I'm 2 weeks into the marathon training plan and so far so good. I feel good and have been able to keep my pacing manageable. I also ran the Huff n Puff 5k with my friend Tom.
Week 1 included a couple of 3 mile runs and then a couple of 5 mile runs along with a 10 mile long run. It didn't quite go as planed as I had the Huff n Puff 5k and didn't get a chance to run the extra 2 miles so my long run was 12 miles instead. Overall it was a 26 mile week which was the longest week I've done in quite a while. Tom and I ran the Huff n Puff 5K in 28:36 and had a great time. It was a 2 and half loop course around a the Carroll Park Golf Course. It had quite a few hills and a lot of turns. Not my fastest 5K but well within myself.
Week 2 was pretty similar to week 1 except a couple of miles longer. It was almost 29 miles instead of 26. Tom and I ran on the NCR trail for the long 12 miler. I'm also doing some strength training and cross training as well to try and get a little stronger for the marathon. My legs tend to get more tried than I would like so a little core, leg, and shoulder strength training should help.
This coming week I'm running the Towson Y Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day with my daughter and ASA. Then Saturday Tom and I are running the NCR marathon relay where each of us are running a half marathon.
I also signed up for the Richmond marathon on November 11, 2017. It was my best marathon when I ran it in 2013. I'm hoping for a similar result next November.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.
Keep on running.
Sunday, November 20, 2016
Friday, October 21, 2016
Finished the King Crab-Nut Job-Balti-moron-athon Challenges
It's been a while since I blogged. It's been a busy spring, summer, and fall running with Athletes Serving Athletes, and doing some running on my own as well. I decided pretty early on that I wasn't going to run another marathon in 2016. I did, however, decide to do the Balti-moron-athon challenge which was running the 5k and half-marathon on the same day. I had also signed up for the 2017 DC Rock n Roll marathon.
The Balti-moron-athon was the completion of the King Crab Challenge (running the Frederick half and Baltimore half or full marathons) which got me a fleece blanket. This was the first time I got 4 medals and a fleece blanket in the same day.
The 5k was the first race of the morning. It was a chilly 45 degrees at the start my plan was to try and run easy so I had a lot of energy for the half. I started off well running well within myself for the mile and a half. I was feeling pretty good and the next mile and a half was downhill so I sped up and ran the 3rd mile in 7:38 and finished in 26:44. I was running with my friends Tom, Irma, and Nicole, all of whom did their best to keep me in check. I had a crazy reach goal that I wasn't sure I could muster which was to run both the 5K in under 27 minutes and the half in under 2 hours.
Unfortunately for me the half marathon did not go quite as planned. I ran with another friend Kathleen and we were both struggling up the hills, I used too much energy in the 5k and my legs were feeling the hills. It started to get a little warm out by mile 6 or 7 and at that point I knew the sub 2 was out of sight. I finished the half in 2:16:56 and I wasn't too upset with the time knowing what I used to get the sub 27. If I were to do this again I would definitely train more like a marathon with some speed work mixed in. In the end I finished 16.2 miles in under 3 hours which was good for me. I also got a cold the day after the races and have been fighting it ever since. Here is a picture of me with the 4 medals I got.
My next race is the Bay Bridge 10K with ASA. Should be a fun time as always.
I'm going to start training for the Rock n Roll DC marathon again starting on November 7th. I'll be using the Hal Higdon intermediate 2 training program. I've put the schedule in Final Surge which will notify me about upcoming workouts. The program will be 5 days of running, 1 day of either strength training or cross training and one day of rest. The big change will be the medium long distance run on Saturday and the long run on Sunday.
Hopefully I can keep the training up throughout the winter.
Keep on runnin'
The Balti-moron-athon was the completion of the King Crab Challenge (running the Frederick half and Baltimore half or full marathons) which got me a fleece blanket. This was the first time I got 4 medals and a fleece blanket in the same day.
The 5k was the first race of the morning. It was a chilly 45 degrees at the start my plan was to try and run easy so I had a lot of energy for the half. I started off well running well within myself for the mile and a half. I was feeling pretty good and the next mile and a half was downhill so I sped up and ran the 3rd mile in 7:38 and finished in 26:44. I was running with my friends Tom, Irma, and Nicole, all of whom did their best to keep me in check. I had a crazy reach goal that I wasn't sure I could muster which was to run both the 5K in under 27 minutes and the half in under 2 hours.
