Nearly 3:30

On Saturday I finished my first marathon down in DC. The National Marathon is only three years old and not too well known but it's got a shot at being a good one. I scheduled this race in anticipation of my November Ironman. I thought it would be good to see how it feels to do a full marathon without having to do it after a 112 mile bike.

The last two months I've been prepping for this race with long runs and changing out some of my long bikes to get more run workouts in. Right up to last Wednesday I was real confident about this race until my knee started acting up. All of sudden I couldn't walk up or down stairs without pain and walking the dog was even worse. I went to a ART guy on Wednesday and thought he would give me the directive to ditch the marathon but he ended up loosening up my IT band enough where I felt I could give it a shot. With no running or any form of exercise last week I freaked a little about being able to tackle the full 26.2.

My buddy Matt who signed up for the half picked me up from the airport Thursday night at midnight after my flight was canceled. Everything was going wrong for this race, the knee, flight cancellations and crazy frustration with not having done a workout. On Friday we hit the exhibition for race packets and I had another ART guy loosen me up. We ended up on our feet a lot Friday but the knee was feeling good.

On Saturday the temps were in the mid 30s at 5 am. We got to the race start at 6 ish and I got my ART guy to work my knee out some more. It was still tight and achy but I was confident I could at least get in 13. We hit the start with the other 7,000 runners and seeded ourselves in the 8:39 corall.

Miles 1 - 13.1
We started slow ticking off 9 minutes miles even though I couldn't find the damn mile markers and it was pissing me off. The start was flat for the first 4 miles and I kept my HR at just below 160. The knee was aching for the first 4 and then went away and came back. Matt paced me out even though I told him to just get on with it and take off. He was feeling good at our pace. After mile 4 we got our miles down to around 8:45 as we hit the hill at 5-6. At mile 9 we took a much needed piss break which we took about 3 minutes and then got right back to it. At mile 10 we hit the hood both feeling strong. I was comfortable with my pace and told Matt to just get on with it and gas it. He took off ahead and left me in a pack of half marathoners. He ended up finishing around 1:50 and I crossed the midway point at around 1:55. Half marathoners went right to RFK and the marathoners went left into death valley. Seriously nobody was out on these roads.

13-18
I took a gel at the hour point and ended up hitting a few aid stations here and there but mostly took the gatorade endurance I carried on me. At 2:1o I took another gel on the flats and hoped to reach the 18 mile point at 2:30. Thinning out all the half marathoners was a huge help, mile markers were visible and it was just less crowded. Nobody was stopping the pavement to the left right or behind you, it was quiet and calm. I came in at around 2:34 for 18 feeling really strong just like I had in my training runs but next came the hills.


18-20
I had heard the make or break was 20 and I spent a ton of time just looking for the 20 mile marker. If I had anything left at 20 I was going to put it to good use. After a few climbs we made our way along the river to a nice flat section into a short turn around. It sucked seeing people coming back at you but I just kept moving with a good steady rythm into a good headwind. Hit the 20 mile point under 3 and thought I had a shot at 3:30 for once but couldn't quite figure out the math. I asked a guy next to me what he was shooting for and he said 3:40 and we were on track. I decided to leave him and catch the next group.


20-22
At mile 21 I met up with talkative Nathan who had passed me earlier. I asked him what pace he was at and he said he was on 3:40. I ran with him and another dude for a while picking up the pace and they hung. At 21 we hit an aid station and I left them behind. This part sucked. It was a loop through some ghetto park left for dead by the city. Right along the river the wind whipped through it and you could see just how big the loop was by the little figures running on the far side. Worse you could hear the announcer cheering on late half marathoners at the stadium across the river. People were blowing up here and I was hoping not to bonk. The knee felt good and I just started coming up on people. As I approached people with strong paces some would just stop, they had gone out too hard early. One dude was cursing gatorade as he was doubled over, another woman with tore up knees wobbled as she walked, another dude was walking off the road sideways to the left with a far off stare. After making my way past the dead and through the broken pavement I hit the aid station right before the bridge leading back to the stadium or so I thought.

