June, July... DG5, Boilermaker 15K, ADK, Dead Legs

A quick update from June and July...

My plan was originally to calm down in June, then start to ramp back up for Chicago in mid July. However, Sasha and I wound up going to the cabin earlier this year, and the trip coincided with the infamous Boilermaker 15K. I was able to get us late entries into the race, so we had to do it and I didn't want to show up looking like a fool! I mean hell, it's a bucket list race! Thus, my plan delayed some much needed downtime.

Anyway, June had me maintaining base mileage and a few workouts to keep tuned for the 15K. One workout was 8x800 that averaged 2:36.4. I also had a solid 6mi tempo at 5:42 average. I then closed the month with the Downers Grove 5 Miler, which I was trying to treat as another tempo run.

The DG5 was yet another circuit race with nasty conditions though... and I ultimately paid for it. Far too many of these races lately have been overly humid and extremely dehydrating. DG5 was 80+ degrees, 95% humididy (a nasty rain storm stopped just in time for the gun), and to boot, the course was a somewhat hilly for an Illinois suburb. I placed 5th OA and 2nd in my AG with a 28:04. The time wasn't anything special, but I was pleased given the conditions.

The bad thing though was recovering from this race... and this is all too clear in hindsight. On the cool down, my legs felt trashed. Quads especially. My stride was lumbering and painful. It lingered for a few days so I had a massage and went on with my plans for the Boilermaker.

Once we got to the cabin the following week, and I started to hit the hills for a few days, the soreness was coming back. It was strange because I felt drained, like I had just run a race, which I hadn't. By now DG5 should've been out of my legs. My quads were extremely stiff while running and landing my strides felt like crushing blows to my quads. So instead of hammering myself up there like I usually do, I did what I could to get by with the Boilermaker and then threw it into recovery mode.

By the way, the Boilermaker 15K is one hell of an awesome race!! It's run in Utica, which is a small 60K person Central New York city about a 2 hour drive south of the cabin.

Utica is basically a dead industrial city trying to find itself in the new millennium. It's a hilly city right on the edge of the Erie Canal. Maybe back in the day, it might've been more of an up and comer because of the canal, but the last 50 years have been harsh to many of those CNY cities like Syracuse, Rome, Utica, etc. Anyway, as far as I can tell, they have two great things going for them: 1) this race, and 2) the old school Utica Club Brewery, which is now also home to Saranac Beer! Utica Club is basically the Schlitz or Pabst Blue Ribbon of New York, and it's been getting a nice revival in recent years. Saranac is now their child company and a solid microbrew.

SO - I don't need to go into the history of the Boilermaker... let's just say that the race is and always was jacked since the mid 1970s. The organizers pay well for elites and there are dedicated people that run this thing every years. Hell, I saw Bill Rogers warming up for this thing and even wound up having a conversation with him! Awesome. I was extremely excited to run it. Unfortunately, my legs were mush.

The course was point to point. It started out in an industrial complex (where radiators are made, hence "Boilermaker"). It was a climb straight up for the first 4-1/2 miles, then a sharp mile down, followed by rolling hills to the end. The finish line was in the old downtown area, right at the door step of the famous brewery.

In the end, I managed relatively even splits for each 5K... but it involved a lot of different paces. Mile four was 6:05 due to an uphill, followed by a blazing fast mile five in 5:12! Anyway, 5K split was 17:55, 10K at 35:30 (17:35), and 15K at 53:13 (17:44). Nothing fancy since it averaged about 5:45s, but I was happy with the experience. I placed 4th in my AG, with two of the guys in front of me being 45 minute guys!! The shocker though... I was 86th OA!! That's insane. Winner was fucking 43:58!! Seriously, well over 50 of those runners in front of me were East African race horses.

Sasha did great on her own... she ran 1:09:27, which is fantastic for not running much on hills and being early in training for her first marathon. She consistently is running races that point to a mid-3:30s marathon.

Anyway, I can't say enough about the Boilermaker. The crowds were much like a big city race - the entire town came out to watch the thing. The after party was very active and packed with free food and beer, live bands, and even a fly over with World War 2 planes... very cool! Well done to the race directors! Seriously, a world class event and I now know why it's a bucket list race.

OK, so all that being said, after the Boilermaker, my legs were even more trashed, heavy and clunky than before that race. After, they were fucked. It felt like someone took a baseball bat to my thighs. I took several days off right after the race... and not because I wanted to either. It was forced withdrawal. I wound up with minimal miles for the rest of the time at the cabin.

Since then, I've had a couple more massages that haven't helped much. I still feel like I have some sort of dead or heavy legs. I'm not sure if it's knots, some sort of micro-tears, or just trapped lactic acid. All I know is that it hurts to stride on them. It doesn't really hurt doing anything else. No doubt it's due to a culmination of things that include over training, over racing, and no downtime in quite a long time.

I've been forcing miles for the last two weeks and been hating running. After today's crap long run... I'm officially pulling the plug for the next week. I need the rest. If I'm gonna do it and still run the marathon, then I need to do it ASAP. Hopefully I can then string back together two solid months for the marathon.

A few photos from Boilermaker 15K:

Before the race... wet and muggy!

Approx 8mi. My parents actually made the trip down from the cabin too!!! This was the first time that my mom has ever EVER seen me run!!!

And the afterparty...

Muddling Through

It's been a while since I've posted anything. Not that I haven't been running at all... actually on the contrary, I've been getting decent mileage... I just haven't been doing anything very exciting. That's about to change soon.

After a nice build of fitness for the early spring races, Sasha took a fun spring break to Puerto Rico and cruised the Southern Caribbean. It was an awesome two-week vacation trip and a nice break from running.

Once we got back from our little binge-fest, my fitness was shot. Training on the come back was much slower than I wanted. Several weeks in the 60s was good, but not a lot of speed. Just basing. On the positive, I actually placed well in a few of the recent CARA races...

