Bowling Green Marathon Race Report

Goal: 3 hours (?)     Secondary goal: 3:10

Preparing for this race, my goal was to run 3 hours on a difficult course. I chose Bowling Green mainly because it is hilly, and I thought it would be nice to run a 3-hour marathon on a hilly course. There is a website that compares marathon courses, and I didn't read they methodology, but they rated Bowling Green 2 minutes slower than Indianapolis Monumental (where I ran 2:59 two years ago), just based on the elevation profile. 

Three or four weeks before the race I thought my shape was worse than going into the Indianapolis race, but I started that training cycle after some serious 5K-10K training and I started this one on nothing but base mileage. By the time I did my last workout (3 x 1600), I felt I caught up, and I was maybe in better shape. I weigh a few pounds more, but that's actually upper body muscle, because I spent some time in the weight room in the summer. Good or bad for running, it is arguable, but I need it for firefighting.

Then I saw the weather forecast. It got worse and worse as race day approached. The last two weeks of training in Louisville was in cool weather, typically 40 F (4 C), no sunshine; in fact my last (medium) long run was in 35 F (2 C). Compare that to race day morning: 70 F (21 C), 90% humidity (66 F dew point for the weather geeks), and mostly sunny. It wouldn't be terrible, if I didn't acclimate to the cool weather in the last two weeks, but it was quite brutal this way.

I did my usual morning routine: getting up early, having a good breakfast, driving to Bowling Green (2 hours). The advantage of a small race and being early is that I could park just 100 yards from the start/finish line. I was hit by the hot and muggy air when I got out of the car, so I decided not to warm up (except for some dynamic stretching), because I knew I would pay dearly for any fluid loss, even if it happened during warmup. I was also able to pick up my packet on race day morning. They had amazing swag.

It was a very small marathon: less than a thousand runners, and most of them ran the half. There were only 166 entrants of the full. It was a nice group of people, and I had conversations with a bunch of them. Most notably I met Hajime Nishi.

The race started at 7:00 (central time), but Louisville is on Eastern Time, so it was really 8:00 for me. The course has a unforgiving elevation profile starting with four major hills. It is basically uphill-downhill-uphill-downhill etc., for the first 7.5 miles, and everything is steep. If you've ever been to the campus of Western Kentucky University, you may remember Cherry Hall: it's on the top of a steep hill. Well, basically we climb that hill four times. Then from 7.5 to the halfway point it is "flat", but not like Indianapolis. It is still up and down, just without the steep grades. Then we are back to campus, and repeat the whole thing again.

I should have known that with the way the weather was and the way my fitness was, I had no real chance to run 3 hours. Yet, I didn't want to give it up before I started, so I decided to follow the 3-hour plan until mile 16, and then decide: if I don't feel great, then I slow down and just focus on getting my safe Boston Qualifier (3:10).

I started with a group of runners who ran the 3-hour pace (some of them were half-marathoners). The pace felt OK, but you can't make it feel super easy when you are climbing the Cherry Hall hill. The group broke up quickly, but everyone was in sight, and we sometimes passed each other: some people were faster going uphill; I was usually faster on the downhills. There was a guy in an "Army" shirt (his name was Peter), who was mostly ahead of me, but I passed him on a few downhills.

Mile 1: 7:01
Mile 2: 6:29
Mile 3: 7:03
Mile 4: 6:26
Mile 5: 7:11

The pace seems to vary, but it was a quite even effort with the hills. I was about 30 seconds ahead of my planned time (very unwise). I tried to take it easy, but I didn't want to walk uphill and didn't want to brake downhill. Mile after mile I recognized that the 30 seconds stayed about constant. On the other hand that meant that at least my current pace was correct.

We were still downtown, going up and down on parallel streets. A few jackrabbits were passed by this time, and I found myself in 5th place. I knew that the guy just ahead of me (Ryan) was a half-marathoner, so that made me at least 4th in the marathon.

I caught up to Ryan, and asked him if he knew who were marathoners and who were half-marathoner in front of us - he wasn't sure. I had had a conversation with him before the start, and I knew he was aiming run a 7-minute/mile pace. I told him we are a bit faster than that. We climbed the last steep hill of the first loop together.

Mile 6: 7:05

The hot and humid air affected me already. I felt warm. I took water at every aid station - drank half of it, dumped the rest over my head. Ryan started to fade and I left him on the next downhill. We entered an alley (it seems to be called BG262 Alley - I'm note sure if it's an official name). We ran a good half a mile in the alley among backyards. I liked that part. By this time I only had Peter (Army guy) in sight, and our distance was basically a constant 100 yards.

Mile 7: 6:32

Conditions deteriorated quickly. Temperature rose, the sun came out, and wind got stronger. We ran on a large road (two lanes in each direction), on which one lane was closed for runners. No shade, quite hot, and no aid stations. My singlet and my shorts were complete wet now and started to drip.

Mile 8: 6:46

I was just following Peter, still at 100 yards. I felt fine. The steep hills were over, I was running a good pace. I knew I was losing a lot of fluid though, and despite drinking at every aid station, I knew I can't physically replenish enough when I sweat so much.

Mile 09: 6:57
Mile 10: 6:42

After a short loop in a suburban neighborhood, we were back on the large road to the opposite direction. I noticed that Peter was slowing a bit, and I started to catch him. I didn't want to pass him. It is much better to run behind somebody than just ahead. Behind us there was nobody in sight any more. I was content to give up a few seconds here, because I knew that things would get hard. By this time my sweat saturated my socks and shoes so much that I heard a swishy sound on my footfalls. My right nipple patch fall off from the sweat and I started to bloody up my shirt. And there were still 16 miles left.

Mile 11: 6:54
Mile 12: 6:52

Peter continued to slow, so I pulled up to him. I asked his age (34). I knew we were 3rd and 4th on the road, but I didn't know how many were half-marathoners (I knew Peter was running the full), and how many over 40. I wanted to win an award and for that I would either have to place in the top three, or would have to win the over 40 category. I thought, even if Peter beats
me, I would have a good chance for the latter.

Mile 13: 6:57

Peter seemed to slow even more here, so I left him. I ran by the finish line to start my second loop. My time was a few seconds under 1:30, as planned.

And this is when things are started to go wrong. Yes, this early. I climbed the Cherry Hall hill again, and I lost all my advantage against the clock. Peter was quite a bit behind. I knew I wouldn't run 3 hours today, so I tried to conserve more energy. I decided that from here my goals are (1) securing my Boston Qualifier (2) preserving my position. People looked at my bloody shirt in horror (or at least that's what I conceived).

Mile 14: 7:37

This was a super lonely mile. I went down on a straight road, no spectators, no cops, no signs. I started to get worried that I got lost, but then I recognized some of the buildings from the first loop. This part was mostly downhill. From the little attention I was getting from the organizers I deduced that I'm not the leader of the race. He would surely get at least a leading cyclist.

Mile 15: 6:33

After the next aid station I decided to remove my shirt. I was climbing a hill slowly while I unpinned my bib from my shirt and pinned it to my shorts while running. The chafing was so bad that I didn't mind the lost time. I carried my shirt in my right hand from here, and I only put it back on right before the finish.

Mile 16: 7:36

A cyclist organizer finally started to lead me. I figured I was second or third; I was guessing second (I was correct). I could have asked, but I decided not to: it wouldn't have changed my strategy. I learned my position a few miles later when somebody told me (without asking) at an aid station. I was working my way over the hills. They were much harder than for the first time. I started to feel my quads.

Mile 17: 6:39
Mile 18: 7:43
Mile 19: 7:36

I switched into survival mode. I didn't need fast miles to finish under 3:10, but I still needed to do a sub 8-minute pace. So I just focused on to keep running.

Mile 20: 7:05

On the big road again. Even hotter, full sun, misery. I think I had a runner right behind me, because I heard the cheer squads cheering the a second time shortly after I left them. In one intersection, a cop stopped the traffic for me, and I noticed that he didn't let the cars go when I crossed the intersection. From that I knew that this other runner must be very close. I never looked back, just tried to maintain my pace. And somehow I got rid of him. Not sure exactly where and how, but I didn't hear the cheers behind me after a while.

Mile 21: 7:19

I turned into the suburban neighborhood again. I had a crisis here. I really thought about dropping out or at least starting to walk. But I would lose my BQ time for sure.

Mile 22: 7:52

I summoned some more will and kept pushing.

Mile 23: 7:27

Back on the big road. More hot, more sun, less energy.

Mile 24: 7:52

This part of the course followed the same big road back that we took to get from downtown to the suburb. I was now heading back to downtown, and I saw Peter running still toward the suburbs. He was now way behind me. (He finished in 16th place in 3:43.)

When it rains, it pours. I careless volunteer misdirected my cyclist and I. I only ran maybe 20 yards in the wrong direction, but I was tired enough without this! She apologized profusely. (Honestly, it's OK. It didn't change anything.)

Mile 25: 8:03

The last mile. Many turns, strong winds, hills, and my only thought is on finishing. I was running like a zombie, looking at my GPS every minute. I tried to imagine how many laps of a track is left. "Only five laps. I can run five laps."

At one point we had another out-and-back portion of the course - a short one - but it was enough for me to see the competitors at least a quarter mile back. Nobody was that close behind me. I was fairly sure then that I had my 2nd place.

Mile 26: 8:07

Even the last 0.2 mile was long. I put my shirt back on. Somehow the motion of the sweaty shirt in my hand washed out the bloodstain, and it was reasonably presentable. I crossed the finish line, picked up my medal, and I sat down on the curb. I used up everything I had.

Final time: 3:08:37, 2nd place overall.

The winner ran 2:58:04, and the third place was at 3:14:11.

Post race food and party was fantastic. They offered beer and burger. People were very nice. They didn't announced the awards, but they gave them out (or mailed them out, if the winner didn't ask for it). It is slightly weird, but I see this at more and more small races. I won a really nice glass cup.

I don't know if this was the hardest race I've ever done, but it was definitely the most miserable. On the other hand, it is not clear that if I ran a 1:34 first half, then I could have run a faster second half. The weather was clearly an issue: I got overheated and dehydrated by the end, but there were also some muscular fatigue problems from not training enough on hills. My fitness, the only thing I had actually been worried about, was probably fine.

It is very temping to come back next year to redeem my performance. But there are so many other nice races to do, and there is new fall marathon in Louisville (also hilly). For now, after recovery, I'll do a winter race series of 4K, 5K, 5 mile races with Esther. I have at least a few more days to figure out if I want to run a spring marathon.

It doesn't matter how fit you are. When you have to race in 70 degrees and 90% humidity, you can't realistically aim for the same the same goal as you would in 50 degree dry weather.

Tomorrow's weather forecast is exactly like that. 67 F at the 7:00 start, 71 F at 10:00. Dew point is pretty uniformly 66 F, which corresponds to humidity going from 92% to 84%.

I'm pretty sure I have no chance of running 3 hours in this weather. I'm not sure I should even try. According every heat table, it is already a good performance if I run 3:10 tomorrow.

