Pacing for the Marathon

Here is an interesting article on marathon pacing I discovered today (conference call surfing....). 

http://mysite.verizon.net/jim2wr/id208.html

Basically, the marathon/pacing calculators are fairly off for predicting marathon finishing times. A more conservative estimate puts the marathon finishing time at 5X10K time. This equates to a finishing time of 3:44 for me since I finished the 08 BB in 41:32. This is pretty close to my time of 3:49 this year at Denver...much closer to the predicted 3:25 from Mcmillan. I feel a bit better now....

2:30 hours for 18.3 miles week to date

Took a little break from blogging this week. Still trying to figure out the value of this process for me. The reality is that I look the details of my runs on RunningAhead.com, so the process of logging the text here seems a bit duplicative. Although it is nice to see the blog grow over time and it certainly has been a nice place to plan the year and discuss thoughts on form and training; just need to find time to fit it into the weekly grind on top of everything else going on.

Working hard at adding base miles. My goal is to start averaging 30+ miles every week for a month or so eventually getting into the 40 mile range for the early part of the spring. Was able to get in 5 runs last week and I am already at 4 for the week without the "long" run for tomorrow. If I can negotiate for the time I would love to get in a 10-12 miler this weekend just to break the 30 barrier. It is certainly hard to make it happen and the reality is that I need to be more creative and make a few sacrifices to hit 30+ regulary. 

I was able to do a commute this week where I ran home yesterday and then ran in this morning. This seems to work great as it combines two of my daily activities, i.e. the 10 minute 1 way drive and the run. So, if I could do this regularly twice a week I would bang out a quick 4 runs without working too hard. This means that I could add 1 run during the day of the work week and I could be at 5 runs for the week with little cost. This may be the key.

I have not added too much spice to the week, except for a few pickups and a 2 mile tempo today at 6:56. This seems to be working ok for now, seems to be kind of close to the MAF philosopy where Monday and Tuesday where around 147-148 for the AVG HR whereas yesterday was up around 156 due to the crazy headwind home and today was at 159 avg with the 2 mile tempo (169 avg during this effort). So, these two weeks have been nice bace training overall.

This week was another focus on form. Monday was one of the smoothest runs I have had. Had an excellent gait with a clear forefoot tendency. Felt real nice in the Mizunos. Tuesday I jumped back to the Brooks and I definitely did not feel as smooth and I was a bit tight from the day before. I was real tight on Wednesday which was why I took the day off. The run home was back to the Mizunos again and felt a bit better. Today was excellent. Felt smooth, especially during the tempo. 

Can't wait to try out the Lunar Racers or Trainers. I need to focus on the minimalist shoes for sure!

5.77 Run at Work

Mostly MAF run with 2 800 intervals at the end of the run. Ran the 1st half mile at 6.18 and the second one at 6.17 including a short stop for traffic. The 1st had a bit of an incline and the second was mostly a slight decline.

Second run with absolutely no pain. Feeling good about the foot plant. Maybe I am on the other end of this IT thing. Still want to consider a maintenance visit to Rodgers once I am feeling more confident about the form.

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Another Easy Run - 1/14/2009 - 4.69 miles

Great run, almost no pain. Really had a great stride going. It is amazing how long it takes to change the gait. I remember reading posts on the RW forum about guys who took almost a year to fix their strides. Now I know why. Had a great foot landing that really seemed comfortable. Felt like I was definitely landing on the mid-foot with a little forefoot. No feeling of forcing the landing, just eliminated the over-striding and the landing followed. Got to keep this going. HR was a bit high given the pace. Not sure why, could have been the coffee before the run. Overall, I was very happy with the run. Put in a nice pickup maxing out at a 5:30. This felt great, just wish I could maintain it for more than 20 seconds. Maybe someday!

1/13/2009 - 4.88 Miles Easy

Easy run from home up Washington, half Harper to Davidson. Mesa still had some snow and as a result found myself kind of slopping around. Weird, decided to hit the rounds instead. Kind of strange that would I rather run on the comfort of the pavement and ice rather than the trail-like experience of the trails. Anyway, just felt like a better workout to hit the round. Went back to the Brooks as I am feeling that the Mizunos are getting a bit old. Also, afraid that I am blaming the shoes for the pains rather than my form. So, tried the more cushioned shoes. And, it does seem that if I keep my stride short, or least a landing right under my COG, that I can stave off the pain. Not a bad run overall.

