San Antonio Marathon (Race Recap)

As you have probably guessed by now, things didn't quite go my way on Sunday... in fact, they really didn't go my way at all. That said, I guess I have good and bad news for the followers of this BLOG. The bad news is that the race was pretty much a disaster. The good news is: that I wasn't a total idiot and saved myself from injury, so I will likely keep this fitness going (after 10-14 days rest/recovery) and refocus on a January or February race.... Leaving you with another month or two of blogging to follow! Aren't you excited?!

Where to begin? First off, I am not a huge fan of weather variations from year-to-year. While I had seen that the previous year, the San Antonio Marathon had been held under cool temp's in the 40's and 50's with a relatively low humidity, this year I awoke to an entirely different scene (more on that in a minute).
In short, I ended up having a few different problems on race day, which led me to one of my first major DNF's ever (I dropped out at Mile 21 of the race). I can pinpoint this result to two specific factors:
1. Lack of training in the final 4 weeks leading into the race due to ongoing injuries
2. High Humidity and increasing temps throughout the race

Let me start by saying, that I was extremely pleased with my progress in training until just after the Denver 1/2 marathon on October 9th. It was directly following that race that I made the biggest mistake that I could have in my training: I didn't rest! I should have taken at least 2-4 days completely off (if not an entire week) and given myself some recovery heading into the final weeks of training. After 11 straight weeks of 70-80 miles a week, I should have known better than to push it. Lesson learned.

Secondly, I need to do better research in selecting my races in the future. As I stated above, the previous year had been subject to nearly perfect running weather and the average temp/humidity in San Antonio in November led me to believe that I'd be racing in temps in the 40-65 degree range with humidity of around 45%.

While the temps did hover at around 60 degrees throughout the first 45 minutes or so of the race, the humidity was through the roof! In fact for the first 8 miles or so the cloud cover was probably only a few hundred feet off of the ground. I was completely soaked with sweat within the first half mile of the race. Later, around mile 10-12 somewhere, the clouds began to lift and the temps began to climb. Anyone, that knows me very well, knows that I have never done particularly well racing in hot and/or humid weather. I just don't handle it well.

Race morning, as I headed to the line it was quite apparent that it was going to be a humid race with significant fluid-loss, but it remained to be seen, whether the temps would rise out of the 60's before I finished the race. I prayed it wouldn't.

The one thing that I am very proud of myself for is for sticking to my plan. The plan was:
- run smart! 6 minute mile pace (or a bit slower) for the first 2-3 miles. I typically go out too fast, and I really wanted to stay under control. Rather than running 5:40's and settling in to 6:00 pace, I wanted to start at or above the pace and go the other way for once (This was particularly important at this race because the full marathoners started, and ran with, the 1/2 marathoner's thru 10.5 miles, making it very tempting to run too hard in the early stages of the race).
- Also, I knew that with the humidity I would need to drink at every aid station, take at least 3-4 gels, and even try to get a salt tab or two down.

Although my splits STILL aren't on the Rock n' Roll website (I don't think that they posted them, since I DNF'd). Here are the splits from my watch. You can see the explosion 10-11 miles in followed by the downhill slide, which really started at about mile 16:
Mile 1: 6:10          Mile 7: 6:03              Mile 13: 6:18               Mile 20: 7:41
Mile 2: 5:58          Mile 8: 5:59              (1:20:21 - 1/2)             (2:07:18 - 20mi)
Mile 3: 6:04          Mile 9: 6:02              Mile 14: 6:22               Mile 21: 7:41
(18:48 - 5K)          Mile 10: 6:11            Mile 15 & 16: 12:24    Dropped
Mile 4: 6:03          (1:00:52 - 10mi)       Mile 17: 7:19
Mile 5: 6:09          Mile 11: 6:15            Mile 18: 6:42
Mile 6: 6:07          Mile 12: 6:24            Mile 19: 6:58

Another big factor in the slow down around Mile 10-11 could have been due to the fact that that is where the full marathoners (black race bibs) split off from the 1/2 marathoners (green race bibs). While it was motivating to run through all of the dying 1/2 marathoners in the beginning of the race, it got real lonely, real quick, after the split. I was actually the 4th place full-marathoner at Mile 10, getting passed by one person at Mile 16.5 or so, and then not seeing anyone again until I was bent over on the side of the road in mile 19.

In retrospect, after having 4 weeks of injury I should have switched down to the 1/2 marathon and tried to race well in that. My fitness was there for that distance, even at a significantly faster pace, but not for twice the distance. Now that I have a great fitness-base and another LONG tempo run under my belt, I can focus on those longer runs/workouts throughout Dec/Jan as I get ready for another attempt at the full.

Here are some pics (click for larger versions) from the earlier part of the day... Most from Mile 10, the Brightroom pics from Mile 3 or 4. Notice how absolutely soaked I am!?

 So, thanks again to everyone who has supported me through this training by running with me, giving me advice or just plain wishing me luck. Hopefully you have enjoyed reading this and checking in on the progress. The journey is definitely not over! Stay tuned in late November/early December as I get back into training and try one more time and reaching this goal. Happy Thanksgiving next week! I'll be celebrating on the beach in Mexico... not training!

Race Morning!

5:15am: Slept like I was in a coma last night (love being at sea level!). Barely moved for 7 hours. 56 degrees and a bit humid right now. mid-60's at the start is probably about right. Gonna be a warm one. I guess it's time to actually do this. See you all on the other side!

