This Week in Running 12/31/17

Total Miles: 10

Tuesday: 45 min bike (Planet Fitness)
Wednesday: 5 mile treadmill
Thursday: 45 min bike
Saturday: 5 mile run
Sunday:  none - Wicked Frosty Four on Monday.

This Week in Running 12/24/17

This week I backed way off the running to help my knee heal. I stuck to the bike all week and only ran some miles on Saturday and Sunday. I was pleased that I was able to get through both runs with no knee pain.

Total Miles: 12

Tuesday: 45 min bike (Planet Fitness)
Wednesday: 45 min elliptical + 45 min bike
Thursday: 45 min bike
Saturday: 4 mile treadmill + 45 min bike
Sunday:  8 mile treadmill + 60 min bike

This Week in Running 12/17/17

My left knee is still bothering me. Sunday I ran on the turf field at the high school... after 6 miles the knee hurt enough I had to stop. Since changing surfaces sometimes helps, I tried running on the road and, mercifully, the knee didn't feel great but felt good enough to run and I was able to get another 11 miles in. Since banking more miles isn't going to do much, from here on I'm going to switch to a lot of biking and get a few road miles in here and there. Hopefully the knee will be right by Marathon Weekend.

Total Miles: 41

Tuesday: 4
Wednesday: 8 (including D5K)
Thursday: 4
Saturday: 8

Sunday: 17

Disney Corrals

The Disney Corral assignments for marathon weekend have come out. They've cut the number of corrals in half and they only go from A-H now instead of A-P. Apparently they are going to release each corral in waves. A lot of big marathons are going with this approach.

Our corral assignments:

Aaron: B (half marathon)
Ethan: B (half marathon)
Ellen: C (half marathon)
me: A (half and full marathons - Goofy Challenge).

I'll move back to the C corral (probably Aaron too) to run with Ellen in the half. Ethan might stay in B and run with his friend Chris.

With the smaller corrals of the previous races I probably would have been in the C corral, so it looks like the larger corrals worked out for me.

This Week in Running 12/10/17

Total Miles: 37

Tuesday: 4
Wednesday: 7 (including D5K)
Thursday: 4
Saturday: 7

Sunday: 15

This Week in Running 12/3/17

Total Miles: 33

Tuesday: 4
Wednesday: 5 
Thursday: 4
Saturday: 6
Sunday: 14

This Week in Running 11/26/17

My knee felt good after the Wild Turkey Run and after the 6 miles on Saturday, but bothered me on the last six miles of the Sunday 12 miler. Also I'm considerably sore otherwise just from the mileage accumulation.  I'll probably go for a lower mileage week coming up to let things heal. 

Total Miles: 32

Tuesday: 4
Wednesday: 5 including D5K 
Thursday: 5 (Wild Turkey Run)
Saturday: 6

Sunday: 12

Wild Turkey 5 Mile Race

I ran the Wild Turkey 5 Mile Run in Salem yesterday. I debated about even going as my left knee still isn't right. Wednesday night I ran the D5K and it was bothering me enough that I ran slower than 10 minute miles. So I didn't see much point in hobbling around Salem. But I woke up early (as usual) and my knee felt alright, and I was interested to see what would happen in a genuine race situation, or if the knee felt different if I tried to run hard.

As it turned out I was glad I went to the race. I ran into a number of people I haven't seen in a while, including Jeff Macinnis, who hasn't run the D5K in many months. And I ran better than I expected. Maybe it was the adrenalin kicking in for a race situation, but I was able to run sub 9 minute miles after the first mile, and although my knee started to bother me around mile 4, it didn't slow me down and I didn't seem to have any permanent effects after the race from running hard.

Racewire got a picture of me finishing, but the camera was staring into the sun so there isn't a lot to see. I'm the big red blob in the middle:

This Week in Running 11/19/17

Total Miles: 29

Tuesday: 4
Wednesday: 5 plus Bike 30 mins
Thursday: 4
Saturday: 6
Sunday: 10

Wineglass Marathon Video

On youtube there is an extended video of the 2017 Wineglass Marathon, including drone shots. It's a great video and an excellent overview of the race. I didn't see myself in any of the shots.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRaNmuLPJiI

This Week in Running 11/12/17

Total Miles: 20

Tuesday: Bike 60 mins
Wednesday: 4
Thursday: 4
Saturday: 5
Sunday: 7 plus Bike 60 mins

This Week in Running 11/5/17

Total Miles: 8

Tuesday: 3
Wednesday: 5 
Thursday: Bike 60 mins (recumbent at Planet Fitness)
Saturday: Bike 75 mins
Sunday: Bike 90 mins

My left knee started bothering me a bit the week of Oct. 22 so I took some time off. It was OK after the 3 mile run this past Tuesday, but bothered me again by the end of the 5 miles on Wednesday. I'm going to take some more time off and switch to the bike for a bit, and gradually rework the running back in.

