Rocket City Marathon Performance Review

Rocket City Marathon 

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Huntsville, Alabama

17th Marathon Completed

______________________________________
Official Time: 3:38:06

Avg Pace: 8:19
Splits: Second half 10:36 Slower than first
First Half - 1:43:45, 7:55/mile
Second Half - 1:54:21, 8:44/mile

Finish: Overall ... 221st/1130
40-44 Age Group ... 44th/146
______________________________________
Avg HR: 161
Weight: 178
Calories Burned: 3,744
Pre-Race Meal: 6" Subway Turkey on Wheat
______________________________________
Elevation Gain: 410 ft
Total Distance Ran: 26.34

Temperature: Starting Line, 38 degrees
Finish Line, 44 degrees
Wind:10-15 mph
Humidity: 70% humidity 

Comments: Ran the first 20 fairly well, but really lost interest at 21 and slowed down to 9:45ish miles.

______________________________________
Garmin Connect: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/134654583

Overview

Not really much to report about this one.  After PRing at Tulsa three weeks prior, and approaching 3,000 miles for the year - I was physically and mentally spent.  Entered the race not really thrilled about running, but had already signed up so I went anyway. 

Ran the first 20 miles fairly well, but really slowed at mile 21 after pretty much giving up on any sort of time.  I didn't really hit the wall, but I just really lost interest in anything other than finishing.

Felt like I really missed a great opportunity to run fast on a flat course. It was a great course and a great day to PR, but I had pretty much used up everything at Tulsa a few weeks before.

Ran most of the first 20 miles with a Pose method striking almost solely on the ball of the foot.  Felt pretty good, but my calves were pretty sore the next day.

Nutrition and everything were fine - I just wasn't feelin' it and ran a really poor race - but all-in-all 3:38 is acceptable and it capped off my best year of running so far.
... be great today!

Route 66 Tulsa Marathon Performance Review

Mile 5 ... Focused, but my legs were FREEZING!!!

Route 66 Tulsa Marathon 

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Tulsa, Oklahoma

16th Marathon Completed

______________________________________
Official Time: 3:20:03 Current PR

Avg Pace: 7:38
Splits: 4:25 Negative Split
First Half - 1:42:14, 7:48/mile
Second Half - 1:37:49, 7:28/mile

Finish: Overall ... 64th/1438
40-44 Age Group ... 9th/135
______________________________________
Avg HR: 169
Weight: 178
Calories Burned: 3,791
Pre-Race Meal: 12" Subway Turkey on Wheat
______________________________________
Elevation Gain: 654 ft
Total Distance Ran: 26.51

Temperature: Starting Line, 39 degrees
Finish Line, 42 degrees
Wind:10-15 mph
Humidity: 90% humidity 

Comments: Never felt like I got in a rhythm. Legs felt like concrete from start to finish. Second coldest marathon I've ever ran.  Course was quite a bit more challenging than I anticipated.

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Garmin Connect: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/130031437


Overview

After completing my first back-to-back marathons about a month prior, I felt like I had a pretty good base built up for this marathon.  So I focused primarily on speed and tempo workouts leading up to Tulsa, trying to increase leg turnover and hopefully challenge for one last PR in 2011.  A couple of times in past races I had blown great opportunities for PRs, namely the 2010 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon and the 2011 Sioux Falls Marathon.  Looking back, Indy was completely my fault - I just ran a bad race and started WAY too fast. Sioux falls was a little warm for me to PR - about 75-80 degrees.  So I had my sights set on Tulsa and what I thought would be an easy course.

I spent some time analyzing the course elevation profile online, and apparently I misread it completely.  The course was nothing like I had planned. I thought the race was going to be flat, however it ended up having the 4th  most elevation of the last 12 marathons I had completed.  It was by no means a killer, just a lot different than I had planned.  And I literally did  no hill training in preparation, which would have served me well.

Mile 2 at Swan Lake

Also, the weather didn't exactly cooperate.  It was about 39 degrees when the gun sounded, but for some reason it felt a lot colder.  It probably was a combination of the temperature, the 90% humidity, and the 10-15mph breeze from the North.  You literally could not see the downtown buildings through the haze and light mist from only about a mile away.  It was just really damp.  It looked like it rain at any minute all day, but never did.

My overall conditioning felt great for this race.  I was a few pounds heavier at the starting line than I wanted to be, but not bad. Plus in the few days prior, I had managed my diet reasonably well and didn't feel bloated when I started running.  My heart rate seemed to be a little elevated throughout, probably due to the colder temps and additional hills, but I never felt I wasn't in control of the race.  Unfortunately, I could just never get my legs in a rhythm with the turnover I was looking for.  The cold wind made my legs feel like concrete and I never really seemed to get them loose.  It was pretty much a grind the whole day for some reason.

Running the tangents has really been a problem in the last couple of races.  I feel like I'm always aware of what I'm suppose to do and try to run as efficiently as possible.  However, I seem to be racking up a lot of additional distance by mile 26, which does nothing but shoot a big hole in the projected finishing time.  At Tulsa, I notice the extra mileage starting to build around mile 5, and it only got worse. I ended up running 26.51 miles at Tulsa.  This was probably the most frustrating part of the day.  At mile 26.2 I was at about 3:18, which would have destroyed my old PR, but at that point I still had .31 miles left in the race.

Overall I was pretty happy with my performance, all things considered.  I was just a little disappointed with my time.  For as hard as I worked, and as sore as I was after the race, it felt like I should have been a little faster.  But it was a PR on a day when I wasn't my best, so I'll take it!


Course
I know a lot of folks who look at the elevation would say, "That's not that tough of a course!"  And actually, it wasn't bad.  It was just not what I had planned for.  The elevation pretty much went hills ... flat ... hills.  And the hills were mostly rolling hills.  Nothing that was unmanageable.  But they just seemed to keep coming, one right after another.

