The Next Step

Just ran an easy 5 mile recovery run before leaving on a trip to Washington, DC.  Felt good and ran real easy.  Nothing special.  I have a lot of meetings etc this week but with the cut back for the taper should be able to stay on schedule.  I am anxious about getting the long range forecast for the marathon.  Hopefully it will be favorable.

40:45

Washington, DC.  It was cool this morning (34) but not windy so felt pretty good.  My legs were kind of heavy today and I didn't feel very fresh.  I just took it easy but I did 4 x hill sprints toward the end.  I did feel a little better toward the end of the run.  I am going to try to get a MP run in tomorrow if schedule allows.

56:05

Springfield, VA.  Today I did a MP run just based on feel.  I didn't know mile markers so didn't have a way to know my pace just tried to run something that felt comfortably hard.  I started out easy and then started picking up the pace.  I felt good throughout the run and probably ran faster than MP for about 3 of the miles toward the end.  As I was running through a neighborhood I saw a deer with a baby deer.  They were just walking through someones lawn.  They didn't get spooked as I ran by.  I was probably only about 20 feet from them.  Pretty weird for surburbs of DC.  I probably need to take it easy the next few days as I taper for the marathon.  Tomorrow I will be able to get the 10 day forecast so I am anxious to see that.  A few days before doesn't look too good.

 1:16:04 (7:04 avg)

Springfield, VA.  It was nice this morning (42) with some light wind.  I just ran an easy 6 miles. My legs were a little tired from yesterday's MP run but otherwise felt pretty good.  Heading back home tonight and taking the day off tomorrow so really looking forward to having some time with the family.  I was able to get the advance weather forecast for the Huntsville marathon.  Right now doesn't look the best.  Showers with a low of 36 and high of 50.  Hopefully, it will get better as it gets closer to the race.  Also, going to be pretty cold the next couple of days at home but I guess what else can you expect this time of year.

48:34 (8:05 avg)

Back home today and it was 12 degrees with wind chill of 0 so I wimped out and ran on the treadmill. I ran easy for a while but then picked it to MP mostly because I was bored and needed to get finished to make a meeting. I felt good but legs still felt a little tired. Might be part of adjusting to the taper. I am planning on 13 miles tomorrow and may end up on the treadmill again. We are expecting a low of 15 with 20 to 30 mph winds. Doesn't sound like fun to me. I took the day off from work today and went Christmas shopping with my wife. We had a good time just being out together.

46:58

Not the best day for a run. It was 25, snowing and a 20 mph wind. Actually it wasn't too bad unless you were running into the wind. Luckily on my route I only had to run into the wind for about 5 miles. My legs still don't feel like they have much energy in them. It's not that I feel bad I guess I am just thinking I should feel more energized/fresh than I do. I am not running tomorrow so maybe that plus the easy week next week heading into the marathon will hopefully do the trick. I am one week out and now the weather for the marathon is looking pretty good with a low of 36 and high of 50. Hope it stays like this. I am pretty much done with the training now so I guess it is just time to see what happens.

1:43:04 (7:56 avg)

Better day for running today (32) and light wind. Today I did my last MP run before the marathon. The target was around 7:20 pace. I did a couple of miles warmup and then the MP miles. I felt pretty good and hit the splits as planned. The legs still feel a little tired for some reason but the pace felt easy. Weather for the marathon still looking good. Looks like it will be in high 30's for the start. Plan on cutting the miles back the rest of the week and may even take a day off.

59:41 (7:28 avg)

It was pouring rain this morning so just ran on the treadmill. I had an easy day planned anyway. I just ran real easy and felt pretty good. I do have a little bit of a sore throat this morning so I hope that doesn't turn into anything more serious. Plan on taking the miles down and just running easy the rest of the week. I am traveling to Huntsville on Thursday for some business meetings on Thur and Fri then the race on Sat.

49:57 (8:20 avg)

It was cool (30) and windy day today with a few snow flurries. I just did an easy 5 miles as I continue to taper for the marathon. Nothing special today but started real slow and gradually picked up the pace as I went along. I will be traveling to Huntsville tomorrow early so I am thinking about not running tomorrow and then doing a short run on Friday. The weather for the race looks great as it will probably be in the 40's for the entire race. Hope it stays the same. Also, I need to finalize my plan for the race. I have went back and forth on a couple of pace/strategies so I need to decide and commit to the plan.

