Getting back to Boston

Shakeout run before I get on the plane. Legs didn't feel great, but then I didn't sleep much last night either. Dunno if I'll do a couple of miles tomorrow morning in Sacramento or not. Either way, in three hours I'll be boarding the plane for CIM -- and heading east...

Just an easy warmup jog for CIM. Sunny, clear, cool, but a bit windy. Wind is supposed to die down overnight, rest of weather should be ideal. Now off to the expo.

I pretty much knew my training wouldn't support a BQ attempt today, but I felt obliged to make the effort. With the help of Mike Holmes, I stayed on track for 11 miles. Then he just motored off and I couldn't do a thing about it. Not that he sped up; he just kept the 8:00 pace. I couldn't maintain. Most of the second half of the race was struggling to get under 10:00 pace, as a 23-minute positive split suggests.

 More to come. 

 Back home now and taking stock. There were absolutely no excuses. Race was very well run, course was great, weather was darn near perfect. I hydrated and fueled according to plan. Traffic was not a major issue. I just wasn't prepared to run fast, and I knew it.

Mike and I got together in the corral and talked to Lee, the pace bunny. We decided we didn't absolutely have to hang right with him, just hang close. And we did. Mike would make a heckuva pace bunny. He was just ripping off 8:00s, one after another. I'd drop back 20-30 feet, then catch up, over and over, but through 10 miles I felt pretty good. Miles 8 and 9 were a little slow due to hills, but we were just barely over 8:00 pace. Mike would be able to make that up (and did). Me? Not so much.

Mile 10 and 11 were back under 8:00 pace, and I'm still doing the lag/catch up routine. Then we get to mile 12, and I'm not catching up any more. The hamstrings are not cooperating. Mile 13, considerably slower. I'm less than 1:00 over goal pace at the half, but the trend is not good. And now I have a new issue: The left knee. I'm pretty sure the meniscus is a bit frayed and every once in a while, it seems to flip up and gets caught, and hurts. It will work loose eventually, but until it does, it slows me down. I walked for a minute or so, bent the left knee to about 90 degrees a couple of times to try to free it, and it worked. I was able to resume running, but at about 9:00 pace.  

Couple of miles after that, the hamstrings just kept tightening. In retrospect, I probably should have tried a surge here, to try to counteract the slide, but I didn't, and the walk monster jumped in. And I'm struggling. Even when not walking, I'm not going very fast. Miles 20-23 were all above 10:00 pace, and 21 was above 11 (I suspect there was a little extra walking there). Got passed by the 3:35 pace team, then 3:40; I'm sure 3:45 did too, but I don't remember seeing them, and 3:55 amazingly never caught me.

I get into Sacramento, and the flats on L Street and then J Street, and I'm able to pick up the pace, at least get under 10:00. There was one brief walk spell, maybe 20 seconds, in mile 25; I think it was around Sutter Health's construction zone. But then I picked it back up and maintained sub-10 to the finish; even sucked it up for a mini-sprint. How much earlier could I have sucked it up? Who knows?

Crossed the line in 3:55 even, so I beat my time in Utah (which was inflated by potty breaks; no portapotties needed this time). I guess it's good that even on my really sucky days, I can break 4 hours, but it's still disappointing, because I know I can do better. But I have to train better. Eleven weeks between marathons isn't enough, I guess. Only one 20-miler. Not enough MP work. Tempo work was inadequate, and often I didn't hit my goals for those workouts. Just a bad training cycle. But I gave what I had on Sunday, and despite plenty of temptation to do so, I didn't bail out.

Oh, one more little detail -- discovered that I had a case of the dreaded purple nurple after the finish. Usually that little issue becomes obvious well before the finish, but not this time. Only realized it when I saw a little blood on the top corner of my bib. Obviously the NewSkin paint job was not effective.

Pretty sure, like 99.9%, I won't do another marathon until Stockholm. I think I need some base building over the winter. I heard Greg McMillan talk at the expo Saturday afternoon, and I may apply some of his ideas to that process. Maybe do a half in March or April to get a handle on where I am. No idea at this point if I'll decide to actually race Stockholm or just cruise it. I do know that I'll plan to race Indy in early November. Maybe a flat course is what I need; I've done three straight downhill races and didn't do very well at any of them (although Boston was just a tactical screwup on my part; if I'd targeted a 3:30 instead of 3:25, I think I'd have hit my goal and I'd be starting training for Boston 2012 soon).

Back on the road this morning, or to be more precise, the track at MAFC. Slow, slow, slow, but that's OK. Hammies still felt a little tight, but no major issues. Not really tempted to extend the run past 5K, which still took 30 minutes plus. Probably will take tomorrow off and run Saturday morning, then start picking it back up a little more next week.

Broke out the tights this morning for 7ish at the WAR room. No one else was out there, but that's OK. Had the monitor belt on and ran by HR, keeping the rate in the low 120s, which meant 9:50ish pace. Legs felt pretty good until about 6, but was still able to do a semi-sprint for the last 400 or so.

Six this evening on the track at MAFC. Probably ran it a little faster than I should have; getting passed by a young woman who seemed to be running about 7:30 pace, a mile at a time, got me wound up. Oh well. HR was consequently higher than I had planned, but overall an OK run.

