Practice To Suffer So Racing Becomes Easy

PM:  2.23 miles no watch - Extremely hot today!  I actually had to run my kids inside for part of their practice today.  97/60%

I decided to take a  down day for several reasons #1 Tons of things to do before I leave this weekend for SD and I'm way behind on things to do at school.  #2 Connective tissue needs time to heel from my highest ever stretch of mileage if I want to race well next weekend.  Running in this heat could leave me feeling wiped for a day or so.  I need to start feeling snappy if I want to hang with the young collegiate runners next weekend. 

PM:  10.07 @ Dorothy Carnes East park hilly loop 8:48,8:10,7:33,7:47,7:53,7:45,7:35,7:30,7:47,7:22 =Avg 7:50  Temp 87/70%

Afternoon:  8 mile progression run down to 5:55 w/1 mile cooldown.  Avg 7:09 pace.  Ran in Mitchell, SD (very windy day on hilly route).  Legs felt a little more snappy, but still feeling the last 3 weeks of 90+ mile weeks.

AM:  11.5, Avg. pace 8:09.  Didn't feel good today.  Legs were dead, tough miles today.  Probably due to low sleep yesterday and progression run yesterday.  Hopefully, I'll feel better tomorrow.  Managed 4 striders, which seemed to loosen up the legs a little.

PM:  9.16 easy Avg. 7:47 + lifts.  Legs stiff from the 12 hours of total driving the past few days.  Took about 6 miles for the legs to loosen up.  Temps are nice and cool 57/60%

PM:  9.17 miles w/6x3min @ 10K/CV pace w/2min. rec. jog CV's (5:41,5:44,5:32,5:25,5:25,5:45 paces = Avg CV pace of 5:35)  Avg run pace 7:03.  Temps nice and cool.  Legs felt better today.  Very long day at work.  Tomorrow will be another long one.  Got my new Bright Orange Adidas Adios last week and just got my new Saucony Cortana's today.  I'm a happy runner :)

AM:  3.69 miles easy (Badger Bank Loop).

PM: 9.40 out and back on Glacial River Trail @ 7:46 pace

Lunch:  4.08 miles around High School Conservatory loop w/6x20 sec @ 3K-5K pace (4:56,4:49,5:09,4:51,4:54,4:47) w/40 sec jogging rest.  Avg 7:52 pace

PM: 10.07 miles random in town route w/2.11 miles @ 5K pace +/- 50 sec. (6:01 pace) in middle of run.  Avg run pace 7:28 + core/arms conditioning

PM:  7.03 broken up miles cheering on my CC team.  Avg pace 7:47

This was my 3rd attempt at running the hilly UW-Parkside CC course and my 1st attempt post collegiate.  I really didn't have any expectations of placing high in the meet due to lack of training in this type of race, but I knew the level of competition would give me the opportunity to run a fast race and open some doors to better fitness.  The meet brought a good mix of collegiate teams.  NCAA Division I, II, II, NAIA where all represented at the meet.  All in all 15 teams and 12 unattached runners competed in the race.

The temps where in the mid 80's with about 75% humidity and they started the race at 11 am, so it was less than ideal in terms of weather, but fortunately there was a nice breeze and most of the course is run throughout the shaded woods.  The course starts with 1/2-3/4 mile long hill that gradually gets steeper as you climb.  I put myself somewhere in the top 30 or so and came through the 1st mile in 5:35.  At this point I felt relaxed, but I knew some tough up and down hills where coming up so I backed off the pace a little to prepare for some tough miles.  In hindsight I really shouldn't have done this because I lost a lot of ground, but I thought I was being smart thinking a lot of the runners would come back to me.  From miles 1.75 through 3.25 it's up and down through wooded trails.  The hill at about 2.5 miles gassed me.  I was sucking wind so bad I think I was hyperventilating.  It took a good 100 meters to regain my legs and get my breathing under control. Throughout, the race I noticed my struggle was the hills.  Those young collegiate runners where throwing strong surges on the hills and recovering much faster than I could.  My 5K split was 17:05, which actually is a post collegiate PR by about 50 sec.  After the 5K mark is the same 1/2-3/4 mile long hill, which I knew would be a tough climb because I remember it being tough in college.  Needless to say this was another spot where I was completely gassed when I hit the top of the hill.  The last 3K was trying to hold my position and relax for a big kick.  I did really well on the short down hills usually catching people.  The flats I made some ground as well, but again the hill at about 4.5 miles was another sore spot for me.  I finished with what I would call an average kick passing two runners and being passed by two runners.  The bells and cheers were awesome!  Big time crowd support for a lot less than the cost of a marathon.  When I let off the gas I moved back to my 66th position as I battled with the 7/8 man runners on the collegiate teams.  Nine years ago I was a 1 or 2 man on my CC team, but for how far I've come in 15 months I'm happy with my level of fitness.  Best of all no injuries and good health! 

