New Orleans 5150 RR

First class race with more than enough police support, organization, volunteers, aid, instructions, and I NEVER saw a line for the port-o-lets. After the race there was gumbo, red beans, and jambalaya with rice, along with all the normal fruits, cookies, soda, and sports drinks. Also an Abita trailer with plenty of cups and about 8 taps for serving your own beverage. Never saw a line there either! ...if you are into that sorta thing.

About my race... The day started with finding out that the water temp dropped enough over night to be wet suite legal for age groupers, but not for the pro's. That news was followed by notifying us they were delaying the start 30 minutes to allow placement of a buoy in a different location. They were planning on shortening the swim from 1500m to 200m due to the rough conditions now allowing kayaks to get in the water. Finally, they decided we would run 2 miles instead of swimming at all.

This swim was supposed to be a test for me. Since I don't swim in a pool, it's difficult to judge my performance. Guess I'll find out next week when I do the 5k swim.

I wouldn't say I was excited to run 2 miles, but I was a little curious. It's been a long time since I ran that distance, and I started to wonder how fast I could be. Despite my improvements in longer distances over the last 10 years, it appears I won't be posting a 2 mile PR. That might be obvious to everyone but me that knows I haven't done crap for speed work in about 10 years. It surprised me. It wasn't until today that I realized I shouldn't start a 2 hour race with an all out 2 mile pace. Newbie mistake.

Bike was painful, windy, and slower than I expected. The course had ideal out and backs to see who was close to you, which was nice for both seeing the competition, and for checking out the pro's. Athletes doing the race are able to see the pro's more times than spectators.

What I never realized about a duathlon is that as people pass you on the bike, you have a really good idea how good of runner they are. In a triathlon, if someone blows by me a mile into the bike, I know he was right behind me on the swim, but I have no idea how good of a runner they are. In a duathlon, you can run slower than your ability, but it's really tough to run faster than you are capable of.

My main goal for the entire race was a sub 40 minute 10k. In the first mile I ran about 10 seconds slower than my goal pace, which was the plan. It was not the plan to keep going that pace the entire run. Ended up running 6:35 to 6:40 every single mile.

Stats:
May 15th, 2011
Low of 63 and high of 75 with 15MPH winds and gust up to 25
40/321 overall (12th age grouper)
4/24 in age group
2 mile run - 11:59
T1 - 1:38
40k bike - 1:08:12 (21.8mph)
T2 - 1:07
10k run - 40:48

Boston 2011

Why run Boston:
First of all, everything is so well organized. I'm sure mistakes are made, but heck if I ever found out about it. Plenty of pre race Power Bars, coffee, bagels, bananas, and port-o-johns. In addition that that, the city revolves around the race for that week. Billboards, subway ads, hotels, vendors, everything and everyone knows why you are visiting, and they show it. They want to know how many times you ran Boston, where you came from, and what time you expect to run.

Crowds were encouraging those that looked like they were struggling, and cheering and
congratulating everyone. These people were not your typical family and friends that usually line the crowded parts of a race. These were professional marathon spectators. They had music, noise makers, cold sponges, orange slices, and bananas. I heard a dad yell, "Get those cups of water out there, these runners are thirsty." Right outside of Hopkinton there is a huge biker group (not the ones with spandex, the ones with leather) making all kinds of noise and blairing Highway to Hell. Kids are out of school for Patriots Day, so what better thing for them to do but but come out to and party along the course.

If you enjoy sports, last weekend was the time to be in Boston. Besides the marathon, the Bruins and Celtics were both playing home playoff games between Saturday and Wednesday (the days my family was there), and of course the Red Sox are always in town during Marathon week. Playoff tickets are too expensive for my blood, but we did get to Fenway for a Red Sox game.

About my race:
On Thursday before the race, someone told me that the Boston Marathon starts at mile 17. With that on my mind, I got excited entering the town of Newton. One year earlier, the hill after the fire station took a lot out of me, and the other Newton hills really killed me.

I waited 52 weeks to run the last 10 miles of Boston. As I crested the bridge that went over I-95, I felt ready to start my race. That feeling lasted all the way to mile 24 when everything caught up to me at once. I tried to walk, but my legs just wouldn't do the walking motion, so I kept shuffling. The race was beating me mentally, and I was looking for excuses to slow down. At mile 25 I needed to run the last 1.2 miles in 6 minutes for a sub 3 hour time. Obviously that was NOT going to happen, so I relaxed and told myself to enjoy the last few minutes of the race. Unless I slowed down to a 10 minute pace, I'd still get a PR.

