Still on Schedule

Everything's still going basically according to plan for the marathon. I finished up last week with ten miles on Friday and then just three on Saturday. Friday's run went well in that I was able to pick up the pace towards the end.

Sunday I ran for three hours and 20 miles at Burke Lake Park. The run went well--I didn't even look at my watch until I was two hours and forty-five minutes in. Ideally I'd like to run at a little faster pace, but I'm glad that I'm getting the long runs in. I feel like last year a major factor in my blow-up over the last 10k was a lack of longer runs. I was pretty much wiped out the rest of Sunday.

When my alarm went off Monday morning I hit the snooze button twice and seriously considered taking the day off. However, I heard one of the boys making some noise and I got up to go check on them. Once I was out of bed, I figured I'd go out for a run. I ran six miles, but really didn't feel good.

This morning I ran 10 miles with the HRM. It's been a little while since I've worn it. If there's one indication I'm getting in better shape, it's that the average heart rate was lower for this run than for a similar run a month or so ago. Also, the max I got up to for the run was lower as well.

An Overdue Update

Since the 20-mile race, training has been going well. It took me a few days to recover after the race, but by Thursday of last week I felt good enough to attempt a workout. The workout was 2 x 1 mile, 4 miles steady, and then 1 x 1 mile. I ran two miles over to the track to warm up and then ran the first mile in 7:12. I rested for a minute, and then ran the second mile in 7:05. I ran the four miles, and then I was back at the track for the last mile, which I ran in 6:46. Friday and Saturday were seven and ten miles respectively, and I ended with 74 miles for the week.

J ran the Army 10-Miler this past Sunday, so rather than try to coordinate a long run Sunday I moved it to Monday, which I had off for Columbus Day. I ran eighteen miles, and while it wasn't terrible it certainly wasn't great either. Tuesday I ran eight miles and yesterday ten, and this morning I had planned on a tempo run. However, I had also planned on going to bed early since I was pretty tired, but that didn't happen. I was exhausted when I woke up this morning, and I reset my alarm so I could get some more sleep. I got up in time for just an easy three miles.

If I run a good marathon in Richmond, I think one big factor will be my consistency. It's now been over a month since the last day I didn't run. I've also been running good mileage over the past month, with long runs of 16, 17, 21, and 18 miles. I'm excited to see what I can do November 10.

DCRRC National Capital 20 Mile Race Report-Long

Race morning was beautiful. It was sunny and about 50 degrees, perfect running weather. The race was in Alexandria, about a half-hour drive, and as usual I was running a little late. I still needed to pick up my number, since I didn't do it on Saturday. It's a good thing I wasn't planning on much of a warm up.

I got to the race about 15 minutes before the start. I picked up my number and jogged around a little to warm up. I went over the plan in my head--stay conservative early, don't go out too hard and die. After a few announcements, we were off.

The race started at a school, and then the course went through a neighborhood and out and back in both directions on the Mt. Vernon trail. I hit the first mile in about 7:15, right on pace, and before the second mile marker we got on the trail. We followed the trail towards Mt. Vernon until we got to the turnaround just before the five mile mark. At five miles my time was 36:xx, and I was still on pace. I was taking Gatorade at each of the water stops (a quick aside: why do the fill the cups up so much?) and the next five miles passed uneventfully until I got to halfway in 1:13:27.

At the water stop just before halfway, I took a Gu and some water. I was going to try and pick up the pace, but I wasn't feeling that great. I just tried to continue to maintain my pace. Around mile fourteen I had lost a little focus and ran my slowest mile of the race, 7:44. Seeing that split combined with the fact that I had turned around and was headed back to the finish at the school woke me up. I got my focus back and began to work on the drive to the finish. I got to seventeen miles in 2:06:xx, and I picked up the pace. I felt like something had come over me--I had this new energy. Miles eighteen, nineteen, and twenty were the three fastest of the race. I split just under 21 minutes for the three miles. I also passed three or four people in those last three miles, including one just as we were getting on the track for the finish. I kicked hard on the three-quarters of a lap on the track to finish in 2:27:06.

I'm very pleased with the way this race went. I didn't quite follow my original plan of running the last ten miles at marathon pace, but I did pick up my pace by 15-20 seconds a mile over the last three miles. Plus, I ran my three highest mileage weeks thus far going into the race, so I wasn't tapered at all. This race was a big confidence booster for the marathon in a little more than a month.

DCRRC National Capital 20 Mile Race Report-Short

I'm very pleased with the way the race went. I was 31st overall in 2:27:06. I ran remarkably even 10-mile splits of 1:13:27 and 1:13:37. The legs were definitely sore this morning, but I got out for eight very easy miles. I want to keep the consistency I developed of late. The only negative about the race is the marble-sized blister I ended up with on the second toe on my left foot. I'll post a more detailed recap tomorrow.