BQ Take 2 - Tracktown USA Edition

There are no shortcuts to any place worth going ~Beverly Sills

Oh, hello again. If it wasn't already obvious, the Hamkins have officially caught the marathon bug, and we are excitedly planning our training programs and our next couple of 26.2s.

The opportunity to run our next marathon in Eugene, Oregon, through the campus of the University of Oregon and finishing the race on the historic track of Hayward Field was too perfect to pass up.. 

Originally, we had our sights set on running at REVEL Mt Charleston in Vegas in late April, but that just never sat well. The course is a monster net downhill, but it all seemed a little too corporate (think Rock n Roll without the music, crowds, and energy). Plus, it's not really possible to train for a downhill race like that in DC, and we really loved the small town feel that we experienced in Marquette.

The Eugene Marathon takes place on May 7th, which pushes back the beginning of the 18 week training plan from December 26th to January 2nd. The course is pancake flat save for two early minor inclines. This year marks the 11th running, and has been a race mentioned in most "must try" lists since its inception.

I've selected the Pfitz 18/85 training plan for this go around. The past two months I've slowly built up my weekly mileage to the current 65 mpw, which is where the Pfitz plan starts at Week 1. The big noticeable change has been increasing running from 6 to 7 days a week, but so far, so good. 

Christine has been battling some nagging aches and pains the past few months, but has been getting in mileage where she can. She's getting an MRI soon on her hip/knee to pinpoint the issue and finally get clarity on next steps. Hoping it all goes well, and she's back at it soon.

We're pumped for this new challenge and the fun of doing a race in a place so revered as Eugene.

J

Hot Cider Hustle 5K & November Update

Two weeks ago, I ran the Hot Cider Hustle 5K with Christine; a local fall race that took place within the lovely confines of RFK Stadium. Despite the catchy name, the race setup was neither festive nor scenic, as it took place entirely in the parking lots of the property. It was flat, fast and less than a mile from home however, which were the reasons we decided to register.

I've had two focuses the past 6 weeks. One, build up mileage as my "prehab" before diving back into marathon training in December; and two, focusing on shorter interval workouts to increase overall speed and turnover.

Mileage has increased about 10% each week. Last week I hit 55.3 miles, which is actually more mileage than I logged at any point during the last marathon training cycle. Just goes to show how unprepared I really was to attempt to BQ at my first marathon. Anyway, the 55.3 came off a long run of just 14 miles, meaning the long run made up less than 30% of my weekly mileage; a key metric I'd like to have as low as possible. I'm planning to maintain at 55 again this week, drop to 45 next week, then go 55, 60, 65 which will bring me to the beginning of the next marathon cycle on December 19th.

Overall, legs feel OK. I recently purchased a pair of Hoka One One Clifton 2's, which although I love their feel, have given me a pretty serious blister on my left inside arch. I've had some great workouts recently including a 5 x 1k at faster than 5K pace, and a 4 mile tempo @ 10K effort. All of this set me up well to try and PB at the Hot Cider Hustle.

My plan was to go out no faster than 5:50, keeping it under control for the first quarter mile, try and maintain a sub 6 second mile, before gutting out the last with whatever I had left.

I ended up going out a little fast, let the leaders go and settled in, easing off just a bit. Came through mile 1 in 5:45, which I thought going into the race would have doomed me, but I felt good. The second mile was an effort trying to hold a sub 6 pace.

Mile 2: 5:56
Through 2 miles: 11:41

Mile 3 was tough. Thankfully the only person that passed me during the race came up early on. I tucked behind and tried to hold on as long as I could. By the time he pulled away, there was less than a half mile to go, and knew I was in great shape to break 19.

Mile 3: 6:08
Through 3 miles: 17:49

Per strava, my kick surprisingly dipped below 5 minute pace. This old man can still move.

0.1: 31 seconds
Through 5k (strava): 18:20
Through 5k (course): 18:39

Any way you look at it, that's a sub 19. First time since 2002.

Feels very good to have come this far the past two years. I feel like recent race results and workouts are setting me up for an amazing 2017!

Christine also nailed a PB, coming through in 24:10. That look she gets when she has a great race; makes all of this worth it. Proud of you, C.

November Goals

Vision without action is a daydream.

Action without vision is a nightmare. 

                                                                 ~Japanese Proverb

The first half of October was spent building back up mileage after taking it easy during most of September after the marathon. During the last several weeks; I've focused on speed workouts while simultaneously building up mileage to 50 mpw. I've been pushing myself on the track and I think it's showing dividends. I really feel ready to breakthrough. I came up with a short 6 week plan after the Detroit Free Press Half to try and get my 5K times down before going back into marathon training. Here are the completed workouts:

Week 1: 12 x 400 w 200 jog (87 avg)
Week 2: 12 x 400 w 200 jog (86 avg); 3 x mile w 4 min jog (5:49, 5:51, 5:53)
Week 3: 4 x 800 w 200 jog (2:53 avg) + 4 x 400 (87, 87, 86, 81)

I have two 5K's planned this month; the DC Hot Cider Hustle on November 5th and then my target race is the GCR Thanksgiving Turkey Trot in Naples, Florida on Thanksgiving morning. I should be able to break 19 this weekend, and I really feel close to being able to go sub 18:30. It was only last year that I had a goal of breaking 20.

By the end of the month, I'd like to be up to 60 mpw. For this upcoming marathon cycle which begins next month already, I'd like to average 65 - 70 and peak at 75. That should help a long way toward getting me that BQ!

