Finally it's rest and healing time! I've been waiting to get this over with for a couple months now. I registered for Chicago months and months ago with the hope it would be my big goal race (and big PR) for the year. Unfortunately I had a tough late summer and fall but resolved to run the race anyway as I'd paid the entry, the hotel, and the airfare. Also my wife was hoping to BQ in Chicago, and I felt she had a great chance at it.
The Chicago Marathon was a nice experience. The parts of the city the race goes through were diverse and interesting. The buildings are fun to look at, and the people were very nice. The race organization was the best of any megathon I've been to (which I confess only includes Boston, New York, and now Chicago). The start corrals were very effectively managed and easy to get in to, and there was plenty to drink on course.
My goal for this race expired back in late July with a back injury I couldn't shake for nearly a month, followed by a medication reaction that dramatically affected my blood pressure and pulse rate, followed by a foot/ankle tendon injury in August I'm still suffering from. I reduced my weekly mileage from a goal of running in the 80s miles per week to running around 50 miles per week with all runs being recovery and easy pace but for a very few slower progression runs. I was able to get in several runs of at least 20 miles, so even though I wasn't going to be fast I felt I could easily handle the distance - and I made it to the race AMA (against medical advice).
I decided to just run the race by effort monitored by my HR and take what I got. I expected to be able to run in the 7:00 to 7:20 mpm pace based on a 10k time I ran several weeks ago. Running slow for so long definitely doesn't make me faster!
It turned out my waning fitness was the least of my worries however. Chicago once again had an atypically hot day in store for the race. The temperature at the start was already in the 70*s, and it was in the 80*s at the finish. I resolved to drink more on course than I ever had before and run with a smart, conservative effort and finish with no further injuries.
My time at CIM last December put me in the A corral, and after dodging the pee puddles at the start I quickly established a pace and thereafter just monitored my HR to keep it in the 171~173 range. I ran a race at a 170 HR (on a much cooler day) way in April and still got a 3:01, and my PR came at an average HR of 175 last December. I drank one cup of Gatorade and one cup of water at each of the 18 or so aid stations, and followed that up over the last several miles with a third cup over my head. At around the half way point it seemed like lots of people really slowed down. I probably passed several hundred runners over the last half - and I had lots of energy left for a fast last 2 miles. I finished in 3:08:49 too easily.
I think I was too concerned over my lack of fitness and my foot injury to see what I could really do even on a hot day with sub-par training. I believe I ran far too conservatively based on how I felt at the end. I could have kept running at that pace for several more miles. On the one hand it was great to be passing people for half the race, but I almost feel guilty I didn't leave everything out there like many of the people I passed. The heat I'm sure made my HR higher than it would have been for the effort, and my plan to run based on HR probably cost me several minutes - but in the end what matters is I'm still bipedal and will be ready to go again soon I guess.
I couldn't find much in the news, but I can tell you the ambulance sirens were pretty much going non-stop for several hours. A great many runners left the course in the back of a rig with needles in their arms - and I didn't!
ps. My wife, Cherie, had a tough day with the heat and some late hamstring cramps and missed her BQ with a 4:04 (needing a 4:00). She did get a 2+ minute PR though. I've been telling her she did great on a less than ideal day, that a PR is something to be proud of no matter what, and that she'll get to Boston and there's no hurry.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Friday, October 1, 2010
Snoqualmie Ridge 5 mile Trail Race
Wow, what a nice weather day last Saturday! Shawn and I went to this event for some speed work on soft trails. About 90 people showed up for this first time low key event. After my poor outing a couple weeks ago at a 10k I wanted to try and get another handle on my fitness. A hilly trail race on very soft footing however is not the best way to get such an evaluation :)
A couple faster guys showed up, but I figured I should still be able to get a top 5 finish. We warmed up on the course with a 3.5 mile run, then lined up at the start line in a grassy field. At the gun I took off way too fast - in fact I was in the lead for a couple hundred meters. All that did is put me in oxygen debt for the hills, and I gave up several positions and felt whupped. I eventually steadied up and got going again, and by the two mile point was in 3rd place. There was someone right on my shoulder for a half mile or so, but he finally fell off after a hilly section. From there on I was running by myself for the rest of the race.