5/7 - Quarryman 10Mi @ 1:00:54

I ran this thing almost exactly 3 minutes slower than last year! Kind of pathetic. It was just too close to that vacation and I didn't have enough time to gear up for it. I resorted to running it as a tempo. Temps were in the low 70s, and humidity was a little nasty. That course and it's hills are very unforgiving. In the end, I struggled to cling to a 6:00 pace. By some miracle I wound up placing 4th OA and 2nd AG. I ran completely solo - not being able to see anyone in front of me or behind me after the second mile. All in all, I wasn't pleased with the time, but I wasn't expecting much better and I only cared about placement.

5/28 - SF10 @ 57:25

I actually really wanted Soldier Field to go well and originally had high expectations. Unfortunately, I knew ahead of time that I wasn't in PR shape. The quality simply wasn't there. Pace-wise, I managed to have a more respectable run than Quarryman. I kept close to 5:40-45's the whole race, which was a good effort since the wind was early and I didn't have anyone to work with after the first 2 miles. A southerly wind, temps in mid-70's, and high humidity all probably handicapped it about 30-45 seconds. Still well off from last year's 55:35. Again by some miracle, I won my AG and placed 17th OA.

6/4 - Cosley Zoo 10K @ 34:44

It was only a week out from SF10, so I'm sure I was still recovering a bit. Also, it was another race in the mid-70's and with high humidity (seems to be the theme here). AND, competition was lacking once again. After the first 5K, I found myself in 3rd place with the nearest runners about 45 seconds on either side of me. I merely settled into a 5:35-5:40 pace and left some in the tank in case I needed to defend myself. 3rd OA, 2nd AG.

SO... the last two months have been totally blah. Not a lot of speed work. Tempos in races. And everything else just being steady basing in the low 60's.

Which brings me to today. On the heels of a 16 mile run yesterday in 90+ degrees... I had the nerve to cut loose and do an impromptu tempo run this afternoon. Weather was about as good as I could ask for: low 80's, no humidity, and no wind. I went out for 11 miles and dropped 6 of them at a 5:42.7 average (5:48.9, 5:46.3, 5:43.9, 5:40.4, 5:42.4, 5:34.3). A nice progression to it and I was strong the whole way.

Looking ahead: my primary motivation is three fold at the moment...

- Continue basing for another month, while injecting some more speed work into the mix.

- I'm going to the cabin a little earlier than normal this year. Conveniently that coincides with one of my bucket list races: the infamous Boilermaker 15K in Utica, NY! Sasha and I were able to gain late entries to the race, and I'd really like to run a respectable time there. It's pisser of a race... very hilly and usually hot... but I've been wanting to run this thing for a long time now.

- Towards the end of July I'll start ramping things up for October.

Ultimately, I'm racing a fair amount but they've been far from A-Races. At this point the only one that I really care about will be the Chicago Marathon in October. All else is just filler and muddling through.

2016 Oak Park 5K

Well unfortunately, this year's Oak Park 5K turned out to be a bust.

The weather for the whole week in between Shamrock and Oak Park was complete shit. Mid-30's, windy, raining, snowing, shitting, whatever... and it was nonstop. Seriously, not a moment of that whole week did we have any break from the gods crapping on us. The rain let up for the 5K race, but it was still very gusty.

I can't be upset about the race though. I had my teammates to work with, and I placed well. Regardless of the weather, my placement for this race was set when the gun went off and there was no catching the faster field in front.

I toed the line with Michael Martineau and Jeff Hojnacki. We all wanted to run as low 16:'s as possible. In a perfect scenario, I would've been going for the PR. That required running about 5:15's, which all of us thought we could do if we stuck together.

After the race start and a little early jockeying among the others, the three of us settled into our own very tight pack. We were the chase, as a lead pack with about 7 runners slowly pulled away from us. We went through mile one tied at the hips. We had a little wind at our backs for that first mile, and comfortably rolled a 5:16. We passed one runner after the mile, otherwise our placement was set.

Unfortunately, after about 1-1/2 mi, that was the end of the fun as the course turned into the wind for the entire rest of the race. Gusts were steadily coming from the South and Southwest. We tried to work together as much as we could. We swapped the leads every quarter or so. Our pace slacked though... mile two was a little above 5:20. Michael then fell off slightly, while Jeff and I continued to stay tight.

The final mile on the course was nearly all into the wind. A couple runners that broke from the lead pack were still over 20 seconds ahead. There was nothing we could do, other than make sure we didn't slow up and get passed by someone else. Heading into the home stretch, we easily dealt with a 25mph wind. It was brutal on top of an already taxing effort. With about a third of a mile to go, Jeff and I started swapping the leads every 100m or so. It was the only way we could keep our pace. Final mile was about 5:25 and we crossed the line together at 16:38.

In the end, the time wasn't anything special. But it was actually a really cool finish though - as Jeff and I were stride for stride right over the line! Unfortunately, Michael fell behind, but in all, the three of us managed those conditions really well together. Team work in racing at its best. I really enjoyed running with those guys. It's been a long time since I've raced with my teammates.

The most notable event from the day was Sasha's race. She had her first sub-22min 5K! An awesome PR for her, and regardless of the wind!! She's come a long way really fast, and continues to have fun with running. I'm so glad that she is willing (and excited) to join me for many of these races! :)

Now that Oak Park is out of the way, my early spring racing is done. Sasha and I are going on a fun vacation for the next two weeks. I won't get much running or training done, and I'll certainly lose fitness. It'll be a nice recovery period though. By the time I get back, I'll have a month to gear up for my next target: Soldier Field 10 Miler. After that, it's all about 10/9/16.

A few photos from the Oak Park 5K:

2016 Shamrock Shuffle

So this year's Shamrock Shuffle should've been an exciting race. Everything was set up nicely and a PR should've been on deck. In the end, I missed by a one whopping second!! On top of that, it was probably one of the most boring races I've run in a long time!

The weather was in the mid-30's and chilly... but not terrible. The wind was out of the South at about 10mph... so headwinds for much of the race, but it really wasn't too bad either. I had no issues or complications the morning of the race. I was fit enough given what happened at LF10. So the PR was there for the taking. I just had to reach for it.

Ironically, this might have been one of the most steady races that I've ever run. Which that's nice an all, but I didn't reach for anything! I ran perfectly... I just needed to close the damn deal. Instead, I never left my comfort zone. And that's pretty much the end of the story!