October Update

Quick Update:

Easing back into training after Marquette:
Week 1 post marathon: 6 miles
Week 2: 27 miles
Week 3: 23 miles
Week 4: 36 miles
Week 5: 42.5 miles
Week 6: 35.5 miles
Week 7: 38.5

Medium-Long runs have only been 10 - 11 miles.

Ran a half marathon 6 weeks after Marquette in 1:32:36 in tough race conditions.

Currently in a 6 week 5k training plan, with 3 track workouts each week. Goal race is Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot. Goal time is sub 19 (6 min goal pace).

Immediately after the 5K, planning to begin building up mileage to 65 mpw over the next 10 weeks: 40, 45, 50, 55, 47, 55, 60, 50, 60, 65; with the last 5 weeks being the start of the 18 week marathon training plan (goal peak mileage 70 - 75) for Revel Mt. Charleston in Vegas.

BQ Attempt #2 - Viva Las Vegas!

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts ~ Winston Churchill

After the great experience of going for our first BQ at Marquette - albeit with a disappointing result -  it didn't take very long to begin thinking about the next one. While we originally thought of doing REVEL Canyon City in November, C & I both agreed that probably wouldn't be the smartest move.

For attempt #2, we would finally have the ability to properly plan out our training. An 18 - 20 week marathon training plan immediately following a focus on speedwork and 5k/10k's this Fall, lined up an early Spring race perfectly. Research led me to the REVEL Mt. Charleston Marathon.

Taking place in Las Vegas on April 29, 2017, the inaugural race in 2016 was the fastest in the country this year (so far). The net drop is 5,200 feet; with a downhill gradient seemingly less severe than other REVEL courses. This year saw a BQ qualifying percentage of 40%, second only to the US Olympic Marathon Trials.

Those statistics are too great to pass up.

And so, Vegas it is.

Marquette Marathon Race Report

The marathon can humble you ~ Bill Rodgers

Remind me... what's that story where after three months of training for and discussing how they were going to qualify for the Boston marathon, the two protagonists fell short of their goal and then had to blog about it?

In all honesty though, this isn't nearly as difficult to write as I thought it might be.

I am proud to have achieved the accomplishment of completing a marathon. There is no minimizing that. Reflecting that as recent as four months ago I had yet to race even a half marathon, there is a great feeling of athletic achievement and success in finishing a distance event of 26 miles, 385 yards. For the last three months I had been so focused on qualifying for Boston, that I think I lost sight of the overall challenge. Running a marathon is really tough to do.

I made a conscious decision not to dwell on what went wrong immediately following the race. There would be a lot of time to reflect, and I wanted to remember the experience as a positive one and appropriately celebrate our accomplishment. The best moment for me was watching Christine cross the finish line and embracing her at the finish line. I couldn't have been more proud of her. It was a long Summer...Both crossing that finishing line, despite a time which we were not happy with, was well worth all of the sacrifices.

So what happened?

Honestly, I'm still not sure. I came through the half at 1:32; felt great through mile 16, and was near goal pace until mile 18 or 19. I suspect it was a combination of not taking in enough fluids early on (completely avoidable) and fatigue (a result of being under trained). I don't think I "bonked" in the true sense of the word. There was no hitting the wall; just a decline in my ability to run at any sort of respectable pace. That extra gear wasn't there when I needed it.

I think the absence of long run fast finish workouts was what had the most effect. I knew it might going in; but I thought that pushing through the pain as one might in mile 3 of a 5K race, may help in the last 10k - 12k of a marathon. But there wasn't pain to try and push through, which I wasn't expecting. I thought I could will myself to maintain goal pace. Instead, I had nothing left with 7 miles to go.

Reviewing my splits, I don't think I was overly aggressive the first half. At most, I was ~65 seconds under total time. Maybe that had a bigger effect that I think?

Here were the splits:

Mile 1: 7:11
Mile 2: 7:13
Mile 3: 6:54
Mile 4: 6:48
Mile 5: 6:54
Mile 6: 6:50
Mile 7: 6:44
Mile 8: 7:06
Mile 9: 7:15
Mile 10: 6:58
Mile 11: 7:11
Mile 12: 6:59
Mile 13: 6:59
Mile 14: 6:58
Mile 15: 6:53
Mile 16: 7:08
Mile 17: 7:28
Mile 18: 7:52
Mile 19: 8:27
Mile 20: 9:17
Mile 21: 10:07
Mile 22: 11:44
Mile 23: 12:53
Mile 24: 12:52
Mile 25: 14:43
Mile 26: 14:45

Overall: 3:49:27

Those last miles are painful to look at. Clearly something happened before mile 20. By mile 23; running turned more into shuffling.

At the start, temperatures were in the low 50s. The conditions were perfect. I think my sweat rate tricked me somewhat in thinking I didn't need as much fluid as I really required. Rather than walk through aid stations and ensuring I got in at least 4 ounces, against my own advice I ran through them, slowing down for most, but probably not getting half as much fluid as I needed to. If this were the sole culprit for what happened, I would feel pretty bad knowing it was completely avoidable. But I don't think it was.

I took my chews at 3.75, 8.5, 12.75, and 16.5 but missed the aid station at the last one which left me without fluid for 4 miles. Around mile 22 I tried stopping to stretch where my hamstring completely seized up on me and almost caused me to fall down. From there until the finish seemed like an eternity. While I was in the top 30 for first three quarters of the race, I got passed by runners who came through the half some 20 minutes behind me.

