Wheeler Farm Loops

Ran the Wildcat Half Marathon up in Huntsville this morning as my last long workout before the TOU Marathon. Obviously running an all-out half 2 weeks out from the marathon wouldn't be advisable (and I wasn't willing to do that), especially on the heels of a very hard effort last weekend. My plan was to come through 10 miles in 54-55 minutes (a little slower than goal MP) and then pick it up over the last 5K. Objective #2 was to score some circuit points.

Woke up to a thunderstorm and it raining the whole drive up, but the weather cleared in time for the race. In fact, the sun came out right when we started and it got very warm and humid. We all looked like we had jumped in a pool at the finish line... soaked in sweat! We were all pretty gross.

For a very small race (only 70 runners!), the top end of the race was loaded. Off the start we had a good sized pack - myself, Brett Hales, Riley, Ken, Ben, and Nate. We started off at a nice comfortable effort (5:21, 5:18) until Ben decided to string it out in the 3rd mile with a 5:09. That splintered the group and after we hit mile 4 (5:18) Brett glided away the rest of us and he was quickly long gone. Fine with me - he's not doing the circuit anyways! :-)

The 5th mile (5:30) cut across a field on a jeep trail and even featured a stream crossing! Then we were back on the road heading towards Huntsville again. Mile 6 was 5:24. I had been running ~5-10 meters behind Riley for this section and that would be the case until almost 10 miles. Miles 7-8-9-10 were 5:30, 5:30, 5:27, 5:28. I was just trying to keep a nice even "marathon effort." Hit the 10 mile mark in 53:55 (~5:23/mi avg), just about exactly what I wanted and had planned.

I passed Riley just before 10 miles and then picked up the pace a bit for the last couple miles - 5:14, 5:13, 5:13, and :34 for the last tenth. My energy seemed to go up during the last 4-5 miles of the race - it took me a while to get loose and in a good rhythm this morning. Final time of 1:10:12 which was right in the effort level range I was looking for (1:10-1:11).

The course was great - long straightaways, rolling hills - a very honest course. The elevation profile reminded me a lot of Duluth (except 5000 feet higher!).

I'm pleased with the results this morning... I didn't exactly feel like a million bucks going into this one, so it was a good simulation of the second half of the marathon. I'm happy with myself for sticking to my race plan and not trying to go with Brett (he would have killed me anyways). Discipline will be important in the big race two weeks from now. 

Oh the way home, MarkP (who carpooled up with us) treated us to some soft serve cones. Perfect way to cap off the morning!

Andrea took a bunch more photos - Wildcat Half Marathon

[AM - 17 miles. 2 up, race, 2 down]

PM - 3 miles easy to shakeout the legs. Andrea biked w/ me and we talked about my taper / workout plan for the next week. 

AM - 8 miles. Horsepark loops w/ Andrea (on her bike). Felt a lot better than last Sunday... I think that means I ran at the right effort level yesterday.

Bowling - 124, 160, 154 = 437. Very pleased with this result! 14 marks in the last 2 games... locked in and picked up the spares.

PM - 7 miles easy, wandering around the neighborhoods, while Andrea rollerbladed along. We must have looked really cool.

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The only time I pay attention to politics is when something related to sports comes up. I've found the Paul Ryan marathon lie to be pretty amusing. The moral of the story is that when the Letsrun message board guys want to get to the bottom of something, they will (ie. Kip Litton). Runner's World is getting credit for breaking the story but it was really this thread that did it.

Striders' blog says that they'll try to get the Wildcat 1/2 on the circuit again next year. I think that is excellent news. 

AM - 15 miles. Met Fritz, Scott, Brandon, and Matt at Jeremy Ranch. It was a really nice morning up there... anytime you can still run shirtless in Park City in September, that's a bonus! And it also means you didn't start too early... we met at 9:30 which was perfect - I was able to get back to back nights of double digit sleep hours. We chatted away on the run and the miles flew by... ended up averaging close to 6:45 pace which is probably one of the faster runs we've done up there. ZERO cows out this morning, but lots of dead snakes... weird. Thanks for the great company this morning guys. Looking forward to some more runs on that road this fall. 

PM - 4.2 miles w/ Andrea on rollerblade patrol.

Spent the day relaxing by the pool. Finished off two pretty good books this weekend - Dream Team and A Bolt from the Blue. Those Teton climbing rangers are amazing dudes... so is Larry Bird.

