Richard's Running Blog in Colorado

A Spicy Night in New York City

2011-11-15T07:39:00.003-07:00

One of my longer term goals was to complete the 5 World Marathon Majors. Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London and New York.

Each presents a different challenge - often to even just get to the start line. Boston you obviously need to qualify for, or raise an awful lot of money as a charity runner. London and New York are both heavily oversubscribed and use a lottery system that means it's very hard for most people to get an entry (Chicago and Berlin are a lot easier).

Fortunately I had a qualifying time and with a big group of running friends going, I decided 2011 was the year for me to check it off the world major list.

New York is not renowned as a fast course - with several large bridges to run up, as well as a hilly finish leading in to, and around Central Park - so I decided to make it more of a training run, with my goal race being Tucson in December.

That turned out to be one of the best decisions I made. This would be the first marathon I really enjoyed.

Race day - we were up at the crack of chickens. Literally. Despite a 9:40am start time for the first wave, because of the logistics of the start in Staten Island, we were scheduled on a 6am ferry out of lower Manhattan.

6am for the ferry. Work backwards. Leave the hotel at 5:30am. Need to get up, change, 'take care of business' and get some breakfast in too. So 4am ET. Fortunately the clocks had gone back an hour that night which led to some concerns for me as I went to bed. Would my iPad adjust it's clock during the night ? If so - should I set the alarm an hour later ? I ended up going for the 'old fashioned' hotel wake up call. It didn't matter anyway - I was awake long before the phone rang.

A group of us from the Runners World forums took taxis together and hung out on the ferry.

It was still dark, but you could easily make out the Statue of Liberty as we sailed past.

and looking back at the New York skyline as the sun started to come up

Once on Staten Island, we waited briefly for buses which gave another opportunity to look back at the city skyline.

At the Athlete Village we basically sat around. And waited. A lot. It was chilly - mid 30s, and we had nothing to do but wait. For 3 hours. I was once again thankful to have met a large group of running friends through Runners World. The time passed a little quicker.

In New York they have 3 coloured starts. I was in the green which started on the bottom deck of the Verrazano Bridge. The other 2 starts are on the top deck. 90 minutes before the gun - we got into our wave holding areas, and then 45 minutes later they walked us up to the start line. I was in the first wave of the green, so maybe 10 yards behind the start. The green start is a short way back from the bridge - so we had a small grassy area along the side of the road. For the 45 minutes we were penned in - that area was given a lot of nitrogen fertilizing.

And then we were off. It wasn't bad running on the bottom of the bridge. To the left hand side was a spectacular view of Manhattan. I kept pointing it out to people, but most were concentrating on the matter at hand.

Until you run the course - you don't realize how 'hilly' the bridges are. Here's an elevation profile of the race - notice the first mile with the Verrazano Bridge.

Fortunately - it is the first mile, and with all the pent up excitement, especially after being 'caged up' for 3 hours, it wasn't noticeable.

Pre-race, I had decided to make this a 26 mile training run. The plan was to go out at 8 min/mile pace for the first 16 miles to get a bit of heaviness in the legs, and then to bring home the last 10.2 miles at what I hoped would be my marathon pace in Tucson - 6 min 50 second miles.

Starting at the front, with all the excitement - try as I might - I couldn't run slowly enough. I tried to stick to the very left hand side of the bridge so I didn't slow people down and with the wider road it never seemed to be an issue. The first miles ticked by and I was struggling to run under 7:30 pace.

Each mile as I saw the split I'd make a conscious effort to slow down, but it wasn't working.

First 5K @ 7:23 pace.

Through mile 4 @ 7.25

Mile 5 @ 7.26

So much for 8 min / mile pace.

I decided to adjust my training run on the fly. Instead of running slower the first 16 and fast the last 10, I decided I could just keep up the 7:30 min/mile pace for the first 20 - and then hammer home the last 10K.

I was still running well within myself. I was able to enjoy the scenery, high five kids, thank the cops in the middle of the road, and try and talk with runners on the course. I was also able to observe the runners too - something I don't typically have time for.

During the race - I noticed 3 phases. The first phase - where everyone streamed past me. Not really surprising given me starting at the front but holding back. This lasted for the first 4 or 5 miles. Then things started to even out. I was running level for the next 8 or so miles. Then probably from mile 13 onwards - even though I was keeping a constant pace, I started to be the one doing the overtaking. It amazed me how poorly most people pace a marathon. But then I can hardly speak myself - I haven't got it right yet myself when racing for that sub 3 house elusive goal.

Brooklyn

Enjoying the race for once, I was able to take in the differences as we moved through the 5 Burroughs. From Staten Island, through Brooklyn, to Queens, briefly into the Bronx, before finishing in Manhattan. We were running through areas that most New Yorkers wouldn't dare to set foot in - but with 50,000 running friends and great crowd support, it was a party the whole way. I danced the YMCA, and 'held my hands up in the air' whenever the music called for it.

One song I heard many times had become a sort of official anthem for the race for me. Jay-Z and Alicia Keys - Empire State of Mind. (click the video for some background music for the rest of the blog)

Youtube video - Empire State of Mind

Around mile 10 I finally found someone who was taking things relatively easy too. He lived about 2 hours out of the city and had run the race several times. He agreed with the 7:30 min/pace approach, although a couple of times we had to remind each other to slow down. It was tough too - the bridges really played a number on my garmin, so I couldn't trust the overall average pace that was being shown.

I hit the half in 1:39:05. A 7.34 pace.

Onto the Queensborough Bridge - once again running on the bottom deck as we crossed into Manhattan

The bridge is quiet - just the sound of fellow runners, many suffering on the uphill portion. Once you're over the bridge, you turn onto 1st Avenue and hit the wall of noise from the large crowd support.

I was having fun. 16 miles in - it felt like the Sunday training run that it was, just with 2 million people out to support. I was biding my time - waiting to hit the 20 mile mark. As we approached that point I saw later that my average pace had dropped to 7:36 min / miles. My running partner had started to drag. He wished me well, and I wondered what I had left in my legs. It turned out to be quite a lot.

It felt great to stretch out. I literally just hit the switch and went from 7:40 pace to 6:40 pace in a few seconds. I felt as if I was flying past people - a porsche going past tractors. From mile 20 to the end, no one over took me, and I must have overtaken literally thousands of runners. I had to weave and take corners on the outside to avoid getting trapped. This was fun !

Mile 21. 6:34 pace. Hmmm. Maybe a little too enthusiastic there Richard. Still - it felt great. Just 5 to go, this was a training run after all - and this was the part of the training I was most interested in. How I could handle faster miles towards the end of the race on fatigued legs. We made the turn at the top of the course and headed towards the finishing stretch.

Mile 23 is basically a long steady uphill along 5th Avenue as you approach Central Park. Most runners were dragging. I know that feeling well - just willing those last few miles to be done, living in your own personal hell. Not this time - I was screaming. I tried to encourage the crowd to yell louder. Wearing my Colorado shirt I heard a lot of 'Go Colorado' shouts. This was the way to run every marathon !

6.53 mile up the hill. Then into Central Park.

The road got narrower and the crowds were drawn in closer. I was surprised by the constant ups and downs in the park and was once again glad I wasn't racing the marathon. On tired legs at the end of the race could be miserable, and I saw plenty of people suffering. I suddenly realized checking the splits that I might be able to make 3:15 - way faster than I'd expected, and my Boston Qualifier time for 2013. Hmmm. Purely symbolic because I'd already run a 3:04 the month before, but I figured I'd give it a go.

Out of the park, along W 59th and up another slight incline, around Columbus Circle, back into the park, I was still overtaking all the way but my legs weren't turning quite so fast now. 6:56 for mile 26. Up the final incline and we were done.

Official time, 3:15:13. A 3 minute negative split, all of that (and more) from the last 10K. Despite missing the 3:15, I was in a great mood. The last 10K I'd averaged right around 6:50 pace which I hoped was a good sign for future races. Never had running a marathon felt so much fun. I was amazed that just backing off a little bit, how much easier everything felt, and how much I had in the tank at the end.

Which was fortunate to some extent, because after you finish New York - you have to walk for what seems to be halfway through Central Park to get to the exits and your checked bags. I met a group of friends from the RWOL forums again and we hung out for a while, before reconvening at a bar on the upper east side (walking the 2 miles to get there in my case).

Later that night a larger group of us got together to eat the hottest curry in the world. Good times, good friends. The perfect way to cap off an incredible day.

Reflecting later on how much more enjoyable this marathon had been, it made me realize this was the way to run marathons. I've got some unfinished business trying to get that sub 3 hour time, but once I do, I really believe this is the way to go for future races.

St George Marathon

2011-10-01T23:00:00.000-06:00

St George was going to be sub 3 attempt number 2. This summer I've been steadily improving and set PRs in most races from 5K to half marathon distance. Whereas at Boston I always felt sub 3 might be a stretch, going into St George - I was pretty confident I could do it.

Flew into Vegas and drove the 120 miles to the north west to get to St George. It's just across the Nevada / Arizona / Utah border. Pulling into St George, the car temperature gauge said 101F. Holy crap. What was I thinking running a marathon where you fly to Vegas on 10/1 and drive to it ?!!

Did the expo, and then went out for spicy asian food. I met up with Left Coast briefly after dinner, then it was back to the hotel to chill. Bridesmaids on the ipad until I got bored and took sleeping pills.

Not the best night's sleep. Surprise ! My alarm was set for a quarter past sodding early o'clock (3:15am), but I was awake from 1:30am anyway. I decided not to do the all liquid ultra fuel breakfast this go around. I've had issues with my stomach the past few attempts I've used that, not being able to take in carbs during the race, so this time I stuck to what I'd done in training. Lots of liquids, and then a small bowl of cereal, plus some cliff bloks.

St George is a point to point race. A bit like Boston. They bus you out to the start line. It's a big net downhill - although it's deceiving. For the people who just look at the profile and say you can put skates on and do it - I suggest you sign up next year. Over a mile up a volcano in the first half (250 foot gain in that mile alone), and a couple of other nasty hills - it's not the downhill coaster that it may appear to be on paper. And there's that 'heat' thing. Average temps for October 1st in St George are 86F, and the course has literally no shade. In a normal year the temps should cool off more at night, so you'd be starting around 50F, and ending around 70F. So not too bad. Unfortunately this wasn't a 'normal' year.

I left the hotel at 4:30am. It felt pretty warm. The car temperature gauge said 79F. Hmmm - yes - that would qualify as pretty warm at 30 mins after way too early o'clock. The buses were only 1.5 miles away, but I didn't want to have to hobble back, so I drove and was able to park literally a hundred yards from the bus pick up, which was also next to the finish area. On the bus, I chatted with a lady who was in the 10 year club, and thus able to avoid the lottery each year.

Up at the starting area there were bonfires to provide light. I'd scored a semi-elite bib, so was able to go into a cordoned off area where we had our own set of porto potties. I put a trash sack on the ground and just lay down. Music pumped from the PA, as more and more people showed up. The announcer cheerfully told us the temperature at the start was 65 degrees and it was going to be a beautiful day. Beautiful if you're sitting behind a microphone mate. Not beautiful on the business end of 26.2 miles.

The start time drew closer - we got into position, it was still pitch dark. St George is maybe 20 or so miles east of the Nevada border, so right at the very western edge of the mountain time-zone. Gun time is at 6:45am - the sun rise isn't until 7:30am. And there are no lights on the road. You start in the middle of nowhere.

I'd found a spreadsheet on line - similar to Greg Maclin's - that had tailored splits for the St George topography. I was going for a 2:58. Suddenly we were off.

It was dark. You could vaguely make out the road and runners around you in the gloom, but certainly not see your garmin. Buttons were pressed and watch lights would glow for a few seconds like glow flies, before dimming. I'd check every couple of minutes to make sure I was maintaining my pace.

Boston was the first race I'd ever run without music. I'd set a PR there, so I knew I didn't 'require' it. Still - something about a motivating songs seemed to make me run faster, particularly on this course where I expected to not be running with anyone. I switched on my ipod. Nothing. Great. It had worked when I'd checked it before packing - now it was dead. Thought of throwing it off in anger, but just took it off and stuffed it down the front of my shorts. Am I glad to see you ? No - sorry - it's just my ipod in my shorts....

Still - there was something pure about running in the dark, with just the sound of footfalls and easy breathing and stars up above.

First mile. 7:00.

Second mile: 6:55.

Both on target. At least from what I'd remembered. I couldn't read my wrist band in the dark, although it was slowly starting to get a little lighter. Before the race I'd corresponded with CharliePro from the California / Masters forums. He was running St George and was aiming for a similar time (2:56). I'd read his race report from the prior year where he'd run 2:58 and was using that as my guide of 'how to do it right'. He'd run 1:31, 1:27 splits. I wanted to emulate that. I knew he'd be running shirtless with his signature baseball cap on backwards. I'd tried to find him at the start, but it was too chaotic. And too dark.

In the gloom - just ahead - I saw someone who fitted the profile. I ran alongside - and sure enough - it was him. We shook hands and introduced ourselves officially. No longer an imaginary friend. I was running with the legendary CharliePro !

6:38.
6:24
6:35
6:30

I took my first gel. After my stomach issues with Gu Roctane, I'd switched to Honey Stinger gels in my training. They'd worked well, and they were a local Colorado company. I was determined to use the 4 I carried.

6:34

these miles all seemed to fly by - running with someone else, chatting, time was flying. literally.

The first 7 miles are a net downhill. I was heeding advice from veterans not to go too quick - I felt like I was holding back. Everything was going to plan.

Then the profile of the course changes. The next 7 miles are net uphill (the people on those 'roller skates' might struggle here). They start with the extinct Veyo volcano. It was now fully light and you could see the thing looming from several miles away. I'd driven the course the day before so knew it was coming. 250 feet up that mile - imagine heart break hill - just longer and without any crowd support. No beer bongs at the top. Fortunately it's relatively early on.

Even effort, not even pace. Although Charlie and I seemed to be overtaking people all the way up.

About this time - the sun came over the horizon.

7:26

We crested the hill. My quads suddenly were feeling a bit heavier. I mentioned it to Charlie - he said he'd just felt the exactly same thing. Oh well - not much you can do. Certainly not the end of the hills though - the course undulated for the next 6 miles.

7:16
7:02

About this point I saw that I was consistently running 5 seconds or so faster than my goal splits. The difference between a 2:56 and a 2:58. I told Charlie I was going to let him go and wished him luck.

I settled back into my grove. While the sun was rising into the sky, it wasn't too bad. There were some clouds over to the east that were blocking it a little so we weren't getting full on sunshine. I'm not sure what the temperature was at this point - I'd guess around 70 degrees.

Tick tick went the miles. Still hilly Look at my heel lift in that photo - wow. I had no idea...

7:19
7:03

Time for gel number 2. Good so far. A couple of minutes afterwards I felt an energy lift. Wow - who'd have known. Taking gels might actually help !

6:48

I reached the half in about 1:30:30.

A little faster than my pace band wanted (45 seconds) - but definitely within range. Besides - I thought 2:56 might be a real possibility anyway based on my 1:23.xx half from earlier in the summer.

Mile 14 was the last undulating mile for a while, before the downhills would begin. I'd mentally tried to break the race into 2 parts. Before 14, after 14.

Mile 14 was @ 6.51.

And then the downhill began.

6:27
6:24

The sun was now fully out and rising further into the sky. From this point on it pretty much beat down on us. No shade, temperatures rising. Still - I felt okay. Just 10 miles to go for that sub 3. Ignore the sun.

6:40

Another gel. My stomach was feeling a little queasy, but I was determined to keep taking them. I burped a few times and felt honey coming up. No. No time to throw up.

6:49

My quads weren't feeling too bad. I was trying to get up on my mid-foot, lean forward, and run smoothly - but not go too fast.

Mile 19 has a very nasty uphill portion - under a bridge and then continuing up. All around me people were breathing hard. My breathing in comparison seemed relatively easy. I kept reminding myself - if it were easy - everyone would be doing this. But I wasn't having fun !

7:18

Ok - try to speed up again.

Mile 20: 7:07

Mile 21: 6:51.

6:51 - right where I need it. I remember thinking that while I'd been losing a few seconds / mile over the pace band, I still had about a minute in hand over a sub 3. All I needed to do was keep churning out 6:51 miles and I was home.

Just 5 miles to go. And it was downhill. Easy right ?!

But I was parched. So very very thirsty. I'd been trying to do a better job hydrating. I'd started with a water bottle in my hand, had picked up another around mile 7. I was drinking water at each aid station - but I was still parched. Very very thirsty. They tell you that by the time you're thirsty - it's too late. The next water stop - I grabbed 3 waters - and then stopped. What ? I didn't really plan it - it just seemed the right thing to do. Stop - drink the 3 waters to make sure they went in my mouth and not down my shirt - then start up again. I lost 10 or so seconds and had a hard time getting the pace going again.

7:41

Uhoh.

And then my garmin falls off my wrist. the bloody strap has broken. slam on the brakes. there's a vehicle following me that I didn't realize was there - I held up my hands to stop him, just as it looked like he was going to run it over. I picked it up and started up. Now I was carrying the thing. Another 10 seconds lost.

Like the garmin watch band, I'm starting to unravel.

7:32

Here comes another water stop. Pop the last gel. Ugh. I stop. Appropriate. Water stop. Richard stop. Part of me doesn't want to start again. Let's just walk. Lots of people are around me are now walking, in fact people just seem to be stopping mid run. I'm following a guy in an Ironman finisher shirt. An Ironman. He runs marathons before breakfast. He's looking strong and I'm trying to match pace. And then he just stops dead and walks. Can't walk. It's hot. It's dry. Keep going. I start up again slowly. It might be downhill at the moment, but the heat and dehydration are taking their toll. I feel like I'm going to throw up. There are some spectators here - I wonder if I can throw up on the fly while I'm running. I'm sure I can. Projectile vomiting. I've done that because of too much tequila - I bet I could do it here. But I manage to keep in down.

7:50

I'm seeing the splits. I know sub 3 is gone. I'm trying not to let myself slip into the mindset of Boston where I 'settled' for running slower. Your goal may be gone, but this is a chance to train in that 'mental hell' that's so difficult to replicate in training. Learn for next time. Try to find some positives. The thought of quitting bubbles up several times but I push it away. Besides. I'd have to sit around for hours before getting to the end, so I may as well run it as fast as I can and get it over with anyway.

ok - you should still get a PR you wuss. I figured I should be able to get a 3:03 or 3:04.

About this time I see a guy on the side of the road holding out a bottle. I run over - hoping he's offering it to a runner. He gives it to me. I tell him he's a life saver. No more stopping at water stops - I can nurse this thing the last 3 miles to the finish.

7:48

7:26

My mile splits are jacked - the garmin falling off reset took a mid mile split. I decide I want a 3:03.xx. Something about a time finishing in a '3' sounds better. I try to pick up the pace. The finish line is bloody long ! I can see the clock far in the distance ticking down. It's going to be close. I'm running hard - overtaking everyone. Where did this come from ?!! I run the last half mile at 6:50 pace.

