Of Mice and Marathons

AM: 11.75 miles total w/ 10k race in 35:52. 30 second certified PR.

A good race for me. Wanted sub 35:30, but I just couldn't get the pace down. This is actually the first time I've run an honest sub-36 (my old PR was a short course I'm pretty sure). So it's a legit certified PR. I'll take it. Wanted to run faster but that's the game we play isn't it? Warmer than I thought. 70-72 at the start, 75 or so at the finish. I gave it a pretty hard effort today. 

I'll post a report later. Going to swim in the ocean. 

2.5 up/6.2 race/30 minute barefoot cool down

RACE REPORT

I always seem to get confused on race morning which way the start line is. Last year I thought I was near the high school giving me a 3 mile warmup but I was right next to the start line. This year I was basically right behind it. I warmed up on a flat section of road that work nicely. Ran 2.5 miles with a few strides.

I was planning to open in the low 5:40s given the slight downhill at the start. I hugged the inside corner trying not to trip anyone as it was a little crowded but not bad. I felt very good in the first mile, almost like it was too easy but I knew that the temperature was rising into the mid-70s. I did my best to focus and try not to monkey with my watch too much. I also did my best to keep my pace up, which I did okay with, trying to use the downhills.

I felt like I was working around mile 3-4 but not dying. I felt like the downhills gave me some extra boost through here and I started running one of the miles around 5:25-5:32 but knew that I wouldn't be able to hold that and I was digging a bit too close to vo2 max. The last helpful downhill is just before mile 5 going into Smuggler's Cove (I think that's the name). You hit the lowest portion of the course and the tree line opens up on the ocean (great view but I never notice it during the race).

The last mile features a few hills that aren't terrible but they will slow you and I have come to believe if you can hold pace here you probably ran too slow in the opening (or are an elite who is racing for place). The worst part is the turn into the park at the top of the hills. It's not quite 180 degrees, but the course narrows to a paved pedestrian path and there is a short steep uphill that also turns at the same time and it stings a bit.

I was running about 6:20-6:30 for a time in the last mile and I didn't go into the hills with too much speed. I knew I was losing sub-36 through here, but once I got to the park (about a half mile to go) and got over the last hump I picked it up, running 6:02 for mile 6. I was really working in mile 6. I think I was doing some serious cheek flaring and grimacing (I had a slight onset of side stitches).

I waited to kick a little because I couldn't see the finish line. As it turns out I was already picking it up without realizing it. When I was at mile 6 I saw 34:50 on the clock, knowing last year I kicked in 1:04 (1:08 the year before) and had a few seconds in the bnk for net time. A tall skinny fella passed me (I passed him around mile 5-6), but I beleive I blew by him pretty seriously when I saw the finish and gave it another gear once I hit the grass. I felt like I didn't kick very hard but I was under 5:00 pace, kicking in just under 62 seconds. I think I should have picked it up sooner and kicked harder, but I didn't dog it by any means. Had I needed to fend someone off and if I were not blowing by people I could have grabbed another gear.

I hit the line and was quite gassed. I did not recover as quickly as I sometimes do, but that was good.

Turned off my GPS and started to cool down barefoot on the rather dead and dry grass.

The rich chocolatey goodness: 5:41, 5:48, 5:44, 5:47, 5:47, 6:02, 1:02 (~4:50-4:55 pace). Ran the course at 6.22, which was nice given my relative difficulty with tangents even on point-to-point course :-)

I'm realizing the advances in the 10k are incremental from here and today is something to be pleased with. I'm not a 10k person and I didn't do anything really 10k specific, other than trying to get some track stuff in and several 5ks. This is not to say that I don't have work to do.

Officially 16 weeks to the Philadelphia Marathon. I'll work on staying consistent, getting my mileage up a touch with regular long runs. I'll try to run a half marathon this fall around the same pace that I ran today. 75 minutes would be great, but again small chunks are good at this point and for the most part I've decided on the mindset of going into key races with PRs in mind. I can't just knock 60 seconds of my 10k time or 3-6 minutes in the half like I used to.

Cheers.

PM: Off.

AM: 6.25 miles w/ Megan.

HR 130. Felt good despite some terrible eating and drinking choices. Megan was on the move today. She asked me to speed up to 10k pace at the end so I switched my pace on and we picked it up. She was impressed.

