Brent Newman
Age: 36
Race: Marathon
Goal: sub 3:50
Blog 1: 20 x 400!
Blog 2: Cross Training
Blog 3: Catching Up
Blog 4: Final Thoughts
Blog 5: Race Review
Brent is a little bit like David in that he ran back in the day (high school and college) before taking, shall we say a little break for roughly 12 years or so! He got back into it in 2007 to get back into shape after running in a local 5k in what he describes as an "embarrassingly pedestrian" 28:45. It didn't take long before he started dropping pounds, about 40 in fact, and his times. He's been a devoted Big River summer speed session attendee since their inception and this season he was able to drop his 5k time to 19:58. He is what we call a serial racer, racing almost every weekend. On recent back-to-back weekends he ran the Heart of America Marathon in Columbia MO in a marathon PR of 3:58:47 and the Chicago Half Marathon in another PR of 1:41:33. If that wasn't enought he also competes in triathlons and is currently scheduled to compete in the Great Floridian full ironman distance triathlon on October 24th which includes a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike followed by a marathon run. He said he may even sign up for either the Clayton Half Marathon or the Frankenstein Marathon which are both scheduled one week after his triathlon but two weeks before the San Antonio Marathon. As you can see this is a blog you are going to want to follow!
11.30.09
Bad races happen to everyone eventually. In Ben's wrap up blog post he mentions the humidity being 96% the morning of the race. Even though I didn't know the specific humidity at the time, I could tell it was going to a fairly hot and humid race once I was standing outside in a long line waiting for the bus to take us to the race start. Even though the temperature wasn't too bad at 6:00 a.m. and it was cloudy, I figured by the halfway point of the race, if not sooner, the clouds would disappear and we would be running in sauna like conditions for the second half of the race. I also knew my marathon fitness was at all time high and was still expecting to run a personal record despite the adverse weather conditions. Thus, I wasn't nervous or worried about the race conditions since I have long since come to peace with such things since everyone else has to deal with them too. The challenge of course is to adapt your strategy to the conditions and run smart rather than blindly sticking with a pre-race plan.
I haven't run a large marathon like San Antonio with huge numbers of runners since Chicago 2007 where I bailed out due to a combination of the heat/humidity and going out too fast. However, I think that experience was too dated to hold any insight for me. I had just started running again about six months before Chicago and my running the race was less a reasoned move than my typical challenging myself with an audacious goal and deriving satisfaction from performing beyond my own expectations. In that case I was just looking to finish the race and get a bench mark for how fast I could run a marathon in minimal physical condition since I hadn't run one since 2001. San Antonio was different. I came into the race having run four marathons in the previous year and dropping my personal record at the distance from 4:17 to 3:58 with the most recent and fastest one coming in early September on a course much hillier than San Antonio would prove to be.
In retrospect the biggest factor to my running a dumb race in San Antonio was probably an outgrowth of the corral system the race organizers set up and my reaction to it. The faster your projected time, the lower your corral number was. In my case I was in corral 6 of 34 with an estimated finish time of 3:50:00 . I have run in quite a few marathons which utilize basic corrals or pace teams to help runners self seed but this was the first race I had been in where the race organizers staggered the start of the corrals themselves once the gun went off. In previous races the corrals were just a pre-race way to give runners a location to congregate around before the gun went off. Once the race began everyone started walking/moving toward the start line and all the corrals were abandoned.
In San Antonio they used yellow rope to separate each corral and keep the runners from the next corral from bolting forward. Thus, after each corral was released to cross the start line the organizers had decided to wait approximately 1 to 2 minutes before letting the next corral begin their race. Purportedly this was designed to prevent crowding on the course. As a result, I was sitting there watching other runners start their race while I was trying to cool my heels waiting to go. How can I put this? It was taking TOO LONG!!! I knew the course was going to be heating up in the later stages of the race and it really started to bug me that I would be running longer in the heat of the day than absolutely necessary. I thought I had moved myself up to corral 5 but I was wrong. By the time my corral was let go the race leaders were already 10 minutes into their journey and they were only about 100 meters ahead of me in the corrals before the race.
There just are not that many runners capable of running between 2 to 4 hours at the race to justify a 2 minute delay between corrals. I spent the majority of the time waiting to go thinking about the fact that each minute of waiting meant the heat of the day was going to be beating down on me for longer than necessary since my start was delayed. So, once they let us go I felt like I had to move quicker than I otherwise would have to obviate the ten minute start delay. At the time I thought I was slowly but surely working my way to the front of corral 6 and then set about catching the slow runners of corral 5.
In retrospect I was just running too darned fast. I caught the slowest of the fifth corral before the first mile was reached in about 7:30 pace. That pace was way too fast for a marathon, but I was feeling fine and was in catch up mode. It reminded me of high school when the coach would give the slower runners a head start and the fast guys would try and chase them down before the end of the interval. However, in this case the runners ahead of me were supposed to be faster than me. Of course with everyone self reporting their projected times that meant you had some folks who either lied outright or were wildly optimistic. Thus, I found myself passing scores of runners and also crossing the second mile marker in about 15:15 which is still sub eight minute pace and too fast for me over the marathon distance.
