Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Richmond Marathon Training Log: Week 1

Weekly Summary
Monday, Jul 10, 2017 thru Sunday, Jul 16, 2017

Day Miles Pace Description Link
Mon 5.8 8:27 Richmond cycle day 1 strava
Tue 9.0 7:20 9 w/ 4 tempo strava
Wed 12.1 7:51 12 MLR strava
Thu 5.8 8:31 Recovery slog strava
Fri 10.0 7:45 GA 10 with a 🐝 sting. Under the eye. TWICE strava
Sat 6.1 9:50 Recovery miles w/ C strava
Sun 17.0 7:47 SLR w 3 @ MP strava

65.8 8:03


Mon July 10th
Workout: Recovery miles
Notes: Day 1! 5.8 recovery. Really easy. Went 15 day before for first time since Eugene.

Tue July 11th
Workout: 9 with 4 tempo
Notes: 4 tempo miles @ 6:30, 6:25, 6:25, 6:25. 75temp, 67 DP. Felt sluggish out there. Thought that 6:25 would be a good pace given the summery conditions. Looked back at this workout from last cycle and I did the 4 tempo in the 6:40s so that has to be encouraging. I'd love to go sub 1:23 at the Detroit half in October. Ways to go!

Wed July 12th
Workout: 12 MLR
Notes: 80 temp, 70 DP. Really muggy out there. Took it extra easy first few miles because of the tempo workout yesterday. Gradually warmed up and had a good amount of miles (7) in the 7:27 - 7:40 range. Hydration levels pretty good. Lost 7 lbs water weight out there though. This summer's going to be fun.

Thurs July 13th
Workout: Recovery miles
Notes: Whew. Doozy out there. 80+ temp with 72 DP. Very easy recovery miles.

Fri July 14th
Workout: GA 10
Notes: Downright miserable outside. 81 temp, 75 DP. Got in about 6 miles at aerobic effort. Got stung by a bee. Under my left eye. Twice. That was pleasant.

Sat July 15th
Workout: Recovery miles
Notes: Easy 6 recovery miles with Christine.

Sun July 16th
Workout: 17 SLR
Notes: 17 SLR w/ 3 @ MP - may be the most pleasant day for awhile. 75 temp, 62 DP. 7 easy, 3 aerobic, 3 MP (6:48), 4 easy. Wanted to get another mile of MP, but IT band was giving me a bit of discomfort. Solid opening long run to wrap up week 1. New MP will be between 6:45 - 6:50 for now.

Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Richmond Marathon 2017



Qualifying for Boston at the Eugene marathon last May was a huge accomplishment... but the chase doesn't end there.

Next up, the 40th running of the Richmond marathon on November 11th. I'm looking to go sub3 and Christine is going for her BQ. I'm excited to see what we can do with another intense 18 week training cycle. I'll be following the Pfitz 18/85 training plan and Hammer the 18/55.

Planning to post weekly updates again, which should be interesting to compare against last cycle. Hope you follow along the journey!






Sunday, May 14, 2017

2017 Eugene Marathon Race Recap

Sunday May 7th, 2017 was a dream day. Everything fell into place. As I crossed the finish line just over 3 hours after the start, I was overcome with raw emotion. I earned my place at the starting line in Hopkinton next April. I nabbed that elusive Unicorn. I had qualified for the Boston Marathon! I couldn't wait to find Christine and share the moment.

Eugene was the most physically demanding race of my life. It's not close. The hurt I felt during those last few miles made it seem like an eternity to reach Hayward Field. But once I entered that stadium, it all washed away. Running in the footsteps of legends was an experience I will never forget.

That magical day began with a 4 a.m. alarm. True to forecasts, the weather looked perfect; temperatures in the 40s climbing to the low 50s, no humidity, and light winds. Couldn't ask for better conditions.

My focus the past 6 months was to right all the wrongs I experienced leading up to and during my first marathon last September. I crashed and burned by mile 20. To make sure this wouldn't happen again, I extended my training plan from 14 to 18 weeks. I added a two month base build up. I increased my average weekly mileage by 30 miles. Dropped 10 pounds. Carb loaded the final week like there was no tomorrow. Steered clear of beer those last few weeks. Only water. All of the water. I felt bloated. But I felt great.

Christine and I woke up, had our coffee and pre-race nutrition. The start was set for 7am. Christine was running the half which started the same time as the full. We drove over to the start from our airbnb and had plenty of time to drop off our bags, warm up, and get to the start, which was a few blocks from Hayward.

For this marathon I decided to start with a water bottle (~10 oz) and flip belt that held my clif shot bloks. The plan was to take nutrition at miles 4,8,12,16, & 20. I hoped using the water bottle to hydrate immediately would help make sure I got in enough liquid during the early part of the race. Something I clearly failed at last time.

My plan was to go out conservatively, somewhere around 21:00 for the first 3 miles, then gradually get to a pace of 6:50 - 6:55. The goal was to negative split, coming through the first half anywhere from 1:31 to 1:32.

I wished good luck to Christine and made my way towards the first corral. I positioned myself in front of the 3:05 pacer, wanting to avoid the masses that would go along. After the national anthem, Eugene's own Alexi Pappas gave the commands and the field was off. Almost immediately I got caught behind the 3:05 pacer and a herd of about 50 taking up the entire stretch of road. Arghhhh.

But in retrospect I think this was a blessing. They forced me to stick to my strategy for the first few miles as it was nearly impossible to get through them. So I relaxed and kept it comfortable.

Mile 1: 7:04
Mile 2: 6:56
Mile 3: 7:00
5K split: 21:49

During mile 4, the 3:05 pace group started to settle to their goal pace, and I used a water stop to surge through and get clear air.  Two minor hills on the course occurred on the front half, the first of which was a gentle one in mile 5. Nothing too dramatic. This past training cycle I actually did not do any hill repeats because of the flat profile of this course. Although I incorporated hills on most of my daily runs, I think it was a mistake to not do repeats at least sporadically to strengthen the quads. Anyway, I took my first clif shot blok here and naturally dropped the first one on the ground. I found myself responding better to the caffeine free bloks this time around, so I ditched the black cherry in favor of salted watermelon. Yep, salted watermelon. Wish that was a sour patch kid flavor.

Mile 4: 7:03
Mile 5: 6:55
Mile 6:  6:53
10K split: 43:18 (21:29)

After the 10K split, I found myself running next to a guy from Chicago aiming for a 3:02 as well. We chatted a bit over the next few miles. Always good to find someone out there to work with. The last hill of any significance was short but moderately steep just after the 8 mile marker. I was still feeling pretty comfortable and exerting a low level of effort. I took my second shot blok and continued to take either water or gatorade at each hydration station.

Mile 7: 6:55
Mile 8: 6:54
Mile 9: 6:56
15K split: 1:04:47 (21:29)

The course splits the half and full during mile 10 and this was when I increased the effort just a little to try and get closer to 6:50 pace. I started feeling like I was working a little bit here, which was moderately alarming since I didn't expect this effort until the mid-to-high teens. But I didn't panic, and just remained focused. I knew I was where I wanted to be, and nothing was telling me to back off the pace. I took my third shot block just before 20K.

