An Exercise In Utility

Hello again.

2010-09-30T09:56:00.002-05:00

Old injuries feel like no injuries most days, and the miles are flowing like wine. It's a metaphor.

And Chinese comment spammer, whomever you are, please stop.

1:35:00 :: 14 miles

2009-04-26T06:53:00.000-05:00

Easy run. Felt the leg a bit at 8-9 miles, then it gradually faded. No pain, just a mild tightness. Legs felt great, overall felt easy and relaxed for the whole run. Stopped short of the full 1:45 I was planning due to the leg issues.

2:20:00 :: 21 miles

2009-04-25T06:50:00.000-05:00

Long run. Got a bit fatigued at 13, but after a couple of sips of water, I started to feel more energetic. First 12.5 outside, then finished on the treadmill.

Say Goodbye to the Unicorn

2009-04-24T12:37:00.002-05:00

Things are improving quite a lot lately. The weather is still sketchy, but no more ice, snow, or unbearably cold temps lately. I've even willed myself into wearing shorts on a couple of mornings.

I'll see how the weekend of workouts go, and by Sunday morning our little pink friend will sparkle no more. Cheers!

57:00 :: 9 miles

2009-04-24T12:29:00.002-05:00

MP run @ 156-157 HR. Haven't done one of these in a long while. Today wasn't a great day to try it with the wind, either. I was able to wear shorts, so no restricting extra gear. It still went well enough. Effort felt about right for MP, and legs felt (and feel) very fresh.

1.7mi WU 12:30
41F, 16mph NNE wind

5:43(157) | 5:48(156) | 5:54(156) | 5:53(157)
5:51(157) | 5:51(158) | 5:51(157)

58:00 :: 8.5 miles

2009-03-17T07:44:00.002-05:00

Eval. GI issues still bothering me, three pit stops during the run (none during the eval segment, though). Ran inside even though it was beautiful outside (32F, not much wind). Ice and frost on the roads was pretty bad.

3 mi WU 20:55
6:03(152) | 6:08(152) | 6:14(152) | 6:18(152)
recHR: 130-:34 | 120-:43 | 110-:76

2:20:00 :: 20.7 miles

2009-03-07T10:17:00.001-06:00

Long run. A little bit sore at the end, but fueling wise, everything went very well (as compared to the multiple failed runs over the past few weeks). Pace was faster than expected from the start. Had to dial back a bit after the first two miles. Legs feel good a few hours later. I'm feeling like I'm back on track! A few more weeks of good results and I will be much happier.

1:03:20 :: 10 miles

2009-03-06T07:35:00.000-06:00

Moderate run. Shooting for 64-65 minutes, but fell into a good rhythm around 6:18-6:20 pace for a 63+. Very comfortable, good HR numbers and excellent recovery. Wind was swirling, felt like it was always in my face. Felt good overall.

30F 18mph WNW wind
6:23(139) | 6:25(142) | 6:16(142) | 6:20(144)
6:20(145) | 6:21(144) | 6:17(146) | 6:17(147)
6:19(146) | 6:19(146)
recHR 130-:25 | 120-:31 | 110-:46

54:00 :: 8 miles

2009-03-03T06:27:00.002-06:00

Evaluation run. I have to stop doing these for a while. I can't take it mentally. They might be indicating better fitness than I am aware of, but I can't get over the fact that I was running these paces for easy 20 milers last year.

Today
3 mi WU 20:35 20F 17mph SSW wind
6:08(151) | 6:13(152) | 6:14(152) | 6:19(153)
recHR: 130-:28 | 120-:37 | 110-:56

Tuesday Feb 17
3mi WU 20:20 15F 7mph N wind
6:13(152) | 6:16(152) | 6:21(152) | 6:21(152)
recHR 130-:27 | 120-:34 | 110-:49

2:01:00 :: 17.5 miles

2009-02-25T07:14:00.002-06:00

Easy run with hills/strides. Felt really good this morning--recovery pace run yesterday was the ticket! First half at 7:00 pace and then added 4 minute, 5% hills, followed by a 1 minute stride at 5:00 pace. Repeated four times on ten minutes. Finished with a couple more miles at 6:40 pace. HR was 133 or so at 7:00 pace, which hasn't happened in a while. Nice to see some movement there.

1:00:00 :: 8.5 miles

2009-02-24T07:13:00.000-06:00

Easy run. Feeling a bit wiped out after yesterday's longer run, so I just ran comfortably. Really felt good later in the day, so I think I needed the recovery.

1:45:00 :: 15 miles

2009-02-23T07:26:00.002-06:00

Easy run with hills on the treadmill. Four or five hills at 5% for 3-4 minutes each. Finished with a long stride at 5:30ish pace. Felt decent overall, definitely better than the last couple of days.

1:00:00 :: 9 miles

2009-02-12T08:53:00.001-06:00

Easy run with strides. Long stride around 5:00 pace with a little bit of incline every fifteen minutes, three total (2:15, 1:30, 1:30). Felt pretty good, nice change of pace.

1:20:00 :: 12 miles

2009-02-11T08:03:00.002-06:00

Easy run. Back is starting to feel better. Still rigged up pretty good, but not painful to run. Muscle relaxers must be doing something odd, though. Having some GI distress and a general lack of comfort (shallow breathing, slow pace feels fast). Hopefully only a few more days of this.

1:00:00 :: 9 miles

2009-02-10T08:23:00.003-06:00

Second decent run in over a week. Started fighting a cold last Saturday, finally cleared that out of my system the following Sunday, but got one of my neck/back spasms that morning and could barely move, let alone run. Three days of muscle relaxers later, I am able to run somewhat normally. The scheduled eval will have to be put off for next week as I get my feet back under me. I hope you enjoy the unicorn. It will be on my page to remind me of how pink, sparkly, and non-existent my training has been lately.

1:18:00 :: 11 miles

2009-01-18T19:40:00.001-06:00

Easy run. Very relaxing, leg went almost completely unnoticed. The more I run, the better it feels. That's a happy accident.

2:21:00 :: 21 miles

2009-01-17T09:29:00.004-06:00

Long run on the mill. One of the good ones. I think I benefited from doing the moderate ten miler yesterday, which sort of makes this like a back-to-back. Something about doing these one after another makes the long run better.

7:16(119) | 6:45(128) | 6:42(131) | 6:43(134)
6:42(135) | 6:43(136) | 6:42(136) | 6:43(136)
6:43(138) | 6:42(139) | 6:43(138) | 6:42(140)
6:38(141) | 6:39(142) | 6:39(143) | 6:40(144)
6:40(145) | 6:40(145) | 6:40(147) | 6:40(148)
6:40(151) recHR 130-:38 120-:58 110-2:47

1:02:30 :: 10 miles

2009-01-16T06:31:00.002-06:00

Moderate pace run. Had to run on the treadmill again this week, as it is -23F with a steady wind (-48F windchill), and there is just no way to get a decent run done in that kind of weather. The tough guy routine is ultimately just a waste of energy!

Felt pretty easy again. Picked up the pace a few seconds per mile over the second half, and still felt great. Really quick HR recovery. Good day.

6:18(137) | 6:17(141) | 6:17(141)
6:18(142) | 6:15(143) | 6:15(145)
6:13(146) | 6:13(147) | 6:12(149)
6:13(150)
recHR 130-:36 | 120-:43 | 110-:59

Long run tomorrow.

1:00:00 :: 7.5 miles

2009-01-15T06:30:00.000-06:00

Easy run. Really easy.

1:45:00 :: 15.1 miles

2009-01-14T08:11:00.002-06:00

Easy run. Feeling a little bit tired until about halfway, then felt more energetic. Started watching Arrested Development from the first episode. Great way to pass the time. -24F this morning, unspeakably colder with the windchill, so it is slowly warming up.

52:00 :: 8 miles

2009-01-13T06:44:00.004-06:00

Evaluation run. Sucked. Didn't feel bad or off or anything, but I guess I am having a bad day. Couldn't do it outside due to -30F air temp and fresh snow, so I was back on the mill.