I think the toughest thing mentally were the hills toward the end.  From about mile 14 on, it seemed like a constant up-down-up-down.  Most of them were only 50' inclines, but on a day when I didn't feel like I was running my best, I would have welcomed more flat roads.

The downhills weren't too bad either.  I really tried to gear down a little and save my quads.  In fact after the race, my quads were the least sore thing on my body, so I probably could have pushed it a little more here to make up some time.

With a little different training, I'm sure the elevation would not have been an issue.  And the course was not the problem at all - it was just me being unaware of what it was like.  I usually don't make mistakes like this, but I missed this one big time!


Pace & Splits

Miles 1-3 ... I spent the first three miles trying out my new plan of starting a little faster because I felt like I was leaving too much time on the clock in the warm-up miles.  I ran these miles according to plan but immediately noticed that my legs were really stiff and cold.  Standing at the starting line, we were facing South and most of this first stretch was ran with the North wind.  But as a result, my right hamstring really began to tighten up.  I would fight this most of the day.  Even though the miles were just warm up miles, I felt like I was working a little more than I should have been.  The pace was really slow, but I my heart rate was elevated a little and I just couldn't seem to get warm on the chilly day.

Miles 4-6 ... I was still trying to loosen up during the next three miles as I gradually increased my pace.  I began noticing that my heart rate was a little higher than I wanted at this point, staying around the high 150's.  This early in the race, and at these paces, I expected high 140's. There was a 100' climb during miles 4 and 5, so think that was probably the reason, but it still seemed high.  The tightness in my right hamstring kept getting worse, and now my calves were starting to get a little tight too.  My calves never get tight.  But again, I just figured it was the wind at my back having a "chilling effect" on my back leg muscles.

Miles 7-14 ... What should have been the easiest part of the race, turned out to be the toughest for me.  These seven miles were a nice long flat stretch along the Arkansas River where I should have really been able to find a groove and ride it until the end.  Problem ... most of it was straight North toward downtown into the wind.  The wind was only about 10-15mph, but I had built up a pretty good sweat at that point, and the breeze completely evaporated it.  I was freezing.  And at this point I really began to doubt that it would be a day for a PR.  I lost focus and found it hard to concentrate with the cold air in my face.  Most of the volunteers were standing facing South with their hoods over their head, shivering as we ran by.  I know they were cold ... I was cold!

Horrible form at The University of Tulsa...
Straight front leg and heel striking at mile 22!

At this point I noticed that my leg tightness had totally shifted from the back of my legs, to my front quads.  They felt really tight, like they sometimes do late in a race.  I kept pushing the pace, but found it almost impossible to get to where I wanted to be.  And my heart rate had climbed to the mid 160's ... on a freaking flat stretch!  I was really working and I should have been coasting!  My hands got pretty cold too.  At mile 14, I tried to open a gel, and I dropped it.  I didn't have another one handy so I stopped and went back and picked it up.  It didn't cost me that much time, but it really broke any sort of rhythm I had at that point.

Miles 15-18 ... At about mile 15 we were back close to downtown Tulsa and the course took us under a few highway overpasses.  It was a steep, short downhill as you went under the highway and a steep, short climb to come out the other side.  It was about this point in the race where the second set of hills started.  And it was about this time that I really began counting the miles until we were finished.  I had labored on a long straight away and knew the upcoming rolling elevation was going to be a grind.

Mile 15 was my second slowest "non-warm up" mile of the race at 7:43.  My pace was really dropping off.  And this set of hills were really having their way with me.  But at miles 16-18 I found two guys that I fell in behind and used them as pacers.  They were running a little faster than I wanted to go at that point, but it felt comfortable.  I stayed about 25 feet behind them and focused on keeping up with them.  Mile 16 was 7:16 and Miles 17 & 18 were 7:04 & 7:01 ... two of the fastest miles I had ever ran that late in a race.  And for some reason, it kinda gave me a little spark.

Miles 19-21 ... This long straight stretch down 15th Street was another fairly tough portion of the race for me.  Since it was a straight-away, you could literally see all of the hills that you were about to climb ahead of you.  And as you headed East, it was another long rolling hill 100' steady climb.  My pace dropped off a little to 7:20, 7:31, and 7:50, but I made up my mind that even I had to slow to a 10:00/pace, I was going to keep going and not walk.  I was really struggling with my heart rate at this point too.  It was consistently in the high 170's to low 180's, but I kept pushing.  I didn't walk, yet, and I was glad that I hung on to the top of the hill.

Pretty excited with the new PR ... 3:20:03 at the Route 66  Tulsa Marathon

Miles 22-23 ... As we turned off of 15th street, we headed North toward The University of Tulsa campus.  The wind was still cold, but at this point I was glad to be leveled off for a while.  UT's campus was a nice change of pace.  It was so clean and beautiful ... but there were NO STUDENTS THERE AT ALL!!!  In most other races when you run through a college campus, there are several crazy kids out cheering you on, or making fun of you ... but not here.  They might have already left for Thanksgiving break or maybe it was just too cold, but the campus was like a ghost town.  But it was a nice break from the rest of the race.  Plus, usually once I get to mile 23 I can feel the finish line.  I was really grinding, but I knew that in about 25 minutes, this thing would be over!

Miles 24-25 ... This final stretch featured a few more rolling hills with a nice long downhill on mile 25.  In fact, mile 25 was my second fastest of the day.  I was really pushing it and looking at my watch.  I was trying to calculate in my head if I still had a PR in reach.  I knew it would be close.  I knew had quite a bit of extra mileage to account for at the end, and I thought it might be a deal breaker.  My heart rate was really elevated at about 185, but I felt okay.  I usually push it late in a race by try to be ultra aware of my heart rate.  I'm 42, and really don't wanna be one of those guys who ends up dead in the last miles of a marathon.  So I make sure I try to manage it.