Mile 10: 6:48
Mile 11: 6:50
Mile 12: 6:53
20K split: 1:26:00 (21:13)

Just after mile 13, there were a group of four of us bunched together. One of the guys looks over to us, panicked, and asked "this isn't the full is it?" Someone answered, he shouted, then stopped, realizing he missed the half/full split. Ouch. Only takes once to learn that lesson.

I came through the half right on target, 1:31:29. Hydration and nutrition levels were good. Was still relatively comfortable. Mentally, I was trying to get to mile 20 in as good a shape as possible. Really just kinda zoned out for the next four or five miles miles. I do remember beginning to pass people after 15 which allowed me to move my focus from one person to the next. Actually, from here through the end of the race, not one person passed me. Pfitz plans ftw!

Mile 13: 6:51
Half marathon split: 1:31:29
Mile 14: 6:50
Mile 15: 6:53
25K split: 1:47:22 (21:22)
Mile 16: 6:49
Mile 17: 6:45
Mile 18: 6:52
30K split: 2:08:32 (21:10)

We started making our way north on a bike path along the Williamette river. Nice change of scenery from the previous miles along the highway. We passed mile 20, and I was still feeling somewhat comfortable. I recall thinking if I felt this strong at 22, I would pick it up. Those thoughts didn't last long though. I took my last shot bloks, feeling confident that I had all the nutrition I needed to get to the finish.

Mile 19: 6:52
Mile 20: 6:56
Mile 21: 6:53
35K split: 2:29:56 (21:24)

Thoughts of going for sub 3 ended pretty quickly during mile 22. My effort level was increasing dramatically and any remaining comfort was gone. My quads and hamstrings started hurting and the miles seemed to slow to a crawl. At this point, I just told myself to hang-on and try to cruise as efficiently as possible, trying not to cramp up along the way.

Mile 22: 6:53
Mile 23: 6:55
Mile 24: 6:58
40K split: 2:51:33 (21:37)

With two miles to go, I was battling mentally. Physically, things were hurting, but I was ok. I kept doing physical checks - left quad, right quad, left ham, right ham, left calf, right calf. This seemed to help, but man these last miles were the longest of my life. I kept counting down, just 15 minutes to go and I'll get my BQ, 10 minutes to go and I can run/hop straight to the beer garden. I was still passing runners which helped a lot. As the course got closer to Hayward, the crowd support began carrying me and I really dug down on the straightaway leading onto the track (see awesome pic).

Mile 25: 6:59
Mile 26: 7:00

Running the last 200 on the hallowed grounds of Hayward Field was almost an indescribable feeling. Back in high school, Pre was a god. I remember having psych parties to watch Without Limits. We learned about Bill Bowerman and the storied history of the Oregon program. To be able to finish on that track was an honor.

As I rounded the last turn heading for the finish, it finally hit me; I was about to qualify for Boston. I flashed back to all the hard work the past year, and especially the last six months. I realized how lucky I was. A lot can go wrong out there. Any number of factors can quickly derail ones race and months of preparation. You can put in all the hard work and give yourself the best possible chance to succeed, but at the end of the day a lot of things are out of your control. I was also thankful that I was about to qualify on only my second attempt. Many have tried a lot longer. I thought ahead to the goals that I could start to tackle now that I got the BQ monkey off my back. I thought of family and friends, and most of all my race-cation partner-in-crime and amazing wife, Christine. I heard a dog bark from the distance and knew Poe was cheering me on from afar.

I raised my arms as I crossed the finish line. 3:02:06. An eight minute BQ and one minute negative split. Boston, here I come!

0.3: 6:32 pace
Last half marathon split: 1:30:38
Finish: 3:02:06



Wednesday, April 26, 2017

2017 Eugene Marathon - Goals

Feels like it was just yesterday I was thinking about goals for my first marathon. In other ways though, it definitely feels like a long time ago.

As far as marathon training goes, I feel a lot more seasoned since Marquette last September. I've churned out over 1,000 miles the past 15 weeks, have had several great races this cycle, and am in arguably the best shape of my life. As a result, I'm in a position to set pretty ambitious goals for next Sunday. The Eugene course is flat and fast. The weather is always a wild card, but this won't be a Boston 2017 (the Pacific Northwest is known for their cool mornings with low humidity during Spring).

That said, I must remind myself that the only reason I began this marathon journey 11 months ago was to be able to run Boston with Christine. While I have found myself knocking on the door fitness-wise of being able to go sub 3-hours next week, I need to relax and remember my motivation: running down Boylston street with family, friends, and a lot of strangers cheering us on. If I forget this, and instead go after an arbitrary time-goal, the risk of blowing up is real. This won't be my last marathon. I have big goals in the coming months and years. But for now, it's just making it to Hopkinton.

For the 2017 Boston marathon held a few weeks ago, the time cut-off was 2:09, meaning you had to be 2 minutes and 9 seconds faster than your age/gender qualifying time to earn a slot. My qualifying time remains a 3:10:00 this year, but to practically guarantee a spot, I am aiming for under 3:05:00. That's the C goal. I won't be satisfied leaving Eugene without a BQ minus 5 minutes.

I plan to go out conservatively and aim for a negative split. The pace band I will be carrying is for 3:02:00, or a 6:56 pace over the 26.2. That's the B goal. This has me reaching 10 miles in 70:11 and the half in 1:31:48. Realistically, anything between 1:31 and 1:32 is a split I would be happy with. From there, it's trying to keep a good rhythm and pace and stay as comfortable as possible until mile 20. Most experienced marathoners will tell you the true halfway mark of the marathon is at mile 20. Running a strong 1:30 on the back half will get me to 3:02.

My result of 1:03:22 for the 10 mile at Cherry Blossom earlier this month equates to anywhere from a 2:57 - 2:59 marathon, depending on the calculator given my average weekly mileage the past 4 months. If I feel really strong come miles 18 - 20, have hydration and nutrition in check, and absolutely no signs of wear and tear, then here is where I may pick up the pace and try to close in on a sub 3. That's the A goal. To achieve this though, everything, and I do mean everything, would have to be perfect. All the intangibles: temperature, humidity, and even cloud cover.

With a little rest after Eugene, I really feel like I can get to the next level and go sub 2:50 this Fall. But reaching for that A goal now, that's not what will define success. Boston. Only qualifying for Boston will.



Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Marathon Training Log: Week 15

Week 15: 80.8 miles
Cumulative for cycle:  1,035.2 (69 mpw avg; 73.6 mpw avg last 9 weeks)

Weekly Summary
Monday, Apr 10, 2017 thru Sunday, Apr 16, 2017

Day Miles Pace Description Link
Mon 6.0 8:37 AM recovery miles strava
Mon 4.0 8:36 PM recovery miles strava
Tue 8.0 7:52 Lincoln loop steady strava
Wed 3.8 7:58 Warm up to EPP strava
Wed 4.8 6:27 5 x 1200 (4:25 avg) w 400 jog strava
Wed 4.4 8:33 Cool down EPP to home strava
Thu 15.1 7:29 MLR strava
Fri 8.6 7:57 Michigan miles - easy 8 + strides strava
Sat 6.1 8:17 Easy miles strava
Sun 20.0 7:49 SLR FF - taper time!! strava

80.8 7:53

Mon 4/10/17
Workout: AM: 6 recovery miles PM: 4 recovery miles
Notes: morning weigh-in: 171.0 / AM easy recovery miles. Very slow. Legs were fatigued, but not sore.  PM: more easy recovery miles.