Despite all of this, I was still able to make it to the finish line, cross with a smile, and proudly receive my medal.

The marathon can indeed humble you.

-J

Links! Helpful Links!

Here are some links I found helpful during marathon training:

http://www.endurancedoc.com/Training/Training_running_a_marathon.htm

https://bridgerridgerun.wordpress.com/2015/03/30/how-to-run-a-3-hour-marathon-a-just-enough-training-approach/

https://cloud259.com/advice-from-the-elites-on-breaking-300-for-the-marathon/

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/the-running-blog/2016/apr/21/sub-3-marathon-data-strava-london

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/04/17/400386616/running-a-marathon-how-to-eat-and-drink-so-you-dont-hit-the-wall

https://run4prs.co/2016/07/14/why-running-slow-will-make-you-fast/

http://www.runbritain.com/training/runfaster/six-week-schedule-to-run-5k-in-under-18-minutes

http://www.runnersworld.com/race-training/your-fastest-weight?cid=soc_RWAdvanced_TWITTER_Runner%E2%80%99s%20World__Nutrition

http://racingweight.com/rwe/index.html#/

http://old.centralparktc.org/training/coach01.htm

http://sciencebasedrunning.com/2014/12/the-basics-running-tangents/

http://www.saltyrunning.com/2013/03/26/running-the-tangents-why-your-gps-thinks-every-race-course-is-long/

https://www.takethemagicstep.com/training-exercise/athletes/tapering-maximizing-the-remaining-weeks-of-training-before-your-marathon/

http://running.competitor.com/2014/03/training/the-art-of-the-marathon-taper_57754

http://home.trainingpeaks.com/blog/article/a-complete-guide-to-proper-marathon-nutrition

http://www.outsideonline.com/2098556/heat-training-better-altitude-training

Marquette Marathon Tracking Alerts

For those interested in tracking our progress during the marathon, here are the relevant details:

Race Date / Start: Saturday September 3rd. 7:30am

Text Alerts: You can sign up for live text alerts here https://live.superiortiming.com/race/5

Search athlete by last name: Hammer (Christine) Bib # 107
Search athlete by last name: Lufkin (Jason) Bib # 172

The Plan (Part 2 - Nutrition) + Final Training Update

Run the first part with your head, the middle part with your personality, and the last part with your heart ~Mike Fanelli

One aspect of racing I previously did not have a need to consider, outside of a solid pre-race breakfast, was my nutrition intake.

For all race distances up to a half marathon, you can easily get by using your stored glycogen levels and course provided water/sports drink. The marathon is a different animal though. Athletes more or less have 1800 - 2400 of available glycogen stores before they 'hit the wall.' For everyone except elites, this means they will run out of fuel before the finish line. This means you need to replenish your calories/carbohydrates/electrolytes during the race to prevent falling apart during the later stages.

Practicing hydration and nutrition intake during training is arguably as important as the running itself. Showing up unprepared to the marathon is practically guaranteeing a poor performance. So we did our research; had some successful and unsuccessful trials during long runs, and came up with our strategy.

Both of our preferred nutrition was the Clif Shot Blok with caffeine. These are gummy chews that surprisingly taste good, but most importantly are easy to take down after 2 hours of running. Three bite-size pieces contain 100 calories and 24g of carbs.

We both will space out our nutrition intake roughly every 4 miles through mile 20. I plan to consume 500 calories worth, while Christine is targeting 400. We will bring an extra portion for reserves. Each shot blok should be taken with water; so the intake will be timed with arriving at aid stations.

Here's the aid station / nutrition plan:

Aid station #1 - Mile 2: Gatorade
Aid station #2 - Mile 3.75: Water & Shot Blok
Aid station #3 - Mile 6: Gatorade
Aid station #4 - Mile 8.5:  Water & Shot Blok
Aid station #5 - Mile 10.5: Gatorade
Aid station #6 - 12.75: Water & Shot Block
Aid station #7 - 14.75: Gatorade
Aid station #8 -  16.5: Water & Shot Block
Aid station #9 - 17.5: Gatorade (if needed)
Aid station #10 - 18.75: Gatorade
Aid station #11 - 20: Water & Shot Block
Aid station #12 - 21.25: Gatorade
Aid station #13 - 22.5: Gatorade or Water
Aid station #14 - 24: Gatorade or Water
Aid station #15 - 25: Gatorade or Water

Hopefully, this strategy will avert the bonk!

Other nutritional related thoughts:

- Last big meal 36 hours before race
- Begin carb loading 7 days before race
- Expect to gain a few pounds during the last week of taper; but should definitely ease back on calories to limit this
- Race day breakfast should replicate what was eaten before every long run during training
- 10 minutes before race top off with 4 - 6 ounces of gatorade
- Introduce nothing new to your system beginning 72 hours out from race
- It's perfectly okay to walk or at least jog through aid stations - may be helpful to practice this

Training Update

Taper is going well. It's 11(!!) days out from the marathon and today was the last short tempo run. Mileage has been cut back from a peak of 56 two weeks ago to 41 last week and now to 32 this week. Overall, I'm feeling pretty fresh and strong. This lower humidity lately is helping as well. Christine decided to take up yoga-lattes classes to help strengthen her core the past several weeks; seems to be helping alleviate lingering hip related pain.