I was basically running my half marathon pace for the first few miles. For some reason I wasn't worried about the pace at this point. I kept telling myself it was ok……that I was just trying to make up for a delayed start and would soon settle into a “normal” slower pace. Also, I never felt like it was hard to run 7:30 pace for the first couple of miles since I had done a number of longer tempo runs with the Big River team at a fast clip of around seven minutes per mile. It was just putting one foot in front of the other and I tried to rationalize it by telling myself that my fitness has improved tremendously and who's to say I can't run around eight minute pace for the full marathon? In addition, the first few miles of the course wound through the downtown section of the city of San Antonio and the route was full of spectators who were cheering loudly at certain points which helped to draw my attention away from my own focus on pacing.
By the 5k mark I had slowed down to an average of 7:56 pace for the first three miles and started to relax a bit settling in for a long run. We started passing some residential areas after about 3 miles and I began trying to take in more of the local scenery since I don't like looking at the Garmin all the time to check on my pace. The neighborhoods reminded me a bit of my time in Oklahoma City with rehabbed gems sitting next to houses in dire need of some basic maintenance with peeling paint and sagging porches. We did pass through the King William historic district on probably the most architecturally notable row of houses from the late 19 th century in San Antonio . I would return the next day to snap pictures of the houses along the boulevard.
The race organizers had set up tables and volunteers who handed out an array of goods including cytomax (Gatorade substitute) and water as well as more unusual fare like bananas cut in half and later pretzels and twizzler sticks. I was intrigued since that kind of stuff I normally associate with ultra-endurance events like Ironman or 50 to 100 mile trail runs. I stuck with the cytomax and water throughout the race, although I did grab a vanilla gu at one point somewhere before the halfway point of the race. I reached the half marathon point in 147:20 which would have been a minute or two faster if I hadn't ducked into a porta pottie just shy of the timing mats. I figured I was well under my goal pace so I could afford a pit stop. If I had held that pace I would have finished the race in 334:40 and dropped my personal record by about 24 minutes! Translation: I was running very fast over the first half of the course. Too fast it would turn out. In my mind I recall thinking from mile 6 until the halfway point that I should slow down and conserve energy for the final 10k which historically has been the hardest part of the race for me.
I did actually find myself taking it easier up the few small hills that were interspersed throughout the residential areas but they were short lived alterations to a fairly quick overall tempo. It is an easy thing to do when you look around and everyone else is running just as fast as you. You figure you can just keep going forever which is why I normally like to start behind and catch up to faster runners. The deceptive thing about the marathon is that you can hold a pace that is ultimately unsustainable over the entire distance for quite a while without any appreciable way of knowing, absent previous experience. I of course did have that experience but rationalized away the pace by telling myself that I was in better shape by training with the Big River Team. Furthermore, I was just trying to make it as far as possible before the cloud cover disappeared and I was stuck running after 10:00 a.m. in a rapidly rising heat wave that I figured would be descending upon the city to nicely compliment the already less than fun humidity.
Around my mile 15 the leaders began passing me heading in the opposite direction running between their mile 22 and 23. I was able to see the first six men in the field. The leader looked strong and had a huge lead but everyone else looked like they were hurting big time. I had hoped to see some of the Big River guys like Brian and Adam to cheer them on but I passed by that turn of the course before their arrival. We passed by an old mission from the Spanish colonial era and then ran through a park like setting from about mile 16 through 22. These were probably the loneliest miles on the course for many runners since there wasn't much shade, scenery or spectators and there were a number of undulating hills with quite a few turns too.
I distinctly recall one of the bands around mile 17 announcing to the runners that they were nearly done with their planned set of songs and would be leaving the stage soon! Hello!!! Are you kidding me? At that point I was probably running 3:40 marathon pace which isn't all that slow compared to the majority of the competitors. What about all those folks who are behind me? I was kind of shocked to think about them running past an empty stage but there obviously wasn't anything I could do.
I did catch a glimpse of Jenny Fischer at one point around mile 14 or so when the race course snaked back on itself for a short bit and she was probably about two minutes behind me. Also, around mile 17-18 I caught up with Meaghan who was struggling. Just before I saw Meaghan there was a woman who was staggering backwards I presume due to the heat and dehydration. It was not pretty but fortunately she was within sight of a medical tent that we had just passed. For her sake I hoped she stopped and turned around because she was doing one of those classic ironman finisher moves where you tell your body to move forward but your legs respond by staggering sideways and you nearly fall over. Not a good sign.
At that point I was still feeling ok but starting to realize that the weather had claimed the first casualty within my field of vision on the course and I expected many others to come, but hoped it wouldn't include me.
I normally try to drive a course before I race on it, if possible, and this was one of the few instances where I didn't get a chance to do so beforehand. I wish I had since the stretch from mile 18 until we left the park setting seemed to drag on forever! Checking it out the day before would have taken away the disappointment I kept feeling after each hill and turn of the course failed to yield an end to the park. The one bright spot was that I knew mile 22 wasn't far beyond the turn out of the park and from that point on I would be less than 10k from the finish. There were mile markers too as well as my handy Garmin so I knew how far I had come and roughly how far it was to the finish but for some reason my Garmin was about two or three tenths of a mile off what the mile markers on the course indicated. Not a big deal but I kept thinking to myself this is great, I will ultimately be running 26.5 miles today! Almost every race I have contested with the Garmin was near spot on in terms of mile markers so while this wasn't a big deal, I found it annoying that I would be running .3 miles additional distance.