And then 3:04 ticks by. Bugger. Cross the line - 3:04:09.

And it's over. Thank God. Right across the finish line is an area of misters - runners are standing in there getting drenched. I join them. We're holding onto the bars literally getting showered. It's hot. Hotter than Chicago last year. I don't know the exact temperature at this point - but I'd guess around 82 degrees. 30 minutes later when I make it back to my car - the temperature is reading 86. I think of Howdy and Left Coast who are still out on the course and realize they're dealing with the continually rising temperatures. Not fun.

At the finish I met CharliePro again. He'd run the 2:56 he was aiming for. Very impressive - the dude is 53 years old. I grab as much fluid as I can carry and collapse in a pile on the grass. For the next 4 hours I'm drinking continually. It's only then that I realize how much fluid I'd lost. This smile is very misleading. I wasn't happy, and I wasn't feeling good !

Time to figure out what happened.

Clearly the heat and deydration took a toll. I spoke to a lot of people who had similar races - for me - that definitely counter balanced the downhills of the second half.

But some people did have great races. CharliePro for instance. I picked his brain. He told me that 2 years before, he'd switched to using Hudson for his training and had seen great improvements - and that was when he was over 50.

I live at altitude. Never once was I breathing heavily, so I think cardio wise - I'm in good shape. In fact - I don't think I really get a lift from my cardio. I remember before I ran my first marathon in Chicago in 2009 - I ran a 3:22 full marathon in training on hilly terrain in Denver. And then a month later ran 3:20 in Chicago. Not the smartest strategy - but more to the point that cardio is probably not my limiting factor right now.

I believe the causes are probably two fold

- hydation. I'm always majorly deyhdrated after a race. This was probably excasserbated this go around with the dry heat, but it's something that's a constant theme in all of my marathons. I really tried to hydrate well for the week before - and the morning before, but it wasn't enough. I took salt caps too. I'm going to need to figure something out.

- endurance training. I think I need to switch this up. I did a lot of slower miles this cycle. But that's just helping my cardio, which isn't my problem right now. I need to build the strength to get me through those late miles. I bought the Hudson book on Amazon. I'm going to look to incorporate some of that over the next 9 weeks into my next plan.

I say '9 weeks' because I've decided to give it another go without having to go through a full cycle. I'm one of several forumites now doing Tucson in December. You're welcome to come too !!

I do also need to temper this a little with the knowledge that it was a hot day. If the temps had been in the 30s and 40s, and I'd run a 2:58 - I wouldn't be having as much introspection. Still - it's through adversity that you actually learn - not when everything goes right.

One day I'm going to get it right. One day I'm going sub 3. Today wasn't my day. Again.

Summer Recap

2011-09-04T15:53:00.001-06:00

And just like that it's September. Almost 3 months since my last entry. It feels a bit like a confession at church. Well - at least how I'd imagine it would feel like - with me being neither catholic, nor a church goer... but other than that. Exactly like it...

I don't have a lot of creative juices as I sit down to update my blog. The main purpose is to jot down a quick recap of the summer - mostly for my own benefit. To remind myself of what went well, and what didn't, so I can learn from it for next year.

If you want to read this - go right ahead - but don't tell you that I didn't warn you. If you're having trouble sleeping at night - maybe print this out and keep it by the side of your bed. You can thank me the next morning.

Ok - late June - the Slacker Half Marathon. I set a big PR here - 1.23.45. I love the symmetry of those numbers. However - it definitely wasn't smooth sailing. I went out way too fast - 10K was in 38.50, and at 6.55 miles - the half way point - doubling the time got 1.21.xx. Around 10 miles I started to struggle, and the last mile was pure hell - 7:30ish min pace, which given the overall average was 6:20 - it shows how bad the wheels had come off. So despite the PR - next year - go out a little slower. That last mile is tough, you can gain at least a minute on that alone if you're smarter.

Still - 2nd in AG - nothing to be unhappy with and a big old medal. Here's a group of us at the finish - me in the back middle. All AG medalists - except they didn't have the silver medals at the time and had to mail them to us. Grrr... if only Jay was a bit more secure with his body... :)

Then back to the grind. I wanted to follow a friend's plan from earlier in the year, where he ramped up the mileage 3 or so months out - and then did achieve the sub-3 that I'm also striving for. July I had my 6 day weekly PR mileage record 91 - and also mileage month PR (341). And it was bloody hot all sodding month !

Straight from that into early August I ran the Evergreen 5K. Another fast course. My goal was to go sub 18 minutes so I could officially 'retire' the distance. I hate 5Ks with a passion. The race went exactly to plan. 5:45 min/mile splits pretty much the whole way, to a 17:50 time. 3rd in AG so another medal. BlueEarth was there too - just a few yards behind - and a sub 18 PR for him as well and 1st in AG. Amazing. Very happy with how that went. It was also the first time I learned of the amazing Scholl family. Tyler - at 10 years old - ran 16:21, while his 14 year old sister Tabor, ran 17:26 - the only woman to beat me that day. Unbelievable family. I'm sure they'll be very well known in a few years. Next year I'll run the 10K. Lesson from this one - there is no chip timing at the start - so get up closer to the front. I probably lost 5 seconds or so from my PR because of the time it took to cross the start line.

The positive - both the Slacker and Evergreen Races qualified me for the A wave at next year's Bolder Boulder. Looking back to my beginning of year goals - 'sub 1.25 in the half, sub 18 in the 5K' - check, and check.

The following weekend was Georgetown to Idaho Springs. I knew that it was very unlikely I'd beat my new half PR, so I trained through the race. 73 miles that week and expectations were low. Driving up with a couple of friends, I cautioned them against running too fast the first few miles, and then went about proving what a hypocrite I can be. All plans of a slow start went out the window. Way too fast the first few miles - I was gassed at 7, and struggled home again. 1:26.31 - still only 5 seconds slower than last year despite the huge positive split which told me that I was in a lot better shape. Next year - GO OUT SLOWER ! You can easily make up that time at the bottom. First 7 miles I averaged 6:25 pace, last 6 it was 6:45+ pace. Still - I was happy that I kept it going, despite a strong urge to quit and walk it in. I hadn't tapered for this race. but that's about the only positive I can glean from that one.

The only other unusual happening was later that week. I was grinding up dried ghost peppers (bhut jolokias) and some of the powder got into the air and into my lungs. I went into a coughing spasm - and pulled my groin.... as a result I lost 3 full days of scheduled running - my first missed runs of the year. Even now, 3 weeks later, I can feel that it's not completely healed. As a result, August was just 272 miles.

August was also sodding hot. In fact - it was the hottest August on record in Denver. So all in all, a reasonable mileage effort.

As I write now, it's less than 4 weeks to go until St George. The Georgetown to Idaho Springs half, and the 'pepper groin' incident have taken a little of the luster off my form and confidence. Still - that's probably a good thing. A friend I met at a club run fell apart after 16 miles at St George from going too fast on the downhills. Given my experience in Boston - I can definitely envision that scenario. I need to respect the hills of St George. Go out too fast - and my quads will become jelly. Better to go in with some trepidation, take things easy, and see if I can turn it on at the end.

We'll see.

Back in the Saddle

2011-06-09T10:03:00.000-06:00

The disappointment from Boston finally faded.

I eased back on the mileage, and ran some races.

Two distinctly different strategies, and two distinctly different results.

Strategy 1. Set low expectations. Go out slow. Have fun. Play up for the crowd, and see what you've got towards the end as you pick up the pace.

Strategy 2. Go in wanting a PR. Go out fast. Try to hang on.

I've employed Strategy 1 in three races, Strategy 2 in one race. Results. Strategy 1 - 3 PRs. Strategy 2. Big blow up and miserable death march to the finish....

Admittedly 2 of the 3 PRs were relatively soft, from distances I'd only run a few times before, but the enjoyment factor of starting a race under control, and finishing with your fastest miles, feeling fresh, can't be overstated.

The first race was the Cherry Creek Sneak. A 5 miler on May 1st around Cherry Creek - an affluent area just south of downtown Denver. It's a fairly large race - 6000+ for the 5 mile and 5K races. It was 2 weeks after Boston, so I went in more for fun. I started off slowly with no expectations, but once I got going I started to pick things up. The last mile was the fastest and I finished feeling like I had a lot left in the tank. Sure - I could probably have run 30 seconds faster, but it wouldn't have been nearly as enjoyable. Official time - 31.39, good enough for 63rd out of 3,714 finishers.

The following weekend I decided to race again. This time a local 5K. I'd decided it was my last chance to get the Bolder Boulder 'A' Wave qualifying time, which was 18.20. I'd run 18.36 the previous summer and figured I'd had a shot. So for this race - I went in with a time in mind. I realized I'd have to run about a 5.55 min/mile average, and I also knew the second half of the course was a little tougher, so I went out fast. First mile around 5.45, and then I struggled home. Not at all fun. I did get 2nd place and a $50 prize - my first ever monetary award (I guess I'm a professional now ?), but I was well off my goal. 18.50 I think was the final time.

Two weeks later, I laced them up again. This time for the Colfax Half Marathon. I'd signed up for the full marathon as a backup for Boston, but had no interest in running another full so soon. Hell, I had no interest in running a half marathon so soon either, especially with the gun time at 6am. I reluctantly went through the motions and was there at the start. I really didn't care how I ran, particularly as it wasn't renowned as a fast course, and had decided to make it a 'marathon pace' run. Once again I went out slowly. Ran the first 4 or 5 miles at around 6:45 pace, and then decided I may as well pick things up and see what happened. I ran faster and faster, wasn't overtaken by anyone (from the first mile on), and ran my fastest mile at the end. Shockingly I beat my PR by 15 seconds or so. 1:26:07. I'm not expecting that PR to last long as I have 2 more halves this summer, but it was a pleasant surprise and once again I finished feeling very strong.

A pattern was emerging. So on memorial day I headed to Boulder for the Bolder Boulder. Once again I went out slow - perhaps a little too slow in retrospect - but then again picked up the pace and finished strong. Yet another PR, albeit aided again be a weak previous best. 39.24, so my first official 10K under 40 minutes. It's a tough course - 5 of the 6 miles are net uphill. On a better course, and with a slightly faster start, I'm confident I can get that PR down into the lower 38s.

I'm now back into training mode. Rather than use an 18 week plan for St George on October 1st, I've decided to do 4 weeks of mileage base building, and then an edited Pfitz 14/70 plan (edited because he doesn't have one like that - I took the 18 week plan and shunted it down to take out some of the VO2 max runs and keep all the MP and LT runs). Last week I ran 72 miles. This week I'm looking for something similar.

I've got 3 goal races I'll do ahead of St George. Two half marathons with big net downhills to help strengthen my quads. The 'Slacker' and 'Georgetown to Idaho Springs'. Both with 1000+ feet of net downhill. Although to be fair - both are at altitude. The Slacker starting at around 10,000 feet. While gravity helps, so does Oxygen... My recent half at Colfax beat my previous PR at Georgetown last year, which tells me that the net downhill helps, but not as much as I'd probably thought back then. Still - I'm expecting to PR in one, if not both races.

Then I'll squeeze in a 5K or 10K at the Evergreen town race. Supposedly the fastest course in Colorado. It'll be nice to get that Bolder Boulder 'A wave' qualifier. At least that's the plan....

Boston Marathon 2011

2011-04-27T08:27:00.001-06:00

How can a 3.5 minute PR feel so bad ? That's something I've struggled with since April 18th. I'd figured the disappointment would fade and that the realization I placed in the top 10% of the oldest marathon in the world would give me a lift. A marathon that very few runners are even able to qualify for.

But no. It still burns.

That's at least how I started this race report last week. But then I put it down and left it a while.

Now a further week removed, having read a lot of other race reports, I've had a chance to put things into perspective. There are some good reasons why my race unfolded the way it did. I'm going to learn from those, and hopefully apply to my next marathon. We train for months for a single shot at this - there's a lot to learn. A lot that can be improved. Especially for me.

In a nutshell. I appear to have made the classic Boston mistake. Out too fast, slowed on the hills, death marched it in. But I think there's more to it.

Build up
I followed the Pfitz 18/70 plan, and nailed every workout. I didn't miss a single run through injury. I hit all MP, HMP, LT, VO2 max runs. Things were looking good.

March 6th - Teamcam, 4chi and I met on a Sunday morning in a local park and blasted 14MP @ 6.40 pace. Average HR for me was 158. I felt great - this on the back of a typical 70 mile week. The week before I ran 7 miles @ 6.18 pace in a LT run. I thought a sub 3 was a real possibility.

Then things started changing. I think it may have started the week before Moab, but I'm not sure. Either way - I went into Moab expecting a big PR to back up my training. It didn't happen. The wind whipped up the Canyon and blew us backwards. It was hard to gauge too much from that race, but I did notice that I was 3 minutes behind TeamCam, and a minute behind BlueEarth. That was my first warning sign. Cam is a machine. If he hadn't got the sub-3 monkey off his back in Chicago, I'd fully expected him to run smarter in Boston and to have nailed a 2.55. BlueEarth missed sub 3 by a fraction in a tough course in New York and I expect him to get there next weekend in Fort Collins. So this in no way detracts from them - I just expected I'd have run better. Been a little closer.

This slide - either real or imagined - continued during the taper. Runs were harder, and slower. I was sluggish. I ran a 5 mile 'time trial' two weeks out - and averaged 6.34 pace. That was slower than every LT run I'd done in the cycle - and a full 16 seconds per minute slower than the 7 mile LT run just a month before. I did manage some decent mile splits a week out, but they felt like racing. I tried to put it down to the taper. But I didn't fully believe it. Something was up.

Boston week
There was a lot of talk about Honey Badgers. I remembered Cam's Chicago mantra 'sub 3 or over 4'. I convinced myself that my funk was mental. Honey Badger don't care. I looked back at my training runs to draw inspiration. I then dug up a quote from Michelangelo:

"The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark."

That did it. I decided I was going for it. I wanted a sub 3. I didn't want a 3.04 or a 3.05. If I blew up and came in with 4 hours. Then that was okay. At least I'd have gone for it.

I'd always been a 'lone wolf' before - in my training - in my races. But thinking about the run in Denver with the guys, I realized a lone wolf wasn't as strong as a pack. Rudyard Kipling's poem came to mind.

``Now is the Law of the Jungle---as old and true as the sky;

And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die.

As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk, the Law runneth forward and back---

For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.''

To slay this beast - we needed a pack to help nurse each other through the inevitable ups and downs. I twisted CGruett's arm. He fell for Michelangelo too. I started a sub 3 thread which got a little crazy, but from that - 5 of us decided we'd run together. Using the same Greg Maclin splits. Aiming for 2.59 to give us some wiggle room. Lilsnoop, Arete Quest, Paddy Runner, Cgruett and me.

Race morning
A group of us met in Hotel 140, and then met another gang of forumites on the way to the buses.

By the time we got on the bus - we had 5 or 6 rows at the back of the bus as a mini FE. The journey was fun. I watched Dawg's face contort as all the liquid from the ultra fuel drinks started to take it's toll on his bladder. I'm not sure if it was the talk of water falls, streams, or whatever - but at some point he went under his trash sack with a gatorade bottle, then came back smiling a few minutes later. Ahhh. What goes around comes around - my turn to suffer... I didn't last the journey either.

In the village we met up at the red spot and hung out. Then it was time. We couldn't find Paddyrunner - so Lilsnoop, Cgruett and myself walked to the start together. I got up to the front of my corral. they were at the back of theirs. Once the rope between corrals dropped I edged forward and was with them. AQ was in the corral ahead. He said he'd start slow so we figured we'd catch him soon.

No flyover ? What's up with that. I looked at my heart rate monitor. 80s and 90s. Nice. Last year I was in the 120s before the off. I felt very relaxed. Very calm Honey badger don't care. We edged over the start line and we were off.

The Race
We'd talked about how we wanted to avoid going out too fast. It turned out we didn't have a choice. We were well hemmed in.

I used the '1.01 mile split' technique on the gamin. All splits quoted here are using that. I noticed for the first half of the race - these were too long - so the splits quoted are actually slower than they really were. But by the end of the race it was relatively close.

First mile - 7.11. A little slower than we wanted, but better than going out too fast.

We were a team - a pack. Chad and Carl had their watches set for current lap pace, I had mine for average overall and a stop watch to cross check each mile with total goal time. At the start of each mile I'd read out what we needed, and then the 3 of us would go about hitting it. We'd continue to monitor the pace that mile - speeding up, or slowing down as needed. We never did catch Arete Quest.

Throughout the first half of the race - several people came and went with us. They'd hear us talking about splits, find out we were after 2.59 - and then they'd stick with us. Forumites and other runners would run for a mile or two, then drop off.

The miles ticked off. 6,54, 6.40

I decided to lose the gloves I'd bought the day before at the expo. I scrunched them up and dropped them at the feet of a kid on the side saying 'here - have some gloves'. Not impressed. His expression screamed 'bakugans - maybe. gloves ? I don't think so'.

I was relaxed. At one point we went up a woody incline and some runners darted into the trees to relieve themselves. Someone yelled out - 'is this heartbreak hill', to which I yelled back - 'no - this is Pee Break hill'. Our spirits were good.

It was still very crowded, and we were running a little faster than the folks around us. I guess that's what happens when you try to run a 2.59 from a 3.08 qualifying time. We got pretty good at following each other through gaps. Little spurts to break through a tight pack in front. At one point Chad and another runner had words. Chill pill time. I had my heels clipped a couple of times too. I tried not to think of the consequences of a heavy fall. Later I learned that GoAnnie hadn't been so lucky.

6.43, 6.53,

I'm terrible at water stops, so I started with a small bottle of water. I was lucky in the first half of the race to be able to get 2 more bottles from the crowd, so didn't have to hit any stops early on.
6.44

We hit 10K in 42.27. Nice. Not that I'd count it, or put it in my signature line - but that's actually a PR. I've only ever run one 10K race - almost 2 years ago as I was 6 months into my return to running. This was 15 seconds faster. If all goes well - I'll run the Bolder Boulder next month and shatter that soft PR officially.

Mile 7.   6.48

Around this point I noticed CGruett's breathing was suddenly a lot heavier. I asked him how he was doing - not good was the reply. It wasn't his day - he decided to back off a bit. Wow. It can happen just like that. Carl and I plugged on, although were quickly joined by another guy on a similar pace. The 3 of us stuck together for the next 8 or 9 miles, continuing to follow the splits and darting in and out of slower runners - each mile I'd check my stop watch against the total goal time at that point. We were within a few seconds either side of our 2.59 goal the whole time.

6.46, 6.50, 6.52, 6.53, 6.44

We heard the scream tunnel. The other runner with us looked younger. It was his first Boston. I told him what was about to come - and that this was the chance to kiss as many 21 year old girls in bikini tops as he could handle. As we hit Wellesley I was amused by the tens of photographers on the left side of the road with huge telephoto lenses. It was a honey trap for married men ! The 3 of us hung to the left and ran through, although I did blow kisses to the ladies.