12 Hours Away!

So, here we are. I'm camped out in my hotel room in San Antonio with the compression tights on. Packet Pick-up at the expo and easy shakeout run are done, Chinese food is eaten, and all that's left is one more night's sleep before the big race...
I've got to admit, I'm nervous for this one. With tri's it's been a long time since I've really gotten nervous for races. Even for Rome last Spring, I didn't get all that nervous, but this time, for whatever reason, it's different. I think it's the lapse in training over these past few weeks that has knocked my confidence down a few notches. While I know that just 1-month ago, I was in some of the best running shape of my life, it still seems like running 6-minute pace tomorrow is going to be a very tough task. Throw in the lingering VMO issues and this weeks bout with a sore throat and I am all nerves tonight. Hopefully once the gun goes off in the morning and we settle in to race pace all of this will leave my head and it'll be fine. That's what I'm counting on, anyway!
The Gameplan: for the first 2-3 miles I want to run very, very relaxed. Probably so much so that I will feel like I am way slower than pace. Hopefully that will keep me at, or a little over, 6-minute pace. Assuming all goes well there, I will just try to settle in thru at least 15-miles. By mile 10.5, I will have to have made up my mind whether my knee has it in it to go the full distance. If not, I can turn left and just finish out the half. If so, that's where I will begin to enter no-man's land. From what I've read, miles 13-22 are pretty desolate, so that will be a challenge in itself.
The forecast calls for temps in the low- to mid-60's at the start. That, mixed with the slight humidity, which I experienced on tonight's easy run, will mean that I need to drink as frequently as possible. I'll also be carrying some Endurolytes to help with sodium loss.
I honestly have NO idea how this is going to go tomorrow morning, but I will be fighting to hit my goal of 6-minute pace. All of the long workouts and runs will definitely be going through my head as I fight through the dark parts of the race. Thanks to everyone who supported me through this journey over the past 15 weeks. This Blog, while a little self-absorbed, helped me to stay accountable throughout the training, and to get some key advice (from you guys) regarding training.Without a coach, it's sometimes hard to have those things, and this turned out to be a great solution for me. Now, hopefully the name of this blog doesn't turn out to be too far off!!
Off to bed. THANKS EVERYONE!!

Flying Out...

Quick check-in: On my way to the airport in a few minutes. Feeling pretty good. Have been fighting a sore throat all week but seem to have it under control. Nervous to see what the humidity is like down in TX, but I have heard that it hasn't been bad lately. This morning it was only 44 degrees in San Antonio at 7:30 (race-start time tomorrow). Perfect running weather!

I'll write a big update tonight.

Last Track Workout

We're getting close now! It's Tuesday night, and I've successfully gotten in my last run of an hour or more (1hr ez run last night) and my last little bit of speedwork (track workout tonight). Now I just have a few easy days of light running before lining up at the start on Sunday!

Tonight's workout on the track went well, it was simple one:
2mi warmup
3 x 1200m @ T-pace (~4:12) on 2min rest
went 4:15, 4:10, 4:12
1 x 400m (1:18)
2mi warmdown

The VMO (Vastus Medialis Obliquus) is still feeling about the same, but my legs feel pretty good otherwise. I am noticing that the VMO is still tight and pulling during the slow/easy runs but when I get up closer to race pace I notice it less and less. This is a good thing but I can't deny that I am super nervous about whether it will hold up for the entire distance. I am seeing that my fitness is still there but I question the endurance. The good thing about the layout of this course is that I will have until almost mile 11 before I have to make the call whether I can go the full distance or not. While I definitely don't want to DNF or cut to a slow half-marathon, I also would rather cut my losses early and avoid a major injury if it's feeling like that's what's to come. One thing's for sure, without being stupid/stubborn on Sunday, I will be gritting my teeth and pushing through any of the regular pain of a marathon. I have put so much time and effort into training for this race that I will not be giving up easily!

The Hardwork is Done

Knocked out my last long-ish run this morning. 12.25miles at E pace. This was first time running over 8 miles in about 3 weeks. Not great when leading into the marathon, but hey, it is what it is at this point. Anyway, felt good this morning. Taking tomorrow off, and then it is just a few easy runs next week before giving San Antonio a go next weekend!

The routine is just gonna be ICE and easy workouts in an effort to get this knee/VMO as ready as it can be for the beating it's going to be taking.

To all my friends racing in NYC tomorrow morning, GOOD LUCK! Leave it all out there.

The Teeter-Totter

This week has been like a rollercoaster, one day thinking my chances of racing were totally out the window, the next thinking that this might still be doable. The ride isn't over yet...

After I posted on here on Monday night, I was feeling a little better about things. I woke up the next morning to do a morning run and once again was met with run-ending pain in my right knee (the original issue that I had, with the VMO). I made it 2.25mi. At that point I decided, "screw it, I'll revert to bike training to try to get me thru" and maybe that will help the range-of-motion and muscles in/around the knee. That night I jumped on the bike and put in a solid 35mi ride.

Weds evening I gave running another shot. Went 5 miles easy, but felt amazing. Just took it easy, came home got right on the bike and did a 1 hour ride with about 40min of hard intervals. Friday I took it easy again on the run and went 6 miles. This time I felt good for about 4-miles and was once again greeted with pain.

Tonight was to be my 'Take-it-or-leave-it' workout. I figured that I had to get some running in at race pace in order to see how it felt. The plan was, if there was pain, pull the plug on the workout, the race, everything and just be done. Amazingly, however, once I was at the track with the flats on and took out the first mile-interval, I felt no pain and instead felt like I had a month or so ago in workouts!! I did 3 x 1-mile on 1min rest w/no splits, just going by feel, followed by 2 x 400m on 1min rest. My splits were:
5:39
5:41
5:48
1:17
1:16

Admittedly, I could tell, aerobically, that there had been some down time as I was breathing harder and probably working at about 5% higher effort than I had been at the same pace a month ago, but I was able to run!!