Today
3mi warmup 20:40
5:54(152) | 6:04(152) | 6:07(153) | 6:09(153)
recHR 130-:34 | 120-:57 | 110-:80

12.30.2008
3mi warmup 21:13
5:43(152) | 5:53(152) | 5:57(152) | 6:07(153)
recHR 130-:35 | 120-:49 | 110-:71

Quite a difference, so this was no fun. I have definitely added some mileage the past two weeks, so hopefully that is the madness behind the mildness of the last couple of runs. Mystery Coach did mention that as I got more fit, the pace would start to even out, which seems to be happening here. Or maybe that's wishful thinking. Have a good day!

1:12:00 :: 10.2 miles

2009-01-11T08:44:00.000-06:00

Easy run. Interesting run. About half a mile in, I came across a police blockade covering about two city blocks. No cops were in the cars, and there was an ambulance in the middle, so I assumed it was just to prevent cars from entering the narrow street and getting in the way of the ambulance. I kept running down the street and got about halfway down when a police officer came walking out into the street rocking a very tactical looking .223 rifle. I slowed down and kind of half threw up my hands, and asked, "Am I okay to be running here?". He looked back at me and goes, "You are now.", and kept walking.

Wow. What the FUCK!

I called the police station later, and asked what was going on to require that kind of hardware on scene, and the supervisor said it was for 'safety reasons', which makes me wonder how 'safe' it is less than half a mile away from my house. I don't know about you all out there, but I'm not that comfortable with police on a medical assistance call carrying automatic weapons down the middle of the street. It's not like we're living in Beit Hanoun here. Holy shit, people.

2:20:00 :: 20.2 miles

2009-01-10T08:40:00.000-06:00

Long run. Felt pretty good (finally). Picked up toward the end, once I knew I was going to get through the whole thing.

55:00 :: 8 miles

2009-01-09T17:45:00.003-06:00

Easy run with a couple of strides and hills. 3x.5 mile hills, and 3x45-60seconds at 5:00-5:30 pace. Don't want to do too much, really just to break up the monotony and briefly touch base with turnover. Long run tomorrow!

1:10:00 :: 10 miles

2009-01-08T05:42:00.000-06:00

Easy run. Nothing special. A couple of strides toward the end.

1:45:00 :: 15 miles

2009-01-07T07:50:00.001-06:00

Easy longer run. Felt really good. No fatigue from yesterday's 10 miler.

1:10:00 :: 11 miles

2009-01-06T07:11:00.002-06:00

Ten mile moderate-pace run in 1:02:54. HR went higher on this than I would have hoped or expected, but it was also done indoors, which is different than most of these I have done in the past. I'll be able to compare better once I get a couple more done. Here are the results:

6:30(138) | 6:17(149) | 6:17(149)
6:17(152) | 6:17(153) | 6:17(155)
6:18(157) | 6:08(162) | 6:17(160)
6:17(161) -- 130-:56 | 120-1:39 | 110-3:06

Felt really strong and controlled through mile nine, and even then just a slight fatigue. Breathing didn't change much until mile eight, which I picked up for about a quarter mile. Overall, not at all like I remember these runs. I remember them being somewhat more challenging. Maybe a good sign.

1:20:00 :: 12.1 miles

2009-01-01T08:05:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year! Easy run on the mill. Really good run, feeling good, minimal to no problems with Leg (yes, it has it's own name now). Most of run was around 135 avgHR, about 6:45 pace. Last mile right at 6:00 pace, 156 avgHR.

1:07:20 :: 10 miles

2008-12-30T10:32:00.004-06:00

Evaluation run. Lost a little bit of ground on this one. Ran it on the treadmill again, and got about the same pace numbers as last time, with the last mile a little bit slower than two weeks ago, and the recovery a few seconds slower as well. Didn't get a long run in either of the past two weeks, so I'm sure that had some effect. I'll post the numbers up in a nice table when I get a chance to pull the data off the watch.

3mi warmup 21:13
5:43(152) | 5:53(152) | 5:57(152) | 6:07(153)
recHR 130-:35 | 120-:49 | 110-:71

I have to pimp a project I have been invited to participate in. It's called Purple States - Economic Crisis Edition, and is located at purplestates.tv if you would like to check it out. Today is my day(!), so check out my video (and the others), learn something you didn't know about our wonderful economic engine, and crack jokes about my radio face in the comments. Cheers!

Nutrition Information

2008-12-16T08:15:00.002-06:00

Thomas was wondering what I used for nutrition. Here is the label and formula. I mix it in 125ml bottles, with one scoop of powder to approximately 100ml of water, or 100kcal per bottle. During a long run, I will take one bottle, during a hard long run, I might use three or four, and during a marathon, I use five or six bottles along with one or two gels.

Thanks for the question, Thomas.

2:29:00 :: 22 miles

2008-12-15T12:40:00.002-06:00

Long run on the treadmill. I'm still having all kinds of pains and cramps on the right leg/ankle/foot. Today was the strangest yet, as I went 13 miles with quite a bit of tightness and some pain in my leg, foot, and toe, but then within a few minutes after passing 13 miles, everything went pretty much normal through to the end. I even did a few strides over the last four miles (4x.3mi @ 5:30 pace) and had no problems. Didice bath for the lower legs after just for the recovery aspect. Legs felt great all day, no cramping or anything. Pace was pretty solid, about 6:50s overall, so I was pretty excited about the run, and especially feeling so fresh during and after.

Since I have been on the treadmill, I've been taking 100kcal of nutrition during the last ten miles, and I have to say, I think it makes a huge difference in performance during the run and recovery afterwards. I still think there's some value in occasionally doing a long run without fuel and stressing the system that way, but in general, I'm thinking you get better workouts when you fuel the body adequately throughout.

7 miles :: Evaluation

2008-12-02T06:31:00.004-06:00

Eval on the treadmill. Wanted to get a baseline on the treadmill, so no time like the present. Heat definitely makes a difference. I could tell that as I sweat more and got warmer, the pace to hold the 152HR stacked up pretty quickly. It will be interesting to see how this changes as (if?) I get more adapted to running indoors.

3 mile warmup @ 7:05 pace avg.
5:52(151) | 6:01(152) | 6:04(152) | 6:08(152)

Not real excited about the numbers, but it will be something to compare with treadmill evals in the future.

Over the past week, things have not been going well. Last Sunday, I got a pain around the front of my ankle six miles into a ten mile run. By the end of the run it was pretty sore, and it has taken a day off and a solid week of reduced mileage to get it under control. I was not able to manage more than 11 miles for a long run this week, which was disappointing. Hopefully, I will keep making progress and put whatever that problem is behind me over the next few days.

2:25:00 :: 21+ miles

2008-11-22T08:53:00.000-06:00

Long run. Really great run on the treadmill. Felt like I could have gone on forever (or at least another 3-4 miles). Weather outside was decent, but for some reason the treadmill was calling me. Probably for the better, too, as being on the mill really helped me control the pace, and I'm sure it kept me from finishing too hard toward the end. Did the first 10 around 6:50-7:00 pace, and the last 11+ at 6:35-6:40 with the last five minutes or so right at 6:00 pace. Took about 100 kcal drink at 12 miles. Didn't feel the leg at all. No soreness or anything to speak of. Really great run.

Lesson learned: do NOT watch Little House on the Prairie while running on the mill, especially if it is a particularly poignant episode, and especially if you are a particularly emotional person when you are running. It was, and I am, and that equals an accident waiting to happen!

1:09:20 :: 10 miles

2008-11-21T08:40:00.004-06:00

Easy run. Coldest day of the 'winter' running season so far, and a bit (too) early for my liking. +3F. Usually doesn't get that cold until mid-December, and then it typically stays that way until March. Mornings should be back into the 20s tomorrow, which will be nice. I noticed my leg hurt a bit due to the cold, but it cleared up after about ten minutes of running. Foot felt fine.

Short 21 minute run yesterday, no real good excuse. I just frittered my morning away and ran out of time! Once in a while I need a day like that.

1:10:00 :: 10 miles

2008-11-19T06:38:00.000-06:00

Easy run. Between toes and ankle slightly sore for the last three days, which is a holdover from the injury. I will avoid the shoes that seem to aggravate it, and try using the metatarsal bar to clear it up. Otherwise, an uneventful run, just how I like them.

Evaluation Runs

2008-11-18T06:49:00.003-06:00

I didn't have time to put these in a table this morning, but here is the collected eval data since getting out of the pool and back on to the roads.

