Domino effect

Well, the Gulf Coast Marathon in Biloxi, MS has come and gone. And with it, most likely, my opportunity to be in the Abbott Age Championships in London next year. I needed a sub-3:02 performance to get the combined score to be in the Top 85. However, despite starting off conservatively and aiming for a negative split (rather than even effort), by Mile 7 or 8, I couldn't keep even the 3:05 pace that I was on. My right glute started to get tight, and I progressively slowed down throughout the rest of the race. Given that the Biloxi course is pancake flat (except for a nasty uphill ramp after Mile 24 with the commensurate downhill after Mile 25), I never had any way of gaining additional momentum. Final time was 3:23:29, which puts me at over 400 points outside of what I needed, likely somewhere around 212th. Once I am able to claim the points on Abbott's website, I'll know for certain.

So, what dominoes? Well, naturally I didn't work out the following day -- that was my travel day home. I wouldn't have worked out anyway, since my right hip/glute were hurting. Tuesday I wound up getting out of work a little late and didn't take the opportunity to go to the gym. I also had a bit of a sorre throat that I had chalked up to my last hour at work where I was doing the bulk of talking in a conversation. Wednesday, I still wanted to take things easy. The sore throat had mostly subsided, and on Thursday throughout the day my runny nose (which is an intermittent but rather perpetual thing for me) was getting worse and I was getting congested. So, after getting home, I took it easy (no gym) and took some DayQuil to deal with the nose, congestion, and nasty headache. Today has been a bit of a rough day. While I haven't had a headache at all, there's only so much that the DayQuil can do for the rest of this. While I'm currently feeling fairly decent, I'm going to hole up way from the gym again. It's all I can do to prevent entering the downward spiral of no gym *and* eating poorly. When I'm feeling good and working out, food isn't a problem. But with the COVID precautions, even though I'm 99% sure this is just the same sort of cold I've had before (there's nothing new presenting itself), I need to stay in. And it's infuriating.

Moral of the story: Take care of yourself. Always eat reasonably well (occasional cheats help the mind, but don't make those poor choices a habit), and exercise as regularly as possible. When you treat your body well, it will treat you well in return. Occasionally some bug will slip past your natural defenses, but hopefully your regular good habits will allow you to persevere in short order.

Even harder goal for Sunday

Hitting 3:05:00 is tough enough, but I just checked one last time to see whether there were more people who have popped higher scores into the Top 85 and, lo and behold, there are. Now, instead of having to beat 3:05:00 to be pretty confident of being in the Top 85, I now need to PR, cracking below 3:02 to be pretty sure of being in the Top 85. Now to figure out what the best strategy is to make sure I hit that time. How much of a negative split should I attempt? Hmmm... (And, of course, this all assumes that the winner of my age group does NOT finish faster than the Platinum standard.)

Drumroll, please...

So, there are only two races left in the qualifying period for the Abbott World Marathon Majors Age Championships -- both happening next weekend. My current ranking is 2103 (415th in the U.S.) based on only having one qualifying race under my belt for the current qualifying period. 3430 points.

The top 85 overall qualify for the Age Championships. Currently, those who are tied for 84th have a total of 6790 points between their two races. So, if I were to tie with them, that means that I need to get 3360 points (and bringing our collective ranking down to 85, assuming no one else does similarly). Given the scoring mechanism, that means I would be finishing less than 32 minutes behind either the 1st place finisher in my age group or the Platinum standard of 2:34, whichever is faster.

I have to assume that our age group winner will finish in a similar time to last year's -- 2:43:35 -- which means the comparison for points would be against the Platinum standard. So, I must run faster than 3:06:00 to have a shot at a qualifying spot, assuming no one else in the two races is "in the running" for jumping into the Top 85 (and would jump me to 24th in the U.S. -- wow).

I'm sure I've got it in me. (3:02:02 is my PR from just over a year ago.) Now, it's really down to making sure I take good enough care of myself during this next week and the weather conditions are good enough on race day. No more tweaking of my diet beyond what I'm already used to doing. And as of now, the temperature at the start of the race should be in the low 50s (ideal), with mild crosswinds (9mph from the north), but a decent chance of rain showers (grr...). Hopefully it's only a light rain and intermittent (enough to keep me cool, but not so much as to have the shirt stuck to my skin even longer or soak through my sneakers and socks). Nothing I can do about the conditions, just mentally prepare myself for them, and keep myself as dry and warm as possible in the time before race start.

Fingers crossed!

Back on the trail

Wow, it's been a full month since the last time I posted anything? Yikes.

There have been several times where I mused over something to post, but just didn't get off my duff to do so. It really does feel like so much of the same-old same-old, how to write something new? Other bloggers seem to come up with something really easily on a frequent basis. To be sure some of my difficulty is because of the somewhat myopic nature of the posts. What sorts of things would you like to read beyond my training and (now rare) racing travails?

As at least one or two of the readers know from Facebook, I became slightly anemic several months ago. Taking an iron supplement wasn't cutting it -- still too anemic to donate platelets, which is something I used to do regularly (approximately every 2-3 weeks). I finally took the chance of putting spinach back into my diet. I had removed it quite a while ago because of GI issues I was having. That has definitely done the trick -- more than high enough levels to donate this past Sunday.

Previously it had been causing GI issues because I was eating the spinach regularly as part of my lunch. Apparently, even though I eat lunch anywhere from 4-6 hours before my afternoon workout (on workdays, I go to the gym after work), even that was apparently too close in timing, thereby causing some nasty GI issues. Out from the diet it went. But this time around, I'm having it as part of dinner -- typically less than an hour after my afternoon workout. No issues due to the spinach.

What's more, as would be expected, given my higher iron levels -- and, hence, presumed greater capacity to carry oxygen in my blood -- my training runs have generally been going even better than normal. Less than two weeks to go before my next "real" marathon, not virtual. Looking forward to seeing if it goes as well as I need it to: goal is to go 3:05 or faster. I'll be able to finalize my goal after next Sunday's Abbott Age Championship-qualifying race(s) to know just what score I need (and hence finishing time I need) to qualify for next year's championships in London.

Always earned, never given

As with the vast majority of races this year, the Marine Corps Marathon was canceled/converted into a virtual event. Last week I received my package with some of the items that we would normally receive during the pre-race expo.

Registered runners have an approximately 6 week timeframe during which to take one day to run their marathon distance. Today was that day for me. It started out perfectly at about 45F, partly cloudy, with  minimal wind. I was clicking along at approximately 7:45/mi pace for the first 16 miles, and it was comfortable. Were the conditions to have stayed nice, I certainly would have been able to do a negative-split time.

However, that was clearly not in the cards for today. Shortly after I passed 16 miles, the weather took a turn for the worse. It started raining, soon to become moderate to heavy rain for the remaining miles. As if that wasn't bad enough, the wind kicked up to about 10-15 mph, with stronger gusts intermittently -- headwind. Oy! What was a comfortable run to begin with became a MUCH more difficult run. My legs changed from being reasonably loose and turning over pretty quickly to noticeably tighter, taking more effort to move along. It was truly noticeable in the change of pace starting at Mile 20. The general trend outbound was uphill, which should have made my attempted negative split manageable, but even the general downhill trend wasn't enough to make up for the worsening weather conditions.

Mile    Goal Pace    Actual Pace

1        7:45 - 8:00    7:41

2        7:45 - 8:00    7:34

3        7:45 - 8:00    7:49

4        7:45 - 8:00    7:44

5        7:45 - 8:00    7:48

6        7:45 - 8:00    7:53

7        7:45 - 8:00    7:47

8        7:45 - 8:00    7:40

9        7:45 - 8:00    7:45

10      7:45 - 8:00    7:39

11      7:45 - 8:00    7:42

12      7:45 - 8:00    7:44

13      7:45 - 8:00    7:52

14      7:30 - 7:45    7:42

15      7:30 - 7:45    7:18  

16      7:30 - 7:45    7:28

17      7:30 - 7:45    7:39

18      7:30 - 7:45    7:35  

19      7:30 - 7:45    7:40  

20      7:30 - 7:45    8:01  

21      7:30 - 7:45    7:57  

22      7:30 - 7:45    7:58  

23      7:30 - 7:45    7:57  

24      7:30 - 7:45    8:22  

25      7:30 - 7:45    8:02  

26      7:30 - 7:45    8:19  

26.2   7:30 - 7:45    8:15     

But I got it done. Even though I had the medal ahead of time, I made sure not to remove it from the packaging in advance, since I am 100% on-board with the MCM motto (and title of this blog entry): "Always earned, never given." This was definitely a hard-fought, well-earned medal.

