The 400s

I ran my big boy 20x400s tonight. I had Alvaro there to help me out. We did the workout at Wilson track. I had been sweating this thing for several days and in the end, all I can say is, WOW!

The weather was pretty solid... Low 60s, mild humidity, a little wind out of the south that I put on the homestretch as opposed to having it slow the intervals on the backstretch. I managed it well, as I pushed into the wind while closing each 100-150m.

Aside from a few soccer teams practicing on the infield, there weren't many people around. We basically had the track to ourselves. No other runners or traffic to compete with. We only had one incident with a ball, but it really wasn't that big of a deal.

Alvaro wound up doing a combo of 200, 300, and 400s to keep in the game. He was starting the intervals with me, and I'd pull away when he was either finishing his rep or with my press into the wind. Without a doubt, he was a big reason that I ran as well as I did. Our rest was 90 seconds.

This was truly a night to spin my wheels! I was smooth and steady the whole way, and then dropped it just enough at the end.

#- Split

1- 73.7

2- 72.4

3- 72.7

4- 73.0, avg 72.95

5- 72.8

6- 72.6

7- 72.1

8- 71.8, avg 72.325

9- 72.5

10- 71.9

11- 72.2

12- 72.5, avg 72.275

13- 72.7

14- 72.5

15- 72.4

16- 71.8, avg 72.35

17- 71.6

18- 71.7

19- 70.7

20- 69.8, avg 71.0

AVG- 72.17

Per my training log, that goes down as my fastest ever 20x400 workout... by a whopping 100th of a second (previous was going into my bad ass Moscow'15/CIM'15 PR). I'll take what I can get.

Not too shabby for sitting on 100 miles in the last 7 days, 40 years old, 24 official marathons deep... er is it 25 (un)official?

My 25th (Unofficial) Marathon

I'm pushing the redline with my training right now. I've officially entered a place where I've never been before. My runs has become unconventional, to say the least.

Let's back up a week...

I topped off my second-out-of-four peak weeks with a 22 miler on that Saturday. That was my second 90+ week, and I had just started to bump towards 100. Nothing particularly special about that run, but the next morning was the Chicago Marathon. I volunteered to pace with Anu and Jeff Hoj for the second half of the race. It was a great way to help those guys out, and get a fully supported tempo run at MGP. I ran with the guys for a little over 12 miles, and we averaged a 5:58 pace... the day after I ran a 22 miler... and with a cool down, that put me at 100mi in 7 days... and I felt totally fine.

Then throughout the rest of last week, I poured the miles on in order to keep the 100 going. Despite some nasty and lonely runs in the pouring rain, and being a little tired... I held up well. The only problem I had was Thursday, when I was forced to take Hella Spring to the shop instead of running a track workout. That created a slight pull back, but I still ran easy on the day and it allowed me to recover.

Here's where it gets interesting though... over the weekend, Sasha and I were up in Sister Bay, Wisconsin. I still needed to do my long run, which capped off week three of the peak. What better of a way to do it, than a tour of the Door County peninsula? It just so happened that I mapped out a 26.25mi route. This was the first time ever in my training that I would push the distance prior to racing the distance. I've done 24 plenty, and even 25... so all I could think was, "What's the difference as long as I just keep it in control?"

The course was basically an out and back loop with many exit points to cut it short. Weather was perfect... in the low 50s, sunny, with a slight headwind for the first half followed by tailwind in the second half. I carried my own gatorade and a gu.

I kept it as calm as possible, for as long as possible... with the intention of surviving unscathed and being able to continue my training. Generally speaking, the most of the run was pretty steady. Uphills were around 7:15s, and everything else was 6:55-7:00. A few miles later were pushed down to 6:40-45, with a little help from the wind. All in, I ran 3:02:19... right about 6:57 pace.

I stopped the clock briefly at half way to take a gu, enjoy the view, and appreciate the fact that I ran up to the northernmost tip of the peninsula. When I finished the run, I was tired, but surprisingly not trashed. I didn't even take any real downtime! I quickly showered, and went out the door to the Fall Fest.