I did my 3x1600 workout last Thursday, as planned, on the Jeffersontown High School track (asphalt, quarter mile track), in the dark. It wasn't the easiest thing, but I hit my paces with no problem: 5:48, 5:49, 5:50. Only the last one felt hard, but no pain cave.

Then I felt strong for my "long" run on Sunday: 13 miles @ 7:38 pace, but 3.6 miles were on trails with many steep hills. The last four asphalt miles 7:21, 7:10, 7:25, 7:01, and they also had some hills in them. It almost makes me worried that I push too hard on these runs, and I won't be sufficiently recovered.

So I took my Monday rest day, my very easy Tuesday run (still 7:47 pace), and I was ready for my dress rehearsal today: 7 miles, 2 at marathon pace. I ran the two miles way too fast: 6:39 and 6:29. OK, the second one was slight downhill, but the first one was slight uphill (Strava GAPs are 6:36, 6:33), but it is still too fast. They felt quite easy. I tried to restrain myself, but I felt if I ran any slower, it would be jogging. I will seriously have to restrain myself in the first half of my race.

Now it is really nothing left, but eating healthy, not getting sick, not getting injured, and finish my recovery in the last few days.

After my hard LT run on Saturday late evening, in about 12 hours I was again on the street running my 17 miler. It was not so easy to do it on tired legs, but I managed to finish it at a decent pace. I ran the first portion with Adam, so that was a bit slower (8 min/mile), and I picked up from there. Good training.

Nothing hard is left. The only somewhat challenging training is the VO2 max session this Thursday. It would probably count as a hard session on a typical day, but considering the shape I'm in, it should be fairly easy. I was able to run some 6:1x miles at the end of the LT run without getting too winded, so running single miles at 5:50 pace with ample recovery on already fairly rested legs should not pose a problem.

Taper plan:

10/23, M: Rest
T: 7 GA w/ 8x100 ST
W: 4 R
T: 8 w/ 3x1600 VO2 max. (5:50/mile, 5:48/1600), 50-90% rests (~2 laps)
F: 5 R
S: 6R w/ 8x100 ST
S: 13 MLR

10/30, M: Rest
T: 7 R
W: Dress rehearsal: 7 w/ 2@MP (6:43/mile)
T: 5 R
F: 5 R w/ 6x100 ST
S: 4 R
S: Race

OK, so I waited until 8pm with the LT run. So the weather cooled down, but I had to face the other problem: chili and coffee before the run = upset stomach. Somehow I did manage the run without throwing up though, and my splits were quite good: 6:15, 6:18, 6:31 (hilly mile), 6:16, 6:08, 6:13. It's a 6:17 average, and this was definitely not race effort. In fact I sprinted another quarter mile after finishing the sixth mile, because I felt like pushing a bit and I thought it would be cool to run a sub-39 10K in training (which I did).

So it seems like all three components are together. Fitness is fine. Lactate threshold is fine. Endurance is fine. I do have a chance of sub-3.

About a week after my last post, not much happened. I had my last 20-miler on Sunday, and I felt good, so I pushed it a bit. I ran a 7:26/mile average, and the last part was the fastest. After that run I only had pretty easy runs, except for a 12-miler on Wednesday, which, again, went just fine.

Today I was supposed to run a tune-up race, which didn't happen, because we went to the cross country state championship for schools, because Esther ran the 4K there. I will go out for an LT run later (maybe soon). It's 78 degrees and sunny outside. I'm wondering why I don't ever have the chance to do a good lactate threshold workout in nice, cool weather...

I had a very strong 17-mile run on Sunday. Finally it was cool, and I felt good the whole time. I averaged 7:25/mile, and it felt pretty easy.

Monday was rest, then two horrible recovery runs on Tuesday - this happens often: when I have a little rest after some hard work, the next easy runs feel totally hard. I didn't sleep much the next night, and I had a terrible headache all day on Wednesday, so I wasn't looking forward to going to the track at 8pm in the dark for a 6 x 1200 session. Fortunately it went fine. Splits were 4:22, 4:20, 4:22, 4:20, 4:22 (goal was 4:21).

Interestingly, the second rep felt very hard, and I thought I was done, and I decided I would just go out carefully (not too fast) for the third one, and try to speed up the last lap, if necessary. I used this approach for all the remaining reps, and it not only worked: the first two laps always turned out to be fast enough and I never had to overexert myself for the third one.

I'm probably not as strong as I was two years ago at the same time, so that's not a good sign for sub-3, but I have some time left, and maybe I can peak and race better. If it won't be sub-3, it's not a disaster, as long as I safely BQ. I will need about 3:10 for that.

I've had two weeks of pretty good training. After the race I had a good long run (18 miles) the following day. Then a rest day on Monday, and Tuesday 6 x 1000 meters VO2 max workout pretty consistently in 3:40. Three more long runs at 15, 12, and 18.6 miles: the last one included a 14 mile marathon paced workout that I nailed pretty well.

Then this week started with another rest day on Monday then 5 x 600 meters on Tuesday that went well, and felt quite easy. It is still too damn hot pretty much every day, but intervals are not affected much. The intervals were consistent 2:09. 14 miles on Wednesday, then two easy days, and an LT run today. It was supposed to be a race but I haven't found a good race in 2 hours driving distance, so I ran a 6-mile LT run instead. It was hot and windy, and I didn't feel great. Seriously, 79 F at 8pm on October 7? Anyway, I still managed to run 6:13, 6:24, 6:29, 6:22, 6:22, 6:13, and I lost ~4 seconds in mile 2 at a road crossing, so it's a 6:20 average. All in all, a successful run. It was hard, but not unreasonably, and some of the time variation was due to terrain and wind direction.

I'm a little worried that this LT run may have felt a bit harder than it should have been. I thought after this run I would have a better indication on what I can run in Bowling Green, but I didn't really get any wiser.

Hawk Walk 10K Race Report


Goal: 39:21 (6:20 pace). Revised goal: run at least as fast as my perceived lactate threshold, and try to win the race.

This was  a very small race near Indianapolis. The reason we chose it, because it was the only 10K available within 2 hours of driving on this day, it had a 5K, so Esther could run with me, and it was for a good charity (fighting addiction). Also, because it is a small race, maybe we would have a chance of placing, and Esther and I thought it would be really cool if we both place in our respective races.

The 10K only had about a dozen runners, so I already thought it would not be a real competition. In either case of being the fastest runner, or not, chances are that I would be running alone.

We also loved the idea that the race started at 10am, so we didn't have to get up super early. The downside, with the record breaking heat waves we are getting here that we realized we would run in 80 degrees. Add the hills to that (220 ft of climbing in 10 km according to Strava), and it was clear to me that running a 6:20 pace would place me well below my lactate threshold. It is certainly possible to run a 10K below the lactate threshold, but it may be unwise, if I'm winning the race. Position over time, any day.

So I decided to go out and run at my perceived lactate threshold: a comfortably hard pace. Unless I have to compete faster.

I got even more scared when I was totally sweaty and hot after just two miles of very slow warmup. I quickly figured out that you can tell by the bib number what race everybody was running. I asked a singlet wearing guy (his name was Armani), who had a 10K bib number, about his pace. He said 7:30, which I found suspect.

A cute little boy started the race by blowing a horn, though we had the ready-set-go commands about two seconds before he could push that button, so there was some confusion about the start time. They also started the race 6 minutes early, which screwed up my warmup recovery, but it was OK. You can expect these things in a small local race.

I went out by feel at about a 6:15-6:30 pace. The first mile was gently rolling hills that ticked up a bit at the end. Armani followed me a short distance behind: I heard him running behind me. Immediately I thought he was BS-ing me with the 7:30 pace. We ran through some patches with no shadows, and we started to climb. Somebody was passing me, and I though it must be Armani, but in fact it was a 5K runner (Alec). After we discussed briefly that we don't actually compete against each other, I let him go.

At the steepest part of the climb, Armani passed me (I did slow on the uphill deliberately to conserve energy). I thought he would probably beat me today, but to my surprise, he didn't pull away, and I was running right behind him.

Mile 1: 6:33

I didn't pay much attention to the splits. The race was being run slower than 10K pace at perceived lactate threshold, and this split was about right for the circumstances. I followed Armani for a short time, and when the climb got gentler, I pulled up next to him, and I said:

"This is definitely not a 7:30 pace."
"What?"
"We're doing like a 6:30-ish pace."
"Yeah, I know."
"You said 7:30 at the start."
"That's my minimum goal. That's in fact my half-marathon pace."
"OK."

I wasn't sure if he was still playing games, but this pace seemed still too fast if in fact his half marathon pace was 7:30/mile. In which case I would probably beat him easily. Of course there is still the possibility of somebody coming behind us beating us both.

I left him, and I kept following Alec. Our distance stabilized at about 50 meters. The climb extended to mile 1.7, where there was a sharp right turn, and then slowly descending, but rolling hills down to the start line, at around mile 3. The 10K did the course twice. I was in the zone, trying to do constant comfortably hard effort. This part of the course was mostly in the woods.

Mile 2: 6:34
Mile 3: 6:26

Alec won the 5K easily, and I ran back to the course for my second loop. I made a mistake by turning down the water here. It was so hot that a 10K managed to dehydrate me a bit. If for no other reason, I could have dumped the water on my head.

I had two goals after the turnaround: to see my standing in the 10K, and to see how Esther was doing, who was finishing the 5K soon. Armani was about 30 seconds behind me. I saw a girl about 30-60 seconds behind Armani, but I thought she was in the 5K. There was a 5K runner, and then Esther. So with the winner, I thought Esther was at 4th place, 2nd place female, when in fact she was in 3rd place, 1st female, because that other girl was in the 10K. I told her "2nd place female", but she didn't hear me (fortunately, as this was wrong information). She was very exhausted.

I started the climb now, in a patch of full sun, which was obviously hotter than the first time around, and I was obviously more tired/overheated/dehydrated.

Mile 4: 6:38

I got to the long climb with nobody in sight. The whole mile was almost pure climbing: I reached the top at mile 4.9.

Mile 5: 7:11

I started to meet 5K walkers and some people who just enjoyed the trails, but were not in the race. I glanced back a few times to make sure that Armani (or anybody) is not in sight, but otherwise just continued comfortable hard. No pain, just strictly at lactate threshold. Rolling hills, net downhill.

Mile 6: 6:33

I had to dodge some more walkers here. I had to leave the path twice due to careless walkers, but this is part of the game in local races. I clinched the easy victory with a time of 41:55.

People congratulated, but Esther wasn't there, because she got light headed, and sat down in the shadow. She finished her race in the 3rd place!

There was a small post race party, where Esther and I enjoyed our minor celebrity status. The best post-race food ever: strawberry sorbet! After about 20 minutes of resting, eating, and conversing, we headed back to the car. I did a 2-mile cool-down in a different part of the trail, and I didn't feel too tired. Clearly this was not a 100% effort from me, but it had the right training effect, and I didn't want to risk victory for time.