AM - 9 miles up to work.

PM - 7.2 miles home, Directissimo.

AM - 9.5 miles. The 10 days out last chance workout... in the past I've usually done 2 x 5 miles for this one... I love that workout but I tend to get carried away with it and really hammer the second rep. In my quest to not do any impressive workouts leading up to TOU, this time around I decided to only run a 10K tempo and save it for next weekend (and the 5K this Saturday in Layton). Warmed up 2 miles and then got it rolling on my "home" loop - 10K in 32:05 (Avg = 5:10/mi, Splits - 5:17, 5:17, 5:14, 5:07, 5:05, 5:02, 1:02). 10 minutes of light jogging for a cooldown... no mileage padding :-)

Andrea has been working on getting the kinks out of my hips/hamstrings/etc over the past couple days... its working because my stride felt nice and loose during the slightly quicker miles towards the end. I'll give her 80% of the credit and the other 20% has to go to the shoes...

Yesterday my secret weapons for TOU arrived. Saucony has a new version of the Fastwitch (6) coming out next March/April, but they were able to get me a pair in time for the marathon. I wore them for the workout this morning. They are lighter than the FT5 (they are using seamless flexfilm for the upper) and the fit is even better. A very smooth feeling shoe. Looking forward to racing in these. Plus, they are outrageously bright orange. The pictures don't even do them justice. Colors are very important to me!

PM - 4.5 miles, easy jogging around the neighborhood. Did a bunch of other shoe-related errands after work - went to Dicks and educated their staff on the differences b/w the Ride and Guide models, and then dropped off a whole bunch of shoes at the SL Running Company for them to donate to Africa or wherever else they send them.

AM - 10 miles up to work.

PM - 4.5 miles down to SHP with the last 2 miles in 10:21 (5:12, 5:09). Pretty easy effort since its downhill... hopefully that will feel even easier in another week.

AM - 7 miles, easy horsepark loops.

My back has felt a little tweaked the past two days. Not sure exactly what brought that on, but I'm hoping it goes away soon! 

Gotta love Usain Bolt - "I said, 'Coach, I really need two months off.’ And he said, 'Do you do one hundred miles a week?’ And I said, 'No I don’t. I don’t even do fifty miles in a year.’ I think I’ll be getting six weeks." 

PM - 3 miles. Easy loop around the block w/ Andrea. She was actually running, not biking or rollerblading! :-)

Did the week before the big race tune-up 5K this morning up in Layton. This is a good race - well-organized, started on time, accurate course, no waiting around for awards, etc. I'd highly recommend it.

Warmed up 2.5 miles w/ Andrea, then changed into my flats, did some strides, etc. I didn't have anybody go with me off the start - so it was a solo effort. Came through the first mile a little quick (4:37), but it was gradually downhill to that point. The second mile has a hill with a sharp incline at the end of it that is a bit of a burner, but then you get a little downhill afterwards to recover. I split 5:11 for mile 2, then 4:55 for the 3rd mile, and 32 for the last tenth... finished in 15:17. The ever-so-gradual uphill over the last half-mile really made me wish I was running on a flat track :-)

 

I'm happy with the results... last October I ran 15:09 on the track a week before running 1:05:45 at Long Beach. Today's time was a little slower, but on a course with a few hills so I'd say the performance was just as good, if not a bit better. I'm not in peak 5K shape by any means (simply haven't done the workouts for shorter races) - but it would be interesting to see what I could do right now with someone to race against all the way. Its just so hard (impossible for me) to run to my max in a 5K/10K when I don't have someone to push me (or chase). In any case, its all about the marathon right now, and I'm feeling pretty confident about next weekend.

Cooled down by running the course again w/ Andrea, Allie, James, and Andrew. Fun morning... I won a one-year membership to Gold's Gym for my efforts... haha, don't think I'll be using that anytime soon (or ever)! 

I should also note that Andrea ran over 5 miles today, Allie won the 5K, and James didn't die - so overall it was a great day for the JAJA crew! :-) 

Andrea was the photographer again (Layton Classic Photo Album)...

PM - 3 miles up at Alta. MarkP was kind enough to give us his hotel voucher for the Peruvian Dash since he was out pacing the Wasatch 100 and couldn't make it up here. We went for a hike up to Cecret Lake while everyone was running the 8K, then came back for the BBQ and a long time in the hot tubs. I went for a short run up to Grizzly Gulch to shake out my legs after the hike. I just love running up here. Definitely owe Mark big time for hooking us up!