I'm incredibly excited about the workout and the possibility that it gives me for next week. Granted, my knee/VMO was hurting pretty good at the slower pace while jogging home, but it seems that while running at a faster pace, and in my flats, things came together and alleviated some of the stress that the legs otherwise would have felt. I know tomorrow will be a tough run (and possibly painful), but I am going to bed tonight feeling significantly more confident than I have in weeks.

It was October 13th when the shit hit the fan in my training. That's about 3 full weeks of reduced mileage and mental stress/worry, but for some reason I am beginning to believe again (at the last moment) that this may be doable... am I crazy?

Up In The Air

So, it's been exactly a week since I last checked-in here and it's been a tough one for me, for sure. Shortly after writing last week and thinking that things were getting back on track, I was greeted with a surprising occurrence at the dog park of all places. Long story short, a dog ran into me really hard, hitting me just below my left knee. It took me out completely, knocking me off of my feet and keeping me down for a bit. Turns out the dog had done a good bit of damage, since I could barely walk from Tuesday through Thursday. I think that it was hyper-extended, stressing a lot of the ligaments/muscles in the knee but luckily since then it has been getting back to normal pretty quickly.
All of the above said, I did NOT get much running in AGAIN last week and am uncertain as to how the original knee with the problems (the right one) is going to hold up. I got out for 3.5 miles on Saturday and then 8 yesterday. Aerobically, I feel awesome and my body seems to have a lot of spring to it, but as I get further into runs or push the pace, I can still feel that VMO in the right leg tugging on my knee and creating (a little bit of) pain.
Tonight I went about 8.75 miles at around 7:20 pace and tried to push a little faster for one mile. I didn't even feel the pushed-pace aerobically, but I felt like I was right up against the pain-barrier for this knee. Also only managed to go around 6:35 for that mile. I honestly don't know what to do at this point. I've talked to quite a few people about it and realize that it will not be the end of the world if I have to push the race date back to a January race, I'll just be disappointed if that is what I have to do. More than anything, I just wanted to be able to race in mid-November so that I could then take a few weeks off and relax before starting the off-season training in December. Ahhh well, my plan at this point is to continue running this week. Give it one faster paced effort on Thursday or Friday and then make the call. If I can get about a 6-miler in at near 6-minute pace, then I will add a 12-15 mile easy run on Saturday and just taper into next week but if there is any pain during that tempo run, then I will scrap the San Antonio race and wait for Houston or P.F. Chang's in January.
This coming weekend is the NYC Marathon. To all of my friends racing out there, good luck!

Down... But Not Out

Good News. My 'knee pain' is officially not actually knee pain. As I alluded to in my last post, my friend and doctor, Jason Glowney let me know on Friday that he thought it was referred pain from the VMO muscle. I wasn't sure that I believed it until yesterday. Yesterday's easy run finally felt a little bit better. Don't get me wrong the pain is definitely still present while running, but it is lessening...slightly. And that's a step in the right direction as far as I am concerned. I've been doing some trigger-point type stuff on my own at home as well as icing a lot. The entire VMO is extremely sore and tender to the touch, but besides when I'm running, or pushing on it, it doesn't hurt at all.
I went to see Jason again today and he really did a number on me. He started by doing A.R.T. directly to the muscle, and it was excruciating. I told him that it felt like he kept breaking my leg each time that he dug in and I bent my leg. I knew it was what needed to be done though so aside from a little yelling, I got through it without any random kicks to his face, or tears.
This morning, pre-doctors visit, I was able to survive my typical morning run loop of 3.75mi, and even did it in the realm of my normal time as well. Then this evening, despite the sore leg, I got out the door for another 5-miler at about 7:20 pace. While it's not ideal, as I missed my 3rd hard workout in the past 7 days, I can feel the leg improving and am just SO happy with the possibility of me recovering in time to save this race. I'm gonna keep my fingers crossed at this point, but I did want to thank everyone that took the time to speak with me about the injury and give me their input. I've certainly got a great group of knowledgeable, fast friends!

Less Than Good

I've been putting off writing another entry on here because, honestly, I've been hoping that things would turn around. In my last post, on Monday, I reported the problems that I had been having with my right knee and how I hoped that a couple days of rest would get me moving again. Well, it's Saturday now, and things are not looking good.
This week has been a trial in my patience, which if you know me very well, you will know I have very little of to begin with. Training-wise I took Monday off, tried to run a little on Tuesday night, made it 3.5 miles and was met with pain. Wednesday I managed to push through 6.5 miles, Thursday I got up and tried to do a morning run but was done after half a mile. Friday was off again and then today I made it 3.5 miles running before I had to quit and go to the gym for 8 more miles on the elyptical machine.
I've now seen three doctors, my chiropractor, Active Release Technique (A.R.T.) guy and my friend Jason who is one of the head  doctors at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine. After two ART treatments and one session of dry-needling with Jason, I feel awesome EXCEPT when I get a couple miles into a run. All of these doctors have told me that they do not think that the problem actually has to do with my knee. Rather they all suggest that it is referred pain stemming from my VMO and quad muscles. The dry-needling seemed to have had some effect but didn't come close to healing me in one treatment.