Pretty much on cruise control from here on out. Weather forecast is still early, but we're possibly looking at a race time temperature of 56, rising up to the mid 60s at the finish with low humidity. Couldn't ask for better conditions.. as long as it doesn't rain.

I'll post again late next week with our bib numbers and tracking information if your interested in following us during the race.

This has certainly been an intense but fun journey this past summer. We will give it our best out there.

Love,
C & J

The Plan (Part 1 - Race Strategy)

To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift ~Steve Prefontaine

So here we are...

It's less than 3 weeks out from the Marquette Marathon and our attempt to qualify for Boston. All of the intensive training and hard work is behind us. Now it's time to focus on creating the best race day plan possible.

Being my first marathon, I felt obligated to do a ton of research. There were a surprising amount of variables to consider. A lot of opinions, think-pieces, formulas, data-points, graphs, horror stories, and guides to success.

Bottom line, there is no magic formula. Every single individual is different. What works for you, will likely be different from the person standing next to you. It takes a lot of trial and error and experimentation. Since I have had only a few short months to prepare, I'm going with the approach that stands the greatest chance of success on race day. There are no guarantees though. There is no perfect. There are only guesses, assumptions, and probabilities. The goal is to weigh all of the available inputs and information in order to put together a strategy and plan that stands the best chance of realizing our marathon potential.


Race Strategy

I have reviewed the course elevation profile (numerous times). I have tried to read every existing Marquette Marathon race recap/report. I have reviewed every strava run along the Marquette Marathon route.

I know where the uphills are. I know where the downhills are. I know where is shaded and areas that are exposed to direct sunlight. I'm aware of which tangents to focus on.

The goal is to qualify for Boston. That will take a time faster than 3 hour 10 minutes 00 seconds for myself, and 3 hours 40 minutes 00 seconds for Christine.

I have focused training at a marathon pace of 7:04; which results in a 3:05:17. This allows myself a maximum buffer of 4:43 (there are additional considerations, but for simplicity of this post I will ignore detailing them).

I have broken down this race into three segments; the first 10 miles, the second 10 miles, the last 10K.

Miles 1- 10

The single most important goal in the first few miles is to start slow. Slightly slower than goal marathon pace.

There will be a lot of adrenaline flowing at the start line. We will be feeling strong and refreshed after a three week taper. The natural reaction will be take off at the gun and push the pace because your legs feel so good. It will also be our first run in fall-like conditions (hopefully!). But the goal here is to start out slow and ease our way into goal marathon pace.

The first 10 miles should feel controlled and with minimal effort.

C	J	Elev
8:26	7:15	9 ft
8:27	7:16	24 ft
8:22	7:11	-25 ft
8:18	7:07	-61 ft
8:17	7:06	20 ft
8:23	7:12	-55 ft
8:10	6:59	-52 ft
8:18	7:07	9 ft
8:11	7:00	-1 ft
8:11	7:00	-32 ft

Jason time goal: 1 hour 11 minutes 13 seconds (7:07 pace)
Christine time goal: 1 hour 23 minutes 03 seconds (8:18 pace)

Miles 11 - 20

This is where we go to work.

The long gentle downhill occurs from roughly mile 10.5 to 16. The fundamental question to consider is whether we want to bank time, or bank energy.

In my opinion, banking time is a ridiculous notion in the first half of a long distance race. It seems there are few marathoners that miss their time goal by small margins. Come mile 23 or 24, a few dozen seconds banked by taking downhills aggressively won't make much difference with respect to your time goal, whereas you may have depleted some much needed fuel. I think conserving energy is most important here to be as fresh as possible to attack the later stages of the race.

That said, I'm not advocating the most conservative approach to this section of the course. I think our pace should be ~12 seconds faster during the downhills; letting gravity do the majority of the work, while not overdoing it. We've practiced a fair amount of downhill running this training cycle; focusing on form, stride cadence, and body positioning.

The downhill ends at mile 16 as the course heads into downtown Marquette. Here, the course hugs Lake Superior and stays flat for 5.5 miles. Our effort level should be increasing a good amount as we try to maintain here. Goal pace for mile 16 - 20 will be 5 seconds below MP.

C	J	Elev
8:14	7:03	-29 ft
8:14	7:03	-111 ft
7:57	6:46	-136 ft
8:00	6:49	-112 ft
7:52	6:41	-129 ft
8:01	6:50	-86 ft
8:06	6:55	-31 ft
8:11	7:00	-6 ft
8:13	7:02	-9 ft
8:10	6:59	-3 ft

Jason time goal: 1 hour 09 minutes 08 seconds (6:54 pace)

• Cumulative time goal: 2 hours 20 minutes 21 seconds (7:01 pace)

Christine time goal: 1 hour 23 minutes 03 seconds (8:05 pace)

• Cumulative time goal: 2 hours 44 minutes 01 seconds (8:12 pace)

Miles 21 - 26.2

Last 10K of the marathon. This will be the toughest segment and ask for our maximum effort level. Achieving our goal will likely come down to our ability to dig down and push ourselves during this portion of the race.

This section is where dividends payoff from long run fast finish workouts; which we unfortunately hadn't been able to complete. It's tough to simulate or prepare for the last 10k of a marathon without that type of workout. So there are unknowns here. But, I remain convinced we have the fitness to handle it.

Back to the course; there are two hills of note. One is during mile 22. It's about 100 feet; immediately followed by a downhill of the same length. The last hill is a gentle incline over the last mile of the race.