AM - 5 miles. Ran 4 miles w/ Andrea at Alta, then added on an extra mile. Hot tubbing before and after to loosen up. We pretty much had the entire Peruvian Lodge to ourselves - there weren't even any employees up there overnight as far as we could tell. Total honor system lodging. Andrea kicked my butt in ping pong and then we sat out on the tram deck and had lunch at Snowbird before the Oktoberfest festivities kicked into high gear. Nice to be up in the mountains this weekend. Also very nice to be running w/ Andrea again!!!

PM - 5.5 miles w/ the rollerblade queen. Easiest day ever. 

Cecret Lake yesterday...

Not a bad place to be hanging out this weekend...

AM - 8 miles up to work. I was thinking about how at this time last year I was just getting started w/ my fall marathon buildup... this year I'm already done :-)

PM - 4.5 miles down to SHP where Andrea picked me up. 

I read two good articles yesterday that I think tie together nicely. The first is Alex Hutchinson's blog on the "Lactate Myth" ... then perhaps even more interesting is Steve Magness' thoughts on the purpose of cooldowns. Some interesting ideas in that one. Definitely worth checking these out.

AM - 8 miles up to work.

PM - 4.5 miles down to SHP w/ 2 miles in 10:14 (5:09, 5:05). Got a ride home from the taper patrol.

AM - 5.3 miles. Should have worn gloves... cold out!

PM - 3.5 miles w/ Andrea (aka RLRBLDR). 

AM - 5.5 miles. First 2.5 easy, then ran the Home Depot mile in 5:19, couple minutes easy, then a 1/4 mile in 76 seconds. Long sleeve + gloves for the first time in a long time. 

PM - 2.5 miles. Easy shakeout w/ Andrea on the blades, as usual. 

AM - 4 miles w/ Andrea.

Some pre-marathon thoughts... I like to do this while things are still objective in my head...

I'm taking a break (of unknown duration) from 26.2 after the race tomorrow. This will be my 4th marathon in 15 months - not a crazy amount by any means (especially considering how quickly I can recover), but I don't need to run another one later this fall. If I run fast, I'll want to run another marathon to legitimize the performance on a flat course... and if I bomb again, I'll want to redeem myself. So no matter what I know there is a part of me that's going to want to jump right back into marathon training... I'm better off just saying I'm NOT running another marathon this year and then I'm publicly accountable :-) 

Around the beginning of August I got on the CIM bandwagon and starting looking past TOU for a couple of reasons: 1) I didn't really know if I'd round into shape to run fast by mid-September and didn't want to force the issue, and 2) At the time it seemed like Andrea was back on track for a late fall marathon, and I thought it would be fun to train for the same thing as her (like we did last year). Well, she is obviously not running a marathon anytime soon, and my fitness (which was always there but just needed some fine-tuning) has transformed into solid racing form over the past 5-6 weeks. I feel confident about my ability to run a good marathon tomorrow, despite my somewhat unstructured approach to training this summer. 

This was a different marathon buildup than the last couple - big(ger) mileage weeks, no shorter interval work (I haven't done a track workout in over 3 months), slower tempo runs... honestly it didn't feel like the "grind it out" hard work that marathon training can be (it was actually laid back and pretty fun, which is really what I was after)... but the results from the past couple races show that I'm not too far off my best performances in the 5K/Half-Marathon range than I am when doing the workouts that are specific to those races. I believe that training is largely cumulative - I've been very consistent for a long time now, and the work I put in leading up to Boston and Portland/Duluth had a long-term benefit that I can still tap into. Training cycles build on each other. I may not be as fast over one-mile as I was in June, but I don't think it will come down to that. Maybe I'm being overconfident, but I feel like I'm as ready to race the marathon as I ever have been in the past.

I'm excited to run tomorrow and see what I can do. The last two marathons I've run have ended somewhere between very bad (Boston) and very, very bad (Philly)... so I'm hoping I can prevent that from happening again and race all the way, like I did at UVM last June (back when I thought the marathon was easy).