I've have been talking to nearly every good runner that I know and they all seem to think that it is too early to think about pulling the plug on San Antonio (whew!), saying that my fitness will not go away that quickly and that I simply need to getting this better ASAP, even if it means a few days completely off. Mentally, that's just the tough part for me. I feel like when you put this much effort into a goal only to have the slightest thing go wrong so close to the test, it can just turn you into a complete headcase and cause you to make bad/irrational decisions. I've seen it time and again with friends and that's why I'm trying to instead take the advice of my friends and doctors so that I can get through it and hopefully be good to go in 22 days when I am meant to toe the line in San Antonio.
All of that said, this has been a tough week and an extremely depressing post to have to write but I wanted to keep everyone out there reading this up-to-date on how things are progressing. Unfortunately, it's just all part of marathon training at this point. One things for sure, I think I can conclude that the while the Jack Daniel's formula had gotten me into excellent shape, without more/any time off written into the schedule, it was simply too much for my body. In the future, I will have to do some tweaking if I try to use it again. Thanks for reading. Happy Training!

Ugh-Oh

I've always thought of marathon training as a tightrope act... a balance between training volume and injury. Just doing enough to get you to that peak of fitness, while still holding back just enough to stay healthy and avoid injury. Until last week, I thought I was doing a pretty damn good job of balancing and everything was coming along very well.
When I checked in last Wednesday night, everything was feeling good. The race had gone well over the weekend, my workout had gone well that night, and I was pretty happy with my progress. The next morning, however, I got up to do my morning run and about a half-mile into it my world exploded. I started having sharp pains in my right knee. The pain is coming from the front of the knee and is a pain that seems to only be present when I run or walk down stairs. I made it through that short (3.75mi) run and didn't think too much of it at that point. Later in the day I headed out for my second run though and the pain was there within feet of starting. I made it through 1.25mi and called it a day.
I was headed to the mountains for a relaxing break with my parents on Thursday night, so I planned to do my easy Friday workout on the elyptical to give the knee a rest from the pounding. It was feeling pretty good by Friday night, so Saturday morning I decided to give the run a shot on a treadmill and just see how it held up. I chose the treadmill so that just in case it started to hurt too much I could jump off and get on the elyptical. I survived the workout, going 17.25 miles on a treadmill at 8,400ft elevation while watching the entire history of Pirates on the History channel. It was a brutal experience. Unfortunately, it also put my knee into a pretty big amount of pain.
By Saturday afternoon it would hurt, but only when I was trying to walk down stairs, or bending my leg slightly. Sunday I went easy on the elyptical again.
I have now run for 77 days (11 weeks) straight, without one day off and although this week was to be my last really big week of training, I've got to make a big change to get my knee back in the game. I'm taking today completely off and will see what it's feeling like tomorrow to determine whether I will just run a little or will again take the day completely off. How freakin' depressing! I'm trying to tell myself that it's not a big deal and that after a couple easy days it'll be back to normal and good to go for the homestretch of training. I think this is where the mental craziness of endurance sports begins to play a role. I know that looking at the big picture, a couple of days is not a big deal, but it's extremely tough not to feel extremely down while I'm in it. I've put in so much effort to get fit... I just don't want to lose it, and more importantly, I want it to payoff! Ahhh well, if anyone out there knows any great things that I can be doing for it in the interim, please let me know ASAP. I hope training is going better for all of you at this point! Happy training!

Back At It

After Sunday's race I spent some time in the hot tub and recovering with the family up in Beaver Creek. Sunday I got in a lite 5 mile morning run in Beaver Creek followed by an evening run back in Denver of 3.5 miles. Felt good and wasn't even sore from the previous day. Tuesday was another easy day (6 miles) and today I got back into it with a fairly tough workout tonight on the rolling hills of the Highline Canal path.
I'm getting used to doing all of these long, hard workouts on my own and think that it is probably going to be a benefit if the San Antonio course turns out to be as lonely/desolate as I've heard it can be in the back half of the race. Anyway, tonight's workout was 2mi warmup, 8 x 1mile at T-pace (5:50*) on 30 seconds rest, 2mi warm down. I was a bit anxious heading to the workout on the warmup because I really didn't know how the legs would respond, but it went pretty well. My splits were:
Mile 1: 5:54                                 Mile 5: 5:50
Mile 2: 5:52                                 Mile 6: 5:48
Mile 3: 5:50                                 Mile 7: 5:53
Mile 4: 5:46                                 Mile 8: 5:59
                        Avg pace = 5:51
Fell off a little bit at the end there, but tonight I think it mainly was because I was just so looking forward to it being done.
** Now, I should mention that after the weekend's race and kind-of the confirmation that I am in better shape now, I have decided to bump my training paces up one more VDOT level for the last 4 week push of my training. For the first month of my training I had started at a VDOT level of 59 in order to be conservative and try to account for the fact that I am training at 5,280+ foot elevation. After about 4-5 weeks I bumped the level to 60 and I have been training there for the past 5 weeks. Now I am going to bump it again, so these will be my new paces:
E pace: 7:16                   I pace: 400m: 1:20                      R pace: 200m:  :36
M pace: 6:09                               1,000m: 3:20                                 400m: 1:14
T pace: 5:50                                1,200m: 4:00                                 800m: 2:28

If I were training at Sea Level, I would be training at a VDOT of 64 given my current fitness, making tempo pace 5:36/mile, etc. But I could never hang with that up here. So... that's why you'll see me striving for different numbers now in workouts as I edge closer to race day, just 32 days from now.

Lastly, I nabbed some of this weekends race photo's off of Brightroom... Here are a couple:

HAPPY TRAINING!

