Marathon Training Summary: Week 7

Distance: 20.2 miles
Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Comments: Well, the first race of the cycle is done. I have a much better sense of where I am at now and what I need to aim for over the next two months.

The 41:22 time indicates that a 3 hour 15 minute marathon is a very real possibility. That's Boston qualifying which, although I haven't mentioned it before because I wanted to stay focused on the task at hand, is actually my real goal of all this.

In any case, this was a good week to practice tapering and keeping myself on my toes mentally and physically while doing the miniumum amount of working out in order to keep myself rested for the race. There's a thin line there and I want to know exactly where it is for the week of the marathon.

The downside of all this was that it screwed my training schedule something horrid. It really is too close to the half-marathon on Dec. 3 making it tough to get the distance runs in I think I need. This week was, by far, the least I have run on any week since starting (except for the week I went to Brazil). That's a bitch for my momentum.

I knew this when I signed up for the race but I justified it due to the fact the New Times 10K was a larger event - almost 3,000 runners in the 10K alone - and it was be a good way to start acclimating myself to the raceday chaos that the marathon will bring.

The race Sunday finished up the first half of my training regimine for the marathon. Now begins the real push for the thing. Pretty much everything prior to this was building the base, now it is time to fine-tune for the race itself.

I need to rack up the serious long runs for endurance, the short runs for technique and one more race for experience. I need to be working on getting my strategy in place, my state of mind on track and eliminating all the irksome distractions.

Oh yeah, I'm also going to be doing everything humanly possible to avoid injury and illness as well.

This week will be pretty busy since it's my only 'normal' week in this month-long period of the training between races. I'm going to get the mileage back to the 45-mile range while including track and hill work.

2006 Phoenix New Times 10K

Race: Phoenix New Times 10K
Official Time: 41:52
Actual time: 41:57

My first race here in Arizona and it went quite well, in retrospect. I didn't hit my goal of breaking 40 minutes but I was well under the minimum limit of 45 minutes I set for myself.

Most importantly, I bested my last 10K time by almost five minutes.

Progress. There you have it.

I took my dad to the airport this morning and then went to the location of the race right after. I was almost two hours early so I took my time getting my gear in order and put down two energy bars while waiting.

I picked up a $3 long sleeve shirt at Albertsons during the week and it was perfect for the slightly chilly morning. I walked the mile-and-a-half to the race site - a distance I planned on as a way to get my warm-up started.

During the week, I had sucessfully kept the nervousness at bay but it kept popping up right before the race. I even had a moment of fear I was there on the wrong day before I saw someone else with a race number on.

I wandered around the event site and finally found the booth with the timing chips. I was a bit concerned about these since I've never used one but it was really no problem. I put it on my right ankle and completely forgot about it until the end of the race.

To stay warmed up I just slowly walked around while sipping on my bottle of Gatorade. At about the one-hour mark I started slowly jogging, little more than a walk. After ten minutes I turned it up to a 'real' warm up pace for five minutes.

I took a route near Sun Devil Stadium and, as I expected, there were random porta-potties scattered about the parking lot. I got my two cups of coffee drained from my bladder and zero waiting in line.

With about 40 minutes left I headed back to the race site and stretched out in the grassy area of the park. I left my long sleeve shirt on a bench. Hopefully a homeless guy found it. I did a few exaggerated strides for form and then wandered over to the starting area.

There were a good number of folks for the race - about 3,000 people ran the 10K - but there was really a nice vibe. Not a lot of heavy tension you get when top-heavy with running snobs but really laid-back.

About a half-dozen panjandrums had to talk before they let us start. We were all ready and they decided to do the national anthem as well. Nice touch but... um, how about having a flag there next time, guys.

I got in the mix about where I thought I should be starting. Turned out the timed areas were pretty useless. They hit the horn to get us going and I spent the first minute and a half wading through folks just-better-than-walkers.

As a result, I wasn't really happy hitting the first mile marker at something over 7:30. Worse, it was right in the middle of the biggest hill on the course so stepping up the pace had to wait.

I upped the pace a bit on the downhill and then started trying to find the groove. That was tough since the running situation was so different from what I am used to. Basically, I kept reeling in runners and trying not to get passed.

Since I wasn't going to be out there an hour I skipped all the water stations. But I took the tangent on every curve to save as much distance as possible. I don't know if these things will matter in the marathon, but it's good to practice decent running strategy anyway.

(At one point a guy in front of me dropped a $20 bill. I stopped, picked it up and sprinted back forward and handed it to him. He gave me this weird surprised look and then said "Oh!" when he realized what had happened.)

By mile four, I was around a group going my pace and I was focusing on one or two of them a bit faster than me to keep going. I wanted to start running on my toes at the four mile mark but held off since I knew it would take too much out of me.

The organizers put bands at most the corners to keep the energy up. I had to say, this is a better motivator than I expected. You hear them ahead of you and it gives you something to aim for. If, by chance, any of you guys that played read this - thanks a ton. It really mattered.

I pushed the tempo up on the last mile and, as I neared the finish area, I started exaggerating my stride in order to pick up a few seconds. I felt strong enough over that last stretch that it made me wonder if I shouldn't have started the kick even earlier.

My watch read 41:57 but my chip time came out half a minute faster. I'm not sure if that indicates innacuracy on my part or on the part of the timing device. Either way, I know the ballpark I am playing in now.