Looking back I wonder if I was mentally tougher, could I of pushed the pain aside and not
lost two and a half minutes over the last 2 miles? Is it just me, or does everything think
that after just missing a goal? Even if I could of broken 3 hours, I'm still equally proud
of my training and execution. Running 3:02:14 at Boston is something I never thought
possible just a few years ago. I remember running around 24 minutes for a 5k back in 2007. Good grief have I come a long way.

Numbers:
average weekly miles 14 weeks before race = 49.5
5k Splits: 21:24, 21:03, 21:09, 21:10, 21:01, 21:36, 21:48, 21:56
15k race 10 weeks before marathon 56:14
5k race 5 weeks before marathon 18:07
consumed during race:
gels - 4
cups of water - 25
Hammer Endurolytes - 15
1 orange slice (best thing I ever tasted)
1/2 banana (took it because I thought it was wet sponge. ate it anyway)
Race morning:
2 power bars
48 oz water
1 banana
2 Endurolytes
Gatorade Prime (it was free, and I always try something new on race day)

Spring Fever Chase 10k

3/19/11
2nd Overall
37:44

McGuire's 5k Prediction Run 2011

Predicted 17:59
Ran 18:07

Double Bridge Run 15k 2011

Back in December, I thought if my legs responded to some speedwork, a 55 minute 15k would be possible. My assumption was that Mark and Stephen would run a time close to this. As for speedwork, after reading some of the Jack Daniels book, I settled on doing a session of intervals each week, along with a tempo and long run.

Week one of 800's with Johnny did not go well. Weeks 2 was mediocre 800's at Disney, then weeks 3 - 5 the 1000's felt great. One last session of 800's the week before the race did not happen. I tried, but the bike ride earlier that day had me wiped out.

By the time the race came around, I knew 5:55 pace was beyond reach.

At the starting line I found Chuck, Mark, Stephen H, Rusty, Jeremy, Steve C, Lee, and Tim. Not only was it cool to be around so many friends, but a many of them were very close to my pace. Last year I ran side by side Jeremy and Steve C for a perfect race.

This year I didn't plan ahead to run with anyone, but I figured some of those guys would be around. Of the 8 people I mentioned, about 4 were with me at mile 1. 6:12 was slower than I expected, but this race is too far for me to go out too hard. Over the next 3 miles, Stephen and I pulled away from most of the group, and Rusty started to pull away from us up toward Tim. We had just run 3 consecutive miles at my goal pace of 6:05, so if the next mile, which included the hill on the first bridge slowed us down, it wasn't a big deal. We actually ran that mile 3 seconds faster than goal.

It was after the hill at mile 5 that I told Stephen he better take off if he wanted to catch Rusty and the guys up ahead. Just 2 weeks ago he had run just under 1:22:00 half marathon, which I figured was well beyond my fitness. He did pull away by a few meters, but at mile 7 I was back up next to him.

Instead of continuing my 5:56 pace that I caught him with, we both held on to 5:50 for the next 2 miles. Both of those miles included challenging hills. At the bottom of the last hill we caught Tim, who had kept at 6:00 pace the entire race. Here I was in a race with 2000 people, and the only ones within 100 meters in either direction were 2 guys I train with every week.

Not that I expected to beat Stephen, but I knew that in order to, I would of needed to separate around mile 8, and I didn't. Right around mile 9 I heard footsteps and knew it must be him. I put on a small surge, but didn't expect to keep it, or separate from him. Not long after that he hit his finishing stride and coasted in 8 seconds before me and 4th in our age group. :( Rusty was 3rd.

All the times I pictured the last few miles of the race, not once was it as cool as the actual finish. Of course the end of a race is painful, but it's a lot easier when you are in good company.

Pensacola Beach Run

January 15, 2011
About the race:
Out and back along Pensacola Beach. What it lacks in variety, it makes up for with scenery. There are portions where you can see water on both sides. What sets this race apart from other races is that you don't have to pick a distance. They just record the farthest timing mat you cross, and that's what you get scored for. 5k, 10, or half marathon.

As great as the race was, first all the stuff it was NOT:
...not a challenge to find my inner warrior and dig deeper than I ever have.
...not a break through performance.
...not a day when I was the best athlete that showed up.
...not a glamorous race venue.

All that being said, it was near the top, if not the most satisfying race to date. Started off like any other race. Felt far too easy, and there were probably 20 people well ahead of me. Mile one was 6:05 to the second. I pumped my fist and loudly showed my excitement. I wanted to brag, and I knew Steve was in range to hear me. Before the race he asked what my pace was going to be, and I told him 6:05.

Shortly after mile 1, the 5k runners turned left and were quickly out of sight. I was too far back to know how many people turned. What I did know is that there was more people than I could accurately count in front of me. One by one I passed just a few people, including "Awkward Running Guy" in his white McGuires cotton t-shirt and sweat flinging off his face as it sharply turned from side to side. He has been a staple in many races since last year at Double Bridge Run when I thought he was injured. Unlike the Pensacola half marathon, he was not carrying his shirt in one hand while leading the race at mile 3.