6.46

Half in 1.29.07

Right on track. My quads were definitely feeling heavier, but nothing that concerned me. On we plugged.

6.48, 6:52, 6.42

Here come the hills. Last year when I 'ran' Boston I didn't pay much attention to the course. I was in a world of hurt with the achilles, so I'd tried to memorize the map the night before this time. I knew we had 4 hills between 16 and 21.

We hit the first. Even effort, not even pace. We crested it - 6:56 - that's okay. It was back to Carl and me - the other guy dropped.

Not feeling good though. A downhill, ok - recuperate. That feels better. I can do this. Here comes the next.

Mile 18.   7:01. Carl is now 10 yards ahead of me. We crest the hill and he looks around for me but I'm not there. What should I do ? I yell to him - go on. Still not a disaster - I'm just trying to hold things together. I stop looking at the pace band, but know that there were several miles around 7 min / mile pace in the hills, and this is why we built in a 1 minute cushion.

Mile 19. 6.59. I can still see Carl just up ahead. I figure if I can keep him in sight then I might catch him on the descent after heart break.

Mile 20. Uggh. 7.29. That's that then. The pace band definitely didn't have a mile that said 7.29. I'm now officially in trouble.

This is the part of the race where I'm most upset with myself. It's easy to second guess. My legs were in a world of pain, but my HR was relatively low and I wasn't bonking. Talking to Cam later - and reading his report about the point when Jay caught him - I realized I'd got into that 'rut' where you get used to running slower. I'll remember that for next time. Where was BD to yell 'there is no B goal' ? But this time, now a lone wolf - I think I mentally quit on sub 3 rather than HTFU. I can't help but think that if I pushed myself to run a little faster - I may have got back into the grove. But that's easy for me to say sitting her behind a keyboard.

I started thinking PR instead. After 19 miles I was still on track for a sub 3. I knew that. So realized I could lose a minute / mile - and still PR. Not the right attitude, but it made good sense at the time.

Mile 21. 07:48. Finally - out of the hills. Downhill from here. Time to speed up.

But I can't - either mentally or physically, my legs are toast and my mind's not in it. We overtook people for the first 16 miles. Now those same people are overtaking me. I'm plodding.

I started counting down the miles. My family is going to be at mile 23. That's just 2 miles away. Break these 5 miles into chunks. Let's get to them.

07:29, 07:48

I didn't see them, but heard a section yelling 'Richard Richard'. I didn't have my name on my shirt so figured it was for someone else. It wasn't - it was for me... 23 miles in, 3 to go. Break that down, Ok - now it's just 2 miles until cannoli time.

I'd spoken to Sully about where he was going to be. I was determined to get one. Sub 3 is gone, but at least I can cross the line with a cannoli.

07:35

Mile 25 - crap - a hill before the Citgo sign ? I don't remember that. 08:00. 8 ???!!! And Bird is worried about a mile starting with a 6... The wheels have officially fallen off. Where's Sully. There he is - 'Sully....'. He turned away just at the wrong time. He had a cannoli in his hand. He turned back, saw me, arm outstretched. We reached. Miss. Nothing's going right at the moment. Do I stop and go back. Err - no ! My legs barely have one forward gear. Reverse is not an option. Clearly I'm not a honey badger

Honey badger can run backwards.

Ok - come on. You're getting close to the end now. Suck it up a little bit will you ? 07:37 for the 26th mile.

Right on Hereford, left on Boylston. Finally - this hell is going to be over. I manage to pick up and run the last two tenths at 6.39 pace. Another pointer to me after the race that I had more - just mentally perhaps let it go.

And I'm done. 3.05.17.

A PR by more than 3.5 minutes.

So what happened ?   7 minute positive split. The typical Boston story right ? Going out to fast, paying in the hills ?

After much internalizing of the race, my training, my strategy and everything else - I think that is indeed what happened on the day. But it's not the whole story. The pace I ran - wasn't beyond me. At least it wasn't 6 weeks before.   I think I peaked too soon. Not saying I would have got the sub 3 - but I think I'd have probably run better.

So for my fall race - I'm going to use a 12 week plan. I'll just keep the mileage going until then, but 12 weeks of Pfitz seems about right to me.

I completely neglected any core or upper body workouts the whole cycle. I just ran. That's going to be rectified too. I'm going to add regular core and upper body sessions. That probably contributed to those last 6 miles.

I need to prepare myself better mentally for that last hour. We train for 18 weeks, but it essentially comes down to a single hour. Do you have the fortitude to push through the pain when the voice in your head is telling you to stop ?

Hydration and nutrition - I still need to get better. I couldn't take a gel after mile 10, and I drank little the second half. My stomach felt pretty crappy from 10 on. Not sure why as I finished the ultra fuel 3 hours before and didn't eat any solid food that morning. I'll keep experimenting.

But hey - a week removed - I've put things in perspective. A 3.5 minute PR. I've dropped 15 minutes off my marathon time since I started doing this 18 months ago. When I get the next 5 minutes - and I truly believe it's a 'when' - then that experience is going to be that much sweeter.

I'm happy that I attacked sub 3. This was the first time I'd tried.

I could have taken it relatively easy - run even splits - and ran a 3.05, but then wondered 'what if'.

Well no need to wonder - I know what happened.

The Wind Blew, and I Sucked !

2011-03-25T09:56:00.003-06:00

I've not been a good blogger.

Several months and nada. Essentially I've been plugging away with my winter training - all counting down to Boston on 4/18. Good training, but not very exciting to write about.

I post regularly on Runners World. Many of the people I know from there were at this race. Online - and often in person - we refer to each other with our screen names, so in this report I'm going to be using those names - I realize it may sound like code if you're not a regular poster there, but just rest assured - they're all real people.

Last weekend I was in Moab for a half marathon.

The Wind Blew and I sucked !

At least that's how I felt during the race.

I wasn't going to write a race report. I wasn't happy with how things turned out after all the hopes of a fast race on a 'PR course' and the great training build up.

But a few days removed I've realized that race reports - just like life and running - don't always have to recount the perfect experience. Often things don't go as planned. Someone said on the RW boards last weekend that you learn more about yourself from the tougher experiences than the good ones. That's very true. This is one of those experiences.

I wanted to do a half marathon in the build up to Boston. I'd heard about the Canyonlands Half last fall. Rated as one of the top 10 in the country. A lottery to get into, but it's in Moab - a place I'd always wanted to visit, and it was a 'PR course'. Hell - I have terrible luck in lotteries - I haven't even won the powerball yet despite numerous attempts. I threw my name in, and expected to get the rejection.

Nope. I got in. As did a number of my real and imaginary buddies TeamCam, PBR, RunCo, Ilanarama, KazzII, Blue Earth, Arete Quest. In fact almost everyone I knew who'd applied - got in.

Training this Boston cycle has gone very well. I haven't missed a run yet through injury. Have hit all my VO2, LT and MP paces - including a recent 18 with 14 @ 6.40 pace with the local Denver boys.

I ran my half PR of 1.26.21 last August - with just 6 weeks of running under my belt after 3 months off from achilles tendonitis. I was in much better shape now so was confident I could crush my PR. 1.25 easily. 1.24 hopefully. 1.23 - if things went well.

So off we went to Moab.

At the pre-race FE I finally met Blue Earth after several near misses. I met Arete Quest too for the first time, and caught up again with TeamCam, Ilanarama and Kazz.

We had dinner at Miguel's, then as my family went to bed - I stayed up a little later watching hot tub time machine. Went to bed around 10:45pm and woke up at 12:15am. And despite sleeping pills - I didn't go back to sleep. That was a long night.

Oh well. Got up at 6am. Chugged down my ultra fuel, hit the bathroom and then headed out for the buses reluctantly turning down PBR's text invitation to join him at Denny's for a grand slam breakfast... he was doing the 5 miler and was clearly taking it very seriously. I wasn't too concerned about the lack of sleep. I figured I could run hard for 90 minutes still.

Canyonlands is like Boston. The buses pick you up early, drive you to the start - and leave you there for several hours before race time. I was at the starting area by 7.30am. Gun time was 10am. I perched on a rock and looked for people I knew.

I sat there for an hour before I saw the Ronald McDonald shoes of TeamCam and his Boston jacket. We hung out until 9am talking crap and then they allowed us to walk up to the start area. The wind was howling but it didn't really register with me. It was coming from the south - essentially straight up the Canyon towards us, but the scenery was stunning. Thinking back to our last big race experience in Chicago I remember telling Cam that at least it was just windy - and not hot. Right.

Warming up behind the field we ran into most of the other forumites. Ilana couldn't keep her tiara on her head in the wind. Then it was back to our starting positions. It's a big field - 3,500 people - but well organized. They had a 6:00/min mile pace area up front, and a 7:00 just behind it. Not a lot of people there - so we just walked right in. 5 feet behind the starting line. 10am and we were off.

This is the starting line:

The course has a net elevation loss of 77 feet (424 feet loss, 347 feet gain).

The majority of that loss seems to happen in the first quarter mile. It's straight down.

I didn't want to go out too fast, but also didn't want to waste this opportunity. Cam was off like Gaddafi in an air raid. While I'd love to have raced with him - after his 2.57 in Chicago in tough conditions, I knew that wouldn't be smart so I let him go. The guy has shown - and showed again this weekend - that the elements hold no fear for him.

Mile 1. 6.20. It was windy, but with the downhill, first mile excitement and ultra fuel rush - it felt easy. My HR was a little higher than I'd have wanted. Low 170s - but I put that down to lack of sleep. My HR had been high all morning.

Mile 2. Watching Cam's yellow shirt continue off into the distance, I tried to match up with other runners who were going a similar pace. I was running with the lead women and Blue Earth appeared. I tried to sneak in behind people to avoid the wind but nothing really helped. 6.26. Ok. Keep it going.

Mile 3. Kept running with my small group. Watching the 2 lead women play mind games and keep overtaking each other. Still felt good. 6.28. Hmm - noticing a pattern. A little slower each mile. Time to do something about that. Still feeling good - I pick up the pace. This next one is me pulling away with the lead women and Blue Earth over my left shoulder.

Mile 4. Is Cam struggling up front ? I'm getting closer to him. There's no one between us, although he's still a good 50 yards ahead. Think about catching him and smacking his butt as I pass. Seriously - I did. "Hi cowboy". How cool would that be ? 6.17. Nice. Almost a third of the way there. It's tough - but running a 1.23 or 1.24 was never going to feel easy.

Mile 5. Now I'm on my own - I've got no protection from the wind. Ugh. Keep trying to find a position that will help. Hug the Canyon wall. Nope - go to the other side of the road. Nope. It's really blowing. 6.32.

Mile 6. Hmm. Average is now around 6.25. In the back of my mind I knew a friend in Denver's PR was around 6.23 pace for a 1.23.50. Seeing the average slip was telling me that a 1.23 wasn't happening today. Still plugging away though. Very lonely on the road. 6.41

Mile 7. Whoh.   That mile was slower than the 6.35 average when I ran my PR. Not to worry. I've still got 45 seconds in hand over that but I need to pick it up. I want a 1.24. I realize I'm coming to the 10K point and check my watch. 39.59. Woot ! I've only run one 10K - several years ago. I've just run my first sub 40. Nice. Unfortunately there's no finish chute. Just wind and no protection. 6.39. That was picking it up ? Hell.

Mile 8 - really starting to feel it now. I'm trying to get back to the 6.20 pace - but it's not happening. I'm working way too hard to maintain this and I'm starting to slip back. I should take a gel but I don't feel like it. The Blue Earth and lead women group catches me at the end of mile 8. 6.41.

Mile 9. This mile had the one real hill. And it still had the wind. That was fierce. I started to lose it there. At this point I knew even a PR was in doubt. What was the point ? As I struggled up the incline with the wind I started to think 'f**k it' - just stop and walk it in. You're not getting the PR. Why bother.   I reminded myself this race wasn't the goal. This was a test of adversity and I needed to pass.   On I plugged. 6.42

Miles 10 and 11.   I lost touch with Blue Earth's group. Back to running alone in the wind. 6.54 then 7.10. Just wanted to be done. And then I got hit by a tumbleweed. Seriously ? Thanks for that.

Mile 12. This was when the wind stuck a finger in it's nose and waved at us and cranked up the pain one more time. We turned out of the Canyon onto the main road to Moab. They'd given us a lane, but cars were still flying by in both directions kicking up dust and fumes. But the wind was horrendous. Every 2 steps forward felt like one back. I'd have loved a 7.10 mile now. 7.33. Ha. That's MP + 10%. I'm running 20 milers in training at that. No one was passing me though. Isolated runners ahead and behind, all in their own personal hell.

Mile 13. Finally - turned out of the wind and through some residential streets. "You're nearly there" - yeah right. Thanks. Easy for you to say with your latte and lawn chair. Just over a mile to go. Time to suck it up. Saw PBR who yelled something. I tried to look good in case he posted on FB. I saw the guy ahead was coming back to me. Someone sucking more than me ? That gave me a little boost. I tracked him down and overtook. 7.10

Last bit - this is one long finish chute. Saw our families, put on a brave face. That whole last tenth must have been in the chute. The barriers were closer - maybe 10 yards apart with a crowd on both sides. I'm on my own - the crowd claps - I clap them back - they cheer and clap louder. This nightmare is about to be over and so I pick it up again. 6.42 pace.

And I'm done. 1.28.38. I see Blue Earth just ahead and talk with him. He'd run 1.23 last year and 1.27 this. Then I saw Cam. 1.25. In those conditions - that's amazing. Ilanarama, Kazz both had similar stories. All 3 - 4 minutes behind last year. AQ too had been buffeted by the wind, although he also had the 4,000 foot elevation to contend with. Ok - now I'm seeing a pattern and feeling a little better. That wind really did have that much of an impact. It wasn't just me.

Overall - 52nd out of 3,500. That sounds reasonable, but no shiny PR, so I didn't have that warm glow of satisfaction I'd been anticipating. Still - it was a great workout. With proper rest I'm sure it will do me good for the ultimate Boston goal. I got to meet up with a bunch of forumites, and hang out in a wonderful part of the country. Maybe I didn't suck as much as I'd thought - but hell -

that wind did blow !

After a finish photo with AQ, BlueEarth and TeamCam.it was off to the Moab Brewery with the whole gang.

And the lessons ? I got a lot out of it. In Chicago I adjusted my goal based on the conditions and got the PR. In Moab I didn't and didn't.

Despite the downhill first mile - I should have been more conservative. I've always run my best races where I've gone out slow and then come on strong. Boston has a downhill start too. Need to remember that.

No matter how bleak things look during the race. When your plans have gone to crap. Keep plugging away. Don't give up. Afterwards you may find yourself learning something from the experience. Something that's not apparent at the time.

Closing out and starting a new year

2011-01-18T08:30:00.003-07:00

Time has flown again.

Here we sit in mid January 2011.

I wanted to revisit the goals I posted at the start of 2010.

- run 200 miles per month, so 2,400 for the year
- get below 3.10 at Boston
- sub 1.30 half to qualify for New York.
- sub 19.53 5K
- train smarter

Let's see.

I started out the year pretty aggressively. In hindsight probably too aggressively. I easily ran 200 miles / month January through March, with March over 300. And then - not surprisingly - I got injured.

Achilles tendonitis dominated the next 3 months of the year. I hardly ran at all - although I did run / walk Boston in an incredibly painful 3 hours and 45 mins. Easily my slowest marathon.

Then in July, after a trip to Africa, I started coming back. This time I did finally train smarter. I ran Chicago in the heat and got the sub 3.10 time I'd wanted out of 2010.

Because of the 3 months off - I didn't reach 2,400 miles - but I did run 2,217 - exactly 500 more than 2009.

As for the other time goals. I only ran 2 5Ks last year, but easily beat the 19.53 goal. I ran 18.36 in August. The same with the sub 1.30 half. I ran two, beat it both times, and currently have a PR of 1.26.23 which gets my guaranteed entry into New York.

Blogs are probably more for the person who writes them - a 21st century version of a diary - and I found it very interesting reading my post from a year ago and remembering my thought process at the time. As such I'm going to record something similar for my 2011 goals.

The biggest goal my far is to try to go sub 3 hour time in a marathon.

There are so many factors that can play a part in this - the course, weather, training, injuries and most of all - luck, that I don't know how realistic it is - but that's the main goal for this year.

I'm running Boston in April. I'm intending to take my first crack at it there. It's not an easy course, and it may be too soon - but having witnessed another friend in Chicago go in with the mantra 'sub 3 or over 4' and pull it off, I'm motivated to try the same thing. I'm planning to go all out and attempt it - and either make it - or blow up in the process...

I'm also planning on running the New York Marathon in November. That would be the 3rd leg of the 'World Majors' for me. Leaving just London and Berlin (hopefully 2012).

New York is definitely not renowned as a fast course - so I'm going to attempt to get into a more favourable race for a sub 3 (if I don't get it in Boston !) - St Georges - in October. It's a lottery system and so it's highly probably I won't make it, in which case I may look for an alternative.

As for non-marathon goals. I'd like to go sub 1.25 in the half, sub 18 in the 5K, sub 39 in the 10K (I've only ever run one so this may be a 'soft' goal).

I'm hoping to run another 500 mile PR - so over 2,717 miles, although more importantly - I want to continue to train smarter and hopefully stay injury free (don't we all ?!)

Run most of the runs slowly - or at least in line with the pace that Pfitz and other coaches suggest, and keep the faster miles for the tempo and pace runs.

I'm hoping this approach keeps me healthy and that I can then make use of my winter marathon training by hitting a few more of the fun races in the Spring. Colfax, Bolder Boulder, and perhaps even the Mount Evans Ascent.

The great thing about a new year is the 'fresh page' that we start with. It'll be interesting seeing how it turns out.

10-10-10

2010-10-23T18:22:00.003-06:00

I've learned a lot in this last year .

The Chicago marathon on 10-10-10 was just 364 days after my first ever marathon.

10/11/09 - Chicago. I didn't have a clue how to train, did many things wrong. In hindsight I'm surprised I stayed healthy. I ran it, scrapped a BQ but completely fell apart over the last 6 miles.   I felt I should have done better so immediately started training for CIM 8 weeks later. Got injured (surprise), ran it on limited training. Improved my time to 3.17.47, but faded badly again. Switched to mid-foot running. Trained for my first Boston - I finally used a plan (Pfitz) but likely still did my LR and MLR's too fast and ran too many miles (up to 85 / week), got achilles tendonitis 18 days before, suffered through a painful race in 3.45.

In just over 6 months I'd run 3 marathons - none of which I was happy with.

So this time around - after recovering from the AT injury in June and my hernia surgery, and then the trip to Africa, I started a 12 week plan for Chicago. This time I trained slower on all my LRs and MLRs. I used my HR monitor to guide my pace, not my ego. I backed off the mileage a little.

I saw the results. I only ran 2 races this summer - a 5K and a half. But I killed both of my PRs.