October 8
3 mi warmup 20:43
5:58(152) | 6:00(152) | 6:03(152) | 6:08(152)
RecHR: :29(130) - :42(120) - :53(110)

October 22
3 mile warmup 20:32
5:57(152) | 6:02(152) | 6:02(152) | 6:06(153)
RecHR :26(130) | :38(120) | :46(110)

November 5
3 mile warmup 20:53
5:57(153) | 5:59(152) | 6:06(152) | 6:06(153)
RecHR :24(130) | :33(120) | :43(110)

November 18 (today)
3 mile warmup 20:49
5:55(152) | 6:03(153) | 5:59(152) | 6:03(153)
:28(130) | :33(120) | :45(110)

Today's results might skew a little bit due to colder weather requiring a jacket and pants. I was able to get away with shirt and shorts for the other three.

And, for comparison (since Mystery Coach mentioned it), an eval from early this year on the same course, in the same dress, and similar weather conditions as today (20F, 10mph wind).

January 28, 2008
3 mile warmup
5:55(151) | 6:02(152) | 6:06(152) | 6:07(152)
:29(130) | :37(120) | NR(110)

I never would have believed it without seeing it with my own eyes, but I appear to be in similar fitness to Jan/Feb of this year already. Shocking, considering the reduction of volume and speedwork this summer and fall. Yet more proof that I have no idea what is going on! Thank God for great coaching!

Hello, friend

2008-11-17T03:40:00.006-06:00

Wow. It's been a while. And it's been a long, hard road. In just the past week, I've finally gotten to the point where I am running nearly pain-free, and nearly normal distances. Even though I spent a lot of time in the pool, and did a lot to maintain my fitness, I lost a lot of ground. It could have been much, much worse, so I try to keep that in mind as I build back up.

I've been getting a lot of positive pressure to start blogging again, which is good. Now that running is back to almost normal, the blog will be a lot more readable as well. No more entries like, "ran ten steps, laid down in the street and cried, walked home, hot bath, candles, and more crying. Can't wait for tomorrow!"

Saturday was my first 20 miler (2:20) since the marathon way back in May. It went really well in terms of not creating any soreness, and just starting to create some depletion. I definitely could have continued for another mile or two, but I was already 20 minutes further along than any other run in the past four months or so, so I didn't want to push too far, too soon. Other than that, a few 60-70 mile weeks, a few evaluation runs, and consistently less pain in the leg as the days go by. Things are improving. Thanks for standing by. Now, back to the program...

(Not) Training Update

2008-09-04T04:38:00.003-05:00

Well, not a lot has gone well since my last post at the end of July. The pool running didn't help. Within a day or two of getting back to running on dry land, the leg was the same. I found an odd lump on the inside of my tibia at the source of some of the pain, and went to a doctor to get it checked out. Fortunately, it turned out to be nothing serious, and is probably just inflammation related to the muscles and tendons that are giving me problems. I've been working with Mystery Coach on strategies to get back to running while continuing to heal the problem, but so far, there's a lot of pain and not much running.

I'm definitely losing some fitness at this point, and I'm definitely anxious about it, but I'm also seeing it as an opportunity to get freshened up after nearly three years of solid, consistent training. I've been thinking about Thomas lately, and how he came back from a long layoff in short order with great results. I'll hope to do the same once this problem fades into the background. For now, though, I wait.

Thanks for the continued support, and sorry for the lack of posts!

1:00:00 :: 0 miles (haha)

2008-07-30T11:04:00.002-05:00

First day in the pool. Getting used to the different feeling--it's similar to beginning cycling, with the slight burn in the quads and calf. Calves cramped up a bit toward the end, but otherwise it was uneventful. Hacked together a 'waterproof' iPod with a ziplock, a Boston Red Sox hat, and some athletic tape. Most impressive, and even better, it works! No boredom today whatsoever.

5:00 :: .75 miles

2008-07-29T06:45:00.001-05:00

I'm having some problems, very schizophrenic problems. I'm having some on again/off again pain from my big toe, through my ankle, and high up into my calf. It's been with me for some time since the 10K, and has really been bothering me since the 400s (last post). For example, the pain was the worst it has been on Saturday, then completely gone on Sunday, then moderate yesterday, and bad again today.

I've tried all kinds of different strategies--icing, taping, supportive shoes, bare feet, soft surfaces, strength exercises, running through it, time off...nothing seems to get me down the path consistently.

At this point, I've decided to try my old standby, pool running. A week or so of pool running has always cured my ailments, as well as given me a new appreciation of what boredom *really* is.

To the pool...

30:00 :: 4.3 miles

2008-07-10T09:01:00.004-05:00

Easy run. Another sore day for the toe and ankle, as well as the foot(!). Not as bad as yesterday, so it's improving. Outside of right foot (initially hurt back around April on a windy 20 miler) is flaring up again. Ran in cutout Ohanas, which eliminated the pain completely. Did 30 minutes of running, mostly on grass, and fifteen minutes of easy (still not so easy) cycling. Cold bath for the entire lower leg, and more ibuprofen today.

Found a cool article...
Beating the Heat (this one's for Mike)

14:00 :: 1.8 miles

2008-07-09T08:58:00.000-05:00

Easy run. Having some pain in the toe and ankle still, and it is increasing as the run goes on, so I stopped. Not worried about it at this point, as it barely hurts, but still want to get rid of the problem before it gets bigger.

48:00 :: 6.5 miles

2008-07-08T17:39:00.004-05:00

5-20x400 in 66-72 with 400 jog recovery. Was shooting for 12-16 reps, but had some pain in my toe and calf, so I stopped.

70.99 | 69.88 | 69.90 | 70.94
70.85 | 71.42 | 71.02 | 70.45

Felt smooth overall, but found a definite line in the sand around 71 seconds. Faster than that caused some burning in the legs (forgot what that feels like!) and some oxygen debt. Slower didn't cause much of a burn at all, and just some heavy vents.

Cold bath for the toe/calf and hourly ibuprofen today. It felt better after the cold bath, but did the ibuprofen as an extra measure.

1:07:35 :: 10 miles

2008-07-07T10:59:00.003-05:00

Easy run. Averaged 127HR for the run, which is nice and low at that pace. Last mile 6:18 with 139 average HR. Interesting. I think I'm doing some speed tomorrow. Maybe?

1:40:20 :: 15 miles

2008-07-06T10:57:00.000-05:00

Long run. Pretty easy overall, with a couple of 6:20-ish miles toward the end (140-145HR). A bit warm and humid when I ran, but not too bad.

1:09:00 :: 10.3 miles

2008-07-05T11:02:00.001-05:00

Easy run. Legs feel good, no post race issues to speak of.

MSUM 10K :: 32:34 - 6th Place

2008-07-04T10:14:00.001-05:00

Rust buster for sure. Got out well the first two miles, then had a tough third mile into the breeze (5:20) before putting together a solid second half of 16:14.

5:11(160) | 5:08(172) | 5:20(170)
5:13(170) | 5:14(170) | 5:12(171)
1:18(174)

The last bit of the race came out to .27 miles on the GPS, which, interestingly is .21 plus what seems to be the 'Garmin Factor' of .01 per mile. Based on my experience, the Garmin is extremely accurate, as long as you accept that every mile is recorded .01 short. Why this can't be corrected in software, I don't know. It's so consistent, it should be.

Had a good battle in the last two miles with the seventh place runner. That definitely kept me in the race mentally.

Have a good holiday! Cheers!

55:00 :: 8.5 miles

2008-07-01T20:24:00.002-05:00

Mini-taper workout. Missed out on doing it yesterday--wasn't putting it together that the race was on FRIDAY and not Saturday--so I cut it a little bit short.

Two mile warmup
3 miles at ~MP
5:50(146) | 5:45(152) | 5:39(156)
One mile steady
6:20(147)
3x1000m on 5:00
3:09(164-:65) | 3:04(163-:65) | 3:08(165-:72)
Short cooldown

Felt comfortable, but overall not very energetic. 1000s were definitely better as far as stride and mechanically feeling faster, but energy level was low, so they didn't feel particularly easy. I described this feeling last year as 'running through toothpaste'. After reading some of last year's workouts, I am encouraged that things will come around quickly, so I'm not stressing at all. Still a good workout!

