Relentless

We should hook up once in a while for that morning run. I feel your pain brother.

Hang in there Dave. Like you mentioned you have been building a really good base the last few months and you should be fine taking a little pressure off of yourself this week. The next few weeks should be enjoyable weeks for you as you continue to prepare for Boston. I know last year I went out to Boston with the attitude to have a good time and take in the whole experience, of course once the race started I wanted to compete and I raced about as well as my training allowed. I think you have already put in a lot of good quality miles and I know as you begin to taper a little you'll still be running and training at a high level, but as you stated in your post you need to find that joy and excitement that comes from running. I know for me last year when I was training in the few weeks leading up to the marathon I would focus my attention on both the actual marathon and my game plan, but also on my travel plan and what I wanted to see and do. Having numerous things to think about helped the miles roll on by. I would assume most hardcore runners can maintain a more serious focus on their running for a longer period of time. I just know I look forward to my easy runs or days as a time to not worry so much about pace, or race goals, but more as a time to reflect, relax, and think about life. OK, I'm starting to sound like Dr. Phil and I hate the guy so I'll sign off for now. By the way, I got the job out at Hurricane Intermediate, so I will be teaching 7th grade Utah History next year.

Hi Dave,

I was just wondering what the schedule of events is for Friday and Saturday.

The 1600 is on Friday - 1st event; probably 3 heats of girls starting with two unseeded ones then the seeded fast heat. 4x800 is the last event on Friday night.

Saturday starts with the 3200 and hopefully on 2 heats.

Pre Lives

Pre is ugly!

Dave - some ideas to correct the feeling. I looked at your training in the last few months. It does not look like you were ready for anything more than 65 miles a week. You probably still are not. If I were to use one word to describe your training it would be impulsive. That word now should become steady. I suggest you follow a couple of rules below:

Monday-Friday - no days less than 8, but no days more than 12. Saturday - no more than a total of 18. Drop all track speed work for now. It only makes you tired for the true marathon training. And your speed is not what limits you right now, you can get up to the Trials qualifier with your current short distance speed. However, do your threshold tempos (3-5 miles at 5:40 pace on a flat surface), and your marathon pace tempos 10-12 miles at 6:00-6:10 pace flat. Ease off on easy runs - no faster than 7:30, if you are feeling speedy, run a mile in 5:30 to get it out of you, then run easy thinking about that mile. Make sure to get plenty of sleep, and eat qualify food - natural, lots of fruits and vegetables, do not push the limits of your body's ability to assimilate food, give it good stuff. I think with this a PR in Boston is a good possibility.

Thanks for the ideas Sasha. When I initially read "impulsive" I thought, "No. I have been pretty careful building up and really keep my workouts planned." But upon examining your ideas a little more I think what your saying is that planning needs to be looked at a little better as well as how the runs are carried out. As far as why my workouts are how they are: A major weakness in my marathoning is dying at the end, so I have implemented more long runs to counter that. I really think it is going to help. Second with speed. I think track work gives a mental toughness that one can't get anywhere else and (and this is just my thought) to be an elite marathoner, you need to be a fast 10K runner and up. You have more experience then I do, however, and I will look at implementing some changes in my workouts.

Dave - at least for me, long runs taken to an extreme (more than 22 miles) only accelerated the crash. However, consistent steady daily mileage (no less than 13 but no more than 16, with 80% of the daily distance done in one run) combined with 10-12 mile tempos at marathon pace helped mitigate the wall, even though the long runs were rarely over 18, and often only 16. I could still hang in there and run the second half OK even if I were too aggressive going out.

You are right that a fast 10 K is important for running a fast marathon. Indeed, you cannot run a marathon at a faster pace than your best 10 K. However, if it takes too much mental toughness for you to run a good 10 K, you are only pushing your 10 K further way from your marathon pace, your marathon pace does not follow. You need shorter distance training when you find yourself stuck in a rut in your tempos, or when your performance patterns start to show you are maxing out your speed. It is also helpful when you feel you have bad form.

Also, to feel a true 10 K pain, your interval needs to be at least 1.5 miles, either that, or you really need to cut down your rest. Otherwise, you end up powering through your intervals anaerobically, which trains you for the mile, and a 5 K to a certain extent, but not for longer distances.

Thanks Sasha, that's one of the things I love about the blog - Your's and others' experience is something that most of us can learn A LOT from.