Unfortunately for me the half marathon did not go quite as planned. I ran with another friend Kathleen and we were both struggling up the hills, I used too much energy in the 5k and my legs were feeling the hills. It started to get a little warm out by mile 6 or 7 and at that point I knew the sub 2 was out of sight. I finished the half in 2:16:56 and I wasn't too upset with the time knowing what I used to get the sub 27. If I were to do this again I would definitely train more like a marathon with some speed work mixed in. In the end I finished 16.2 miles in under 3 hours which was good for me. I also got a cold the day after the races and have been fighting it ever since. Here is a picture of me with the 4 medals I got.
I'm going to start training for the Rock n Roll DC marathon again starting on November 7th. I'll be using the Hal Higdon intermediate 2 training program. I've put the schedule in Final Surge which will notify me about upcoming workouts. The program will be 5 days of running, 1 day of either strength training or cross training and one day of rest. The big change will be the medium long distance run on Saturday and the long run on Sunday.
Hopefully I can keep the training up throughout the winter.
Keep on runnin'
Monday, May 9, 2016
Frederick Nut Job challenge
This past weekend I completed the Frederick Nut Job Challenge which is the Frederick Twilight 5K on Saturday evening, May 7th and then the Frederick Half Marathon on Sunday morning, May 8th. I had done the Nut Job 4 years earlier in 2012 with a 5K time of 31:36 and the half marathon time of 2:07:14 and was hoping I could do a little better. My training since the DC marathon has been spotty at best, with a few 10 milers mixed in with a few other shorter distance runs so I wasn't sure how it was going to go.
I had a goal time of 26 high to 27 low for the 5K and about 2:05 low to 2:05 high for the half. I thought that was doable and within reach of what I was capable of on the day accounting for almost any weather condition outside of a 90 degree day or a crazy windy/rainy day. Weather conditions for both days were close to ideal except maybe a little bit on the humid side and Sunday started to get warm.
Saturday evening was a pre-cursor to a great weekend of racing for me. First there was the kid's fun runs which were great to watch. All these kids running around the old horse track that was there coming up to the finish line. After the fun run, the 5K runners started milling about. There are no corrals or anything to seed yourself, so I picked a location where I thought I belonged and maybe a little further back to try and not go out too hard. I was probably a little farther back than I should have been and kind of hooked on behind a couple of others who were going pretty quickly but not too hard. The pace felt a bit harder than I wanted for having to run the next morning but it also felt pretty comfortable. I looked at my watch at the turn around point and knew I was faster than 26 high and I just kept on going. I finished the 5K at 25:58 or about 8:20/mile and I felt pretty good. I ate a bit and then hopped in my car to get something to eat, use the foam roller/stick, and get a good night's sleep.
I woke up the next morning, feeling pretty good. I met my friend Erik at the start for the 2:00 pace group who we lost for a bit, before catching up. As I mentioned earlier with a 25:58 in my legs 12 hours before and no run longer than 10 miles, I wasn't sure what was going to happen. Once we caught up to the 2:00 pace group, I hooked on to them and let them drag me along. Erik jumped out ahead as he was feeling good and he set a PR at 1:55. I chose to stay back, seeing how I felt at 10 miles. I was OK but I was starting to overheat a bit and backed off the 2:00 pace group at 11 miles knowing I had some time to spare. I finished in 2:02:04 which was 3 minutes faster than 2:05 and I was happy with that. I knew I didn't have a PR in me for the day, although this is a PR for Frederick for me by 5 minutes. I ran the 16.2 miles in 2:28:02 which isn't bad.
The new half marathon course is really nice and takes your through Hood college. Next up for me is June 4th for the Baltimore 10 miler with Athletes Serving Athletes as well as June 5th for the Dot Dash 6K for ASA as well.
Keep on running.
I had a goal time of 26 high to 27 low for the 5K and about 2:05 low to 2:05 high for the half. I thought that was doable and within reach of what I was capable of on the day accounting for almost any weather condition outside of a 90 degree day or a crazy windy/rainy day. Weather conditions for both days were close to ideal except maybe a little bit on the humid side and Sunday started to get warm.
