Training 12/19 to 12/25

12/19 Monday: OFF

12/20 Tuesday: 8.5 miles in 62 minutes

Easy running on the Windham Rail Trail with Jim Johnson. Great run and some good conversation about the upcoming running year.

12/21 Wednesday: 6 miles in 45 minutes

Easy running in Haverhill

12/22 Thursday: Hiking

Hiked Mt Tom, Field, and Willey. Three 4000 foot peaks nagged for the winter 4000 footer list. Temps were really nice, but it was windy and there were no views to be had. I moved very fast jogging most of the flat to moderate sections of trail. wore Micro-Spikes the whole way because it was very icy.

12/23 Friday: Hiking

Hiked Mt Tecumseh in the morning. Another winter 4000 foot peak. Snowed about 6 inches the night before, so the woods and trails looked awesome! Great hike, I moved really fast and ran most of the way back down.

12/24 Saturday: 8 miles in 56 minutes

Easy running around Haverhill. Legs felt pretty good considering I hiked the last two days.

12/25 Sunday: 8 miles in 58 minutes

Christmas!!! Ran over to Winnekenni and back. Tried to help rescue a little pomeranian that was running in traffic and the thing bit me!!! Broke the skin too!! so I had to wait for the cops to show up to help catch the dog and take my information. Good news is the dog had all its shoots....so I don't have rabies.

Total miles: 30.5

More miles than last week.

Training 12/12 to 12/18

12/16 Friday: 7 miles in 52 minutes

Easy running along the Shawsheen River trails

12/17 Saturday: 5 miles in 38 minutes

Easy running on the Flat loop in Haverhill

12/18 Sunday: 6 in 41 minutes

Easy running till last two miles 6:27, 5:32. Felt pretty good dropping the pace down

Total Miles: 18

Craptastic week of running. At least the time off made my foot feel better.

Training 12/5 to 12/11

12/5 Monday: OFF

12/6 Tuesday: OFF

12/7 Wednesday: OFF

A few days off in a row.....a combination of work, weather, daddy responsibilities, and a foot that is suddenly very sore led to this. The foot seems to go in cycles....some days it feels good....others it feels pretty bad. I hope its all just part of the healing process.

12/8 Thursday: 7 miles

Another day of running along the Shawsheen River trails. Foot feels ok today...and then legs are fresh. A few days off did the body good!

12/9 Friday: 8 miles

Easy running along the Shawsheen River trails. I am going to keep hitting the trails as long as the weather allows.

12/10 Saturday: 8 miles in 52 minutes

Ran over to Winnekenni from the house and got a couple miles on the trails. Felt pretty good today, foot just a touch tight. Did some stretching and rolled the foot after. I need to keep on this.

12/11 Sunday: OFF

Total miles: 23

Training 11/28 to 12/4

11/28 Monday: 7 miles in 54 minutes

Easy running along the Shawsheen River trails. Feeling a bit sluggish today, not a surprise after the jump in miles last week and the long run yesterday.

11/29 Tuesday: 8 miles in 60 minutes

Treadmill running at home as I did not have a chance to get outside during the day. Felt OK for most of the run, but the last two miles were a bit tough. Still adjusting to the increase in mileage.

11/30 Wednesday: 10 miles in 77 minutes

Ran the Shawsheen River trails out to Andover High then more trails out towards Bakers Meadow. A solid run today.

12/1 Thursday: 7 miles in 55 minutes

Ran the Shawsheen River trails. Felt a bit heavy and slow, but it was still nice to get outside!

12/2 Friday: 7 miles in 54 minutes

Another easy day of running along the Shawsheen River trails. The foot is achy, its time for a day off.

12/3 Saturday: OFF

Spent my off day hiking in the whites! Hiked Eisenhower, my 48th and final NH 4000 footer! We had an awesome day for the hike. Cool, sunny, no wind and unlimited visability. I could not have asked for a better day!

12/4 Sunday: 7 miles in 54 minutes

The legs were a bit sore and heavy after a week of running and then my hike yesterday. I wanted to go longer, but I decided to play it smart and just get in some miles. The foot is also a bit sore after hiking on it.

Total Miles: 46 + 6.5 hiking

A solid week this week. I have to continue to be consistent and get out the door, while also being smart and listening to my body. Easier said then done.

