I've decided to begin my long runs for January's 50k. I don't remember if I've even mention yet that I'm going to attempt a 50k trail run - this will be my longest run ever!
I've been racing quite a bit, and got some new PR's. The last race I've signed up for this fall is the Rothman 8k (same day as Philly marathon). After that I plan a phase of longer trail runs at easy pace. I just feel a bit burned out from the same old 5k / 10k race circuit so next year I want to focus on fewer races overall, with more trail races, and longer distances. Then maybe next fall I'll be ready for my marathon redemption.
The best of my recent racing was my PDR half marathon 1:31:13 in late Sept. This is a new PR by several minutes. That race was followed by an awesome 10 mile trail race, very challenging course. Next was the 15k which was a PR by about 30 seconds. Then Sunday - i haven't written the race report yet - I nailed another PR. This time it was 10k distance and only 9 seconds over the old PR. I ran some other races in the last few months, but those 4 are the highlites.
I like that the PR's came in order from longest distance to shortest. And the longest race was a PR by alot of time, and the short distance was a PR by only a few ticks. The race in the middle was PR'd by an amount in the middle. That's nice. It's not symmetry, what's the word for it? Fung shwei? NOT. Balance or harmony or something. Jeez, I wish I was better with the written word.
Anyway, I usually don't do long slow runs unless they're aimed at a speific target. Last Wednesday I headed out to the trusty woods for a scheduled 5 or 10 depending on how I felt. It was a crappy rainy morning, and I was very close to not running at all due to the weather. I didn't want to do the treadmill . . . but I wasn't really looking forward to the mud bath. I had actually mentioned to a few people in the morning that I was schedule to run long in the woods and was going to cancel. But I forced myself to get out there. I'm glad I did.
The rain was mostly over by lunchhour when I started. Light drizzle with huge puddles. Right away I felt good to be out there when nobody else was around. I planned to do a 5 mile loop back to the car and decide how I felt. I wore my new Coleman hydration backpack. After a few miles I was feeling much better about running in the weather. I purposely took the creekside trail. Wow, it was totally flooded. Some of the puddles were 8 or 10 inches deep, but i kept going. When I got to the creek crossing I had to turn back. The river had backed up so far that the creek was like 4 or 5 feet deep. No way was I going to try it. I was having fun but that was just too much to attempt. Not worth it. I could see the fallen tree that acts as a bridge. First of all it's grounded on the other side. Secondly, it just disappeared down into the murky water. So the prospect of jumping into there and hopefully landing on the log and then climbing up & out the other side was just too much. So I back tracked to get back up onto the ranger road.
Most of the rest of the run was uneventful. As the hours passed the sun did come out a few times. The warmth felt good. I ditched the back pack after just 5 miles. Pretty uncomfortable, will take some time to get used to running with that thing on. After 2 of the 5 mile loops and wanted to keep going. Luckily nothing scheduled for the afternoon that couldn't get done any other time. So I ate my 'after run' snack at 10 mile mark, and finished the last of my water ( I hadn't planned to go so far). And I headed back out. I saw a solitary deer. I felt the same as our paths crossed and we headed separate ways inthe woods. I found a light from a mountain bike. It was flashing on the side of the trail. Weird, but I couldn't get it to turn off. Later at home I took it apart, dried it out, and then it switched off.
In all it turned out to be 16 miles. Done in 2:41 - just about perfect 10 minute pace. About 2x3=6 minutes of that was refuel at the car. So actually running pace is closer to 9:30.
Followed up this LSD with a rest day on Thursday. Body feels good except for toes which took a pretty good beating. Then Friday 5 miles easy on flat trail in woods. Legs wiped out tired.
Showing posts with label marathon running. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marathon running. Show all posts
Monday, November 2, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Top Ten List
I've thought about this one a lot in the last few weeks 'post marathon' so without further procrastination, here's my Top Ten "Ways to Screw-up Your 1st Marathon"
10. Set an unrealistic goal. If you do your 20 milers at 8:40 pace, then what illogical thought process made me think I could do 8:20 for the marathon. . . and hold it an additional 6.2 miles?
9. Start out waaaayyy too fast. And on a humid morning, and a hilly course. Hello? What was I thinking?
8. When the facts are clearly right in front of you, fail to adjust to the situation early enough to make a difference. Actually, failed to adjust at all really. At mile 7= 4 minutes ahead of pace; then at mile 10= 5 mins ahead. Huh? How come it didn't occur to me that I must slow down until my legs already were beginning their revolt/cramps?
7. Drive your car 10 hours the day before the race. Duh. Arrive at the hotel at a quarter till midnight. Doh!
6. Recruit a support person who is not a runner. In all fairness to the Mrs., this ended up being a minor issue given all the other major screw ups. But the water, cereal bar, and dry towel would've been nice at 16. And the missed Gu handoff was a real factor. The refusal to wake up & get out of bed at 5:30...plus the double back to the hotel after packet pick-up for the wife pick-up, that added a bit of stress.
5. Fail to interpret the course description profile correctly. "This course has LOTS of HILLS? Why didn't they just come out and say that?"
4. Other translation miscues: When they said this marathon is good for first timers, they didn't mean that the course is not challenging; they meant 1,000's of locals will come out to watch you suffer. When they said the race has a high BQ ratio, they forgot to mention that they invite a lot of fast people to come up to Vermont to race. Kind of like Carlsbad 5000 is 'America's fastest 5k' because of the runners that it attracts (it's not the course there either people).
3. Start out way too fast. This one cannot be understated as the primary reason for failure.
2. Drink a few beers & eat crappy food for the pre-race meal. It tasted good, but greasy cheese puffs, mini spinach quiche and fried mushrooms is not proper carbo-loading fare.
1. And from the home office, the number one way to screw-up your first marathon is... "Logical thinking . . . who needs that?"
10. Set an unrealistic goal. If you do your 20 milers at 8:40 pace, then what illogical thought process made me think I could do 8:20 for the marathon. . . and hold it an additional 6.2 miles?
9. Start out waaaayyy too fast. And on a humid morning, and a hilly course. Hello? What was I thinking?
8. When the facts are clearly right in front of you, fail to adjust to the situation early enough to make a difference. Actually, failed to adjust at all really. At mile 7= 4 minutes ahead of pace; then at mile 10= 5 mins ahead. Huh? How come it didn't occur to me that I must slow down until my legs already were beginning their revolt/cramps?
7. Drive your car 10 hours the day before the race. Duh. Arrive at the hotel at a quarter till midnight. Doh!
6. Recruit a support person who is not a runner. In all fairness to the Mrs., this ended up being a minor issue given all the other major screw ups. But the water, cereal bar, and dry towel would've been nice at 16. And the missed Gu handoff was a real factor. The refusal to wake up & get out of bed at 5:30...plus the double back to the hotel after packet pick-up for the wife pick-up, that added a bit of stress.
5. Fail to interpret the course description profile correctly. "This course has LOTS of HILLS? Why didn't they just come out and say that?"
4. Other translation miscues: When they said this marathon is good for first timers, they didn't mean that the course is not challenging; they meant 1,000's of locals will come out to watch you suffer. When they said the race has a high BQ ratio, they forgot to mention that they invite a lot of fast people to come up to Vermont to race. Kind of like Carlsbad 5000 is 'America's fastest 5k' because of the runners that it attracts (it's not the course there either people).
3. Start out way too fast. This one cannot be understated as the primary reason for failure.
2. Drink a few beers & eat crappy food for the pre-race meal. It tasted good, but greasy cheese puffs, mini spinach quiche and fried mushrooms is not proper carbo-loading fare.
1. And from the home office, the number one way to screw-up your first marathon is... "Logical thinking . . . who needs that?"
Thursday, May 28, 2009
ReCap
oh wow, what a crappy performance by me. And a really bad feeling knowing that I wasted the chance to do something better.
I know I can do much better than friggin 4:21 marathon. Now I have to regroup and recover and then plan for a fall marathon. Round Two will be different (better).
I finished. I got the medal. DNF was definitely a possibility as wiped out as I was feeling. All the muscles of my legs were in cramps/spasms.
I have some email & FB messages that I will copy & paste into the blog. For now here's a few photos:
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Quips from post-race
These are some FaceBook & email messages from the hours right after the race:
Sunday night: I finished...that's about all I can say. Just about everything that could go wrong did. But I got the finisher medal.
It was one of my worst running experiences ever...humity, too much early speed, & lots of hills.
marathon: total meltdown. Changed mantra mid-race to "When will this end; I will not DNF." Leg cramps=bad. Walked the final 2.5 miles.
Monday morning: This morning's paper has some info on Wardian's race... he's happy that it's a new PR for him 2:21 - but it's the 5th year in a row that he's come up here and the 5th time he's finished 2nd. Seems to be different guys each year show up to take the win...
I don't know how there was so many guys under 2:30. This course has alot of HILLS! Women's winner also set her PR at 2:35 - she's a 3 time winner here. The sun came out when I was around mile 19 or so. It started to get hot & steam was coming up from the streets and roofs of houses. I guess the speedy runners were already done (or close to done) at that point.
