Intermission Over

That's the hope anyway. I've been on -- how shall I say it? -- an extended mental and physical "break" from running. You could probably gather as much from the time between posts here. Since my last update, I have logged 84 miles in roughly 11 weeks, which is a big drop-off for me.

Things are going to pick up, though. They have to. I've had a few moments recently that have started to nudge me back in the right direction. My lovely wife, Kelly, teasingly told me the other day that she liked that I was getting my belly back. I signed up for the 2009 Chicago Marathon the next day.

Beyond that little bit of motivation, I keep having people ask me how my running is going and I'm sick and tired of saying I'm on a break. Me and running haven't broken up, but we're on a break. A Blue Jays player asked me this week and then another person at work brought up the running again yesterday.

What this has showed me is how much running became a part of my identity and I have let it slip away over the past couple months. It's time to get back at it. I stepped on the scale last night before bed and I was up to nearly 175. That's 20 pounds heavier than I was last October! I don't look heavy by any means, don't get me wrong, but it's time to hit the path again.

I started this morning. Kelly got up at 6ish this morn to get ready for work and rather than stay in bed like I normally do, I got up as well. I loaded up my ipod with some fresh tunes while she got ready and after she left, I headed to the lakefront. Now, I planned on punishing myself with 10 miles, but I settled for 6 at a 7:57 pace with a brief break at the midway point.

My legs were singing as I wrapped up the run and I'm sitting in the pressbox at work right now fighting a cough. That tells me that it's been way too long since my last run -- 17 days in fact. Now that I have another 26.2 on my schedule, I can't afford to stray away from running again. Now is the time to step up the program again and get back to watching what I'm eating.

"Success does not cometo the most righteous and rigorously disciplined but to those who continue running." ~Amby Burfoot

Spring Training

Wow, it's been a while since my last post. So, I'll just toss a quick update on here. I'm back in Florida for another year of spring training and I'll be here through April 2. As for the running? It's been kind of sporatic of late.

I've gone running a handful of times since the marathon, but I've still been dealing with some leftover right hip soreness -- the problem that came up during the race. I took a week off after the marathon, logged 21 miles the next week, and then decided I was aching a little too much to keep going.

So, for much of the past month, I've stayed away from running, spending more time lifting again in the gym. Nothing wrong with pumping the ol' iron, which I didn't do much while in marathon training. I did 3 miles on the treadmill yesterday at a 7:20 pace and actually felt great, and after a day off today, I'm planning on logging 5-6 miles early in the morning.

I'm trying to be smart and just run to tolerance right now. It seems like the longer I run, the more the hip thing comes up. On 3-mile runs, it's not a problem, but once I get up to four or more, it begins to irritate me. So, hopefully doing some strengthing work in the gym will help me recover.

That's it for now. It's been awesome to be outside, running in shorts again down in this Florida weather. Goodbye, winter.

Disney World Marathon

I've had a couple days to think about Sunday's marathon, providing enough time for some of the frustration to wear off. That's a good thing, because looking back on it now, I can say I'm happy with how things went in my second marathon. When it was all said and done, I had shaved more than 13 minutes off my personal best and finished the 26.2 miles in a respectable 4:09:04.

The photo above (all pictures in this post courtesy of my wife, Kelly) is of me heading into the final turn at the finish. What you can't see is the source of my frustration. I was limping pretty bad at that point due to an issue with the right side of my hip. It started around mile 17 and was really bad for the final four miles -- to the point where it was hurting to lift my right leg.

Under the circumstances, though, my time was pretty good. My goal was to break four hours and -- injury aside -- had it not been for three unfortunate porta-john stops (thanks 6 am start!), I probably would've met that goal. Up until the hip issue flared up, I was on pace for about a 3:45-50 finish, which was what I was gunning for this time.

But, hey, I finished, and here's what I received for my work:

Quite the elaborate medal, huh. I knew Kelly -- a huge Disney fan, for those who aren't aware -- would love the hardware, not to mention the trip to Disney World. We toured the park on Friday and had a blast. Then, I got a backstage tour on Sunday. Running through large empty stretches of the parks was a neat experience.

