I am not a believer in a full two-week taper before a big race. After one week of minimal running I am edgy, keyed up and impatient; after two, I feel dull and less-fit, like the edge has come off. Physiologically it may not be possible to lose significant fitness over two weeks, but psychologically it doesn't feel that way.
That was a long-winded explanation for why I was still doing "quality" as late as last Saturday. I've been alternating long runs designed to simulate marathon endurance requirements with 16 milers designed to simulate marathon speed. Two weeks ago I did my peak distance run; last Saturday, my peak "specific endurance" workout: 6 miles lead-in followed by 10 miles at marathon RP.
Rather than just talk about the Saturday run though, I thought I'd look back over key workouts this training cycle. These are the days I'm going to be leaning on this Sunday to remind myself what I'm capable of, and to remember all the work I put in to get to the starting line.
April 2nd, 17 mi @ 7:20 pace This might be an odd choice, given that this was supposed to be a 20. But I still remember how easy this pace felt, surging over the hills through the wildlife refuge in Natick. Snow had fallen the day before, and my only fueling was a few mouthfuls eaten at my turnaround. Despite the inglorious walk home, what I was left thinking was: all I need is to work out my nutrition, and I will kill this 3:10 marathon time. In fact it was around then that I decided I was selling myself short with a 3:10 and started targeting 3:04.
April 24th, 16 mi @ some horrible time: I had been sick this week, and missed two straight days of running. Given that, you can imagine how keen I was not to blow my long run. The first 12 miles weren't too bad. 13-14 were pretty rocky. 15-16 were pure suffering, running right into the teeth of the bonk wall, every fiber of every muscle screaming to throw in the towel. But...for once, I didn't throw in anything. I finished the damn run, and the last two miles ended up being 7:48 pace. If I can do that, then I can run this 26 (i.e., do better than run 20 and jog-walk the last 10k).
April 30th, 22 miles. The notes from my running log say: "22 w/ 2x 2mi @ 6:55, and last 6 @ 7:14. Beautiful day, strong throughout. Consumed 4xBloks & 1xgel. Had 2 water stops." The subtext there is: I got my nutrition right, and everything else followed easily. This workout gave me loads of confidence that my basic fitness would be in the right place to run a BQ time.
May 22nd, 16 miles. Last Saturday's run. 6 @ 7:12, followed by 10 @ 6:40. This was test to see how hard breaking 3 hours might be. Right when I finished I had mixed feelings about it. I had kind of wanted it to feel easier as I was wrapping up, and instead felt somewhat fatigued. But then I thought "hey, here we are, mid-stream in training, on the back of a 9 miler with 3x mile intervals 2 days ago, running 10 miles at faster than my fastest contemplated marathon pace over rolling hills, and pretty much hitting it on the nose. So what if I'm a little fatigued?" So I decided I was happy about it after all, and took it as testament that I certainly have the leg speed I need.
I will put up another blog post tomorrow about goal-setting for the marathon. See you then!
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
last long run before KBVCM
Saturday I did my last long run leading up to KBVCM. The goal was to run my projected finish time (and then some). That test, combined with my two 16 milers with 8 and 10 mile race pace sections (done weekend before last, and pending this Saturday), would hopefully leave me in good stead for the Marathon itself.
I'd felt a little flat the last couple of days and woke late, but gamely set out nonetheless, first setting my GPS watch to only show me time. Without any pace feedback, I settled at a pretty easy speed. My course consisted of one loop (7.5miles), one out-and-back (7.35 miles), a second out-and-back into Wellesley (6.57 miles), and a final out-and-back along my home road (2.83 miles). Grand total: 24.25 miles:
I felt pretty happy about that, particularly the fact that I unconsciously negative split each lap. The mileage did take its toll, though, and I ended up pretty useless for the rest of the day. Aside from Saturday productivity, the only casualty was my wrist:
Apparently my GPS banging against my wristbone for 22 miles doesn't do anything, but for 24 it's a whole different story.
I've been fairly consistent with my training, and have three solid weeks of 60+ mileage under my belt (which is pretty high for me). On top of that, I've actually been doing some quality along with my volume, in particular "Tempo Run Tuesdays" and good amounts of marathon pace training during the long runs. All of which is to say, I'm feeling ready. So ready, in fact, that a niggling voice has started to intrude. It says: What about 2:59?
Stupid, scary voice.
