I ended up skipping the Wednesday workout entirely. In fact I just didn't run at all. I had a beer before the run at the Bridge Race, and after getting home in the dark at 8:30, I asked Melinda if I should go out for a run. The vote resulted in a solid "no".

So I moved the rest of the week a day up. This way, I ran 5 on Thursday (TT), pretty hard actually, because I stayed with the lead group. Rested on Friday, and ran the 12-miler on Saturday. I had some GI issues, but the run itself felt very easy at 8:09 average pace. Am I ready? Probably not, but I'm also not woefully under prepared.

Since I have an extra day (resting on Sunday), I'll space out my runs a bit more. Also, the days work out better that way:

M: 6 R

T: 7 w/ 2 @ MP

W: Rest, sailing, perhaps some Dark & Stormy (which will be the only alcohol this week)

T: 5 R w/ 6 x 100m at Thirsty Thursday, thirsty for water or soda only

F: Rest

S: 4 R in the morning, packet pickup, boat pull in the afternoon.

S: Goal marathon

Week -2 went well. It's not an easy week with the 600s, the tune-up race and the long run the day after that, but I did it all quite fine.

Instead of the tune-up race, I ran another 40-minute LT run, and this time, I was aiming for a 7:09 pace (because last time I ran 7:09 pace while aiming for 7:15). Guess what. This time, it turned out to be 7:00.

Funny thing, I ran the first mile, and I pushed the beginning a bit to get my system up to LT quickly, and when I hit the first mile marker, the split was 6:51. I loudly exclaimed "holy shit!" I slowed a bit, but it does seem like I can sustain 7 min/mile without accumulating lactate. Still not near where I used to be, but not astronomically far any more.

That puts me squarely at 48+ VDOT, I'll do training according to this number now.

The Sunday run after the workout was not easy. I ran in the Parklands again, just so that I would experience more brutal hills. It was "only" 16 miles, and I don't think it would have been an issue, if it wasn't after the hard workout on Saturday. This way, I had to fight. It wasn't quite as hard as my hilly 20-miler, but I would put it into the same category as my relatively flat 20-miler.

I'm finally hitting taper this week. I was thinking about running on Monday, because the schedule works better that way, but legs were totally dead, so I skipped it. I ran today (on Tuesday), 7 easy, but I had breathing issues. I resisted using the inhaler, but it made the run slightly unpleasant, feeling harder than it should have been.

Yet, this week, still has a hard workout on Wednesday. I'm debating if it is worth doing it or not. The hay is probably in the barn. The portion that's left outside can rot. :)

M: Rest

T: 7 R w/ 8 x 100

W: 8 w/ 4 x 1200m @ 5K pace

T: Rest

F: 5 R w/ 6 x 100

S: Rest (that's new)

S: 12 MLR

I usually run my "5K pace" at my VO2 max prescribed by Jack Daniels. That would be 6:26/mile, or 4:49/1200m for the 48 VDOT. But his 5K time for the same VDOT is 20:39, so that's only 6:39/mile or 4:57/1200m. Maybe I should do that.

I will probably shift the 5-mile recovery for Thirsty Thursday (if I even do that), and maybe do the 12 MLR on Saturday.

Here is the last week:

M: Rest

T: 6 R

W: 7 w/ 2 @ MP (called the "dress rehearsal")

T: Rest

F: 5 R w/ 6 x 100m

S: 4 R (packet pickup, boat pull)

S: you know what... I'm scared.

Week -3 was fine. As I already wrote, I did the 4 x 0.75 mile workout on Tuesday, per schedule, and I ran a proper 4:42 average per interval, which is fine. And then I did another 20 on Sunday. It was hard, because a) I ran it in the Parklands, on hilly course (but my marathon will be just as hilly); b) it was 80 degrees; c) it came at the end of a longer week with a hard workout on Wednesday, and a 11-miler on Friday. But I finished it. The last bit was hard, but I still averaged 8:28 moving time, and didn't slow down much at all.

Week -2 is on us. I already did the VO2 max workout yesterday: 5 x 600 m. My splits were 2:28, 2:25, 2:21, 2:23, 2:16 for an average of 2:23. I'm happy with this. Again, it wasn't in ideal circumstances (it never is, right?): after dark, sudden cold (first run in long sleeves and hat), couldn't find inhaler (though breathing was *mostly* fine), two days after the 20-miler (by design).

Rest of the week:

W: 6 R

T: Rest

F: 4 R w/ 6x100

S: 8K-10K tune-up race, total of 9-11 miles.

S: 16 L

I will probably swap the Friday recovery for Thursday to do it on Thirsty Thursday, and I almost certainly won't do a tune-up race. I'll probably do a time trial instead.

Week -4 was a lot weaker than I wanted. The conference threw a real wrench into the machine and I didn't run at all from Friday to Sunday. Then, on Monday, I was so sore and tired from the Sunday regatta that I decided to just follow Pfitzinger literally and take a rest day. That is 4 days of no running...