As predicted, the sun started shining through the clouds around mile 17 and the slog through the park saw my times start creeping up from the eight minute level to nine minute plus times. It didn't feel like I was slowing down because the effort seemed fairly constant but the Garmin was telling me the end result was a slower pace. Around mile 18-19 I also walked while taking in the cytomax/water for the first time which was a good indication that the heat was having an effect on me. I mentally needed a break from running if only for a few steps. In the back of my mind I was hoping that the legs would feel better once I had a chance to walk for a bit and then started back running but it didn't happen. At that point I began trying to focus on running as smooth as possible and not wasting energy.
Once I hit 20 miles the hard part of the race began. It is an old cliché but one I have always found accurate; the marathon can be divided in two halves; the first 20 miles and the last 10k. For me the race really got tough after the twenty mile mark. I started getting passed by a few runners in mile 21 which hadn't really happened before that point. Whenever runners start passing you in a race and you can't or don't want to go with them it is a bad sign. In this case I wanted to increase my tempo to keep pace with those passing me but realized that do so would cause me to risk blowing up.
I had to swallow a bit of pride as I thought back to my last blog post about how I warned of the dangers of going out too fast. At the time I thought it was aimed mostly at any teammates who happened upon it pre-race or perhaps some newbie marathoners who would be reading it at a later date. Now, I realized that I failed to heed my own advice! I had done exactly what I was preaching not to do and specifically what I told myself I wouldn't do on race day. I went out too fast!
Ok, time to regroup. I finally reached the end of the park at mile 21.7 and made a sharp right hand turn heading back to the city center and the Alamodome. I had convinced myself that the race would really seem like it was nearing the end once I made that turn. It was a good P.R. job on myself. I recall seeing the leaders cruise by me in the opposite direction between what for them was miles 22 and 23 and the guy who I presume won the race looked great. Unfortunately it was working out that way for me. I passed the same old Spanish mission shortly thereafter and at that point at about 22.5 miles the wheels started to come off the bus. My legs felt horrible. It was basically a replay of how my legs felt when I started my ironman marathon about a month before. I tried to put one front in front of the other and turn them over and they just felt like they were moving at half speed and sending all sorts of pain signals back to my brain in the process. I was really slowing down at this point. There were a few minor hills---what were probably more like bumps in the road that probably had a rise of about four or five feet and I opted to walk up them to try and save the legs any additional strain. Miles 22 through 24 were just shy of a disaster. I tried to hold it together the best I could. I was running…..ok probably more like shuffle jogging between 10 and 12 minute per mile pace for about 1 to 2 minutes at a time, then walking for about 100 meters or so before picking up the jogging again. I was mostly thinking about how slow my time would be and whether I could still finish under four hours which seemed doubtful.
I took solace in the fact that I had actually had a great first 20 miles and just needed to focus on consistent endurance runs over the winter to be able to hold that pace over the last 10k of a marathon in 2010. Basically, I was trying to keep the mind engaged in something other than trying to push my body too hard which was a big temptation so close to the finish. I can recall seeing the Alamodome around 24.5 miles and thinking uh-oh I bet they make us run around the outside of that damn building since I could recall seeing the finish line on the far side the day before at the expo. Sure enough we reached mile 25 a block or two away from the Alamodome and then had to double back the same way we had just run on an adjacent street around mile 25.3 or so. Also, Meaghan had recovered nicely from the problems she had earlier in the race and passed me around mile 25.
My run/jogs had become progressively shorter while my walks had begun stretching in length. At one point in the 24 th mile my right leg completely cramped up and I had to massage my leg a few times before I could even begin walking again. With less than two miles to go and scores of people passing you the temptation is to try and force the body to bend to your will but often that just compounds the problem. So, I took a minute to massage the leg and it felt slightly better. It was enough to proceed walking and then the legs accepted a bit of jogging a short time later. However, by mile 25 I could no longer jog because whenever I tried to jog my legs would seized up in a painful spasm similar to a charlie horse.
With a little over half a mile to go I felt the urge to throw up suddenly come upon me so I stopped for about 20 seconds and leaned over a concrete barrier outside the Alamodome waiting for that moment to arrive. It didn't happen. So, after about 20 seconds of lots of people passing me yet again, I proceeded to keep moving in my best full length walk stride toward the finish. There was actually a decent sized hill just before the last turn to the finish. I gave it the old college try to begin running up the hill with probably 200 meters to the finish but my leg again started to lock up and send all sorts of pain signals to my brain. Don't do that was the unequivocal message.
Ok, I would wait until I could see the finish line and then legs be damned!.....I would be running through the finish line not walking. I turned the corner, walked about 30 meters and then started running for the finish line. It hurt, but I knew I was so close to the finish it didn't matter anymore. The crowds were very thick and I crossed the line feeling exhausted and so happy that it wasn't any further away….another mile or two and I don't know if I could have made it at all.
Obviously the next marathon I run I will try and run more conservatively in the first 20 miles. In San Antonio at the 20 mile mark I was on pace to finish the race in 342:08 which would have been a huge 16 minute PR. I blew up the final six miles but really the final two were the worst. At 24 miles I was still technically on pace to run at or near my PR of three hours and fifty eight minutes. Unfortunately, the last two miles where I was forced to walk, massage my legs, and nearly puke I covered in an abysmal 33:23. I still can't quite believe I died so completely but the numbers don't lie.
