Getting back to Boston

Back home from Memphis. Wife and son wanted to see some of the sights, many of which I ran past yesterday (and some of which I didn't even notice). So we went to the old Lorraine Motel, where MLK was assassinated in 1968 (and which I missed during the race), by Sun Records, where Elvis recorded his early hits (I did notice that during the race; it was very close to the timing mat at 13.1 miles) and a few other downtown landmarks.

My wife liked Memphis and wants to come back sometime when I'm not distracted by a marathon or a football game or something. Works for me.

So we get home, and I veg out watching football and doing laundry and stuff, and then, as the evening goes on, I notice my thighs are hurting more and decide I need a little workout to get the blood flowing. So I go for a very... slow... jog of 2.45 miles in 40:27. You may deduce from the pace that most people would have described what I was doing was walking, and you would be correct. But the legs felt better as I went on, and I was actually able to pick up the pace. The hills around here on the Fairway loop were no issue at all.

Where do I go next? Dunno. A spring marathon? Maybe. Chicago? Could be. Mid-South in November at Wynne? Possibly; I've heard good things about that race, and I could actually drive over there that morning. Just run 5 and 10Ks through the spring and decide later? That's an option too. Maybe San Antonio in November; I hear it's a good flat fast course, ripe for BQ picking. Not ready to decide.

Obviously, that BQ is not way out there in the distance like it's been for the last nine months; it's dangling right in front of me, ready to grab. I just have to decide how best to grab it. I think building my mileage base even further is the way to go, something like Sasha describes. Put in a whole bunch of 50-, 60-, maybe even 70-mile weeks, then do a marathon program from there. I don't have the time to do 90- or 100-mile weeks, I don't think, but I can do multiple 70s. Then again, with what I've put my family through for the last nine months, maybe I need to cut back on the running for a while and spend some more family time. My son will be in college in nine months, and he could use some dad time too. So I have to sort through all that and decide how to proceed. But for now, just kinda enjoy a 72-minute PR and let my legs heal for a couple of weeks.

Once again, two days after the marathon is the day my legs decide to go on strike. I was able to go downstairs forward today (using the handrail as a crutch), but being on my feet long enough to see 28 patients in clinic pounded my quads to a pulp. I did not feel good at all by 5 p.m. Tomorrow may not be much better. I think I will really keep the running to a minimum for a week or so, but the legs may bounce back fairly quickly with semi-complete rest.

Still thinking a lot about what to do next. I think I need to spend some more family time, so I may cut back to maintenance mileage of 30 or so for a while as I decide what race to attack next. Somebody suggested I look at Birmingham. One, Birmingham is in February (too soon), and two, I looked at the course elevation. Looks like a map of west Little Rock. In other words, nope. I'm going to be looking for something I can run faster than Memphis, not a race I need crampons and a rope to run. 

Couldn't stand not running for three days in a row (or five out of six days, since I skipped Thursday and Friday last week), so got back on the TM for three slow miles. No real pain to speak of, but legs definitely felt heavy, especially the left quad. Not a difficult pace (10:00). Probably rest tomorrow, run maybe 4 Thursday, then do 6 on Saturday with the Crackheads. That would give me 15.5 miles this week, counting Sunday night's brisk walk.Wouldn't be enough if I were turning around for maybe a January marathon like Houston, but I'm not gonna do that. May not even be ready (or want to) do one by March or April.

Probably not going to run tonight (although always reserve the right to change my mind), but felt the need to put some thoughts down.

As pleased as I am with a 72:33 PR, I'm frustrated that I got so close to BQ but couldn't close the deal. So I'm reviewing things in my mind that might have made a difference.

* More peak mileage. Yeah, that could have done it. But I already added 20 miles a week to the original plan, and 45 miles a week to the plan I used for Little Rock, and there just wasn't a whole time of time left in the week to add more miles. Yeah, I could have converted 10-mile midweek runs into 12-milers and gotten over 80 that way. But I might also have gotten hurt that way. Ditto adding more miles to my back-off weeks. I definitely feel that there were a couple of times in the last 24 weeks when my body said it had had enough and I was right on the brink of injury, or at least overtraining syndrome, before I backed off. I think that the way I handled the weekend long runs, with six over 18 miles and three of 20 or more, worked well for me, and I would be reluctant to change that.

* More crosstraining. This one makes sense to me. My weak link on Saturday was the quads and hip flexors, more so than the twitching gastroc. If I'd done more lower body weight work, the muscles might have been better able to withstand the strain of 8:00 miles even without more mileage.

* Longer period at high mileage. Instead of two weeks of 70-plus, maybe four or five, without taking the peak up over 75. This is kinda how I read what Sasha suggested I do -- carry a high base. Basically, get my base built up to this level and then maintain more of it for a longer period. And this method would not put any more time pressure on me than what I did this time. To do that optimally, IMO, I'd need to start my program, whether I do an 18-week or whatever, at a higher MPW than I did this time.

* Change my taper? Nah, don't think so. I think I needed three weeks to get ready to perform, and it also gave me time to get the hamstring issue resolved so that it didn't bother me at all on Saturday. I don't think I lost any fitness during the taper for sure.

* Maybe the thing that got me was just a bad break -- that I was dead into the wind at my most vulnerable time of the race. Not sure about that. I'm sure the wind slowed me some, but not 30-plus seconds a mile over the period I was running upwind, which is what I would have needed to hit BQ. Maybe on a calm day I break 3:32, but that's still not BQ.

* One more thing. The one aspect of Pfitz' plan I had the most problem with is his recommended approach to the long runs -- the progression to MP + 10%. I didn't have any trouble carrying MP + 20%, but that late acceleration below 9:00 didn't always happen. Maybe this part is the real key -- teach myself to run at that kind of speed with tired legs. Ditto the Friday-Saturday combo, to start every LR with tired legs, but I feel like doing a better job of getting to MP + 10% might have been what could have pushed me over the edge. I carried my speed for 20-21 miles, but I couldn't carry it for 26.

I'm happy with how I did the speed work, happy with the fact that I got through a very challenging program without getting hurt, and obviously happy with a 72-minute PR. I don't need major changes. I need tweaks. I need three minutes. Seven seconds a mile. That'll get me to Hopkinton.

Back on the TM from a slow 4.5. Picked up the pace just a bit. Still definitely stiff and sore; I have no difficulty remembering what I spent Saturday morning doing. Nothing hugely painful, though, but stiff in some new places, like the ITB is hurting at the left knee where it has not bothered me in the past. Probably will take my time building my mileage back up until I decide where and when to race again.

Out to Two Rivers Park for six miles with the Crackheads this morning. People I don't even know were congratulating me on my Memphis performance. I know Hobbit had put the word out in the weekly Crackhead e-mail, but still, how they knew that was me, I dunno. But it's nice to get props from people outside your circle of friends.

Anyway, a slow, steady 10:00 pace. Just like  in Memphis, the last two miles were dead into the wind, maybe even a stronger wind than last week. No significant problem with the legs. So the first week of recovery went well -- except that I now have to shower, change and go do a Saturday morning clinic. Yuck. Then I can take a nap.