The only regret I have is that I would have loved a good indication of my fitness. This was hopeless when we realized what the race-day temperature would be. I may run another 10K in two weeks and/or one in four weeks. We will see what happens then. If this was the best I could do, then a sub-3 hour marathon would be hopeless.

Training report of the last two weeks:

Everything was smooth for the first part of week 7. It was nice and cool for my 15-miler on Wednesday, and I ran a 7:30 average pace and it felt pretty easy (I went sailboat racing after the run).

Then by Friday the hot weather was back. I attempted to run an LT run outdoors on Thursday, but I got overheated and dehydrated. My splits were 6:10, 6:33, 6:36, 6:34, 6:34, 6:33, 6:42. According to Daniels, my LT pace should be 6:20, and I've done a 6-mile 6:18 LT run just a bit more than a week ago on the firehouse treadmill. So this sucked - again. I didn't call it a failed run though. My heart rate was pretty constant ~168; in fact it jumped to 170 for the last, slowest mile. It shows that my exertion level was probably appropriate. It was just two hot. I sweated through my shoes again.

Nevertheless, the 22-mile run just two days later on Saturday was fine. It was still hot during the day, but I waited until 6:45pm to start my run. It was completely dark for the last hour for this 3-hour long run, but it wasn't super hot. I still got drenched by the end, but I completed the run and finished relatively strong (7:25 last mile). It took quite a bit out of me though.

So I did struggle to recover, and the prevailing hot weather didn't help. I had a 5x600 workout on Tuesday my splits were 2:09, 2:10, 2:10, 2:08, 2:12. I got drenched again by the end, and I still felt the 22-miler in my legs.

I ran 14 miles on Wednesday, which I did by running four 3.5-mile laps shirtless in the neighborhood. I didn't want to carry water, so I just periodically returned to my house. It worked well. I may do this for other medium long runs, until the weather gets cool enough to get away with just the water fountains along the way.

Then two days of recovery runs (the first 6-miler on Wednesday was run in 97 degrees), and I'm racing tomorrow. A 10K tuneup, and Esther runs the 5K. It would be great if it wasn't going to be 76 degrees by the 10 o'clock start. Probably over 80 by the time I finish. It will be hard, but I'll try to go out at 6:20/mile, and see if I can hold it in the rising temperature. It will be a very small race, so chances are, I'll run alone (hopefully in the lead).

A pretty smooth week 8. The only workout was a 6 x 800 that I ran on the Iroquois High School track while there was a soccer game in progress (probably high school students, but with three referees and a decent audience). It went pretty great: amazingly even intervals at 2:54, 2:54, 2:54, 2:55, 2:54, 2:55. It wasn't very hard either.

Now a monster week ahead with 70 miles, a 7-mile LT run, and a very long run. Here is the schedule.

M: Rest
T: 6R + 4R
W: 15ML
T: 6R
F: 12 w/ 7T
S: 5R
S: 22L

If I survive this, it should be a relatively smooth sail from here. I'm looking forward to racing in just 10 days!

Every cycle must have some low points... I got mine last week, on the 16-mile long run, when 12 was supposed to be at marathon pace (6:43). I was perfectly fine for the first 6 of the 12, and then I started to slow. Mile 7 was 6:54, Mile 8 was 6:51, and mile 9 slipped over 7 minutes. I called it quits and I jogged the rest.

I felt very demoralized, but it's not a huge deal. I'm now two runs into week 8, and I feel good. I will not have many marathon paced runs in the remaining of the training cycle, but I'll have one very long (14 miles), which will tell me my progress.

What went wrong? Who knows. It was warm (80s), but not very hot, I got a bit dehydrated, but not too much. My cardio felt fine; it was my muscles that seem to have given up. Too many miles? Dehydration? The oil change and tire rotation in the hot garage before the run? I will probably never know.

Week 8 (recovery):

M: Rest
T: 9 GA
W: 9 w/ 6 x 800 @ 5K pace
T: 6 R
F: 11 ML
S: 8 GA w/ 10 x 100 ST
S: 15 ML

Tune-up races: September 23 (8K-15K), October 7 (8K-15K), October 21 (8K-10K).

September 23: Hawk Walk 10K (already registered)

October 7: Lincoln Days Railsplitter 10K ($35 until 09/17, 1 hr)

October 21: Med Center Health 10K classic ($30 until 09/21, 2 hrs)

Week 10 was largely OK, but somewhat mixed. The 14-miler went pretty well, judging from my Strava record, but I don't even remember it, so it must have been quite good.

I ran the 6-mile LT on the treadmill at the fire station (9.5 mph = 6:19/mile). It was pretty great. I changed to 2-1 breathing at around 3.9, and used for most of the fifth mile; however, I started to develop side stitches at 4.8, and I realized I was breathing too hard. I changed back to 2-2, and it was fine until the end of mile 6. It felt easier than the 5-mile LT last week.

Then the 20-miler was brutally hard. I finished it without a death march, but I faded toward the end quite a bit. Maybe due to the LT run just two days prior, of maybe because I mowed the lawn before the run, sweating for two hours in the sun. In any case, I was already tired after 12 miles, I wanted to stop after 16, I wend below 8 min/mile on the 17th, I just talked to myself into pushing into the 18th, I was fucking dying in the 19th, and my best sprint for the 20th was 7:43.

Maybe I just need a bad run every training cycle...

Week 9:
M: Rest
T: 6 R + 4 R
W: 15 ML
T: 6 R
F: 13 ML
S: 7 GA w/ 6 x 100 ST
S: 16 L w/ 12 MP

Week 11 went well. The LT run was on the treadmill: 5 miles at 6:18 pace. It was not too easy, and I changed to 1-2 breathing after 3 miles, but it wasn't unreasonably hard. I don't seem to be as fit as I was two years ago at the same point of the training cycle, but I'm mostly OK.

The facts that two years ago I was in better shape, and I barely managed to get under 3 hours on a flat course are not great signs for my 3-hour hopes. I may need to revise the goal.

I had my long run in Floyd Forks Park. 21 miles and it was quite hot, starting the run at 90 F and full sun. Many hills, too. I sill managed a 7:51/mile average (Strava, so water stops excluded). My shoes were totally wet by halfway, and I was quite tired at the end, but I still ran a strong last mile.

Week 10:

M: Rest
T: 6 + 4 R
W: 14 ML
T: 5 R
F: 11 w/ 6T
S: 6 R
S: 20 L

Total: 66 miles.

Week 12 finished with success. Happy to report that the 15-miler on Sunday felt kind of easy and the 55-mile week did feel like recovery - though remember that I had a "cheater" 51-mile week before this, which was supposed to be 63 miles.

And now for something completely different:

Week 11:

M: Rest
T: 10 mi w/ 5 @ T pace
W: 14 ML
T: 5 R
F: 11 ML
S: 7 GA w/ 10 x 100 ST
S: 21 L

Total: 68 miles.

Recovery week:

M: Rest
T: 8 GA w/ 10 x 100 strides
W: 12 ML
T: 5 R
F: 10 GA
S: 5 R
S: 15 L

Total: 55 miles.

It feels cheating that my last week was lower in mileage due to a skipped run, but it did contain some hard quality runs. Hope for the best. Try not to skip any more runs.

A decent week is finished today. On Tuesday, I did my LT run on the treadmill, and it went well. This was 9 miles with 5 at LT pace, which I set to 9.5 mph (6:18/mile). I changed to 2-1 breathing somewhere in mile 3 of the LT portion, and I struggled a bit in mile 5, but I never lost rhythmic breathing, and never went into the pain cave. A good threshold training run.

Then on Friday, I had to skip my medium long run of 12 miles, because I drove all night the night before, and I was too tired. A good decision in light of the circumstances, but it is still not good for training. That also killed my weekly mileage. Instead of 63, I finished with 51 miles. I know that even Pfitzinger says not to sweat a single skipped run, but it feels wrong...

I finished the week with an 18-mile long run, where the last 10 miles were done at marathon pace. Sounds impossible, but I did it with relative ease. It was raining the whole time, so my shoes and socks got soaked, and I had to carry the increased weight on my legs, but it was cool, so I didn't need to drink too much (I consumed a 1/2 liter of fluid), and I didn't overheat. I ended up averaging 6:45/mile for the last 10 miles.

After another real life interference, I skipped a Sunday training and used the opportunity to push myself back to Monday-Sunday schedule. It's ironic that the skipped run is a long run, but it won't show decreased mileage on Strava, because I already "paid" for this in week 1. So here is the new schedule.

Week 13: 07/31
Week 12: 08/07
Week 11: 08/14
Week 10: 08/21
Week 9: 08/28
Week 8: 09/04
Week 7: 09/11
Week 6: 09/18
Week 5: 09/25
Week 4: 10/02
Week 3: 10/09
Week 2: 10/16
Week 1: 10/23
Race week: 10/30

Otherwise things are going well. Last week was 62 miles with no quality other than long runs: 14, 11, and 18 miles. (I didn't remember Pfitz being this light on fast workouts.) They all went really well. The 14-miler was brutal, because it was done in 90 degrees, but weather cooled a bit for the second half of the week, so I managed a good 11 and a good 18. I would have called the 18 "very good", but I had some GI issues and I had stop stop for a bathroom break at mile 8.

The moment of truth is coming today: 9 miles with a 5-mile threshold part. I may need to run it on the treadmill though. Even though it's not super hot, it will be close to 90 in the early afternoon and I have firefighter training in the evening. I haven't decided to go for sure, but I want to, and it that case, I will just take the tempo run to the gym.

Today I had my first real workout of the marathon training plan. I mean that 16 mile run with 8 miles at marathon pace was hard enough, but I think of that more like a difficult a long run.

So this was 9 miles with 4 miles at threshold pace. I had to do it on the treadmill, because it was impossibly hot outside (right now, at 22:18, it is still 90 degrees, feels like 103). It went fine: I ran the fast part at 9.5 mph, which is 6:19 pace. It felt like it was spot on my threshold pace. I did 1-2 breathing all the way, and oxygen never was a problem. My legs were not entirely recovered, but they held up well enough to finish the run.

Unfortunately it looks like it may take a while before I'll be able to test my strength outdoors. But at least the treadmill runs indicate that I'm at or around VDOT 55, which is a good place to be at in July. Of course a million things can go wrong, but for now I'm good.

Week schedule for marathon training for easy reference. To make Tuesday a rest day, I'm following a Tuesday to Monday schedule, so each week starts on a Tuesday. This makes me 1 day late, which will have to be cut out somewhere later. (I wrote somewhere two days, not realizing that the race is actually on a Sunday.)

Week 17: 07/4
Week 16: 07/11
Week 15: 07/18
Week 14: 07/25
Week 13: 08/01
Week 12: 08/08
Week 11: 08/15Week 10: 08/22
Week 9: 08/29
Week 8: 09/05
Week 7: 09/12
Week 6: 09/19Week 5: 09/26
Week 4: 10/03
Week 3: 10/10
Week 2: 10/17
Week 1: 10/24
Race week: 10/31

Temperature: 101 F. Feels like 124. No tempo run outdoors today. Treadmill it is.

