I only run on days that end in a "y."

OK - pretty much last run of significance before Sunday.  Met up with the group @ the annex.  I ran with 2 other guys that are heading up to Dallas to run the half.  (BTW- have I said I am done with Texas marathons!!?  Looks like 50 degrees and rain for the Dallas people.  I think I am going to get a t-shirt made saying I am done with Texas marathons so I don't sound like a broken record! LOL.)  By contrast, CIM looks like it will be dry, low humidity, no wind, and 38 degrees at the start!  Now, if only some clouds would blow in - but you can't have it all.

Back to today, we ran the 5 mile loop on the trail with 13 x 1 minute fast / 1 minute recovery focusing on turnover.  Took it easy the first couple a MGP pace, then down to 10k pace with a couple at the end at 5k pace and the last one @ 5:22 pace.  It felt good and the legs felt pretty strong.

Then ran a cool down mile at the end. 

I spoke to the coach afterwards about pacing.  He is firmly in the negative split camp - saving energy for the end as the last few miles are super flat and it's a straight line to the finish.  He said I should aim for a 1:31 at the half.  He said if I feel like crap during the first 10 miles it is going to be a great race.  I thought this was odd and counter intuitive but he should know.

Before we left to Sacramento I had found a school with a track that was close to the hotel.  There were 5 other runners from my running group that also wanted to do the Aussie carb load plan.  We drove to the nearby track and did 1.5 miles warm up.  The track was hard packed dirt with crushed granite so it was not the best running surface.  It was a track though so I was not complaining too much.  I then ran 1000m in 3:30.  Followed this with a bottle of Gatorade Pro Prime with 82g carbs and half a bagel.  Went back to the hotel for the free breakfast and shoved some more carbs down.  I kept a fairly accurate total - over 800g carbs for entire day.

Perfect day - 40 to start - little to no wind - sunny.  I will write a full report later but I am happy with my time.  I knew sub 3 would be a big stretch.  The first 13 miles consisted of rolling hills so I ran this conservatively.  I tried to pick it up on the back half.  I managed a 2 minute negative split but could not push any more.  I am very happy though.  This is another PR - so that is 3 PRs this year.  As long as I am making progress towards a sub 3:00 I know I am doing the right training.  

RACE Report:

NOTE:  I have never had so much fun leading up to a marathon.  We went out with a big group from our running club.  It was a great time going out to eat, celebrating all of our good races, and hanging out after the race.

Training:  I pretty much followed my training plan for Iowa with a couple of tweaks here and there to experiment.  The base of my plan consists of 1 medium long run of 12-15 miles, 1 Gazelle interval session (total 12 miles inc. easy miles), and a long run @ MGP +10-30secs, some with progressive finish and some with MGP.  For a couple weeks I ran very easy at lunch on one of the Gazelle workout days to make a 17-18 mile day.  This seemed to work well and I recovered in time for next workout.  I also tried 14 mile progressive runs on Tuesdays for a couple weeks.  These were very taxing and left me a bit fatigued for Thursday’s workout.  I would run these again but spread them out throughout training and maybe run easy on Thursday.  I also ran the RFTW 10 mile race and the San Antonio half leading up to this marathon.  This disrupted my long run schedule but I think the race experience was invaluable.  I continued to use the workout pace calculator to determine interval paces as well.  I wasn’t to fanatical about mileage.  I had a couple weeks in the 70’s but most in the 60’s but did not bother with recovery weeks.   4 runs of 20 miles - all other long runs were 16-17 miles until taper. 

I did the Aussie carb load plan again and it worked well.  Around 800g of carbs on Saturday.  We drove to a local track first thing in the morning and did 1.5 easy followed by 1000m all out.  After that we immediately started the carb load.  I had a Gatorade pro Prime and bagel and then went back to the hotel for free breakfast.  I sat with a couple runners one who was shooting for 2:35 and the other 2:45.  I told them that the Ultima drink at the race did not have any carbs in it.  They said they would adjust their Gu strategy.  Out of all the positives of this race the non-carb drink – and the lack of communication about it – are the only negatives.