So this meant only 36.3 miles for the week. This did include the 5 x 600 m workout, which is on the shorter side. Running by feel I managed a 2:20 average, which is probably a bit too fast. It translates to 1:34 laps, which is 49.5 VDOT. I'm sure I'm not there.

Week -3 is on us. After the Monday rest day, I did a proper workout last night: 4 x 1200 m, or more precisely 4 x 0.75 mile on the street, again, by feel. Averaging 4:52, this put me into the more reasonable 47-48 VDOT category. Here is the rest of the week:

T: Rest (fun day at Thirsty Thursday)

F: 11 MLR

S: 4 R

S: 20 L

Honestly, this sounds relatively easy, and it still gets me 52 miles for the week.

Great progress on Week -5.

The Saturday threshold went well: I managed 5.59 miles in 40 minutes. That's a 7:09 pace, spot on 47 VDOT.

Then, on Monday (in Fall Break), I ran my first 20 miler since the KDF Marathon preparation, and I averaged 8:13/mile (moving). According to Daniels, that's the fastest allowable pace for 48 VDOT, so it was a bit too fast, probably. I did lose some time filling my water bottles and crossing some roads, though probably that's not any help. Also, it was still hot. 78 degrees, 68% humidity.

I'm trying to plan my Week -4 around a weekend conference and sailing regatta. Sunday running is basically out, and Saturday is limited (no long run). Maybe, honestly, the best would be to skip both days. In fact, since the week after that is hard, I'm thinking something like this:

T: 4 R (already done)

W: 8 w/ 5 x 600

T: 5.25 GA or whatever the longest run is on Thirsty Thursday

F: 17 L in the morning. Conference starts in the afternoon.

S: some recovery on the trails, max 10

S: sailing

This is a somewhat decreased mileage, because there is a mid-week 11-miler in the plan, but I'll substitute that with the Thursday run. I can't do much on Thursday, because Friday is the only day for the long run. This way I also catch up, and perhaps be even more rested with no running on Sunday. And with the delayed 20-miler on Monday, it actually will be a pretty large volume week.

Paces for the 600s is 2:27. That is 6:34 min/mile.

I had to skip a day due to a stomach virus. I had diarrhea for days, but I could still run - except for last Sunday, when I had that brutal 15-miler scheduled, 12 of which was supposed to be at marathon pace.

I decided to delay the schedule by a day for now. So this week (-5), so far, I've run

M: 15 MLR (no attempt to do the M pace - I was not strong enough for that)

T: Rest

W: 6 R w/ 6x100 strides

T: 12 MLR

----- This is where we are. -----

F: Rest

S: 12 w/ 40 min @ LT pace

S: 5 R

M: 20 L

Pfitzinger wants 7 miles at LT pace, but that's not for us, mortals. A really good runner can do the 7 miles is 40 minutes, but it would take 50+ for me. That long at LT pace in training is too hard. When I used to do it in 45, I could accept it, but now, let's just do 40 minutes, however long it turns out to be.

Week -7 was successful. The Thursday TT run particularly nice: the 4 mile splits were 7:07, 7:09, 7:10, 7:02 for an average of 7:07. That would be 47.7 VDOT, and 3:19 (flat) marathon. Sounds promising. I ran the 16-miler in the Parklands, and I felt strong. The last 5 miles of that was run at 8:00-ish pace without trying.

Week -6 was started without much expectation that I could finish it. Somehow I'm too busy, and the scheduled runs are on the wrong days. I thought about reorganizing, but I would have had to run om Monday, and I just felt too tired.

But so far I'm doing it. I've just finished my 5x1000m workout, running the 1000s at 4:06. I only have time for this midday, so I did it on the treadmill. At least this way the paces are pretty much guaranteed to be good. This the pace given by Jack Daniels for 47.3 VDOT. So perhaps a bit slow, but I don't mind. I needed to have some strength left for the evening race (sailing).

The rest of the week:

T: 12 MLR

F: Rest

S: 6 w/ 6 x 100 strides

S: 15 w/ 12 @ MP

Not sure I'll do marathon pace on Sunday... But the rest should be OK. This would give me 48 miles for the week. My largest volume since forever.

Week -8 was definitely *not* a success. I skipped my Wednesday LT run due to the fact that I was busy all day, but I also didn't want to redesign the week, because I was just too tired. I wasn't living healthy (food, sleep, alcohol) either, so maybe that's a reason. I felt down on myself, and I contemplated abandoning my plan.

Then, while on my way to Thirsty Thursday, which was hot, and I was already sure I wouldn't run 11 miles, I realized that I'd only skipped one day. So I decided to snap out of it, take it easy in Thursday (which I did with less than 5 miles, though I ran a fartlek by chasing down some groups, and pressing hard on Library Hill), and continue the plan. That resulted in a nice 17-mile long run on Sunday done at a 8:18 moving average with 7:42 last mile. I finished the week with 32.7 miles instead of the planned 48.

So that's a step-back, and I have a recovery week coming up. But the old rule says, you can't make up missed runs. So I just go on. We will see what happens now. I will also try to limit my alcohol consumption. I think that's key.

