Toronto Marathon is in the books

I have completed my second, and perhaps final marathon of my career! On Sunday October 18, I finished the Toronto (GoodLife Fitness) Marathon with a time of 3:23:39. That's an improvement of 20:14 from my Honolulu time.

Though I may be 'retired' from marathons in the Brett Favre sense of the word, I said that this was it for marathons if I didn't reach Boston Qualifying time, so I am now a half marathon or less runner. For now 5 and 8k's sound great, as they are easy to train for and maybe I can enjoy a beer afterward!

How it went:

First off, marathons are so difficult to analyze, because there are so many variables and you can't pin down a single point of failure.

The first lesson from Toronto is stick to your game plan. I came upon some "seasoned" Toronto vets both on the course and prior to the start that had all sorts of suggestions. I probably went a little hard for the first half as a result. Many of my first 14 Garmin miles came in in the 7 'ohs'.

Once I hit the flats I was cruising, passing by the 3:15 pace rabbit easily. As I was approaching mile 18, I could feel my calves get cold. We were running along the lake, exposed to any wind coming off it, and there were a fair amount of shady spots. It was a sign that my race was about to take a turn. My calves cramped and I decided it was finally time to take a break. From there on out I walked all of the water stops getting a healthy drink of both water and Gatorade. Eventually the walking became more painful than running as my quads tightened above the knee.

The last mile I lost track of the pain, perhaps due to the crowd, or maybe the hydration finally hit my legs. If that's the case, my downfall may have been drinking too little at the prior water stops which I cruised through.

Another thing I can point to is the trip to Vegas, which took away from my running schedule, and added to my alcohol consumption at the wrong time. If that's the case, it was worth it, and I don't care :-)

I wonder how many of the volunteers were wearing the water/Gatorade they were handing out. One stop I blasted cups out of two peoples hands and barely grabbed the last Gatorade cup.

Some guy thought he was hilarious as he heaved a CRT TV on the railing of a bridge and yelled "Catch" as I ran underneath. Good thing he wasn't a klutz, but not funny...

The day after the marathon Noble and I hobbled around Toronto like old men to the CN Tower. We drove down to Niagara Falls where we hopped aboard the Maid of the Mist for a wet and windy ride boat ride to get up close and personal with the falls. Oddly enough the last thing I did the day after Honolulu was see some falls, after which I became violently ill. Thank goodness it didn't happen this time around!

This week I've been battling some foot soreness as a result of the marathon. It's possible the Racer STs were pushed beyond their limit.

The next adventure awaits... or I'll just enjoy some solid rest :-)

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Game Time!

I've been shirking my duties here, so soon I'll be posting a bunch of back-posts. But for now, I'm prepped and ready to head to Toronto! This is the big weekend, and a cold one it will be. Who signed me up for this madness?

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Week 13: An intense weekend

Today's 20 miles, following a 10 mile marathon pace day was tough. I learned today that Noble is intending to run the marathon at the pace we've been training at on our long runs. So A.) I'm probably partially killing him and B.) He's got more in him than he thinks. Hopefully not too much of A and more of B. Anyhow, we were a little low on our water, and I think plotting out a route with more than 1 water stop is a must for any other such long runs. We took several walk breaks in the last 6 miles.

The trip out seemed fine, no troubles, but the return trip was not so smooth. Both Noble and I ran out of water earlier than hoped, causing us to conserve too much. We also had the sun beating directly on us for much of those miles. Some may be amused by the white strip across my sun burned torso from where my HRM strap was.

The 10 mile pace run was smooth, and I completed it @ a quick 7:02 pace, which I now know is 15 seconds faster than the minimum pace to qualify for Boston.

distance	time	Pace	HR Avg.	HR Max
10.00	1:10:19	7:02	169	188

That is my goal, to beat the Boston Qualifying Time of 3 hours and 10 minutes (+59 secs). That's a pace of 7:15-7:17. If I reach my goal, I will consider running another marathon. If not, I will concentrate on 5k, and perhaps run a few miles at open track meets. Those are some fun races that I miss.

Tomorrow will be a day of healing...

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Week 13: On the mend

After a steady dose of R.I.C.E. (Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation) over the course of three days, I got back on the horse and 9.5 miles on Tuesday. Even the hill workout on Thursday went off without any trouble. I finished 7 intervals, the last at a 5:32 pace. Though I felt some weakness/tenderness for toward the end of the 9 miler. This weekend has a 10 mile race pace run and a 20 miler scheduled. These will be the real test of the ankle

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Week 12: Ending on a low note

ARGH!!