I'm most concerned about the mile 22 hill. From all accounts, the slope isn't too bad, but it's in the perfect position to throw you off rhythm. Using the downhill will be critical in regaining pace.

From there, it's 3.5 flat miles until the last finishing hill, where anything left in the tank will be used to get to the line.

C	J	Elev
8:15	7:04	2 ft
8:56	7:45	95 ft
8:21	7:10	-86 ft
8:19	7:08	-11 ft
8:25	7:14	2 ft
8:45	7:34	74 ft
1:45	1:30	42 ft

Jason time goal: 45 minutes 25 seconds (7:19 pace)

• Cumulative time goal: 3 hours 05 minutes 46 seconds (7:05 pace)

Christine time goal: 52 minutes 46 seconds (8:30 pace)

• Cumulative time goal: 3 hours 36 minutes 47 seconds (8:16 pace) 

To be continued...

Reflections

Set a goal so big that you can't achieve it until you grow into the person who can ~Anonymous

Before I get ahead of myself; there are still two important workouts left before training transitions into the taper phase:

Saturday: 10 miles @ MP
Sunday: 20 miles

That said, come Sunday around 9am, you just might hear a scream of pure joy emanating from the roads of Capitol Hill; our marathon training cycle will have officially peaked. 

It's been a journey; completing 11 weeks of some of the most intensive athletic training of my life. Christine and I have sacrificed a lot this summer to chase our goal of qualifying for Boston. Waking up before 5am to get runs in. Going to bed at 9pm to make sure we get in a solid eight hours of sleep. Running through some of the worst heat and humidity DC has seen in years. We've missed birthday parties and celebratory occasions because they interfered with our training schedule. We've traveled less. Practically gave up alcohol. Haven't spend time with friends or family nearly as much as we would have liked. Even our dog has had enough.

But, this is a moment to be proud of. I don't mean to overstate or overemphasize the sacrifices of training for a marathon. Millions of people have done it before. Everyone makes sacrifices in life for their goals. I'm just especially gratified of this one; just two years ago I was 235 pounds and unable to run more than 2 miles at a time. Now I am logging close to 60 miles this week and have dropped my weight to 175. I'm officially a runner reborn. And in serious need of a new wardrobe.

No matter what happens in 3 weeks at Marquette, it's the voyage that matters. Someday, Christine and I will run in Boston together. It will happen. I've learned so much about myself from the past 3 months, and I'm sure Christine can say the same. The focus, drive, and determination required to get ourselves to the starting line for a 26.2 mile race with a legitimate chance of qualifying for one of the toughest marathons in the world is no small feat. I'm incredibly proud and honored to have done this with my wife. No matter what happens at our first marathon together, there will be another. And another. Any many more, god willing.

Just wanted to share this.


-J

Dahlgren Heritage Trail Half Marathon Race Report

Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt ~John Muir

The only race during this marathon training cycle called for a half marathon time trial. There aren't many available in the beginning of August, so when I saw a trail half down in Fredericksburg, I quickly signed us up.

I had done trail running back in high school in the hills of the Green Mountains in Vermont - and loved it. But I didn't realize how different running slow easy miles in the Green Mountains would be from racing a half marathon on a trail. In hindsight, I never would have chosen a trail half as our tune up race. It just doesn't give you an accurate assessment of your marathon potential for reasons I'll call out below.

My goal was to run a 1:28; I thought this time would support the proper fitness, endurance, and speed required to run my 3:05 marathon goal time. Two things I failed to take into account; 1) the nature of trail racing itself (it's slower then road racing) and 2) the impact of the heat/humidity on your race performance in the depths of Summer. I was a bit stubborn I guess; I thought since I had trained through the slog of Summer in DC, I could try and race through it too. Turns out I was wrong. My result suffered and I was pretty frustrated with myself.

That said, it was a cool experience; something new and different. The race was well run - incredibly friendly staff and volunteers.

Run on the Dahlgren Rail Heritage Trail, this race typically occurs annually in February; For the first time, the half marathon was also taking place in August (along with a 50K ultra). Dubbed the '3 H' Half; hot, hazy, and humid; the race day conditions definitely lived up to its name.

Christine and I left DC before 6am for the 1 hr 15 minute drive to Fredericksburg; and of course hit traffic on 95 South.. because when is there not traffic on 95 in Virginia at 7am on the weekend? The race was set to begin at 8am and we arrived a little after 7:30. Naturally, I was stressed about being rushed. I like to be able to take my time, run through warm up drills, and get to the start line feeling refreshed.

I was able to get a quick 8 minute warm up in, listen to a trail overview, and wish Christine a good race before lining up at the start. Temps were in the high 70s with a dew point around 74, making for pretty miserable race conditions. Despite this and the fact that this was my first trail race, I still planned to go out in the high 6:40s and hope to hit my goal of 1:28.

That plan lasted about 3 miles.

My first mile was 6:43 which was a little on the faster side than I had hoped; but the first mile was flat and straight. There were rail ties in the first half mile of the course and crushed stone was spread throughout most of the trail. Two things I should have noticed early on:

1) The humidity was taking an early toll. The 6:43 felt like a lot more effort than it should have been.

2) The trail was yielding about 90 - 95% of the effort I put in with each stride.

But, I was stubborn and ignored these things. I settled in about 15 seconds behind the leader and maintained the gap through 2 miles. I came through mile 2 at 6:50; and by this point was definitely laboring a lot more than I should.

