Freethinker ~ Freerunner

VO2 Max workout.  11 miles with 5x1200's.

It was lightly raining and the wind was blowing hard out of the north east.  I made sure that I was running in to the wind as little as possible on the 1200's, which meant that I got a short warmup and a long cool down due to the direction of my out and back route.

2 mile warmup: 7:27, 7:45.

1200's: 4:38, 4:43, 4:42, 4:40, 4:37.

I jogged for quarter miles between repeats, which ended up averaging about 2 minutes of recovery.  This was about the the amount of time it took me to get back to 70% of my maximal heart rate. 

I ended up running 4.25 miles at the end of this workout.  I would have balanced this a little better in ordinary circumstances, but I knew if I didn't get most of the workout done up front I would have been running the 1200's directly in to the 20 mile per hour north winds.

My "cool down" went like this: 8:13, 8:20, 8:15, 7:54.

Recovery 6.75 miles with 6 100's.  

I skipped my MLR yesterday because I felt a weird twingy feeling in my right ankle.  I've got the Aquarium Half on Saturday and I really didn't want any weird injuries cropping up last minute.  This morning I went nice and easy at a 7:55 AP and then ran some 100's at the end.  I can't say I didn't feel the ankle at all, but I only felt it slightly during the last mile.  

I will take it nice and easy tomorrow and hopefully be 100% Saturday morning. 

Recovery run.  Nice and easy 8:12 pace. 

My Garmin malfunctioned somewhere about the one mile mark.  I looked down at my wrist and it was on the clock screen. I had to reconnect to the satellites and start it again.  When I got home the original activity had just been lost, which I thought was really weird.

My right ankle feels much better today than two days ago, but now my lower back feels like I pulled a muscle.  This has been a hard cycle on me, but I'm going to make it.  I'm really looking forward to writing my half marathon PR race report tomorrow!  

The Jenks Aquarium Half Marathon has now officially come and gone.  I am both happy and slightly disappointed.

My goal was to run this in under 1:30:00.  My chip time came in at 1:30:17.  17 seconds is all I missed it by.  The course was a nice flat out and back.  I knew I should have no trouble making my time, but I didn't count on the South wind for the entire 'back' 6.5 miles throwing a wrench in the works.  

Miles 1-5: 6:32, 6:33, 6:33, 6:36, 6:40

I felt really good for the first five miles.  I initially planned on going out in 6:49's and then gradually picking it up depending on how I felt.  When I realized that the wind was blowing from the South I knew I would need to bank as many miles as I could in under 6:49.  That way if I couldn't hack it running in to the wind I would have some breathing room.  

Miles 6-10: 6:44, 6:41, 6:50, 6:56, 6:59

All of these miles were run into the wind, but fortunately there were lots of trees that helped to damper it.  Half way through mile 9 the course veered to the right and headed directly into the south wind.  Miles nine and ten completely through me off my game and I never fully recovered. 

Miles: 11-13.2: 7:07, 7:17, 7:10, 1:42

We finally got a little break from the wind just over halfway through mile 11 as the course changed direction several times from this point until the finish.  There was a hard right turn that went under a bridge at mile 12.  I was running with two other guys and we all ran along the street instead to the sidewalk.  A course marshal directed us back onto the sidewalk, which meant chugging up a grassy hill.  I wonder now that I'm thinking back on this if that isn't what cost me my 17 seconds.  If we had not gotten slightly off course I would not have had to kill my self going up the hill.  Or if I had just stayed on the street until it met back up with the sidewalk I probably also would have had an easier time keeping my pace.  It was not a short cut, just an eventual turn that meant you needed to be on the sidewalk to get to. I talked to others after the race that got caught off guard by this same point in the course.

Conclusion: My watch says that I ran 13.25 miles in 1:30:26 at an AP of 6:49.  6:49 would have been fast enough to make it in under 1:30.  If I had only run a few less tangents I think I would have made it.  