There was a 9 y.o. boy that ran the full marathon. He passed me while I was walking in the final miles. That's the kind of day it was for me.
Sunday night: I finished...that's about all I can say. Just about everything that could go wrong did. But I got the finisher medal.
It was one of my worst running experiences ever...humity, too much early speed, & lots of hills.
marathon: total meltdown. Changed mantra mid-race to "When will this end; I will not DNF." Leg cramps=bad. Walked the final 2.5 miles.
Monday morning: This morning's paper has some info on Wardian's race... he's happy that it's a new PR for him 2:21 - but it's the 5th year in a row that he's come up here and the 5th time he's finished 2nd. Seems to be different guys each year show up to take the win...
I don't know how there was so many guys under 2:30. This course has alot of HILLS! Women's winner also set her PR at 2:35 - she's a 3 time winner here. The sun came out when I was around mile 19 or so. It started to get hot & steam was coming up from the streets and roofs of houses. I guess the speedy runners were already done (or close to done) at that point.
There was a 9 y.o. boy that ran the full marathon. He passed me while I was walking in the final miles. That's the kind of day it was for me.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Let's play quarters!
Quarters. Remember that old drinking game? This is something different.
I just read an article about not going out too fast during a race. I have very often been plagued with this problem. Even to the point of rationalizing that it's 'my style' and that 'it works for me' because I can 'bank seconds or minutes to be spent during latter miles' etc., etc. ( article here: http://www.trainingbible.com/joesblog/2009/05/time-trial-pacing.html )
Basically,
divide the race in 4 quarters and then work it like this:
1. Perceived effort should feel easy while not being too far beyond anticipated pace.
2. Run your own race at goal - but no faster.
3. Maintain pace although perceived effort pushes into the fatigue & pain zone.
4. Push yourself to max effort. If you've measured it out right then you can maintain pace thru the finish line.
The article is written for cycling with power meter & HR technology utilized. That doesn't work for me. But the principle is the same - and it's nothing new.
I'd like to start out at 8:45 like I did on my LSD easy runs, but that's too far from BQ goal pace and I'll never make up that much time. Something like 8:10 - 8:20 for the first 6 miles might work. Then goal pace - 8:00 - thru to mile 20. Then finish the 6 remaining @ 7:45. It looks good in print. And if I feel beat at 18 or 20 (or whenever) then I can still finish in a 3:35 or whatever.
This is not so much different than what I've been going over in my head for days now. I think I may be obsessing about this pacing thing a bit. Reality is that there's tons of variables and the final decision will have to be on the starting line.
Weather report stills looks beautiful for Sunday in Vermont - awesome. And my small cold is def breaking up and passing - TG.
Making a big list of stuff to bring including:
Fuel belt, hat, 'best' socks, shorts, singlet.
Create pace band, bring with scotch tape.
Bring my own pillow for hotel bed (as if I'm sleeping much the nite before).
Vasoline (toes), sun screen (nose), band aids (nips).
Headlamp & flashlite -
that last one is because I want to climb Mt. Mansfield (highest peak of VT) and depending on my recovery/fatigue level it may be late Sunday or early Monday. This might sound a bit harsh, but if I run the marathon & make the summit of Mansfield then I'll never have to return to VT. Everyone is telling me that it's my kind of state - lots of outdoors stuff - and that I'm going to luv it up there. But the reality is that there's so many places I've never been that I no longer am traveling with the plan of making multiple trips. One state, one trip, do what you got to do and cross it off the list. (i really got to get my head examined?). So far my only other high peaks are Del, NJ, and NY. But VT is a good compliment since I saw Lake Champlain from the top of Mt. Marcy two years ago. The only other stuff up there is sking (no), ice cream (supermarket), and fishing (lousy at catching fish).
So marathon first, then Mt. Mansfield. I am not leaving without reaching these goals.
I just read an article about not going out too fast during a race. I have very often been plagued with this problem. Even to the point of rationalizing that it's 'my style' and that 'it works for me' because I can 'bank seconds or minutes to be spent during latter miles' etc., etc. ( article here: http://www.trainingbible.com/joesblog/2009/05/time-trial-pacing.html )
Basically,
divide the race in 4 quarters and then work it like this:
1. Perceived effort should feel easy while not being too far beyond anticipated pace.
2. Run your own race at goal - but no faster.
3. Maintain pace although perceived effort pushes into the fatigue & pain zone.
4. Push yourself to max effort. If you've measured it out right then you can maintain pace thru the finish line.
The article is written for cycling with power meter & HR technology utilized. That doesn't work for me. But the principle is the same - and it's nothing new.
I'd like to start out at 8:45 like I did on my LSD easy runs, but that's too far from BQ goal pace and I'll never make up that much time. Something like 8:10 - 8:20 for the first 6 miles might work. Then goal pace - 8:00 - thru to mile 20. Then finish the 6 remaining @ 7:45. It looks good in print. And if I feel beat at 18 or 20 (or whenever) then I can still finish in a 3:35 or whatever.
This is not so much different than what I've been going over in my head for days now. I think I may be obsessing about this pacing thing a bit. Reality is that there's tons of variables and the final decision will have to be on the starting line.
Weather report stills looks beautiful for Sunday in Vermont - awesome. And my small cold is def breaking up and passing - TG.
Making a big list of stuff to bring including:
Fuel belt, hat, 'best' socks, shorts, singlet.
Create pace band, bring with scotch tape.
Bring my own pillow for hotel bed (as if I'm sleeping much the nite before).
Vasoline (toes), sun screen (nose), band aids (nips).
Headlamp & flashlite -
that last one is because I want to climb Mt. Mansfield (highest peak of VT) and depending on my recovery/fatigue level it may be late Sunday or early Monday. This might sound a bit harsh, but if I run the marathon & make the summit of Mansfield then I'll never have to return to VT. Everyone is telling me that it's my kind of state - lots of outdoors stuff - and that I'm going to luv it up there. But the reality is that there's so many places I've never been that I no longer am traveling with the plan of making multiple trips. One state, one trip, do what you got to do and cross it off the list. (i really got to get my head examined?). So far my only other high peaks are Del, NJ, and NY. But VT is a good compliment since I saw Lake Champlain from the top of Mt. Marcy two years ago. The only other stuff up there is sking (no), ice cream (supermarket), and fishing (lousy at catching fish).
So marathon first, then Mt. Mansfield. I am not leaving without reaching these goals.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
...in the event that I'm feeling good...
woah down thar boy - blog post 3 days in a row!
My schedule has slowed down totally. Thankful timing for MARATHON WEEKEND Coming up in just T-4 days!!!
Today was a super easy 2 miles followed by a good stretch. Trying to stay loose while not spending any energy. At the end i opened it up for a few mins at speed, but nothing too over-the-top. Tried to imagine an increasing pace during the marathon...maybe start at 8:15 pace for first 10, then 8 flat for next 10, then I'd only be 1 & 1/2 mins from BQ with 6 left to run. Then I'd have to run 7:45 pace for the last 6.2 miles. If everything comes together perfectly then that's doable. And at least with that early pacing I'd be putting myself in position to go for it in the event that I'm feeling good.
I'm feeling rested & energized. My small cold is still hanging on but I don't detect that it's blossoming into a full fledged thing,,, just a nagging hanging on thing. I've got to begin getting extra sleep. Then this headcold will be kicked to the curb just in time.
My schedule has slowed down totally. Thankful timing for MARATHON WEEKEND Coming up in just T-4 days!!!
Today was a super easy 2 miles followed by a good stretch. Trying to stay loose while not spending any energy. At the end i opened it up for a few mins at speed, but nothing too over-the-top. Tried to imagine an increasing pace during the marathon...maybe start at 8:15 pace for first 10, then 8 flat for next 10, then I'd only be 1 & 1/2 mins from BQ with 6 left to run. Then I'd have to run 7:45 pace for the last 6.2 miles. If everything comes together perfectly then that's doable. And at least with that early pacing I'd be putting myself in position to go for it in the event that I'm feeling good.
I'm feeling rested & energized. My small cold is still hanging on but I don't detect that it's blossoming into a full fledged thing,,, just a nagging hanging on thing. I've got to begin getting extra sleep. Then this headcold will be kicked to the curb just in time.
Monday, May 18, 2009
If I wasn't a runner I'm sure I'd be fat!
Yesterday in soda alone I must've consumed 600 calories.
Had a good weekend, Friday was the "Author's Tea" at kid's school, Saturday hangin out at the little league field, and Sunday my son's First Communion. I basically pigged out all weekend long. But that's one of the perks of being a runner!
Well, if you add up my mileage recently you will be able to tell that my taper has esentually turned into a total absence of running. After that last 20 miler I've been so unfocused that I've had no urge for running. A friend told me that can happen after alot of miles (hey-it's all relative here) and not to be worried. I hope to get a few easy runs in this week and today was the first. And it was a good one.