Another Step in the Right Direction

YES!! Denver 1/2 Marathon was this morning and I'm happy to report that it went precisely according to plan. Heading into this I had a couple of goals:

- Run a smart race with even effort
- Maintain focus throughout
- Goal time was sub-1:17 w/a goal pace of 5:52's (I went 5:54 pace at the 10-Miler 5 weeks ago, so I thought this was reasonable for a longer (tougher) course)

Leading into the race this week, I just pulled back a little bit as I mentioned in my earlier Blog on Wednesday. After that short workout I got in the following for the rest of the week: Thurs - 6 miles ez, Fri - 8.25mi ez, Sat - 4.75mi ez. So while I wasn't feeling extremely fresh (or tapered) heading into today's 1/2, I definitely felt a little better than I do on a typical day.

Anyway, the weather had been horrible yesterday, but we were all fortunate and woke up to significantly improved weather this morning. It was 37 degrees when I left the house at 6:15am, but it was dry and there was no wind. Almost perfect running weather.

If you haven't run the Denver course, it is definitely not an easy one. While it opens up and ends with downhill miles, almost everything in between is rolling (mile 6-9 are pretty flat though). Here's an elevation profile:

That said, I wasn't trying to run even mile splits today as there were obviously miles where I would run significantly faster (and slower) than goal pace. Instead, I just wanted to keep my effort even and try to push the whole way. Additionally, I really put an emphasis on staying focused during this race. My friend, Ryan Whitehead had given me some input yesterday (RE: my recent 'bonks' in the longer workouts) about how he has noticed that when he loses focus (or bonks), it's often associated with a lack of nutrition. He made a really good point and it was something that I hadn't thought about before. Seriously, I was doing 16-18 mile hard workouts and hadn't even thought about my nutrition!!! How stupid can I be, right?! Well, I guess that comes from years of doing shorter (<12 mile workouts) and only considering nutrition during races.

Back to the point... So, I decided that I would bring one gel with today and put it down between mile 8 and 10. I also focused on taking in fluids at every water stop. Alternating water at one, sportsdrink (CytoMax today) at the next, throughout the race. Luckily this worked out really well. I first noticed myself beginning to lose focus at about 7.5 miles in... and when I say 'lose focus' I mean, that I start thinking about other stuff besides racing, effort, monitoring body systems, etc. Instead I start thinking about stupid stuff like the geese in City park, what I'm going to eat after the race, how my friends are doing or other stuff that leads to me letting up and slowing down. SO, when I first noticed it today I immediately opened the gel and began taking in a portion of it. Over the next 3 miles or so I held it in my hand and every time my mind began to drift I would mentally catch myself and say FOCUS!!!, eat some gel and push. Interestingly enough, during that period, I also managed to drop the 2 guys that were running near me, run off into 'No Man's Land' and increase my pace as much as 25 seconds/mile!! Ryan, thanks for making me think. It was a huge help and taught me A LOT to use next month in the big race.

So, without further ado, my final time today was 1:16:53 (5:52 pace) --- Altitude converted this would be roughly a 1:13:39 (or 5:37/mi pace). I finished somewhere between 10th and 13th overall, and most importantly, I ran my own race, running completely on my own from mile 8 to the finish.
Mile 1: 5:39
Mile 2: 5:41
Mile 3: 5:51
Mile 4: 5:58
Mile 5: 5:56
Mile 6: 5:53
Mile 7: 6:02
Mile 8: 6:02
Mile 9: 6:12
Mile 10: 5:42
Mile 11: 5:36
Mile 12: 5:59
Mile 13: 5:42
1:33
TOTAL: 1:16:53

I'm super excited about the result especially given the fact that I was not rested, was at altitude and was on a tough course. I am really looking forward to the taper and the return to sea-level for San Antonio. Just 5 more weeks of hard work till the big day!! Thanks to everybody who put comments on Facebook or wished me luck. I'm not real sure WHY this marathon has become such a major focus for me, but I don't think I've ever trained as hard for ONE particular race as I have for this one so I'm really hoping to hit my goal! If you also raced today, I hope that it went well and that you learned a lot from your experience for future races as well! Happy Training!

San Antonio It Is!!

It's official, yesterday I booked my plane ticket and made the final decision that I will be racing in San Antonio on 11/13 rather than Richmond. I had initially been leaning towards Richmond due to the weather and the fact that the field was a little deeper but the economics and logistics of the two trips pretty much made the decision for me. Add to that the fact that my buddy Pete Mallett (who lives in Austin) will also be coming over to watch the race and hang out, and it just made more sense. Jon Hiatt ran the race last year and is hopefully going to give me some pointers for the course.

Otherwise, I'm just going to hope for cool weather on race day like they had last year! The race website can be found HERE if you'd like to see the course map or get more info. If you're in the area that weekend let me know and we'll definitely get together!

Worn Out!

Man oh man, I think that the miles are beginning to get to me. After 2 weeks at 75+ miles including over 15+ miles at tempo-pace and a long run from 18-21 miles, my legs are finally feeling fried. They definitely haven't treated me well this week.

Monday night, 2 days after my 2.5hr run on Saturday, I had another big workout... and the fatigue from the long run made itself known from the start. The workout was:
2mi warmup
2 x 2mi @ T-pace (5:54) w/3min rest
1hr @ E-pace (7:22)
2mi @ T-pace
2mi Warmdown
Total: 18 miles

After the 2 mile warmup it was clear that 18 miles wasn't going to happen (and wouldn't be smart to do) so I shortened it a little bit... doing the following:

2mi warmup
2 x 2mi @ T-pace (5:49, 5:52), (5:44, 5:55) w/3min rest
6mi @ E-pace 
2mi @ T-pace (6:13, 6:06)
2mi Warmdown
Total: 16 miles

Obviously the fatigue became apparent late in the run. That last 2mi tempo effort was horrible. It felt like I was running the same pace as earlier, but the watch shocked me by showing otherwise. There simply wasn't anything left. I feel like I'm generally getting a little better at feeling my pace, but still have some work to get it really accurate.These longer workouts continue to show me, however, that I need to work on keeping my focus in the late miles of long, hard efforts more than anything. Whether it's this workout, a long continuous tempo, or any of the other 15+ mile workouts, I keep losing focus, and thus slowing in the late miles.