Tue 4/11/17
Workout: 8 miles aerobic
Notes: warm. Not humid. Took 3 miles or so to get the legs going - settled in 7:30 - 7:45 for last 5 miles. Big intervals tomorrow.

Wed 4/12/17
Workout: 5 x 1200 @5k w 400 jog; 13 miles total
Notes: warm. Some humidity. Warm up to east potomac park. Didn't feel like doing these intervals on the track, so EPP it was. Goal was to hit 4:25 which is around 5:52 pace. The plan actually called for 6 1200s, but seeing that I only managed 5000 meters of work last week, I didn't think it would be smart to jump up to 7200. Splits: 4:22, 4:26, 4:24, 4:27, 4:24. All jogs were between 2:05 and 2:12. This was tough. Probably one of the toughest intervals I've done since college.

Thu 4/13/17
Workout: 15 mile medium long run
Notes: cool. No humidity. Perfect morning. 15 mile medium long run. Legs felt pretty good after yesterday's interval session. Got going pretty quickly. 3 warmup then 7:52, 7:38, 7:35, 7:17, 7:12, 7:04, 6:46, 7:09, 7:06, 7:00, 7:21, 7:31. Tried to keep it a controlled effort, but after the 6:46 mile, I slowed things down some. Was super thirsty towards the end, but not too tired. Legs still feel good. Couple recovery days ahead then last 20 miler on Sunday. 24 days!

Fri 4/14/17
Workout: 8 miles + 8 strides
Notes: Drove up to Michigan last night for easter weekend. Got in really late. Legs don't do so well sitting in the car for long periods anymore. Legs felt decent for the run, but tried to keep it easy. Strong headwind on the back half wasn't fun. Strides felt pretty good.

Sat 4/15/17
Workout: 6 easy
Notes: Warm. Humid. Easy miles.

Sun 4/16/17
Workout: 20 mile long run; 5th of 5 20+ milers this cycle
Notes: Warm. Moderate humidity. Legs felt good going into today, but took awhile to feel comfortable out there. Few large puddles and mud slowed things down a bit. This paved trail also always seems to beat up my legs even though it's nothing challenging. Pace was a slow progression. Splits (8:54, 8:28, 8:41, 8:21, 8:13, 8:10, 8:10, 7:57, 7:54, 7:44, 7:41, 7:44, 7:36, 7:34, 7:42, 7:28, 7:00, 6:48, 6:46, 7:36). Chose to take the tail wind out and a strong 20 mph head wind back. Now it's taper time!

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

2017 Cherry Blossom 10 Miler - Race Recap

Net time: 1:03:22
Overall place: 269 
Division place: 36

Splits:
M1: 6:35.4
M2: 6:22.0
M3: 6:21.3
M4: 6:12.5
M5: 6:11.9
M6: 6:11.8
M7: 6:11.0
M8: 6:14.5
M9: 6:17:4
M10: 6:19.6
0.08: 0.24.3 (4:57 pace)

This year was the first time Christine and I have had the opportunity to race Cherry Blossom. I've heard great things about the race and looked forward to it since we were accepted via the lottery. Cherry Blossom would be the 4th of 5 races during this marathon training cycle, and the 2nd 10 miler this year. Training had been going well, and coming off a promising race at the NYC Half combined with a flat course, I knew this race provided the opportunity to post a fast time.

The day prior to the race, I had the opportunity to meet Bill Rodgers, one of my idols, during packet pickup at the National Building Museum. Bill won Boston and New York FOUR TIMES. An incredibly accomplished distance runner, he was really down to earth and easy to talk to. We talked about the Eugene marathon, where he earned his 1976 Olympic berth and how he and a group of elite runners came to transform Boston into the prestigious race it is today. Really cool experience.

On race day morning, the alarm went off at 4:45am to allow enough time to down and digest my usual pre-race nutrition: cup of coffee, twelve ounces of water, and a kind bar. Christine and I decided to do our warm-up by jogging from home to the start line, just a little under 3 miles. We had plenty of time to to do bag check, one last restroom break, then plyometrics and stretching/strides before the 7:30am start.

I had a yellow bib for the first corral, and settled in near the front with a little more than 5 minutes until the start. Coming off a strong finish at the NYC Half two weeks before, my goal was to break 64, or 6:24 per mile. As has been the case during races this cycle, my plan was to start conservatively and negative split the back half.

The gun went off and about 2,500 runners started their trek around the tidal basin. Cherry Blossom is a pretty large race, with some 15,000 entrants. The start is divided into several corrals to ensure minimal crowding around the early bottlenecks. Having done a number of large races in the past few years, I welcomed these starts as they promoted discipline at the outset by forcing a controlled pace the first half mile. I came through the first mile in 6:35 as the course wound towards memorial bridge, and was exactly where I wanted to be.

Knowing that 64 was my goal, I had planned to settle in at 6:20 pace after the first mile or so, and if I was feeling really good would pick it up in the last 2 - 3 miles. According to plan, miles 2 and 3 went off at 6:22 and 6:21 as the course hit the turnaround at the Kennedy Center and made its way towards East Potomac Park, a place I have grown familiar with over the past year.

At the beginning of mile 4, I was feeling very comfortable and increased the pace slightly faster than originally planned. I didn't want to get too close to my lactate threshold, but I went with it. Miles 4, 5, 6 came at 6:13, 6:12, 6:12.

All my tempo runs to date haven't actually been much faster than 6:25/6:30 pace. My ability to get down to and sustain sub 6:15 miles is a testament to the mileage I've been putting in. If there's one piece of advice I could offer any distance runner in a similar position it's this: THE most important variable to your training is the mileage you put in. Nothing else. Build your mileage intelligently. Ensure you are not over-training. Listen to your body. Rinse, repeat. The benefits from intervals, tempos, and marathon pace runs are a product of your weekly mileage.


Coming up on mile 7, I passed a fellow Maryland XC/Track alum, Becky, who was cruising herself, and offered a word or two of encouragement. She would eventually finish sub 64, posting another impressive result after her huge half marathon PB a few weeks ago. Around this point, my effort level was increasing as I tried to maintain that sub 6:15 pace. I tried to take advantage of the tailwind we had on the west side of East Potomac Park before meeting the headwind just before mile 8. Miles 7 and 8 came at 6:11 and 6:15.

During mile 9, although I was getting fatigued and had my effort level increasing, my pace remained pretty steady. As the race continued on the east side of potomac park, I passed a number of runners. One in particular had me do a double-take. A woman in her late fifties with a flawless stride left me in awe. I had no idea until the finish that it was Joan Benoit Samuelson, a true legend.

Mile 9 came at 6:17. Shortly after, I heard the Falls Road cheering squad and another Maryland XC/Track alum Ryan shouting words of encouragement. I dug down into the stiff headwind and tried to find that gear that propelled me to a 5:55 closing mile at the NYC Half. Unfortunately, it wasn't there this time. Nonetheless I continued towards the finish line, charging up the last hill and hitting the tape in 63:22. Good for a 3+ minute PB and a load of confidence heading into the last 6 weeks before Eugene. According to plan, I negative split doing 32/31. Really is the most efficient way to race.

Christine had a great race herself coming in under 90 minutes in spite of a mid race porta-potty break. Due to a nagging injury, Christine has decided to run the half instead of the full marathon at Eugene and focus on a fall marathon as her next BQ attempt. I'm looking forward to training with her this Summer!

