Wheeler Farm Loops

AM - 13 miles. 8 mile AT Tempo in 41:59 (5:15/mile avg). Splits - 5:23, 5:19, 5:22, 5:14, 5:12, 5:19, 5:10, 5:00. 3 up, 2 down. AZ Tempo loop (which is 3 miles around!). Felt a little flat/tired at the beginning but got into a rhythm after 2-3 miles. The faster last mile was all due to letting myself open it up in the last quarter-mile.

After thinking about it quite a bit, looking over my training objectively, and talking with some smart people, I'm sticking w/ Sub-2:20 as the "A" goal next Sunday in Sacramento. I want to get a fast marathon under my belt and this is a great opportunity to make that happen. Since I'm seeded 28th and definitely not in contention for the win, there's no harm in sharing my specific race strategy for this one beforehand. Ideally - robotic 5:20 pace and then finish strong.

Tomorrow will be an off day, and then I'll do one more short tempo on Wednesday. I'm actually looking forward to the cut-back week for once as I'm very confident in my fitness at this point.

Scheduled zero. I was planning on taking a day off early in the week and it made sense today; we had a 6:30am flight from PHX to SLC and went straight to work from the airport. I wasn't waking up at 3:30am to run... been there, done that plenty of times before.

Andrea had some good thoughts yesterday about the importance of taking breaks at the end of a season (even if you don't necessarily feel like you need them). We have talked about this subject a lot recently as we plan how we want to approach 2014. I'll be the first to admit that I've historically been awful at taking downtime. I recover very quickly and really enjoy running simply for the sake of running, so I've somehow justified only taking small periods of time off. I've gotten away with it for the most part, but I know it isn't ideal - especially since I also enjoy running fast and want to get faster. In some ways I've been my own worst enemy (although those same traits are also what has made me successful). But, all of the good athletes take downtime after their seasons end, so it doesn't make sense that I would be exempt from that.

After the marathon this weekend I'm taking at least a week off, regardless of how fast/slow I run or how content/angry I am with my performance. No exceptions. This is the end of the season. Then gradually ramp up once I'm 100% recovered. I'm going to Houston in January for the USA 1/2 Championships, but I'm not going to try and squeeze in a real training cycle (or extend this one). It will just be what it ends up being. When I look at the big picture / outline / goal races for 2014, its easy to see where the natural breaks fit in at the end of each season, so I just have to hold myself accountable to actually following through on this. I want to take down periods because they serve a purpose, not as a last resort because I'm battling injuries or feeling fried. In that way, they become a crucial component of training and help facilitate incremental improvement from cycle to cycle, while also preventing training from becoming one endless cycle.

AM - 8 miles.

PM - 4 miles.

Kinvara 5 Sneak Peak. A lot of people on the blog have already worn these in some of the tests  this summer/fall, and the feedback was really helpful for Saucony's team of designers and engineers. The new iteration of the Kinvara is awesome.

AM - 7 miles. Treadmill. 2.5 up, 4 mile AT Progression, 1 down. The tempo was between 19-20 METS*, because that's a relevant unit. Couldn't risk taking a slip and fall on the roads this morning.

PM - 5 miles.

According to my 24 Hour Fitness membership profile, I've been logging 12-15 visits to the gym per month, and this is the first time I've actually exercised there since either March or April. That's why we call it a hot tub membership.

*5:30, 5:20, 5:10, 5:00 (1%) in case I ever want to look back at this in units other than METS.

AM - 7 miles.

PM - 3 miles.

This interview with Richie Woodworth is a good read. I met him for the first time in Colorado about 5 years ago, back when ideas like "Kinvara" were just starting to roll out. Leadership and vision are the two things that come to mind when I think of my interactions with Richie over the years.

AM - 7 miles. Finished with a faster mile (5:12) towards the end.

CIM tracking and leaderboard. Fritz is #41, I'm #55, and Nate is #69.

While looking for some CIM recaps a few weeks ago I came across this one from Josh Cox (2009). He can be a little over the top at times, but I did really like this...

You stack your chips for five months in hopes that it all comes together during a certain two-hour period on December 6. In the marathon business you get two chances a year. You get sick, too bad. Headwind, oh well. A muscle strain, sorry. Food poisoning, better luck next time. Freezing temperatures, try again in six months... It’s game time – there are no rain checks, there are no do-overs. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done in workouts; this isn’t math class, there is no partial credit for showing your work... If things don’t come together, you do your best to have a nice Christmas, you toast on New Years, and come January you put your hand back on the plow and try to nail it in a few months. Such is the beauty and glory of our sport.

AM - 4 miles around the Capitol w/ Andrea.