This Week in Running 10/22/17

Total Miles: 25

Tuesday: 4
Wednesday: 6 (including D5K: 24:48)
Saturday: 5
Sunday: 10

This Week in Running 10/15/17

Total Miles: 34

Tuesday: 4
Wednesday: 6 (including D5K: 23:27)
Thursday: 4
Saturday: 8

Sunday: 12

Wineglass Marathon Analysis

I've been thinking about what was different about the Wineglass Marathon versus my previous marathons that contributed to the good performance.

Certainly one important factor is that it's the fastest course I've run. It's a faster course than Clarence Demar, the site of my prior PR. The Demar course, like Wineglass, is net downhill. But the Demar course has a steep downhill over the first 10k, followed by some rolling hills and several significant climbs. The most memorable of these is a short but very steep climb out of a cemetery in the 24th mile.

Myrtle Beach could be a fast course except for the wind, which hits you in the face as you run up Ocean Ave for the middle 10 miles of the race. Disney can be a fast course, but I've only run it as my first marathon or as the latter part of the Goofy Challenge, and at a time when I was recovering from injury.

Wineglass has a gentle overall decline to it, with some mild rolling hills and a couple climbs that are not bad at all. The weather was perfect the day I ran it, with no wind and temps starting in the high 30's and ending up near 60. Everything was setup - environmentally at least - for a fast run.

But I think the course and weather were not the most significant factors. Here are the split times of my four fastest marathons:

What seems to stand out about the Wineglass splits is what happened in the second half of the race. Instead of getting slower, as I did on the other three marathons, I got faster. And it's not that I went out in the first half a lot slower at Wineglass than the others. In fact, from miles 6 to 15, I was running fastest at Wineglass.

I remember in the second half of Wineglass feeling strong but waiting for the fatigue to manifest itself in my quads and glutes as it had in my other marathons. But it never really did. I felt strong all the way to the end, so strong that I cranked out the last 10k at an 8:09 per mile pace, much faster than I expected to be running at that point. After the race I was of course wiped out,  but this time my quads and glutes were very sore but OK, and it was my calf muscles that gave me problems with cramps.

I think the difference is that this year I've been pretty much injury free all year, except for missing a couple of days over the summer. The training this past year has included 3 marathon training cycles, each with 3 50 miles weeks in them. That's a lot of miles in the bank, and a lot more than I've ever had in the runup to a marathon.

My training was also conducted more carefully. On the pace runs (usually Saturday) I would try to run at least at the goal pace or a little faster. The course I ran on Saturday included substantial hills as well. On Sunday I would run easy on a flat course, my new favorite course being along the water in Newburyport. It got to the point that I was pounding out the pace runs fairly easily, even with the hills, and completing the 20 mile runs without being completely wiped out.

So in the end, I think it was the steady training all year that was the most significant factor.

This Week in Running 10/8/17

Total Miles: 15

Thursday: 3
Saturday: 4
Sunday: 8

Wineglass Marathon Recap

I ran the Wineglass Marathon on Sunday. The bottom line: I PR'd and BQ'd with a 3:38:15, a bit more than a 3 minute PR. It's not fast enough to actually run Boston, however, as I'd need something like a 3:36 given how runners are allowed to register (faster runners first until the spots run out).

The Wineglass Marathon is a great race. The Corning/Bath area seems to have avoided the deterioration that has generally affected the Southern Tier of New York State. Corning is still an attractive mid-sized city and the countryside is pretty, as upstate New York generally is. The race is point to point from Bath to Corning.

The Expo was held at the Corning Museum of Glass, and was a standard affair for this size of a marathon (about 2,000 runners). That doesn't mean it was bad. The swag included a nice pullover embroidered with the Wineglass Marathon logo and a small bottle of champagne. A picture at the Expo:

And here is a picture of the finish line on Market St. in Corning:

The start of the race is out in the country near Bath. You are required to take a bus to the start, which drops you off about an hour before start time. It was cold that morning, in the 30's, but I was prepared with my throwaway sweatpants and sweatshirts (2 of them, plus gloves). They also thoughtfully provided a large heated tent for the runners. When that got full, they opened a nearby municipal garage.

The course itself is net downhill, but without any steep declines. It's got some gentle rolling hills along the way and a couple non-trivial hills which are not bad at all. The worst is perhaps similar to the mile 21 on-ramp hill at the Disney Marathon. Overall it is a very fast course.