Saturday evening was a pre-cursor to a great weekend of racing for me. First there was the kid's fun runs which were great to watch. All these kids running around the old horse track that was there coming up to the finish line. After the fun run, the 5K runners started milling about. There are no corrals or anything to seed yourself, so I picked a location where I thought I belonged and maybe a little further back to try and not go out too hard. I was probably a little farther back than I should have been and kind of hooked on behind a couple of others who were going pretty quickly but not too hard. The pace felt a bit harder than I wanted for having to run the next morning but it also felt pretty comfortable. I looked at my watch at the turn around point and knew I was faster than 26 high and I just kept on going. I finished the 5K at 25:58 or about 8:20/mile and I felt pretty good. I ate a bit and then hopped in my car to get something to eat, use the foam roller/stick, and get a good night's sleep.
I woke up the next morning, feeling pretty good. I met my friend Erik at the start for the 2:00 pace group who we lost for a bit, before catching up. As I mentioned earlier with a 25:58 in my legs 12 hours before and no run longer than 10 miles, I wasn't sure what was going to happen. Once we caught up to the 2:00 pace group, I hooked on to them and let them drag me along. Erik jumped out ahead as he was feeling good and he set a PR at 1:55. I chose to stay back, seeing how I felt at 10 miles. I was OK but I was starting to overheat a bit and backed off the 2:00 pace group at 11 miles knowing I had some time to spare. I finished in 2:02:04 which was 3 minutes faster than 2:05 and I was happy with that. I knew I didn't have a PR in me for the day, although this is a PR for Frederick for me by 5 minutes. I ran the 16.2 miles in 2:28:02 which isn't bad.
The new half marathon course is really nice and takes your through Hood college. Next up for me is June 4th for the Baltimore 10 miler with Athletes Serving Athletes as well as June 5th for the Dot Dash 6K for ASA as well.
Keep on running.
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Rock n Roll DC marathon race report
On March 12th I ran my 7th marathon, the Rock n Roll DC marathon in 4:48:18. I had a great time seeing some parts of DC that I've never really seen before. Here is the link to the course map. http://cdn.runrocknroll.com/wp-content/sites/13/2016/02/DC_16_CourseMap_CE_Final.pdf.
I never knew DC had as many rolling and even steep hills.
The race starts on Constitution Avenue with both the marathoners and half marathoners starting at the same time. As a marathoner in this race that makes it a little difficult to run my pace as half marathoners will go out faster having to run half the distance of the full. We head out towards the Washington Monument and White House before crossing the Arlington Memorial Bridge circling around and coming back on to Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway. We stayed on Rock Creek Parkway for about 3 miles or so, culminating with a long steep hill from 6-7 miles. The course then weaves through the outskirts of Northern DC before heading south on N. Capitol Street, heading towards RFK Stadium. The half marathoners and marathoners split at around the 12.5 mile mark. The half marathoners head towards RFK while the marathoners have another 13.7 miles to go. Marathoners head west and then south towards Nationals Park. I'd never been to Nationals Park, it looks beautiful from the outside. We then head towards an industrial park and weave our way around the park before heading out and crossing the Anacostia River at 18 miles. The marathon course then goes through Anacostia Park and some of the roads around the park. It's at this point the course makers decided to put some nasty steep hills, where you get a lot of up hill and not so much downhill. After we leave the park marathoners head west back towards RFK by crossing the Anacostia again on E. Capitol Street and up the hill to the finish line.
After I finished the race and received my medal, heet sheet, and grabbed some food and drink, I headed for the gear check trucks to pick up my bag. After receiving the bag I got the worst calf cramp I can ever remember. Luckily it went away pretty quickly. After regaining my composure I headed over to the jacket pick-up where I got my marathon finisher jacket. Wary of getting another cramp, I headed towards the metro ad headed towards home.
