No more Nike+ for me

I've decided to ditch my Nike+ for my iPod and go with a watch and MapMyRun to figure it all out. I could really never get the Nike+ calibrated and it was always off for my runs (based on what google maps said). So if anyone has a watch to recommend let me know....

Tempo Run - IN NEW SHOES!!

Today, Justin and I did our first Tempo run. Also today was the first run with the new shoes. The shoes were great - I couldn't be happier with them. Results of today's tempo run.

Warmup - 1 mile in 9:50 minutes
1st mile tempo - 8:00 minutes (too fast)
2nd mile tempo - 9:00 minutes (too slow)
Cooldown - 1 mile in 10:00 minutes
Overall time - 36:50 for 4 miles

We were aiming for 8:30 minute pace - so we have some work to do to bring the fast down and speed the slow up to the midpoint. The tempo miles felt tough but not impossible. We could talk a little as we ran which is a good sign (I think).

Off day tomorrow - which is good as this is the first time in a long time I ran 3 consecutive days. I'm looking for a good route in Somverville/Cambridge area for my Saturday long run. Guess I'll be on MapMyRun most of the night finding that "perfect" route.

10:15pm Update - No soreness or pain. Im a little shocked. But I guess we will see how I feel in the morning (or when the ibuprofen wears off).

NEW SHOES!!

I did some quick math the other day and realized that my Nike's have quite a few miles on them. That coupled with my new case of "Black Toe" - I decided it was time for a new pair of shoes.

Instead of going to Dick's or similar place and buying the most inexpensive of the fancy Nike's I could find; I thought it was about time I go to a real running store and get someone to watch me walk and all that jazz. I heard good things about Rhode Runner in Providence from Justin so I headed there (after a quick trip to Books on the Square to get some books for Alec to keep him occupied).

As soon as I walked in I was helped by a nice kid working there. He made me take off the shoes and roll up my jeans and walk to the door and back a couple times. After a few questions about mileage and stuff - he brought out 3 pairs - 1) Nike 2) Saucony and 3) Brooks.

The Nike's felt just like my current Nike's so nothing spectacular. I then put on the Saucony shoes - and WOW. They felt soooo good. I tried on the Brooks after that - they were nice - but the Saucony's were the way to go. So I have a brand new pair of Saucony Progrid Trigon 5 Ride (silver/grey/orange) size 10.5s.



I know it seems I'm a little over excited about a pair of shoes - but I hate going shoe shopping for any shoe - and this was as painless as it gets. Oh and Alec insisted on seeing my black toe when I was trying on shoes - he says and I quote "Its not that gross Daddy".

Todays "Easy" run

Today was "easy" run day. We went our old school 5k route down Liberty Lane. We did today at a 9:27 pace. A little faster than we would have liked - but we did negative splits which is good. First mile was 10 minutes, last 1.1 was 8:45. The knees are a little sore and the toe is still black. Hopefully tomorrows Tempo run isnt as hard as I think its gonna be.

Inspiration for the next few weeks

I think Trent Reznor said it best --

"Nothing can hurt me, nothing can stop me now"

The Great Toe

Looks like its time to get a new pair of shoes as the Black Toe has struck. Im sure most of you have had it at some point - but in case you haven't here is what "The Toe" is - (from RunnersWorld)

"A black toenail happens because repeated jamming of the toes against a shoe causes the nail to dislodge. It can happen when shoes are too big or too small, so go to a specialty running shoe store and have the salesperson make sure there's a thumb's width between the end of your longest toe and the front of the shoe. Also, make sure your toenails are trimmed straight across."

Intevals: 400s

Went to URI track today with Finch, Chiu and Drew-guy. We split up into two groups - me and Drew, Finch and Chiu. Drew and I did 1:46 400s, with a recovery of 1:24. Four sets each. We should have done one more but called it quits at four.

Heading to Track tomorrow

So, in talking it over with Justin - looks like we are headed to the track tomorrow. WAHOOO!!! (I sarcastically yell.) I have to do some work tonight to figure out what pace to run our 400's at tomorrow. My ideal goal would be to finish one of the two 5ks coming up in the 25 minute range. Last year I ran my one 5k at a 10:07 pace...so i need to shave 2 minutes per mile off of last year's time. I think I can do a 8:40ish pace now. So just need to try and nix that last 40 seconds.

Blessing of the Fleet 2008 Race Results

Place: 1227/2289
Name: Mark Juliano
Age: 32
Gun Time: 1:32:43
Pace: 9:16
Watch Time: 1:31:00
Pace: 9:06
Place/group: 186
Age Group: M30-39
Place/sex: 813
Bib #: 1347
Pawtucket, RI

Coolrunning.com results page

The Blessing of the Fleet - 10 Miler - Narragansett RI

Lets see...This was my first non chip race. (granted it was only my 4th race ever....). For a small race there appeared to be alot of people - but i guess it was a small space. There was no pre-race countdown - just the opening gun fire to start. It took us all by surprise. Took us about 30 seconds to cross the start line. The first mile took 9:04 to run. It was way too fast. I heard Drew yell up to me that we were going to fast. So I slowed down....or did I. Passed the second mile marker - 9:05 pace. Again - too fast..so I slowed down...or did I. Third mile - 9:05 pace. (see a pattern forming here?) Each mile was exactly the same - 9:04 to 9:06 pace - too fast - my saying to slow down - me not slowing down.