Both of these predicted out to a 3.02 marathon. Despite the improvements, I didn't have the confidence that I could do that. I'd faded badly in my previous runs, so maybe a half was my better distance. Sure - now as a certified RCAA running coach, I knew the physiology of why training slower helped recruit muscle fibres to work aerobically and should help reduce the fade - but I hadn't seen it in practice.

Going into Chicago - I decided my A goal was 3.05.   Get a time in that neighborhood, and I'd have the confidence that I could indeed run the faster times. I wasn't ready to try to go sub 3.

Then the forecast. Crap. 82 degrees forecast, humidity. Here in Colorado I ran early to avoid the heat and we have pretty much no humidity. This is terrible.

I seriously thought about bailing. After 2 Pfitz training cycles - I needed something to show for all that work. Denver was the following weekend. I could run my time then.

After much thought I came to Chicago, my mind wasn't really in it, but I wanted to meet everyone and have fun.   I'm going to at least start.

Still - I was going to start slowly, and was preparing to bail at the half at the slightest hint of discomfort. Not the ideal mental state to be going into a marathon.

3.05 - 3.10 was now the A goal.

Met my friends from the Runners World forums pre-race, headed down, used the gatorade / trash sack porto potty.

The overnight predictions of 'high 50s' never materialized. This from the WGN news after the race. We started at 67 degrees, and temps quickly went up. They changed the 'threat' level of the race from green to orange and then to red around the 4 hour mark when it was close to 80 degrees.

We were off. My splits are a combination of what I remember, and what I've pieced together from gamin when it wasn't jacked up with the tall buildings and the official splits.

I started slowly. Breathe, relax, keep monitoring your HR, don't get tripped.

Mile 1. 7.25. Nice. It's crowded, but I'm feeling good.

A little faster.

Mile 2. 7.16.

Ok. HR is in the low 150s. That's good. In Boston - for many reasons - it was in the high 170s at this point. Stomach doesn't feel good tho'. I can taste the ultra fuel still there. No gatorade for a while just water.

Mile 3 - moving out of downtown. 7.05. That's a 3.05 pace. Overtake the 'B corral' 3.10 pace team.

5K - 22.34, for a 7.16 avg.

Mile 4. 7.05.
Mile 5. 7.05.

This is actually pretty good. Feeling very easy. Well within myself.

Mile 6. 7.04.

I catch Ashley from the Boston forums. Say a quick hellow. Sounds like she's decided to take it easy today.

Mile 7. 7.05.

Into boys town. Missed the cheerleaders on the stage this year. Someone gives me a bottle of water. Thanks.

Overtake the A corral 3.10 group. Think about staying with them, but decide I'm feeling too good to go 7.15 pace.

Mile 8. 7.05.
Mile 9. 7.05
Mile 10. 7.04

This is clockwork. Time to start thinking about your 'bail' decision. Do you want to stop at the halfway point and do Denver next weekend ? Decide to decide just before I get there.

Mile 11. 7.04
Mile 12. 7.04
Mile 13. 7.00

Ok - decision time. I'm sure I'm going to die in a few miles, but I've come this far. Who's to say I'll be in any better shape next week. Think of Zab's boston mantra. Balls on the table. 13 miles to suck it up baby.

Push in my chips. I'm all in.

Half in 1.33.18

Funny - 18 months ago, that would have been over a 2 minute PR for a half. HR still hovering around 160. Well within my 'range'.

Now we're into the sun and it's getting hot. I saw later from WGN news that miles 13 - 16 were the hottest part of the course. Stomach still feels crappy. I haven't taken a gel yet, and have no interest in one either. No gatorade either. Just water.

Mile 14. 7.05

Thinking 3.05 might be possible. Time to pick it up a little.

Mile 15. 6.57
Mile 16. 6.58
Mile 17. 6.59

Feeling good. Just waiting for that fade though. Damn it's hot.

Mile 18. 7.01
Mile 19. 7.08
Mile 20. 7.14

Not sure what happened there. Still feeling good. Maybe the heat was getting to me more than I realized. See a bank clock saying 78 degrees. Crap.

Could that be CGRITT from the boards up ahead ? Looks like him. Gaining, see the tattoo. Say a quick hello as we hit China town. Still feeling good.

Mile 21. 7.07

Where's the fade ? I was dying last year at this point but now I'm 'that guy' picking off people. Still no gels. Started out with 4, and I've got 4 in my pocket. Too cheap to throw them away. Just water too. Wonder if that'll hurt me - no extra carbs or salt.

Mile 22. 7.22

Uhoh. Starting to think 3.05 isn't going to happen today. Still not feeling bad though.

Mile 23. 7.20. Keeping it together. Just. Starting to feel very light headed. Hoping not to fall over. Just 5K to go though. Picturing the local 5K course and thinking about starting to run it. I'm going to do this.

Mile 24. 7.36. There she goes... still - not a big fade. Also amazed that despite my slowing down - everyone is slowing down too. Not getting passed by people. I'm with runners from the 3 hour pace group - all hurting together. The heat seems to be getting to everyone here.

Mile 25. 7.49. Hold it together for one more mile. F**k it's hot.

Mile 26. 7.38. Where's that stupid turn off Michigan avenue onto the Mount Roosevelt ? What ? All the way in the distance ?

Finally the turn. Try to hold it together up the hill, feeble attempt at a sprint. Look at watch. You can get under 3.09 if you sprint faster. Sprint faster.

And I'm done. 3.08.56. Wow. That's almost a 9 minute PR. In less than ideal conditions, with a poor mind set going in, without taking a gel or gatorade all race.

What I learned:

- Most importantly. I now have the confidence that I CAN run faster. Until the end, I was cruising around the 7.05 pace for a 3.05. In cooler conditions, I'm pretty sure I could have gone faster. And the fade at the end, really wasn't as bad as I've had before, and can easily be attributed to the heat, and no carb intake during the race.

- Training slow to race faster absolutely worked. Thank you everyone for finally getting that into my stubborn head.

- Pre-race ultra fuel loading works, but I need to be smarter. I drank too much too close to the start. Fortunately the late Boston start should help next time.

- I'm no longer going to be afraid of less than ideal conditions. It's not the end of the world. Starting slower and aiming for a time just a little slower than I would have in cooler conditions helped me keep things together.

Finally - I ran a marathon that I'm happy with.

Then it was time to party with my friends. Good times.

Deja vu all over again...

2010-10-09T17:51:00.001-06:00

so here I am. sitting in my hotel room the night before the Chicago marathon.

it reminds me of the same day last year

http://runningdenver.blogspot.com/2009/10/marathon-eve.html

So many things are the same, but many are different too.

Then I was on the eve of my first marathon. I was nervous as hell. I'd put a lot of pressure on myself to BQ at the first attempt. I didn't really know what to expect, and fortunately didn't realize at the time that I'd been training badly. But I had perfect weather and no injury concerns...

This year I'm not nearly as nervous. While I should be a lot faster in ideal conditions, I haven't put the pressure on myself to achieve a particular goal time. I get butterflies thinking about the race, but I'm not the nervous wreck I was last year. I've got a little foot pain and the weather looks like it's going to suck....

From all accounts the temperature at the start will be low 60s with high humidity (85%) and then will rise up during the race into the mid 70s. The forecast high is 86, but fortunately we'll be done long before that happens. At least I hope that's the case.

Bearing in mind the optimal temperature for running a marathon is 40s to low 50s, this will be far from ideal. I'm used to running in a dry environment - I'm going to need to do a very good job about hydrating tomorrow.

I'm a little torn too about the approach I should take. I signed up to the Denver marathon months ago as a backup plan for Chicago in case the weather was bad. Having missed out on a time in Boston because of injury, I didn't want to do 2 full training cycles this year and end up with nothing to show.

I'd intended to cancel the Chicago trip and concentrate on Denver if that happened. Well - here I am - still with the spot next weekend in Denver, but sitting in my hotel room in Chicago... it's a catch 22. I'm here so feel I need to give this a go, but then I know that if I go for it and get impacted by the heat, I'll be blowing any chance to run a fast marathon next weekend.

So I'm going to hedge my bets. In perfect weather and in ideal shape, I'd probably have aimed for close to a 3 hour time. Now I'm thinking 3.05 - 3.10 would be great - and still a big PR. So I'll go out with the 3.10 pace group, then after a few miles think about speeding up to 3.05 pace (7.05 min / miles) and then as we wind our way back into downtown around the half way point, re-evaluate. If I'm suffering and know that I can't keep going at that pace, I'll either dial things back completely and jog in the last half very slowly, or even step off the course and save it for the next weekend.

If I'm feeling good, then I'll go all in. No marathon the following weekend in Denver. Time to HTFU and put it all on the line.

I'm hoping it's the latter. And I'm hoping it's the right decision and I can hang on for those last 13.1 miles.

I'm hoping the weather fears or more mental than actual.

I'll know in about 18 hours...

Where did the summer go ?!

2010-09-28T08:23:00.001-06:00

Holy crap. Have I not posted anything since July ?

The summer has flown by and now I'm 11 days out, and in mid-taper, ahead of Chicago.

I guess a quick recap is in order.

Returning from Africa, I continued with the 50 mpw schedule, and bumped it by 10% each week, until I got back to the 70 miles / week threshold. I kept that up through the summer, following the Pfitz 70/12 plan for Chicago. Juggling schedules for varying reasons, I maxed out at 82 one week, but most were between 65 - 70 miles.

Injury wise, things have been pretty good. My achilles issues appear to be behind me (hopefully that's not tempting fate), although I do have some minor bone spurs in the bottom of my right foot which can be aggravated by a tight peroneous longus muscle in my calf. Running 70 miles / week is always going to leave to some aches and pains, but it's been nothing too bad.

I ran 2 races in August in consecutive weekends, and crushed PRs in both.

The first, a 5K was run on a whim. It was a local race and I decided the day before to give it a go. I hate 5Ks. They're too fast and too painful for me, but somehow I averaged 6 min / miles and ran an 18.36. Considering I went into 2010 wanting to go below 20 mins, that's a pretty big improvement.

The following weekend was the Georgetown to Idaho Springs half marathon. Last year I'd run a then, PR, of 1.31.43. I'd improved that in March this year at the Boulder Spring half with a 1.28.5x. Going into Georgetown I felt good and was able to maintain a 6.35 pace and come in at 1.26.21. Again - my 2010 goal had been to get below 1.30, so I've easily accomplished that too.

I also trained to become a certified running coach (RRCA). I completed the class a few weeks ago, and passed the test. I just need to get CPR and first aid training (early November) and then I'll be an RRCA certified running coach.

I'm not sure how much coaching I'll actually do. In the class they talked about how you could be a good runner, or a good coach, but that it was hard to be both. I still have some running goals that I'd like to go after, so for now the coaching will take a back seat. Still, the knowledge I gained will be very useful and should help me in future training cycles.

One thing that I finally learned this cycle - and that was confirmed in the class - was the need to run long and slow in training. While I'd heard that many times before, it was hard for me to reconcile in my mind why you'd want to train slowly if you wanted to race fast. Surely practicing to run at marathon pace would be the best way to run at marathon pace ?

That's not the case. While there are some runs you do want to train fast on - VO2 max, or tempo runs, the majority of runs should be run at a much slower speed than your intended pace. Finally I know the science. We have different types of muscle fibers - slow and fast. Most people know that. What I didn't know was that there are 2 types of the fast twitch fibers. And one of these can be 'recruited' to work aerobically if you train them to. This means that rather just rely on the slow twitch fibres you can get aerobic help from the type IIa fast twitch fibres.

However - it's an either or. If you train hard and fast all the time - these fibers are being recruited to help the anaerobic energy system. That won't help in a marathon. If you train long and slow, they're being trained to help the aerobic system.

I guess I'll find out in a couple of weeks if it helped, although the 2 PRs confirm that the slower training has helped elsewhere. In my previous marathons I've really suffered over the last 5 or 6 miles. It'll be interesting to see if this makes a difference.

As for Chicago - there is an awful lot less pressure this year. Last year it was my first marathon. I wanted badly to BQ, but wasn't sure what to expect. I thought about nothing else for weeks leading up to it and slept badly. This year round, another year wiser and having been through it multiple times - I know exactly what to expect. I'm also not putting a time goal on myself. While my 5K and half times predict out to about a 3.02 marathon, and while a number of friends are aiming to go below that 'magic' 3 hour threshold. I'm really not. I don't think I'm quite ready for that yet. I'll be very happy with a time in the 3.05 - 3.10 range, which would still be a considerable PR and would then perhaps set me up for a faster attempt next year.

We'll see.

Africa

2010-07-13T08:28:00.000-06:00

Things started to get back on track in June. I'd been advised nothing fast, and nothing hilly, so that's what I tried to maintain. I also tried to not do too much too soon, and with 32, 35 and 46 mile weeks (the last skewed because of 2 longer runs), I finished the month on a positive note.

I successfully resisted the urge to run the 2 races I'd planned. The Mount Evans Ascent - 14 miles up the highest paved road in North America was a no brainer. A local 5K was a much harder decision, but the right one.

Then on the last day of June - I went to Africa !

Kenya to be precise.

A couple of days in Nairobi, then 4 on Safari, finished off by a couple of days in a remote village to see how rural Kenyans live.

Amazing and humbling at the same time.

I was only able to get one run in while I was there. Partly a factor of the dangerous nature of the place - Nairobi - also known as 'Nairobbery' isn't particularly conducive to running, and then the obvious dangers of running around in the open carnivore inhabited plains at the safari.

The one run I did get in - a short 3 miler - was a great experience. I ran with a Masai Warrior out of the safer confines of the electrified fence surrounding the tented camp, and out into the Masai Mara.

Here are a couple of photos of him.

I'd heard stories of people going on safari and not seeing much in the way of wild life so didn't know what to expect. Either through good luck, or because of the timing of the migration pattern of the animals from the Masai Mara in Kenya down to the Serengeti in Tanzania (it's the same plain - just named differently in each country) - we got to see a ton of animals.

People talk about wanting to see the 'Big 5'. The lion, rhino, elephant, buffalo and leopard. We saw them all in a single day, plus thousands of giraffes, zebras, wilderbeasts, antelope, gazelles, hyenas, baboons, cheetah, monkeys, hippos, crocodiles, to name but a few.

Some of the photos from the trip - all taken with my point and click camera and not with a massive telephoto lens - below.

An incredible experience.

Then we spent some time in a small village, 30 miles north of Eldoret in Western Kenya. 2 years ago Eldoret was at the center of the ethnic killings that erupted after the contested elections and you could still see some of the damaged buildings from the lootings and violence.

The roads are terrible, the people very poor, sleeping many to a single mud on the floor, but everyone seems happy. Quick to burst into song and truly making the best of what they have. It helps keep things in perspective. A running injury that keeps us out of a race, really isn't that big a deal.

Slow Recovery and New Ink...

2010-06-19T08:28:00.001-06:00

Another month has flown by.

It's now mid June. A month since the hernia surgery and over 10 weeks since I developed the achilles tendonitis.

I've been seeing a new PT and he's provided me with some renewed hope. He's given me trigger point needle therapy in my calves to relax the muscle. This in turn lowers the constant tension on the achilles. He's also given me some additional stretches and is doing specific massages on the trouble area twice per week. All this isn't without cost, and my health insurance has a $50 deductible per visit, but at least things appear to be moving in the right direction. I've had 4 sessions the past two weeks.

This last week I was able to run 30 miles. A great sign, but I need to remember to be careful and not repeat the actions that got me in this mess in the first place.

Over the last 3 months I had been thinking about getting a running tattoo. I've been running again for over 18 months and it's become a big part of my life. I wanted to recognize that fact with some 'new ink'. I didn't feel right doing it while I wasn't running, but with the developments of the last few weeks I felt that the time was right.

I'd considered a '26.2' symbol, but then wondered what would happen if I ran an ultra. I know I wouldn't want a '13.1' symbol now having run a full, so would I feel the same way then ?

In the end I decided to go for hermes / mercury wings on the outer side of both ankles. With running shoes on, they appear to be an extension of the tongue of the shoe.

I've had 2 other tattoos before, but these - because of the positioning so close to the bones in the ankle - were by FAR the most painful. Absolute agony for over an hour. I certainly won't be rushing back to get any more, but I'm very happy with the results.

As one of my running friends said - now I need to 'back them up' with performance...

Post Op

2010-05-12T09:32:00.001-06:00

I don't normally re-post so soon, but I wanted to do a quick update on the surgery.

I went in to St Joe's late Monday morning to get my hernia issue resolved. This was the first time I've had something like this, so was a little nervous about the general anesthetic and how things would go. Also the area of the surgery - so close to 'the boys' meant I knew I'd be in for some pain on the other side.

Good news. Everything went smoothly. The surgery lasted about an hour. I don't remember falling asleep - no counting back from 10 to 1. One minute I was on the operating table getting myself comfortable, and the next I was in the recovery room coming round. It was only the existence of a 2 inch sealed cut in my abdomen that confirmed I'd actually had the procedure.

The nurses were wonderful - both before and after the operation. While I gripe about the insurance that I have, this was one time where I believe I got amazing service. I haven't received the bill yet (I'm pretty sure I owe $600 for the co-pay), so maybe that will temper things a little, but for now I'm very happy with everything.

A few hours later I was allowed to leave. To help with the pain they left an anesthetic drip attached to the surgery site, which would dispense pain killer constantly for 48 hours. They also gave me a hefty prescription of vicodin. I doubt I'll use it all, so maybe I can seek out Dr House and see if he'll give me a good price for the rest ? :) That first evening it wasn't too bad, but yesterday, despite the drugs, the pain was pretty intense. Today I take out the drip tube. According to my surgeon, this is likely to be the worst day and then things improve.

I'm planning on working from home for most of this week. Fortunately I have a job that allows me to be as productive from home as in the office. The doctor wants me to walk a little each day - which I am - but being able to avoid squeezing in and out of the car with a commute, and other work related movement, is definitely a blessing.

This weekend I'll go and support a number of my friends who are running the Colfax Full and Half Marathons - an event I'd planned on doing myself until I got the achilles tendonitis.

Hopefully this was the low point. With my hernia fixed and my AT on the mend - things should now be on an upward swing. It does make me realize that we shouldn't take things for granted. Through March I had run close to 800 miles, and was seriously thinking that 3,000+ for the year was realistic. Now it looks like I'll run less than 50 in April and May combined, with more than half of those being the Boston Marathon.

Clearly everything can change very quickly...

Surgery...

2010-05-10T08:35:00.002-06:00

My achilles tendonitis has continued to hamper me. 3 weeks after Boston and it's still 'not right'. I've completed a total of 1 mile in running since the race itself. That a test a few weeks ago to see if it was improving. It wasn't. I've tried to keep some semblance of cardio by using the elliptical. While I don't feel any achilles pain while I do that, I've got a feeling it isn't allowing things to heal as quickly as they would otherwise.