Lunch at Melt was great, and has turned into a tradition for me for my longer long runs and local marathons: bacon cheeseburger, onion rings, and choloate milkshake. Scrumptious! And, yes, of course I wore the MCM shirt and medal out. While the actual marathon wasn't today, *my* marathon was today -- so of course I'm going to take pride in the finish.

Now to get ready for my last marathon of the year (a real, live race) in mid-December.

Trust, forgive, and adjust

Yes, not only am I a Marathon Maniac by membership in the club but truly in mentality. I run a lot. It seems like I'm always training for yet another marathon, even in these COVID times. Granted, I don't approach the mileage that the elites put in for their training, but I hit as much as 60 miles in a week right before tapering in a normal cycle. 

It's to be expected at times that the motivation just flies out the window. Yesterday was just such a day -- I had absolutely ZERO motivation to go out the door and run. And my lack of energy merely augmented that lack of motivation. This is where the trust comes into the equation: trust your mind and body. Listen to what it is telling you. Sometimes you just need to pull back a little bit and give yourself a rest. It's ok. That's also where the forgiveness comes into play. 

So you took a day off that wasn't part of your original plan. Take a look at what you have coming up in the next several days and see whether it makes sense to add that missed mileage back in across those days. Or do a run a little bit faster to make up for it. Be willing to adjust your schedule if it makes sense.

Today was a fantastic run. I did 13.1 miles on the treadmill in 1:38:48. Very pleased with the run, because it was VERY comfortable. I certainly would have been able to keep that pace for a full marathon if I were inclined to do my virtual MCM today rather than next weekend. And that is very encouraging for pushing it faster (in the 3:05 - 3:10 range) for my December race.

The above notwithstanding, if you wind up getting into a rut of multiple days of low energy/zero motivation and choose not to run or otherwise workout, you need to examine what else is happening. Are you eating poorly? Are you not getting enough sleep? Too much stress at work? You may need to force yourself to go for a run -- even an easy pace for a few miles -- to break you out of that rut and get back to your previously normal routine. Being willing to trust, forgive, and adjust isn't intended to give a way to completely give up.

Best laid plans...

Sunday was TOUGH. The temperature started at about 63F and only climbed from there along with the sun in the cloudless sky. Occasionally strong winds, but those weren't so bad. Interestingly enough, though, I don't think the heat is hat really did me in. Not sure what really did. But after Mile 2 was finished and we started up the mild, long-ish hill at Mile 3 (which repeats at about Mile 15), I knew that I wasn't going to hit my sub-3 goal. My legs just weren't turning over fast enough and my pacer gradually just got further and further away. Unfortunately, rather than fully accept that reality and pull back the effort to something more manageable, I kept pushing as hard as possible. That certainly did me in, sapping far too much energy. By the time I got back to that hill at Mile 15, I switched from all running to run-walk -- a horrible sign for me. Instead of having a Top 3 age group finish with a sub-3 time (the original goal), I wound up finishing in 3:32:05, 6th (out of 15) in the age group. While empirically a very good time, it was nothing along the lines of what I wanted and was trained for.

In the weeks leading up to the marathon, I had become slightly anemic. That was reconfirmed with a blood test after a regular doctor's visit. It will be interesting to see how my training and upcoming virtual Marine Corps Marathon go with adding an iron pill into my diet (since my daily multivitamin actually doesn't have iron it, though I thought it did). I'm not going to be pushing for a particularly fast time, since I don't want to take a long post-race recovery time to keep training for my next live marathon, taking place in December. Depending on how everything goes, I will determine whether I aim for ~3:15 or something faster. The goal, ultimately, is to be less than 30 minutes slower than the person who comes in 1st in the age group, to hopefully have a good enough total in the Abbott WMM Age Championship standings to qualify for the 2021 championships happening in London.

In the book!

Sweet! It was amazing crossing the finish line in Toronto in October 2019 knowing that I had broken a Guinness World Record for fastest marathon dressed as a super villain, and gotten the official certificate a few weeks later. At the time, it was totally unknown as to whether anything related to it would make it into the 2021 edition of their book. 

Well, the book just came out on Tuesday. Lo and behold, my record made it in there!

Definitely an enormous morale boost going into the marathon I'm running on Sunday attempting to break my PR with a sub-3 time. With good fortune, the temperature will only slowly rise from the low of 60F. But given that it will be very sunny, I think it will rise into the 70s pretty quickly, making this time pretty difficult to achieve. Certainly worth a shot, but I will be very mindful of the possibility of overheating. Finishing safely is ALWAYS more important than pushing too hard, hurting oneself, and not finishing.

Taper in high gear

Today's final long run was only 15 miles @ 7:15 pace. Garmin was considerably off outside today (over 3% short of actual distance, average), so having reliable splits was not possible. While my splits look pretty bad compared to deired pace, I was pretty much spot-on, considering final distance was 15.25mi as opposed to 14.76mi.

This coming week is going to be very bizarre for me, given the huge fluctuations being called for in my diet. I'll be eating carb-heavy snacks for ~70% of my diet for a few days before dropping carbs down to 20% to deplete for a couple of days before I ramp them back up in the 2-3 days before the race. Lots of extra sea salt in the last few days as I pre-hydrate a lot, too. Race day is going to be HOT (starting ~65F), so hopefully this strategy will help me be fully hydrated at start and allow me to retain sufficient salt and water during the race itself.

Relatively limited amount of running this week, but I'm going to make sure to do it outside in the heat, to re-acclimate myself to running in those conditions. (Today's run was gorgeous, at ~45-50F.)

And then there were two

Well, the Dallas Marathon -- which was one of the three remaining 2020 domestic marathons eligible for the Abbott Age Championships that still had open registration -- has just postponed to April 2021. Sigh. What are the odds that I can manage that one extra qualifying race in the next 3 months? Now it's down to Rock 'n Roll San Antonio and Gulf Coast (in Biloxi, MS). Here's to hoping. 

Training has gone a little better this week. While Sunday really took a lot out of me, Tuesday's and Wednesday's runs were really solid, comfortable even at marathon pace for multiple miles. Less than two weeks left in this taper until my sub-3 attempt. And then to see if I get the bug to continue going sub-3. It'd be fabulous to do that in San Antonio or Biloxi (virtually assuring me a place in the Age Championships), but I think a more comfortable/more easily achievable time would still suffice. Still... I have to wait several weeks to see what's open still, and look to maintain fitness for the additional ~4-6 weeks.

Another tough run

Wow, the cumulative fatigue across my training regimen has certainly taken a toll on me this time around. Today's run is something that should have been easily in my wheelhouse -- 20 miles at 7:25 pace. That's approximately the right pace to get a 3:15 marathon, which is not unreasonable for me. But today... I dropped from pace after 12 miles, and then again at Mile 14 and Mile 16. What should have been a little under 2:30 total wound up being over 2:40. And thoroughly wiped.

At Mile 18, my vision started ever so slightly to be affected similar to what happens when you get lightheaded -- I was right on the edge of that. I was mindful of it for the remaining two miles, prepared to step onto the rails of the treadmill and hold on, but that was not needed. Interestingly, only after I started my cooldown walk on the mill did I start getting lightheaded.

Lunch today was a great local BBQ place, mercifully I was permitted to eat indoors. I desperately needed the food in me, and have no idea how I would have fared if I had to continue back home first. But it took a long time for me to get through my meal. Just the energy needed to eat was a bit hard to muster -- not standard for me. And then to walk back to the car (please, maybe 100-200 feet?)... I was on edge the whole time driving back, looking to just collapse onto the couch.

Clearly something is insufficient in my diet lately, and I need to adjust it anyway to deal with some too-fast weight loss today. But the biggest thing that I truly need is to get my head thoroughly back into the game. Marathon Day (for a real in-person event) is really going to be the only time that truly happens. I have to be confident that my training has put me in good enough stead to make my sub-3 goal, even if the last couple of big runs have gone nowhere well enough to give that impression.

As many people have as a mantra (and as the Marathon Talk podcast just might have as a trademarked slogan on their apparel -- I don't know), "Trust The Process." 

Let's get-er-done!

New excitement

One of my plans for this year was to qualify for the Abbott World Marathon Majors Age Championships to be held in 2021. I had already gotten a great first qualifying run in Toronto in Oct 2019. I was all set to get my next qualifying run with Rock 'n Roll DC in March 2020... until it was canceled. Along with all of the other races I had originally registered for in 2020. With only one good race under my belt, I am nowhere near the Top 85 for my age group. I need one more approved race where I finish within 30 minutes (preferably much less) of the top-placing in my age group.

Abbott just announced that they are extending the qualifying period to the end of the year. So, even though  my planned sub-3 race in 3 weeks won't qualify (it's not on the list :-( ), there are a couple of other US marathons currently set to go forward before year's end where, judging on past results, I very well may be within about 15 minutes of the top finisher in my age group. If that all comes together, I have very good odds of qualifying for the Age Championships to be held in London next October!

