White Rock Marathon Report No. 2: the other stuff

I thought I'd write a second entry about my first marathon to make a record of some of the details I'd like to remember for future reference.

Weather:
38-40 degrees and raining, light winds.

Clothing:
Asics 2160s, long-sleeve tech shirt, long compression pants, shorts over the pants, and a nylon running jacket over the shirt. Gloves and a poly hat. This worked well for keeping a comfortable temperature, although not really much rain protection.

Hydration/Nutrition:
Increased my carb and salt intake for about 3-4 days before the race. Cut off caffeine by noon the day before.
Morning of, I had about 12 oz of gatorade G2 about 2hr before the race, then about 6oz of Gatorade G1 about 20min before the race. This was too much for these weather conditions.
During the race I carried 5 Gu's, no fluids. I hit most water stations for about 2-4 oz of water. About every other water station I would mix some gatorade with my water to make sure I was getting enough sodium. I ate the Gu's roughly at miles. 4.5, 9, 14, 18, and 22. I think that was about right.

Pacing:
Without any good way of tracking my pace, I ran by feel. I knew about the effort level I could maintain for 18-20mi from past training runs. I kept it easier than that, which worked. I have no idea what my splits were, it would be great to know. Can't wait to get my Garmin fixed.

White Rock Marathon Race Report

It's hard to gather my thoughts and write something concise and cohesive about my experience of running my first marathon, but here goes my best try at it.

I guess the easiest way to approach this is to write about it as things unfolded.

Weeks Before

As I wrote in my last entry, the weeks leading up to my marathon were pretty challenging, to say the least. Not just because my training schedule had insane-sounding things on it like "8mi pace run" and "20mi long run," but also because I was dealing with what seemed like one injury after another. If it wasn't my ankle, it was my hamstring or my knee. I missed several runs trying to get healthy, and the combination of lingering injuries and missed training runs really zapped my confidence. During that time, there were several times when I thought the marathon may not happen. 

Marathon Week

Then marathon week arrived. The reduced running of my tapering period seemed to help with my injuries, so I was starting to feel more optimistic. But my optimism was dampened by the weather reports that began to appear during the days leading up to my marathon. Predicted temperatures bounced around between mid-30's and low 40's, and rain seemed imminent. I was okay with the cold, but mixing that with rain brought feelings of dread that got me back to doubting whether I really wanted to go through with this. I hadn't trained in those conditions, how would I handle being exposed to the combination of cold and rain for 4, 5, 6 hours? How do you dress for that? 

Oh, and also my Garmin died. Really bad news. The battery just would not charge at all. I didn't have time to get it repaired, or money to replace it, so I would just have to live without it. Not good, really not good. I'd been running with my Garmin for a year and a half, and missed not having the feedback on my distance and pace. I substituted my iphone for the Garmin, using the Runmeter app. It's okay, but not as convenient as my Garmin.

The Day Before

By Saturday (the day before the marathon), I had decided I would just roll with whatever weather came. I would trust my training and take comfort in the fact that I would be out there with thousands of others going through the same things. I knew this was also a well-run race, and I wouldn't be far from help if I needed it. So I headed out to the expo to pick up my race packet. I had a great time. By the end of the expo, I was ready to run! There's something about being at a big race expo that really gets me excited about running. But I decided not to stay too long; being on my feet wondering around an expo for hours seemed like it may not be the best idea the day before my marathon. So I went home and spent the rest of the day relaxing. I watched "Spirit of the Marathon" and "UltraMarathon Man" to get some extra motivation.

Marathon Day!

Rain, about 40 degrees. And it was only supposed to get colder and wetter as the morning went on. :/

Not good, but I knew it was coming and I was mentally prepared for it. Time to reach back to my Army days. As we used to say, time to suck it up and drive on.

I had set everything out the night before, and had just enough time to get dressed and get out the door. I do this on purpose, so that I don't have time to think too much about the race. Idle time on race morning usually isn't the best thing for my mental state. 

By 5:20am I was out the door and heading to pick up a friend. We rode over and met up with some other runners, and we all rode together to the race. Traffic was pretty bad close to the race, but we all managed to get to the starting line about 15min prior to gun time. I spent that time chatting with some other runners nearby. Before I knew it, there were fireworks and then we were off.

As I mentioned above, I didn't have my Garmin, so I was trying to use my Runmeter on my iphone. But I gave up on it about a 1/4 mile into the race for a couple of reasons. First, I wasn't getting a good gps signal in the downtown area where we were running. Second, it was raining, and I was concerned about using my iphone out in the rain, even though I had it in a zip-lock bag. Third, it's impossible to operate my iphone with my gloves on, and it wasn't easy to pull my glove on and off to work my iphone. So I decided I was just going to have to run by "feel" and live without the distance info. Because of this, I would later realize that I had erred too far on the side of slowing my pace. I tried to keep my pace slow, knowing from past experience that I tend to go too fast, especially at the start of a race. What feels like a 10min/mi pace during training becomes a 9:30min/mi pace on race day. So I made a conscious decision to hold back.