I finished strong and fast the last 3/4 mile or so, but I was disappointed with my slow time once again. I averaged only 7:00 mpm, and the course had less than 300' of elevation gain/loss. I should have been able to average at least 30 seconds per mile faster than that I feel. I somehow have lost a tremendous amount of fitness over the last couple months. I'm really looking forward to getting past the Chicago marathon in a couple weeks and hitting the 'Reset' button. I think I'll try and take the rest of October off from running then begin with a much reduced weekly mileage with a day per week on the track and start building back up again.
A couple faster guys showed up, but I figured I should still be able to get a top 5 finish. We warmed up on the course with a 3.5 mile run, then lined up at the start line in a grassy field. At the gun I took off way too fast - in fact I was in the lead for a couple hundred meters. All that did is put me in oxygen debt for the hills, and I gave up several positions and felt whupped. I eventually steadied up and got going again, and by the two mile point was in 3rd place. There was someone right on my shoulder for a half mile or so, but he finally fell off after a hilly section. From there on I was running by myself for the rest of the race.
I finished strong and fast the last 3/4 mile or so, but I was disappointed with my slow time once again. I averaged only 7:00 mpm, and the course had less than 300' of elevation gain/loss. I should have been able to average at least 30 seconds per mile faster than that I feel. I somehow have lost a tremendous amount of fitness over the last couple months. I'm really looking forward to getting past the Chicago marathon in a couple weeks and hitting the 'Reset' button. I think I'll try and take the rest of October off from running then begin with a much reduced weekly mileage with a day per week on the track and start building back up again.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Tacoma Bank to Bay 10k Race Report
Wow, my last 10k was such a stunner and huge PR (back in June). Since then I've run a tough 50k, strained my back and missed a little running, tried picking it back up and sprained/damaged my left (usually good) ankle/foot, and last Monday - Labor Day - I cracked a rib as a result of a dirt bike fall (crash?).
Since I'm supposedly running Chicago in four weeks I figured I'd find out how out of shape I was by running the Tacoma Bank to Bay 10k. I'd never run it before, but it is billed as a fast 10k. I ran most of the course for a warm up and found the race starts at about 50' elevation, goes up to 140' elevation, drops down to 0' for a while, goes over a high bridge for another gain of about 40', then repeats all the above after the turnaround - not my idea of a fast course, but not necessarily brutal either.
My left foot mostly bothers me on downhills, but my broken rib hurts with any jarring motion, any bending motion, or any deep breathing. Not that I'm using that as an excuse :)
I ran as hard as I thought I could, and even picked it up to 5:30 pace for the last half mile to bury a couple guys before the finish. I ended up with a very disappointing 39:30 - my slowest 10k since at least 2005 I believe.
So with 4 weeks until Chicago I guess my pace will be about 7 mpm - arghh. I can't believe I've gotten 2:30 slower over 6 miles in 3 months! I guess since I'm so slow and feel like I won't have a fast Chicago I may run a 50k (Cle Elum Ridge 50k) this coming weekend (with 7,000' elevation gain/loss). My slowness won't matter much there, but I also don't want to aggravate my left ankle/foot issue and miss Chicago entirely. I have a couple more days to decide I guess.
Since I'm supposedly running Chicago in four weeks I figured I'd find out how out of shape I was by running the Tacoma Bank to Bay 10k. I'd never run it before, but it is billed as a fast 10k. I ran most of the course for a warm up and found the race starts at about 50' elevation, goes up to 140' elevation, drops down to 0' for a while, goes over a high bridge for another gain of about 40', then repeats all the above after the turnaround - not my idea of a fast course, but not necessarily brutal either.