Man, what an 800 in the Olympic Trials! Even though he didn't get through to the Olympics, KD is still the man. I have a lot of respect for him based on the interviews I have seen. He is a class act.

1:02:40 :: 9 miles

2008-06-30T07:24:00.002-05:00

Easy run. Stayed below 131HR for the whole run, and just tried to relax. Didn't sleep nearly enough, and was really, really tired this morning.

1:51:23 :: 17 miles

2008-06-29T12:10:00.003-05:00

Longest run since the marathon. Started out very relaxed and picked up toward the end. Felt great the whole way. Low 6:40s until about nine miles (took a gel and some water at 50 minutes), then low 6:30s to 13, and the last four in 6:25(146) | 6:26(149) | 6:11(154) | 5:27(169). Last couple of miles was just striding out, feeling really relaxed, controlled, and easy, (despite the fact that 5:27 is quite fast!). Legs felt really great, feeling really fresh mentally right now, and looking forward to assaulting my 10K PR this summer, both on the road and the track.

49:00 :: 7 miles

2008-06-28T16:08:00.000-05:00

Easy run on the treadmill (watching the women's 10k trials). Didn't get much of a run earlier today at the race, so I wanted to add a few.

5K Race :: 16:26 - 1st

2008-06-28T09:07:00.003-05:00

Not a day or a course for a full race effort, so I just went out steady and finished strong once the course straightened out. It was 55F with 20mph winds and some rain, so not a great day. The course had a lot of tight turns, was 2/3 gravel road or trail, and rolled just a bit. It was actually a nice course for running, but certainly not for running fast. I was able to talk to a few people that I hadn't seen in a lot of years, so I was really happy I got out there to run.

5:22(153) | 5:25(165) | 5:03(170) | :38(173)

Cindy ran an excellent race, and got second place overall in 19:36! A very good time for her. It looks like she's starting off with a lot of the fitness she had last year at this time. Very cool!

47:00 :: 7 miles

2008-06-26T08:12:00.002-05:00

Easy run. Still feeling a bit tired, though I think it's sleepy tired and not running tired. The hours are low right now (6-7 per week), and I remember from last year, when the mileage is low, so goes the energy level. Seems like the less I run, the less I want to run, and the lower my overall energy level is. I'm still getting 7-7.5 hours of sleep a night, which is normal, so there may be something to the hypothesis.

1:03:00 :: 9.3 miles

2008-06-25T08:05:00.000-05:00

Easy run. Felt a bit tired at the start and got better as the run went on. Threw in four 200m strides throughout the run. Tuesday's workout was a bit harder than it should have been. I was supposed to have run the five miles like the start of a marathon, more of a progression from 5:55 to 5:35. I didn't ask for clarification prior to the workout, and just did the typical pre-race taper workout. No big deal. It was nice to see that the recovery is almost complete, as the heart rate was within a couple of bpm of pre-marathon levels for that pace. Moving right along.

1:06:00 :: 10.7 miles

2008-06-24T07:12:00.003-05:00

Taper workout. Getting ready for a low-key 5K on Saturday morning. Very nice weather, slight breeze, 61F and sunny.

10 minute warmup
5:35(152) | 5:33(157) | 5:31(158)
5:33(160) | 5:33(162)
2 miles steady
6:15(152) | 6:20(149)
3x1000m on 5:00
3:07(165-:61) | 3:05(163-:57) | 3:04(164-:63)

Felt like crap on the first 1000, and considered stopping. Otherwise the workout was good to very good. Last mile of the five miles was a bit difficult, but still under control.

1:20:00 :: 12.7 miles

2008-06-14T12:12:00.001-05:00

MP-10 run. Went really well. Weather was pretty good, about 55F, and not much wind. Felt good through four miles, then mile five was a bit harder, feeling the legs a bit, and mile six and seven felt better, but much like the last couple of miles of a fast finish longer run.

Ran with the Ninja Marshmallow Running Club, three miles to warm up in 21-ish, then seven (alone...no takers at 7:30am. And you guys call yourselves ninjas!) at MP-10 pace (~5:35 right now according to the Mystery Coach), followed by a 2.7 mile cooldown at of about 14 minutes. Here's the breakdown...

5:32(159) | 5:32(162) | 5:29(164) | 5:34(164)
5:32(166) | 5:33(166) | 5:31(166)
Recovered to 130HR-:45 120HR-1:05 110HR-2:17!

Good run. Heading up to Winnipeg later this afternoon to watch a couple of friends in the Manitoba Marathon, either of whom have a good shot at the win. Very exciting!

50:00 :: 7.4 miles

2008-06-10T06:45:00.002-05:00

Workout. 1-10 x 1000 in 3:10-3:20 on 5:00. Checking the marathon recovery, looking for a solid comfortable stride. Slight north wind (6-8mph) and 52F with a bit of mist/rain--really perfect weather for running. Felt really good through five, then form started to loosen up and legs tired a bit on six, so I stopped. Recovery to 120HR was excellent, so I would say I'm very well recovered from the marathon at this point.

3mi warmup 20:00

Key: 1000m(avgHR-120HR)
3:10(160-:40) | 3:09(160-:48) | 3:08(163-:61*)
3:09(164-:54) | 3:07(165-:59**) | 3:07(164-:48)
* HR was 114 following Garmin lockup
** HR was 115 following Garmin lockup

Garmin HRM locked up following two of the repeats. This has become a fairly common problem lately. Not sure what the cause is, but it is annoying. Went a bit faster on these than Mystery Coach suggested, but the speed felt how he suggested it should, so I wasn't too worried about one or two seconds. I figured I would be good for a max of eight reps today, and more likely six, and it worked out just right. I was just looking to feel comfortable running near 10K pace, and, most importantly, demonstrate good recovery from the marathon.

With both of those goals accomplished, I am excited about moving forward! The last 10 days or so have been somewhat boring, and I'm even getting a little soreness and some weird pains in my hamstrings and ankle from running easy every day. Time to switch gears...

1:12:30 :: 10.3 miles

2008-06-07T09:17:00.001-05:00

Easy run. Ran in a group of seven, which is a nice change. It's been a long time. Wanted to get out to some trails, but it has been raining, so just hit the bike trails in town. Felt pretty good overall.

30:00 :: 3.5 miles

2008-06-06T06:22:00.001-05:00

Easy run on the treadmill. Intended to do an easy run in the morning and a regular run in the afternoon, since I was supposed to have at least half a day off today, but it didn't work out that way. Very slow, avgHR 111 with a maxHR of 129. Ultra easy. Very rare that I do a run this slow. Not a bad run at all though. Definitely would have gone longer if I had known my day was going to go long.

47:04 :: 7 miles

2008-06-05T06:11:00.001-05:00

Easy run. Another solid low HR day. 128avgHR at 6:45 pace, very similar to yesterday. I've seen similar bounces like this to a lower HR in the past, after several weeks of good training and a rest period (or an injury), so I would say this change relates back to the marathon itself. The low HR suggests that I have recovered to some extent, although Mystery Coach reminded me that even though the *majority* of the muscle fibers may be recovered, it's important to be considerate of the recovery of the *minority* of fibers--the ones that are difficult to recruit in the first place. Too much, too soon for those fibers can undo a lot of hard work.

1:30:00 :: 13.3 miles

2008-06-04T20:09:00.003-05:00

Easy run. Interesting HR data today. 129HR average for the entire run, 144 maxHR, and 6:46 pace average overall. Far and away the lowest HR at that pace in a long time, if not ever. Really nice weather this morning. Not much wind, 50F, and misting. Probably the nicest day so far this spring. Good run.

Sticky :: Fargo Marathon '08 Race Report

2008-06-04T06:52:00.000-05:00

I'll condense these down to links and leave them at the top for another week or so.

Part 1
Part 2

Interviews, pictures, and other media coming soon...

1:04:00 :: 10 miles

2008-06-03T06:40:00.002-05:00

Evaluation run. Easy three miles, then four miles at 152HR. I added today's workout to the table of results from earlier this year for comparison. Keep in mind, there was quite a difference in weather and dress.