I played it too conservatively. Seriously, I went out at a 5:21 pace and was literally glued to it the entire race. Sure the effort increased with any head winds or on Roosevelt hill... but you'd never know it from my splits.

I wasn't really working with anyone. There wasn't a pack. I suppose when I needed it, I found a guy to draft off when heading into winds.

I passed a couple guys late in the race, which I guess was an incentive... Then they kicked in the final 400m and I just rolled over.

I thought I was kicking a little, but clearly not enough. The final 0.971 mile was at a 5:21.4 pace. That compared to a 5:21.3 average pace for the whole race! Fucking boring!!!

My 2013 PR was 26:36. I ran 26:37. Two lousy seconds, that's all I needed to better my time. Had I simply kicked harder, I would've PR'd. And I easily could've done that. Instead, I was a giant pussy.

For reference, here are splits from 2013:

1- 5:28:4 (headwind)

2- 5:12.9

3- 5:27.5 (headwind)

4- 5:17.5

.971- 5:09.4 (5:18.6 pace)

8K= 26:36 / 5:21.2 avg

This year's Shamrock Split recap:

1- 5:21.0

2- 5:19.3(mild headwind on State)

3- 5:21.9

4- 5:22.7 (bigger headwind on Franklin)

.971- 5:12.1 (mild headwind on MI Ave, 5:21.4 pace)

8K= 26:37 / 5:21.3 avg

Literally, it boiled down to the Columbus Drive. I just didn't push myself enough. I absolutely had it in me. In complete hind sight, I would've hammered as hard as I could... but I thought I was like 10 seconds off so I didn't care. FUCK!! Well I care now.

Ugh. All I can do is move on to the next thing. Oak Park 5K is this coming weekend. This will be a solid chance for me to get some redemption and get after another PR. The course and field are both very fast. I'll have some guys to pull me through the race. After failing yesterday, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure I get that job done.

Lakefront 10 Miler & Shamrock Preview

This past week basically concluded my spring ramp in training. I've been trying to pull together some decent mileage in order to have a good showing at a few of the early spring races. A couple weeks ago was my first test, at the Lakefront 10 Miler. This coming weekend will be the Shamrock Shuffle 8K, and the following week is Oak Park 5K.

LF10 certainly put a smile on my face. I ran a solid 55:53. Ironically, that's my second fastest 10 mile race ever, and the course was considerably more difficult than last year's Soldier Field PR. I ran about as strong and steady as I could've possibly wanted too... averaging about 5:35 most of the way. A couple of miles were slower due to turns on the course, and a few faster due to straightaways, wind, or the final mile. I walked away with 17th place and 3rd AG. It was much more competitive than previous years, and conditions actually quite decent... both of which helped a lot for a mid-March race on the lakefront.

I'm now sitting on three weeks of 80 miles. I've had a couple 20 milers and at least three decent workouts. I actually touched 90 in 7-days at one point. Today is my first day off in four weeks, and it was much needed.

The most notable workout was last Friday's 8x800. I ran them on the indoor track at East Bank Club. The track itself isn't the best location for a workout, as it has a very cushy surface and very tight turns. I also had to deal with the occasional traffic of slower runners. Fortunately this time around, I wore spikes and it definitely helped my grip. I averaged 2:34.73, with 80-85 seconds recovery.

8x800 Recap:

1- 236.0

2- 236.9

3- 235.4

4- 235.0

5- 233.8

6- 235.3

7- 232.5

8- 233.0

Avg: 234.73

This should put me in a good position for Shamrock and Oak Park. I feel healthy and at this point, the hay is in the barn. I'll merely be doing maintenance running over the next several days to get through the races. My training has been somewhat similar to what I did last spring, which left me in the position to PR Ravenswood and SF10. Now I just need to 1) not sabotage myself, and 2) get a little help from mother nature on race day.

Starting to look for 2016 goals

Just entering the 6th week on the year... and nothing really fancy to report with my YTD running. The dust has settled from CIM and I'm starting to get back into the swing of things. Fortunately, weather hasn't been too horrible (no polar vortex this year!), so I've been able to roll up some basing miles.

I've now got a couple weeks at 50-55 miles. I'll stay in that 50-65 range for this week and next before jumping up again. Aside from a few progressions, I haven't done any workouts yet... those will probably begin next week.

For the most part, this has been stress free running. I feel very healthy and have just been getting back to having some fun with the sport again. No schedules or plans. Just tie up the laces and get out the door when I feel like it. Garbage mileage at its best!

I'll say that I'm slowly starting to think about my racing calendar for the year. This past weekend was the 2015 CARA Awards Running Banquet. I walked away with the 2nd Place 35-39AG, 5th Place O'All, Participation Award, and Distance Award. All in all, 2015 was a great year and had some big PR's. I won't dare to think about PRing anything in 2016 yet, but it'll certainly be difficult to beat my 2015 placements as some younger, faster guys are entering the 35-39 AG this year. Competition will certainly be heating up.

Below is this year's Circuit. The one nice thing is that there are fewer races and requirements for 2016. Eight of 15 races will count instead of 10/18 last year. That's significantly less stressful and can complement my training much better. I've (*)'d a few of the races that make sense to run. Ultimately though, all roads will lead to Columbus Ave in October.

If things go as we're currently talking, Sasha and I will likely be setting our wedding date for sometime in November. That makes the Chicago Marathon my final hurrah!... My own personal masochistic bachelor party... And since I don't like to half ass anything, I intend to make it a proper event. A true culmination of miles of trials and trials of miles!

Date - Race

3/19 - Lakefront 10Mi*

4/3 - Shamrock Shuffle 8K*

4/10 - Oak Park 5K*

4/24 - Ravenswood 5K

5/7 - Quarryman 10Mi

5/28 - Soldier Field 10Mi*

6/4 - Cosley Zoo 10K

6/26 - Downers Grove 5Mi

7/4 - 4 on 4th

7/31 - Run for Walk 4.1Mi

8/21 - Windrunner 10K

9/11 - Lake Zurich Half*

9/24 - Park Ridge 5K*

10/9 - Chicago Marathon*

10/29 - Lake Bluff Pumpkin 5K

2015 Recap

With NYE's six mile run, I closed out the year with one final PR to add to the list: 3,002.4 miles in 2015.