Mile 26 ... After pushing myself all day, it finally happened in mile 26 ... I walked.  But only for about 15 seconds or so.  And the frustrating thing is that it wasn't because of conditioning.  I felt fine.  It was my stomach.  Once again in a marathon, I thought I was gonna have "an accident".  I stopped for just a few seconds to get myself under control and then pushed it for the last few meters.

I glanced at my watch at about 26.2 and it said 3:18:something.  I was excited, but frustrated at the same time, because I hadn't even passed the mile 26 marker yet. I knew I had quite a bit of time to make up.  I kept pushing it and on the last downhill stretch I could see the finish line off to the right.  So I started sprinting, and about 100 meters from the finish line, I knew I was gonna set a new PR.  What a great feeling!  I gave a couple of fist pumps of celebration and looked at my watch ... 3:20:03!

Summary
It was really a grind on Sunday, but I was happy with how I battled and got the job done.  I'm a huge baseball fan and one of the signs of a good pitcher is being able to beat the opposing team when you don't have your best stuff.  I didn't feel like I had my "best stuff" at Tulsa.  But hopefully being able to battle and run a good race is a sign that I'm becoming a better runner.
... be great today!

Des Moines Marathon Performance Review

Home stretch of the Des Moines Marathon
2nd marathon completed in 24 hours

 Des Moines Marathon 

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Kansas City, MO

15th Marathon Completed

(back-to-back with Kansas City the previous day)

____________________________________________

Official Time: 3:30:47

Avg Pace: 8:03
Splits: 6:35 Negative Split
First Half - 1:48:41, 8:18/mile
Second Half - 1:42:06, 7:48/mile

Avg HR: 157
Calories Burned: 3,774
Elevation Gain: 701 ft

Finish: 207/1498 Overall, 27/149 in 40-44 Age Group

Weather: Starting Line - 50 degrees, 65% humidity, 10mph wind ... Finish Line - 57 degrees

Pre-Race Meal: Papa John's Chicken & Pepperoni Pizza
Comments: Legs felt good but fairly low energy level for the second marathon in two days, at mile 20 started focusing on my family waiting for me at the finish, GREAT EXPERIENCE!!!

Garmin Connect Link: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/122982113

 

Overview
I woke up at about 4:00 AM on Sunday morning in Des Moines before the second of two marathons in two days.  I was a little worried that I would be a little stiff from the marathon in Kansas City the day before, but as soon as my legs hit the floor, I knew everything was good ... I felt great!!!  Absolutely no pain or stiffness.  However, I did notice right away that my energy level seemed to be a little lower than I had expected. Over the past few months, the biggest challenge in back-to-back runs had been my energy level on the second day, and today would prove to be the same.

The main goal of Sunday was simply to finish the race, but in the back of my mind I had a time of goal of 3:30.  But based on my energy level, I knew it might not happen.  So I set my mind on simply running as smooth and steady as I could.

Mile 26 ... 7:19/mile pace
The 52nd mile I had ran in 24 hours,
And my fastest of mile of either marathon

The weather forecast called for 8-10 mph winds, but when I stepped outside, it seemed quite a bit "breezier" than that.  And combined with the 50 degree overcast skies, it felt fairly chilly.  I am definitely a warm weather runner.  Any kind of chill in the air seems to hinder me quite a bit from warming up properly and a lot of times I struggle with stiff joints and sore muscles in the cooler temps. So I was looking forward to later in the day when the sun was supposed to peek through the clouds and warm things up.

I had been experimenting with CEP Recovery Sleeves over the last month after long runs and found them to be very helpful after long runs.  But I had never ran with them.  It probably wasn't smart to use a marathon as my first "guinea pig", but I figured that I could use the added warmth and decided to give them a try.  In a word, they were AMAZING!!!  Even though, in my opinion, they look a little silly, I really felt like gave me added support that I needed late in the race.  I probably won't make them a staple accessory for marathons, but it's good to know that I have them as an option.

As the race started, it seemed a little surreal to be running another marathon after I had just finished one less than 24 hours before.  And as the race wore on, I really fought it.  It was a constant struggle to maintain pace, and I had to focus like never before just to finish.

Michael, Madison, and Nate had driven to Des Moines to watch me finish and that was the single thing that drove me the last 4-5 miles of the race.  I just focused on them waiting for me at the finish line, and when I finally saw them standing there, it was was one of the most awesome things ever.

I can't begin to explain the relief, excitement, and sense of accomplishment that I felt as I crossed the finish line.  This day would cap one of the most memorable weekends I've ever had.  I met my time goal of 3:30 and I could not have been happier with how I had ran.  More importantly, I had my family there with to celebrate and it made the day perfect.  I felt like I had set a pretty big goal for myself, worked my butt off to achieve it, and finally made it happen.  Words can't explain how rewarding it felt.


Course
Compared to Kansas City on Saturday, the course was pretty easy.  There were a few hills in the early stages of the race, but over all it was fairly flat - which I gladly welcomed after the hilly experience the day before.  Des Moines only features 701 ft of elevation incline, and the last 11 miles are all downhill and flat.  For me, the last half of the race was a little boring.  The course takes runners on a paved path beside Raccoon River and Gray's Lake, away from the streets of downtown.   It was very scenic, especially with leaves starting to change.  But in a marathon, I prefer busy city streets with people standing at every intersection to cheer you as you run by.  But I know a lot of runners prefer being surrounded by wilderness.

Marathon courses that aren't routed solely on city streets are very tough for me to run efficiently.  I just don't seem to run tangents very well around lakes, winding rivers, and through wilderness paths.  And accordingly for this race, I ran a total of 26.38 miles.  Almost a quarter mile more than necessary.  Not running the tangents well is not only a time killer, but also mentally tough during the last mile of a race.  When your Garmin reads 26.2 ... you're ready to be done!  Unfortunately in a race like this, there always seems to be some "spare change" at the end.


Pace & Splits
At no point in the Des Moines Marathon did I feel smooth and fluent while running.  The whole day was a grind.  Typically in a marathon, I really have to throttle myself down for the first 4-5 miles to make sure I don't go out to fast.  This wasn't a problem at Des Moines.

