Quick 2012 Recap

I just finished my final run of the year. Total for 2012 was 2,535... a new PR.

I came into 2012 with some solid fitness, having just run 2:38:14 at CIM last December. On the heels of that, I was able to coast to a 26:47 Shamrock Shuffle 8K. (In hind sight, this wound up being my best race of the year).

A week after Shamrock, I flunked a 5K and then decided to take a much needed break until a mid-year roll up for marathon training. In August, I blew myself up while water skiing, and then set my sights on November's Philadelphia Marathon.

Philly consumed a ton of miles. Unfortunately, I never really had the chance to show off that fitness. I suppose there's something to be said for a 2:39:40 on zero sleep... but I didn't get to pull the trigger anywhere else in the fall.  That alone was disappointing.

As an aside, I now own 5 sub-2:40 marathons.

So there you have it... a shit-ton of training in 2012, all for literally only a couple of "A" races and little to show for it. A very lame year of competition, in spite of being much more seasoned.

The silver lining is ahead of me though... 2013 should be quite the opposite. I'm still hanging on to some of this past fall's fitness and will use that press though even bigger miles on the way to Boston. In the process, I'm already cued up for Cary and Shamrock, and I'll ideally hit a few other spring races after the marathon. From there I reassess, but ultimately will set targets on hopefully a very active season and yet another fall marathon.

Sick and 2,500

I've been sick for the past week...

And FWIW, when I say sick, I mean epically sick. Wednesday was the first day in my 13 years of a professional career that I actually had to take a sick day. Fur real. 13 years with out a single sick day. And then out of the blue - BAM!.

The impregnable wall hath been penetrated. I NEVER get sick, and fell pretty hard this past week. The nastiest 72 hour flu I've had in ages. Probably a 3 or 4 time in my life type of illness (BTW, that's not a complaint - I just never get sick, but when I do, the world comes to an end... no pun intended as it's now 12/22/12).

Anyway, that's kind of a bummer as I was just beginning to feel better about my running since Philly. I was hitting some 40s leading into the holidays, and feeling comfortable again. Nothing fancy, but decent maintenance miles. The flu made that all come to a grinding halt.

Going into Christmas and heading back to Buffalo, I did the quick math. The good news is that I just crossed 2500 miles this week, in spite of being sick. The bad news is Boston is a mere 17 weeks away now. Of course, it's crazy to concern myself with mid-April as I'm starring at Christmas at the moment. Starting the latter half of this coming week though, I'll need to start getting rolling again.

In the mean time, I'm excited to go home tomorrow and see the family. Merry Christmas, everyone!!

The Philadelphia PHlop

It's been a few weeks since Philly. I'm over it by now, but might as well vent it out here for one last time for the record.

The unfortunate thing is, there are soooo damn many pieces that need to come together for running a marathon. If just one of those pieces doesn't work out, then the entire effort is at risk of being compromised.

There are the obvious ones: your months upon months of training, overall health (injuries or sickness), the weather, the wind, what you eat in the days and week leading into the race, digesting what you've eaten so you don't get cramps, hydrating, wearing the right fucking socks (preferably ones that don't give blisters), the right shoes, keeping shoelaces tied, remembering your gu, making sure a safety pin doesn't rub you the wrong way, anything to prevent chafing at mile 23, getting to the starting line on time, going out too fast, going out too slow, tripping on something... the list goes on.

Marathoners have nightmares because of all these things.

And then there is a far less obvious piece in the puzzle: Sleep the night before the race. It generally isn't on that list. We know we need it, but common knowledge is that you don't get 8 hours before a marathon... your nerves will keep you restless. But most people still wind up with about 5 hours of sleep. That's plenty. Being well rested two nights prior to the race is far more important. But there is a point where the lack of sleep will effect your ability to battle.

I've encountered premarathon insomnia once before, in Rotterdam. That was more due to international travel and jet-lag than anything else. I got no sleep in the flight over, then like 15 hours 2 nights prior to the race, then maybe between 3 and 4 hours of sleep the night of the race. It did effect me, and I was tired but still able to run. Hell, I even PRd it at the time.

Philadelphia was a different story.

We stayed in a really awesome, older hotel in a bustling part of the city. It would've been perfect any other time, aside from the night before a marathon. What was a really huge hotel suite at a great price, might as well have come with a curse as the streets were alive until 4am on both Friday and Saturday nights. It was like a circus out there, and I heard it all. In this case, my nightmare scenario became the inability to have a nightmare.