Ben asked me after the race which was harder, this marathon or my ironman. I told him the ironman mostly because the ironman race seemed to really get tough for the final 15 miles of the bike leg and then of course when I started the marathon that difficultly continued. My race experience in San Antonio from mile 20 until the finish was essentially a carbon copy of the entire ironman marathon. My legs were just fried from too many late stage hills on the ironman bike course and I never was able to feel good on the run. It was a tremendous struggle for all 26.2 miles. At least in San Antonio the first 20 miles, while not easy, at least didn't hurt the whole way.
It has been a few weeks since the San Antonio race and I of course have jumped in a few races along the way. I knew I was in great shape despite a less than awe inspiring marathon performance and wanted to take advantage of my fitness by nailing down some P.R's. I ran an early turkey trot at SLU the weekend after the marathon covering the distance in a swift for me 19:30 which was a 28 second PR post college. I also followed the Ryan Bak training strategy (albeit with much slower finishing times) of running both the 3 and 6 miles races at the Kirkwood Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. Knowing I was going to be running both races I wasn't looking to P.R. but wanted to basically go as hard as I could without falling apart. I covered the 3 mile distance in 19:37 and the 6 mile in 44:10 which I was very pleased with.
A few days later on Saturday November 28 th I traveled up to Alton , Illinois to test my fitness in the 10 mile race held on the great river road. Incidentally, I should mention that I really love this race. I consider myself a “modified” track runner in the sense that I am happiest running on either a track or a completely flat course like the Alton river road. Hills just slow me down and with a flat course I knew I could run a relatively fast pace that I could hold for a long time. Years ago it was the first and only race I was able to keep pace with a normally much faster ex-girlfriend who had recently qualified for Boston .
In addition, I ran this race last year but I didn't look up my 2008 finishing time until after running this year. In 2009 I was able to finish the 10 flat miles in 111:05 averaging 7:07 per mile. Additionally, I was able to negative split the race running 36:05 for the first five miles and 35:00 for the final 5 miles! I was in approximately 129 th place at the 5 mile turn around and finished in 82 nd place. It only felt like I passed 15 or maybe 20 runners but I stopped counting after about the fifth one I passed.
I was quite surprised to see my finishing position and receive a medal for being one of the top fifty open male finishers. Normally the medals have been long gone by the time I would have finished the race. I looked up my time from 2008 and I was a whopping 10 minutes and 45 seconds faster in 2009 versus 2008 having run 121:49 last year!
That is a huge improvement in just one year's time and I would like to thank everyone I have trained with over the past year. Having someone to run, bike and swim with on a regular basis has made a world of difference in my performances and without all my friends pushing me on a regular basis I wouldn't be nearly as fast. Thanks and see you on the roads soon.
Brent
....................................................................................................................................................
Well, my last blog entry before the San Antonio Marathon …..where did the time go? I dropped off writing blog entries as my ironman race approached. Sorry about that. Short ironman race recap; it was a tough race with a very hilly bike course that decimated my legs for the marathon. Once the marathon began there were lots of alternating of running/walking with the last ten miles pretty much a walk to the finish and every step hurt. However, I did finish under the time limit and nabbed a coveted finisher's shirt. Approximately 25% of the competitors who began the race didn't finish so I feel fortunate and humbled by the experience.
Since my ironman race on October 24 th I have shifted into an off season of sorts. Basically I haven't been biking much at all; one solo ride and a few cyclocross races for fun. I haven't been in the water since the ironman race itself, and it has been a good break in that sense. Perhaps nonsensically I ran the Clayton half marathon about a week after my ironman and was able to finish about 2 ½ minutes slower than my PR so I know my run fitness is supurb.
I have obviously maintained my devotion to running with the marathon on Sunday but the time I otherwise would have spent biking and swimming has been devoted to strength training. I already feel stronger than at any point during the 2009 triathlon season and look forward to opening up 2010 with some personal records across all race distances after a winter of tough workout sessions and hopefully upping my weekly running mileage. I really look forward to running smart and hopefully setting a new personal record in Texas .
Incidentally, I last ran a marathon a little over two months ago at the Heart of America race in Columbia Missouri on a pretty hilly course finishing just under four hours and surprisingly nabbing a new P.R.. My goal this time is to finish in around three hours and fifty minutes in San Antonio . It should be well within my abilities assuming I don't go out too fast. Normally I wouldn't worry about doing that but having the slowest goal time among the members of the Big River group heading to San Antonio might tempt me to push the pace a bit more than I otherwise would. However, the race experience I possess should help bolster the inclination to resist the urge to run beyond my abilities. Racing often teaches you the outer range of what your body can do. The marathon is all about pacing once you get started running. Go out too fast and the last ten kilometers you will enter, to quote Walter Sobchak, “A World of Pain.”
Overall I feel good and am ready. I race quite a bit more than most of the men and women making the trip from what I have gathered from speaking to them and also reading their blogs. As a result, I sense a bit of pressure some of them are putting on themselves to perform well. A little advice; don't worry about running a fast time or hitting certain points of the course at a specific pace or split. Trust your training and listen to your body and you will be fine. Don't try to race anyone until the last 10 kilometers, if at all. I think of it as just another race. If I don't run well there will be other marathons to run. No big deal. That is all for now…..hopefully we can all update our blogs post-race with an assessment of how our individual races unfolded.
