Spring races, Truing up 1H12

I've completely slacked on keeping posts on this blog. 

For the first time in probably 4 years, I didn't run a spring marathon.  Hence, I've had a little less motivation in the blog.  But I did have some strong winter training that lead to solid spring races.  I then went on a 10 week hiatus/wedding tour/vacation/etc in April through early June that resulted in garbage miles for 2-3 months. 

I'm finally getting back to some consistent running as I roll up for a fall marathon. 

So let's true things up for the year first half of the year and my spring races:

Without the early marathon, I hit June 30th with slightly lower mileage than in the past few years (1,060 miles).  February and March were all about quality miles with lots of speed and progression runs.  Of the four races in the spring, my goal race was the Shamrock Shuffle. 

3/18 - Cary March Madness 1/2 Marathon: 1:16:53

Believe it or not, this race was a nasty heater.  It was easily 70 degrees at the starting line and well into the mid-80's by the finish of the race.  IN MARCH!!  Being the first race of the year, it was really just a tune up.  I used it as a progression to pace some team mates early on, and gradually picked it up towards the end of the race in spite of the heat.  I finished 4th overall and won the age group. 

3/25 - Shamrock Shuffle 8K: 26:47 (PR)

This was my spring goal race.  Essentially, I had expected and wanted to run this at last year's Turkey Trot - so to do it again a few months later on less training was quite pleasing.  Ultimately, we had decent weather and I ran a mostly consistent pace with all miles in the very low 5:20's and a slightly faster 5th mile.  This really was a great PR for me.  I don't get many chances at an 8K.  I had the sub-27 monkey on my back for a while, and I was happy to get it off.

4/1 - Oak Park 5K: 16:23

On the heels of the Shamrock, this race was supposed to be a blow out 5K.  I felt reasonably strong leading into it.  And then like an idiot, I sabotaged it.  Two days prior, I ran a 15 mile Friday night progression run, with 6 of it hard.  (In other words, a run that exhausts you after an exhausting work week).  Then the night before the race, I drank a bottle of wine.  Probably not things that you should do if you want to be fresh for a-balls-to-the-wall 5K.  I ran mostly steady splits in this race, but was totally flat when it came to keeping up with competition or picking it up.  Lame.

4/28 - Lakefront 10Mi: 59:08

The weeks leading into this race had mixed training.  I had started more aggressively nursing a nagging injury (my classic hip/ glue/ hamstring strain that never seems to want to go away), then I had random trips and weddings to deal with.  Ultimately, I ran this race as a workout.  Unfortunately, it was during a wind storm and I actually had to work in the workout.  I lead a pack for a series of miles into the wind, only to be dropped by other runners when we got wind at our backs, and then I fought back in the last few miles to only get dropped again in the final kick.  Even worse, these were all runners that I'd typically beat.  Lame, but ok for what was intended to be an uneventful workout.

After the four spring races, I saw a few of my very good friends get married, Sarah and I went to New Orleans and competed in a personal contest called "Man versus New Orleans"... (I nearly lost against myself)... After a month of bouncing around, I came back feeling like I was 10 lbs over weight. 

I started picking my miles back up in early June, only to get sidelined with a quick calf strain that took a week to work out.  Since then, I've been able to pull together a series of lower base/fitness building weeks.  Next step will be to add back a little speed. 

It has begun

Up until this week, I've been struggling to pull together any reasonable miles this year. The last three weeks have been in the 40's. I keep finding excuses to take a couple extra days off each week, which means most of my miles are slammed into a couple days a week.

...It's amazing how easy it is to be motivated when you're running 90 miles a week. You don't even think about it. The routine just yanks you out the door. Cut that number in half though, and it becomes incredibly difficult to wanna do anything...

OK, so not all of my miles have been garbage recently. I have tried to get into the habit of running a 10 mile progression on Friday's, followed by a 15-17 mile progression on Saturday's. That's helping to fight my lack of fitness, now I just need to add more meat during the week.

That said - this week, I'm getting involved. I should be able to hit 60 miles and actually manage 6 days of running! Monday, I had my first tempo run in two and a half months. Five miles that averaged about 5:46's. And last night I ran 12x 400 that started at about 80 seconds and cranked it's way down to 71 seconds. Neither were easy, but they also weren't crushing... and I didn't fade in the workouts. That's a start.

