The Pfitz Way

Our Spring marathon cycle has officially kicked off, and although I have been battling a bout of runner's knee off and on the past few weeks, we're excited to begin focusing on the next marathon.

This time around, I personally feel like a much more informed and seasoned marathon runner. While I have a lot of respect and admiration for what Hal Higdon has done for the marathon, I don't think his Advanced II plan (his most demanding) is appropriate for anyone other than a first time marathoner who has a fair amount of experience. To be fair, I don't think I would be where I am today knowledge-wise of the distance had I not followed his plan and analysis last year.

If I knew one thing for certain after my first marathon last September in Marquette, it was that I needed to ramp up mileage in my off-season, and select a plan that reflected putting in a ton of miles with a good deal of work done at marathon pace on tired legs during medium and long runs.

Doing research over the last few months, there were some solid options for the next training plan. I read Jack Daniels' Running Formula, perused various Let's Run threads, and even considered hiring a local coach. But after reading Advanced Marathoning - 2nd Edition by Pete Pfitzinger, I decided to go all in on the Pfitz plan.

The Pfitz Way

Pftiz takes an old school approach to the marathon by piling on mileage, focusing on longer midweek runs and stressing the importance of medium/long run fast finishes. Whereas Daniels' plans are very formulaic, Pfitz prescribes his non-tempo/lactate threshold workouts where you begin at marathon pace + 20%, progress to marathon pace +10%, and then finish at marathon pace. This includes everything from 12 mile midweek medium-long runs through the 22 mile weekend long run. So you are focusing on running at marathon pace at the end of longer sessions multiple times per week. In terms of addressing my greatest concern of being able to finish a marathon with strong legs, I think the Pfitz plan makes the most sense. 

Originally I was targeting the 18/85 (18 week duration, 85 miles per week at the peak) plan, however with the knee issue I'm modifying it by adding a rest day on Mondays following the weekend long run, as suggested by his 18/70 plan. Christine will be focusing on the 18/55 plan for this cycle, with the option to adjust for more mileage if her hips/legs respond well.

This time around for the blog, I plan on posting weekly logs that capture workout notes as I progress through training. Hope you enjoy!

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