....................................................................................................................................................
10-05-09 : Monday morning I decided to try a kickboxing class to mix up my training a bit. The last time I tried this particular class was about six months ago and it just didn't seem to suit me at the time. However, I have been having the urge to switch up my training regimen to keep it from getting stale. Thus, I opted to give kickboxing a second try. Of course I didn't know the routine so much of the class consisted of me trying to play catch up to all the veterans in the class who knew exactly what came next. The instructor did a good job demonstrating the punches and kicks and by the end of the class I felt I could come back and fit right in. It was a decent workout and introduced some needed variety into my training. I don't think I will make it a weekly scheduled part of my training but I liked it better this second go around. I also did a bit of abdominal work and a few exercises with free weights while at the gym before the class began.
Monday evening was the weekly run at the Big River south city store. My legs were still feeling a bit sore after the hard effort on Sunday so I opted to try and get in 7 miles at a relatively easy pace on my own before the group run. If I felt horrible during the first 7 miles I would just skip the group run. I ran a modified 7 mile loop from the Big River store (basically running the usual loop backwards but coming back on Hampton rather than the River Des Peres trail) averaging 9:00 minute per mile pace. I then had a few minutes until the group run began and chatted with some friends who had gathered at the front of the store. I wasn't sure if I would feel up to running the full 7 mile loop with the group and opted to make the call at Francis Park. By that point I felt comfortable enough to continue to run the longer loop a second time. However, I opted to back off my normal pace which involves running with Kris and Julie since the legs were already tired and a fellow triathlete was running the 7 mile route. She wanted someone to run with since she wasn't 100% sure she knew the course and I was happy for the company at a slower pace. This second loop we averaged about 8:45 per mile.
10-06-09 : Tuesday morning I returned to my strength training. As an aside, I know Ben Rosario and Matt Helbig, the co-owners of Big River Running, are big supporters of the local neighborhood where their south city store is located at the corner of Macklind and Devonshire . Thus, I thought I would take some time to put in a plug for a local gym in the same neighborhood. Southside fitness is a new gym located a few blocks from the Big River store at the corner of Hampton and Neosho . I recently discovered this fantastic place since they were one of the sponsors of the Run for the Hills race and had a table set up in Francis Park after the race which I visited. The trainer/owner has been crossfit certified and in addition is a runner herself. In you are interested in pushing your fitness to a new level consider challenging yourself to try their free initial workout: http://southsidefitness-stl.com/
In the evening I ran a 2 mile recovery run at Creve Coeur park.
10-07-09 : Wednesday swim class early followed by 24 hour athletic training. P.M was the big River group 4 x 2 mile averaging 800 to 8:05 per mile. Felt comfortably fast running with Meaghan for the repeats. I missed the first third of the initial repeat since I was running late though. By the time the last repeat finished it was quite dark outside and you couldn't see the chalk lines Ben had set down. However, we knew where the markers were by that point. Mostly I was just happy that I was able to keep up with someone and not running alone. In addition, I am pleased that my times are much faster than I would have expected.
10-08-09 : Thursday morning skipped the triathlon group run due to rain. Normally rain wouldn't discourage me from running but with my triathlon race coming up soon I didn't want to risk picking up a cold which experience has taught me usually is preceded by running in the rain. Since I was awake and itching for a workout I decided to attend the 6:00 a.m. crossfit class. The good and bad of crossfit is that going into it you never know what the workout will be. Of course today the workout just happened to be a modified running workout outside in the drizzling rain with push up burpees in the studio/gym: 6 rounds of run 400 meters, then 25 push up burpees which I completed in 26:32. I was fine with the 400's but the burpees were really tough from round 4 through round 6. I would love to see some of the fast Big River guys try this workout since the fluid running form they normally take for granted would be completely absent after the second round if not sooner. My running form was atrocious but that wasn't the point of the workout.
• Friday morning weight class a.m. then off in the pm.
10-10-09 : Saturday morning weight class at 24 hour fitness with Michelle (aka Veronica Mars older sister) then ran 4.5 miles easy at 9:30 pace followed by a yoga class. PM off watching the Hawaii ironman race online coverage. I was really hoping Chris Lieto would hold off Craig Alexander for the win but it was not to be. Chris had gone up to Mammoth Lakes California to train with Ryan Hall, Deena Kastor and the other running legends prior to his ironman race since his running was a relative weakness. He finished the marathon leg in 3:03 compared with the winner's 2:48 . Still, it was a good race and I look forward to seeing how NBC sports edits the race day footage for the program they usually air in December.