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Marathon Training Log: Week 14

Weekly summary: 85.1 miles (!)
 

Weekly Summary
Monday, Apr 03, 2017 thru Sunday, Apr 09, 2017

Day Miles Pace Description Link
Mon 6.0 8:24 AM recovery miles strava
Mon 4.0 8:18 Double recovery strava
Tue 15.0 7:57 MLR on the humid bus strava
Wed 5.0 7:57 Track warmup strava
Wed 4.2 6:48 5 x 1000 w 400 jog strava
Wed 1.6 8:31 Track cool down strava
Thu 6.1 8:05 AM recovery miles strava
Thu 4.0 8:16 Double recovery strava
Fri 12.0 7:41 MLR strava
Sat 7.0 8:09 Easy miles strava
Sun 20.1 7:12 SLR w 14 @ MP (6:50 avg) strava

85.0 7:47


Mon 4/3/17
Workout: AM: 6 recovery PM: 4 recovery
Notes: Morning weigh-in: 171.2 / AM easy recovery miles. No soreness after race yesterday. Easy, relaxed miles. PM: 4 recovery miles. Hamstrings feel a bit tight. Moving around tomorrows intervals to Wednesday and doing the MLR tomorrow instead

Tue 4/4/17
Workout: 15 mile medium long run
Notes: hello again humidity. lost 5 pounds water weight. Really took awhile to get going this morning. Combination of humidity and tired legs. Was able to have a nice run though - first 5 8:56, 8:30, 8:25, 8:20, 8:13, then started to settle in and feel comfortable 7:58, 7:56, 7:57, 7:42, 7:37, 7:34, 7:34, 7:42, 7:31, 7:24

Wed 4/5/17
Workout: 5 x 1000 w 400 jog (10.8 total)
Notes: Warm, but less humid today. Really struggled with this workout. Few causes: coming off the race on Sunday, plus moving the track workout to AFTER the MLR instead of before per the training schedule. Also, think I got a bit dehydrated, which snuck up on me. Workout was suppose to be 6 x 1k @ 5k pace w/ 50%-90% recovery time. Went through 1st interval in 3:45, where my target was 3:41. Knew I didn't have much today, so tried to salvage some quality and audibled into cruise intervals @ 6:10 - 6:15 pace. Next 3 days should be fairly easy as I have Sunday 20 mile LR w/ 14 @ MP that may be the most critical workout of this cycle. Need to be as fresh as possible for it, despite this being my peak mileage week.

Thu 4/6/17
Workout: AM: 6 recovery PM: 4 recovery
Notes: Warm. Rare weekday night out last night, but actually felt really fresh. Suppose that's one benefit to reducing the intensity of intervals the day before. Easy AM recovery miles before the rain comes. Had to keep myself from pushing the pace which is not usually the case on recovery days. Double recovery on tap today. PM recovery miles nice and easy.

Fri 4/7/17
Workout: 12 mile medium long run
Notes: Cold. Windy. Legs felt fresh and eased into MP + 10% pace. Splits (8:36, 8:10, 8:05, 7:46, 7:39, 7:32, 7:28, 7:26, 7:27, 7:13, 7:32, 7:20). 58 miles through Friday - new weekday mileage PR!

Sat 4/8/17
Workout: 7 miles recovery
Notes: Cool. Breezy. Easy recovery miles. Feel ready for tomorrow!

Sun 4/9/17
Workout: 20 mile long run with 14 at marathon pace
Notes: Cool to warm by end of run. No wind. Key workout of this cycle. Great success! Had this one circled from the get-go. Was a bit intimidating on paper a few months ago, but wasn't that big a mountain once I had successfully completed the long runs with 10 and 12 miles at MP. Run went 4 mile warm up, 14 at marathon pace, 2 cool down. Wanted the first few MP miles to mimic the start of the marathon, in that they would both be 10 - 15 seconds slower than my 6:50 goal marathon pace. Splits: 7:05, 7:00, 6:47, 6:46, 6:50, 6:50, 6:55, 6:43, 6:46, 6:46, 6:47, 6:53, 6:52, 6:50. Overall, 20.1 miles in 2:25 or 7:13 average pace. This was a depletion run in that I took no nutrition or hydration with me. I did take a quick water fountain stop after 10.5 miles. I grew slightly fatigued about 8 or 9 miles in, but was never really uncomfortable. Gotta feel really good about this effort. With a solid taper and fresh legs, a sub 3 is there for the taking.


Sunday, April 2, 2017

Marathon Training Log: Week 13

Week 13: 62.7 miles
Week 1 - 13 average: 66.9 miles / 869.3 total

Weekly Summary
Monday, Mar 27, 2017 thru Sunday, Apr 02, 2017

Day Miles Pace Description Link
Mon 5.8 8:10 AM recovery miles strava
Mon 4.0 7:52 PM recovery miles strava
Tue 9.1 7:41 5up, 5 x 600 w 200 jog, 1.5down strava
Wed 7.0 8:12 Recovery miles strava
Thu 14.0 7:56 MLR strava
Fri 5.8 8:18 Cold, rainy, raw recovery miles strava
Sat 4.0 8:10 Cherry blossom shakeout strava
Sun 2.7 10:03 Morning Run strava
Sun 10.1 6:17 Cherry Blossom 10 miler - PR! strava

62.5 7:51

Three weeks left before the taper. Relatively low mileage this week with a race on Sunday followed by two weeks of 80 - 85 mpw. One thing I am really struggling with is exactly how to approach the Eugene marathon. I know I'm really close to sub 3 shape. Breaking 3 in my second marathon would be a huge personal accomplishment. But the whole strategy all along was to qualify for Boston. I would rather secure a BQ than attempt to go sub 3 and risk blowing up in the process. I still have time to flesh out these thoughts, but that's where my mind is. This is where having a coach would have been a big help.

Mon 3/27/17
Workout: AM: 5.8 recovery miles PM: 4.0 recovery miles
Notes: Monday morning weigh-in: 173.4? haha not sure what's going on with a 3 pound gain from last week. Chalking it up to variance / AM easy recovery miles, felt really loose after yesterday's 20. long run recovery aided by lots of walking immediately following. PM: more recovery miles. bit faster than I would have liked.

Tue 3/28/17
Workout: 2nd wedding anniversary! 9 miles total with 5 x 600 w/ 200 jog
Notes: warm. 5 mile warm up, 5x600 w 200 jog (2:11, 2:09, 2:08, 2:07, 2:04), 1.5 cool down. Starting to enjoy these 600m race week intervals. The higher volume Pfitz plan has these as 800s. Something to think about next cycle.

Wed 3/29/17
Workout: 7.0 recovery miles
Notes: Normally a MLR here, had to swap today for Thursday due to a work obligation. Fortunate that there haven't been more the past few months.

Thu 3/30/17
Workout: 14 mile medium long run
Notes: cool. Relaxed medium long run with race this weekend (7:57 avg)

Fri 3/31/17
Workout: 5.8 recovery miles
Notes: cold, rainy, raw recovery miles. Felt very sluggish and tight

Sat 4/1/17
Workout: 4.0 mile shakeout
Notes: Nice and easy shakeout. Really looking forward to being able to open up on a flat course at Cherry Blossom tomorrow. Hoping for sub 64.