Still - that's the least of my concerns at the moment. The week after Boston I went to watch the Cherry Creek Sneak. A local 5 mile race that before my injury woes I'd have expected to have run as well. I started getting some fairly severe pains in my groin while I was there. It went away later in the day, so I put it down to a one off oddity and forgot about it. The following Friday night the same thing happened again. When I got home I took a look and saw that I had a bulge in my lower abdomen that coincided with the area of the pain. The internet is a wonderful thing. Within a few minutes I'd self diagnosed myself with an inguinal hernia.

First thing last Monday I visited the doctor who confirmed the verdict. A referral to a surgeon on Wednesday and he explained the options. More than a quarter of men get this at some point in their lives, and it's not something that will go away by itself. The causes can be every day activities, but in my case it's likely it was the additional core strengthening I'd been doing while I couldn't run. Sit ups and weights had pushed things over the edge (or through the abdominal muscle...). Either way, the only option was surgery.

Timing wise, it's not bad. Since I'm already out with my achilles I figured I should try to get it taken care of as quickly as possible, so here we are just a week after the doctor confirmed the diagnosis and I'm waiting to head into the hospital in 3 hours to get the surgery.

It was good to know that a number of other runners from the Boston boards on the Runners World Forums have had the same issue and have had full recoveries. Most had the same surgical option that I'm getting - the 'mesh' approach - where they cut open the lower abdomen and insert a mesh over the connective tissue, and then basically sew you back up. The mesh strengthens the muscles and prevents the hernia from pushing through in the future. It's going to be painful. I'll be trying to work from home for most of the week, and will have a tube drip inserted with pain killer for the first few days.

I'm expecting recovery time to be about a month. The doctor said no impact sports (he means running and not football !) for 2 weeks, although I can attempt to use the elliptical or stationary bike if I feel up to it. Then after that he says I can do whatever my pain threshold allows.

I've decided to take a complete 2 week break to hopefully allow my achilles to heal once and for all, and then will start the elliptical or bike again. My goal is to start slowly running in early June which will mark 18 weeks to go before Chicago.

After 3 great months of running to start the year, things have definitely not gone the way I'd planned. However, I'm viewing this surgery as a blessing in disguise - forcing me to rest completely for a few weeks and allowing me to get back on track in time for my next marathon.

Fingers crossed...

Boston Marathon

2010-04-25T12:45:00.015-06:00

Not a huge surprise, but I didn't sleep so well. That probably put me in good company with many thousands of others this Monday morning.

Sunday I'd gone to the expo and had my ankle taped with 'KT Tape'. It was feeling a little better race morning, but with 26.2 miles of pounding ahead I wasn't too optimistic. I was going into the race thinking that as long as I didn't do any serious damage to it I wanted to try to run as far as I could, but was fully prepared to walk if I necessary.

I had my normal breakfast of cereal and a couple of cups of tea. I also drank some gatorade with ultimate fuel, and had some shot bloks. Then down to meet Phil and Ryan in the hotel lobby at 6am and we headed over to the buses. While the lines were long, it was well organized and we were on them surprisingly quickly. Our bus driver was a stud. He drove like one of the speedy taxi drivers in the amazing race as he overtook many other buses. When traffic ground to a crawl, a police convoy went past with a bus of officials. Our driver jumped in behind and swept us quickly to the start.

The athlete village was very much as I'd imagined. Thousands of athletes milling around. Sitting, chatting, lining up for the hundreds of porto-potties. Our group from the Boston Runners World Boards met at a pre-arranged spot and I was thankful for the company. I continued to drink gatorade and consumed further packets of shot bloks. Something that I regretted later.

The time went quickly and soon we were being called up to the corrals. I dropped off my checked bag, and later threw away my disposable 'good will' clothes that I'd bought and stood in my trash sack with gatorade toilet until it was time for the off. The national anthem was sung, jets flew over us, and we were off.

I decided to go out as if I wasn't injured. I figured I'd rather 'go down in flames' than meekly jog it out. I was using the Greg Maclin pacing spreadsheet to help me pace myself through the undulating course. Before the injury my 'A Goal' had been 3.05. After 3 weeks with very minimal activity I realized that was likely out of reach so decided to aim for 3.10. In my mind I knew that if things were going very well - the 3.05 splits were around 12 seconds / mile faster.

I'd been warned both not to go out too fast, and also not to try to weave through the inevitable congestion at the start. I felt I'd achieved both of those - my first split on the garmin was 7.11. Nice. I soon caught up Chad and Ashley, who were running for a 3.10, so I got in behind them and tried to soak up the experience. The crowds were impressive and I did my best to high five as many kids as I could on the side of the road I was running.

Second mile was 7.15. Things still were going well, although I was starting to get concerned over my elevated HR. I didn't feel like I was working hard, but my HR was telling another story.

Mile 3 went by at 7:00 even, and the first 5K in 22:14. Mile 4 was also 7:00 even. Consistent pace, and my ankle was giving little pain, but my HR was now in the 170s. That was a huge red flag that I ignored. I'd run a half marathon at altitude 5 weeks before, running 6:40 mile pace, and my HR hadn't reached 170 until the end - so clearly the lack of cardio fitness, and likely overdose of caffeine from the 3 full packets of shot bloks that I'd consumed and multiple cups of tea, were taking a toll.

Mile 5 - 7:15. Mile 6 - 7:08. Through the 10K in 44:44. All on track for my goal time, but I already knew I was in trouble. As if on cue - the ankle started to grumble. Quietly at first, but then louder and louder.

I was still in denial about my HR and cardio fitness. I had altitude training on my side. Surely if I could get through the half, I could then 'gut it out' over those last 13 miles and still come in at 3.10 ?

I knew with the ankle pain that I should ease back a little, so I did.

Mile 7 - 7.17
Mile 8 - 7.30
Mile 9 - 7.22
Mile 10 - 7.23
Mile 11 - 7.41

That final mile finally hit home. I needed a new plan. Forget the goal, now it was just time to survive. The pain was getting worse so I kept bargaining with myself. First it was - get to 10 miles then you can walk. Then it was - ok - let's get to 13, that'll be half way. All the while I was working out what time I'd end up with if I walked the remaining distance. Figuring a 4 miles per hour walking pace, I realized at the 10 mile mark that I'd be able to get easily inside 6 hours and thereby 'earn' the jacket and finishers medal.

Between mile 12 and 13 we hit Wellesley College. I could hear the screams ahead and looked out - unsuccessfully - to find the sign that the girls had designed for our board. I continued to bargain with myself. Get to the half - you're half way home. You could run half, walk half. I hit that in 1.36.49. Not bad, but way off my initial goal and slowing all the time. The only positive - my cardio was back and fine. My HR was now in the 150s and soon dropped to the 130s.

I tried to get over to the side and started a new approach of walking for 10 seconds after each water station. I'd grab the drink, and then as soon as we were passed the tables I'd pull over, walk and drink, then start up again. Each time I did I realized I was walking with a more pronounced limp.

Mile 14 was my last sub-8 minute mile. 7.48. I kept the bargaining going. Run to 16 - that's just 10 miles of walking left. 8.05, 8.02. Now the pain was a lot worse. I was coming up to the hills. Running up hill with achilles tendonitis is worse than running on the flat. Picture your foot landing flat - and then picture it landing on an uphill slope. The uphill causing further extension on the achilles. I imagined people back home following my splits, not realizing I was having injury problems and laughing that the 'hills were getting him'. The hills themselves really weren't that bad. I forced myself to run up them - I didn't want to walk, but I did walk down them some. 8.39, 8.53, 8.56 and 9.19. Over a 9 minute mile - when my 3.05 pace would have been 7 mins. Uggh. Although at that point I didn't care. I was running up and walking down and just trying to ignore the pain.

6 miles to go. That's 90 minutes walking at 4 miles an hour. Now I was going to come in at 4.5 hours if I did that. The crowd was a amazing. I was wearing my name on my top and every time I stopped to limp along they yelled my name and told me I could do it. I wanted a place to hide, to just finish in my own personal agony, but they wouldn't let me.

9.42, 9.39, 9.59. I was still a little faster than 6 miles per hour. Just 3 miles to go. Now I realized I was going to get below 4 hours. I could almost walk it to that. And walk I did - a lot more. I'd bargain with myself to jog to the next water stop, then I'd hobble for half a mile, then jog to the next water stop.

13.03, 12.23. Just one mile to go. I found another runner who was following a similar hobble/run pattern. He wasn't injured, but was having a hard time. Looking at his bib number - a 6xxx - he must have had an even tougher race than me. We chatted and as we got to 25.3 miles we got each other to run it out. Slowly. Most people were overtaking still but we didn't care. Mile 26 a little faster in 11.15. The crowds were unbelievable. I'd thought Chicago was good, but these were so much better. We turned the corner and headed to the line. I even managed to pick up the pace and saw on the garmin for those last hundred yards my pace was back in the 8 min range.

Finally. Over the line. 3.45.57. A personal worst by more than 25 minutes but all things considered, not bad. It was EASILY the most painful and toughest run of my life. If this hadn't been Boston I very much doubt I'd have pushed myself through the pain, in fact I probably wouldn't have even started. We talk on the running boards of 'HTFU', where HT stands for 'harden the' (and with my mother perhaps reading this I'll led you figure out the rest !). My shirt had those letters on my back so I figured I had to try to live up to them. I also knew I had to finish to 'earn' the right to wear the jacket.

Through the chute very slowly, I got the medal and space blanket, then finally my checked clothes. I sat on the ground trying hard to get them over my right ankle. I looked up and saw that the hotel was directly across the road from where we left the runners area. Fantastic. I probably couldn't have walked another block. I said it out loud to whoever would listen - 'there's my hotel'... Across the road and straight down into the bar to hear the amazing stories of the other folks on the runners world boards.

Writing this a few days later I've realized that Boston is about far more than just the race - it's the whole experience. From the first thoughts of even qualifying to the event, to the joy of getting the time and being accepted, through the build up and anticipation of training hundreds of miles through the winter months, to the soaking up of the atmosphere of the weekend in Boston with thousands of others runners, to the ride on the buses, to the waiting in the athlete villages, to the start, to the high fiving of the kids and the support of the crowd, to the dreaded Newton hills, all the way to the finish. If my race time wasn't up to what I thought or hoped it could have been before the injury, that only takes away one small facet of the whole experience.

Still. I've promised myself I need to go back in 2011. I've got unfinished business in Boston.

Achilles Tendonitis

2010-04-11T09:44:00.003-06:00

"Achilles tendonitis, also sometimes called Achilles tendinitis, is a painful and often debilitating inflammation of the Achilles tendon (heel cord)

Achilles tendonitis is an overuse injury. The factors that can contribute to developing the condition.

* Increase in activity (either distance, speed or hills).
* Less recovery time between activities.
* Change of footwear or training surface.
* Weak calf muscles.
* Decreased range of motion at the ankle joint, usually cause by tight calf muscles.
* Running up hills - the achilles tendon has to stretch more than normal on every stride. This is fine for a while but will mean the tendon will fatigue sooner than normal."

Let's see. Increase in activity - check, less recovery time between activities, check, Running up hills, check.

I'm training for the bloody Boston marathon for goodness sake :)

So the injury that came on through my final run of March turned out to be a little more serious than I realized. Clearly the record mileage week, at the end of a record mileage month were a few miles too far. That's good to know for the next training cycle.

I took the first few days off in April trying to re-hab it. I was getting ultrasound therapy to try to increase blood circulation to the tendon to draw down the inflammation. By the 4th - a Sunday - I felt that I was ready to get back to running. I ran 11 miles and felt pretty good, although could still feel some discomfort in my heel. Monday I ran another 4 on the treadmill but again, could feel some pain so I stopped. I took Tuesday off, and then tried again on Wednesday. I got a mile in and had to stop. Clearly I couldn't ignore, or run my way out of this injury.

Those are the last miles I've run as I type this.

I switched to the elliptical, but that continued to cause mild irritation of the achilles, so the past 3 days I've been trying my hand at aqua jogging in a pool.

Aqua jogging has to be the most mind-numbing activity known to man. A minute in the pool seems to last 10 minutes. My sports massage therapist gave me a 5 day free trial at the Colorado Athletic Club, so that's been the venue of my torture. I have to tip my hat the athletes rehabbing from stress fractures or other long term injuries who are able to maintain an aqua jogging program for an extended period. 5 days is certainly more than enough for me, although hopefully it's helping me to maintain some semblance of aerobic fitness.

Rather than wait for the package from New Zealand, I was also able to get a prescription of Voltaren Gel. An anti-inflammatory and an analgesic which, unlike an oral pill, can be applied directly to the site of the inflammation. I've continued almost daily ultra sound sessions, and have been wearing heal lifts in my shoes.

Today marks 8 days to the Boston Marathon. I have no idea how the injury treatment is progressing. I'm not running so it's hard to gauge the recovery. Walking around everything feels fine, although I've felt slight tweaks from the achilles a couple of times, so I'm pretty sure if I tried to run now it would just set me back.

It's very hard. After the great training session through the winter, I can see some of that good work slipping away. That's part of my drive to get back out quickly and run again, but now I've realized if I do that - I likely won't be able to even run the marathon, let alone get the time I was hoping for.

I need to readjust my expectations. Now my 'A' goal is to qualify for the A wave in Chicago, so 3.10.59. While the race itself is clearly the main objective of the 18 week training plan, those 18 weeks themselves are also a big part. I've seen dramatic improvements to my running so even if I don't perform the way I'd hoped at Boston, I can draw many positives from the cycle that I'll use in the build up to Chicago.

One big lesson is not to overdo things. If I'd had stopped after the 2nd mile of that last run in March, I'd have ended the month short of my 300 mile goal, but likely I wouldn't have missed the 40 or 50 miles in training since. A lesson I'll hopefully remember next time.

The main objective of the next week is to continue to heal, and to attempt to get some sleep. The latter is going to be tough.

Record Week, Record Month, and an Achilles Injury...

2010-04-04T08:32:00.002-06:00

Closing out March I ran my record mileage week - 85.75 miles, and a record mileage month - 303 miles. And now begins the Taper. Time to slow things down, get some recovery juices into those leg muscles and try to sleep ahead of April 19th.

The taper couldn't come soon enough to be honest. In my enthusiasm to get my record month I think I pushed things a little too far. I had to cut the last run of the month short with some achilles pain. I went to see my sports massage therapist - achilles tendinitis. Not good with just 19 days left until Boston. I've been icing constantly, as well as using traumeel to try to bring down the inflammation. I've been having daily ultra sound treatment to try to encourage the blood to circulate and help bring down the irritation. After a couple of recommendations from running friends I also ordered some voltaren gel off the internet. It's a doctor prescribed drug here, but available OTC from New Zealand. It's an anti-inflammatory as well as an analgesic. A friend at work had a tube so I tried some. It completely numbed the pain for a few hours, so it's my backup plan if the injury isn't recovered at race time. That is if it gets here in time from the other side of the world...

After 4 days off the swelling and pain has gone so I'm going to try a gentle run this morning. However it turns out - it was definitely a big scare. I need to be smarter about the training. I'd been feeling strong and pushed myself too far. If I'd applied the 10% rule of not increasing mileage more than 10% in a week, this wouldn't have happened. I'd have finished the month with perhaps 285 miles, but then not lost 4+ days this month already with an injury. Another good lesson to be applied in the next training cycle. I'm still making 'rookie' mistakes.

I mentioned sleep. I had a terrible time in the weeks leading up to Chicago. I'm feeling more relaxed this time around. I don't have a time goal that I 'have' to achieve like I did in Chicago so am not feeling the pressure as much. 3rd time round I've also got a better idea of what the marathon will be like - less of the fear of the 'unknown'. This injury probably also takes the pressure off a little bit. If training had been going perfectly then I might have been setting some more aggressive goals, now I need to be a bit more realistic.

Still - as long as the weather cooperates, I'm still hoping to take a big chunk off my PR from last autumn.

I'll put down my 3 goals, the A, B and C goals. Putting them down in writing somehow makes me feel a little more committed.

A - if things go very well, and I don't go out too fast and then blow up on the Newton Hills - a 3.05 would be my stretch goal
B - the middle goal is to get 3.10.59 - which would get me into the A wave at Chicago. That seems very achievable based on my training, but then with the achilles problem you never know.
C - I read yesterday that I get guaranteed entry to the London marathon with a sub 3.15 time - so that would be my C goal. Still a 2.5 minute PR, but one that I should realistically be able to do pretty easily. Weather and injury permitting....

So fingers crossed ahead of today's run. I hope very much to be returning smiling and not limping.

Ides of March

2010-03-19T07:14:00.001-06:00

Were a few days ago...

I didn't feel like making the title '1 month' and my imagination is not up to much this morning.

After 71 degrees on Wednesday, 65 yesterday, we're meant to be getting 12 inches of snow today. Spring in Colorado.

Today does mark the 1 month to go to Boston mark. Not wanting to tempt fate, but so far so good on the training front. I've been able to follow the Pfitz plan without much more than general wear and tear injuries. Nothing that's really stopped me getting out there. I've been averaging around 70 miles/ week for the last couple of months.

I ran a warm up race last weekend. The 'Boulder Spring Half Marathon'. Conditions were far from perfect. Similar to today, after great weather leading up to it, the race day was low 30s, with a wind from the north that threatened to bring snow. I'd signed up hoping to PR, but when I saw the course profile - climbing 300 feet over the first 6 miles, I wasn't so sure.

The massive stretch goal was 1.25 to get the 'A Wave' for Chicago locked up. Once I saw the course profile I realized that would never happen. It would be almost a 7 minute PR and with the hills and gravel footing it would be as likely as winning the powerball.

The stretch goal was sub 1.30, which would get me guaranteed entry to the New York marathon next year. I'd run a good MP run the previous weekend which suggested this might be possible.

The 'C' goal was a PR - beat 1.31.43 that I'd set the previous August.

The plan was to go out slow, and then start ramping it up. The best laid plans of mice and men... the gun went, and so did I. So much for building up. With the adrenaline I didn't notice the uphill for a while, but by the 5th mile with the wind squarely in my face it was having an impact. At the half way point I checked the watch. 45.30, so already 30 seconds behind the goal for 1.30. Fortunately the hard work was behind us. Now we were mostly downhill with the wind at our backs. Mile 8 was run in 6.15, and the next few miles were easily under target pace. Another uphill to the end, but I was running well. I crossed the finish line hardly out of breath - 1.28.55. A PR by almost 3 minutes on a tough hilly course and now guaranteed entry to the New York Marathon in 2011. Nice.

Putting things into perspective. That's a pace of 6 min 45 second miles. Less than a year ago I couldn't maintain that for 4 miles, let alone a half marathon. A nice confidence boost that the training plan is working and some reward for all the hard work. It also means under better conditions this summer I should be able to take more time off this new PR.

I'm supposed to have another warm up race this coming weekend but have decided not to go through with it. The weather looks iffy with snow forecast, and the half marathon gave me the confidence boost I needed. I'll run a couple of time trials instead as part of the normal plan, and just keep plugging away with the mileage.

One month until Boston !

February in the books

2010-02-28T07:48:00.000-07:00

Another month down and just 50 days to go until Boston.