22-26.2
Realizing I had a shot at a legit 3:30 I went. I thought it was the bridge but it was serious of hills through a rich ass neighborhood leading to the bridge. Pushing it, I felt fine so I motored up the hills past many shufflers and to mile 23 for some water and a look at the watch - 3:14 ish. I figured there was no way I could run a 15 minute 5K at this point but I tried like hell. At mile 24 I took half a gel and hit the bridge. At mile 25 I entered the express way and started taking off as people were saying just over the hill. I got over the hill and there was no finish, it was still around the bend and over another fuckin hill. Hit the 26 mile marker which was blown off the road and barely visible, what the fuck. Took off down the hill around the corner and up another hill where I could hear that damn announcer. Finishers were walking back saying it was just around the bend, thanks a fucking lot. Looking at my watch it was 3:33, shit, that's not happening but 3:34 is - where the hell is the chute? Finally at came around the bend and gassed it, couldn't believe I could sprint at this point but somehow it happened. The clock read 3:38 but my watch was saying 3:36 around the corner and down the long as shoot full out sprint for what seemed like 500 yards through the finish for a time of 3:37.

Little wobbly after that a volunteer grabbed me and sat me down to take off my chip. Caught my breath and realized I was ok and so was my knee. The legs wanted to keep going but they had done enough. I was originally hoping for under 3:45 but never thought it was possible with the knee pain. I told myself I would shut it down if it became to unbearable but it never did. I paced correctly and nailed my nutrition. I probably should have hit it at 20 considering I had so much left at the end but I didn't want to burn up. I'm more than pleased considering the circumstances. I'm glad Matt was along with me the first half, it took my mind of what we were actually doing and kept me from going out too damn fast. Matt - go tear up that Army 10-miler next weekend. Don't run comfortable, run fast. Thanks for good weekend and thanks to your wife for putting up with me.

Summary:

Time: 3:37:28

Pace: 8:18 per mile

Avg HR: 167

363 out of 1387

My New Toy

Call me a sucker for late night infomercials but I bought a Jack Lalane Juicer. You know the guy, he's 85+ with bushy ass eyebrows and loads of energy. I read something recently about drinking your vegetables and I immediately thought of the bushy-eyebrowed freak. Since I hate eating and preparing them why not mash the bitches in a juicer and drop 'em back. This thing is sick. It's got like a freakin chain saw motor on it and it just shreads. I've been experimenting with carrots, broccoli, oranges, apple, ginger root, tomatoes, spinach and parsley. This shit is good. All time favorite so far is tomatoes, carrots, celery, spinach and parsley. That sucker gets the blood flowing! It gives you a buzz, I'm serious and you can feel all the nutrient goodness settling into your muscles and bones. Forget leftovers or old fruit, this sucker takes it all down and it washes down even better. You can't ask for a better meal replacement, I mean how many people really like noshing on vegetables, with this you pull up to the counter and toss back a few.

Maybe I have way too much time on my hands since I'm tapering but this shit is crazy fun.

Slow going

Still in recovery week and getting nervous about my fitness for the marathon. The time is in the bank but it's hard just sitting and waiting. Got out for a 1.5 hour ride today and then followed it up with a 10 minute run. My knee is aching and I think it's that damn band thing kicking in. I'm massaging and icing. Next week is all about rest seriously like 20 minutes of biking, 9 minutes of running and 10 minutes of splashing around, marathon. That's going to be difficult to do, I'm going to want to go harder.

Summary:

Bike - 1.5 hours

Avg HR: 125

Run - 10 minutes

Run, spin, rest

Laying low this week since it's a recovery week and trying to recover from my long run on Sunday. Ran 45 minutes on the treadmill yesterday and hit the spin class tonight but stayed away from the sprints during the class. My knee is a little achy and I think it's lasting effects from my run. It's a swim tomorrow followed by an hour bike and short run of about an hour on Sunday. Then I really move into taper. Hope the weather holds up for next weekend.

Summary:

Run - 45 minutes (treadmill)

Avg HR: 139

Spin - 1:15

Avg HR: 124

Taper

This week begins the taper for the race and my legs are so happy. It's hard to hold back. I really feel like I need to go out and do a 10 miler but my coach has told me to follow the recover week schedule and then even dial it back more next week. It's hard for me to pull back but hopefully it will pay off in two weeks. So this week it's swim, off, bike, run, bike, run, swim. Not many hours this week.

