Lake Zurich Half Marathon

This was an interesting development. Only time will tell if it'll end up hurting me.

Yesterday's race was a week out from my Moscow Marathon. I generally do some harder efforts and/or goal paced work in the week leading into a marathon, but never to the extent of a half marathon. In theory, I shouldn't have been pushing it too hard for that distance. Lake Zurich Half was to merely tune up to help me feel my marathon pace, with the option of pushing for the whole distance if I felt good.

A conflicting problem was that its a CARA Circuit race. I would gain points, but how many? I knew that some of the CARA Age Groupers would be there and feared getting roped into running too fast. On the one hand I wanted to remain conservative for Moscow, on the other hand I wanted to make sure that I grabbed CARA AG points.

The weather was absolutely perfect. It was a nice crisp morning, with little wind. Regardless of the race itself, this was one of the most comfortable running days that I can remember.

At the starting line, I had already seen my competition: a guy that's generally faster than me, and a guy that I should be able to beat... Everyone else was inconsequential. From CARA AG scoring purposes, I would either place 2nd or 3rd depending on each of our paces. When the race started, I told Scott and Fred that I would run with them, but warned I might not be able to stick to the plan due to this small problem of mine. I still wanted to keep the reigns in as much as possible though.

The first two miles went off every easy, at 5:53 and 5:54. It was a little faster than I wanted, but I had already gained the guy I would be vying with for 2nd place. I wanted to make sure I held that. Scott and Fred hung back and let me do my thing. There were a few packs of runners just ahead and I simply couldn't help myself to overtake them.

Everything felt incredibly smooth. Autopilot was engaged and I locked into lower 5:50's. By the fifth mile, I was resting in about 12th place overall. First place AG was too far in front of me to warrant a push... nor did I want to over extend myself. I stayed comfortable.

A few rolling hills and a few more passes had me pressing into the mid/lower 5:40s through the 11th mile. Everything still remained was in check so I wasn't overly concerned. I merely maintained from there. I coasted 12 and 13 at about 5:45-5:50s (mile 12 was waay long).

I finished 1:16:10, ninth overall and second for CARA AG scoring purposes (technically 3rd AG).

For what it's worth, it appears that the course might've been long by at least 0.1 miles... A couple people claimed even longer, in spite of running tangents. If that's the case, and if it should've been closer to a 1:15:45, then this is one of my fastest half marathons to date. Not too shabby since I ran it as a workout. I easily could've gone sub 1:15. At some point I might actually have to give the half an honest effort.

Anyway, it was still much faster time than I expected. Importantly though, it was wasn't an all-in effort and it didn't hurt. Of course I'm an idiot because I've now risked cutting into my precious marathon taper. I should've exercised more restraint. But, I couldn't help myself!... The weather and other runners just begged me to push it, and I've been chomping at the bit to have a strong distance run.

This is what the marathon taper is all about... a caged wild animal (rabbit?) that's finely tuned itself and now chewing at bars to get released.

As of this morning, I feel OK. I actually am not really sore from the effort... I mean obviously I can tell I ran a 1:16 yesterday... but I'm not limping and I don't think I hurt my Moscow chances. My only real damage appears to be a nasty blister on my right foot, which should have plenty of time to heal.

From here, I'm shut down. I'm getting a massage this afternoon. Tomorrow, a very easy 8 miles. Wednesday and Thursday will be rest and travel days. Friday and Saturday will be easy 6-8 mile runs in Moscow, just to shake the nerves out. I don't know if this is gonna be a PR race, but I've set it up so that I can go for it.

Split recap:

1- 5:53.6

2- 5:54.4

3- 5:53.9

4- 5:35.0 (Short!)

5- 5:53.9

6- 5:49.3

7- 5:45.0

8- 5:51.0 (Long!)

9- 5:42.2

10- 5:45.1

11- 5:42.6

12- 5:59.1 (Long!)

13- 5:48.1

.1- 0:37.0

Total: 1:16:10

20x400 - Moscow Style

I had a few solid workouts towards the end of July and early August, but haven't really done much since then. Last week's 800s didn't help to put my mind at ease, and the BG10K was basically a bust... I was desperately in need of something to show my fitness.

Tonight was really the only chance I had left to spin my wheels. I went for old faithful: 20x400, with 80-90sec rest.