I was looking back at results of this race in my college days and noticed I beat my 1st attempt at the course from my freshman year of college by 15 seconds.  I came away from the race a little sour with my time, but I was happy with the place and later realized the time was actually really good considering I had a 50 sec PR in my 5K split on a very difficult course.  The race brought back some great memories and reminded me of my love for CC.  I might try to do another CC race at UW-Oshkosh in October.

Lunch:  16.17 miles - Temps a little warm, should have ran in earlier - had a late night at the wedding we attended.  Managed to average 7:53 pace, but I got a little dehydrated at mile 13.  Took about 6 miles to shake out the post race soreness from yesterday's race.  Legs feel a lot better now though.  Big week of mileage this week as shoot for my 1st 100 mile + week.

 PM:  3.08 easy broken up miles with CC team (did a couple hard hill sprints with the kids as well).  Pushups and ab work

AM:  5.85 miles @ 8:18 pace.  I discovered yesterday the reason why my left leg won't wake up or feels like it's not quite working right.  I have piriformis syndrome in my left buttocks.  After 4-6 miles it loosens up and then I have no numbness or hinging.  My treatment is to roll out the muscle with a hard ball (tennis or baseball) and get massage therapy.  Not the worse injury, but it keeps me from running faster than an 8 minute mile on the 1st 4-5 miles of my runs.  Also, it doesn't affect me when I uptempo.  The injury is more annoying than painful.

PM:  7.10 mile @ 7:45 pace.  I had to force the legs to run at 8:00 min pace for the 1st couple of miles.  That didn't feel like too much fun, so I backed off a little.  The left leg woke up about 4 miles in and the pace seemed to get easier again.  Hopefully, I'll be able to squeeze in a massage this week.

Lunch:  4 miles easy, No watch

PM:  10 miles (River Rd) w/15x20 sec pickups (40 sec jogging recovery) Avg pickup pace = 5:07, Avg run pace = 7:23, pushups and abs 

AM:  3.01 miles w/6x30 sec pickups and 30 sec jogging recovery.  Avg pickup pace 5:31 and Avg run pace 8:15 

PM:  Big Workout 15 miles w/5x1mile at 5K pace + 30 sec./90sec jogging rec. (last rep can be 5K+10-12 sec depending on how I'm feeling.  The temps were a perfect 58.  This morning I ran with a long sleeve for the 1st time since spring, but tonight I was just warm enough to go short sleeve :)  Started with 5 miles of easy running by the end of the 5th mile it was already dark :(  Since it was dark I decided to stay off the road and go to the Middle School track where the surface is a little more predictable and they have a flood light by the gym doors that shines just enough light.  The legs were feeling okay, but the calves were tight tonight, probably due to yesterday's 15x20sec intervals, cooler temps today, and the stiff wind.  My first rep was 6:08 (ouch - 14 sec. too slow, thinking it's going to be a long workout).  The 2nd rep was much better 5:50 (convinced myself it wasn't that bad, but in all reality it felt terrible).  The 3rd rep 5:53 (shooting for 5:54, so this was almost perfect - still convincing myself it wasn't hard).  The 4th was 4:48, and there was no convincing on this one.  The final one was 5:36 (5K + 12 sec - this took a 99% effort - Whew!).  Finished with about a 4 mile cooldown.  Average run pace 7:06.  I can tell the calves are really beat up, ice bath, massage stick, and plenty of ibuprofen should do the trick.

Lunch:  4 miles easy 8:15 pace

PM:  8.5 miles (slightly broken up around course coaching team)  7:46 pace

Lunch: 4 miles observatory, no watch, added 5x15 sec @ 3K pace w/45 sec rec.

PM:  9.69 Fort Night Loop w/1 mile @ 5K+30 sec (5:53), Avg run pace = 7:36, had to run this one in the rain.  Finally, got that massage I've needed today.  My wife attempted to make me a nice dinner, but it didn't work out for her.  We went to Hometown buffet since I was being attacked by the 100 mile munchies again!  This morning I experienced the same thing, so my son went to McDonalds for some hot cakes - yummy!!

