Insert Title Here

At the start with Francois and Susan

This past weekend, I capped off my summer/fall racing season by running the Baystate Half Marathon in Lowell, MA. This was my second half marathon, though after training for Boston last winter, I feel like I have a lot more experience than I actually do.

When I ran my first half in May 2008, I was just learning how to train for a long race, and my leadup to the Run To Remember was really my first try at running relatively high mileage on a consistent basis. I religiously followed a 14-week training program from Runner’s World that had me doing regular tempo runs and long intervals, as well as increasing my mileage from 20 to 37 mpw. I set my goal at 1:45 (8:00/mi) and beat it soundly with a 1:43:17 finish.

This time, I was much less uptight about my training. I spent my summer in pursuit of an elusive 20-minute 5k, and most weeks I ran 40 miles. The half marathon was really an afterthought; I figured I could run it without much specific training since I had a strong base. I was running 12-mile long runs every week, so a 13.1-mile race seemed very doable.

In the weeks leading up to Baystate, I dropped some of the interval work I had been doing and instead did 5-6 mile tempo runs at goal half marathon pace. I extended my long runs from 12 to 15 miles, keeping overall volume around 40 mpw. My tempo runs varied from quite hard to quite easy, so I wasn’t sure what to expect from my body come race day. As the race approached, I tapered by cutting the previous week’s long run to 9 miles, and all runs the following week by about 50%.

I didn’t set hard goals for this race. My recent 5ks had been disappointing, and I wasn’t specifically trained for a half. On the other hand, I had run very well at Reach the Beach last month, so a strong half marathon wasn’t out of the question. I figured I should be able to run under 1:40, and if things went perfectly, under 1:37, but I didn’t stress over the times the way I have for previous races. I built my race plan around a 7:30/mi goal pace, but I left room to adjust upwards if I wasn’t feeling it on Sunday. I didn’t even know what overall time a 7:30 pace would get me.

As race day approached, the weather forecast grew worse and worse. We were expecting a Nor’easter, with rain and strong winds. I briefly considered dropping out, but my friends were still planning to run, I had already paid the entry fee, and, hey, runners run.

We arrived on Sunday morning to surprisingly decent weather. At the start, it was not yet raining, and the wind hadn’t picked up. My plan was to go out at 7:40 pace for the first 3 miles, run 7:30 pace for the next 7, and then give whatever I had left in the last 3.1. I really wanted to go out conservatively because I had gone out too fast in my last few races and crashed hard.

I lined up at the start with my friend Susan, and after a confusing countdown by the mayor of Lowell, took off. Susan went out ahead, and I hung back and tried to stick with my race plan. I ran the first mile in 7:32 and the second in 7:40, about where I wanted to be. More importantly, I was feeling really strong; the pace felt super easy. In fact, the pace felt easy all the way through mile 8. I was easily clicking off sub-7:30 miles, holding myself back for a crash that never came. Around mile 9 I caught Susan, and I started to pick up the pace. By this time, it was raining and the wind had picked up. I considered tucking in behind other racers so I wouldn’t have to break the wind, but I didn’t want to slow to their pace, so I ran by myself.

After mile 10 I wanted to speed up to about 7:20 pace, but I started to feel a twinge in my left calf and was afraid of cramping, so I stayed at 7:30 pace. Mile 12 went by in 7:15, and I flew through the final 1.1, averaging sub-7 pace to the finish. My final time: 1:37:27 (7:26/mi).

I’m really happy with this race, not just with the time but with how I ran it. I paced it conservatively and didn’t give in to the temptation to run faster than my race plan. As a result, I felt fantastic and was able to enjoy the race. I set a PR by almost 6 minutes. I ran a sub-7 last mile. The last 5k took 22:27, less than a minute slower than the last 5k race I ran. And I did all this in a Nor’easter, without much half-marathon-specific training.

Next up: The Gobble Gobble Gobble 4-miler on Thanksgiving Day.

My race schedule for the next few weeks is quite full. With fall finally here, I’m going to take advantage of my current fitness and race a lot over the next month or two.

Here is my schedule:

9/12 -Revere Moves 5k. Haven’t raced in about 6 weeks, so I’m going to pace this one conservatively and see what I’ve got. Would like to run under 20:30.

9/18-9/19 – Reach the Beach Relay. Decided to do this at the last minute when a friend’s team needed one last person. Luckily I’ve been running good mileage all summer. I haven’t done any specific training for this type of race, but I’m sure I’ll be fine. I have no idea what kind of pace I will run; looking mostly to run comfortably and have a good time.

9/26 – Northeastern Big Dog 5k
10/3 – Samaritans 5k
I don’t yet know what to expect from these. I’ll have a clearer idea after my race this Saturday.