Update and Training 11/21 to 11/27

Its been a long time since my last post. Its hard to write or talk about running when your not running much and when you do actually run its slow, painful, and discouraging. A quick update on the Plantar Fasciitis issue, about 5 weeks ago after lots of time off, again, I went to see another foot specialist, got x-rays, and a physical examination of the foot. He determined that yes it was Plantar Fasciitis, no other issues, and there seemed to be a lot of scar tissue in the heel area. I guess running and racing on it for 5 months will cause some damage! He felt that I was healing well and that getting back to running shouldn't hurt it anymore at this point. As long as I take it easy and ease back into it. I also was told to continue with the stretching and exercises. One tool I have found very helpful was something called the footlog. Check it out if you are having foot issues. So about 5 weeks ago I started back running very easy and taking lots of days off. The last three weeks have been 28-30 miles with 1 or two days off. This week I stepped it up a bit more and decided to start blogging again. The foot has been OK so far, no pain, but still doesn't feel quite right yet.....still plenty of tightness and some aches, but I can deal with that. I hope this is the start of a great winter of training....only time will tell!

11/21 Monday: 8 miles in 59 minutes

Shawsheen River trails in Andover.

11/22 Tuesday: 10 miles in 73 minutes

Ran over to the Bradford section of town. Ran the new "rail trail" and did the Bradford Valentines 6k loop. Bonked pretty good at about 9 miles. Otherwise it was a good run.

11/23 Wednesday: 7 miles in 54 minutes

Easy running on the treadmill. It was cold,wet, and windy outside. Thankful for the treadmill today!

11/24 Thursday: OFF

A day to visit family and eat lots off food!

11/25 Friday: 7 miles in 55 minutes

Easy running with Heather. Nice and slow today, feeling pretty sluggish after eating my face off yesterday and stuffing myself with a large breakfast this morning.

11/26 Saturday: 7 miles in 50 minutes

Easy running, did 4 x 20 sec strides towards the end of the run. Felt OK overall.

11/27 Sunday: 12 miles in 89 minutes

The run felt good! Unfortunately I am sick!

Total Miles: 51

Biggest week in a very long time!

Training 10/3 to 10/6

10/3 Monday: OFF

A day off after two days in a row.

10/4 Tuesday: 7 miles in 52 minutes

Easy running from Cedardale in Haverhill. Felt good on the run, but the foot was pretty achy and a bit more than I would have liked. We will see how it feels tomorrow.

Training 9/26 to 10/2

9/26 Monday: OFF

9/27 Tuesday: 6 miles in 46 minutes

Easy running in Andover. Foot felt a bit tight in the heel and ankle area. No pain, but not comfortable either.

9/28 Wednesday: OFF

PT at Off Season Sports and Physical Therapy. Treatment is going well!

9/29 Thursday: 10.3 miles in 73 minutes

Ran With Jim Johnson and Emery Bickford from Jim's house. Did a loop that went up and over Spicket Hill.....and it was a pretty good hill! The run got interesting when it started to thunder and lightning and the skies opened up. Overall it was a great run and the kick in the ass I really needed. It was great to get out there and run with some other guys and it got me excited to get back out there racing. Next time I will get a few of those town lines!

9/30 Friday: OFF

10/1 Saturday: 8 miles in 64 minutes

Was going to go over the Winnekenni to catch the USATFNE 25k trail Championships, but 7am came way too early. So I went over to Lowell to watch Heather race 5k at Jennifer's Run. I warmed up with Heather and then ran around the course to cheer on those racing. Heather ran well and got second place! I finished up cooling down with Heather, her sister Emily and the Fallon's. Got in a total of 8 miles......the foot felt pretty good. I will take it!

10/2 Sunday: 6 miles in 49 minutes

Very easy running with Heather. It was my first back to back day of running since taking time off. I felt really slow and heavy, but the foot felt alright.

Total Miles: 30.3

Not a bad week of running. The foot seems to be holding up OK. Its not 100% yet, but I feel like it is heading in that direction. I will keep bringing up the milage slowly, as long as the foot feels good.

Training 9/19 to 9/25

Monday: 5 miles in 40 minutes

Easy running along the Shawsheen River Trails. The foot felt pretty good on the run, but I got some soreness after the run in my arch area. The heel area was fine....no pain, no soreness.

Tuesday: OFF

Went to my physical therapy appointment at Off Season Sports and Physical Therapy today. Got the usual treatment, heat, ultrasound, massage, graston, active release, stretching and strength exercises, then some ice and electric stimulation.

