Second Wind

Rest.

Nice and easy 5 today.  Stomach is still not feeling very good but no real problems at this pace.  Whole body just feels tired and weak.  Hopefully this week will allow me to recover and feel better.  Not much time left for recovery.  Last chance tomorrow to see how my stomach and body react at marathon pace.

Time:  41:43  8:21/mile

Last chance for a dress rehearsal of the marathon.  Wore the clothes, the sunglasses (on the back of my head) the pace band, and the shoes.  Ran 2 miles at GMP this morning and they felt pretty good, no stomach issues.  Temp was 70 degrees which is cooler than the last few days but still pretty warm.  Not that I ever consider MP miles "easy" but generally they were easy.  I've had a little tightness in my calves the last few days, could be the lingering effect of whatever bug I have had in my body.  I will plan to do extra stretching the rest of this week to try and work that out.  At this point the training part of this race is pretty much over.  Gotta be careful with the diet for the next few days and eat smart.  Plan to run 4 then 3 then 2 over the next three days just to keep the legs awake.  Nothing faster than 8:00/mile.  Also plan to get more sleep.  So there is the plan, let's hope for a good execution.

Time:  47:44  7:57/mile

Important Info for the 3:15 group

I plan to be at the expo between 3:30 and 4:00 pm on Friday to pick up my race packet.  If that works for some of you then great, I will see you there, if not, I may call each of you (if I have your number) Friday night sometime between 7:00 and 9:00 just to say hey and see if we are all good to go.

I think the plan is to meet up on Saturday morning around 6:30 in the elite corral near the porta potties.  If some of the group do not get elite bibs we may need to revise that plan, any thoughts on an alternate meeting spot?  I just had a thought that the porta potties may be a bit crowded and it may be hard to find people.  What about meeting at the north west entrance to the elite corrals.  That way if someone didn't get elite status they could jump in right behind the elite corral and stay with us at the start.

Here is the group as I know it right now Mike Warren, JonA, Josse, JulieC, Huans32 (Mark), MarcE, ChadL, Dace, Lee Elmer (not on the blog) and Me.

I know everyone has different ideas on pacing so I wanted to share mine.  A couple of us are planning to use a weighted pace chart created by a friend of ours that has you running slower on the uphills and faster on the downhills (makes sense).  Generally the halfs are about 1:38:30 and 1:36:30.  We would like to stick as close to that pace as possible so please don't feel obligated to hang with the group if we are going too slow or fast in certain areas.  In fact, I would hope that if and when I fade, that none of you give a second thought to slow down and stay with me.  Just keep pushing on!

Please add your comments and we will revise the plan as needed.  I look forward to meeting and running with all of you.

Super Slow and easy run today.  Winds have picked up and were pretty steady throughout the run.  Calf muscles are still a bit tight but seem to be feeling better.  Just trying to relax and heal in these last couple of runs.

Month end notes:  This marks my second month of the year above 200 miles which is the same as I had last year.  My overall average pace for the year is 8:15 compared to 8:25 for last year and my overall mileage is 1574.2 compared to 1442.21 last year.

Time:  35:13  8:48/mile

Final Info for the 3:15 group

Since I have had very little input I assume we are all good with the plans.  This will be the final info I post as I assume many people may not access the blog on Friday.

I plan to be at the expo between 3:30 and 4:00 pm on Friday to pick up my race packet.  If that works for some of you then great, I will see you there, if not, I may call each of you (if I have your number) Friday night sometime between 7:00 and 9:00 just to say hey and see if we are all good to go.

We will meet at the north west entrance to the elite corrals.  That way if someone didn't get elite status they could jump in right behind the elite corral and stay with us at the start.

Here is the group as I know it right now Mike Warren, JonA, Josse, JulieC, Huans32 (Mark), MarcE, ChadL, Dace, Lee Elmer (not on the blog) and Me.

For general pace info we would like to do the halfs at about 1:38:30 and 1:36:30.  If the wind in the forcast holds true, we should consider taking turns in the lead every quarter mile so we can conserve energy and share the workload.

Please add your comments and we will revise the plan as needed.  I look forward to meeting and running with all of you.

Nice and easy again today.  Winds have calmed a bit since yesterday and I'm sure they will be very calm on Friday before picking up again on Saturday just in time for the marathon.  At least it looks to be cooler than it has been lately, that should be a good thing.  The left calf was feeling really good today but the right one is still a little tight but improving.  Hopefully by Saturday they will both be feeling good.  It was a chilly 59 this morning but once we got going it was perfect.

Time:  25:38  8:33/mile

Final easy shake out run before the marathon.  The weather was a perfect 59 degrees this morning with a very light breeze out of the north.  Sure hope we get the same for tomorrow.  Both calfs are feeling good, legs feel good, back is what it is, hope for the best tomorrow.

Time:  17:26  8:43/mile

It was ugly and a bit of a disapointment on a perfect day for running.  Had a major self-destruction the last few miles of the race and couldn't even PR let alone BQ.  I'm not exactly sure what happened but it wasn't pretty.

The huge upside to this potential learning experience was being able to run with a stellar group of guys and enjoy some good company for most of the race.  I also got to cross the finish line with MarkO as we helped each other survive the last mile or so. 

Overall a great race weekend and it was great to see all my running pals at the fires and also many at the finish.  It was also great to meet all the new guys and gals I hadn't met prior to this race.

Meg BQ'd again, bum shoulder and all.  Even with her lack of training this summer due to her shoulder she came in this year and just tore it up again.

Here are a few notes on why I think my performance this year was not what I was expecting:

1.  Injury during the training cycle this year and as a result fewer quality long runs.

2.  Overall weight was up a couple of pounds from last year.  I really need to find some self control and lose the extra weight.

3.  Possible bug still in my system from a cold that had been trying to get me the whole week before the race.  Stomach was not feeling real great from about mile 3 on.

I think the number one reason for my breakdown was my overall fitness and conditioning.  My legs were completely trashed by mile 20 and I had nothing left to give on the fastest part of the course.  My lack of hill training is probably partly to blame for the way my legs felt near the end of the race.  While my overall mileage for the year is up compared to last year my number of long runs is down compared to last year and I was really feeling it.  Also, my overall trainig pace is up for the year compared to last year as well but the number of faster tempo runs and moderate paced runs aren't where they need to be.  My fueling and pre-race hydration went really well so I don't really think those were factors at all.