10/18 – Baystate Half Marathon. Haven’t specifically trained for this either, though my long run all summer has been 12 miles. I will probably run this a little conservatively since I’m not specifically trained for it. Would love to run under 1:40, but I’m not sure it’s in the cards.

A friend from a running forum has this as his mantra: “Runners run.” The quote comes from a movie about Billy Mills, a Native American runner and Olympic gold medalist in the 10,000 m in 1964. In the movie, Billy is at a low point in his running career and has stopped training. His coach asks him why he isn’t running, and Billy says, “I just don’t feel like I can run right now.” His coach replies, “A runner doesn’t decide when he can and can’t run! A runner runs!”

The message is that you can make a conscious decision about whether or not to be a runner, but once you’ve made that decision to be a runner, there’s no more deciding to do. You run. That’s what runners do.

Why do I run? I’ve been thinking about this lately. I feel like I’m hitting the point of diminishing returns with my training. I’m running roughly 40% more mileage than I was last year and doing track workouts every week, yet I will have a hard time taking even a minute off my 5k time from last year. I may yet get into the 19s, but I very much doubt I will ever get into the 18s. I don’t think I will ever qualify for Boston. I’m probably never going to win a race or even place overall (maybe in my age group, if it’s small enough).

Why do I run? Because runners run.

Enjoying the post-race party

Catherine ran the Fairfield Half Marathon this morning, so to keep myself busy I decided to run the accompanying 5k. I have been in Ireland for a conference the past two weeks, and my running has suffered accordingly. I felt very unprepared for this 5k and not at all confident about my fitness.

Despite this, I wanted to run right around 21 minutes, or a 6:45/mi average pace. If I could run under 21 minutes, that would mean a new PR, improving over my 20:59 at the Samaritans 5k last October.

The course was totally flat, and the conditions were perfect. 70 degrees, overcast, and no wind. Plus the crowd for the 5k wasn’t that large, and I didn’t have to dodge slower runners at the beginning.

My first mile went by in 6:45, the second in 6:38, and the last 1.1 in 7:00 (6:22/mi). I have no idea what got into me for that last mile. I had felt tired at the end of mile 2, but I remember looking down at my Garmin in the middle of mile 3 and seeing 6:25 for my lap pace. What a pleasant surprise!

I am very happy with my performance in this race. I think my consistent 40-mile weeks and interval workouts the past two months are starting to pay off. Sub 20 is within reach!

Note that this was a certified 5k, so I really did run that fast!

At the finish line of Zoom Through the Zoo

Once again, I happen to be visiting my parents in MS the week of Zoom Through the Zoo, so I ran this 4 mile race today. I ran it in 2007 and particularly enjoyed the post race party, with delicious BBQ from Hog Wild and live music as you wander through the zoo. Catherine marvels at my post-race eating ability, but somehow I am always able to down some BBQ after a hard effort.

Anyway, my goal for today was to run under 28:00 (7:00/mi). This seemed reasonable given my current fitness. However, when I decided on this goal I did not know it would be 84 degrees when the race started. I almost scratched that goal, but during my warmup I decided I could handle the pace as long as I stayed in the shade.

My race plan was to go out easy and run negative splits. I might leave some time on the table, but frankly I was tired of going out too fast and feeling like I am going to die for the entire second half of the race (see April’s Marathon Sports CityRun). I wanted to run the first mile around 7:10, the middle two around 7:00, and the last one with whatever I had left.

And that’s pretty much exactly what I did. I managed to hold back at the start as mobs of people passed me, but after about the first 1/2 mile I started reeling people in. I don’t think anyone passed me after that point. I finished the first mile in 7:10, exactly where I wanted to be. The second mile went by in 7:03, and I was still feeling good. The third mile started to feel painful, but I managed to pump out a 6:57 mile. The final mile had a lot of downhill, and it turned out I had more left than I thought. I finished in 6:45 for a final time of 27:40, a PR by nearly 2 minutes.

Notice that the mile times don’t add up correctly. My Garmin recorded the course as slightly short at 3.97 mi. I don’t know if this is GPS inaccuracy (the course was very twisty and it may have cut the corners) or if the course was actually short. Regardless, even if it really was 3.97 mi., I still ran under 7:00 pace.

I felt very strong in this race. I may have left a little time on the table with my slow-ish start, but I made my time goal and felt good doing it. I think with more racing this summer I’ll get a better sense of pacing and of how much pain I can tolerate for various race distances.

I typically take a Fuel Belt filled with 1 quart of Gatorade with me on my long runs. I’ve always assumed that’s plenty of liquid for up to a 2 hour or so run, and the salt in the Gatorade would replace what I was losing through sweat. But as I’ve been thinking about my leg cramping problems on faster-paced long runs, I started to wonder if I really am getting enough water on my runs. Add to this the fact that I am again getting headaches 2-3 hours after my runs, and it certainly sounds like I might be dehydrated.

