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.