Anxiously waiting for these next few weeks to proceed to see if the marathons in question continue to be approved or are canceled. Fingers crossed!

Long-lasting after-effects of Marathon?

This week has been a "reverse taper" of sorts, apparently, in an effort to get some additional difficult runs in prior to my taper before my next marathon in a few weeks. It's been a tough go since my running the Brookings Marathon last week. 

Monday was easy, being a simple 4-mile jog at a comfortable pace. On Tuesday, I had a 10k time trial. I was supposed to break 40 minutes again, but couldn't hold it together like previously, so wound up getting 42 minutes. (Not shabby in itself, but not making the goal.). Wednesday was 8 miles @ 7:00 pace. Managed it, but it was a little tough on the legs. Thursday was 7 miles (the middle 2 being at 6:30 pace) -- again, legs were burning a bit at the higher pace. Friday saw things blow up a fair bit. While just a 6 mile run, it was supposed to be at race pace. I dropped my pace for the last mile given both the burn in my thighs and the heavy breathing.

Despite having yesterday off from running (I did some cross-training which had no effect on legs), today's run fell apart from the get-go. Despite it being gorgeous running conditions for a 20-miler (slight wind, 45F starting temp), and using a course profiler that should have been a little easier than what the W&OD Trail would have had in store for me, it was just too much. By 6 miles, my Garmin was screaming at me for high HR, and I was certainly feeling it. By 16.5 Miles, I was barely holding on to some semblance of a running pace, and slammed into the wall at Mile 17 -- walked the last 3 miles. I was supposed to have about 2:20 for this run and wound up just under 3:02.

Some active recovery runs for this week, and another attempt at 20 miles next Sunday at a slower pace to fully kick off my taper. Fingers crossed that things go a bit better for me.

Another marathon!

 I've been quiet lately while I was on a cross-country trip, out as far as Yellowstone National Park (gorgeous, especially after getting snow) before circling back to get to Brookings, SD for the marathon there on Sept 12. I was the pacer for the 3:55 group.

Brookings is a VERY small race. While they usually cap the marathon to about 400 people, this year there were only about 1

20 finishers. (!) They separated the field of marathoners and half-marathoners into three waves, based on expected finish time; I was in the first wave. They had socially distanced dots painted on the ground in the starting corral for everyone to stand on. This is the first time running a marathon where there was no "crush" of runners towards the start line in the minute leading up to the gun going off. Everyone stayed separated, and kept their masks on until crossing the start line (at which point we all dropped them on the ground).

My group only consisted of two people -- one half-marathoner and one marathoner. (There may have been others who kept us in sights, given the pace sign that I held the whole time.) It was a comfortable run for me, though given the slower than normal pace, my stride was definitely shorter than standard (which did get a little annoying). The half marathoner stuck with us on-pace until the split of the courses. Alas, my marathoner started feeling it around Mile 19 and finally cramped up at about Mile 20. While he lasted longer before cramping than he did in his previous 2 or 3 marathons, it was enough that he had to take it down a notch. He wound up finishing in about 4:10.

I don't run with my phone, so couldn't take any photos along the way. No loss, frankly, because there was really nothing of any note to look at, even after the heavy fog lifted. This is certainly one race where running with other people was a huge help to keep the motivation going, as there were relatively few people along the course (though a few of them appeared in multiple locations), too.

I'm happy to have #43 in the books. #44 is planned for next month. Hopefully they will actually have a pacer for the 3:00 pace group, as that time is my goal, and I *definitely* need to have the extra motivation and support to keep that pace.

Motivation

 

It's really amazing what little things help bump up the motivation. Recently, Abbott World Marathon Majors put together a virtual challenge where starting in a couple weeks, each week has two challenges (2.62mi and 26.2mi -- that can be completed across multiple runs) that will correspond with a different one of the six Majors. They also have a couple of other challenges, related to running a marathon distance in one event. Not sure what there will be on the other end beyond some semblance of online badges. (They do have medals for purchase for completing any given challenge, but I'm not about to pay $15 for each of those medals.)

Even more motivational is finally getting access to the Boston Marathon's Virtual Experience website where I finally got to see the bib number I would have gotten had the race happened in April 

OMG! I suspected that I would have gotten into Wave 1, but I didn't know until now that that really would have been the case. Wave 1 Corral 8. But, still, a red bib! Runners with the red bibs are practically royalty among the runners that morning. (Especially those who are in Wave 1 Corral 1 -- bibs under #1000.) For everyone, the lower the number, the better your ranking -- everyone is placed in order of their qualifying times.

I'm all set to run a Boston-certified marathon in October. And so far, my training is on pace for my breaking 3 hours. (!) To think that my bib number may drop a few hundred more. Now THAT is some great motivation for a Boston runner -- to get the lowest bib number possible.

And I will also be pacing the 3:55 group in a marathon in a few weeks. Included in the virtual toolbox included by BAA are printable signs re: entering the eight towns that the Boston Marathon runs through. I plan to print those out and display them at the appropriate points along the course for my runners. It's something minor, but suprisingly meaningful for this Boston Marathon runner.

Sore, and mini-rant re: masks while running

Wow, these last several days since the 10k time trial have definitely been kicking my butt. Fast (though not tempo pace) both Wednesday and Friday to get mileage in, tempo run on Thursday (oy!). And this morning, 6 miles "as you feel" -- no set pace, just run to comfort. Even so, running each mile in the 8:00 - 8:30 pace, just about everything was sore: my glutes, to some extent my quads, and even my calves were a litle tight (though not too bad). I'm looking forward to having my rest day, but that won't be until Monday, after doing 16 miles at a reasonably fast clip tomorrow.

I ran the streets by my gym. And, since the gym requires everyone entering/exiting the gym to wear a mask, I brought the "surgical" mask with me on my run. No, I didn't run while wearing it -- I don't plan to ever do that sort of thing, and this was additional reason as to why. During the run, I was holding the mask by the ear loops in one hand. Once I got back to the gym, and after wiping down my face (to the extent possible with a sweaty shirt), I dutifully put on my mask to enter the gym and get to the locker room, where I promptly removed the mask -- and it was soaking wet. This after only walking a couple of hundred feet. I can only imagine how nasty it would be to be running any appreciable distance while wearing a mask, and all the chafing that sould likely result from doing so. Never mind the nuisance of moving it enough to be able to drink water or eat gels on a frequent basis. No thanks -- never going to happen here.

More mental than physical?

Tonight was thoroughly exhausting. I had yet another 10k time trial to undertake, with the goal of breaking 40 minutes. Boy, howdy, was that hard. 9.5 mph the entire time -- 39:40 final time.

The first mile wasn't so bad -- a little tiring but still feeling good. After that, the level of effort quickly climbed to about an 8 out of 10, and was pretty much a 9 out of 10 soon thereafter. It was a continual effort to "run the mile [I was] in" (thanks, Ryan Hall). The television wasn't sufficiently distracting (and the closed captioning was poorly placed to make it easy to read while running at that pace), so breaking everything into smaller chunks helped immeasurably. Break it down to the mile worked early, and then .1 miles to have a 5k split. Then rounding out that 4th mile. The hardest section was the last 2 full miles because of not being able to break each of those down to anything more meaningful than the mile itself -- and given how much my legs were not happy with it, that was arduous. Then the last .2 miles, while difficult, were brief enough that it was energizing approaching that virtual finish line.

I still don't know how my Garmin Forerunner 235 determines what it predicts for times, because I don't find any of them as plausible:

5k: 17:01 (my best 5k was the 1st half of today's 10k, at 19:50)

10k: 35:20 (How, given what I did for today's run? And my Garmin actually though it was only 5.8mi to boot, since the faster I run on the treadmill, the less accurate Garmin's mileage is.)

Half: 1:18:04

Full: 2:43:12 (Ha! Pipe dream. I'm training to crack 3 hours. Garmin's algorithm must be on something to predict something this much faster.)

Happy to be back on treadmill

Yep, you read that correctly. I like the treadmill.

While the "dreadmill" has a bad reputation, I *greatly* prefer using it for my training. I find it eminently easier to do the paces that I want -- all I need to do is keep up with the machine rather than make sure I independently arrive at and keep the right pace. Outdoors my pace fluctuates FAR too much, both within any given mile (5:11 pace to start off an interval on Tuesday - really?) and between the various miles. There is no such fluctuation possible on the treadmill unless I purposely ratchet it down for some reason.