Weather was in the mid-70s and rather humid. It wasn't helpful but certainly better than what I've dealt with in the past week. I went to Montrose and the track was a shit show as usual... There was a soccer game on the infield and several other people milling about the track. I constantly had to remind people to watch out for speed in lane one, and on a number of occasions had to dodge pedestrians, other runners, and/or soccer balls. Conditions were certainly not easy, and add to it that I ran the workout solo.

With that said, my splits were surprisingly smooth ...like freakishly smooth!

The first rep was very fast (apparently I was excited?), and in the 11th I basically hit a traffic jam. Otherwise, I maintained 72s for the rest of the first four miles. I was able to speed up just a touch in the fifth mile. I had traffic again in the final lap... otherwise that would've closed it with a bigger bang.

All in all, I averaged 72.18. According to my training log, that's the fastest I've ever run 20x400... EVER. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Mr Putin! I'll be blowing by your door step in 10 days.

Split recap:

1- 70.62

2- 72.44

3- 72.38

4- 71.85

5- 72.54 (1-5 avg: 71.97)

6- 72.57

7- 72.16

8- 72.65

9- 72.37

10- 72.49 (6-10 avg: 72.45)

11- 73.38 (traffic)

12- 72.01

13- 72.84

14- 72.92

15- 72.56 (11-15 avg: 72.74)

16- 72.01

17- 71.79

18- 71.43

19- 71.20

20- 71.40 (16-20 avg: 71.57)

O'all avg: 72.18

Buffalo Grove 10K

I ran the Buffalo Grove 10K with the intentions of 1) gaining some CARA Circuit points in my age group, and 2) for a trial of miles to give myself confidence heading into Moscow. I went into it thinking that this should've been a reasonably important race. A 10K PR should've been a gimme.

If I rate my race based upon those thoughts, then I failed. Horribly. However, given the circumstances, it wasn't a total loss.

Let's start with the weather: The race was run in the middle of a nasty, early September heat wave. We had about 8 days of 90+ degrees and humidity. There were claims that Sunday was possibly the hottest day of the year... easily mid-90s. The race was run mostly through a forest preserve, at 7:30am. That meant, it was either blazing hot in the sun or choking humidity in the preserve's shade.

Under ideal conditions, I thought a 5:25 paced run would've been possible. Given the heat and the fact that I was sitting on my peak mileage, tired, and sore... I was willing to adjust that goal pace. I thought maybe go out at a 5:30ish pace and see what happens.

It started out ok, with the first mile right around 5:31. It was on suburban streets and felt hot but reasonable.

Incidentally, at about 400 meters into the race, point number one from above came into play: After a very brief jockey for positioning, I found myself in 5th place. In front of me were four runners that I knew I wouldn't beat (well maybe one of them if he had a really horrible day). Otherwise, they were talented guys that could bury me even when they're out of shape. Inconveniently for my original intentions: Three of the four were in the 35-40 AG. Unbelievable!

Let's put this into perspective... even at this year's Shamrock Shuffle, which is probably THE most competitive race in the city and the USATF 8K national championships... I placed 4th in my age group! And that was a bad race for me!! Had I not sucked and been a giant pussy that day, I should've placed second. So here I find myself at some podunk, Buffalo Grove Stampede race on a holiday weekend when most guys should be off camping and drinking beer... and I'm in fifth place overall and fourth in the 35-39 AG!! All I could think was, Don't these guys have lives!?!?

After that first mile, I wasn't too far behind the lead (only maybe 5 seconds) but I knew that wouldn't last. It was clear though that the gap behind me was widening. Barring my own death or a freight train coming from behind, I pretty much had the 5th place locked up. 5:31.

By the second mile, we were in the forest preserve and the lead pack started to pull away from me. It was only a matter of time. There was no question that I shouldn't follow them. We crested a small hill with me only about 20m behind, and by the bottom they started to hammer. I ran 5:35 that mile, and could only see them farther and farther in front on straight aways. I was all alone from there on.

By the third mile, I was in the position of having nobody to work or race with. I slipped a little in pace (5:45). Fortunately I couldn't see anyone behind me. My sole purpose became to defend my position and attempt to maintain effort. The fourth was another 5:45. The race then exited the forest preserve. The humidity took its toll. I was completely soaked in sweat and my feet were sopping wet.

Outside of the preserve and blanket of humidity, I was able to pick up the pace towards lower 5:30's. I maintained that through the finish. In the end, 34:59. Averaged about 5:38s. Fifth place OA, fourth place AG.

This was a joke considering I ran SF10 in 55:31... or a 5:33 pace.

