Slowly Getting Faster

10 easy around town. 

Slow track day today with MVH. I was going for 6x800 at MP but managed to get 4 before I was spent. I'm done until Saturday I think.

the worst part about not running on a day when I'm not sick and other wise feel good is that I have all this extra energy and no appropriate outlet. The people sitting around me are going to shun me before the day is over.

When I signed up for this race, back in October of last year with the Runners Series, my plan was to try and run it in 3:05:00 so I could qualify for Boston.  In retrospect, I can see that was a pretty ambitious goal.  I have run 3 marathons in my life prior to this one.  Every one of them has been St. George. My fastest time came in 2006 when I ran a 3:38:09. So, essentially I wanted to take 33 minutes off my best time.  This was my A goal. 

 In June I realized that the A goal was out.  I sprained my ankle trail running and couldn't run until the first week of August. 6 weeks of no running meant there was no way I would hit 3:05 for the marathon.  Oh well, time for a plan B.  Plan B was to run a 3:20:00 or better.  I don't have a good reason for this number other than I thought it would demonstrate a greater level of fitness than I demonstrated in 2006. As a backup plan, just in case, I decided I would at least try and PR, if even by a minute. That was plan C.

 For the first time ever since I started running I actually planned what I wanted to accomplish for the splits.  I knew that the first 7 miles was downhill, that it started at an elevation higher than Salt Lake, and that I would need to save my legs for the second half of the race.  With that in mind, I decided to try and run an 8:30 pace for the first half and a 7:50-7:30 pace for the second half.  

I managed to maintain something close to that plan for about 2 miles. By mile 4 I was running much faster than planned. Mile 3 was 7:51 and mile 4 was 7:34.  I tried to correct the pace but it seemed like I wasn't moving.  Consequently, I reached the 10K split in 49:37 (7:59 per mile).  In retrospect, I think this was a substantial part of my undoing.

All the climbing over the next 5 miles resulted in my half split being 1:47:02 (8:10 pace).  By the time I hit the halfway I felt a little tired but I knew the downhill was all that was left. at mile 15 I really took the breaks off and ran a 7:12 mile.  Mile 16 was 7:14. I was cruising but it was taking a toll on my legs.  

At some point I figured that I needed to hit mile 20 in about a 2:40:00 pace in order to finish around 3:20.  Turns out that is just bad math. I actually needed to hit 20 in 2:32 but it didn't matter.  I wasn't going to make 3:20:00 either way.  I hit 20 miles just as the clock hit 2:40 and I was a couple minutes behind the gun at the start.  But at that point I had developed what felt like a pretty large blister on the bottom of the ball of my left foot.  I've never had that happen before.  Each step felt like I was stepping on bubble wrap with the added anxiety of knowing that it would probably hurt more if it popped. By mile 21 my hamstrings, both of them, as well as my quads, were getting very tight. It was all I could do to maintain a 9 minute pace. As a result, mile 22 through 26 were all at least 30 seconds to a minute slower than every mile I had run previously. The last 3 miles were brutal but I managed to keep the pace below 10 minutes.  I got a look at the clock at mile 24 and started to worry that I wouldn't even make my C goal.  That concern pushed me a little harder, but it was all I could do to make myself keep running. At mile 25.2 the clock said I had about 9 minutes to beat 3:38.  It wasn't looking good. I tried to push a little harder and as I crossed the finish line the clock hit 3:38:00.  A lady directly to the left of me collapsed about 2 feet from the finish and had to be carried across the line by her running partner and a paramedic. At least I didn't feel that bad. 

I had forgotten that I was a few minutes behind the clock due to the large number of people at the starting line.  This was a pleasant surprise when I went to the wand tent and had them give me my official time. Turns out all the pushing I did for the first 18-19 miles paid off.  I finished in 3:36:08. That's good enough for a PR by 2:01.

I learned a couple of stratigic things running this race that will be helpful in the future.  

First, stick to your splits.  Had I maintained 8:30 through the first half I think I would have had enough in my legs for the second half.

Second, drink gatorade earlier. I started drinking gatorade at mile 18 when my stomach felt sloshy.  I knew that meant I didn't have enough salt to absorb the water so I switched from water. had I done that at mile 7 or earlier I may have had enough potassium to keep my legs from cramping. 

Third, know what pace you are ready to run.  I don't know if I will pay that much attention to this in the future because, honestly, it was a ton of fun to push myself for the first 18-19, even with the pain over the last 6. But all the same, I think I could have run this at an 8:30 pace and been just fine today instead of limping and sore.

 Finally, I need another month to train.  I really feel like had I not sprained my ankle and had that extra 6 weeks I could have been ready to run a sub 3:20, if not faster.  even just another month I feel like would have made me much faster than I was. 

I think I have to run this again next year.  I really wanted my focus to start shifting to trail races more than anything else, but I feel like I have to beat this marathon.  By beat I mean run a sub 3:00:00 and get into boston. This year I learned that I can definitely do it given the right preparation.  Hopefully next year I will prove it.  

This trail doesn't have a lot of elevation gain so I thought it would be a good one to try the ankle out on.  It went well. 

I wanted to run Saturday and then again on Sunday but I helped my sister move Saturday (which meant I moved my sister while her husband stood by and watched) and I was still sore on Sunday. So today I'm officially back at it. 

I wanted to hit a trail but couldn't bring myself to get out of bed early, so I had to get an after work run in.  The easiest trail to hit was the BST from City Creek.  I took it toward the Avenue Twins but didn't actually ascend them.  I wanted to get at least 9 miles in, and when I got to the base of the twins I was only at 3.5.  So I climbed up to the trail toward black mountain and then headed in that direction.  I've never been up that section of trail before but I liked it. Temp wasn't too hot or too cold and the trail isn't too beat up yet so the run was pretty fun.  