For nearly the past 2 weeks, I was self-isolating because of a co-worker who had COVID-like symptoms. (Ultimately, he tested negative, and I never had any symptoms.) During the self-isolation, my training runs were on the path that goes behind my apartment complex -- avoided the gym completely. Today was my first day back at the gym. And today's 5-mile tempo run went swimmingly. (I'm sure it would have been so much more difficult if I were outdoors.) 7:35 pace for my first two miles (and last mile), and 6:40 pace for miles 3-4. First segment felt easy. Second segment was getting slightly more difficult near then end of those two miles, but not bad at all. Very pleased with the outcome.

Going out too fast

What a day. Thankfully, the remnants of the tropical storm weren't too bad out by me and I was able to get in my hard SOS run today. I haven't yet figured out what my pace is when I first set to running; I almost always go out far too fast compared to the desired pace. Today was more of the same. 

While I may have naturally pulled back a little bit, and then pulled back a little bit more once I saw what my pace was, that doesn't lessen the fatigue that I went through needlessly in those first 15-30 seconds. My pace was supposed to be 6:05/mi for my ½-mile intervals, but I kicked off my first one at 5:11 pace. Granted, that didn't last long at all, but it's still way too much of a burst of energy. It took me about four intervals to come much closer to the right pace from the outset of the interval in question. Anyone have a good idea for how to properly get to the right pace quickly, without overexerting oneself? Treadmills make it easy, but those aren't helpful when training outdoors. :-)

Mile   Planned    Actual   

.5       3:03          3:05

1        3:03          3:02

1.5     3:03          3:00

2        3:03          3:04

2.5     3:03          3:03   

3        3:03          3:15

3.5     3:03          3:06

4        3:03          3:14

5        6:30          6:49

The other interesting thing to note about today's run is that my initial (and every other) segment was slightly downhill (about 30 feet), with the intermediate/return segments being back uphill. Despite the moderate headwind on the downhill segments, those segments (save for the first one) were always faster than the return trips. That such a mild hill has that much of an effect is rather notable. Definitely explains why there is as much of an effect as there is on my runs during the obvious uphill segments.

Adjusting for heat and humidity

I still haven't quite gotten the knack for figuring out just how much to adjust my pace when running in overly trying conditions. I know that the rule of thumb is about 9 sec/mi for every 5F over 60F, but at what point does the humidity also get factored in? I finally found a table that gives a suggestion for how to factor in the humidity (though it seems like it errs on the overly conservative side -- it certainly does for the temperature adjustment): https://images.app.goo.gl/G3DfxJg5DZ4RyzBm6

Mile    Goal    Actual

1         7:30     7:42

2         7:30     7:27

3         7:30     7:47

4         7:30     7:54

5         7:30     8:00

6         7:30     8:08

7         7:30     8:09

8         7:30     7:59

9         7:30     8:08

10       7:30     10:26 (walked for .29mi because of HR spike)

11       7:30     8:13

12       7:30     8:09

13       7:30     8:22

14       7:30     8:14

Goal Total 1:45:00 (without any adjustments)

Actual Total 1:54:29 (overall pace 8:11)

Looking at HR data from my Garmin, I was actually doing a generally good job of keeping an even HR for most of the run, which fits in with my general impression of doing an even effort across the run (save for that one HR spike). Going a little slower would likely have had my total drop by a couple of minutes, at least, without need for walking for 4.5 minutes

Exhausting intervals

Another Tuesday, another "dreaded" SOS workout. They're hard enough, but given that I am currently self-isolating (since a coworker was experiencing COVID symptoms and we're awaiting his test results), I had to do this outdoors rather than in the gym. These paces are really hard to hit without the forcing function of the treadmill. And even harder when the range of temperatures quickly rose from 78-85F in less than 30 minutes, with high humidity.

Goal was 6 ½-mile intervals @ 6:10 pace and 1 ¼-mile interval @ 6:00 pace. All said, I did pretty darn well.

Interval    Goal    Actual

1              3:05     3:08

2              3:05     3:01

3              3:05     3:03

4              3:05     3:04

5              3:05     3:06

6              3:05     3:14 (Yep, it was just too much to fully manage under these conditions)

7              1:30     1:31

Hard day realizations

Today's run was absolutely horrible: starting at 74F and finishing at 86F (with about 85% humidity the whole time), this was the toughest 14 miles I've done in a long time. And calling it a run is overly generous, given the fact that I was so beat up on the first 8 miles that I walked the last 6 miles completely. What should have taken approximately 1:44 wound up taking 2:39 -- oy! Glad I didn't have anything else on my schedule for this morning.

With all that extra time on the W&OD Trail on my hands and that much more "traffic" to deal with, I decided I would gather up a few observations that I intermittently recognize during my runs. This is kind-of rant-ish. But here goes, anyway. Have anything else that you would like to add?

1) Don't assume that your bicycle is so loud that it can be heard. Sometimes, even those of us who never wear earbuds or listen to anything while out running, we have no idea you're approaching.

2) We don't have a rearview mirror, and even when we look over our shoulder to see if you're approaching, we don't always see you if you're far enough back at that precise moment.

3) When you're passing, make sure to call out "Passing!" or "On your left!" or "Left!" about 2-3 seconds before you actually reach us, or ring a bell 1-2 times (if you have one attached to your bike). Doing it while you are essentially next to my shoulder already is pointless. It also startles the runner who won't necessarily have the opportunity to shift a little further over to the right. (And, no, it is not "TO your left" it is "On your left" -- what, are you asking for the runner to shift to their left, just into you and your bike? Come on!)

4) If you're in a group, there are some good ways to go about alerting us to the peloton that is about to shizz past us:

    a) Each person should comply with #3, above

    b) The first person in the group should add how many bikes to #3 above, e.g., "Passing, 5 bikes!"

    c) The last person in the group should say something like "last bike"

5) When you are passing, make sure to swing a little wide. This makes sure that you don't accidentally brush us. It also gives both the rider and the runner additionally leeway in case the runner's gait actually takes them further left than it should.

6) Pay attention to the vegetation on the side of the trail. Runners don't like running through it any more than cyclists like riding through it. We will usually do what we can with minimal energy to avoid it. Be alert to a possible shift by the runner. Again, even if we look over our shoulder a few seconds before we get to the overgrowth, you might be far enough back we don't see you and you make up the distance by the time we're both at the overgrowth.

7) For God's sake -- do NOT pass a runner on the right-hand side (unless it is an additional parallel path, like the gravel stretches at points on the W&OD Trail). Ultra-confusing, especially if you do wind up saying "Passing!" Even if you say "On your right!", the reflex that is developed is for runners to move to their right when they hear a cyclist coming. Talk about asking for disaster!

8) Runners should always signal their intention to pass someone. While the speeds are not usually fast enough to be as concerned with shouting out "Passing!", it is vital to have a hand signal pointing out to anyone who is approaching from behind that you are about to move.

9) If you are doing a U-turn, make a visible hand signal at least 1-2 seconds before you do so (while also checking over your shoulder) -- I tend to raise my hand and move it in a circle.

10) If you are walking or running with your dog, PLEASE keep them on a leash AND on the outside/right side. No one wants a dog suddenly trying to move into the middle of the path, tripping other runners or getting hit by a bicycle, both injuring the dog and likely sending the other person flying into injury, too.

11) If you are stopped, regardless of on bicycle or on foot, step off the trail (if possible) and keep parallel to the flow of traffic -- do not stick out perpendicular into the flow of traffic.

12) If you are crossing a road with actual vehicular traffic, make sure you are actually, legitimately clear to do so before setting off across the road. The cars really should NOT be stopping for you at the W&OD Trail crossings, so don't expect them to. And if one of two lanes does, be absolutely clear that there isn't someone coming in the second lane, not stopping, before you set out at all. If the various lanes of traffic do stop, get across as quickly as possible. Don't saunter across -- that's just plain obnoxious.

Newest Time Trial

One month ago, I did a 10k time trial -- having just gotten back into the gym. Managed a little over 42 minutes for it.

Today was another 10k time trial, this time with a goal of 40:30, which translates to approximately 6:30/mile. Knocked it out of the park, and with negative split! The first 5k was 20:20, and starting at about Mile 4.5 I started slowly cranking up the speed (thanks, treadmill), finishing the second 5k in 19:59 -- a total for the 10k of 40:19! Sweet. Improved my 10k by about 2 minutes, and I think it's actually a PR (unofficially).

Helluva hard run, but I managed to push through. For now, my legs feel fine. It will be interesting to see whether I'm sore tomorrow or Thursday, though.

Rollercoaster, anyone?

Talk about an emotional rollercoaster. Yesterday, I posted about regaining some motivation. Today, about 20,000 people took another enormous hit to their motivation for training with the official cancellation of the Marine Corps Marathon and 50k.

I had recently signed up to participate in the brand-new Trifecta: 10k, Marathon, and 50k. I was already registered for the live 50k race, and signed up to run the 10k and marathon as virtual events to complete the Trifecta. While I was planning on using a live marathon to satisfy MCM's virtual marathon, I have absolutely zero desire to do a virtual 50k. My only interest in running the ultra is to do so as part of the real event. Even moreso as one of the pacers, like I did last year.