Week -7: (slightly rearranged to fit my schedule)

M: Rest

T: 12 MLR

W: Rest

T: 9 w/ 4 @ LT pace (no TT - it's the parade)

F: 5 R

S: Rest (CF Moto demo)

S: 16 L

Total: 42 miles.

This looks downright easy, if I don't have expectations for the LT run. Which I don't.

Week -9. Alright. Everything by the plans, except for the marathon pace on Sunday.

 It was a very hot week. On Thursday I've run 11 miles in temperatures in the mid 90's, but even my pace was fine. It was hard though. That, and the increased mileage, and the fact that it's been my highest mileage week, like for ever, made my weekend long run increasingly challenging. I gave up on the marathon pace, and I just ran a long run. Still it was a full sweat, partial dehydration, hard last few mile run. 8:26/mile average.

Week -8:

M: Rest

T: 5 R

W: 10 w/ 5 @ LT

T: 11 MLR

F: R

S: 5 R

S: 17 L

I might switch this up. If I shift everything from Wednesday one day ahead, I could run hard Tuesday evening, 11 MLR on Wednesday (say midday in the gym), easy 5 on Thursday (Thirsty Thursday). It would probably fit my schedule better.

Week -10 is in the books. The LT run went well with an average pace of 7:06.5/mile, and that's on a hilly course. Sounds too good to be true, as it would point to a VDOT of 47-48. Long run was a bit hard at the end - I got a bit dehydrated. I ran a 8:20 average pace, which, again point to 47-48 VDOT, and even then it's borderline too fast.

So assuming 47, let's plan the next week.

M: Rest

T: 8 GA w/ 8x100 strides

W: 4 R

T: 11 MLR (so either skip TT, or run long after they finished)

F: Rest

S: 4 R

S: 16 w/ 10 @ MP

Total: 43 miles

The only tough one is Sunday, and the pace is a question. With 47 VDOT, it should be 7:40 (on mostly flat ground), but in the Parklands I'd be fine with anything sub-8. This will also be the highest mileage week since April 2022, if I succeed.

Things go well for now. For week -11, I finished my 9 mile general aerobic run during Thirsty Thursday hungover, and it was alright. I felt better after the first two miles. We had a good group, too. The Saturday 5-miler was a bit of a struggle in the midday heat (I had to cook later), but the Sunday marathon paced run was perfect.

I was meant to aim a 7:45 pace, because I intend to run my super hilly race at a 8:00 average, and I was too busy to drive to some hills, so I trained in the neighborhood. I was stronger than I expected. The splits for the last 8 miles averaged out to 7:34. I don't want to read anything special into this, but this was some fine run.

Week -10 already started. Here is the plan.

M: Rest

T: 11 MLR

W: Rest

T: 8 w/ 4 @ LT

F: Rest

S: 5 R

S: 15 MLR

Total: 39 miles.

I've already done the 11-miler yesterday, and it was fine. Indeed, quite a bit faster than I intended at 8:10 average. But I felt pretty good. The rest should be easy.

The lactate threshold run at Thirsty Thursday will be fun. I can't make it early, and I'll do the fast portion during the group run. The plan is to take off after the overpass, and do a fast 2 out and a fast 2 back. I'll have to add mileage at the end.

That week, I did finish. No issues. In fact, I felt pretty great even during my 12-mile run in the weekend. I've done that in Chicago.

Sunday nigh we drove back from Chicago. I only slept 5 hours, then I went to teach a motorcycle class. That's OK, Monday was to be rest anyway. But Tuesday, I slept until late (to pay back some sleep debt), then I had a Zoom meeting, and then practically, I had to go teach again. On Wednesday, I was on campus all morning, then to teach the motorcycle class. So another 3 days with zero training. Plus, some good amount of bourbon last night...

I think it would be very dangerous to jump back to the plan. My longest week was only 42 miles, and my next one would be 54. My longest run was 15 miles, and I would no have to do 18 this weekend, and 20 next.

But since this is week -11, I had this idea that I could just restart the training with the 12-week program. I won't be fast for my marathon, but I never meant to be. This means that I will have done a very extensive "endurance" block, but that also makes sense, because I did feel that my endurance was borderline sufficient when I started the 18-week plan.

So here we go. Week -11 of the 12-week program, or what remains of it:

T: 9 GA

F: Rest

S: 5 R

S: 13w/ 8 M

Week 10 will have a 15-miler, and I won't have a 20 until week -5.

A bit of a setback on week -13 and -12. After a nasty infected wasp sting (and too much hiking in the weekend), I skipped the 16-mile run on Sunday, and the next three days of training in week -12. I got back on the train with an 8-miler on Thirsty Thursday. The rest of the week (supposedly recovery):

F: Rest

S: 4 R

S: 12 MLR

This should be doable. The real question is if I can do the following one: 50 miles with a 5-mile tempo and an 18-mile long run. And some motorcycle teaching, and starting the semester.

I've finished week -14 without any issue. I've done a 15-miler on Friday (compressed week, due to motorcycle teaching), and it went all fine. I did a 8:23 average, and a 7:42 last mile. All good.