Lunch: 7.5 miles. HR 145.

The weather in Maine has been great. Lower 80s and dry.

PM: 6 miles. HR 131. 5 miles with Megan, then 1 mile barefoot on the tar running back and forth. I upped the ante from the grass. Road was pretty much rock free.

AM: Off. Going to DEW Animal Kingdom. It's basically a redneck zoo, but very cool. The owners have a profound passion for critters.

PM: 7 miles. HR 161. 1 mile easy (9:00), then 5 steady @ 6:30 average over somewhat rolling course, 1 mile (~9:15)

Just a short workout to clear the grumpy care bear cloud hanging over my head. Too early for a workout after a key race but not much of a workout. Massively dehydrated and I ate about a dozen peanut butter snickers before the run. Guts sloshing everywhere. Effort was high. I got a side stitch during my short cool down. Pretty strong indication of bad dehydration.

Splits: 6:28, 6:37, 6:28, 6:23, 6:36

AM: Off. Family time. 

PM: 6.25 miles. HR 131.

Pretty much a down week at this point. That's okay. Long tempo on Saturday for the Mayor's Cup. Plan is to run progressively at ~marathon pace.

Off. Travel.

AM/Lunch: 8.25 miles. HR 154. Did some strides in the middle.

PM: Off. Decided to take the afternoon off and get some fluids in and get back on track from vacation/down week

+ stretching (very late)

AM: Mayor's Cup 10 Miler - 13.36 total. 1 up, 15k steady state (HR 174), 3 mile barefoot cool down.

I decided to give this one a race report since it was technically a race and although I wasn't really racing for time or place I ran a little harder than I planned. Our team wasn't going to win eveything but I didn't want to go into it with that mindset.

This was the inagural Mayor's Cup and the Wanderers thought I was the best candidate for the 10 miler on the roads. I planned to run a 10 mile progression at roughly marathon pace, starting at just under 6:40 and cutting down. My diet and drinking at my parents' was full on vacation mode and I knew I wasn't going to run roughly 6-minute pace on this course. However, I still wanted to put in an effort and not embarrass myself (even though we aren't a competitive team).

All events had the same start and finish line, which proved near disastrous for my finish (more on that later.) The race started on the historic Bellmont Plateau, so I got to start and finish on part of the course. We took off roughly on time and had some decently dry air for the morning, beautiful for August. The first part is on grass and uphill on some rough sections, so I started sensibly and worked from there. Some decent downhills toward the end of the first mile into the second, then onto and out and back section of Martin Luther King Drive. Below, the slow splits and high heartrate at the end are the hills on the way back up.

I knew I wasn't going to be in contention for the win so I focused on running at an effort slightly higher than my 8 miler aerobic efforts I usually do. I began picking off some guys and working on a pack of ladies who died at various points, while only passing the last lady mere seconds from the finish line. The hills on the way back up hurt a good bit but then I was able to start a decent kick along the grass finish. RIGHT THEN THE 5 MILE RACE TOOK OFF and I ran through a crowd of people who knocked into the woman in front of me. I assured them that I would not stop and I didn't.

I knew the course was short beginning around mile 5 (and what's a kilometer between friends?) but I wasn't worried. I fully expected it.

The rich chocolatey goodness with heart rate (I wanted some early marathon training data to see my progression):

6:30 (160), 5:59 (170), 6:25 (172), 6:21 (174), 6:27 (175), 6:15 (177), 6:21 (178), 6:56 (179), 7:18 (180), 1:51 (181, ~5:15 pace); HR Avg 174

We had a BBQ and beers after. Pretty cool event that was quite well run given its complexity.

PM: Off.

Lunch: 8.25 miles.

Atypically sore today. Hamstrings and glutes. I could feel them already yesterday afternoon. Felt fine running. One of the best recovery runs I've had in some time. Just watched people, zoned out, and ran slow.

PM: 4.25 miles. HR 142.

+ Stretching and core (very late)

Lunch: Treadmill - 8 miles. HR 148.

Did some 10k pace pickups and I can still feel the soreness from Saturday, so I will jog while the guys run at the track tomorrow. I will do my workout when the soreness leaves. No sense getting stupid 16 weeks from a marathon. ("Vacation weight, oh why, you punish me . . .")