When the race started, I wasn't really experiencing any soreness yet, but my energy level just wasn't there.  As we made our way up Locust toward the Capital Building in the first mile, I really struggled to pound out an 8:30/mile pace.  And "pound out" is the best phrase I can use to describe what my feet were doing to the pavement.  I really tried to focus on form, and not so much pace, but I just didn't feel right.  I really thought at that point it was going to be a long day.

The next 2-3 miles were pretty much the same.  I kept hitting my splits of 8:25/mile or so, but I just didn't feel smooth.  As I passed shop windows along the downtown course, I tried to look at my reflection to evaluate form ... it wasn't good.  I really didn't think at that point I had any chance of hitting my goal of 3:30 for the race.  But I was really okay with it.  I just wanted to finish and get this thing over with.

The main hills on the course are from miles 4-8, and they weren't really that big of a deal for me on Sunday.  They didn't seem nearly as steep or long as the ones in Kansas City I had ran on Saturday, so I just tried to plug along and gradually ramp up my pace when possible.  I slowly began whittling away at my overall pace running these miles at about an 8:10/mile pace.  I really felt like I was beginning to get into more of  a groove, but my energy level was still really low.

RAWKFIST!!! USA ... USA ... USA!!!

I  had brought two Stinger Gels and a PowerBar with me for supplemental race fuel.  I used the first Gel at about mile 10, and the other at about mile 15.  I ate the PowerBar somewhere along the way - I think about mile 18 or 19.  I've never used a PowerBar in a race before, but it seemed to give my stomach something solid to work on instead of the sugary gels that can sometimes give me some stomach problems late in a race.

Miles 8-16 took runners on an out and back through a nice tree-lined neighborhood North of Interstate 235. We ran about 3 miles through the neighborhood streets, circled the cushioned track at Drake University Stadium, and then made our way back along the same route.  The crowd support along this portion of the race was fantastic.  Plus, it was here that I was met by the leaders of the marathon ... several Kenyans.  It was pretty cool to see them on the course, but also a little disheartening realizing that they had about a six mile lead on me at only about 10 miles into the race.

The out & back portion of the race is really where I began to battle my mental toughness and fatigue.  I had gradually began to ramp up my pace a little to about 7:55/mile average, but it was really taking its toll on my heart rate. I noticed that as I forced my pace a little, I started seeing some 160 bpm's on my monitor.  I didn't feel horrible - just A LOT different than the day before.  It seemed like I had to focus intently on every single step.  And there wasn't much energy left for joking and screwing around with passing runners and the marathon supporters.  I just kept my hat pulled down and looked straight ahead.

YYYEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!

At about mile 18, I started realizing that if I pushed my pace to about 7:40-7:45/mile for the remainder of the race, I might have a chance at making my goal of 3:30.  One of the settings on my Garmin is average overall pace, so I always know pretty much where I'm at for a total in the race.  As I increased my speed each mile, I watched as the average overall pace started to melt away.  I knew that if I could push it for these last 6-8 miles, I would probably be close to my goal time.  So of course I pushed it!

Something I seem to be developing a tendency to do in marathons is to find something to use a stress ball.  When I start getting tired in a race, I'll grab a couple of gels that volunteers are handing out and squeeze them in either hand as I run.  It acts as some sort of nervous, tension reliever, but it really seems to have a psychological calming effect as I run.  I don't know - maybe I'm just crazy.

Miles 18-21 were really tough for me.  Starting at mile 18, runners made a loop around Waterworks Park.  As you entered the Park, you were met by runners who were returning from the loop around the facility.  It felt like another out & back, although they really only passed you for about a quarter mile.  However, I could see them up ahead in the distance for most of the loop.  And every time I looked up to see how much further I had to go, I got a little discouraged ... they were so far ahead of me.  I was, however, still pounding away at my pace.  Though really laboring, I was able to keep my pace around 7:50, and seconds were still coming off of my overall pace for the race.

At mile 23, my Garmin read an overall pace for the race of 8:03.  I knew that if I could take off a second per mile, I would be close to my goal time, depending on how much overage I had to make up due to not running the tangents very well.  I really started to empty the tank.  I was focusing on my family that was waiting for me, and how great it would feel to cross the finish line ... ESPECIALLY if I made my goal of 3:30.  I was able to squeeze out a 7:42 & 7:46 at miles 22 & 23, but I knew I had to give a little more in the last three miles if I wanted to make my goal.

At mile 24 I really began to run.  Even though it was the 50th  mile I had ran in two days, it seemed to feel more natural than all of the energy conservation miles I had logged over the past 24 hours.  Even though I was exhausted, my stride felt better than it had for the previous 50 miles.  And mile 24 came in at a 7:40/mile pace. Mile 25 was even faster at 7:34.  I was down to 8:01/mile for an over all pace, and I felt pretty good for the mile 26 push.

Michael, Madi, Nate, & me ... AND TWO MEDALS!!!

As I stepped foot onto Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway for mile 26, downtown Des Moines, IA came into full view.  I had driven this street dozens of times for business and Iowa Cubs baseball games, and I knew I only had one more mile, and one left turn until the finish line.  I began pouring out every ounce of energy I had left.  I was huffing and puffing and my heart rate was climbing to 180-185 bpm, and my good running form had faded away.  As I made the turn onto 3rd Street for the final .2 miles, I knew that my goal time of 3:30 was going to happen.  Mile 26 had been my fastest of the two marathons at 7:19/mile, and I began to throttle it down a little, look for my waiting family, and enjoy the experience!

About 100 yards from the finish line, I saw my family cheering and screaming for me!  My legs were pretty spent by this point, and I had absolutely no energy left.  But when I saw them, my face lit up like a Christmas tree, my heart was overcome with joy, and my right hand instinctively went victoriously in the air ... RAWKFIST!!!  I yelled to them, "I DID IT!!!  I DID IT!!!"  And as I crossed the finish line, I threw both hands in the air ... and finally stopped running.  My time, 3:30:47 ... 12 minutes faster than the marathon less than 24 hours before.