Overall, I enjoyed Chicago more. I've said it before, I can't imagine many other marathons -- with the exception of New York and Boston -- matching the energy of the Chicago marathon. With 1.5 million spectators lining nearly the entire path, it's an awesome experience. For Disney, there were long periods of running with no spectators on the empty highway roads between the parks.

The four parks (you begin in Epcot, then run through Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios before returning to Epcot for the finish) did break up the run pretty well, though. Magic Kingdom was probably the highlight, though running at the bottom of Mount Everest in Animal Kingdom was pretty cool, too.

This is a picture of a crowd in Magic Kingdom watching runners head into Tomorrowland. After running down Main Street in MK, you head through this section of the park before making your way back to the castle. We ran through the tunnel under the castle from the back and then veered off to the right.

Here's a shot Kell took of runners making their way out of the castle. As you're coming down the ramp after coming out of the tunnel, there was a photographer in front of the castle. Some runners, me included, hopped off the course to get a picture snapped really quick. After doing that, I high-fived Mickey Mouse and went on my way.

Out of 14,940 finishers, my time was good enough to place me 2,586th. Out of 7,801 men, I finished in 1,926th place. I was 232nd out of 873 men in the 25-29 age bracket as well. My placings weren't as good as my half showing in Vegas, but I guess finishing in the top 20 percent isn't all that shabby, especially on a wonky leg.

I don't have any official splits for the marathon, but here are the estimated mile times, according to my watch, which tends to run a little slower than the actual pace:

Miles 1-16:
8:22/9:51/8:19/8:15/8:27/8:22/10:46/8:21/
8:16/8:24/8:30/8:44/8:23/8:41/11:15/8:30

Miles 17-26.2:
9:28/9:39/9:25/11:39/10:11/9:59/10:28/11:33/11:27/11:32/2:35

I broke them into two categories, because it's easy to see where my leg started bothering me. In miles 1-16, every mile is between 8:15-8:44 with the exception of the three bathroom stops. During mile 17, I started to feel some pain on the right side of my hip. By mile 20, it was really hurting, and by mile 22 I was limping along.

Given how I typically finish strong, I was well in line to finish around 3:45-50 through 16 miles. After that point, though, I averaged about 10:20 per mile down the stretch, and that pace climbed to 10:58 in the last seven miles and then up to 11:15 for the final four. I probably could've stopped at a medical tent for treatment, but I was so close to the end, I didn't want to quit. Plus, I was wasn't leaving without at least setting a new PR.

Here I am heading into the finish. Kelly said it was easy to see something was wrong with me, considering how I was running. What's funny is the marathon included our first names on our bib numbers, so I had a lot of people yelling my name at the end. I guess a noticeable limp will get people rooting for you! The race also added a nice touch by saying your whole name over the loud speakers as you crossed the finish line.

I wasn't the only MLB.comer in this race, either. Our Detroit Tigers writer, Jason Beck (pictured below with me after the race), also ran and finished in a cool 3:20 or so. I plan on getting to that type of time some day. For now, I'll have to be content with my time and just keep my eye on future races. I'm not sure what I'll do next year, but it looks like it'll be either the Chicago or Toronto marathon.

Until then, I'm going to rest up and back off on the long runs for a while. I've already enjoyed a post-race feast over the past few days, devouring some chinese food from PF Changs, some pizza, a burger with fries, doughnuts for breakfast today and even a beer at dinner on Sunday night! I know, I'm really letting go, huh.

I'll probably take a week or two off from running to let my feet and legs heal up. My hip has still been bothering me some when walking -- nothing too painful, but there's definitely some strain there. When I do get back to running, I'll likely be sticking indoors until I get back to Florida for Spring Training.

I bought a new pair of running shoes at the marathon Expo -- another pair of Saucony Hurricane 10s -- and am looking forward to strapping them on and getting back at it. But, until I know I have another marathon to train for, I doubt I'll be doing anything more than 10 miles. For now, I'll probably stick to 5-10k distances just to keep in shape.

Stay tuned for more...

Land of a Million Miles

We're here at Disney World, and my next 26.2 is less than 24 hours away now. Kelly and I arrived late Thursday night and we hit up a few of the Disney parks on Friday. Above is a picture of the castle at Magic Kingdom. Actually, if you hadn't figured it out, it's a flipped photo of the reflection of the castle in a pond.