On Saturday night, I tossed and turned, my mind raced, cars honked, people screamed, drunkards hooted and hollered. 11:00 became 12:00; 12:00 became 1:00, 1 became 2. ...Sirens wailed, douche bags raced their cars up and down the streets, bums bellowed, I constantly got up to pace the suite and piss out days worth of hydration (seriously, I must've peed no less than 20 times during the night)... I went absolutely fucking apeshit... The next thing I knew, I was still awake at nearly 4-fucking-am. Just before falling asleep, I started to think about pulling the plug on the race. Then by some miracle, I drifted off.

I woke up at 5:30. No more than a whopping 90 minutes of sleep. Not quite the ideal situation.

That's pretty much how Philadelphia played out. All other things had lined up perfectly well... I had great training, I was healthy, I was feeling fresh (aside from no sleep), and the weather was a perfect 40 degrees with only a touch of wind. To the best of my knowledge and experience, this should've been a gimme-PR. Unfortunately, I ran on a quarter tank of gas.

There was nothing I could do about getting only an hour and a half of sleep.

So I choked down some coffee, took a shower, flooded myself with gatorade to try to rehydrate after pissing it all out, and jogged a mile to the starting line.

I figured that I could at least gut out 13 miles. If it was horrible, then I'd have an easy out at half way.

As the race began, I didn't feel all "that bad"... However, to add to the ugly scene that was already messing with my head: The first four miles were horribly mismarked. I had no clue how fast I was going until probably the 6th mile... it felt like a 6min pace, or maybe a touch faster... but my splits came in at 540, 630, 511, 550, 558, then 6:00. By the time I settled down, it was clear that I might've gone out too fast.

Regardless, an even effort race on that course would've warranted a faster start, so I still had comfort in the first 10K. I was clearly tired, but I think the adrenaline made those early miles go somewhat smoothly.

I ran through a series of hills in miles 7 through 13, and rounded out the first half at about 1:18:20... faster than I would've liked for a negative split but oh well.

In the next few miles, I knew I would give something back. It was just a matter of how much and when. Then it hit me at about 15. What should've been an easy/sightly down hill mile became difficult. I started to get sore and stiffen up. It was way too early for that under normal circumstances. So I managed the decent. I willingly went from a 6:00 pace, to a 6:05-6:10. By miles 20, I had to pull back to a steady 6:15 in the final miles.

There was nothing I could do. I was out of gas. Not a terrible crash and burn. More like a controlled escape... an ejection, and then ride it out in the parachute.

And there you have it. Instead of blow out a sub-2:38, which in my mind should've been a gimme... I ran a solid 15 miles, then gutted out an annoying 11 miles for a 2:39:40. Out in 1:18:20, back in 1:21:20. My worst positive-split marathon in years.

It clearly wasn't too terrible though... because I crossed the finish line, walked through the crowd, and to spite myself, immediately jogged over a mile back to the hotel. Oddly, that didn't even feel that bad? I was just pissed.

It's been nearly a month now, and I still feel that I was cheated. Months and months of work and a shit ton of miles, and all for a mediocre race. Oh well.

The only thing I can do from here is take vengeance on Boston in April... and I'm gonna fucking blow the doors off that thing.

Philly Bound

This last week has been all about work and the markets, while ignoring the fact that I'm running a marathon in a few days. (It's funny how this happens to me). As the casino has been a whirl wind, I've unconsciously shut out what I've spent months trying to build up.

I can't avoid it any longer. Thoughts of miles of trials and trials of miles are over coming me. I'm starting to obsess.

I leave for Philadelphia in few hours.

On my back is a ton of training. Not very orthodox, nor the way I would've liked it. I started marathon training back in August only to blow up with my skiing accident. I changed plans/races and finally committed to Philadelphia. It wasn't easy to go from 80-to-zero, and then roll back up as quickly as possible.  In the end though, I pulled together a respectable streak. Five big weeks that culminated with 15 days in a row of living above 100 miles. What's more is that I felt great at the end of it. I've never successfully packed it on like this before.

I know my speed is there, but untested. I've had good workouts recently, but my only attempt for a time trial was blown to bits in the wind... I ran a 5K on the track the other night, and just couldn't overcome the weather. Way too windy to manage solo. (I couldn't have done it at a worse time too... a front was literally blowing through during my 2nd and 3rd miles, flurries included).

No prior races means that I'm having to wing it. I feel good though. I feel fresh and healthy.

Call it the Philadelphia Flyer. Call it Marathon XV - The Rocky Run. Whatever this race may be, here's me in less than 48 hours...

Getting speed

I've been slowly dropping my mileage in the last week. As of today, I'm officially in taper mode.

I'm always worried about what kind of "speed" I have going into a marathon. I usually get the chance to test myself with a few smaller races. That hasn't worked out for me this time around. There's a chance I can do a 5K this coming weekend, otherwise I may have to wing it.

