content with my own results, but not super thrilled. I think Ross was happy with his time, and deservedly so, being that it was right where he wanted to be. Gordon obviously had issues that were beyond his control and led to a pretty painful run. He never felt good after mile 6, when he got his first cramp. In my book, he gets a lot of credit just for finishing.

Before I go on, I want to extend special thanks to the Gehrkes to whom all photo credit for the next post is given. They made the early morning drive down to cheer us on at mile 6 and again at the finish line. Pretty awesome.

I also want to thank Natalie for getting up at 5 to make us oatmeal and coffee and Carrie for putting up with us dudes in her house all weekend. Both wives also took video footage during the race.

Today I'm home, more sore than yesterday but way less stiff. I'm going to post my splits and my thoughts on the marathon in a bit and then get to work editing the Parkinsonian video.

2:49 the Hard Way, First Beard, and Gordon's Necrotic Bowel

Here are preliminary results from the race:

Sam 2:49:35
Ross 2:57:59
Gordon 3:32:06

The general consensus is that it was horribly painful. We'll be posting videos and recaps throughout the day.

10:39 pm

Gordon and I are nervous. We're nervous shaving then we're going to bed. Up tomorrow at 5am for oatmeal and busing to the start line.

Also, it may be too late for this, but you might still be able to register for runner tracking to follow Gordon, Ross, and Sam tomorrow.

http://www.pittsburghmarathon.com/Left_Nav/Race_Day_Information/Runner_Tracking.htm

Gordon #202
Sam #224
Ross ? (he's in bed)

8:47 p.m.

Our heroes have returned from their obligatory pasta dinner at Osteria 2350 in the Strip District, right by the early miles of the course. For those seeking inside gambling tips, heavy pre-race favorite Sam displayed potentially dangerous levels of confidence when he ordered two desserts, while RO$$ and Gordon coolly sipped from their respective glasses of water.

On the way home it started raining like crazy, which our heroes are hoping will help lift the heavy blanket of humidity which has covered the city all day. Tomorrow's forecast is calling for some rain -- hopefully not too much.

The rest of the night will feature a heavy dose of the infamous second season of Friday Night Lights. Look out, readers! Here comes Landry!

5:43 pm

About 70 ounces down in addition to yesterday's ~90 ounces of fluid. If I fall apart tomorrow, it certainly won't be because of poor hydration. The second season of Friday Night Lights is off the chain.

"I've been having this dream and you're in it. In the dream, you're telling me to get up and walk. And I do. And one day after having this dream, I can do this again. I can make a fist with my right hand. I just wanted to talk to you because you really mean something to me. I think it means I'm going to walk again...soon." - Jason Street to Tammy Taylor

4:42 PM

As you may have inferred from the video, our trip to the Expo for the marathon was a huge success. So much so that an independent film crew produced, shot, edited, and released a rap video of our entrance.

We selected our uniforms for their visibility. I decorated mine, and I think, inspired Ross. Ross' is pictured just above mine in the photo above.

The days' television commenced with a comedy special of Norm Macdonald. We followed that up with 'The Life and Times of Tim,' and we've just now moved onto the #1 television show in Cambodia - "Friday Night Lights."

Clear eyes... Full Hearts...

1:17 pm

11:00 am

We arrive at the Expo to pick up race numbers and get our other free swag. En route, we pass several strip club possibilities for Gordon's bachelor party. Video to come (of the expo, not the strip clubs).

9:55 am

The run was OK. No major kinks suffered by anyone. Ro$$ pointed out a street made of wood on the way back and the big downhill at mile 22 that we'll all be looking forward to.

We stopped at the Rite-Aid near Ross's house afterward so Gordon could pick up a toothbrush. He's planning on using it to scrub everyone's thighs down after the race. Hey-oh!

Entering Ro$$'s hou$e, we were greeted with the scent of delicious waffles and fried bananas. The wives are coming through so far.

The Day Before: 8:30 a.m.

It's 8:30 a.m. All of our heroes have awoken after a decent night's rest. RO$$ has already taken his first pre-marathon dump. Shed those pounds, baby.

The big question of the morning has been, "What should we eat for breakfast?" After host wife Carrie suggested "I don't really feel like making anything right now," Natalie stepped up to the plate and suggested we eat waffles. (RO$$ and Carrie got Sam and Natalie a waffle maker as a wedding gift last year and they love it.) So Natalie and Carrie are headed to the store to get waffle shit.