The silver lining could be seen in the fact that the lead pack finished at least minute slower than I would've expected (results). Also, I didn't completely die during the run. It certainly was very difficult given the conditions and I did lose motivation without having other runners around me. But the takeaway was a hard heat-indexed effort, that would've been much faster under better circumstances.

I now look to this week's 20x400 track workout to fine tune my speed. The weather has finally let up and my mileage has started it's slow decent towards a taper.

Peak Heat

Peak week is never easy. I closed out the week with 101 miles. I actually hit a 7-day PR in there, at 116 miles. That surpassed my previous 110 PR set back in 2013.

The mileage hasn't been a big deal. It really wasn't that bad. The 116 was achieved with two over distance runs and more doubles than usual. The difficultly though has been the fucking heat!! After spending time at the cabin and having the joy of running in no more than 75-80 degree temps, I spent this whole week choking on 90 degrees and humidity. It's been brutal!! Many of the runs felt like death marches. All I could do though is try to adjust my training, use doubles instead of longer runs, drink a ton of water, and man up.

As for my all important track workout? I sucked it up. However, that too required multiple adjustments. Instead of risking complete failure and mental breakdown, I delayed Wednesday's 90+ degree workout to Thursday. Then when it was 90 degrees again on Thursday, I went indoors. An indoor track workout in early September due to weather sounds ridiculous, but it was the lesser of two evils.

SO, I hit the East Bank Club track for my 10x800s. Was it fun? Hell no. The turns are very sharp, and it's not even a clean oval. The narrow two-lanes required running slower on the corners and then picking it up on the straights... it felt more like a series of pick-ups versus steady 800s. Then there was the surface... It was soft. Very soft! Almost too soft for a big workout. I can understand it for recreational running and easy mileage. But striding on that thing is like pushing on a sponge. In hind sight, track spikes minus the pins would've made a big improvement and gave me more control.

In the end, the workout was a little slower than I would've liked (2:36.6 average), but I did run steady and it certainly was more comfortable than running outdoors. I figure the surface and turns taxed me around 1-2 seconds. Running alone and/or dead tired (on 100 miles) might've hurt a little as well. I'll call it good enough and move on.

I'm running Buffalo Grove 10K tomorrow, and then I'll be able to pull my mileage back down to the 60's and start the recovery process. Two weeks to Moscow.

EBC Indoor Split Recap, 10x800 w/ 85 rest:

1- 239.6

2- 236.8

3- 236.8

4- 237.0

5- 236.8

6- 236.8

7- 236.2

8- 235.8

9- 235.3

10- 235.3

Avg: 236.6

Big Boy 13 Mile Tempo

JR: "Are you fit?"

RW: "I didn't get to run as much as I wanted (at cabin), but I think so."

RW: "I need a big tempo to see where I'm at."

JR: "Bingo... We're doing 13 at 5:50 tonight. You're in."

I initially cringed at the idea. Coming off the ADK hills, I wasn't sure what was in my legs, let alone being 2 days out from a 25 miler. I wanted a "bigger" tempo last night, but I was only thinking 8 or maybe 9 miles. 13 seemed almost too big! Add to it, that it was close to 80 degrees when we started (75ish at finish), and very humid.

Nonetheless, I manned up. It was myself, Jason, Anu, Lionel, and Adam Palumbo. Lionel is way faster than I am. Jason and Adam are wild cards, depending on where they are in training. And Anu has been getting big miles and still in his breaking out mode. I was merely hoping that I could hang on to the pack and stick to the plan, which was to roll out at about 5:55-6:00 range, and back at 5:50-5:55's.

We ran south on the lakefront from the Chicago Loop, going an out-and-back. The first few miles were right on cue... 5:55's. I didn't have my watch, but the other guys were calling splits as we ran. So far, it was very smooth for me. I just tried to set it on autopilot, and hoped/prayed that this near-MGP wasn't going to get too uncomfortable.

After about 5 miles, we started chipping it closer to 5:50's. It was a little sooner than we wanted to push it, but it still didn't feel too badly so I went with the flow. So far, so good.

Just before the 6.5mi turn, we were now dipping just below 5:50. Jason and Anu backed off to get a drink of water and recover for a few minutes, then jumped back aboard after the turn. Sweat was flying everywhere. Shoes began to squish. The train rolled on.

At about around 7.5-8 miles, Lionel put in a surge going over a small hill at around 47th Street. Adam followed. I responded, but not quite as extreme. I fell about 5 seconds off. They later claimed they dropped a 5:40 on that mile. Anu and Jason were just off my back. Anu grabbed back on to me within the next mile, while Adam stopped for the bathroom. Anu and I now were following Lionel, though he was no longer gapping us. Steady 5:45-5:48s.