Then the weekend went by teaching, and I got tempted, and I skipped Monday as well. It was hot, and I didn't feel good either. Also, this week, I don't have weekend teaching. So I just get back to the normal calendar.

It's not going to be easy. Today the heat index is brutal, and I have a 5-mile LT run. Oh my!

M: Rest

T: 9 w/ 5@LT

W: 5 R

T: 10 GA (Thirsty Thursday!)

F: Rest

S: 5 R

S: 16 w/ 10@M

Total: 45 miles.

Paces:

LT 7:17, unless it feels too hot, and then I can go down to 7:25. But, if I go late enough, I should be OK. Maybe after sundown.

MP: sub-8. This really should be done in the Parklands.

Week -15 is in the books. Another week of teaching, another week of good achievement.

Notable runs:

LT run on Wednesday (4 miles) with splits 7:16, 7:18, 7:14, 7:16. I had to stop at the crosswalk in my last mile, so that would have been a few seconds faster. This points to a solid 46 VDOT.

14-mile run on Friday. 8:21 average pace, which sounds way too fast for 46 VDOT. Yet, it felt easy until about the last three miles, but even those were fine, and my last mile was in 7:32. This points to more like 48-ish VDOT, even considering that I'm stronger at long distance.

I think all this just shows that my endurance is better than my stamina, which is probably better than fitness. Not all that surprising. The marathon paced run last week was hard for some reason, so I'll stay careful, and keep my M pace just under 8 min/mile. It doesn't have any training effect beyond easy runs anyway. And the brutal terrain makes it a challenge to run an 8 min pace for my marathon anyway. All for future success.

But as for LT and VO2max, I think I'll train at 46 VDOT. Not that it matters for this week though.

Week -14:

M: 8 GA w/ 8 strides

T: 5 R

W: 10 GA

T: 4 R

F: 15 MLR

Total: 42 miles. Paces, mostly by feel.

This week doesn't feel like it should be challenging. It's the same as last, except an extra mile on a recovery run, and an extra mile on the long run, but no LT effort. The weather may be a tad cooler. Teaching again in the weekend.

It is extremely difficult to have all the running in, when I teach motorcycle classes regularly. I did manage last week though. This week included my longest run since April 2022. Only 13 miles, but in the hilly Parklands, and the last 8 at marathon pace.

This run, which was my only workout, ended with the 8 hilly miles at paces 7:40, 8:12, 7:47, 7:45, 7:56, 8:49, 7:45, 7:44 for a 7:57 average. That's pretty perfect for a 3:30 marathon. And since this was sufficiently hard (struggling though the last mile), I'll keep training at this VDOT: 45. I can go faster, if all workouts get too easy.

OK, one might argue that it was very hot (86 F, feels like 91), and quite hilly (529 ft over the 13 miles, but the first 5 was mostly flat), my VDOT may be a bit more. But I still have to try to be conservative.

The week was complete with 36 miles. On a very positive note: no use of the inhaler. Not even my workout. It's because I forgot to bring it. But I didn't need it.

Week -15:

M: 10 GA

T: 4 R

W: 8 w/ 4@LT

T: 4 R

F: 14 MLR

Total: 40 miles. Paces: GA: 8:40-9:00, R: just jog, LT: 7:25, MLR: definitely sub-9 for the second half.

Week 1 is in the books. Not too easy, but I hope I can do this cycle. The Sunday 12-miler was fun with Flora. We did an 8:22/mile average, which sounds fast, but it didn't feel hard. The 87F temperature almost felt too cold, I'm so well acclimated. :)

All the evidence suggest that I may bet at 48-49 VDOT, or soon I'd be there. But I'll be super careful. Fitness is surely not there, and stamina is lacking, too. This is probably the result of the lack of workouts for years now.

Since I teach MSF this weekend, let's try to frontload this week. There are only four running days. This is the idea:

M: 8 GA + 6 x 10 hills + 8 x 100 strides. I'll probably skip the hills, because that would make this workout much harder, and Monday is supposed to be rest anyway.

T: Rest

W: 10 GA

T: 5 R

F: 13 w/ 8@M. I'll start this at 7:58 (45 VDOT) to be careful again. 13 miles will be hard anyway, especially with such condensed week, and the main goal is to develop endurance. I'll only speed up, if this feels too easy (doubtful).

For this cycle, the first time in my life, I'll try to follow the stretching and strength exercises as well as the runs. To have some notes available, here is what Pfitzinger suggests:

Dynamic stretching:

Arm-cross (10)

Cat-cow (8)

Leg swing (15 per leg)

Side swing (15 per leg)

Hip circle (10 per direction)

Knee hugs (10 each leg, 5 both legs)

Side skips (15 each direction)

Static stretching: (2 per side each)

Bent-leg calf stretch

Straight-leg calf stretch

Straight leg hamstring stretch

Lying hamstring stretch

Quadriceps stretch

Hip flexor stretch

Gluteal stretch

Hip rotation stretch

Shoulder and lat stretch

Chest stretch

Swiss ball lower back stretch

Downward dog

I finished the race week with only 21 miles. Then the following week started with a couple of motorcycle classes (Sunday I took one, Monday to Wednesday I taught one), so no running. Then flew to New York on June 28 to meet up with my family.