Anyway, Tuesday I took it easy with a 6-mile easy run and then tonight I had another bout of speedwork on the agenda. It was supposed to have been a 12 mile run with 2 by 20-minutes at T-pace but considering how beat my legs felt AND the fact that I am trying to race this Sunday I thought better of it and just did 20 minutes at about 6min pace. I am very happy to be able to cut mileage back a bit now with just easy runs from now until Sunday and the race. I'm thinking that this week, and next, I will just keep mileage in the 60-65 mile range before doing maybe 1-2 more weeks around 75 and then cutting it way down for the big race in November. As everyone else is racing now, it's starting to make me a little impatient to get to mine but hey, I'd rather be impatient now, then having to have started training 6 weeks earlier in the summer and running in the heat that much longer!!

Another big week in the books

Wow, I was really bad at updating the BLOG last week... sorry, to anyone that reads this. It was a busy week at work and running. It won't happen again!! So... to pick up where I left off. Monday night had been a rough, long workout, which left my legs cashed for a couple days. Surprisingly they felt reasonable on my Tuesday recovery run, so I actually knocked out 8 miles that night. Wednesday was to be another monstrous workout, however and when I woke up on Wednesday morning I knew that I was in for it since my legs were then feeling like garbage.

Ahh well, I headed over to Highline again to get in this long workout and tried to take it a step at a time. The workout was meant to be as follows:

2mi warmup
2 x (3mi @ T-pace (5:54)) w/ 3min rest
2mi @ T-pace
2mi warmdown
Total = 12 miles

By the time I got my warmup in though, I knew that I was in trouble. My actual workout consisted of:
2mi warmup
2.5mi @ T-pace (5:58, 6:01, 3:00)
1mi moderate
2mi @ T (5:44 (WTF?!?), 5:52)
.5mi moderate
1mi @ T (5:54)
2mi warmdown
Total = 11 miles

This was my first real explosion during a workout but considering the fact that I had done the hard workout two days before, my total volume had been high, and I'm working full-time, I didn't let it get to me too much. I took it easy on both Thursday & Friday, just doing short doubles each day to get in 9mi each day. Then Saturday it was time for my first really long run.

I headed out the door with the intention of going 20 but luckily felt amazing throughout the run and ended up tacking on a bit to get in a total of 21.25 miles that morning. I ran it in 2:35:18... just about 2 minutes quicker than my projected marathon time. I am happy to still be 6 weeks out from the race and have already ran pretty much the entire duration of the race, if not the distance. I feel like that has been a big part of my issues in the marathon in the past. Not being prepared to be running for 2.5 hours can be tough. Now I know I can do the time... I just need to work on the endurance as it relates to me running at race pace. I am feeling extremely confident again after Saturday's long run. Here's a look at the elevation of the run. Def not a flat one. Avg'd 7:21's throughout but pushed the pace for the last 3-4 miles getting down around 6:45's for a bit.


Sunday, I got in another 5.5 mile easy run and that made for my biggest week in quite awhile. 77.25 miles. Now to ratchet it back a bit for this Sunday's upcoming Rock and Roll Denver 1/2 Marathon. Definitely not tapering for this one, but will lower mileage to the low- to mid-60's this week and try to see what I've got in the tanks next weekend.

As a sidenote, I had some friends racing at Twin Cities last weekend and they all killed it! Rob (who is 42!!) went 2:35, John 2:43, Lorne hit 2:50 and Michelle went 3:06!! Pr's for only a couple but great races all around! Nice work to everyone who raced!! Next up, Denver, Chicago, Portland, Rev3 SC and Kona this coming weekend!! Can't wait to watch/participate!!

Keeping My Head In The Game

Another tough workout tonight. 16 miles with 12 @ M-pace (6:14's). I headed over to the the Highline trail again for this one and after 2 miles easy, got into it. Again running without GPS for pace and just going on feel. Felt relatively good as I got into it and managed to roll all 12 miles at an avg of 6:10-pace. Splits were: 6:11, 6:11, 6:02, 6:06, 6:11, 6:11, 6:07, 6:11, 6:10, 6:09, 6:14, 6:21 (total 1:14:10).

As you can see, the trouble really came in the last 2-miles... at least time-wise. What I found is that I lost focus at the start of mile 8. Until then I had just been able to cruise and not think about anything other than my perceived exertion and monitoring what was going on with my body. About mile 8, I just got bored and started thinking about other things... work, life, etc. Unfortunately, as I did this, it eventually led to me letting up on the pace and crashing those last 2 miles. It doesn't mean much for this workout since I still achieved what I had hoped to, but it definitely causes me some worry for the full marathon. Chances are I will be running most of the race alone (like tonight) and I need to figure out a way to keep that focus throughout. In Rome (in March) I think I did a good job of it through about 15 miles. Started struggling from 15-20, and was just totally out of it for the last 10K. I don't want to do that again. Anyone know any good secrets? If so, feel free to share!