I was amazed that the hills weren't harder than they ended up being.  I haven't run on trails since June but I have increased my weekly mileage.  I guess that has helped because I was able to run up all the hills with the exception of one stop on the steep hill up toward the twins. I think I'm going to mix in trails with my street running so I can keep my mileage high and my speed work up but still get hill training in.  Hopefully that will be a recipe for success.   

Very slow track workout.  This was supposed to be 8x800 but quickly devolved into me just jogging around the track.  I guess that's what happens when you try a early morning run on 5 hours of sleep and less than 12 hours since the last workout. 

I'm going to have a hard time making my mileage this week.  So far I've missed Wednesday and didn't go as far as I should have today. 

The BST east of City Creek is a nice run though.  A little harder today than Monday but still runnable the whole way.  

Same as yesterday. 

10 on the BST from kaysville up to the start of the climb up to chinscraper and back. It started slow and I felt sluggish but by the end I was moving pretty well. I got my pace down to 10:56 per mile from almost 13.  The trail is pretty smooth and the rolling hills keep it interesting.  I might have to make this my morning route for a while. 

I almost came face to face with a dear.  Just south of Adams canyon I heard some noise in the brush that sounded like a log or rock rolling down the hill.  I didn't stop to wait for it to fall on me, which turned out to be a good choice. A few seconds later, a mother and baby dear bounded out of the scrub oak and right across the trail where I was when I first heard the noise. They were moving so fast I doubt they would have been able to change course had I stopped. It was pretty cools to see though.  

Started late tonight.  Despite my best intentions, I've had a hard time getting out the door in the early AM since the marathon. Trail running in the dark just isn't as much fun or as fast as I want it to be. I'm guessing my elevation and my average pace because I forgot to charge my watch battery before I left for work. My run was only 6, instead of 10, because it was getting dark by the time I started and I didn't really want to run the whole thing in the dark. 

 ~11:50  avg pace. The darkness really slows a person down. 

Ever since the marathon I've found it hard to get my run in. I've determined that part of this problem is that I want to run trails but I don't really want to run them in the dark.  This means that I have to wait until daylight, which is when I have to work.  In order to get my mileage in consistently I'm going to have to revert to what I was doing for marathon training and just supplement that with trail runs on the weekend or days that I don't have to work. 

With that in mind, and new shoes on my feet, I set out this morning at 5:40 with the goal of getting 10 miles.  On the road 10 miles is pretty easy and almost nothing should deter me from that goal.  added to the small list of things that will make me cut the run short is large amounts of snowfall. It snowed quite a bit in Farmington this morning.  The good news is that it wasn't snowing very hard when I started my run, and it wasn't snowing at all in centerville. It was dumping buckets of big white flakes by the time I got back to Chase Lane though, so I cut the last 1 1/2 miles off the run so I could get out of the weather.  The cold must have made me move pretty fast too because the I did the whole 8.8 in a 8:21 pace, which is much quicker than I wanted to do it. Hopefully it wont be snowing tomorrow. 

Blah.  missed the morning alarm somehow and had to get the run in during the afternoon.  stomach wasn't really up to it and neither was my energy level.  I didn't get far before I ran out of time and had to head back.  

I have to start getting up in the morning if I'm going to keep my training consistent.  

It was tough, especially on a Saturday, but I dragged myself out of bed this morning so I could get some miles in before my daughters birthday party this afternoon. It's getting cold outside but I think that is making me run faster.  I did this same course multiple times leading up to St. George but I couldn't seem to get my pace much faster than a 9 minute mile.  In the last 3 days I've run this course 2 times and both times my pace was 8:21. And that felt slow. Maybe the key to really getting my pace down is to train through the winter so I run faster? 

 I ran to centerville and back with a quick pit stop at McDonalds to use their bathroom.  It's nice of them to have a heated restroom at the halfway point of this route.   

The plan today was to get up at 5 and get in 8-10 before work. I was stopped by my wife before I got out the door and had to postpone the run. Plan B was to get out this afternoon and hit a trail. I like the BST in City Creek but it's been getting old. I've run it a lot, especially to the east. Because I didn't have enough time to drive someplace interesting I decided to just run the BST to the west, up to Ensign peak. When I got to the place up City Creek Canyon that the trail forks and heads up to the peak I decided I would just keep going up the trail that heads up the canyon.  I have never been on this trail, despite having seen it many times. 

Turns out, the trail is pretty nice.  It's not too steep because it follows the road up the canyon, just about 20-50 feet higher on the hill. Because mountain bikers aren't allowed past the turn, most of it is smooth and some of it is semi flat. This makes it a great trail to get some off road speed work in. Because I was exploring on the trip up the trail, the speed work idea didn't occur to me until I was headed back down. The only downside to this trail is that it isn't very long.  3.3 miles from start to end. It stops at an outhouse a few miles up the canyon.  I was hoping it went all the way to the top.

I decided to try the Lone Peaks again today.  My plantar fascia problem has prevented me from wearing Altra for a while.  The Lone Peaks felt pretty good today though.  I'll have to start breaking them out more for these runs.

Avg Pace:10:01 per mile; Elevation Gain: 734. 

Same route as yesterday. I wanted to see if I could do it faster, now that I no longer need to explore it. I was almost 4 minutes faster today with an average pace of 9:31, down from 10:01 yesterday. My miles going up were still slower than I would like, but only one of them was above a 10 minute mile. Also, I managed to take a minute off my time on both mile 2 & 3 which I think is probably a good sign.  I plan to hit this trail more often so I can get my trail speed legs up to snuff.