3 miles on the wheel at the Y doesn't sound like the makings of a good one. But it was. Here's how it went down. After the first mile at 8:20 pace I felt a strong surge of energy coming on. I increased the speed to 8 min pace, but was determined not to go any faster. I succeeded in mentally relaxing by thinking about my running form/posture. I do this sometimes as a way to distract myself from something else. I also closed my eyes almost all the way and just tried to 'sleep-run' comfortably. I only had one eye very slightly open - it was nice. Tom Petty's Free Falling was on the radio overhead. My pace was right on beat at 8:00 and I noticed the light relected on the tread's screen was bouncing up & down to my footsteps & in time with the music. Really lulled me into relaxed zone. Felt great. Bout 10 mins of this and the energy surge was gone. Don't remember ever running to free falling before, but it really was an instant hit to relaxation. I have to remember this trick for the big race. Been reminding myself in a tape loop in my head "do not go out too fast". I'm convinced that i should do 8:30 pace and forget BQ so that I can enjoy the experience. Been thinking about this alot.
Had a good weekend, Friday was the "Author's Tea" at kid's school, Saturday hangin out at the little league field, and Sunday my son's First Communion. I basically pigged out all weekend long. But that's one of the perks of being a runner!
Well, if you add up my mileage recently you will be able to tell that my taper has esentually turned into a total absence of running. After that last 20 miler I've been so unfocused that I've had no urge for running. A friend told me that can happen after alot of miles (hey-it's all relative here) and not to be worried. I hope to get a few easy runs in this week and today was the first. And it was a good one.
3 miles on the wheel at the Y doesn't sound like the makings of a good one. But it was. Here's how it went down. After the first mile at 8:20 pace I felt a strong surge of energy coming on. I increased the speed to 8 min pace, but was determined not to go any faster. I succeeded in mentally relaxing by thinking about my running form/posture. I do this sometimes as a way to distract myself from something else. I also closed my eyes almost all the way and just tried to 'sleep-run' comfortably. I only had one eye very slightly open - it was nice. Tom Petty's Free Falling was on the radio overhead. My pace was right on beat at 8:00 and I noticed the light relected on the tread's screen was bouncing up & down to my footsteps & in time with the music. Really lulled me into relaxed zone. Felt great. Bout 10 mins of this and the energy surge was gone. Don't remember ever running to free falling before, but it really was an instant hit to relaxation. I have to remember this trick for the big race. Been reminding myself in a tape loop in my head "do not go out too fast". I'm convinced that i should do 8:30 pace and forget BQ so that I can enjoy the experience. Been thinking about this alot.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
T - 10 days & counting,,,
Today is the first day that I've truely felt excited about the marathon. There's no turning back now! I can't imagine how much energy I'm going to have on race morning . . . psyched; totally. I'll really have to control myself to not go out way too fast!
I did skip my run again today (getting to be a habit), but I'm very unfocused now. Since there's nothing more I can do to improve for the marathon I feel like I have no purpose running!?!? I've got to get out there tomorrow for a few easy miles.
I must be one of very few runners that actually gains weight during the marathon prep cycle of training. Disappointing that I couldn't lose the 5 or 10 pounds that i had set as my goal. At this point it's too late to diet; i don't want to be weak or un-nurished going into this thing so my only diet goal now is please, please, just don't let me gain any more pounds in the next ten days. Doh!
I did skip my run again today (getting to be a habit), but I'm very unfocused now. Since there's nothing more I can do to improve for the marathon I feel like I have no purpose running!?!? I've got to get out there tomorrow for a few easy miles.
I must be one of very few runners that actually gains weight during the marathon prep cycle of training. Disappointing that I couldn't lose the 5 or 10 pounds that i had set as my goal. At this point it's too late to diet; i don't want to be weak or un-nurished going into this thing so my only diet goal now is please, please, just don't let me gain any more pounds in the next ten days. Doh!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Broad Street 10m raceReport: The 10 Mile Warm Up Club
This is long overdue, still trying to catch up on blogging...
Overall the weather report: cool, rainy, no wind. This is the first run in my new shoes (glycerin7) where they got soaked, dirty. So they looked new for a long time, but ya knew it wasn't gonna last forever.
Cue dramatic NFL music: the day broke cold & grey & wet on the streets of Philadelphia. The runners -, 25,000 strong - huddled in masses, trampling front yards, peeing in parks, moving as if one to the intersection of Broad & Olney in North Philly. OK, enuf with that. But really the entire setting is epic, inspirational, and awesome.
The course description has been written about so many times, suffice it to say it's a net downhill point to point straight line 10 miles long with a slight curve around City Hall and a few slight rises in the first half. In a word: Fast.
I got up extra early, couldn't get back to sleep once awake, and did all the prep ritual correctly because I was out the door right on time @ 6a.m. There was already a huge traffic situation at the stadium off ramp. I don't ever go to the front and cut in, but this morning I did go about half way up and then got in...only because I knew that I was running 10 miles before the start and all the rest of these people were going to be on the subway up to the starting line. My goal was to start running before 7 a.m. to give a bit of a cushion in time. Race starts at 8:30.
The line of cars was moving soooo slowly. I needed to prep in the car. Ever strip from the waist up while in traffic to apply Superman band aids to nips and then get into your singlet? Done it. Went thru some motivational tunes: Chili Peppers, Offspring, Green Day. Got the sweat pants off whilst driving, loaded pockets with Gu and filled Fuel Belt bottles. Finally got parked in front of Spectrum and needed to go pee very badly from drinking water, Gatorade & diet Coke for the past hour. Time check, 6:59. That sux. In a flurry of activity I got my hat on (rain still lightly coming down) then belt on, tightened & tied laces, watch, pinned number (duh, almost forgot) and put chip on shoe, popped can of Red Bull and finally headed to the port-o-johns in south corner of parking lot - the opposite direction that I need to be running.
Business done, start running. Time check, 7:04. Crap, I've got to run quickly up to the start to make sure I make it there before the gun. I'm drinking a can of Red Bull as I pass small groups of runners moving toward the subway station. Mostly they give me looks like "why is he wearing on singlet with bib on it already?" and "why is he running...there's still over an hour to the start plus the subway ride?" At the far side of Pattison there's only a few runners standing around trying to stay dry by hugging the subway station building. They all look like they're waitign for a friend. They look at me with those same curious questioning eyes. I want to stop and explain to them, but I'm already late. I want to tell them that the main subway entry is one full block south, that it's mobbed with 100's (maybe 1,000 now?) of runners, and that their friends/co-workers/etc are all probably standing down there wondering where the hell are they? but I run on.
Dodging cars on Broad is my next fun activity. There's like inner lanes & outer lanes & merging going on here. I need to get to the other side to follow street northbound. Once over there I use sidewalk & street all the way up. For now I'm up & down trying to decide which is better/safer. I prefer blacktop over cement but there's too much traffic. I'm already soaked. And the streets are filled with alot of dirty trash. Bummer. Mile 1 fairly slow, I dropped the can into a community trash pile and begin the search for any definitive mile markers. This quest will not be satisfied for quite a long time. I pick up the pace with 9 miles left to go before the start.
The next few miles go by at a comfortable 8:15 pace (est). I say Hi to everyone I see. Yo South Philly. Some look at me like "WTF" but most don't seem to realize today is even race day. @ or 3 people call out "You doing the race today?" to which I answer "yeah, with a 10 mile warm up!" They seem to appreciate that by shaking their heads in a disbelief fashion. Ha, luv that. At the first few water stations there's no activity but the tables & boxes & water are all there waiting. That's kind of cool to see the progression of readiness as you run backwards up to the start. I'm thinking this could be an annual 20 miler for a group of runners. The 10 Mile Warm Up Club. With about 15 or 20 runners sporting matching t-shirts that would be cool.
I can find absolutely no pavement markings for the mile splits. I don't know where I am/how the time's doing. At the next several water stations I ask for the mile marker but no one has any clue what I'm talking about. Some of the vol's are nice and friendly (and cute), but others are grumpy & appear to be working off c.s. hrs by court order because they obviously don't want to be there. How am i doing on time? Don't know, pick up the pace.
As I approach downtown - which I know City Hall is the unofficial half way point - I realize I need to pee (again). Of course now there's many more people milling around on every block. At every subway stop there's small groups or individuals hurrying down the steps. Or waiting outside. Where's my training partner/friend/lover/co-worker? they are sipping coffee, some are talking on cell phones. I want to ask where's the nearest toilets but none seems to want to engage me in conversation. They see my bib, realize I'm running...not taking the subway, then they turn away! Interesting psychology experiment at work here. The rain is still litely falling. I'm soaked but notice that the cooling effect is wonderful. I really got to pee and the rain doesn't help that sensation. No body knows the mile markers. I begin to see cops during this section. One about every-other corner. Some say hi back to me, others give me a hard tough-guy look. Some are smoking cigs and texting on their cel's. There's supposed to be port-a-potties at certain mile markers...this I should've put to memory for the duel purpose.