The weather was great for the marathon, except for the last 4 miles or so where it got a little more humid. It was nice and cloudy with low to mid 50's at the start and probably just got to 60 as I finished. However, somewhere around 10 miles in, I noticed I wasn't able to absorb fluids, whether water or Gatorade. It wasn't sitting in me, I was just excreting it as fast as I was taking it in. Around 15 miles, I decided it wasn't worth it to keep drinking which was a mistake and the cramp proved it. For my next marathon (RnR DC marathon 2017) I will try taking some salt before and during the race, which should help me keep water in and not excrete it out. I also stopped taking gels since I couldn't hold water either.
The marathon is always a learning experience and I learned a lot. I pushed through and finished with my 2nd best marathon time on a pretty hilly course. My training went well and I only dealt with some minor knee pain during training and nothing during the race which was nice. I'll keep on trying to move forward with the marathon but it takes so much out of you that sometimes you just need a break. I will be training and running more half marathons, 10Ks and 5Ks to try and add some speed. In November I'll start training for the 2017 DC marathon.
I never knew DC had as many rolling and even steep hills.
The race starts on Constitution Avenue with both the marathoners and half marathoners starting at the same time. As a marathoner in this race that makes it a little difficult to run my pace as half marathoners will go out faster having to run half the distance of the full. We head out towards the Washington Monument and White House before crossing the Arlington Memorial Bridge circling around and coming back on to Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway. We stayed on Rock Creek Parkway for about 3 miles or so, culminating with a long steep hill from 6-7 miles. The course then weaves through the outskirts of Northern DC before heading south on N. Capitol Street, heading towards RFK Stadium. The half marathoners and marathoners split at around the 12.5 mile mark. The half marathoners head towards RFK while the marathoners have another 13.7 miles to go. Marathoners head west and then south towards Nationals Park. I'd never been to Nationals Park, it looks beautiful from the outside. We then head towards an industrial park and weave our way around the park before heading out and crossing the Anacostia River at 18 miles. The marathon course then goes through Anacostia Park and some of the roads around the park. It's at this point the course makers decided to put some nasty steep hills, where you get a lot of up hill and not so much downhill. After we leave the park marathoners head west back towards RFK by crossing the Anacostia again on E. Capitol Street and up the hill to the finish line.
After I finished the race and received my medal, heet sheet, and grabbed some food and drink, I headed for the gear check trucks to pick up my bag. After receiving the bag I got the worst calf cramp I can ever remember. Luckily it went away pretty quickly. After regaining my composure I headed over to the jacket pick-up where I got my marathon finisher jacket. Wary of getting another cramp, I headed towards the metro ad headed towards home.
The weather was great for the marathon, except for the last 4 miles or so where it got a little more humid. It was nice and cloudy with low to mid 50's at the start and probably just got to 60 as I finished. However, somewhere around 10 miles in, I noticed I wasn't able to absorb fluids, whether water or Gatorade. It wasn't sitting in me, I was just excreting it as fast as I was taking it in. Around 15 miles, I decided it wasn't worth it to keep drinking which was a mistake and the cramp proved it. For my next marathon (RnR DC marathon 2017) I will try taking some salt before and during the race, which should help me keep water in and not excrete it out. I also stopped taking gels since I couldn't hold water either.
The marathon is always a learning experience and I learned a lot. I pushed through and finished with my 2nd best marathon time on a pretty hilly course. My training went well and I only dealt with some minor knee pain during training and nothing during the race which was nice. I'll keep on trying to move forward with the marathon but it takes so much out of you that sometimes you just need a break. I will be training and running more half marathons, 10Ks and 5Ks to try and add some speed. In November I'll start training for the 2017 DC marathon.
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Now for Taper Madness
After peak week last week, it's now time to taper down for the marathon. This is one of the most difficult things that many marathoners have to do. You've spent months working your way up to the 20 milers and now you quickly dial it down so that your legs feel fresh for the marathon. The reality is your mind starts to wander. When you've been running 40-50 mile weeks or more for a few weeks and you suddenly find yourself running 30 miles and then 20 miles for the weeks leading up you get a little stir crazy and taper madness has set in.
I'm in the middle of taper madness now. My mind is starting to not trust the training I've run so far. I haven't gotten too cranky yet since I'm cutting down my mileage and slowing myself down a bit more. It's now Wednesday and I've only run 7 miles. Two weeks ago on Wednesday I was over 20 miles.