Today's workout was a moderate swim of 2500 meters.

Summary:

Swim: 2500 meters

Confidence Builder

I've been hearing from people that before an upcoming marathon you should try to get in a 18-19 miler to build confidence. So far I've put down one run of 15 so I figured I might be able to hit the magic number. The only problem was I needed to do it within my allotted time of 2 hours and 30 minutes.

Instead of getting out on the road early, I decided to sleep in and get a good breakfast with friends. I got out early afternoon during a break in the rain. I didn't map out the route I just figured I'd run for 2:30 and see where the miles would fall. It's been taking me longer than usual to find my groove, usually about 30-40 minutes. The bones creek and the muscles tweak for the first 4-5 miles and then I usually settle in. Today it took a little longer probably from the lingering effects of yesterday's brick and a week of heavy running. Took the usual route that has lots of rollers and hills and then went out deeper into neighboring towns. At the hour mark I took a gel and felt a good burst. Things started tightening up around 1:30 but then I hit a good stretch and settled in, actually increased my pace for while too. My HR never went above 158. At 2:15 I was still trying to figure out how far I had actually gone and I thought somewhere in the range 16. Ended up back on my road at the 2:30 mark and wrapped it up at 2:33.

After mapping out my run I found that I went 18.4 miles. I felt good after the finish and felt strong all the way through. This is probably the longest run I've done so I am more than pleased to knock out 18 in 2:30. If I have fresh legs on race day I should be able to finish around the time of my goal. I'm also confident I'll be able to hold a faster pace than these training runs too. It was a confidence builder and I am really starting to love this long distance endurance shit. It's amazing what you can do when you just get out and do it.

Summary:

Run time: 2:33

Distance: 18.43 miles

Avg HR: 155

Tired Legs

The legs are tired. The last few days I've felt it creeping in. On Thursday I spun with Heat for 1.5 hours following my 2 hour run the night before and it started. Last night I got out for an hour and fifteen tempo run that I felt in my sleep last night. This morning I woke up at 4:45 and hit the trainer for two hours because of the freakin downpour outside. Followed that up with a 35 minute run at marathon pace. The brick was good but made me realize the legs are getting tired.

I have two weeks to the marathon and I can't wait to have fresh legs the day of the race. Next week will pretty much be a repeat of this week - 2 hours on Wednesday, long tempo on Friday and 18-19 on Sunday.

Tomorrow I head out for 18-19. I've hit fifteen in my two hour runs so pushing a little more shouldn't bring too much pain. I'm not going to hammer, I'm just going to go at an 8:30 pace. This week is will be the longest run week I've ever put in topping out at 50+.

Summaries:

Brick:

Trainer - 2 hours

Avg HR: 138

Run - 35 minutes

Avg HR: 149

Friday run: 1:15

Avg HR - 152

Long Run

Tried to get up at 4 am for a two hour run but that just didn't happen. The time change is still killing me. So I had to do it after work. Headed out on my usual route but detoured into some hills. The legs were tight and took forever to loosen up, must be residual pain from that hilly 11 miler this weekend. I also suffered some severe gastro problems every 20 minutes I was hit with some serious shit cramps. I ran through them but it took all I had not to hit the bushes on the side of the road. Note to self no Nature Valley bars with peanut butter before heading out on a long run. The suckers just don't digest and instead just slosh around.

Summary:

Time: 2 hours

Avg HR: 154

Distance: 13.5

Route: rollers with heavy climbing on the trip back in

Swim

Got in the pool tonight. It's hard now that it's light out when you get out of work. My swims have been cut back since I'm prepping for the marathon but it still feels good. Put in 3,000 meters in just under an hour. Back was little tight from Yoga last night.

Tomorrow I have to get up at 4:30 am for a two hour run. Let's hope it's warmer than the last two mornings.

Summary:

3,000 meters

Collinsville Bake Off 11-miler

Participated in my first road race of the year today. Headed out to Collinsville for the annual 11.2 mile run put on by the Hartford Track Club. There were a few Heatsters there but mostly really fast track club dudes. The course is not flat. It was two 5.6 mile loops with considerable climbing.