Sunday morning, I was tight, but not terrible. I didn't have any difficulty going down stairs. I basically just felt like I did a bigger, long run. Seriously, I've done 15 milers before and felt way worse! The point is... I ran a marathon in my training for my marathon, and it didn't bother me!! It's not like I even tapered for it. That also closed out the week at 100. I went 11 miles the next afternoon, once we got back to Chicago. Either I'm stupid or I'm stupid fit right now. Maybe a little of both?

So on top of that, Monday's lunchrun included a 7mi tempo... 48 hours after this "26th" marathon. Splits were solid: 5:44.8, 5:53.8, 5:48.5, 5:37.1, 5:35.7, 5:31.8, 5:28.6... for a 5:40.0 average. Looking back at some of my numbers, excluding races, this was one of my faster tempos.

Last night was 16 after work, and today was 11 at lunch. I was definitely more tired for those runs than I would've liked, but I should be. This is my fourth week of packing on the miles... the last three weeks were 95, 92, and 100. This week will be another mid-90s.

The peak will round out with my big boy 20x400s tomorrow (Thursday). 18-20 again on Saturday. On Sunday, I'm returning to the Naperville Half Marathon for a tune-up/extended MGP/progression run.

In the end, I'm going to have about 1,150 miles in the 15 weeks that lead into NYC. In my last 10 years of competitively running, I've never run this much before. The quantity is clearly there. Some solid quality. And I don't feel over as extended as I have in the past. Of course I'm tired, but days off will clear that up. Otherwise feel strong and healthy and almost ready to take Manhattan in proper fashion.

I can't help but keep thinking... Jesus, I ran a 3:02 Marathon for the fun of it, without any bit of rest going into it, and I wasn't even phased... I could've easily gone much faster, but there was no need.

My 25th (Unofficial) Marathon. Nothing to see here. Keep moving.

Writing sebatical over. Back to work!

The last year has been full of events. Nothing too crazy on the running front, just life taking over a little bit. I may not have been writing or updating this blog (aside from miles and race), but I haven't stopped running!

That ends today... a year after I left it hanging.

So what have I been doing?

I last posted about my 2016 Chicago Marathon training. I had a recap was written long ago, but never posted it. At this point, it's stale. I mean the 2017 Chicago Marathon was yesterday! So I guess it's pointless to post the old one now. Here were my splits, and a very very quick run down...

Dist - Split - Lap - Pace

05K - 0:18:38 - 18:38 - 6:00

10K - 0:37:17 - 18:40 - 6:01

15K - 0:56:00 - 18:44 - 6:02

20K - 1:14:38 - 18:39 - 6:00

HALF - 1:18:42

25K - 1:33:17 - 14:35 - 6:01

30K - 1:51:30 - 18:13 - 5:52

35K - 2:10:09 - 18:40 - 6:01

40K - 2:29:40 - 19:31 - 6:17

42.2 - 2:38:06 - 8:26 - 6:11

Out in 1:18:42, back in 1:19:24. 2:38:06 (course PR).

Much like this year, last year's weather was a little warm (easily hitting 70 in the second half) and there was a southerly wind. I paced and ran with Matt Thor and Tim Faith, otherwise the field was pretty sparce for us, especially once we hit halfway. Our plan was to run 6-flat for the as long as possible and hopefully drop the hammer at some point. I ran solid and eventually left Matt and Tim, but the homestretch on Michigan Ave broke me. I went from pushing the pace sub 6 into the wind, to trying to hang on to 6:15's once the wind calmed down. In the end, I gave up a sub-2:38 and what should've been a negative split. I knew it wouldn't be a PR due to a lack of quantity in my training, but I was expecting better than this. Instead I wound up with another sub-2:40 notch in my belt and a course PR. I can collect those all days long, so I can't complain too much about that.