Along with a bunch of big boy miles, here's what I have in the bank:

Last night's 20x 400 workout was my final workout. I averaged 72.5 with 80 seconds of recovery.

Reps 1-4 avg 73.7

5-8 avg 72.7

8-12 avg 73.4

13-16 avg 72.3

17-20 avg 70.6

Ironically, that's a hair faster than I've run 20x 400 before. Prior to CIM, I averaged 72.6. Importantly too, the workout didn't break me. I was strong the entire way though and gradually picked it up. Final two splits were 70.2 and 68.2.

Monday night's final 10 miles of big boy tempo. I averaged 5:47. Aside from being in a race, that's a great pace for that distance. Again, I felt strong all the way through it. No harm or help from any wind here either, just steady speed. I could've easily banged out three more miles to give me a half marathon.

Split recap:

1- 6:05.9

2- 5:49.7

3- 5:50.3

4- 5:47.7

5- 5:43.6

6- 5:45.3

7- 5:46.0

7- 5:50.0

9- 5:44.9

10- 5:36.0

Total- 57:59.4 / Avg- 5:47.9

The prior week's tempo was 8 @ 5:40 average. It was a little unfair though, as I had a big headwind early and then tailwind for the last 5 miles. I also did 20x 200s last week, w/ 200 recoveries. I averaged 34.5 with the final handful hit down to 31-32. Considering I'm anything but a sprinter, that was about as fast as it gets for me.

At this point, my training is done. I have a week and a half to recover. A 5K would certainly help boost my confidence and I'd love to burn a fast one. I'm not sure if I'll get the chance though... weather looks hairy for the coming weekend and the last thing I want to do is waste my time in a fight with the wind.

Getting size

I'm in the meat of my training right now. Two weeks ago, I ran 95 miles. Last week was 101 miles. This will be another 100+ week. I have seven days to go. That'll be 3-1/2 weeks of real size, inside of a 5 week streak at 80+.

Last week I was running flat... I was tired. I was sore. I was constantly hungry. Complaining. I was getting annoyed with the milage. I just lost some of my key training partners. Motivation was really dragging. I wanted it to end.

As of right now, this week... in my peak week... I'm want to hammer.

I'm holding myself back.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still tired, sore, hungry, etc. But I'm less-so than last week, and the mileage no longer phases me. I feel myself getting stronger with each run. I've been upping the pace a little as well. Meaning more moderate mileage in the 6:30-6:45 range, as opposed to the garbage 7:00-7:15 range.

It's now or never. Push down on that accelerator and hope I can take it.

The only other time that I attempted a streak like this was for my 2010 NYC Marathon, and that resulted in me over training. I was ultra-fit then, but the wheels came off and it certainly showed in the marathon. I don't necessarily feel as fast as I did then (yet), but I do have the endurance and I'm much less sore with it.

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Back to Racing:

I ran the FLW 10K this past Sunday. This was my first race in about 6 months. It's kind of pathetic that it's taken me that long to line up again after such a good Shamrock.

FLW was more of a personal test than anything, especially on the heels of 50 miles in the prior 3 days and 101 miles on the week. I was absolutely dead tired and in a mentally rut. As much as I didn't want to do it, this race was just what I needed. I forced myself to run fast and just gut it out.

After the first quarter mile, I pretty much ran the race completely alone. I was comfortabely stuck between 3rd and 5th places. It was nice little personal victory, as my splits were extremely steady and didn't waiver at all, especially given the lack of any competition. I finshed feeling strong and completely unphased. A mere tempo run.

Immediately upon crossing the finish line, I ran the course again... averaging about a 6:45 pace. 15 miles total... aggressive... when I didn't even want to get out of bed.

1- 5:27.6

2- 5:41.1

3- 5:41.3

4- 5:41.6

5- 5:37.6

6- 5:40.4

.2- 1:09.0

34:58 / 4th O'all, 1st AG (excl a top 3 finish)

This is why I run.

Days like today...

Yesterday was complete garbage mileage after Wednesday's track workout. I'm a day away from having 95 miles on the week. It's a bump up, so I'm tired and sore.

I left the office building for an easy 10 miles at lunch. I was anticipating a snail's pace given how tired I felt. It took a few miles to get going and loosen up. At like 3 miles in, I started to think that I might go 11 miles instead of 10. At 4 miles in, I was thinking maybe I'd do 12. I still felt sluggish, but in a good way. Then I started to gradually pick up my pace. I passed the turn for 12 and decided I was going 13 miles. I completely shut everything around me out and got into a really nice rhythm.

Next thing I knew, I was doing a progression run and dropped 3 miles sub-6. So much for being sore and tired. It was so smooth. One of those rare days that only come every so often.

On my mile cool down through the city streets, I realized that I just ate a half marathon for lunch... and was still hungry for more.