Hot and humid. No stopping for water. Fortunately no real wind. At about 9 miles, I was still keeping control, albeit it now more taxing. Anu continued to work with me, as we gradually closed on Lionel. He was now starting to pull back a little, as he was getting cramps. He wound up stopping for a few minutes. I know the feeling all too well on nights like this, and I was lucky it didn't happen to me. The heat and humidity are workout killers.

With about 3 miles go to, I was soaking in sweat right down to my toes. The salt was irritating my eyes. We were hitting about 5:45's. I still had my stride, but it was clearly work at this point. Autopilot was no longer an option. As long as we didn't push the pace too much, I knew I could hang on until the finish. Then Anu dropped off at 11.5 miles. I was solo. Now the real work had to begin.

Without a watch, I'm not sure of the final 1.5mi splits. I was going faster than I intended, just to get it over with. I used Dolgin Hill to propel myself forward and closed the final half mile the best I could yet still in control. Judging by the gap between myself and Anu at the finish, I believe I still averaged 5:45's... maybe down to a 5:40 in final mile.

Technically we ran 13.1 miles... I believe I averaged about 5:50, which would've resulted in a ~1:16:28, give or take. Not too shabby considering I didn't take a drop of water or stop on this hot and humid Monday nite tempo. It's nights like this that I'm lucky to have guys to train with.  There is no way I would've done this on my own!! 

Going back to the original question, "Are you fit?"... I'm in my final peak week of training. I'm certainly getting there. I hesitate to say that I'm in PR shape just yet. And there are too many variables between now and 9/20... But if I can keep myself rolling, then I could have a shot. My next tests will be a larger track workout on Wednesday, 10K on Sunday, another larger track workout next Wednesday, and finally a MGP tune up at the Lake Zurich Half Marathon.

Est'd Split Recap:

1- 5:55

2- 5:57

3- 5:55

4- 5:55

5- 5:50

6- 5:50

7- 5:45

8- 5:45

9- 5:48

10- 5:48

11- 5:45

12- 5:45

13- 5:43

Avg 5:49.5

July and August Ramp

For the last two months, I've been building my mileage and training with one goal in mind: the Moscow Marathon.

The race is September 20th. Sasha and I leave on the 16th with the attempt to get a little extra cushion for me to adjust to the time difference. The trip will be amazing - Moscow, St Petersburg, Veronezh, and Antalya, Turkey to top things off.

I'm essentially trying to mimic last year's Berlin training. In the end, this will be giving me roughly 17 weeks and nearly 1100 miles.

The one stark difference that I'll have between Moscow and Berlin: Last year, I was coming off an injury that lasted nearly 5 months and damaged my first half of the year. This year, I've been solid as a rock and running all year long. I'm also on the heels of a stellar Soldier Field 10 Miler.

July and August Races:

7/9 - Bastille Day 8K (27:50)... Ran it as a tempo run. It was after some of my lightest mileage of the year in June, and somewhat of a kick start to my training. By some miracle, I nearly won it as the leader was a bandit and dropped out... until of course, Jason Ream out kicked me with about 200m to go. My legs were shot at that point. Oh well.  (Thanks for the early birthday present, Jason!!)

8/9 - Northwestern's Run for Walk 4.1Mi (22:17)... It was a pleasant surprise after a 23 miler the day before. Hot and humid. I ran a steady 5:30ish throughout the race, with a slight negative split. Technically this was my 4Mi PR, to boot!

ADK Recap:

Prior to going up to the cabin this year, I was sitting on four solid weeks at 80+ miles, and I topped 104 miles in 7-days before leaving. I also had two-20 mile runs and two-23 mile runs.

I got back last night. Short answer: I didn't get the mileage up there that I wanted, which was disappointing... but it wasn't a bad thing. I was up there for 12 days and had to take four of them off. Fortunately, it wasn't due to any sort of injury... and I'm returning to Chicago feeling good for one final push.

For starters, I missed my Philadelphia-connecting flight to Watertown, so that literally blew a key running day. It was fucking bullshit (my bag even made the connection!!!), and I was pissed, but there was nothing I could do. If I had my bag, I could've at least gotten one or even two runs at the hotel. Anyway, in that first week, I still managed to get a 14 miler and 20 miler (only 50 mi on the week though!). I was then sidelined/distracted as three of my college friends came visit and we wound up camping on Stillwater for three days and two nights. There wasn't much I could do about that one either, aside from have a few beers, relax, and enjoy catching up with one another. It was time well spent.