Sun 4/2/17
Workout: 2.7 mile warm up + Cherry Blossom 10 miler
Notes: 1:03:21! Huge PR. Really really happy with my effort today. Going to write up race recap, but splits were: 6:35, 6:22, 6:21, 6:12, 6:12, 6:12, 6:11, 6:15, 6:17, 6:20. Didn't think I could put that many sub 6:20 miles together. Definitely surprised myself. Perfect race conditions out there!

Saturday, April 1, 2017

Marathon Training Log: Week 12

Week 12 Summary: 72.4 miles

Weekly Summary
Monday, Mar 20, 2017 thru Sunday, Mar 26, 2017

Day Miles Pace Description Link
Mon 5.7 8:08 Recovery miles strava
Tue 9.0 7:24 Steady miles strava
Wed 13.1 7:15 MLR w/ 20 min tempo strava
Thu 5.8 8:22 AM Recovery miles strava
Thu 4.0 8:10 PM recovery miles strava
Fri 3.0 8:04 Warmup strava
Fri 4.3 6:22 FMT - 6 x 800 w 400 jog strava
Fri 1.7 8:17 Cool down strava
Sat 5.8 8:16 Easy post hike miles strava
Sun 20.0 7:40 SLR w 4 @ MP strava

72.4 7:42

Mon 3/20/17
Workout: AM: rest PM: 5.7 recovery miles
Notes: morning weigh-in: 170.6 / Evening recovery miles. Felt pretty decent after the half yesterday.

Tue 3/21/17
Workout: 9 aerobic miles
Notes: Steady miles. Still feeling good post-race.

Wed 3/22/17
Workout: 13 mile medium long run
Notes: Chilly. WINDY. Cut back week last week has seemed to do wonders, despite racing the half on Sunday. Really feeling strong. Just went by feel this run and ended up doing a 20 minute tempo in the middle with a pretty solid run overall (8:32, 8:03, 7:47, 7:33, 7:34, 7:15, 6:50, 6:31, 6:29, 6:28, 7:04, 7:21, 7:05). All said, 13.1 total (always gotta add in that 0.1 to make it a half) in 1:35:15.

Thu 3/23/17
Workout: AM: 5.8 recovery miles PM: 4.0 recovery miles
Notes: Mid-week double. Easy recovery miles

Fri 3/24/17
Workout: 6 x 800 w 400 jog, 9 miles total
Notes: still cold. Spring weather finally for good tmrw? 800s on tap today. 3 mi warm up. 6 x 800 w 400 jog (3:00, 2:58, 2:57, 2:56, 2:56, 2:49) jogs about 1:55 each, so sub 8 min pace. First 800s this year - suppose to be at 5k pace; wanted to get 1-2 sec faster each rep. Headwind on home straightaway wasn't fun. Felt pretty strong, opened up a bit last one.

Sat 3/25/17
Workout: Hike AM, Midday 5.8 recovery miles
Notes: Morning hike with wife and dog to Billy Goat Sec B & C followed by easy recovery miles

Sun 3/26/17
Workout: 20 mile long run w/ 4 @ MP
Notes: Originally wasn't going to incorporate a fast finish or any MP miles and just use this run for time on feet and another 20, but felt good and loose after the first 12 miles, so decided to do 4 @ MP from mile 13 - 16. Last 4 easy.

Saturday, March 25, 2017

Marathon Training Log: Week 11

Week 11: 54.4 miles

Weekly Summary
Monday, Mar 13, 2017 thru Sunday, Mar 19, 2017

Day Miles Pace Description Link
Mon 5.8 8:24 AM Recovery miles strava
Mon 6.2 7:09 PM - Snowy track sesh 5 x 600 @5k w 200 jog strava
Tue 5.9 8:15 Easy miles strava
Wed 11.0 7:59 MLR strava
Thu 6.7 7:55 Easy miles to close out 31 day runstreak. NYC half this wknd! strava
Sat 4.7 10:17 Central Park shakeout w/ Des flyby strava
Sun 0.8 8:49 Morning Run strava
Sun 13.3 6:31 NYC Half Marathon - PR! strava

54.4 7:48

This week was a planned cutback week in both mileage and intensity, incorporating a mini taper leading up to the NYC Half on Sunday.

Mon 3/13/17
AM Workout: 5.8 recovery miles
PM Workout: 5 x 600 w 200 jog
Notes: morning weigh-in: 172.4 / Easy recovery miles AM. PM: 2 mi up, 5 x 600 @ 5k w 200 jog (2:08 - 2:10), 1.5 down. Decided to move up the track workout a day due to snow storm scheduled to reach DC tomorrow. Started snowing once I got up to the track, and was rather windy, but good to get it in. First track session of the year.

Tue 3/14/17
Workout: 5.8 recovery miles
Notes: Cold. Windy. Had to wait until 5pm due to STELLA. Easy miles, but now is 4th run in a little over 48 hours. Not a fan of this weather.

Wed 3/15/17
Workout: 11 MLR
Notes: Brutaly cold. Windy. Awful. Had a bad run to boot. Felt sluggish, couldn't get much going. TWO bathroom stops. Don't exactly feel ready for this half on Sunday. Today marks day 30 of the current run streak. One more tomorrow then finally a rest day on Friday. Feeling like I may have over extended myself? Hope not and this cut back week on mileage and intensity will help. Need to bear down these last 4.5 weeks!

Thu 3/16/17
Workout: 6.7 recovery miles
Notes: Easy recovery miles

Fri 3/17/17
Workout: Rest day
Notes: Travel day to NYC. Planned rest and recovery day. End of 31 day runstreak.

Sat 3/18/17
Workout: 4 mile shakeout
Notes: Birthday run! Birthday run in central park! With wife! And a Des flyby! And snow! Perfect.

Sun 3/19/17
Workout: NYC Half marathon
Notes: 1:26:38 - PB! Will write up a race recap.

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Marathon Training Log: Week 10

Week 10: 76.5 miles

Weekly Summary
Monday, Mar 06, 2017 thru Sunday, Mar 12, 2017

Day Miles Pace Description Link
Mon 5.8 8:36 Recovery miles strava
Tue 9.0 7:39 Going steady strava
Wed 15.1 7:32 "Medium" long run strava
Thu 7.0 8:20 Recovery miles strava
Fri 13.1 7:15 4up, 7 tempo (6:32 avg), 2down strava
Sat 8.4 8:16 Recovery miles + strides strava
Sun 18.0 7:42 SLR strava

76.4 7:47



Mon 3/6/17
Workout: AM: 5.8 recovery miles, PM: rest
Notes: morning weigh-in: 172.2 / Easy recovery miles AM. PM: felt tired, and in need of rest, so opted for no double. Gotta listen to the body!

Tue 3/7/17
Workout: 9 miles steady
Notes: Mild. 2 up, 7 aerobic ~7:30 pace. Still feel fatigued. Tired. Steady state tougher to get to today.

Wed 3/8/17
Workout: 15 mile medium long run
Notes: Warm. Breezy. 4 mile warmup, then 11 averaging 7:21 pace. Still felt fatigued, but tried to keep the pace comfortable and not work for it. Big tempo run on Friday, so didn't want to force a fast finish today.

