Practice To Suffer So Racing Becomes Easy

Afternoon Run:  I tried to get some good sleep, but Jameson had me up early.  I could hear him getting into food in the kitchen.  It's amazing how in tune certain sounds can become when sleeping if you have a 2 year old in the house!  Jen works till noon on Sat., so that makes it hard for me to get out on Sat. for hard runs without the stroller.  Knowing we had a wedding to attend tonight left me with an afternoon workout.  I've been working on speed development, but thought it might not hurt to start putting in some long runs with marathon pace/1/2 marathon pace to stay in touch with the long run fitness.  I don't plan to go over 2 hours, but somewhere between 90-120 minutes should be good enough to keep me in touch with long run fitness to do a marathon in the fall.  The trail I ran last night was nice on my aching legs.  The legs have been hurting due to that roofing job on Wed. and so I thought it would be a good idea to get back out to that trail.  I got to the trail at 2:00 and it was 90 degrees out.  I had to think of a way to protect myself from the deer flies - they ate me up last night.  I also stopped at the bike store to pick up two Hammer Gels and brought along the Hammer Endurolytes.  I don't have a hydration belt yet, so I just carried a plastic store bought water and my Hammer Gel, while throwing the Endurolytes capsules in my running shorts key pouch.  My idea to protect against the flies was a running hat worn backward with an old rag from one of my cotton t-shirts safety pinned to the bill of the hat.  The rag bounces around on the shoulders and the hat protects the top of my bald head from bites.  Oh and I get sun protection.  Just as an added assurance I sprayed myself down with OFF - that stuff can't be good for the lungs!  I took my Espresso Hammer Gel and drank an 8 oz bottle of water while driving to the trail.  I decided to try the other direction on the trail today - hoping it had more shade.  The goal was to see what I could handle for an average pace and then see how fast I could run in the last 1/3rd - sort of like a thirds progression run.  The trail is completely flat, but loose gravel.  Running slow isn't so bad on loose gravel, but running fast is a hell of a workout!  The first 3 went 7:41, 7:33, 7:22 - I could tell it was hot, but a rare dry heat for WI and I wasn't feeling too bad because it’s fairly shaded.  The legs are still sore from the roofing work, but getting better.  The next 5 miles out were 7:26, 7:19, 7:10, 7:01, 7:02.  I was sipping my water trying to conserve - hoping I brought enough.  I got to a point where the tail ended and turned onto a hilly road with no tree cover - oddly enough I ran into an English guy riding his bike and asked if he knew where the trail connected up again.  I thought it was strange to run into someone from England, because it's rare to see a foreigner in Jefferson County, WI.  He didn't really know, so I went 1 more mile and turned at 8 instead of 9.  I figured I could always add on more on the trail going the other way than run on this desert like road with minimal water.  The next two were 7:07 (took the orange flavor gel here), 6:56 for miles 8 and 9.  On the way back I was out of water by mile 10.  I decided it would be smart to run 3-4 miles at MP pace now instead of at the end because I was concerned about being too dehydrated at the end to get any leg speed going.  I also noticed the slippery gravel was starting to wear down my legs.  The next 3 miles were 6:33, 6:50 (slow here because of fumbling with key pouch to take electrolytes pills - found they were crushed, so I swallowed as much of the nasty powder as I could), 6:32 for the last mile of the tempo.  I was a good 15-20 sec. off MP pace and I felt like I was pushing very hard on the terrible footing.  The next mile was 7:54 and at this point I was questioning if I'd make it back!  Somehow I ran 7:26 for mile 15 and 7:26 for mile 16 counting down the ½ miles thinking about how much I needed water 3 miles ago.  I opted out of the extra 5 minutes of running for 2 hours.  Good thing I did because I was getting very nauseous trying to get the truck door open for my Hammer Recoverite and water.  I walked over to a picnic table and sat down.  I was very close to throwing up.  I walked over to the bathroom put my head under the cold water fountain and drank some more water.  I sat down another 5 minutes, but had to get going to get ready for the wedding.  I was a little scared that I'd pass out so, I gave myself another 5 minutes of stretching and drove home.  Within an hour of finishing my Hammer Recoverite, eating a banana, and drinking some water I was recovered.  Today, I found out what I'm made of.  This was my 2nd week of 85 miles and I’ve never been at this mileage doing these kinds of workouts.  This is all uncharted territory for me, so I'm cautiously discovering my limits.  I'm recovering quicker and getting faster, but I still feel I'm a long way from where I was before my 9 year hiatus from running in terms of VO2 max, but ahead in terms of long run mental strength and probably fitness (although I never really reached my potential in distances over 1500 meter during my college years).   I'm praying my body will keep giving me more or at least allow me to maintain this mileage and quality because I feel very good mentally.  Even for my first two marathons Vegas and Grandma’s I averaged 43 miles per week to run 3:07 in Vegas and 55 miles per week for Grandma’s 2:50:49 (w/a 55 sec. bathroom stop).  I’ve got to believe if I maintain an average of 70 or more I’ll crack the 2:40 mark this fall if I find a fast course and get lucky with the weather.  I might be shooting to break 2:30 at Boston next spring if I can hold this kind of training.  My last marathon was a 17 minute PR, so why should I think I can’t take another 10 minutes off?   I hope I’m training right and I hope I’m not getting too far ahead of myself with these thoughts.   One thing is for sure, I need to get my racing sched. figured out if I’m going to try another marathon this fall.  I’m thinking about the Monumental Nov. 5^th – I like the later date and it’s within reasonable driving distance.