It was a gorgeous day for our trips through Hollywood Studios (we still call it MGM), Magic Kingdom and Epcot. Not a cloud in the sky and probably in the 60s and 70s temp-wise all day. It was cool at points, but we're not about to complain when we're far removed from the below-freezing conditions in Toronto!

I'm looking forward to this marathon, but I'm not sure how I'll do. I'm not super confident like I was for the Las Vegas half, but I'm more prepared than I was for my first 26.2 in Chicago. The last six weeks of training haven't gone as well as I would've hoped, but that's due more to circumstances than me slacking off.

I still got the really important long runs in and maintained a solid mileage base weekly. I didn't do as much speed/tempo work as I should have in this last stretch, but there's no turning back now. At least Vegas showed me I have the ability to exceed my own expectations sometimes. Hopefully, this is going to be a similar situation.

I'm gunning for under 4 hours, which is a realistic goal. Ideally, I'd finish under 3:45. What I'm not going to do is say I'm setting out to come under 3:30 like I thought I could for Chicago -- not knowing what I was getting into. I have the ability -- in perfect conditions -- to run a 3:30, but I know a lot will have to go right to achieve that goal. So I'll be happy with anything under 4.

So, wish me luck, and if you want to track me during the race, which starts at roughly 6 am on Sunday, you can head to the Walt Disney World Marathon Web site and sign up in the Spectator resources section. It'll be interesting to see what kind of crowd shows up to cheer us on tomorrow, especially after experiencing the 1.5 million spectators that lined the streets in Chicago.

At least it should be good weather tomorrow. It's supposed to be in the 50s around 6 am and probably in the mid 60s by the time I finish. In Chicago, temps reached 85+ while I was still on the course -- not good. Over the past few weeks, I've been running in below-freezing temps in Toronto.

So, at least I won't have to dress up like this for the Disney run:

Cold feet

It's been snowing like crazy up here in Toronto and it's really been making training difficult. I was having a hard enough time as it was before the blizzards starting hitting the city. A few days after my Vegas half, I caught a nasty cold and I'm still not 100 percent recovered about two weeks later.

I took a week off after the half -- you know I wasn't feeling good if I wasn't running at all. It was the first full week I took off in about a year. I wasn't happy about it, but I was not feeling good at all. This last week, I ramped it up and logged 40 miles in the week, three of the four runs coming indoors.

On my first three runs, I quit before I intended to, which is also an odd thing for me. I couldn't tell you the last time I quit a run for reasons other than injury. I felt really defeated. On a day I planned to run 12, I ran five outside. On a day I wanted to run 14, I did 11 indoors between the track and treadmill. On another day I planned on running 10, I did only four.

But, all was not lost. You can't just mail in a marathon and mine is less than three weeks away now. So, forced inside due to the bad weather, and still nursing a cold and a swollen left big toe, I completed 20 miles on our little indoor track on Sunday. That's 330 laps! You basically feel like you're turning left the whole time.

I took short breaks at miles 3, 11, 14, 17 and 19 to use the bathroom or to drink water or gatorade. When I was running, I averaged 8:09 per mile. And, sticking to what I try to do with every run -- no matter the distance -- my last mile was my fastest at 7:55. That was a good way to finish up what had been a disappointing week.

I took Monday off to recover and planned on running 10 miles today -- "planned" being the key word. I had some errands to run, and when I was going to head to the gym, some news happened in the baseball world and I was stuck working for a few hours. With chores to knock off before our early-morning drive to Chicago, I didn't have time to squeeze the run in.

That's not a good way to start off this week, especially when we're heading home to even colder conditions during the week of Christmas. I have to make sure I get a few runs in this week somehow, though. The marathon is right around the corner and I can't afford to slip up now.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Stay tuned for more...

Las Vegas Half Marathon

Early this morning, and I mean early -- 6 am out here -- I ran the Las Vegas Half, which was a really fun race to take part in. Before I get into the day, I'll get to the results:

I finished the 13.1 miles in 1:41.41, or an average of 7:45.3 per mile. Out of 7,718 runners, I placed 288th. Out of 3,769 men, I finished 235th. I was 32nd overall in my age division (25-29).