Getting the feeling that some people I had considered online friends aren't reciprocating. Oh well. They might not think so, but it's their loss. Not entirely surprised by this revelation either; I'd detected just a whiff of narcissism. OK, a lot more than a whiff. 

Kept the heart rate under better control this time. Averaged 127 on a 9:45 pace for 6.25, just a smidge over an hour. It's gonna be kind of a pain to wear the monitor strap so much, but maybe it will keep my training more focused. Tomorrow, an hour and a half, which will likely be 9ish.

Well, that was interesting. I decided I needed to do a HRmax test to pin down my training heart rates for Hadd, since I hadn't done a test in three years-plus. Fair enough. Jogged over to SHS, then did some strides. Hadd's recommendation was to do an all-out 800, rest two minutes, then do an all-out 400, and the closing HR at the end of the 400 should be just about your max. Faie enough. Did all that. My time for the 800 was 3:16, max HR 165. Rest two minutes, take off on the 400. It was as all-out as these old, tired legs can manage right now. Time: 90 seconds. Max HR: 164.

I'm going to presume that dead legs were my limiting factor, not my heart rate. Do the old equations, my HR should be about 172. And that's about what I got three years ago when I did a hill test on the dreadmill. So I'm gonna presume it hasn't changed that much, and will still be in the ~170 range, and base my training paces off that.

Then I ran home, the long way, and mostly in the rain. The rain didn't bother me. Being tired did. And I couldn't go slow enough to keep the HR below 130, especially on the uphills, where it was more like 140. Total for the afternoon, 8.7. A good day's work, and hopefully I worked up a few more mitochondria along the way along with finding out a ballpark number for HRmax.

 Now for tonight's date. Hmm. Not gonna say too much about that. Yet. 

Went to Marvin for a late run. Discovered I'd pulled a muscle in my back, which did not make running any easier. HR did not want to stay in the zone, no matter how slow I went (sore back probably didn't help). Ended up at barely under a 10:00 average, 135 AHR.

Took yesterday off for moving and date. I'd planned to meet Rose and Martha for a run at Ben Geren this morning. Well, we all showed up -- but they took off without me :( Since I was out there anyway, decided to do the run I'd planned. Except that I changed those plans quickly. Instead of three loops around Ben Geren, I veered off on a bike trail I'd never used, which turned into directing me over to Chaffee. So in essence, my run was Ben Geren to the WAR Room and back, with a few twists and turns. Did a good job of keeping my heart rate down, even with late-run cardiac creep due to a bit of dehydration (didn't take water or gels, intentionally). Take out the first mile, when the HRM doesn't read right anyway, and my AHR was 127 -- right where I wanted it, even with the creep.

Also weighed before and after the run. Before, 162. After, 156 (remember, no water or food). So I lost (or wizzed) nearly three liters of fluid.

All in all, a good run for 14 days out from a marathon. Actually, it felt quite similar to those late miles when I was struggling, difference being that I was OK with 10 minute miles today, while two weeks ago I wasn't.

Very pleased with last night's date. Carol is very nice and definitely prettier in person than her Facebook pic suggests. Hoping we will go out again soon, like before NYD. And maybe I can get her back into running.

Yesterday turned into a URD thanks to Max's trip to the vet for his ulcerated leg. So I got up this morning planning to get in an early 6, only to find the Garmin wasn't charged. So I waited 45 minutes for it to (almost) charge, then went to the gym so that I'd be handy when, inevitably, I got called. Which happened at the 5 mile mark.

I was trying to keep the rate under 130, and failing. Not sure why I can't keep the rate down at the gym. Is it because it's warmer there than outside? Maybe. I was in the high 9:50s pacewise, and still averaged 134 HR.

Finished 80 laps, then showered and went straight to the ER. Legs were fine, no issues there. I guess I just have to make myself slooooowwww dooooowwwwwnnnn on that track, stay well over 10:00 pace.

Thought I was going to do a slow 6 this morning, but I looked at Hadd's schedule, and he calls for two runs a week that are a little longer and a little harder. So I decided to do one of those, 75 minutes at up to 145 AHR. It's 40, overcast, very little wind, perfect running weather. So I set out toward SHS, and realized, even pushing the pace and going uphill, the HR was barely above 130. So I pushed a little harder. Still in the low 130s, or lower. Turned downhill on Old Greenwood, even faster, still low HR. All the way home, same thing.

So, running 55 seconds a mile faster than yesterday, with hills and everything thrown in, my heart rate was 8 bpm LOWER. That tells my just how much temperature affects me. That extra 25 degrees in the gym outweighed running faster and harder (up the hills). 

Low and slow today. Really kept the heart rate down, in spite of the Free Ferry/Old Greenwood hills. AHR of 120 once the HRM settled in. Pace was about 10:07, but that's really not a consideration at this point. I want mitochondria, not speed. Get the mitochondria, the speed will come. Or at least that's the plan.