Wednesday: 5 miles in 39 minutes

Easy running in Andover. Hit the trails along the Shawsheen River again. Felt ok today. The foots seems to feel fine while running. No Pain, just a bit of tightness.

Thursday: OFF

Friday: 5 miles in 38 minutes

Easy running in Andover. Felt pretty sluggish at first, but much better in the last mile or so. Foot is still holding up OK for now.

Saturday: OFF

Went down to Canton, MA with Heather and my daughter Caitlyn for the Life is Good Festival. Had a great time and caught some awesome music.

Sunday: 7 miles in 51 minutes

My longest run since I have started running again. Felt pretty sluggish today. Probably due to a long day yesterday of walking and standing around. My foot felt ok, I am still getting a bit of tightness, but still no pain. Dropped a sub 7 minute mile (6:55) in my last mile. Lots of work to be done still.

Total Miles: 22

Training 9/12 to 9/18

9/12 Monday: OFF

9/13 Tuesday: OFF

9/14 Wednesday: OFF

9/15 Thursday: 3.2 miles in 26 minutes

This was my first run in almost 7 weeks. I had been suffering through plantar fasciitis issues since February and I have been in physical therapy for about 4 months. In the 7 weeks I have been off from running my foot has made a lot of progress and the last couple weeks I have been almost pain free. I decided that it was time to test it out and see how it felt on an easy run. Well, it actually felt pretty good! I has some stiffness and some aches in the heel and arch area, but no pain! We will have to see how it feels later tonight and tomorrow, but I am optimistic. Just have to take it slow and not push it!

9/16 Friday: OFF

No running today. Foot felt a touch sore, and I expected that, but I had no pain. I will take that as a good sign. Will give it another go tomorrow!

9/17 Saturday: 4 miles in 30 minutes

Easy running in Haverhill. The foot felt alright, more of the same with some very slight soreness in the foot and arch area. No pain in the heel. I will take it!

9/18 Sunday: OFF

Day off from running. Went over to the Bob Laprel 4 Mile Road Race to watch Heather run. She did not disappoint, running a great race to take first place! Results

Total Miles: 7.2

Its a start.....lots of work to do. Still need to be very careful and be aware of how the foot is doing. Going to take things pretty slow and make sure I come back healthy.

Time Off

I have not run since July 30th at the Carver Road Race. My plantar fasciitis issues have really taken its toll on me both physically and mentally. After 7 months of struggling with this I have decided to take some time totally off and let my foot heal completely before I try running again. I am continuing to go to physical therapy and stretching and icing at home. I thought the new quote above was great and really reflected how many of us have felt at some time during our running careers.

2011 Beach to Beacon 10k Mens Champion Micha Kogo (3) and second place Lucas Rotich (7)

2011 Beach to Beacon 10k Womens Champion Aheza Kiros.

Beach to Beacon 10k

Rest, Recovery, and some fun!

Since the USATFNE track 10k I have taken some time off to rest and recover a bit. I have been suffering through some plantar fasciitis issues and running 9 races over an 8 week period did not help things. The 10k on the track was really pushing things as it was one week after a half marathon and the foot had been hurting a lot. I felt awful during the 10k and the foot was killing both during and after the race. I had started going to Off Season Sports and Physical Therapy for treatment and I figured taking some down time could only help the healing.

So what have I been up to?

On the weekend of 18th and 19th I got outside and enjoyed the great weather. On Saturday I went down to Wampatuck State Park to get in some mountain biking with my brother Ryan. It was a blast! We had a great ride and the trails in there were awesome! It had been way too long since I had been out there on my bike. Its something I need to do more often.

On Sunday we headed up to NH to go hiking. Heather, my daughter Caitlyn and I hiked Mt Kearsarge. We had an awesome day and I was very proud of how well Caitlyn did! The best part is.....she loved it!

The next weekend Heather and I went down to Atlantic City for the Dave Matthews Band Caravan. We went for all three days, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It was a blast!! We saw a bunch of awesome bands and of course each night was topped off with an amazing set by Dave Matthews Band. Some highlights included sets by Fitz and the Tantrums, Ray Lamontagne, David Gray, From Good Homes, and OAR. On Saturday morning I actually ran 5 miles with Heather on the boardwalk, the foot felt OK, it was tight, but not too painful.