Race Day:

Nutrition: Up at 4 am.  I.5 bottles of Gatorade Prime Pro to get in 100g of carbs 3 hours before the race.  I did not consume any other carbs until mile 2 of the race.  I took a Vespa 35 minutes before the race and again at the half.  I don’t know if it really works or not but I have used it for my last 3 marathons and have never hit the wall. After that I had a power gel about every 4 miles.  I think I had 5 over the rest of the race. 

Strategy:  Mistake # 1 – I did not have my exact paces written down.  Coach told me to be at 1:31 at the half and try to run a 2 minute negative split.  I figured that would be a 6:57 average and that is what I tried to stay at.  However, I did not figure out what that equated to on the second half and winged it, thinking somewhere in the 6:40’s.  Next time I will know the exact paces I need to hit.

The race:  It was a gorgeous day in the low 40’s. We were picked up from our hotel in school bus and taken to the start.  Our bus driver got a bit lost but we arrived with plenty of time.  It was cold outside and they let you stay on the bus as long as needed.  You could get off and come back on, too.  The start was extremely well organized.  With about 35 minutes to go I took a Vespa CV-25.  I don’t know about this stuff but I have used it 3 times now and had good races, so I plan on keeping up the tradition.  I also take one at the half way point as well.  I had my race ready shorts on and the pockets were filled with plenty of powergels and 2 ishuffles, just in case one failed on me.   I had a long sleeve and gloves that I tossed around mile 4. I lost my sunglasses here because they were on my head.  I did not notice until around mile 14-15 when I went to put them on.   I ran the hills conservatively to save energy for the end.  I even focused on taking it easy on the downhill sections so I would not tear up my quads.  I tried to keep my overall average pace at 6:57 but I was a bit off and hit the half at 1:31:46 – MISTAKE #2 – forgetting about chip time.   At this point I was really at 1:31:30 – but thought I was almost 2 minutes behind and this was mentally discouraging.  Next time I will have total elapsed time on my watch.  I started picking it up from here and was able to hit some 6:40’s but the average pace time comes down slowly!  It felt like I was not making progress.

At mile 20 we crossed a bridge with a slight up hill and then it was flat as could be all the way into town.  This is a straight shot into downtown with old Victorian houses on both sides and large trees on both sides.  This came in handy in keeping the sun off.  It seemed like the entire last miles were covered with shade.  I tried to keep the pace up but faded every so slightly.  At 24 I felt a slight twinge in my calf.  At this point I had to make a decision – I knew I had PR’d – do I just hold on and cruise in and finish or push it and take the risk of a cramp and possibly a miserable 2 miles.  I took option 1.  I faded here but I was OK with it.  I probably left 30 seconds out there by not pushing as hard as I could have.  MISTAKE # 3 – see Mistake #2 – if I had total time I would have known I could get under 3:02.  I would have found a way to make up 16 seconds.  I know I had it in me because I ran a 6:11 pace for the last quarter.  Oh well, I don’t think a competitive runner is ever truly happy with their time. J  Still, I managed over a 5 and half minute PR over my June marathon.  Last October I ran a 3:27 in Steamtown, so to come so far in a year has been pretty amazing.  At least now I feel like I only have 2 minutes to get to a sub 3.  Well, that’s 3 marathons in one year.  And now I have to start training for Boston!  Maybe I will take a break soon. 

Splits:  1. 6:57, 2. 6:58, 3. 6:56, 4. 6:56, 5. 7:04, 6. 6:55, 7. 7:08, 8. 7:02, 9. 7:03, 10. 6:50, 11. 6:57, 12. 6:54, 13. 6:56, 14. 6:52, 15. 6:58, 16. 6:48, 17. 6:47, 18. 6:48, 19. 6:50, 20. 6:48, 21. 6:47, 22. 6:52, 23. 6:55, 24. 6:57, 25. 7:06, 26. 7:19, .27 @ 6:11.

In the end, I ended up running what most of my MGP runs were like.  Next cycle I will need to keep those training paces in the high 6:40's for a chance a sub 3, I believe.

Still in CA on business.  Nice cool evening - decided to go get some

blood flowing into the legs.  3.5 very, very easy - some on grass - 9:50

overall pace.  Calves a bit sore but other muscles coming along.

Nice cool and overcast morning - perfect for running.  Met up with Dan at Runtex this morning and did the 7 mile Town Lake trail loop.  Had a couple runners that I did not know give me a shout out for my marathon CIM marathon shirt that I was wearing. 