The rest of 2016's running included a so-so Carrera 5K and maintenance mileage that filled out the year. I finished 2016 with 2,672 miles. My crowning event for the year was Shamrock's 26:37 (1 second shy of a PR), otherwise I finished in 3rd place Overall in the 2016 CARA Circuit and 2nd place 35-39 Age Group for the season. A good year, but it became clear that running the circuit has taken it's toll. Too many races spread out over the year, without any real quality training to back them up... and that was my third year in four doing that.

The last couple months of 2016 were consumed by two life changing things:

1) I started a new job in early November. After a nice long sebatical, I took on a non-trading, analyst position with a larger fund company. I've now been here almost a year. I'll spare the details aside from I am learning new things and getting experience in the corporate world, but it's not as exciting nor as challenging as I would like. It pays the bills and keeps me entertained though. I'm hoping that it's a stepping stone for a better role within the company.

2) Most importantly: Sasha and I got married!! We had absolutely beautiful wedding (in my completely upbiased opinion), and the first year of our marriage has been blissful. I spare all the details, but it was Nov 20, 2016 in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. The wedding and reception were at the Hotel El Convento. We had about 60 guests. Spending the long weekend with the our close friends and family made for a perfect and very special experience that we'll remember for the rest of our lives. Sasha and I followed Puerto Rico with a small trip to St John, USVI. And since then, we've had several trips in the last year, which have certainly made training an after throughout or not my primary focus, at least until recently. A wedding few pix and then moving on.

2017:

I decided I needed a break from the CARA Circuit in 2017. Three out of four years was enough. I've spent far too much time over-racing and under-training. My results were increasingly showing it as the schedule took its toll. So for this year, I've set my sights on just accumulating miles and focusing on my old nemisis, the New York City Marathon. I wound up running Boston in the spring for the entertainment factor, but NYC will be all business.

The best thing to come out of my winter/spring training was a respectable 26:44 at Shamrock Shuffle. Otherwise, I probably short changed myself going into Boston. I wasn't super motivated in the winter months, as we had a few ski trips and other fun things going on, which I allowed to distract my focus. I definitely missed out on a few key weeks and an accumulation of mileage.

The weather in Boston was then abnormally hot for marathon Monday; easily 75-80 degrees and not a cloud in the sky on race day. Peak temps on the blacktop would've been hotter. Long story short, I thought it was wise to go out easier and then pick it up if I felt good. I start conservatively with 6:10-15s, then slowly squeezed the trigger starting at 10-15K. Confidence and experience from Shamrock told me that I could save a sub or low 2:40's, but then the wheels came off on the back of the hills. It was either a lack of training or the heat that broke me. Probably a little of both.

Out in 1:20:47, back in 1:25:48. 2:46:35. It was only sloppy after heartbreak. The result sucked, but I don't regret running the way I did. Maybe any other day, and I could've done it. Oh well. On that day, in that race, at that time, I would've rather blown up than laid up. Unfortunately, training in the winter doesn't help when you are forced to race in unexpected summer-like conditions.

Dist - Split - Lap - Pace

05K - 0:19:34 - 19:34 - 6:16

10K - 0:38:52 - 19:18 - 6:11

15K - 0:57:45 - 18:53 - 6:03

20K - 1:16:38 - 18:53 - 6:03

HALF - 1:20:47

25K - 1:35:42 - 19:04 - 6:07

30K - 1:55:09 - 19:27 - 6:14

35K - 2:15:53 - 20:44 - 6:39

40K - 2:37:15 - 21:22 - 6:51

42.2 - 2:46:35 - 9:20 - 6:49

No tears shed in Boston.

By the end of June, I had 1,342 miles YTD. That's not a small number... Aside from a few races around Boston, it was all part of my basing plan and building for the big prize of the year... New York City.

This has really been my main focus. Everything else has just been noise.

I've done the New York Marathon three times now. Each with similar outcomes in time, but very different races:

- In 2008, as I was breaking out. That year I did the double... a 2:47:03 at Berlin Marathon, followed by a 2:53:57. Two marathons within a month an a half is not easy; at the time, I was very proud of that race.