Anyway, wrapped up the night with 2 more easy miles but my legs feel totally cooked. It's going to be an extremely easy day tomorrow. On a sidenote, my buddy Rob Chenoweth (aka. the fastest masters runner I know... and an overall amazing runner) will be racing Twin Cities this Sunday. After an injury and a long time on the sidelines, I'm sure he's anxious to see how he can go out there (I am too!). It kicks off the real start of the Fall marathon schedule (not counting Berlin, which was last weekend... since I didn't know anyone running there) and I'm super excited to see how all of my friends do out there! This is a nice break from the Triathlon world... one that I needed.

Biggest Week in Years!

Week 8 is in the books! Had an easy end to the week after a couple of super tough workouts in the beginning. After Wednesday night's big track session I took it easy on Thurs and Fri, putting in 8 miles and 9.5 miles (double) respectively. Saturday morning I was up early and out the door by 8am for the long run. Basically did a huge tour of the city (incl. a lap of Cheeseman and 2 of Wash park) to get in 18.5 miles. Surprisingly, I felt really good throughout with no major issues to worry about... although Chafing was definitely a factor for a awhile there, and that is definitely not comfortable.
On the run I took in a GU and about 12oz of Gatorade. Felt fresh all the way thru. Wanted to do more of a pick-up near the end but only managed about the last 2 miles at 6:40-ish pace. Overall, 'Map my Run' tells me I went about 7:18 pace. Right about where I was shooting for (7:22).
Today was an easy 5.5 miles this morning made significantly harder due to a night out with the boys on Saturday. I swear, I am definitely getting old b/c nights like that, that never used to effect me, now put the hurt on me the next day. Ahhh well, that's the price you pay I guess.
All said and done, I hit just over 75miles this week. My biggest week of running in almost 10 years!! Things are feeling good. I have now run for 56 days straight putting in over 60 hours and 550 miles of training. Counting the days until the Denver 1/2 on 10/9 and then the homestretch into the big day in November!

Track workout!

After Monday nights long workout I was anxious to see how the legs would feel this morning when I woke up. Yesterday I just did an easy 5-miler at maybe 7:30 pace to let the legs rest a bit but there was still some ongoing soreness/tightness when I headed to bed. 
Luckily, thanks to icing, my foam rolling habits and my wonderful Rico-fit compression socks (which I have been living in for almost every minute (except when running) for the past 5-6 weeks now), I woke up feeling pretty good. It was still TBD how I would feel in tonight's long track workout, but at least I figured I could power thru rather than having to move it to tomorrow night for another easy days rest.
I will say, heading to the track on your own for a long workout SUCKS! It's definitely not like the old days in Chicago when we would all meet up at Fleet Feet and 10-30 of us would jog over to the track together before getting in to the workout. I really disliked the weather back there but really took for granted how much the camaraderie of it all made the workouts easier. I guess, if nothing else, doing workouts like these on your own makes you mentally tougher and forces you to keep your pace in check versus some of the times when the group would push the pace way too much, too early.

Anyway, tonight I had a workout that in the past I would of thought of as HELL, but that I didn't really mind. It was:
2-mile easy warmup
4 x 1-mile at T-pace (5:54*)
5min easy jog
3 x 1-mile at T-pace (5:54*)
2-mile easy warmdown

I completed the workout but didn't stick to the above * (T-pace). It's been a bit tough for me to gauge where my real VDOT level should be since the tables (in the book) don't take into account altitude. I look at my times from races at altitude and it tells me that I should be in the 59-61 range, but then when I look at what those times would be at sea-level, I would be in 62-64 range. That's a pretty wide range when it's all said and done! (a T-pace of anywhere from 5:59 to 5:36). SO, I started this program assuming the easiest of the range (59) and using all of those paces. After the past few weeks and the 10-miler, I have bumped that up to the VDOT 60, since the book says to only go up one level every 3-4 weeks at most.

All of that said, I have basically been disregarding the suggested T-paces during my hard workouts and just going at a pace that feels comfortable. That pace is significantly faster than either of the VDOT levels I have been training at but it seems like the sense of the Jack Daniel's program is to run hard on hard days and easy on easy days. As long as I stick to that, I think I'll be okay... any input from anyone out there in the online-world?!?

Back to tonight! I did the workout on the local high school track. A storm was moving in so it was pretty windy on the back stretch, but otherwise conditions were perfect. Here's how it went:

4 x 1-mile on 1min rest (5:48, 5:42, 5:43, 5:41)
5mins easy jog
3x 1-mile on 1min rest (5:39, 5:39, 5:29)

Only felt out of my comfort zone on the final one, so I am super happy with how it went and am actually beginning to worry because these longer, fast workouts are going SO easily. I'm only 1/2 way through the training program and in the best run shape that I've been in since college!!

Pushing Through

Have you ever had something that you have been dreading since the second you saw it or heard about it? Whether it's an assignment in school, a project at work or a specific workout, if it's big enough, it can become intimidating and make you question your own abilities. In any of the different realms of life I think it's important to challenge yourself once in awhile just to see what your really made of and I guess to kind of remind you that you're alive.
Tonight I had something like this in the form of a workout that I had been dreading since I first picked up the 'Jack Daniels Running Formula' book back on Memorial Day weekend and paged through the training plans. I was looking through the workouts, and while there are a lot of awful workouts in there, this one stuck out in my mind as one that just seemed absolutely awful. I'm not sure if it was because this workout was the first of the extremely tough workouts in Phase III of the training plan, or simply because of the sheer length of it. Needless to say, as today approached, I was more than a little intimidated by the thought of taking it on.
Luckily, it was a slow day at work today so I was able to prepare as well as possible for the evening workout, which was to look like this:
2 mile warmup
4 x 1 mile @ T-pace (5:59) w/1min rest
1 hour ez running (7:29 pace)
15-20 min Tempo run at T-pace
2 mile warmdown
Total: 18.5 - 19.25 miles