Feels great to be back in Austin again.

Took it very easy for the first few miles.  AP 8:30's.

I would love to break 2700 miles for the year but not sure that will happen being in recovery mode.  

In Vegas for a training class.  I thought about hitting the streets but decided since it was just 5 miles I could handle the treadmill.  8:20's-8:30s.  Ran the last .25 @ 6:55 and almost died.  I can't believe I ran 26 miles at that pace.  Seems really fast on a treadmill.  Legs still a bit tired.

Woke up early with nothing to do.  Went downstairs to the gym.  5 miles on the treadmill - 8:20s with last mile up to MGP for a bit of turn over.  Legs felt much better today compared to yesterday.  Seems like they are starting to come back to life. Followed by some core work.

The training in Vegas is a bust - heading back home today instead of wasting my time for 4 more days.  

Ah, it's nice not to be in training mode.  I woke up early this morning and it was raining pretty hard.  Normally I would have gone out but decided to go back to bed instead.

I went out during lunchtime.  There was a light drizzle and it was in the 50's.  All I had with me was a singlet but it was not too bad once I warmed up.

I ran by how my legs felt and they felt really good today.  It was a great feeling.  Ran a couple laps around the soft trail and the headed out on the road. 

7:51, 7:26, 7:26, 6:57, 7:12, 6:56, 6:50.

Met up with the CIM crowd at the annex.  We ran the 10 mile Lake Austin trail loop.  Around mile 3 I picked it up with a couple other runners who were not in recovery mode.  I felt fine until mile 8 and I had to pull back a bit.  My legs were complaining big time.  I still have a ways to go before I am fully back to normal.  

9:16, 8:42, 8:00, 7:40, 7:32, 7:15, 7:17, 7:22, 7:27, 7:39.

Up early so I went out for a recovery run.  No watch but ran a 7 mile route that I normally run.  A bit chilly but no biggie.  I saw a couple other runners that looked like they thought it was 30 degrees out or something.  I think it was around 50.  They probably thought I looked as ridiculous in a sleeveless and shorts and I thought they looked all bundled up.  

Met up with come other post CIM runners at the annex at 6 am.  We split a 2 miles as I wanted to run the 10 mile loop and they wanted to run the 7 mile loop. 

I did not have a watch so no paces.  My legs were tired initially but got a bit better around mile 7.  Maybe it was because I knew I only had 3 more to go. 

Met up with the Wed group today - first time I was able to as my wife had the day off.  We met up at Barton Springs and ran 8 easy up through the University and back down.  Afterwords we celebrated Christmas with hot coffee, cookies, hot chocolate, mimosas and homemade Kaluha. I can not think of a better glycogen replenishing meal.

Did not wear my Garmin but figure 7:40's for the later miles.

8 miles easy - 7:50's - 8:20's.  Need to take a day off, legs need some more rest.  I plan on starting back with the hard workouts after the beginning of the year.

I had an excellent deep tissue/ sports massage by a local elite guy.

URL:  http://runimal800.wordpress.com/

I guess that is how he supports himself.  His name is Kiplimo Chemirmir. He is from Kenya - his PR is 2:15 - he won the Cow Town marathon one year, and it is his cousin who won Boston this year.  Pretty amazing stuff.

I got a few tidbits from him. He runs his easy miles around 7:40-8:00 pace.  Hard days should be hard - like "why am I doing this?" hard.  Training should be hard enough to make the race less so. 

He believes in mixing things up - tempos, intervals, MGP runs.  Lots and lots of miles on soft surfaces on easy/recovery run days.  He runs Town Lake trail, the greenbelt, anything but pavement / concrete.  

He is training a group of runners to take them from 22 minute 5k to 18 minute.  They practice surging, catching up with a runner ahead, hard hills, etc.  I would like to go to a couple sessions. 

Anyway - the running community in Austin continues to amaze me.

Woke up with my internal alarm clock.  I decided to drive down to Lake Austin trail.  I did the 7 mile loop with an out and back add on down LAB.  Got something going on behind my right knee - never had pain there before but it has been bothering me for a couple of runs now.  For some reason it got better during the last 3 miles today.  8:10 AP for the run.