So I performed an experiment. For three runs, I weighed myself both before and after the run. Any weight difference I attribute to water loss. Here are my results:
4/28 – 87 degrees, 50-minute run – lost 4 lbs.
5/9 – 72 degrees, 100-minute run – lost 3.2 lbs. even though I drank at several water fountains
5/13 – 60 degrees, 90-minute run – lost 4 lbs.

I have to say, I was very surprised to see how much water I was losing during these runs. 4 lbs. of water is half a gallon! I’m guessing that I’m not able to replace that much water through drinking only after I get back, and that’s what’s been causing my headaches. I’m going to make an effort to drink more during my runs, if not by taking water with me, then by stopping at water fountains along the way. We’ll see if that prevents the headaches and cramps.

One effect of my disappointing marathon performance is that I am really focused on my summer training. I want to redeem myself, plus I am in good shape from marathon training and don’t want to lose that fitness. So I’ve decided that this summer is when I will really go after that 20-minute 5k I’ve always talked about.

I’ve read a couple of books and innumerable websites while trying to come up with a 5k training plan. I ended up basing my training around Pete Pfitzinger and Scott Douglas’s book Road Racing for Serious Runners. According to Pfitzinger and Douglas, I should focus first on VO2 max (the maximum amount of oxygen I can take in and process per unit time) and second on lactate threshold (the pace I run where I produce lactate as fast as I dispose of it). So my summer training focuses on intervals to improve VO2 max and includes tempo runs to improve lactate threshold. I plan to do an interval session every week and a tempo run most weeks. I’m shooting for 40 miles per week, which will also put me in good position to train for a marathon in the fall.

I’m running a 4-mile race next week, which should be a good measure of where I am now. I think my goal is going to be under 28:00 (7:00/mi). It’s in Memphis, so if it’s super hot I may adjust that. But we’ll see how it goes.

Crossing the finish line with a smile on my face

Yes, I know I haven’t posted about the marathon yet. Clearly I survived or I wouldn’t be writing this. I’m not going to go into much detail, but I didn’t come close to my time goal yet had a great time anyway. I started getting leg cramps around mile 15 or 16 and by mile 17 I was unable to run anymore. I walked the Newton Hills and pounded Gatorade at every opportunity, and finally I was able to run more than I was walking. I finished in 4:05, well off my 3:40 goal, but still respectable. I was just bummed because, aside from the leg cramps, I felt good. We were right on pace through the half (1:48:57), and I didn’t feel particularly tired or really winded at all. My muscles just gave out on me. Oh well, next time.

And there will be a next time. I’m considering running a fall marathon this year. Maybe Philly, or Cape Cod, or maybe Memphis. We’ll see how the summer goes.

My first step is to figure out this cramping problem. I had them in my half marathon last year, during one of my marathon-pace long runs, during one of my 20-mile long runs, and now during the marathon. So far they’ve occurred when I am running a long distance at a moderate intensity. I think they are probably due to either low salt levels or dehydration. I bought some salt tablets that I will try first, and if that doesn’t work I’ll rethink my hydration strategy.

For what it’s worth, running a marathon really is the awesome experience everyone says it is, especially when you’re doing it in Boston. I wrote my name on my singlet, and for 4 full hours strangers cheered for me by name. I felt like Kobe Bryant in the NBA Finals. I’m not a sentimental guy, but when I turned onto Boylston Street for the home stretch, I teared up as I realized I was actually going to finish the thing. It really was great.

Total mileage: 1269.4
Total time: 190:52:59 (7 days, 22 hours, 52 minutes, and 59 seconds)

2008 running mileage by month

Not bad! 267 more miles than last year.

This week, I start my official marathon training plan to prepare for Boston. I changed my mind and am using a plan from Pete Pfitzinger and Scott Douglas’s book Advanced Marathoning. This plan is 18 weeks instead of 16 weeks like the Runner’s World plan, so I’m starting today instead of on December 29. This plan peaks at 55 miles per week and includes some scary workouts, like running 14 miles of a 17-mile long run at marathon pace. However, with the amount I’ve been running lately, I feel confident in my ability to up the mileage and intensity without getting hurt.

I’ve been doing a lot of my runs with the Tufts marathon team lately. I’ve even started to drag myself out of bed for the 7 am Wednesday runs. I’ve found a nice group of people to run with, and it’s been fun to push the pace with them on some of the runs. Yesterday I did 7.5 miles at 7:39 pace, which is the fastest I’ve ever run that long a distance. I never would have pushed that hard if I hadn’t been trying to stay with a couple of my new friends.

The Tufts group is pretty fast. I get the impression that most people who do these group runs have more running talent than I, but I make up for my lack of talent by running more mileage. I’m the Brian Sell of this running group.

Anyway, I’m having fun with my marathon training so far, and I’m looking forward to seeing how my body handles this Pfitzinger training plan.