If you fail to prepare, you’re prepared to fail…

Mark Spitz, famed swimmer, said this many years ago. Currently, this is about how I feel. As daily temperatures hover around 95-100F and early morning humidity readings are about 90%, running is dreadful, much less training for a marathon. I recall in 2006 when training for my first Chicago marathon. Of course, training began during the hottest, ugliest time of the year to run in the south. In reviewing my old training log, there were many times during my training that I wrote about my frustrations with regard to not being able to hit weekly mileage goals, times, etc. That year, all of the summertime training must have worked, as I ran a big PR that day in October, yet my marathon training was sub par. Perhaps, the miserable summer running will pay off for me on 10/10/10.

I’ve been hovering around 55 mpw for the past 8 weeks, which is high for me. I usually only avg. 45 mpw during marathon training. I’ve had moderate success on such low mileage (3:03). This week will probably be my highest to day (~65 mpw) and I will attempt to stay in the 60′s and low 70′s from now on. My long runs have consisted of 10 milers on the roads, change of clothes and then off to the treadmill for 7-8 miles at MP.

Sweat and the long run…

Yes, a blog about sweat.  Unfortunately, the summer time brings hot temps and high humidity readings in the south, which means sweat.  For some of us, like me, a little bit more sweat than others.  I recall early in my teen years that I always sweated much more than everyone else.  It didn’t matter if it was an insignificant game of kickball – I sweat buckets.  As I got older, this excessive sweating became bothersome, until I finally saw a doctor about it.  I was diagnosed with the dreaded hyperhidrosis.  I was given a prescription, which had some not so pleasing side effects.  It never fully cured me, so I stopped taking it and just accepted the fact that I sweat a lot.

Generally, this is not a problem, but when I exercise, I sweat even more.  Routine 7 milers turn into sweatfests, having me stop to wring sweat out of my socks and shorts (nice visual).  I attempt to run when the temps are lowest (morning), but the humidity is so high.  I find that mornings are just as dreadful and sweaty.  I can usually manage 8-10 miles in these conditions, but much more than that and I am toast.

As an anniversary gift, my wife signed us up for the 2010 Chicago marathon.  In 2006, I recall training for the race in similar hell-like conditions.  I can recall at least 3 times in my 2006 running log that I indicated my lack of desire to run race because I simply did not feel prepared.  The weather prevented me from getting in any quality long runs.  Due to the weather and other factors, I began the Hanson marathon training plan, which prescribes long runs of only 16 miles.  I died my first “long” run and thereafter did my long runs as doubles, running 10 miles in the morning and another 6 miles in the evening.  I had emailed Tom Schwartz a.k.a Tinman at The Run Zone and he advised that while this was not the ideal method for doing long runs, it might suffice.  I continued this trend and when the weather cooled down a bit, I turned the double long run into one single run.  Again, during my marathon training block for Chicago 2006, I ran 16 miles a total of four times, two of which were in the form of doubles.  I ran a :14 positive split and had a 15:00 PR in the process.  I ran consistent the entire way and never faded.  Hopefully, this summer training will have the same effect.  So far, I have been doubling with my long runs, but they have been 17-18 milers.  Who says you have to do so many 20 milers, etc.?  By the way, all other marathons have been trained with using the conventional 20+ milers.

Ahh…Memories…

Yes, that is a SUB4 singlet/short combo. Steve Scott was my hero!

While looking for some other files the other day, I ran across some older pictures when I was but a wee little man.  A little background:  From about the age of 9, until about the age of 16, I ran with my Dad.  He was in the Marines, so he would come home from work and run.  As I got older, I would join him for some runs.  In elementary school, I joined the track team and so began my first running career.  I had modest PRs and I recall going sub 18 in a 5k at some point.  I was never very disciplined and gave the sport up as I got older and my interest in other areas grew (girls, after school job, and girls).

In October of 2002 after a 18 year hiatus from running, my second running career was started.  Initially, I just wanted to take off a little (~30lbs) of extra weight.  As the weight started to come off, I got faster and faster.  After many months, I entered my first 5k (22:09).  My competitive nature was ignited again and it was my quest to get better and better, eventually running marathons.  As the years passed, I met many of my goals, running a sub 20:00 5k, sub 40:00 10k, etc.  Since then my PRs have been lowered every year.  I continue to improve, even at age 41, but I have yet to run a sub 3:00 marathon!

Premonition

In an earlier post, I mentioned an email that I sent to myself on the morning of the 2008 St. Jude Marathon.  The email consisted of me thanking my wife for putting up with me during training and two marathon times that I thought I might run.  They were randomly thrown out there (2:59:40 and 3:03:12).  Of course, my goal was a sub 3 hour marathon.  

Screenshot of the email that I sent...

 

 The marathon went as planned, through 22 miles.  Things started to unravel at that point.  Prior to this, I had run with a fellow from Kansas City, MO. for approximately 21 miles of the race.  We had a lot in common and talked on and on.  It seemed that every mile, he would mention the meltdown that the University of Memphis suffered in the NCAA basketball championship game.  By the way, Kansas beat them.  That got brought up quite a bit as well.  He had recently run a sub 3 hour marathon, so I figured I’d stick with him as long as I could.  Those closing miles got slower and slower, but this did not feel like the traditional marathon slowdown (i.e. 10-12 seconds a mile).  This seemed to hit me at once.  I went from running 6:50s to low 8:00s).  In short, I believe that I wasted TOOO much energy yapping constantly and failed to get in enough calories – amateur!  

