Pace Run

Distance: 7 miles
Time: 54:53

Comments: This one didn't suck. Which was nice.

I went out in the evening rather than in the morning to afford myself a bit more recovery time and to acclimate for the track effort tomorrow. It's finally halfway decent running weather - not a sweltering mess to slog through.

The first warmup mile went OK and I got into a decent pace on the first goal mile and tried to keep it reasonable effort. At the two-mile mark I started seriously considering adding an extra goal pace mile. As I turned the corner for the fourth I felt good enough to tack it on.

So, rather than struggling against that horrible feeling of exhaustion and the unrelenting desire to end the run I just battled the fatigue of the effort. Which is a massive improvement. Not easy, by any means, but the battle I need to be fighting.

The conclusion has to be that the diet was a big part of the problem. So now I need to concentrate harder on keeping the nutrition at the optimum levels. Another task easier said than actually accomplished.

Recovery Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 31:37

Comments: This one was very much recovery run in every sense of the term. My legs were pretty much shot after the effort on the track last night and I felt it every step of the way this morning.

I got onto the roman chair to start with - something else I've been neglecting of late. Five sets of three. Very basic. We'll see how that goes.

On the road I felt pretty good despite the expected weariness. While the temperature was warm, it clearly isn't as sweltering out there. And I could tell the difference on the run, without a doubt. At the end I did the whole thing and kept the average pace under the 8 min/mi mark like I wanted.

More importantly, there was none of the urge to stop and walk it in like in weeks past. Which could be the weather as much as anything else. We'll see how the goal pace run goes this week before declaring any kind of victory.

Time Trial

Distance: 5:62 miles
Time: 39:20

Comments: Well, today we were back at the track and to celebrate the occasion we did time trials. Which is essentially the vV02max test. One mile flat out. And what we learned is my feeling of lost stamina ain't just a feeling.

The last time we did this I cranked out the mile in 5:52. Tonight I lost seven seconds by Dean's watch. Eight by mine.

As much as I'd like to chalk the difference up to weather, situation, phases of the moon... the fact is is should be significantly faster given the level of training I've done since then.

Anyhow. The rest of the night was a barrage of 400s at mile pace. Of course, being pissed off at myself I did these tremendously faster than what the workout called for - mile pace. Which, at the time I ran tonight's time trial, should be 1:30. The only lap I did that slow was on the 800 with Jan.

Because as much as I was trying to talk everyone else out of making these time trials a bigger deal mentally than they really deserve, the fact is I'm starting to get my own heapin' helpin' of anxiety about my ability to make up all this lost ground.

Long Run

Distance: 16 miles
Time: 2:24:25

Comments: During our talk this week Dean said that if I felt able to, I should try and add a mile to my long run or push the last mile or two at goal pace. I honestly thought all the way up to the last four miles that I was going to be able to do one of those but it just wasn't to be.

Since the distance was the key, I pretty much ignored the pace and the clock the whole way. That said, I could tell I was doing the thing significantly slower than normal. Which turned out to be just more than 9 min/mil average.

Yet the effect of the fatigue was stark. I averaged 8:45 over the first four miles, just more than 9 min over the next eight but could only manage 9:16 over the last four.

Training Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 35:44

Comments: Talking with Dean yesterday I actually realized that I've not done any type of "easy" run in six weeks. Every other run that I've classified as such has been due to the fact I cut a goal pace run short (but still included goal pace miles).

The point of doing one today wasn't just to throw one in (this one was actually slated for Tuesday) but to get my ass out of bed feeling a bit fatigued. And, hopefully, to work out a bit of soreness from last night's hills.

Well, as a result, the pace wasn't stellar. Averaging right below the nine minute mark. And the effort wasn't inspiring either. This was a slog, make no mistake about it.

And, to liven things up a tad, my left calf - which had been noticeably tight last night, went into full cramp mode several times. Getting through before it decided to go on permanent strike was a delightful bit of anxiety.

Hill Run

Distance: 5.90 miles
Time: 47:56

Comments: I had a chat with Coach Dean this morning and, while I might not feel any better about the situation I'm at in terms of my training, we at least have an idea on how we are going to address it.

Basically I'm going to redouble my nutrition efforts and, since I'm clearly behind on my strengthening efforts, we'll address that in the quality workouts. If all goes well, the two avenues of attack will provide some success.

The first test of things was the run tonight at South Mountain. None of my efforts at this site have been very good but the last one was downright abysmal. The target was getting these under the 4-minute mark and staving off a drastic drop in quality.