AM:  10.01 super easy recovery run w/Jameson.  Avg 8:53 pace

Race report to come, but I paced my friend to a 17 min. PR and his 1st Boston Qual.

This was Fox Valley Marathon's 2nd year and I must admit they did a great job coordinating the event.  This marathon is a very flat shaded marathon course tucked in a valley with very mature trees.  We had light rain and 13-15 mph winds, but you'd never had known the wind was that strong being down in the valley on a path surrounded by mature trees.  The rain was just light enough where the shoes didn't feel soggy or heavy.  This marathon has a flex weather option where you can run a 20K or full marathon.  In addition, if the marathon is cancelled for bad weather they guarantee your entry into the Chicago Marathon.  They also have a 1/2 marathon that serves well for a tune up if running Chicago.  What I personally liked most about this marathon was the convenience of showing up 20 minutes before the race without hassle of waiting for bathrooms or worrying about baggage check.  Also, the area has plenty of hotels, so it was easy to find a hotel within 10 miles for a reasonable price.

At the start of the race a rainbow came out, which had to be a good omen.  They start the race in waves due to some tight bottle necks and narrow bike path sections.  The narrow sections really didn't make a difference for a field of 2,000 runners.  If the race gets bigger I could see a problem.  The marathon had about 400 runners, so most people where running the 20K or 1/2 to prepare for Chicago.  Most of the people running the full where going for a last chance at Boston as it was originally advertised runners could register for Boston right at the finish.  Boston threw a wrench in that plan when they decided not to allow any registration on Sunday.  Runners that still needed to qualify knew every second counts toward the new qualifying standards.  So every person running the marathon was potential competition, this turned the marathon into a battle of places and times.  Our goal was to run with the 3:15 group as long as possible as Todd’s time was 3:20 to qualify for Boston, but knowing every sec. counts we decided to shoot for 3:15 and hope for 3:18 or something a little faster.

The first mile we got out to a good start on a slight uphill mile with a 7:22?  We need 7:27, my Garmin was beeping before the mile markers, so I wasn't sure about the course measurements and later I learned it was about a 10th of a mile too long.  (Better too long than short if wanting to officially qualify for Boson).  The 2nd mile my friend Todd ditched his throw away shirt and about .5 mile later I did the same.  We came through miles 2 and 3 with 7:13 and 7:22, but feeling really good.  At mile 4 we do a small loop through a Japanese garden then enter the bike path that moves along the Fox River.  Miles 4 and 5 where 7:17 and 7:29.  We had to run a few small sections of grass, but it was marked very well and the grass was nice and flat, so it really wasn't a big deal at all (even with the wet grass).  At mile 6 we ran through a small carnival on one of the bridges that looped us over to the other side of the river.  Throughout the course was a ton of support from spectators.  I was really surprised at the amount of people out in the rain for this small of venue.  I missed 7, but looks like a 7:29 mile.  Mile 8 was 7:27.  I took a small bathroom break at one of the many porta potties then threw in a 7:00 minute mile 9 by taking a small shortcut to catch up with the 3:15 pace group and my buddy again.  Good thing I caught them fast as I did because my buddy was running 7:10 pace out ahead of the pace group.  When I caught him I gradually backed him off to a 7:23 for mile 10, 7:23 for mile 11, and mile 12 was a 7:12 with most of it being slightly downhill.  He mentioned his legs weren't taking well to the faster pace so I backed him down to 8:03 for mile 13.  The pace group was close so I swung over for another bathroom stop and told him to stay with the pace group while I catch up.  I ran a 6:57 mile for mile 14 to catch the pace group just a little into mile 15.  Mile 15 I hit the split early when the Garmin beeped I was totally in a trance just mentally zoning out as I starred at the other runners shoes.  Anyway, the split shows 7:17, but Todd mentioned he had 7:27.  Mile 16 was 7:35 (difference I missed, but we were 7:28 according to Todd).  Mile 17 and 18 were 7:29/7:28 as we rode the coat tails of the 3:15 pace group.  Mile 19 Todd started to fade, but he did a great job of damage control.  Mile 19 we split a 7:32.  Mile 20 was up and down with small speed bumps through the woods as we split 7:37.  Mile 21 was 7:39.  At this point I knew he was going to qualify as long as he didn't blow up and have to walk too much.  At mile 22 we split a 7:49 on a gradual uphill mile.  At mile 23 we came through with a 7:44.  I asked Todd how he was doing at this point to feel him out on a pace increase.  He mentioned his hamstrings where cramping on him.  Knowing a full hamstring lock up would put him down to a walk run pace I didn't have him push it.  Rather we backed the pace to a 7:55 for mile 24.  Mile 25 I was pulling slightly ahead of him while encouraging him to follow me.  He managed a 7:59. Mile 26 was all guts as he was throwing up (something he normally does).  Todd ran a 7:51 split for his last mile and managed not to fall on his face as his hamstrings were locking up on him. Medical personnel swarmed him immediately after the race when he went to his knees. They got him fluids and he went over to  a secluded spot to wrench the gut a few more times.  He was on the massage table in less than 10 minutes.