I did run! 5 miles in Union City, NJ which was a lot of fun. I was not fast, but it was nice. I ran another 5 on the 29th, also in Union City, and then we drove to Lewiston, NY, when I had a 6.3 mile run by the beautiful Niagara River.

On July 1st, my training started, in true Pfitzinger manner: a rest day. I used it to walk many miles at the Niagara Falls State Park. Then today I drove home from there, and I did my first actual training run: in true Pfitzinger manner it was a workout.

So that was today: 2 easy + 4 LT + 2 easy. I aimed to run the easy portion at 9:00/mile, and the LT portion at 7:25, according to 45 VDOT. I ended up with splits 7:10, 7:21, 7:13, 7:10 for an average of 7:13.5. It felt spot on my lactate threshold, but it was also in adverse conditions: 84F, 62% humidity, and after driving all day. In any case, it shouldn't be a problem to train at 46 VDOT.

Here is the rest of the week:

W: Rest

T: 9 GA (Thirsty Thursday is perfect for this)

F: Rest

S: 4 R

S: 12 MLR

Total: 33 miles.

Paces: GA: 8:31 to 9:00, R: over 9:00, MLR: under 9:00.

I really should reread Pfitzinger. And incorporate stretching, core, and all in my training regimen.

The total is not too much, but the individual runs are kind of long. Still, I hope I'll deal with them just fine.

St. Albert Viking Dash 5K

Goal: 7 min/mile pace, i.e. 21:46. Secondary goal: 7:15 pace, i.e. 22:33.

These goals look conservative, because I haven't raced for ever, because K didn't really do any specific training, because even my non-specific training was inconsistent, and because it was 91 degrees with 46% humidity.

The race was at 7pm (one reason of the hot weather), and I was there very early. Probably around 5pm. This was catholic church picnic, which has a great tradition in Louisville. Despite not being religious, I like the vibe. Good food, music, nice people.

We ran the course as warmup with my group - they were a little too fast for a warmup for me, so I slowed to my barely-faster-than-9-minute-pace. Two guys, Craig and Nick were nice enough to stay with me.

The race was off on time. Just before the race, I was talking to Mac from the running group, who said he was going to go out at a 6:50 pace. I should have learned not to listen to these guys... but I hadn't. So I tried to pace off of him. I did feel a bit fast, but not so much different from my distant memory of past 5K's I ran.

After about 0.7 miles, I realized he was doing a 6:30 pace, so I carefully slowed a bit and let him go. Mile 1 was slightly downhill, but barely enough to affect the pace.

Mile 1: 6:46

Yes, too fast. I decided to slowly ease my pace until my average falls to 7 min/mile. Then I would try to maintain it. I was running in 10th place from about mile 0.2, when I passed the kids who started to sprint this 5K. After that, nobody passed me, and I passed nobody. Oh, except I did pass Robert Boston, who treated the race as a workout, and did some walking intervals. So the race had a bit of a time trial feel, especially after passing Robert, because I haven't seen a single runner afterwards.

Mile 2: 7:01

So far so good. But then, lack of training, lack of racing, lack of fitness came over me. Pain set in, and I struggled to keep going. I also held back a bit for the last half mile. I struggled, but I tried to keep it controlled. I have no stamina - the lack of LT training showed.

Mile 3: 7:24

We hit the finish line, and as usual, I was able to faster again.

Last 0.1 in 37s, 5:49 pace

I finished with official time of 21:51, which was good enough for 10th overall and 1st in my age group at this small race (about 80 runners). So I just missed my goal, which I could have achieved with a bit of smarter racing. This is OK. About 45-46-ish VDOT, which should be fine for 3:30 marathon. I think I'll train according to that, though the specific race won't be as fast: (1) it's very hilly (2) I'll go in on lowish miles. Training starts in a little over a week.

I've spent my May and June (until now) with some variably consistent training. Lots of work, at school, at home, and motorcycle teaching - so I haven't always been doing my runs. Here are the week totals since May 2.

30, 15, 35, 30, 35, 10, 35

It's not terrible though, so I think I may be able to start the Pfitzinger plan. As long I don't try to run too fast.

I was sick with a stomach bug this week from Monday to Wednesday, and my running group went to participate a 5K on Thursday. So I decided to sign up on a whim. Next post is race report.

Wow, this blog is still around.

My last race is still the Kentucky Derby Marathon in 2021. That is, I haven't raced in three years. It actually feels longer...

Meanwhile, I never stopped running, but I just maintained my 178 lbs (as opposed to my 150-ish racing weight), and I had a bad asthma flare-up after my last COVID infection. After a while I just accepted that I was recreational runner, and not somebody too serious about the sport. I'm also 48 for god's sake - when is it time to retire from racing?