Summary
I can't imagine many more running weekends that will be better than my first back-to-back  marathons at Kansas City & Des Moines.  And the feeling I had when I crossed the finish line will be one that I'll never forget.  I had successfully met both of my time goals and felt strong and healthy upon completion.  But the most memorable thing about the whole event was seeing my family waiting for me at the finish line.  Having them there to share the reward of my hard work was indescribable.  I'm so thankful for them, and so thankful I had this opportunity to complete both races.
... be great today!

Kansas City Marathon Performance Review



Clicking my heels at the 2011 Kansas City Marathon finish line ...
By far my favorite marathon photo of all time!!!

 Kansas City Marathon 

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Kansas City, MO

14th Marathon Completed

(repeat marathon & back-to-back with Des Moines the next day)

____________________________________________

Official Time: 3:42:25

Avg Pace: 8:30
Splits: 2:07 Negative Split
First Half - 1:52:16, 8:34/mile
Second Half - 1:50:09, 8:25/mile 

Avg HR: 155
Calories Burned: 3,763
Elevation Gain: 899 ft

Finish: 234/1331 Overall, 25/134 in 40-44 Age Group

Weather: Starting Line - 49 degrees, 60% humidity, 3mph wind ... Finish Line - 56 degrees

Pre-Race Meal: Papa John's Chicken & Pepperoni Pizza
Comments: Perfect weather, slow-steady pace to conserve energy for the following day at Des Moines Marathon, GREAT RUN!!!

Garmin Connect Link:  http://connect.garmin.com/activity/122982130

 

Overview
This was my first attempt at back-to-back  marathons on consecutive days.  And I knew for this first of two races, I would really have to focus on slowing my pace more than usual in order to conserve energy for the Des Moines Marathon on Sunday.  The main objective was simply to get through both races healthy, but I also had a couple of time goals in the back of my mind.  I wanted to finish Kansas City in about 3:45 and Des Moines in 3:30.  Even though the Kansas City course is fairly hilly, I knew the 3:45 on Saturday shouldn't be much of a problem.  I could basically use it as a nice relaxing "warm up" run.  But if I went out too fast in the KC race, the 3:30 at Des Moines would be impossible. Most of my training runs had been in these time ballparks, so I thought the time goal might be doable.

I ran several back-to-back long runs while preparing for these races, with the longest being 24 & 22 mile runs two weeks before. Refueling after the first long run always seemed to be the biggest challenge.  My legs usually felt pretty strong on the second day, but I really seemed to struggle with enough energy to finish as fast as I wanted.  So I spent a lot of time focusing on diet and recovery from the first day to the second.

Once I was comfortable with a good recovery strategy, I knew that completing both races was simply going to be a  mental challenge.  I would have to be mentally disciplined during the first race, and just plain mentally tough for the second.  I practiced by running at various times of the day in various situations.  I tried to run a lot when I was really tired, simulating as much fatigue as I could.  And I think it all really paid off.  Once the gun went off, there was never a question during the two races if I could complete the runs, only if I could meet my time goals.

There are a few things that I'll do a little differently when training for my next back-to-back marathons.  I'll probably try to get up to 30/30 runs on the weekend.  Also, my strength training took a little bit of a back seat during this cycle due to additional traveling at work.   Most importantly I need to eat better during the day and cut back on junk food.  I always burn off the junk calories during the next morning's run, however it just adds nothing for me physically.  But overall, I felt well prepared and was extremely happy with my performance on both days.

Course
While not the toughest course in the world, the Kansas City Marathon features plenty of elevation changes for an overall elevation gain of 900 ft.  There is a 225 ft climb from miles 2 to 3.5, another 175 ft from 11 to 16, and finally a 200 ft incline from miles 20.5 to 23.  Also, there are several turns on the course making it a little tough to run the tangents well.  I'm usually pretty good at keeping my mileage to a minimum during a marathon, but I ended up with 26.42 miles at Kansas City.

Pace & Splits
Typically during most of my training, I'm at an average pace of 7:30-7:40/mile, with speed work timing at an average of 6:00-6:30/mile.  So keeping my pace slower, around 8:30/mile for the Kansas City Marathon would be a little bit of a challenge.  Managing this pace on the uphill climbs wouldn't be a problem, but the downhills would require quite a bit of discipline to keep my pace where it needed to be.

In past races, the initial climb of 225 ft at the Liberty Memorial has taken quite a bit out of me.  The first time I ran the race in 2008, I had no idea that the climb was as steep as it was, and I really struggled the remainder of the race.  On Saturday, I just took it nice and slow and enjoyed the surroundings.  It was a little surreal watching other runners battle this hill, huffing and puffing, while I kept my pace controlled.  But it felt pretty good.



I was most amazed at how I felt on miles 21-23.  This portion of the race can get a little boring running North on Paseo.  There's not as much to see as earlier in the race, and usually by that point I'm just ready to be done.  But on Saturday, these miles didn't have any negative effect on me at all.  Just like at the Liberty Memorial, it was really different to just coast along, running by many other runners, who were struggling to maintain their pace or even finish the race.  I felt like I had done a pretty good job of conserving energy at this point and the final miles just flew by.

My low heart rate was another very positive aspect of this race.  On only 7 miles did I average over 160 bpm.  My overall average was 155 bpm, which is only about 78% of my max heart rate.  However for the first 6 miles of the race I was in the low-mid 140's, or about 71% of my max.  I never really remember "huffing & puffing" at any point.  Plus, the 50 degree temperature for most of the race was perfect as well.