My left foot mostly bothers me on downhills, but my broken rib hurts with any jarring motion, any bending motion, or any deep breathing. Not that I'm using that as an excuse :)
I ran as hard as I thought I could, and even picked it up to 5:30 pace for the last half mile to bury a couple guys before the finish. I ended up with a very disappointing 39:30 - my slowest 10k since at least 2005 I believe.
So with 4 weeks until Chicago I guess my pace will be about 7 mpm - arghh. I can't believe I've gotten 2:30 slower over 6 miles in 3 months! I guess since I'm so slow and feel like I won't have a fast Chicago I may run a 50k (Cle Elum Ridge 50k) this coming weekend (with 7,000' elevation gain/loss). My slowness won't matter much there, but I also don't want to aggravate my left ankle/foot issue and miss Chicago entirely. I have a couple more days to decide I guess.
Monday, July 12, 2010
My first ultra - the Siskiyou Out & Back (SOB) 50k
My buddy Shawn got me interested in doing an 'ultra' trail race earlier this year. He mentioned the Siskiyou Out & Back - a 50 kilometer race starting at the Mt. Ashland ski area and running along the Pacific Crest Trail. I like running on trails, I've run several marathons (and they no longer seem as 'long' as they used to), and welcomed the idea of doing something new, so I decided to run it!
My training wasn't really anything special. I did quite a few trail runs earlier in the year and have averaged about 50 miles per week for this year so far (despite starting from 0 at the beginning of the year with an injury). I've pretty much been doing base building this season with a couple shorter races and a marathon thrown in for good measure. I also didn't obsess over this race and thought I'd treat it like a fun learning experience while also trying to at least run a respectable time (whatever that might be for something like this).
I was a little curious what effect the forecast hot (mid 80*s) weather and the elevation (the race began at 6500') would have on me though. I really wanted to be able to run below 4:30:00 for this race, but really had no clue how it would play out. The course only had about 4200' of total elevation gain/loss, which is less than many of the training runs I've done - though I have never run farther than about 25 miles on a training run and 26.2 miles in a race.
Shawn and I drove down to Ashland Friday and had a fairly uneventful trip. It's about a 9 hour drive though. We arrived in Ashland in the afternoon and checked out the Rogue Valley Runners store, had a bite to eat and a cool frosty beverage, then headed up to the ski area about 40 minutes out of town. It was 97* in the town of Ashland, but as we climbed up to the ski area the temperature kept dropping. By the time we arrived at the parking lot the temperature was around 73*. We hoped that race day would offer similar high temps! We met the race directors, and one of them - Erin I think - offered us another cold frosty beverage. Sweet! I am beginning to like trail runners!
I set my tent up and hit the sack around 9:30 or so. At 5:00 am sharp the loud music started. That gave us a couple hours to get our race packets, get some food down, socialize, and get our drink and fuel stuff situated. It was already in the 60*s an hour before the race, so I went with my trusty Race Ready shorts and no shirt. I did apply lots of sunscreen though! I also decided I'd try to run the race in the Inov-8 X-Talon 212 shoes. However I placed my trusty old Brooks Ravennas in a drop bag to be placed at the 22 mile point of the race if the Inov-8s weren't working out.
The race start was a very laid back affair with the RD asking everyone to move forward to the line. Then we were off! I settled in to what I hoped was a reasonable pace pretty much right away, and the first half of the race was uneventful. I hit the half way point in about 2:15 so was right on pace. I also felt very good, but was pretty hot. The trail was heavily cambered which is something my body really doesn't like, and I hoped I'd do ok with it. However between the cambered road and the super lightweight shoes I began to have some issues with my right foot. Between miles 15 and 22 I was limping a bit and really concentrating on letting my left side do the most work. My right ankle and foot were quite painful. I swapped shoes at the 22 mile aid station - losing 6 or 7 positions to the necessary task. Thankfully it was a good decision as my foot felt much better in the Ravennas. After the 22 mile aid station the course was pretty much 4 miles of unrelenting uphill running. It didn't take long before I was reduced to run-walking. It was surprising how fast I'd lose my breath! Even with this 'failure' I was able to get back 3 or 4 positions by the end of the race though - and had a good kick-fest with another runner the last .25 miles or so.
