Mile 24 Dedication: David Egan

Finishing this marathon is going to take a lot of strength, both mental and physical.  This means that I am going to need some serious inspiration for those last few miles.  Mile 24 is dedicated in loving memory to David Egan, who passed away in September.  

David was the son of Audrey and Al Egan, who are close family friends.  Although I never had the opportunity to meet David in person, his friends and family always spoke of his personal strength, courage, and positive attitude in the face of adversity.  I am proud to honor David's memory in this way, and look forward to drawing from his strength and courage as I near the marathon's finish line.

Rewarding Workout

So today I did what will likely be the biggest workout of the marathon training schedule. It was 3 hours and 37 minutes long, consisting of 13 miles running then 27 miles biking. Total calorie burn: 3,712

For that reason, this was my dinner tonight at Hammerhead's in Louisville:

Full rack of baby back ribs. This is really why I run, so I can rationalize eating huge amounts of smoked meat!

Gearing up for the biggest workout weekend yet

With about a month to go until the marathon, this weekend is the time for me to do my very biggest workout of the entire training cycle. Since I'm a big fan of Hal Higdon's training plans, I always do my longest workouts on tired legs. So today I ran for an hour at around or below my goal marathon pace (which is 9 minutes per mile) then did some deep water swimming for 30 minutes.

Tomorrow is the big workout. I will run for 13 miles then bike for the same duration of time that took me. The idea here is that I will be spending about the same amount of time doing cardio work as I would during a marathon, except I won't be subjecting my body to the pounding of running that long. So this is going to look something like a 4 hour effort. Wow, it hurts me just thinking about that. I hope it goes well!

The Combo Long Workout

To save wear and tear on my body (because there will be plenty of that come marathon day) I chose to do a run/bike combination instead of a full 20 mile long run this weekend. There's various reasons this is a good idea: aside from reducing the chances of injury, its good cross training and achieves the same benefit as running (so long as I keep my heart rate up during the ride portion). The idea is to simulate the cardiovascular effort of the marathon without having the foot pounding. So, I did a 5 mile race-pace run followed by a 42 mile long bike ride which took about 3.5 hours. Here's me heading off on the bike after the pace run:

I ended up riding almost all of the Louisville Loop River Trail, which itself is 23 miles long and I did 21 of it out and back. Much of this I had not seen before and it was pretty cool to see a new side of Louisville, even if it was mostly levees and industrial parks.

On returning home, I knew I had completed a pretty solid workout when all I wanted to do was lay on the sofa and not move for an hour! I eventually did get up and eat some food but wow...that was a pretty intense effort.

30 miles on a heavy hybrid

Yesterday was a cross training day for me and I've been getting a little tired of being in the gym so I decided to head out on a bike ride. I don't really have a great road bike, mind you. I have a heavy hybrid commuter bike made by some no-name company. Its got a rack and front shocks and all kinds of things that have no business being on a long road ride. But hey, the weather was nice and I wanted to see how far I could take River Road here in Louisville. Turns out, you can take it all the way to Oldham County for a 30 mile round trip. And the ride on River Road is beautiful, right next to the Ohio River and through some very nice parks. Check it out:

Mile 6 Dedication: Gracie

Mile six is dedicated to Gracie who gives much joy every day to her owner, Julie Walz. Here's Gracie sitting pretty and being very well behaved for a picture:

Thank you Julie and Gracie!

Mile 18 Dedication: In Memory of Francia Barksdale

Francia Barksdale was someone whose influence on those around her was already obvious before her passing this year, but now is even more apparent as three separate donations have been given on her behalf. She was certainly well loved by all those around her. From the donors:

Mile 18 has been sponsored by Audrey Egan and Priscilla & Christopher Flanagan in memory of a friend who passed away from brain cancer last month. Francia Barksdale worked as a gifted education specialist in Nashua, NH and founded an award-winning program for gifted students. Francia was also a talented artist, avid reader, and loyal friend.

Francia's former colleagues have said that she always went the "extra mile" for her students, and I will be proud to run mile 18 in her memory. That is typically when I "hit the wall" and feel like stopping, so I will remember Francia's determination to do right even in the face of adversity.