The training program is starting to peak and touch wood (raising hand to my head) things are going well.

I'm going to close out February with a little over 270 miles. EASILY a monthly PR, in the shortest month of the year. The previous highest I'd run was 205 miles last August.

It was almost a completely injury free month. I missed just one day of scheduled running - last Thursday - with some pain on the top of my foot. I could have run through it, but played it safe with a tough workout the next day.

It's hard training through the winter. Snow obviously can't be predicted. Recently it's seemed to fall over the weekend coinciding with my longer runs forcing me inside to the treadmill. Running on the TM never seems as tough as running outside, so it's hard to correlate the times there to pavement.

Still, the positive is that I am training through the winter. Having the early Spring goal keeps the motivation going. Without it I'm sure it would be easy to see the snow and decide to bail on best intentions.

7 weeks already ?

2010-02-11T08:07:00.001-07:00

So here we are, already getting into the middle of February.

A bit like in the middle of a long race I kind of 'zoned out' with my blogging in these cold months.

January started out great. After a few days off at the end of December, I hit the ground running in 2010. I'd clocked 100 miles in the first 10 days, well on track. By the middle of the month I started getting some pain on the outer side of my left foot. I started getting paranoid it was a stress fracture, but after spending more time at the Newton Labs I realized it was being caused by tight tendons down the outer side of the leg.

More rolling, and a few extra days off. I decided to go ahead with a 5K in City Park that I'd run the previous year - the 'Run for the the Dream'. I wanted to get a time to get me into the AA wave of the Bolder Boulder, and the relatively flat course in City Park seemed ideal. The race went well - I maintained a 6.15 pace, easily inside the time I needed and came 3rd overall, 1st in my age group. Unfortunately the course was long. Most races use the same course in City Park, so I knew immediately the finish was in the wrong place. I spoke to the organizer afterward and he confirmed that they'd made it a tenth of a mile longer by mistake. GRRR. I still ran a PR - 19.57, but with that extra 10th of a mile I missed the time I needed by a few seconds. In reality the time was around 19.25 if you adjust for the extra distance, so it tells me there's PRs to be had again this year.

My foot was still gimpy, so I took the rest of the weekend off.

Following advice from runners on the Boston boards, I decided to get a sports massage. Both the foot, and my previous knee issues, were caused by tight tendons. Getting into a semi-regular massage program might be the preventative maintenance that I was looking for.

On January 18th I saw Steve Lynn. He spent an hour on my legs and things felt good. He told me to drink water afterward, which I did a little, but didn't think too much of it. The next morning I woke up with flu like symptoms in my legs. I figured it was just the massage and went to work, but by midday my whole body was going downhill. I ended up taking the rest of the week off work sick in bed. No running - unless you count the multiple repeats I was doing to the toilet...

I later learned that some people can have this type of reaction to a deep tissue massage. The lymph fluid, and general 'gunk' that's been stored for years in the muscles is released, causing the immune system to go into overdrive. Friends told me that I needed to drink copious amounts of water, and even cleansing detox tea to avoid this the next time.

The foot, and sickness had put a big dent in things. I'd run 100 miles in the first 10 days of the month, and then just 26 in the next 13. Fortunately with my foot issue under control with constant rolling, and the sickness finally at bay, I was able to get back to it. I ran 75 miles over the last 8 days of the month to just achieve the 200 mile / month target.

Not the way I'd hoped to start the year, but I feel that I'm learning more about my body and how running impacts it.

I see a lot of runners out and around Stapleton, and after speaking to a few, realized there might be interest in a local running club. An alternative to the existing offerings that require monthly memberships. I created a yahoo group, a simple website (www.stapletonrunners.com), and had some business cards printed to hand out to runners that I see out. We started off with some 'fun runs' at the weekend. Still early days - we have 20+ people in the yahoo group, but only 3 or 4 have shown up for runs. As the weather warms up, I'm hoping this can develop into a reasonable sized group spanning beginners to sub 3 hour marathoners. I've given cards to people in both camps.

February has started off well. 11 days in and I should pass the 100 mile mark today, with 2 rest days included. I don't want to tempt fate, but my knees and foot seem to be under control. It's a struggle to get up early for some of the long mid-week runs that Pfitz is calling for (15 yesterday, 13 tomorrow), but so far I've just about managed to juggle the work and running.

Just 67 days until Boston...

2010 Goals

2010-01-03T08:15:00.000-07:00

The Christmas and New Year festivities are over, now's the time to think about the coming year.

I was able to close out 2009 by getting back to some reasonable mileage. I started running again after the PT visit. While I still have some knee pain, it's less than it was before and the combination of exercises, switching to the newtons, and not pushing things too hard seems to have helped. I was able to run 90 miles in the last two weeks of the month and easily make my previous year's resolution to run 100 miles every month.

When I set that goal last December it seemed like a big stretch. I was coming off my first ever 100 mile month and - truth be told - would have bet against myself achieving it. Last January I was just seeing how things went, not yet committed to a marathon. I closed out 2009 with 1735 miles and over 100 every month. I took the last 2 days off with sore calves (due to the newtons), otherwise it would have been 1750.

Moving into 2010

I want to try to run 200 miles / month. This one is very much injury dependent, so I'd be very happy if I ended up with 2400 miles, even if some months fell short. Realistically some will due to the cyclical nature of training around the marathons.

I want to run the Boston marathon in April, then either Chicago or New York (or both) in the fall. I may even run the Denver marathon too, although that wouldn't be for a time. Then I could sign up for Marathon Maniacs.

I'd like to go below 3.10 at Boston. Having run 2 marathons now I feel a little more comfortable with the distance. In both Chicago and CIM I was on target for below 3.15 and then lost time over the last 5 miles. With an injury free training session and better race and hydration strategy, I'm pretty sure 3.10 is a achievable.

If I do make 3.10 at Boston, then I'd like to shave more time off in the fall marathon. When I was 18 I thought I had a sub 3 hour marathon in me. If I'd run one then, then it's very likely I would have made it. That's still probably too lofty a goal for me, but if things go well in the races this year I'm not ready to rule it out as my ultimate marathon goal. I don't think there's any danger of me breaking that this year though.

I've already run a 1.31 half. To get the automatic qualification for New York I just need to lower that to sub 1.30. My initial half goal for 2010 will therefore be to do that, with the stretch goal to go below 1.28.

As for the shorter distances - I want to beat all my PRs from 2009. I want to get into the AA wave at the Bolder Boulder. That should be pretty realistic. I'll attack that through a 5K in the coming month - needing to get below 19.53. That's only 20 seconds faster than my current PR, set last summer. I didn't run many so this one I'm hoping I can knock off fairly soon.

I'd also like to run the Mount Evans Ascent in June. 14 miles up a mountain to the top of the highest paved road in North America at over 14,200 feet. Far higher than any Tour de France stage ever goes. This more 'because it's there'. I see Mount Evans every day from Denver, and have taken 2 scooters to the summit. It seems a natural progression to run up it.

I want to do this by training smarter. I've just ordered a soft heart rate monitor strap for my garmin. It's hard to know what my 'marathon pace' is - when I'm hoping to knock 10 mins off it, so I'm going to work out my maximum HR and tailor my workouts just as much off that than actual speed.

Downtime and Newtons

2009-12-24T17:16:00.001-07:00

After CIM I took the time off I'd promised myself.

For the first couple of days that was easy, but once the stiffness had gone it was a lot harder to hold myself back. Still - after a week without running I was a little disappointed to feel some residual pain in my left knee. I booked another physiotherapy appointment to find out what was going on.

A few days before I had the PT visit I found myself in Boulder. It's only a 30 minute drive from our house and I'd read about the Newton Running lab there. If you haven't heard about Newton - it's a relatively new (couple of years) old shoe company who believe landing on your midfoot/forefoot is the most natural way to run, as well as being the fastest and most efficient way to run. They design shoes to try to achieve that, as well as recommending you change your running style to shorter strides, concentrating on landing on the mid-foot. Very much like Chi-running. I'd read reviews in a couple of places with some people saying that they'd been injury plagued before switching to their newtons.

The shoes aren't cheap, so my intention was just to check the place out. When I got there I found myself being fitted by Danny Abshire, the co-founder of the company and designer of the shoes. Pretty cool. Danny showed me how to run in them, and helped change an insole I'd brought with me to add extra support. I can get a 15% discount through runners roost, and when I mentioned that to him - he said they'd match that. So I walked out with my Christmas presents...

But I didn't run in them. The plan was still to take December off and I had the PT appointment coming up. When I saw the doctor he suggested a few new exercises - trying to give additional motion to my left hip which was tight, and some calf stretches too. I mentioned the time I was taking off, expecting to be congratulated, and got the opposite reaction. He told me to get back to it straight away, reasoning that if I wasn't running, I couldn't be providing feedback on the new exercises.

Twist my arm doc. The next day, after 10 days off, I was back at it. I ran 6 slow miles in the newtons. They were definitely different. I'm naturally a heal striker so I had to really concentrate on my form and kept catching myself slipping back to old habits. The next day when I woke up - no knee pain at all. That was a little bit of a shocker. I hadn't had that happen for a couple of months. I decided to push things a little more. I ran 8 miles both the next two days. Again - no pain. I took a day off, and then ran 13 one day and 8 the next. No pain. Amazing. I'm sure it was partly the exercises, but the shoes and changing styles was likely the biggest contributor.

This was partly proven out today - Christmas Eve. We had a snow storm come through yesterday dropping 8 inches. Knowing that I'll not run so much on Christmas day, I very much wanted to get 10 miles in. 10 miles on the treadmill is my vision of hell, so with some suggestions from the RW boards I took the kayanos that I'd been running in recently and screwed in 20 x 3/8th inch sheet metal screws to each. They worked great. They gave me the grip I needed to run on the compacted snow.

Literally half a mile in I could feel my left knee again. I was still trying to maintain the mid-foot form, and the pain went away a little, but after 6 miles it was definitely back. Rather than risk damage, I came home, switched to my newtons and ran the rest of the miles on the treadmill. No pain. So definitely the shoes help - I'd had the kayanos fitted at a running store using the slo-mo video so know that my form in them was good, albeit as a heal striker. Still - this was all the proof I needed. From now on - I'm a newton guy. Great shoes, and a local company to boot. I've still not completely got used to the style. I find myself regressing back - at least to the longer strides. It's going to take several months before I do it naturally.

I've spent the last few days getting my running plan together for Boston. I'm going to use the Pfitzinger 55-70 mile plan. After the rave reviews from my friends on the RW forums, I figured I owed it to myself to train the right way for once. I realized I didn't have the recent mileage to jump straight into a 70 mile / week program, so have adjusted it slightly - starting off with the 50 mile plan for the first few weeks and then merging them together. I've run 53 miles in the past 8 days so am pretty much on track. The 'official' start date I've set myself is next Monday. That will be 16 weeks until Boston. With the help of the newtons and chi running I'm hoping I can get through this cycle healthy !

California International Marathon (CIM)

2009-12-08T08:06:00.002-07:00

While Chicago was a 'whole experience', I decided CIM would be more of a business trip. I flew in Saturday afternoon and had a flight home Sunday after the race. I went straight to the expo from the airport. It felt similar in size to the Denver one I'd attended 7 weeks prior. Then to a super market to find some supplies and finally the hotel. I'd chosen the Vagabond Inn - by far the cheapest of the recommended hotels. It really wasn't bad, and was walkable to both the expo and the finish line. After unpacking I headed out for dinner with 'GoAnnie' from the runners world forums. I hadn't slept well the past few nights so after dinner went back to the room, watched the end of the Texas v Nebraska game then went to bed early. CIM is a point to point course so buses were due to take us from the hotels at 5:00am

I wrote a race report for the runners world forum - I've included it below.

Race Day
Wake up. Don't look at the clock. It's still the middle of the night. Looked at clock. 1:50am. Uggh. Nice one. 2 hours until the alarm. Go back to sleep. Right ?! Good luck with that. Toss and turn. Finally it's 3.45am. Think positive. Don't think of it as being early - that's actually 4:45am mountain time. No. That's early. Breakfast, shower, let's do a daily on runners world - maybe I can be one of the first despite being on the west coast. Can't. I can get to every site except runners world - the hotel is blocking it ?! Or RW is flakey again. Facebook instead. Ok - concentrate. Get your stuff together. Time to get to reception. 5am - here comes the bus. Must be at least 100 of us waiting - we're not all getting on that thing. GoAnnie had talked about race reports where people got to the line late because they missed the first bus. Try to get up close to front. Phew - I'm on. Here we go. Chat with the guy next to me. Trying to BQ. He just found out it's closed. Sorry man. I can only imagine. This drive is taking forever - 26.2 miles seems a hell of a long way. 45 mins driving and I'm going to run back downtown ? Lucky I've got $40 for a cab if the knee plays up. Better to DNF than damage anything. Right ? I probably shouldn't be thinking like that. Ok - we're here. It's 5:50am. 70 mins to gun time - please don't make us get out. Thank you. Lots of people do leave. It's 28F and windy - you think you're going to 'warm up' ?! Sit there in seat and tape knee. Decide it's not a good attempt so rip it off and tape it again. No tape left so hopefully that lasts. Eat a double pack of shot blocks and drink some gatorade. Close to 6:30am now - 30 mins. Time to go. Strip down and put clothes in checked bag. Put on large trash sack and leave bus. OMG. It's cold. Stand in potty line, then drop off checked bag and stretch. Tape on knee starts slipping down towards calf. Great job Richard. Now what ? Guess we see how long it holds up. 10 mins to go. Wander up towards start line. Where should I stand. Let's try 3.15 pace group - stand at edge. A bit of a pretender. Probably should be a bit more realistic. Best case everything holds together and I beat Chicago time, although not very likely. Still - after all the expense to come out here I'd rather make a good effort and crash and burn than take it too easy. 1 minute to go and get pelted with throw away clothes. Shouldn't have stood at edge. Off comes trash sack and we're away.

Start slow Richard. Seriously - s l o w l y. A race is only lost, not won in the first mile. I read that somewhere. Hey - don't cut me up - I can't go any faster, it's pretty packed in here. Thud - sound of runner a few back tumbling and follow up yelps as others go down on top. Stay calm. Ok - a downhill, not too fast. Here's the first mile marker. 7.35. Perfect. Ahead of a 3.20 pace but slower than the 7.26 for a 3.15. No knee pain yet so worst case only a 25 mile taxi ride now. A little faster now. Take the apexes. I read that too. We're doing a lot of rolling hills - seems tougher than the video. Running strong. Keeping constant and picking people off on every hill. 7.16 second mile. Ok - good. A little fast, but now you're on 7.26 pace. Where's that 3.15 pacer going - seems like it's a bit fast. Guess he knows what he's doing, maybe it's a strategy - positive split ? No - that's not good. Let's hang with him a little longer. More hills. Some wind. This is colder than Chicago. I wasn't expecting this in California. Here comes the next split. 7.08. Hmm. That's 20 seconds too fast. What's this guy doing. We're just 30 yards behind the 3.10 pace group after 3 miles - can that be right ? Garmin is accurately calling the miles, let's stick with that and not this guy. Let them pull away, they'll be coming back to you later if they go out this fast.

7.15 next mile - and that's letting them go ? Stay consistent. How's the knee. Ok. Tape now completely off knee and over top of calf. Should I stop and rip it off ? Nahh. It's not bothering me, although imagine runners behind wondering what a bit of flapping tape is going to help with. Another water stop - run through it. I've still got my small bottle of gatorade. 5 miles in and I haven't drunk 10 oz ? You need to have finished this by the next stop. Promise me. Learn from Chicago. 7.18. All under pace. Keep this up and you're looking at 3.13. Don't think that way. Zone out - listen to your body. Here comes 6 miles and the first relay check point. Lots of people turn off. Wow - a confidence boost. 7.23. Mentally calculating - so here comes the quarter point. Stop it - you're not supposed to think like that. Break it into mini races. Thinking about 26 miles is overwhelming. I read that too.

7.24. Good - more around what I want to be doing. 19 to go. What did I just say ? Take a gel shot. Can feel my stomach sloshing. Another water stop - take some finally. More hills - hey - this may be net downhill, but there's a lot more up than I was expecting. Mentally strong on the hills. I live in Colorado - a 200 foot hill is a pimple. 2 girls next to me looking strong - we seem to be keeping a similar pace. Mile 8, 7.30, Mile 9, 7.29. Hmm - just a few seconds slower than pace, but still feel good. Looks like the knee will at least get me to the half. Promise me you'll run to the half, even if it hurts. You can drop out then. 7.16, 7.12, 7.24, 7.25 - half in exactly 1.37. Take check. Not bad. You ran your first half marathon ever just 7 months ago and struggled in just under 1.36, and here you are just a minute slower in a marathon and feeling pretty good. Now if I have to stop I bet the cab will be under $20. Stop thinking like that. Need to be mentally strong. Stop thinking about stopping - it's making you soft. I tell the guy next to me 'now the race begins'. Picturing Chicago I'm running towards the United Center now. The start of the boring part of that course. Beginning to over take people with few going past me. Nice feeling. Mile 14. Another 7.25. Going well.

UGGH. Where did that wind come from. Brutal in our face, must be 20 mph at least. Guy next to me leaning like he's in a hurricane. Doesn't that hurt your legs ? Need to find a tall person to get behind. Can't see anyone. Still running with the 2 girls. Get behind them. Can't be more than 5 foot 4, but they're close together so maybe it helps a little. Now the wind's from the side. That's not fair. 7.37. Uggh. That's all wind. Probably 15 seconds slower because of it. Need to push through it. 7.29 for the 16th mile. 7.24 overall pace at the moment. Nice. Wind still tough - long straight road into the wind. When do we turn off ? Do we turn off or is this to the end. Wish I knew the course. More wind. This wind is worse than a hill. I'd take a hill anytime over this. What's that up ahead ? Oh great. Here comes a hill and we've still got the wind. Nicely tempting fate there Richard - why did you have to think that ? Wind and hill are worse than just wind. 7.27. 7.29. Finally - we're turning.

Now it's a side wind and even a little behind us. I laugh in the face of a tail wind. The 2 girls talk briefly and one drops back - I can imagine a 'no - you go on' type thing. The other keeps pace. Another guy in a white shirt is there too. The 3 of us are overtaking everyone, although we're just keeping consistent. Mile 19. 7.33. Hmm - a little slower. I feel decent, just a few minor twinges from the knee. In Chicago this was where I started bonking - hope it's not starting again. 7.35 for the 20th mile. Don't worry - that's just 8 seconds over pace - you're still a little ahead of 3.15 and still feel good. Just a 10K to go. Yes - that's what you're supposed to think. I read that. I've only run one 10K - the Bolder Boulder. That was tough. Ok - don't think that. Just picture the distance. 7.30 next split. Way hay. That's going the right direction. Should I be drinking more ? My stomach still feels like it's sloshing but I haven't had much. Take a quick sip. No bonk yet and just 5 to go. The girl drops back. Maybe I've got this right. I can't believe after such a crappy last 6 weeks of training that I'm running this much better than Chicago. Thinking about my acceptance post on BATTASS. What's the level called again ? Can't remember. It's the lowest one. Something fluffy I think. I'll take it.

