10 mile training run

I just finished up one of my last runs before I go to New York. On the schedule was a 10 mile run.
This last week, the right tibia was on again, off again with all kinds of pain in it. I am now thoroughly convinced that my shin pain has been a stress fracture. Not severe - but enough to set me back a couple months and set my sights a lot lower for any upcoming running events.
But, after a couple days of rest, it was time to get one more long run in the bank. I took a couple ibuprofen and headed out the door. It was a beautiful October morning - heavy dew, breeze from the southwest, and 37 degrees.
The run went well. It is starting to feel like I am running - not slogging anymore.
Came in with 10.07 miles in 1:20:57 for a 8:02/mile pace.
I am thinking that I will shoot for a sub-3:30 at NYC.

Cornerstone is set

I've always read, heard and strongly believe that the long run is the "Cornerstone" of the marathon training program.
Lately, I haven't been running well. The tibia on my right leg has been a real pain. And not many cornerstones have been set for the NYC marathon.
In a prior post, I planned out how I was going to get my few last long runs in before New York. Good gracious, it is only 2 weeks from tomorrow!!
I feel a bit better about all of this today. As I sit here at the computer, I still have some sweat on my back. I did it. Yep, 20.38 miles in 2:51:01 (8:23/mile).
In fact, it went well. No major pains. I did cheat a bit and took some Vitamin I (ibuprofen) before the run though.
Things are looking up...
The cornerstone is set.

Getting ready for New York

Ever since I've been set back with this shin splints/tibia stress fracture injury, there has a question in the back of my head. Will I be able to run NYC marathon on November 2?
Yea right, I just ran a 100 miler late August, and was doing marathons for training runs leading up to that. Boy, have I been humbled. I have run a total of 120 miles since my 100 - that's about 17 miles per week. And I feel that I have been pushing it pretty hard to come back.
Now, it is three weeks to go for the marathon. Last week I came up with this short and sweet marathon training plan for the injured ultrathoner.
Dates are relative to the marathon date:
4 weeks prior: 10 mile long run
3 weeks prior: 15 mile long run
2 weeks prior: 20 mile long run
1 week prior: 10 mile long run.
There is some good news here. Yesterday I was able to run 15.2 miles. I even felt good enough to push the pace a little bit to 7:30/mile for the final 3 miles.
Overall workout was 8:04/mile.
I'm feeling a lot better now about NYC...maybe there is a chance that I can run a nice little BQ AND have a lot of fun doing it?!?!?

Schmoopie completes TCM!

Congratulations to my Schmoopie as she completed her 2nd marathon at Twin Cities on Sunday!
Before anyone gets ill to the stomach about this Schmoopie stuff, let me explain.
Mary is a huge Seinfeld fan, and the term comes from the "Soup Nazi" episode where Jerry and his girlfriend call each other Schmoopie all the time and it is outright sickening. It really is so annoying that it is humorous in a strange way.
Needless to say, we have experimented with this term of endearment and it is our warped way of communicating affection to each other.
Here's the YouTube if you're interested...funny stuff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mii8aJklEOg
Back to the race:
It started to sprinkle a bit at home, so I drove up to Minneapolis early Sunday morning to watch the marathon. I was able to see Mary at mile 8.5 (DuPont and Minnehaha Parkway), then saw her again at mile 19.3 (end of the Franklin bridge), and then saw her just before the finish at mile 26.1.
Here is a photo of her coming down the final stretch.

Her official chip time was 4:20:14 which was within 2 minutes of her Med City marathon time in May 2008.

I was able to see some runners I knew, missed a lot of them, and cheered loudly for those that were wearing ATR (Afton Trail Run) tech shirts! This was the first time I have watched a marathon. It was fantastic watching the runners come down the final stretch...had a lump in my throat the whole time.

Also, today is our 19th anninversay. Happy Anniversay, Schmoopie!

Was it broke?

I haven't posted in quite a while. Here are some things that I have been thinking about.

My Training - A few weeks back, I diagnosed my running problems as shin splints. It was at least that. Three weeks ago, I was not even able to run1 mile any more. Sucksville!!!
The pain was residing in just my right leg. It really hurt about 2/3 of the way up my tibia. Very tender to the touch and the pain would radiate all the way through my body. Self diagnosis tells me that it actually was a stress fracture. The timing of the whole thing makes sense also. It has been 5.5 weeks since Lean Horse and 6 weeks is amount of time needed to heal a stress fracture properly.
Just in the last 3 days, the pain has reduced about 10-fold and it feels like I am running again!
I'm feeling very good about being able to recover fully and put out a respectable effort at the NYC marathon.

Schmoopie Runs Again - My dear Schmoopie (my wife, Mary) is running the Twin Cities Marathon this Sunday! She is in good shape to run this one. The forecast looks great. with temps in the 50's and 60's.
This will be her second marathon. Her first was Med City Marathon in Rochester, MN on May 25. I paced her on that one and she did fantastic - finishing in 4:18:55!
I wish her all the best, as I may have to stay home on Sunday, tending to some fall harvest duties. Maybe it will rain, and I can get up there and cheer her on!