I feel like I'm ready but I'm already checking the weather forecasts for DC, could be a chance for some rain but looks like decent weather right now. I have a plan which is to not worry about time and just go out a run comfortable for the first 13.1 and then see how I feel and look to pick up the pace from 22 miles on. The adage for the marathon is start slow and when you feel good stay slow. A 20 mile warm up and a 10K race.
Before DC though I have the Tim Kennard River Run in Salisbury, MD at Salisbury University. I'm running the 10 mile race, although I will do my best not to run it like a race. I'm going to try to run it like an easy longish run. My daughter goes to SU and she will be running the 5K race the same day. It's a great course and relatively flat. Last year the race was in snow, sleet, freezing rain and rain in the course of 10 miles. Driving home was a bit sketchy going over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, the Bay was frozen and the bridge was slippery. This year it looks like it will be decent weather, so I'm hopeful that I can control my speed and not push the pace.
Yes I'm nervous, yes I'm going a bit stir crazy keeping the pace and mileage down, but in the end I know it's worth it.
Happy running..
I'm in the middle of taper madness now. My mind is starting to not trust the training I've run so far. I haven't gotten too cranky yet since I'm cutting down my mileage and slowing myself down a bit more. It's now Wednesday and I've only run 7 miles. Two weeks ago on Wednesday I was over 20 miles.
I feel like I'm ready but I'm already checking the weather forecasts for DC, could be a chance for some rain but looks like decent weather right now. I have a plan which is to not worry about time and just go out a run comfortable for the first 13.1 and then see how I feel and look to pick up the pace from 22 miles on. The adage for the marathon is start slow and when you feel good stay slow. A 20 mile warm up and a 10K race.
Before DC though I have the Tim Kennard River Run in Salisbury, MD at Salisbury University. I'm running the 10 mile race, although I will do my best not to run it like a race. I'm going to try to run it like an easy longish run. My daughter goes to SU and she will be running the 5K race the same day. It's a great course and relatively flat. Last year the race was in snow, sleet, freezing rain and rain in the course of 10 miles. Driving home was a bit sketchy going over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, the Bay was frozen and the bridge was slippery. This year it looks like it will be decent weather, so I'm hopeful that I can control my speed and not push the pace.
Yes I'm nervous, yes I'm going a bit stir crazy keeping the pace and mileage down, but in the end I know it's worth it.
Happy running..
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Peak week is done and now it's time to taper
I finished peak week running about 56 miles which is the farthest I have ever run in one week. I've run almost 500 miles since I started training for the RocknRoll DC marathon on November 23rd. I've been pretty healthy throughout training which has allowed me to consistently train. In December and January I've run just over 160 miles and should do it again in February which would be my farthest mileage months ever. For New York it was only near the end that I got to 130+ miles in the month and only one 20 miler.
Last week saw me run a 12 mile medium long run and a 20 mile long run in the same week, add in a couple of 5 milers and an 8 miler and I got to 56 miles. The 12 miler was done entirely on my treadmill since it snowed and the streets were pretty icy. The 20 miler was split between doing 13 miles on the BWI trail and 7 on the treadmill. I didn't want to push too hard and do something stupid with 3 weeks left before the marathon, my 3rd marathon in less than 12 months. I feel pretty good right now and am just trying to maintain my fitness through the taper period.
I've been doing a lot of my training on my own which can sometimes be a chore. It's easier for me to run long and not give in if I'm running with someone else or a few people. That being said, I'm pretty proud of myself for being self motivated to get the training done. I've only really run into a few snags with a slight runners knee injury due to not replacing my shoes in a timely fashion. It's much better now and continues to get better each week.
The next two weeks are taper weeks and I've never really been good at tapering and reducing mileage. But if I follow the plan I should be OK. I can't gain anymore fitness but I can sure screw up the marathon by trying to gain some fitness. Hopefully I can control myself and not get stupid.
On March 6th I'll be heading to Salisbury to see my daughter at Salisbury University and to run the Tim Kennard 10 mile River Run while my daughter runs the 5K. The idea will be to keep the pace easy and not try to set a PR or feel like I'm racing.
Thanks for reading and keep on running.