Thu 3/9/17
Workout: 7 recovery miles
Notes: Warm. Easy recovery miles

Fri 3/10/17
Workout: 13 miles with 7 tempo
Notes: Cool. Breezy. Woof. 7 mile tempo today. 4 warm up, 7 (6:39, 6:36, 6:33, 6:25, 6:33, 6:36, 6:26) for a 6:32 avg, 2 cool. Tempo was tough. Tailwind, headwind, tailwind, headwind. Flat route. I feel pretty good about the effort - though I was a bit dissapointed I couldn't negative split the entire workout. Puts me in position to hit 1:25 in New York, which has been  a goal all along.

Sat 3/11/17
Workout: 8 recovery miles + 6 strides
Notes: Cold. Easy recovery miles

Sun 3/12/17
Workout: 18 mile long run
Notes: Cold. Comfortable long run (7:43 avg pace). Tried to keep it as relaxed as possible with the NYC half next weekend. Planning a cut back week next with less overall intensity. Also, wanted to set up the possibility of getting a PM workout in on Monday with the incoming winter weather.

Marathon Training Log: Week 9

Week 9: 80.5 miles


Weekly Summary
Monday, Feb 27, 2017 thru Sunday, Mar 05, 2017

Day Miles Pace Description Link
Mon 5.8 8:18 Recovery miles strava
Mon 4.1 8:29 Monday Daily Double strava
Tue 9.1 7:30 9 steady strava
Wed 15.1 7:27 MLR w 5 @ MP strava
Thu 8.0 8:24 Headwind, tailwind, crosswind, all the wind strava
Fri 13.1 7:32 Medium long run finishing faster strava
Sat 7.4 7:57 Easy miles + strides strava
Sun 18.0 7:11 SLR w 12 @ MP (6:48 avg) "comfortably uncomfortable" strava

80.6 7:40

Mon 2/27/17
Workout: AM: 5.8 recovery miles, PM: 4.1 recovery miles
Notes: morning weigh-in: 173.6 / Easy recovery miles AM. Easy recovery miles PM. Planning to continue doubles and #nodaysoff as long as my body doesn't indicate otherwise.

Tue 2/28/17
Workout: 9 miles steady
Notes: Warm-ish. 2 warmup, 7 aerobic/steady (7:26, 7:23, 7:22, 7:20, 7:23, 7:28, 7:20). Felt mostly comfortable. Big mileage week ahead; planning to hit 80, which will probably be my peak mileage this cycle give or take a mile or two.

Wed 3/1/17
Workout: 15 mile medium long run
Notes: March! In like a lion. Or is that April? At least all these miles will allow me to have SEVERAL shamrock shakes this month. 4 mi warmup, 4 mi aerobic (7:34, 7:35, 7:18, 7:10), 5 @ ~MP (6:51, 6:37, 6:50, 6:52, 6:48), 2 warm down. Legs definitely fatigued. Feeling pretty drained.

Thu 3/2/17
Workout: 8 recovery miles
Notes: XTREME wind. Easy recovery miles.

Fri 3/3/17
Workout: 13 mile medium long run fast finish
Notes: Cold. Less wind though. Progressive medium long run, trying to keep it loose and comfortable (8:41, 8:16, 8:01, 7:43, 7:34, 7:32, 7:22, 7:22, 7:14, 7:06, 6:49, 6:51, 7:28).

Sat 3/4/17
Workout: 7 recovery miles + 6 strides
Notes: Cold. Windy. Sad. Easy recovery miles plus 6 strides

Sun 3/5/17
Workout: 18 mile long run w/ 12 @ MP
Notes: 4 mile warmup then 12 at marathon pace (6:58, 6:58, 6:47, 6:45, 6:49, 6:47, 6:48, 6:47, 6:45, 6:53, 6:48, 6:38). Marathon pace miles were "comfortably uncomfortable." This was a big confidence booster that I may be ready for a sub 3 hour marathon at Eugene. Probably one of the 3 most singular important workouts of the cycle. Really pumped to have executed strongly.

Thursday, March 2, 2017

Marathon Training Log: Week 8

Week 8 summary: 75.2 miles

Weekly Summary
Monday, Feb 20, 2017 thru Sunday, Feb 26, 2017

Day Miles Pace Description Link
Mon 5.8 8:30 Recovery miles strava
Mon 4.0 8:14 Double the recovery, double the fun strava
Tue 9.0 7:33 9 steady strava
Wed 14.0 7:16 MLR w/ 8 @ MP strava
Thu 7.0 8:40 Recovery miles strava
Fri 11.0 7:42 MLR strava
Sat 7.1 8:17 Club Challenge shakeout strava
Sun 2.6 9:10 Morning Run strava
Sun 0.5 9:14 Morning Run strava
Sun 10.0 6:39 RRCA Club Challenge strava
Sun 4.0 9:01 Recovery miles strava

75.0 7:51

Mon 2/20/17
Workout: 5.8 miles AM; 4.0 miles PM
Notes: morning weight-in: 173.2 / Easy recovery miles AM. Easy recovery miles PM. First double since college

Tue 2/21/17
Workout: 9 miles aerobic
Notes: Cooler. 2 warmup, 7 aerobic/steady (7:27, 7:24, 7:25, 7:23, 7:24, 7:32, 7:26). Wanted to be between 7:30 and 7:40, but ended up going a bit faster. Eyeing tomorrow's MLR for some MP work, so didn't want to over extend myself. Felt like I was working, but controlled.

Wed 2/22/17
Workout: 14 mile medium long run with 8 at marathon pace
Notes: Cool. Light winds. Knew I wanted to get in 6 - 8 miles at marathon pace since this would be the only workout before a 10 mile race on Sunday. Felt pretty good warming up and was able to get going pretty quickly so opted to go with 8. 3 mile warmup (8:40, 8:06, 7:46) then 1 bridge mile (usually first half at warmup effort, then last half building towards the next miles pace), then 8 at (near) MP (6:52, 6:55, 6:46, 6:49, 6:43, 6:48, 6:48, 6:55), then 2 cool down. MP ended up being a bit faster (6:49 avg), but I felt controlled and moderately comfortable; except for the pit stop after the 7th MP due to GI issues (sorry, TMI). Overall, great workout.

Thu 2/23/17
Workout: 7 miles recovery
Notes: Warm. Humid! IN FEBRUARY. Easy recovery miles. 8:40 avg. Felt great.

Fri 2/24/17
Workout: 11 mile medium long run
Notes: Warm. Humid. Comfortable MP + 10% after 3 warmup miles

Sat 2/25/17
Workout: 7 miles recovery
Notes: Warm. Easy recovery miles. Race tomorrow

Sun 2/26/17
Workout: 10 mile road race + 7 mile warmup/cool down
Notes: Cold. Windy. Miserable outside. 1:06:43 for 10 miles on a tough course (I'm not really training for hills since Eugene is flat, maybe that's a mistake?). Attacked hills for the first 6+ miles, but they got to me eventually. I think I'm currently in 1:04 10 mile shape, so I'm not going to dwell on this one too long.

