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.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Denver Marathon
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.
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.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
BQ Baby ! (with some mixed emotions)
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.
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.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Marathon Eve
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... :)
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... :)
Monday, October 5, 2009
The week is finally here !
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 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.
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