The three heroes have decided to get their run out of the way nice and early. Surely, the sight of these three effortlessly trotting through town will cause any other competitors who see them to mess themselves in terror.

(R.I.P. Derek Boogaard)

Picture from Will

Elevation Changes

http://runkeeper.com/user/PGHMarathon/route/251262

This is a fun little tool. It looks like the only major uphill is mile 11 to 12.5. Is this true, Ross, or did you feel the smaller ones, too? I'm also curious to hear about how the downhill at mile 22 to 23.5 feels.

That's all from me today. I'm having a hard time coping with the upcoming agony of this race, but I've got to get to work.

PS - No Ricky Lader for Pittsburgh. Too bad.

Pitt Stops

From the marathon website:

"Each fluid station will provide water and Gatorade original lemon-lime flavor along the course. Gu energy gels will be available at miles 8.9, 11.8, 17.1 and 20.1; PowerBars will be available at miles 14.6 and 21.5; and pretzels will be available at miles 23.8 and mile 25."

Fluids plus Gu at miles 9 and 17 should be good enough, right?

Shitty Video Course Preview

Heps

Watch more video of 2011 Ivy League Heptagonal (Heps) Outdoor Track and Field Championships on flotrack.org

Although I was saddened to not see any Cornell men in the 1500 final, the 800 was a pretty fun race to watch--second only to the 400IH, which is obviously outside of my own athletic comfort zone. Princeton leads by 7 at the time of this post, with the relays still remaining. And what's this? A men's 4x800? When did this happen?

Part Two of MàT's Interview with Robert Johnson

In the second and final installment:

Rojo skates around making predictions for Pittsburgh,
Rojo talks about his progression from a 16:42 5k guy to a 2:23 marathoner,
Sam discusses how marathoning is like being on The Biggest Loser,
Rojo calls Bill Aris a genius,
and much, much more.

For Part 2, go here.

If you missed Part 1, check it out here.

Week 25 Recap

Sam: S(14, Mountain Goat), M(5), T(off), W(8), R(off), F(5am, 8pm w/ 4 miles @ pace), S(7). Total=47. The two off days were nice. The pace work wasn't so nice. I'm hoping I was just tired from Sunday's race, but it definitely wasn't a confidence boost. Time to coast at this point. I'm looking at one more workout, probably Tuesday. It'll be super-chill, something like a mile at pace and then 4x400 on the track.

RO$$: S(8), M(11), T(0), W(11), R(0), F(9), S(9). 48 miles total. It was a pretty uneventful week. I would call it a half-taper. I ran less days than I initially intended to, but kept the daily average pretty high. I can't wait to taper. I'm tired.

The Interview You've All Been Waiting For

Marathon à Trois sat down for a quick phone interview with Cornell coach Robert Johnson of Letsrun.com fame.

[Pictured above: Robert & his big head/great hair,
Will, Oliver, and Ross at the Royal Wedding.]

In this segment of the interview...

MàT and Letsrun compare page-views,
Rojo weighs the appeal of selling himself,
Journalistic ethics are thrown out the window,
Sam realizes that Heipsh are this weekend,
14:26 and 3:49 kids are left off the bus,
Natalie coughs,
JK retraces Robert's marathon history,
Rojo reveals his secrets to marathon success...
and much, much more.

Give a listen here:
Interview with Robert Johnson Part 1

Must - haves for wedding songs

Molly and I have a couple of Post-its up for when we think of great dancing songs, but I thought I'd crowdsource the idea.

What do y'inz (getting ready for Pittsburgh) think would make for must-have wedding playlist material? - or failing that, what were the great songs from our college years (we have, of course, already got "Move Bitch, Get Out The Way" on the list)

Shout Out

I'm going to go ahead and give the shout out to MaT follower Alyssa Simon for an impressive showing in the half marathon. I would link to the website, but I cannot find the name of the race. I noticed the time since it was nearly the same as my own time from a few months back.

1:27:51 - Well done!

Congrats!

Bang

If finding out that Sam survived his race wasn't good enough news, I just got the following email:

"This email is to confirm that you have received a seeded position for the Dick's Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon or UPMC Health Plan Pittsburgh Half Marathon."