They gave us our race T-shirts when we picked up our numbers - but we parked pretty far from the start so I carried my shirt while I ran. I used it as a sweat rag for the first two miles - then decided it was really annoying to carry. I ended up tossing it off to some kid that was watching the race. Man, I hope he washes it before he wears it.

Even though I did well and was really happy with my results - it was definitely too close to running the Boilermaker to run this.

Last training run before The Blessing

Today was our last day to run before The Blessing on Friday. We had all intentions of going 4 miles, however Anthony forgot about a 9am meeting. So - we ended up going 3 miles. Knees are a little sore today. Now I have a headache.....im sure all will be fine in the morning. I hope

Blessing of the Fleet Road Race

So I am registered for the Blessing of the Fleet in Narragansett. A lovely 10 mile race in lovely south county.

Here is the map of the race.

1st Run since Boilermaker

Today Anthony and I ran before work...it was my first run since the Boilermaker. We did 4 miles in 35 minutes...so 8:45s. Entirely too fast...but it felt good.

Still resting

Im still resting from the Boilermaker. Most of the twinges and strains have gone away, but I dont want to push it and set myself back in my 5k prep. For the two 5ks I have come up with some goals.

For the Nassaney Cross Country 5k, I'd like to finish at 27 minutes - which would be a full 4 minutes "and change" faster than last year.

And for the CVS 5k 26 minutes.

Pictures from Boilermaker Weekend

Here are some pictures from Boilermaker weekend - and the trip to Upstate NY....

Morning after

Got some sore spots from the race. Mostly my quads and yes I have a "twinge" in my right butt cheek (pleasant isnt it). Other than that - just tired. Oh and I've decided today to rest the remainder of the week and not to run the Blessing in Narragansett.

Next week I'll be back at it and start focusing on improving my 5k time.

Boilermaker 2008 Results

Place: 5570
Name: Mark Juliano
Age: 32
Gun Time: 1:36:07
Pace: 10:19
Place in age group: 417/588
Age Group: M30-34
M# 3886
Pawtucket, RI

Boilermaker 2008

Well the Boilermaker is over. 15k is so far the longest race I've run in. The course was hard - not brutal.

Laura and I lined up around 7:30am or so for the 8am start. Once the starting gun was fired it took almost 8 minutes for us to hit the starting line. Once we got going it took a while to weave our way around people into an area where we could run comfortably. Then of course i had to pee. So we had to re-weave our way around people again.

The weaving through people continued even through the hill at the golf course. Once we came down the hill and got on Memorial Parkway it opened up a bit. So 5 miles in and it opened up....i guess thats what happens when 11000+ runners are registered to run.

Laura said to me she didnt feel it and if i wanted to leave her to just go. I hung for a bit with her, but my Clif Goo i took started to kick in so I took off. As we came around in front of Pin O Rama, WOUR 96.9 had Stone Temple Pilots playing real loud which got me pumped up again.

From Burrstone Rd to the finish, it was mostly a blur. I remember high fiving spectators, dumping water on my head, running through hose mists and swearing at myself to keep up the pace. I can't imagine what people around me must have thought.

My gun time was 1:36:07 #5569 overall. After the race we found out that the chip timing system had some issues and didnt get the starts for most people so they scrapped the chip times. Laura had her watch going and we estimated that my "chip" time was 1:28:40ish.

Overall it was a great race, with great people along the race path to cheer us on. Look forward to running it next year.

Log:
Mile 0-1 --> Alot of weaving in and out of slower people, and getting weaved around by faster people. Not much to say about pace as it was just so slow due to amount of people.

Mile 1-2 --> Had to pee.....first time peeing in the weeds in front of thousands of people, however I was not alone. After pee stop more weaving and getting weaved around. Skipped water station.

Mile 2-3 --> Things opened up a very little. Then we started a small hill into the golf course area.

Mile 3-4 --> The hill. It was rough - but not as bad as I thought it would be in my head. I think since it was still pretty busy it kept me from just flying up the hill and "wasting" energy. At this point i started to drink 1/2 the cup of water and pour the other 1/2 on my head.

Mile 4-5 --> Goo'd up with Clif. And since it was going down hill, was probably my fastest mile, although i kept it under control.

Mile 5-6 --> I separated from Laura as my adrenaline kicked in - most likely from combination of crowd and Goo. Great crowds through here.

Mile 6-7 --> Up Burrstone Rd. This wasnt too bad and I felt the best during this mile. Not a huge surprise as usually on my long runs mile 6->7 are when I normally feel good.

Mile 7-8 --> Felt pretty good still in the beginning. As I got closer to the 8th mile I started to feel drained.

Mile 8-9 --> Felt drained for a bit still after passing the 8 mile timer. Around 8.5th mile, I started to feel better and was able to pick it up a bit. Ran through some hose water which made it all feel good. Passed up some people's offer to take a break for some free beer. Right before the 9 mile timer, i kicked it into a higher gear and took off for the finish.

Mile 9-end --> I was able to maintain my "higher" gear through to the end. Crossed finish line. Success - finished first Boilermaker.

Boilermaker Map

Last 5k run before the Boilermaker

Felt terrible today during the run. One of my top 5 least enjoyable runs since I started. Guess that happens sometimes. No more running until race day.

July 7th Run

Just a nice easy run today with Shawn. I headed to Stop sign on Fairgrounds and Rte 2. No golden retriever today....so a good day.

July 6th Run

Went running with Tim on the East Providence/Bristol Bike path. Good...but tiring run. The first mile was a calibration mile for my Nike+....then we went 5 more.