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Lehigh Valley Marathon: Week 14 Recap

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9/5/11 (Monday)
5 miles tempo
*2 miles at marathon pace:  8:13 and 8:10.  Way too fast…I blame it on the taper crazies!  

Labor Day weekend was wonderful.  I rested, got some stuff knocked off the ol’ to-do list, BBQ’d, and slept.  I slept like a champ…9+ hours each night.  More time spent sleeping = less time for the taper crazies to strike.

And the taper crazies made me order this for Hawk’s Halloween costume.  Sorry, buddy.

MON:  rest
TUE:  6 miles speed (my last speed work of this training cycle!)
WED:  5 miles easy
THU:  6 miles easy
FRI:  10 miles long
SAT:  rest
SUN:  6 miles tempo (4 miles at MP)

A total of 33 miles for the week and 229 miles for the month of August!  That’s a new mileage PR for me!  Damn, I should have ran an extra mile to make it an even 230.

So what’s left?  Two more easy runs…probably 4 miles on Thursday and 3 miles on Friday and lots of marathon prep.  You know…lists, weather checking, and repeating of positive mantras!

Please keep voting for RTLR for CBS Philly’s Most Valuable Blogger (click here to vote).  Voting ends on Friday, September 9th!  Please vote every day this week! 

what we want vs. what we have

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8/30/11
6 miles speed
*6 x 800m at 10K pace.  It was freezing this morning!  OK, that’s a slight exaggeration but it felt amazing out.  I cannot wait for Fall running weather.   

Don’t we always want what we don’t have?  Aren’t we supposed to be grateful for what we have and make the most of it?  Absolutely, but that doesn’t mean we can’t dream or make a list.  Here are some of my current “wants”.

Want:  bangs
What I Have:  curly hair
Yeah, there’s no mixing the two.  Kinda like oil and water.   I would also like to run my fingers through my hair on occasion but they would get stuck.  Actually, I love my curly hair (I never straighten it) because it’s different and, most of the time, pretty low maintenance.

Want:  long, lean legs
What I Have:  short, muscular legs
So my legs will never look like Kara Goucher’s.  But they power me through marathons and totally came through on last week’s 22-miler.  This might be the worst picture ever, by the way.

Want:  a career involving running (talking, writing, blogging, and most of all, coaching)
What I Have: a job
I’m fortunate enough to even have a job but that doesn’t mean I can’t complain!  I’ll get to the running career someday…baby steps.  At least I’m lucky enough to spend a good deal of time outside my job coaching.  That’s where my passion lies and that’s what I will do someday…for a job and career.

Want:  a pair of TOMS wedges
What I Have:  not a pair of TOMS wedges
This isn’t the best “I want vs. I have” but I’ve been eyeing these shoes up for awhile.  And then Holly had a pair on at the HLS and raved about how comfortable they are.

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Want:  to run the Boston Marathon in 2012
What I Have:  a slim-to-none and crappy chance of even registering
So this is my biggest want, obviously.  If When I qualify on 9/11/11, it won’t be by more than 5 minutes (i.e., 3:40 or sub-3:40), which is the rumored time you might need in order to get priority registration.  I could worry about that now or I could put that energy into qualifying and leave the stuff that is out of my hands to fate.

Now it’s your turn.  Give me a current “want” vs. “have”…or two!

Please keep voting for RTLR for CBS Philly’s Most Valuable Blogger (click here to vote)!

T-Minus 30 Days

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In 30 days I’ll be running marathon #9, trying to qualify for Boston.  I’m in a much better place right now then I was for the NJ Marathon.  I’m training for an actual BQ time, instead of just trying to wing it.  In hindsight (it’s always 20/20) I should have never tried for a 3:45 at NJM.  I trained for a 3:50 and I should have stuck with the plan.  Always stick with the plan!

If I could come up with a race day wish list (key word being wish, not magic) here’s what I would request:

1.  Obviously, perfect weather.  For me, that’s overcast skies with temps in the high 40s/low 50s.  Or, for September, I’d be happy with no humidity 🙂

2.  An 8:34 pace will feel just as easy at mile 23 as it does at mile 5.

3.  I have no dehydration issues and resulting quad cramps.

4.  No phantom chafing!  You know…the kind that never happens on a training run but rears its ugly head on race day?!

5.  I look photogenic in a race day picture.  Hey, this is my wish list…

6.  And the big one – I cross the finish line with the biggest smile on my face because I am finally a Boston Qualifier!

What are some things on your race day wish list?  What do you consider “ideal” race day weather?

Lehigh Valley Marathon: Week 10 Recap

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8/10/11
7 miles easy / 1:05 / 9:17 avg pace

Thanks for your comments on my running etiquette post.  The verdict?  Those guys were in the wrong and total creepers!

I had to double-check which week I was recapping.  It’s all starting to mush together towards the end.