Here are my notable accomplishments for 2015:

5K: Ravenswood @ 16:15.6 (PR)

10Mi: Soldier Field @ 55:31 (PR)

Half Marathon: Naperville @ 1:14:07 (PR)

Marathon: California International Marathon @ 2:35:52 (PR)

Miles in a 7 day stretch: 116 (PR)

Annual Miles: 3,002.4 (PR)

5th place overall in the CARA Circuit (PR)

2nd place 35-39 CARA Age Group (Ties 2013 PR)

CARA Distance and Participation Awards

From a running perspective, 2015 was a lot of work and clearly my biggest year ever on many levels. I PR'd all major distances, with the exception of the 10K. I also ran two sub-2:40 marathons within 11 weeks of one another. I know own 10 sub-2:40 marathons. I almost can't believe that my 22nd marathon is my PR! I have no idea what I have left in the tank, but it's awesome to still be able to consider PR'ing at this point.

From a personal perspective, it was another huge milestone... I have finally found the woman that I want to spend the rest of my life with and I couldn't be anymore excited about it! Sasha and I became engaged on 11/20/15. Ironically, that's the same date my dad chose to ask my mom, 52 years ago. I had no idea, but it's pretty cool that it lined up that way. I could only hope that Sasha and I have as strong of a relationship as they have had.

From a profession perspective, 2015 wasn't fun and I'm glad to see it go. It started well and ended on a questionable note... The firm that I've been a partner at and employed with for the last 13.5 years has decided to close the doors. We've had fantastic returns over the years, but sorely lacked on diversifying our investor base. During the summer, two of our key investors passed away. Most of our AUM was hence effectively yanked with their passings, and we chose to close the doors before our final (86 year old) investor passes. Unfortunately our returns had been somewhat volatile since mid-2014, so it left us without a clear marketing path to raise fresh capital and very expensive options for continuing operations as they were. This was very frustrating considering I was above my highwater mark at 2QE15, and the mark was very much in reach at our closing, in spite of a volatile 3Q15. I finished the year grossing over 6% while all comparable indices in the market were crushed.

So with that, 2015 is a wrap and I'm looking forward to an exciting 2016. I'm not sure if I'll gun for the circuit again this year, but I'm leaning to the Chicago Marathon after a two year hiatus. Sasha and I don't have a date settled, but I suspect I'll have more info in three or four months. And lastly, I'm looking forward to moving on from New Salem. For the last few months, I've been involved with winding down the firm and that task is nearly complete as of this morning. On to the next thing!

CIM - That sweet ain't so sweet without some bitter.

I returned from Moscow not necessarily disappointed with my marathon- but more unfulfilled. I knew I had more in me than a 2:39. 2015 has become my biggest running year ever, though I didn't get the opportunity to really show it in the marathon.

In the weeks after returning from Russia, I was basically focused on closing out the CARA season. I ran enough miles to do well in the final two races, and finished the season with a very pleasing 5th overall and 2nd 35-39 age group. The thoughts of CIM entered my mind back in September, as I found myself in the predicament of not hitting my goal in Moscow.

So why CIM? Well for starters, I ran it in 2011. The course has some sharp downs in the early going, followed by constant and steady rolling hills that last until 23 miles, then a flat final 5K. It certainly is not easy, but it is net downhill and can reward patient runners. However, it can be extremely evil for those that go out too fast or haven't trained for those hills! Add to this, Sacramento weather in early-December tends to be very favorable.

In recent years, CIM has become a playground for fast men and women trying to qualify for the Olympic Trials or Boston. For example: in this year's field of about 5600 people, 500 ran sub-3:05 (men's BQ), and in all 1,400 ran sub-3:35 (women's BQ). There were at least 30-40 men and 30-40 women trying for their OTQ. Those are huge percentages!!! The only other race in America that might come close to those numbers is Grandma's (even Boston doesn't do that well!!).

Most of all, this is a true runner's race ... It's a small, extremely well organize, competitive event with go gimmicks. Just fast runners looking for fast times.

I was on the fence until I ran Naperville in 1:14:07. I did it with a solid negative split and felt great about that race. That was a big surprise and a long overdue PR. On a comparable basis, Naperville's time was ironically similar to my SF10 @ 55:31. Per McMillan, both races predicted that I had a sub-236 in me. That gave me the confidence I needed to gut out a few bigger weeks of training and gun for CIM. It was risky considering I was attempting two fast marathons in roughly a two months, and I wasn't doing a typical ramp or even any hill work. I was concerned about my chances, as I mentioned in last week's post. Regardless, 2:35:59 became my "A" goal.

Unlike some prior marathon trips, this weekend was a strictly business trip. I didn't want to screw anything up. Everything revolved around the race. I was doing things by the book as much as possible. Including wearing compression socks on the flight and the days before, cleaning up my diet the week of the race, taking a few key days off, hydrating like mad, driving the course, and staying off my feet as much as possible on Saturday. I even tried beet juice! Disgusting... but I was willing to try it so I could give myself an edge.

A couple of other Chicago guys were also on the trip, as well as Dan McDowell and a few of his friends from Portland. Everyone was serious about their races. Dan's friend, Matt stayed with me for the night before the race. Conveniently, Matt and I had very similar race goals.

He and I thought we could go sub 2:36, though tackling it a little differently. He admittedly wanted to be more aggressive in the early going so he could keep his options open at the end. I preferred a mid-1:18's first half, then come back negative. Regardless, we decided that we'd start easier and hang through 10K together.

On marathon morning, it was raining on-and-off. Wind was calm, temps were chilly and would eventually make their way into the mid-50s. The rain eventually let up after about an hour of running. I really couldn't ask for much better. The only downside was having to run the race wet. My feet were squishing right from the beginning and I eventually did get some chafing from my sopping wet singlet. It certainly could've been worse though!

So as expected, this year's race was stacked with higher quality runners. Matt and I took off from the starting line, and we found ourselves easily with about 500 runners ahead of us at the 1/2 mile. It was as if we were in Boston with the number of runners around us, but from a much smaller field. Runners were pretty much falling all over one another until things thinned out.