- In 2010, I was trying to crush it. I already had a few other sub-2:40s, I had solid training, but the wheels started to come off before I even toed the line. Everything went smoothly until about two weeks before the marathon, when I either knotted or pulled a muscle. I managed it, but conditions and a monster blister lead me to blow up on 1st Avenue. I retreated and finished in 2:50:56... the hard way.

- In 2013, I did the double again following a 2:39:37 in Chicago. But this time, I was on the brink of serious injury. Nonetheless, I laid up a 2:52:18. That race was more about the stories and the fun than anything else, but I paid a dear price for it.

The New York Marathon is no joke. Experience tells me that I need to respect it. It's much more difficult than Boston. The logistics suck. The starting area sucks. The weather always sucks. The wind is terrible, no matter which direction you're heading. The bridges suck. The turn onto 1st Ave sucks. The Bronx sucks. 5th Ave sucks. The hills in Central Park suck. It's just a sucky race. And that's why I need to go into this thing absolutely, 100%, fully prepared for a dog fight. A well honed, and significantly experienced marathoner against his arch nemesis... the most difficult of the majors... Not that I need to prove myself in my 26th marathon, but Frankie said it best, "If I can make it there, I can make it anywhere." New York will go down as a sub-2:40.

As of this moment right now, I'm sitting on 100 miles in the last seven days. I've been piling it on. In the 15 weeks that will lead up to the race, I'll have more miles going into NYC than an other marathon that I've ever run. I'm solidly fit already and still have just inside of four weeks until the race. My goal: to be PR shape so that I can guarantee myself success, regardless of conditions that bitch throws at me.

Seven years later, I'll get my revenge. I'm coursing you, New York! And I want my sub-2:40.

23 Marathons Later and I Still Get Antsy Like a Noobie

So I'm about to embark on my 23rd marathon in a few days.

This should be old business for me, yet I'm still pretty nervous about it. I'm antsy because I don't know what to expect. I keep second guessing some things and reviewing my training. Maybe this is just because I drastically cut my mileage in the last handful of days? ...It's kinda been a crash training followed by crash taper... Or maybe I'm finally just experiencing some plain old taper madness??

I guess this is all amusing since I've been through it so many times. Regardless of experience, the feelings and fixations don't change when you're only a couple days out from a marathon. It's exciting and nerve racking all at the same time. The ultimate question is, what am I going run?

I've had a decent base all year long and I've run a lot of races (though most were glorified tempo runs and not a single PR --yet!). However, by the time I was able to focus on my marathon training during the summer, I started to hit a few road blocks.

I've discussed a couple of these issues previously: I over-raced earlier in the season. It's been an extremely humid year, and I became chronically dehydrated at various points through out the the summer. In July and early August, my quads were shot and forced some downtime. Then in early September, I was forced to cut a critical week of training due to a monster knot in my right calf (going only 40 miles instead of 90+).

Fortunately, those issues are past me by now and I do feel very healthy.

My training now hinges upon seven key weeks. And for the most part, I think I pulled it off... 67, 90, 99, 90, 40, 102, 81.

That 40 was a big hole though... It cut into my mileage right where I needed it most. It also had me cancel a key track workout that week. And that gets right to the heart of my taper madness... A lack of speed training. Sure, I've had some okay tempo runs. But every time I wanted to do something on the track throughout this training session, something got in the way. Last week's 20x400 was hacked. The week before's 10x800s were mediocre. I cut workouts short due to heat, humidity, nasty winds, stomach issues, the calf, and so on. As well, every attempt was a solo effort, which never helps.

In the end, this training had me doing a number of non-standard things. Lack of tracking. Weeks or days off when I didn't want them. Running a 24 miler two weeks out. Shorter taper. The list goes on. I don't feel like it's been terrible training, just that if I had one more week, then I'd be golden for a PR. Like I'm missing that one key big workout and I just ran out of time.

So why not one more nonstandard thing to seal all this? Now that I'm only a few days away from the marathon... and after taking three days off out of the last four... naturally, my OCD had me wanting to spin of the wheels today. I had to feed the beast. It's actually not too different from my other training cycles, it just comes one day later. A track sharpener on the Thursday before instead of Wednesday.