I finished with an overall pace of 8:30/mile, and felt good enough as the finish line to jump in the air and click my heels ... which drew a cheer from the crowd, which was pretty cool.  And I was extremely happy with how I felt after the race.  At no point did I feel any pain or serious fatigue during the run, and I was really excited about the race the next day in Des Moines.  For  me, running a slower paced race is always much more enjoyable than trying to run fast or PR.  Obviously, I love running fast and racing the clock, but running slower just allows you to enjoy much more of the course and your surroundings.  And with this approach, Saturday's Kansas City Marathon was one of my most enjoyable to date!

Recovery
Probably the most important aspect of back-to-back marathons was recovery after the first race.  I got A LOT of help from fellow bloggers on the approach I should take, and it paid off.  Typically I don't use gels in a race.  But for this marathon, to add electrolytes back into my system, I consumed two Stinger Gold Energy Gels.  I also drank quite a bit of Gatorade, and ate every banana, orange, and apple slice on the course I could get my hands on.  After I gathered my medal and finisher shirt, and snapped a couple of quick pictures with Michael, I was literally at the car stretching about 20 minutes after the race.  To stretch, I brought along my Trigger Point Roller and an old blanket, which I spread out on the ground beside the car on the parking garage floor.  I rolled out for about 15 minutes with some light stretching, and then got in the car for the 45 minute car ride home.

I had a pre-made smoothie icing in a cooler in the trunk of the car which I ate on the ride home.  It was a pretty good idea to have it pre-made and ready since the car ride home took us a little longer than anticipated.  Once we were home, I showered, ate a little more, stretched, gathered our pre-packed bags, and headed to Des Moines.  We stopped at Subway and had lunch, and for dinner in Des Moines I again ate Papa John's Chicken & Pepperoni Pizza.  Which is probably not the best pre-race meal, but it has always seemed to work for me.  For future races, I'm going to really try to cut down how many carbs I eat the night before, I think they're contributing to a little late race stomach issues.  But for this race, I just wanted to stick with what worked.  Following is specifically what I ate after the marathon in Kansas City as preparation for the Des Moines race the next day.


Post Run Refuel ...

• Used Roller Pad immediately after run - about 20 minutes after
• Light Stretching
• 32oz bottle of G2 Gatorade
• Lots of water throughout the day w/two Advil for any inflammation
• Banana
• Smoothie (based on the recommendation of Jason at CookTrainEatRace) made from banana, plain Greek yogurt, whey protein, orange juice, a couple of drops of honey, strawberries, blue berries, peaches, and 2 packets of dry oatmeal
• Full stretching with roller pad again about an hour minutes after run
• All natural Builders Protein bar - chocolate & peanut butter

Lunch (about 1-1/2 hour later) ...

• Subway 12" Turkey on Wheat
• 3 oatmeal & raisin cookies (sorry, sue me)
• 2 bags of apple slices
• Blue berry Vitamin water

Afternoon Snack

• 3-1/2 hour car ride from Kansas City to Des Moines
• Banana
• All natural Builders Protein bar - chocolate & peanut butter

Dinner

• Chicken & Pepperoni Pizza - about 6 slices
• 32 oz bottle of G2 Gatorade
• Full stretching with roller pad

Summary
After packet pickup at the Des Moines Convention Center, we went back to the hotel room where I tried to relax and began gathering my gear for the run on Sunday.  I tried to stay off of my feet as much as possible and rolled out and stretched one more time before going to bed.  I was unsure about how I would sleep with anticipation of the race the next day, but I rested really well that night.  Plus, I was completely satisfied with how the day had gone, from the race all the way through with recovery.

Getting through the run on Sunday was the "real goal" of the whole back-to-back marathon challenge.  But looking back at the 2011 Kansas City Marathon, I'll be hard-pressed to find another race that enjoyed so much.  Everything about the day was perfect, and I'm very blessed and thankful to have had the opportunity to run it.
... be great today!

Sioux Falls Performance Review

Sioux Falls Marathon 

September 11, 2011

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

13th Marathon Completed

Official Time: 3:21:15

Avg Pace: 7:41

Avg HR: 168

Finish: Overall 40th out of 354, 5th out of 45 40-44 Age Group

Weather: Starting Line - 62 degrees, 88% humidity, 3mph wind ...
Finish Line - 78 degrees

Comments: Good run, 3rd fastest marathon to date ... a little disappointed, really planned on a PR

Garmin Connect Link:  http://connect.garmin.com/activity/113815167

Overview
I went into this marathon not just hoping, but planning to PR.  I had trained pretty hard all summer and was looking forward to a nice cool & fairly flat marathon to set my personal record at.  In fact I was so confident, that I announced on a blog post two days before the run ... "PR WILL HAPPEN"!  But I missed that projection by about 40 seconds.  I ran a good race, just not as fast or strong as I had hoped to run ... all in all, it was a good run and my 3rd fastest marathon to date.

Race Weight, Nutrition, & Conditioning
I felt fairly fit for this race, but not in the best shape I had ever been.  Lately my upper body workouts had went away almost completely, but my legs were strong and healthy. I had been running twice a day, two days a week and mixing in evening leg workouts two days a week.  Plus, on weekends, I had mixed in several back to back long runs to prep for my up coming back to back marathons in October.  Plus, with the heat of summer, I had tried to maintain a fast pace, pushing through the heat and humidity.  So overall, my legs felt strong and ready.

My race day weight was about 177 or 178 which is fine, but really about 5 pounds heavier than I want to be for running a fast race.  And recently, my diet had been marginal at best.  It seems like I had combined one or two good days of nutrition with a bad one - but not disastrous.  I just could have been a lot better. 

As far as ab & core work goes, I had been fine, with about 400 crunches/week with 24 min of total planks and about 300 push ups.  But those had been really sporadic, and not consistent like in the past.  But overall, I felt good as far as my core goes.

Pre-Race
I drove to Sioux Falls on Saturday morning and arrived at packet pick-up at about noon.  It was a pretty small event with no Expo, so I was in and out in just a few minutes.  I usually drive the course at this point, but with most of the course being a closed bike path, I knew that was not possible.  So I went to see a movie, "The Debt" ... which was pretty relaxing.  After that, I just went back to the room and relaxed and felt fresh and ready.

