5 Days 'till My First 50

The prep work is largely complete.

Somehow, barring a stray sniper clipping me on my last short run on Wednesday, I made it through my training plan with no significant injuries.

Saturday morning at 7AM I’ll be taking the first step in my first try at a 50-mile Ultra.  According to some who dismissed my 50K as “just a long marathon”, this will be my first foray into ultramarathons.  I’ve never gone beyond 32 miles in a single run before, training or racing.  The great unknown.  Testing my mental and physical boundaries.  I’m really looking forward to this.

I've survived 24 weeks of training specifically targeted for this race.  My underlying training plan was specifically defined for running.  I tried to add in cross-training, including weight training, along the way.  I was able to stick very closely to the plan.  You never know what you’re body is going to feel like on race day, but mentally I feel good about my training:

• 1,055 miles of running
• 297 miles on the bike
• 33 trips to the gym for strength training (mostly upper body and core)

Despite the hurricane currently wreaking havoc on the Eastern U.S., the forecast for Saturday looks good.  Lows in the 30s, highs in the upper 50s, and sunshine.  I know better than put too much stock in extended forecasts, but I’m hoping this forecast holds up.  Mostly just hoping the rain stays away.

I’ve got my race day strategy figured out, and have a loose plan for nutrition and hydration.  Past races have taught me that I have a tendency to overhydrate and over-carb (gels, chomps, etc.) on race day, so I’m taking the less-is-more approach here that worked well in my recent marathon.

My biggest focus this week, aside from packing properly, is getting sleep.  I can’t fix my poor job of getting sleep over the last few months, but I can get myself to bed early and sleep as late as the taper allows this week, so I’m feeling well-rested on race day.

One key decision still remains open …. the official post-race celebratory craft beer.  These races serve as an excuse to overspend on an unusual craft-brewed Stout, so I have to choose wisely.  If that’s the biggest worry on my mind right now, then I know I’m feeling confident.

Bring on the Fiddy.

Freedom's Run Marathon Recap

Cold and Hilly.

Great race, beautiful setting, great experience, but if I were to sum up the 2012 Freedom’s Run marathon in two words they would be cold and hilly.  I was expecting the hilly, but wasn’t expecting or prepared for the cold.

It's slightly misleading to call this a 'race' recap, since I didn't really race this one.  My plan was to test out my 25-minute-run/5-minute-walk strategy that I’ll be using in a couple weeks in my ultra, and I mostly stuck to the plan.  My only deviation was that I ran for the first hour rather than starting with the walking at the 25 minute mark because I was so cold I needed to keep running to try and get some warmth going.  It wasn't exceptionally cold at the start, 33 degrees, but I didn't pack for the cold, and was at the start 1.5 hours early, so by the time things got going I was nice and chilly.

If you’re thinking of doing this race, it’s really two races.  The first half of the race is primarily on the C&O canal, and feels like you’re running on a treadmill with trees on your right, and the Potomac River on your left.  Scenic, but fairly redundant and not terribly interesting.  The second half of the race, however, is where the scenery and the hills kick in.  The run through Antietam battlefield is really amazing.  They've obviously gone out of their way to keep the land looking much like it must have looked when the battles raged, and it’s very sobering.  There’s not a great deal of spectator support for this one, but the few that were there were very enthusiastic, and much appreciated.  I’d definitely recommend this race, and will consider possibly doing this one again in the future.

I basically stuck to my plan and made this a change-of-scenery training run, and a dress-rehearsal for the 50-miler that’s now less than 2 weeks away.  I ran much faster than I wanted to, and faster than I should have, and ended up finishing in 4:04.  My legs felt very good after the race, and even after getting in my car and making the 7-hour drive home my legs still felt pretty good.  Good enough to go out for a 12-mile recovery run 10 hours after arriving home.  Considering that my first 3 marathons landed me in physical therapy and caused weeks of downtime before I was running again, I’m very happy with a 17-hour turnaround for a return to training.

Saturday was my last 20+ mile training run, and now I taper for 2 weeks before heading to Nashville to see what the world beyond 31 miles holds for me.  I feel well prepared and I’m really looking forward to giving it a go, but I’m definitely anxious to see what happens when I get out beyond 50K.

I’ll be sure to pack lots of warm clothes for this one.

Long Lost Blogger

Once upon a time I blogged on a regular basis.