There is a lot of on course support, with water stations every 2 miles featuring both water and gatorade. Some of the stops also dispense gu gels and fruit. The race also has amazing spectator support. The course takes you through several small towns and hundreds of spectators turned out in each of them to cheer us on. The finish is thrilling as well, going straight down Market St. in Corning for a little less than a half mile. You can see the finish line banner off in the distance and the street is lined on both sides with throngs of enthusiastic spectators.

My goal was a sub 3:40, which would be both a PR and a BQ (Boston Marathon qualifying time).  My strategy was to run with the 3:40 pacer till past the halfway point, maybe to mile 18 and, hopefully, then push out ahead of him. It would all depend on how I felt at that point.

As it turned out, the 3:40 pacer started out a little fast I thought. (A 3:40 marathon equates to an 8:23 per mile pace.) So I let him go and ran by feel and my watch. I ran slightly less than goal pace for the first 10k. That was a comfortable pace, and any faster would have been work. If you are working in the first half of a marathon, you aren't going to make it anyway, so it's necessary to run at a pace that feels easy, whatever it is, goal pace or not. Since I was running at slightly less than goal pace, the 3:40 pacer gradually moved away. By mile 6 he was about 1/4 mile ahead of me. But by then I had also settled in to the race and was cruising at my goal pace. I could see the 3:40 pacer out ahead of me with a swarm of perhaps 30 runners around him. I was glad I didn't have to negotiate the water stops in the middle of that mob.

Since I was now running at race pace, the 3:40 pacer stayed about 1/4 mile ahead of me. I decided not to try and catch him and contented myself with ticking off mile for the time being. Here are my splits for the first half of the race, including a 20 second bathroom stop just after the half:

Around mile 15 I did an evaluation of where I stood. At some point, if I was going to get the 3:40, I was going to have to close down the 3:40 pacer. I still felt fresh and strong, and my legs were all there. The most substantial hill on the course is at mile 14 and I had no problem powering up it. So I decided to take it up a notch and pushed my pace up to about 8:13/mile. I reminded myself to be patient and not try to catch the pacer all at once. It's a marathon after all.

So for awhile I just zoned out, losing myself in the rhythm of my legs and breathing. Occasionally I would look up and the 3:40 pacer would be a little closer. I could also see runners start to peel off the group around the 3:40 pacer and fall back. I'd pass them as I closed down the pacer. That would give me a boost of confidence and then I would go back to zoning out. I eventually caught him at the 21.5 mile mark. He was a very animated fellow and I could hear him a long way off motivating people. As I ran by he yelled to me "That's right! You pass me! Go!" I got a boost from that and put in my fastest mile of the race at mile 22, an 8:04. Since I still felt strong, although by now of course I was working hard, I decided to attempt to maintain that pace for the remainder of the race. I could hear the 3:40 pacer's voice gradually recede behind me.

I slowed down a bit in the last couple of miles, but not much, and I finished the race strong. Here are the splits from the second half of the race:

My official time was 3:38:15. I negative split the marathon for the first time, going out in something like 1:50:45 and coming back in 1:47:55. The run down Market St. to the finish really is incredible, a little bit like running down Main St. USA at Disney, only this really IS Main St. USA.

Here is a picture of me crossing a bridge shortly before the final turn down Market St. to the finish:

And a couple of me crossing the finish. Can you spot Tricia and Kevin in the background?

This was the first race for which I experienced leg cramps in the aftermath. In fact, I endured repeated calf cramps in both legs. Kevin was helpful in stretching them out. The medical staff advised me to keep drinking gatorade, stretch them, and keep moving, which I did. The post race food includes apples, bananas, bagels, cookies, chicken soup and a few other things I can't remember. There is also a bell you can ring for a PR which I neglected to do.

The recovery has been more painful and slower than my other marathons. I suppose that is a good thing insofar as it indicates I left everything on the course. Today (Tuesday) Tricia and I are going to the Topsfield Fair, where I will eat my way from one end to the other.

UPDATE: My original chip time posted right after the race was 3:38:15. Then when the official results came out it was 3:38:35. I saw on FB that people were wondering why 20 secs had been added to everyone's time. Whatever the reason, I checked the results again today (10/12) and the official results now say again 3:38:15. I'll take it!