The thought of position did not cross my mind until I saw the turn around, and only one person turned. He was about 150m ahead. Up until now I ran exactly in the range that I planned. 6:05, 6:03, and 6:01. I don't remember looking at my watch at all for the next mile. My goal was to catch that dude, then figure out what to do from there. It was really close to the 4 mile marker when I did catch him, because I remember pointing it out to him. Garmin read 5:45. I pulled ahead by a few feet and asked if he was going to run sub 6:00 for the last 2 miles. He didn't reply, so I slowed down to get closer and asked again. He nodded and said yes. For whatever reason, I was happy to have company, and not at all worried about coming in 2nd vs 1st. However, his next mile was at least a 6:10, because I ran it in 6:02 and created a sizable gap. Well, nothing left but to push the last mile... alone. 5:58 according to Garmin, and it felt good. The rush from being in first place, even if it wasn't the half marathon, was cool.

In the chute I saw 2 coworkers that did the 5k. I was completely rude and didn't even ask how they did. Then a strange girl came up to me and said she was Tristan. When I look as confused as possible she said she was Steve's girlfriend. Oh, nice to meet you, I'm leaving now for a cool-down. Another totally rude move.

My plan was to jog out and run the last part of the half marathon in with Steve. Not once did I do the math that told me after my 6 miles, he still had 7 miles to go. I made my way to the 1 mile marker (mile 12), and he must of been around mile 8. After waiting for 15 minutes the first half marathon guy went by, and another few minutes until I saw Steve in 4th place. He crossed the 1 mile marker in 1:15:30. This was my first indicator to how his race was going. Out loud I said "if we bring in the last mile in 6:30, you are sub 1:22:00!" He seemed good with this, so we dialed in the pace and knocked it out. He seemed happy with the result, and why not, a 1:21:58 is great. On most days I'd trade a 1:22 half for a 37:37 10k, but today it meant I got a BOTTLE OPENER for winning!

Kaiser Half Marathon

Found this race when I was looking for a 10k. Since my family was already staying in a condo on Orange Beach, it was only a 5 minute drive. Even if I didn't hammer out a hard run, it seemed like a good fit.

After another beautiful sunrise over the gulf, I sat down to figure out my pace. 2 weeks ago I ran 1:26:43. It was a time I was proud of, but I knew there was a faster time in me. Also, in the back of my mind I knew that Steve ran a 1:22:35 two weeks ago, and I wanted the pace to be fast enough to give myself a chance at beating him. 1:24 sounded good, which is 6:25 pace.

The race itself was absolutely beautiful. All except about 2 miles was twisting through the woods on a trail. Bright sun peaking through the trees. Temps were in the 40's with a constant breeze. A better setting could not be scripted.

During the race I was having a great time. Looking back, someone would think it was boring. No crowd along the race, and I was in 4th place from before the 2 mile mark to the finish. Steve was between 15 and 20 seconds ahead of me up until mile 12, and 5th place was more than a minute behind me.

Other than mile 11 when I took a shot at closing the gap on Steve, I was locked into my goal pace. Unfortunate for me, Steve also picked that stretch to reel in 2nd place, and my 6:15 did not close a single second. Finished 4th overall, but the results show 1st in AG since Steve took the 3rd overall prize.

Scored another pair of Stuffitts Shoe Savers, an aluminum bottle from Fuel Belt, and some coasters with the race logo on it. Combined with a 12oz Nathan water bottle in the goody bag, it was a good bit of loot.

Pensacola Half Marathon

4 weeks after my marathon it seemed like a good idea to ride the fitness with a half marathon. The half is a distance I've only done once before, which was all the way back in 2007 with a time of 1:41. No race report for The Nationwide Columbus Half-Marathon of 2007, but I remember a few things very clearly.
1. My legs hurt more at the end of that race any any other time in my life up to that point.
2. My plan to run easy for 10 miles then beat my brother in the last 5k almost worked.
3. According to onlineraceresults.com I was at 8:11 pace through mile 5, and finished with an overall pace of 7:44. (talk about a negative split!)
4. It was by far the biggest race I ever entered. Showing up the morning of the race to get my packet was NOT a good idea. We almost didn't get to run.

According to the VDot calc from my recent 3:06 marathon, my potential at a half is 1:30. That felt like it would be extremely easy. In April I ran 1:30 in the first half of Boston, so it seemed like too modest of a goal.

Never did decide on a good goal, but it really didn't matter. After getting out of the car Travis and I realized we both forgot our Garmins. There were mile markers, but since I had no watch, I couldn't even calculate splits. Looks like PE was the only gauge. Since it was hot for November (low 60's) and high humidity, my PE was high.