When I hit mile 3 at 7:01, I knew that 1:28 was definitely out. Unfortunately, I didn't really think this through ahead of time, and had no backup plan to fall back on. Take-away #3.

There were a few minor rolling hills on the trail, and as luck would have it, these came up as the trail changed from a manageable crushed stone surface to a less-giving large stone gravel. Into mile 4, I also had another runner roll up behind me where he would park himself for the next 4 miles.

Mile 4:  7:22
Mile 5:  7:03
Mile 6:  7:12

The race was an out and back; with the turn around point just past the 6.5 mile trail marker. After taking some gatordae at the aid station at turn around; we started making our way towards the finish. The leader was about a minute in front, and several runners 30 - 40 seconds back of me and my 3rd place companion.

Around this point, I started feeling the fast start catch-up to me; probably in combination with the humidity as well. The large stones weren't helping matters either. Just after mile 8, my running buddy made a surge and put a good 20 seconds on me fairly quickly. It was textbook. At no point did I consider covering and going with him.

Mile 7:  7:24
Mile 8:  7:32
Mile 9:  7:53

With about 4 to go; I was struggling and without any real plan or desire to push myself. 1:28 was long gone, and so was a PB (currently ~1:32). Then I heard the 4th place runner behind me. I looked back (rookie move), noticed he was about 150 meters back, and suddenly found my ad hoc goal: Finish in 3rd place, ahead of any other runners behind me.

Mile 10:  7:17
Mile 11:  7:26
Mile 12:  7:50

At the last aid station with 1.3 miles left, I looked back again (ugh), noticed 4th place had gained some, and was prepared to go as hard as it took to secure a top 3. As the finish line came in sight, ignoring my GPS watch that would have told me the finish was still a half mile away and thus too early to start my kick, I dug down and dropped my pace to the 6:20s. I was putting distance on 4th place and everything was going as planned, except for the small fact that my kick is maybe good for a quarter mile before I run out of steam, and I was still a quarter mile from the finish. I slowed down for a few seconds, regrouped, and gutted out another quarter mile kick, finally finishing 3rd in 1:36:43.

Mile 13: 7:36
Last 0.2 pace:  6:34 


My GPS read 13.2, which is surprising considering there weren't many turns; resulting in an overall average pace of 7:20.

Normally, I consider placing irrelevant. Placing for the most part is entirely random... except for those instances when you bonk your time goals and decide mid-race to focus on some type of moral victory. Which is exactly what this was.

I'm not sure how, or if, I should use this race as a barometer for my marathon potential  Trail running is tougher than road. Racing in the heat and humidity affects you in ways that are tough to quantify compared to cool, dry air. I'd be lying if I said I can readily disregard my half marathon time here. But, there are positives:

- The importance of starting out slow could not be more overstated. Slower than goal marathon pace for the first few miles is a must. Especially with all the race day adrenaline flowing.

- Have a plan B.. and C and D. There are many paths to a BQ. Not all of them are at 7:04 MP.

- My kick is not limited to a quarter mile.

The weather is a variable you can't control. I need to accept that. It will take near perfect conditions to BQ. Marathon potential looks very different in 50 degree and cloudy overcast skies versus an 80 degree, humid, and sunny day.

Finally, I'd be remiss to mention that although Christine experienced a tough day out there with the weather conditions as well, she was able to compete her way to her first age group victory. Very proud of her!

-J

Week 10: Down The Home Stretch

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go ~ T.S. Eliot

Nine weeks ago, when deciding on the Hal Higdon Advanced 2 training plan; there were two series of workouts that most worried me:

Week 9: Satuday - 9 miles @ MP; Sunday - 20 mi
Week 11: Saturday - 10 miles @ MP; Sunday - 20 mi

These workouts contained the most miles at marathon pace followed by twenty mile efforts the next day.

Though the conditions weren't ideal out there; I successfully completed the Week 9 workouts this past weekend; gaining a ton of confidence in the process.

On Saturday, I followed the pre-race routine I will use come game day:  10 minute warmup, plyometrics, 3 x 15 sec strides. I then towed up to an imaginary starting line; and got through 9 miles at 7:12 average pace. This was 8 seconds slower than my goal MP, but I adjusted slightly to account for the high humidity levels. It was a tough effort; but I felt strong and actually considered going further; until I realized I had a 20 miler the next morning.

On Sunday; I decided to use a new route I had researched that I thought would keep my mind fresh and focused. Heading out, I felt surprisingly good considering the effort from the day before. I made a decision to go slower than what the plan probably called for. I wanted to be sure I had a consistent effort for 20 miles. Something I had had a 50% success rate of looking at all of my long runs in the cycle. I wanted to get a fair assessment of my overall strength after 3 hours moving on my feet.

After 15 miles; my legs felt a bit heavy, but it proved to be more of a mental game than physical. I was able to hold a steady MP + 115 second pace through mile 20. Time spent running: 3 hours 43 seconds.

Towards the end of those 20 miles, I could actually begin to visualize myself BQ'ing next month. It no longer was a question of whether I was fit enough; or had enough endurance. It started to click that this would all come down to how much I wanted it; how much I would be ready to endure the physical pain and mental fatigue in getting to the finish line under 3:10:00.

I think that by following and executing this training plan, I've positioned myself with enough fitness to run a 3:05 marathon. I have no doubt now. The ultimate challenge will be navigating what goes on between the ears 22 miles into the race. That is where I start to turn my focus.