We eased into things with low 6's for the first couple miles. We were somewhat frustrated as we had to weave our way around herds, including the women's OTQ-244 pack.

Wanting to shed the masses had us losing our patience. Add a sizable downhill in the third and fourth miles, and things got a little hot quicker than I wanted. We rolled 5:47 then 5:42 for those two miles. I cringed. This was not my plan!! It didn't seem to hurt, but I was truly afraid of what that might've done to my race. I didn't want that coming back to haunt me.

At about four miles, a few other guys finally assembled with us and a loose pack of 5-6 runners formed. As a group, we calmed down and dialed it back as the course became more rolling instead of down. We went back into the 5:50's. This early pace was still faster than I've ever attempted so early in a marathon. Importantly, the effort didn't feel unreasonable.

Miles 1-5: 29:41.9, 5:56.4 avg

Matt pulled away from me shortly after the 10K, and he continued to work with the other runners that were in our small pack. They gained distance on me on the downhills. On the ups, I recovered some that distance and yo-yoed them. In general I let myself run more comfortably in those rollers... pressing a little on the ups and recovering on the downs, as I typically do. We were still passing random runners, but those were becoming fewer and far between. With the exception of one other guy, the pack eventually pulled away. I was in the 5:50's for 6-10. Still a fast pace, but I started to concern myself less with the clock and worried more about the effort. Took my 1st Gu at about 7 miles.

Miles 6-10: 29:34.1, 5:54.8 avg

After 10 miles, we entered an area called San Juan hills. There's a series of long rollers over a 3 mile stretch until the half. Matt and his pack were nearly out of sight by now. I continued to use a guy near me as a guide post. We weren't running with one another, as much as we were constantly checking one another. I stayed strong on the ups, and he was stronger on the downs. When it was flat, we were even or he was two stepping me. I let him do the work.

Interestingly, people kept cheering "McFarland" for this guy. It turns out he is Galvin Gonzalez... He wasn't portrayed in the movie "Mcfarland", but his team was three time CA-XC champs in the 1990's and he actually won the individual champ two years in a row. The movie was a great, feel-good story that came out earlier in 2015. Anyhow, he and I kept up our back and forth going for nearly 15 miles. (He initially joined that pack back at 4 or 5 miles, and stayed with me until about 19 miles).

Took my second Gu at about 13 miles.

I went through the split at about 1:17:38. All I could think was, "Holy shit, this is fast!!" I've never tried anything this aggressive before and it was significantly more so some than my target. I wasn't sure if it was stupid, suicidal, or warranted given the effort.

Was it easy up until then? No. But it wasn't crushing. I certainly felt like I was working and my legs were definitely tired as I went through the half. I was locked in though and that effort was glued to me. Everything was telling me to just keep running hard and stay with this guy.

After 13, McFarland and I started to slowly eat other runners. Mile 14 was a 5:49. We were clearly pulling the trigger a bit. Mile 15 had a climb.

Miles 11-15: 29:29.0, 5:53.8

A fire was then lit. I decided to commit to a new race plan. I became significantly more aggressive. McFarland was no longer two stepping me. I started to drive. We were gaining on Matt. Ups and downs alike, it all became pressing. Mile 16: 5:45, 17: 5:41. These were risky and blistering miles. It was net down in here, but still chalk full of rollers. My legs actually appreciated the up more than the down! Quads and glutes were getting tired. It was not longer easy as we were approaching 20mi. Regardless, we hammered. I took my final Gu at about 18 miles. 16-19 were all in the 5:40's.

We caught Matt, briefly ran with him, and then I pulled away from both him and McFarland at the same time.

Miles 16-20: 28:59.0, 5:47.8 avg

I knew those miles were expensive. But I also knew that soon enough, the course would flatten out and I'd be allowed to relax from those rollers. It couldn't get flat soon enough though! I had 10K to go. I couldn't help but think about how I felt in Moscow during the final 8-10K. How quickly things changed for me there. I tried to tell myself that it was a completely different race and different conditions. I didn't want an excuse to hit the wall... But I knew that ridiculous 5:40 shit couldn't continue.

I ran though 20 miles in 1:57:44. I simply realized that if I held 6's for the final 10K, then I'd run right around 2:35 flat. (doing the math, that's actually an accurate assumption).

Mile 21- 5:56. I felt somewhat relieved. I was happy to see some self control now that I was alone. I was still passing guys, but there weren't many left within reach of me. I passed the third placed woman. I had no one to work with now... Just myself.

Mile 22- 6:02.9. This was the beginning of a nasty hill/bridge that crossed over a river that stretched into the 23rd mile. The climb felt like it took forever. It became a huge mental hurdle. I just wanted to get across it, because I knew the course was supposed to level out after that.

Mile 23- 6:11.6. Fuck. It had the bridge though, so I was ok giving a little back. My legs were getting really heavy at that point. Quads were on fire. Passed the marker and it said "2:15:5X". 3.2 miles to go. The real battle was to begin now. I knew I needed to do that in under 20 minutes. That's all I cared. What pace was that? 6:10? I had trouble thinking about it.

Mile 24- 6:07.7. Well now that was a relief! Better than 23, but still fugly as far as I was concerned. I looked at the street numbers... it was 50th something street... then 40th something. I had to go to 9th, I think. That was a looong way away. No more sub-6's, and they're hurting at a rapidly increasing rate!! I was in quick sand. My legs were done. I passed one guy that was total road kill. I did everything to convince myself that I wasn't going to be that guy. I nearly passed another guy, only to have him promptly drop me and pick it up. I couldn't believe where that came from. I wanted to do that! I questioned my sanity. I questioned everything about the last several months of my life. The maps would suggest the course was leveling out at this point. All I could see was a mountain of concrete in front of me.

Why the fuck did I push so hard?! I wanted to quit. This was becoming excruciating. My legs didn't want to continue. This was not Berlin. This was not SF10. It wasn't Naperville. Those were works of art. I closed them like a thoroughbred champ. This was drunken mess... Stumbling all over... I only hoped I could get through it before I did something stupid, like convince myself it was OK to walk. I wanted to walk.