I had initially thought it would be a good training run, but then I got a little competitive. I needed to work in a speed workout before the marathon anyway. I took the first loop pretty easy, talking with a fellow Heatster through much of the first loop for a time of 44 mins right around my marathon pace. There were two major climbs and one was one major mile long climb that was killer, followed by some flat and then a good downhill. The second loop I decided to turn it up since the legs felt so good even after my brick yesterday.

I tore away from most of the group that I had been with at mile 6 and was on my own for the whole second half of the run. My heart rate was in the 160s and hit the high 170s on the climbs. I wanted to finish around 1:25 and actually did one minute better coming in at 1:24. No way I could hold my second loop pace for a full marathon but I was happy with the negative split.

Click here for the results

Run Summary:

Distance: 11.2 miles

Time: 1:24

Pace: 7:41 per mile

Avg HR: 165

Basement Brick

Rain soaked streets and downpours kept me indoors this morning. Hit the trainer for a 2 hour ride at 5 am. Not sure how people can put in 4 hours on a trainer let alone more than 2 hours. It's way freakin monotonous. Not moving and just getting drenched with sweat is no fun. Seriously you must have a switch you can just turn off that says, I will not be aware of space or time for four hours...it's hard to believe people can actually do this.

Anyway, watched Seals Hell Week and concluded the ride at exactly 2 hours not a minute longer. Quickly transitioned to the treadmill for a 30 minute run. Got my run legs immediately and churned it out for 35 minutes. Good to finish the days workout before 8 am.

Oh yeah, Timex customer service kicks ass. They sent me a new HR receiver and it worked perfectly fine today. The question is will it hold up.

Summary:

Bike: 2 hours

Avg HR: 128

Run: 35 mins

Avg HR: 136

Early AM Long Run

Stuck in Worcester until 9 last night for work I couldn't get in my long run so I hit the roads at 4:30 am this morning. Temps were good and it feels like this cold shit is finally releasing its grip. Basically owned the roads with a few deer and coons. Run was solid and surprised how much energy I had without getting a breakfast. The HR was solid on the hilly route, just over 152 on the steep steeps and 138 on the flats. Alright, back to work.

Good quote I heard today in a new business pitch: "If you're not catching flak then you're not over the target"

Second workout was spin class. Thought this would be pain after the run but it ended up stretching out some tight muscles and I settled in well. What was most crazy is as hard as I worked I couldn't get the HR up over 138 for the life of me!

Run Summary:

Time: 1:45

Distance: 12.5 miles

Avg HR: 146

Spin: 1:20

Avg HR: 124

Race Registration

Signed up for the first two races of the year today. Figured I better get on that or I won't get in considering how fast things are filling up. This year I start with a sprint down in Mystic, Connecticut. I try to stay loyal to this race since it was my first tri two years ago. The second is the Griskus Olympic. It's a great race and I'm hoping I can drop some serious time from last year. I've pretty much finished around the same time the last two years. I have a friend coming up from DC to take a shot at this race too.

Tonight I got in the pool for a 3200 meter workout. Focused on long aerobic swims 4x500s with some kick and drill work. Followed this up with a strength progression on the bike.

Summary:

3200 meters

Bike strength progression

Indoor one day, outdoors the next

We're almost exceeding our annual snowfall of 47.5 inches. Got dumped on yesterday so I had to hit the trainer for an hour. I hate the trainer but time goes by faster watching Seals Buds Training, kinda makes riding a bike on stationary object pretty insignificant. I love the mental breakdown the instructors put on the guys while they're battling sleep deprivation and hyperthermia. I also realized I might need to change out my saddle now that I'm focused on longer distances. My Selle tears at all the wrong places.

Today is a sick day. Bright ass sunshine and temps in the 40s. Got out for 1.5 hour run. Still adding a long run each weekend even though it's my recovery week, the marathon is right around the corner. A total shocker was that my HR monitor totally worked today, I'm thinking that the bitch doesn't function unless it's 30 degrees or more. Legs felt good and I worked on my cadence. Really trying to reduce stride length and work on my lean.

Summary:

Bike: 1:15

Avg HR: 139


Run: 1.5 hours

Avg HR: 146