PM: 5 miles.

Figured out I got a nice extra chunk of change coming to me for a new course I'm teaching. It won't solve all financial woes, but it's a pretty huge relief. Summers are tough for non-full-time academics.
 

AM: Off.

PM: 6 miles with Megan.

Late: rolling, stretching, and core

AM: 9.25 miles. Did a good set of strides in the middle. RHR 44.

PM: 5 miles. HR 140.

Late: Stretching and core.

AM: Track Workout - 10 miles total. 

Had a good workout today with a decent break in the weather. Favorable conditions in the mid to upper 70s but nice and dry with a dew point just under 60 (heavenly).

I planned on a mile breakdown workout, then I thought a version of the Michigan might be "fun" (with the tempo miles closer to fast marathon pace or steady state), then I thought I should be getting into more LT stuff, but I told myself just 2-3 more faster track sessions given that I have ~11 weeks until my half. I definitely want to be more into marathon training but I think working on my speed for just a few more sessions might be helpful as I begin to mix in aerobic tempos, long runs, and LT workouts.

Anyway . . .

1600 (400), 2 x 800 (200), 4 x 400 (200)

5:24.4, 2:40.8, 2:40.7, 76.5, 76.7, 76.6, 74.2

Cooled down to 10 miles

PM: 4 miles easy with Megan. HR 131.

+ Stretching (late)

AM: Trails - 8.25 miles. HR 133. Pleasant run.

PM: 5 miles.

PM: Trails - 10.25 miles. HR 146. 1000+ feet of gain.

Hot, dry, and dusty. Around 90 degrees.

Evening: Stretching and core

PM: 16 miles, averaged 8:17. HR 158.

I didn't get out until about 1:00PM and I paid for it. 90+ degrees with low humidity and tolerable dew point. Kept most of it in the shade of Forbidden Drive. Tried to pick it up to a somewhat moderate pace once I hit the 8 mile turn around. I felt decent, then I would hit a small roller and die. Managed 7:50-7:35 for about 5 miles, then did some strides, which caused me to start bonking. I dragged myself up Germantown Hill (~300 over 1.2 miles) and keep going to hit 16. 

I stayed up until 1 or so, so for 13-14 hours I only had a banana. Not sure why I didn't just eat breakfast when I got up. My goal today was to just get through 15-16 miles and get a baseline. It usually doesn't take me too many long runs until I am running 20 @ 7:30 or faster, so I am not concerned about running slower than 8:00 pace.

+ Stretching and core (late)

AM: Treadmill - 4 miles.

HR monitor wasn't reading correctly; it was all over the place. I likely will stop using it again. I hate paying good money for things that are absolute crap.

PM: Trails - 8 miles. Hot. Quite a bit of climbing and working around downed trees. Pretty tired.

+ Stretching and core (late)

AM: 8.25 miles. Sloggy.

PM: 5 miles.

AM: Flourtown Tempo Loop - 11 miles, averaged 7:42 w/ 5-mile marathon effort tempo

Nasty one this morning so I just decided to keep the effort sensible and short. Felt pretty crappy given that it was 7:30 in the morning and already in the mid-70s with 90% humidity and 73 dew point. I was going to run on the treadmill (which actually works okay for me for aerobic stuff) but decided on the roads.

5-mile tempo @ 6:40 average: 6:36, 6:40, 6:40, 6:42, 6:40

If the conditions were so crappy I would be ticked, but I just wanted to get in something and move on. Cooler weather will come and I will be knocking these out for 8 miles at sub-6:30 pace and hopefully getting down to 6:15 average this fall.

2.75 mile cool down

PM: 5 miles.

+ Stretching and core (late)

AM: 6.25 miles. Pretty gross out.

PM: 7.25 miles. Nice, light rain.

Decided to skip the trail run as it would have been much more of a time comittment and I got on a pretty good writing roll.

AM: 5 miles. Did some strides.

PM: 8 miles. Beautiful weather.

+ Core and stretching (very late)

AM: Trails - 8 miles.

Right calf tightened up twice for just a few seconds. Felt fine otherwise. This is something new, but I am hoping it was just a cramp. I'll keep an eye on it.