Finally at City Hall. This is at least 5 miles done. I decide to short cut (bladder near bursting. gonna have to find a side street and do the public urination thing very soon) up sidewalk, across courtyard to the other side (saves about 100-150 yards). As I round the corner I see them . . . their bright blue glistening majestic line up is like a holy grail - a row of port-o-johns! Things are looking up! I'm in, pee like a race horse, then out in a flash. Hardly even broke stride. A few blocks later, more good news: mile marker 4. So I've gone 6. Time check, 46:00, which is sub-8 min pace. Yikes, too fast. Yet good news in that I'm definitely going to make the starting gun. The next water stop is nearly fully set up. Now i'm getting closer. Still seeing runners at every subway entrance rushing to get onto trains. I invite a pair of guys "C'mon with me, only 3 miles to the start" Response: "the subway stops right here, come back...you can take the train."
The road begins to have some uphill blocks. Mile split 8:25. That feels better, and only 3 more to go. There seems to be less traffic now, but roads still look open. Cop on every corner now. I pass a guy drinking coffee in front of Starbucks (Temple campus?). About 5 mins later he catches up to me but instead of falling into stride together he moves steadily past me. Huh. No love for The 10 Mile Warm Up Club? I pick it up to stick with him, but on each uphill he puts more distance between us. We get to an intersection with the El tracks (?) above and police and directing traffic. No cars allowed to go north from here. Mile split 8:18. One more.
Now there are other runners walking & jogging toward start area. It's weird to see the transition from cars and very few peds to lots of walk/run and total absence of cars. No one notices me now. I'm blending into the scean. I pass other runners jogging...they don't know I've already done 9 miles. Some of the up hill blocks are now noticeably steep. Funny, never noticed that when running the opposite way! Irealize that I'm beginning to feel fatigue. I slow it way down, I'm going to make the start so I'll conserve energy. I can still see coffee guy up ahead, but he's almost a full block ahead. Then I lose him altogether. I move to the middle of the street. I actually feel pretty damn good.
i can see the starting line. The wheelchairs haven't begun yet. This final ascent seems steep. Yes, I am tired and burned a lot getting up here. Last mile split, 8:51. The elites are coming off the front to heat up their legs. Kenyans, real ones. I recognize the local speedsters. I see DavidJ - wave & hello. My friend TJ - "do we need to go around timing mats" i ask, but he says no. Asks if I ran the 10 warm up. "Yep" is about all i can manage. As I go past the start line into the throng I see that my bib doesn't match. I'm in the second corral. I move straight thru the middle and get to my own bib-color mates. I am out of water and can't fight thru entire 25,000 to find more. Start is less than 5 mins now. I move to the side where brick park is to be and see assorted water bottles on the ground in various stages of near empty/near full. I really really don't want to pick up a bottle off the ground and re-fill my Fuel Belt bottles, but they probably are safe, right? i see a dude with a almost full bottle stretching on the sidewalk. Dude - can I refill? No problem. I use about half what he has to fill both tanks half full (will carry 6 oz total on race,,,had 12 oz on the way up to start). He makes a good grab as a throw the the bottle back. Thnks, have a great race!
I wonder how sweaty tired I look? I see Theresa. She's about 10 rows behind hubby & I'm inbetween. She asks if I did the warm-up & I feel better calling back "Yep, just got here, made about 8:30 pace for the 10 mile warm up". It's go time. When I click the next split it says that my standing around was only 6:12 - man I barely made it on time.
Here's the splits for 11 thru 20 (the BSR 10 mile race):
1. 7:26
2. 7:17
3. 7:27
4. 7:40
5. 7:37
6. 8:24
7. 7:44
8. 7:56
9. 7:36
10.7:35
They had my chip time as 1:16:16 and I had my total running time as 2:42:50.
This post is long enough without a total report, I'll give you highlites: I wanted to go 8 pace. The first mile I was pulled along faster adn then figured why not hold pace as long as possible. Between mile 3 & 4 must be where the downhill becomes flat because that was the first slowdown.
Mile 6 includes a 45 second pee break becuse I had to go yet again. I must've hydrated exceptionally well this day! My buddy G passed me here - he was with his BOMF participants. Mile 7 & 8 were the slowest again this year. Somehow I always lose focus and feel so tired here. I remember looking up at windows of hotels/ apartments/ houses and each person I saw I would wave to. They all responded but several took a while to see me in the crowd. there wasn't enuf cowbells ringing! There was a guy giving high fives somewhere near mile 7 so I moved over to his side of street. I miscalc'd and slapped his hand really hard! I heard his friend/wife laughing as he was saying "that one hurt." Near the end I was really very tired. I heard my name being called out but I couldn't find the voice in the crowd. At the last second I saw Dr. Dan with a megaphone but I was already gone past and was sooo darn tired I couldn't respond or acknowledge at all.
The last mile: some people began passing me- they had gone out too slow. One was a beautiful redhead wearing red shorts & top. I think maybe the back said Hawks. I tried to stay with her but she was really moving. Several teen/20-something dudes with a lot left in the tank sprinting it in. I felt i could give it something more, and I tried. There was a girl just in front of me wearing green socks, 2-tone green layers top and she had a shamrock tat on shoulder blade. I'd been following her for a few mins. As I surged I paused at her side and said "c'mon Irish, let's kick in in together" but when i looked at her face I knew she was already max'd out. She didn't smile or say anything,,, and I never saw her again. Looking at the split it doesn't show it, but i was working hard that last mile.
Exhausted, soaked. I more or less went straight to my car and drove home. I was so completely exhausted that I almost felt like crying. Very strange. It happened a few times on the drive home. I drank gatorade thinking maybe something was very out of balance. Was I hallucinating? I almost cried but i don't know why. It felt like something about being tired(of course) and being alone in a crowd of 25,000 runners. Hopefully that doesn't happen at end of marathon. weird!?! It was a very lonely feeling...but not sure if it was real or maybe was induced by some type of physical chemical inbalance.
My son had a soccer game at noon which I was challenged to make it there on time. I did. But they lost the match. I know i was a bit grumpy standing in the rain watching us get beat. I tried to make the best of it and then went home for a nap.
My toes took a brutal beating on this 20 miler. But it was a good longRun. Basically 8:30 pace uphill 10 followed by 7:40 downhill again.
Overall the weather report: cool, rainy, no wind. This is the first run in my new shoes (glycerin7) where they got soaked, dirty. So they looked new for a long time, but ya knew it wasn't gonna last forever.
Cue dramatic NFL music: the day broke cold & grey & wet on the streets of Philadelphia. The runners -, 25,000 strong - huddled in masses, trampling front yards, peeing in parks, moving as if one to the intersection of Broad & Olney in North Philly. OK, enuf with that. But really the entire setting is epic, inspirational, and awesome.
The course description has been written about so many times, suffice it to say it's a net downhill point to point straight line 10 miles long with a slight curve around City Hall and a few slight rises in the first half. In a word: Fast.
I got up extra early, couldn't get back to sleep once awake, and did all the prep ritual correctly because I was out the door right on time @ 6a.m. There was already a huge traffic situation at the stadium off ramp. I don't ever go to the front and cut in, but this morning I did go about half way up and then got in...only because I knew that I was running 10 miles before the start and all the rest of these people were going to be on the subway up to the starting line. My goal was to start running before 7 a.m. to give a bit of a cushion in time. Race starts at 8:30.
The line of cars was moving soooo slowly. I needed to prep in the car. Ever strip from the waist up while in traffic to apply Superman band aids to nips and then get into your singlet? Done it. Went thru some motivational tunes: Chili Peppers, Offspring, Green Day. Got the sweat pants off whilst driving, loaded pockets with Gu and filled Fuel Belt bottles. Finally got parked in front of Spectrum and needed to go pee very badly from drinking water, Gatorade & diet Coke for the past hour. Time check, 6:59. That sux. In a flurry of activity I got my hat on (rain still lightly coming down) then belt on, tightened & tied laces, watch, pinned number (duh, almost forgot) and put chip on shoe, popped can of Red Bull and finally headed to the port-o-johns in south corner of parking lot - the opposite direction that I need to be running.
Business done, start running. Time check, 7:04. Crap, I've got to run quickly up to the start to make sure I make it there before the gun. I'm drinking a can of Red Bull as I pass small groups of runners moving toward the subway station. Mostly they give me looks like "why is he wearing on singlet with bib on it already?" and "why is he running...there's still over an hour to the start plus the subway ride?" At the far side of Pattison there's only a few runners standing around trying to stay dry by hugging the subway station building. They all look like they're waitign for a friend. They look at me with those same curious questioning eyes. I want to stop and explain to them, but I'm already late. I want to tell them that the main subway entry is one full block south, that it's mobbed with 100's (maybe 1,000 now?) of runners, and that their friends/co-workers/etc are all probably standing down there wondering where the hell are they? but I run on.
Dodging cars on Broad is my next fun activity. There's like inner lanes & outer lanes & merging going on here. I need to get to the other side to follow street northbound. Once over there I use sidewalk & street all the way up. For now I'm up & down trying to decide which is better/safer. I prefer blacktop over cement but there's too much traffic. I'm already soaked. And the streets are filled with alot of dirty trash. Bummer. Mile 1 fairly slow, I dropped the can into a community trash pile and begin the search for any definitive mile markers. This quest will not be satisfied for quite a long time. I pick up the pace with 9 miles left to go before the start.