This race was as remarkable and memorable for me as any race I've ever been a part of.  Todd made a 17 minute PR and ran his fastest marathon in quite a few years.  His previous was a 4 hour marathon.  His official time was 3:18:20, which placed him 56 out of 400 some runners.  This was Todd's 20th attempt at qualifying.  He's a person that always puts family and work ahead of running and does a tremendous amount of volunteer work for the community and his church.  For 20 weeks Todd followed the Train Less Run Faster Marathon plan for 3:15.  This plan only required 3 days of actual running per week!  It was really special to be a part of his success as he said he couldn’t have made the last 6 mile without me.

For running a marathon on a 100 mile week I feel very good and don't anticipate more than a couple of easy running days, which has to be a good sign in terms of my fitness.   

Lunch 3.5 miles easy in observatory - No watch, but felt snappy for just running marathon yesterday.  Temps were nice and cool

PM:  9.43 @ Avg pace of 8:09 - Legs felt stiff and achy.

Lunch:  3.36 miles @ Avg pace of 7:31 per mile.  Did a short warm-up then did 4x40m hill reps @ 80-85% effort focusing on good hill running form (high knee drive, chin up, good arm action). 

PM:  10.70 miles @ Dorothy Carnes East Park.  Ran 5x1mile on hilly grass 1 mile loop.  I had 2 goals.  One goal was to run the mile repeats at 5K + 30 sec. pace effort w/out killing myself on the workout.  It was fairly windy on the run, so I wasn't shooting for anything spectacular. The periformis and legs weren't feeling good considering the marathon on Sunday.  My other goal for the workout was to use good form on the hills (hills is a weak area in my running). 

Started the workout with a 2 mile warm-up then did one of the loops at a tempo effort to get a good warm-up.  The tempo loop was 6:14, jogged a 2 minute recovery and started my 1st interval.  My intervals went 6:03, 6:03, 6:03, 6:01, 5:59.  The workout felt reasonably hard and I got a good chance to work on my hill running form, but I didn't leave myself feeling taxed.  Finished the workout with 4x30sec. @ 1500 meter race pace w/60 sec. recovery (Avg pace of 30 sec. pickups = 4:32 on slight uphill) and a cooldown jog.  Average run pace 6:59.  + Abs and pushups 

Lunch:  4 mile recovery run @ 8:27 pace

PM:  9.65 miles @ easy 7:55 pace

Lunch:  4.60 in observatory Avg pace 7:18.  Did 11x40 sec pickups @ 3K-5K pace w/50 sec jogging recovery.  Avg pickup pace (5:08 pace).

PM:  9.4 miles easy w/Jameson at CC meet - No watch

Lunch: 4 miles 8:08 pace around observatory

PM:  9.21 miles w/4mile tempo run. 6:25, 6:22, 6:16, 5:52 (just kept trying to incease the effort on each mile.)  Avg tempo pace 6:03, Finished w/4x50 meter hill sprints 80-85% effort on steep hill Avg run pace 7:20  + pushups and abs

AM:  17.22 miles Avg pace = 7:04 ran the last two miles in 6:39, 6:21 - added an additional mile cheering on my runners. for a total of 18.22

This run felt good considering I just bested my highest lifetime weekly mileage by 12 miles!  This is a good sign my body is adapting to the high mileage.  I wasn't shooting for 112, it just sort of happended - an even better sign I'm adapting.

New world record!

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/26/sports/patrick-makau-sets-world-record-in-berlin.html?_r=1

Lunch:  7.09 miles @ 7:36 avg pace (cold rainy run - uck!)