Well, all was well, but Tracy, from my running club started to encourage me to return to racing. Seeing the other guys doing so well, recalling my former awesome long runs and marathons made me nostalgic. And I could still pull off a few miles at sub-7 pace without ever doing workouts or any serious training. Meanwhile, Mike Korfhage, who is the founder and leader of this group, run a sub-3 marathon, a PR, and he is over 50. So why not me? Why shouldn't I try? Wouldn't it be awesome to return to Boston?

Both of my kids have their driver's licenses. One moved away already, and the other is about to at end of the summer (she is a track/XC star BTW).

Bottom line is that I signed up for a fall marathon. Louisville Marathon, November 3. For now my only goal is to be able to finish it in 4 hours. At the moment, 10 miles feels long for me, so I have to develop some serious endurance. But my VDOT is still no worse than 45, so if I could just develop some endurance, and do a standard training cycle, 4 hours should be cakewalk. Even on the hilly course.

Here is the timeline:

18-week training starts on July 1. Two more months to build endurance. I'm trying to run 35 miles/week for now to see if I can maintain this. If I can, and perhaps increase it a bit, then I could do a 55/18 plan from Pfitzinger. We will see. If I don't get injured or sidetracked, the chances are not bad.

 I finished the first week of Daniels' Blue Plan, Phase II. Here is the data:

Total is only 36.5 miles. But that's what I've been doing for 6 weeks. I hope consistency will pay off. Plus I do workouts.

Tuesday I've done a morning workout at the track due to an ongoing heat wave. This was 4 x (200 + 200 + 400) with equal jogs at R pace. It was already hot and humid in the morning, but it shouldn't really matter for these short intervals.

200's: 47, 49, 43, 45, 45, 44, 47, 45.

400's: 1:30, 1:32, 1:33, 1:30

The average is 1:31 for 400 meters, which is slightly faster than intended (1:34), and suggests a 46 VDOT. The workout was no cakewalk but I had to slow myself down, not speed myself up. No real paincave.

I ran a threshold run on Saturday. Ideal weather, but for whatever reason, I felt like crap. I couldn't breath, I felt heavy, and I was just happy it was over. Only 20 minutes at T pace with an average of 7:14/mile, again a VDOT 46.

I think I have enough evidence to change the paces to VDOT 46. Otherwise the week should be the same as last week.

E/L: 8:31-9:34, T: 7:17, R: 46, 92

 A year rolled around with no racing, and an extra 18 lbs of weight. I didn't completely stop running though. This December/January I started to get myself back to the grove. Surprisingly, I didn't lose much weight, but I did get a bit faster, and feel lighter somehow. There is still an obvious bulge where my 6-pack is supposed to be, and currently I'm 165 lbs. I used to be 150, and later, after my firefighting days, 155-ish.

I struggled with just plain mileage increase, so I cut back a bit to start to workouts. The last 4 weeks were 36 miles each with one speed workout and one VO2 max. I'm nowhere where I used to be. The circumstances were never ideal (no track, nor treadmill, all on the street with GPS), but they are still obviously much slower than I used do these. Averages from the last 4 weeks:

R paced 1/4 miles: 1:37, 1:37, 1:36, 1:36. Amazingly consistent, suggesting a roughly 44 VDOT.

I paced 4-minute runs (in min/mile): 7:07, 6:52, 6:56, 6:45. This one is getting a bit better, so optimistically suggesting a 45 VDOT.

The crazy thing is that I still do my easy/long runs at around 8 min/mile, and 8:30 usually feels really easy, when, according to the VDOT table, should never be faster than 8:40. It seems like I do my easy runs at my M pace.

This may also be the reason I struggled with base building you can't do that at your M pace!

So let's try some training based of 45 VDOT. Slow down the easy runs. I'm going over Daniel's Blue plan, starting Phase II, Week 5 tomorrow.

M: 60 min E (can be two runs)

T: 15 min E + 4 x (200 R + 200 jg + 200 R + 200 jg + 400 R + 400 jg) + 15 min E

W: Rest, or repeat Mon

T: 30-45 min E + 8 ST

F: 15 min E + 20 min T + 4 ST + 15 E

S: Rest, or repeat Thu

S: 60-90 min L

Paces: E/L: 8:40-9:44, T: 7:25, R 200: 47 sec, R 400: 94 sec.

I finished recovery week 4 with no problem. The last long run was hard, because stupidly, I went out midday, not realizing how hot the weather has become. I got severely dehydrated, but I finished the run without slowing too much. It didn't help that I had a good amount of wine the night before, and that I'm having a cold.

In fact I had no lung issues before that run, but after that I started to produce mucus and cough quite a bit. So I might need to take a bit of a break. I'll see how I feel on Monday. If I feel good, here is the plan.

Last week for recovery is week 5:

Mon: 7 GA

Tue: 5 R

Wed: Rest

Thu: 8 GA w/ 8x100

Fri: 4 R

Sat: 11 MLR

Total: 35 miles.