Me in front of the main stage

Dave Matthews Band at Sunset

Fitz and the Tantrums

Lisa Hannigan

I really enjoyed my two weeks of "resting" and "recovering" ha ha. Next week I will try running a few times and see how things feel. I hope that a couple weeks off and my continued trips to physical therapy will get me ahead of this foot problem and get me on the road to recovery. There are races on the horizon and I want to be ready!

6/13 to 6/26 Total Miles: 5

Picture from Old Sandwich Road Race

Training 6/6 to 6/12

6/6 Monday: 8 miles in 61 minutes

Very easy running from Cedardale. Felt pretty good for most of the run, the foot really started to hurt the last couple miles.

6/7 Tuesday: 10.2 miles in 82 minutes

Wow.....I felt really awful today. I could not run any faster than 8 minute pace. I think a combination the heat and the 1/2 marathon on Sunday really got to me today.

6/8 Wednesday: 7.2 miles in 53 minutes

Late evening run after going to my PT appointment were I was once again tortured for an hour. I really hope all the pain they put me through help heal my foot. My legs felt much better today.

6/9 Thursday: AM: 5 miles in 40 minutes PM: 10 miles in 69 minutes

AM: Very easy treadmill running.

PM: Running up in Exeter, NH with CMS teammate Al Bernier. He took me on a nice tour of some of the very nice trails and back roads in the area. Its always nice to run in a new place.

6/10 Friday: 8 miles in 62 minutes

Felt pretty sore and slow today. They beat me up pretty good this morning at PT.

6/11 Saturday: 5 miles in 40 minutes

Very easy running on the treadmill. Didn't really feel well this morning, just sluggish and tired.

6/12 Sunday: 14 miles in 98 minutes

Ran the 10k at the USATFNE Track Championships. Warmed up 3 miles with my CMS teammates, then ran 10k in 33:24 good for 3rd place, then cooled down just short of 5 miles with the CMS guys.

Total Miles: 67.4

Training 5/30 to 6/5

5/30 Monday: 9 miles in 64 minutes

Ran the Titan's Memorial Day 5k in Pembroke, MA. Ran 1 mile of warm up and then raced 5k in 15:42 good for the win! Warmed down by chasing my daughter around as she race the kids 2k. Heather also took first place in the 5k....double win! Results

5/31 Tuesday: 10 miles in 73 minutes

Merrimack River Trail from the Hotel. Ran with Jim Johnson and Mike Quintal.

6/1 Wednesday: 10.1 miles in 80 minutes

Easy running out past Crystal Lake and back with Heather....till she dusted me over the last 2 miles. Got chased home by a thunder storm.

6/2 Thursday: 6 miles in 48 minutes

Very easy treadmill running at home. Just had no time to get out running today. Plus the foot is killing me.

6/3 Friday: OFF

Well I finally went to go see someone about my foot. I went to Off Season Sports and Physical Therapy to get a diagnosis and some treatment. The bad news is that I have plantar fasciitis, the good news is that I now have a plan in place to treat it. After a collection of tests and treatments (ouch!) I was sent home with a list of stretches and exercises to do. I hope this is the begining of the end for the pain in my foot!

6/4 Saturday: 4 miles in 32 minutes

Very easy running with Heather.

6/5 Sunday: 17.5 miles in 106 minutes

Went down to Plymouth, MA to run the Old Sandwich Road Race 1/2 marathon. Warmed up an easy 2 miles, then ran 13.1 miles in 1:12:26 good for first place and a new course record! I was very happy with this race, I felt comfortable and strong the whole way on this very tough course. Warmed down 2.4 miles. Results

Congrats to Heather who won the 10k!

Total Miles: 56.6

Training 5/23 to 5/30

5/23 Monday: 6 miles in 44 minutes

Easy running from Cedarland. Felt pretty heavy and slow today.

5/24 Tuesday: AM: 10.1 miles in 73 minutes PM: 5 miles in 40 minutes

Rattlesnake Hill loop, felt much better today.

5/25 Wednesday: 10.5 in 75 minutes

Andover Center loop with 6 x 20 second strides towards the end of the run.

5/26 Thursday: 8.4 miles in 61 minutes

Shawsheen River trails through the neighborhood and a cemetery loop for good measure.