The next few miles go by at a comfortable 8:15 pace (est). I say Hi to everyone I see. Yo South Philly. Some look at me like "WTF" but most don't seem to realize today is even race day. @ or 3 people call out "You doing the race today?" to which I answer "yeah, with a 10 mile warm up!" They seem to appreciate that by shaking their heads in a disbelief fashion. Ha, luv that. At the first few water stations there's no activity but the tables & boxes & water are all there waiting. That's kind of cool to see the progression of readiness as you run backwards up to the start. I'm thinking this could be an annual 20 miler for a group of runners. The 10 Mile Warm Up Club. With about 15 or 20 runners sporting matching t-shirts that would be cool.
I can find absolutely no pavement markings for the mile splits. I don't know where I am/how the time's doing. At the next several water stations I ask for the mile marker but no one has any clue what I'm talking about. Some of the vol's are nice and friendly (and cute), but others are grumpy & appear to be working off c.s. hrs by court order because they obviously don't want to be there. How am i doing on time? Don't know, pick up the pace.
As I approach downtown - which I know City Hall is the unofficial half way point - I realize I need to pee (again). Of course now there's many more people milling around on every block. At every subway stop there's small groups or individuals hurrying down the steps. Or waiting outside. Where's my training partner/friend/lover/co-worker? they are sipping coffee, some are talking on cell phones. I want to ask where's the nearest toilets but none seems to want to engage me in conversation. They see my bib, realize I'm running...not taking the subway, then they turn away! Interesting psychology experiment at work here. The rain is still litely falling. I'm soaked but notice that the cooling effect is wonderful. I really got to pee and the rain doesn't help that sensation. No body knows the mile markers. I begin to see cops during this section. One about every-other corner. Some say hi back to me, others give me a hard tough-guy look. Some are smoking cigs and texting on their cel's. There's supposed to be port-a-potties at certain mile markers...this I should've put to memory for the duel purpose.
Finally at City Hall. This is at least 5 miles done. I decide to short cut (bladder near bursting. gonna have to find a side street and do the public urination thing very soon) up sidewalk, across courtyard to the other side (saves about 100-150 yards). As I round the corner I see them . . . their bright blue glistening majestic line up is like a holy grail - a row of port-o-johns! Things are looking up! I'm in, pee like a race horse, then out in a flash. Hardly even broke stride. A few blocks later, more good news: mile marker 4. So I've gone 6. Time check, 46:00, which is sub-8 min pace. Yikes, too fast. Yet good news in that I'm definitely going to make the starting gun. The next water stop is nearly fully set up. Now i'm getting closer. Still seeing runners at every subway entrance rushing to get onto trains. I invite a pair of guys "C'mon with me, only 3 miles to the start" Response: "the subway stops right here, come back...you can take the train."
The road begins to have some uphill blocks. Mile split 8:25. That feels better, and only 3 more to go. There seems to be less traffic now, but roads still look open. Cop on every corner now. I pass a guy drinking coffee in front of Starbucks (Temple campus?). About 5 mins later he catches up to me but instead of falling into stride together he moves steadily past me. Huh. No love for The 10 Mile Warm Up Club? I pick it up to stick with him, but on each uphill he puts more distance between us. We get to an intersection with the El tracks (?) above and police and directing traffic. No cars allowed to go north from here. Mile split 8:18. One more.
Now there are other runners walking & jogging toward start area. It's weird to see the transition from cars and very few peds to lots of walk/run and total absence of cars. No one notices me now. I'm blending into the scean. I pass other runners jogging...they don't know I've already done 9 miles. Some of the up hill blocks are now noticeably steep. Funny, never noticed that when running the opposite way! Irealize that I'm beginning to feel fatigue. I slow it way down, I'm going to make the start so I'll conserve energy. I can still see coffee guy up ahead, but he's almost a full block ahead. Then I lose him altogether. I move to the middle of the street. I actually feel pretty damn good.
i can see the starting line. The wheelchairs haven't begun yet. This final ascent seems steep. Yes, I am tired and burned a lot getting up here. Last mile split, 8:51. The elites are coming off the front to heat up their legs. Kenyans, real ones. I recognize the local speedsters. I see DavidJ - wave & hello. My friend TJ - "do we need to go around timing mats" i ask, but he says no. Asks if I ran the 10 warm up. "Yep" is about all i can manage. As I go past the start line into the throng I see that my bib doesn't match. I'm in the second corral. I move straight thru the middle and get to my own bib-color mates. I am out of water and can't fight thru entire 25,000 to find more. Start is less than 5 mins now. I move to the side where brick park is to be and see assorted water bottles on the ground in various stages of near empty/near full. I really really don't want to pick up a bottle off the ground and re-fill my Fuel Belt bottles, but they probably are safe, right? i see a dude with a almost full bottle stretching on the sidewalk. Dude - can I refill? No problem. I use about half what he has to fill both tanks half full (will carry 6 oz total on race,,,had 12 oz on the way up to start). He makes a good grab as a throw the the bottle back. Thnks, have a great race!
I wonder how sweaty tired I look? I see Theresa. She's about 10 rows behind hubby & I'm inbetween. She asks if I did the warm-up & I feel better calling back "Yep, just got here, made about 8:30 pace for the 10 mile warm up". It's go time. When I click the next split it says that my standing around was only 6:12 - man I barely made it on time.
Here's the splits for 11 thru 20 (the BSR 10 mile race):
1. 7:26
2. 7:17
3. 7:27
4. 7:40
5. 7:37
6. 8:24
7. 7:44
8. 7:56
9. 7:36
10.7:35
They had my chip time as 1:16:16 and I had my total running time as 2:42:50.
This post is long enough without a total report, I'll give you highlites: I wanted to go 8 pace. The first mile I was pulled along faster adn then figured why not hold pace as long as possible. Between mile 3 & 4 must be where the downhill becomes flat because that was the first slowdown.
Mile 6 includes a 45 second pee break becuse I had to go yet again. I must've hydrated exceptionally well this day! My buddy G passed me here - he was with his BOMF participants. Mile 7 & 8 were the slowest again this year. Somehow I always lose focus and feel so tired here. I remember looking up at windows of hotels/ apartments/ houses and each person I saw I would wave to. They all responded but several took a while to see me in the crowd. there wasn't enuf cowbells ringing! There was a guy giving high fives somewhere near mile 7 so I moved over to his side of street. I miscalc'd and slapped his hand really hard! I heard his friend/wife laughing as he was saying "that one hurt." Near the end I was really very tired. I heard my name being called out but I couldn't find the voice in the crowd. At the last second I saw Dr. Dan with a megaphone but I was already gone past and was sooo darn tired I couldn't respond or acknowledge at all.
The last mile: some people began passing me- they had gone out too slow. One was a beautiful redhead wearing red shorts & top. I think maybe the back said Hawks. I tried to stay with her but she was really moving. Several teen/20-something dudes with a lot left in the tank sprinting it in. I felt i could give it something more, and I tried. There was a girl just in front of me wearing green socks, 2-tone green layers top and she had a shamrock tat on shoulder blade. I'd been following her for a few mins. As I surged I paused at her side and said "c'mon Irish, let's kick in in together" but when i looked at her face I knew she was already max'd out. She didn't smile or say anything,,, and I never saw her again. Looking at the split it doesn't show it, but i was working hard that last mile.
Exhausted, soaked. I more or less went straight to my car and drove home. I was so completely exhausted that I almost felt like crying. Very strange. It happened a few times on the drive home. I drank gatorade thinking maybe something was very out of balance. Was I hallucinating? I almost cried but i don't know why. It felt like something about being tired(of course) and being alone in a crowd of 25,000 runners. Hopefully that doesn't happen at end of marathon. weird!?! It was a very lonely feeling...but not sure if it was real or maybe was induced by some type of physical chemical inbalance.
My son had a soccer game at noon which I was challenged to make it there on time. I did. But they lost the match. I know i was a bit grumpy standing in the rain watching us get beat. I tried to make the best of it and then went home for a nap.
My toes took a brutal beating on this 20 miler. But it was a good longRun. Basically 8:30 pace uphill 10 followed by 7:40 downhill again.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
VCM Here I Come!
Well I finally paid the entry fee for my marathon. Almost too late, the race is like 89% sold out. I scanned through the registration list, there's not many folks from Del.
The only issue I see on the trip is that packet pick-up ends at 7 p.m. Saturday night, and I'll almost certainly be arriving later than that. The race day pick-up is until 7 a.m., with the start time 8 a.m. The pick-up looks to be about a half mile from the start area... sooooo, that will take some running around to make it work, but it's doable.
There's no way out now, I have a strong track record of running once I've paid the fee. I'm feeling pretty good about that!