PM: 4 miles with Megan. Did just a couple short, but fast strides in the parking lot to loosen up and test my calf. Felt fine.

I think this is my second highest week ever, though I've had numerous weeks in the low 90s (averaged 91 miles for 10 weeks or so fall 2013). I'm not sure I'll continue with numbers just under 100, but I'll try to keep the weeks just at or just below 90 as has been my practice for the last two marathons. We will see how I feel, how workouts go, and what the schedule allows. Doubling 6 days instead of 4-5 makes quite a difference.

AM: NW Philly Long Run Route - 20 miles, averaged 8:10

Slow, never felt fantastic. Comfortable conditions. A little warm (75-80), but again comfortable. Calf spoke up a few times but never really hurt or caused me to stop. It kind of feels like that point just before a muscle goes in to full tighten up mode but never quite gets there. It does concern me even though it hasn't become a problem yet.

Fairly hilly route with 1300 feet of gain, which I think puts me at a PR for the week with almost 7000 feet of gain.

+ Stretching (late)

AM: 7 miles slow. Calf felt fine, thankfully.

PM: 5 miles. Calf felt fine.

First day teaching at Philadelphia University. I picked up a class there and as it turns out I have 7 students in the class. If I wasn't working at the poverty level I would feel guilty about it, but it gives me a ton of time to work with students individually.

AM: 8 miles. Did some strides in the middle.

PM: 5 miles.

+ Stretching and core (late)

AM: 13 miles. 6 x 1600 on the track with 400 recoveries

This was a good workout for me. The weather was favorable and below 70 to start (not sure when the last run below even 75 was). I warmed up 3.75 feeling a bit sluggish but kind of knowing that I just needed some time to loosen up. I've been getting up much earlier than I did all summer so sometimes I am still half asleep on my warm up.

My goal was to run about 5:50-5:40 or roughly 10k pace, which I figured would feel much earier than 10k effort at this point. I decided to do these on the track and try to mirror the paces I did for my sharpening workout about 4 weeks ago but with a slower cutdown. Worked beautifully. I felt quite relaxed and my breathing was good. Legs weren't snappy, but that's what the first just-barely-sub-100-mile week will do to you the week before. I might have been too conservative at the start and I finish well, running hard but not trying to kill it. I took 400 recovies to make things simple but I tried to keep the recovery pace somewhat honest in ~2:10 average when I would typically do 1:45-2:00.

5:51.8, 5:50.6, 5:48.4, 5:46.1, 5:41.5, 5:38.5 (5:48 converted mile pace average)

Cooled down to 13.

PM: 4 miles easy. Beautiful evening.

In the last year or so I have discovered Greek yogurt. Over the last two months I discover coffee Greek yougurt. Sometimes for dessert I have a scoop of peanut butter then I eat yougurt, coffee or otherwise. Tonight I thought, "Viola!" I put the peanut butter in the coffee yogurt and it is amazing. #yourewelcome

AM: 8.5 miles easy. RHR 38.

I ran a flat section several times and only gained 56 feet, which I enjoyed the mundaneness off. That's a new PR for low gain in Philadelphia. Even my 4-5 mile afternoon routes generally have 200-350. Most 7-9 mile loops 500-700.

PM: 5 miles easy.

+ stretching and core (late)

AM: 13 miles. Aerobic progression through 10 miles (9:05-6:38 pace). Did a few strides in the last mile. RHR 39/40

Fairly tired. Just a short easy run tomorrow, then long run on Sunday with a slight decrease in mileage next week, likely just back to ~85 miles. I just don't want to get ahead of myself too early.

PM: 7.25 miles.

+ Stretching and core (late)

AM/Lunch: 20 miles, averaged 7:54

Just under 80 degrees or so when I started and 88 degrees when I finished. No wonder I bonked so hard a mile 18. I decided to run back and forth on Forbidden Drive on the dirt and under the shade. It was a good move today. Averaged about 7:45 through 18 and lost a lot of time climbing up the hill and dragging my carcass the last two miles. Felt better than last week and clicked of some moderatish miles around 7:30-7:15 once I got going without consciously picking up the pace.

AM: 7.25 miles slow. RHR 42.

PM: 5 miles slow.

+ Stretching (late)