When I crossed the finish line, I did not push the button on my watch to stop it, as I wanted a good photo without that.  In fact, I never stopped my watch.  It was not until I saw that official results that I realized that I ran what I had predicted – 3:03:12.  I shared the good news with my wife and other family members, but they did not seem impressed.  What are the odds?

Week 3 Recap

Date                         Miles    Time          Pace     Comments

 Monday, 7/5/2010   8   1:00:15.00   7:31.88  Hwy 205, 11:50 a.m., sunny, 91. Off work today, so waited for the wife to get done with her long run and then spin class. The legs are feeling the miles and felt really flat. I did some strides on the way back to loosen up the chicken legs. It may have worked, but I sped up the return portion of my run too much (7:15 pace).

 Tuesday, 7/6/2010   6   18:00.00   6:00.00  GHS Track, 5:45 p.m., cloudy/light rain, 85. I didn’t know what I was doing until I stepped on the track. I ended up doing 3x1600m w/John G. I would have liked to have done these at 10k pace, but the pace go quicker as I went along (6:06, 6:01, 5:55). I never really felt taxed and felt strong – good sign.  

Wednesday, 7/7/2010   5   37:25.00   7:29.00  Hwy 205, 4:00 p.m., sunny, 92. I was pressed for time, again. I kept it short and was a bit too speedy for a recovery run.

Thursday, 7/8/2010   5   17:00.00   6:48.00  Jetway Loop, 6:30 a.m., sundown, 83, and humid. I warmed up 2.5 miles at 7:45 pace. I then ran 1.5 miles at 6:44 pace and then 1 mile at 6:22 pace. I had to squeeze this run in before going on an overnight trip with the wife. However said early morning running is better/easier is lying. The humidity was near 92%!!!

Friday, 7/9/2010   1   7:46.00   7:46.00  Hwy 205, 4:00 p.m., cloudy, 90. We traveled back today and I have felt bad all day. I don’t know if I’m getting sick, but I feel run down, have a headache, and don’t want to run. I forced it, hoping that the blahs would go away. I always tell myself to get out the door, with the preface that I can turn around if the run doesn’t get better – it didn’t!

Saturday, 7/10/2010   10   1:17:08.00   7:42.80  Ricky T. Loop, 9:30 a.m., partly sunny, 86. Well, the humidity was supposed to be better this weekend, but I couldn’t tell. Put water out along my route. Despite everything, I felt pretty good. A 2nd run is planned later in the day. Some weather spoke of lower humidity, again!  

Saturday, 7/10/2010   7   52:59.00   7:34.14  Hwy 205, 3:00 p.m., sunny, 93. After my first run, I did about 1.5 hours of yard work. The last mile or so got a bit harder, similar to a normal long run.

Sunday, 7/11/2010   8   26:57.00   6:44.25  Sumac Rd., 1:45 p.m., partly cloudy, 93. I thought going out to Sumac Rd. would put me in the shade most of the time. It was about 1/2 shaded, so I did a tempo session, similar to cruise intervals. I warmed up 2 miles and then did 4×1 mile @ 6:29 avg (6:40,6:24,6:26, and 6:27). Each had a 1:30 walk rec. My legs felt flat initially and I was a bit slow, but things turned around. I felt pretty going doing this and stayed strong. The 2 mile cool down was tough though!

For me, this was a good week.  I had two down days (5 milers) and an aborted run (1 mile).  The track workout on Tuesday indicated that my fitness was really coming around, as did the workout on Sunday.  I just gotta get those longer runs up and add some longer tempos.  It’s sooooo difficult in the heat.

Week 1 & 2 Recap

I’m not really following a formal plan – yikes.  In the past, I have written detailed plans and followed them strictly.  Of course, I usually write the plans months out from the race, not knowing what life has in store.  I struggle with some OCD issues and when I have a written plan, I must follow it at all costs.  You may know someone like this.  Despite how I’m feeling, what errands there are to run, or what children’s extracurricular activities there are – I FOLLOW THE PLAN.  My mood is also dictated by the plan.  If, for some reason, my plan can’t get followed - I tend to get cranky and mean.  If I don’t hit certain paces – I tend to get more cranky and meaner.  All of this brings me to this.  I no longer follow a formal plan.  I refer to it as my “seat of the pants” training.  I have mileage guidelines that I follow and I have, in my head, an informal plan of workouts that I like and seem to work for me.  I also schedule tune-up races, etc, but the plan never gets written on paper!  I know I have issues!

Week 1 was uneventful and quite boring.  Living in the south, I only attempt to survive the summer.  My plan is to stay around 50 mpw and slowly up the mileage during my training to as high as 70 mpw.  I’ll do a weekly track workout, as well as MP runs and other tempo efforts; however, until the weather gets less brutal, many of those efforts will be done on the dreadmill.  45 mpw for week 1.   