From here, I'll try to assemble a solid month of basic training to get me into enough shape to not embarrass myself at Cary, Shamrock, and Oak Park. I think it'll require a 5 week streak of 60-75 miles per week. After that, I'll reassess what I need to (and want to) do for the spring racing season.

Dog Days of Winter

The garbage weather and a lack of immediate need to pack on many miles (aka no marathon in sight) has me just muddling along through the past several weeks.

Hence, nothing fantastic to report with my running as of now. I'm just trying to maintain something in the 40-50 miles per week range. Sadly, that's not enough to keep me feeling fit. I have no speed at the moment, and oddly enough, I don't really even feel all that fresh.

Nonetheless, I need to kickstart some training soon. I'll slowly pick up my miles in the coming weeks as I roll up for some early spring races:

3/18 - Cary March Madness Half Marathon
3/25 - Shamrock Shuffle 8K
4/1 - Oak Park 5K

Good Riddance 2011

My year can be summed up like this: Both personally and athletically, fantastic. Professionally, not so much. I'll spare you from the rants about the market, and how I feel like I've aged 3 years in the past 12 months due to my stress at work... But when all is told, I did have a solid year of running and I couldn't be happier with almost all other aspects of my life (again, minus the work bullshit). That said, I'll be happy to move on to greener ground in 2012.

Since CIM, I've been muddling along in a quasi- recovery and maintenance mode with one goal in mind: breach 2,500 miles for the year. I finally closed it out yesterday and hit 2,511.4 miles as of today (yeah, that's right, I'll claim those 2 extra 0.2's from Rotterdam and CIM). I don't need to run tomorrow, but if I can squeeze something, so be it. I'd have to go back to double check the numbers - but I believe that means every year since 2004 has been a PR in total mileage.

I can also mark PRs in my 5K, 8K, 10K, and twice in the marathon. The 16:16 Oak Park 5K, 2:38:46 Rotterdam, and 2:38:14 CIM were my most proud accomplishments.

Strangely, my 1:14:50 half-marathon from September-2010 still stands as my all-time most aggressive race (and that was even before any peak-NYC training). That needs to be rectified.

2011 Notable accomplishments:
March - 106 miles in 7 days PR
April - Oak Park 5K 16:16 PR
April - Rotterdam Marathon 2:38:46 PR
October - FLW 10K 34:38 PR (training run)
November - Streaked 5 consecutive days of maintaining 103 miles
November - Buffalo Turkey Trot 8K 27:16 PR (technically a disappointment)
December - California International Marathon 2:38:14 PR
Total Miles - 2,511.4 PR


Looking forward to 2012, I have some initial goals in mind:

• On a broader scale, run healthy. I still have some lingering problems with my left hamstring yanking on my hip (most likely due to sitting all day at work, followed by running my ass off outside of the office). I haven't mentioned it much recently since it hasn't slowed me down, but it is notably weaker and/or restricted versus my right hamstring. That needs to get fixed. Otherwise I'm 100% healthy.
  
  
• It should go without saying, but PR my total mileage again this year.
  
  
• Roll a decent Shamrock Shuffle 8K. Should be sub 27min, which should be very doable. It'll also put me on solid ground for a nice spring racing season
  
  
• PR my 1/2 marathon. I need to crush that 1:14:50.
  
  
• Go all in on the marathon. And by all in, I mean a proper training session... like NYC-2010 minus blowing up in the peak... and none of this 12-15 week bullshit. A proper 1,500 mile, 20 week ordeal.

I'm not totally sure which half and full marathons yet... I'm likely going to defer any marathoning until the fall though. I could use a few months to more properly recover still and build my core back up. I'd love to gun Chicago, and then sandbag a 2:49 in NYC to get that monkey off my back... but we'll see. Chicago is early again this year, so we'll see (Dear Race Organizers: Pull your head out of your ass and switch to mid/late October already!!)

For now though... Good Riddance 2011! You won't be missed.

The Battle of Sacramento

They dub the California International Marathon as a one of the fastest marathons of the country.