Core work with some pushups

Did 2 sets of the RW core workout (Feb issue). Topped it off with a quick 20 pushups.

Feels great! Hope I can keep it up.
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4.94 Recovery at Night

Easy recovery at night. Kind of relaxing to be running at night, very quiet, no one around. Had to work to keep the pace slow, but not too unsuccessful at this as I was a bit tight from the 5K yesterday. I think the Mizuno's are getting a bit old, looking forward to trying out the Nike Lunar shoes, just to see if they work. Definitely want to stick with the Neutral with minimal cushion. May try the Brooks again with a focus on form. It just seems that I get lazy in the cushion shoes. The minimals force me to run well.

Oatmeal Festival Race Report - 5K

Well, I need a little speed work. I finished the race in an unofficial 21:25 or so for a total distance of 3.14 according to my Garmin. I had a decent pace off of the start, probably in the mid 6's for awhile, but the subtle uphill progression slowed me down on the way to Waneka Lake. Unfortunately I did not adequately leverage the downhills on the way back as I was keeping it in the high to mid-6's where I should have been in the low 6's. I just think I slowed down too much on the little inclines and just did not push hard enough. My overall pace came in around what my BB08 was last year, so I should have had a bit more speed. 

Regardless, a very fun race with great family (me in the goofy blue hat) support. Had a wonderful cheering section near the finish. Even saw my boss there! 

No matter what, it is good to get a race under my belt so early in 09. 

Some details:

Race photos here...

Race Results here...

Xmas 2008 Family Picture

I could not resist posting this picture.

3.77 Mile Pre-race facilitation run

Did the 4X 15' 30' / 30' 90' intervals this morning. Felt very fluid and fast on each of the pickups. Even did the last one to a minute at a 6 minute pace with no real problems. Focused on a quick turnover and a short stride. Felt great overall. Did feel that the mile home on the concrete was a little harsh, not sure if I was over-striding again. Maybe the Mizuno's are starting to get a bit old as they are now alost 10 months old. 

Overall I feel ready for tomorrow. Still shooting for a sub-20. Probably want to do the first mile in a 6:20 or so, the second in a 6:30-35 and the final in a 6:40 to just hold on. Its going to be close. 

4.91 - Run to work

Just finished my first commute to work on foot. Tried a slightly longer route today via a partial Coal Creek jaunt. Hopped onto 42 at Aquarious and then leveraged the tail wind for a LT/Tempo. Overall it took 37:25 minutes for a pace of 7:37 and an avg HR of 150. Not bad, seems low given my overall pace of just over half marathon pace.

PM: Did the Runners World core workout again, 2 sets in 15 minutes. Feels great.

In preparation for the Oatmeal Festival, will takes Thursday off and then do a pre-race facilitation on Friday morning before work. Will be rolling out the old F4 workout of 4 sets of 15-60, 30-90 second pick-ups. Still not sure what this workout really does, but hey; why change my routine before a race as I have been following this workout now for the last few years before each of the races I have completed. 

"A" goal, break 20 minutes

3.57 Miles - Run home from work

First day of running home. Brought clothes for tomorrow so that I can run to work in the morning as well. Took the most direct route that I could think of, amazingly it was only 3.57 miles which I covered in just under 30 minutes. Funny as this is barely over 20 minutes longer than driving the car. Definitely want to do this a few more times but it seems that this little experiment could be a success. Maybe I could do this on two days or so for a total of a minimum of 4 trips through the week. There are plenty of ways to make the run a bit longer or a lot longer. Just adding a little over 15 minutes will add over 2 miles one way to the commute which is awesome. This may be the way to get a bunch more miles in during the week without taking more from the family or work for that matter. An extra 15 or so minutes at the beginning and end of each day is surely not a lot and it seems better to tag on the runs at the beginning/end of the day without having to worry about a run in the middle of the day. Honestly I am barely able to get three of these work runs in a week and these are usually between 4 and 5 miles with a max of just over 6 on a quiet day. Eliminating the middle of the day distraction may be a great benefit. We will see.

elliptical - 3.25 miles

Did a nice 40 minute workout on the machine. Kept the level medium to low at a 6 in the Sport setting. 40 total minutes for 623 calories. Did 2 reverse sessions of 5 minutes.

Great workout, nice to workout with a movie. Watched most of the second half of Wimbledon. Not a bad sports movie crossed with a bit of romantic comedy/chick-flick. Fun.