Saw Steve at the start line, then quickly said something to Evan a few hundred yards out. Another minute I caught and passed Brian who proceeded to talk much more than I expected. Lastly I said a few things to Chuck just past the 1 mile mark. Although I fully expected Chuck finish before me, I never saw him again. The last person I caught was Steve at mile 2, and we ran together for 3 miles.

The first time I noticed that my shoes were soaked from sweat was before Steve pulled away. This should of been a red flashing light to adjust my pace. The sweat contributed to a blister. 10k had a clock and I was only 3 seconds slower than 40 minutes. After that point the race became very boring, lonely, and painful. Oh well, not every race can be exciting. Finished in 1:26:43. PR by 15 minutes, and left plenty of room to PR twice more this season.

Additional Columbus Marathon Info

Training:
Average weekly milage for 13 weeks before race - 43
Long Runs 12, 12, 6, 14, 12, 8, 15, 17, 20, 12, 5, 18, 10
Yes, 3 weeks out my long run was 5 miles. My only 20 miler was really four 5 mile runs with short breaks.

Previous marathons:
05/08 - 3:32 - Flying Pig
02/09 - 3:32 - Pensacola (training run for Georgia)
03/09 - 3:09 - Georgia ING
04/10 - 3:18 - Boston

Ok, fine, here's a race report - Pricelined the Hyatt (host hotel) for $100. buca di beppo and BD's Mongolian BBQ are both walking distance from start/finish/hotel and yummy, interesting, and affordable (like $10 per person). Get reservations at buca if going the day before the race. My party of 6 waited for almost 90 minutes. The goody bag sucked, the race shirt is black short sleeve Nike technical shirt, and the expo was average (for a race with 15,000 people).

Columbus Marathon 2010

In April when I failed to achieve my goal in Boston, this race looked ideal. I needed to get another chance to beat that course, but I wasn't qualified for 2011. Columbus was on the last day before registration opened for Boston. Also, it was shortly after my brother returned from Afghanistan, so I would be able to travel to Ohio to see him. Perfect.

The plan was simple. In spring of 2009 I ran a 3:09. So, using the same 15 week plan, I was going to do it again, only with another 18 months of running in the bank. This would be an "easy" way to qualify for Boston again. I ran into 2 problems. First, this race was in the fall, not the spring, so I was training in the summer instead of the winter. Long runs were not quality workouts. Skipped some, and cut others short. Also, 2 weeks before the marathon I realized there was still 3 weeks left of the plan to do. When I scheduled everything back in June, I miscounted how many weeks I had.

So if I try something new at each race, then doing everything the same would be something new, right? After I put my gels in my old race belt, I decided my wife's race belt was better. The only reason I brought it was in case my brother wanted it. No time to test if the gels or container of Endurolytes would rub me raw, or if I could get the pills out while running, but I decided to give it a go. Something that bothered me about all race belts is how they turn around, so I used a safety pin to attach it to my shorts. Pictures went through my head of my entire shorts trying to turn around with the belt, but it never happened.

If only there was a way to capture all the excitement and energy in the start of a race, and release it as needed. The live band at the start was great. Then after a few short announcements, the National Anthem, and a countdown with AC/DC blaring, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... nothing. No gun, and nobody moved. Well, lets try that again. Another countdown followed by a gun, fireworks, and everyone took off.

Rather than run by feel and be in tune with my body, I think my best races are better described as an out of body experience. Rather than take in what's going on and processing it to make decisions, I try to imagine myself as an actor going through the motions. The script has been written, and Scott is just there to execute it.

I wrote that, in order to understand this. When my first split was 7:08, Scott the actor was nailing it. Mile 2 in 6:52, and the director should of been ripping up the script and throwing chairs. Totally not what we talked about. Each mile was supposed to be between 7:10 and 7:15. There are timing mats that record my time. My Garmin was recording time. After a time was run and the split recorded, it's there forever. Some mistakes can be undone. However, if you start poorly in a race, you can't undo it.

Telling myself to slow down, I proceeded to run the next 4 miles at 7:00 +/- 3 seconds. Each mile marker I cursed, shook my head, and wondered what this race report was going to look like. "Well, I went out too hard and blah blah blah..."

Mile 6 was time for my first gel, but it had to be at a water stop. Turned a corner and BAM there was water. I didn't have my gel ready and I was halfway past the stop. Inhaled the gel and choked on some water. That didn't go totally as planned, but I had calories in me at the right time. With mile 1 at the planned pace, and gel 1 at the correct location, Scott had 2 things going as scripted, and 5 miles of winging it.

As we crossed the 10k timing mat in 43:52 (7:04 pace), I told the guy next to me "well, now everyone will know that we went out too fast." To my surprised he replied "That's exactly what I was thinking." It should of been funny, but I believed it.