40:07 (8:01 avg)

I had to get up real early for travel to Huntsville then a full day of meetings after I got there so didn't run today.  I plan on doing an easy 4 miles tomorrow.  The weather changed some but should still be good.  It will be a little colder at the start but I think it will warm up quickly. 

 I think I have committed to a plan for the race after looking over the race profile and map.  There are some late hills in the race and I want to try to finish strong so plan to go out a little easy and then seeing how I am doing around 18 miles.  I have to remember that goal is to get the BQ which is 3:20 for me so have to make sure that I don't get carried away and start out to quickly then miss the BQ.  So plan to go out around 7:30 and hopefully be able to run a negitive split. 

Huntsville, AL.  It was cool out this morning (30) but no wind.  Just did a easy 4 miles to shake out the legs before the marathon.  Also, did a few strides toward the end.  I felt good and ready to go for tomorrow.  It has cooled down  some here so probably will be in the low 30's for the start and warm up into the 40's by the finish.  A little cooler than I was hoping but still real good.  I am still thinking my best strategy is to run easy the first half and then see what I can do from there.  Both marathons I have ran I have struggled toward the end and need to make sure that I hold enough back to be able to hold my pace at the finish.  The BQ is the goal (3:20) so I will run for that time and if I feel good toward the end try to pick it up.  Would love to run a negitive split but we will see.  Main thing for me is I want to enjoy this one.  Like I said I have ran two marathons and both were a death march the last 10k so I don't want to repeat that. 

31:37

Ran the BQ and improved PR by around 20 minutes.   Short report:  Race went pretty good didn't feel my best but held a good pace most of the way.  I gave back some time the last 6 miles but not too bad.  Rolling hills were taking there toll on this flat lander.  Now I have to drive 6 hours home.  More later....

Full Report:

First of all I have to thank everyone on the blog that has given my advice and for the examples that they have set in their training. I know that I wouldn't have achieved the BQ without you.

Slept pretty good and woke up early for a light breakfast before the race. I was feeling pretty good and because I got up early didn't enjoy the waiting around to start. I was ready to get going. The weather was good with around 32 at the start, sunny with some light wind. My main goal on the race was to get the BQ and if I felt good maybe run a little faster. Taking some advice that Jeff gave me earlier to have 3 goals for the race depending on how I felt I would decide after the first few miles if I felt good enough to push it some or settle back to my main goal of just getting the BQ. Since my main goal was the BQ and a little over 7:30 pace was my BQ pace I decided to go out around this pace and see how I felt. Then if I felt good go for the other goal which was 3:15. Here is how it played out:

1st, 2nd - 14:51 (missed the first mile split, I was running real easy at this point but my legs felt flat and that concerned me. Decided at this point that I would try to run 7:30 pace and not push for anything faster. This turned out to be a great decision)

3rd - 7:18 (a little faster than I wanted but still trying to settle into the right pace)

4th - 7:29 (back on pace)

5th - 7:25

6th - 7:29

7th - 7:23

8th - 7:24

9th - 7:21 (slight downhill)

10th - 7:28 (miles 10 thru 13 were into the wind and I was mostly by myself so even though it wasn't that windy still enough to notice)

11th - 7:21

12th - 7:27

13th - 7:23

14th - 7:27

15th - 7:24

16th - 7:37 (this mile was all up hill and the biggest hill on the course)

17th - 7:41 (still running up the hill)

18th - 7:21

19th - 7:23

20th - 7:35 (starting to feel the rolling hills. Any time that I was going up I slowed down)

21st - 7:53 (probably my worst mile. There was a long gradual hill and I lost some focus here. Had to get my mind back on the target and get going again)

22nd - 7:39

23rd - 7:50 (trying to hold it together but my legs were really feeling it. Didn't have a whole lot left)

24th - 7:44 (Still struggling but starting to believe that I had the BQ if I could just keep moving)

25th - 7:56 (I wanted to push to the finish but just couldn't get the legs to move like I wanted to)

26th and .2 - 9:43 (right as I passed the mile maker I got a pretty good cramp in my left calf. I thought to myself "you gotta be kidding me." At this point I knew that I had the BQ if I could hold any kind of pace but that didn't include having to deal with a cramp in the leg or it getting so bad that I would be forced to walk. Luckily I slowed down a little and after about a minute or 2 it went away. After that I tried to pick it back up to the finish but didn't want to get the cramp again so just held it together to the finish)

I was happy to get the BQ and the 20 minute PR especially on a day that I didn't feel I had my best stuff. I felt like I did a good job holding back for the half of the race because at that point I could have pushed it harder and I am sure that I would have paid for it later. This is also the first time that I felt like I held it together pretty good to the finish. My pace did fall off over the last 6 miles but it wasn't real bad. I am still unsure about this whole marathon thing. I feel like I should be able to do better than I do especially based on shorter distance races that I have run. But the good thing is I have ran 3 marathons and been faster in each one and for someone my age I guess that has to be considered success.