This is why I run.

The Need for Speed

It's safe to say that my long/slow endurance is finally back on track. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for my speed. Yeah, I know... I just ran a 15 miles the other day at MGP, but 1) the end of that 15 miles it really didn't feel all that great (I mean, heaven forbid I had to go 26.2!), and 2) last night's track workout shows that I have a lot of work ahead of me.

Last night we did 16x400's on the track, broken into sets of 4, with 200 recoveries between reps and standing recovery between each set. Each set was to progress: 75, 74, 73, 72. I stuck to the plan and made it through the workout. Actually, each rep was either right on or a tad fast. All in, I averaged 73.0. Given that I hit the targets, I guess it was a success. Probably my first reasonable track workout recently.

Am I happy with that though? No. Looking back at my last 3 big 400 workouts while training for Shamrock in the early spring and last fall's CIM, I had averaged closer to sub-72. I know I did a couple of those with spikes, and I didn't use the 200 recoveries, so maybe I shouldn't be worried?

Training for Philly has been very awkward though. I had a reasonable July and August build, which was intended for an October marathon, then busted at a really crucial time for 2 weeks. I then basically had to start from scratch again. It took me 4-5 weeks to recover from those 2 weeks off. And my roll back up hasn't been pretty... I've sacrificed quality for quantity and had random soreness either in my calves or my left knee (likely caused by ITB and a quick come back). Definitely not a clean training session.

Regardless, one thing is certain: I now need to get my speed back. From today, I have exactly 3 weeks of big-peak training followed by a gradually accelerating taper. That's something like 21-25 days to get my shit straight. Not impossible, but it's not gonna be easy.

THE Chicago Marathon

I'm still in my building phase for Philly, but today was Marathon Day here in Chicago.

The weather was absolutely perfect (it figures)... I'm a little disappointed that I wasn't able to race, but I was still able to have a great day and participate. I paced teammate, Scott Laumann for the first 15 miles of the race. We averaged 6:00.0, but had been gradually pulling the trigger all the way. First 3 miles were around 6:05ish, and the last 9 miles with him were at a 5:56 avg and getting faster. We pulled through the half at 1:18:40. For me, it was a great 15 mile workout that essentially averaged MGP.

Some seriously impressive results from 3 of my training partners...

Scott has been in break-out mode and has become an insanely fast masters runner. He's knocked about 40 minutes off of his marathon PR since he started training with us. Justin Jackson ran his very first marathon today... He's beyond my comprehension of the word fast and far more capable than what he ran, but had a very nice and conservative race. Not a lot of guys negative split on their first marathon! Anu Parekh also ran an extremely conservative race... another huge PR and probably one of the biggest negative splits that I've ever seen.

All three of these guys will be in Boston with me next year. I'm looking forward to training with them and seeing how much more they progress.

Scott Laumann - Half 1:18:40 / Full 2:37:29

Justin Jackson - Half 1:23:51 / Full 2:47:25

Anu Parekh - Half 1:27:23 / Full 2:50:41

Congrats to all Chicago Marathoners today!

From Chicago to Grand Rapids to Philadelphia

I'm to the point where I can steadily run again, post ribs wreckage.

However, runs are still a struggle based upon 1) a loss of fitness from taking 2 weeks off, and 2) I'm operating on limited oxygen intake.

I can get over the former fairly quickly... The rule of thumb appears to be working here. 2 weeks off, and 3-4 weeks to get back to even keel.

The latter is a problem as I'm still struggling when I up my pace. I've basically been running with a governor on my body. Any speed tires me out, since I still can't take comfortable deep breaths. It's like hitting a wall every time I try to go faster. Very annoying and it is holding me back for the time being.

This may or may not be a blessing in disguise. I'm trying to look at the positive here: I'm being forced to breathe with my diaphragm and belly more, instead of my ribs. In theory, that's actually far better for an endurance athlete because as you can consume more oxygen with each breath. Much easier said than done though. Getting used to it hasn't been easy (and obviously tiring).

OK, that said... I'll be approaching 65-70 miles this week and if everything works out well, then I'll build up from there. I'm having to chalk up the Chicago and Grand Rapids Marathons. There's no way I have the races I want at either of those.  My new goal: I officially signed up for the Philadelphia Marathon this morning.

Philly is on November 18th, the weekend before Thanksgiving.   9 weeks away, which is plenty of time.  My only concern about the race is that it's chalk full of little hills and a couple large ones between 7 and 10 miles. Looking at the charts, it might actually be just as complicated as Boston or New York.

It's gonna require some lung busting workouts and hill training.  Under normal circumstances, there would more than enough time.  Hopefully I can learn how to breathe between now and then.