Every year I must have one of those long runs when I completely run out of gas, unable, or almost unable to finish. Pfitzinger's 18/70 plan has a combination of a 11 miler followed by a 13 miler midweek for the third week of training. Add the fact that we are having a heat wave, and that I only had time to run the 11-miler in the evening and the 13-miler in the morning, it may have been predictable that this would be killer hard.

So I ran the 11 yesterday at 6pm, still over 90 degrees. I ran the 13 this morning starting at 8am: 75 degrees at 8am, and 85 at 9:45, when I finished; super humid all the way. Mile 12 was absolutely brutal; I hardly could convince myself not to stop. I summoned all my fighting spirit for mile 13 to run 7:52.

What kind of training plan is this anyway?! It's shifted by one day for me, but here: 16 miles w/ 8 @ MP, rest, 11 miles, 13 miles. This is my week so far. All my runs are colored dark green on Strava (long run).

After the 5K I had slower week, mostly because I was taking my CPAT test, and I didn't want any risk of failing it. The embarrassment would have been enormous. I started Pfitzinger's 18/70 plan after a few days of break from running. Right now I'm two days behind, because I run the schedule on a Tuesday to Monday cycle, and the target race is on Saturday as opposed to Sunday.

However, I have another option. There will be a marathon in Louisville on November 12, Sunday. If I run that, I'm 6 days ahead of schedule. Which is great if there is a problem that makes me miss important workouts, but it's a problem if I peak too soon. I'll have to make a decision in about a month, but I do strongly lean toward running Louisville. It's a smaller race, much closer to home. It has some nasty hills, but Bowling Green has that, too. And I'm rather familiar with course, because it is entirely in The Parklands, which is one of my favorite training places.

Here is the plan for next week.

M: MP, 16 mi w/ 8 mi @ marathon race pace (oh my!)
T: Rest
W: MLR, 11 mi
T: MLR, 13 mi
F: R, 5 mi
S: LT, 9 mi w/ 4 mi @ threshold pace
S: R, 5 mi

Using 55 VDOT, threshold pace is 6:20, marathon race pace is 6:43. If that's too hard, I'll ease back as necessary, but would be nice to run at least 6:26 pace for threshold and 6:49 for marathon paced, as that is VDOT 54. If I don't have at least 54 VDOT, it is a long shot to run under 3 hours on a hilly course in the fall.

White Mills 5K Race Report

Goal: 19:00. No dream goal. Minimum goal: 20:00.

This was my last 5K before the start of my systematic marathon training. I mostly just wanted to have a race experience; no specific goal, maybe winning something. I knew it would be hot and humid, as most July 4th races are in Kentucky, but hey, it is equally hard for everyone.

It turned out to be a very small race. About one hour of driving from home, in the middle of the beautiful and fertile rural Kentucky. I did a nice and relaxed warmup (though I didn't feel great), and lined up right behind the start line. I don't think I was excited enough: my mind was not really in the game. I started to think about my excuses before the start!

The race was an out and back course. A bit hilly, starting with a steep downhill for probably less than a quarter of a mile, and a wooden bridge crossing. Then a modest uphill for the rest of the first mile. Rolling hills in the second mile, followed by mostly downhill for the third. And of course, the steep uphill finish.

The weather was less than ideal. Temperature in low 70s, but some sunny areas, and nearly 100% humidity. Rain probably would have been easier, but it wasn't going to happen.

At exactly 8am, we were off. I was careful on the downhill (a fall can ruin your entire race), and then I started to run an effort that didn't seem very hard. One person passed me at 0.25 mile. I mention this, because after this, my position remained constant, and in fact I was running fairly closely behind a 16-year old guy for the whole race with nobody following me in sight.

Mile 1: 6:07

This was right on pace for 19 minutes, and since this was largely uphill (or so I thought, forgetting about the first steep downhill), and it didn't feel very hard, it made me optimistic about the sub-19 prospects.

After the climb we entered the rolling hill territory. I think it was more sunny here, and I didn't feel like I was slowing down, but I did command myself to run conservatively. I almost passed the 16-year old, but he started to run faster, so I decided to just follow him. In all honesty, this was a pretty flat mile, but somehow I just felt now that first mile sucked the energy out of me.

Mile 2: 6:27

Well, this was unexpected... Not even 20-minute pace! But I wasn't sure what to do. I was hurting like I was supposed to---and I knew not to kill myself, because I would have to run up that last steep hill. I tried to power up harder on the hills (which I just noticed---previously I thought this mile would be all downhill), and coast on the downhills.

Mile 3: 6:34

By this time, I basically gave up. Just end this embarrassing experience quickly! My only goal remained to finish this race under 20 minutes. I somehow summoned up enough power to run the last uphill at a sub-7-minute pace.

Last 0.1: 41 seconds
Time: 19:49

This was good enough for 7th overall and 2nd in age group (35-44). The organizer did manage the mess up the results again(!), and announced a wrong age-group winner. But I actually talked to the guy before and after the start and we both knew that I beat him, so he was nice enough to tell the organizers that he did not win the age group. Then they gave me the medal! But in fact, now that I see the results posted, it seems like I didn't win either: somebody ran 19:29. Edit: The organizers just emailed me that something may still be wrong with the results, and they are working on the correction.

In any case, this was a badly paced, badly run race. I don't know what else to conclude. The time is dismal, but it may not be that informative. It may also be the sign that I'm getting older, and my glory days are behind me.

I will go on with the marathon training now. If I can do 3 hours in Bowling Green, then all is well. If not, then I better find some really good excuse, or I will have to admit that my glory days are really over, and I'm just an old fart now.

I finished my second week of Phase IV (OK, one short evening run left), and it went quite well. I did a recovery run on the treadmill due to heavy rain, but my two workouts were outside and I nailed them. My VDOT is pretty solid 54 now.

I will race a 5K on July 1, next Saturday, so I'll change my training a bit to reflect that.

M: 75 min E (could be the total of 2 runs)
T: 2.5 m E + 3 x 1 m T w/ 2 min rests + 2.5 m E
W: 75 min E (could be the total of 2 runs)
T: 30-40 min E
F: 30-40 min E or rest
S: 5K
S: 120 min L

I have no idea what to expect from the race. There is no 5K specific peaking here whatsoever; even the mileage will be probably pretty much the same as the weeks before. I will probably be hot and humid.

I only had time for a 40-minute run, instead of a 75-minute run today, so tomorrow, on my rest day, I'll have to do another 35 minutes. I missed a fire by having a bad luck manning the only engine that wasn't pulled tonight from our fire station. Republicans won both special elections tonight.

This was a bad day...

I'm starting my 3 weeks of Phase IV Gold Plan today. Some compromise must be made due to real life schedule, so the four days between Wednesday and Saturday won't be easy. But I had the following constraints: Monday must be easy, because I had a long run on Sunday, Tuesday must be easy due to firefighter training, and Sunday must be easy, because I'll have to start next week with a hard run.

M: 75 min E (1 or 2 runs)
T: Rest
W: 20 min E + 3 x 3 min H w/2 min jg + 8 x 200 R w/200 jg +10 min E
T: 60 min E (1 or 2 runs)
F: 20 min E + 6 x 1000 T w/1 min rests + 6 ST + 20 min E
S: 120 min L
S: 75 min E (preferably 2 runs)

Next week plan:

M: 75 min E
T: 20 min E + 5 x 3 min hard w/2 min jg + 20 min E
W: Rest (more exactly CPAT practice)
T: 1 or 2 E runs of 30-40 min each
F: 20 min E + 6 ST + (8 x 200 R w/200 jg + 5 min E) x 2
S: 60 min E (1 or 2 runs)
S: 120 min L

Outrunning Autism 5K Race Report

June 3, 2017

Goal: 19:00. Dream goal: 18:30. Minimum goal: 20:00.

I haven't raced anything in a long time, and I'm certainly not getting any younger, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Based on my estimated VDOT of 54, Daniels says 18:40, but that assumes perfect training and peaking, so I thought 19:00 may be appropriate. Anyway, I decided to go out by feel, but not faster than 6:00 for the first mile.

The race start was 9:15, and it was large enough to have a packet pickup the day before, but I just honestly forgot about it, and so I had to arrive early enough to factor in the lost time on packet pickup. Additionally, parking was almost a mile from start, so I had to go back and forth after picking up the packet. I arrived before 8:00, and did everything usual: I finished my 2-mile warmup about 15-20 minutes before start. It was already quite hot and I was sweating quite a bit. I don't know if this was a factor.

The race was in full sun, and according to Wunderground, it was 75 degrees at start and 80 at finish time. But I think the asphalt road/concrete path and full sun environment increased the temperature even further. Many people complained about being hot out there. It probably did affect me, but I was acclimated, and a 5K is less than 20 minutes, so I don't think it had too much effect.

The start was a bit hectic, because people lined up incorrectly. I probably should have gone to the front, but there were a few college track runners up there, and I thought I should be more like in the third line. As a consequence, I had to zig-zag around people for the first half mile. I probably should have just taken a few seconds loss there, but I was too aggravated... so I wasted a bunch of energy and some time.

After that I settled into a fast, but sustainable pace (or so I thought). I was trying to run with other people to help me pace. My GPS showed that my start was too fast, but after about 1/2 mile, I was running a pace of just over 6 min/mile.

Mile 1: 6:05

Looks good. The course was very flat, but there were two bridges and an underpass at the halfway point. We ran across the first bridge in mile 1. After the mile marker, we ran through a large field. The sun came down hard, and I started to feel it. We reached an aid station at the halfway point. I should have grabbed a water to pour it over my head, but by the time I thought about it, it was too late. We went through the underpass (this was below a bridge), and when we came back up the other side, the hurt started. "That's normal", I told myself. "Less than 10 minutes left." My pace slowed, but I didn't feel it, and nobody passed me. In fact I passed a few people, including an older lady, who was running by me until now, and who had a great group of spectators: she got a cheer at every aid station from a bunch a younger girls, who looked like students. She slowed a bit just before the second mile marker, so I passed her. (According to the results, she is 47 and she ran 19:37.)

Mile 2: 6:13

That's OK, as long as I can kill the last mile. We ran across the bridge again, full sun, concrete, and I was hurting bad. This is the point when you have to talk yourself into not stopping. I just wish I had a bit more mental energy. There was a 4 km sign when we got back to the big oval lawn that we had to circle, and it demoralized me a bit. My watch was showing something like 15:45, so I knew that my time would be well over 19:00 minutes, and if I fall apart, I might even go outside of 20 minutes. I probably could have pushed a bit more, but I was afraid of a total meltdown. I also knew I was in 10th place, so losing that would have been disappointing, too.

Mile 3: 6:21

Once the finish line was within 300 yards, I knew I could push a bit harder, and I passed one guy in front of me.

Last portion: 49 seconds.

Total time: 19:28, 9th overall.