In many of those posts I made mention of having a few too many things going at once, and not getting enough sleep.  It dawned on me that writing and reading blog posts was one more thing I was trying to wedge into the day, often late at night when I should be sleeping and recovering from the early-morning workouts.  So …. the blog got pushed well down into the depths of the to-do list, and suddenly two months had passed.

Some quick updates since last I felt bloggish:

• My wife and two partners opened a tennis shop, and things are going really, really well.  Steep learning curve in the world of retail, but every day brings a new lesson, and learning is never a bad thing

• Ultra training has been going very well, and I’ve been able to avoid any issues beyond the usual aches and pains that seem to come with running in your 5^th decade.  I’ve dialed the biking way back and focused on quality running.  260 miles in August, 265 miles in September.  Really enjoyed the warm weather, and not looking forward to icy morning runs in the months ahead.

• In the category of “hasn’t quite registered yet”,  I signed up for the inaugural Ironman 70.3 in Raleigh coming in June of 2013.  I’ve been toying with the inevitable move to triathlons, and since this one starts about 15 minutes from my house, it seemed like destiny.  Guess I’ll have to get back into the pool once I’m through my upcoming races.  Damn pool.

• In three days I’m driving up to Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia to run the Freedom’s Run marathon.  My training plan called for a 25 mile run, so I figured I’d add an extra mile and have some fun with a race.  Treating it as a ‘dress rehearsal’ for my upcoming ultra, using my run/walk approach.  Hopefully my legs will bounce back quickly so I can wrap up the rest of my training.

• Three weeks after the Freedom’s Run I’m off to Nashville for my first attempt at a 50-miler.  I’m feeling good about my training, but don’t really know what to expect beyond 31 miles, which is the farthest I’ve run in a race or training.  Should be interesting.  I’m really looking forward to it.

I’ve got lots of blog reading to catch up on, but (hopefully) not at the expense of sleep.  Damn sleep.

But I Would Run 1,000 miles and I Would Run 1,000 More ...

Apologies to The Proclaimers for hijacking their lyrics.

I am a numbers junkie.  I work with metrics all day long at work, attend Business Intelligence conferences, and generally just swim in a pool of statistics all day.  That bleeds over into my non-work life as well, where I love to crunch numbers and maintain spreadsheets and pivot tables for all kinds of things, many of which have no business being in a spreadsheet.  My trusty Garmin has enabled my numbers addiction in many wonderful ways.  At the heart of all that data, however, is the key question of how many miles have I run.

As of yesterday morning’s run I crossed over 1,000 miles run for 2012.  It sounds like a big number, and many days feels like a big number, but taken in isolation it’s not particularly significant.  However, when I look at that number relative to last year, it starts to tell a story.  Part of what drives me with running is trying to get better.  Not trying to win races or any crazy lofty goals, just pushing myself to get better in terms of the quantity and quality of my training, and hopefully my performance when race days come along.

When I finished my run yesterday I was at 1,004.3 miles of running for 2012 spread across 113 runs.  On this same date last year I had run 585.87 miles spread across 116 runs.  Basically the increase is a combination of a more strenuous training plan, but more importantly, I’ve stayed relatively injury-free this year versus last year, where I started the year with no running and lots of quality time with my PT.  Although I’m sure luck plays some part in staying healthy, I’ve worked very hard to try and learn from my injuries and address the root causes.  At the risk of jinxing myself, it seems to be working fairly well this year.  Knock on all things wood.

Looking back at all of 2011, I ended the year with a grand total of 1020 miles run, so I’ve nearly reached my full-year numbers from last year.  Additionally, this time last year I didn’t even own a bike, versus this year where I’ve logged 582 training miles on the bike.  I think that may be a big reason for my relative health this year.  At least I like to think that to justify the investment I made in the bike.  I thought running was expensive until I started buying bike accessories.  Ouch.

I’m really excited to see how my body responds to the next 3 months of training prior to my first try at a 50-miler.  The long runs are getting plentiful and lengthy, and even the shorter runs are lengths that a couple years ago would have seemed crazy to try and get done before heading to work for the day.

Miles to go before I sleep.

July Training Recap - Strong in the Saddle

July was a good training month.

According to my trusty training spreadsheet I ran the most miles I’ve ever run in a month, 192.34 miles, and came through relatively healthy.  I also logged the highest weekly total I’ve ever run, 58.63 miles, and the numbers only get bigger from here per the ultra plan I’m following.  My legs seem to be adjusting fairly well to the increased workload.  Still not getting enough sleep.  Broken record on that one.