I'd felt a little flat the last couple of days and woke late, but gamely set out nonetheless, first setting my GPS watch to only show me time. Without any pace feedback, I settled at a pretty easy speed. My course consisted of one loop (7.5miles), one out-and-back (7.35 miles), a second out-and-back into Wellesley (6.57 miles), and a final out-and-back along my home road (2.83 miles). Grand total: 24.25 miles:
Split | Time | Distance | Avg Pace | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summ: | 03:10:06 | 24.25 | 07:50 | |
| 00:59:38 | 7.50 | 07:57 | ||
| 00:57:47 | 7.35 | 07:51 | ||
| 00:51:09 | 6.57 | 07:47 | ||
| 00:21:30 | 2.83 | 07:36 |
I felt pretty happy about that, particularly the fact that I unconsciously negative split each lap. The mileage did take its toll, though, and I ended up pretty useless for the rest of the day. Aside from Saturday productivity, the only casualty was my wrist:
Apparently my GPS banging against my wristbone for 22 miles doesn't do anything, but for 24 it's a whole different story.I've been fairly consistent with my training, and have three solid weeks of 60+ mileage under my belt (which is pretty high for me). On top of that, I've actually been doing some quality along with my volume, in particular "Tempo Run Tuesdays" and good amounts of marathon pace training during the long runs. All of which is to say, I'm feeling ready. So ready, in fact, that a niggling voice has started to intrude. It says: What about 2:59?
Stupid, scary voice.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
nearly ready
I just finished my 2nd-to-last long run leading up to KBVCM. My goal is 7 minute miles (a 3:03:24 marathon). From the splits below I feel like I'm almost there. Not only was this my fastest long run, but this was by far the best I've ever felt as I mopped up the last few miles.
Split Time Miles Pace
1 00:32:28 4.36 07:27
2 00:13:22 1.93 06:56
3 00:20:21 2.78 07:20
4 00:36:53 4.98 07:24
5 00:13:33 1.97 06:53
6 00:43:25 6.00 07:14
Summary 02:40:06 22.01 07:16
I have one more long run, and it's going to be a lot slower; maybe 7:50-55 pace. But it's an important one, because I'm actually going to be running my marathon time: 3 hours, 5 minutes. I am also looking forward to my two remaining "medium-long" (16 mile) runs. The goal is to run the 1st with 8 mi @ 7:00s, and the 2nd with 10 mi @ 7:00s. If I hit all those marks, then I'm going to feel like nothing can stop me!
Split Time Miles Pace
1 00:32:28 4.36 07:27
2 00:13:22 1.93 06:56
3 00:20:21 2.78 07:20
4 00:36:53 4.98 07:24
5 00:13:33 1.97 06:53
6 00:43:25 6.00 07:14
Summary 02:40:06 22.01 07:16
I have one more long run, and it's going to be a lot slower; maybe 7:50-55 pace. But it's an important one, because I'm actually going to be running my marathon time: 3 hours, 5 minutes. I am also looking forward to my two remaining "medium-long" (16 mile) runs. The goal is to run the 1st with 8 mi @ 7:00s, and the 2nd with 10 mi @ 7:00s. If I hit all those marks, then I'm going to feel like nothing can stop me!
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Imprudent Speed
Another Saturday, another long run as I prepare myself for the Vermont City Marathon on the last weekend of May. Although my own personal challenge is still a ways off, Marathon fever is in the air here in Boston this weekend, and it is hard not to be a little swept up in it. Monday morning I'll be heading over to nearby Wellesley to spectate, dreaming marathon dreams as I watch the runners stream by on the same road I've often trained on, and thinking....someday!
But for now I still need to focus on the week-to-week. On my last long run two weeks ago, I set out to do 20 on a long out-and-back, completely devoid of provisions. Fresh snow had fallen the previous day and I helped myself to some at my turnaround, but other than that I was running savage. Predictably, I crashed out at mile 17.
Was it the lack of fuel, or was my pace (7:20s, with some 7:00 sections) just too ambitious for my fitness? One of those two variables is easy to eliminate, and, having acquired a good supply of gels, I meant to do so today.
The run broke down into three sections: a 9 mile loop that included the Cutler Park trail and a section in Newton, an 8 mile out-and-back in the direction of Wellesley, and then whatever was left (hopefully 4 miles, in whatever manner was convenient). I left water and grub outside my house, giving me two resupply points over the course of the run.
The first 9 mile loop passed effortlessly in around 7:17 pace; a crisp, slightly chilly spring morning, even allowing for my comparatively late start--the marathoners should be so lucky to have such a morning this Monday! I hit my first resupply feeling great; consumed a gel and some water, tightened my laces, and headed off on the next leg.
By my turnaround point in the 2nd leg (mile13), I had started to feel a bit peaky. Very deliberately (and with some difficulty) I forced myself to stop tracking my own pace (which, in this second leg, had been running around 7:10s). "You will feel better and stronger at mile 17 then you do right now," I kept reminding myself as I started to head the 4 miles back to my house. This was a somewhat bold claim, given how I had cratered at mile 17 the last time.