Recovery week #3 was largely fine. I had to skip the runs on Monday and Tuesday, but I rode my motorcycle to Chicago those days. Not running, but some kind of endurance is required. The rest of the week was fine, and I feel pretty strong. In fact, I was supposed to have a rest day on Wednesday, but since I skipped both Monday and Tuesday, and I had some pretty severe withdrawal symptoms, I wanted to run. So I did a progression run on Wednesday, with splits of 7:11, 7:44, 7:37, 7:26, 6:31. I didn't set out to do that, but I just had to run fast. I finished the week with a 9-miler that I ran at 7:37 average, and it didn't feel hard. Total of only 21 miles, but I take it.

Recovery week 4:

Mon: 7 GA

Tue: 5 R

Wed: Rest

Thu: 8 GA w/ 8x100

Fri: Rest

Sat: 10 GA

Total: 30 miles

First two weeks recovery went well. I skipped a run in the second week, because I was sick after the second shot of COVID vaccine, so I only ran 18 miles.

It is weird to have runs so short after the marathon training. Legs feel recovered now by the end of the second recovery week. The next few are still called recovery, but I might as well call them buildup.

Recovery week 3:

Mon: 5 R

Tue: 5 R

Wed: Rest

Thu: 7 GA w/ 8x100

Fri: Rest

Sun: 9 GA

Total: 26 miles

I'm going to Chicago on Monday/Tuesday, so I may skip a run or two. The only plausible way to do my Monday run is in the hotel in the evening, or in the afternoon in Chicago. No on-the-road running on a motorcycle trip.

Actually, the Monday evening/Tuesday morning in Chicago combination is attractive.

Recovery week 2:

Mon: 5 R

Tue: 5 R

Wed: Rest

Thu: 6 R

Fri: Rest

Sat: 7 R

Total: 23 miles

Recovery week 1:

Tue: 4 R

Wed: Rest

Thu: 4 R

Fri: Rest

Sat: 5 R

Sun: Rest

Total: 13 miles

Kentucky Derby Marathon Race Report

Goal: 3:10. Secondary goal: 3:20.

This training cycle didn't go well. Only 12 weeks, only 55 peak mileage, workouts goals regularly missed. So I wasn't sure what to expect, but I decided to go out at 7:10/mile pace, and we would see what happens. This one time I decided I wouldn't mind crashing.

The race was as lame as it gets. Staggered start, so you don;t know who you are racing against, and self service water stations, where you had to stop and fill your own water bottles. No sports drinks, just water. You start whenever you want (basically). I was assigned a 9am start time, but I made it to the starting area by 8:15, and they told me I could start whenever I was ready. Since the weather forecast was predicting rain, I decided to go early. I crossed the start line at 8:28.

I had two small bottles of Gatorade with me on my belt. I thought I would drink those first, and then pick up water on the way. This plan was fine, except for the added weight and inconvenience of running with a hydration belt, which is probably negligible.

I left the start line, and turned toward the first park turnaround. All excited, and helped with the downhill, I started a bit fast, but I expected it.

Mile 1: 6:49

I turned around in the park, and I moderated my pace, to ease my breathing. Everything felt OK, except that by mile 2, I somehow was 0.2 mile ahead of the mile markers according to my GPS. This discrepancy stayed for the whole race. This is not a huge difference, but it is very suspicious that it happened basically in the first mile. I think there was a misunderstanding between course marking and measurements. I feel like we really run a long course this time. Perhaps they measured the distance of River Rd, and marked the course on the Louisville Loop. The difference would be about right. All the splits below will be GPS splits, and my total distance will be 26.4 miles.

Mile 2: 7:11

Mile 3: 7:09

We went up the bridge, and I made sure I didn't push hard. But you don;t want to slow way down, either.

Mile 4: 7:23

Down the bridge, turn on the street by the river and just continue. Trying to remind myself that this must feel easy.

Mile 5: 6:46

Mile 6: 7:16

This was the first time that we ran on a bike path with all the half-marathoners and this sucked. In normal races, even if you run in a crowd, after the first few miles, you run with people with similar pace. Not here. I had to zig-zag around slower runners, even walkers.

Mile 7: 7:17

Not sure what happened here - maybe straight roads, or less crowds, but somehow I sped up a bit.

Mile 8: 7:06

Mile 9: 7:09

I felt good, my breathing was easy, but for the first time, I had to stop for water. I picked up a bottle from a table. I tried to unscrew the cap, and drink from it - I did manage, but it's not a substitute for a paper cup. Finally I had to stop briefly to load the water to my belt bottle. I must have been pretty fast otherwise, because even with this, my next mile split was

Mile 10: 7:21

Mile 11: 7:08

We were getting close to the far out point of the course. Some mild tingling of tiredness started to get to me. Bad sign.

Mile 12: 7:11

We reached the far out turnaround point here. When I turned, I decided that I must take the miles between here and mile 20 quite easy. I knew that my starting tiredness is very early, and it would bite me bad at the end. But I couldn't avert the disaster.

Mile 13: 7:19

Mile 14: 7:20

I still fell strong, and these miles felt easy. It was just my experience that told me that the trouble was coming.

I stopped for water again, and I wasted about 30 seconds here. I had trouble removing the cap from the bottle, then fumbled around the with my belt bottle and the water bottle. Of course, the people who this mattered was a tiny minority of all runners - for the half-marathon, you can easily carry enough water (or you don't even have to drink very much), and the majority of the marathon runners run-walk, or just run the race casually.