The biggest change in my tactics here was not pushing 100 percent at the steep section about a quarter mile mark. I wasn't easing off, but, to often, I've tried to hold the pace and worn myself completely out on this portion.

The upshot, as I hoped, was a stronger finish. I was as breathless and worn-out when I reached the top but not completely toast and unable to do the next one. The first one went remarkably well, finally breaking that 4 minute mark, as was the second. And while I slipped back over the line on the last two I didn't slow by half-a-minute like last time.

Overall, I'm still tremendously disappointed in my conditioning. Given the amount of work I've put in, I should be doing these significantly faster and with a great deal more control. But keeping them all within five seconds is an important indicator of the state of my stamina.

Training Run

Distance: 6 miles
Time: 44:36

Comments: The times on this run might seem exemplary but the fact is this was an unpleasant experience from start to finish. This was supposed to be a six-mile goal pace run but turned into more of a fartlek-style effort.

I was pretty apprehensive getting started due to my unsatisfying efforts of late and although the warmup mile was pretty uneventful, I wasn't completely at ease when time time came to push the pace a little. For good reason, every time I thought I was in the right pace it turned out I was at least 15 seconds slow.

So after a good half mile of this I just got tired of it and hit a full sprint. The idea was to completely break my rhythm and settle into the right pace afterward. But that's when some jackass decided to try and hit me at a crosswalk.

I swerved quickly, avoided him and called him a dickhead as I ran behind the car. Being the calm and understanding motorist he was he decided to threaten to beat my ass and proceeded to try and follow me. Which was pretty stupid in rush hour traffic but, oh well. Arizona drivers aren't renowned for their intelligence.

Anyway, the adrenaline rush pushed my pace back up again and I had to stop for a rest at just past the one mile mark. Between the incident with the idiot and my dissatisfaction with my performance so far, I decided to just scrap the goal pace run and make the workout a series of fast miles. I ran each one at fast pace and rested for about one minute between.

When all was said and done I got the four "goal pace" miles done at an average pace of 6:54 plus the warmup and cooldown miles at 8:30 or so. Given the unorthodox effort I really can't say if my performance was any better or worse than my other recent workouts.

I Did A Green Run 5K

Race: I Did A Green Run 5K
Official Time: 21:26
Gun Time:

Comments:

NYE Midnight Madness 3 Mile Run

Race: NYE Midnight Madness 3 Mile Run
Official Time: 19:20
Gun Time:

Comments:

2008 Holualoa Tuscon Marathon

Race: Holualoa Tucson Marathon
Official Time: 3:24:48
Gun Time: 3:25:04

Comments: OK. The first point to address is the unvarnished fact that this race was a major disappointment. The goal was to qualify for the Boston Marathon and I missed it by three minutes and forty-nine seconds. To get that close and come short was a massive gut punch and I'd be lying if I said otherwise.

Now, aside from that there was a lot of progress here. I bested my previous PR (set at the Sydney Marathon last year) by 6:49 - an improvement of about half-a-minute per mile. More importantly, despite my knee and hip problems this year, neither was a serious issue during or after the race.

So I've clearly made a ton of progress. . . just not quite enough to achieve the goal I'm hoping to reach quite yet.

We got to the resort the Friday before the race so we could pretty much lay low the day prior. This worked pretty good since I got to go to the race expo on Friday and avoid the crush of folks on Saturday. Most of Saturday was taken up with eating carb-rich meals and watching football (and seeing my team lose a heartbreaker of a game).

The morning of the race I woke up at 2:00 a.m. and lay in bed for an hour before just deciding to get going. Most of the pre-race routine was taken up with useless nattering about just to keep busy and not freak out too much.

Before leaving I looked up the 3:15 race split times for the halfway and 20-mile mark and wrote them in ballpoint pen on the back of my hand.

I got on the bus at 5:00 a.m. and took the ride up to Oracle. The trip took almost an hour but we still had a good hour-and-a-half till the start of the race. I sat on in the relative heat of the bus until 6:30 or so then got out and wandered around the start area.

At about 7 a.m. I finally found the rest of the guys and we took the final piss-break and ambled to the start. The temperature to get going was pretty chilly but not abnormally cold. Pretty ideal, actually.

They started the race on time and headed down the hill into the "historic" town of Oracle. As expected, this section was pretty up-and-down as well as narrow. There wasn't anywhere to really go in the pack but the relatively small field - we had just more than 1,000 runners in the marathon - meant it wasn't too crowded. And it slowed us down about right.