Here's how the remaining 5 weeks look:

Week	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun	Weekly Mileage
10	4 m run	7 x 800	5 m run	Rest	Rest	Half Marathon	5 m run	37
11	5 m run	8 x 800	5 m run	40 tempo	Rest	10 m pace	20	55
12	5 m run	6 x hill	5 m run	30 tempo	Rest	4 m pace	12	40
13	4 m run	30 tempo	4 m run	4 m pace	Rest	4 m run	8	31
14	3 m run	3 m pace	Rest	Rest	2 m run	Marathon		36

Only two weeks to go until taper!

-J

Drop it Like it's Hot

The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today. ~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

I am never training for another marathon through the heart of a DC Summer. Just wanted to put that out there. The past 2 weeks have been intense. Every run has been a struggle.

Back in High School/College; all the running during July and August in preparation for Fall XC was base building. Long runs, slow miles. Very different than doing intensive training for a marathon. Mentally, I wasn't prepared for this. Even though I'm getting out around sunrise; the humidity has caused the most misery. This past Monday, a 4 mile recovery run was honestly the most difficult "easy miles" run of my life. The dew point was 78. By any metric; that's awful.

I've managed to make it through every workout, except for a 45 minute tempo run earlier this week. After 33 minutes; I was on E and though I should have tried to push through the fatigue, I dropped off and jogged it back in. Still frustrated at myself for that one. This morning was 4 @ MP; which I pushed through. I'm a bit scared of the 9 @ MP Saturday; followed by 20 on Sunday.

Overall, I actually feel very strong. It's a weird feeling; once I get outside all that strength and energy seems to be sucked out of my core fairly quickly. Next weekend is the half marathon time trial that I'm just hoping for decent conditions. I think I could go sub 1:28; maybe 1:27:30. Not going to put pressure on myself though. I just want a solid and focused effort leading up to Marquette.

Biggest concern so far has been that all of my long runs have been slow miles. I haven't been able to put in any miles at MP at the end of any of the long runs. From everything I've read; the best indicator of being able to hit your marathon goal pace is the ability to do long run fast finishes.

Otherwise; finally seeing dividends after laying off alcohol for the past few months. Down to ~178 lbs. This is definitely the fittest I've been since college. Although, life has pretty much been run, work, eat, sleep, repeat. I miss fun Jay. Did treat myself to a brew at the Nationals game last weekend. Living wild!

-J

Week 8

Success is best measured by how far you've come with the talents you've been given. ~Unknown

One takeaway I've had so far is just how difficult marathon training is when traveling on weekends. Having just returned from a quick weekend trip up to Boston; this was the 4th of the last 6 weekends that Christine and I traveled out of town. Not only is it a logistical challenge; planning new running routes, adjusting your training routine, etc; the resulting lack of consistency week in and week out takes a big toll. Though I love traveling as much as possible during the Summer months, I'm very much looking forward to staying in DC until race weekend.

So we are now in the middle of Week 8 (!!); and starting to show signs of wear and tear. Christine has been dealing with an IT-band issue; which has caused her to ease back the intensity a bit. I ended up taking an extra day off last week, since I felt really fatigued after an 8 mile MP run Thursday followed by a 12 miler Friday. No red flags yet, thankfully; but this just reinforces the importance of core work that goes along with marathon training, which I can definitely do a better job of. Foam rolling is your friend.

Overall, the extra day of rest has helped. I feel fresher heading into the long miles this weekend. Sunday's scheduled long run is 19 miles, which conveniently will be during DC's hottest stretch of the year. It's looking like near 100 degree temperatures all weekend. The plan will be to head out pre-dawn in hopes of finishing before the sun angle gets too high. 

While we remain optimistic of qualifying at Marquette, we have come up with a backup plan if we do not BQ together. That backup plan is the REVEL Canyon City Marathon. Just outside of Los Angeles, California, REVEL is the fastest BQ marathon course in the US. The marathon net drop is 5,073 feet. Over five thousand feet! That's ridiculous.

Should either Christine or I not qualify for 2017 Boston, we will head out to Cali for the November 12th race. That said, this is the last moment I want to spend thinking about REVEL.

All focus continues to be on a BQ at Marquette.

-J

The Glass is Half Full

One day you won't be able to do this. Today is not that day. ~Unknown

Today marks 50 days out from the Marquette marathon. Come Sunday, we will be 50% through training. 276 miles will have been run; 303 to go.

On tap this morning was 8 miles at MP. Conditions were rough. While the heat wasn't bad at 6am, the humidity was up there; with dew points in the low 70s.

The workout was...tough. Ended up averaging 7:07; but that is a bit misleading as the first 5 were in the upper 6:50s and then mile 7 & 8 were more like 7:25 / 7:20. It was a complete mental game. Really wanted to quit after 6. I saw my pace increasing, thought I may be overheating some, and I was sweating buckets. Post run weigh-in had me down 7 pounds water weight, which is something I'd typically see through ~16 miles.

I saw my wife grinding out her MP's on the Mall and that provided extra motivation to get through it. Overall, I was still surprised with how difficult today was compared to my 7 miles at MP two weeks ago. Today's effort was a 9+; whereas two weeks ago it was more like a 6. We'll see. The only way to get faster is to train faster. Need to keep running that through as I'm out there.

Meanwhile; last Sunday's 17 miler went great. I switched from Water+Gu to Gatorade; and that seemed to make a huge difference. That and the fact that I haven't had any beer/alcohol since the 4th. While I kept the pace easy at MP + 75, this was still my longest run ever. My hamstrings started to get tight around mile 14, but I was able to stay on pace through the rest of the run.