After that, I built back up to get 77 miles in six days. I had two solid progression runs and capped it off with a big-boy 25 miler that felt very strong. I've never run 25 miles in a training run, much less in the Adirondacks. I was actually tempted to tag the 26.2, but I'm glad I didn't. It would've cost more than I was willing to pay and potentially held me back going forward.

And on that note, I'll be above 100 miles again this week. If it works out right, I'll get a 7-day high mileage PR. At this point, I feel strong. I'm not sure how fast I am since I'm just getting back from the mountains, but I'll have the chance to test my mettle at this coming weekend's Buffalo Grove 10K.

I'm three weeks from race day, and I'm going to make the most of them.

Because sometimes it's not all about running:

1H15 & SF10 @ 55:31

Since I haven't updated Coursing in quite some time, I'm stuck backdating a series of blog posts with simple recaps.

Early 2015 had me running the Chicago Lakefront without any main goals for the year, aside from running some spring CARA Circuit races.

It turned out that I crammed the races in over a very short period of time, and made my ultimate spring goal race the Soldier Field 10.

I had a handful of weeks in the 70-75 mile range, and peaked out around shamrock with about 85 miles in a 7-day stretch. It wasn't big mileage, but it was quality and reasonably steady. I wound up with 1395 miles through June 30th. After SF10, my mileage was reduced to recovery mode before rolling back up towards the Moscow Marathon, which is September 20th.

Spring Race Recap:

3/15 - Cary Half (1:17:02)... This was merely a rust buster and tune up / long tempo.

3/29 - Shamrock 8K (27:10 unofficial chip, 27:15 elite gun)... This was to be a target race, but I mentally was not committed. I stupidly drank a few days prior and had a hangover the day before the race. It was dumb. Weather was a bit windy, cold, and not idea for a PR race. Hence, I choked.

4/12 - Oak Park GLF 5K (16:26)... Had a wedding the night before (Craig and Emily McGinnis)... This was to be a redemption race from Shamrock. I didn't expect a PR due to the wedding, but I did want to use it as a tune up for Ravenswood 5K. I targeted ~16:20. I ran 16:26 via 5:09 w/ the wind, 5:22 into wind, 5:22 into wind, 0.32. I was very pleased.

4/18 - Lakefront 10 (57:19)... This was a windy mess. I treated it as a tempo run. Extremely windy in the second half, which I ran alone. Three of the miles were over 5:50, everything else pretty much averaged 5:40.

4/26 - Ravenswood 5K (16:15.6 PR)... I went for the PR. When out a bit hot in the first mile, with the wind (5:08), then settled in on a steady 5:18 in 2 and 3. I closed with a very decent kick in the final 100m. This is technically was a PR 5K for me, though the Ravenswood website rounded up to tie my 16:16. Weather was perfect.

5/9 - Quarryman 10Mi (57:56)... This was a bitch of a race! It was hilly, very humid, and windy. In the end, I was very happy though as it was a nice negative split. Unfortunately, I was outkicked by a Rich Heffron on the final down hill and home stretch.

5/17 - Childrens Hospital 5K (17:08)... THIS WAS MY FIRST WIN...EVERRR!!!! The finishing time itself wasn't anything special to write about, but the fact that I won makes it a proud accomplishment. Literally, it was the first time in my life that I won a race! In spite of running 18 miles aggressive the day before, I knew I had it wrapped up after the first half mile. There weren't any challengers to force me to push the pace. I easily had over 30 seconds between myself and second. It felt a little unfair that I won so easily, but nobody else showed up. The entertainment came from having pedestrians on the lakefront cheer and congratulate me in a way that I haven't seen before. Until now, I've long been a brides maid and never the bride...

5/23 - SF10 (55:31)... This was my goal race for the spring season. The other races were merely workout runs or trials of miles. Also, until now my Berlin Marathon was my pinnacle race. I felt so incredibly fantastic during that race, that I was afraid I couldn't replicate that feeling and/or effort again. Until now.