I ate Subway for lunch and Johnny Carinos Italian for dinner ... and that's about it.  I didn't want to have too much on my stomach, trying to eliminate stomach problems.  The Italian was really garlicy which kind of upset my stomach during the evening, so I'll probably stay away from garlic the night before a race.  Other than that though, I felt fine.

Race & Pace
This race was billed as a "relatively flat" course, which I would agree with completely.  There were no monster hills and MANY long flat straight miles.  However, there were a few more hills in total than I had really planned on, but they really didn't slow me down until the end a little.

The hills at the start of the race seemed to be a little more "up & down'ish" than I thought they would be, but nothing that was killer.  And the little climb at 18 kinda got to me a little, but after 21 is was pretty flat.  My quads were a little sorer the next day than I thought they would be.  I hammered the down hills pretty hard, which is why.

It was a little warmer than I had planned on, but nothing deadly.  It was about 62 degrees, with 88% humidity at the starting line, which felt great for walking around, but I noticed I was sweating a little too much, a little too soon into the race.  I think it was about 78 degrees at the end of the race, which is getting warm for a marathon. I really felt the heat hit me toward the end, but with what I had trained in all summer, it shouldn't have mattered.

I felt great the first couple of miles, with a ton of energy, really struggling to keep my pace down.  I ran the first 3 miles about 10 seconds faster each than I had planned, but that wasn't earth shattering.  I felt good, and my Heart Rate was in the high 140's to low 150's.  I really felt strong, like I could accelerate at any minute.

At about mile 6 I started in on my 7:30's.  They felt smooth and easy, and like I was still really struggling to keep my pace down.  I was ready for mile 10 when I was going to settle into my 7:20 pace.

For most races, I start really slow and then play catch up the whole time - a strategy that has worked well for me.  But I'm really thinking about modifying that a little, I think I might be leaving too much time on the clock to make up early in the race.

As I kept glancing down at my Garmin during these miles, I was running anywhere from 7:05 - 7:07.  I think I burned a little too much energy during this part of the race.  The overall pace for each mile being around 7:15 was fine, however I think if I would have kept the pace a little smoother, I would saved some energy for late in the race.

I had planned on starting 7:30's again at mile 20, but I was starting to really lose a lot of fluid and my pace began to slip a little.  I didn't walk, except for one water stop where I took a gel, and twice during the last two mile, but it was really tough to keep the pace.  When I would speed up, I noticed my heart rate jumping to mid 180's.  And anytime lately when I'm over 180, I seem to notice some stomach problems, so I would slow down to get my stomach under control so we didn't have an accident on our hands.  But truly, my legs still felt fairly strong, I think the deficiency was in my conditioning.

Motivation
At about mile 24, I started realizing that if I pushed really hard I might still be able to get a PR and another BQ.  And honestly, if I had never BQ'd before, I probably had it in me.  But with my upcoming back-to-back  marathons in about a month, and with no desire to BQ just for the sake of doing it again, I really fought with motivation.  Speaking of motivation, this has become a problem for me as of late.  I am still 100% motivated to complete all of my marathons.  And I still have PLENTY of shorter race speed goals to accomplish.  But at the end of races, I start asking myself "How important is a few more seconds?"  And that's when I dial it down a little.  I don't quit ... I NEVER QUIT!  But I really seem to lose a little interest in finishing fast when the pain in my gut hits me.  It's something I need to address and focus on a little more and decide just how important a PR is when I start a race.  I can't be something I just breeze through and don't have to work for.

At about 25.5 I still an outside shot at a PR, but I when you are that close, the clock really plays games with your mind.  You start to calculate over and over again just how fast you have to run to make it happen.  I thought I had it figure out.  And when I could see the finish line, I was about 1 minute under my PR, so I started to "sprint" giving everything I had left.  Problem ... the finish line was almost 2 minutes away.  But I finished strong.

I finished at 3:21:15 ... still a very good race for me, but not what I had set out to do.  But I was completely fine with that.  The bigger goal was my back-to-back marathons in October and I felt like I had run a pretty good race.

Summary
I had to go immediately to my car, shower, and get on the road back to KC as quick as possible.  I think I was on the road about 45 minutes after I crossed the finish line.  And as with all races, I examined my pace splits on the way home on my Garmin.  Could I have ran a little faster?  Did the higher temps & more hills than I anticipated play a role?  Maybe, but I will never blame course conditions on not meeting my goal.  I know I ran well that day and was not ashamed of my performance at all.  I had to "eat a little crow" after predicting a PR, but other than that ... I was a good race.

Missoula Marathon Performance Review

Can't stop heal-striking!!!

Missoula Marathon 

July 10, 2011

Missoula, Montana

12th Marathon Completed

Official Time: 3:22:32

Avg Pace: 7:44

Avg HR: 165

Finish: Overall 98 out of 1,000 (top 10%), 40-44 Age Group 13 out of 82 (top 16%)

Weather: 60 degrees, 62% humidity, 3mph wind

Comments: Great run overall, 3rd fastest marathon to date ... no soreness/tightness afterwards

Garmin Connect Link:  http://connect.garmin.com/activity/98787663

Overview
I went into this race with no particular pace plan or strategy, but rather just wanted to have fun and enjoy the beauty of Montana.  And I did just that!  However, even though the idea was just to run a smooth, somewhat "slower race" ... similar to the Austin  Livestrong Marathon ... I found myself running fairly fast (for me anyway) at about mile 16 and decided to push it a little.  I didn't PR, but this was one of the more enjoyable races I have ran to date with NO real stress on my body.  Coming away from it, I really feel like I'm probably in better shape than ever based on my finishing time and the way I felt the few days after the race!