The 6 hour drive home by myself wasn't too much fun but I did get to call a lot of friends and family to tell them about the race. But the stop at DQ for the Reese's peanut butter cup blizzard was pretty nice.

After 3 days off from running I finally did an easy run today. I came out of the marathon in pretty good shape. My left calf was sore probably from where it cramped up at the end. It is still a little sore today but felt ok running on it. Otherwise just some usual soreness in the thighs. I took it real easy today. We had about an inch of ice last night so stayed in on the treadmill today. It was good to get moving again.

Over the last 3 days I have been thinking about where to go from here. I have been trying to decide if I should continue to run some marathons or to take some time and focus on shorter races like halfs and 10ks. I do feel that my strength is in the middle distance races as opposed to the marathon. I have thought about spending the next 6 months really focusing on improving my time for the half and 10k but keeping the mileage up while I do this so that I could come back and try to run a faster marathon in the fall. I still think that someday I can run a sub 3 marathon but it is clear after this last marathon that I still have a ways to go and it probably won't happen in the spring. The only reason for running a spring marathon would be to run Boston since several others on the blog are running it and that would be fun but not sure it will help me get closer to my goals. I am going to be taking it pretty easy the next couple of weeks to fully recover from all of this marathon training so I have some time to think about. I would appreciate any thoughts that others have.

The kids were out of school today because of the ice and wife was doing some shopping so I stayed inside and ran on the treadmill. Felt better today than yesterday but still just took it easy. I can still feel the marathon in the legs. I don't have much zip right now.

40:08

Pouring rain and cold out this morning so ran an easy 4 on the treadmill. I am staying in recovery mode and just taking it easy. We are going out of town today to visit our families for Christmas so I am going to take off the next two days and then start back again Mon. I will pick things up a bit next week but it will still be a recovery week. I had planned on having two real easy weeks after the marathon and this is a good time of the year to have to down time with all of the Christmas activities. Feeling better each day and starting to look forward to running hard again. That is a good sign.

32:08

Back home from a weekend visiting the family for Christmas. Last week was definitely a rest week with a grand total of 13 miles. This week plan to get back to running every day (except Christmas) and then next week should be back to normal running. Today it was very cold (-1) and windy so stayed inside on the treadmill. I am really itching to get outside and looks like it will be better tomorrow so hopefully I can get out. Felt good today and ran easy. Increased the pace as I get along.

47:27 (7:55 avg)

We had another ice storm today. I was going out to get the mail and slipped and fell on the ice. Landed on my right hip which didn't feel the best. Thought it would be ok so about an hour later started running on the treadmill but it was hurting pretty bad so cut the run short and iced it. It was swelled up into a nice sized knot. I will probably end up with a bruise but I think it will be ok. Hopefully can get in a full run tomorrow. Luckily I am in rest mode anyway so no big set back on the training. I will definitely be more careful the rest of the winter. It didn't look that bad out but a layer of ice mixed in with some rain made it really slick. A great night to stay home play games and watch movies with the kids. I am glad I have the Christmas shopping done.

The hip was still sore and swollen today. I tried running some on the treadmill but only went about a 1/4 of mile since the hip was hurting. I don't want to do anything stupid at this point so just decided to take it easy today and tomorrow then be ready to go again on Friday. We have a lot of family activities going anyway. We are making a gingerbread house, baking cookies, going to our churches Christmas eve service then afterward will go around looking at Christmas lights. After that will try to get the kids to sleep at a decent hour to be ready for Christmas. This is definitely a great family time!

I hope everyone has a great Christmas!!

I finally got back outside again. It was 36 with drizzle but felt great to get outside. Santa was good to me since my wife got me a Garmin watch. It was great to try it out as well. I found out my standard 8 mile run is 8.04 miles. Glad it is a little long since I would have felt like I was cheating if I had found out it was short. My hip felt better today but was probably good that I took a couple of days off. It swelled up pretty good and I have a dark bruise about the size of a football on my hip. It felt fine running and should be back to normal in a few days. The legs felt great today but I guess that shouldn't be a surprise since I have been resting so much. Looking forward to getting back on schedule though.