Speaking of holding back, I had to make a port-o-potty stop as soon as the race started. They had them at every water station, about every 1.5mi. When I got to the first one, the lines were pretty long, so I decided to wait until the next one. But apparently alot of people had the same idea, because when I got to the next water station the lines were long there too. I had no choice, I would have to stop and wait. I think I lost about 5-10min waiting in line.

Finally, after getting through the line, I hit the road and got going. The next several miles went by pretty fast and easily. The only down side was the constant rain that left alot of water running on the roads. By about mile 5 or 6 I was pretty much drenched, the water was completely soaked through my clothes, hat, gloves, shoes, etc. Every time I hit water deeper than the sole of my shoe I felt icy water on my toes! Also, during this time I generally had no idea how far I had run. Either the miles weren't marked or I kept missing the mile markers. I knew where the 8mi point was from running this same portion of the course last year while running the half marathon. So I knew I was still somewhere between miles 3 and 8. I also had to make another port-o-potty stop, and wait in another long line for it. Lost another 5-10min there. I guess I over-hydrated for the cold, damp conditions.

Finally I got to the 8mi spot, which was nice because for the first time I felt like I had my bearings. Still no idea how fast or slow I was going. It was around this time that I saw a guy running barefoot. Okay, I'm not into the minimalist thing, but to each his own. However, in that weather, I really think that foot-wear of some kind is really needed. This guys feet were beet red. I asked how he was doing, and he told me that his feet were numb. Well, it was near freezing and raining outside. He was running the half, so I guess at least he was almost done.

Around mile 9 we split off from the half-marathoners. Around this point we got a break from the rain, which was nice. I spent some time wringing out my gloves and hat while I ran. That was a nice lift, although I was still feeling pretty good. 

The first kind of low point in the race came around mile 11. If you've run White Rock Marathon, then you know that this is the point where you arrive at White Rock Lake. You then do a 10mi lap around the lake. Coming up to the lake you run through a sort of wooded area where the course dips then you have a small incline and at the crest the lake appears before you. The whole lake. The one you have to run all the way around. And at the moment I arrived at this point, it looked like I had to lap the Pacific Ocean. Sigh.

Oh, and the rain started again. Sigh.

Then I arrived at the half-way point, mile 13.1. Should that be a time to celebrate? I didn't feel like celebrating, as I looked across the lake and, in the far distance, saw runners on the other side of the lake. I had a long way to go, and it was getting to me. 

I focused on a bridge at the far side of the lake, sort of the half-way point of the lap around the lake. I would run to that bridge, and think about nothing else. And before I knew it, I was crossing the bridge and heading back along the other side of the lake. One good thing was I finally started seeing mile markers, so I was able to keep track of where I was at. I was finally at the bridge. I think it was around mile 17.

The next few miles I decided to listen to some music. A couple of songs got me through those tough miles from 17 to 21 as I finished my way around the lake. The first song was "Against the Wind" by Bob Seger. I just listened to it over and over, and it really helped me relax and settle into a nice run. It was so helpful to take my mind off of all of the miles that I still had ahead of me. The second song was "He Reigns" by News Boys. I listened to this song several times, probably from about mile 19 to mile 22. It reminded me of how powerful God is and how He can give me strength to get through so many things in life, including the miles ahead. 

Around mile 21 I was finally finished with the lap around the lake, and heading into the infamous incline towards mile 22. I really didn't think it was too bad, I was just grateful to be finished with the lap around the lake, and really happy to be in the final stretch of the race. By mile 22 I was cresting the hill and feeling amazing. I think at this point it really started to sink in that I was going to finish this thing. Doubt was fading. The end was less than 5 miles away! No way I would quit now. 

I was starting to feel some pain in my legs and some tightness in my hips. It felt kind of like my hydration belt had slipped down around my hips, but it hadn't. It was a strange feeling. I tried taking walking breaks a couple of times, but it was more comfortable to run than walk. If I walked, I felt the cold more and my legs started to tighten up. So I just kept running, ticking off the miles. Mile 23....mile 24.....mile 25.....

At mile 25, the first tears of joy welled in my eyes. I pulled out my phone and sent my wife, Melody, a simple text: mile 25 :) 

It was around mile 25.5, with less than a mile to go, that I passed an old man on the side of the road who looked like he could have been a runner too. He smiled at me and told me to enjoy it while it lasted, it was almost over.  My emotions really surprised me at this point. I was completing a goal I'd dreamed of for many years, and that until recently I never thought I would ever accomplish. It was overwhelming. 

Mile 26. The finish line was ahead, and I saw my wife, Melody, and my Mom cheering for me as I approached the finish. Yes, I shed a few tears. I couldn't help it, I was completely overwhelmed by the thrill of finishing a marathon. Crossing the finish line was a moment I hope I never forget. Suddenly all those months of training, long runs, lost sleep to get up early to run, it was all 100% worth it. I was cold, I was completely soaked, I was exhausted. And I was now a marathoner.