Indeed, with only about 5,500 participants and over 10% of the field running sub 3:10 races, it is pretty fast. (Though I would claim that it's competitive instead of fast). This year, the field was especially stacked as a number of men and women flooded the race in hopes of getting an Olympic Trails Qualifier for next month's Houston Trials. ...Sorry, I'm faaaar too old and late in life to consider even comprehending such an option, but it still makes for an exciting event!

As fast as they say, CIM isn't entirely easy. Many runners go out way too aggressively on the countless rolling and early net-down hills. Pretty much through about the first 13 miles, it's rolling down offset with lots of ups. Through 18 it rolls more but is net flat, then calms down 20 through the finish. Unfortunately, most runners are spent by the time they're supposed to gun it. Of the top 100 racers last year, only 7 runners had negative splits! About 15 wound up negative this year, but arguably because the field had more experienced elites.

CIM Course Map

Long story short: having that 7 out of 100 stat in the back of my mind certainly didn't help as I toed the line.

The weather was hairy the days before the race, but miraculously cleaned up by the time it started: 40's, sun, and very minimal winds.

I went to the starting line with plenty of sleep from the nights before, plenty of hydration. I wasn't feeling horribly nervous. Things were lined up for a decent run. All I needed was the confidence to execute.

Track and Trough Athletic Union fielded a team of 5 marathoners consisting of myself, Dan McDowell, Jason Ream, Michael Martineau, and Verdo Gregory. Carolyn Martineau ran the relay event.

Jason and I decided to run together for what we could. We targeted a 1:19:15ish goal for our split, and then planned to drop whatever we could in the second half. Ideally, we both wanted to go for the seemingly impossible: negatively split races. For me, anything under 2:38:46 would've been a PR.

The first five miles had a decent loss of elevation to them (nearly half of what the whole course would eventually give). We started conservative, and after a some early jockeying and loosening up, Jason and I were hitting low-6's. We weren't working with anyone else early on, but slowly reeled in a nice pack of a about 6 or 7 runners by the 4th mile.

Jason's voice of reason had us stick with the group for a while. It was a wise move because it was either this, or go it alone. Jason hung off my shoulder or in the middle of the pack, while I was happy up front. (I had the burning desire to make sure we stuck to my plan and hence I became a pace setter).

It was really pretty cool, as this pack clung together until about 15 miles deep. We gradually consumed and reeled in runners one by one. Some joined us, some fell off. Nobody dropped us. At almost any point over a 10 mile stretch, we easily had a solid mass of 10-15 guys... all plugging about a 6:00-6:05 pace.

In spite of being in a pack, guys were running completely different races. I found myself pushing up the hills, then cruising down them. Others fell off the back on the way up, then hammered on the way down. In general though, I remained on the front of the pack as much as I could to ensure that I kept with my pace.

We breezed through the 1/2 split at 1:19:16.... 1 whole second from goal pace. Insane!!

As the race unfolded, our conservative start and teamwork proved to be incredibly wise. Steady efforts as we rolled through those hills. It wasn't easy, but also not overly taxing. We had put in a solid number of 6-flats by about 15-16 miles. Our numbers had dwindled. I felt strong. I could sense that some of the other runners didn't want to step it up. I started to pull away from Jason and the pack.

I knew the course was gradually leveling off. It was now me and 1 other guy from Sacramento's Fleet Feet that came along. I was in charge though. I plugged a couple of 5:55's and he retreated. It then became a game of steady leap-frog from road kill to road kill. I didn't have many, but one by one I passed what was left in front of me as the miles started falling off. Nobody had anything to hang with my pace. 4 mile in a row in the mid 5:50's, followed by a bridge and a 6:01, then another mid-5:50.

There were no clocks on the course. I had no idea what time I was running. I was inside of an 8K now and starting thinking, "Hang in there, anyone can run a damn 8K!"

I stumbled through some tiny rolling hills to a 6:01 in 22. A bridge at mile 23 took some of the wind from my sails... 6:09. Ugh. I wasn't done yet. I had a couple more runners in front of me to keep me motivated. There was no going out in flames. I knew it. I was still strong. Only 5K to go now... I kept saying, "Any asshole can run a 5K! Get moving!!"

I bit down for a 6:03 in 24 and passed 2 final runners, one of which tried to hang on to me. I used a 6:05 in the 25th mile to put some distance on the leach. He didn't realize who he was fucking with.