I am thrilled with my time overall.  I took 9:02 off of my previous half marathon time.  That was two years ago so I should have improved quite a bit, but I'm still feeling good.  I will not go in to Oklahoma City lightly.  I will run smart through the taper and hope there is not too much wind to deal with.

Long Run of 20 miles the day after the Jenks Aquarium Half.  7:47 AP.

My legs felt amazingly good until I stopped.  Then I felt my muscles tense up a bit.  Hopefully I can get quality rest today and tomorrow and start healing up well as I head into the taper.

This morning was absolutely beautiful.  This was really the kind of morning that I can't resist.  It was 59 degrees with a slight breeze.  

Recovery run of 4 miles with 5 100's.  

My legs are still very sore from the punishment I put my self through by running 20 on Sunday the day after the half marathon.  In hindsight I should have taken it a little easier.  I hope to wake up tomorrow morning feeling a big improvement.  

MLR - 12.  My legs are feeling much better today, although still not fully recovered.  I'm going to run a recovery run tomorrow.  Today's AP was 7:46.  36 feels like 29.  

I ran into Shane in the middle and ran for about 8 minutes with him.  If I had gone the other direction at the fork I would have run into him a lot sooner.  He ended up chasing me down just like I did to him a couple of weeks ago.  

Recovery run of 5 miles at an 8:12 AP.  My legs are starting to feel more recovered, but I can definitely still feel the aftershocks of last weekend. 

I'm looking to run about an 8 mile general aerobic run tomorrow with some 100's at the end.  

8 miles on a general aerobic run with 10x100's.  50 degrees.  7:42 AP.  

I'm up over 630 miles on my Ravenna 2 shoes now and it's amazing, but they still feel really good.  I may have make the switch completely to Brooks rather than alternating between Brooks and New Balance as I have done for 3 years.  

My quads are feeling much better, but I still feel as though they are recovering from last weekend.  I hope this is all gone after tomorrow, which is my last long run before Oklahoma City. 

17 miles at a 7:35 AP.  54 degrees.  

I began this run still feeling the hangover from last weekend.  I'm starting to feel repetitive saying that on every post this week, but I making sure to clearly document how I'm feeling for future strategy.  I started to feel a little more pep in my step at about the 12 mile mark, which was good because I usually prefer to drop the pace down close to marathon pace on my last five miles of a long run.  Since I was feeling good I decided to go ahead and finish strong. 

My last five miles splits: 7:27, 7:15, 6:50, 6:59, 6:53.

The way that I was able to finish made me feel better about skipping my MLR due to over soreness on Wednesday of this week.  I can feel that my body is going to recover nicely over the course of the next two weeks on the taper. 

Today was a recovery day for me.  It was also marathon Monday.  I was at work and at about 1:00 PM, I got a notification on my phone that there was an explosion at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

As soon as I was able to get to my computer after I was finished working with customers I started checking Facebook to try to find out if the people I knew who were there were safe. This was a tragic day for Boston, the nation, and the running community at large.  My heart goes out to the people whose lives have been touched by this cowardly act.

At the same time I was happy to see the good people on the scene.  Scot Jurek shared an NBC Sports story that reported on runners crossing the finish line and continuing on to the hospital to donate blood to the injured.  The compassion of the running community never ceases to amaze me.   

General aerobic run of 7 miles with 8x100's.  

The north wind was really blowing this morning.  It was 54 degrees.  Garmin says the wind was blowing from the north a 4 mph, but it felt like it was a lot harder than than that.

Taper on!

My last real workout before OK City is done! 8 miles with 3x1 mile repeats. I lucked out because only one of them was partially into the wind. Splits: 6:19, 6:20, 6:22. I jogged for half a mile for my rest between each mile. I'm feeling strong.

 48 feels like 42. 

5 mile recovery run this morning.  Cold!  35 degrees.  8:07 AP. 

I'm recovering from a cold I came down with on Monday.  I feel like maybe I'm experiencing a slight shortness of breath, which is a little bothersome.  I'm just glad there's still 8 full days between now and Oklahoma City.  