Conditions:

Start: 8:30 a.m.
Surface: concrete/asphalt
Weather: sunny
Temperature: 63 degrees
Humidity: 32 percent
Wind: 8 mph
Location: Tempe, Arizona
Shoes: Adrenaline GTS 6

Training Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 35:50
Pace: 8:58/mi

Comments: Slow and easy. The last run before the race and I didn't want any problems popping up at the last second.

No warm up since I was using this run to set my warmup for the race. It looks like I'll need to get about ten minutes in to be ready for the starting gun.

Played around with stride a little but not much. Overall, a nice easy run and that's exactly what I was shooting for.

Training Run

Distance: 6 miles
Time: 44:45
Pace: 7:27/mi

Comments: A solid workmanlike effort. The plan was to make a dry-run of the race on Sunday; get a feel for what I need to do at each point of the thing.

Overall I think I am ready. I certainly have the endurance for the thing but my technique is... lacking. My run today leads me to believe I need to concentrate on pace - keeping it steady - for the first four miles and then get surgical with the mechanics of my stride for the last two miles.

I'm hopeful for putting in a sub-45 minute race but I'd really like to push myself to get that closer to 40 minutes if possible.

Recovery Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 27:11
Pace: 6:48/mi

Comments: Well, yesterday gang aft agly. But in a nice way.

My sister came over with my niece and a few errands turned into a nice hunk of the day pleasantly spent. My intention was to run an easy four miles in the a.m. and maybe hit the track group in the p.m. But, obviously, that dinna happen.

But the extra day off didn't seem to bother me much. I went out intending to put in a good pace and maybe six miles. I cut it back mileage-wise and focused on getting a good pace. Which was better than I hoped and I felt pretty strong afterward as well.

I have also been concentrating on eating regularly too. Three good meals a day with mid-way snacks of substance. While I don't need to be fully carb-loaded for the 10k, i do want to get the rhythm of the week set for the real deal in January.

Marathon Training Summary: Week 6

Distance: 32.33 miles
Time: 4 hours 25 minutes (approx)

Comments: Very much a recovery week. I didn't push it hard at all on any of the runs.

The logic was that after breaking the 40-mile-week barrier it was best to be conservative. Pretty much every resource I have come across says this this is the magic barrier beyond which injuries start to appear.

So with that and the new shoes, it just seemed wiser to keep it easy. I also took the opportunity to break in the new shoes as well.

Next week will be a bit weird as well, with the race next Sunday, but I've had success with this cutting back and then piling on method in the past so here's hoping my luck holds.

Injury update: The 90 minutes worth of massage really seemed to have made a difference in working some of the kinks out. The trouble spots - tight side quads, left lower calf, inside left knee - are still very much in evidence but now more of a part of the greater whole.

Training Run

Distance: 10 miles
Time: 83:19 minutes
Pace: 8:20/mi

Comments: A nice run that included a rather unpleasant incident.

I got going pretty slow today and skipped the stretch with the intention of going slow to warm up. I wanted to get a solid effort since I have taken it easy this week and the distance was somewhat less than my regular long runs.

About a mile in a heard the footfalls of a dog coming at me. I turned and there was a short white dog coming full speed from an empty field where some kids were playing. The dog didn't bark once and he had that triangular shaped head that suggests a bit of pit bull in him.

I turned to face him and prepared to throw my water bottle - the only weapon I had - and the dog got nailed by a car coming down the road. The car stopped and the dog limped out from under the chassis and then sprinted off across the park. The kids in the field - one of them wailing loudly - took off after it.

I stood there and the man and the woman from the car, which had stopped, came up to me. The woman said she never saw the dog and I didn't doubt it. I told them it wasn't their fault since the animal was clearly heading full speed at me and didn't pay any attention to the traffic.

We both left since there was nothing we could do and, clearly, the incident wasn't our fault. I certainly don't take any pleasure in seeing an animal injured but I consider myself lucky that car hit that dog because I have no doubt the animal was determined to attack me.

Needless to say, my time was off a bit for the run and my mental focus for the rest of the effort was not as sharp as I would have liked.

Training Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 37:10 minutes
Pace: 10:48/mi

Comments: Brutally slow run but mostly cause I took my time to take shots of the route.

Despite the slow slow slow pace, I kept trying to tinker with some of the specifics of my stride - push offs, ball-heel footstrike and arm motion. I think the key for the short term will be breathing control.

This is pretty much my last "take it easy" run. I'll try and concentrate on my 10 miler tomorrow and next week - although not a full-bore week - I'll concentrate on preparing for the Phoenix New Times 10K.

Training Run

Distance: 6 miles
Time: 45:46 minutes
Pace: 7:38/mi

Comments: A bit busy with different projects today so I kind of did this one on autopilot. Dissociative running at its finest.

But it was a good run, nonetheless. I got out and dropped into my pace and let my mind wander while I just cranked it out. Not a bad approach now and then, but not one that is going to get me through the real test of the race.

Training Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: unk
Pace: unk

Comments: Another limited effort. I got out the house and down the street before realizing I left my watch on the dresser. Instead of heading back to get it I just decided to do the run without the time. In fact, I thought it might be good just to aim for the distance and forget about the pace.

And it worked pretty well. I played around with my stride and footfall a bit but nothing really fancy. My main goal was a nice easy run that got the heart rate going and the legs loose of the lethargy.

Although this pull-back week is clearly a good idea in terms of my physiology, I am a bit concerned about the mental aspect. I've really not been motivated at all to run recently and this is sort of playing into that.