The lows of marathon training and some lessons learned (Weeks 26 through 30)

Image via Wikipedia

I've been neglecting my blog the past few weeks, so I'll try to summarize the last few weeks leading up
to my first marathon. My excuse is that the weeks leading up to my marathon didn't go very well, and it's hard for me to get motivated to write these entries when things aren't going well.

Later I'll write another entry to summarize my first marathon experience. But in case you're wondering, despite the challenges I faced in November, I am proud to report that I did run and finish my first marathon yesterday!

Weeks 26-30

As I mentioned above, the last few weeks leading up to my marathon were a real drag. It seemed like it was either pain in my ankle/foot, or pain in my hamstring, or both. At times the pain was so severe that I could barely walk, much less run. And missing runs so late in the training schedule is really discouraging. There were many times when I doubted whether I would be able to complete the training and actually run the marathon.

I missed several runs during this period of time, especially during weeks 26 and 27. I'm taking the time to write out my workout summaries for weeks 26 through 30 below, mainly because I want to encourage others who are going through a similar experience to not give up. The message here is that even though I was dealing with injuries in the last few weeks leading up to my marathon, and even though those injuries forced me to miss several runs, I was still able to run my marathon and finish it. I didn't perform as well as I hoped, but I adjusted my expectations and still hit my primary goal, which was to finish a marathon.

So with all that being said, here's what weeks 26 through 30 looked like. The planned workouts are in parenthesis, followed by what I actually did:

Week 26:
Mon: (rest) rested
Tues: (5mi run) did some cycling
Wed: (8mi run) rested
Thu: (5mi run) did a 5.3 mi run
Fri: (rest) rested
Sat: (12mi run) did some cycling
Sun: (cross training) rested

Week 27:
Mon: (rest) rested
Tues: (5mi run) did a 5 mi run
Wed: (5mi pace run) rested
Thu: (5mi run) did a 5.2 mi run
Fri: (rest) rested
Sat: (20mi run) did a 18.1 mi run*
Sun: (cross training) rested

Week 28:
Mon: (rest) rested
Tues: (5mi run) did a 5 mi run
Wed: (4mi pace run) did a 4 mi run
Thu: (5mi run) did a 5 mi run
Fri: (rest) rested
Sat: (12mi run) did a 12 mi run
Sun: (cross training) did some cycling

Week 29:
Mon: (rest) rested
Tues: (4mi run) did a 4 mi run
Wed: (3mi run) did a 3 mi run
Thu: (4mi run) did a 3 mi run
Fri: (rest) rested
Sat: (8mi run) did a 8 mi run
Sun: (cross training) rested

Week 30:
Mon: (rest) rested
Tues: (3mi run) did a 3 mi run
Wed: (2mi run) rested
Thu: (rest) rested
Fri: (rest) did a 2 mi run
Sat: (2mi run) rested
Sun: (MARATHON) Ran 26.2 miles!

* That's right - I didn't do a 20mi run. But this wasn't because I planned it this way. I had planned to run 7mi on my own, then jump in and run a half marathon. But I found out after the race that there was a problem with the course, and it was actually about 2mi short. So my planned 20mi run was actually only about an 18.1mi run.

Some Lessons Learned

So even though these were challenging weeks, I did learn alot about dealing with injuries. Here are a few things I learned, just off the top of my head:

1. Don't be afraid to replace a run with rest or cross-training if you're injured. I think there were times when I tried to run through an injury and just prolonged it. Things didn't start to improve until I started to rest or replace runs with cycling, which didn't irritate my ankle or hamstring. And, yes, you can miss runs and still finish your marathon!

2. Use a foam roller. They really do work. I dealt with hamstring pain for weeks before finally trying a foam roller. Two painful sessions later, my hamstring finally stopped bothering me.

3. Ice/Heat/Repeat. This is what worked for me, but there seems to be conflicting info on this subject so I'll just say "consult your physician." But I would ice my ankle/hamstring immediately after workouts, but use a heating pad on rest days.

4. Avoid caffeine before and during runs because it causes cramping in my tendons. For weeks I dealt with intermittent cramping in various tendons around my knees and ankles. One week it would be severe, another week it would be non-existent. Then I realized that the cramping only occurred when I ate gels containing caffeine. No caffeine, no cramping. I do, however, drink coffee and diet sodas when I'm not running and have no problems.

5. Sports drinks are good; gels are good; but sports drinks and gels together are bad. So if I want to eat gels during a run, I drink water or nuun. No gels? Then I drink a sports drink.

So that's it for now. Next up is the good news - my race report for my first marathon!