	12/18	1/1	1/15	1/28	6/3
Weather	5F/3mph	-2F/16mph	-3F/19mph	20F/9mph	55F/11mph
WU Time	22:00	20:09	13:43	20:35	20:46
WU Dist	3 mi	3 mi	2 mi	3 mi	3 mi
Mile 1	5:59(152)	6:07(152)	6:01(152)	5:55(151)	5:39(152)
Mile 2	6:08(152)	6:11(152)	6:11(152)	6:02(152)	5:47(152)
Mile 3	6:11(152)	6:14(152)	6:12(153)	6:06(152)	5:50(152)
Mile 4	6:14(152)	6:11(152)	6:10(153)	6:07(152)	5:56(153)
Rec 130	:32	:23	:28	:29	:29
Rec 120	:44	:34	:34	:37	:37

Decent splits, though the times stacked a bit, and very comparable recovery. Not bad for two weeks after a marathon. Felt okay. A little fatigued during the warmup, and mile three felt harder than it should have, but otherwise a comfortable run. Stride was flat due to running no faster than 6:20 pace for two weeks.

Questions...

2008-06-02T06:51:00.000-05:00

These kind of got buried under a huge race report, so I thought I would pull them into a separate entry and answer them.

It is hard for someone like me...a nonrunner for sure, to even imagine what the race and training was like...so I have a question for you. You really ran 26 miles at the same pace? Just as fast at the end as in the beginning? How much farther could you go at that pace?

Yes, 26+ miles, but not at the same pace. Much faster at the end. =) Seriously, the pace varied anywhere from around 6:00 per mile at the slowest to 5:00 per mile at the fastest. Most miles were very close to the overall average of 5:44 per mile. I did run the last couple of miles significantly faster than average pace, though--no joke! How much further? Maybe another 15-20 minutes at my average pace. Maybe another 5 minutes at my finishing pace. I was still feeling good, so it's possible. I wouldn't want to keep going though! Race is over!

And then another question...I know from reading your story that you asked a couple of times how far back Rotich was, but did you look over your shoulder at all? Do you think you ran faster from not knowing how close behind you he was or did you just stay with your pace?

I don't look back. I ran as fast as I thought was sensible based on how I was feeling, my fueling, etc. With two miles to go in a marathon, things can change quickly, so you still have to manage risk. I wasn't going all out until half a mile to go, because I knew he wasn't right behind me, there was no risk of losing my position, and it could have been disastrous to go too early. But, if he had been right on my heels or even a bit ahead of me, I would have unleashed hell over the final two miles to win that race! You just have to do what makes sense based on the situation.

Thanks for the questions, Cheryl!

1:15:00 :: 11 miles

2008-06-02T06:50:00.001-05:00

Easy run. Felt good this morning. Nice day, not much wind, 50F and overcast. Perfect running weather.

45:00 :: 6.6 miles

2008-06-01T06:47:00.000-05:00

Easy run. Scared up a few deer, and found some nice, soft, riverside trails. Even found a few small hills. Very enjoyable run.

1:15:00 :: 10.3 miles

2008-05-31T06:42:00.001-05:00

Easy run. Ran a couple of miles toward the end with Rick and Earl.

1:00:00 :: 9.2 miles

2008-05-30T06:39:00.000-05:00

Easy run. Stopped my watch with a bit over a mile to go (black lab catch and release), and forgot to restart it. Mostly hitting mid-6:20s comfortably. Feeling good today.

45:00 :: 6.6 miles

2008-05-29T06:35:00.000-05:00

Easy run.

1:18:30 :: 12 miles

2008-05-28T07:42:00.001-05:00

Easy run. Feeling very good the last few days. Heart rate moving a bit high toward the end of longer runs (151), but still feeling comfortable.

1:04:00 :: 9.5 miles

2008-05-27T05:07:00.000-05:00

Easy run. Feeling good, no problems, HR is starting to come back to normal levels, but still a few bpm high.

1:08:30 :: 10 miles

2008-05-26T11:09:00.000-05:00

Easy run. Longest run since the marathon. Felt really good, legs feeling strong again at normal easy pace (6:40ish).

45:00 :: 6.9 miles

2008-05-25T05:39:00.001-05:00

Easy run. Quad was fine, back to normal. Legs feeling pretty good.

45:00 :: 6.1 miles

2008-05-24T05:38:00.000-05:00

Easy run. Quad tight again. Otherwise feeling good.

30:00 :: 3.9 miles

2008-05-23T05:37:00.000-05:00

Easy, easy run. Quads tightened up after about 15 minutes. Felt better later in the day.

The Difference...

2008-05-19T11:02:00.002-05:00

What a difference one place makes. I've spent the morning doing interviews for three radio shows, and I've got another one scheduled for this afternoon (1:10pm US Central time, live feed if you want to listen), local TV tonight, and five more radio shows on Wednesday...this is NUTS!

I'm as anxious to write the race report as you may be to read it, so I appreciate your patience. I hope to have a copy of the live radio broadcast of the race to post here soon. I heard a 20 second clip of the finish call, and it about brought me to tears.

More soon. Thanks for sharing this with me, everyone!

Recovery :: No Runs 5.18-5.22

2008-05-18T10:25:00.000-05:00

Took five days off following the marathon. Soreness in the calves and quads for Sunday, Monday, and a bit on Tuesday, then completely fine for Wednesday and Thursday.

Victory !

2008-05-18T08:22:00.000-05:00

What a day, what a race! I'll have a proper race report in the next day or so, but for now, i'm just relaxing, and trying to take it all in. Thanks so much for all the comments and your support throughout my preparation. I've had so many people tell me what a source of motivation this blog, and others like it, are for them, and I want to let my readers know that you are a huge source of motivation for me as well.

A very special thanks goes out to Mystery Coach, who, through his mysterious ways was actually able to coach the top TWO runners at yesterday's race! Brian Anderson told me at the awards ceremony that doing the back to backs mentioned in my blog finally made marathon training 'click' for him. Great job coach! Thanks again for everything you've done for me, and for sharing your advice and wisdom through the intertubes.

Time for breakfast and then heading home. Hope you all had a great weekend. I'll write again soon.

The Persistence of Memory

2008-05-17T10:20:00.000-05:00

Almost immediately, I resolved to come back to try for the win next year. The people of Fargo were amazing, and as a lifelong resident of North Dakota, I'm particularly excited about the prospect of winning its biggest and best marathon. Hopefully it's more competitive next year, and there will be a fight to the finish in course record time. I can't wait.

--from the 2007 Fargo Marathon race report, written one year ago yesterday.

Fargo Marathon 2008 :: Part 2 of 2

2008-05-17T07:38:00.000-05:00

Brian relaxed the pace briefly as we continued past the Concordia campus, but it wouldn't be long before the gap built up again. We broke from the half marathon course for a few precious miles, and once again became lonely racers.

I fought hard to stay within striking distance, trying to convince myself that my tactical preparation would pay off in the last five kilometers. All the same, I was getting a bit irritated with the growing gap, waiting to feel better, and, to a great extent, the whole race to that point.

I had bought a pair of $.99 gloves the night before at the expo, and worn them throughout the race, even though it had been plenty warm. I can say this: I did not have cold hands the entire race. That counts for something. But now, I needed some inspiration. A physical representation of emotion. What better cliche to invoke than taking my gloves off and throwing them down on the ground! That'll work!

After throwing down the gauntlet, well, the gap got a little bigger, about 30 meters at it's longest. We were back with the half marathoners again by mile nineteen, fighting through the crowd at some points, and making the best of a bad, bad situation. This is not how anyone wants to run a competitive race. It was made more difficult by the fact that we didn't have a race official with us. Up ahead, Rotich and Thull had, I believe, four cyclists between them. The rest of the top ten had zero, and we were navigating the crowd on our own.

The half marathoners would be a steady stream for the next several miles, an almost straight shot north, into a strong, steady wind. As much as I wanted and hoped that the half marathoners would block some of the wind, it didn't happen. I watched Brian have a couple of close calls up ahead, and tried to avoid my own, especially on the few turns we had to take. One positive aspect of the situation for me was that it took my mind off the pain for a while, as my singular thought was stay out of trouble.