This was a really satisfying finish for me. I was gunning for a 1:45 finish, or at least a 1:47 to best my cousin John's half PR. So, needless to say, I obliterated my goal, and by about 15 seconds per mile! This included a mid-run porta-potty stop, too. So I walked away very happy with the end results.

What's funny is my Garmin said I'd only run 12.75 miles when I crossed the finish line. It does the distance with a footpod, so it's prone to errors, but the discrepancy meant I didn't realize I was running as fast as I was. According to my watch, I was pretty much dead on an 8:00 pace. I guess I've been training harder than the ol' Garmin has been telling me. Nothing wrong with that.

The race itself was cool. It was still dark when we started, right by the Mandelay Bay hotel at the edge of the Strip. At the start, they shoot off fireworks and keep them going for a few minutes while everyone gets through the gates. Then you run for about 5-6 miles up the Strip with all the buildings lit up and everything. It was a very cool experience.

It was a slight downhill -- and I mean very slight -- for the first half. In the second half, it's a gradual incline that you start to notice around mile 9 or 10. Either way, it's still a pretty flat and fast course, as my time clearly shows. The second half you're running a few blocks over from the Strip, and it's not the most scenic route. It was probably in the mid-40s for the run, which felt warm after training in the cold in Toronto these past few weeks.

I flew into Vegas on Saturday and bunked with our Yankees writer at the Marriott Suites. He and our Tigers writer also ran the half. Jason -- the Detroit reporter -- finished in 1:35.26 and Bryan finished in 1:59.16. I'll gladly take the silver for us MLB.comers. Beck caught me at about mile 5, but I wasn't able to keep up with his crazy 7:00 pace.

Now, it's back to work here with baseball's winter meetings kicking off on Monday. I have some runs to try to squeeze in this week still, so I'll try to get up early and run the strip again. I still have a lot of work to do before being ready to run the Walt Disney World Marathon in January. This race at least showed I'm on the right track.

Decking the halls

There's Kelly and I, and an almost cooperative Barkley, sitting in front of our condo-friendly Christmas tree shortly after decking the ol' halls here on Sunday night. Every year we put on Christmas music while we decorate and imagine how our kids will be completely embarrassed by us years from now. Always a good time.

Every year, our ornament collections grows as we pick up souveniers from our vacations, family events or my travels. It's tough to see in the above photo, but I added a memento from my first marathon to the tree this year. At the marathon expo in Chicago, I found this ornament that will be a part of my tree from now on:

Anyway, I'm less than a week removed from the half marathon in Las Vegas. If I were only training for the half, I would've tapered this past week or two. Instead, I logged 41 miles this past week and ran a practice 13.1 miles on Sunday, when it was below freezing here with winds that got up to over 30 mph.

For that run, I bundled up and headed out to the Don Valley path. After a two-mile warm-up with splits of 9:02 and 8:21, I did by best to stay between a 7:50-8:20 pace for the next 11 miles. With the exception of a brief walking break that upped mile 7 to 8:31 and a long light at mile 12 that brought that one up to 8:37, I met that goal.

Practice half-marathon splits:

9:02/8:21/7:59/8:02/8:04/8:14/8:31
8:03/8:01/8:02/8:02/8:37/7:51/0:47

total: 1:47:42

So, for the entire run, I averaged 8:13. After the two-mile warm-up, I averaged 8:06. Considering I did this out in the bitter cold weather that I did, I should be able to hit my target of 1 hour, 45 minutes at the Vegas half. Fingers crossed. Doing this 13.1 trial run in 1:47 was pretty encouraging at least.

Prior to that run, I did 10-mile runs on Tuesday (8:17 pace) and Thursday (8:13 pace) and an 8-miler on Friday at an easier pace. The Tuesday run was good simply because I was pain-free during the run after that nasty fall on Sunday. I still have a bruised left knee, some scrapes in a handful of places and a really sore right arm, which I may have landed on.

But, beyond the bumps and bruises, I had no issues when actually running. That's all I'm concerned with right now. This week, I plan on straying some from the program I mapped out in order to rest up and recover some leading up to the Vegas run on Sunday. I'll probably stick to the indoor track to make sure I do shorter distances.

More later...