Started the session with 2 sets of the core exercises in this months RW. Have to start somewhere!
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Easy Sunday run with a few pickups - 7 miles

Went back to the Brooks. Definitely felt a little pain coming back to the knee. Weird as I felt like the gait was fairly on. I wonder if I just run more naturally with less cushion. Maybe the cushion makes me more lazy? Maybe the knee would hurt regardless of the shoes. Anyway, the run was good overall. Ran the first 1 and a quarter alone and then met Bryan. Did a full Mesa with a full Harper. Did some small pickups of under 2 minutes throughout the run. Felt good to pick it up.

Jack and Owen resting at Loveland

A well earned rest!

Hit Loveland for the first day out with the kids. Yesterday Katie and I hit Keystone and with a few runs with A & J. The weather was great, however, the conditions were just ok. Keystone definitely needs snow as the trails with no snow making were a little thin. Nonetheless got in a good 5 hours of groomers and a bit of short turns. The snow was icy in places, too much for my amazingly dull boards. I will get them tuned one of these days.

Back to Loveland. We usually hit Keystone with the kids as it is 5 minutes from my parents place, but this year the price was a little steep, 45 for us (comp tickets since my dad works at the Beav) to ski the beginner lift and 50 for the boys as they are now 6, a little bit of a reach for them trying to act like 4 year olds. Also, a lot to spend for a few runs on the magic carpet and the short lift. So, Loveland seemed like a great place to try as they have Lift 7 at the smaller area that is only 25 for adults and 18 for kids over 5. Plus, we could head home after skiing, a pass closer to home. What a deal especially since the parking is free as well; right next to the lift. Everything seemed to go well getting there until we discovered that the kids mittens were still back in the dryer from the day of playing in the snow yesterday. No worries as Loveland had 3 pairs of mittens for 10 bucks apiece! Not bad really. I guess it always pays to have a few pair of extra mittens for the kids. 

Finally, after all of the bathroom breaks, ski pants and boot buckling we got the kids on the lift. Of course their first run was a little rough, but it was clear that all three of the kids were going to make the leapt this year. It seemed that each time we told them to make the pizza pie they actually did it! I could not believe it as last year was simply doing loops on the magic carpet with one person at the top and one at the bottom catching them. This year the kids (even Lily at 3...not surprising since she started riding a 2-wheeler this summer a full 2 years earlier than the boys) were clearly ready to start turning or at least start getting to the point where they can slow themselves down. Anyway, many runs later with each of them getting a bit better each run, we almost had all of them making turns on their own. The last run with Owen I never touched him or held him...I just skied backwards in front of him and told him where to turn; and he turned! Pretty cool. Can't wait to go again with them. Maybe Eldora next as we now have all of the equipment at home rather than at the parents!

NYT: Bigger Than Bush

Makes me understand why I am a Democrat....at least a Blue Dog one.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/article;jsessionid=9545159C119278A4B0DAD4FF689C1F4D.w6?a=281683&subSection=Columnist&f=28

or try this one

http://tinyurl.com/86k5av

2008 Year in Review

2008 was definitely my best year in regards to improvement. 2007 was a good year as well culiminating with the Imogene Pass Run, but in 2008 I think I made even more progress. I had a bit more fun in 2007 running trails, but in 2008 I mostly laid some good foundation for years to come. The biggest issue I had through 2008 and which is partially continuing is my IT-problems. I started stuggling with this in late 2006 during my Imogene training; it seemed to appear after running longer than 2 hours and was most apparant during the race. I even went to a local PT for a few weeks with minimal improvements. In 2008 I purchased a gait analysis from Dr. Jeremy Rodgers. This came with free fitting for a pair of Brooks sneaks. As I suspected the gait analysis stretched into 4 visits from the original 1, but I gained some great insight into my form. 

The biggest ah ha was that I had a fairly severe tendency to over-stride. This of course led to being a major heal-striker while also landing with my knee locked rather than bent. All of this adds up to the fact that the impact of running is passed directly to my knees and then to my hips. Whereas when landing with a bent knee, the force is absorbed from the arch to the ankle to the knee and to the hip. This matches with the chi reading I did early in the year. It may seem easy to correct such a simple problem, but for me it has been really difficult...lots of starts and stops. During the sessions I was able to improve a bit, but I was never really able to sustain the gains through the summer. I discovered that the IT problems came back again on a 2 hour run in the rain this past summer. I think the following pictures tell the story. This definitely shows some improvement, but as I recall the form did not feel comfortable because I was really focusing on foot strike rather than leg position.