Anyway, I ran 5x400 at the track, in the middle of today's easy run. The first rep was roughly marathon goal pace: 90 seconds. No big deal. It actually felt comfortable. The next four reps were 70.3, 70.7, 69.9, 68.8; 90 seconds rest between the five. Fast and furious, and it hardly phased me.

I just wanted to turn my legs over. I had to see how they'd respond, and they did damn well. Smooth as could be. 69.9 average for the four. I didn't gain anything from this other than a mental boost... but that's what I needed most.

My endurance is here. I can feel it. I know I'm strong. I feel healthy. And after some days off and a very light week, I'm starting to feel fresh again. Now I just need to deal with the waiting game. Sunday will once again tell me how fast I really am.

Ugh. Into the deep once more.

Progression, 800s + an Olympic Double, a 5K, 24

This past week was a pisser. I had some harder workouts, it continues to be an Indian Summer here in Chicago, and I’ve been stuffing mileage in where I can.

A huge knock on wood here... My calf feels solid again. My dead legs are long gone. With the exception of feeling tired, I continue to plug along.

In the last week:

- Tuesday evening progression – it was hot and humid, 14mi total w/ 5.5 at MGP or faster.

- Thursday afternoon track – Another hot and humid day. 10x800 at 2:36.4 average w/ 90sec recovery. It was about two seconds slower than I would've liked, but I think given the conditions, it was all I could expect.

- Thursday evening Olympic double – 11mi at a moderate pace. It made for a bitch of day, but it was an absolute mandatory run. A huge thank you to my friends, Michelle and Anu Parekh for including me in Anu’s birthday festivities.

Long story short, Michelle surprised Anu by having Matthew Centrowitz join a small group of us for the evening. In case you need a refresher... Matthew Centrowitz was freshly crowned the Rio 1500M Gold Medalist. He's the first American to win the 1500M Gold Medal since 1908!! Literally, HE IS QUENTIN CASSIDY FROM ONCE A RUNNER... only Matthew won the gold!!

The whirlwind festivities included an 11 mile run with him on Thursday evening, then dinner/drinks and hanging out, and then another 8 again on Friday AM. Everyone was totally geeked out by this. There’s no way we couldn’t have been!! The guy has inked his name into running history for having won one the greatest races I've ever watched. And to top it off, Matthew is a really friendly and genuine person too, let alone a complete stud. Seriously, a thoroughbred racehorse at his prime. It’ll be fun to watch him perform over the next few years as he ventures into more competitions and new distances. We’re all huge fans of his following this experience.

- Saturday 5K – There’s nothing to brag about here, as I choked out a lame 16:30 at Park Ridge. It was just that... me gutting the thing out.

First mile was solid and I clung to a 3rd place position, at 5:13. 1st and 2nd places were about 5 seconds ahead of me, and I had 4th slightly off my tail. Second mile I over took one of the front runners, but slowed to 5:19. And that was the end of it for me. The guy that was originally in 4th passed me and I just let him go. I slipped to a 5:23 in that third mile, and closed at 33 sec for the 16:30 and 3rd overall. The lame thing was, the guy that wound up passing me and in 2nd place was only 4 seconds ahead. I can’t say that I sucked, but I definitely didn't lay pipe like I was supposed to... I was just plain old tired. That capped off a 102 mile week, which had me over-running in the past couple days. There was no taper or letting up going into this thing.

- Sunday 24 – So following yesterday's 5K and now being officially two weeks from the Chicago Marathon, I was struggling with what to do with myself. I wanted a long run, but I didn’t know if I should push 20, 22, or 23. I started easier and just let it unfold. First 8 miles averaged about 7:15. I then began plugging away. I knocked it down with about 9 miles of 6:35-6:45s, followed by a couple of 6:10-6:15s in the 22+23rd miles. I felt completely strong the whole way and finished without the slightest dent from 75 degree heat or dehydration. Absolutely no complaints there, and it totally redeems my 16:30 the previous day.

