Spirit, treadill, and tempo

Last night I was lucky enough to get out with some friends after work for beers, burgers and a movie on marathoning. Joining me were two of my running cronies, Ian and Jamie, and a few of my work/lunch run buddies, Joseph, Jim, and Mike. We first hit the Sea Dog Brewing Company in Topsham and then headed over to the theater for the encore presentation of Spirit of the Marathon. I won't make you endure a lengthy review because my buddy Jamie did a fantastic job of reviewing the movie for me. Check out his Maine Runner blog for a more complete retrospective. While I do agree with Jamie on most points (how couldn't I since he was a MSNBC producer before moving to Maine to teach our youth?), I have to grade the film better than a C+. I am going to go with a B+ because any movie on running automatically starts at a B. For a little known running flick, check out "Saint Ralph". See the trailer at Yahoo movies. Not sure why I was just thinking of this movie but it's a good B+, A- movie.

Upon returning home at 10:30 I noticed the treadmill belt had arrived. I really wanted to curl up in bed with my book but couldn't pass up the work that needed to be done for my beloved hamster wheel. I am happy to report the treadmill is once again restored to its former status as a torture device...and it only took me until 1 AM to get it running. Hopefully I won't have to do anything to it for another 5 years...but I'm not holding my breath.

I did not get out for a run yesterday but I did Wednesday and today. Wednesday's run mirrored Tuesday's run with the same cast of characters and a pace that was only a couple seconds slower per mile, albeit with a more consistent pace per mile. It was a little colder than Tuesday, but all in all, a great winter day for Maine running.

Run stats: South Freeport, 6.3 miles, 46:26, 7:21/mile, Avg HR 149, Max HR 176

Today I ran solo in a snow/sleet mix that stung both my face as I ran into it and my throat as I breathed it in. Good temperature in the mid-20s I am guessing and I held a pretty good pace throughout. For this early in the season I would classify this as a tempo run. Also, I was quite happy with my consistent pace and the negative splits I pulled off, despite the hilly course I took. Days like today remind me how much fun it is to train for speed distances (marathon) versus long distance (100-milers). Once my training for 100s steps up, these "fast" days will be a fleeting memory as I slog through my long, really slow runs.

Run stats: South Freeport, 5.19 miles, 36:44, 7:04/mile, Avg HR 154, Max HR 178
Splits: 1 - 7:27, 2 - 7:02, 3 - 7:01, 4 - 7:09 (lost a lens in my glasses and had to turn around to retrieve it), 5 - 6:49, Last .19 - 6:32

Not sure what is on tap for the weekend. I may take the AM off for fun family time. Nothing better than having a couple kids crawling on you in bed in the morning as a wake up call. Much better than Garrison Keillor on NPR...