Sam, Gordon, are you guys in as well?

Mountain Goat

The results are in, and in retrospect, it seems as though I was being a bit dramatic about how badly things went last week. Chalk it up to jitters perhaps.


In today's Goat, I took 10th with a time of 56:46. I'll post splits later, but my watch is out in the car and I don't feel like getting up. Overall, I'm very pleased with the result. The hamstring warmed up nicely and never felt too strained, even during the worst of the hills. My goal was to run around half marathon pace, which I set arbitrarily at 5:45. I was a little faster than that (average just over 5:40), but at the same time, I ran it harder than I planned. The good news is, while I couldn't have run much faster, I paradoxically felt absolutely fine at the end. I'm calling this a sign of being ready for the marathon.

In life news, Natalie (who took 9th among women) and I replaced my iPhone after the race for a mere $50. Thanks to my sister Katie for letting me take her contract expiration spot on the family plan. I had lost it on Friday while marking trail, and I expected the price to be much worse. Overall, a good day.

Week 24 Recap

Sam: In the name of drama and intrigue comes Week 24. Tomorrow morning at 7 am, we'll be exactly two weeks away from the marathon and three hours away from Mountain Goat. I wish I could say I'm ready to burn rubber on the Goat course tomorrow, but this week was outright horrible for me running-wise. The most obvious culprit is the lingering right hamstring. There have been flare-ups of tendonitis that are mostly dealt with by a good warm-up, but these rage back a few hours after each run and stick with me throughout the better part of the day. I took the mileage way down and added an additional day off this week to hopefully help matters. Work has also been inordinately busy lately, as I'm juggling three projects at once resulting in a lot of early mornings and late arrivals back home. This week was also truncated by a trip to Delaware to help with the Triple Crown. My role involved marking trail for two and a half hours yesterday and finish line duties today--both of these meaning a lot of time on my feet. Finally, there's the driving to consider: Syracuse to Emmaus to Newark to Philly (great game with Chickie's and Pete's Crabfries thrown in for good measure) to Newark to Syracuse. S(18, super slow), M(off), T(3), W(off), R(6, strides), F(6), S(6). Total 39 miles.

RO$$: S(9), M(7), T(8), W(0), R(10), F(9), S(9). 52 miles total. Unsurprisingly, I felt pretty tired after last week's high total, so I felt no reason to push things and just wanted to recover somewhat. I thought it would be another seven day week, but the Penguins decided to blow their 3-1 lead to the Lightning, so I attended Wednesday's game seven loss. It was probably for the best. The day of rest was much needed, and no one wanted to see the Pens lose to the Caps in round two. I had hoped to do a final long run this weekend, but it didn't happen. The lack of real quality long runs has been a disappointment for me, but I've run more overall than I expected to. We'll see how things play out. This week should be fairly big before the long-awaited taper.

I'm very concerned about Sam's hamstring. Best of luck, friend. Truly, there is no shortage of suspense in the world of MaT: Will Sam make it to the start line and enjoy the much deserved fruits of his hard work by throttling Gordon and RO$$? Does Gordon really exist, or did Sam and RO$$ just make him up? And will RO$$ actually clean his house and spare his guests the indignity of sleeping in a dirty shithole? Stay tuned!

Gordon: (S) 10 M(10) T(10) W(3) (R) 9 F(4) S(20) 66 mile week - I have been pretty low in confidence since my mileage has been less than ideal. This week worked well for me considering I have had a lot to do outside of running and work. I plan on keeping the mileage the same for this week before the crash of mileage for the taper.

I honestly have no idea what the race will feel like. The 20 miler was meant to be a tune-up to feel the pace. At the 15 mile mark I ran into Prospect Park where there are a number of mile markers. I hit 6:20 pace for 3 miles there, but I felt tired. This was also on the Sunniets Day of the Year, and I got a pretty bad sunburn and I was running at 1:00 pm, which may have contributed to the sense of fatigue, but it was disconcerting, nonetheless.

In other news, the wedding weekend has been almost completely finalized, and I've only got a few more details to hammer out (I'm sure the last month will be hectic), but it has felt good to get a lot of these decisions finished with.

A Day of TV

The big day is coming up, a day in which Sam, Gordon, and Ross sit on their butts all day long and binge on TV before their marathon. We're soliciting suggestions for shows (please include specific seasons if applicable) and potentially movies for the big day. The best recommendations will be posted up for vote by our loving fanbase.