So, now it's a matter of whether I can defer the 50k to next year *and* get a refund of my registrations for the 10k and marathon. Hopefully that's possible.

With the cancellation of MCM Weekend, that officially ends all of the races I had entered into before COVID hit: 9 races entered, 8 races canceled. (Only Walt Disney World Marathon wound up happening, of the races I was entered into.) I have recently registered for three very small-field marathons taking place in September and October. I'm holding onto the hope that they continue, but by a thin string. Time will tell.

Motivation regained

Not only did I sign up for the races I mentioned the other day, I've signed up for a replacement for the Chicago Marathon; my training plan doesn't need to shift at all. The combination of having a solid goal in sight and pulling back slightly on my run on Thursday (where my body was telling me I was a bit too ambitious with a couple of recent runs) have definitely helped me mentally with today's long run. 

I didn't even consider running outdoors. By the time I left for the gym (~8am), it was already about 75F and very humid. There's no way I would have been able to keep up a 7:30 pace for 13 miles with how much both of those wound up climbing. But on the treadmill, it was particularly easy. My legs fully recovered, where earlier in the week my quads were screaming at me.

Some fun workouts coming up this week, to include a 10k time trial and some inclines on a few of the near-tempo runs. Where the 5k time trial I did a few weeks ago was outdoors on a track and I had to pay very specific attention to the pace I was running each lap, I'll be doing the 10k on the treadmill. While it will certainly be easier than if I were outside (either on the rolling hills of the W&OD Trail or dodging people walking (sometimes with a dog) on a 3-lane school track), doing a ~6:30 pace for the full 10k will definitely be a challenge nonetheless.

Taking the Leap

Yes, lots of races have been canceled, including the ones Down Under that I was planning on running on 9/13 and 9/20. I can't get there given both quarantine restrictions and lack of international flights between  Australia and the U.S. (and one of them is canceled, anyway), but I can still run. 

I've just signed up for Brookings and Bismarck that, as of now, will be taking place those same weekends, and the virtual Boston Marathon (for which I'll use Brookings). Both races have very small fields (300 - 400 runners maximum), which is the main reason why I didn't wait until it was a little closer timing. Also, the odds of catching COVID-19 during the race-related events are minimal. Looking forward to pulling together a fun road trip itinerary between the two races.

Tough Day

It's truly fascinating that the SOS days really aren't so bad, but the "easy" day following them frequently are difficult. While I felt fine yesterday after the speed workout, and wasn't sore last night or even this morning when I woke up, the same could not be said for today's workout. My quads were not happy with me for the first couple of miles of the run -- definitely very sore. And I had a general lack of energy and even enthusiasm for the 6-miler (at 7:25 pace). But I was able to force myself through the whole thing. Were it not for my sending my results daily to my coach, I very well may have stopped the workout very early and decided on doing something else other than the run. Hopefully tomorrow's effort will be a bit smoother than today's.

Speed Day

Tuesdays are the hardest SOS workouts on this plan. When 7.6mph is your warm-up speed and 8.9mph is your cool down speed, each for 1 mile, you know it's going to be a fun, tough run.

The first set of eight ¼-mile intervals were at 10mph. Fast! And really not all that bad. Just when the actual difficulty is about to hit, the distance is finished, and it's time to walk for a minute.

The next set of four ½-mile intervals, barely slower at 9.8mph, was noticeably harder. That extra distance per interval can definitely be felt. How Eliud Kipchoge manages to go 13.1mph for a full 26.2 miles is beyond my comprehension.

The final set of two ¼-mile intervals, at top speed of 10.1mph, was as much of a breeze as the first set of intervals, given they're that brief.

All in all, as much as I dread these days, they are actually a great way of increasing my motivation. And, lord knows, I need that help with motivation given Chicago's cancellation. I'm also looking at the possibility of being a pacer for a couple of the marathons that are on my radar or already signed up for -- which also helps greatly with motivation, making sure that I am fit enough to comfortably run whichever pace I wind up being assigned. 

Another Shot Destroying Motivation

Well, what was expected (and feared) for months has finally come to fruition: the Chicago Marathon has finally cancelled this year's race. Dammit! 

I just started week 5 of my training plan shooting for a sub-3-hour marathon. Talk about taking the wind out of the sails for my speed workout on tap for tomorrow. I'll still do it, but the motivation will be sorely lacking.

The last week or so I've been looking into a couple of marathons in mid-Sepetember (to replace my planned overseas marathons that I can no longer get to this year). Now, I have some choices to make:

1) Find another race on Columbus Day weekend (or close to it) that is sufficiently flat that continuing training for sub-3 makes sense

2) Push up the current training schedule by a full month to make the attempt in mid-September (at least assuming the course profile is reasonably flat)

3) Bail on the goal of sub-3-hours for this year and push off that training until next year, with the goal, once again, of going sub-3 at Chicago.

Update: I may have found another race to replace Chicago. Granted, it is a far cry from the size of Chicago, but is largely flat (one gradual hill, twice) and there's even a 3-hr pace team that I'll be able to lean on. Never expected I'd go to Wichita, KS, but Prairie Fire Marathon is looking like a viable alternative for the sub-3 goal.

Mixed results

I woke up this morning to a text message from my coach that the weather was perfect for a outdoor run. Taking a look at the conditions, it was definitely nice, but was definitely going to be on a fast upward trend, so I wasn't entirely sure how things might go if I dared the outdoor run today.

By the time I got outside, it was 68F and looking to go up a fair bit. Could I beat the heat? Well... no. After the run finished and I got back inside, I checked the temp, and it was now 79F. That and the humidity (that just hasn't broken for a couple of weeks now) definitely helps explain much of today's results.

I know that I'm easily capable of doing 7:35/mi for 13 miles, on treadmill or outdoors under cooler/less humid conditions. But today's effort definitely was difficult.

Mile      Goal      Actual

1            7:35      7:25 (as always, out a little too fast)

2            7:35      7:20 (I always gain a few seconds on the downhill at 1.5 Miles)

3            7:35      7:34

4            7:35      7:28

5            7:35      7:32

6            7:35      7:37

7            7:35      7:44

8            7:35      9:10 (HR spike after Mile 7, walked for 3 min until HR came back below 145 for 1min)

9            7:35      7:39

10          7:35      7:38

11          7:35      7:44

12          7:35      7:47

13          7:35      9:06 (90sec walk at beginning to stave off HR spike, 90sec walk at the hill at 12.5 Miles)

Finishing out the week

Yesterday was a fast 4-mile run with a minimal incline (1%) on the treadmill. Rather impressive just how much of a difference that tiny incline makes -- it was totally noticeable after running the first 3 miles with that incline and then going back to 0% for the last mile, the last mile was noticeably easier.

Today was another double: 4 miles @ 7:20 in the morning, then 3 miles @ 7:15 in the afternoon after work. Legs were a little tight, but nothing terribly problematic. During second run, legs got a little looser during the latter part of the run. The humidity that is present even in the gym lately is really getting annoying, though.

Tomorrow is a light day to nearly close out the week: 5 miles @ approx. 8:00. Finish out the active recovery with that and then 13 miles on Sunday @ 7:35.

Comparing Training Days

After Sunday's brutal run, thankfully I had Monday off of any training. Back at it on Tuesday, I ran 6 x 1-mile repeats at 6:45 pace with 3 minutes of walking between each repeat. (With warm-up jog and cool down walk, a total of 8 miles) It was absolutely great. No twinges, tightness, fatigue, or any other problems. Not even a high HR at all. Head was totally into it, enjoying the whole run. Couldn't have gotten much better. 

Tonight's run was a straight 6-mile run at 7:30 pace. While I again didn't have any twinges, tightness, or fatigue, and my HR was about the same as yesterday, it generally felt more difficult. I don't know whether my attitude during the run was a cause of that sense of difficulty or a result of it. Always confuses me when this sort of pair of results occurs.

The biggest notable difference between the two days was my sneakers. I always have two pairs of sneakers in rotation, alternating between them each day to give them a chance to recover before the next run. (Yes, even sneakers need that rest if they are going to last as long as possible.) The sneakers I was using today are the ASICS Gel-Nimbus 21. It's a good, structure/support sneaker, and feels like it's a little bit springy in my forefoot. The sneakers from yesterday were the ASICS Gel-Nimbus 22. Both have approximately the same amount of distance on them, having been started up just last month. But it's the 22s that have me feel like I'm floating on air, both when I'm walking and when I'm running. Could it really be that simple a difference to make these two very different workouts feel so differently -- and the arguably tougher run feeling much easier? No idea, but it's fascinating to consider the possibility.