The only issue I see on the trip is that packet pick-up ends at 7 p.m. Saturday night, and I'll almost certainly be arriving later than that. The race day pick-up is until 7 a.m., with the start time 8 a.m. The pick-up looks to be about a half mile from the start area... sooooo, that will take some running around to make it work, but it's doable.
There's no way out now, I have a strong track record of running once I've paid the fee. I'm feeling pretty good about that!
Monday, March 30, 2009
Legs = not bad
I was expecting my legs to be in rough shape today, but they're really not too bad. I was worse off than this 2 weeks ago after the Caesar Rodney half marathon. I'll head into the gym Tuesday for a few easy treadmill miles & stretch.
Here's the run-down on yesterday's effort, overall it's 24 miles @ 8:45 pace:
Ate good carbs Sat. nite, and got a good nite's sleep. Woke up to some caffeine, a dump, a shower, a Gu packet, and drinking half a bottle of water. Decided to def wear the new Brooks Glycerin's - hell it's the first time ever spending over $100 on shoes so I'd better put them to the test. They passed with flying colors! Greased up the toes pretty well, small concern about new shoes, have only run in them once, and wore them around the house a half day once also. I set out a whole smorgasbord on the bench on the front porch. If I hadn't already fallen behind schedule I would've taken a picture to post here. Several waters, Gatorades, Gu's, cereal bars and new pouch of trail mix. I was supposed to meet my neighbor in front of his house at 8... was about 10 mins. after when I got there (about a block & a half).
It was awesome to have somebody to to run with - thanks again to Ray for pacing me to a conversational pace for the first 6 miles. One of my big faults is going out too fast, and this long run seriously emphasized this error. These early miles went down smooth & easy:
1. 9:30
2. 9:07 - 18:37
3. 8:55 - 27:32
4. 8:43 - 36:15
5. 9:43 - 45:58
6. 8:53 - 54:51
That mile #5 included a 45 second walk/break for a Gu packet & water. I left Ray after #6 and tried to pick up the pace right away, although then the next mile has a significant uphill. The rain had started up again (beginning was wet but only foggy, not actually raining in early miles). All these middle miles were enjoyable; my confidence was building as each mile passed:
7. 8:35 - 1:03:26
8. 8:45 - 1:12:11
9. 8:05 - 1:20:16
10. 9:15 - 1:29:31
11. 8:42 - 1:38:13
12. 8:10 - 1:46:23
13. 8:36 - 1:54:59
14. 8:01 - 2:03:00
15. 8:45 - 2:11:45
16. 9:15 - 2:21:00
17. 8:01 - 2:29:01
18. 8:00 - 2:37:01
Miles # 10 & 16 each included about 45 seconds for water & Gu & about 1/3 of of cereal bar. I'm wondering how much credit to give these walk breaks which were timed to each loop around back to pass my house. Of course I've heard of the run/walk philosophy, which I've always thought that it's just not for me, so how might help could those breaks provide? I will have to experiment with this further in the next weeks/months prior to the marathon day. I also popped inside to grab a towel to dry my glasses, which at this point I could barely see thru the rain. The weather varied between mist/ light rain/ fog and the temp was either slowly climbing or my own exertion was beginning to send me thru cycles of too warm (take gloves off) then too cold (retrieve gloves, put back on). I only carried one Gu at a time, since I had the supply on the porch, so I had plenty of pocket room for gloves.
This next section I began to feel fatigue setting in, but was able to mostly hold pace and push thru. Every small uphill felt like it was taking something measurable out of me. My calves felt very heavy & tight on these uphill stretches. But after a few minutes on the flat or downhill I recovered. Also my right plantar/arch area was feeling pain off & on. My index toes on both feet were obviously taking a pounding...and they hadn't fully recovered from the C.R. half yet. Someplace around 17 or 18 I had to stop and loosen the laces on my right shoe because my feet were swelling and the right was becoming uncomfortable. Here's the final splits:
19. 8:31 - 2:45:32
20. 8:21 - 2:53:53
21. 9:25 - 3:03:18
22. 9:02 - 3:12:20
23. 8:25 - 3:20:45
24. 8:24 - 3:29:09
Mile #21 had the walk/Gu/drink break. Actually, this was a funny one. As I come to the porch a squirrel runs away and I didn't think much of it. But I knew there was no more Gu's out, so I was planning on the remainder of cereal bar and a handful of dried fruits from the trail mix (planned to pick out the nuts because i don't think they would sit well). So I reach for the cereal bar, and it's not there! And the trail mix is all torn open and spilled out... Apparently that squirrel had one hell of an awesome Sunday brunch on my front porch! I did see the cereal bar wrapper in the mulch down by the steps. I headed right inside to grab another Gu. So I never did test the dried fruit, will attempt that on a future workout. My kids already know that dad has a running battle with the squirrels, so this only adds fuel to the situation. Lately it's not been so bad, but about 2 years ago we were totally overrun with the critters. We had trapped and released about a dozen - moved over to the state park about a mile away.
Anyway, all during these last miles I was trying to do the mental math to figure 'What's my pace' and 'How far should I try for' and etc. I debated stopping at 21, and then again at 22. I considered going for the full 26 too. But in the end I settled on 24 because I had calculated that the total time would equal the BQ standard for my age= M45 is 3:30:59. So I was 2.2 miles short, and if I subtract out the walk breaks 3 mins + under time of about 1:45... bottom line is that I need to run 30 secs. per mile faster to BQ. That seems like a tall order especially given that the most important lesson learned here is to go out easy for the first miles. Unless some future training sessions indicate I can go faster, I'm giving up the BQ dream for this first marathon and will set the goal at 3:40 - 3:45 range instead.
Damn, that's a long list of mile splits! I've been eating anything & everything since finishing yestserday's long run. We'll see the bottom line about that tomorrow on the scale at the Y.
Here's the run-down on yesterday's effort, overall it's 24 miles @ 8:45 pace:
Ate good carbs Sat. nite, and got a good nite's sleep. Woke up to some caffeine, a dump, a shower, a Gu packet, and drinking half a bottle of water. Decided to def wear the new Brooks Glycerin's - hell it's the first time ever spending over $100 on shoes so I'd better put them to the test. They passed with flying colors! Greased up the toes pretty well, small concern about new shoes, have only run in them once, and wore them around the house a half day once also. I set out a whole smorgasbord on the bench on the front porch. If I hadn't already fallen behind schedule I would've taken a picture to post here. Several waters, Gatorades, Gu's, cereal bars and new pouch of trail mix. I was supposed to meet my neighbor in front of his house at 8... was about 10 mins. after when I got there (about a block & a half).
It was awesome to have somebody to to run with - thanks again to Ray for pacing me to a conversational pace for the first 6 miles. One of my big faults is going out too fast, and this long run seriously emphasized this error. These early miles went down smooth & easy:
1. 9:30
2. 9:07 - 18:37
3. 8:55 - 27:32
4. 8:43 - 36:15
5. 9:43 - 45:58
6. 8:53 - 54:51
That mile #5 included a 45 second walk/break for a Gu packet & water. I left Ray after #6 and tried to pick up the pace right away, although then the next mile has a significant uphill. The rain had started up again (beginning was wet but only foggy, not actually raining in early miles). All these middle miles were enjoyable; my confidence was building as each mile passed:
7. 8:35 - 1:03:26
8. 8:45 - 1:12:11
9. 8:05 - 1:20:16
10. 9:15 - 1:29:31
11. 8:42 - 1:38:13
12. 8:10 - 1:46:23
13. 8:36 - 1:54:59
14. 8:01 - 2:03:00
15. 8:45 - 2:11:45
16. 9:15 - 2:21:00
17. 8:01 - 2:29:01
18. 8:00 - 2:37:01
Miles # 10 & 16 each included about 45 seconds for water & Gu & about 1/3 of of cereal bar. I'm wondering how much credit to give these walk breaks which were timed to each loop around back to pass my house. Of course I've heard of the run/walk philosophy, which I've always thought that it's just not for me, so how might help could those breaks provide? I will have to experiment with this further in the next weeks/months prior to the marathon day. I also popped inside to grab a towel to dry my glasses, which at this point I could barely see thru the rain. The weather varied between mist/ light rain/ fog and the temp was either slowly climbing or my own exertion was beginning to send me thru cycles of too warm (take gloves off) then too cold (retrieve gloves, put back on). I only carried one Gu at a time, since I had the supply on the porch, so I had plenty of pocket room for gloves.