Right after crossing the line the same RD who'd given me the beer the night before stood with a 22 oz. microbrew in each hand and said, "Pick one!" Nice! I definitely like this trail runner crowd! Did I mention that yet! There was a hose near the finish where I gave myself a nice quick and cold rinse, then I nibbled on finish line goodies and waited for Shawn to show up.
I ended up finishing in 4:47:30 which, despite being an ugly +17:30 positive split, was good enough for 13th place OA and 4th in my AG (ten year age groups). The winner completed the course in something like 3:43 - damn! I've got some work to do before I do another one of these!
My training wasn't really anything special. I did quite a few trail runs earlier in the year and have averaged about 50 miles per week for this year so far (despite starting from 0 at the beginning of the year with an injury). I've pretty much been doing base building this season with a couple shorter races and a marathon thrown in for good measure. I also didn't obsess over this race and thought I'd treat it like a fun learning experience while also trying to at least run a respectable time (whatever that might be for something like this).
I was a little curious what effect the forecast hot (mid 80*s) weather and the elevation (the race began at 6500') would have on me though. I really wanted to be able to run below 4:30:00 for this race, but really had no clue how it would play out. The course only had about 4200' of total elevation gain/loss, which is less than many of the training runs I've done - though I have never run farther than about 25 miles on a training run and 26.2 miles in a race.
Shawn and I drove down to Ashland Friday and had a fairly uneventful trip. It's about a 9 hour drive though. We arrived in Ashland in the afternoon and checked out the Rogue Valley Runners store, had a bite to eat and a cool frosty beverage, then headed up to the ski area about 40 minutes out of town. It was 97* in the town of Ashland, but as we climbed up to the ski area the temperature kept dropping. By the time we arrived at the parking lot the temperature was around 73*. We hoped that race day would offer similar high temps! We met the race directors, and one of them - Erin I think - offered us another cold frosty beverage. Sweet! I am beginning to like trail runners!
I set my tent up and hit the sack around 9:30 or so. At 5:00 am sharp the loud music started. That gave us a couple hours to get our race packets, get some food down, socialize, and get our drink and fuel stuff situated. It was already in the 60*s an hour before the race, so I went with my trusty Race Ready shorts and no shirt. I did apply lots of sunscreen though! I also decided I'd try to run the race in the Inov-8 X-Talon 212 shoes. However I placed my trusty old Brooks Ravennas in a drop bag to be placed at the 22 mile point of the race if the Inov-8s weren't working out.
The race start was a very laid back affair with the RD asking everyone to move forward to the line. Then we were off! I settled in to what I hoped was a reasonable pace pretty much right away, and the first half of the race was uneventful. I hit the half way point in about 2:15 so was right on pace. I also felt very good, but was pretty hot. The trail was heavily cambered which is something my body really doesn't like, and I hoped I'd do ok with it. However between the cambered road and the super lightweight shoes I began to have some issues with my right foot. Between miles 15 and 22 I was limping a bit and really concentrating on letting my left side do the most work. My right ankle and foot were quite painful. I swapped shoes at the 22 mile aid station - losing 6 or 7 positions to the necessary task. Thankfully it was a good decision as my foot felt much better in the Ravennas. After the 22 mile aid station the course was pretty much 4 miles of unrelenting uphill running. It didn't take long before I was reduced to run-walking. It was surprising how fast I'd lose my breath! Even with this 'failure' I was able to get back 3 or 4 positions by the end of the race though - and had a good kick-fest with another runner the last .25 miles or so.
Right after crossing the line the same RD who'd given me the beer the night before stood with a 22 oz. microbrew in each hand and said, "Pick one!" Nice! I definitely like this trail runner crowd! Did I mention that yet! There was a hose near the finish where I gave myself a nice quick and cold rinse, then I nibbled on finish line goodies and waited for Shawn to show up.