Normally, the training plan calls for a half marathon time trial at the midway point through the program; but Christine and I are traveling to Boston this weekend. I sought input on when would be the latest we could race a half before the marathon; the universal consensus was 4 weeks. So we will be doing a flat trail half down in Fredricksburg on August 6th; which will be one week before the last 20 miler and the start of our taper.

The long run this week is eased back to 12 miles; following the high/high/low model. The next series of long runs are 19/20/HM. Going to keep the pace easy/moderate for this one; but am planning to throw in a few 60 second surges/pickups. Hoping for lower humidity!

-J

Lists

Later, I shall have pie ~Anonymous

Getting into the toughest stretch of training now. Logged 17 miles this past Sunday, 6 x 800 this morning, and have 8 miles at MP coming up Thursday. The next 5 weeks are looking pretty brutal.

Everything hurts. Starting to walk funny. People notice. Neighbors notice. The dog is now walking me. Poor Poe, they say; 'There goes old man Lufkin, walking all crazy. Let's cross the street.' I try to wave hello. They pretend to ignore me and look at their phone. But I see them. It's just an empty hand.

Alright, so it's not that bad. But, still. Training in this heat and humidity wears you down. It beats you up a little more. So, to combat the monotony of analyzing the past few days of training in this sweatfest, I've decided to make a list.

A list of all the things I'm looking forward to enjoying (without guilt) after Marquette.

1) Drinking beer at Bluejacket

2) Pie

3) Drinking beer at Nationals games

4) Bonchon

5) Drinking beer at Right Proper

6) SNICKERDOODLES

7) Drinking Old Pro's by the pool

8) Not weighing myself 4x a day

9) Going to bed after 9:30pm

10) Less rice

11) Less Google searching: What's the shortest recovery period needed before running another marathon?

More to come later this week...

-J

Highs & Lows

The real purpose of running isn't to win a race, it's to test the limits 

of the human heart ~ Bill Bowerman

It's been a roller coaster week of training. I've gone from crushing my toughest workout yet; feeling like there is nothing that can get in my way from achieving a BQ, to completely falling apart during my long run 72 hours later.

First, the good. Last Thursday's 7 miles at MP was one of the best runs I've had in the last two years. I felt strong, focused, and determined. My splits were:

7:02
6:56
6:51
6:54
6:51
6:52
6:31

I honestly felt like I could have kept going and run a ~1:28 half that morning. I was feeling incredibly confident with where my training was.

Then came the Sunday 16 miler.

In short, I completely fell apart after 10 miles. I'm not sure if it was heat exhaustion, dehydration, or some other root cause, but I have never experienced a run quite like that before.

Christine and I traveled to Michigan early on Saturday and the plan was to do a 16 mile out-and-back early Sunday morning. We did some Fourth of Julying Saturday evening - nothing too crazy - but ended up sleeping in a little later than we wanted to. We didn't get out to the trail until 10:30am.

The weather wasn't bad. It wasn't too hot or humid. Light winds. After having my normal breakfast (maple pecan & sea salt KIND bar), I did feel properly hydrated by the time we got out there. The plan was to take it easy throughout and run at a steady MP +70 to 80.


The first half felt OK. The trail was less shaded then I had hoped, but I wasn't too concerned. Shortly after the turn around 8 miles out, my pace initially slowed as I felt somewhat fatigued, but then had a nice burst of energy, and got my pace back down. After another mile or so, a second wave of fatigue came over me, but this time I just wasn't able to regroup. My pace slowed down considerably, and I felt helpless to go any faster. My pace slowed to 9:00, 10:00 then around mile 15 I was hovering at 12:00 minutes per mile.


Since I've never experienced heat exhaustion or dehydration before, I didn't really know what I was dealing with. At the time, I didn't think I was in any real danger - I wasn't seeing spots, or suffering from confusion. I just wanted to get the 16 miles over at whatever pace I could. I remember being overcome with a weird sense of emotion.

Near the end of the run, my father-in-law who was out biking on the trail pulled up to say hello. I'm not entirely sure what language my greeting was in. Later that night he said I looked pale and 'not well.' Once I got home, I dry-heaved quite a bit and then proceeded to curl up in a fetal position on the bed for the next few hours.. all while wearing a SUNDAY FUNDAY t-shirt. Good times.

I'm sure this has happened to a vast majority of long distance runners. But experiencing this kind of 'failure' during a long run, the longest run I've ever attempted, could not have been more dejecting. 
Talking over the run with Christine, I realized we only have four more true long runs left (17, 19, 20, 20). Four!

Looking back, I'm sure having those several beers the night before had a bigger effect than I thought. Also, I probably wasn't nearly as hydrated as I believed. Those factors in combination with a limited amount of shade near the height of the solar afternoon probably were my un-doing.

But, all you can do is look ahead.

On another note, Christine had a great 16 miler and has been never been more confident of her BQ prospects. The BAA announced the 2017 Boston Marathon registration dates this morning, so it all is getting a little more real. Lots more work ahead though.

Up this weekend is 8 on Saturday and 17 on Sunday. The humidity in DC this week has been brutal, even at 6 AM. The plan is to continuously hydrate all weekend and try to focus on having a quality long run. One change I am implementing is to switch to Gatorade instead of Gu. Hoping for the best!

-J