Training wk 3 ends

Oh, boy. Today was even more brutal than yesterday. And while, to some extent, that should have been expected, since today was 12 miles as opposed to yesterday's 4 miles, I figured that the conditions would be a bit more acceptable indoors on the treadmill than outdoors in the sun, heat, and humidity. Suffice to say, that didn't quite pan out as planned.

While the temps were surely lower (the A/C is likely set around 72) and there was obviously zero sun, the humidity wasn't really cut all that much by the A/C -- so I as a puddle pretty early on. The first few miles were comfortable with a decent HR, my effort (and consequently HR) went up a decent bit by the time I finished Mile 6 (I was at about 190bpm). I pulled back just a little bit for 2 miles, hoping my HR would drop a bit and make things easier, but to no avail. I was hurting. No need to hurt myself, I decided to walk until I could drop my HR below 150. The remain 4 miles were a bit of a see-saw between going 7.8mph and dropping to a walk to drop the HR.

The good news, though? At no point in time did my legs have any problem or feel tight. If I could have disconnected my legs from my HR and breathing, I could've kept going without any issue. Shame that's not exactly possible. :-)

This took so much out of me, though, that I dropped 2.5 pounds compared to the same time post-workout yesterday. (!) That's a lot of water lost, despite having drunk 16oz during the run. While I'm happy to drop some of the additional weight (ultimately I would like to be at ~160 by the time the marathon happens), doing so that quickly is just not good. And I'll bounce back up by at least 1-2 pounds or more tomorrow both because I'll weigh myself end of day (I run after work, mornings usually only on weekends) and today is going to be a high-salt day -- I just had a great bacon cheeseburger, onion rings, and chocolate shake at a local burger joint. (If you're in Leesburg, stop by Melt. It's worth the money and the calories.)

Well-earned rest day tomorrow to start of a pull-back week to let some of the gains of this cycle settle in.

Hard day

I got it wrong yesterday -- today wasn't set to be a straightforward 6-miler. Rather, a fast July 4th 4 miles. And what made it all the more difficult, I decided to go forward with running outside despite the fact that it was already very warm (76F) and humid when I first set out, only getting worse during the 29-minute run.

While the first mile was only slightly faster than pace, the amount of speed I gained on the downhill after peaking at Mile 1 was hard to dissipate, so I ran Mile 2 far too fast, and it took too long to pull back during Mile 3, which meant I started out Mile 4 slow -- especially so since that last mile was supposed to be :30 faster than the others. With the extra heat, humidity, and even some gusty wind, not to mention a little bit of a hill, there was no way to get to the needed pace. Brutal.

Mile     Goal     Actual

1           7:25     7:21

2           7:25     7:05

3           7:25     7:22

4           6:55     7:11

Tomorrow is 12 miles at 7:25. If the temp is anywhere near what it was today -- indoors it will be.

Happy Independence Day!

Double-Up

Today is the first time that I've completed a double training session. Given the mileage that was on tap, it wasn't as daunting as it might sound.

Workout #1 was 5 miles at 7:25 pace. Good, comfortable run on the treadmill. No issues at all.

8 hours of rest before Workout #2. Watched some TV, spent some time on the computer. Generally, just enjoyed lounging around on a day off from work.

Workout #2 was 4 miles at 7:40 pace. Felt pretty much as comfortable as #1, slightly fatigued but nothing notable.

This was a fairly benign pair of workouts. I'm sure that the additional doubles that will come up in the schedule won't be quite as easy as today's was.

Need to make sure I get out reasonably early tomorrow for my 6-miler. Temps will be in the low-to-mid 70s overnight, and the plan is to do the run outdoors. Hopefully the humidity will be manageable, too.

Training, wk 3 begins

The plan for this week is to be a very challenging one, where good gains are made, and then next week will be a small step back in intensity to allow for proper recovery.

Monday was a light load (5 miles at 7:35), given Sunday was a "something of substance" day (as I came to know it while using the Hanson Marathon Method previously). Nothing special -- nice comfortable run.

Tuesday was one helluva run. Speed work where I did 3 miles' worth of ¼-mile intervals at 10mph and 1 mile's worth of ½-mile intervals at 9.8mph, with an easy-pace mile warm-up and cool-down. I was extremely pleased with how well this run went for me. No issues at all with my legs, and my HR didn't even get overly elevated.

Wednesday was very similar to Monday (6 miles at 7:30), since Thursday was another SOS day. My legs were a little fatigued from Tuesday, but not bad. And I had a bit of a stitch in my side the whole time, but nothing so bad that I needed to stop. It was more annoyingly distracting (focusing my attention on whether it was going to be a cause to stop my run). Made it through.

Today was another strong SOS run. 6 miles total, with the (approximately) middle 3 miles at 7:00 pace.

Really happy with my progress so far. Keeping positive thoughts about Chicago actually taking place. Tomorrow will be a first for me -- a double workout in one day. These will periodically be necessary to help achieve the goal of sub-3. Neither of the two runs look like they should be at all difficult individually. We'll see how I feel with them being separated by 8 waking hours.

Training, Day #14

Oy, what dreadful humidity for today's run. I'm mildly surprised that I was able to pound it out relatively painlessly. My legs were feeling great for most of the run, and taking very deep breaths most of the run seemed to help with controlling my HR well (with only a brief time that it spiked on the last uphill). And today, I did a reasonably good of job of staying close to pace, taking advantage of downhills and taking it slightly easier on uphills when possible. It's still a struggle to properly pace outdoors as opposed to on treadmill.

Mile     Goal    Actual
1          7:40     7:41
2          7:40     7:34
3          7:40     7:42
4          7:40     7:37
5          7:40     7:38
6          7:40     7:35
7          7:10     7:13
8          7:10     7:15
9          7:10     7:11
10        7:40     7:42
11        7:40     7:34

Looking forward to this next week, which should be very challenging. To include my first "double" in a training cycle.

Training, Days #12 & 13

Friday: Nice, easy 4-mile run at 8:00 pace, mostly to just have a simple recovery from Thursday's workout.

Today: 6 miles at 7:45 pace. Back outdoors on mildly rolling hills this morning. A little on the warm side, somewhat humid, I was definitely feeling it during the uphills (which, in the grand scheme of things, aren't all that steep nor that long). Definitely tricky controlling my pace outdoors to not exceed the goal by that much. I try to be within 5 seconds of the goal pace.

Mile      Goal    Actual
1           7:45     7:45
2           7:45     7:33
3           7:45     7:40
4           7:45     7:36
5           7:45     7:39
6           7:45     7:40

Training, Day #11

Well, that was remarkably straightforward tonight. Warm-up easy-pace run leading into six fast 1-mile repeats @ 6:45 each with 3-minute walking breaks in between and then a colldown walk at the end. Those mile repeats really weren't all that bad. Again, thank you treadmill! Makes it easy to hit the right pace the whole time and not worry about going out too fast and having to pull back to average out correctly. Days like this and Tuesday are all the more encouraging for me to be able to hit my sub-3 goal in Chicago... so long as it happens.

Tomorrow is a short, easy-pace run, helpful for recovery but still get a few more miles on my legs. Should be nice and easy.

And then there were two...

Wow, double-whammy of World Marathon Majors cancellations today: NYC and Berlin. I was only registered for NYC and will wind up taking the option to defer to next year's race. I wasn't registered for Berlin, but know a few people who were.

So, with the previous cancellations of the Tokyo Marathon (for all but the elites) and the Boston Marathon (after an initial postponement), the only two Majors left for this year -- for now -- are London and Chicago. Keeping my fingers crossed for Chicago, since that is what my current training schedule is for.

Today's training was straightforward -- 7 miles at 7:55 pace, finished just ahead of pace in 55:55. A little sore from yesterday's run, but managed it well enough. Tomorrow will be tough, with 6 1-mile intervals at a nice fast clip.

Training, Day #9

I am *so* glad that the gym is open again, so that I could do this 10k time trial on the treadmill, with pre-set pace, and an easy way up ticking up the pace when desired, and know that I'm not kicking it up too much. Nevermind the fact that it was about 85 degrees outside at the time I was starting my workout. (Yeah, that would've padded several minutes onto the run, assuming that I wasn't overwhelmed by the heat and humidity and turned the time trial into simply a 6.2 mile easy run/walk.)

Goal: 42-43 minutes. I was looking to get as close to 41:59 as possible, just 'cause. Alas, I didn't kick up the extra little bit of speed *quite* early enough, but still did a great job on tonight's run: 42:06. Not quite a PR, but a damn strong finish. And really not hurting at all. Quite pleased. The thought of doing close to this pace across a full marathon is kind of daunting (6:52/mi is the goal to crack 3 hours), but this is a nice early milestone for assessing my current fitness level. It only gets better from here. Someone please make sure that this marathon actually is held on schedule!