10-11-09 Today was the Skippo 20k two loop race put on by Big River at Castlewood state park. Going into the race I was lamenting the fact that the colder weather has arrived to the Midwest and for the first time this fall I opted to wear running tights. I told myself to start out easy and then pick up the pace on the second loop. I have run some of my best races with a negative split pace and thought I would try that strategy yet again. However, once the gun went off I found myself running faster than initially planned. Adrenaline can sometimes do that to the best of us. I went through the first flat mile in 7:22 and was running slightly below my lactate threshold pace. I arrived at the dreaded stairs around mile 3 and proceeded to jog up them as best I could but then opted to just take them 3 steps at a time by fast walking. By the top of the stairs I was ready for the down hill section to begin. I enjoyed cruising through the windy trail heading back down to the flats. I was looking at my garmin and noticed I was in the mid 6 minute range for a good chunk of that fourth mile. After the race I went home and started watching the half marathon world championship race online but started to fall asleep. Took a nap and then resumed watching the race. Congrats to Dathan Ritzenheim for an amazing 3 rd place finish. The only thing he did wrong was leave on his hat during the medal ceremony! I was reminded of Dave Wottle at the Olympic medal ceremony in 1972 where he forgot to take off his hat too. Dave called home and the first thing his mother said was not congratulations son but, I can't believe you forgot to take your hat off! Good times.
10-12-09 Monday morning I took off. Monday night was the weekly Big River south side store run again. I just ran the 7 miles with Chris, Brian and Katie's dad. The pace was slower than I normally go but I was feeling a bit sore mostly from all the weight lifting lately but the Skippo after affects didn't help things either. I didn't start my watch but we finished somewhere in the 58 to 60 minute range. I also entered the Go! St. Louis Halloween 10k set for this coming weekend. Apparently it was a popular move since I think Brian collected 3 or 4 entries at the store post run.
10-13-09 Tuesday morning was my South Side Fitness crossfit workout; run 400 meters with a 14 lb. medicine ball, then 7 rounds of 10 pull ups, 10 box jumps, and 10 push ups followed by another 400 meter run with the medicine ball. Good times. After the crossfit workout I did a spinning class at my regular gym followed by an abs class and strength training too. Tuesday evening I was hoping to get in a bike ride but the rain threw a wrench into my plans. I opted instead to go to the gym for a strength training class yet again. My arms were quite sore post workout.
10-14-09 Wednesday morning athletic training class at my regular gym. Wednesday evening was the Big River group interval workout; 12 x 800 meters with 200 meter recover jog. I ran these with Jennifer and Sarah averaging between 3:30 for the first one to 3:22 for the last one. Most were between about 3:24 to 3:26 though. This was a good hard effort and we each took turns leading the pacing off the front. It was amazing to have someone to share the responsibility with and all three of us seemed taxed but not so much that anybody was having a difficult time keeping up. 1 mile warm up and 2.5 mile cool down.
10-15-09 Thursday started off with my standard triathlon group run in Forest Park . Since I am in semi-taper mode I just ran one loop of the course averaging about 8:30 per mile pace. It felt ok but all the rain had deposited water that covered the entire running path at several points and I just didn't feel like getting any wetter on a second loop since my shoes were already squishy. I dropped off my race entry for the Go! St. Louis marathon scheduled for April since the early entry discount ends at the end of October. I then headed to the gym for spinning, an abs class plus strength training.
....................................................................................................................................................
Cross Training:
10.6.09 (6 weeks out)
10-01-09: Thursday mornings are normally reserved for meeting up with some of my friends from the St. Louis triathlon club for a run and today was no exception. We meet in Forest Park before the sun is up and cover at least a loop of Forest Park , if not more, depending on where people are in their training cycle. This morning we ran approximately 6.5 miles averaging 8:30 per mile pace for the first loop. We then do some stretching and those who are still feeling good will tack on some additional distance, though the second loop is usually at a slower pace. Today we opted to add on approximately 4 to 4.5 miles and ended up back at ours cars with an additional 4.25 miles averaging about 9:30 per mile. Thus, total mileage for the day was 10.75 miles.
Thursday evening included strength training, a short spinning class as well as a yoga session. I have been fortunate that I haven't been injured since returning to running three years ago, but I also credit my cross training and specifically the strength training and yoga sessions for creating a stronger body less susceptible to injury. The only reason I initially tried yoga was that is was marketed as yoga for athletes…..I figured I would try it one time, not like it or not find it challenging enough and go back to my running, biking and swimming etc. However, I was amazed at how difficult some of the poses are and how it seemed to take the stretching I was familiar with to a whole new level. In addition, with an increased range of motion in my muscles I could feel my stride lengthening and a resulting drop in running times.
10-02-09: Friday was a recovery day since my arms felt pretty sore from my strength training session the day before. I don't have a written training schedule but given that many of my harder workouts tend to occur during the weekends I have found that Fridays tend to be a good time to take a day off in order to rest before hard sessions. In addition, I am usually strength training Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays and that usually leaves me sore by Friday.
10-03-09: Saturday I had tentative plans to go out to Jefferson County and ride what was touted as a hilly century at Sandy Creek sponsored by Hostelling International. However, I woke up feeling rather lethargic and sore and decided to err on the cautious side with my iron distance race three weeks away. Thus, I skipped the ride and decided to take the morning off.
Sometimes you have to listen to your body to avoid injury as well as burn out and it felt like the right decision at the time. I told myself I would run in the evening if I felt better during the course of the day. Normally this is just a coping mechanism of mine and I would actually not follow up with a run no matter how I felt. However, with the thought that I would have to report to the readers of this blog that I took two consecutive days off of my training I found the will power to lace up the shoes and get out the door. I ran 9.5 miles with a few big hills early in the course averaging about 9:22 per mile. This was a nice recovery run where I wasn't concerned at all about how fast or slow I ran. Normally my solo runs are recovery runs. I usually have several weekly runs with others that I tend to either push the pace or I am trying to hang onto the back of faster runners. Thus, the solo efforts are a nice way ease my body back into a comfortable running groove without the pressure to keep up. After finishing the run I was glad that I made the decision to follow through with it.