Mile 25-6:14.4. Indeed it was ugly! Fuck you though, one mile to go!

Miles 21-25: 30:33.0, 6:06.6 avg with three ugly miles

Ugh. Please don't slow down any more! I put in surges to keep myself going, but each one was short lived. There were a few guys 100M in front of me. I couldn't close them. That game was over. I just threw my lifeline at them and hoped they could tow me in. I was only minutes away. I could deal with minutes of pain. It felt like an eternity.

I just had to hang on. I'd PR if I just hung on. I'd be damned if I was going to hammer the way I did, only to trash the end of this thing.

Mile 26- 6:16.1

Just get to the goddamned finish line!!!!

Left hand turn onto 9th street, then again in front of the capitol building. I saw the clock ticking 2:35:4X. I just leaned in all I could without falling over.

I crossed the finish line and wanted collapse. Holy Jesus, 2:35:52. I did it. Holy shit, I did it!! It wasn't pretty, and I threw everything I had at those first 22 miles... Only to fight like never before in those final-four.

It wasn't a total death march since I was still running an OK pace, nor a failure because I simply wouldn't give up. I certainly wanted to though!! To my feeble credit at the end, I paid attention to the clock and said this is what I need to do to keep that aggressive "A" goal of sub 2:36. And I did it.

Wow!!! I was fried. It hurt A LOT! More than any marathon in the last few years.

Matt finished about 15 seconds behind me. McFarland was another minute+ back.

Just looking at the 1:17:38 out and 1:18:14 back... or 2:35:52 = 5:56.7 pace... it doesn't look that exciting, volatile, or even bad. It was only about a half minute positive split. Not quite the conservative race I was thinking and certainly every single one of those fast miles came back to haunt me at the end. I can't give a single complaint about the results though. I decided mid-race to toss my original negative split goal, and I swung for the fences. Between 3 and 22, every single mile was decidedly sub-6. I ran those 20 in 1:57:28; a 5:52.4 average!! I got it in my head that I was going to crush those miles. They were stupid fast, but I had to give it shot.

I think I'm actually more impressed with myself for those 20 miles than the overall marathon.

On the flip side, 23-26.2 were some of my slower and more painful marathon miles in a long time... Whatever. I don't give a shit, so long as I PRd and gutted out that sub 2:36 goal. The end became a calculated crash landing. Had I truly busted and run 2:26:27, I would have a completely different view on life.

Could've I run faster? I don't know. Maybe if I didn't press so hard in the middle. Frankly, after such a huge season, I don't care. The job got done. I PRd by 33 seconds. Before the race, I would've flipped out if someone told me that I'd PR by 33 seconds.

And as for anyone counting... that McMillan calculator is absolutelyfugginaccurate... The 55:31 and the 1:14:07 predicted a 2:35:5X. I ran it.

What now? My year is over. Thank God too! I'm cashed. I'm fried. I'm sore. I've raced more than I ever have before, put in a shit ton of miles, and had four big PRs this year (including a fractional 5K PR). I'm done. Through today, I have 2,905 miles. I suppose I'll gut out what I can over the next 3+ weeks to cross 3,000 miles. Why not.

2016 will be a new year and different goals. For the moment, I'd just like to relish these large accomplishments and recollect myself.

(Raising my hands, dropping the mic, and limping away).

Split recap:

1- 6:12.3

2- 6:02.6

3- 5:47.2

4- 5:42.4

5- 5:57.5 (29:41.9, 5:56.4 avg)

6- 5:52.9

7- 5:52.1

8- 5:58.8

9- 5:59.3

10- 5:51.1 (59:16, 29:34.1, 5:54.8 avg)

11- 5:55.2

12- 5:57.6

13- 5:53.6

14- 5:49.0

15- 5:53.9 (1:28:45, 29:29.0, 5:53.8 avg)

16- 5:45.1

17- 5:41.8

18- 5:46.3

19- 5:48.2

20- 5:57.0 (1:57:44, 28:59.0, 5:47.8 avg)

21- 5:56.2

22- 6:02.9

23- 6:11.6

24- 6:07.7

25- 6:14.4 (2:28:17, 30:33.0, 6:06.6 avg)

26- 6:16.1

.2- 1:18.8 (5:59.8 pace)

Out- 1:17:38 (5:55.3 avg)

Back- 1:18:14 (5:58.0 avg)

Total- 2:35:52 (5:56.7 avg)

Pre CIM Jitters

So the last couple months have been interesting to say the least. Life has taken over and updating my fun little runner's blog has not been a high priority. Yet again, I'm finding myself back dating a few key posts just to bring things up to speed.

Fortunately I've kept up my running... and training has come together for CIM ...or I at least I hope it has! Like it or not, the race is this weekend.

I wound up cramming in five good weeks of running, three of which were in the mid/upper 80's. Among them, I had a 7-day stretch that got me to 99 miles, and another that pushed to 106 miles. I'm really just trying to piggy back off my training from Moscow. This session was much shorter and easier than I usually put myself through. It's hard to compare my fitness level to September. However, the one thing I have going for me is the Naperville Half. And I'd like to believe I'm in better shape since then. 1:14:07 suggests I should have a good chance to PR CIM.

This doesn't come without worry though. I've run back-to-backs before, but I've never crammed in two fast marathons like this before. I'm not sure what'll happen. I'm not sure if I'm under trained or over trained. Specifically here's where I'm either lacking or over done things:

1) I haven't had a ton of really fast workouts lately. Like I said, the quality was OK. I had solid workouts before Moscow. But in the last couple weeks, I've had a few intervals but no monster/staple 20x400 or 10x800. No huge tempos (aside from the half). I have raced a lot though, that's for sure. Otherwise, I'm in the dark with my top end speed at the moment.

2) I also haven't had many/any hills recently. I've done a little light work on Cricket Hill, but that doesn't really count. You should actually be laughing at that comment. And again, there was Naperville, which was a hilly effort. Maybe a few of the uber-windy training runs could count has being simulated-hills? Aside from that, no major hills really since the end of the summer.