Soldier Field 10 was beautiful! The weather was totally ideal (which is a shock for a lakefront race in May), and everything fell just the way I would've wanted. I blazed 55:31 and a negative split. At no point was I ever out of control or in doubt. My first 5 miles were spent running with a pack while eyeing some faster runners ahead of me. I played it cool early and then began my hunt after the turn. I used the small packs in front of me as bait to pull myself faster and past them. I beat a number of guys that had either been ahead of me or at my pace for the spring season. I was out at roughly 5:35-40s and back in 5:30-33s. I was very strong. In a way that I hadn't experienced since Berlin. I closed with a 5:22 mile. It felt amazing the whole way. I wanted to keep going.

Technically, via McMillan Running, that 55:31 suggests that I can overtake my 2:36:26 from Berlin. I've long found his calculator to be tried and true for my training and racing. For the next several months, this is my guidepost for a possible Moscow PR.

YE14 Wrap @ 1974 Miles.

After finishing the Berlin Marathon, I didn't have much else to accomplish for the year. I enjoyed the downtime after cramming for the marathon.

I rounded out 2014 with 1974 miles. It was my lightest year since keeping this blog, but I also basically only ran for 9 months of the year.

After getting back from Europe, I did have a slight knee injury that kept me from wanting to push any significant running so I tossed aside any near term goals or the prospect of returning to Boston in 2015. The knee was basically mild bursitis (again). I experienced it about 10 years ago, and for some reason it came back. It eventually cleared up within a few months. Any training or racing following Berlin were merely maintenance miles or just keeping myself from falling completely apart for the balance of the year.

Berlin Marathon 2014 goes on as my crowning achievement in 2014.

I entered 2015 with sights set on the spring CARA Circuit and some yet-to-be-determined fall marathon.

Bobby Bear Eats the Berlin Bear

Hands down, this was my most amazingly-super-awesome-perfect-wunderbar race to date! Unfortunately, I'm having to retrospectively update this post. Technically I had much of it written just after the trip, but I became distracted from updating my blog, and then took some time away from publishing. I'm back-dating it, catching up, and moving on.

Berlin Marathon 2014

I've run a few marathons over the last couple years that I thought were well deserving of PRs. Unfortunately something always went against me. I was extremely fit for both Philly'12 and Boston'13, but neither were PRs. Chicago'13 busted my labia/hoohah. My PR from Cal'11 had become stale and a gigantic gorilla on my back. I've been dying to knock off. I've put in a ton of running over the last several years and a fresh marathon PR has been long overdue.

After recovering from injury during the first part of 2014, Berlin became my sole focus for 2014. It's a flat and uber fast course. The weather is generally accommodative. It literally is a world record course, time and again over the recent years. If you're gonna gun for it, this is the place to do it.

Going into Berlin, I felt very fit. I was carrying no lingering pains, and was very healthy. Everything lined up.

Ultimately the trip became much more than just a marathon. I was traveling with some good friends, and most importantly, I was traveling with my dad. It was an awesome father/son trip across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland that both of us will remember for the rest of our lives. He's always wanted to go, and what better way for him to see our fatherland than with Junior!

Before steins could be downed in Munich, or bergs could be climbed in the Alps... I had business to take care of in Berlin...

This is my long over due recap. The details as I remember them, but the stats don't lie:

I left Chicago on Thursday before the race. Met Dad at Ohare. Flight was typical and cramped. I didn't sleep much on the plane... maybe an hour or 1.5 hours at best. Landed in Berlin mid-Friday morning.

The hotel was the Savoy Berlin, which is near the southwest side of the Tiergarten. It was about two miles from the starting line, and somewhat close to the 20.5 mile mark.

Hit the expo Friday afternoon with Braulio, Scott, Eli, and Dad.

Had a ton of sleep on Friday night to help recharge the batteries.

I woke up a little later than expected on Saturday and had to do a solo-shakeout run. I backtracked the first 1K of the race, then out-and-backed the final 3K of the course. Visualizing the ending helped a ton during the race! Had I not seen those last few K ahead of time, I don't know if I would've closed the race as well as I did. All in, the shakeout was about 8 miles. A bit long, but nothing too taxing.

Dad and I did some site seeing with a double decker bus, ate a huge late lunch chalk full of carbs, then stayed off my feet the rest of the night and drown myself with fluids.

Sleep on Saturday night wasn't easy as I was still trying to adjust to the time difference, but I managed to get about 5 or 6 hours. I couldn't ask for more than that.

Race morning, I met with the other TTAU runners and we made our way to the starting line. Weather was a little chilly early but mostly hung in the 50s, and only had the slightest touch of wind - basically perfect!! With being healthy, hydrated, rested, and now the weather... everything was lining up well.