Made it to Sacramento last night... and the trip was a bit more exciting than it needed to be. The short story is Andrea locked her keys in her car at work and realized it right when she was about to leave and pick me up on the way to the airport (unfortunately she doesn't have a jeep that you can pick the lock with a long fingernail). I was at my office with no car or keys or any of my stuff for the race. Our bags were locked in Andrea's trunk. She called AAA but they were taking forever so I called Allie and she dropped everything, picked me up at work, and drove me to the airport. Allie is the best!!! We didn't think Andrea would make the flight, so the Plan B was to get my clothes and racing gear to Fritz or Nate before they left the following morning. Its a bit nerve-wracking go to the airport for your biggest race of the year with none of your belongings! Well, the flight to Sacramento ended up getting delayed by about 25 minutes, and with that extra time Andrea got the car unlocked, drove to the airport, and made a series of wild sprints that got her to the gate while I bargained with the Southwest people to wait for her. Somehow, she made it... out of breath like she just finished a race... but she made it.

It's cold here, and is going to be freezing in the morning at the start (low 20s). Not ideal for keeping muscles warm/loose, but it could be worse. With several other marathons being cancelled this weekend due to weather, I'm just glad we'll get the opportunity to run.

2:20:41 (PR). 13th Place. Top 50 Results.

First mile started off easy (after a starting gun that caught everyone by surprise) and the pack was huge (50-70 runners?). During the second mile it started to get rolling and strung out a bit. By the third mile there were three distinct groups formed - the lead pack, the chasers (which seemed to be the guys going for sub-2:18), and then the slower chasers (Fritz, Nate, me, and about 5-6 more guys aiming for ~2:20). I like to think of our group as the wolfpack. The first 10 miles went by quickly. A couple of the guys in our group fell back, but we had 6 guys working together for most of this time. As we hit the 10 mile mark I heard a guy counting out places and I was in 26th or 27th. Aerobically I was feeling great, but the combination of the cold temperatures and rolling hills was making my hamstrings feel tight - I started to notice it by mile 7 and I was actually a little worried about them until the halfway mark. From 10-13 miles we lost the two Kenyan guys in the group - it was down to the 3 Utah guys and a runner from Mexico (Castillo). We came through the half-marathon in 1:09:32, which was surprising - it felt like it was going to be closer to 1:10, but my math skills and sense of pace were apparently a little off. I'll blame the lack of precision on numb feet (due to the cold, not from the shoes - the A6s were awesome!).

First half splits: 5:32, 5:19, 5:15, 5:10, 5:19, 5:19, 5:18, 5:23, 5:23, 5:13, 5:15, 5:19, 5:16 = 1:09:29

Castillo started picking it up right as we crossed the timing mat and I went with him. That was the last I would see of Fritz and Nate, but it was really awesome to run with them for the first 13.1. Racing alongside your friends and training partners makes the effort feel more comfortable - more like a workout, and that can make a big difference, especially with rationing mental energy during a long race.

I got into a really good rhythm for the next six miles and started to loosen up. It was still cold but the sun was now on us. Castillo pulled away from me (he ran 2:19:30), but during this stretch I caught a few other guys. Andrea was on the course at 16.5 and then again at 19.5 (after already seeing me at 6 and 11.5 - she is really good at this spectating thing). I got another surprise when my friends Nate and Nora were jumping up and down just before the 20 mile mark (Nate and I were roommates in college and they drove over from San Francisco to come and watch). Came through 20 miles in 1:46:17 and sub-2:20 was still in play...

Then life started to get pretty hard after 20, as it typically does. There was a little bit of a wind blowing as we started moving into downtown. It wasn't much, and it wasn't the reason I slowed down, but it was definitely something that I noticed. I think the main reason I even noticed it is because it flashed me back to just over two years ago in Philadelphia. After almost identical 13.1 and 20 mile splits (see the bottom of this entry), I had a flat, straight 10K to go... and was hurting a bit. My hamstrings were starting to feel shot, and just like in Philly, I could feel some wind in my face. But this time I was NOT going to fall apart. No way, not an option! I faded to ~5:30 pace, but didn't bleed any worse than that (what we call a "Paul Petersen crash"). The day before, Andrea and I talked about how important "backup" goals are... that if I wasn't going to break 2:20, I needed to make breaking 2:21 JUST AS IMPORTANT. So that's what I did... I fought hard to break 2:21. I caught Matt Dewald, then went after the last guy in front of me (Stephen Shay) and passed him with about 3/4th of a mile left. I tried my best to sprint from 26 to the finish (I'm sure it didn't look smooth, and it hurt!). My legs were wrecked and it was hard to even walk after crossing the line. But I was happy... to run a PR, to finally see some improvement in the marathon, and to finish knowing I gave it everything I had.

