Run Derneld, Run!

3x(1 mile at 6:48/mi-ish pace w/ 2 minute jog). Did some strides afterward (6.25). Didn't seem like too crazy of a workout, but now I'm more sore than usual. Going to take it pretty easy. Recovery run with Ellie in the evening (3.28)

5.24 miles easy at lunch time.

2.01 miles easy with Ellie before dinner.

4.37 miles on the treadmill at work (nasty weather outside, not worth risking getting sick, which everyone is doing here). Did 1 minute on/1 off/2 on/2 off/3 on/ 3 off/2 on/2 off/1 on/ 1 off at goal marathon pace (7:30/mi). Then a few 20 sec burts @ 6:55/mi, 6:40/mi, 6:18/mi, 6:00/mi. 

2 miles easy with Ellie before dinner. The weather was quite threatening. 

No running today. Busy half day of work before I hurry home and drive down to SLC. Awesome dinner with cousins of chicken and dumplings. Not ideal for 2 nights before a marathon, but my aunt makes undeniable delicious meals. I'm not worried. I still like a good amout of protein two nights before, and this had quite a bit.

Just an easy run while staying at my grandmother's place. Went around temple square, the conference center, and some of the mall too. Feeling ready for tomorrow!

This race went better than expected. I have been feeling pretty awesome about this. The day before the race went pretty well, even with all the shenanigans involved with visiting in-laws that tend to conflict with good race preparation. They involved things like an undisclosed amount homemade caramel popcorn. For dinner we had a big simple salad with the normal iceberg lettuce, but also some spinach mixed in. As I've learned from past marathons, I've found that I haven't yet eaten too much fiber the day before a race. Also had pretty cliche things like several rolls that Cheyenne made for me, and some traditional cut oats (not sure exactly what they are, since they didn't taste like steel-cut oats or rolled oats). The morning started at 3:45am. Prepared myself some more oatmeal, and this time mixed in some grape jelly (I was kind of winging it at this point, just eating something that seemed suitable). Getting to the start line, CLIF had a a booth with gels and mini CLIF bars. I ate one of the bars, a half-banana, and drank a cup of hot chocolate. Then I sat for two hours and shivered. It was definitely colder than last year, which was a good trade-off as the race was also cooler at the end.

My goal was to go under 3:20 in this race. Since there was a 3:15 pacer, I decided that as long as I could keep him in sight, I would be keeping the needed pace. Another easy way to keep track of this was making sure my miles were close to 7:30 each, which is easy math (7:30, 15:00, 22:30, etc.). I found that except for the uphill at Veyo, keeping a 7:30 pace wasn't too bad. I was nervous that I would fade out later at that pace, but that never happened! I finished the first half in a little over 1:39, about as fast as I did the Ogden Half just last year, which was pretty exciting. Back in the SLC marathon in April, I decided to push harder at mile 19. I made the same mental decision at mile 17-18ish in this race, based on how I was feeling. I thought I had a lot left in the tank and I would regret it if I didn't try and empty the tank by the end of the race. The rest of the race was filled with so much energy. I have always held myself to 3/2 breathing in marathons, and around 23.5 I switched to 2/2 and started really hauling. It felt so good to catch a lot of people, but sadly this means I probably could've finished earlier if I kept a steadier faster pace through the beginning of the race as well. I guess I'm still learning to listen to how my body is feeling/learning what my capacity is. The last few miles I was really trying hard to get all my energy out into the race, evidenced by the splits: 7:11 7:04 6:50 6:46 6:39. It felt so good to run into a PR with my wife, daughter, father-in-law, and few other in-laws there to cheer me on. 

Things I think I did well going into this race:
1. Time - I probably averaged 9+ hours of solid running/week (70ish miles)
2. Nutrition - I have been eating a lot of fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, and grains. My family has been doing better in general at rarely eating out and trying to get a full spectrum of nutrients. Nutrition during the race also went well. It was gross having a GU stroopwafel and 3 or 4 gels within a 3 hour time frame, but it definitely was good for my endurance.
3. Good rest during race week.

Things I think I can improve for the next race:
1. Workouts - Although I've been adapting them often, I pull a lot of my workouts straight from Jack Daniels' Running Formula. I'm trying to learn about different coaching styles and figure out how to create workouts tailored to my current conditions. Any suggestions on how to get more of this knowledge would be greatly appreciated (that's right, I'm talking to all you hundreds of people who will read this).
2. Better rest throughout training cycle. I typically get about 6 hours of sleep at night, but I ride the bus for an hour to work, and another hour back, so I can usually get close to 8. I also like to read though, and the bus is a good place for that. I just need to balance between sleep and books...
3. Pacing - This problem also exists in my half marathons, but it is becoming more apparent in my full marathons. My last marathon was a 1.5 minute negative split, and this one was a 6.5 minute negative split. I'd like to balance out my pace during the race a little better. 

 

Lunch time (1.98 miles): 20 minutes of walk-running-walking alternation. Felt pretty comfortable. Some easy weights and stretching.

Before dinner with Ellie (1.2 miles): One loop around the neighborhood of the same walk-running-walking alternation.