This next section I began to feel fatigue setting in, but was able to mostly hold pace and push thru. Every small uphill felt like it was taking something measurable out of me. My calves felt very heavy & tight on these uphill stretches. But after a few minutes on the flat or downhill I recovered. Also my right plantar/arch area was feeling pain off & on. My index toes on both feet were obviously taking a pounding...and they hadn't fully recovered from the C.R. half yet. Someplace around 17 or 18 I had to stop and loosen the laces on my right shoe because my feet were swelling and the right was becoming uncomfortable. Here's the final splits:
19. 8:31 - 2:45:32
20. 8:21 - 2:53:53
21. 9:25 - 3:03:18
22. 9:02 - 3:12:20
23. 8:25 - 3:20:45
24. 8:24 - 3:29:09
Mile #21 had the walk/Gu/drink break. Actually, this was a funny one. As I come to the porch a squirrel runs away and I didn't think much of it. But I knew there was no more Gu's out, so I was planning on the remainder of cereal bar and a handful of dried fruits from the trail mix (planned to pick out the nuts because i don't think they would sit well). So I reach for the cereal bar, and it's not there! And the trail mix is all torn open and spilled out... Apparently that squirrel had one hell of an awesome Sunday brunch on my front porch! I did see the cereal bar wrapper in the mulch down by the steps. I headed right inside to grab another Gu. So I never did test the dried fruit, will attempt that on a future workout. My kids already know that dad has a running battle with the squirrels, so this only adds fuel to the situation. Lately it's not been so bad, but about 2 years ago we were totally overrun with the critters. We had trapped and released about a dozen - moved over to the state park about a mile away.
Anyway, all during these last miles I was trying to do the mental math to figure 'What's my pace' and 'How far should I try for' and etc. I debated stopping at 21, and then again at 22. I considered going for the full 26 too. But in the end I settled on 24 because I had calculated that the total time would equal the BQ standard for my age= M45 is 3:30:59. So I was 2.2 miles short, and if I subtract out the walk breaks 3 mins + under time of about 1:45... bottom line is that I need to run 30 secs. per mile faster to BQ. That seems like a tall order especially given that the most important lesson learned here is to go out easy for the first miles. Unless some future training sessions indicate I can go faster, I'm giving up the BQ dream for this first marathon and will set the goal at 3:40 - 3:45 range instead.
Damn, that's a long list of mile splits! I've been eating anything & everything since finishing yestserday's long run. We'll see the bottom line about that tomorrow on the scale at the Y.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
First Ever 20 Miler...and 21, 22, 23, & 24 !!!
Wow, what a feeling to have a great day running. I was scheduled to run 16 - 18 for my long run this weekend. This was the absolute last chance to get my marathon schedule back on track. I was sort of dreading the whole thing. The last week or more I've been making plans on pushing the marathon back to the fall and focusing my spring season on a few PR attempts. But then there's days like today!
Big SHOUT OUT to my buddy Ray for pacing me on the first 6 miles. That sensible steady pace was a big part of feeling good for so many miles. As the miles went down I just felt fine and kept going & going. Amazing. I know I'll be paying for the effort over the next few days...thinking that the recovery may take 7-10 days or more. I can work with that. At the moment the worst of it seems to be general swelling/soreness in the R knee and the big toes on both feet took a brutal beating (both were already blackened from the half marathon). I was feeling a lot of tightness/strain the calves & arch/plantar areas, so we'll keep on eye on that.
The total time was 3:29 and change. Just happens to be under the BQ standard for me. Now I just have to figure a way to run an extra 2.2 miles inthe same time and I'll be all set. More details later, right now I've got to take a nap so I can get up in time to see the Tar Heels later this afternoon.
Later today: log into Vermont City Marathon website and register for the racE!
Big SHOUT OUT to my buddy Ray for pacing me on the first 6 miles. That sensible steady pace was a big part of feeling good for so many miles. As the miles went down I just felt fine and kept going & going. Amazing. I know I'll be paying for the effort over the next few days...thinking that the recovery may take 7-10 days or more. I can work with that. At the moment the worst of it seems to be general swelling/soreness in the R knee and the big toes on both feet took a brutal beating (both were already blackened from the half marathon). I was feeling a lot of tightness/strain the calves & arch/plantar areas, so we'll keep on eye on that.
The total time was 3:29 and change. Just happens to be under the BQ standard for me. Now I just have to figure a way to run an extra 2.2 miles inthe same time and I'll be all set. More details later, right now I've got to take a nap so I can get up in time to see the Tar Heels later this afternoon.
Later today: log into Vermont City Marathon website and register for the racE!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Sick, Sicko, Sickest
I'm sick. Have been for a few days. The wife had it last week, got into strep and she had to get a Rx from the Dr. They my son caught it, but not quite as bad, although he missed a few days from school and he had a long streak of perfect attendance going too. About 4 1/2 years without missing a single day. Now's he reset to one day. Nothing lasts forever...
Now I've got it. Started Wednesday. I've skipped 2 workouts already, but I'm feeling better today so maybe I'll try to do a modest cross training effort at the Y this afternoon. I'm def gonna miss my long run this weekend. Will have to try to do it mid week or push out until next weekend. bummer.
Decided on the Sheraton for the race hotel. It requires a shuttle ride instead of just a 2 block walk, but the VCM website looks very organized about the shuttle schedule and the price is better, plus the Sheraton is the official host hotel so they should be all 'in-tune' with us runners (one would hope).
Now I've got it. Started Wednesday. I've skipped 2 workouts already, but I'm feeling better today so maybe I'll try to do a modest cross training effort at the Y this afternoon. I'm def gonna miss my long run this weekend. Will have to try to do it mid week or push out until next weekend. bummer.
Decided on the Sheraton for the race hotel. It requires a shuttle ride instead of just a 2 block walk, but the VCM website looks very organized about the shuttle schedule and the price is better, plus the Sheraton is the official host hotel so they should be all 'in-tune' with us runners (one would hope).
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Margarita Monday
Simple workout today: 5 miles easy on treadmill. 8:30 pace. I felt sore & sluggish the first few miles, then had to remind myself not to go any faster the second half. Stretch, weight circuit. This was a pretty unremarkable day.
My calves & ankles are feeling Saturday's long run. I have to really work on doing those runs slower. a. so that I don't feel so sore afterward. This is a long race, and a long training time to ramp up to marathon mileage. If I burn out early I will never reach the goal. that's exactly what happened last time I tried to increase miles toward a marathon goal. Also, b. I need to increase my total time running so that I'm ready to go 3:30 or 3:45 on race day. The slower I do the training runs, the more minutes 'on my feet' I'll be getting. I have to plan for a peak at 3:30 so that race day won't put me too far into uncharted waters.
My calves & ankles are feeling Saturday's long run. I have to really work on doing those runs slower. a. so that I don't feel so sore afterward. This is a long race, and a long training time to ramp up to marathon mileage. If I burn out early I will never reach the goal. that's exactly what happened last time I tried to increase miles toward a marathon goal. Also, b. I need to increase my total time running so that I'm ready to go 3:30 or 3:45 on race day. The slower I do the training runs, the more minutes 'on my feet' I'll be getting. I have to plan for a peak at 3:30 so that race day won't put me too far into uncharted waters.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Who's Highest?
I spent some time looking at the websites for all three marathons that I'm considering. Vermont City, Buffalo, and Ottawa are all on Sunday May 24th. I'm sort of committed to this date so that the wife & kids can come along as my cheering/support crew. This will be a Memorial Day mini-vacation for us.
Also, the day before my buddy Rob is getting married in Bean Town, so I'm hopeful that we can do the wedding (and most likely have to skip the reception)... and then reasonably travel the rest of the way. Burlington, VT makes that game plan work the best.
Other considerations are that Canada just seems too complicated. Passports & plane rides. Buffalo has a few advantages in that they offer a half marathon(VCM does not) so if my training goes badly then I could request to step down from full to half. Buffalo costs $10 less than VCM but gives both a quality shirt plus a "I'm in training" t-shirt. That's nice.
The best runner comments I've heard all say VCM is the choice. Also it's the best option if we're going to combine the wedding & race weekends together. So therefore Vermont City gets the nod. According to their website the race is already 40% full (1,400 regist'd outta 3,500 spots). I figure I'll wait another 3 or 4 weeks to be certain that my progress continues.
I'm psyched to have make this decision! I've never been to VT before. I did see the Green Mtns over Lake Champlain when i was on the top of Mount Marcy, NY in summer of '07. Just looked up some VT facts: they are bigger in area than Delaware but smaller in population. That makes Del one of the most densely populated states & Vt one of the least. They have the mountains, we have the shore (or beach as the locals call it). They have an international border; we have the Mason-Dixon line which is sort-of a border. We also have the only weird circle-arc border that projects into MD & NJ due to the very olde fashioned way that things were mapped out. VT's highest elevation is 10 times higher than DE's...but the marathon is supposedly mostly flat, along the shore of Lake Champlain, with some small rolling hills. Delaware's also unique in that there are 3 notable places of "highest elevation" which I read about once but can't seem to find a webpage to link with now.
I've been to the top of all three spots. A marker of highest point is along Ebright Road, and is the official spot. But next to that is a trailer park (of all things!) and the streets within the park were graded for drainage when it was created so that there is clearly a small hill which is higher than the Ebright Road location. I've read that this place doesn't officially count because it's man made and therefore it's only a footnote to the real place. Also, a third spot is the top of Iron Hill, which is just south of Newark. This is the highest "summit" entirely within the state of Delaware. The official location on Ebright is an uphill grade that continues into PA with the top of the hill in the other state. Several other states have this same issue - Connecticut & Massachusetts for instance - where the highest point is the side of a hill which peaks outside their own state in their neighbor's state. DE is the only state I'm aware of that has this combination of 3 highest points depending on how do you want to define who's highest.