The next 2 miles I got serious. 7:09 followed by 7:08. Garmin and I had a little conversation and it was working. Mile 8 I saw my family, but my daughter didn't see me. Of course I did what any dad would do and stopped to get her attention and a high five. It must of got me motivated because the next 4 miles were back to my bad splits. Crossed the 13.1 mat in 1:32:47 (7:05 pace). This was not how Scott pictured the race.

Whoa, where did the crowd go? The half marathoners peeled off, and nobody was around. Soon I caught someone that was tattooed all over. No earrings, but his earlobes had a huge hole in the middle. Top it off with long dreads and long beard, and he was an interesting looking guy. As I approached him I said something about running beside him at the next race photo person. He responded and was very friendly and talkative. This was his first marathon, and he had no idea on how fast he was running or when he expected to finish. Pretty soon he said that he needed to peel off because he hasn't yet perfected his "poop schedule for the long run." We passed the porta potties but he kept running. Then we went by a tattoo parlor, and he went straight for the door while talking to the people waiting outside.

So much for the free spirit mentality guy keeping me company. At mile 16 it was time for my 3rd gel and time to get serious about pace again. I needed to stop being in the race, and start watching Scott execute the race plan. When running downtown for miles 12 and 13 the buildings screwed up my Garmin distance and gave me another .3 miles. Not acceptable, so Scott clicked the lap button at mile 16 when the clock read 1:53:00. Now the watch would click at the mile markers again.

A few meters before mile 17 Garmin clicked 7:02. By the time Scott crossed the marker, the clock read 2:00:10. Ha, Scott ran a 7:10 mile, and the Garmin was wrong! Then before mile 18 the Garmin clicked 6:49, but according to the clock bib 552 crossed in 7:05. This got me thinking, what if the Garmin was far enough off to make me think I was on pace for sub 3:10, but actually over? There was going to be a lot of math problems in the next few miles to find out if this was possible.

During the next stretch of miles, Scott's thoughts rotated from...
... this is a beautiful and peaceful day out here.
... sure is lonely out here with a thin crowd and very few runners.
... now my legs are starting to feel tired and heavy.
... I'm still going faster than I need to, so the legs must be doing fine.
... slow down so you don't blow up.
... keep running while you feel good in case you blow up.

To be perfectly honest, miles 14 - 24 were tough. The entertainment helped a lot. According to the website, there are "nearly 80 live bands and radio stations along the course to ensure that runners, walkers and wheelchair athletes had the support they needed throughout the entire race." My favorite was the guy playing the Rocky theme on his keyboard that was propped up on his bicycle. He looked like he was having a good time. Some of the bands sounded really good, and I heard Hang On Sloopy 4 times. It is Columbus, OH after all.

At mile 20 we crossed the last timing mat before the finish. 2:21:17 (7:04 pace). I wondered if I ran 8 min/miles for the next 6 miles, how much time I'd have remaining to run the last .2. It was useless, I couldn't do the math. For whatever reason, I kept wanting to multiply 8x8 instead of 6x8. Safe to say that exercise does not help my brain function.

The math problems kept my mind off everything else for a while. In fact, 4 miles went by 7:01, 7:03, 6:53, 7:07. Time for some more math. 2:49 and some change at mile 24. That means I could do two 10 minute miles and it's still in the bag. Or an 8 minute mile followed by a 12. Instead of being overcome with joy, I was still upset about being too fast. What if Scott blows up from going out too fast? Not only did he go out too fast in the first half, but also did the 2nd half too fast also! What an idiot this guy is. This was not the script I imagined. Scott is supposed to be a clock. The Columbus marathon is not the goal, it's just a step to get back to Boston.

Mile 24 was done very carefully in 7:21. Thoughts became "slow down and treat the legs nice and they will take care of you." Mile 25 was even more careful in 7:27. After that last mile marker, for the first time I felt confident Scott would make it, so I allowed myself to run fast. For the first time in 5 marathons, I finished feeling good. PR by almost 4 minutes.

Official results http://bit.ly/cSybNm Garmin splits http://bit.ly/aPww2U

Nutrition:
Gels and water at mile 6, 11, 16, 21
Gatorade at mile 22 and 24 (or maybe it was 23 and 25...)
9 Endurolytes at miles 5(2), 8, 12(2), 15, 18(2), 22

Training:

Average weekly milage for 13 weeks before race - 43

Long Runs 12, 12, 6, 14, 12, 8, 15, 17, 20, 12, 5, 18, 10

Yes, 3 weeks out my long run was 5 miles. My only 20 miler was really four 5 mile runs with short breaks.