I say this because CIM is a hilly course. It's net down, but it's a challenging and strategic net down... in a sense, like Boston. It goes down sharp initially, followed by a lot of rollers and uphills. Guys go out fast, and then die when they have to run uphill later in the race. Hopefully I have enough strength in my legs.

3) On the complete flip side... and it be any more opposite from those two comments!.... I'm also extremely worried that I'm over trained and over raced for the year. As of this moment, I can say I feel flat. Plain and simple. Maybe that's my taper talking? (Or even lack of taper??)

I've had a huge year in running and I'm worried that I've over done it. I ran 17 races this year! That's big by anyone's standard. Since Moscow, I've raced four more times: Halloween, Naperville, IL XC 5K, and Turkey Day 8K... all very hard or even all in efforts. The XC race especially sapped me... I suck at XC! Total mileage for the year will likely be above 3,000... easily my biggest year ever.

Long story short... I feel tired! I realize that's what everyone says when they taper, but I really do feel tired. And my taper has been short due to cramming this abbreviated ramp. I can only hope these are pre-race jitters; I worry about doing an aggressive back-to-back that I've never tried before. I still have a couple more days to calm down.

Where does this leave me? I'm flying to California tomorrow. This will be my second time running CIM. I know the course, and I know how to run it. The weather looks decent at the moment. I had a great race there back in 2011. If I can chill out, relax, and rejuvenate myself over the next 60 hours... then it's mine for the taking and I'll throw everything I have at it.

It'll end in one of two ways: I eat the bear, or the bear eats me.

Post Moscow: CARA + Naperville Half Marathon + CIM Ramp

After Moscow, I didn't take too much time to figure out what I wanted to do with the balance of this year's running.

After two weeks of travel and chilling out, I then needed to quickly pull myself back together. I was committed to the CARA Circuit, which meant I needed to gut out two final races of the season: Halloween Hustle 5K and the Naperville Half Marathon. Furthermore, I had a twinkle in my eye...... I was left somewhat unfulfilled from Moscow and wondering what I should do about it.

Ramping back up wasn't easy. I had some medial left-knee pain that was caused by doing too much walking / stairs in the days following the marathon. Ironically it was very similar to some pain that I had after last year's Berlin. Last year it took a few months to heal. This year, I decided to run through it for the circuit races. It took about three weeks to calm down and become runnable without any discomfort. With a bunch of stretching, foam rolling, and some simple exercises... it's totally fine now.

My initial push back into running was some pacing during the Chicago Marathon for a few friends. It required me to build for a week. I then towed Anu to the finish line for the last 8 miles. The 6:00-6:10 effort wasn't too bad. I started setting my sights on the CARA races.

Halloween Hustle was easy. It was just a 5K. It score points and helped to test some speed. It wasn't super fast because the conditions were less than ideal (rainy / windy / cold), but it gave me more comfort and the knee was no longer bothering me. It wasn't a fast Circuit 5K since many people had just run the marathon... but I did have to race to get 3rd. I dropped a guy that placed 4th, and briefly was in 2nd place before getting kicked myself in the final 400m. I was happy with 3rd and 16:46 in those conditions was satisfying nonetheless. That secured my season with CARA as 2nd 35-39 AG, and 5th OA).

At that point, I had a few weeks of 50+ miles back underneath me. The thoughts were creeping into my head....

If was going to go for a redemption marathon, it had to be CIM (Dec 6th). I felt good. If I was going to do it though, I'd have to quickly ramp my mileage. So I signed up with the option to defer the registration. I'd have to make the ultimate commitment/decision by Nov 16th.... conveniently the day after Naperville Half Marathon.

My focus immediately shifted towards building mileage. I didn't think I'd need a blast into the hundreds, but I knew I'd need a handful of 75-90 miles weeks and a little more speed.

That said, the next two weeks popped up to 72 and 85 miles. The second week at 85 miles was key, as I had 3 large workouts:

- 7 mile rust buster tempo (avg'd 5:54 with conservative start and low 5:40's in second half).

- 8x800 @ 2:34.7 on the lakefront w/ 90 recovery (alternating 4 in wind @ 2:38avg, 4 w/ wind @ 2:31avg).

- 18 miles with 12 at progressing from 6:30 down to 6:15

What happened next was not planned by any means, but inked my commitment to CIM.

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

Naperville Half Marathon

I honestly didn't have high expectations for this race. I merely wanted to add to my CARA points and get a solid workout. My running in the week up to this half was all building blocks. I hit 99 miles in 7 days through that Friday, including the workouts mentioned above. I went easy/short on Saturday, then the half on Sunday. In other words - there was no taper, this was a run-through-race.

I expected something similar to the Lake Zurich Half, and that would've been ideal. I knew that a sub-1:17 would be enough to gain more CARA points, though it wouldn't necessarily change the standings... A sub-1:17 also would've easily satisfied my desire for some MGP miles + progressing a little faster towards the end of the race.

Sasha was running this as her debut half marathon, so we road out to Naperville at some ridiculously early hour. Without any significant expectations, I wasn't stressing myself out too much... (maybe this is what makes the best races??). Prior to the start, I took a quick glance at the course map. It showed a bunch of twisty roads and turns, with some rolling hills. Way too much for me to take in. It was what it was. I simply had no clue where I was gonna be running or what was ahead.

Weather was brisk, around 40 degrees at the start. No significant wind and plenty of sun... Ideal racing conditions for me.

I warmed up with Sean Clark, and we ducked into the front of the starting line with just enough time to run a few strides. I looked around and didn't see many recognizable faces, aside from a few New Balance and Dick Pond runners... some of which I expected to go faster than me. Surprisingly no bigger Fleet Feet guys.

After very early some turns and jockeying, at about 3/4ths mile I found myself running with only a handful of runners in front of me. Sean was shooting for 1:18, and I said I might hang with him for the first few miles. I kept checking back, and I was already gaining distance on him. Apparently so much for that plan! I still didn't think I would crush this thing. Everything felt very smooth though; the weather was cool, no wind, and I actually welcomed the sun. I just locked onto my pace and went with it. I passed a few more people before mile one, then breezed the marker at 5:45.

