4 Days and Counting

The reality of the race is creeping into my semi-conscious. Last night, I had a hard time sleeping because I was thinking about my race strategy. When I finally fell asleep, I dreamed about being in the race! I don't remember exactly since I did not write about it after I woke up, but I have images of running past water stops in my head.

Before I did lose consciousness, I was trying to play out how I would break down the miles. Here's my preliminary game plan:

mile 1 (uphill on the Verazzano Br. - highest elev in race) | 8:30
mile 2 (downhill easy pickup) | 7:15
miles 3 - 6 | 7:25 - 7:30 | consume gel
miles 7 - 10 | 7:25
miles 10 - 13.1 | 7:20 | Consume gel. Body and mental check. Push? Push harder? :-)
miles 13.1 - 20 | 7:20 -7:25
miles 20 - 22.5 | 7:20
mile 22.5 - 23.5 (uphill!) | 7:50
mile 23.5 - finish | 7:00 - 7:20

Those times should bring me roughly at about 3:14:xx, just ahead of 3:15:00 and an official Boston qualifying time.

Besides that, the other thing that kept me up was the growing anxiety. I have not run a real race since my PR in Brooklyn. All signs and training point to a new PR for me, but I still have to execute.

• Do I feel faster? Yes. Speed classes. Have also dropped about 5 lbs training.
  
• Am I ready for the distance? Yes. Avg'd ~200 miles/mo. the last 3 mo's
  
• Do I feel stronger? Yes. Core exercises, calisthenics.
  

Those "yes" answers make me nervous!

Oh yeah, skipped class tonight because of cold and rain, but went for a short 4 miler with bursts.

NYRR Workout - 3 x 1 mile repeats in CP to marathon finish

My main goal for tonight's workout was to get my heart rate up while allowing myself to recover from Sunday's long run. I think the 3 x 1 milers were perfect for allowing me to do that. We started at about 100 St. along Central Park East and made our way to Tavern on the Green, the marathon finish. My legs felt heavy with my warmup jog to the workout so I started each of the miles easy and picked it up the last 600 meters. Surprisingly, I felt fresh during each of the repeats and found the pickups pretty easy. My times were 6:37, 6:01 and 6:11. Needless to say, I was pleased with tonight's results. My HR hit 188 on the last repeat. That was also a nice confidence boost since I did not feel that I exerted that much energy.

Lap

Time

Distance

Avg Pace

Avg Heart Rate

Avg Cadence

Calories

1	00:24:20	2.68 mi	09:04	126 bpm	--	294 C
2	00:18:10	2.28 mi	07:58	130 bpm	--	240 C
3	00:00:25	0.01 mi	31:43	170 bpm	--	4 C
4	00:06:01	0.98 mi	06:07	172 bpm	--	99 C
5	00:01:49	0.15 mi	12:20	143 bpm	--	15 C
6	00:06:11	1.01 mi	06:06	177 bpm	--	103 C
7	00:22:27	2.27 mi	09:52	146 bpm	--	240 C

The next eighteen days are crucial for doing the race in the right mental state. My weekend long runs won't be so long (20 & 13), but my midweek runs will be incorporating speed and strength again. This means intervals and hill repeats.

Marathon Countdown Thoughts

Have too much energy to go to sleep so I've been doing some thinking about my training these past few months. I've devoted the most amount of energy and time training this year compared to all other years. A quick list off the top of my head of what I've done differently this year:

• seven 20+ milers with max 23.57
  
• previous yrs - three 20+ milers max 22
• two 60+ mile weeks
• previous yrs - 0
  
• committed to NYRR weekly speed sessions
• speed and strength training early in the year - Tabata protocol, weights and stretching
  
• committed to setting at least one personal record - achieved @ Brooklyn half with 1:32:09. I feel stronger now than when I set my PR.

Considering the work I've put in, I think it's safe for me to trust my training. But there's a little nagging part of me that's not satisfied. I wish I did not get sick this past week so I could have done more mileage. I wish I had done more races to feel even stronger. My last real long race was the Brooklyn Half - in early May.

Last year, I thought I could run 3:10:xx to qualify for Boston. That was ignorant, arrogant and disrespectful to those who train so hard. I'm trying to avoid that mistake this year. Thank goodness I'm also in a new (wiser!) demographic for an extra five minutes.

I think it's now most important to get my mind straight. I can do the marathon in 3:15:xx, but it will be a hard effort. I've logged ~670 miles since July, so I know my body can take the beating. A 7:27:xx pace for 26.2 miles - yes, more than possible. I think I need to watch Chariots of Fire or something like that to fire me up even more during this countdown period. Boston or die trying!