I actually didn't get an official time for some reason. Unfortunately the race was timed by the worst timing company in Louisville, called Head First Performance. It is not their first screw-up, and if I knew they were timing this, I might not have signed up at all. In any case, I'm totally missing from their finish list. I paid the registration (with late fee), I have my number and timing chip, and I surely crossed the start/finish mat both ways... The organizer lady was nice, and they called me back and announced that a mistake was made and they gave me a 2nd age group award just based on the time I told them. So I guess they did what they could. But I don't show up on the list of finishers and I don't have an official time. My own estimate is based on the guy I beat on the finish line, whose time was 19:28.8. Of course this is chip time, but it also took me a few seconds to cross the start line, so this is my best guess. The AG 2nd place is almost surely correct, because the 1st ran 19:23, and the 3rd (who was also awarded 2nd place by mistake) ran 20:32.

I was disappointed with the poor time, but maybe it's OK. I should run more 5Ks to have a correct picture. This time would indicate a 51-52 VDOT which may be low, but maybe not too low... I only started to do any kind of workout 3 weeks ago. One thing to consider is to scale back my workouts to 53 VDOT, because 54 may be too high after all. I do hope I can get back to 55 eventually, because that seems necessary to run sub-3 hours in the hilly Bowling Green.

I stayed in the park until noon, because I ran a 5-mile lap with Jim Ball, who did an extreme version of this run: after he finished the 5K he went on to run for 24 hours, covering about 100 miles. It was very slow, of course, but it was a fine cooldown. I finished the day with over 10 miles, so I'm not sure how much I want to run today. I'll play it by ear.

I finished my 3rd (and last) Phase I week. Thank god, cause I've hated the 10 x 1/4 mile @ R pace workout.

I'll have 2 weeks of Phase II, but I also want to run a 5K on June 3. So I'm planning next week like this:

M: 60 min E (1 or 2 runs TM)
T: 75 min E
W: 3 miles E + 3 x 1 mile T w/ 2 min rest + 3 miles easy
T: 30 min E + 30 min E
F: Rest
S: 5K race w/2 miles warmup and 3 miles cooldown
S: 120 min long run

I'll try to run easy runs at 7:45-8:15. T pace is 6:26. Theoretically, I should be able to run the 5K in 18:40 (6:00/mile), but we'll see it on race day.

I did my LT workout yesterday on the treadmill. Originally, because it was heavy rain outside, but also, because the controlled environment appealed to me at this time: I wanted to get some solid indicators if I'm able to run steady 20 minutes at sub-6:30 pace, and how it feels. No distraction from weather, hills, traffic.

It went better than expected. After 20 minutes of warmup at 8:00/mile, I switched the TM to 6:27/mile, and I ran 20 minutes that pace. It wasn't too hard. At no time I felt I was over my LT. I certainly could have done it a lot longer.

I guess this is another indication of a 54 VDOT. I'll do my training accordingly. I will probably need at least 55 to run sub-3 hour in Bowling Green, but I have a lot of time.

Second week of Gold Plan finished. The last workout of the week is always this 10 x 400 m (or more exactly 10 x 1/4 mile), which I do on the street, because the open high school track close to our house is being resurfaced. This is physically not that hard, but mentally brutal for me. Every repetition is uncomfortably fast. They are just too long, and there are 10 of them! Like when you think you had enough after 3, but there are 7 left! It always feels good when I finally finish it.

The week ended with 57 miles, even lower than last time, but the quality makes up for it. I just wish I could finally nail the LT workout next week.

My mileage will be down a bit by using Daniels' Gold plan, at least in Phase I. It will be between 55 and 60, but that's fine. It quite a bit harder than doing 60 all easy.

Today I had my third T run in the last two weeks. As expected, it's not getting any faster. Today it was especially hard, because I ran in 87 degrees, mostly uphill, and mostly headwind. Splits were 6:24, 6:43, 6:51, which works out to be 6:40-ish average. Even the pacing is mostly fine, because last mile was the most uphill/headwind, and the first mile was mostly fine pace, except for a jackrabbit start.

Two threshold workouts later I can pretty well determine that my VDOT is slightly under 54. I decided that I'll try to Daniels' Gold Plan until the 18 week training starts. It will be probably quite hard, if not impossible - but hey it won't hurt to try, and maybe I can have some fun after so many weeks of just easy running. Tomorrow I'll have finished the first week of it.

Including this week, I'll have 8 weeks of training before systematic marathon training starts. That means 3 weeks in Phase I, 2 weeks in Phase II, and 3 weeks in Phase IV. Due to the fixed rest days on Tuesdays, This is how the Phase I weeks should look like:

M: 60 min E (1 or 2 runs) + 6 ST
T: Rest
W: 20 min E + 6 ST + 20 min T + 6 ST + 10 min E
T: 60 min E
F: 120 min L
S: 75 min E (1 or 2 runs)
S: 20 min E + 10 x 400 R w/400 jg + 10 min E

T pace is 6:30/mile, R pace is 83 s for 400 m. Strides are light, quick 20 second runs with 60 seconds of rest.

More than a half a year after my last post, nothing that I planned came through. With work and travel, I was training on and off; never stopped, but also never able to do as much as I wanted. I got sick a few times in the winter, too. According to my training log, here are the logged mileages since that last September post.

50, 11, 51, 51, 35, 56, 57, 52, 60, 27, 60, 9, 0, 26, 44, 32, 0, 0, 19, 4, 20, 45, 34, 0, 45, 43, 50, 46, 55, 35, 60, 38, 45, 60, 60.

So I gave up on running the KY Derby, and now I'm looking into a fall marathon. Bowling Green looks nice.

Marathon on 11/5. Training starts on 7/2. Until then, trying to get to 60 MPW, 15 mile long runs, and some quality to have a VDOT at 55.

Training is fine so far: I kept up the mileage at 45/week for two weeks now, almost three. I tried a workout this week: I wanted 8 x 400 at Daniels' R pace, because I thought it might be nice to train according to his blue plan, but it proved to be way to ambitious, and I ended up doing 4 x 400. It also may be the case that my v-dot is not nearly 55, so I might have run them too fast. In any case, I don't think I had enough base building anyway, so I basically gave up on the blue plan.

Also, it is all but decided that my older daughter, who is almost 13, and runs cross country, and I, will run a 5K in late fall. So it would be nice to train specifically for that. If I fit my plan before that marathon plan starts, then I'll have 19 weeks for this (including the two 45 mile weeks I've done), and it will be partitioned as follows (using Daniels' tables on season training):

Phase I: 08/15-09/11
Phase II: 09/12-10/16
Phase III: 10/17-11/27
Phase IV: 11/28-12/25

There are many small 5Ks late November, early December, so no problem on finding races. I just hope it won't be too cold.

The only thing to figure out is how to increase the weekly mileage while adding quantity without hurting myself.

Only a few days after my last post, we went to vacation to Yellowstone lots of hiking, but no running. It's actually a bit scary to do that in bear country, but also, I didn't want to take time away from family activities.

We got home, and I jumped back into running: for about two days, when I got sick with the flu. Another week of no running. I started slowly back on August 11. Now I'm back full swing: completing 45 miles this week.

Since it seems somewhat unlikely that I'll run Boston next year (it all depends if my friend can qualify), I'll assume I'll run the KY Derby Marathon. If I can do that in 3 hours, it's better than the result in Indy last year.

So here is the plan.

KY Derby: 04/29 (Saturday)
18-week program starts: 12/25 (Sunday)
08/21: Exactly 18 weeks before plan start.

I want to be able to run 60 miles a week, 15 miles long runs, and some quality workouts for the weeks before the training program. Shouldn't be hard...

This must one of longest break in the blog I've ever had. No, I have not given up running. But my mileage decreased, and I spent my energy elsewhere. Firefighting, home renovation, etc. I got back to regular training in the spring once: I ran 35 miles/week for about month in February, but then our bathroom projects came about, and I was just too exhausted physically to do serious training.

If you know me, you probably realize that I'm not claiming any return to running until I'm fairly sure that I keep to it. Well, it's been a month now that I've been doing 40 miles of easy running per week. I just got to the point that it's finally getting easier, so I'll probably bump it up to 45 next week. Do that for month, then 50/week for a month, and then maybe 55 or 60 to get to a point when I'll have a chance for 18/70 or 12/70 cycle for either Boston, or Kentucky Derby Marathon. Depending if my friend qualified.

Monumental Marathon Race Report

Goal: 2:59:59. Secondary goal: BQ (3:15, but probably need around 3:10)

I drove to Indianapolis from Louisville in the morning, but I still only had to get up at 4:00 AM, which would have been probably the case even for an in town race. The two hour drive before the race is not fun, but it's totally doable.

Out of curiosity I measured myself in the morning, and I was 148 lbs. Somehow I gained 4 lbs during taper! I don't how much it counts, but I did have an extra 5 lbs on me for this race. I'm sure it wasn't just water and glycogen, because I even noticed the extra fat on my body.

I had my usual breakfast, coffee, Gatorade, packed my gear, and I was off for the drive. First mistake: I left my gloves at home. No big deal.

I arrived to my prepaid parking spot at 7:00 (start was at 8:00), and after the walk to the start area, bathroom, gear check, and a 5 minute warmup, I comfortably made it to my corral 10-15 minutes before start. I was tempted to do another bathroom stop, but it was too late: I was in the corral, and the bathroom lines were long. This caused a minor problem during the race: I was reluctant to drink much, and I had small urge to pee through the whole race. I think I was overthinking hydration. Fluids were plentiful on the course, and stations were not crowded at all (not at my pace anyway).

I also started with carrying a small bottle of Gatorade. Totally unnecessary. Nevertheless, I had it until mile 5.

After the usual ceremonies, the race started on time. It only took me about 5 seconds to cross the start line from Corral A. I started my watch to show chip time.

Right after the start (mile 0.36) we ran though a tunnel, and the GPS lost signal there. I know that, because it showed 7:30 average pace. The first two miles were in downtown, among tall buildings, and at least one more long tunnel, so my GPS paces are a bit unreliable. Good thing I had my pace chart.

Mile 1, 7:07 (this is certainly wrong)
Mile 2, 6:35
Mile 3, 6:45

I settled into a 6:45-ish pace. It felt fairly comfortable. I kept telling myself: the first 10 miles must feel easy. We had a bit of wind, so I tried to position myself with larger groups of runners, and that made me vary my pace a little.

Mile 4, 6:47
Mile 5, 6:39

The race clock at mile 4 was wrong (by minutes!) so I got a bit confused, and pulled out my pace chart. I'm pretty sure I put it back to my shorts, but whatever way it happened, at mile 5, I noticed that I didn't have it. That was a bit of a blow. My GPS is inaccurate and my pace chart is lost. I'll have to do mental calculations all through the race.

We ran by many Indianapolis landmarks, but I didn't pay any attention to those. On the other hand, the downtown cheering squads were awesome!

After running under I-65, we left downtown, and ran in some nice residential neighborhood to the north. Then some parks, more residential areas, mostly strait roads, and almost totally flat.