I didn't know it at the time, but as we made our way past the mile 20 water station, we were also making our way past the last elite station, with all of our drinks, and the most critical ones at that. The last elite station was supposed to be at mile 21, as it was last year. To make it even worse, I passed my wife just before mile 21, and, thinking that I wouldn't need it due to the upcoming aid station, refused one of the insurance bottles she was carrying!

Now, what would a thinking man do in this situation? If you answered, take the bottle just in case--that's why it's called an insurance bottle--then I'd like to have you stand at mile 21 next year and yell at me next year to take the damn bottle. Seriously. I'll pay your way out (okay, fine, I'm joking). After missing my bottles at 21 last year, this was poetic. Like a really bad poem. By a really bad poet.

In my defense, I was less than a minute away from passing Matt Thull and moving into third place. Again, like last year, I made a tactical error while making a late-race pass into a significant position. An epic, terrible poem.

I said a few encouraging words as I passed Matt, who seemed to be suffering from the heat and a lack of fuel as well as the early pace. I saw him drop off his fluids the night before at the expo, and noticed that he didn't bring much for calories. Also, knowing that this was his first marathon, I thought there was a good chance that an aggressive, front-running race could produce a bad result. Unfortunately for Matt, that's exactly what happened.

After moving in to third, I was worried. Last year I slowed to over six minute pace by 23 miles after missing my fluids. The last bit of racing in 2007 was incredibly tough. This year, I used a bit different strategy by taking my fluids almost continuously, with the last bit around mile 20. I could still feel some in my stomach, so I felt comfortable that I was in better position fuel-wise than last year, but I was also planning some hard moves late in the race, and didn't know how those would affect my reserves. By mile 22, I knew. I was running out of gas.

Brian was still ahead, less than 30 meters away, but still running strong with four miles to go. I was freaking out, because I could feel that familiar tickle in my legs--the tickle you get about ten minutes before you bonk (no, not that kind of bonk, Ewen). I started to think about the finish, and what it would take to get there in second or third place. Rotich was two minutes up the road, Brian was still looking strong, and I was running out of gas. I suddenly had the opportunity I prepared all these months for--I was racing for a top three spot, and to preserve my place in my current situation, the time trial had to be over. Sub-2:30, one of my top few goals, was out the window.

And then, an epiphany. I had put a gel in my shorts pocket before the race. Dummy, I forgot about it! Genius! I remembered!

I tore into it--Powerbar Vanilla with 1x caffeine. I had used several brands of gel in training, so I had no worries, and I knew that it worked. I downed the whole thing over the next half mile, and grabbed a cup of water to thin it out. In less than a minute, everything turned around. Not only was I excited for the race ahead, but I couldn't wait to tell Tim Noakes that I had just proved his central governor theory. There's no way that I digested that fuel in a useful way, but here I was, one moment in the throes of utter fatigue, and the next moment, jacked up, feeling good, and closing the gap.

I pulled even with Brian around 23. I don't remember there being much time between pulling even, and Brian telling me he was cramping up (maybe that's why you pulled even, genius? -ed.). I told Brian to hang tough, work through it, and finish strong, and suddenly, I was in second place. Again, I entertained thoughts of conserving to maintain my place. Those thoughts didn't last long, though.

Within one or two minutes of passing Brian, I heard someone along the road say, "He's just two blocks ahead." Who's this then? Second place? I just passed second place. I'm in second place. I asked one of the guys on the bikes, who joined up with us just after 21 miles, where Rotich was. I don't remember him answering my question. Instead he just looked at me and said, "He's fading. Pretty bad."

The previous two miles had gone by in 5:56 and 5:55. They were tough, as any miles late in the marathon will be, but I was well within myself. I was feeling better and better all through mile 23, after the gel pack, but I was still hesitant to crack it open with second or third place on the line and what I thought was a big gap to first.

And then the leader was in sight. We hadn't crossed over to the half marathon course yet, which would happen at just about mile 24.5, so there were just a few dozens of people on the side of the road, watching the race as I slowly but surely rolled up on the leader. He had the same effortless stride as he had earlier in the race, but it was moving him down the road a full minute per mile more slowly. I, on the other hand, was moving as quickly as any other time during the race.

When he was still several blocks away, I said out loud, to no one in particular, "Do you think I can get that guy?" No one answered. Again, another block up the road, I said, "I think I can get this guy!", and again, no one on the side of the road said a word. I admit I sounded a bit loopy, but come on! Let's get fired up people! Finally, when it was obvious I was within 100 meters and closing fast, I said, "I'm gonna get this guy!" and started blasting down the road.

As I pulled even with Rotich, I turned to look at him. I mentioned before that I had been practicing some simple Swahili words, like 'habari' (hello), 'asante' (thank you) and a phrase or two like 'Nimefurahi kukujua' (pleased to meet you). So, with my weeks of practice, I looked over and said...'Good morning'.

I couldn't remember a damn thing! I must have looked at him blankly for two full seconds before saying 'good morning'. At least it was actually morning. Fueled by complete and total embarrassment, I took off down the road, covering mile 24 in 5:38, and picking up steam.

At this point in the race, I was running scared. I had no reason to believe that Rotich wasn't coming back, although it didn't seem likely. Paraphrashing the great line from the Blues Brothers movie, it was two miles to the finish, I had a full tank of gas, one aid station to go, it's hot and sunny, and I left my sunglasses in the car. Hit it.

Mile 25 was a blur of spectators, music, half marathoners, cyclists, flashing lights, and pace cars. I was running hard, putting down a 5:32 mile, but still holding back a bit, still afraid to chance blowing up with over a mile to go. I don't know when the first time was that I threw up my hands and celebrated a bit, but I'm pretty sure it was somewhere around half a mile to go. I remember asking a few times how far back Rotich was, and I got one audible answer early in mile 25--75 meters. Not much, I thought.

I hammered for a couple of minutes after that, and then asked again. But, by the time I was close enough to ask and be heard, a person couldn't reply before the howl of the crowd drowned them out. I couldn't listen for the sound of cheers, because no one I passed over the last mile ever stopped screaming! The crowd was going nuts! Nobody could believe that some guy from North Dakota was going to win this race, and they were coming unglued!

With about half a mile to go, I saw Pat Mahoney, a friend from Grand Forks, and a member of the UND track team. He stood out in the road and gave me a big high-five, and that's when I knew I had it won. I let loose everything I had left, and tore down the road in full flight. One turn on to University a straight, and then another quick turn into the Fargodome lot. I knew that at race pace, it would take me just under two minutes from this point to the finish line, and a quick look at the watch confirmed that the sub-2:30 was gone. The realization that there would be another time for that came and went in an instant.

I was about to win this race against long odds, and I intended to charge into the Fargodome like a man possessed. After six months of brutal training conditions, and assorted ups and and downs, it was all gathering to the finish in flash of white hot effort. Mile 26 in 5:21. Three hundred fifty meters to go!

As I turned the corner and went down the ramp into the belly of the building, my knees lifted, my stride lengthened, and my eyes fixed on the finish line. Just as I had practiced in my 'mind movies' dozens of times in training, I calmed my expression, stretched out my arms, and crossed the finish line. First.

What a feeling. What a feeling. Yes, I typed that twice.

Immediately after the race, I felt great. Much much better than last year. That said, last year I didn't run a 2:29 final half mile into the finish! I was about ready to throw up, and it took a minute or two of concerted effort to keep my stomach in check. There had been a live broadcast of the race taking place, and Dan Hammer was at the finish waiting to talk to me. I think I started talking, and then the nausea came back, so I asked for 'three minutes' (not sure why I was so precise), walked around, and took a couple of drinks of water. Brian came in while I was waiting, and we talked briefly, and got him some water. He looked like he was feeling the heat, and seeing him take the water and dump it over his head confirmed it. After suffering through two other hot, humid marathons, Brian pulled together a great race in Fargo, setting a marathon PR by 15 minutes! An incredible day for him, and a tough, gutsy performance.

I was able to see John Rotich finish as well, and went to congratulate him, but he kind of walked right by. He appeared to have bonked pretty hard, and seemed a bit out of sorts. I'm not sure how much English he speaks, but he didn't say a word to me either time I engaged him. I was hoping to interact with John and the other Kenyans more, but unfortunately they left shortly after the race.