Christmas was great for our family. I feel truly blessed with our family. I have a great wife and two great kids. We had a great time playing games watching movies and checking out our new stuff. It was also a great time to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas and we really enjoyed Christmas eve candle light communion service, reading the Christmas story together and each of us shared what we were going to give of our self to God during the next year. I hope everyone had a great Christmas!

1:04:28 (8:04 avg)

It was an unseasonably warm day (60) and very windy. Just did an easy run today. I felt a little stiff/tight getting started. Probably because I haven't ran much lately and did the 8 miles on the road yesterday. I was hoping to go longer but my run was the only thing standing between my teenage daughter and the mall. I had promised to take her and a friend this morning so cut the run off at 8. Next week I will try to get back to a normal week of somewhere around 60 miles. Also, will be deciding what I want to do next year so I can get my training structured depending on the distance that I will focus on.

63:14 (7:54 avg)

After two very easy recovery weeks where I only ran 13 and 25 miles I hope to get back on track this week. It was good having the down time and good to let the body recover after a long stretch of marathon training. I now really feel the itch to get going again. Today was a nice morning (30) with some wind. I felt good and ran easy the whole way. I will probably add some MP runs this week but probably won't start real training again until next week. This week just want to get back to a normal mileage week and then take it from there. Another thing that I have to get back on track is my diet. I have been eating way too much junk over the holidays but this is the only time of year I do it so hopefully not too bad. I should be able to get the diet back on track after all the New Year festivities are over.

64:47 (8:06 avg)

It was a pretty nice day (35) but windy. When I started out today I felt good from the start and just ran the pace by feel. I didn't push hard but just gradually picked up the pace and it was one of those days where everything felt easy. I felt relaxed and controlled the whole time. Maybe my legs are starting to come back and the rest/recovery. I was tempted to run longer since I had the time but I am trying to be conservative and not over do the comeback from recovery.

1:17:24 (7:41 avg)

Cold (24) and very windy today. Just did an easy run but had to run about half of the run into the wind so made it harder and much colder. Felt pretty good today but just took it easy.

57:14 (8:11 avg)

Before jumping into the New Year with plans and goals I wanted to take a look back at 2008 to see what went right and what I can improve upon.

First the highlights:

1. I ran 2527 miles this year which blows away my previous best year by over 700 miles. I also logged most miles for a week and most miles for a month. The funny thing about this is that in the spring I was very inconsistent with most of my months logging less than 150 miles per month. If I can stay consistent for a whole year 3000 miles might happen next year.

2. I had three racing goals for 2008. Qualify for Boston, break 1:30 for a half and break 40 minutes for a 10k. I accomplished two of these goals and might have got the third but didn’t run a 10k all year to even have a shot at sub 40. Getting the BQ was a big accomplishment for me. I have never thought of myself as a marathoner so to train for this and achieve it gave me great satisfaction. It did however leave me hungry for more. I still don’t think I have ran my best in the marathon and hope to give it a better shot in 2009. Breaking 1:30 for the half was huge for me. Coming into this year I had ran 5 half marathons in the 1:30’s and really wanted to get under 1:30. Finally getting this showed me what is possible with hard work. It also gives me a lot of hope since I ran this 3 weeks after the Chicago marathon and without any focused half training.

3. My training was much more consistent. I got off to a good start in Jan and then really feel off in Feb, Mar, Apr and May. In June I got serious and from that point stayed very consistent for the rest of the year. My fall racing results came off of only about 5 months of serious training so I am hopeful that if I keep consistent throughout 2009 I will see better results.

Disappointments:

1. I already mentioned this earlier but I can’t go several months with inconsistent training and expect good results. This has been a pattern in my running for several years and hopefully 2009 I can make it different.

2. Chicago marathon. I really pumped myself up for this race and it turned out to be a huge letdown. The weather was not the best but I also made many mistakes in the race. I did however learn a lot from this race. First, never under estimate the weather and make adjustments for it. Second, you can’t make up for lack of specific training in the marathon. I went into Chicago with not enough MP training runs and it really showed up in the race. I was much better prepared for Huntsville.

3. Lack of racing. I really enjoy racing and running different distances. I only ran 5 races in 2008. I think racing prepares you to race better so you need to do it more often to achieve better results. This is something that I want to do more of in 2009.

4. Lack of faster paced training. Because of an inconsistent base I was not able to switch into faster paced training. Now that I have a decent base I hope that I can start working more on race specific speed workouts.

So all in all I am very happy with my running in 2008 and feel that I have built a good foundation that I can improve on. Hope everyone has a Happy New Year!!