Week 23 Recap

RO$$: S(9), M(10), T(10), W(10), R(9), F(13), S(9). 70 miles total, and if you go from last Saturday through Friday, I ran 77 miles in a seven day span, so after three sub-par weeks, I'm back, baby! I don't really have anything interesting to say about the week since all I did was jog around. It wasn't good. It wasn't bad. It just was.

My plan for the next two weeks is to continue doing what I'm doing. My friend James and I used to joke about how Ben True was the only athlete in the Heps who was undertrained/talented enough that he'd actually get in better shape through the preliminary rounds rather than become worn out, and I think I'm in a somewhat analogous position when you compare me with Sam (well, except for the talent part). I'll fart around in the last week, because I kind of did that before the half and that went well, but for the next two weeks it's business as usual.

Haters Gonna Hate: This week, my training takes the back burner to the fact that our dear blog has had it's first random internet stranger post, in defense of -------- -----'s race day bathroom mishap. It's a proud moment for Marathon à Trois, a proud moment indeed. If I'm in any position to hit my own 2:37 in Pittsburgh over the last six miles, rest assured, you'll all know what I'll be thinking about.

The week: S(14, tempo), M(off), T(6), W(9), R(8, hills), F(6), S(11, fartlek) for total of 54 miles. Sunday's run gave me a good backdrop for understanding the Boston winds, as Steve and I did an 8 mile tempo to see if he should bother running Mountain Goat amidst third year rotations (he should). We went four miles out on the canal path with a tailwind that we could barely feel and then got blasted the whole way back once we turned around. Overall, we averaged around 5:50, but rest assured, it was a whole lot harder with the head wind--easily 20 or so seconds per mile.

Gordon: S(10), M(6), T(5), W(5), R(6), F(10), S(8) - 50 mile week. I was planning on a week like Ross' where I could put in the last bit of mileage, but I got sick midweek. I have no idea how I'll feel for the marathon at this point. I think that I was feeling really good around the half marathon, but I haven't hit my stride training wise or at least as not as much as I'd like. The upcoming week is my last week where I'll do any kind of mileage. Then starting next week I'll probably put in a pretty mean taper, which I am looking forward to.

A Minor Celebration

I am pleased to announce that this morning, we eclipsed 1,000 page views for the fifth month in a row. While it continues to snow in Syracuse, it's nice to know that my heart can still be warmed by the affection from our fifteen followers.

In running news, the marathon is getting ridiculously close--three weeks and three days to be exact. Yesterday I did 25 minutes of hill repeats (jog included, of course--I'm not that motivated) as prep for the Mountain Goat, which is, naturally, my prep for Pittsburgh. I'm really not sure what to expect after taking some down time for my hamstring, but for the most part, my plans remain the same. Since we've got less than a month to go and I've got ten minutes to kill, here's a rough draft of my plans until Race Day:

T-4 weeks: R(10), F(8), S(12 hard)
T-3 weeks: S(20), M(off), T(10, Yasso 800's), W(6), R(10 w/ hard strides), F(6), S(6)
T-2 weeks: S(14, Mountain Goat), M(off), T(8), W(10, 400's), R(8), F(10, 6@tempo), S(10)
T-1 week: S(10 w/ hard strides), M(off), T(8, 200's), W(5), R(5), F(off), S(5)
May 15: Race

I have never messed around with any glycogen depletion/boosting stuff, but if someone has had positive results with this, please feel free to comment.

What Can Marathon a Trois Learn From the Great Whistle-Off?

...


Nothing.

Second American

I'm sure most blog followers have heard the news by now, but a big congratulations goes out to Zac Hine for his second place American finish at the Boston Marathon this morning. 5:14 pace is just sick. Beat that, Luff, you cocky sack of potatoes.

Results

Letsrun thread

Baby penguin getting tickled

Week 22 Recap

Sam: Four weeks to go. Last week went a lil' somethin' like this: S(17), M(0), T(6), W(5), R(4), F(5), S(9). 46 miles total. Not a whole lot of running going on this week thanks to the fact that I was trying to keep the hamstring tendonitis at bay. It's feeling pretty good; I just don't want any major flare-ups from here to the marathon. Saturday was a 5-mile "race" at Long Branch Park, where they held the Heart Walk. Most people go for the Walk, which is around 11 am, but they also have a run at 8 am for a far fewer number of people. There were three and five mile options, so I finished with a lot of three mile people in 27:11, making it a fairly unheralded victory. Today is long with some pace work mixed in.