Everything was going great this week:

After my Garmin died at the end of week 11, I sent it to Garmin who promptly sent me a new unit which arrived Thursday evening.

My Brooks order arrived Thursday before my track workout, loaded with 2 pairs of trainers (Adrenaline 9), a pair of racing flats (Racer ST 4), a singlet, a training T, and a pair of socks (Burn PED). Having joined Brooks ID, I got a nice discount on all of this.

I immediately strapped on my new Racers and hit the track for an excellent mile repeat workout (6:18, 6:17, 5:59, 5:48). The racers were excellent. A lightweight shoe weighing in at 8.6oz, the Racer ST 4 was very comfortable with enough cushioning for a long race. They are rated up to marathon, and at my weight, I think might put that to the test.

So, to the calamity... I was having yet another great run yesterday. I was supposed to run 6 miles at marathon pace. Not bad, I can handle that. 5k in, as I ran through the Reston Town Center, I caught my toe on a brick and BONK. Reston has these fancy crosswalks with brick set into the pavement. For all you city planners/developers... Why?

A) They require extra maintenance
B) They are hazards (at least for a select few clumsy folks as I have demonstrated)
C) They don't really stand out like your typical painted cross walks

I'll give them credit for style points, but in the grand scheme of things, who cares? Anyways, there's my rant. I should have been more careful. I was cruising just below my intended 7:10 pace and I was left to hobble a mile+ back home on a right ankle that is now very swollen. It looks like today's 12 miler is out of the question.

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Week 11: A 20 miler under my belt

Once again I moved my Sunday long run to Saturday for convenience. This was my first of 3 20 milers before the marathon. I chose to run on the W&OD starting from Old Town Herndon. I staged my car at the 20 mile marker and ran toward Leesburg for 5 miles, returned to the car and ran toward Reston/Vienna and back for the final 10 miles.

distance	time	Pace	HR Avg.	HR Max
20.03	2:44:59	8:14	146	178

It was a decent morning for a run, plenty of cloud cover, but humid and warm. Brenda, who ran 14, and I got off to a late start (9:00) much to our chagrin as the sun poked through the clouds around 11 heating up the trail and giving me a good burn. The last 2 miles were brutal and I was toast by the time I reached the 20 mile mark for the last time.

An 8:14 pace w/ 3 minutes of walking a ~5min break in the middle might have been a bit overboard. It helps when I have a running partner to mellow the pace, but on my own, with all sort of traffic on the road, I was sucked into a quick pace.

At the mid-point I stopped to top off my water and changed my socks (No blisters... YAY!). I finished with a sore right hip and rear of the knee (above the calf). Both were alleviated by my Body Glide Warm-Fx, the product that caused recent shenanigans. At least it's making up for the pain, but it did manage to transfer to some spots I wouldn't have wanted it to.

After today I'll have run over 200 miles for the month of August, and put nearly 300 miles on my month and a half old shoes. That order from Brooks can't come soon enough... I look forward to this, a lighter week.

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Week 10 Wrap-up

Despite being the first week over the mid-program hump, week 10 did not relent! All told, I put in 48+ miles at an average pace of 8:02. That includes a 9 mile marathon pace run Sunday to cap off the week. Though I ran it @ 10 seconds over Boston pace which is my lofty goal, the terrain in Reston is much wilder than i'll see in Toronto. That's a good sign past the midpoint, especially the day after a long run.

distance	time	Pace	HR Avg.	HR Max
9.02	1:06.06	7:20	155	173

That long run day did not go so smoothly... I showed up late to Noble's place in Arlington after a poor night's sleep. I was completely disorganized which led to my key fob falling out of my Fuel Belt pouch around mile 10. Of course I didn't realize this until 3 miles later. After completing a very hilly 18 miles (1 short of the plan) we tried to hunt down the fob to no avail. We had to drive the distance to Reston to get my backup key. Things smoothed out afterward and we had a good BBQ lunch at Rocklands.

distance	time	Pace	HR Avg.	HR Max
18.20	2:33:44	8:27	143	175

My training earlier in the week was a bit brutal due to the humidity. Finishing Thursday's hill workout was tough, as was Tuesday's 9 miler. I had a little blister trouble after the Sunday pace run including a tear in my right big toe callouses. I decided to take today off to heal. I'm going to be a little more cautious with the belt. I'm a bit disappointed that I can't secure my keys better.

This weekend is 20 miles. It's going to be a tough solo run.

So ends my first iPhone post!

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