Previous marathons:

05/08 - 3:32 - Flying Pig

02/09 - 3:32 - Pensacola (training run for Georgia)

03/09 - 3:09 - Georgia ING

04/10 - 3:18 - Boston

Half of 2010

We are at the halfway point of 2010. Last year I rode 3,000 miles and ran 1,500. So far this year I have run more miles (950 biked compared to over 1,000 ran). I need motivation to ride...

114th Boston Marathon

First about the race. It was amazing. In a long race, it is easy to let the mind drift, think about how much it hurts, and slow down. In Boston, there was always something to keep me distracted from those thoughts. Crowds were stacked rows deep nearly the entire way. Lots of runners my speed, so I was never in the middle of nowhere with only a few people around. Organization and scenery were top notch. 490 port o pots at the start. F-15's fly over before the gun went off. Water and Gatorade at every mile on both sides of the road. It will be hard to do another marathon now that I've experienced Boston.

Now about how I did. I felt like I could of killed it. The goal when training was sub 3 hours. at that pace (6:52), training was going a lot easier than it did last year when my goal was 3:10. (7:15 pace). However, I wanted insurance that the race would go well. This is not the course to gamble on by going out at the pace you "think" you can do. So I set my goal in the 3:05 to 3:08 range. Running the first half at 6:55 pace and expecting to slow down during the hills around miles 16-21 to 7:10 to 7:20 pace would still give me a PR. That plan worked for about 21 miles. Mile 16 I let the pace slip above 7:00 for about 1/2 mile when I took a gel. Before mile 17 the pace (over the last mile) was back to 6:59. The next few miles were above 7:00, but within goal and felt fine. At mile 21 the hard hills were done, but so were my legs. Walking felt really good, and running hurt a lot. At this point I made up my mind to never run another marathon. Sub 3:10 was still within reach, but I didn't want to come back in 2011. I told myself that if I was at the finish line in time to qualify for next year, I'd stop and wait for a 3:11 to ensure I could not.

Doubtful that I would of kept that promise to myself, but we'll never know. With 2.2 mile to go, the gun time was over 3 hours. Chip time was only 2:57, but I didn't know that because my Garmin died. Less than a month after the 1 year warranty expired and it's useless now. I didn't care about the Garmin and I didn't plan on running 2.2 mile in 10 minutes or 13 minutes. It was all I could do to slug out 10 min miles for those last 2 miles. Finish time was 3:18:16.

I've been pondering what went wrong since mile 21. Most likely nothing went wrong. The result is simply what I'm in shape to run on that course on that day. However, next time I'm going to have workouts like I did in 2009. For those training runs I had to quit running because I couldn't maintain my race pace for the goal distance during my long runs. This year I did them all, and only one really tested my fitness.

Nutrition
Before race: 2 ensures, 1 banana, 12 oz water.
During race: GU Roctane with water at miles 6, 11, 16. Gatorade at miles 20, 22, and 24.

Ready for Boston

The work is done, and now it's time for the fun part. Today I checked Boston's weather forecast for the first time. Supposed to be cloudy and high of 50 on Monday with a 30% chance of showers. I can work with that.

Plan is to go out at 6:55 pace. I want to hit halfway needing a neg split in order to break 3:00. Primary goal is NOT sub 3:00. The goal is to avoid screwing up the end of the race by going out too hard. There's other races out there to gamble on. I've invested too much on this one.

Here's the breakdown of my running 19 weeks before the marathon.

McGuires 5k Prediction Run

Yes, that's the shirt I wore for the race event. A 9:00 start meant I could sleep in and still have time to drive 60 miles to the race. Arrived way too early as usual. Did a warm up run, but was completely cooled down by the time the cannon went off.

Plan was to stick with Steve, as he led me perfectly in the 15k a few weeks back. After 200 meters we were running into a really strong wind. I was just trying to duck behind someone and had lost Steve already. So much for a plan. As it turned out, I was never more than 10 meters from him.

First few miles felt like I was going too fast, which is what I expected for a 5k. Hard to tell if I was since we were not allowed watches and there were no mile markers.

The last section of the race is when my lack of leg speed and strength showed. Steve, Anna, and another other girl started pulling away. I knew it was happening, and there was nothing I could do about it. I tried working harder, and it felt like my heart rate went up, but my speed didn't increase. Next year my 5k's will be fast. Next year.

Post race party was great. Music, costumes, friends, perfect weather, Irish Wakes, beer, stew, everything. If I only do one event party next year, this is the one.

Almost forgot about the results. Prediction 18:59. I thought I could run 18:30, but I wanted to surprise myself by going faster than my prediction time. Ran an 18:55, which was good enough for 9th of about 300 in my age group. No hardware, but close.

Video

Every blog has a video, right? This is as good as any. I like it.