MON:  7 at marathon pace
TUE:  8 speed
WED:  8 easy
THU:  REST!
FRI:  15 long
SAT:  5 easy
SUN:  10 tempo

53 miles for the week and 6 days of running (normal for me is 5 days per week).  I figured I’d give it a shot but I really prefer 2 rest days.

I was looking over an old post I wrote at the beginning of this training cycle, where I laid out my plans for changing things up and doing things different.  Overall I’m doing pretty good:

  • increase overall mileage — CHECK
  • switching between hill repeats and track workouts — decided against this since I need the speed work to BQ and my long runs are plenty hilly.
  • trail running — CHECK.  Every tempo run has been done on a trail.
  • long runs (do some at LSD and some at MP) — CHECK.  Thanks to the humidity, the choice as to which runs were LSD was made for me 🙂
  • cross-train (yoga and strength train) — FAIL!  I haven’t been to a single yoga class yet and I went to 1 strength training class.
Somehow, I always imagined that running alone could transform my body into this…
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I’m delusional but I can dream, right?  I know it takes a steady dose of strength training (and good genes) to look like Kara.  So yesterday I did an at-home, completely made-up, 20 minutes of ST.  And it only confirmed that I need to go back to a class. Baby steps, right?

Unrelated question of the day:  what do you use to track your runs?  Daily Mile, etc?  I’m thinking of ditching my excel spreadsheet for something more high tech!

Looking Ahead

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So that Boston itch remains UNscratched.  What next?  Funny you should ask…

Two weeks ago Matt put the idea in my head to search around for another marathon prior to September (when Boston 2012 registration opens up).  This way I wouldn’t have so much pressure to BQ at the NJ Marathon (especially since I didn’t train to BQ).  I told you he was my biggest cheerleader and supporter.

After Sunday’s race, I didn’t think I was mentally up for doing this again.  But a changed perspective has me thinking that if I don’t go for it again, I will regret it.

I found a somewhat local marathon on September 11th, the day before Boston 2012 registration opens.  I had to laugh because their FAQs clearly state:

Per the Boston Athletic Association: A qualifying race run on September 11, 2011 can be used to register for the Boston Marathon as soon as September 12, 2011.  The Boston Athletic Association verifies races online through our Results page.

Well, that’s all I need to know.  So I’m in!  Sign me up 🙂

This actually works out well time-wise for me.  I get to take a brief break, go to Ireland, and not worry about training (this makes Matt  very happy).  Then when I get back I will still have a full 15 weeks to train.  And you bet I’ll be training to BQ this time around!

Marathon Strategy

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4/27/11

4 miles easy

37:15

9:18 avg pace

I’m a total planner.  Insane planner.  I don’t think there is a spontaneous bone in my body.  It shouldn’t be a surprise that when it comes to the marathon I leave nothing to chance (well, nothing that I have control of…if only I could control the weather).  I’m not talking race logistics:  hotel, directions, parking…although I do enjoy planning that.  I’m talking strategy; how will you run the race?  What’s your plan?

I used to run marathons with no plan.  Kind of just go out there and see how I feel.  This is a great approach if you are a beginner (first marathon).  Your goal should be to enjoy yourself, soak it all in, and finish strong.  Once I started having a time goal in mind, I found that the more I planned and strategized, the better I did.

So what’s my plan for Sunday’s race?

Start out slow
The best thing you could ever do is to start the marathon slowly (or any race really).  Doesn’t matter if you are a beginner, intermediate, or advanced.  This works every time, trust me!  You should never go faster than your goal marathon pace (GMP) in these early miles.  In fact, I plan on going slower than GMP for the first 3 miles.  It’s tough, especially when everyone around you is flying by and you have so much nervous energy.  Conserve that energy because no matter how great of a race you are having, everything will start to hurt during those last few miles.  And all that energy you saved early on will come in handy.  It’s the difference between hitting the wall and just being uncomfortable during the last few miles.  I’ve hit the wall more times to mention and, believe me, being uncomfortable is way better.

I plan to mimic my 18 and 22-mile training runs.  Starting out with 9:00 pace and take it down from there.  Around Mile 13, I plan on picking up the pace.  Hopefully I can maintain that “pick-up” until the end.

Use a pace band
Pace bands:  either you love ’em or hate ’em (I happen to love ’em).  I’ve used them in every marathon, except for my first one.  I’ll only look at it maybe every 4-5 miles, just to ensure I’m on track.  My Garmin is what I really rely on to keep me on pace.  I don’t wear it on my wrist either.  I cut it out and tape it upside-down on my bib so all I have to do is look down.  I have a 3:45 and a 3:50 pace band for Sunday.

Pace bands have also come in handy during those not-so-stellar marathons.  Call me crazy but I like to know how far off I am from my goal time.  I told you I wasn’t sane.

So that’s my plan for Sunday…slow and steady wins the race and obsessively monitor my Garmin!

What are some of your race day strategies?  Do you use or like pace bands?