In light of the 24, I’m definitely fit but I’m not done yet. It’s clearly risky doing all this two weeks out from the marathon, but given my lull in July and early August, then my speed bump a couple weeks ago... I don’t think it’s a bad strategy. After today, I have easy miles tomorrow, another bigger tempo on Tuesday, a day of rest on Wednesday, and then my infamous 20x400 track workout on Thursday.

After that, the peak is in and I can start a massive recovery for the following nine days. By Thursday, I’ll how fast I should gun this marathon.

Hopefully Centro has rubbed off on me, and helps my motivation to lay pipe on marathon morning:

Speed Bump

It’s simply part of marathon training. You can’t push the redline day after day or week after week without something giving. All you can do is damage control, and try to get back to training as quickly as possible.

Following a nice MGP/tempo run at the Lake Zurich Half, my goal was to push hard for two and a half final weeks with my training, then wind down for the final week and a half.

Unfortunately, my lower legs tightened up like mad after that half. It was a bit hilly, so I wasn’t totally shocked at the soreness. But something just didn’t seem quite right, especially in my right calf. The race was a Sunday, I went easy on Monday, then took Tuesday off to let it calm down. Then in my easy-AM run on Wednesday, something pulled in my final quarter mile of the run. It felt like it was dead in the middle of the right calf.

Without a doubt, this was caused by my dehydration in the last week.

In the end, it was merely a knot, and I’m incredibly lucky for that... but at the time, I was legitimately concerned that it was much worse. I took some aggressive steps right away for damage control. I booked a massage for later that day, I iced, I compressed it, I took some Motrin, etc.

The massage helped a ton – and likely got half of it out. It also helped to flush some of the crap from my lower legs, which let me focus on where the damage was actually located... deep at the intersection of the soleus and the gastroc. The calf certainly wasn’t ready to run though, and I was forced to keep nursing it and take two days off.

I continued with aggressive icing, compressing, and resting on both Thursday and Friday. Most importantly though, I tried Ream’s favorite trick several times a day, for 3 days in a row - laying my leg on a baseball to self-massage / roll the thing out. The knot finally let go and I was ready to run by Saturday, and picked up my long run yesterday. As of now, I think I'm in the clear.

The result of this stupid injury meant three donuts in a key peak week! Instead of running 100 miles, I wound up with 40.

On the plus side, I feel reasonably fresh again and can push for the next week+ to try to regain my position. My marathon isn’t busted yet, but it’s not going to be easy... and these fuckers don’t run themselves!

ADK'16, Round 2

So my first trip up to the cabin this year didn't really amount to a whole heck of a lot of running, as it typically has been in the past. Aside from doing the Boilermaker, I wound up trying to recover and chilling out most of the time. I simply didn't need the miles back in early July.

However, this year I'm fortunate enough to have the time for a second trip to the cabin, so I went back up there for a long Labor Day Weekend. It was good quality family time with my parents, my sister, Patti, and my two nieces. I got in some solid water skiing, worked my butt off with a few maintenance projects... and ultimately, I had some running redemption with 5 days to cram as many miles in as I could handle.

I wound up running 4 of the 5 days.

Quick recap:

Thursday - Moderate 14 miles out/back from cabin to Hogsback/Belfort Rd.

Friday - Progressing 12 miles from cabin to Croghan... started easy and progressed into 7 miles that averaged 6:15. Finished with a pancake breakfast with Mark at Schultz's.

Saturday - Easy 21 miles looping cabin up to Number 4 (past Charlies), then down and back.

Sunday - REST I was a little too sore in the morning, so I decided to chill for the day.

Monday - Easy 14 miles out/back from cabin to Stillwater.

In the end, I had just over 60 miles in the 4 days that I ran. I capped off the week ending 9/3 with 99 miles, which has been my biggest training week so far.

My diet was reasonably healthy and I feel fairly lean coming back to Chicago. Even better, so far so good with my Dead Legs Syndrome, as I haven't had any major issues since I knocked that out a few weeks ago. My only issues at this point are dealing with the lingering Chicago heat. The last two days have been brutal runs in well north of 90 degrees. As I write this, I know I'm severely dehydrated. I'll need to be careful for the next few days until the weather breaks.