5/27 Friday: OFF

First day off in a while. Rested up my legs for a weekend of racing

5/28 Saturday: 8.1 miles in 56 minutes

Ran the Sons of Italy 5k in Lawrence MA. Warmed up 3 miles over the course with Heather, then race 5k in 16:11 (splits 5:35, 5:12, 4:55, 30). Good for second place to Run's Joseph Koech. Warmed down 2 miles with Heather and Greg Ward (CMS). Heather picked up the win in 19:22. I was very happy with the effort today. Results

5/29 Sunday: 7 miles in 52 minutes

Easy running in Haverhill. Getting ready for another day of racing tomorrow.

Total Miles: 55.1

Training 5/16 to 5/22

5/16 Monday: 8 miles in 60 minutes

Treadmill run at home.

5/17 Tuesday: AM: 10 miles in 76 minutes PM: 5 miles in 37 minutes

AM: Run out past Crystal Lake

PM: Easy running in Andover

5/18 Wednesday: 11 miles in 75 minutes

Run from Cedarland with Jim Johnson. Ran over to the Bradford Valentine 5 mile course and did that loop and back. Solid run!

5/19 Thursday: 10 miles in 71 minutes

Rattlesnake Hill loop. Felt pretty good today.

5/20 Friday: 5 miles in 38 minutes

Easy running in Haverhill with Heather.

5/21 Saturday: 8.1 miles in 56 minutes

Ran the Reading Lions Club Journey for Sight 5k. Warmed up 2.5 miles with Heather, then raced 5k in 15:58 good for 2nd place behind a very strong Tom Davis. After the race I did a nice 2.5 mile cool down with Heather. Results

5/22 Sunday: 15 miles in 106 minutes

Ran alone.....I didn't get invited to the river run this morning :( Ran out past Crystal Lake and did the Hooker Farm Road loop. Felt pretty good except for my left foot really acting up in the last few miles. It made the end of my run a bit unpleasant.

Total Miles: 72.1

Training 5/9 to 5/15

5/9 Monday: 5 miles in 39 minutes

Very easy recovery day.

5/10 Tuesday: 10.2 miles in 78 minutes

Shawsheen River trails up past Andover High School and around the cemetery.

5/11 Wednesday: AM: 5 miles in 40 minutes PM: 10 miles in 67 minutes

AM: Easy treadmill running at home.

PM: Run from the Whirlaway with Jim Johnson. Solid run!

5/12 Thursday: AM: 10 miles in 74 minutes PM: 6.2 miles in 48 minutes

AM: Early morning running out past Crystal Lake.

PM: Very easy run with Heather.

5/13 Friday: 6.5 miles on the treadmill.

Very early run on the treadmill, then it was off to NH for a wedding. Good times!

5/14 Saturday: 5 miles in 40 minutes

Very easy running with Heather in Campton NH.

5/15 Sunday: 12.6 miles in 90 minutes

Ran the Manomartian 3.4 mile Road Race in Plymouth, MA. Warmed up 3 miles over part of the course to check out "The Hill". Discovered that this is a very challenging course and "The Hill" is a tough one! Ran 17:16 good for first place! My first win of the year! Warmed down 6.2 miles.

Total Miles: 70.5

Training 5/2 to 5/8

5/2 Monday: 10 miles in 71 minutes

Ran the Merrimack River trail with Jim Johnson from the hotel. Went nice and easy.

5/3 Tuesday: AM: 5 miles in 39 minutes PM: 10 miles in 73 minutes

AM: Easy running from home.

PM: Easy run out past Crystal Lake, first part with Heather. Did 6 x 20-25 second strides in the last couple miles.

5/4 Wednesday: 5 miles in 40 minutes

Easy running on the treadmill. I was going to run in the evening, but I decided an light mileage day was in order. Time to give the legs a little break.

5/5 Thursday: AM: 5 miles in 40 minutes PM: 10 miles in 64 minutes (Garmin)

AM: Easy running on the treadmill at home

PM: Ran from Cedardale. Did not intend on running hard but I ended up running a progression run. Started out easy but worked it down pretty quickly, miles 2 - 9 went 6:36, 6:46, 6:21, 6:10, 6:15, 6:05, 5:40, 5:30. Then I eased up the last mile as a cool down. The last five miles of up tempo I averaged 5:56 pace. It was also up hill on the way back! A nice solid run.

5/6 Friday: 9 miles in 68 minutes

Easy running along the Shawsheen River trails.

5/7 Saturday: 6 miles in 46 minutes

Easy running from home.