Another "until" run at MAFC, with the call coming almost exactly at the 6-mile mark. Worked really hard to slow down and keep the AHR down, and it actually was effective. Once the monitor locked in after a half-mile, the AHR was 127. Right where I want it. I was just barely a smidge under 10:00 pace for the whole 6 miles. Also confirmed, as I had thought, that the temp at MAFC is ~68 degrees, which is good for the summer, not so good for the winter.

Tomorrow, plan 12 at dawnish before work. Or two hours, really, although I suspect that will be more than 12 running outdoors in cold weather. Probably a fish on Christmas Day.

Two hours, 13 miles. AHR 127. Cold and foggy; fog didn't burn off until after 8:30. Got it done, though. Now to go to work and get slammed.

Out at dawn for 7 before work. Bad case of bah humbug this morning; run didn't improve that much, but it did work out some frustrations, I think. Low and slow, and kept the AHR down to 124. Gonna try to get to 2250 miles for the year by the end of the week (duh). Today took me over 2200, if I remember correctly. Temp right around freezing, quite comfortable in long sleeved tech shirt, headband, thin gloves and track pants, and probably would have been OK in shorts as well.

Sushi before work, in the rain. Drizzle wasn't a bother at all. I had a lot on my mind, which made the time go faster. I had the phone along in case I got called to work, and I got a text from Carol that she's available for a date on Friday, which brightened my mood considerably. Kept the HR down, averaged about 129, 9:46 pace.

Max goes to the vet tomorrow to get stitches out, and I go visit the folks in Bryant. Maybe I'll work in a run there somewhere, before, during or after the drive.

Interrupted my drive to Bryant for a run on the River Trail. Absolutely beautiful day -- cloudless sky, high 40s, bit of a breeze. Original plan was to do 8, but enjoyed the run so much I stretched it out to 10+. Pace was 9:31, but still kept the AHR under 130. It got a little windier on the return leg, right in my face of course, so that's probably why the AHR wasn't down around 126.

Short run tomorrow, go back to FS, hope to do the Hadd test at the track on Thursday, another shortie on Friday before my date with Carol (Bordino's?), then MLR on Saturday. That should get me out of 2011 with 2250+. Didn't quite threaten my annual PR of 2500, but it's my second best year. And my first year with three marathons, all sub-4 (but all not what I wanted). Hoping I get a good race in 2012, whether in Stockholm or Indy.

Hadd test today at Southside, to set my baseline. Recheck in six weeks, see how much progress I've made, in terms of how fast I can run at given heart rates. The format is 2400 meters X 5 at increasing heart rates, starting with what amounts to a very slow jog, and bumping up about 10 bpm on each subsequent interval. Ninety seconds rest between intervals. Here's what I got:

HR 127, 15:07 (10:08 pace)

HR 134, 14:01 ( 9:24 pace)

HR 145, 12:37 ( 8:27 pace)

HR 155, 11:45 ( 7:52 pace)

HR 163, 11:02 ( 7:24 pace)

So the fourth interval was just a smidge below GMP, and the fifth interval was about 10KP. Fifth interval was also HARD. I would also observe that on the first two intervals, I was kind of feeling my way around, partially because the HRM didn't lock in until about halfway through the first interval, and the second because I really started too slow; HR didn't get up near 135 until the last two laps. Also, the instructions were to go out kind of conservatively, rather than blast out fast and have to back off to keep my rate at the desired level, but on the second rep, I was, again, too conservative.

I'm pretty sure (OK, completely sure) that the last rep was above LT, and I wouldn't have felt comfortable staying at that pace very much longer. Could I have run a 10K at that pace? Maybe, maybe not. Probably not much past a 5K, really.

And then the endorphins kicked in. My cooldown jog felt really good, so I extended it to three miles plus. 

SLOOOOOWWWW 9 today. Legs, and especially glutes, were really tight after yesterday's Hadd test. Really never did loosen fully. Even if they had, I was going to keep the HR down, to the point that I walked up parts of two hills because the HR was creeping up too high on the climb. Average today was 123, so I guess I succeeded in that.

If my mental math is correct, I'm at 2240 for the year, so a 10-miler tomorrow will get me to my mini-goal of 2250. I'm thinking more like 15 to cap the year. Then I might go for a midnight run to start 2012 off right. Tonight, hoops at BWA. Don't know if Tyler will go with me or not. His choice; I'm going anyway. Pam's also supposed to come visit the cat at some point. Not sure when. Wouldn't be surprised if she stalls until after I've left for the basketball game.

Finished off 2011 in fine style. I ran 7.8 down to Marketplace and met up with a WAR group there. They decided to do 10, 5 out and back on Phoenix. I was going to peel off on Old Greenwood and head home after 3.3 going out, but I felt pretty strong and we were going at a good pace, so I just kept going. Did the full 10 with the group, then ran another 2.6 to go home. Which became my first 20-miler ever when there wasn't an impending marathon. Good group -- Lalita, Stacy, Kathy, Mary Jo, Dennis, Lionel and a couple of others I'm forgetting in an almost-senior moment. Reminded me that group runs can really be fun, and I need to do more of them.

Week total, 65+. Month, 188. Year, 2260. That'll do for now. With more consistency in 2012, that figure should go up. PR? Maybe. Hopefully.