Also, the day before my buddy Rob is getting married in Bean Town, so I'm hopeful that we can do the wedding (and most likely have to skip the reception)... and then reasonably travel the rest of the way. Burlington, VT makes that game plan work the best.
Other considerations are that Canada just seems too complicated. Passports & plane rides. Buffalo has a few advantages in that they offer a half marathon(VCM does not) so if my training goes badly then I could request to step down from full to half. Buffalo costs $10 less than VCM but gives both a quality shirt plus a "I'm in training" t-shirt. That's nice.
The best runner comments I've heard all say VCM is the choice. Also it's the best option if we're going to combine the wedding & race weekends together. So therefore Vermont City gets the nod. According to their website the race is already 40% full (1,400 regist'd outta 3,500 spots). I figure I'll wait another 3 or 4 weeks to be certain that my progress continues.
I'm psyched to have make this decision! I've never been to VT before. I did see the Green Mtns over Lake Champlain when i was on the top of Mount Marcy, NY in summer of '07. Just looked up some VT facts: they are bigger in area than Delaware but smaller in population. That makes Del one of the most densely populated states & Vt one of the least. They have the mountains, we have the shore (or beach as the locals call it). They have an international border; we have the Mason-Dixon line which is sort-of a border. We also have the only weird circle-arc border that projects into MD & NJ due to the very olde fashioned way that things were mapped out. VT's highest elevation is 10 times higher than DE's...but the marathon is supposedly mostly flat, along the shore of Lake Champlain, with some small rolling hills. Delaware's also unique in that there are 3 notable places of "highest elevation" which I read about once but can't seem to find a webpage to link with now.
I've been to the top of all three spots. A marker of highest point is along Ebright Road, and is the official spot. But next to that is a trailer park (of all things!) and the streets within the park were graded for drainage when it was created so that there is clearly a small hill which is higher than the Ebright Road location. I've read that this place doesn't officially count because it's man made and therefore it's only a footnote to the real place. Also, a third spot is the top of Iron Hill, which is just south of Newark. This is the highest "summit" entirely within the state of Delaware. The official location on Ebright is an uphill grade that continues into PA with the top of the hill in the other state. Several other states have this same issue - Connecticut & Massachusetts for instance - where the highest point is the side of a hill which peaks outside their own state in their neighbor's state. DE is the only state I'm aware of that has this combination of 3 highest points depending on how do you want to define who's highest.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Easy Run Plus One
Tuesday workout was treadmill run at the Y. I'm planning this week to be my first 20 mile week since October - the beginning of my PF pain.
As usual I did a bit more than planned. Wanted to do 4 easy miles, and felt sort of sluggish at the start. But felt better as I kept going so I decided to add one extra mile and pick up the pace at the end. Logged 4@ 8:30 pace and then 1@ 7:30. Feeling pretty good by the end, although nothing special. This approach is typical of my easy day workouts. I almost always add a little bit of speed or something extra to every run. Marathon training may require more discipline so that I limit this approach. Did my stretching & hit the weights. Did an extra set of some exercises and I'm feeling those reps today. Quads & hip areas especially sore, must be the lunge's.
Club news: It looks like the DuPont CC will be the Banquet location this year. I'm happy that worked out. Nothing wrong with Porky Oliver's except they closed their doors (economy) and I remember that dessert from last year . . . lame Corn Flakes apple cobbler.
Also: the DDC 15k will move back to the 2nd Sunday of Oct. I think this is great news; shame that we ever got pushed from our traditional spot. And also not convenient that we've already made public announcement for the 1st weekend; however, the return to 2nd Sunday is available and we can not let this opportunity pass.
Tomorrow I'm planning a cross training easy day.
Another note: I've decided to take a daily multi-vitamin. I've already been taking a vitamin occasionally, but read Kastor interview where she links limited sun exposure to vit D deficiency which led to her broken metatarsal during last NYC marathon. My situation is a bit different in that she always uses sun block lotion and makes it a point of covering up. I rarely do either. But I figure increasing my mileage may put pressure onto the body in ways I'm not expecting. So as a preventative measure I'll supplement vitamin intake generally. I'm not going to try to self-blend types & amounts. Just a daily multi-vit.
As usual I did a bit more than planned. Wanted to do 4 easy miles, and felt sort of sluggish at the start. But felt better as I kept going so I decided to add one extra mile and pick up the pace at the end. Logged 4@ 8:30 pace and then 1@ 7:30. Feeling pretty good by the end, although nothing special. This approach is typical of my easy day workouts. I almost always add a little bit of speed or something extra to every run. Marathon training may require more discipline so that I limit this approach. Did my stretching & hit the weights. Did an extra set of some exercises and I'm feeling those reps today. Quads & hip areas especially sore, must be the lunge's.
Club news: It looks like the DuPont CC will be the Banquet location this year. I'm happy that worked out. Nothing wrong with Porky Oliver's except they closed their doors (economy) and I remember that dessert from last year . . . lame Corn Flakes apple cobbler.
Also: the DDC 15k will move back to the 2nd Sunday of Oct. I think this is great news; shame that we ever got pushed from our traditional spot. And also not convenient that we've already made public announcement for the 1st weekend; however, the return to 2nd Sunday is available and we can not let this opportunity pass.
Tomorrow I'm planning a cross training easy day.
Another note: I've decided to take a daily multi-vitamin. I've already been taking a vitamin occasionally, but read Kastor interview where she links limited sun exposure to vit D deficiency which led to her broken metatarsal during last NYC marathon. My situation is a bit different in that she always uses sun block lotion and makes it a point of covering up. I rarely do either. But I figure increasing my mileage may put pressure onto the body in ways I'm not expecting. So as a preventative measure I'll supplement vitamin intake generally. I'm not going to try to self-blend types & amounts. Just a daily multi-vit.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Day One: New Plan
I ran today for the first time in about 2 weeks.
I had planned to take the month of December very easy before building mileage beginning January 1st; however, a nasty case of plantar fasciitis (spell?) caused me to not just cut back on training but to completely stop running. More on that later, I really just want to get this first blog entry done so that I've begun the process of documenting my quest to finish my first marathon.
Twice before I tried to increase my running in preparation of a marathon. Both times I was sidelined by injuries. Hopefully the third time will be one for me. Not happy to have a re-hab at the beginning, but my goal is for a late spring race - probably Memorial Day - so I need to start running regularly now have enough time to be ready.
I've never been a high mileage runner...this past year I've had my best race results in 10 years of running... and never averaged over 20 miles/week. Peak weeks were 25, and I ran continuously from August 2007 thru November 23, 2008 before the plantar pain stopped me. That is one of the longest stretches since I've been a runner. Typically I've been stopped by injury or work/life time commitments about every 6 to 10 months. I've had several layoffs of 3 to 6 months with absolutely no running, so I've had to completely start over a few times. Obviously with this current injury I'm counting on maintaining some fitness while I re-hab. I'm hopeful that cross-training, some light running workouts, stretching, ice, rest, will all get me past this injury and onto my marathon training plan.
Today was an 4 easy miles on trails with my friend Scott. Also met Paul - he ran his first marathon last year and is a big time bicycle guy. Scott's on a personal quest for a "triple hundred" - Good Luck! He finished about 28 miles today - and tomorrow he'll be at it again. Awesome. Iif things go my way that's a number I'd like to hit for a weekly total the first week of February.
I had planned to take the month of December very easy before building mileage beginning January 1st; however, a nasty case of plantar fasciitis (spell?) caused me to not just cut back on training but to completely stop running. More on that later, I really just want to get this first blog entry done so that I've begun the process of documenting my quest to finish my first marathon.
Twice before I tried to increase my running in preparation of a marathon. Both times I was sidelined by injuries. Hopefully the third time will be one for me. Not happy to have a re-hab at the beginning, but my goal is for a late spring race - probably Memorial Day - so I need to start running regularly now have enough time to be ready.
I've never been a high mileage runner...this past year I've had my best race results in 10 years of running... and never averaged over 20 miles/week. Peak weeks were 25, and I ran continuously from August 2007 thru November 23, 2008 before the plantar pain stopped me. That is one of the longest stretches since I've been a runner. Typically I've been stopped by injury or work/life time commitments about every 6 to 10 months. I've had several layoffs of 3 to 6 months with absolutely no running, so I've had to completely start over a few times. Obviously with this current injury I'm counting on maintaining some fitness while I re-hab. I'm hopeful that cross-training, some light running workouts, stretching, ice, rest, will all get me past this injury and onto my marathon training plan.
Today was an 4 easy miles on trails with my friend Scott. Also met Paul - he ran his first marathon last year and is a big time bicycle guy. Scott's on a personal quest for a "triple hundred" - Good Luck! He finished about 28 miles today - and tomorrow he'll be at it again. Awesome. Iif things go my way that's a number I'd like to hit for a weekly total the first week of February.
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