Assuming I don't get trampled by a moose or elk, after this marathon I'll shift my focus back to the half for the rest of the year - Monterey Bay and RnR Vegas will be good opportunites to go after a 1/2 PR on fair courses. I want to wait and see what USATF announces as the new OTQ standards, qualifying window, and site of the 2013 USA Championships before I start thinking about when my next marathon will be. If I'm smart (and more importantly - we get lots of powder days this winter!!!) I won't even think about the marathon again until next fall. There are a lot of other races I want to run in the meantime.

Not that the numbers really mean anything (and they definitely are not a performance predictor), but I have a spreadsheet that makes cool graphs that are nice to look at, especially when looking back at this stuff down the road. These are some comparisons of the buildups towards all four marathons...

Total Miles (11 weeks leading up to marathon)

"Fast" miles (Marathon effort or faster)

Week by Week

I think the most interesting thing about this, looking back, is that I was really hammering out a ton of quality workouts leading up to Boston. This buildup has been more similar to UVM, where I just built a huge aerobic base and then sharpened up with some races over the last month.

In terms of objectives for tomorrow... my goal is to win the race. My "plan" is to run by feel (no real target splits  I sort of know what range I should be in at the halfway point) and finish this one with authority. 

Looking forward to seeing a lot of you up in Logan tonight and tomorrow. We should have perfect weather and I think a lot of bloggers are primed and ready to have some great races! 

I saw this quote earlier in the week and I think its fitting...  

"If you live cautiously, friends will call you wise, you just won't move any mountains" 

We spent the night up in Smithfield, which was really nice because it meant not getting in the car after the race / award ceremony. Slept in and once we woke up, Andrea and I went for about a one-hour walk. I usually go for a short jog the morning after a marathon, but today I just felt like walking. Andrea noticed that I seemed more content with this race than after most others. I definitely feel that way.

The drive back to SLC was broken up w/ 2 games of bowling, a game of mini-golf, and 4 rounds in the batting cage. Excellent cross training :-) 

Before dinner we went out for a short jog to shake out the legs, 2.5 miles really easy. Nothing hurts specifically. Hamstring was a little tight but not as bad as yesterday. Of the 4 "day after marathon" runs I've done, this one felt the best. I've been doing a lot of icing and letting Andrea work her massage magic (torture). I'm adamant about making sure I am very recovered before I start running for real again. If I play my cards right, I think I can swing one more short and sweet training cycle this fall and go after a half-marathon PR. I'm going to continue to listen to the feedback I'm getting from my body and not force anything. 

Hmmmm the print version of the Herald Journal made a slight typo...

AM - 3 mile easy jog, most of it w/ Andrea.

PM - 50 minutes in a hyperbaric chamber (gimmick? probably - but I had a groupon for the session, nothing else to do, and it was just up the street), then Andrea and I walked a (1.1 mile) loop around the horsepark. Stupid smoke in the air!

AM - 5 mile loop up on campus, sooooo slowly.

PM - Walked a mile (Old Man Murphy style) home from the emissions testing place. The did some yardwork/cleaning (in our 20 square foot patio area) that I've been putting off for about a month. 

AM - 3.6 miles, most of it w/ Andrea (she is doing some modified Gallo-walking these days). Then rode my bike up to work - only marginally faster than it takes me to run... and significantly slower than my race pace in the marathon.

PM - Biked home and then went for a short walk. 

Renee Metivier Baillie did an interview w/ RW yesterday... I thought this quote was a pearl of wisdom and worth sharing for those who didn't see it...

"It's hard for a runner to get it into her head that this workout doesn't matter. You measure yourself sometimes based on your workouts, but I'm beginning to realize -- and you think I would have realized it a long time ago -- that it doesn't really matter what you do in practice. No one sees that. No one cares. It's important, yes, but it's what you do when you get to that race [that counts]. I've been leaving it too much at practice. I didn't show [at the Trials] how hard I'd been working because I was in pain ... I was very upset afterwards. You want to be able to do everything you can, and if you don't make it, at least you gave it your best shot. I didn't feel like I was able to, and it was hard. But I learned a valuable lesson from that. I'm 30 now, but the lessons still come!" 

AM - 4.7 miles w/ Andrea, then rode my bike up to work - shaving 3:50 off my time from yesterday... amazing what a minor seat post adjustment will do.