Recovery run with 8x100's.  I felt good.  The 100's felt good and easy.  It was 39 degrees, and yet somehow I managed to overdress.  I was soaking wet when I got home.  There was not wind at all.  I can only hope that conditions are very similar to this one week from tomorrow in Oklahoma City.  

My last 13 mile MLR before Oklahoma City.  I am now one week away.  I felt a little bit fatigued for the first 4 or 5 miles, but once I got past the half way point on this run I started to feel more energetic.  It was 52 degrees with a slight sprinkle that felt really nice.  

I'm still questioning the wisdom of running such a hard 20 mile run the day after the Aquarium Half Marathon.  I was thinking this morning that this has been one of my sloppiest most erratic cycles ever.  I have missed at least two mid-week MLR's and I think one weekend long run.  I have been sick twice and gone through a move that wiped me out physically for several days.  The silver lining is that I feel like most of my workouts have been good quality, and I have hit several new PR's on pace runs.  I hop that after one more week of taper my body will be physically renewed and rejuvenated well beyond how I feel this weekend.  

7:35 AP.  Final five splits: 7:19, 7:16, 7:28, 7:17, 7:16, 7:12.

7 mile recovery run.  The north wind was vicious and it was spitting rain at me.  

I'm really glad it was a recovery run and not a workout.  

Dress rehearsal.  7 miles with 2 at marathon pace.  6:57, 6:58.

My legs felt good, but my lower back felt a little tense.  I was wondering if I should have been more diligent about my core exercises this cycle.  I tried a new thing where I did push-ups daily, but I neglected all the other basic core postures.  I'll wait and see how I feel after / during the race.  

Recovery run of 5 miles at a nice and easy pace of 8:09.

I'm starting to really feel the healing pattern of the taper.  I'd love to kick this head cold  turned sinus congestion, but I'm sure by Sunday morning I'll be good.  

5 mile recovery run with 5 100's.  AP 7:45.  I felt a little sluggish for the first mile, but I felt pretty good after that.  I ate my usual bagel egg sandwich and I supplemented it with two pancakes.  I'm going to make sure I get plenty of carbs the last few days before race day.  

Recovery run with an 8:02 AP.  This is it.  The day before the OK City Marathon.  The weather should be perfect at about 52 degrees with out much wind in the forecast.  I'm ready.  

Where to begin?  I set out to BQ this morning.  That did not happen.  I didn't even PR.  I finished in 3:20:37, which is 8:03 slower than Rt. 66 last November.  Let's take it from the top.  

Day Before: In an unusual move for me I was able to take off work on Saturday so I could drive to Oklahoma City to pick up my packet.  This allowed me to get much needed rest the day before the race, which is something I've not done my previous two marathons.  Alisha brought along a pasta dinner for us to eat at the hotel.  Since Ty was sharing our single bedroom we were forced to turn in early since we put him to bed at 8:00.  Of-course I didn't fall asleep right away, and I even got out of bed around 9:30 to eat more pasta.  

Race Morning:  I woke up at 4:00 to being getting ready.  I ate 2/3  of an everything bagel with 3/4 of an avocado.  I slowly began hydrating with water and gatorade.  I also had one cup of coffee.  I went down to the shuttle bus pickup area at my hotel at 5:00.  There was a bus that had just left.  We waited another 33 minutes for the next bus.  As the waiting drew on I began texting Alisha that she may need to get Ty up and come down to drive me to the starting line.  I almost didn't make the next bus because it arrived about half full of people.  I got to the starting line with enough time to wait 25 minutes for a bathroom and make it to my corral about 1 minute before the gun.   

Miles 1-5:  7:08, 7:13, 7:10 , 7:07.  Everything started out according to plan sort of.  I planned on running the first 5 splits in 7:17's.  So I was a little fast, but I felt like I was in a good range here.  I was constantly repeating to myself to stick with the plan and forcing myself to slow down.    