Feeling somewhat settled, I went to do the interview, and talked and fought through several bouts of acute laryngitis and waves of nausea. More than once, my voiced trailed off to a whisper as I continued to talk, which I'm sure was interesting to listen to.

I was brain dead to the possibility that people could be listening to this from anywhere, and I would find out later that Mystery Coach had been able to listen to the entire race from his secret lair! Crazy! One difficult thing about coaching from long distance is, not only do the coach and athlete not get to visualise training, they also miss out on experiencing the fruit of all their labors! Imagine if you had to wait for one of these race reports to find out what happened! haha. I was so excited to find out that Coach was able to listen in on the plan coming to life. The plan we had spent weeks discussing. It was all happening as he listened, he knew what was about to happen, and he got to hear the reporters confirm it!

Another great story that was taking place at the same time centered around my high school buddy Tim. This year, just like last year, he was out golfing with some friends. They had been listening to the radio feed and had gotten to mile 23 or so without having heard a word about me. They were about to turn of the radio and head for the links, thinking I had had an off day and wouldn't be in the mix. Tim called his wife to ask her to let him know if I was mentioned, hung up and started walking back to his clubs. Just before turning off the radio, he started to make a joke like, "wouldn't it be funny if all of a sudden, they said 'out of nowhere, here comes...'", and at that moment, out of nowhere, there I was. Picture four guys jumping around like little kids in a candy store. Tim was nice enough to put the description of that event in a card, and sent it off to me, which was incredibly thoughtful, and very much appreciated. He also does the best pre and post-race interviews! Thanks, Tim!

After the interview, I made my way around the Fargodome floor, got hugs from my family who had come to see the race, shared some moments with my wife and my dad, and spent some time accepting and offering congratulations to other friends and runners. I talked with Chad Wallin briefly, and he mentioned he will be running Grandma's Marathon in June, so I'll look forward to seeing him have a great race, and hopefully get under that 2:30 barrier.

All in all, an incredible race, and an incredible experience. Six months of training, planning, and dreaming, and 150 minutes of execution. Such an amazing thing.

Thank you all for your support, your inspiration, and your kind words over the last two and a half years. I hope you'll all continue to follow the story with me as I continue to write it. Cheers!

Fargo Marathon :: 2:30:34 - 1st :: Part 1 of 2

2008-05-17T06:10:00.000-05:00

Ah, the race report. Here we go. So, I was up at 4am, as you saw from an earlier post, and got down my last tiny meal, just enough to get rid of the hunger pains. I spent the rest of the morning in the room, trying to stay calm and off my feet. Around 7:15, we headed out to the course, where I met up with my Beyond Running mates. I did my well-practiced six minute pre-race routine, and finished with about fifteen minutes to race time.

The wind was almost non-existent, and the temp was about 50F, but it was sunny, so there was no chill at all. Very nice conditions to start. Mystery Coach and I had talked about avoiding adrenaline rushes and really conserving mental energy leading up to, and during the race, so I had to laugh when 'Beautiful Day' by U2 came up on the sound system, and I got a huge chill up my spine! It didn't get any better, as they played clips of a couple of great Coldplay songs before the start, as well.

Looking around, I could see two of the taller Kenyans, but I didn't get a look at their race numbers to see if they were in the half or the full. I didn't see John Rotich until the race got underway. Nobody really knew who was running as far as the Kenyans, because they had changed their entries multiple times. As it turned out, only one had entered the full, and two were scratched (one of whom would end up running the Green Bay CellCom Marathon the next day). Chad Wallin, the defending back-to-back champion, was there, as were all of the contenders. I didn't see Matt Thull at the line, but he was right there when the gun went off.

The goal for the first few miles was to be as conservative as I could without giving away a gap that I would have to surge to cover early. The plan on paper was 5:50, 5:46, 5:42. Mile one went by perfectly in 5:51, with Rotich, Wallin, and Thull just a few strides ahead. By mile two, the gap was growing a little bit more than I liked, so I partially abandoned the conservative start and went right to race pace, turning in a 5:40, and a 5:42. Everything felt good at that point, and there was a nice pack formed.

I took my first fuel of the race around four miles. Coach and I had talked about taking a small amount of my drink at the start line, like last year, or waiting until around 35-40 minutes in to allow the fat burning mechanisms to establish before the insulin surge from the sugary sport drink kicked in. I decided on the fly to split the difference.

Our big pack wouldn't last long, as Rotich and Thull asserted themselves around mile six, and began to open a gap that would span over one minute by the halfway point. That left five of us in a group behind the leaders. Chad Wallin, Brian Anderson, Eric Loeffler, John McEvoy, and I followed, making some small talk about the leaders, and generally just trying to stay relaxed.

Coach had told me to dole out my mental energy in thirds over the race course: the first third by mile 15, the second third by mile 22.5, and the last third for the push to the finish. I wasn't doing so well with that directive. My first and second mental shocks of the race came at miles seven and nine. At mile seven, to put it clinically, I had an overwhelming urge to urinate. I couldn't get myself to go, and it hurt. There were people everywhere, and just couldn't make the magic happen. Mile nine is out on a bike path that is pretty well devoid of people, so I thought I would be able to go there, but I was wrong.

This had happened to me one other time, at the Beardsley Half last year, and it was awful. It was even worse there as it was raining. I had no idea what to do, other than suffer through it and hope it went away as I dehydrated. I briefly entertained thoughts of dropping out, which is not a great way to be thinking at any point in a long race, let alone a third of the way in.

The second mental shock: Chad Wallin pulls off the course at nine miles. This was devastating. He and I were in the back of the group just past mile nine, and suddenly he said, "I have to use the bathroom", and pulled off the course. He had been ill, and unfortunately it hung around for race day. He would return to the course, but having lost over two minutes to the stop, and still not feeling well, he decided to drop around the halfway point.

One of my top few goals for this year was to give Chad a race, and of course I wanted to win, but more importantly, he is the defending champion the last two years, and he has become a Fargo favorite, I suppose a bit like Grete Waitz was at the New York City Marathon, or Bill Rodgers at Boston. It was really an unfortunate turn of events to have him out of the race--for both the spectators and the competitors.

As our pack moved on through ten miles, I started to realize I was not feeling as well as I had in training. I was breathing a bit harder than I expected to be before the half, and working a bit harder than I wanted to keep pace with the group. At this point in the race, the wind was in our faces, and had kicked up to a steady 9mph. Also, unknown to me, it was warm--61F, and getting warmer. Physically and mentally, it was an off day, and I was getting concerned.

I had planned to hit halfway in 74:15 to 74:30. It was another mental hit to see 74:57 on the clock. It was windy, warm, I had to pee, and the pace felt too fast. Things were not going well. I was able to convince myself that I just needed to tuck in and focus, and let the next ten miles just take care of itself. "Wait to feel better" became my new mantra.

More drama would unfold in the next hour, as the temp rose to 68F and the wind started to howl, blowing 20mph steady, with gusts up to 27mph. Fargo's famous north winds were back, and this time we were being baked as well as buffeted. It took all my concentration to stick with Brian as he separated himself from our pack, and pulled me through some really tough miles. Over mile fourteen and fifteen, we were nearly alone on the course, and there were no signs and so few people, we were very worried we had gone off course. Mile sixteen in particular was memorable for a couple of reasons. We had crossed over to share the half marathon course, and unfortunately had to battle for our share of the road. At one point on this stretch a pair of little kids, maybe 6 or 7 years old, ran out in the road and got a little too close for comfort. This was the last straw for Brian. As the anger got the better of him, the pace escalated, and he tore off a 5:33 mile, gapping me by a few seconds.

I caught back up with him as we headed through the Concordia College campus, and practically begged him to relax and slow down--for his own sake as much as for mine! There was a lot of racing left, and I knew if he had that in him, and I had it in me, it was no use squandering it together over some minor frustrations with almost ten miles to go.

Tomorrow--missed bottles at mile 21 (AGAIN!), and the gloves come off...

4 hours

2008-05-17T04:59:00.001-05:00

Found out this morning that the Kenyans are here, and there are three instead of two in the full marathon. Tuwei is fresh, Serem ran Little Rock on March 2 (2:25), and Rotich ran Lincoln just two weeks ago (2:28). The pack of sub-2:30 hopefuls is still about six strong, so if the Kenyans are up front it should be irrelevant to my race plan.