I ended up finishing in 4:47:30 which, despite being an ugly +17:30 positive split, was good enough for 13th place OA and 4th in my AG (ten year age groups). The winner completed the course in something like 3:43 - damn! I've got some work to do before I do another one of these!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
It's been a while
I haven't been very good about updating this blog! The last several weeks have brought a recurrence of PFS (patellofemoral syndrome - commonly called runner's knee) back that I haven't had for several years. I don't know if it is a change in shoes, diet, or training. I'm actually running less steep trails now than earlier in the year, so it's hard to blame it on the hills. I did try some minimalist trail shoes but have only put around 40 miles on them, and those miles were interspersed with wearing other shoes.
These things can be extremely frustrating.
I will be running my first 50k trail race (the SOB near Ashland, OR) this Saturday. It'll be the longest run I've ever done, and I'm really looking forward to it. However it is at 6500' elevation, and the temperatures are forecast to be in the 90*s. I'm not heat acclimated due to the cool spring and early summer we've suffered through here in the PNW, so the race could be quite a challenge. My plan is to try and drink lots of Gatorade, eat Hammergel every half hour, and maybe take a salt tablet halfway through if I think I need it. I'm hoping to finish in the 4:30 range, but that may be optimistic considering it being my first effort at this distance and the elevation and temperature.
I'm going to bring three different pairs of shoes and decide on race morning what to wear. I'd really like to wear the Inov-8 X-Talons due to their traction and light weight, but I'm not convinced they aren't what contributed to my current knee problems.
These things can be extremely frustrating.
I will be running my first 50k trail race (the SOB near Ashland, OR) this Saturday. It'll be the longest run I've ever done, and I'm really looking forward to it. However it is at 6500' elevation, and the temperatures are forecast to be in the 90*s. I'm not heat acclimated due to the cool spring and early summer we've suffered through here in the PNW, so the race could be quite a challenge. My plan is to try and drink lots of Gatorade, eat Hammergel every half hour, and maybe take a salt tablet halfway through if I think I need it. I'm hoping to finish in the 4:30 range, but that may be optimistic considering it being my first effort at this distance and the elevation and temperature.
I'm going to bring three different pairs of shoes and decide on race morning what to wear. I'd really like to wear the Inov-8 X-Talons due to their traction and light weight, but I'm not convinced they aren't what contributed to my current knee problems.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Fall City Days 10k Race Report
I try and do this race every year. It's a fairly fast course with usually good weather for running. The last two years the organization has been lacking however as the RD dropped the professional timing/organizing company for a local middle school principal. They do their best, but it's not the same.
Anyway for background I've been doing mostly easy runs since the marathon a couple weeks ago. I have done a couple trail/hill runs though, and have averaged about 50 miles per week since the marathon. My goal for the Fall City Days race was primarily for it to be a training stimulus speed workout. I figured I'd be in maybe low 38 minute shape, but didn't really know. Since I hadn't tapered for the race and I've been dealing with some pretty severe patellofemoral syndrome pain in my knees I wasn't even sure of that goal.
Race day weather was in the mid to upper 50s with occasional very light liquid fog - not bad racing weather! I warmed up with around 4 miles of easy running followed by 3 or 4 accelerations. The race started nearly on time this year which is always a plus! I tried to hold back a little bit the first mile as I always go out too fast. Also I had my GPS watch set to HR display and tried not to look at it during the race.
About one half mile in I was behind a young woman who herself was behind but on the shoulder of a young guy. The guy had headphones on. He turned and without looking launched a glob of spit over his shoulder and directly in to the face of the young woman. She was exceedingly displeased by this gesture, and I'm not even sure the dope who did it even knew. What a tool.