Marathon Training - Week 26 of 30

Image by World of Good via Flickr

I'm training for my first marathon, which will be the White Rock Marathon in Dallas on December 4, 2011. My training week runs from Monday to Sunday. Today is Monday, which means the beginning of a new training week!


Week 25 Review:

• Monday: Schedule rest - completed
• Tuesday: 5mi run - replaced with a short bike ride
• Wednesday: 8mi pace run - skipped
• Thursday: 5mi run - did 1hr cycling instead
• Friday: Scheduled rest - completed
• Saturday: 19mi long run - completed
• Sunday: Cross-training - more cycling

Last week was all about trying to get my left foot healed so I could at least do the 19mi long run. So I did a couple of bike rides, then did my 19 mile run on Saturday. The run was both comfortable and hard if that makes sense. My left foot started hurting early on, and the pain would come and go. I guess without realizing it I started relying mostly on my right leg to compensate. By about 13 miles into the run, my left hamstring really started to cramp up and ache, which really slowed me down. It got so bad by about mile 15 that I finally had to take a break. So I walked for a solid 4 or 5 minutes and did some stretching to try to get it to loosen up. By mile 18, I guess the adrenaline finally kicked in because I knew I was almost done. I kicked pretty hard that last mile, but as soon as I crossed the finish line and slowed down my right leg started to really hurt. Lucky for me there were free massages at the finish line. I was told that I needed alot of work (no, really?). So, on the bright side, I really felt fine other than the leg and foot injuries. If I was fully healed up, I think the 19mi run would have been no problem.

Oh, and here's something - I scored my first ever first place finish* on Saturday:

* Okay, so I was the only one in my age group. I'll take it.

Now, a couple of days later, my hamstring feels fine, but my left foot pain continues to bother me. Looks like more resting/icing in my future.

Week 26
(week 14 of Hal Higdon's Novice 2 program)

This is a step-back week according to the schedule. What it really will be is a try-to-get-healed week. I plan to replace my runs with bike rides at least on Tues-Wed-Thu. We'll see how I feel on Saturday. I may ride instead of run on that day too. I really need to get serious about getting my foot healed, and the sooner the better. I don't want to try to run 26.2 on my foot the way it is now.

Okay, so in summary, here's what's on this week's schedule:

• Monday: Schedule rest
• Tuesday: 5mi run (to be replaced with 1hr cycling)
• Wednesday: 8mi run (to be replaced with 1.5hr cycling)
• Thursday: 5mi run (to be replaced with 1hr cycling)
• Friday: Scheduled rest
• Saturday: 12mi long run (or a couple of hours of cycling)
• Sunday: Cross-training

Good thing I got a new saddle for my bike.

Have a great week!

Improvements

My left foot has been feeling better the past couple of days, so time to get back on track! Altogether I missed three training runs this week, but I did get in a couple of bike rides. Tomorrow I've got a 19 mile run on the schedule. I'm registered to run in a half marathon in Cleburne (boorun.org). My plan is to arrive early and do 6 mi on my own before the race, then do the half to get to 19. The weather is looking great for tomorrow morning - sunny and about 45 degrees. Should be a good time!

Sidelined...continued

As of this morning I've missed three runs this week. But I did do some cycling last night and Monday night, so I haven't been completely inactive. The good news is that my sore foot seems to be responding to all of this extra rest, so I'm feeling optimistic that I'll be back to running form by Saturday.

Staying optimistic.

Sidelined...

The pain on the outside of my left foot started Sunday afternoon. Three days later I've missed two of the four runs on my training schedule this week.

Lile most runners, I'm no stranger to running through minor aches and pains. I think it goes with the territory, especially when you're a 40 year old recovering couch potato like me.

But something about the pain is different this time, and my gut is telling me that I better rest it.

The location of the pain has me a bit concerned that it could possibly be a stress fracture, but I'm hoping it's just the tendons. There's no bruising or swelling. And after I've been off my feet for a while the pain is gone. But after several minutes of walking the pain returns and quickly escalates.

I'm trying to stay positive and convince myself that it's improved since Sunday. And maybe it has. My goal at this point is to at least be ready to run the half I'm signed up for on Saturday.

Marathon Training - Week 25 of 30

Image by Lincolnian (Brian) via Flickr

I'm training for my first marathon, which will be the White Rock Marathon in Dallas on December 4, 2011. My training week runs from Monday to Sunday. Today is Monday, which means the beginning of a new training week!


Week 24 Review:

• Monday: Schedule rest - completed
• Tuesday: 5mi run - completed
• Wednesday: 8mi pace run - completed
• Thursday: 5mi run - completed
• Friday: Scheduled rest - completed
• Saturday: 13.1 Dallas Half Marathon - completed
• Sunday: Cross-training - skipped

The highlights of last week were the 8mi pace run on Wednesday and the half marathon on Saturday. The 8mi pace run went well. It was the last one on my training schedule, so I really wanted to give it my best effort.