Tomorrow: Nice easy-pace 7-mile run.

Training, Day #8

Simple day today -- 7miles at 7:50 pace (actually 7:47, given the increments on the treadmill). Nice and smooth. Unfortunately, the reception of the satellite was hosed for most of it because of the thunderstorms rolling through the area. But really a rather unremarkable run. It's actually nice being able to simply get the mileage in without any difficulties. (Lord knows, had the gym not been open, it would have been totally miserable, as I would have been about 3 miles in when the downpour started.)

Tomorrow: 10k time trial.This will be tough. My PR for that length is 42:03, as part of my run in the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon last October. It'd be great to break that PR.

Training, Day #7

Wow, who would've ever thought getting back onto the treadmill at the gym would be so great? I've known for quite a while that treadmill running is much easier for me than outdoors, but today's run (after more than 3 months of exclusively outdoor running) really brought it home. There seem to be a few factors that I can quickly identify:
1) The temperature and humidity conditions are consistent indoors, with zero wind
2) No variations in the path being run nor concern about having to run around others going slower or let others (typically bicyclists) pass
3) Absolutely zero energy (either mental or physical) going into verifying what pace is being run during any particular segment and making adjustments to get closer to pace. I usually start off any mile too fast, and then have to spend some time trying to rein it back in, but not *so* much that I then start off the next mile too slowly.

Today's effort was 5 miles at 7:47 (since I can't get the treadmill to do 7:45, only having increments of 0.1mph) and 5 miles at 7:30. Nice and easy. FAR easier than yesterday's effort, which was shorter and only slightly faster than today's initial pace. So long as I can keep getting onto the one treadmill that actually has closed captioning on it (so that I can watch more than just cooking shows that don't need audio or captioning), I'll be quite happy with being back indoors more often than not.

Training, Day #6

Oy, today was a very hard training day, and really shouldn't have been. I woke up all too early, went through my normal morning routine, but was still far too tired, so I went back to sleep for another hour. No point in heading out the door if I'm too tired to stay awake, even if it's just a short 6-mile run at 7:40/mile pace.

Once I finally got outside, I was feeling fine. While I start off a little too fast, I was able to pull it back enough to be right on target for Mile 1. I sped up a little bit on Mile 2 because of a nice downhill portion where I always gain a bit of speed (which I usually lose even moreso when returning on the back end). So far so good. But after Mile 3, all of a sudden my HR spiked something fierce, and it was a big struggle to return the last three miles.

Mile     Goal     Actual
1           7:40     7:39
2           7:40     7:31
3           7:40     7:39
4           7:40     7:37
5           7:40     7:40
6           7:40     7:35

Not entirely sure what happened. While it was warm, it wasn't so hot that I should have adjusted my planned pace at all. And while it was definitely very humid, it certainly wasn't oppressive (even with  the reasonable temperature factored in). So what else? Not sure.

Tomorrow: 10-miler. Reasonable paces, but I'll definitely be mindful of HR spiking again. If it does for any prolonged time (sometimes the watch will scream but there really isn't any issue), I'll definitely cut things short and/or reduce speed. Fingers crossed that I've been able to recover enough today.

Back to the gym

Today is a rest day in the context of running, but I'm allowed to do some cross-training. And it coincides with the re-opening of the gym to which I belong. Nice to be able to get back, but there are some things that make absolutely NO sense. (I'm giving the gym the benefit of the doubt, that it is doing everything in total compliance with the government directives they've been given.)

Interesting to me that typically being in indoor public spaces still requires mask wearing, save for in the gym. It's encouraged, but not required. Almost none of the members (myself included) were wearing masks.

"Social distancing" typically means 6 feet minimum distance between people -- hence all these markers on the floor. Except, of course, inside the locker room. Our locker room has "bays" of approximately 60 lockers in 2 rows. Alternate lockers on the top row are available, and then the intermediate alternate lockers on the bottom row are available. So, in other words, we can still have one locker in each "column" of lockers, with men effectively standing shoulder-to-shoulder. Really? Shouldn't it really be every 4th or 5th locker available for one row (say the top row), and NONE available for the other row?

One of the included items for our fee is towels -- there's usually an abundance of them. Now, there are none in sight. After taking the extra beat to notice the sign in the shelf area, it's clear that those are held at the front desk only for disbursement. When asked why we need to come up front, the staffer (dutifully wearing both a mask and gloves) explained that CDC regulations in Phase 2 require that they be handed out by someone wearing gloves. Idiocy, IMO. We only bother taking the towels when we're going to use them; it's not like anyone goes and rubs their face on them and places them back amidst the unused towels -- give me a break. Phase 3 we'll be trusted once again to take towels for ourselves again. Sigh.

As I understand it, the coronavirus in the air or on surfaces dies relatively quickly in heat and humidity. Ironically enough, the steam room (the hottest and most humid part of our gym) is currently closed. Not that it is limited to, say, 6 people maximum at any one time, but off limits entirely. Why? Shouldn't that be the safest location in the gym, even without masks?

Then there's the exercise floor upstairs. It looks mostly the same at first blush, save for a few markers on the floor. All of the equipment is still there - none taken out. Take a bit more time, and you can see a lot more wipes and paper towels with spray sanitizer. Then looking at the arrangement of the equipment, you can see that certain pieces are "removed" from rotation by a simple sign placed on the display screen. But, while the treadmills and ellipticals have every other unit available for use, the stair climbers only have ¼ of them available, despite all of these pieces being equally spaced. Not only that, but it's straight columns of equipment available, rather than staggering the pieces in each row to further maximize the distance between rows.

I didn't look at the weights section, since I rarely bother with them. Likely not much different than normal.

For now, I'll keep my membership. We'll see how things evolve over time. Especially as it gets back to normal numbers of people coming in.

Training, Day #4

Thursday. Oh, how I hate Thursdays on this plan, just the same as I did when I was using Hanson's Marathon Method (which I do recommend, don't get me wrong). Interval training is definitely beneficial in helping (long-term) to increase your speed, but that doesn't make these days any more enjoyable. Nailed my goals (1st mile was a little too fast), and I'm sure it was the fact that I had a 3-minute walk in between each mile-long interval that made it doable.

Mile      Goal             Actual
1            6:50-6:55     6:43
2            6:50-6:55     6:54
3            6:50-6:55     6:52
4            6:50-6:55     6:54
5            6:50-6:55     6:48

Tomorrow: Rest day -- at least in the context of running. My gym finally reopens tomorrow, so I just may wind up going, seeing what's available, and do some simple cross-training.

Training, Day #3

Simple day today: goal was 7 miles at 7:55 pace. Hardest part was keeping my pace slow enough. I wound up with an average pace of 7:47.

Mile     Goal     Actual
1           7:55     7:50
2           7:55     7:44
3           7:55     7:52
4           7:55     7:48
5           7:55     7:46
6           7:55     7:47
7           7:55     7:46

Tomorrow: 5 x 1 mile intervals at 6:50 - 6:55. This should be a really hard day. Ah... Thursdays.

Training, Day #2

Today's goal was 20:50-20:55 for a 5k time trial. It would have helped had I done the math a little better in advance, more than knowing I needed to go faster than 7:00/mile average, so I would have had a better idea on how to tweak my pace after I ran my 1st lap on the track in the equivalent of a 6:11 pace (way too fast!). While I pulled back successfully, it was a bit too much. And while each of the miles was faster than the preceding, I used up a little too much during that initial burst.

Mile     Goal     Actual
1          6:46      7:04
2          6:46      6:45
3          6:46      6:41

Total: 21:10 -- close, but not quite. Definitely a hard, fast run.

Tomorrow: Easy-pace 7 miles.

Training Officially Begins

While it's still unclear whether the Chicago Marathon will actually take place in October thanks to COVID-19, I've decided to move forward with my training to make sure that I am prepared for it, should it actually happen. I've run over 40 marathons to date, so finishing isn't a concern. My goal for the Chicago Marathon: break 3 hours. The closest I've come was 3:02:02 at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon this past October, so I know I'm capable of it, with proper training.

Day 1 (Monday): 6-Mile Progression Run

Mile #     Goal Pace     Actual Pace
1              8:05              7:54
2              7:50              7:45
3              7:50              7:42
4              7:35              7:33
5              7:35              7:30
6              7:20              7:06

One of my biggest challenges while running outdoors is hitting the goal pace a bit closer than above; this is pretty good for me. Started out pretty comfortably (since my pace during the recent maintenance phase has been 7:45-8:00), but certainly got more difficult as I picked up speed. Especially since Mile 5 contains a hill on which I almost always wind up slowing down too much. It's nothing huge (it's shorter and less steep than the MCM finish), but it's enough. Nailed it.