But it was true! What a great surprise. As I hit mile 15, I felt strength trickling back into my legs. By mile 17, when I stopped quickly for my 2nd gel and a swig of water, I surprised myself by feeling downright decent.
The overall feeling of well-being got me about halfway into my third leg. By mile 19, I was just thinking about how best to hold it together for another 15 minutes. Chainsaws buzzed. A boy with a fishing rod said "hello, SIR!" to me as I ran by, which seemed incongruous in the face of my sweat stained and no doubt haggard expression. Above the street, the endless river of rolling metal that is I-95 poured by in a continuous flood.
I finished the last leg in around7:24 pace.
So here's the thing. I'm really happy to have run around 7:17 pace for 21 miles at this stage in my training. I've thought for weeks that the ~7:20 pace just *feels* right for a long-run cruising speed. But. The conventional wisdom is not to try to practice for your race by actually running your race in training--that would be silly. And yet, if I extend my next run by a couple miles, that's basically what I will have done.
I'm thinking this is probably one of those times when your own pacing intuition can mislead you. If 7:20 was really a good long-run training pace for me, I could probably be running 6:40 pace in the marathon (and I'm pretty sure that's not right). The other way this is hurting me is time-on-feet; I'm not practicing holding a steady level of output for a full 3.10 hours.
The natural solution is to just run my long-runs slower. Save speed for mid-distance runs during the week. 20 miles @ 8s, followed by 2-3 miles @ 7s, for instance. There's nothing preventing me from this, except lack of discipline in responding to the information my GPS is telling me.
It is reassuring what a big difference the fueling made, though. I don't know why I need to keep learning and then re-learning this same lesson. Really makes me wonder how the old-school marathoners did it, back when they barely even bothered with water. (Maybe that's just it, though--the fields were so much smaller, perhaps in part because very few people actually *could* run the distance like that).
----------
Boston Marathon Top Fives
This is kind of my own version of filling out a basketball tournament brackets--and as prognostications go, it's about equally lousy, I'm sure!. My methodology was to pick people with good, recent Boston performances, or good performances in the last New York Half. I tended to down-play the monster times some of the elite field have posted from Berlin, Rotterdam, etc., since I don't think those courses reveal much about Boston's particular requirements. I know--repeat winners in both races is a little bit of a cop-out. On the men's side, it's mainly because Cheruiyot was just that awesome last year. On the women's--well, it just seems like it would be *too* awesome if Kara came back to win it this year. I don't want to get my hopes up :-)
Without further ado, predictions for the outcome of this Monday's Boston Marathon:
1. Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot, Kenya 2:05:52 (Boston, 2010) CR
2. Gebregziabher Gebremariam, Ethiopia 2:08:14 (New York City 2010)
3. Tekeste Kebede, Ethiopia 2:07:23 (Boston, 2010)
4. Alistair Cragg, Ireland Debut
5. Peter Kamais, Kenya 2:14:58 (New York City, 2010)
1. Teyba Erkesso, Ethiopia 2:23:53 (Houston, 2010) CR
2. Kara Goucher, USA 2:25:52 (New York, 2008)
3. Dire Tune, Ethiopia 2:23:44 (Frankfurt, 2010)
4. Tatyana Pushkareva, Russia 2:26:14 (Boston, 2010)
5. Desiree Davila, USA 2:26:20 (Chicago, 2010)
But for now I still need to focus on the week-to-week. On my last long run two weeks ago, I set out to do 20 on a long out-and-back, completely devoid of provisions. Fresh snow had fallen the previous day and I helped myself to some at my turnaround, but other than that I was running savage. Predictably, I crashed out at mile 17.
Was it the lack of fuel, or was my pace (7:20s, with some 7:00 sections) just too ambitious for my fitness? One of those two variables is easy to eliminate, and, having acquired a good supply of gels, I meant to do so today.
The run broke down into three sections: a 9 mile loop that included the Cutler Park trail and a section in Newton, an 8 mile out-and-back in the direction of Wellesley, and then whatever was left (hopefully 4 miles, in whatever manner was convenient). I left water and grub outside my house, giving me two resupply points over the course of the run.
The first 9 mile loop passed effortlessly in around 7:17 pace; a crisp, slightly chilly spring morning, even allowing for my comparatively late start--the marathoners should be so lucky to have such a morning this Monday! I hit my first resupply feeling great; consumed a gel and some water, tightened my laces, and headed off on the next leg.
By my turnaround point in the 2nd leg (mile13), I had started to feel a bit peaky. Very deliberately (and with some difficulty) I forced myself to stop tracking my own pace (which, in this second leg, had been running around 7:10s). "You will feel better and stronger at mile 17 then you do right now," I kept reminding myself as I started to head the 4 miles back to my house. This was a somewhat bold claim, given how I had cratered at mile 17 the last time.