The more interesting stat in July is my mileage on the bike.  I’ve generally substituted my Sunday recovery run with a relatively long ride on the bike, and I’m really enjoying the time in the saddle.  I think I like the speed a bit too much.  Hopefully that doesn’t end up getting me hurt in new and even more spectacular ways than running ever offered.  Although I only got in 5 rides in July, I managed 193.06 total miles, with a longest ride of 53.55 miles.  I think the biking is helping the running, and the running is helping the biking.  At the very least it’s giving my feet a break on Sundays and keeping the pounding in check.

Here’s the recap for July:

Running:  18 runs, 192.34 miles

Biking:  5 rides, 193.06 miles

Lifting:  8 trips to the gym

Sadly, zero times in the pool.  I’m planning to get there eventually this summer, but for now the running and biking are working for me, so they’re winning out when I need to decide what to do.

This Saturday I have a 24-mile long run on the plan, which will be the longest training run I’ve ever done.  Planning to try the 25 minutes running / 5 minutes walking approach which I need to adopt as part of my Ultra strategy.  Will also walk any major hills.  Still trying to get over the mental hurdle of feeling like I need to be running all the time.  We’ll see how it goes.

5K In Less Than 20

Raced my second 5K on Saturday morning.  My only goal for the run was to try and go under 20 minutes.  I didn’t go in with a particular strategy, other than trying to keep all my splits under 6:26.  Unlike most everything else, I tried not to overthink this.  Run fast, try not to puke.

The race itself is an interesting affair.  They are in the process of building a toll road through our town, which is being opened in phases.  Just prior to opening a section last year they ran a 5k on the road, with profits going to MADD.  This year they did the same thing, only they ran in the new section set to open next week.  So, although this was the second of these events, each one is a once-only race unless you’re planning to play some human Frogger.

The course was a straight line out-and-back with more hills than you’d expect on a highway.  I started out with a group of 6, and slowly folks started dropping back until there were 3 of us around the turnaround, when technically I was dropping back as well.  The first mile felt good, but I went out a little too fast.  The second mile was tough, but it was cool to make the turn and be running the opposite direction of the whole field, who were all very supportive and cheering for the leaders while they were running.  The last 1.1 miles was pretty tough, and I was tasting my granola bar for the last half-mile or so, but I managed to keep all my food where it belonged. 

Net result - 19:40:

3rd overall of 375, 1st in age group.  Here are the splits:

Got a nice hockey-puck/paperweight/boat-anchor for finishing first in my age group:

I really enjoyed the race, and like the all-out racing aspect of a 5k, but I’m still more interested in the longer distances and testing my mind as well as my legs.  I might throw in a 5K now and then just to mix things up, but I don’t think I’ll make a habit of these.  I guess my next goal would be to run one with an average pace below 6:00, but that will take some serious speedwork, which isn’t part of my Ultra training plan.  Maybe next Spring.

After the 5K on Saturday I drove directly to a local trail and did another 16 miles with a friend  to hit my training target for the day.  The long run was ugly.  The race took a lot more out of me than I thought, and it was hot and humid by the time we started the long run.  Just more confirmation that early-morning running is my friend.  Also, woke up all kinds of sore in my quads and calves Sunday morning, which I think is a result of the sprinting rather than the distance running.  Good sore, but sore nonetheless.

Back in Track

Made a rare appearance at an actual track this morning for my training run.  The group that I ran a relay with back in the Spring does a regular track interval workout on Wednesday mornings, and for the first time this morning I didn't have some sort of conflict and was able to join them.  I'm running my second 5k this Saturday, and I'd like to try and go sub 20-minutes, but haven't been doing speedwork as part of my Ultra training and didn't really have a feel for my potential to blow-up if I tried to go out fast.

The results were moderately encouraging.  The workout was a 1-mile warmup, 10x400m intervals with 200m recovery between, and 1-mile cooldown.  I generally felt good throughout, and was able to do the last 2 400s at sub 6-min-mile pace, which is really pushing it for me.  Here's the data:

So .... in terms of the 5k this weekend, I'm confident enough to roll the dice and shoot for a 6:15/mile or faster pace, still with the real possibility of a spectacular flameout at the end.  That's part of the fun of a 5k though, right?