I followed a group of people for the next couple miles. There were no mile markers on the course, and even at the 10k turnaround cone there was no course worker - I guess they were operating on the honor system! Shortly after the turn-around I began overtaking the group ahead of me one by one. After the 4 mile point I had no one in front of me that was within reach. On straight stretches I could just see a bright jersey maybe 800 to 1000 meters ahead of me. Then I hit the 5k walkers. No longer could I run the tangents of the course, and I spent the last 1.5 miles or so weaving in and around them. I finished strong but could not see a finish line clock. I stopped my watch at the finish line matt and finally looked at it as a race volunteer cut the timing chip from my shoe. My watch said 36:58, but I was sure it said 38:something as there's no way I could have run that fast! That would have been almost a full minute PR from last fall when I was just finishing up a great training cycle. Then I looked for the water that is always at the end of a race. There wasn't any! All they had was some cans of something called Neve. It turned out to be an undrinkable heavily carbonated water beverage. Nasty.
After a 1.5 mile cool down I cycled back to see if the results were posted. The results listed my time as 37:00, which must be the 'gun' time - so I guess somehow I did run that fast. It's still tough to figure out where an improvement that big came from though.
Anyway for background I've been doing mostly easy runs since the marathon a couple weeks ago. I have done a couple trail/hill runs though, and have averaged about 50 miles per week since the marathon. My goal for the Fall City Days race was primarily for it to be a training stimulus speed workout. I figured I'd be in maybe low 38 minute shape, but didn't really know. Since I hadn't tapered for the race and I've been dealing with some pretty severe patellofemoral syndrome pain in my knees I wasn't even sure of that goal.
Race day weather was in the mid to upper 50s with occasional very light liquid fog - not bad racing weather! I warmed up with around 4 miles of easy running followed by 3 or 4 accelerations. The race started nearly on time this year which is always a plus! I tried to hold back a little bit the first mile as I always go out too fast. Also I had my GPS watch set to HR display and tried not to look at it during the race.
About one half mile in I was behind a young woman who herself was behind but on the shoulder of a young guy. The guy had headphones on. He turned and without looking launched a glob of spit over his shoulder and directly in to the face of the young woman. She was exceedingly displeased by this gesture, and I'm not even sure the dope who did it even knew. What a tool.
I followed a group of people for the next couple miles. There were no mile markers on the course, and even at the 10k turnaround cone there was no course worker - I guess they were operating on the honor system! Shortly after the turn-around I began overtaking the group ahead of me one by one. After the 4 mile point I had no one in front of me that was within reach. On straight stretches I could just see a bright jersey maybe 800 to 1000 meters ahead of me. Then I hit the 5k walkers. No longer could I run the tangents of the course, and I spent the last 1.5 miles or so weaving in and around them. I finished strong but could not see a finish line clock. I stopped my watch at the finish line matt and finally looked at it as a race volunteer cut the timing chip from my shoe. My watch said 36:58, but I was sure it said 38:something as there's no way I could have run that fast! That would have been almost a full minute PR from last fall when I was just finishing up a great training cycle. Then I looked for the water that is always at the end of a race. There wasn't any! All they had was some cans of something called Neve. It turned out to be an undrinkable heavily carbonated water beverage. Nasty.
After a 1.5 mile cool down I cycled back to see if the results were posted. The results listed my time as 37:00, which must be the 'gun' time - so I guess somehow I did run that fast. It's still tough to figure out where an improvement that big came from though.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Newport Marathon 2010 Report
My wife, Cherie, and I ran the Newport, OR marathon Saturday. It was sort of local (a 6 hour drive), inexpensive, and had a great reputation - plus it was at the beach!
This is the first marathon I've run (of 7) that I didn't follow any training plan for, didn't have a time goal for, and didn't stress about. I've been pretty much doing base building this year, have averaged ~50 mpw this year, and have been doing lots of mountain/trail runs to try to prepare for my first ultra next month. I decided to run this race solely by HR - 5 bpm less than my marathon PR HR from last December - and hoped to have the will power to stick to that plan. I don't want to lose too much training time to recovery and hoped that running at marathon HR - 5 would be the ticket.
After literally months of rain and 40* weather for my training runs, race day arrived with a starting temperature in the upper 50*s and bright sun. By the finish the temperature was well in to the 60*s. This was the hottest temperature I've run any marathon so far (and I know it's not that hot!).