But it was true! What a great surprise. As I hit mile 15, I felt strength trickling back into my legs. By mile 17, when I stopped quickly for my 2nd gel and a swig of water, I surprised myself by feeling downright decent.
The overall feeling of well-being got me about halfway into my third leg. By mile 19, I was just thinking about how best to hold it together for another 15 minutes. Chainsaws buzzed. A boy with a fishing rod said "hello, SIR!" to me as I ran by, which seemed incongruous in the face of my sweat stained and no doubt haggard expression. Above the street, the endless river of rolling metal that is I-95 poured by in a continuous flood.
I finished the last leg in around7:24 pace.
So here's the thing. I'm really happy to have run around 7:17 pace for 21 miles at this stage in my training. I've thought for weeks that the ~7:20 pace just *feels* right for a long-run cruising speed. But. The conventional wisdom is not to try to practice for your race by actually running your race in training--that would be silly. And yet, if I extend my next run by a couple miles, that's basically what I will have done.
I'm thinking this is probably one of those times when your own pacing intuition can mislead you. If 7:20 was really a good long-run training pace for me, I could probably be running 6:40 pace in the marathon (and I'm pretty sure that's not right). The other way this is hurting me is time-on-feet; I'm not practicing holding a steady level of output for a full 3.10 hours.
The natural solution is to just run my long-runs slower. Save speed for mid-distance runs during the week. 20 miles @ 8s, followed by 2-3 miles @ 7s, for instance. There's nothing preventing me from this, except lack of discipline in responding to the information my GPS is telling me.
It is reassuring what a big difference the fueling made, though. I don't know why I need to keep learning and then re-learning this same lesson. Really makes me wonder how the old-school marathoners did it, back when they barely even bothered with water. (Maybe that's just it, though--the fields were so much smaller, perhaps in part because very few people actually *could* run the distance like that).
----------
Boston Marathon Top Fives
This is kind of my own version of filling out a basketball tournament brackets--and as prognostications go, it's about equally lousy, I'm sure!. My methodology was to pick people with good, recent Boston performances, or good performances in the last New York Half. I tended to down-play the monster times some of the elite field have posted from Berlin, Rotterdam, etc., since I don't think those courses reveal much about Boston's particular requirements. I know--repeat winners in both races is a little bit of a cop-out. On the men's side, it's mainly because Cheruiyot was just that awesome last year. On the women's--well, it just seems like it would be *too* awesome if Kara came back to win it this year. I don't want to get my hopes up :-)
Without further ado, predictions for the outcome of this Monday's Boston Marathon:
1. Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot, Kenya 2:05:52 (Boston, 2010) CR
2. Gebregziabher Gebremariam, Ethiopia 2:08:14 (New York City 2010)
3. Tekeste Kebede, Ethiopia 2:07:23 (Boston, 2010)
4. Alistair Cragg, Ireland Debut
5. Peter Kamais, Kenya 2:14:58 (New York City, 2010)
1. Teyba Erkesso, Ethiopia 2:23:53 (Houston, 2010) CR
2. Kara Goucher, USA 2:25:52 (New York, 2008)
3. Dire Tune, Ethiopia 2:23:44 (Frankfurt, 2010)
4. Tatyana Pushkareva, Russia 2:26:14 (Boston, 2010)
5. Desiree Davila, USA 2:26:20 (Chicago, 2010)
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Recrudescence
Today felt like the first true run of Spring. This happens every year, and it is something I eagerly anticipate: the day when the crusty shell of winter cracks and all things seem to be leaping into motion again. It is not only a matter of the weather but also the day when time and opportunity coincide to create the conditions for a perfect run. The air is cool, and piles of snow still lurk in the shadows, but the sun is warm, and the brisk wind carries no bite. The miles pass easily. I am doing 18--the first long run on my road to 26.2 in Burlington, VT. Hills and wind only seem to make me stronger. My plan is to run 16 then step up to 7:00 (race pace) for the last two--to get used to running that speed on tired legs. But it's one of those days when holding back is impossible. I am not looking at my watch. Only occasional glances over the middle 12 show my pace falling from 7:24, to 7:20, to 7:16. At last I hit mile 16 and accelerate, and now I do start to feel it. But it's a good feeling, the best possible kind of tired.
I didn't bring any water--something I won't be able to get away with much longer. When I get back home, I see the wind has baked on crusty streaks of salt across my forehead and all down my temples. It's 10am and already I know it's going to be a good day.
I didn't bring any water--something I won't be able to get away with much longer. When I get back home, I see the wind has baked on crusty streaks of salt across my forehead and all down my temples. It's 10am and already I know it's going to be a good day.
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