5/8 Sunday: 11 miles in 76 minutes

Ran the USATFNE Championships at the Medical Center 6k in Nashua, NH. Warmed up 3.5 miles with the CMS guys, ran 6k in 19:30 (13th place overall, CMS Open team 1st place), cooled down 6k with he CMS guys. Race report to be posted soon!

James Joyce Ramble

On Sunday May 1st I ran the USATFNE 10k Championships at the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham Mass. I came into this race having upped my mileage over the last few weeks and still dealing with some plantar issues in my left foot. So I wanted to be smart with my racing, but still run a good hard race. I figured if I ran a good race I could run around 32:50 (5:17 pace), so that was the goal! This was also a race my team, The Central Mass Striders (CMS), really felt like we had a chance to win if we put in a strong race. So the pressure was on! After a good warm up with my CMS teammates it was go time!

As the race went off I tried to stay relaxed and make sure I did not get in over my head early in the race. The first mile is fast as it has some downhill. So I wasn't surprised when we went through the first mile in 4:59. Although I still think I was about 5-6 seconds faster than I should have been. At this point I was near CMS teammate Greg Hammett. He is a very strong runner and I knew he would run a solid pace, so I tucked in behind Greg and went for the ride. We hit the 2nd mile in 10:11 (5:12 mile). We were in really good position, with three other CMS guys in front of us, Greg and I were 4th and 5th on the team. At this point no other team had more than 2 or 3 guys in front of us. As we got close to three miles a couple guys went past us and we hit the third mile in 15:33 (5:22). Around this point I went past Greg and I expected him to tuck in behind me. Little did I know that Greg was hurting a bit and actually falling off the pace. I didn't even realize this till after the race. At this point I ended up tucking in behind Michael Bunker of the Dirigo team and followed him for the next three miles. We hit 4 miles in 20:55 (5:22)and 5 miles in 26:18 (5:23). During this stretch nobody went past us, I think we may have past a couple guys, but I was just concentrating on hanging on and keeping the pace strong. Not long after the 5 mile mark I could hear some guys coming up from behind us. To my horror it was a pack of Whirlaway guys! I managed to hold them off through the 6th mile mark in 32:45 (5:24). With 0.2 miles to go I knew it was going to be a dog fight and my legs were already feeling like telephone poles! Michael Bunker pulled away from me and soon I was in a battle with Whirlaway's Keven O'Neil, Pat Ard, and Joe Navas. I ran as fast as my legs would let me go, but it was not to be. We all finished with in 3 seconds of each other, but I was the last one across the line.

At this point I was thinking that there was a good chance that we were going to lose the team race to Whirlaway. Those guys ran a great race and had five guys scored before we had our 4th (me) and 5th (Greg Ward) guys in. I left the race thinking we had lost, only to get a call later telling me we had actually won by 4 seconds! I was pretty excited that CMS was the 10k Mens Open Team Champion! What a tight race! Special thanks to Kevin Gorman who was out there on the course cheering us on. It was a great help to have all that support out there on the course. I am looking foward to doing it aover again this weekend at the USATFNE 6k Championships!

Results

Splits:

4:59

5:12 (10:11)

5:22 (15:33)

5:22 (20:55)

5:23 (26:18)

5:24 (31:42)

1:03 (32:45)

Training 4/25 to 5/1

4/25 Monday: 8 miles in 60 minutes

Easy treadmill running at home.

4/26 Tuesday: 10 miles in 71 minutes

Rattlesnake Hill Road loop. Felt pretty good today, the left foot was a little tight, but not too bad.

4/27 Wednesday: AM: 5 miles in 37 minutes PM: 10 miles in 69 minutes

AM: Easy running in Andover

PM: Merrimack River Trail from the hotel with Jim Johnson.

4/28 Thursday: AM: 4 miles in 32 minutes PM: 10 miles in 76 minutes

AM: Easy running on the treadmill.

PM: Merrimack River Trail from the hotel

4/29 Friday: 9 miles in 68 minutes

Easy running up to Andover Center

4/30 Saturday: 5 miles in 40 minutes

Very easy running on the treadmill.

5/1 Sunday: 13 miles in 88 minutes

I did 2.8 miles of warm up and strides with my CMS teammates. Then raced the USATFNE 10k Championships at the James Joyce Ramble in 32:45. That was good for 18th overall and 4th man on the 10k Champion CMS team! Did another 4 miles of warm down with the CMS guys. It was a good day and we squeaked out the championship by only 4 seconds over a very tough Whirlaway Team. Can't wait to do it again next weekend at the USATFNE 6k Championships!