RO$$: S(8), M(10), T(0), W(0), R(12), F(0), S(16). Like Sam, 46 miles total. This week ended up being a little short because of two Penguins home games (a win and a loss, for those concerned about the host city's state of mind), and the fact that it was raining pretty hard on Tuesday. Yesterday I went out to a trail with the objective of doing a twenty miler, but right around mile 12, it started raining hard enough that the run became truly miserable, so I cut it short. If there's one thing I'm not willing to do in the name of running a slighty faster marathon, it's making myself suffer through a downpour. No home Pens games this week, so I'm hoping that this will be a big week. Rain could mess that up, though.

What Can Marathon a Trois Learn From Abbott, Costello and a Wad of Used Toilet Paper?

In this ongoing series, Marathon a Trois takes a look at famous trios from history , and examines what lessons RO$$, Sam, and Gordon can learn from them.

The year was 1935, and America, slowly healing from the wounds inflicted by an unforgiving Depression, was finally ready to laugh again. But after six years of sheer misery, it would take a lot more than some piece of shit silent films to amuse a hardened populace. Nothing less than sharply crafted wit, irresistible charm and, most importantly, words would do. Enter three lifelong friends -- William "Bud" Abbott, Lou Costello, and a malodorous wad of used toilet paper, affectionately known as "Wad."

The timing could not have been better for Abbott, Costello, and Wad. Charlie Chaplin, the preeminent film star of the first third of the Twentieth Century scarcely needed to do more than slide around on some cleverly placed roller skates to make his fortune, but post-Depression Americans were ready for something a little more cerebral. Or so they thought, for Abbott, Costello, and Wad were set to take comedy in a new, exciting, humorless direction.

Before we proceed, I ask the readers: Has an old person ever told you a joke? But of course, you're thinking. Well, have they ever told you a joke that actually made you laugh? Hell no! The reason for this is because, in the Greatest Generation's formative years, the novelty of hearing someone talk on film was so great that any inane verbal routine would cause audiences to mess themselves in hysterics.

Abbott, Costello, and Wad deftly anticipated this shift of the comedic zeitgeist.

"Abbott, Wad, my dear lads!" Costello proclaimed one fateful day. "These talking pictures are going to be huge! And on top of this exciting development, I do believe our fair country is ready to let her hair down and have a good time once again! If we find a way to work ourselves into one of these 'talkies' we'll be millionaires!"

"'Let her hair down?'" Abbott asked. "As in have a good time? As in laugh? But we're not even the slightest bit funny. Won't that preclude us from finding any sort of success?"

"Why, not at all," Costello replied. "Americans will be so enthralled by the talkies that they won't know what's what. They'll laugh at the very sound of our voices ringing out to them! The Banana Peel Era is over!"

While Abbott and Costello argued about the future of American entertainment, Wad stayed above the fray. Of the three, he was always known as the quiet, pensive one.

"Look, lads" Costello said, "all we need to do is get in front of a camera and act like a confused bunch of retards. Baseball seems to be very popular nowadays. Let's act like a confused bunch of retards on a baseball field! I'll be the manager, you be a ballplayer, and Wad will be an umpire."

Wad, unimpressed by Costello's proposal, remained silent.

"I'm not sold either, Wad," Abbott said. "What's the plot? What are we confused about?"

"I don't know," Costello said. "You'll ask me about the players on the team, and they'll all have confusing names or something. Maybe the first baseman can be named 'Who,' the second baseman can be named 'What,' and so on."

Abbott and Wad exchanged skeptical glances, eventually turning their eyes back toward Costello.

"Then what will Wad do?" Abbott asked.

"As the umpire, he'll be the confused onlooker, conveying the feelings of the audience. They'll feel as he feels. He'll make the scene sing!"

Costello gave them one last pitch.

"Here's what we'll do. We'll go to all the clubs, build up a following, get some word of mouth going, and take our act to the Hollywood studios. By the time we get to California, we'll have garnered enough enthusiasm that the movie producers will have no choice but to hand us all of their Jewish money!"