Mile 6, 6:37
Mile 7, 6:43

Right after mile 7, the half marathon broke off. The loudspeaker gave us some entertainment: "Half marathon left, full marathon right. If you take the wrong path, you will be shot!"

Mile 8, 6:47
Mile 9, 6:45

Suburban neighborhoods, some nice parks, lots of trees. I ran relaxed with a small group, which was dynamically changing. Tried to take Gatorade at every aid station where they had it. I had some bonking issues on long training runs, so I wanted to avoid that at all cost.

Mile 10, 6:49
Mile 11, 6:49

I knew that I was a bit ahead of pace, and that made me worried, so I just kept repeating it: it should feel easy.

Mile 12, 6:40
Mile 13, 6:38

There was a gate and a clock at the halfway point. The clock read about 1:28:30. I told myself that I only need a 1:30 half marathon now to finish under 3 hours. It didn't sound reassuring... running didn't feel easy any more. I had to push a bit to keep the pace. I started to tell myself: it's OK to lose a minute by mile 20: I would still be 30 seconds ahead. I kept focusing on conserving energy.

Mile 14, 6:49
Mile 15, 6:53

We turned south, and the hills started. I think the hardest feature of this otherwise easy course that the only hills come between miles 15 and 19. They are not high enough to slow you down much, but they kind of sap your energy.

Mile 16, 6:37
Mile 17, 7:01
Mile 18, 6:44

Now I felt really tired. My legs hurt. Even just to pick up drinks from aid stations felt hard. I did some quick computations, and I realized that I only need to run 7 minutes miles at this point to get in within 3 hours. However, now I wasn't sure I could do even just that.

Mile 19, 6:51
Mile 20, 6:51

Only 10K left, and I had more than 44 minutes. I switched to 2-1 breathing, and I didn't hold back anything any more. We ran a very nice section by a river. I was already improving my place through the race, but here I really started to pass people. Some of them were really slow.

Mile 21, 6:55
Mile 22, 6:57

I felt like I was pushing very hard, and I was passing people, but I was very disappointed to see that I was only running a 7-minute pace. I also realized that another 30 minutes of suffering is left. "I can't do this for another 30 minutes!" I told myself. "Just shut up and keep going," responded my other voice.

Mile 23, 6:52

At every mile marker, I computed how fast I had to go, and how much was left. Every piece of my body started to hurt. I drank some water at an aid station, which slowed me down a bit, and it was very hard to pick up the pace again. "No more drinking," I said to myself. "Just finish it."

Mile 24, 7:01

We were back in downtown, and reunited with the half marathoners, though they were kept in a separate lane. Of course these were 3+ hour half marathoners, so they were mostly walking. Every piece of my body was hurting, and I wanted nothing more than just stop running. It felt as bad, or worse than the last mile of a 5K, but I still had to do it for another 15 minutes! "I'll just finish this race, and then I'll never run again," I thought.

Mile 25, 7:02

OK, now I can run the remaining at 8-minute pace. Even that seemed hard. I ran next to a small woman, and we kept pacing each other. She offered some words of encouragements, and all I said "I'm dying." If she happens to read it, I'm sorry for being so pessimistic and sorry for not being able to offer any encouragements... I think her pacing and talking help meant an extra 10-15 seconds for me. Thank you!

Mile 26, 7:02

I knew I had it. The finish line magic still worked amazingly: once I saw where it was, I could speed up again. Unbelievable, but I ran the last portion at 6:14 pace.

Last 0.3 mile, 1:50

Total time, 2:59:03. Overall 106/3999. Age group: 15/398.

I told the volunteer who gave me the medal that this was the hardest race I've ever done. I hung around a bit, had some food (they had chili!), and rested a bit in the sun. I chatted with some other runners. After quite a bit of time, I felt enough strength in me to start to walk to my car (0.7 mile). It was interesting to see the marathon runners finishing with 3:50-ish times. That was me 6 years ago! Back then, I could not have imagined how it would be possible to run a 3 hour marathon. I smiled...

This is my last blog post before the big race. Two weeks taper went fine, but somehow with the decreased mileage, my legs started to hurt everywhere, and they never really felt rested. I hope this is just a side effect of actual musculoskeletal recovery. We will see tomorrow.

After the 17-miler I was blogging about, I only had one workout: 3 x 1600 m on windy day, in 5:45, 5:50, 5:52 (800 m recoveries). It was hard, and the last repetition ended in the paincave. I had to throw down a 1:23 last lap even for this 5:52 interval. My goal was 5:48, as it was supposed to be current 5K pace. After that workout, only one 13-miler other than all easy runs.

I finished this week with a 17-miler after the race yesterday. My legs were a bit heavy, but cardio-wise it felt very easy. This is the end of the first taper week, which is still 56 miles and with a race; from next week on taper is in full effect.

Furthermore, I'll have to skip a day, because the goal race one day early. I kept schedule until now so that I can run some tune-up races (only one, as it turned out), and it fit better with real life. But now I have to switch back. So I'm skipping Tuesday's GA run. That will give me effectively two rest days next week: Monday and Sunday, and only 36 miles. It's been a long time that I had such little running in a given week.

This cycle has been probably the closest to perfect that I've ever done. My winter 5K/10K was close, until I had that stupid knee injury from the fall. But even in that one I skipped a few days around new years day, and maybe some others. This time, I think I skipped only two runs in the whole cycle (one was actually a tune-up race, which is important, but still).

I will also risk it that despite the dismal 10K performance yesterday, I am in the best shape of my life. An evidence for that is that In 2013, before my half marathon PR I had a 5x1200 workout similar to the one that I had a week and a half ago. My paces were slower and the run felt harder back then.

My endurance also seems to be there. When one can run 17 miles at 7:33 pace after a 10K race and it feels pretty easy, that is a good sign.

Wellbrooke Fall Classic 10K Race Report

Goal: 6:00-6:15 pace, depending feel and racing situation. Dream goal: PR (37:52).

This was a tune-up race for the marathon two weeks from today, but I originally I was hoping that maybe I can threaten my PR. However, it was warm (65-67 F) this morning with strong winds and very high humidity, so I knew a PR (on marathon training with no taper) was unlikely.

This turned out to be an extremely small race, which is not what I thought based on the website. The 10K had only 25 participants altogether. Another reason not to hope for a great time. But of course it had the advantage that a bathroom was available 5 minutes before the start.

The organization was excellent, and the only thing I didn't like about the race was that every participants received a medal. A total waste of money and natural resources. The course ran entirely on bike paths in a nice park; there was a 5K and a 10K, and the 10K ran two laps on the 5K course. Unfortunately as a consequence, we had curvy roads and many turns, which makes my GPS notoriously inaccurate (showing short). So I'll give some adjusted paces for each GPS mile, which, in reality, were probably a bit more than a mile each.

We started right on time with the firing of a cool cannon! We started on a slight downhill and strong tailwind. I started to get worried, because my pace dipped below 6 minutes/mile. Also, I quickly left the other runners behind, and I found myself leading alone by a big margin.

Mile 1: 6:01 (adjusted: 5:53)

After mile 1, I decided to slow my pace to LT effort. Nobody was around, and I wasn't going to push my body into the paincave for nothing. Also, even if victory comes easy, running is sport fought primarily for position. So if I'm winning, it is not smart to risk it.

Mile 2: 6:20 (6:12)

By this time, I was running a time trial. I couldn't see the second place runner any more when I glanced back. A (gas operated) golf cart was leading me ahead.

Mile 3: 6:14 (6:06)

I arrived to the finish, circled it, as instructed, and headed back to the course. The headwind was occasionally quite brutal.

Mile 4: 6:15 (6:07)

This was the back part of the course, and the volunteers left after the last 5K walker passed them. The golf cart didn't set out to the second lap, so I was totally, entirely alone. I could cut the course, take a nap, whatever I wanted. It was no different than a crappy morning LT run.

Mile 5: 6:20 (adj: 6:12)

I caught up with the back of the pack 5K walkers, so I had to dodge some of them. At the end of this mile, I turned into a headwind so strong that it stopped me in my track. The course was also a bit uphill here.

Mile 6: 6:26 (6:18)

I turned to the finish straight, and sprinted down to the finish line. I did a courtesy clinch, but I felt more like "meh..".

Final time: 38:12. First overall out of 25.

My 5K split was 18:52, so it seems like I faded quite a bit. Not so surprising though given the lack of  competition, and the worsening weather. The 5K winner was a 13 year old girl, who ran 21:16 (that's a pretty good time for her age and gender). I should be more careful selecting races. It was too much driving, too much money, and I really could have just run an LT run. Well, at least I got a trophy.

On the other hand, with all the issues, it's only 20 seconds off of my PR. Maybe I should try to spend another winter on 5K/10K preparation?

Training is finished for the week, except for a 10K tune-up race tomorrow. The weather won't be ideal: 65 temp/ 60 dp, 50% of rain. Race plan: go out at 6:00 to 6:15 pace depending on feeling, and race situation. I.e. I don't want to be alone, especially not in the lead (in case it's a very small race -  I have no idea), but if the lead pack is slower than 6:15, then I'll go. On the other hand, a sub-6 mile in the race would almost certainly result in an epic blow-up.

My PR pace is 6:06, and a PR would certainly be nice, and maybe I have the fitness for that, but I'm not peaking for this race, neither the weather will cooperate, so it seems unlikely.

Essentially perfect week finished today with my last 20-mile run. It didn't feel too hard. I managed to run the last few miles faster, accelerating close to marathon race pace for the last mile.

Now it's taper time. The hay is in the barn, as they say it.

The next workout was today: 5 x 1200 m at 5K pace. I determined that considering a 5:50 5K pace, I would have to run 1200's in 4:21. At then end my splits were 4:23, 4:15, 4:19, 4:19, 4:16 (rounded) for an average of 4:18.33. All this without ever feeling oxygen debt or pain.

As for discomfort, and a bit of burnout: yes. When I started my last interval, at around 300 m into the fast run (so 900 m left), I thought: "This is not fun. In fact I'm fed up. I really want to quit now." But of course I didn't.

So it does look like I'm in pretty good shape. I'm wondering if I could break my shorter distance PRs. Also, it is very temping to attempt ton go out faster than 3-hour pace. (Which I will not.)

Training update.

Last week was finished with 61 miles; sounds low, but it was as planned with plenty of hard workouts. All went fine.

Tuesday I did 5x600 at 5K pace, and I nailed it. (5K pace at this point is 5:50/mile.) As it was fall break, I finally managed to do this outside (on the Waggener High School track, which is an asphalt quarter mile track).

On Saturday, I visited the track again for an LT session: 6 miles at 6:11/mile. This is quite a bit faster than my supposed LT pace (6:20/mile), but the training plan wanted me to run a race, so I assumed it was fine to go a bit faster. I think one of the points here to run a race is that approaching the end of the training cycle, your ideal training paces may have changed, and the race gives you the option of run faster. Indeed, after the initial 6:11 mile, I settled into a 6:13-6:14 pace, and it subjectively felt it was my current lactate threshold. I was able to run a 6:01 closing mile and it still wasn't race effort.