Mile 15:7:41

I focused on easy breathing and thinks were OK, but it was surreal to image that more than 10 miles were left. I felt like I could do 2-3 more, but 10 seemed a lot. I started to compute how fast I would need to run the rest for my B-goal, and that still seemed easy at this point.

Mile 16: 7:11

The next mile was slightly uphill, with bad traffic and some mild headwind.

Mile 17: 7:33

I still reminded myself that I must take it easy until mile 20. I started to feel that regardless, it will be the end for me anyway.

Mile 18: 7:28

Things started to unravel quickly. This was a well predicted wall that I was hitting hard.

Mile 19: 7:48

We went up the bridge again. This wasn't unexpected, and though I wasn't fast, I could still run. In fact I was expecting here a Boston style meltdown, which didn't come.

Mile 20: 8:36

Down the bridge, I felt downright fine.

Mile 21: 7:27

The next part just got to me. It was under the interstate, a really ugly part of the city. All concrete, homeless people and trash all around. Only marathoners did this last loop, and the majority of them were walking. I just focused on keeping running.

Mile 22: 8:02

Mile 23: 8:08

Things started to turn really ugly here. I didn't have enough willpower to get over it. My legs felt jelly, I had trouble breathing, everything is in pain. Full blown bonk set in.

Mile 24: 8:35

Mile 25: 8:51

We had a few small hills for the end. I was so finished. I kept calculating what my time would be if I walked from here. But I didn't.

Mile 26: 9:20

To add insult to injury, I knew I had 0.4 miles left, not 0.2. I summoned my last piece of energy to jog to the finish line.

Last 0.4: 8:21 pace

Total time: 3:20:21.

It seems like this is 19th overall out of the 460 weak field, and 3rd in my age group. I do not deserve any of that.

This was somewhat expected after the weak preparation. It is disappointing that I started out my training with hopes of 3:05, and I couldn't even run 3:10 (or 3:20). Also, my last 3 marathons ended very similarly: crashing and running a 10-minute positive split (actually Boston was even worse).

This gives me strength to continue. Recover and start training for the fall. Let's regain the lost glory. Let's run a strong marathon for a change.

Week -1 may have been the crown jewel of this crappy training cycle. I had to skip my Monday run, because I had a COVID shot and I just felt quite crappy all day. Even Tuesday morning I was not 100%, but I decided I should be good for my track workout.

It didn't go well. I had 4 x 1200 for the day, and I thought maybe I should be strong and recovered enough to run them at my VO2 max, which I though was around 4:32/1200 m. I ran the first in 4:30, and I felt perfectly fine. The second was OK for two laps, and then something hit me. I finished it in 4:33,but I knew I was in trouble. The third and fourth were 4:41, 4:47, and those were the best I could manage. Who knows why. My legs felt jelly, my stomach was about the erupt, and I couldn't breathe.

I'll get my exercise induced asthma checked out after the race. Maybe I just couldn't get enough oxygen into my body. Something changed after my early summer illness. But it is also possible that it's just age, and gradually worsening systems.

With the skipped run on Monday, I only ended up running three times. The second was a recovery with strides, and the last one was a 12-miler today. At least this one felt very easy. I almost felt refreshed at the end.

The hay is in the barn. Marathon week follows now.

Mon: 6 R

Tue: Dress rehearsal: 7 w/ 2 MP

Wed: R

Thu: 5 R w/ 6x100

Fri: 4 R

Sat: Race

I have finished week -2, but I'm not getting any faster. The two workouts this week was a 5x600 (2:12, 2:15, 2:15, 2:16, 2:13). No real paincave, except for the last lap. This is not bad, especially two days after a 20-miler. ~53 VDOT.

But that's not my actual fitness for sure. My 5-mile LT run kind of sucked. Splits were 6:32, 6:39, 6:55, 6:41, 6:35, but the last bit was way too hard. This is lower than 52 VDOT. Granted, the terrain had some rolling hills, there was some wind, and over 70 degrees, but these are week excuses. In reality, the neighborhood course is not hilly, the wind was not strong at all, and 70 degrees with the sun setting is not hot for just a 5-mile effort. I didn't feel great during the day (almost passed out a few times when standing up quickly, so I may have had some blood pressure or hydration issues), and I didn't feel great during the run either.

For my long run, I checked out the marathon course. I got lost 3 weeks ago on my 20-miler, but this time, I've found the trail. I do like it, but it's not flat. I picked up 325 ft elevation in 16 miles. I felt tired, but not exhausted by the end, despite this being less than 24 hours after the LT run (which was also a total of 9 miles). So this was, by design, on tired legs.

Next week taper starts, but some hard workouts remain to be done.

Mon: 7 R w/ 8 x 100

Tue: 8 w/ 4x1200. Let's try to run the 1200's at real VO2 max: 4:32. This will be hard.

Wed: Rest

Thu: 5 R w/ 6 x 100

Fri: Rest

Sat: 12 MLR

Total: 32 miles