10-04-09: Sunday morning was sort of a rehash of my Saturday in the sense that I scrapped my initial plans to do a long distance swim when I woke up too late to meet folks for my normal group swim. Thus, the Big River Sunday long run posse seemed like a good bet since my recent foray with the quarters and starting this blog for the San Antonio race. I figured why not show up and see if it would be conceivable to tag onto the back of whatever super fast workout Ben had come up with this week for as long as I could hang on. I showed up and discovered the group was going to go for a short warm up of 2-3 miles, followed by a 12 mile run that Ben wanted everyone to run at marathon race pace. The group started out on what I imagine is their usual “easy” pace for a warm up. The pace was actually something that I thought I might be able to keep up with for 2-3 miles and for once I was inspired to run with the guys. Normally I just run with the women since I know I can handle their pace as long as they aren't racing. Before long I was looking down at my Garmin and learned we were hovering either just under or just over 7 minute per mile pace for most of the warm-up. Incidentally, my PR for 5k dipped under 7 minutes per mile not too long ago and currently stands at 6:25 per mile pace. Thus, when the group veered back to the Forest Park visitor's center just after the second mile I decided a strategic and wise move would involve stopping to stretch rather than continuing on for the final mile.
After a bit of stretching I talked with Ben a little about the workout and was thinking to myself that I actually ran the previous Saturday at my marathon race pace for 21 miles. I didn't want to repeat that effort over a shorter distance since I knew what the pace felt like already. Thus, I opted to try and hang on to the slowest (besides yours truly) runner of the group for at least the first lap, or however long I could stay with him/her until I got dropped. I knew that it would be much faster than my marathon race pace but my goal was to try and simulate the tired legs and body I normally find myself with at mile 20 of the marathon when you either hit the wall or just stop feeling the bounce in your stride. The challenge would then involve trying to run the last 6 miles as close to my goal marathon pace as possible after feeling the effects of a pretty fast warm up and subsequent speedy 6 mile run. Shortly after we all began together the faster runners were out of sight and I found myself running next to and chatting with Jenny Fischer who I quickly discovered was the next slowest runner present for the Sunday group workout. Her goal pace was 7:45 per mile since she has plans to run a 3:30 or faster marathon in San Antonio. For those who don't know, the Forest Park course has some hills and while not mammoth in pitch or length, they are significant enough to slow you down. Nevertheless, we were hitting her 7:45 goal pace for the first several miles. Just before mile 5 she asked me again what my goal pace was since she must have thought I misspoke when I said 8:45 per mile. No, my marathon race pace to hit 3:50 is 8:45 per mile. I think she must have been surprised I was able to keep up a pace one minute faster than my goal pace. However, shortly thereafter I dropped off her pace for the final mile since it was all flat and she was picking up her pace to around 7:00 to 7:10 per mile. Realizing I still had a second loop of the park to cover I decided to back off the pace a bit since I knew I couldn't maintain 7 minute mile pace for very long.
Once I was running by myself on the second loop my pace slowed appreciably from the 7:45 's we were reaching on the first loop. My legs were feeling the effects of a pretty quick early pace and it was tough to get them to turn over, especially on the hills. For the first several miles I was hitting 8:20 to 8:30 's on the flats but my pace would slow to 9:30 to 10:00 on the hills. Those hills started to really hammer me on the far side of the course, especially just past the zoo where I think I dropped to around 11 minutes per mile at one point up a fairly steep hill. I was trying to hang on and keep moving on the hills until I hit Skinker where I knew the downhill and subsequent flat 1.5 miles back to the visitor's center would be a good opportunity to make up time. However, by that point I was only averaging 8:30 's going downhill and once I hit the flats I felt fortunate I was around 8:50 per mile. I finished having averaged 8:58 per mile on that second loop. While this was off my goal pace by 13 seconds per mile I was moderately pleased with the effort given how tired my body felt. It reminded me of watching Haile Gebrselassie run his recent Berlin Marathon last month. He ran fast through 30k setting a world record for that distance and once his pace runner dropped out around 32k he really struggled to hold onto his running form and pace. While he was averaging around 14:40 's for most of the 5k splits up to that point, he then came through the next 5k around 15:50 which sounds fast until you realize he is running about 20 seconds slower per mile—which is a big chunk of time for an elite runner. You could see the strain in his body which was odd since his stride is usually so fluid. If you are a serious running fanatic and want to watch a replay of the entire 2009 Berlin Marathon here is a link
Once I finished the 12 mile run and changed out of my sweat drenched shirt I noticed how nice the day had become since it had warmed up appreciably and thoughts of my missed bike ride from the day before began percolating in the back of my mind. Did I feel up to a bike ride? Yes. Was I up for a hilly ride on the Sandy Creek course in Jefferson County ? I thought to myself why not give it a go. I stopped off at McDonald's for my standard carbo loading lunch, went home, changed, grabbed the bike and headed south to the Sandy Creek course. By the time my ride began it was already 2 p.m. and I knew I wouldn't be able to ride all 100 miles. Thus, I decided to ride what I initially thought would be a metric century or approximately 62 miles that the organizers set up for the morning portion of the ride starting and ending at the same spot. Did I mention this course was touted as being hilly and recommended for experienced riders only? There was a good reason for that designation. Anyone else trying to ride this course would likely think cyclists were all masochists and quit the sport altogether.