The half marathon on Saturday went pretty well also. Most of the race I was torn between pushing my pace and holding back because it was supposed to be a training run, not a race. I was actually on pace to match my PR for about the first 8 miles. I started feeling fatigue set in and started slowing down around mile 9 or 10. Then around mile 11 I started getting more tightness in my patellar tendons. It's pretty painful when it happens, but fortunately I can make it go away if I just stop and stretch. I had to do that about three or four times the last few miles, which really killed my momentum and my pace. The result was a 2:14:27, about 14 or 15 seconds slower than the half I ran last December. I'm okay with that, because I know that I was much more rested for that run (plus it was about 30 degrees colder that day!).

On Sunday afternoon while mowing my yard my left foot/ankle started hurting. It was so bad that I could barely walk on it. It's a hard pain to locate - sort of stretches along the outside of my left foot up over my ankle bone. I decided to rest instead of doing my cycling. I'm hoping this is a very temporary pain and it goes away soon. This isn't what I need with a 19mi run coming up.

Week 25
(week 13 of Hal Higdon's Novice 2 program)

Wow, week 25 of 30. It's really starting to feel close now.

This week is a bit off. I'm supposed to do three 5mi runs and a 19mi long run. One of the 5mi runs will be skipped due to the left foot/ankle pain. Hopefully I'll be good to go for the other two. My main goal is to be 100% for the long run on Saturday, which is the most important run on my schedule this week.

Speaking of the 19mi run, I decided to make it fun by doing another half marathon this Saturday. My plan is to show up early and do 6mi on my own before the race. Then my final 13mi will be the half marathon. It will be nice having aid stations and lots of other runners to keep me company for those last 13 miles. Plus I get another medal!

Okay, so in summary, here's what's on this week's schedule:

• Monday: Schedule rest
• Tuesday: 5mi run (I'll most likely skip)
• Wednesday: 5mi pace run (probably make this an easy pace instead of race pace)
• Thursday: 5mi run
• Friday: Scheduled rest
• Saturday: 19mi long run (the combined 6mi run and half marathon)
• Sunday: Cross-training

Have a great week!

Marathon Training - Week 24 of 30

Image by castle79 via Flickr

I'm training for my first marathon, which will be the White Rock Marathon in Dallas on December 4, 2011. My training week runs from Monday to Sunday. Tomorrow is Monday, which means the beginning of a new training week!


Week 23 Review:

• Monday: Schedule rest - completed
• Tuesday: 5mi run - completed
• Wednesday: 8mi run - completed
• Thursday: 5mi run - missed
• Friday: Scheduled rest - completed
• Saturday: 18mi long run - completed
• Sunday: Cross-training - 1hr cycling

What a week last week. I was fighting a cold all week that had my energy level much lower than usual. I also continued to have some lingering pain in my right ankle. The ankle pain was the main reason for skipping Thursday's run. Missing Saturday's 18mi run would have been a much bigger deal than missing Thursday's 5 miler, so I decided to give my ankle an extra day of rest on Thursday so that I could (hopefully) be ready for Saturday's long run.

By Saturday morning my ankle was still a bit sore, but not too bad. The 18mi run was yet another distance PR. And it was also yet another really challenging run. I seem to really be struggling once I hit about 15.5 or 16 miles. It's about that point where my mid section starts to hurt. I'm not sure what to think about that. It's happened two weeks in a row now. My best guess is that it might have something to do with my gatorade/gel consumption, so I'm just going to continue to try to adjust it a bit and see if it helps. I may need to mix more straight water in with the gatorade. Not sure at this point.

This week I also experienced some familiar tightness in my patellar tendons. I had the same issues with my patellar tendons last year while training for my first half - it would usually happen during long runs of 8 miles or more, which were new distances for me. I learned I could just stop and stretch them and the pain would immediately go away. So I had to do that at least a few times from mile 15 to the end of the run. If things go like last year, then the patellar tendon issues will go away as I get more experience at these longer distances.

So, overall I think it was a pretty good week despite some health issues that threw me a curve ball or two. It sure feels good to have completed my first 18 mile run.

Okay, enough about last week.

Week 24
(week 12 of Hal Higdon's Novice 2 program)

I finally get to do a race this week! This Saturday I'm running 13.1 Dallas as my 13 mile training run. I haven't raced since June, so I can't wait for Saturday. Even though I'm treating this as a training run rather than a race, it will still be great to be out and running in a race event.

So this week is a step-back week, as I get a break from the 15+ mile long runs this week. I never thought I'd look at a 13 mile run as a break, but that's what it is at this point. I also have my last 8mi pace run of the training schedule this week. After this week, wednesdays start to taper.

In summary, here's what's on this week's schedule:

• Monday: Schedule rest
• Tuesday: 5mi run
• Wednesday: 8mi pace run
• Thursday: 5mi run
• Friday: Scheduled rest
• Saturday: 13.1 Dallas half marathon
• Sunday: Cross-training

Have a great week!