Tuesday: 5k time trial. Goal is to get 20:50-20:55. I know I'm capable of it (since my best 5k is 20:45 from Toronto), but it's still a bit daunting.

Goals and Attitude

Lesson #1: Always set a goal for your run (regardless of whether it is training or race day).
Lesson #2: Have a positive mental attitude going into your run.

Last weekend gave me wildly different results on my runs, and while the heat had a small portion to play, the larger portions of the difficulties I faced on Friday and Saturday were strictly mental in nature. It can never be understated how much of marathoning and marathon training is a mental game, moreso than the obvious physical one.

Last Friday, I was feeling a little run down. Nothing much, but still a noticeable lack of energy compared to normal. I also didn't have any motivation whatsoever for the day, but decided to push ahead with the 6-mile run nonetheless. For my training runs, the specific distance itself is insufficient for a goal -- I should have a specific pace or challenge to be completed. I didn't have one. Despite doing well with the first 4 miles (average ~7:45/mile), the tires fell off utterly at that point, finishing my last 2 miles at 17:26 and 18:11 -- which, admittedly, had a brief stop to try to coax out a scared cat from the brush. Temps were reasonable, if a bit warm. (~68-70F)

Last Saturday, I had a slightly longer 8 miles to run. I went out a little too fast, but had a reasonable attitude. But clearly I hadn't properly adjusted my goal for the heat (~71-80F), which clearly had overtaken me in Mile 4 -- I could feel my heartbeat racing and my watch was screaming at me regularly to accentuate the fact. Slow walk back home on the second half of the run. Very demoralizing.

On Sunday, I woke up feeling good. Nice low resting HR. Good temps (66-72F). Set my sights on an easy 8-min pace. A drop slower than desired, with a brief pit stop about 7 miles in, but still went well.

Mixed bag during the week, and while yesterday's run was tough (given how tight my legs were feeling), today's 10-miler went really well. Again, low resting HR, decent temps, good energy, and my legs weren't tight at all. Managed to go faster than my goal pace of 7:45, with an average of 7:38. Splitting my distance with part of the W&OD Trail that I don't usually run certainly helped change things up a bit and keep my attitude positive.

Tomorrow, short run of 6 miles, and then my training plan for Chicago Marathon begins on Monday. (Have to be optimistic about it going forward.) My trainer is happy with the base that I've maintained, and has given me a head's up that Monday's run will be a tough start. Bring it!

Boston Marathon canceled -- first time in 124 years

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh announced earlier today that the Marathon, previously postponed to Sept. 14, would be canceled. This is extremely disappointing, though not overly surprising. The silver lining in the subsequent announcement by the Boston Athletic Association is that they will refund everyone's registration fee -- specifics to be sent out within the next few weeks. And that they will off a virtual marathon.

Now the uncertainty has shifted from whether the race will be held to what the logistics will be surrounding registering for the 2021 Boston Marathon -- assuming that Boston permits it to happen. In normal years, the qualifying period for one year starts on the Sunday after the 1st week (I think) of the registration period for the preceding year's race closes. So, when the registration period for 2020 ended in mid-September 2019, races being run at that point were eligible to be used for the eventual registration period for 2021 Boston. Where there is a normal 52-53 weeks usable, races started postponing/canceling in Feb/March 2020, so there is less than 6 months' worth of races where qualifying times could be earned. So, what do they do with all the people who qualified for 2020? hat do they do with the people who qualified for 2021 in the truncated timeframe? And which age do they use compared to the date of race day in 2021 compared to the BQs that were run for 2020? There are many permutations possible, and only BAA will be able to tell us. But that won't stop the endless speculation over the next several months.

I'm confident that I will be able to get into 2021 Boston regardless of what they do, since if they allow the times from the truncated period from Sep 2020-Mar 2021, I have a BQ-17:58. But that doesn't mean that I won't be one of the thousands involved in the endless speculation that is yet to come. (Never mind all the speculation about the other 2020 races, including the remaining 4 Majors that could still wind up canceling.)

Second Attempt at Breaking a Guinness World Record -- Success

Having come off London with a failed attempt at a record, I went to the website to see what other races I could make a similar attempt, and was very pleased to see that the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon in October was one such race. I had enough time to plan something out, add that race into my already busy fall schedule, and train. I even got a trainer for the effort.

Having decided immediately after London that I wouldn't attempt that specific record again, or anything else that required carrying something nearly that heavy, I went with something much simpler, and even somewhat aerodynamic: fastest dressed as a super villain. In my particular case, The Riddler (as portrayed in the movie by Jim Carrey).

In the weeks leading up to the marathon, though, I had a big shock -- a change in the time I needed to beat. When I originally submitted the application, the record had not yet been set, so all I needed was 4 hours -- a mark I can usually easily hit nowadays unless everything goes wrong for me. I only knew of one person chasing this record in the Berlin Marathon in September, I followed his results, and he didn't finish under 4 hours -- I was set! But, no, it turns out there was a second person who also chased the record that day, and set it far faster than I had previously run: 3:03:03 -- nearly a full 9 minutes faster than my then-PR of 3:11:54. Gulp!

I had originally gone into training looking for a 3:10, and my coach was insistent that with the way everything had gone, 3:05 shouldn't be a problem. Nice, but did I have enough in the tank to drop another 2 minutes beyond even that? Race day would tell.

Just as was the case with London, the weather was ideal: cool (about 50F), mostly cloudy, relatively low wind -- it was all on me, my training, and the prior few days leading up to the race. I was feeling confident. I had my pace band on, my Garmin all set to show me my splits, all my nutrition and water -- show time.

Lesson #1: When running in a country that just might have a different way of measuring distances compared to what you are used to (even if you know how to make the conversions), find out in advance what they use for "mile markers." Typical American, I think in mileage. Toronto had markers every KILOMETER. I didn't realize this until I hit the first marker. And that they didn't include the intermediate mile markers. D'oh! Given how horribly my Garmin was acting up (which I didn't really know during the first half), I had no real idea how well I was doing until I hit the half-marathon mark (a time that I had on my pace band). Beautiful -- 1:29:29. I was ahead of pace.

Now all I had to do was keep it together. In hindsight, it looks like I had played all sorts of mind games on myself in terms of trying to figure out what my pace was and needed to be for each of the successive kilometers.

Lesson #2: If you carry some form of ID and/or payment with you during the race (I typically do, just in case there's a medical issue, and insurance card if racing in the U.S.), make sure it is fully secured. At some point in the race, mine fell out of the belt I had always carried it in. Amazingly, not only did a runner see it laying on the course, but they stopped to pick it up. And miraculously, not only did they know who I was -- presumably from posts in one of the FB groups I'm in about my record attempt -- but they wound up overlapping with me during one of the out-and-back portions of the course. Given that day's extremely unique outfit, I was instantly recognizable, they shouted out my name, held out the cards, and handed them to me as we were both full steam ahead. To whomever that kind soul was, again: THANK YOU.

The kilometers kept piling on, and despite getting ever so slightly slower during the second half, I knew I would make it as I was seeing those last few signs inside of 1km to the finish. And I had a peak at the official clock when I was a couple of tight turns away from the finish. I was going to make it -- but by how much. Pour on the steam to make it as much as possible. Full attention focused on the finish line, I didn't hear my friend who was there specifically to cheer me on shout out that I was going to make it. (I only heard it once I saw video of my finish.)

Whereas in London, when I crossed and locked eyes on the Guinness adjudicator I shook my head, this time as I crossed I knew I had succeeded. She started to approach me, but I needed to cool down just a bit. I walked in tight circles out of the way of other finishers until I could stop and take the "money shot" photo:

Set your sights on a goal. Put in the work. Be confident in yourself. You can succeed.

I've got another one I'm aiming for later this year, but don't know if the race will be held. More on that when the attempt finally happens.

Motivation

Despite the weather turning around from chilly, blustery, and wet to moderate with only intermittent rain, I've still been having a bit of a hard time motivating myself. (Seems like that might be self-evident given how long it's been since the last blog entry.)

While I am still intent on hitting my big goals for later this year assuming the races will be held, the uncertainty about them and it being a lull between my last "race" (virtual marathon) and the beginning of my training cycle for Chicago has left me unenthused for my runs. Most of the days each week, I'm just running 5-6 miles at a reasonable pace, and I've noticed that on most of them, my last 2 miles are successively slower than the goal pace for the run. There is no particular reason for this that I can discern other than lack of enthusiasm for the run.

Today was the first day in a couple of weeks where the above pace problem didn't happen, though I'm not entirely sure why -- my head was still in the same space. I need to change it up a bit, but don't want to do the sorts of hard workouts that I have during my training cycle -- no reason to risk injury. Not sure what will be the best way to get back "in the game," as it were.