Abbott and Wad reluctantly agreed to go along with Costello's zany scheme, and the three friends promptly took their show on the road. The act was an immediate smash, with journalists and mavens across the country singing the praises of the three stars' impeccable chemistry.

But as the months wore on, and as the trio prepared to make their big move to Hollywood, a rift suddenly emerged between Abbott and Costello and their friend Wad. It quickly became evident that some combination of success and laziness had gone to Wad's shit-soaked head. Wad continually would skip out on shows, and when he did show up, each performance would be worse than the one that had preceded it. At first, Abbott and Costello begged Wad to exert the same level of effort as he had when their act began.

"We need you, Wad!" Abbott often cried.

"It's true," Costello said. "Without your clever facial expressions, the audience won't be able to follow our pointless banter. We'll be ruined!"

But Wad remained coldly mute in the face of his friends' desperate pleas.

So Abbott and Costello put on their bravest faces and headed to MGM Studios to meet with a cadre of high-powered suits. They told each other that, while it was a tremendous shame that their former best friend was inexplicably passing up the chance to entertain countless millions, they had no choice but to follow their dreams as a duo.

They walked into the meeting room, with Metro, Goldwyn, Mayer, and the famous lion awaiting them.

"Well, boys, have at it," Metro said. "Let's see the act that's single-handedly lifting our great nation out of Depression!"

"Hold on just a minute," the lion said as he gnawed on a piece of wildebeest carcass. "I thought there were three of you. Where's the third player?"

"Well, Mr. Lion," Abbott said, "our friend Wad seems to have lost his fire. Neither Costello nor I can explain it, and we know we pitched our bit to you as Abbott, Costello and Wad, but the both of us have come all this way, and we'd be forever indebted to you and your great studio if you let us present 'Who's On First?' to you as a twosome."

"Very well," the lion growled. "I'm skeptical that you'll be able to pull this off, but go on."

The entire western world knows what happened next. The MGM executives were positively dazzled, signing Abbott and Costello to a lucrative movie deal that made them their millions. Yet for all of their success on the silver screen, their most famous and beloved work will forever be "Who's On First?" while the cautionary tale of Wad and his bypassed fortune remains a staple of Hollywood lore.

In his later years, after the death of his partner Costello, Abbott made a very special appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Carson marveled over Abbott and Costello's phenomenal success having come in the immediate aftermath of having lost what was once a vital contributor to their act. "I just have to know," he asked, "how did you two do it?"

"We were worried at first," the entertainment icon said, "but we quickly realized that Wad was nothing more than a fetid piece of used toilet paper. Costello and I were always the real stars, and Wad piggy-backed off our greatness the entire time. Deep down, he knew he was a fraud, so when the stars began to line up for us, he couldn't handle it. May he burn in hell."

Boo Hiss

If I recall correctly, there has only been one injury in our marathon preparation to this point, that injury being one suffered by Gordon's knee. I'm sad to report that my hamstring tendon has been bothering me on and off for about a week. It's an old injury, as I remember having it linger around for like six months a few years ago. I can still run on it; there's just a dull pain that doesn't feel too great when it's going through its range of motion.


Hence, this is my rationale for taking a day off per week from here to the marathon. I feel like, for the most part, the proverbial hay is in the barn, even if some cows may end up going hungry this winter. You can really see how far we've come when you're resigning yourself to a single day off each week. Looking back to the early weeks of training, it was great news if we ran three times.

Diagnosis: Pes ancerinus tendonitis
Prescription: More cowbell

Week 21 Recap

Sambone: S(0), M(15, was going to go short but ran into Mike D. and PJ on the trail in Delaware...great run), T(8 w/ the last 20 minutes pick-up), W(3), R(am 2, pm 12 track workout), F(6), S(14 w/ 10 @ 58:45). Total=60. Today's run was a big confidence boost. I ran the Mountain Goat course, which is pretty hilly, trying to keep 6-minute pace. I went through 8 miles at 48:05. This point is probably the highest elevation mark of the course. The last two miles were potentially a tiny bit short, but it was still nice to finish faster going downhill. 2:37 has become my own personal A-standard for Pittsburgh, though as I've said, if I run anything close to this, I'll be pretty happy. As I did with the half, I figure it's arguably best to try to keep this pace as long as possible and let the chips fall where they may. Probably not true come mile 20, but it sounds good for now.