Miles 6-14:  6:55, 6:56, 6:56, 6:53, 6:52, 6:54, 6:55, 6:56, 6:55.  Everything was still dead on with my plan.  This was a portion of the middle segment (miles 6-20) of my plan where I intended on pacing 6:57's.  As can be seen from my actual splits I was completely controlling my pace here.  I ran all the way up North Robinson Ave through Sparrow Park and onto North Harvey Parkway.  I made my way up Classen to lake Heffner without so much as a hiccup.  Somewhere between miles 8 and 10 there was a hill called Gorilla Hill. The spectators were all handing out bananas and acting like gorillas.  It was a lot of fun and was not a problem for me to run.  It felt like it was over half a mile long or more so the elevation change was not that tough for me. Fast forward several miles to the turnaround at the lake at about the start of mile 15.  Heading back South I could fee the wind.  The wind was not actually that bad and not very intimidating.  I felt good and was slowly and very methodically sticking with my plan and gradually starting to pass some other runners at this point,

Miles: 15-20: 7:01, 7:01, 6:59, 7:17, 7:09.  It was during this area that the first cracks in my armor started to show.  On mile 18 there is a bridge that runs over highway 74.  This was the steepest hill I had encountered so far.    But this bridge took a lot out of me.  I finished mile 18 at 7:17.  I think this was hard on me psychologically.  It was a little bit too slow for the range I felt like I could recover from at this point in the race.  When I ran mile 18 in 7:09 I definitely felt better but I was still stinging from not being able to get my pace back down under 7:00.  I could feel the BQ slipping away.  

Miles 21-26.2: 7:52, 8:40, 9:02, 9:09, 9:02, 10:05, .59 in 7:38 (My watch was off some and I did not stop it at the finish)  This seems to be where it all really fell apart as I went from 7:09 to 7:52 from mile 20 to 21.  I can't remember exactly what was going on here, but I do remember I just felt what must have been the last of my glycogen draining out of me.  The temperature starting out was in the low 50's.  I believe I finished the race with it in the low 60s'  It never really felt too warm. The silent killer must have been the humidity.  It was 93%.  I knew something was going on when I felt overly thirsty on the last few miles of aid stations.  I just could not muster any more power at this point.  Forget digging deep.  I felt like I had lost the shovel at this point.  That last mile was unlike anything I've ever experienced.  I felt throbbing muscle spasms in my thighs and calves.  It got so bad I had to stop and walk.  Of-course walking temporarily made it worse.  Eventually it went away and I started running again.  Then it was back and I had to walk again.  I think this throbbing almost debilitating thing happened about 3 times on mile 26.  At one point I actually wondered what it would be like if I just couldn't finish, but I was so close so I really dug my heels in and pushed on.  Then I rounded the final corner to bring the finish line into view.  It did not make any difference.  My legs were just toast and felt like they could at any second just take me to the ground if I pushed too hard.  I must have been passed by 5 or 6 people maybe more between seeing the finish line and crossing it.  This is not something I'm used to.  I've been accustomed to passing others at this point.  

Conclusion:  This was not my slowest time.  That was my first marathon at 3:35:05 in 2010. I still finished 15 of 255 in my age division.  I finished 88 overall.  I have plenty to be happy about if I choose to look at the good things that happened which I will.  I still finished the race in spite of throbbing muscle spasms the likes of which would have brought me to the ground on any other day that I was not running a race.  I learned a little about my self today. It's possible I could have hydrated a little more the day before and the morning of and avoided some of these problems.  It's also possible that this pace was just too much for me with the humidity such that it was.  I ran the Rt. 66 faster in windier and hillier conditions, but in November the humidity was a non-factor.  It's also possible I just missed one or two too many crucial runs this cycle.  I was sick twice and missed a long run when we moved. Life is always going to happen so I'm not going to make excuses, but I think there may have been a few too many interruptions this cycle.  I also felt like I never fully recovered from my 20 mile long, hard run the day after my half marathon.  That in hind sight is something I would have done differently if given the chance.

In the end I finished my third marathon in what I'm going to look at as a respectable time all things considered.