Monday, February 20, 2017

Marathon Training Log: Week 7

Week 7 Mileage: 74.8 miles

Weekly Summary
Monday, Feb 13, 2017 thru Sunday, Feb 19, 2017

Day Miles Pace Description Link
Tue 11.0 7:13 11 w/ 5 tempo (6:34, 6:31, 6:29, 6:28, 6:13) strava
Wed 15.1 7:35 MLR strava
Thu 5.9 8:32 Recovery miles strava
Fri 13.0 7:30 MLR strava
Sat 8.8 8:05 Easy 8 + 10 strides strava
Sun 21.0 7:56 SLR strava

74.8 7:45

Monday 2/13
Workout: Rest day
Notes: Weekly weigh-in: 173.2 (-4.2 this cycle)

Tuesday 2/14
Workout: 11 miles with 5 tempo
Notes: Cool. No wind! 4 mile warm up, 5 tempo (6:34, 6:31, 6:29, 6:28, 6:13), 2 cool down. Felt pretty strong through tempo, let myself open up a bit the last half mile or so. Great workout. Started little faster than half marathon pace, then tried to more towards 15K/10 mile race pace. This is one of those workouts that will get me to 1:25 I think.

Wednesday 2/15
Workout: 15 mile medium long run
Notes: Cool. Light breeze. This was one of those, I'm not sure how I'm feeling the day after a tempo, let's just go out easy and pick it up if I feel good. Felt pretty good. All splits: 8:42, 8:07, 7:51, 7:48, 7:42, 7:44, 7:34, 7:31, 7:21, 7:07, 7:07, 7:07, 6:56, 7:44, 7:30. Surprised how good I felt. Had to prevent myself from going to hard. Overall, 7:35 over 15.13 miles, 1:54:49 on my feet.

Thursday 2/16
Workout: 5.8 recovery miles
Notes: Cold, windy. Very easy recovery miles. Legs definitely felt fatigued today.

Friday 2/17
Workout: 13 mile medium long run
Notes: Cold. Last day of winter? 4 easy then 9 aerobic (7:32, 7:28, 7:22, 7:16, 7:12, 7:11, 7:11, 7:15, 7:11). Tried to stay loose and run no faster than a comfortable pace. Some days that's a lot slower, somedays it's a bit faster. Lately, been getting closer and closer to 7:10 - 7:15 as opposed to 7:30 - 7:35 a few months ago.

Saturday 2/18
Workout: 8 recovery miles + 10 strides
Notes: Warm. Easy 8 miles plus 10 strides

Sunday 2/19
Workout: 21 mile long run
Notes: Warm. 60's in Feb. Tough miles. Didn't have my A game. Planned to do MP miles from 13 - 19, but just didn't have it. Probably wasn't the best idea to have a fair amount of beers the night before, also not really having a proper dinner. Many variables contributing. But I think a non-progression long run is OK from time to time. Still quality miles with 2:47 on my feet. Took water and clif shot blocks to practice nutrition/hydration. No issues there. Also, focused on my recovery after the run - instead of turning into a couch potato for the afternoon, walked 2 miles to lunch which definitely helped.

Monday, February 13, 2017

Marathon Training Log: Week 6

Week 6 mileage: 65.7
Current marathon pace: 6:55 (3:01 marathon) - 7:00 (3:04 marathon)

Weekly Summary
Monday, Feb 06, 2017 thru Sunday, Feb 12, 2017

Day Miles Pace Description Link
Tue 10.0 8:19 Easy 10 strava
Wed 14.0 7:41 MLR strava
Thu 5.8 8:29 Recovery miles strava
Fri 12.1 7:33 MLR strava
Sat 5.8 8:18 Recovery miles strava
Sun 18.0 7:21 SLR w 10 @ MP strava

65.7 7:48


Mon 2/6/17
Workout: Rest day
Notes: I typically weigh myself every Monday morning and record the result to keep track and make sure I'm not losing (or gaining) big chunks week to week. Thus far, I've lost 3 pounds and am only 1.5 pounds away from my low point during the last marathon training cycle.

Tue 2/7/17
Workout: Easy/Recovery 10
Notes: Warm. Shorts! Easy 10 miles. Felt tight, sore still from the half, so not so easy. Last week of the Endurance mesocycle (Per Pfitz, he breaks down training into four cycles; endurance, lactate threshold + endurance, race prep, taper).

Wed 2/8/17
Workout: 14 mile MLR
Notes: Warm. Crazy warm. 60's in early February! Planned to do this medium long run by feel since I didn't want to push it so soon after NOLA. First 7 easy-ish, loosened up pretty quickly so decided to do the back 7 at aerobic (7:34, 7:20, 7:27, 7:24, 7:14, 7:24, 7:15) - ended up being a bit faster than I wanted. Pace was fine, but legs were really tired.

Thu 2/9/17
Workout: 5.8 recovery miles
Notes: Cold. Ridiculously windy. Light snow. Easy recovery miles.

Fri 2/10/17
Workout: 12 mile MLR
Notes: Cold. Winter cold. 3 easy, 9 aerobic (7:36, 7:35, 7:29, 7:23, 7:23, 7:21, 7:14, 7:14, 7:02)

Sat 2/11/17
Workout: 5.8 recovery miles
Notes: Mild. Easy recovery miles.

Sun 2/12/17
Workout: 18 mile long run with 10 miles at marathon pace
Notes: Cold. Light rain. Windy. First 3 easy, 3 aerobic (7:44, 7:36, 7:33), 10 @ marathon pace (7:01, 7:01, 6:57, 6:55, 6:51, 6:55, 6:52, 7:00, 7:00, 6:57), 2 warm down. Not ideal conditions out there. Felt pretty good through 7 miles at MP, then went into head wind the last 3 and started to feel fatigued. Overall, averaged 6:57 for the MP miles, and 7:22 over the 18. Also on the encouraging side, last marathon cycle had me only getting up 9 miles at marathon pace. This time around, I've eclipsed that one-third of the way through training. Progress!

Saturday, February 11, 2017

2017 New Orleans Rock and Roll Half Marathon - Race Report

New Orleans is hands down one of Christine's and my favorite cities. The culture is so lively and unique - we try to visit as much as possible. When looking for an early 2017 half marathon, our close friends invited us to visit and stay with them for the NOLA Rock and Roll Half Marathon. We had our flights booked within minutes.

New Orleans is typically a hot and humid climate, but an early February race seemed to be right in the sweet spot of their Summer/Spring/Summer seasonal calendar. The course looked flat and fast, and appeared to map out a great tour through the city. NOLA would be the first of four races during this marathon cycle, and the first of two half marathons, so an excellent early gauge of our fitness levels.

NOLA fell at the end of Week 5 of my 18-week training plan. Training had been going well and I set A, B, C goals of 1:25:30, 1:26:30, and 1:27:30, respectively. I figured I was close to 1:27 shape, but it's always tough to tell. I do know that if I hope to go sub 3 at the Eugene marathon, I would need to be right around 1:25 for that last half marathon in late March. The goal here though was to put in a solid effort and have something to validate/gauge if my fitness was around where I estimated.

We arrived early Friday ahead of the Sunday morning race. I decided to do a mini-taper to ensure I had mostly fresh legs, which really only nixed one workout. Christine and I did shakeout miles both Friday and Saturday, hitting up the expo with our friends early Saturday afternoon.

For the expo, I was already expecting a corporate feel with it being a Rock and Roll series event, but hoped for at least a local presence mixed in (i.e. local running stores). Unfortunately the RnR branding was everywhere and I wasn't able to find even one local booth. That said, that's probably one of only two total areas for improvement I had noted throughout the whole race weekend (I'll get to the second later on).