Eating a light breakfast of bread, crackers, and drink right now, studying a bit of Kiswahili (just in case), and trying to chill. Weather looks substantially better than last year. We should escape the worst of the wind and heat. 45F and 10mph at the start, 62F and 15mph at the finish.

16 hours

2008-05-16T16:24:00.001-05:00

Here is a look at some race prep. Mixing up the drinks, light on the vodka. At least tonight...

Game on!

2008-05-15T17:49:00.002-05:00

Hey all you lurkers! Thanks for the comments! Sorry I haven't been writing as much as I would like to. It's been a very very busy and stressful week, but I'm done working now and I can get down to relaxing and thinking about the race more than thinking about down servers and other nonsense like that.

I'll write a bit more when I get settled in at the hotel. Lots to talk about as far as the field, the preparations, the tactics, the fueling, the coaching, and lots more.

2008-05-10T10:36:00.000-05:00

No kidding

2008-05-10T10:34:00.000-05:00

About an inch of wet snow today, 20+mph winds, and 30F. Thankfully it's not race day.

1:01:00 :: 9.1 miles

2008-05-05T19:54:00.001-05:00

Easy run on the treadmill. Watched the Stanford 10000m races. Good times.

1:00:00 :: 8.1 miles

2008-05-04T19:56:00.000-05:00

Recovery run. Felt really good, held back a lot to get a good recovery in. Resisted multiple urges to take off at 5:00 pace!

2:08:00 :: 21.1 miles

2008-05-03T19:57:00.000-05:00

Long run with MP miles. Excellent run.

50:00 :: 8.5 miles

2008-05-02T16:20:00.004-05:00

MP-10 run. Cool and windy (40F, 15mph N). Two mile warmup, then six miles in about 33:00. Half mile cooldown. Very similar recovery to last week, a few seconds faster overall, with less variation in HR. Cold bath after. Good run. Ready for 10/10 tomorrow!

55:15 :: 8 miles

2008-05-01T06:51:00.001-05:00

Easy run on the treadmill. Ready for the first part of the last back-to-back workout.

1:13:10 :: 11.1 miles

2008-04-30T06:34:00.001-05:00

Easy run wearing extra warm clothes. Not as uncomfortable as last week, and heart rate and recovery were better.

1:09:22 :: 10 miles (10x1k)

2008-04-29T17:53:00.002-05:00

Interval workout. 10x1000 in ~3:15 on 5:00. Workout went pretty well. Stride didn't feel the greatest on 7 of 10--a bit clunky due to lack of work in this pace range--but felt quite good on the others. Excellent recoveries from each rep. Last year, was a way different story. Looks like I've made some progress.

TIME(avgHR-120HRtime)
3:12(157-:39) | 3:10(158-:40) | 3:12(156-:51)
3:15(156-:43) | 3:11(158-:48) | 3:15(156-:48)
3:13(157-:45) | 3:12(157-:43) | 3:16(157-:43)
3:12(157-:43)

Did a cold bath and recovery routine after because I have been having some problems with minor muscular injuries the past few weeks. Even though this speed wasn't excessive, I didn't want to take any chances.

The Last Several Weeks

2008-04-29T15:50:00.000-05:00

I'm going to kick myself next year for not keeping the blog up to date...

Anyway, what started off the dry spell were some minor injuries to my calf first, and my foot about a week later. Each of those took a few tentative workouts to get through, and, of course, I thought I was losing my fitness every time I did a 4-6 mile run instead of a 12 miler or a workout. So far that is proving to be wrong, and it was probably exactly the break I needed to pull all my fitness together.

I've had a couple of really strong workouts to go along with the disappointing, too short ones, so it's all balanced out nicely. Mystery Coach has been invaluable in his role of Chief Head Straightener during this build.

It's 18 days to the Fargo Marathon. I've got my registration confirmed, and I've started to research the competition. There are at least two others I know of who I should compete well with, and hopefully Chad and Shawn (first and third last year) will be back. Unfortunately, the prize money has attracted some Kenyan talent, which will make it hard for me to get the win I wanted. I say unfortunately not because I dislike them, but because I know they wouldn't show up if the prize money were less, or non-existent. For their purposes, running this marathon is a business decision. Of the thirteen marathons being run on this weekend, Fargo has the largest $$ purse with the slowest average winning time. Instead of going to the Green Bay Cellcomm Marathon, where the purse is larger (and the competition fiercer), these guys are going to Fargo to clean up on the relatively weak field. Unfortunately, that's business.

I'll still be competitive within my group, and hopefully a few of us will get under 2:30. It would be nice to have the Kenyans work the front with us, but with PRs of 2:17ish, even if they run conservatively, on a flat course they would likely be in the 2:24-2:26 range, which won't be helpful.

I'm practicing some Swahili anyway. Cheers.

1:00:00 :: 8.1 miles

2008-04-02T06:44:00.002-05:00

Recovery run. Real easy on the treadmill. Gradually went from 9:00 pace to 7:00 pace. Legs felt fine, just want to recover well for the Friday-Sunday gauntlet.

1:20:00 :: 13.5 miles

2008-04-01T07:12:00.001-05:00

Volume speed. 3-4 x 2 miles at 11:05 to 10:50 with 1 mile recoveries at 6:20 pace, paying attention to changes in breathing pattern, depth of ventilations. Didn't really find a transition point in the breathing. Each rep, I would have deeper vents over the last .25 mile, but it seemed to be irrelevant of the pace. Otherwise, breathing was very controlled and rhythmic--felt like an easier tempo run at 5:28-5:30 pace, and a harder tempo run at 5:23-5:25 pace. Legs felt the same, very strong and capable, at full range of paces.

Two mile warmup in 13:27
5:31(153) | 5:25(159) - 10:56
6:20(146)
5:31(157) | 5:27(160) - 10:58
6:22(149)
5:28(160) | 5:25(161) - 10:53
6:18(150)
5:23(159) | 5:24(162) - 10:47
Recovery :43(130) :57(120) 1:09(110)

45:00 :: 6.1 miles

2008-03-31T07:11:00.000-05:00

Recovery run. Very relaxing, would have kept going if I had the time. Legs felt great, everything felt great.

1:42:00 :: 16.3 miles

2008-03-30T07:01:00.001-05:00

Medium long run. Part three. Felt good from the start, and had plenty left for a strong, progressive finish. Another windy and cooler day, which is great practice for Fargo, which is usually cold and windy.

6:33(133) | 6:22(138) | 6:25(141) | 6:29(142)
6:27(143) | 6:29(142) | 6:24(143) | 6:24(141)
6:24(144) | 6:27(145) | 6:15(143) | 6:16(143)
6:03(144) | 5:59(151) | 5:58(153) | 5:35(161)
1:30(167)-.30mi
Recovery :40(130) :50(120) 1:01(110)

2:21:00 :: 22.5 miles

2008-03-29T06:47:00.000-05:00

Long run. Another good one. Weather was fine, a bit on the cool side at 25F, with a gusting 15mph wind. Took a gel around 13 miles. Felt fatigue starting to creep in at 17-18 miles, but never overcooked, which is different than normal. Break it down...

6:13(136) | 6:14(144) | 6:10(144) | 6:15(143)
6:16(145) | 6:17(144) | 6:23(146) | 6:19(146)
6:14(145) | 6:19(146) | 6:14(146) | 6:11(148)
6:23(148) | 6:17(150) | 6:15(149) | 6:16(149)
6:16(149) | 6:20(148) | 6:20(147) | 6:16(149)
6:09(152) | 6:06(155) | 3:17(156)-.54mi
Recovery: :33(130) :50(120) 1:16(110)

Excellent run.

1:06:00 :: 11 miles

2008-03-28T06:26:00.003-05:00

MP workout. A bit cool (26F), but very light winds made it nice workout weather. Two mile warmup in 13:12, then:

5:35(154) | 5:34(157) | 5:36(159)
5:35(159) | 5:39(160) | 5:38(159)
5:37(160) | 5:37(159)

:36(130) :48(120) 1:04(110)

Built up a very good rhythm and held it steady. Felt easy and strong all the way through. Good run.