After the first 12 miles of up and down hills I was pondering how tough it would be to turn around and go back to my car…..but I didn't want to have to ride up the downhill portions I had already traversed. Also, somehow I convinced myself that the tough hills were probably bunched over the first section of the course so it made no sense to ride the hilliest part of the course both forward and backward. So, I kept going forward. I was averaging about 15 mph which is much slower than I am used to riding and while the course did actual have relatively flat sections at several points the hills never really ended. There was a nice flat stretch between miles 35 and 45 but after that it became very hilly yet again. I should also mentioned that I took my road bike with the 12-23 gearing which is not exactly an ideal cassette for riding hills since I only have a double on the front. In my defense I would say that I viewed it as more challenging to ride a 12-23 cassette and it certainly was. I probably spent 75% of the ride in my two easiest gears which didn't necessarily feel easy going uphill. The upside to mammoth uphills was correspondingly long downhills and several of them were a little scary given how steep they were. Fortunately I didn't crash on any of the down hills though by mile 30 I had begun dividing the ride up into 10 mile segments. Just get to mile 40 I would tell myself. By the time I reached mile 40 I had dropped it down to 5 mile segments and started dreaming of someone I know passing by and offering me a ride back to my car. No such luck though. There was one zigzag shaped uphill after another and some of the hills seemed to just keep going forever.
Eventually I reached one end of Old Lemay Ferry road which is the same road I began the ride on. However, I had to ride approximately 5 additional miles to reach my car. Surprisingly, I reached the finish point at mile 56 rather than the 62 mile mark that I expected. Believe me though when I say I wasn't complaining whatsoever. I was quite happy the ride ended a few miles early since I was tired and dreading each subsequent hill. Totals for the ride: 56 miles covered in 3 hours 55 minutes averaging14.29 miles per hour. Hills are a weakness of mine since I am carrying more weight than absolutely necessary and this was a great course on which to attack a problem area in my training. Although this was a very tough course I am thinking about trying to make it a regular part of my training routine over the next year since you can often reap the greatest gains from focusing on your weaknesses.
....................................................................................................................................................
20 x 400!:
10.1.09 (7 weeks out)
Since I also have to train for swimming and cycling my weekly running mileage rarely exceeds 40-50 miles which is probably fairly low compared with most of the Big River runners but so far hasn’t been an impediment to increasing my speed over a variety of distances.
To recap my week: Saturday I joined the St. Louis track club marathon training group for a 21 mile run in St. Charles. That was a good long run with moderate temperatures and overcast skies where rain threatened to descend but never did. I finished the 21 miles averaging about 8:50 per mile which is basically marathon race pace for me. However, my fitness has been continually improving so my race pace is more of a moving target these days. The pace felt comfortable, and while not easy, I could have run a tad faster in a race. Sunday morning was a two hour long distance swim of approximately 2 miles. Sunday evening I had planned a 2 to 3 hour bike ride but cut that short when I felt a bit of a strain in my left quadricep and turned around about 15 minutes into the ride since I feared the onset of an injury if I kept going.
Monday evening was my standard 7 miles at the Big River store for what is basically a hard tempo pace for me running with Kris Pierce and Julie Lossos. After the run I joined the fast runners for their drills and fortunately the legs felt fine with no trace of the strain I felt the day before. Tuesday I did strength training in the morning along with a short spinning class too. Wednesday morning was another strength training session. The workout Wednesday evening was scheduled to be 2 sets of 12 x 400 meters with a 200 meter recovery jog after each repeat.
My experience in high school and college with intervals was that quality was more important than quantity and as a result, I don’t think I ever ran more than 12 quarters during any single workout. Thus, I wasn’t sure I would be able to run all 24 of the scheduled quarters, nor was I sure I should even attempt them all. I figured I would run the first 12 and then evaluate how I was feeling. I started off running with Jen Rosario and a young lady I hadn’t met before named Kristen. We averaged between 1:35 to 1:45 and I was working pretty hard to keep up. Interestingly the hardest part of the workout for me were the recovery jogs since the ladies tended to run them at a quick jog whereas my tendency was to try and slow jog back to the start line. This was another inheritance from my high school running days where our coach would usually allow us a 200 meter recovery “jog” to be as slow as we could manage while still moving forward. Thus, I usually found myself trying to play catch up to the ladies before the start line of each quarter. I took about a 3-4 minute walking break after the first set and started back running with Kristen since Jen had picked up her pace. Kristen and I ran quarters 13-17 together and then she took a break of her own. I then ran the next three quarters alone and decided to call it a day after 20 repeats since running the quarters alone was tough, though surprisingly my pace didn’t suffer. In conclusion, this was a good interval workout; both the legs and the lungs felt equally taxed and I was happy to finish five miles of quarters which vastly exceeds my previous experience in interval training.
............................................................................................................................................................