Marathon Training - Week 23 of 30

Image by Leo Reynolds via Flickr

I'm training for my first marathon, which will be the White Rock Marathon in Dallas on December 4, 2011. My training week runs from Monday to Sunday. Today is Monday, which means the beginning of a new training week!


Week 22 Review:

• Monday: Schedule rest - completed
• Tuesday: 4mi run - completed
• Wednesday: 8mi pace run - completed
• Thursday: 4mi run - completed
• Friday: Scheduled rest - completed
• Saturday: 17mi long run - completed
• Sunday: Cross-training - skipped

Okay, last week was pretty tough. I thought the 8mi pace run was pretty challenging, and the 17mi long run was very challenging.

The 17mi run was a distance PR by 1.5 miles, and time-wise it was my longest run by about half an hour. I wish I could say that I flew through it and felt great. But...

I felt tired right from the start of that run. I think I'm fighting a cold that has had my energy level lower than usual. Also, the weather was low-mid 70's, with humidity around 90%. Not exactly ideal running weather for me. Then about 2mi into my run I tripped over some rebar that was sticking out across the sidewalk and cut my right leg in a couple of places. I guess you could say that the run wasn't going so well early on, and never really got much better.

But here's what I learned during the 3 hours of running that followed: Stubbornness and Optimism are essential sometimes. Be too stubborn to quit, and be optimistic that you can finish.

Good or bad, I stuck it out and finished the run. I was surprised to find out later that my average overall pace was 11:21, which is within my long-run pace window (10:30 to 11:30 minutes/mile). I expected it to be alot slower. If it had been 14 minutes per mile, I wouldn't have been surprised. I'm not kidding.

Now that it's behind me, I'm feeling pretty great about it. I feel like I overcame a huge hurdle on my way to my first marathon. If I can run 17 miles, then I can run 20. And if I can run 20, I can run 26.2. Or at least that's what they say, and I'm choosing to believe them (remember - "optimism").

Oh - also still having some mild pain in my right ankle, but better than last week. Decided to skip the cross-training on Sunday again and give it some extra rest.

Okay, enough about last week.

Week 23
(week 11 of Hal Higdon's Novice 2 program)

This week is the second of the peak 6 weeks of my training. This week I say goodbye to 4mi runs for a while. My Tuesday-Thursday runs get bumped up to 5 miles, the peak of this training program.

This Saturday continues the streak of distance PR's, as I go for 18 miles.

In summary, here's what's on this week's schedule:

• Monday: Schedule rest
• Tuesday: 5mi run
• Wednesday: 8mi run
• Thursday: 5mi run
• Friday: Scheduled rest
• Saturday: 18mi long run
• Sunday: Cross-training

Have a great week!

Marathon Training - Week 22 of 30

Image by Leo Reynolds via Flickr

I'm training for my first marathon, which will be the White Rock Marathon in Dallas on December 4, 2011. My training week runs from Monday to Sunday. Tomorrow is Monday, which means the beginning of a new training week!


Week 21 Review:

• Monday: Schedule rest - completed
• Tuesday: 4mi run - completed
• Wednesday: 7mi pace run - completed
• Thursday: 4mi run - completed
• Friday: Scheduled rest - completed
• Saturday: 13mi long run - completed
• Sunday: Cross-training - skipped

Training went pretty well last week. The weather continues to improve. Temps in the mornings are starting to dip into the low 60's, and even into the 50's on Saturday. The only low point this week was some minor ankle pain on Sunday. I decided to rest it and skip the cycling this week.

Saturday's run was meant to be a half marathon. But there was no official half marathon around here, so I just did a 13+ mile run on my own. I am running an official half in a few weeks. Can't wait. One of the challenges of all of this training is that I'm missing out on doing the occasional 5k because I want to stick closely to my training schedule. Maybe I could do one and be okay, but with this being my first marathon, I don't want to call any audibles. I think it's better to play it safe and stick to the schedule. Still, though, I enjoy racing and miss it alot right now. So I can't wait for the half marathon coming up in a few weeks.

The 13 mile run was very comfortable this week. It's amazing how the mind and body gets acclimated to running longer distances. It hasn't been that long since running a half marathon seemed almost impossible.


Week 22
(week 10 of Hal Higdon's Novice 2 program)

This is week 10 of Hal Higdon's Novice 2 program, which is an 18 week training program. So I'm now into the second half of the program.

This week really kicks off the peak 6 weeks of my training. The next six weeks include long runs of 17, 18, 19, and 20 miles. Also, I'll average 33 miles per week over the next six weeks. After that, it's a couple of weeks of tapering and then race day!

My mid-week sorta-long run extends to 8 miles this week, the max mid-week distance on my schedule. Wednesday mornings are getting really early! But I actually only have to do 8mi mid-week runs four times. Not bad. This week my long run will be 17 miles, another distance PR for me.

