Bloody Nipples, Speed Work and Long Runs...

This could be one of those posts that has too much information... 

Wednesday morning I ran my five mile tempo run from home.  The pace was pretty good for a solo run (9:08, 8:24, 8:25, 8:34, 8:45).  I ran alone because when I woke up at 5:00 am to run with the group, my head was killing me and I went back to bed for a few more hours.  The night before, I had to have my ears irrigated (cleaned out) at the doctor's office because they were full of wax and pool water (I told you this was one of those TMI posts).  By the way, this could be another reason I was hating running on the treadmill for the past three days.

Thursday morning I went to Boot Camp.  It was a good workout with lots of running so I was pretty happy.  We broke up into two groups.  One group did exercises while the other group ran laps.  We were given a certain amount of time to run the laps and get back so the other group could go.  This was really good speed work because we were being threatened the whole time if we did not run fast enough!

Later that day I went to the track with my son.  He wanted to do a "real" track workout.  I came up with a 50 meter sprint workout:

1x400 warm up
4x400 (100 meter jog, 50 meter sprint, 50 meter walk, 100 meter jog, 50 sprint, 50 meter walk)
1x400 cool down

He loved it!  I had to drop cones at the 50 meter marks, but otherwise he didn't have any problem doing the workout.  I ran it with him and we had a blast "racing" the 50 meter sprints and stomping on leaves during the 50 meter walks.

Friday morning I was back at the track for my workout:
1x800 warm up
6x800 (3:43) full recovery
1x800 cool down

I was a few seconds fast, but consistent.

I had really been running at a fast pace this week and I was looking forward to a nice slow long run in the morning.  Well, Coach Greg quickly stomped on that day dream.  He advised me that I would be leading the eight mile group in the morning and I needed to do it at around 7:30-8:00 pace.  Crap!

Saturday morning, I woke up early and drove to meet the running group.  Its the second Saturday of the month so that means its time for the Pancake Run with the Charleston Running Club (dutch of course).  There are three groups: 4 mile (no one gets left behind), 6 mile (10:00), and 8 mile (7:30-8:00).  There were only three people in my group (counting me) so we took off fast in an attempt to get back at the same time as the other groups (we didn't want to miss out on all the pancakes).  We ran at a good pace for the whole run and even picked up another runner (Jon) at mile two (8:32, 7:58, 8:05, 8:01, 7:55, 8:05, 7:50, 7:45).  The route was through the Old Village and it was an absolutely beautiful morning!  We finished our run just as the other groups were coming in - mission accomplished!

My favorite part of this run is meeting everyone afterwards at Alex's for breakfast.  We really have a good time just sitting around talking about crazy stuff.  Really, at one point we were talking about having to pee at races and how funny it is to see so many people lined up on the side of the road peeing.  At another point (remember, this is at breakfast) someone was talking pooping during a long run (see, TMI).  We really do have a great time.

I came home, rested a few minutes and then played basketball with my son (it is Saturday - did you expect me to lay around on the couch?).  I got a text about meeting for our second run at 3:30pm (part of my Palmetto 200 training).  The group was only going to run four miles so I decided to run to where I was meeting them to get in an extra couple of miles (I miscalculated the distance and ended up running two and half miles to meet them) (9:37, 9:04).  I met Annie (aka Amy), Heather and Joe "No L".  We decided to run two miles to the Bridge and back.  We started together, but Joe "No L" was pushing the pace and I ended up running with him for most of the way out (9:29, 9:58).  I decided to slow down and run with Annie and Heather for the return (10:58, 11:03, 10:29).  We made it back to their cars, parted ways and I headed back to my house.  As I was running home, I noticed blood on my shirt.  Crap!  Of course I was wearing the same shirt as I wore at the Marine Corps Marathon (see bloody shirt episode).  I ran into a gas station and asked for a band aid.  I know, you're thinking this is the South and of course they gave me a band aid.  Nope!  She pointed and said "over there".  I almost never carry money with me when I run, but today for some reason I had my key and a ten dollar bill in a plastic bag.  I purchased the "box" of band aids and put one on my bloody nipple right there in the store :)  I felt great after that and ran the last two miles at a pretty good pace (9:16, 8:51).

I ran further than I had planned, but it felt good to run seventeen miles today.  This was a great way to end the week; friends, speed work, long runs and bloody nipples...


  1. Dude, you have some scary, bloody nipples! Nice work on the runs!

  2. Good one, Noah. That was just crazy about your bloody shirt and band aid incident Saturday afternoon. And we were just talking and laughing about it at breakfast. Awesome running today! :)

  3. I can't believe I forgot to add that we were talking about bloody nipples at breakfast too! I love those conversations.

    Thanks Joel! I pride myself on the amount of blood I can lose in one run :)

  4. Couple of comments. First, I think it's neat that you run with other people. I know that for many, running is a very social activity and I can see why...runner relate to runners. When you talk about chafed nipples or having to relieve oneself on a run, I can relate! Been there, done that and laugh about it now.

    Next comment is a funny story. Ultra runners always carry water. Sure, there's water (and everything else) at the aid stations, but being out on the trail for so long, you never know so you bring it. When I was doing the North Face 50, early in the race I noticed long trails of water drops along the race course. I figured somebody had punctured a water bladder or was dumping a water bottle. I saw more of the same throughout the day but didn't put it together until I saw a guy, later in the race, urinating WHILE he ran down the trail. Earlier in the race, I missed a port-a-potty aid station, and ran off the trail to relieve myself in the woods. These "serious" racers (I guess) didn't want to lose any time, I suppose. I don't think you see that sort of thing in a road race. I'm not sure. Anyway, my two cents on that subject!

    Finally, just want to give it up for the 17 mile day. Nice one, Noah. You racking up some sweet mileage. Can't wait to run with you someday!


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