Scott, Braulio, and I staged together in the sub-elite / 'A' corral. Literally, the only people in front of us were the guys trying to break the world record... and they did! The first sub-2:03 race in history. It was extremely impressive standing with them.

Scott and I planned on running as much of the race as possible together. I specifically was shooting for a sub-2:38, which would've been a PR. We planned on going out with a 1:19'ish split and then coming back with whatever we could throw at it. The more negative the better.

Right from the gun, Braulio took off. Scott and I stuck together. His Garmin helped to pace miles while I kept track of the K. We were rolling mid/high 3:40's, which amounted to about 6:05's. The first couple K were actually a touch slower.

Once about 5K into the race, things started settling down and packs were thinned. By 10K we had accumulated a group of about 8-10 runners all rolling about a 6:00 pace. It was very smooth.

I found myself most often in front of the pack (shocker!) trying to set the pace. Scott was wisely either off my shoulder or in the back of the pack, letting us do the work. I recall feeling extremely antsy and having difficulty holding back. Occasionally someone would take charge of the pack and slow it down a little. The rabid rabbit inside of me found those uneven paces annoying. I didn't want them to mess with my own steady strategy so I'd respond by surging the front to keep us honest and thin the pack. Scott was reading out the pace from his Garmin. That helped keep me in check since we weren't used to the Ks.

We passed 16K at 1:00:09, which was roughly the 10mi mark. Everything still felt good. The weather was completely Goldilocks... not too hot, not too cold, little-to-no wind. We rolled through the half roughly on target, at 1:19:12. The easy part was done. In my mind, I needed to come back slightly faster, in at least 1:18:47. I needed to find 30 seconds in 13 miles. No slippage. There wasn't any room for error. I didn't want to pick it up too much too soon, but I was comfortable with starting to squeeze a little... Immediately after the split, I broke our pack by taking the pace below 6:00. Scott stayed with me.

21-25K averaged 5:58's. The next couple K were closer to 6:00. I didn't want to run north of 6 again though. At about 28K, Scott was drifting off my back and our original larger pack was busted. I wasn't sure if that was my doing by pushing the pace, or other people feeling the distance but I felt incredibly good and strong. At that point, I made the decision to truly go for it.

I started pressing the pace. Runners became few and far between... That 29th K was 3:38, which = 5:51 pace. I actually had no clue how fast that was because I no longer had the luxury of Scott's Garmin. I was purely running based upon feel and it felt beautiful!

It was thinning and I didn't have anyone to work with. All I could do was keep breathing and keep opening my stride. 30K: 3:39. Yep, I still had no clue how fast that was. I checked myself in the 31st K though, worrying that it was too much too soon. 31K: 3:45. But it still wasn't phasing me! I thought, "Fuck it, I'm committing."

32K: 3:36... that's a 5:48.9 pace with 10K to go in a marathon! It still wasn't phasing me. The rabbit was on the prowl for whatever was in front of me. Pulling myself from person to person, and passing. I stopped concerning myself with time and splits. I just ran.

31-35K averaged 5:53's. I kept opening that stride and hammering. It was incredibly freakish... I never felt even the slightest amount of pain!! This really became a race, and it was me just trying to chew up kilometers as fast as I can. Somewhere around 32K, I passed where Dad was standing. Unfortunately I didn't see him. He later claimed that I just blew by. I also soon acquired a lurcher that attach himself to my back. He made me do all the work and never ran next to me. Sucked my draft the entire fucking way. I couldn't drop him so I just used it as a means to push the pace even more!

36-40K averaged 5:48's!! I passed Braulio at about 40K. He was still holding a decent pace, but I had too much momentum for him to hang.

The final 2.2K, I just opened it up and threw everything I had at it. I keep saying that I didn't know how fast I was running. Maybe that's why I dropped the hammer like that? I lost all my inhibitions. I knew it was aggressive, but I also knew that I wasn't going to break. My 41st K, as I rounded the Strassen onto "Unter den Linden"... a blistering 5:41 pace. It then became a celebration as I went under the Brandenburg Tor. I started waiving my hands in the air and to the monster crowds. 42K at 5:48 (no doubt, slowed down because I was goofing around). Then that fucktard leach passed me. I tried to respond but somehow he just pushed even harder. Unbelievable... He beat me by a second... I closed that last 220 meters in 38 seconds... that's a 5:13 pace and half the time I had my fists and arms flailing in the air!

I was ecstatic. I crossed the finish line and my watch showed 2:36:26.