After the expo, we explored the French Quarter for a few hours, then had a great home cooked meal at the Harringtons' before retiring early in the evening.

The race start was scheduled for Sunday at 7:30am, putting it just after sunrise. We arrived at the start area around 6:15 and had plenty of time to warmup, stretch, and do plyometrics. With over 12,000 runners registered, there was a lot of energy and enthusiasm down there. Always love that part about the big races.

I was assigned Corral 1 (I put an expected finish time of 1:25) out of at least 20. The half marathon and full marathon starts were grouped together. I wished Christine a good race (she began in Corral 4), and I positioned myself in the middle of my group, trying to ensure a controlled start.

There was the usual pre-race banter by the Race Director, then a nice rendition of the National Anthem by a local artist. Often find myself getting emotional listening to the SSB before a race. Then it's over and I have to quickly shift focus. Always a weird moment for me. Anyway, after the gun went off, it took a half mile or so to find my own running lane, which was necessary because the start was actually a bit slower than I had hoped for. But I found a good rhythm and settled in just before hitting mile 1 in 6:46. The majority of the first 8 miles were an out and back on St Charles.

Miles 2 through 6 were largely uneventful. I paid more attention to the road than I usually would on a street course as the roads of New Orleans are probably in worse condition than the roads in Detroit. But it was nice to experience the RnR staple of local bands playing as we made our way out and back. I didn't notice at the time but Christine said mimosas were flowing during this stretch. She was tempted but decided to wait until the post-race party. New Orleans, like Savannah and Las Vegas, does not have open container laws. Someday I'll have to partake!

Mile 2: 6:34
Mile 3: 6:31
5K Split: 20:33
Mile 4: 6:29
Mile 5: 6:29
Mile 6: 6:31
5K Split: 20:11 / 10K Split: 40:44

Through 10K I realized that I was on pace for sub 1:26, but I began to feel the effort level noticeably increase during mile 7. I had hoped that I could put down low 6:30s through 10 miles then go with whatever I had left the last 5K, but I realized at this point that game plan probably wasn't in the cards. I had the feeling the last few miles were going to be a struggle, but I tried to keep on grinding.


Mile 7: 6:32
Mile 8: 6:35
Mile 9: 6:31
5K Split: 20:22 / 15K Split: 1:01:06

Mile 10 made its way through the French Quarter before turning turning up Esplanade for the home stretch to City Park. At this point I tried to hang onto 6:40 as long as possible, but things were tightening up. In retrospect, it felt like I had slowed up considerably more than I actually did. But these miles were tough. There wasn't really any ability to position myself to have a fast finish.

Mile 10: 6:41
Mile 11: 6:43
Mile 12: 6:49
5K Split: 21:07 / 20K Split: 1:22:13

With about a mile to go, the half and full marathon field split, and we headed into City Park. I felt pretty worked, but found a little boost the last quarter mile or so. Hearing friends cheer you home definitely helped as well.


Mile 13: 6:52
0.17: 6:10 pace

I crossed the finish in 1:27:06 officially over 13.17 per my Garmin; good for a 6:37 average pace. Bringing my PB at the half down from 1:32:36; or 5:30, which is pretty crazy considering my first half marathon was only 10 months ago.

I collected my medal, grabbed some hydration, and met up with friends to cheer home Christine.

Christine crossed just over 2:03, which was remarkable given her low volume of miles the past few weeks as she's continuing to focus on prehab.

We made our way over to the finish festival where the Dirty Dozen Brass Band was headlining. Here's my nit-picky second area for improvement. After a good distance race, there's nothing I love more than a good local craft beer. Unfortunately at RnR, Michelob Ultra was a big league sponsor, and that's the only beer they served. I would have gladly paid money for an alternative option, but sadly there was none. Still, it was nice to sit and relax on the infield, taking in some New Orleans tunes, celebrating our accomplishment.

Oh, and to top off a great weekend, we cheered on the Patriots that night to the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history!

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Marathon Training Log: Week 5

Week 5 mileage: 54.0
Current marathon pace: 6:55 (3:01 marathon)

Weekly Summary
Monday, Jan 30, 2017 thru Sunday, Feb 05, 2017

Day Miles Pace Description Link
Tue 10.1 7:37 10 w/ 3 tempo (6:22, 6:14, 6:11) strava
Wed 14.0 7:49 MLR strava
Thu 5.8 8:23 Mini taper strava
Fri 4.9 9:37 New Orleans shake out pt 1 strava
Sat 4.7 9:35 New Orleans shake out pt 2 strava
Sun 0.9 9:22 Morning Run strava
Sun 0.4 8:32 Morning Run strava
Sun 13.2 6:36 New Orleans Rock and Roll Half Marathon - PR! strava

54.0 7:53


Mon 1/30/17
Workout: Rest day
Notes: Felt relatively fine after 20 miler FF yesterday.

Tue 1/31/17
Workout: 10 miles w/ 3 tempo
Notes:  Cold. Breezy. I strongly dislike going to bed and not being exactly sure what my workout in the AM will be; but I forced myself to see how I felt this morning. If I recovered well from Sunday's long run, I would do a tempo, and if not then I would do easy miles plus strides and switch out the tempo for next week. I didn't think I would feel as good as I did this morning seeing as it is taking me extra time to recover from some of these workouts, but the legs were good to go for a tempo. Going into the NOLA half this Sunday, I am planning to do a mini taper. so anything quality early in the week I planned to cut by 25% making this a 3 mile tempo effort instead of 4 miles. Did 4 easy, then 3 tempo @ 6:22, 6:14, 6:11, then 3 easy. I know this effort won't help for this weekends half, but I think it validates that I have a good chance of going sub 1:27.

Wed 2/1/17
Workout: 14 mile MLR
Notes: Cold. First 7 easy effort, next 7 aerobic/steady (7:38, 7:29, 7:31, 7:32, 7:24, 7:25, 7:18)

Thu 2/2/17
Workout: 5.8 recovery miles
Notes: Cold. Easy recovery miles. Start of 3 day "mini taper" before the half on Sunday. Planning to do easy miles Saturday and hopefully Friday if I can (6am flight), though I won't be too bummed if I can't get miles in tomorrow since I'm due for a cutback week anyway. Starting to feel optimistic for NOLA. I think my ABC goals are 1:25:30, 1:26:30, 1:27:30

Fri 2/3/17
Workout: 4.9 mile shakeout
Notes: NOLA. Cool. Windy lake front miles with Christine.

Sat 2/4/17
Workout: 4.6 mile shakeout
Notes: NOLA. Warmer. Easy miles around City Park. Ready for tomorrow!

Sun 2/5/17
Workout: New Orleans Rock and Roll Half Marathon
Notes: Perfect race conditions - mid 50's, no humidity, no wind. I will post a race report this week, but I finished officially in 1:27:06 (1:26:40 for 13.1 per strava fwiw), good for 68th out of over 9,200. Overall, I'm very happy with the effort and result. I settled in at 6:30 pace from miles 2 - 9 since I felt great at the start and decided to go for sub 1:25. I knew since I was working pretty hard already by mile 7, the last 5K was going to be tough... and it was. I ended up fading a bit the last 3 miles. But, all positivity here; I nailed a 5 minute + PB, and this reaffirms the shape I thought I was in.