RO$$: S(11), M(0), T(0), W(9), R(11), F(7), S(8). 46 miles total. Monday I was a bit of a baby and didn't run because it was raining, which obviously took down my total for the week. This morning I ran my race, a 10k in something like 38:15. The pace obviously wasn't too fast, but the course was super hilly, so my splits were probably anywhere between 6:45 and 5:15. (I didn't wear a watch, or else I'd report my splits.) Other than the first mile, I felt pretty good, and feel fine about my fitness. As I noted about the last few miles of the half-marathon where I picked it up, it's hard to run faster than you ever do during the course of "training." So I'm glad I went out and made myself do a workout. As long as we're throwing out goals, I'd say my A-standard is 2:50. I predict I'll finish somewhere around 2:53 provided the weather is good.

Coming up this week, a new installment of "What Can Marathon a Trois learn from . . ."

Gordon: S(4) M(20) T(4) W(8) R(8) F(4) S(8) 60 miles total. Sunday I got caught up at the end of the day with work. I had intended to run the 20 miler in the afternoon, but a lot of crap came up from work that had to be done, and the night got away from me. So, I planned to run the 20 miler on Monday night. This was a terrible idea that had lasting consequences for the rest of the week, but it had me motivated all day on Monday at work to get myself ready, which made the day go a lot faster (and, as I'm sure Ross can attest, at this point I'm just starting each day with my eyes on the clock, waiting for the time that I can go back home).

Anyway, the 20 miler felt great. I did have to buy a power bar at the 15 mile mark, but I can safely attribute that to the fact that I had to work the entire day, and I'd eaten lunch about 5.5 hours prior to that point. The last 5 miles I tempo-ed and I put down close to 6:15 pace for the last three. All told, it was a great run, but MAN, was I exhausted for the rest of the week. I'm glad that I'm in a new week and I am planning on running a race this week (similar to what Ross did). Although, I'll be running a 5 mile run.

Cherry Blossom 10 Miler

We here at Marathon à Trois like to congratulate good races performances when we see them. This past weekend, MaT follower Sam Luff posted an impressive time at Cherry Blossom. It seems like it was just yesterday that Sam was unemployed and drinking himself into a stupor at the epic Montreal bachelor party last summer.

Sam, who now runs for the Georgetown Running Company, ran 50:45, good for 18th place. As someone who struggled running 5:00 pace on the track just yesterday, I can appreciate the effort involved in maintaining sub-5:05 pace for ten miles straight. Congratulations, Sam. You, too, have put le trois to shame.

Place Div  /Tot   Num    Name                 Ag Net Tim Pace
===== =========== ====== ==================== == ======= =====
1     1/398        3 Lelisa Desisa          21 45:36  4:34
2     2/398       13 Allan Kiprono          21 45:41  4:35
3     1/1470       5 Ridouane Harroufi      29 46:27  4:39
4     3/398       17 Lani Kiplagat          22 46:30  4:39
5     2/1470      27 Macdonard Ondara       26 46:52  4:42
6     3/1470      29 Tesfaye Sendeku        28 46:53  4:42
7     4/1470      21 Stephen Muange         29 47:30  4:45
8     4/398       23 Simon Cheprot          21 47:32  4:46
9     5/1470      31 Josphat Boit           27 47:50  4:47
10     1/1078      25 Girma Tola             35 47:56  4:48
11     5/398       47 Ezkyas Sisay           22 47:58  4:48
12     6/1470      51 Tesfaye Assefa         27 48:03  4:49
13     7/1470      33 Lucas Meyer            27 48:26  4:51
14     8/1470     296 David Nightingale      25 48:39  4:52
15     9/1470      45 Augustus Maiyo         27 49:56  5:00
16    10/1470     107 Karl Dusen             28 50:06  5:01
17     1/1327     105 Bert Rodriguez         31 50:25  5:03
18     6/398      297 Sam Luff               24 50:45  5:05
19     7/398      106 Jerry Greenlaw         23 50:55  5:06
20    11/1470     112 Brian Flynn            27 51:08  5:07 

Mile-ish Workout

Thursday's workout involved track repeats focused on making surges/kicks feel slightly more comfortable. In reality, nothing about the workout was comfortable, but I am pretty happy with the results given that I ran it in trainers by my lonesome. Each 200 came right after the rep before it meaning that the first rep was actually 1200 meters, etc.