Double Bridge Run

06 February, 2010
Weather - low 40's and slight tailwind entire way

Goal:
Originally I thought 6:20 pace would be an excellent goal. I've been struggling with my tempo runs (sub 6:10), and this pace would give me a chance to go a little slower than my tempo goal and see how long I could hold it.

Flashback - Last winter I remember sitting down with Paul to create a marathon plan to finish sub 3:10. He said my tempo runs should be at 6:20 pace. I couldn't do 3 miles at that speed, and tempo runs were as long as 4 miles.

I really wanted company, and I was hoping I could keep up with someone I knew. After talking with Jeremy and Steve, we concluded that a goal of sub one hour would be a good. I was happy that I'd have not just one, but two buddies to run with.

Pre-race nutrition was my standard bananas and Ensures. 2 of each if I recall correctly. No reason to change what isn't broken. Linked up with Steve and Jeremy at the start line, but I didn't have time to find any of my co-workers that were running. Next time maybe I'll show up earlier.

First few miles:
It seemed like we looked at our watches a lot at the beginning. We wanted to be around 6:24, and we were spot on. 6:23 and 6:22 the first 2 miles. Just like the entire race, Steve did a great job of saying things here and there to keep us focused without getting bored. After about 2 miles I was getting really anxious to pass people, which is probably why the pace went up just a bit to 6:18. Steven or Jeremy would notice the pace going up just a bit and say something.

Three Mile Bridge:
People were now spreading out, which made it easier to resist the temptation to speed up to pass. Before the hill in the middle of the bridge, Jeremy let us know that he did not want to go into debt at this hill. Steve agreed, and I thought it made sense. At we neared the top we could hear some nice relaxing music. Relaxing? It sounded like something they would play at a tiki bar on the beach as people relaxed on the hot beach with a cool drink. Not exactly motivating. I thought of mentioning something about Mark's music being better suited for this, even though we made fun of him listening to Boom Boom Pow in his minivan. However, I stayed quiet in an effort to conserve energy. As we finised the bridge it looked like a water stop was ahead, so I took my gel.

There was no water, just a crowd of people and a bad taste in my mouth with no way to wash it out. Splits were 6:19 to start the bridge, 6:20 over and down the hill, and 6:25 finishing the bridge.

Gulf Breeze to end:
10k done and still felt great. Not sure when, but I remember Jeremy mentioning that his knee was a little sore. We picked it up to 6:14 pace for mile 7. About half a mile later I was too tired to look around, but I asked Steve if Jeremy was still here, and he said no. He told me fatigue was setting in and I shouldn't let him hold me back. Right around this time he said we didn't have much time banked to reach our goal. That made me nervous, so I pushed to get to the top of the last hill with a little bit of time banked. Mile 8 was 6:12. Now only 1.3 miles to go, and all three little hills were done, and a little more time banked. In addition to that, Boom Boom Pow was playing at the top of the hill. Almost funny enough to make me laugh.

At the end of the second bridge I found Johnny. I said a few words and focused on finishing the last mile strong. Knowing that at least 2 people I knew were behind me, I wanted to keep good form and look like I wasn't hurting or tired. No idea why that's important to me. There were
footsteps close behind, which kept me from slowing down. I didn't want to look back, but I really wanted to know who it was! So frustrating. I maintained 5:58 pace for mile 9, which hurt. The last .3 was around 5:50 pace thanks to the sound of those darn footsteps pushing me. Found out that the person behind me was Johnny. When I passed him I thought I was going a good bit faster than him, but he said he didn't have a reason to push the last mile until I passed him, so he picked it up. Love competitive people. :)

Post race I was cold. Next time I'll have extra clothes at the finish. However, the food was good, the beer was good, and I found at least 6 coworkers that I didn't see at the start of the race. Looking forward to doing this race again next year.

Splits – 6:23, 6:22, 6:18, 6:19, 6:20, 6:25, 6:14, 6:12, 5:58 Total 58:37

Boston Training Plan

2009 Yearly Totals

Total:
382 Hours
Per Month - 31.8
Per Week - 7.35

Bike:
174 Hours
3032 Miles
Per Month - 14.5 hours / 252 miles
Per Week - 3.4 hours / 58 miles

Run:
198 Hours
1489 Miles
Per Month - 16.5 hours / 124 miles
Per Week - 3.8 hours / 28.6 miles

Swim:
7 Hours (yes, per the year)

The funny part is my 7 hours of swimming includes the 3 mile bridge swim, and the 2.4 mile IM swim.

Ironman Cozumel Race Report

2 months after the race, maybe I should post some info on this race.