Sunday morning I managed a decent 17-mile run, roughly 16 hours after my LT run, and I felt pretty strong, in fact I felt stronger later into the run, and I got quicker, too. Then I got home, and painted rooms all day. Not bad for an old man. :)

Training update:

Week of September 21 went OK, but due to the weekend conference I had to skip the all-important tune-up race on Saturday. I didn't much try to make it up: all I did was a strong (marathon-paced) effort for he last 10 miles of the 18-mile long run in the weekend. I finished the week with 56 miles.

Then the week of September 28 was better. Even though I was forced to do the Tuesday intervals on the treadmill, I feel it was a decent workout with 6 x 1000 meters at 5K pace. I also ran a decent long run of 18 miles with the last 14 at marathon pace. In fact it was even a little faster: averaged 6:41/mile. I finished the week with 70 miles.

Two more hard weeks left before taper. I'm feeling good, I am where I should be. The training cycle wasn't perfect, but it never is, and so far this one was as close to perfect as training cycles have ever been.

The 70-mile week is successfully finished! It had a 12-mile run with a 7-mile LT portion on Friday, and a 22-miler on Sunday. Done both. Unfortunately the LT run was on the treadmill, so it's less valuable, but I ran 6:18 pace (as opposed to 6:20), and it was just too hot outside. Then, today, 22 miles at 7:43 pace at ~75 F, sunny. Both were hard, but not unreasonably so. My hip was bothering me at the end of the long run. I hope it will hold up for my race.

Some "records" this week: largest week ever (a tie, I think); second longest run ever (after my marathon); longest LT run ever, strongest LT run ever, PR on 20 miles, 21 miles, 22 miles. In fact since I finished the 22 miles in 2:50, I could walk the last 4.2 of a marathon and still PR! I shouldn't get complacent though: at 22 miles I was ready to stop.

Recovery week goes well so far, though I had too little sleep almost every night, except for the last one. I did my first VO2 max workout, 6 x half-mile with quarter-mile recoveries, with splits of 2:52, 2:56, 2:53, 2:56, 2:55. This was 5K pace, quite well executed. GA run with strides today dipped under 7:30/mile on average.

I changed to weeks starting on Monday by inserting an extra rest day on Labor Day after Sunday. I wanted to change due to real life schedules, and this thing worked well, because we had a long bike ride with the family on Monday, and this is recovery week anyway. I will have to tweak the last week or two to accommodate for the race that is one day early now.

Here is how the rest of training cycle looks like.
Week -7: 9/14 (70 miles)
Week -6: 9/21 (65-69 miles, race on 9/26)

Week -5: 9/28 (70 miles)

Week -4: 10/5 (60-64 miles, race on 10/10)

Week -3: 10/12 (68 miles)

Week -2: 10/19 (55-57 miles, race 10/24)

Week -1: 10/26 (43 miles)

Race week: 11/2 (28 miles)

The races won't necessarily happen, especially the one on 9/26, because I'll be travelling. No races nearby anyway. So that will probably be a Saturday morning time trial in Ohio. On 10/10 there is an ideal 10K in Louisville (Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 10K), so that is a likely option. On 10/25 I'll be probably running the Urban Bourbon half marathon (racing the last 10K only), so no race on 10/24 in that case.

Happy to report that I've had decent training recently: no skipped or blown runs, despite some really awfully hot weather and bad air quality. I was forced on a treadmill 3 times this week (must be a record for me). I had one decent run outside, which was my 13 miler, for which I set out at 9:30pm (shirtless, too).

My Saturday run (4 easy + 12 marathon paced on TM) was my first halfway decent marathon paced run, though I still had to interrupt it 3 times: twice for water, and once to tie my shoe. Also, I had a bathroom break (5 minutes or so) between the 4 easy at the beginning and the GMP portion. But it is still a lot better than any other recent GMP run of mine. GMP pace was set to 9 mph on the treadmill which is 6:40/mile, and in fact I set the last mile to 9.1 (6:36/mile).

All in all, I finished the week with 67 miles and this is after 68, 65 mile weeks, as planned. Probably the most miles I've ever run in three weeks. I hope it will pay off on race day.

I'm happy to report that I aced the 6-mile tempo today. Running outside, temps around 76 at the beginning, around 70 by the end (nice and cool), I ran 3 easy + 6 LT + 2 easy. LT splits were 6:09, 6:15, 6:21, 6:18, 6:25, 6:16. This is a 6:17 average for 6 miles! The goal was 6:20, but even this faster pace didn't feel too hard. After mile 4 I started to get some side stitches, so I eased the pace a bit and tried to relax. That was the 6:25 mile. I felt strong again for the last mile, and I'm positive I could have done at least one or two more.

I'm pretty sure this was my best tempo ever. I will look back onto this for years to come, being jealous of my former shape! :)

One more note on the 21-mile long run yesterday. Since I had some troubles with some of the longer runs lately (see failed 14-miler and 18-miler with marathon paced portion), I decided to take particular care of hydration. I took 5 bottles of Gatorade with me, 4 of them are 8 oz (but I overfill them to 9), and the last one is a bit larger, probably about 10 oz. I knew I would have access to a water fountain at mile 7.5 and then again at 14.5.

I had to drink the 10 oz bottle first, because it refused to stay in my belt. For the same reason, I didn't want to refill that one. I haven't finished a single 8 oz bottle by the time I ran by fountain for the first time, but by the second time, I had two empty 8 oz bottles, and I refilled both with water. By the time I got home, I was completely out of fluid. I followed no hydration plan; I just drank to thirst, and I allowed my cravings to dictate when to take water and when to take Gatorade. I downed the last sip of fluid 2.5 miles from home.

The summary is that I drank ~46 oz = 1.36 L of Gatorade, and 18 oz = 0.53 L of water. And it wasn't even that hot. That suggests that I may need a liter of fluid per 10 miles on some of my long runs. That is quite a bit more than I brought with me on my failed runs. I tried to complete my 14-miler on 0.8 L water, and I think for the 18-miler I had 1.36 L of water. Either the amount, or the sugar or salt, or multiple factors of these was insufficient.

It's a bit embarrassing that I still need to learn the need for proper hydration after over 6 years as a runner, but it is just so counterintuitive that I can run 13-14 miles on no fluid in the winter, and I need a water tower for the same distance in the summer.

I finished this monster of a week (68 miles) with a 21-mile long run. Pace was fine, and I felt OK. Note that this has been my second longest run ever; for my first marathon cycle I only completed 20-mile long runs (and one out of the two ended with a death march). I also ran those at 9 min/mile, and the marathon was just a bit faster than that. This time I managed 7:47/mile (or 7:45 if we count moving time only). So all is fine.

I'm starting some doubles next week. Then toward the end of the week, a 6-mile tempo on Thursday, and a 20-mile long run on Saturday. The real scary one is in two weeks: 16 miles with 12 at marathon pace...

The cutback week was more of a cutback than intended. Saturday was supposed to be a 15-mile run, but I had my firefighter test out on that morning from 9 am to 2 pm. It was so exhausting that I decided to skip the run altogether. So I finished the week with 40 miles.

Some redemption of all the setbacks happened today. On a 10-mile run, I executed a 5-mile LT portion with mile splits 6:14, 6:19, 6:27, 6:27, 6:13, a 6:20 average. Spot on. But this time, it was not treadmill: it was road, 81 F with some sunny portions, traffic, and some small amount of elevation change. It does seem like I have the fitness, I just lack the endurance.

Last week was a disaster. After my first long run fiasco on Tuesday, I had a much worse. It was the Saturday long run. It was supposed to be 8 miles easy + 10 miles at marathon pace. Intimidating, yes. But I was OK after the 8 miles, and I set out at the normal 6:40-6:50 pace. After not quite 3 miles at that pace, I got very bad side stitches, and the run was effectively over. A 7-mile death march. I tried to speed up maybe once or twice after that, but it was hopeless. I had to stop or slow to a walk many times in the last 3 miles and my side stitches only changed between "quite painful" and "extremely painful".

I haven't experienced anything like this for years. Dehydration? I did lose 4-5 pounds, which is 3-4% of my body weight, but that's not extreme, I'm sure it happened to me before. I did not feel thirsty when the pain came. (Gebrselassie lost 9.8% of his body weight during his marathon World record). It wasn't even that hot (80-85F). On top of everything, I felt just fine minutes (or actually seconds) before I blew up.

Both Pfitzinger and Daniels say that marathon paced runs are mostly of psychological benefit: practising your marathon pace and increasing your confidence. It doesn't seem to work for me...

No chance for redemption this week. It is a recovery week with no real workouts or even long runs. Longest is 15 miles.

A bad day followed a good day on Tuesday. I got dehydrated on my 14-miler and I gave up after 13. I was so done, I had to walk home, even though I was only 0.1 mile from home. I couldn't go another step. This is despite having 3 bottles of water with me that I drank in regular intervals. It was just too hot, I guess.

Today was the first time that I ran a continuous tempo run (as opposed to intervals) since (I think) last fall. Though this was actually treadmill. Still, managed 6:18 pace for 5 miles. The most incredible thing was that it felt fairly easy! Never in the pain cave, and what's more, stayed with a 2-2 breathing pattern all the way.

These are good quality treadmills, so hopefully they are correctly calibrated. I couldn't do this workout outside, because it was over 90 degrees, and at this time of the year in this part of the country it's very hot until very late (it is still 82 F as of this writing).

If this is correct, this must be the best tempo I've ever run by far. The fastest 5-mile tempo I've found in my blog is 2013 Spring, and it was at 6:25/mile. Last fall (outside, in warm weather) I ran tempos at 6:30/mile on a good day, and I still managed a sub-1:25 hilly half marathon.

I'm ambivalent about running the Urban Bourbon Half Marathon all out two weeks before my marathon. My team counts on me, even if I just run a slow-7 fast-10K combination (say, in 1:35), as per my training plan. But it feels wrong not to give 100%.

I finished the fourth week of training with only one missed 5-mile recovery run: I got a stomach virus that made that day a misery, and even on the following day's 11-miler I had a few issues (stomach cramps). The highlight of the week was the 18-mile long run today at 7:47. I got mildly dehydrated and quite exhausted. I thought I was done at mile 15, but managed to rally and put in a strong last mile (7:13). I'm happy I have a rest day tomorrow.

The paper on the clinical study that I participated in over the winter is being written, and got a sneak peek into it (read most of the thesis written about the study). I was in the placebo group. No surprise I felt zero effect of the supplement. But even people who took the real supplement showed no improvement (neither worsening) of running performance or quality of life.

Mostly successful LT run today. I felt like crap when I was heading out in the evening at around 6:00pm; it was still 83 F and sunny, and my legs felt heavy. I ran the warmup miles at around 8 min/mile, and they didn't feel super easy. Despite all of this, I managed 6:15, 6:21, 6:27, 6:18 mile splits. I was tired, but not unreasonably. I finished with 1.5 miles of cooldown.