There were three guys solidly in front of me and gaining ground. One was Jeremy Rustin and in my AG. I figured if he had a bad day and I had a really good day, then I could catch him. He wasn't holding anything back in the early going though. The other two guys were New Balance and even gaining on him. Still no Fleet Feet in sight. I knew I would find myself in no-man's-land soon enough. Then I gradually heard a runner approaching from behind. Initially I wasn't sure what to do with that.

As he ran along side of me, and I latched on. He was a younger guy... maybe in his mid-20's. Seemed a little cumbersome, but certainly wasn't slow. We exchanged a couple quick comments, and he was clearly happy hanging onto this pace. I wasn't overly taxed, so I decided to stay with him. Besides, absolutely nobody else was near us at this point... he was my only hope for someone to run with. Mile 2: 5:44.

We turned off the main street into some neighborhoods. The course immediately then started climbing. We couldn't even see the guys in front of us any longer, nor anything behind. We climbed through that pig of a hill. Mile 3: 5:48. Neither one of us was letting go of the other. All I could think was, "Shit! What did I just get myself into?" I had no idea there would be hills like that out here.

The course then leveled off. We maintained our effort. Mile 4: 5:38. Yowza! At this point, I'd better not be thinking about a MGP run... because that would be a crash and burn! I laid the cards on the table and told the kid I'd try to run with him for as long as I could, but I didn't know what I had inside of me.

We kept twisting through the neighborhood and saw random crowds cheer on the streets. Mile 5: 5:39.

This was no joke now. I was committing myself to whatever this kid was going doing and he was looking solid. I didn't feel terrible, so I was still ok with it. The constant checking kept happening though... both of myself and of him. Neither of us broke for a second. There was rarely a point where I thought I could drop him... but interestingly, nor did I think I was going to be dropped. I started to use him. I wanted to match him as much as possible.

We hit a nasty uphill again in the 6th mile. We rounded some turns, more good sized crowds cheering, climbed and turned again. A couple people shouted my name. I had no clue who they were. Where did they come from?? I've never been to Naperville!? I was numb to the outside world. Tunnel vision. I just wanted to get up this hill without him dropping me. Mile 6: 5:46.

We then turned out of the neighborhoods and hit a wide, long, straight road, down hill road. I lit the fire! Mile 7: 5:30!

He stayed right with me too. I actually didn't want him to go either. At this point we were feeding one another.

We then snaked our way into downtown Naperville (whatever that is!!)... crowds were cheering again. Still, I had no clue what this course or town looked like, so I was somewhat shocked by everything that was going on. I had no idea people would be out here watching! And more people kept cheering for me too... HOW?!? I had no idea. (Spoiler alert: My name was on the bib!!)

We still couldn't see the other guys in front of us. God only knows how far back the field was. People kept cheering for us to "stay together" and "work together". They were right. Mile 8: another smoking 5:33.

Mile 9: 5:39

We were running like a metronome now... with only a slight ebb and flow around turns.

Mile 10: 5:38... We ran stride for stride with one another through 10 miles without either of us blinking an eye! But this was no longer us running together... It finally dawned on me that we were racing each other! I had completely forgotten all about my 1:17 goal. All I was worried about was two things: Eat or be eaten.

We went through a gatorade station and I grabbed another drink. It wasn't hot by any means, but I was sweating and I had taken a few gatorades before then to keep the fire lit. I noticed that he didn't take anything. He had actually skipped several by that point. I even thought about it... asking myself, was he drinking anything?? Why not?? Hmmm.

About 200m later, we rounded a corner and I noticed him taking it slightly slower than I did and not coming back.

Bingo!

After that point, I was two stepping him for another half mile. I could feel him getting ever so slightly weaker. I actually tried to egg him on and told him to stay with me. Mile 11: 5:37.

Another turn and we were back in a neighborhood and had a few more hills. I had no clue where the hell this course was taking us!! It kept turning. Neighborhoods. Straight-aways. What the hell!? I then pulled a trigger with a surge. I increased the lead ever so slightly. He didn't follow. I knew he was done. The question was now, what did I have left? I was redlining; I was locked in and didn't want to let go. I leaned in to what I could. His footsteps grew more faint. Mile 12: 5:38. The clock said 1:07:59 flat.

It took me a minute to think, but I recognized 1:08 + 6:30 if I blow up = still a PR.

Blow up was not an option. I was finishing this fucker as fast as I could!

Rounded a another turn. I put in another surge to gain as I crested a slight high spot on the road. From there was a long straight away in front of me, and it was all a gradual downhill. My eyes welled up. I couldn't see anyone in front of me. Rustin was out of the picture. All I worried about was keeping the pedal to the metal and not letting the kid kick me down. Mile 13: 5:34.

I was all in. I still couldn't see the finish line though. Where was it?

Boom! I heard loud speakers say the second placed runner finished. It was Jeremy. I waited to hear who was third. I heard nothing after that... It turns out that one of the original three guys dropped off the course/ took a wrong turn.

More downhill, then I rounded a final corner and kicked as hard as I could. The loud speaker then blared "And here comes 3rd place..."... I closed the last .11 in 33.8 seconds, or a 5:07 pace.

SPLIT RECAP:

1- 5:45.1

2- 5:44.1

3- 5:48.1

4- 5:38.4

5- 5:39.2

6- 5:46.4

7- 5:30.8

8- 5:33.5

9- 5:39.0

10- 5:38.6

11- 5:37.0

12- 5:38.7

13- 5:34.6

0.11- 33.8 (5:07 pace)

Tot- 1:14:07 / 5:39.2 Avg; 3rd OA.

Solid negative split and long overdue Half Marathon PR. In fact, it was one of my best races to date. Hilarious, considering I had no intentions of running hard in this race!! I put 12 seconds on the 26 year old "kid" in the last couple miles. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have done it without that guy's help... So thank you, Kyle Julian... whoever you are.

Ironically, a 1:14:07 is somewhat inline with my 55:31 at SF10, per McMillan Running. It says I should gun for a 2:35:59.

With this, I'm officially committed to closing my season with CIM. Time to get to work!!

A special shout out to Sasha for running a fantastic Half Marathon debut: 1:43:53!! Fantastic!! XOXOXOX!!!!