Two weeks to Madison. I am looking forward to getting out there and qualifying. I have hedged a little and will be satisfied with just qualifying. No sense going to the mattresses and risk hurting my chances. Boston 2016 sounds so far away. This process has peaked my interest in trying to turn a good marathon again. I read enough blogs to see this is a common thread. Training, improving, and getting into the fray...pretty standard stuff. I kept the past week fairly simple:
Sun: AM 6.3 easy. Minooka trails w/ Clem & Dean.
Mon: AM 4.5 easy
Mon: PM 4.5 easy
Tue: Off
Wed: PM 10.0. Lapham/Ice Age w/ Joel, Bero, Grubby
Thu: AM 4.0 easy
Fri: AM 10.0
Sat: AM 12.0 = w/u 1.0 (8:26), 9.0 (7:05), c/d 2.0 (8:17)
I thought about banging out another 6-7 miles at marathon pace today, but it makes far better sense to head out to Minooka and enjoy the trails before the skiers claim Manifest Destiny. No matter. I have accepted this is their supreme right.
Marathon stuff:
Coffee - with extreme prejudice.
Race shoes - best to have run long pace runs and long runs in them for assurance.
Pre-race eating/drinking - no eating/drinking for 2 hours prior to race start. Drink 12-16 ounces 5 minutes before start. I am not in the camp where you drink a lot of sport drink the night before and in the morning.
Electrolytes - 2 to 3 per hour for me.
Water tables - get it in...I will stop to make sure I get enough...especially early.
Fueling - never did much in past, but if they hand them out I will consume a couple. I don't obsess over this at all. I rarely eat before a run...though I will for a marathon or ultra because I am up at the crack of nuts.
Miles 13 - 20 - as you start to tire the brain tells you to increase effort. Resist this and rely on your training/taper to carry you to 20, or you risk being totally shot.
Kentucky windage - at 20 miles make an assessment on how to negotiate the last 10k.
Racing - sure...race all you want after 23 miles. Usually by then your so shot you have to crawl up inside your brain and operate all the existing working parts from there.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Marathon Foddering
I signed up for the Madison Marathon. Most of my friends have qualified for the opportunity to apply for Boston 2016. I'm in shape so I better get it in now. My qualifying time is 3:30 and it sounds like it is best to exceed this for the best shot at getting in.
This Sunday I ran the Glacial Trail 50k in 4:44 with splits of 2:10/2:34. I did go out hard, but I had to see what I had. I had a couple issues and it was good to flesh those out for future runs. The good news is I didn't die and the distance never felt overwhelming. Based on a decent recovery...I promptly signed up.
When I made the decision to enter Madison it also meant I would give it a good go. Only 4 weeks after Glacial...it means I have to figure a few things out. I promptly consulted w/ The Grubster and Marathon Guru Paikowski. The take away was I am on the right track, but perhaps dial it back a bit.
Here it is since Monday:
Mon: Off
Tue AM: 3 easy (10:40)
Tue PM: 3 at 9:53, 7:45, 6:55
Wed AM: 3 at 7:36, 6:54, 7:02
Wed PM: 3 at 7:27, 7:02, 6:43
Thu AM: 3 easy (8:53)
Thu PM: 6 easy trails (9:46)
Fri: Off
Sat AM: No w/u, 7:25, 7:03, 6:53, 6:43, 6:47, 6:44, 6:48, 6:49, 6:51, 6:38. 2.0 c/d 9:31, 8:56
Saturday I learned that pace stressed my right hammy. I can fire up the big engine, but my body is not tempered for the rigors of an all out marathon. I will spend the next week driving down the pace on short tempo efforts. For now my goal time is 3:10 which is 7:14 pace.
This Sunday I ran the Glacial Trail 50k in 4:44 with splits of 2:10/2:34. I did go out hard, but I had to see what I had. I had a couple issues and it was good to flesh those out for future runs. The good news is I didn't die and the distance never felt overwhelming. Based on a decent recovery...I promptly signed up.
When I made the decision to enter Madison it also meant I would give it a good go. Only 4 weeks after Glacial...it means I have to figure a few things out. I promptly consulted w/ The Grubster and Marathon Guru Paikowski. The take away was I am on the right track, but perhaps dial it back a bit.
Here it is since Monday:
Mon: Off
Tue AM: 3 easy (10:40)
Tue PM: 3 at 9:53, 7:45, 6:55
Wed AM: 3 at 7:36, 6:54, 7:02
Wed PM: 3 at 7:27, 7:02, 6:43
Thu AM: 3 easy (8:53)
Thu PM: 6 easy trails (9:46)
Fri: Off
Sat AM: No w/u, 7:25, 7:03, 6:53, 6:43, 6:47, 6:44, 6:48, 6:49, 6:51, 6:38. 2.0 c/d 9:31, 8:56
Saturday I learned that pace stressed my right hammy. I can fire up the big engine, but my body is not tempered for the rigors of an all out marathon. I will spend the next week driving down the pace on short tempo efforts. For now my goal time is 3:10 which is 7:14 pace.
Saturday, October 11, 2014
Mower Man
"How about that Mower Man one time?" Recalling my Dad and the old CB days. It was pretty entertaining stuff...and of course we had a scanner for all the emergency channels.
Tomorrow I return to the Glacial Trail 50k after 15 years. There is no reason I put it off other than I used to run marathons in the fall. I would like to give it a good go. Hopefully the leaf cover isn't too deep. If I can get in between 4:30 - 4:40 and not be busted up from a fall or two then I will have succeded.
To go to Boston in 2016 I will need a qualifier to join my friends. I would kind of like to get it out of the way. I need a 3:30, but would prefer to run much faster. That seems to be the way it goes. If I am going to run one why not try and light the match. The challenge is Madison is 11/9 and Philadelphia is 11/23. Neither allows for optimum training. I need some time to run fast, so I can break free from this butter bean shuffle I have going on. I did run a 16 mile pace run to help a friend exactly 4 weeks ago and managed 7:07 pace. I was estatic. Problem is the pretzel logic is then applied to the situation. Which goes like this...I might be able to go for 3:10, ah heck just try and drop a sherman engine into that pinto body and go for sub 3:00. Don't lie to me, it always looks easier when you start writing it down. I need to make a decision by next week, so for those who know me I will probably put it off to next year.
Tomorrow I return to the Glacial Trail 50k after 15 years. There is no reason I put it off other than I used to run marathons in the fall. I would like to give it a good go. Hopefully the leaf cover isn't too deep. If I can get in between 4:30 - 4:40 and not be busted up from a fall or two then I will have succeded.
To go to Boston in 2016 I will need a qualifier to join my friends. I would kind of like to get it out of the way. I need a 3:30, but would prefer to run much faster. That seems to be the way it goes. If I am going to run one why not try and light the match. The challenge is Madison is 11/9 and Philadelphia is 11/23. Neither allows for optimum training. I need some time to run fast, so I can break free from this butter bean shuffle I have going on. I did run a 16 mile pace run to help a friend exactly 4 weeks ago and managed 7:07 pace. I was estatic. Problem is the pretzel logic is then applied to the situation. Which goes like this...I might be able to go for 3:10, ah heck just try and drop a sherman engine into that pinto body and go for sub 3:00. Don't lie to me, it always looks easier when you start writing it down. I need to make a decision by next week, so for those who know me I will probably put it off to next year.
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