We got through the first 7-mile stretch through these side roads pretty well. The hills weren't too fun but nothing brutal either. When we came out onto Oracle Road (SH 77) we were in good spirits and just a bit behind pace - exactly as planned.

The three downhill miles here went really well. We made up a bit of our time but didn't push too hard. As we made the turn at mile 10 into the Biosphere our banter was upbeat and we were feeling great. Of course this is where the wheels fell off for me.

Approaching the Biosphere meant we were heading back toward the Santa Catalina mountains and thus uphill. Add to that there were three actual hills involved and this was a more formidable stretch of the course than it seemed from just a drive over the roads.

The guys were pushing to keep to the pace and I really started to feel it by the middle of the second long hill - dropping F-Bombs intermittently as the suck of the stretch got significantly worse. Since it was two miles in and two miles back, I knew it would be easier once we got to the turnaround but I gave a lot to get there.

And, even when we hit the turnaround, there were the uphills we traversed before to contend with as well. By the time we came up on the half-marathon mark we were running about half-a-minute to a minute behind ideal pace but the worse was over - or so we thought.

Coming out of the Biosphere we got back to Oracle Road for the long 10-mile decline on the highway. The plan was to recoup the lost time from the early miles and the Biosphere as necessary here. Accordingly, we started trying to get closer to the 7:27 mile pace we targeted.

But, increasingly, I was having trouble keeping up. Along the hills in the Biosphere I had a few bad moments but pushing to keep up with the guys got me through the. Out here I found myself constantly pushing to keep up with them and the mental game to keep going was getting really brutal. I was starting to suffer and I knew it.

I kept battling this over the next several miles but when the group sped up to an almost 6:30 per mile pace in order to pass a runner the writing was on the wall for me. Half a mile later - somewhere after the 18-mile mark - I had to let them go.

Now I was in trouble. Out by myself on the course with the pain getting bad and the ability to keep my pace going evaporating by the minute. I knew I had a five-minute cushion due to the difference in our training pace and my actual target but keeping the Garmin pace indicator under 8:00 was getting harder and harder.

The race became a constant battle with the desire to give in through this portion. I knew what I was dealing with from my first marathon experience but coping wasn't any easier. I gave in enough to take a piss break and that helped a little - but it was clear getting the BQ time was going to be close.

Things kept getting bad and I was doing everything I could to keep moving forward. I gave myself two more short breaks when it got brutal with the hope of finishing strong if necessary. Then the 3:20 pace guy caught up with me.

I dropped a hearty F-Bomb and shucked everything extra I was carrying - my gel belt, my sunglasses and even my beloved Alabama hat. The guy (one of the members of Blue Pants Racing) was really cool and supportive but unforgiving with his pace. I kept up as long as I could but eventually he just started pulling away as well.

Then the coup-de-gras. Turning at the 24th mile there was the slight uphill and then to the section behind the Basha's grocery store that was one long incline. I made a last effort to put on a push and slammed into the wall. There was nothing - and I mean nothing - left in my legs.

It was obvious that the rest of the race would be simply trying to keep moving forward to the finish line. But I got across somehow. I was completely and totally shot. My legs were rubber and full of pain. I stopped and waited for one of my fellow runners who I passed at about the 24-mile mark but even just standing there was a lesson in agony.

In retrospect I think we all had enough to not only complete this race in the BQ time but to do so without all the pain. So what happened? Some thought the lack of fluids/carbs was the big factor and others believe the lack of hill training was the culprit. I believe these were factors but I think the big mistake was in the pacing.

When I tried to keep up with the group through the hills in the Biosphere section I pushed myself too hard and paid for it down the stretch.

If I had held to a level of exertion similar to the start of the race - even with the substantial decrease in pace - I would have had so much more left in the tank for the second half. Looking at the breakdown of my splits I was almost exactly on the pace for the 3:20 until that final stretch - 1:39:14 vs my 1:39:01 at the halfway and 2:32:40 in comparison to my 2:30:50 at the 20-mile mark.

But, as my heart-monitor shows, my heart rate increased substantially after the Biosphere section and while I was able to keep it somewhat under control with my decision to slow down I clearly had pushed too hard. When I tried to give the final push my heart rate got up to its max and - I assume - my lactic levels probably were redlining as well.

So what now? Hard to say. First up is to let myself recover from this and then take a closer look at what happened. But it seems pretty clear that Boston '09 is not going to be in the cards.