22 miles. 7.43. No. That's not in the script. Where did that come from ? Still feeling okay. Guy in white DROPS ME. Come back. Uhoh. HTFU. Calf starting to cramp. No you don't - I won't permit that. Try to relax. Relax ? Idiot. Stop talking to yourself. Last little hill over a bridge - I read about this on the CA forums. Flat to the end. 7.46. Ok - still okay. 3.15 still possible if I can speed up. Just a 5K to go. Come on 7.30 pace to the end. That's just 8 mph. Easy peasy. HTFU. Seriously. Count down the city streets. 50 something down to 9. Seriously ? These blocks seem big - I've got to run 40 of them ? 7.57 next split. Nooo. What's going on ? 2 miles to go. Suck it up. 15 minutes of pain. 8.01. Baah. There goes 3.15. Running in treacle. People passing me now. Can feel and taste the shots in my stomach. Should I stop to be sick ? No. Gut it out. What's this - giving out twizzler sticks ? That's all I need - my teeth stuck together. No thanks. A mile to go now. Water station ? No thanks again - I can drink when I'm done. Other people suffering too. Over taking some, others flying by. That's going to be me one day. Nice crowds. Downtown Sacramento. Mile 26. 8.12 split - slowest of the race. There goes 3.16 too. Not much you can do now. Just a few hundred yards left. Wow - is that guy alright. He's staggering diagonally like that famous video of the Olympic marathon finish. Hope he makes it. Last turn. Oh yes - they're going to split men and women for separate finishes. A tradition here. Stick to the right. Final sprint. I can't. Legs don't want to. Here comes the line. Don't be the person in the photo stopping your watch. Hands in the air, try to fake a smile, across the mat. Click stop. What does it say ? 3.17.43 Wow - you dropped fast. Hey - wait. I've just run another marathon ! And despite the last 4 miles it seemed a little easier than before. Realization. 3 mins better than just 8 weeks ago on a tougher course and with a very limited training program. On cue knee starts to lock up. That's ok - sorry. I'll look after you now. Promise. Medal, photo, find checked bag. Warm clothes. Not bad. I'm in the Goldilocks club.

So that was my race. Better than I was expecting. I still know I can do better. I need to get a handle on those last 4 or 5 miles. I don't think the bonk is carbs related. I do a good job loading, and if anything think I take too much before and during the race. At the end I was very dehydrated - the same as I'd been at Chicago. I think that's probably more the culprit. That, and the limited training I'd been able to do this cycle. Still - lots of positives, and lots of lessons I can apply for my next race.

CIM was a decent race. The course wasn't the most exciting, but the finish is nice downtown. If the weather had been a little warmer and the wind hadn't been so strong it would have been a lot more 'enjoyable'. I doubt I'll go back, but if you're thinking about it and it fits your timing - I would definitely recommend it.

After the race I hobbled back to the hotel, checked out, then went to the post race FE at the Pyramid. Met some of the California folks. Then headed to the airport. Our flight was delayed several hours due to snow in Denver. I finally got home a little after 9pm and didn't get to bed until midnight. A long day, but a fairly successful day. I felt a lot better about it than I had after Chicago.

Training, Taping, Tapering, Thanks Giving and a Trot...

2009-11-29T09:12:00.000-07:00

Just catching up the last few weeks.

On November 14th the plan called for a 17 miler. I was anxious to see how the exercises were helping my knee.

For the first 5 or 6 miles, everything was great. No pain. But then around 8 miles I started to feel it again. I run a loop so have the option at 9 miles to turn for home, or to keep going. After stopping and stretching, I reluctantly turned for home. The pain was minor, but I didn't want to risk it. With 3 weeks to go to CIM, not the confidence boost I was hoping for.

Looking at my running log, the start of the knee pain coincided with a new pair of running shoes. The kayano 15s had been my 3rd pair in a row, and had checked out okay on the slow-mo video, but still - it seemed a little too much of a coincidence. That afternoon I went back to the running store, got a refund on my orthotics (they'd come with a 4 week guarantee), and used that money towards a new pair of kayano 16s. It may just be mental, but if it helped - I was all for it. Worst case I had 2 pairs of shoes I could rotate.

Sunday off, I went back to treadmill running on Monday. The shoes felt great, and so did the knee. I'd get off every mile or so and do one of the stretches the physio had given me for a few seconds. I ran 6 miles Monday, 6 on Tuesday and even managed a double on Wednesday (6 in the morning, and 6 in the evening), and another 5 on Thursday. If I didn't have a marathon in a few weeks, I wouldn't have been pushing so hard, but I was feeling no pain.

Then at the weekend I tried another test outside. I adapted the plan to run 17 miles again. This time it was a lot better. For the first 8 miles I didn't feel a thing. At 8 I had to stop at some lights, so used the break to lie down and stretch. Then I ran another 3, and then stopped again to stretch. I did that 3 times in total. Either my knee was getting better, or the stretching was 'fixing' things each time. I ran the 17 miles, and ran them pretty quickly. Partly the exuberance of getting out side with minimal pain, and also because I was foolishly trying to make up for lost time and training, but I ran them @ 7.38 pace. I know, I know - not smart, but for me it was a big test. With a marathon in 2 weeks, if I couldn't get through 17 miles at a pace that was 20 seconds / mile slower than I hoped to run in the real thing, then I should be thinking about dropping out. I iced the knee afterwards.

The next day the knee was a little tender so I took the day off - in fact to be safe I took 4 consecutive rest days. Then it was Thanksgiving Day (and my 41st birthday !) and time for the 4 mile Turkey Trot in Wash Park. The anniversary of my first race last year.

The weather was great - forecast to be close to 70 later in the day, it was in the 50s at 10:15am as we lined up. I'd met 4CHI - Phil - and his brother before the race. I thought I was fairly close to the start line, but when the gun went off I had to spend a good minute weaving through the joggers. 10,000 runners were estimated although many unofficial. I didn't have much of a plan - my ideal was to get under 25.52 - the time for the AA wave in the Bolder Boulder, but with the limited training and knee issues - I didn't want to push it too hard. I tried to maintain a 6.28 pace to get there, and was successful for 3 of the 4 miles. For some reason the 3rd mile came in at 6.40. I didn't feel bad - perhaps just not concentrating. So I finished in 26.07 - nearly 4 minutes faster than the year before, and enough to place me 9th out of 322 in my AG. The best news - no knee pain at all.

The next day it was a little tender again. I'm seeing a pattern here. No issues on the day, but a little sore the next. I did go for a very gentle recovery run and met another runner on the trail from out of town needing directions. I ran with him for a few miles and we chatted about Boston. Immediate common ground - one of the great things about the sport.

The next morning, on a whim I logged into the 'injury section' of the runners world board. I looked for anyone with advice for my minor knee issue. And found it in bunches ! My injury is also known as 'runners knee'. There was a lot of advice from others who'd had it and beaten it. There was also some great information on how to tape it. I learned about the McConnell method and found a video on youtube that showed me how to do it myself. I hadn't planned on running that day, but taped my knee and went for a half mile jog to see how it felt. Amazing ! No pain - nothing. Just a few pieces of tape to pull the knee cap back in line, and it felt good as new. I ended up running close to 7 miles and would have run further if we hadn't had plans.

Finding this taping method was perhaps the final piece of the puzzle. I'll rest and take things easy this next week, and then tape the knee on race day. The advice from the boards very much mirrored what the doctor and physio had said. Rest on it's own likely won't help - I need to stretch the IT band and strengthen the quad. I'll spend much of my December doing that so hopefully I'm good to go in January. The taping is a little bit like a safety blanket - giving me the piece of mind I needed, and also preventing further inflamation. The tape is literally doing what the stretching and muscle strengthening will do - pull the knee cap back to the correct positioning, so the beauty of it is that it's not masking the pain - it's preventing it.

Patella Femoral Syndrome

2009-11-14T08:40:00.001-07:00

So that's what's going on in my left knee. A minor case of patella femoral syndrome. My IT band on the outer side of my left leg is tight, so it pulls the knee cap slightly over that way. That leads to additional rubbing of cartilage on cartilage, and the pain I've felt.

Just backing up a few days. I took most of last week off running. I'd gone to Runners Roost to have my new shoes checked out on the slow-mo video. They'd said they were fine, but the sales lady took literally 2 seconds to tell me that. I took a drive up to Road Runner Sports in Thornton for a second opinion. I tried on several new pairs of shoes but with so few miles on my current ones, and with them getting the thumbs up there too, I decided to stick with my kayano 15s. I did get some custom insoles made to help distribute the foot strike more evenly across the foot.

I went for a very easy 3 mile jog Saturday and felt pretty good, so decided to attempt the longest run on the CIM training plan - a 22 miler on Sunday. It was partly a test. If I couldn't get through a good portion of it, then I'd consider canceling my December marathon. Things started off well - far better than the week before. The plan was to run around 8 min/mile pace, which is my marathon goal pace + 40 seconds. About 5 miles in I could feel some tightness in the knee but it was very minor. Still, it was constantly on my mind. I tried different running styles - standing tall, leaning forwarders a little, exaggerating the heal strike on the left foot, all to see if I could get any cues of how to help. After 10 miles I could feel a little pain so started thinking about calling it a day. I decided to run one more mile to the half way point where I'd left some gatorade. I'd stop and take inventory. So that's what I did. I stopped for less than 30 seconds to switch out bottles (I use a lower back carrying sleeve). I stretched my leg and rubbed the knee cap and started back up. No pain. Nothing. I figured it would come back in a mile or two, but it didn't. So I kept running. The next 'bail' point was 17 miles - that's where the loop I follow gives me the chance to turn towards home. No need - I felt fine, so I kept going. My pace for the first 21 miles was 7.48 min/miles. For the last mile, wanting to practice for a race, I picked it up and ran a 7.21, so overall 7.47 average. Faster than I'd intended, but best of all - my knee felt fine.

Monday was a rest day, and I could feel some tightness in my legs and knees - not unusual following a 22 miler. Tuesday it was much better, but I decided to take another day off to be safe. I'd casually chatted with a doctor at the running store but decided to book an official appointment with my doctor for Wednesday. That morning I almost canceled because everything felt fine, but went anyway. That's when I learned it was a minor case of patella femoral syndrome. He sent me upstairs to the physio, also a runner, who gave me some exercises to loosen the IT band and strengthen the quads to counteract. He also offered to tape my leg the Friday before the race which would help.

I was very glad I went. Knowing that it wasn't a bone on bone issue, and something that was very fixable made me feel great. I took Wednesday off, and then ran a gentle 10K on the treadmill Thursday to minimize impact. I iced the knee straight afterwards. It felt great, but it's normally the next morning where I can feel it. Nope - I woke up and couldn't, so ran another 6 miler on the treadmill Friday. Again - everything good. Very encouraging. CIM is literally 3 weeks away, so the taper is beginning.

While things appear to be slowly getting back to normal, it definitely messed up my training schedule for CIM. No track, no fast or tempo runs, lots of rest days, just easy and long miles. The weekly mileage has been around 25-30 instead of 60-70, and that with the majority in the single long run. My expectations now center more on just completing it at a reasonable pace, chalking up marathon number 2. Gone are the goals of the sub 3.10 time that I'd been harboring. Those will still be there another day.

After 70 degree temps this week which I missed either with rest days or treadmill running, today it's cold. It snowed last night and there's a bigger storm due in this afternoon. Today was meant to be speed work, which I don't want to risk yet, so I'll switch things around and do my long run for the week - 17 miles - today, and likely take a rest day tomorrow. The Broncos have an early game anyway so that works out.

Just over 3 weeks to CIM, and then the rest of December off...

One Year In

2009-11-03T07:42:00.006-07:00

It's November already. How time flies. It was the realization of turning 40 last November which spurred me back to running. Reaching the one year point got me thinking about how far I've come and the mistakes that I've made.

My first runs were last October. I've kept track of everything in a spreadsheet. Last November I ran 52 miles, almost all on the treadmill. I ran my first race - the 4 mile Turkey Trot in Wash Park on November 27th. I'd hoped to run below 30 minutes, but was just a few seconds over that. While intuitively I'd known it would be harder to run on pavement than a treadmill, that was the first tangible evidence I had. This year I hope to run that same race again with the goal to run below 25.52 to qualify for the AA wave in next year's Bolder Boulder, so more than a minute per mile faster.

Last October I was 183 lbs. Now I'm 153 lbs. Since the summer of 2008 I've actually lost close to 40 lbs.

Back then I didn't have much of an idea about training plans. I'd basically go and run 30 minutes on the treadmill, 3 times a week. As I was able to run further and faster I'd basically just up the distance, but still try to run close to the fastest pace I could go. It wasn't until after I'd run my first half marathon in May that I looked into creating a more detailed training plan for the Chicago marathon in October. I looked at several plans online and came up with one that I thought might work, varying mileage through the week with an increasing mileage long run each weekend. Even then I had no idea about different paces. I thought that by running a fast pace for all my training - including the long runs - was the best way to prepare. What benefit could jogging slowly possibly do ?

Since last November I steadily increased my mileage. December was my first 100 mile month. I was amazed that I'd run that far in a month. The weight was falling off - 4 or 5 lbs a month. For my New Year's resolution I set a goal to run 1000 miles for 2009. I figured it would take me the year. I reached it by the start of August. From January to May I averaged 120 miles / month. In June as I started my Chicago plan, I increased the mileage. 150 in June, 170 in July. 205 in August. My first 200 mile month. September and October dropped a little as I had to taper for, and then run the marathon, but I still averaged 170 miles / month. Again - mostly all at or close to full speed.

I can't completely knock the approach. It did get me a BQ at the first attempt, but now reading the Pfitzinger plan, and getting advice from more experienced runners, I've realized I've been doing a number of things very wrong. It's surprising that I didn't get injured much during the year.

Unfortunately that luck seems to have run out. The past 10 days I've been getting knee pain during and after most runs. Nothing too bad. It'll hurt for a few minutes, then stop. A few hours after the run it's as if nothing had happened, but it's something I need to shake. It's definitely impacting my running.

In hindsight I probably shouldn't have signed up to CIM so soon. I should have taken a month off giving my body time to recover with just some gentle training, then slowly got back to it.

Still - I did sign up for it, and with the money all spent I'm going to see how things go over the next few weeks. I've decided to stop training this week and take 3 or 4 days off. Then I'll try a gentle jog Saturday. If I don't experience any pain I'll run my long run on Sunday, again at a slow pace. That's the longest run before CIM, so I'd then be beginning a gradual taper anyway. If the pain doesn't stop - then I will. I signed up for CIM wanting to beat my Chicago time, but I'm realistic to know that pushing myself for it could set me back for future races.

I don't want to over dramatize this - having experienced knee pain last year and worked through it, I'm confident that a little R&R will help fix things and that I'll be able to go ahead with my second marathon of the year. I may adjust my expectations, but that's okay. I went to the running store earlier and had a custom support added to my shoe. With the slow-motion video analysis of my running gait they told me everything looked good, which makes me feel more confident that rest is all I need. I've already got the fitness base, so taking a few days off really shouldn't have much of an impact.

Moving forwards, however - I'm going to have to drastically change the way I train. While I'll likely increase the mileage to 60 - 70 miles / week, those miles will be run much smarter. A combination of long runs at a slower pace (marathon pace + 40 to 80 seconds per mile), recovery runs at an even slower pace, tempo runs at half-marathon pace, some repeat sprints at varying distances, and perhaps even some cross training and a few races. I've read blogs of other runners on the Boston runners world boards and have seen that similar plans have lead to huge improvements. I'm not sure if I'll see the kinds of gains that they have, but if I can get a little faster and avoid the injuries, then that's fine by me. I'm at an age where runners typically see a decline. A 35-39 year old needs to run 3.15 to qualify for Boston. A 40 - 44 year old needs 3.20. At 45 that time drops to 3.30, reflecting what appears to be a steep decline in running performance. Who says life begins at 40 ?!! :)

Still. A year into this, I'm very glad I got back to running. I love my level of fitness. I'm very happy with the weight loss and the way I feel. I'm proud to have achieved the Boston qualifying time at the first attempt. I also realize there's still a long way to go and hopefully some improvement to be had.

Just 6 weeks 'till raceday...

2009-10-25T08:49:00.003-06:00

After much deliberating, I chose CIM. The California International Marathon on December 6th in Sacramento.

Air miles get me there and I found a cheap hotel and car hire deal. Unlike Chicago where I flew in a couple of days early and then took an extra day before coming home - this is much more of a 'business trip'. I arrive at 2pm the afternoon before the race. I'll get the car and drive straight to the expo, pick up my chip and bib, then go to the hotel. There's a FE that night which I may attend, although more likely I'll probably just relax at the hotel.

The course itself is point to point, so I'll drive to the finish line early on race day, hopefully find a parking spot, and then take one of the buses to the start line. The start is at 7am and is meant to be an undulating course back into the center of Sacramento. If all goes well I'll pick up the car and be back at the hotel around 11am. There's time for a short rest, and then off to the airport for a 3pm flight back to Denver. I did notice there's a Denny's next to the hotel so I'll likely stop in there for a 'healthy' brunch. It'll be interesting to see how my body feels after being cooped up on the plane so soon after a race.

December seemed a long way off, but after I booked everything I took the middle Pftiz plan (40-60 miles / week) and mapped out my training schedule. Just 6.5 weeks, so really only 3-4 weeks of actual hard training with the rest taper. I feel I'm already at a fitness level to run a decent race so this is more a maintenance and fine tuning exercise than having to push myself to another level. That I'll try next year for Boston when I do the 60+ miles / week program starting in January.

I was out at a party last night and met a couple of other runners - both having run plenty more marathons than me and both were trying hard to qualify for Boston. Makes me realize that even though I think I can run a little faster, getting in on my first attempt was still pretty special. Not that it matters now - that's done, I've now got to get ready for Sacramento.

Over the summer when I was training for Chicago, my biggest concern was the heat - I've got the opposite issue today. I'm writing this on a Sunday morning just before heading out on a long run. 21 miles are called for. It's 35F outside with a strong wind and snow in the air. At least I won't overheat... And to think. This time last week for the Denver marathon we hit 85 degrees. Fall in Colorado.

Denver Marathon

2009-10-21T07:56:00.008-06:00

Ok - that title's a bit misleading. It should really be Denver Half Marathon.

After Chicago it took me a couple of days to get my legs back under me. It still hurt to walk downstairs on the Tuesday, so I dismissed thoughts of running in Denver the next weekend. On the Wednesday things weren't quite so stiff so I went for a fairly easy 5 mile jog. At least that was the intention. It felt great. I picked up the pace each mile and finished with a huge smile on my face. Thoughts of another race started to creep back. That said - there's a big difference between a 5 mile jog, and running in a half or full marathon race. I didn't want to just jog the race itself - I'd at least want to be semi-competitive. I decided to run again Thursday and this time push things a little harder. If I started to fade I reasoned, then clearly I wasn't ready. Quite the opposite. I ran well - finishing strong on a 6 mile hilly loop at work at around 7.10 min/mile pace.