I finished my second week of training mostly successfully... My last run today was an epic meltdown. I was supposed to run 16 miles with 8 at marathon pace (6:43). Pfitzinger specifically wants you to run the last 8 at marathon pace. So I did. Sort of. After 6:41, 6:37, 6:44, 6:44, 6:48, I was unable to keep the pace, and finished with 6:59, 6:56, 6:53. Average is 6:48, which is not so bad, considering that I was tired, hot, and the first 16 miler in a long time, but I don't like the way it went down. OK, just one, run I'll take it.

After some solid weeks in Hungary, I'm back in the USA. Last week I turned my ankle on a trail in Hungary, and I didn't run for a week. It wasn't terribly hurt (I still hiked over 10 kilometers on two days each), but I didn't want to risk more injury, and then I was flying back. I'm actually up to 148 pounds. My (low) peak weight was 141. That's fine. It's hard to maintain weight with high mileage, but apparently good Hungarian food does it. I'm glad I will have something to lose from.

I ran on the TM today, and I might just do the same tomorrow. It's hard to get up early, and it's too hot during the day. Today I needed an LT run, and I'm sure I couldn't have done it outside in the heat. I managed 6:20 pace for 4 miles. Not bad for fat old man. :)

Futórózsa Félmaraton Race Report

Goal: 6:45 pace by GPS. Secondary goal: 7:00 pace by GPS.

After two weeks of serious base building (60 miles per week), which followed very low mileage, I ran this "half marathon" today, because it was a friendly race organized by a very old friend of mine, and it is also nice to introduce myself to the running community of the Southern Great Plain of Hungary. This was a race ran on hard pavement (50%) and dirt roads, and even some wooded trails, so it was expected to have some difficult terrain, but no real elevation. Temperatures were in the low 70s, but most of the course was in full sun and we had some wind. I didn't make up a time goal, because the distance was already admittedly longer than a half marathon, and the terrain made it difficult to make goals. The 6:45 pace goal was to be adjusted by terrain difficulty.

I arrived about an hour before the start, and I needed it for sure. Packet pick-up was in the morning, and I needed the warmup. There were about 140 runners, plus the relay, plus the shorter races. I picked up my packet, dropped it off in my car, warmed up, and I was ready to run. I felt a bit tired at warmup - clearly my legs felt the two 60-mile weeks. Alright. We'll see what we can do today.

The race started on time, and I jumped out a bit, especially because the first mile was slight downhill (only about 20 feet for the mile), and this was the only "significant" elevation change of the course. (And of course coming back up at the end.) Runners shuffled around for the first mile, and it was probably the end of the mile when I settled behind a red shirt runner, who passed me at 1/2 mile, but I caught up by the end of the mile. (The course was marked in kilometers, but since this was no exact distance, I will just go by my Garmin mile splits.)

Mile 1: 6:37

We were still going south on blacktop, and the full sun was not pleasant. Especially after we left town, and there was no shade, and some side wind. I kept pacing by the red shirt. We passed a few jackrabbit runners.

Mile 2: 6:45

Not long after the mile marker we took a turn to a dirt road between farmlands. We had a strong headwind, so I tried to tuck myself behind my "pacer". He used lower cadence, and he was tall, so his running style is more suitable for uneven dirt roads than mine. I had to exert myself to keep up. He also pushed a bit harder here. More unpleasantness was that the front runners kicked up the dirt, so I was swallowing dirt left and right. But we passed another runner here. This setup was obviously working for me. We turned south again (side wind).

Mile 3: 6:45

(Despite the dirt road and headwind portion.) Not much happened here. I paced off the red shirt on the dirt roads. Mostly side wind, turning into the wind again at the end.

Mile 4: 6:46

Tucked behind the red shirt, we ran a headwind portion. We arrived to an aid station (I think the second one - I skipped the first that was too early). I slowed to chug a cup of water (from a plastic cup - ouch), and I seriously thought I lost my pacer, but I was able to catch up again to him within 100 meters. In fact he was slowing! Some trees were blocking the wind almost entirely; what I didn't know is that very soon we are turning into the wind again. In any case, I decided to pass my pacer. I ran around him, I said "Thanks!" (He seemed to have been puzzled - I don't think he understood why I thanked him.)

Mile 5: 6:53

I started to push hard. I wanted to gap my former pacer. I knew I was probably in the top 10, so positions mattered. Except we hit some bad headwind, so I couldn't run too fast. I still gapped the red shirt guy, and I picked out another runner about 100-200 meters ahead. I thought if I could catch him, I had another pacer/windbreaker. We reached a paved section, and then we ran into the village of Tiszasziget. Mostly older villagers cheered us on.

Mile 6: 6:42

We took a left turn in the center of the village, and we were heading to the relay exchange zone. The guy up front had only about 30 meters on me. I heard the loudspeaker at the relay zone announcing names and numbers, so I knew the guy ahead was also an individual runner. Good thing. That meant I wasn't going to loose him in the exchange zone. I kept slowly reeling him in. I skipped the aid station at the exchange zone (the volunteers were busy and did not offer anything), and I caught my new pacer.

Mile 7: 6:34

We were still in Tiszasziget, but heading out. We were following some signs directing us to the (supposedly) lowest elevation point of Hungary. I think we had headwind, or partial headwind. We passed a very sweaty guy in a black singlet. Then later two more runners, but they may have been relay runners. The pavement ended, when we arrived to another aid station (at the low point), where I drank a full cup of water, as my pacer also stopped to drink. In fact he seemed pretty hesitant to get up to pace again. "Had enough of running in front?" I asked him (of course all conversations were in Hungarian). He said he had some breathing problems. We chatted briefly about our pace while running side by side on the dirt road.

Mile 8: 6:56

The guy was slow, so I had to leave him. I didn't kick too hard, but I just slowly pulled away. Since I had nobody ahead in sight, I knew that if I leave him, I would be alone. Still, I had to. In fact I gave him by several minutes by the end. I was passed by a very cheerful relay racer soon, which was somewhat nice, because at least I could run after somebody. Even though he was pulling away.

Mile 9: 6:35

We reached pavement before the mile marker. We ran by some fields and irrigation canals where people with tractors were pumping water from the canal. Soon we reached a town. I thought we were back to Szőreg, but in fact this was just Újszentiván.

Mile 10: 6:48

It was hard to stay focused being all by myself. I glanced back several times but I saw nobody. I took water at an aid station, and then ran alone on the bike trail next to houses. Almost at the end of this mile, we left the town and we were on a dirt road again.

Mile 11: 6:43

This was where I saw the only rose field. I'm sure there were many, but I didn't focus on them. (The theme of the race was supposed to be "rose fields".) We had strong headwind, and I saw nobody - neither ahead, nor behind. I was hurting. I arrived to an aid station, where I picked up a cup from a table. I chose some kind of orange colored sweet drink this time. I knew I only had about 2 miles left. Then I wanted to continue on the dirt road, when the volunteer said: "No, the other way." What other way? I could barely see the grown in jeep road/trail in the woods on the right. Wow.

Mile 12: 7:14

This was slow. Tall grasses in the woods, and the road underneath was very rugged. I gave my best, but I didn't want to risk all what I have done on a turned ankle. After a while we were out of the woods and reached the edge of Szőreg. By this time, I saw a runner ahead who was (probably) not the relay runner who passed me. I was guessing he was maybe 30 seconds ahead. Can I catch him? I was getting a bit closer.

Mile 13: 7:02

The last portion was only 0.6 miles. Even if I had a full mile, 30 seconds is a tall order. Barring a meltdown, my position was fixed. We had to climb up the 20 feet we lost at the beginning.

Last portion: 4:01 (6:41 pace)

Total time: 1:32:16 (6:47 pace)

This race was executed close to perfection. Certainly the best position I could get, and probably close to optimal time. The fact that I was slower than 6:45 is fine - harder terrain, some weather effects (sun, wind). This is not bad at all during base building. I'm looking forward to hitting 60 miles this week again (probably a rest day tomorrow though), and to the marathon training in July.

I got 5th place out of 138. There were only two age groups: over 40 and under 40, and I got 4th place in the under 40 age group (I missed the age group cut by a few months). The third place of the age group was the guy who I was approaching close to the finish. He beat me only by 25 seconds. And only the first three were awarded so I barely missed out on awards... anyway, one can't be too greedy. I deserve it for letting myself beat by an over 40 guy, LOL.

Sunday race is on. I have run 14 miles on Sunday, and 8 miles on Monday and Tuesday each. The plan is to continue with 8 miles a day until Saturday, when I just jog for 30 minutes and then race on Sunday. Again, given that I am in the base building phase, and I just upped my mileage suddenly, the best expectation is running this at marathon pace (6:43). I will try to keep my pace between 6:40 and 6:45 at the beginning, then adjust accordingly.

My weekly mileage goes like this (beginning May 3): 0, 0, 16, 16.1, 45.8, 60. Pretty aggressive buildup, but my body seems to be holding up well.

I found the "Northwest Passage" I blogged about last year. It does actually exist. In fact it wasn't all that hard to find. I don't know if I was aware last year that my GPS is capable of following a pre-programmed course. So I pre-programmed something by Google Maps that I wanted to follow, and even though not all roads on the maps matched up with roads in real life (we are talking about jeep roads here), it was sufficient information to find the Passage. In fact the Passage is a lot of fun to run, and I've done it several times now. The disadvantage is that I haven't made it to the Óvári kilátó in Balatonalmádi.

I'm running a race this Sunday, so doing less than 60 miles week is forgivable. Still, I have to front load the week. I've done 22 miles so far in two days, so 4 x 8 miles should work well, even less, if necessary. Rest (or very easy 4 miles) on Saturday should prepare me well (for the circumstances) for a good Sunday race. I still hope I can race at 6:45/mile.

While I haven't posted much, I do train, and after a few introductory weeks, I'm on my way to about 60 miles this week. I plan to maintain the volume until July 5 with no increase, mostly to play safe, but also due to possible time issues later in the year.

I'll run a half marathon in 10 days, and I'm definitely racing it, but due to the lack of any fast training runs, I will play it safe and go out at 6:45-ish pace (if I feel good). This will be a mixed road/trail race, but no elevation change. It's also a bit over 14 miles, so it's not really a half marathon. So I might expect a 1:35 time, if things go well.

I skipped almost a full months of running (3 1/2 weeks). Now getting back on planning, the tentative plan is to run the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon on November 7th. That may include the Urban Bourbon Half marathon as a tune-up race on October 25. If I follow a 18 week plan, here is the week table (start dates - Sundays - are noted):

I have to build up to about at least 60 miles by the start.

Week -17: July 5
Week -16: July 12
Week -15: July 19
Week -14: July 26
Week -13: August 2
Week -12: August 9
Week -11: August 16
Week -10: August 23
Week -9: August 30
Week -8: September 6
Week -7: September 13
Week -6: September 20
Week -5: September 27
Week -4: October 4
Week -3: October 11
Week -2: October 18
Week -1: October 25
Race week: November 1