Check out my original session as taped by Dr. Rodgers.

Here is a picture from session #2.

Some improvements here, but still a little over-striding. However, the knee is a little more bent and I am not landing on my heal as much. The problem is that this gait did not feel comfortable or natural while I was running. I remember Jeremy commented that I kind of over-strided and then I pulled my foot back. This seems to make sense as I was focusing on my foot landing. I have done enough reading to know that focusing on just being a fore-foot striker is not the way to go about adapting form. It is much safer to focus on keeping the landing under the center of gravity and letting the foot land the way it is most natural.

Above is a picture later in my summer marathon training (around 8/30). This picture was taken after a long-ish run of about 13 miles. Still over-striding a bit, with a heal-first landing, but it seems that my leg swing out is not as far, i.e. my landing is a little closer to being under my center of gravity. 

Regardless, I am feeling that my current gait is getting closer which seems to be aided by the less supportive shoes. I did the marathon in a fairly-dead pair of Adrenelines with the super feet. They worked well when they were new, especially when I was still early in the gait analysis. But, now they just feel too contrictive. I can not feel the trail in them and as a result my feet do not seem to move the way they want. This was confirmed in an analysis at Road Runner...which showed again that I am a neutral runner rather than a stability runner. 

I think I will wrap up the 2008 summer with a mileage graph. The total mileage for the year was 1142 in about 168 hours for an average pace of 8:50.

Most of the year was focused on training for my first marathon. I really did not do much other racing, kind of got lazy I think. This is definitely a lesson for 2009, do more racing , especially the shorter distances. I would love to start 2009 off right with a good 5K, presumably the Oatmeal Festival. I have been wanted to break the 20 minute barrier, and starting with this race will be a good place to start. Regardless, I made great progress in 2008 with the Bolder Boulder byu staking almost a full minute off of my time. I did this by basically following Katie's FastForward training program on my own. It definitely worked I think...and, then there was the weather. The BB was just perfect this year with regards to the temperature, etc. Let's see what 2009 brings. 

stance	Time	Pace	Event	Date
6.1 Mi	43:43	7:10	Bolder Boulder	5/28/2007
6.2 Mi	42:33.37	6:52	Bolder Boulder	5/26/2008
Marathon	3:49:00	8:45	Random Route	10/19/2008

Some tentative goals for 2009 are as follows:

1. Probably limiting races to under half-marathons

2. Want to get the mileage consistently above 30 miles a week; would like to get over 40 miles on a regular basis

3. Want to get 5K time under 20 minutes

4. Want to get my BB09 down under 41 minutes

5. May consider Denver again if I can get my IT problem under control. This may be easier if I can get my mileage over 35 regularly without too much of a strain on my family.

Additionally, I have not ruled out a follow-up visit to Jeremy Rodgers. I would be very curious on how successful he would be in eliminating this frustrating problem.

We will see! Run on!

Mid-long run at work

Another great run today. Started in front of the hospital and went around counter-clockwise to the Rock Creek Trail. Took the industrial tracks to Coal Creek all the way up to the Aquarious Trail head. Did the first 4.08 easy at a 8:19 pace and an avg HR of 153. This did seem a bit high for some reason. Then did a mid-tempo for 1.78 in an avg pace of 7:12. This would have been a bit faster had I not started the lap at the bottom of the aquarious hill. Avg HR was 172 for this section.

Legs, knees and feet felt great. Gait was good with a mid to fore foot landing. Getting there!
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Trail run from home

Explored the open space just east of Sycamore today in Louisville. Ran just about all the little trails including around the little fishing hole. Seems that a nice little cyclo cross course could be setup up back there if not a fun cross country route. Felt smooth and controlled. Focused on form and keeping my HR low, just under 147. Would have run a lot longer, wanted to hit 6; but had to head back to help clean the house for playdate. Still feeling like the Mizunos are working well and that my form continues to improve. Still feel some soreness around the calves each morning which means that I am landing more mid to forefoot. Will probably continue easy runs for the week with some small pick-ups if not a fast mile at the end of each run.

Ski Weekend 2009

Tentative Schedule : Weekend of 2/16/2009

Hope to head to a combination of Monarch and Wolf Creek, i.e. avoid Summit and Eagle for a smaller, deeper experience. Still need to figure out lodging and logistics.

Pictures from 2008.