Race Weight, Nutrition, & Conditioning
I was 176 lbs for this race, which is a little thin for "walking around", but felt good running.  But I felt really strong at the starting line.  My ab work leading up to the race had been pretty good and I felt like I had a strong core.  My morning core work had been 100 crunches, 6:00 total planks (2 on each side & center), and 2 x 30 reps of push ups ... 5 days a week before my runs.  Also, I had been able to incorporate fairly consistent two or three evenings per week at the gym where I would do additional ab work and light upper body work.  But usually at the gym I focused primarily on full leg workouts.  The result was strong healthy legs that weren't overcome by the typical post race soreness.  A few days after the run, I was a little tight in my left calf, but that was it ... which was an awesome feeling!

My diet had been fairly decent leading up to the race too.  Like most people, I eat a little less in the summer.  I think I was probably only getting about 2,500 calories per day which is a little low, but I always seemed to have enough energy for workouts.  I also had made the decision to eat WAY LESS CARBS for this race to avoid the late-marathon stomach issues.  In previous marathons, around mile 22 and beyond, if my heart rate went above 180bpm, I seem to get really bad stomach cramping.  It's so bad in some races that it makes me stop and walk to avoid becoming one of those horrible internet race photos featuring a "bad accident".  Eating less carbs seemed to do the trick.  My stomach cramped a little at Missoula around mile 24, but not near much as normal.  I think I'll go even less carbs for the next race.

Pre-Race
Missuola's 5am starting area was perfect.  It was 45 degrees, about 60% humidity, and 3mph winds.  Much better than the 75-80 degrees & 90% I had been training in.  I kept a long sleeve shirt and jacket on until about 5 minutes before the race and even got a little chilly at that.  The gear bag boxes were literally about 10 ft from the 6am starting line, which was great.

About 2 hours before the race I took my typical 2 ibuprofen.  I hope to ween myself off of this, but the last few races it has really seemed to help with leg soreness late in the race and later in the day.  About 30 minutes before the race I downed the usual PowerBar carb bar and a Vivarin for a caffeine blast.  Vivarin is not something I would recommend, but it seems to work for me ... probably more psycological at this point.

Race & Pace

Missoula Marathon Splits

The elevation for Missoula was about 3,200 ft which didn't seem to phase me. (Actually, I don't think most people begin to notice much elevation heart rate change until about 5,000 ft) But during the first two miles, I noticed my heart rate start to hit 210 bpm, which is WAY over my max heart rate - but never felt like I was working that hard.  So I think my Garmin was most likely picking up other heart rate monitors from people who were running close to me.  My overall heart rate was 165 bpm for the 26.2, which is about average for a marathon.  I would like to get to where I can bump the average up a little, thus running a little faster, but for now it's fine.

Even though the race was mostly uphill, there were no significant elevation increases until about miles 12-15, where we climbed a very manageable 190 ft, with most it of coming at mile 14 with 131 ft.  The rest of the course was a very slight up-hill, but mostly flat.  The big thing I noticed was that there weren't any down-hills other than at mile 16.  It would have been nice to get a couple long downhills to gain both time and energy back, but overall the course was fairly easy.

Usually when the mile markers seem a little off, I blame it not running the tangets effectively.  But for this race, I think they were definitely off a little.  My Garmin measured a few miles at 1.2, but others at .9 and .87 ... which didn't really seem right.  I mean, I think I stayed on the course the whole time, but maybe I cut it short ... but not .1 or .13 short.  The final tally for the race was 26.23.  So regardless of the mis-marked miles, it still ended up okay.

After running several marathons and about 70  miles per week, I have a pretty good idea now days where my splits should be without writing them down.  Typically during a marathon, I carry a mileage split chart with me so I know where my pace should be at any point in the race. It's kind of my security blanket.  But I didn't carry one for this run.  I decided that I wasn't going to PR, so I would just "stay close" to my typical splits, but with no pressure to be at certain times at certain miles.  It made the marathon much more relaxing and seemed to work okay.  I even stopped for about 50 seconds to pee at mile 5 and didn't worry about making up the time later in the race, which was nice!

I have "mental check points" for myself during a marathon at miles 8, 14, 18, & 22.  At these miles I do a "mental" evaluation to determine how I'm feeling and how my body is responding.  I really felt great at each "check point" at Missoula.  Part of it was the amazing weather ... but also I felt really good about my conditioning.  After I get to mile 22 I just "gut it out" for the last 4 miles.  The last 4 mile stretch can get a little long, so I'm thinking about changing to mile 23 for my final check.  Focusing on 3 miles at the end of the race is better than 4.

I think if I would have prepared a little better and focused a lot more on this race, it would have been an "easy" PR.  Even though I was running fairly consistent and really strong ... it seemed like I was just kinda screwin' around the first 15 miles.  At about mile 16 I looked at my pace and thought I had a chance to PR if I pushed it a little.  For the 6 miles from 16 to 22 I averaged a 7:19 mile, with my heart rate climbing from about 165 to 177.  I kept pushing it, but I knew the record time was slipping slowly out of reach - I had started a little too slow for a PR today. At about mile 24 I figured I had to run a couple of 7:00 miles to come close to PR and I'm not even sure that would do it.  I began to push it a little doing the marathon pace math in my head.  I ran mile 25 in 7:37 which wasn't near fast enough for a PR, so I slowed down and ran the last mile at 7:53 just enjoying the finish!

Summary
I think I'll probably run faster races later this year, but Missoula was unbelievably satisfying.  The finish time was respectable.  The course was easy.  And best of all, my legs felt amazing the following week.  Usually I'm a little sore for a couple of days depending on how hard I push myself.  But I'm really happy with my physical progress, and that I'm getting in good enough shape to run a 3:22 marathon ... and then run 33 miles the following week with absolutely no pain. I think this is probably the strongest my legs have ever been at this point.  Missoula was a great race and great experience!  Every race won't be a PR, but I have no complaints with this one ... mission accomplished!
...be great today!