It's now months later and I still have no idea how I did it. At no point did I ever feel out of my comfort zone. To date, this is one of my single finest and proudest accomplishments in all of my life. Years and years of training all culminating in a beautiful race. Miles of trials and trials of miles.

A smarter man than me once said, "Sometimes the bear eats you, and sometimes you eat the bear."

I ran 2:36:26. Crushed my goal by over a minute. I went out in 1:19:12 (6:02 pace), and came back in 1:17:14 (5:53 pace).

The city of Berlin's logo is a bear. I kicked the shit out of that bear and then devoured him. There should've been a photo of me with bear blood dripping from my chops and saying, "Thank you sir, may I have another?"

On Monday morning, Dad and I went off to Munich to Oktoberfest for a couple days. We then rented a beautiful BMW 4-series and carved our way through the back roads of the Alps... first to Neuschwanstein, then Austrian where we stayed in a beautiful Alpine town and Gasthof, then Interlaken and Eiger/Jungfrau, then finished up in Zurich. We had a blast. We lived on pilsner, brats, kraut, and sauerbraten!

Photo Recap:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Data Recap:

I have a huge amount of data down here, but I can't help it. This was by far my most perfect running accomplishment to date, and I'm incredibly proud of it. I have to keep this info:

KM Split | Lap | Pace/Mi

01 | 3:49.9 | 6:10.0

02 | 3:49.4 | 6:09.2

03 | 3:45.5 | 6:02.9

04 | 3:46.3 | 6:04.2

05 | 3:46.3 | 6:04.2

06 | 3:47.1 | 6:05.5

07 | 3:45.0 | 6:02.1

08 | 3:45.0 | 6:02.1

09 | 3:40.0 | 5:54.1

10 | 3:39.4 | 5:53.1

11 | 3:45.0 | 6:02.1

12 | 3:51.3 | 6:12.2 (Long?)

13 | 3:51.7 | 6:12.9 (Long?)

14 | 3:44.9 | 6:01.9

15 | 3:30.1 | 5:38.1 (Short?)

16 | 3:52.4 | 6:14.0 (10mi: 1:00:09)

17 | 3:47.1 | 6:05.5

18 | 3:48.8 | 6:08.2

19 | 3:44.2 | 6:00.8

20 | 3:40.1 | 5:54.2

21 | 3:43.7 | 6:00.0

22 | 3:40.8 | 5:55.3

23 | 3:41.3 | 5:56.1

24 | 3:42.3 | 5:57.8

25 | 3:46.7 | 6:04.8

26 | 3:43.9 | 6:00.3

27 | 3:44.9 | 6:01.9

28 | 3:46.0 | 6:03.7

(Roughly the point I decided to start gunning it, w/ 14K to go)

29 | 3:38.4 | 5:51.5

30 | 3:39.2 | 5:52.8

31 | 3:45.1 | 6:02.3

32 | 3:36.8 | 5:48.9 (10mi: 59:29)

33 | 3:38.0 | 5:50.8

34 | 3:37.5 | 5:50.0

35 | 3:41.6 | 5:56.6

36 | 3:37.7 | 5:50.4

37 | 3:35.6 | 5:47.0

38 | 3:36.0 | 5:47.6

39 | 3:36.0 | 5:47.6

40 | 3:37.7 | 5:50.4

41 | 3:32.3 | 5:41.7

42 | 3:37.3 | 5:49.7

.2 | 0:38.0 | 5:13.6

5K Split | Lap | Pace/KM | Pace/Mi

05 | 0:18:56 | 18:56 | 3:47.2 | 6:05.6

10 | 0:37:33 | 18:37 | 3:43.4 | 5:59.5

15 | 0:56:19 | 18:46 | 3:45.2 | 6:02.4

20 | 1:15:08 | 18:49 | 3:45.8 | 6:03.4

25 | 1:33:42 | 18:34 | 3:42.8 | 5:58.6

30 | 1:52:15 | 18:33 | 3:42.6 | 5:58.2

35 | 2:10:34 | 18:19 | 3:39.8 | 5:53.7

40 | 2:28:37 | 18:03 | 3:36.6 | 5:48.6

2.2| 2:36:26 | 07:49 | 3:33.7 | 5:43.9

1H - 1:19:12 | 3:45.2/KM | 6:02.5/Mi
2H - 1:17:14 | 3:39.6/KM | 5:53.5/Mi
Tot- 2:36:26 | 3:42.4/KM | 5:58.0/Mi