Week 2, my mileage was a bit higher (57.9 mpw) and included one double.  My long run was 15 miles.  There were several days of lower humidity, so I took advantage of those days, running consecutive 10 milers at ~7:27 pace.  It’s amazing how difference the humidity makes.  I also raced 1 mile at the Bud Joiner event.  I haven’t run a timed mile in over 25 years.  Sure, I’ve done mile repeats, etc., but never a 1 mile all out effort.  I went into it not knowing what it felt like, where it would begin to hurt, or anything.  I thought breaking 5:20 would be nearly impossible.  I went out at 5:20 pace and just hung on.  I ran consistent splits; however, the third lap got difficult and I slipped off pace a bit.  I finished strong, running a :35 last 200m.  Next year, sub 5:00.  Ah, another blog title?

Here Goes Nothing!

Alright, so this blog was to have materialized last fall, as I prepared for the St. Jude Marathon.  I was 40 years of age at the time and it was going to be my second attempt at a sub 3 hour marathon.  My first true attempt resulted in a 3:03:12.  By the way I predicted this time in an email that I sent to myself the morning of the race – to the second.  I have proof and my supernatural powers will be detailed in a later post.  My second attempt at sub 3 was my first and only DNF.  I am somewhat happy that I procrastinated regarding this attempt, as it would have been difficult to write about.  The DNF was the result of some stupidity on my part and was not running related.  Again, this will be covered later.

All of this brings us up to date.  I am now 41, but the blog title from last year will stick, sub 3 at 40.  I have been running since late 2002, right before our first child was born.  I guess this was my 2nd running career, as I actually began running with my Dad in the early 80′s.  I was okay, running around 18:30 for 5k off of some random running.  I was never really dedicated and once I hit puberty, other ”things” sparked my interest (girls, job, car, etc.).  These other interests took me away from the sport until 2002.  Sure, I had gained weight in the 18 years that had passed.  I started lifting weights in an attempt to get “buff.”  It didn’t work, so I started running on the treadmill, until I pulled a Gump and kept running and running.  I realized, even on the dreadmill, that I enjoyed running again.  I ran longer and longer, until I ran my first marathon in 2003.  Here’s a progression of my times and a brief explanation:

Dec., 2003, St. Jude Marathon – I didn’t know what to expect.  My longest runs were 14 miles.  Of course, I crashed at around 19 miles and strolled in.  3:41:10

Apr., 2004, Country Music Marathon – I knew what to expect, but this time I did some 20 milers and thought that I would take 20 minutes off of my newly set PR.  I was humbled at, what I call, The Meltdown in the Music City.  To date, this was the worst experience of my life.  Heat, humidity, and hills are not good in a marathon.  4:08:24

Dec., 2004, St. Jude Marathon – I started to train smarter, but still thought that I could shave off 25 minutes to get my BQ.  Not so!  3:30:21

Dec., 2005, St. Jude Marathon - Again, I was going to BQ (3:15:59).  Not gonna happen…  I can’t figure this marathon thing out and decide that maybe I’m not cut out for this distance.  All of my other races are great.  3:39:40

Oct., 2006, Chicago Marathon – Finally, I figured it out.  Most of my training was done in the summer months in the South.  My long runs consisted of doubles.  My training was based on the Hanson Plan (only 4 16 milers).  To date, not my fastest marathon, but only a :14 positive split.  I guess the heat made me tough.  3:15:54 (BQ by :05, although it wasn’t planned).  Since we had traveled, I was just going to enjoy this one and went out a bit conservatively.

2007, No marathon – Sacral stress fracture in August.  This was my first injury, but I enjoyed watching a marathon for once.

Dec,. 2008 – St. Jude Marathon – For the past several years, my mileage had been consistent all year.  I don’t do high mileage and only reached the high 40′s during this.  This was my first sub 3 attempt.  I got a little chatty with a guy from Kansas for about 18 miles.  We had lots in common and he continually brought up the fact that Memphis got beat by Kansas in the NCAA basketball finals.  I talk too much!  3:03:12

Dec., 2009, St. Jude Marathon – Training had been stellar.  I set PRs in every distance during the buildup.  My mileage was the highest and most consistent, ever.  After a Thanksgiving feast, I stupidly, played a little football with my nephew.  I am competitive and didn’t want him to show me up, so, in loafers, I covered every move, etc.  My knee and foot were “tweaked” (official medical term used by doctor and PT).  The plica band in my knee was inflammed and irritated, so I gave it a go on raceday anways.  I didn’t run much the last 10 days or so.  When I don’t run, I tend to neglect all other parts of my running (i.e. stretching, eating right, etc.).  As I walked to the starting line, my right calf twinged.  It didn’t get better, so I did a long warm up.  Long story short, the calves weren’t good the entire time and I thought about dropped at 13.1.  I decided to stay with it, but as we headed up the hilly portion of the course, the calves continually revolted.  Sure, I could have done the walk, stretch, run, repeat for the last 12 miles, but it would have been UGLY.  I DNFed – my first.  ‘Nuf said!

All of this brings us to this…10/10/10!  SUB 3!

More to come…