PM:  Ran 2 miles over to Bark River Park to meet my CC team.  Did some stretching then ran another 3 miles with the team.  Finished with Tag game and did about 5-6  95-100% effort sprints of 20-30 yard in the game.  My team lost so I put in my pushups and ab work with my teammates for the loss bet.  After practice ran about 5 miles nice and easy home.  Avg pace of run 8:01

Lunch:  4 miles @ easy 7:51 pace

Found out my friend whom I helped pace to a Boston Q is in!  He was one of the 5,000 last week registrants that got in.

 Afternoon:  ~1 mile step test to measure VO2 max, AT, AET, etc...

The results basically show I'm really efficient with my Aerobic Threshold (AET) matching closely to my (Anaerobic Threshold values).  This indicates good running economy.  The results predict I'm currently in 2:43 marathon shape.  I'm close to my goal of breaking 2:40.  Hopefully, the next month of training will help me get under that 2:40 barrier.

PM 10.32 miles @ 7:38 pace on Fort night route.

Lunch:  4 miles @ 7:55 pace around observatory.

PM:  Intervals 5x1 mile w/90 sec. rest. @ 5K pace + 30 sec.  This was my  2nd attempt at the workout, the 1st was last Tuesday running 6:03, 6:03, 6:03, 6:01, 5:57 on the hilly grass loop @ Dorthy Carnes East Park.  Did everything the same as last week starting with a 2 mile warm-up, running a 1 mile tempo in 6:20, took 2 minutes of easy jogging and started into the intervals.  Intervals were 5:57, 5:58, 5:51, 5:46, 5:45.  The 1st two felt really easy, so I ran the 3rd one at what I felt was a hard but in control effort.  The last 2 felt very much under control and smooth over the hills.  Significant improvement over last week!  Same temps and about the same amount of wind.  Finished with 4x30 sec. @ 1 mile race pace w/60 sec. joging  rest (4:31, 4:31, 4:33, 4:40 paces) and a 15 min. cooldown.  Avg run pace 6:53 

+ pushups and abs

Lunch:  4 miles easy 8:04 pace

PM:  9.25  no watch ~8:00 pace

Lunch: ~ 4 miles no watch (rainy and windy)

PM:  3.53 miles - Things just didn't go my way today.  Now that the daylight is shorter I usually have to run in the dark since my wife doesn't get off work until 7pm on Thurs. Unfortunately, for me there was a wind advisory (Gusts of 50, straight line of 40).  Too me that seems a little dangerous for night time running not knowing if a branch or power line comes down.  So I ventured over to the track thinking maybe that might work, plus I could calibrate my new Forerunner 405CX footpod on the track.  Took several tries, but I finally got it calibrated to the right pace.  The wind was absolutely terrible and the rain was really cold, so I thought I might be better off taking indoors to the club to #1 get out of the cold rain and #2 see if the foot pod works indoors like it advertises.  I get to the club and find out my key fob for access to the club is missing.  I figured oh well, I'll just go home and run on my treadmill.  For some odd reason I always get motion sickness, but thought maybe I won't now that I'm in better shape and have a solid stride.  About 1 mile in I was sick.  I made it another 1.5 then had to stop.  By now it's like 10:45 pm and I've got a tempo inside a 15 miler planned so I opted for sleep.  Sometimes things just don't work out.  At least, I was able to get a couple runs in even if they weren't very enjoyable.

PM:  14.55 miles w/3 mile temo:  6:06,6:02,5:54 (very windy - rain started and stopped with time of tempo - bad luck I guess).  Managed to come close to my goal of dropping 8 sec. per mile. 

 Jogged 2 minutes then ran 6x25 sec hill sprints @ ~ 1500 meter racing pace w/jogging rest down hill + additional 30 sec. jogging on flat. 

 Then did a little more jogging and ran 4x40 meter sprints @ 800m race effort w/80 meter rest. 

Jogged a couple minutes home grabbed my Cortana trainiers and went out for a 6 mile cooldown.  Averaged 7:25 pace w/the walking for first 8miles and 7:20 pace for the 6 mile cooldown. 

The legs felt stiff and achy today, but I blame that on the crazy low preasure systems, storms, etc... we've been having all week.  All in all this was a difficult week to train due to all the rain, wind, and storms.  I'd 80% of my runs were in the rain and 100% were in 20 mph winds.