So, in summary, here's what's on this week's schedule:

• Monday: Schedule rest
• Tuesday: 4mi run
• Wednesday: 8mi pace run
• Thursday: 4mi run
• Friday: Scheduled rest
• Saturday: 17mi long run
• Sunday: Cross-training

Have a great week!

Marathon Training - Week 21 of 30

I'm training for my first marathon, which will be the White Rock Marathon in Dallas on December 4, 2011. My training week runs from Monday to Sunday. Tomorrow is Monday, which means the beginning of a new training week!



Week 20 Review:

• Monday: Schedule rest - completed
• Tuesday: 4mi run - completed
• Wednesday: 7mi run - completed
• Thursday: 4mi run - completed
• Friday: Scheduled rest - completed
• Saturday: 15mi long run - completed
• Sunday: Cross-training - completed (1hr cycling)

Another great week last week.

The 15mi run on Saturday was another distance PR for me.

The idea of running 14 or 15 miles (or longer) is intimidating, so this week I decided to tailor my long run to include some elements of familiarity and simplicity in order to minimize the intimidating nature of the run. Instead of doing a 15mi loop or a 7.5mi out-and-back, I decided to run a familiar route that could be made into a 5mi loop. A 5mi run isn't nearly as intimidating as a 15mi run. So rather than thinking of it as a 15mi run, I thought of it as doing a 5mi run three times. I think this tactic worked. It helped me to relax and enjoy the run. It was also nice knowing that I was never more than a couple of miles away from my car.

I also started listening to audio books instead of music on my long runs. I can focus on the story (but not so much that I lose track of my surroundings). It's almost like a movie is playing in my head. It's great for helping to pass the time, which is a real challenge when you're going to be running for 2.5 or 3 hours or more.


Week 21
(week 9 of Hal Higdon's Novice 2 program)

This is week 21 of my 30 week training program, which means that I'm now 2/3 of the way to the big day. Just a couple of months to go!

This week is a step-back week, meaning that my Saturday long run is shorter than the past couple of weeks. But it's still 13mi, which is not "short" at all to me. But it is much less intimidating following weeks of 14 and 15 mile runs.

Here's what's on this week's schedule:

• Monday: Schedule rest
• Tuesday: 4mi run
• Wednesday: 7mi pace run
• Thursday: 4mi run
• Friday: Scheduled rest
• Saturday: 13mi long run
• Sunday: Cross-training

Have a great week!

Marathon Training - Week 20 of 30

Image by Leo Reynolds via Flickr

I'm training for my first marathon, which will be the White Rock Marathon in Dallas on December 4, 2011. My training week runs from Monday to Sunday. Today is Monday, which means the beginning of a new training week!



Week 19 Review:

• Monday: Schedule rest - completed
• Tuesday: 4mi run - completed
• Wednesday: 7mi pace run - completed
• Thursday: 4mi run - completed
• Friday: Scheduled rest - completed
• Saturday: 14mi long run - completed
• Sunday: Cross-training - completed (1hr cycling)

Back when I first looked at this training program, the big increase in mileage for this past week really stood out as possibly making this one of the more challenging weeks of the program, and it was challenging for sure. But the bigger the challenge, the better the feeling of accomplishment once the challenge has been met. So it feels good to have last week completed.


And here comes week 20.
(week 8 of Hal Higdon's Novice 2 program)

Another week, another distance PR on the schedule.

Before I get to this week's schedule, here's a great motivational video that a friend posted on Facebook yesterday. It's you vs. you. Each day I have a choice as to whether I'm going to get out and run. Each moment of every run I have a choice as to whether I'm going to take that next step or give up. So much of running is mental. It would be easy to feel tired of training at this point with twenty weeks behind me but still another two and a half months to go. But this video is a good reminder that it's all about making the choice to keep going...because "every one of those moments is a test that you get to take one time, and only one time."


Here's what's on the schedule:

• Monday: Schedule rest
• Tuesday: 4mi run
• Wednesday: 7mi pace run
• Thursday: 4mi run
• Friday: Scheduled rest
• Saturday: 15mi long run
• Sunday: Cross-training

Have a great week!

Marathon Training - Week 19 of 30

I'm training for my first marathon, which will be the White Rock Marathon in Dallas on December 4, 2011. My training week runs from Monday to Sunday. Today is Monday, which means the beginning of a new training week!