I’m looking to maintain my mileage from here for the next two weeks. This week will have me moving some runs around ahead of Sunday's Lake Zurich Half Marathon. I'll juggle my long run to Friday, and look to do a marathon paced run at the half, much like I did last year.

Dead Legs Gone, Time to Ramp

Many running injuries that we get are so easily preventable and/or curable if we only knew how to address them from the beginning. Hindsight is always 20/20... and I absolutely HATE that saying, but it is so true! Chalk this up as a learning experience and maybe someone else out there will benefit too.

For the last month and half... if not longer... I've had what I've been describing as Chronic Dead Legs. My quads have been completely trashed. It was as if I was constantly trying to recover from some race. My stride went to hell, as every foot fall was met with some sort of monster charlie horse in my quads and IT-Bands. Was it runnable? Sure. But it was painful and I was miserable doing it. I wasn't able to get any quality, and I was gradually being forced to slow down and reduce my mileage. After pushing hard for over two years without any significant break, my legs seemed to be finally going into revolt. With each run, I was taking a step back in my training.

Some initial self-diagnosing on the internet had recommended some time off, massage, and maybe some changes to my diet... though I didn't think my diet was significantly different than in the past several years. So in mid-July and following the Boilermaker, I chose that as my remedy. I reduced my mileage for a couple weeks, sometimes taking up to three days in a row off from running. I also had several massages with my Serbian miracle worker. I used ice often. Started taking vitamins and eating a little more red meat. All of this allowed for at least some relief but never a cure. Occasionally I'd have an OK run, otherwise I was still trashed and not recovering.

By the end of July, and as I still had a glimmer of hope for racing the Chicago Marathon in October, I knew something had to be done quickly. It became a "do-it-now or don't run the damn race at all" decision... So with about 11 weeks out from the marathon, I shut it down completely and took a eight straight days off from running. During that period, I dusted off the goggles and hit the pool as a means to maintain some fitness. I foam rolled like mad, still iced, elevated legs, took more vitamin supplements, etc.

Once I got started running again, the first couple days were significantly better. Not perfect, but better. I thought I might be in the clear. I ran three days in a row, then took the fourth off... kind of standard practice in a bounce back. But then the soreness crept back in to my thighs. All I could think of was "What the fuck!?" After the 4th and 5th runs, I was back to square one. 48 miles in a week (not the 80-100 that I should be running!), and I felt completely trashed again. The only other way I could describe this is that my legs felt full of lactic acid and micro tears... as if I just ran a marathon and it refused to flush out.

That was about a week and a half ago.

I then resorted to trolling the internet more aggressively. I started searching several message boards for solutions. Most of the stuff was useless, and probably provided by non-competitive runners or doctors (what the hell do they know about training for 100 miles/ week anyway?). Some of the stuff on Letsrun.com and a few other sites rang similarities but never offered a cure for dead legs. Common things that I saw were:

I needed to take time off... I'm over trained... I'm over raced... I'm chronically dehydrated... All of this potentially true, but after a month of down'ish time and a week completely off, I'd think that things would at least be marginally better!? More digging had me thinking I'm iron deficient and anemic. Maybe my diet was in fact fucked? I probably drink more alcohol than I should, and maybe I'm not balancing the right carbs to protein or red meats?... I dunno.

Some jackass even pointed out to another runner that changing your mattress could result in dead legs... OK, so I was like, holy shit I did that too!...

I mean come on though, that couldn't be it!!!

For all I knew, I was coming down with multiple sclerosis or muscular dystrophy, or hell, even cancer!! Thank you, Internet for providing me with some sound advice.

Bottom line, yeah maybe I've over done it. I've been pushing for a hell of a long time and I'm not getting any younger. But I just couldn't be satisfied with that thought. I was finding causes, but no credible solutions aside from things I was already doing to try to fix the problem.

So what did help?