Second half splits: 5:14, 5:18, 5:16, 5:16, 5:22, 5:22, 5:29, 5:32, 5:31, 5:32, 5:32, 5:32, 5:34, 1:09 = 1:11:12

I knew that realistically I was in shape to run 2:20 +/- a minute, so I consider this within the range of a good performance. A Top 10 finish was another goal, and I ended up 13th in a strong field. I don't like the positive split, but I can live with it.

Other thoughts (and then pictures):

Weather - Cold. 27 degrees at the start, actually dropped down to 24 during the race, and it never got above 30 degrees. Cold is definitely much better than hot, but the combination of rolling hills and cold temps is not great for my hamstrings. I actually came into this race a few pounds heavier than I would have liked to be, but that might have actually played to my advantage a bit, because with a little extra insulation I wasn't totally freezing.

Course - Fast (drops 300 feet from start to finish), but could be deceptive. I was mentally prepared for the rolling hills in the first half (because I heard so many people tell me not to underestimate them) but if I run CIM again, I'll do a lot more training on routes that specifially simulate this course. I want to run a Chicago-type course next year, because I think that's what I'm best suited for.

Competition - CIM doesn't draw an "A" list field, but the depth in the 2:15-2:30 range is as good as you'll find anywhere.

Organization - First class all the way. Major kudos to the Sacramento Running Association (especially Danielle Domenichelli) for taking care of everything. There was nothing to worry about... we even knew thing like specifically where our bottles would be ahead of time (For me - table #1, 4th bottle on the right). That kind of attention to detail is awesome.

Nutrition - I'm making progress here, and feel like I have it figured out pretty well now. Gels don't bother me anymore, and I actually take them. I've also have my pre-race / breakfast dialed in. I didn't drink more than 3-4 ounces total during the race, but also didn't really need to in those temperatures.

Post Race Activities - Fancy brunch with a jazz band, hot tub, then flew home.

Training Analysis - I'll save that for another blog post. I'm taking a week off so I'll have nothing better to do. I enjoyed this training cycle and did a lot of smart things. I also learned some things that will affect how I want to approach my running in 2014. Things I am excited about.

Thank You! - Everyone here... and in Ireland and Saucony-land as well. I've said this before, but I realize how lucky I am to have such a great network of friends and family (especially my parents... I know they get nervous waiting for the tracking updates to come in). Fritz and Nate, for the camaraderie of training and racing together... let's make this a habit. Andrea, for not being afraid to battle against me when we disagree, and then for 100% support when we go to war... together.

The three packs. Thanks to ViZiPRO, you can see the wolfpack in the back

3/4 of a mile left...

Just close your eyes and it will all be over soon...

Our friends Nate and Nora

And here's CIM vs Philly... I like the final outcome better this time. Now I just need to nail that last 10K.

PHL 2011  1:09:33 - 1:46:05 - 2:25:57
CIM 2013   1:09:29 - 1:46:17 - 2:20:41

-----------------------------------------------------------

All splits - 5:32, 5:19, 5:15, 5:10, 5:19, 5:19, 5:18, 5:23, 5:23, 5:13, 5:15, 5:19, 5:16, 5:14, 5:18, 5:16, 5:16, 5:22, 5:22, 5:29, 5:32, 5:31, 5:32, 5:32, 5:32, 5:34, 1:09 [1:09:32 / 1:11:12 = 2:20:41]

Got a massage last night. Tim worked his magic again, because any lingering soreness was gone when I woke up this morning. I feel normal again. He said that my muscles actually felt better than when he worked on me after TOU and the Indy 1/2, although I'm not sure how that's possible. He also said Josh E was an interesting guy to talk to, so maybe he's just going crazy :-)

Turns out not running is actually a lot easier than running. You just sleep in as late as possible, quickly throw on some clothes and go to work. In the evening, you go to the hot tub for a while, then head home and eat dinner. I don't know why it took me so long to figure this out.

USATF-Utah update

AM - 6 miles. Liberty Park area run, including an out and back on the new path that parallels the Sugar House TRAX... concrete heaven. I felt a little tight but loosened up as the run went on. I'm going to continue to take it easy for a while.

It should be noted that I got contacts a few days ago, so this was the first time I was actually able to see any of my friends while we were running. What a good looking group!!!

Catch a re-stream of the Foot Locker Championships at some point today if you get a chance. Really exciting races. Conner finished as an All-American for the second straight year (7th place, just a second behind my buddy Elijah from the Sawtelle Stampede). Kramer also ran well, and it seemed like he passed a lot of guys in the final mile. West region dominated the boys race. 