Anyway I was able to stick to my HR plan for the most part. After 18 miles and in the direct sun my HR did begin to creep a bit - and my pace creeped the opposite direction. I'd hoped running slower than marathon HR would make this easier than it felt the last few miles. I did finish strong and felt great afterward (and today) with only a little soreness. The best part is my time was only 2.5 minutes off my PR from December. I'm a little surprised that running 'easier' than max effort (lower HR) on no training plan, no tempo runs, no marathon pace runs (except for a half marathon 4 weeks ago), and no sustained weekly 'high' mileage led to this result. I'd have to say the strength I must have gained from the difficult trail running has been the difference I guess.
My worst injury today seems to be my inverse-singlet sunburn, which is quite impressive. After I finished I went back up the course and cheered the other runners on for 1.5 hours with no sunscreen. Stupid is as stupid does as they say.
Results:
Avg. HR: 171
Gun time: 3:01:05
Watch time: 3:01:01
First 13.1 ~1:29:30
16th OA
5th AG (the #2, 3, and 4 runners were 47 years old and ran 2:45, 2:46, and 2:47 respectively)
Cherie's results:
I can't get her to write a RR. Briefly this was her second marathon. She had some injury issues in the buildup, but did average more miles than for her first marathon. I set the 'virtual partner' on her Garmin to 9:00 mpm pace for her, but she ran the first 8 or 9 miles at nearly her 10k pace. She gutted it out though and set a 17+ minute PR finishing in 4:06:28. I'm very proud of her but did tell her she deserved a spanking for not paying attention to her watch and going out so fast.
__________________
This is the first marathon I've run (of 7) that I didn't follow any training plan for, didn't have a time goal for, and didn't stress about. I've been pretty much doing base building this year, have averaged ~50 mpw this year, and have been doing lots of mountain/trail runs to try to prepare for my first ultra next month. I decided to run this race solely by HR - 5 bpm less than my marathon PR HR from last December - and hoped to have the will power to stick to that plan. I don't want to lose too much training time to recovery and hoped that running at marathon HR - 5 would be the ticket.
After literally months of rain and 40* weather for my training runs, race day arrived with a starting temperature in the upper 50*s and bright sun. By the finish the temperature was well in to the 60*s. This was the hottest temperature I've run any marathon so far (and I know it's not that hot!).
Anyway I was able to stick to my HR plan for the most part. After 18 miles and in the direct sun my HR did begin to creep a bit - and my pace creeped the opposite direction. I'd hoped running slower than marathon HR would make this easier than it felt the last few miles. I did finish strong and felt great afterward (and today) with only a little soreness. The best part is my time was only 2.5 minutes off my PR from December. I'm a little surprised that running 'easier' than max effort (lower HR) on no training plan, no tempo runs, no marathon pace runs (except for a half marathon 4 weeks ago), and no sustained weekly 'high' mileage led to this result. I'd have to say the strength I must have gained from the difficult trail running has been the difference I guess.
My worst injury today seems to be my inverse-singlet sunburn, which is quite impressive. After I finished I went back up the course and cheered the other runners on for 1.5 hours with no sunscreen. Stupid is as stupid does as they say.
Results:
Avg. HR: 171
Gun time: 3:01:05
Watch time: 3:01:01
First 13.1 ~1:29:30
16th OA
5th AG (the #2, 3, and 4 runners were 47 years old and ran 2:45, 2:46, and 2:47 respectively)
Cherie's results:
I can't get her to write a RR. Briefly this was her second marathon. She had some injury issues in the buildup, but did average more miles than for her first marathon. I set the 'virtual partner' on her Garmin to 9:00 mpm pace for her, but she ran the first 8 or 9 miles at nearly her 10k pace. She gutted it out though and set a 17+ minute PR finishing in 4:06:28. I'm very proud of her but did tell her she deserved a spanking for not paying attention to her watch and going out so fast.
__________________
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)