One piece of sage wisdom I stumbled upon was a Runners World article... It suggested I shouldn't stop running... BINGO! Actually, that wasn't their solution, but that's certainly one way to get a runner to not stop reading!! However, the biggest takeaway was that they suggested hitting a few hard intervals, and especially doing downhill repeats to shake up your legs. Doing several of those a couple times a week could significantly help - even though it would be painful. Almost as if it was an eccentric workout er whatever. Call it what you want, I call it breaking up the crap in my legs. So there might be something to that.

One other piece of advice that I received was from another local elite runner - suggesting I buy a car buffer and use it on my quads. Yep, you're gonna do a double take at that one and laugh, just as I did. But when you think about it, it completely makes sense. Massage wasn't working because it was slow, deep tissue, or trigger point. It might break up some knots, but it wasn't flushing me out. That's the theme! I needed to flush my legs out. The car buffer has high oscillation or pulsation and that should knock out whatever lactic acid or junk was trapped in my legs.

I immediately went to Home Depot and bought this for a whopping $40:

And one other thing... After being told about the car buffer, I remember that I actually did have one of those stupid $200 massage tools!!! I couldn't believe that I forgot about it, because I had hardly ever used the stupid thing - but some years ago, I picked up one of those electronic pulse things on the cheap at a marathon expo... It's called the Magic Massager. I can't say that I ever had success with it in the past, but it sounded like it couldn't hurt here.

So after having a completely miserable 6 mile run a week ago Sunday, and then having my conversation with that other local elite runner... I embarked on the following regimen and as far as I can tell, this is my Cure for Dead Legs:

- I used that car buffer AND that electronic pulse massager, each twice a day, for three days in a row... about 5 minutes and 15 minutes, respectively on each leg. I then took a day off from massaging because I probably over did it and was maybe more sore from the massage work than my running. I then used one of the two devices each day for the next 3-4 days. Ironically that car buffer actually feels really really freakin' good on your legs!! Just make sure you have that cushy pad on there. Oh, and you don't need car wax.

- In the mean time, I also forced a moderately paced run early last week that included 12 long strides downhill (maybe 15 seconds each strides, mileage pace was about 6:15-6:30s excluding the warmup / cooldown).

- I had my legs vertically elevated for about 20 minutes twice during the week. I did this after the 15min per leg sessions with the electronic massager.

- I used ice two times each day (soft wrapped packs on my quads w/ ace bandages).

- I increased my calories a little bit. I made sure I ate red meat each day, and was getting more colorful veggies and fruits than usual (just in case something was truly wrong in my diet... though I would think it would take longer to fix that?)

Today is Tuesday, 9 days later... I haven't had any pain in my quads since Friday, after 5 days in on the regimen. My legs quads feel fresh and my legs are actually responding positively. I've been able to run hard and comfortable. As of today, I'll have slightly over 75 miles in the last seven days.... A HUGE knock on wood here... but I think I might've figured this thing out. It's been a really annoying "injury", and nobody was able to give me a useful solution until just recently. I actually can't remember the last time that my legs have felt this good! It's probably been at least 2 or 3 months, maybe even since Shamrock Shuffle?

So now what? I'm still trying to be cautious, but if I'm going to run the Chicago Marathon in October... then I have seven weeks to get my shit straight. I can probably do an abbreviated taper to help. I've gotten by with worse before. I actually think with my solid base this year that I can really have a serious race. I won't say PR just yet, but another sub-2:40 should be in the bag if this goes as planned... Like I said, I'll have over 75 miles in the last seven days as of now. That puts me in the mid-80s by the end of the week. Next week will be mid-90s, then push for 100 for two weeks, then a cut to the 80s and one week to taper. No sweat, right?

It won't be easy, but I've been here before. In the meantime, I'm dedicating myself to one other trick for training -- after each run I'm going to religiously take a cocktail of Endurox and amino acids + glutamine to try to help reduce any soreness in my legs. It can't hurt! If anything, it'll help me recover a little better and train harder.

Game on, Chicago!

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.