1000 - 3:08
200 - :34

(lap jog)

800 - 2:31
200 - :33

(lap jog)

600 - 1:54
200 - :32

(lap jog)

400 - 1:14
200 - :32

(lap jog)

200 - :35
200 - :30

Sam the Cat

As Carrie's Facebook friends already know, not long ago her levels of RO$$ fatigue reached their breaking point. Desperate for a solution, she determined that our marriage simply couldn't go on unless we acquired some sort of pet to "mix things up." I still have no idea what the hell that meant, but I figured it would be better to be woken up every night by a confused animal than by the continued sobbing fits of an emotionally shattered spouse.

Initially, the thought of getting a cat didn't thrill me. Those close to me know that, when I was four, the cat of a neighbor -- completely unprovoked -- slashed me down my right forearm. Forgive me for dipping my pen in cliched ink when I say that the physical scars vanished long ago, the emotional ones still remain. But, being the loving husband that I am, I couldn't bring myself to stand in the way of Carrie's right to ignore me in favor of some animal she'd just met. So on March 27th, 2011, Sam the cat (not to be confused with Sam the MaT) entered our lives.

Early on it became clear that having a cat would be more enjoyable than I'd anticipated. Perhaps my biggest concern was that our condo would quickly become covered in a layer of cat hair, but it seems that Sam sheds considerably less than I do, which is a plus, I guess. And we are lucky that Sam isn't one of those asshole cats who constantly gets mad at you. Even if you approach her when she doesn't want to be picked up, she doesn't fight back at all. So, since it quickly became apparent that Sam had the potential to be more to me than a mere co-habitant, I started thinking about how I could take this cat ownership thing to the next level. My inspiration came from this very blog.

In past entires, I've complained about always having to run alone, because it sucks. But since I knew that Sam the MaT regularly forces his once-abused dog to do long runs and Yasso 1000s with him, I figured it couldn't do much harm to take Sam the cat out for a few easy eleven-milers. Needless to say, Sam the cat thought this was a terrible idea. To sway her, I played the guilt card, pointing out how Sam the MaT's pet goes running with him all time. (It's the same approach I use when I point out to Carrie how Sam the MaT's wife goes running with him all the time.)

Sam whined throughout the entire run, but I told her to suck it up, because things were only going to get worse in the near future: For each of the next six days, we would be waking up together at 4:00 a.m. to go search for an authentic Ben Roethlisberger GHB pill that was dropped somewhere in Allegheny County as part of a contest put on by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Every morning as we set off on our search, Sam would give me a look that seemed to ask, "Don't you have a job?" It was a fair question, but everywhere we went, we were surrounded by several thousand fellow pill-searchers, so who was I to question the entire region's economy shutting down so that one of us might win the grand prize of two tickets to Big Ben's wedding reception? The contest came to its extremely disappointing conclusion when a two-year-old girl who isn't even potty-trained yet found the pill in a glass on the bar at Cheerleaders (aka Ground Zero for Gordon's bachelor party).

Then I forced Sam to attend a Pittsburgh Penguins game with me. Given that she runs and hides under the couch every time I get home from work, spending an evening in an arena with over 18,000 people she didn't know was a harrowing experience for her. Just as Sam started to get comfortable, the Pens came out and played a terrible third period, finding a way to lose a game that by all rights they should have won. I stormed out of the arena like a little child, and Sam gave me a look that seemed to say, "Why are you so upset about the Pens losing only one out of 82 regular season games? In a year's time you will almost certainly forget this ever happened." I said nothing in reply because, as we all know, cats just don't understand sports.

The next day I asked Sam if she wanted to write an entry for MaT. She relented at first, so I once again tried to guilt her by pointing out that Sam the MaT's pet wrote an entry post a few months ago. Sam the cat quickly shot me a look that seemed to say, "Why the hell should I write a post for your stupid blog when Gordon never bothers to write for it?" For that, I had no comeback.

At the end of ten occasionally acrimonious days, Carrie and I decided that we needed to show Sam just how much we appreciate her for having saved our marriage, so Carrie worked very hard on penning this tribute song to our new family member. Carrie sings and plays the bass, I'm on guitar, and Sam is on the drums. Enjoy, and look forward to meeting Sam the cat on race weekend!