The legs were pretty much feeling back to normal by Tuesday, mentally I'm charged up and ready to run for real again... but my right hamstring is still a bit creaky. Not surprising, considering I ran hard on it for another hour once it started to act up in the race (and it was already a bit fatigued by that point). I'll continue to err on the side of caution until I feel its close to 100%. I have already trained through a few minor "tweaks" this year - which I didn't really blog about :-) - so I don't feel like its wise to continue to push my luck.

PM - Biked home. 

AM - 5 miles easy, then biked up to work. Shaved another 2:38 off my time from yesterday!

PM - Biked home, then a short walk. 

The old hometown newspaper called me the other day... they ran an article about the marathon. This has already made my Grandma's day today :-) And they labeled TOU as a "prestigious" marathon - a title usually reserved for Boston, etc. I think we can all agree that is accurate!

AM - 5 miles. Soft surface loops at the horsepark. Hammy feels like its coming around. No need to rush it, but I'm optimistic that I won't even remember what I did to it in a few more days.

Just for fun, here's my average paces for my last seven days of running - 8:30, 8:58, 8:46, 8:58, 8:47, 8:38, 8:01. I can't even blame Andrea, because I keep jogging when she has been taking her Gallo-walk breaks :-)

PM - 7 miles, back at the horsepark. Not quite a brisk pace, but maybe as Kevin would say - a crisp pace. Best I've felt in the past couple days, in terms of not feeling like I am doing any damage at all to the hamstring. Thankful for that - even though I kinda hated taking this week so easy, it was worth it. Sorry Andrea for being a basketcase during eight days of no double runs.

AM - 8 miles w/ Andrea (rollerblading). Hamstring not the least bit noticeable today - obviously due to adding a second run last night, and not bothering w/ massage at all yesterday :-) 

Bowling: 125 - 179 - 120 =  424. Goal was to break 400, mission accomplished. Really lost focus after a good second game. We determined that 2 games is about as long as we can stay focused on bowling. Allie also got some great free coaching from the idiot in the lane next to us.

PM - 4.4 miles w/ Andrea (on her blades again!) 

AM - 7.5 miles up to work.

PM - 4.4 miles down to SHP + 15 x ~50-60m strides in the HHS parking lot while I waited for Andrea. 

Yuki Kawauchi's Marathon/1500m/5K triple week makes me feel lazy :-)

AM - 8 miles up to work. I was actually planning on making a sacrifice to the cross-training gods and riding my bike this morning, but biking in the rain is just not my thing. Feels like its been a long time since I've run in the rain.

Last night was the USATF board meeting... I'm the new co-chair of the LDR committee, so I'll be working on making the circuit schedule a bit more robust next year. Also, the wheels are already in motion for a one-mile road race next summer! 

PM - 4.4 miles down to SHP. 

AM - 5 miles, horsepark loop. Then biked up to work.

PM - 4.4 miles after biking home. Realized that I've run 4.4 for 4 afternoons in a row, all different routes. Lots of 4s. 

AM - 9 miles up to work.  

PM - 4.4 miles to SHP. 

Here's some good reading... Case Study: Nutrition and Training Periodization in Three Elite Marathon Runners

Summary / analysis of the article from Sweat Science and Athletics Illustrated

You don't see a ton of scientific publications that focus specifically on elite runners, and I think case studies are often times more valuable that big controlled studies anyways, so I'm very interested in reading stuff like this. The take-home point is what Andrea has been trying to drum into my head for a year now (and she's completely right, I just need to figure out a way to do it).

AM - 8.5 miles up to work.

PM - 7.5 miles home. Threw in 10 x 1/4 mile (hot/cold). And by that I actually mean lukewarm/cold... the "fast" quarters were about marathon pace (77-79)... so lukewarm is even a generous description. If nothing else, it was nice to actually break a sweat for the first time since TOU.

Now off to Moab for the weekend! 

AM - 8 miles in Spanish Valley. First half of the run easy, then 3 mile tempo in 16:26 coming back on the gradual downhill (5:33, 5:28, 5:25). Another "test" to see how my legs are bouncing back. So far, so good!

PM - 2nd place in the Backwards 60 Yard Dash. Amiee beat me by about 25 yards, and I also got DQ'd for throwing candy corn at her during the race. 

Spent the whole day playing at Arches... Devil's Garden and Fiery Furnace areas...

AM - 8.7 miles in Spanish Valley.

Spent the day at Island in the Sky... we never lost the Syncline Loop trail, I swear! :-)