After 25 though, I couldn't even see the next guy in front of me. No more road kills. Nothing to motivate me. Just me and the clock... which I hadn't seen all day. I still had no idea what time I was running.

My mind wondered. My feet became heavy. I became painfully bored. I started doing math in my head. I knew I was on PR pace, but was I under 2:38?? It's not that it hurt so much as it was heavy. Why didn't I just look down at my watch to see what time I was running??

This 26th mile took forever. I felt like I was absolutely all in, as fast as I could. I smiled as I passed Jesus. I liked his style, but I didn't believe what he was telling me.

I had been nailing the redline so hard and so long. I buried those last 10 miles. I could feel myself ever so slightly letting go as I increasingly lost focus with that mile. Ugh! It took forever!!!

Then I thought, was I really all in???

I slapped my wrist. 6:13. FUCK!! That was an expensive mile. I immediately woke up. I knew I wasn't all in. It was too late to make that back though. I gunned it for what I could.

I rounded a turn and saw a clock way up ahead. It was ticking 2:37:45. Ticking 2:37:50. Ticking. Ticking. 2:38:00. It was just too far away. I just fucking wrecked something insanely beautiful in that last mile. No sub-2:38 today. I was immediately pissed.

I rounded the final turn and went as fast as I could to make sure I didn't hose my PR opportunity.

I came across at 2:38:14. I immediately saw that I negative split the course.... I hit the goal perfectly on the head.

I was happy, but had that bitter 15 second taste in my mouth. I knew instantly that I could've probably squeezed a little harder during that 26th mile... A sub-2:38 would've required me to actually even pick it up slightly from the couple miles before, but I can't say that it would've been impossible.

Anyway, that was 32 seconds faster than my Rotterdam Marathon, 8 long months ago.

I did it on fewer weeks of training, and had less confidence going into CIM.

With the exception of that minor 15-second hiccup in the 26th mile, I was a fucking surgeon out there. I cut that thing up with pristine accuracy. By far, my best marathon to date... both by time and execution given the course complexity.


Split Recap:
1- 6:09.7
2- 6:04.7
3- 6:01.8
4- 5:53.5
5- 6:00.5
6- 6:01.5
7- 6:04.9
8- 6:10.9
9- 6:06.1
10- 6:00.7
11- 6:00.7
12- 6:08.4
13- 6:00.0
1st Half Split - 1:19:16
14- 5:59.8
15- 6:01.6
16- 5:58.0
17- 5:55.4
18- 5:54.8
19- 5:53.7
20- 6:01.8
21- 5:54.9
22- 6:01.9
23- 6:09.5
24- 6:03.5
25- 6:05.2
26- 6:13.0 (WTF?)
.22- 1:18.0
2nd Half - 1:18:58 (neg 0:18)
Total: 2:38:14 / Avg Pace: 6:02

Where are the jitters?

So I'm sitting here on my flight out to Sacramento, and I'm realizing that I'm about to embark on yet another 26.2 mile journey.

Oddly enough, I've barely been worried about this one. All week long, I've been waiting for the pre-marathon jitters to come, and ...nothing. Weird.

Maybe I've been trying to ignore the uncertainty in my training? Maybe it's because Thanksgiving really derailed my thoughts of running a marathon? Maybe it's because it'll be my 14th time going the distance and I'm just that nonchalant about it?

Maybe it's because I've been so focused with the volatility in the markets that I've unintentionally nuked my ability to have emotions?

...I'm actually concerned about this on a grander scale with my life... I feel like I'm seriously suppressing my emotions all around right now, because who really cares about a damn marathon when we have approximately $700 TRILLION in currency, credit and various derivative swaps outstanding worldwide -completely unregulated and unchecked, especially since not a single one of those major 30 or so monster world-wide institutions have to worry about EVER going bankrupt, so left they're betting the house every second of every day... and the fractional reserve banking system just continues to multiply at eye popping rates... and sovereigns all over the world are only promoting this model so we can perpetuate the status quo and lobbyists' interests. And all anyone wants to do is try to kick the can father down the road... well it's no longer a can, it's now an anvil and you simply can't kick it anymore.