Last long training run for the year

This was probably one of my more painful long runs for the year. Adding to still being sick, I hit the wall today. Didn't take any gels, relying only on water. I figured an easy pace would make it doable, and for the most part it was.

Below is the breakdown. The first six miles was with Sara. I was lucky enough to find more company with Nicole from approximately miles 11-15. I picked up the pace from miles 18-21, and the rest was a painful cooldown on the way home. It was a solid, final long run given my condition.

Lap

Time

Distance

Avg Speed

Avg Heart Rate

Avg Cadence

Calories

1	00:09:50	1.00 mi	6.1 mph	111 bpm	--	100 C
2	00:10:54	1.00 mi	5.5 mph	121 bpm	--	109 C
3	00:11:19	1.00 mi	5.3 mph	116 bpm	--	104 C
4	00:10:11	1.00 mi	5.9 mph	126 bpm	--	106 C
5	00:09:57	1.00 mi	6.0 mph	127 bpm	--	105 C
6	00:09:33	1.00 mi	6.3 mph	127 bpm	--	108 C
7	00:08:31	1.00 mi	7.0 mph	131 bpm	--	107 C
8	00:08:46	1.00 mi	6.8 mph	137 bpm	--	107 C
9	00:08:37	1.00 mi	7.0 mph	141 bpm	--	105 C
10	00:08:01	1.00 mi	7.5 mph	141 bpm	--	106 C
11	00:08:00	1.00 mi	7.5 mph	151 bpm	--	108 C
12	00:08:14	1.00 mi	7.3 mph	144 bpm	--	105 C
13	00:08:42	1.00 mi	6.9 mph	143 bpm	--	102 C
14	00:08:36	1.00 mi	7.0 mph	142 bpm	--	104 C
15	00:08:34	1.00 mi	7.0 mph	146 bpm	--	106 C
16	00:09:02	1.00 mi	6.6 mph	139 bpm	--	102 C
17	00:11:05	1.00 mi	5.4 mph	129 bpm	--	97 C
18	00:07:51	1.00 mi	7.6 mph	150 bpm	--	104 C
19	00:07:39	1.00 mi	7.8 mph	153 bpm	--	106 C
20	00:07:33	1.00 mi	7.9 mph	166 bpm	--	110 C
21	00:08:30	1.00 mi	7.1 mph	153 bpm	--	103 C
22	00:09:14	1.00 mi	6.5 mph	141 bpm	--	105 C
23	00:10:57	1.00 mi	5.5 mph	136 bpm	--	110 C
24	00:04:48	0.57 mi	7.1 mph	127 bpm	--	58 C

For the most part, I'm proud that mile 20 was my fastest. It was the uphill mile from 110th to 90th. In addition, I'm glad I didn't do the Staten Island Half Marathon today. I don't think I would have been able to keep up a 7:25 pace for the entire race today, and I didn't want to risk anyone getting sick on my account.

For this week, I managed to amble some 55+ miles Well short of the 70 I had hoped, but I did the best I could with a cold. This is the most I think I've trained since I started doing marathons, and I think I can do better next year. See image for my mileage this week.

So now comes the best part of marathon training - the taper. Mileage will reduce drastically from here until marathon day, but training miles will be just a little more intense. Time also to recover from injuries and to sharpen my mental preparation.

Resisting Temptation

This evening's run was an easy stroll around the lower loop with Sara, and then a larger loop around Jacqueline Onassis Reservoir. I covered just over 8 miles in 1:11:02. It was such a pleasant evening that I had to resist the temptation to run longer. It finally felt like fall, so the air was crisp and cool. The park was relatively empty. I felt I could roam freely physically, mentally...spiritually. No ipod or other distractions. Just me and my footsteps. I've always thought that everyone should have a method of escape. At this point, for me, it's running.

I'm sore from yesterday's weights session. Definitely gave my back and core a solid workout. I feel like just a little bit of extra strength will shave off a few seconds or a minute for me during the race, and I will probably need it.

Tomorrow, I'm planning on another pace exercise around the park, but maybe a 7 mile pace run instead. To meet my reduced mileage goal for the week, I'll need to do another 15 on Sunday. I'm hoping to have Sara's company again for the long run.

Today's workout:

Lap

Time

Distance

Avg Pace

Avg Heart Rate

Avg Cadence

Calories

1	00:09:06	1.09 mi	08:22	107 bpm	--	120 C
2	00:17:27	1.67 mi	10:25	119 bpm	--	179 C
3	00:00:03	0.00 mi	20:27	115 bpm	--	1 C
4	00:36:09	4.30 mi	08:24	139 bpm	--	453 C
5	00:09:05	0.95 mi	09:33	122 bpm	--	105 C