AM - 6 miles. We spent the night in Park City, so I ran a loop around Park Meadows Golf Course.

Then we skied for about a half-day. It was pretty warm... almost spring-like. The air was also much cleaner than the gunky valley...

Wrapped things up with an epic bowling tournament. Nate got revenge for CIM, beating me 166/130 to 103/158. But as we all know, bowling is about more than just the number of pins you knock down. Style counts. So alley was the real champion.

I'm pretty tired from my back to back 6 milers, so there's no way I'm dragging myself out of bed for a run tomorrow morning.

Another scheduled rest day.

I didn't even feel lazy about not running this morning... and then I read about Yuki Kawauchi's latest feat: This one goes up to eleven.

AM - 4 miles w/ Andrea.

PM - 7 miles.

All the body parts are feeling good. Hot tub was closed for maintenance tonight, ending my streak at 10 straight days. That's still a PR.

In Christmas news, an elf dropped off these pre-dipped chocolate gloves at our front door. Now I don't have to be embarassed about getting my fingers all messy, because its the style! These are a must-have for chocolate lovers who are always on the go.

AM - 5 miles.

PM - 7 miles.

Been thinking a bit (OK, more than a bit) about the big picture for 2014...

From right now, I have 10.5 Weeks to the Phoenix Half Marathon (March 1), then another 8 weeks from that point until the Indy 500 Half Marathon (May 3). Those will probably be my two target races for the winter/spring. Since I'm going to continue to lay relatively low for the rest of December (but start phasing in some lighter efforts next week), it essentially breaks down to two 8-week training blocks with a little lead-in to the first one. I'm going to mainly use a 14 day / 5 quality efforts cycle. A lot of things will be similar to what I've done before, but with some tweaks such as wave tempos and different ways of using intervals to get the body good at clearing lactate.

I've built the outline of the calendar for the next four months, and then a sketch of what the rest of the year might look like... of course that is somewhat (but not completely) easy, the devil is in the details. I don't plan specifics of workouts this far in advance, for obvious reasons. I mainly like to have an outline to see how the types of workouts will flow, and it gives me an idea of where to start (from working backwards).

I'll run some other races during the first eight week cycle (USA 1/2 in Houston, and the SLC Winter Series). I'm not going to try and cram for Houston, I'm just going to slot it in as a hard workout and part of the buildup, with an extra easy day or two on either side of it. If it wasn't a free trip, I wouldn't be going. But it is a free trip, so why not? If nothing else, it will be a good checkpoint, and opportunity to race on the course that will also be hosting the USA 1/2 Champs in 2015. The fitness I'm carrying over from the fall should at least put me in a position to run a decent time. The winter series races can serve as a substitute for tempo runs of varying intensities (and they are on the best course in SLC!). Between Phoenix and Indy, I don't really plan to race at all. There isn't much that interests me during March/April other than the USA 15K (and Jacksonville is expensive and logistically difficult to get to). Plus that's the bigger and more important of those two training blocks, so there would be a lot of advantages to having no interruptions.

I like many of the things I did this fall, but there are obvious areas to improve. Spacing out workouts and giving myself more recovery was a sound move. I'll continue to do that. I'll take more breaks, and more days off. That doesn't bother me anymore. Mileage needs to be lower in January/February, then build cycle to cycle. I'll also continue to do more of the huge workouts, especially when preparing for a marathon. On the flip side, racing a half marathon (that you want to do really well in) five weeks before a marathon isn't necessarily bad, but I've found it isn't ideal. In the future, I'd want at least 7 or 8 weeks between a target half marathon and a marathon.

If I run a spring marathon (and I probably will), it will be Grandmas Marathon in Duluth, which is more like a summer marathon (late June). Like Indy, they take good care of runners who want to come there and run fast. There are a lot of reasons why Grandmas is a good fit - I know the second half of the course well, they'll assemble a top-notch field, and if I decide in May that I want to keep my focus on the half, I can drop down to the Gary Bjorklund Half Marathon. Plus, I like visiting Duluth. Its become something of a summer tradition.

And assuming all that goes as planned, I'd take a good break (like I'm doing now), do a short summer speed cycle, then train exclusively for a fall marathon with a proper, longer (10-12 week) marathon-specific buildup.

Good thing I have different colored highlighters to keep all this stuff straight. Its a fun intellectual exercise to plan out a season or the outline of the year. Then, of course, you have to go out and execute - and stick to the principles you set down in the beginning, when your head is clear and you are being objective. That's why I'm writing it down now... so I don't repeat some of the very obvious mistakes I've made in the past two years.