I still wasn't sure, but decided to take a rest day Friday and check out the marathon expo at lunch. Big mistake. Once I got in there and felt the energy from the other runners my entry was a foregone conclusion. Still - I didn't sign up Friday, figuring I could fool my mind into not caring so I could at least sleep well Friday night. It worked. The best night of sleep for over 3 weeks.

I sought advice from friends and other runners and finally decided to sign up for the half marathon. I went to the expo to sign up for it but agonized for several minutes over which box to check - the half or the full. Remembering the pain of the last few miles in Chicago, surely my body hadn't recovered fully and I'd just be opening myself up for more of the same. Reluctantly I checked the box for the half marathon.

Race day Sunday - up at 4:30am. I took my scooter down and parked a couple of blocks from the start / finish. Gotta love the local race. Off came the license plate, now a 50cc vespa - legally parked on a bike rack. I stood at the 7 min/mile pace sign in the start area and chatted with Bruce from the gym at work in my trash bag porto potty. The weather was great. Temps in the high 40s, with the sun rising into a cloudless sky. 80+ degrees were called for, but not until long after the race was done. A far cry from the week before in Chicago. At 7am we were off.

I didn't have high expectations. I figured I should take the first mile slowly, then try to get around a 7 min/mile pace and see how things went. My PR at Georgetown had been at that speed so I reasoned that in the unlikely event I could maintain it, then a PR might be in order. I didn't want to get to the end of the race with too much left, but just 7 days after a full marathon I didn't want to suddenly run out of steam half way round. First mile 7.13, then as we ran down into Lodo I picked things up a little (6.52). Early in the race I was running on feel, ready to throttle back at the first sign of distress. It didn't come. The miles ticked by (6.56, 7.07, 7.00, 7.01, 7.00) and I was feeling good. The crowds were a lot smaller than Chicago, but still much better than the Colfax race earlier in the year. The aid stations were good, and the course was interesting. I decided just a couple of miles in that I was going to run the full marathon the next year.

Round City park, then up to Cheeseman. 6.58, 7.05, 7.14 (the incline in cheeseman), 6.59. Ok - now I've run 11 miles and I'm still feeling strong. I'm not going to bonk, so time to push things a little more. 6.48, 6.42 for the last 2 miles, then the bit at the end and I crossed the line feeling great. Hardly out of breath. The easiest half marathon I've ever run (ok - I've only actually raced 3 of them - but still).

Looking at my garmin I realized it had been off. It showed 13.26 miles instead of 13.1, so the spilts I'd been using would have been slower than I thought. Instead of running close to my PR, I ended up at 1.32.25. 40 seconds slower. That's about 3 secs/mile more than it was showing. That was unfortunate because I was pacing myself very much to the watch. Given how good I felt at the end, I'm pretty sure if the watch had been accurate I could have run that little bit faster. Still - a week after Chicago, I was happy with the performance. Over 3 minutes faster than the Colfax half 5 months earlier and a much more relaxed, controlled run. Enough to place me 80th overall for men, and 96 for the whole race - out of some 4500+ racers. I even had my name in the paper the next day (listed the top 100).

After the race I met up with Bruce again, then waited to support the full finishers. With the great crowds the week before I felt it was the least I could do. I stood on the course half a mile from the finish and yelled a few 'HTFU' and cheered on the racers.

In a masochistic way, I'd been hoping to have suffered more in the race to confirm that my decision to just run the half was the right one. Unfortunately the opposite happened, which meant I'm still second guessing the decision. If there was another marathon in Colorado this season I'd have already signed up. I want to knock at least 5 minutes off my full time to get to a level that I feel more accurately reflects what I can run. I don't want to let my fitness go and then have to train myself back up, so I'm looking for one more marathon this year. As I type this I'm considering either Las Vegas, or CIM (California International Marathon) in Sacramento - both in early December. I've got the airmiles for both, and have found cheap hotels. This time it would be more of a business trip. Fly in the day before, go to the expo, sleep, race, go straight to the airport and fly home.

I've bought a book for the Pfitz training program and with a December race would get 7 or so weeks to change things up a little. The program I'd used for Chicago was cobbled together from several I'd seen on line. I'd been running my long runs at marathon pace, which I've learned isn't the smartest thing to do. I'm hoping to make a decision today. I can then shut it down for the season, before starting up again for Boston early in the new year.

BQ Baby ! (with some mixed emotions)

2009-10-13T19:26:00.002-06:00

So I did it. I qualified for Boston at my first attempt. I'm happy and proud about that. It was a goal I'd set early in the year, long before I'd even run 10K. It was the driving force behind all of my training runs. To set down a goal, work hard, and achieve it was a great accomplishment. But in the back of my mind I'm still a little disappointed. I thought - and expected - that I'd have run faster than I did.

As I'd feared, I slept badly. I was up early and left the hotel by 6am. It was bloody freezing. Literally. The temperature was 31F at that point. I'd decided not to check clothes (a decision I'd later regret) so was wearing a large trash sack over my tech shirt, shorts, arm panties and gloves. I was exhausted, but the adrenaline rush of the day was keeping me going. This solidified my decision to take the conservative approach and run with the 3.20 pace group. Just get the time I need for Boston and worry about a faster time another day. Inside I still harbored thoughts of pushing the pace a little bit more.

I was in the corral at 7am and basically hung out there, warming up, stretching - using my personal 'porto potty' (trash sack and gatorade bottle - naturally with a really wide neck). Just before 7:30 I took off the sack, left the bottle at the side of the road - with others that looked like they'd been used for the same purpose - and we were off.

It was crazy. 45,000 people running a marathon. With my garmin and the pace group I was able to hold back and not run with the hares. Even if I'd wanted to go much faster it would have been tough those first few miles with the volume of runners in the city streets. The crowds were huge, I felt good - I was finally running the marathon that I'd been promising (threatening) myself for 20+ years.

After about 4 miles as we headed out of downtown up towards the zoo I started to pick up the pace. Nothing dramatic, but enough that I left the 3.20 pace group behind. I hit the 10K in 46.22 - a 7.27 pace, so already over a minute ahead of the group. I later read that the verizon tracker was predicting a 3.15 finish. Given I was running 7.20 - 7.25 pace, I was myself thinking I was going to be 3.14 or faster. I kept it up, through Boys Town with the cheerleaders, and back downtown. I hit the half in 1.38, and 30K at 2.19. Both predicting out at 3.16. I was feeling good and in my mind was trying to decide when I'd pick up the pace - was the 20 mile mark too soon. Should I wait until 22 or 23 ? When I checked my 19th mile split I saw I'd slowed. For the first time a mile was below the 3.20 pace (7.38 min/miles). I didn't pay too much attention, but then when the 20th mile was even slower I realized I was in trouble.

Those last 6 miles were not fun. I knew I was bonking, I knew I had about 4 minutes in hand, and each mile was calculating how much I could afford to give up and still make my BQ. At mile 24 the 3.20 pace group went by. Not good. By that stage I was giving up 30 seconds / mile. I tried to force myself to hang with them, which I did for a while, and then they started pulling away. I can remember thinking about all the miles of training and pain I'd gone through and how I needed to grit it out for just 15 more minutes and it would be worth it. I stayed in touch with the group, and when I hit 25.2 I worked out I needed to be inside 8.30 for that final mile to make it. At that point I think I realized I was just going to do it. I was starting to cramp, every step was painful, but with just 8 minutes of suffering left I gritted it out and ended with a 7.50 mile, getting in 41 seconds under my BQ time.

Official time, 3.20.18.

After I crossed the line I cramped up, and was literally looking to hurl. My biggest fear as a volunteer cut off my timing chip from the shoe was that I might be sick on him ! I drank some water and that subsided, but then the cold hit. It was still in the 30s and now in just my running gear I was freezing. That's when my decision to skip the gear checked really hurt.

I hobbled towards the hotel and fortunately managed to get a lift with a bicycle taxi. He let me go up to the room to get the cash. Without that, I likely would have ended up in the medical tent.

So why the disappointment ? I'd run a 3.22 in training 5 weeks before the race, on my own, in Colorado on a hilly course, carrying my gatorade. I figured that with the race day atmosphere, the extra oxygen, the water stations etc - I should be able to knock more than 2 minutes off. I'd harbored serious thoughts of sub 3.10 (Yasso predicted 2.55 !!!), and even with my decision to go with the 3.20 pace group had felt I should run at least a 3.15.

With that said, I later heard from other members of the runners world boards who'd expected to achieve similar goals, who'd run into even worse issues and finished in far slower times. While I'm pretty sure I can run faster than that - I'm starting to realize that there are many factors that go into it. The lack of sleep, likely the very cold temps, the fact that it was my first race and I wasn't really sure of the pace / strategy I should use, all played into how things worked out. I'm proud of the way I gritted it out over the last few miles. I can only imagine how disappointed I'd have been if I finished just 42 seconds slower.

I'm going to take a few days to recover and then get out and jog a little. I've pretty much ruled out running Denver this weekend. I was clearly naive to think I could do that. I signed up for Boston today so that I could lock it in and give myself the next goal to aim for, although I may try to do another marathon before then to get the time that I feel I can do. Still - a major achievement. A BQ at the first attempt. A year ago I could barely run a mile at any sort of pace. I'm sure the disappointment will fade. It's already started to.

Marathon Eve

2009-10-10T18:38:00.001-06:00

Writing this the evening before the race from my hotel room. I hadn't planned on adding to the blog until after the marathon, but I'm needing something to do to fill the hours before I can attempt to sleep. Race kit is out, number pinned on, chip attached to shoe, clif shot gel packs ready, garmin charged, etc etc.

I'd love to be able to go to sleep now, but then I'd also love to win the lottery and I'm realistic to know that neither are going to happen. My sleep this past week has been horrendous. Despite getting a prescription of ambien from the doctor, I've still not been able to get more than 6 hours a night, and that mostly sleep drug induced so not good quality. I'm feeling very rough at the moment - at the point to where I'm convinced I'm getting a sore throat because I'm so run down. Not much I can do about it now though, and fortunately just one more tough night to go. The race starts at 7:30am, so tracking back through all the things that have to happen first, I'm going to be setting my alarm for 4:30am. I'd be amazed - and frankly ecstatic - if I managed to sleep to anywhere close to that late. My biggest concern is that the lack of sleep impacts my performance - I guess I'll know in 16 hours.

I flew into Chicago yesterday. It looked like half the plane was full of marathon runners. I tried to convince myself that was silly, but speaking to the girl next to me found she was running it - so maybe it wasn't so far fetched. I was out with a friend last night, and then this morning took the bus to the expo. Huge ! The thing was enormous. I met some friends from Chicago, and some neighbors from Denver, and was still in and out in a little over an hour. I tried to convince myself to not buy the $65 top, but with all the training for this first marathon I figured it was worth it. Back to the room attempting to nap, I eventually gave up and lay around watching college football finally heading back out for some noodles. I'm not a big pasta guy, and I'm sure every Italian Restaurant within 20 miles of downtown is fully booked anyway.

So here I am. 7:30pm. Sitting in the hotel room with just my nervous thoughts. Waiting. Tick tock... :)

The week is finally here !

2009-10-05T08:08:00.000-06:00

It often seemed this week would never get here. When I signed up for my first marathon - Chicago - on March 3rd this year, it was over 7 months away and all a bit surreal. Sure - I was spending the money, but it wasn't really going to happen - right ? I've said I should run a marathon ever since I was a boy watching the first London Marathon in 1981. Since then talk is all I've done. I've had a count down clock on my igoogle home page that started at 120+ days. I've planned my whole training and racing calendar for the year around this race and now here I am - with less than 6 days to go.

The nerves have started to get to me. Mostly at night. I've been having trouble sleeping the past week. I tried melatonin last night which actually seemed to make things worse. I've been up since 1.30am today.... so this morning I ratcheted my response up a notch and called my doctor. Still waiting to hear back, but I'm hoping I'll have a 7 day ambien prescription to get me through. Not ideal, but faced with the prospect of 3 hours of sleep a night for the next week my biggest fear is my body will be run down and I'll get sick. With the swine flu making the rounds - definitely not something I want to experience after almost a whole year of training.

I haven't posted the last few weeks - mostly because I'm in my taper and haven't felt that I've done a whole heck of a lot that warrants blogging. I ran around 40 miles the week after my last full distance training run, with a high of 13.1 on the Sunday. That run was a little more painful than I expected and I felt heavy legged. In hindsight not really surprising given I'd run 2 marathons in the previous 14 days... I was a little nervous I'd overdone things, but as I've cut back on the distance through the taper I've felt the speed and power coming back.

For sh*ts and giggles last week I decided to do a couple of slightly faster runs on courses I'd been doing for a while to get an idea of my fitness. I got my fastest time on a 5 mile loop I'd been running recently at work, and then last Saturday took on the 5 miler that I've been running at home at least once / week since the start of the year. I'd been a little concerned that my fastest time was one I'd run back in the spring and I hadn't got close to it since. True - I hadn't ever really pushed for it since, but it was something in the back of my mind. Had this training program actually added anything ? The answer Saturday was a resounding HELL YES. I took close to 40 seconds off my previous fastest time, and even felt there was some more gas in the tank. I was over a minute faster than a 5 mile race I'd done earlier in the year (Cherry Creek Sneak). Clearly the training has helped. I averaged 6.41 min/miles. It got me thinking. Once the next two weekend marathons are out of the way, I'm going to look for a 5K and try get below the 19.50 qualifying time I need for the AA wave at next years Bolder Boulder.

Yesterday was an easy 8 mile loop from home, around city park and back. After the faster run the day before I purposely held back, but still ran a reasonable 7.25 min pace.

So that brings me to the final week. As a marathon newbie I have so many questions, but fortunately my preparation and the runnersworld notice board for the Chicago race, where many others like myself - inexperienced to experienced - share knowledge, has been a great help. One tip for instance - while humorous - has definitely helped set my mind at rest for one practical concern. The corral I'm in closes it's gate 30 mins before the race stars. 30 mins ??? But I'm Captain Slackbladder. I'm going to need to go to the bathroom at least twice in the last 30 mins ! :) With 45,000 people packed in the concern was that I'd either lose my place in the corral that I'd had to earn through a half marathon in May, or run with the mental image of a full bladder. Over to the advice from the board. One great idea - wear a large trash bag to keep warm leading up to the race (something I'd done at the Georgetown to Idaho Springs half), but couple that with an empty bottle of gatorade. Voila - the privacy you need in the minutes before the race to have your own porto potty... I've heard from others that people just squat there in the corral to relieve themselves, so this approach seems relatively civil...

Not a whole lot planned for this week. Assuming I can get my sleep issue resolved, I'm hoping to get a gentle 3 miler in today. Then tomorrow the plan calls for 4 x 400m laps, with the final run - another 3 miler Wednesday. Thursday off, then Friday I catch the flight to Chicago. I'm going to do the Western Australian Carb loading method for the race so will do a short intense run Saturday morning and then fill up with carbs for the rest of the day. I'm meeting some friends for the expo, but other than that hope to hang quietly around the hotel. I'm not expecting to sleep much Saturday night (hence my desire to at least get one decent night's sleep before then !!)

The race itself is less than a mile from my hotel and starts at 7:30am. Not sure if I'll post again before that. If all goes well - I'll have finished before 11am and have a whole day in Chicago to enjoy. There's a post racerunnersworld meetup in Bucktown that I'll likely attend, dragging along some old drinking buddies. My flight is the following afternoon. From the Monday onwards I'm going to be trying to get myself back in shape for the Denver marathon on the 18th. I haven't made the final decision yet - I'll wait until I've run Chicago, but given my current level of fitness and the fact I've done back to back marathons in training - I'm leaning towards running that one too. Hopefully I've got the BQ monkey off my back and I can 'enjoy' the local race.

Ok - enough for now. Even writing about this is making me nervous.

The second 26.2 mile training run

2009-09-19T18:35:00.000-06:00

Uggh ! My training program has had me running increased long distance runs each weekend. I've been doing it in pairs, so the first weekend I ran 16 miles, and then again the next. The following weekend it was 18, and then again the next, and so on up to back to back 26 milers (since I was going that far - I had to run the extra 0.2 miles...). The whole process has been very enlightening. Typically the first week I step up to a new mileage, I've suffered over the last few miles. Then the following week - it's that much easier. I'm very glad I've gone all the way up to the full distance. I can't imagine having run just 20 or 22 miles in training, and then having to go through the pain of the extra 4 or 6 miles in the real thing. Now that I've completed my 2 full marathon distance training runs, the distance doesn't concern me.

Back to my initial thought. Uggh ! Last weekend I ran my first 26.2 miler. The weather was perfect. Overcast, temps in the 50s. I left out several bottles of gatorade on the course, and set up my ipod to keep me entertained. I maintained a 7.44 pace the whole way, finishing in a little over 3 hours 22. My BQ time is 3 hours 20, so I was very happy with this effort. The furthest I've ever gone. Running on my own, in hilly Colorado, and not even pushing myself as hard as I felt I could go. I was already starting to plan my sub 3.10 true marathon... That brings me to today's run. The second 26.2 miler. I slept well and went out a little faster. I hit the half at exactly 1.40 - so well on track for the 3.20.59 for Boston. I was still on pace at 20 miles and then it all fell to pieces. Bonk. The last 6 miles were well over a minute slower than I'd been running. I finished in 3.27. I'm pretty sure the back to back marathons in a week were to blame, although it may have been the warmer temps, or just a bad day for me. Still - I can take many positives from the experience. I wanted to stop and walk, but I didn't let myself. The bloody quote from Lance Armstrong was constantly in my mind 'pain is temporary - quitting lasts forever'. Nice one Lance. But I did grit and bear through, so now feel that I've perhaps experienced the worst that can happen and know that I can conquer it - albeit bloody slowly...

And now for one of the nicest words in the world. Taper.

Quick Intro

2009-09-17T13:27:00.000-06:00

I grew up in England. I was always a decent runner. Never the fastest, but usually in the upper percentiles. I firstly ran track, and then moved to cross country. I wanted to run the London Marathon when I hit 21. I signed up, got in, but then got injured in training and didn't go through with it. Ever since then I've always thought I needed to run one. I started working in London, then got transferred to Chicago, and finally moved to Denver. Life took over and other than a few well meaning attempts to start running again, I pretty much became a lazy blob. Then I turned 40 and decided I'd run out of excuses for not running a marathon. I started training, slowly at first, entered a few races, and have basically spent 2009 getting myself ready for Chicago on October 11th. My goal is to BQ at the first attempt. As I've done more and more, I've realized I can push myself further and further and feel good doing it - well - maybe not actually while doing it, but afterward. I'm now thinking of running the Denver marathon the weekend after Chicago as well, and looking to try some of the more demanding races next year. Mt Evans ascent, Pike's Peak, and perhaps a smaller ultra. We'll see... talk is cheap.