Last week saw me run a 12 mile medium long run and a 20 mile long run in the same week, add in a couple of 5 milers and an 8 miler and I got to 56 miles. The 12 miler was done entirely on my treadmill since it snowed and the streets were pretty icy. The 20 miler was split between doing 13 miles on the BWI trail and 7 on the treadmill. I didn't want to push too hard and do something stupid with 3 weeks left before the marathon, my 3rd marathon in less than 12 months. I feel pretty good right now and am just trying to maintain my fitness through the taper period.
I've been doing a lot of my training on my own which can sometimes be a chore. It's easier for me to run long and not give in if I'm running with someone else or a few people. That being said, I'm pretty proud of myself for being self motivated to get the training done. I've only really run into a few snags with a slight runners knee injury due to not replacing my shoes in a timely fashion. It's much better now and continues to get better each week.
The next two weeks are taper weeks and I've never really been good at tapering and reducing mileage. But if I follow the plan I should be OK. I can't gain anymore fitness but I can sure screw up the marathon by trying to gain some fitness. Hopefully I can control myself and not get stupid.
On March 6th I'll be heading to Salisbury to see my daughter at Salisbury University and to run the Tim Kennard 10 mile River Run while my daughter runs the 5K. The idea will be to keep the pace easy and not try to set a PR or feel like I'm racing.
Thanks for reading and keep on running.
Thursday, January 21, 2016
8 weeks down 8 weeks to go!!
8 weeks down 8 weeks to go until the RnR DC marathon on March 12th. It will be my 7th marathon since 2010. So far it's been going pretty well. I'm about 15 miles short of where I should be due to some long runs that either didn't happen or were run shorter than planned. I'm slowly making them up and hope to be back on track or a little longer before taper time.
On January 1st I ran the Resolution Run 5K in Patterson Park that I've run since 2010. This year I ran it in 25:53 which is a PR on this particular course. It was too cold and the race is always well attended with runners and walkers. The post run spread is held in an old Church. They server chili and holiday cookies. It's a great way to start the New Year.
My training in general has been much heavier than I usually run, but my goal of breaking 4:30 in the marathon is still in sight and I feel that I need to put in high slow mileage to get the strength and stamina to finish the marathon in less than 4:30. I seem to really respond when the runs are slower than pace than if I run faster than marathon pace. I also seem to respond to higher mileage. I've gotten up as high as 16 miles and soon will be at 20 miles for the long run.
I hope to get one 22 mile run in 3 weeks before the marathon which would be the farthest I've run in training. I also will have a 10 mile race a week before the marathon. I can't believe there are only 8 more weeks of training and really 5 weeks of heavy training before a 3 week taper. I'm trying to go into this marathon with less anxiety and not to panic if things are not where I think they should be. I sometimes think I'm faster than I am or stronger than I am and start to "split watch", not taking into account terrain or weather.
I'm pretty happy with my training and hope to continue it for the next 8 weeks. It will be fun no matter what.
On January 1st I ran the Resolution Run 5K in Patterson Park that I've run since 2010. This year I ran it in 25:53 which is a PR on this particular course. It was too cold and the race is always well attended with runners and walkers. The post run spread is held in an old Church. They server chili and holiday cookies. It's a great way to start the New Year.
My training in general has been much heavier than I usually run, but my goal of breaking 4:30 in the marathon is still in sight and I feel that I need to put in high slow mileage to get the strength and stamina to finish the marathon in less than 4:30. I seem to really respond when the runs are slower than pace than if I run faster than marathon pace. I also seem to respond to higher mileage. I've gotten up as high as 16 miles and soon will be at 20 miles for the long run.
I hope to get one 22 mile run in 3 weeks before the marathon which would be the farthest I've run in training. I also will have a 10 mile race a week before the marathon. I can't believe there are only 8 more weeks of training and really 5 weeks of heavy training before a 3 week taper. I'm trying to go into this marathon with less anxiety and not to panic if things are not where I think they should be. I sometimes think I'm faster than I am or stronger than I am and start to "split watch", not taking into account terrain or weather.
I'm pretty happy with my training and hope to continue it for the next 8 weeks. It will be fun no matter what.
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