First, a quick review of last week (week 18):

• Monday - scheduled rest - completed
• Tuesday - 3 mile run - completed
• Wednesday - 6 mile pace run - completed
• Thursday - 3 mile run - completed
• Friday - scheduled rest - completed
• Saturday - 9 mile run - completed
• Sunday - cross-training - completed
• Total distance run - 21 miles

My bike is in the shop this weekend getting a much-needed full tune-up. So for my cross-training this week I grabbed one of our Jillian Michaels DVD's called "6-Week Six Pack" and gave it a try. It was a great workout. But I can't wait to get my bike back. 
Finally got a break from the heat last week. The temps were mostly in the 60's rather than in the 80's during my runs last week. Wow, what a difference 20 degrees makes. It's like instantly taking 30 seconds off my pace.
Unfortunately, the cool-down last week was just a temporary tease, and the temps start to creep back up this week. But fall will be here soon. Can't wait.
The 9-mile run on Saturday was just great. Sunny, 62-65 degrees, and I felt completely comfortable and strong the whole way, both physically and mentally. It was just one of those really great runs. It's amazing how 9 miles can feel like a short run after having done runs of 10-12 miles. Makes me wonder how my half marathon will feel in October after runs of 14-18 miles. PR? We'll see. 

Now on to this week - Week 19 (Week 7 of Hal Higdon's Novice 2 program):

This is the week where the training really starts to look like a marathon training program. 

My longest run ever was the half marathon I ran last December. I've run that distance just that one time. 

But here's my reality:

• I'll run 13+ miles 8 out of the next 9 Saturdays. 
• And I'll set new distance PR's 6 out of the next 9 Saturdays.

Yes, this is the week where the real marathon training begins. Everything I've done up until now has just been preparation for the next 9 weeks. In a way, it feels like the real marathon is the next 9 weeks of training. Race day is the final exam.


But one week a time, right? So if it wasn't bad enough that I've got a long run this week that will result in a new distance PR for me, my mid-week runs all get extended an extra mile as well. Here's what's on this week's schedule:

• Monday - scheduled rest
• Tuesday - 4 mile run
• Wednesday - 7 mile pace run
• Thursday - 4 mile run
• Friday - scheduled rest
• Saturday - 14 mile run
• Sunday - cross-training
• Total running mileage - 29 miles

Have a great week!

Marathon Training - Week 18 of 30

Image by Kasaa via Flickr

I'm training for my first marathon, which will be the White Rock Marathon in Dallas on December 4, 2011. My training week runs from Monday to Sunday. Today is Monday, which means the beginning of a new training week!

First, a quick review of last week (week 17):

• Monday - scheduled rest - completed
• Tuesday - 3 mile run - completed
• Wednesday - 6 mile run - completed
• Thursday - 3 mile run - completed
• Friday - scheduled rest - completed
• Saturday - 12 mile run - completed
• Sunday - cross-training - 9mi cycling completed
• Total distance run - 24 miles

Another week of temps in the 100's! The highlight of last week's schedule was the 12mi long run. I was a little nervous about running that distance in summer, but it turned out to be a pretty good run. I got an early start, and the temps were in the mid 70's for most of the run. I ran with a friend of mine for miles 6-9, which made that part of the run really fly by. I finished strong, which made me feel like my training is really working. 

Now on to this week - Week 18 (Week 6 of Hal Higdon's Novice 2 program):

I'm catching a break this week. It's another step-back week, so I have a shorter long run. Plus, as an added bonus, there are much cooler temps in the forecast for this week. It should be a great week!

Here's what's on this week's schedule:

• Monday - scheduled rest
• Tuesday - 3 mile run
• Wednesday - 6 mile pace run
• Thursday - 3 mile run
• Friday - scheduled rest
• Saturday - 9 mile run
• Sunday - cross-training
• Total running mileage - 21 miles

Have a great week!

Marathon Training - Week 17 of 30

Image by Leo Reynolds via Flickr

I'm training for my first marathon, which will be the White Rock Marathon in Dallas on December 4, 2011. My training week runs from Monday to Sunday. Today is Monday, which means the beginning of a new training week!

First, a quick review of last week (week 16):

• Monday - scheduled rest - completed
• Tuesday - 3 mile run - completed
• Wednesday - 6 mile pace run - completed
• Thursday - 3 mile run - completed
• Friday - scheduled rest - completed
• Saturday - 11 mile run - completed
• Sunday - cross-training - spent the afternoon at a water park (I still say it counts)
• Total distance run - 23 miles

Whew! Tough week last week, but I got through it. The 6mi pace run and 11mi long run were both challenging additions to last week's schedule. Top that off with continued high temperatures as our local heat wave continues, and it made for a challenging week for sure. 

Now on to this week - Week 17 (Week 5 of Hal Higdon's Novice 2 program):

The 11 mile long run will be short compared to most of the long runs left on the schedule. This week the long run climbs to 12 miles. I have never done a 12mi run. Unless you count the half marathon (13.2mi) that I ran last December. But that was in MUCH cooler temps. No doubt - I'm finally getting to the point where I'm entering some uncharted territory. But I do get a bit of a mid-week break this week, as my Wednesday run this week is an easy run rather than a pace run. 


Here's what's on this week's schedule:

• Monday - scheduled rest
• Tuesday - 3 mile run
• Wednesday - 6 mile run
• Thursday - 3 mile run
• Friday - scheduled rest
• Saturday - 12 mile run
• Sunday - cross-training
• Total running mileage - 24 miles

Have a great week!