3.1 very easy miles right after lunch.

2.32 very easy miles with Ellie before dinner.

5.47 easy miles at lunch time. Feeling pretty good. The soreness from this weekend's race is definitely fading.

2.79 with Ellie before dinner. A little further each day... :)

6.3 outside at lunch today. Chilly, but not too bad once I got moving. Feeling 95% recovered from last weekend's race.

4 miles with Ellie before dinner.

2.55 easy at lunch time. Then went inside for the treadmill because the crazy wind/windchill whimped me out. 4.5 more miles at 8min/mi. Felt like a moderate effort, but not bad.

5.1 with Ellie before dinner. Probably too cold for her now.

90 minutes of easy/moderate running on the treadmill. 6x20 sec strides towards the end. Watched the Break2 documentary by National Geographic. Eliud Kipchoge seems like a humble guy. Very inspiring. The documentary was free in the Google Play store, so you may want to check if it still is. The first real snow landed this morning. I had no idea it was going to snow, and it was quite surprising to see it when I got up this morning. 

Rest day. Did a little too much and now I have some minor inflammation in my right achilles. It happened once before, and I ignored the sensation while running and had a bad limp for a few days and a week with no running. I'm hoping that since I caught it early this time I can get back sooner. I won a free entry into the HOWLoween Half Marathon this Saturday which is at the Great Saltair. Hopefully my tendons are all in order so I can get a free race!

4 easy miles at work. Cautiously getting back on my feet after the heel flared up. 
 

2.75 with Ellie before dinner. No noteable sensations in the heel.

6.51 easy at work.

4.81 before dinner. Ellie didn't want to come with me today :( so weird.

5.93 with strides at lunch time. Getting ready for Saturday's race. This will be my first evening race. I have no idea what to expect from that difference. I guess I'll just try to read what people have suggested.

4 easy miles upon waking up (after calling about account fraud!). Not sure if I'll do any other running today. Driving down to Salt Lake City.

I am glad I did this race. I am also glad that I won the entry in a Facebook raffle instead of actually paying for it. 

This evening race starts at the Great Saltair music venue and goes on an out/back path eastward on the frontage road. I did a 1.25 mile warmup, which included running out the shore of the Great Salt Lake, which I never visited in my 4 years living in Utah. After getting significant negative splits on the last 3 big races I've done (2 marathons and one half), I decided to go out harder than I usually do. I ran alot of the race tied for first with another fellow. He brought all his water and fuel attached to him with fancy runner clothing, which probably was a good idea since the first aid station had a pack of 8oz water bottles on it that still hadn't been opened. I decided not to take the time to rip open the pack to get to the water. Considering that temperatures were pretty low, I wasn't too worried, as I'm not a big perspirator. Got an 8oz water bottle at the second aid station, which had the bottles out for an easy grab, but was not manned. Actually, the only manned aid station was the very last one I passed on the way back. The halfway point was established by a parked SUV. I was a little grumpy/relieved when I saw that I was only at 6.1 miles on my garmin when looping around the car. I wasn't too surprised, as the race didn't seem to have much organization to it, but it did make the course almost a mile short. The fellow I was racing against actually turned around in front of the SUV instead of going around, so I had to catch up to him again. Around mile 7 I made a move and kept the lead for the rest of the race. It was nice to be received at the finish line by Cheyenne and Grandma, some of my favorite people. Got my award, half a cup of hot chocolate, and then got out.

Although I enjoyed the race, I suspect that others did not. It was very dark by the time I got back, and since I was running hard I did not have a chance to get cold. Slower runners/walkers were out there for up to 3.5 hours in cool windy conditions, and in the dark. The race's website described the course as having light-up arches to mark each mile, and also said the aid stations would include water, gatorade, salty snacks, sweet snacks,  and energy gels. For the race organizers, apparently this translates to just having 8oz water bottles and little trick-or-treat type candies. Again, I had a great time, but I hope that everyone else did too.

I was happy to have averaged a 6:55/mi pace over 12.2 miles. I think I could've kept an average pace below 7:00/mi for the rest of a half marathon. I'm glad I got in another good personal benchmark like this before winter hits. Not signed up for anything until the SLC marathon next year.

6.06 easy miles at lunch time. Feeling pretty good, considering how wiped out I was an hour after Saturday's race.

4.71 easy miles before dinner. Ellie doesn't want to go running anymore. So sad :(

Easy miles at lunch. 

7.01 easy miles, with some strides towards the end, at lunch time.

5.01 before dinner, again without Ellie...

Something went wrong in my inner thigh while running today. Had to turn around and jog slowly back. Now that part of my muscle is pretty tight and uncomfortable. Darn.

Jog/walk and a little time on the elliptical at lunch time. Did some weights, chin ups, and leg lifts. 

Feeling pretty tight still tonight. Probably should just take a few days without any running.

Recovery day

6.5 easy miles, half of them on the treadmill. Cold strong winds today!

4.5 easy miles without Ellie. Seems like she is done with the stroller :-/

Easy running at work during lunch time.

Easy running on the treamill before dinner, so as not to scare the trick-or-treaters