By the time I got to the Highline Canal Trail, the rolling gravel trail with marked mile posts that wanders through Denver's suburbs it was 5:30 and I figured I had maybe 2-2:10 of light left. So I changed things up a little and hit it. This is what I ended up doing:

2 mile warmup
5 x 1 mile - descending (6:02, 5:53, 5:43, 5:41, 5:39)
45min ez running (7:20-30 pace)
15 min Tempo run (2.5 miles - 6:10, 6:18, 3:09)
2 mile warmdown
Total: 17.5 miles

There were so many factors headed in to this workout, from the strain in my right calf, to the 16.5 miler that I had done 2 days before, to the fact that I would be doing this workout on my own yet again. As I finished the miles and moved into the easy run I was feeling amazing, and while I was pretty worn down by the final miles, I think this was a HUGE step forward in my confidence level and definitely served it's purpose. I'm ecstatic that I am running this well only halfway into the training plan and hopeful that I will continue to stay healthy and injury-free as the training continues. Hopefully if you've got a big challenge lying ahead, this will give you the motivation to know that you can definitely get through it, you probably just need to put your head down and do the work. Happy Training!

Week 7 down... almost 1/2 way there!!

Finished out last week without too much excitement. Got in 6 miles ez on Thursday, 8.5 miles on Friday and then a long run of 16.5mi on Saturday. Unfortunately on my easy run on Friday evening, something happened with my right calf and I seemed to have strained something in it. At that point it wasn''t clear whether I was going to be able to run on Saturday or not. It was definitely a painful experience for the first 70 or 80 minutes of the run on Saturday but finally the pain faded. It was still sore and tight through today, but it seems to be coming around.
I ended up doing the long run on my own around the city on Saturday. There was way too much concrete on that run and it beat me up pretty good. Next weekend I think I'll be looking for a gravel trail again somewhere.
Sunday finished out with an easy 5.5 mile run in the evening putting me at 69.25 miles for the week. 7 weeks in the books at an average of right around 67.5 miles per week. Can't wait to turn the corner this week and make it thru the halfway mark of training. A lot of Fall marathons are quickly approaching and I'm getting excited to see how everyone's training pays off as they race throughout the country at Twin Cities, Chicago, New York and other races. For those of you beginning your taper now... ENJOY IT! I'm very envious!

Cold, Wet & Windy

Today was one of those days where my evening workout was in the back of my mind throughout the day. With a big change in weather on it's way and a full day of work between me and my workout, I was anxious to see what I would be met with come time to do the work. Turns out, it was about as bad as I thought it'd be... Temp's had dropped 26 degrees from the same time 24 hours earlier (to about 54 deg F), the downpour of rain had begun and there were occasional wind gusts. To top it off, a big workout awaited, and I was on my own for it. again.

Back in the day when I lived in Portland I wouldn't have thought twice about weather like this but seeing as how we just came off of 2 of the hottest months on record in Denver and I had a work meeting at the office until after 5pm, I had packed my workout gear this morning for the workout. I didn't pack correctly. Luckily, I still had some random clothing in my car, one of which was a large cotton hoody. I grabbed it, thinking that I would only wear it for the warmup, but it turns out that I ended up wearing it for the entire workout once I realized how cold it actually was out!

Here's a pic of me directly after finishing the track portion of the workout before heading out for the warmdown. Don't I look happy?!

Ha! So, anyway the workout was meant to be 20min warmup, 4 x (10-12 min at T-pace (5:59) w/3 min rest), 20min warmdown. In the end, I ended up cutting the last interval as well as the warmdown a little short because I was simply too cold. Considering all of the factors and the fact that I didn't even bother putting on my flats and just did it all in soaking wet trainers, I am very happy with how it went!!

20 min warmup
1. 11:43 (5:48, 5:55)
2. 11:43 (5:44, 5:59)
3. 11:45 (5:49, 5:56)
4. 1-mile only - 5:45
(avg. mile pace throughout = 5:51)
10 min warmdown
12 miles total

Tuesday, I had just gotten in an easy 6.75 miles. Tomorrow and Friday will be easy as well as I gear up for an 18-miler on Saturday. I'm going to sleep well tonight!

Phase III is here!

Oh crap, Phase III (otherwise known as 6 weeks of Hell) is here!! This week actually doesn't look too bad, with some simple tempo work both today and on Wednesday, but the 'you know what' is gonna hit the fan come next Monday when I have probably the hardest workout thus far in my life on the schedule (It's 22 miles and involves about 8.5 miles at Threshold). I might have to take Tuesday off work. Yikes!

For today anyway, I did a double (3.5mi AM, 10.5mi PM) and got in a total of 14 miles (It's funny how that's just becoming normal and I don't even really notice it).  There wasn't a workout on the schedule so, just for a little something I did 20mins at Threshold mid run this evening. Felt good. Although the mileage will likely be in the 75 mile range this week I am going to try to run as much of it as possible at the very easy training pace and just try to recover as much as possible this week, before my next 5 weeks of torture. I figure that if I can't take time completely off, at least I can run easy to relieve some of the stress.

I'm both looking forward to, and extremely nervous about, the workouts in the next few weeks. I feel like they might totally wipe me out (energy-wise), but if I can survive this training block injury-free, I will undoubtedly be in the best run shape of my life, which would be really exciting. Next time I do this whole marathon-training thing though, I really should try to find a couple of people to train with. Really long, intense workouts just put you in another world when you're on your own. Anyway, I'm rambling tonight. If anybody is reading this, I hope that your training is going well too! Have a great week!