Training Run

Time: 30 min
Distance: 5 kilometers

Comments: Finally a very good run. Went out pretty late but got into the groove pretty fast. The iPod was working for me and, before I knew it, I was trucking along pretty good. I stretched a bit before leaving the house but, since this was a relatively short run, I kind of went into  it cold. Despite that, there was nary a peep from the trouble spots and I was able to just fucking run! Been awhile since I've done that. Early December, really.So I got to the last few minutes and cranked up the pace. The last minute was a full bore 'stride to the finish' pace. One hundred percent balls out and damn it felt great.

Conditions:
Hour: 10:30 a.m.
Surface: dirt
Warm-up,:none
Weather:

Training Run

Time: 60 min
Distance: 10 kilometers

Comments: Made myself get out there at a halfway decent hour and put the effort in. Did the long walk down to the beach and got down to it.I felt a bit flagged after Tuesday's run so I erred on the side of caution and took yesterday off. Seemed to work since today turned into a really solid run. I felt much more in control of the thing than I have for pretty much any run I've done since getting back into this. Stuck to the dirt and tried to keep my pace consistent. Got blown by the wayside by some dude just before the halfway point. Had to restrain the urge to kick it up a notch and keep him in my sites. GAAAAHHHH!!! This is killin' me!

Training Run

Time: 45 min
Distance: 8 kilometers

Comments: Got out on the road a bit later than I wanted. A bit of laziness, a bit of anxiety, a bit of god knows what.Took the extended walk down to the beachfront and ran the whole session there on the dirt surfaces. It seemed to help in that the 'stabby' feeling in the knee never showed up. But it was still  a long way from an injury-free run (see below).Kept it overslow and plodding. Tried to keep the stress off my knees and ankles as much as possible. Focused on posture but not very successfully. 

Marathon Training Summary: Week 6

Time: 120 min
Distance: 21 kilometers

Comments: A disaster of a week but better than last week only by the slightest. I got in one training run and a long run for the first time since the initial week of training. I'm really getting concerned about this race. I know this is race I'm only running to finish but this is not an auspicious start to training. I need miles. Lots of them. And I'm not getting them in.I'm hoping I can actually get a full week's of runs in for next week. If so, there is a hope in hell I can salvage this thing. But, the bottom line is that next week is week 12. Cut the taper off and that means I have two months to get up to 20-mile long run shape. That's cutting it DAMNED close.Injury update: OK. This right leg horseshit seems to be associated with the running on hard surfaces. It only took 50 yards or so on concrete today for the stabby feeling in the side of the knee to say ""Howdy!"" And t,he malencon I typically do my

Long Run

Time: 75 min
Distance: 13 kilometers

Comments: God what a frickin frustrating week! What a frickin frustrating training! I held off running since Wednesday. Partly to see if a bit more rest would help the leg, partly due to out and out depression.This morning I was determined to get out there and get a full fucking hour in no matter what. If it would mean injuring myself and giving up on the race, so be it. I'm just too pissed off to play around with this shit anymore.So I stretched a bit and gave myself a bit of extra time by starting at the beach level. Got going and tried to keep a slow pace, regular footfalls and good posture. Crank it out. Nothing fancy, just me and the pain, one on one.But it wasn't as bad as I expected. My leg mostly cooperated and it turned into a question of conditioning. Which I'm woefully weak on at the moment - but that's not the same as regular pain. I ain't got a problem pushing myself to collapse on this front.I a