Training:
According to my training log, I averaged 8.1 hours per week for the 36 weeks before the race.
bike - 56% and 81 miles/wk
run - 41% and 25 miles/wk
swim/other - 3%


Prerace:
2 bananas @ 5:30
1 GU @ 6:45
40-50 oz water
very liberal with body glide and suntan lotion


Prediction - 1:30 to 1:45
Result - 1:08:02 (everyone was 10 to 15 min faster than expected)
Swim: 130 of 183
Had to pee from start but couldn't make myself in water.
Stopped 3 times to empty water from goggles but it never helped. Eyes burned for about half the race.
Arms started feeling fatigued about 15 min into race - big lack of swim training.

T1:
9:03
small water bottle
Lots of chamois buttr and more suntan lotion
peed for a really long time

Bike:
Prediction - 17.5 to 18.6MPH
Result - 6:13:22 (18MPH)
Items to improve on.
1. Work on adding water to aerodrink. After failing twice I came to a complete stop at more than half the aid stations to fill it.
2. Just because there are 5+ bikes in front of me doesn't need I have to pass them all in 20 seconds. Ride my own race.
3. Mix the infinit morning of, not the night before. All the powder settled and became syrup at the bottom, and water at the top.
4. Determine an upper HR limit to use in addition to feel and avg speed.

other bike details.
1800 cal of Infinit
400 cal of GU
17 aid stations
1 filled wrong chamber
2-7 filled small chamber (x6)
8 no water avialable
9-12 filled small chamber (x4)
13, 15, 17 skipped
14, 15 filled small chamber (x2)
Total water - small chamber 17x13=221oz
started with 20 Endurolyte pills and used 10
no bathroom breaks on bike
stomach hurt, but I had high hopes it was due to being bent over in aero position. Best guess on cause of stomach was too hard on bike, and/or cal per hour at start was too high from all the powder settling to bottom of chamber overnight.
lap 1 18.7mph, 140HR too much passing packs then backing off
lap 2 18.2mph, 137HR felt like perfect pace for the course
lap 3 17.4mph, 136HR lap was missing one fast section the other 2 laps had. went easy last 8 miles to settle stomach

T2: 5:03
fresh socks
small water bottle
lots of petroleum jelly
Did not "have" to pee, but was able to some. Assumed hydration was not bad.


Run:
2 GU's
1 banana
4-5 orange peels
4 ritz crackers
2 servings of coke
h2o as I could stomach it
Goal - 3:45
Result - 5:10:28
Legs were able, but the stomach was not.
Mile splits 8:01, 8:47, 15:24, 9:15, 9:38, 9:00, 8:48, 10:24, 11:47, 13:34, 18:43, 15:59, 15:46, 9:18, 8:47, 11:25, 9:21, 9:01, 12:17, 10:09, 12:28, 11:48, battery died...

At first I thought that my stomach would feel better the longer I ran due to not being tucked into the aero position on the bike. That thought lasted 2 miles. The entire 3rd mile I walked, took in water, endurolytes, 1 gel, and an orange slice. I knew a great marathon wasn't going to happen if I walked an entire mile, but I was still hopefull for a sub 4:00 if my stomach started feeling better. Between the last part of the bike, and first part of the run, I probably took in 200 calories during 2+ hours. I had hopes that 15+ min of a lower HR would start to digest the calories. If felt like the calories in my stomach just needed time to start working. In retrospect, maybe I should of kept dumping the calories in. Most likely that would of made me vomit, which probably would of helped.

After running miles 4-7, I stopped and told my wife the 2nd lap was going to be really slow. Stomach was getting worse every mile. After that, my pace changed from slow and painful, to walking and soaking it in. Any hope of reaching a time goal was blown, and I was cool with that. It was a relief to realize my "race" was done. The only thing left was to walk across the finish line, which was 18 miles away. The next 4 miles I walked every step. I tried coke (yuck), ritz crackers, a banana, and lots of water. My main concern was avoiding a ride in the ambalance due to dehydration.

Halfway into the marathon I did attempt to run again, but the expectations were not high. Without nutrition, I knew I couldn't sustain of good pace. The last thing I tried to eat was before mile 13, and I had no intention of eating anything else. I assumed I'd finish around the 15 hour mark, but apparently I can't think on an empty stomach.

Total: 12:45:58 (101 of 183 in AG)

Calorie Tracking

After one month of trying to track calories, I only managed to keep count on 8 days. It's a start.
Date Calories/Fat(%)/Carb(%)/Protein(%)
11-05-09 3453/31/52/16
11-06-09 3201/35/40/26
11-11-09 3603/28/55/17
11-12-09 2836/29/56/14
11-17-09 2904/25/60/15
11-18-09 2973/27/59/14
11-19-09 2945/22/62/17
11-20-09 2295/18/64/18 (dinner skipped or not logged)
11-23-09 2325/25/63/12 (dinner skipped or not logged)
12-03-09 3683/27/60/14