Our entire worldwide fiat ponzi is staring down the barrel of a bazooka and it's only a matter of time until one little itchy trigger finger from thousands of miles away says "I need to unload." We're talking the brink of complete financial meltdown feels like it's days, if not weeks, months, or just a couple years away... (it changes by the minute...)

And worst thing is... nobody cares or even knows what's about to hit us. Fucked up beyond comprehension. OR - Maybe I should stop thinking on my own or reading http://www.zerohedge.com/ and just join the comatose status quo and ignore the numbers?

OK OK... I try not to rant about the market here, but I think I just figured out why I haven't been the least bit concerned about my marathon so far... I'm sitting on this plane right now, far more concerned about euros, aussie-yen crosses, brent-WTI oil, MLP spreads, interest rates, money printing, etc... let alone what "Merkozy" comes up with this weekend, ...than I am about putting my body through 26.2 miles of agony.

This is about 24 months in the making for me. The last 6 months especially, I've gone to sleep every night not knowing if tomorrow will bring financial armageddon, not knowing which too-big-to-fail bank or world power is on the brink of disaster, not knowing if I'll have a job... not knowing what sort of civil fallout ensues WHEN the house of cards truly collapses and people realize what sort of sham we've been trying to perpetuate. Don't bother asking about my "Five Year Plan"... I have trouble thinking about my "Five Month Plan".

SO, cool as a cucumber about CIM... not so much about the markets. I have less than 36 hours to get my shit straight and focus on the task at hand.

Gluttony + CBM + Botched Turkey = Bad Taper

Some random pre-marathon thoughts here:

I've been on the steady downward slope this taper (yes, pun intended). It's certainly been an unorthodoxed, as Thanksgiving's gluttony and my general diet have not helped my cause. I feel I've gained a little weight now that my miles have been cut. To top it off, I still have no idea what kind of shape I'm in.

Allow me to whine like a little bitch for the moment:

In the past couple weeks, I've eaten like 3 Thanksgiving dinners, each worth at least 1500-2000 calories... eaten way too much pizza, had countless sweets, drank too much alcohol (or at least well beyond what a taper would justify). All things that should not be happening as one prepares to go to battle.

Then throw in the CHICAGO BEER MILE. Of course I couldn't pass up one of the best events of the year, but its timing couldn't be worse for me. (I can gloat that I did PR though with 11:39, in spite of multiple pukes in 5 laps). Unfortunately, all the things that come with a beer mile means binge drinking, eating like a hell, and a monster 2-day hangover. Naturally I used Jimmy Johns and pizza to try to cure the hangover, which only compounded the situation.

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

BUFFALO TURKEY TROT

So speaking of fitness... I have no idea where I currently stand. That brings me to report on last week's Buffalo Turkey Trot 8K.

This was race supposed to be the guide post that tells me what to target in California. Instead, I screwed up and am left scratching my head.

The Trot is the oldest race in America and the city's main racing event. By some technicality, Buffalo's Trot even older than the Boston Marathon - though both have been running 116 years. (yeah, there was a time when Buffalo was more than just a run-down, brain-drained, bankrupt ghost town... Its truly sad to see my hometown fall apart).

So typically this race is stacked with college kids and fresh-outs rounding out their XC/racing seasons. It had a field of about 13,000, and up to 50 people generally go sub-28. All but a couple of the guys in front of me were older than mid-20's.

The course is a point to point with some rolling hills early. Temps were in the 40's, but I had to deal with a nasty head-wind the entire way. The kicker: I stupidly forgot my watch and for some dumb reason, thought that there would be clocks at the mile posts (nope, there weren't).

I supposed not having any clocks made the race more entertaining, since it became a "pure race" of me against anyone around me...? Unfortunately, I blew my pack apart at about 3 miles, and ran the last 2 miles totally solo and with out a clue of pace. The monster gusts in the last mile didn't help either.

That said - I ran 27:16. 20th place. Technically, a long overdue 8K PR and I won my age group since the 2nd overall was in my group. Unfortunately, it was about 20-30 seconds off of my target... not a small miss for a 5 mile race. It leaves me clueless as how to gauge my marathon this coming weekend.