Conveniently scheduled day off... hitting my quota of 7 days off after the marathon.

AM - 6 miles.

PM - 8 miles. First 4 w/ Andrea. I know winter can be challenging, but man - it was beautiful out this afternoon. I love it when the trees are painted white the day after a big storm.

Runners World has a really good profile on Becky Wade, who won CIM in her debut. Her blog on running around the world: Becky Runs Away.

AM - 12 miles. Ocotillo loop. Palm trees. Shorts. Warmth.

PM - 4 miles.

My parents snagged some good seats to the Suns / Mavs game tonight, so I'm looking forward to that!

AM - 8 miles.

PM - 4 miles.

Beautiful, sunshiny day.

AM - 13 miles. 15K AT Tempo in 50:41 (5:26/mile). AZ tempo loop. 3 up, 1 down. Wanted to keep it ~5:30 pace so maybe just a smidge too quick, but still in the right effort range. Splits - 5:27, 5:34, 5:28, 5:18, 5:25, 5:30, 5:23, 5:31, 5:27, 1:36.

PM - 4 miles.

Spent the afternoon at the Rio Salada Sportsman's Club near Usery Pass (where the PHX Marathon starts) playing with some of my parents' new toys. I haven't done a push-up in about 2 months, and that was evident after the first shot with the .357 Magnum :-) We did a lot of sporting clays too, which I am definitely NOT very good at, but it's a fun challenge. Good times... typical Krong family holiday activity. We're only at 3/4 strength this year, though, because my sister went to Europe with her boyfriend for a couple weeks. 

AM - 13 miles. Started at Paseo Park with my parents. Ran the first 6.5 w/ my Dad along the canal, then back to their house once he was finished. No shirt weather. Great morning!

AM - 10 miles. 12 x 400m (200m jog) at 5K effort on the dirt track near my parent's house. No marks on the track, inside lane muddy and not runnable... Rift Valley style... except for the slower pace! Averaged 73.3 seconds for whatever distance these were. 3 up, 3 down (ran back w/ my Dad).

Merry Christmas!!!

PM - 5 miles. Treadmill.

I have a couple mechanical issues that aren't a big deal in shorter races, but they manifest themselves over 26.2 and make me a little less efficient. I'm resolving to try and fix some of the wasted motion in my upper body, and now that I have contacts, I can actually see well enough to get some real-time feedback while on the treadmill. So, tonight I basically just stared at myself in the mirror for a half hour and tried to keep my head/shoulders from moving. I don't think I'll get this smooth, but if I spend a little time working on balance, coordination, and functional strength, I can make some very subtle changes (that really add up) by next spring/summer. Quick plug for Jay Dicharry's book Anatomy for Runners which we've found to be a great resource.

So there ya go... morning off, 5 mile treadmill run, and I think form / balance are important. This entry counts as a Valentine's Day present, Andrea.

AM - 6 miles.

PM - 6 miles.

PM - 15 miles. AT Reps: 4 x 2 miles (0.35 mi) in 10:36, 10:36, 10:32, 10:32. Tempo loop. 3 up, 3 down.

For reasons unknown, I started an (unecessary?) condo cleaning project this morning, and didn't get out to run until almost 2pm. And now I have to finish what I started! 

Pretty good efforts for the week. Sort of going through the motions and definitely didn't push anything, but that's the point right now. Just laying some foundation before starting the "real" workouts in another week or two.

AM - 14 miles. Started from Tanner Park and ran the Wasatch Blvd loop w/ Rob, Josh, and Nate. Avoided the worst of the gunky air by getting up on the bench. Nice run. Closed out the morning with a couple hot tub rotations.

Decided to skip the afternoon run and make it a week of mainly singles. Plus, I had already made this graph and didn't want to make any edits...

I would say my post-marathon mileage shows that I've gotten progressively less stupid over time. TOU this year was obviously a train-through so that little spike can be ignored.

AM - 6 miles.

PM - 4 miles.

Saucony's blog has a couple sneak peeks of some 2014 new releases: Ride 7 and Type A6. Both are exciting updates... I've loved wearing the A6s for my last couple races, and our Utah test group provided a lot of great feedback that went into the final design for the Ride 7. I think everyone will really like the finished product. The design team created some illustrations on the blog that highlight some of the changes that were made.

AM - 10 miles. Jeremy Ranch w/ Andrea, Allie, Devra, and Rob. Awesome run. Rob is right - that road is a year-round running destination!

PM - 5 miles. Then some stuff like balancing on one foot while tossing a medicine ball back and forth w/ Andrea. I'll do ancillary work if it turns into some sort of game. I'm basically a five year old.