Total Miles: 74

Training 4/18 to 4/24

4/18 Monday: 7 miles in 55 minutes

Ran on the treadmill while watching the Boston Marathon coverage leading up to the race. Then I settled in to watch an absolutely awesome race! Wish I could have been out there to enjoy the tailwind....there were some awesome times out there!

4/19 Tuesday: 10 miles in 73 minutes

Felt pretty good during todays run. Left foot felt OK during the run, but I got more shooting pain about an hour after my run.

4/20 Wednesday: AM: 4.5 mile in 36 minutes PM: 9 miles in 67 minutes

AM: Easy running on the treadmill at home.

PM: Treadmill running again. My foot feels the best on the treadmill.

4/21 Thursday: 9 miles in 65 minutes

Easy running along the Shawsheen River Trails and up to the high school. Felt pretty good.

4/22 Friday: 8 miles in 58 minutes

Easy running out past the cemetery.

4/23 Saturday: 11 miles in 78 minutes

Out of Hibernation 5k. 3 miles of warm up with Heather, Bob, and Brandon. 5k in 15:58 (3rd place) in windy, rainy weather. 5 miles of cool down with Bob and Brandon. Results

4/24 Sunday: 13.1 miles in 90 minutes

Ran over to Winnikenni and hit the trails. My left foot was sore to start the run, but after a few miles it felt pretty good. I finished up the last 5 miles pretty strong with mid to low 6 minutes miles.

Total Miles: 71.6

Training 4/11 to 4/17

4/11 Monday: 6 miles in 50 minutes

A very slow run along the Shawsheen River. Legs felt really beat up after the trail race Saturday and hiking all day Sunday.

4/12 Tuesday: 4 miles in 32 minutes

Another really easy day to make sure I get my legs back under me.

4/13 Wednesday: 10 miles in 74 minutes

Treadmill run at home. Didn't feel like running in the cold rain. Legs felt ten times better today.

4/14 Thursday: 10.5 miles in 76 minutes

Ran along the Shawsheen out to the high school and a loop in the cemetery. Felt pretty good today.

4/15 Friday: 10 miles in 71 minutes

Ran the Rattlesnake Hill loop. The left foot was a little more sore than usual today.

4/16 Saturday: 10 miles in 73 minutes

Crystal Lake out and back. It was nice out there but windy. Left foot is a bit better today.

4/17 Sunday: 10.5 miles in 70 minutes

Ran out past Crystal Lake again. Four miles easy, then into a bit of a progression run. Went 6:47, 6:27, 5:54, 5:46, 5:30 over the next five miles. Then easy back home. Felt good during the run, but then got a bit of shooting pain in the left foot about an hour later. Then the pain went away. Not sure what to think at this point.....I may go see someone to get a solid diagnosis and find out exactly whats going on in my foot.

Total Miles: 61

Training 4/4 to 4/10

4/4 Monday: 8.4 miles in 65 minutes

Ran the Merrimack River trail today from the hotel. It was a wet one out there! My left foot was tight all day today but it did not bother me too much during the run. It was just feeling tight.

4/5 Tuesday: 9 miles in 62 minutes

Three miles easy, then three miles at 6 minute pace, then three miles easy. Felt nice and relaxed the whole time.

4/6 Wednesday: 10 miles in 74 minutes

Ran the Shawsheen river trails over to Andover High School and out towards Bakers Meadow. Felt OK today. The left foot is still feeling the same, no pain, but I can still feel tightness.

4/7 Thursday: 8.7 miles in 66 minutes

Night time treadmill running. No time to run during the day. Felt Ok, kept things nice and easy.

4/8 Friday: 7 miles in 53 minutes

Easy trail running. Felt pretty good.

4/9 Saturday: 14.5 miles in 1 hour and 36 minutes

Ran the Merrimack River trail race. Warmed up 2.5 miles, raced 10 miles in 59:14, good for third place. Cooled down 2 miles. Race report to come soon!

4/10 Sunday: OFF / 12 miles hiking

Went to NH for the rest of the weekend and hiked Middle and South Carter with Heather. I asked her to marry me and she said yes!

Total Miles: 57.6

A great week!