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

FINAL TRACK WORKOUT

1x 400 @ 71
1x 1600 @ 5:02 (75, 77, 77, 73)
2x 800 @ 2:32, 2:26
1x 400 @ 65

The mile was a disappointment, but otherwise I'm happy with the workout. Somehow I fell into a comfortable zone in the 2nd and 3rd laps...? I could've easily gone 5+ seconds faster had I not fell asleep at the wheel.

The second 800 and final 400 made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Last big track workout

The 20x 400 has become one of my pinnacle workouts before a marathon, similar to the the 10x 800. The 400s though feel like a much more intense and bigger workout though. More speed, and it takes forever given the recovery time. Yeah, I know, it doesn't hold a candle to Quentin Cassidy's 3x 20x 400, but its still pretty large.

Tonight's 20 were a fraction slower than a couple weeks ago, when I did 16. That extra mile had me a little more cautious early. All in all, the whole workout was pretty comfortable and I finished strong. It's hard to tell if I felt better tonight than when I ran them before Rotterdam.

Also, I think I got Monday's knotted up quad all sorted out. It's taken a couple massages -aka pretty much a bazooka to the leg, but it didn't phase me one bit tonight.

I'm still not sure how I feel about missing my mileage this week. I know it's just a number, but I've been meticulous about my miles for the last several weeks. My all-important goal of "3 big weeks" becomes only 2 and a an 80s. Maybe it doesn't matter, and I'm actually better off for being cautious? I'd certainly feel better if I ran a bit harder tonight or during last week's 800's... or had a faster tempo on Monday... This is a shining example of a marathoner's OCD when it comes to training.

I have a couple more days and then it's officially taper time for 2 weeks. The Buffalo Turkey Trot next week will tell me what to expect in the marathon.

Split Recap:
1- 73.9
2- 73.4
3- 73.7
4- 73.1
5- 74.4
6- 73.1
7- 73.5
8- 72.9
9- 73.4
10- 73.7
11- 73.2
12- 71.9
13- 73.1
14- 71.9
15- 71.7
16- 72.0
17- 71.3
18- 70.7
19- 70.6
20- 70.3
Avg- 72.6

I flinched.

Solid tempo run last night. A big nine miles, but in the final mile spooked me.

My quad said enough is enough, and knotted up on me. I was forced to slow up instead of hammering the mile. There wasn't anything I could do, as I basically wound up with a painful flat tire.

A massage and a day later, and I think it's better but I'm afraid to run on it today. I'm taking the night off. Unfortunate, because that busts my week. Tonight was supposed to be 16 miles, and I was shooting for a third 90+ week. I can double tomorrow to pick up some of the slack but the week will still falls short. I'll have to be satisfied with this. It's not worth the risk of doing more damage.

Split recap
1- 5:59.6
2- 5:55.4
3- 5:54.6
4- 5:48.4
5- 5:49.3
6- 5:44.8
7- 5:50.3
8- 5:51.0
9- 5:49.7
Avg - 5:51

Big-boy miles

I've been living beyond 100 miles for the last handful of days. Current tab is rolling at 103 in 7 days.

So far, so good. I can tell my body's getting stronger, and the endurance is building with every run. (Kids, don't try this at home! It takes years to condition your body to do this without breaking it). I've dropped 1-2 pounds in the past couple weeks, in spite of eating everything and anything put in front of me. I'm now 138 lbs and it feels like most of that's in my legs.

Dan and I ran 23 miles this past Saturday in Barrington. It was much more comfortable than the prior week's 23. Both included some quality pick-ups too. Difference was that last week's run was easier from the get-go but did fade a little late, while this week's took me nearly 10 miles to loosen up but finished strong and fast. ...That's the effect of 103 miles.

This will be my longest stretch ever above 100 miles.

Out of my last 4 marathons:
Chicago-09: 1 day that touched 100 (I thought it was sooo much too!)
London-10: only touched 90.
NYC-10: huge base eventually broke me as I tried a streaking above 100
Rotterdam-11: 1 day that peaked up at 106 (included 2x 22mi long runs).

CIM will be a true trial of miles. These are all pure miles here. No cramming in extra long runs, just lots of running every single day... and quality at that. I haven't taken a day off in over a month. I have no idea if it's worth it.

As I said, so far I feel ok. I need to pull the reigns in mid-week though, before really cutting back next week. CIM is only 21 days away.