This Week in Running 10/1/17

Total Miles: 33

Tuesday: 3
Wednesday: 4 (including D5K - 30:40) 

Sunday: 26.2 - Wineglass Marathon

This Week in Running

Total Miles: 26

Tuesday: 4
Wednesday: 6 (including D5K - 23:05) 
Thursday: 4
Saturday: 5

Sunday: 7

This Week in Running 9/17/17

Total Miles: 50

Tuesday: 5
Wednesday: 10 (including D5K - 23:25) 
Thursday: 5
Saturday: 10

Sunday: 20

This Week in Running 9/10/17

Total Miles: 34

Tuesday: 5
Wednesday: 6 
Thursday: 5
Saturday: 12

Sunday: 6 

Aaron and I ran the Salem Notch 10k race. I ran it as a pace run for the Wineglass Marathon and Aaron ran it to get a corral placement time for the Disney Half Marathon in January. I decided not to look at my watch and just run at a good, comfortable pace. It turned out I ran it slightly faster than 3:40 marathon pace (which is 8:23 per mile). Aaron had a good run and ran it in 53:57 (8:41 pace).

This Week in Running 9/3/17

Total Miles: 50

Tuesday: 5
Wednesday: 10 (including D5K - 23:15)
Thursday: 5
Saturday: 10

Sunday: 20

This Week in Running 8/27/17

Total Miles: 34

Tuesday: 5
Wednesday: 6 (including D5K - 23:09)
Thursday: 5
Saturday: 6

Sunday: 12

This Week in Running 8/20/17

Total Miles: 50

This Sunday I was bored with my usual loop run from home - looping around a shopping mall - so I decided to drive up to Newburyport and run along the water. I started in town and ran out to and around Plum Island, then did a few out and backs back in town to round out the 20. Here are some pictures that show how beautiful it is (I started running just at dawn):

Tuesday: 5
Wednesday: 10 (including D5K - 25:43
Thursday: 5
Saturday: 10

Sunday: 20

This Week in Running 8/13/17

Total Miles: 45

Tuesday: 4
Wednesday: 9 (including D5K - 23:30)
Thursday: 4
Saturday: 9

Sunday: 19 miles

Bridge & Back 10k

I ran the Bridge & Back 10k in Salem this morning. It was a beautiful day for running, low humidity, in the 70's and sunny.  I'm not at my race weight right now - in fact, close to 15 lbs over it - so I wasn't expecting too much. Especially so as I've had some trouble with my Achilles in both feet the past month and took some time off. They seem pretty good at this point.

I felt strong from the start in this race and ran comfortably the whole way:

1. 7:37
2. 7:48
3. 7:44
4. 7:36
5. 7:38
6. 7:17

Finish: 46:37

Last year I ran this race in 49:19 (although it was hotter then), and I managed to beat that time by almost 3 minutes,  and miss my 10k PR by only 14 seconds. As is usual when I run well, I came close to an age group award but didn't quite get it... this time I was 6 seconds behind the 3rd place 50-54 finisher. The guy blew by me a quarter mile before the finish line. There wasn't much I could have done about it as I was running as fast as I could in any case (mile 6 was my fastest).

The rest of this month will be taken up with the high mileage training for the Wineglass Marathon.

This Week in Running 6/11/17

Total Miles: 37

Tuesday: 5
Wednesday: 7 (including D5K - 22:21)
Thursday: 5
Saturday: 8

Sunday: 12

This Week in Running 6/4/17

Total Miles:38
Monday: 5
Wednesday: 7 (including D5K -22:06)
Thursday:5
Saturday: 8

Sunday: 13

This Week in Running 5/28/17

I was ill most of this week.

Total Miles: 18
Saturday: 8 (9:48, 8:56, 8:58, 9:05, 9:04, 8:59, 9:10, 9:04)
Sunday: 10
1.   9:40
2.   8:52
3.   8:50
4.   8:38
5.   8:37
6.   8:41
7.   8:29
8.   8:37
9.   8:46
10. 8:36

This Week in Running 5/21/17

Total Miles: 37
Monday: 3
Tuesday: 4
Wednesday: 6 (including D5K - 25:10)
Thursday: 4
Saturday: 8 (9:13, 8:12, 8:08, 8:09, 8:09, 8:02, 7:49, 7:50)
Sunday: 12 (9:24 average pace)

Fast Half Marathon

I was scheduled to run the Maine Coast Marathon on Sunday, but the weather forecast is showing a nor'easter with steady downpours and 20 mph winds - out of the NE so its a headwind no less. And all in 45 degree weather.

If it was Disney or Boston, I'd fight thru the weather, but for a small local marathon I'm not interested in (likely) 4+ hours of misery. Instead, there was a local half marathon put on by Yukanrun that I decided to run. Given I was trained up for a marathon, I was hoping to challenge my 1:40:01 PR.

I ended up running a 1:42:28, so I missed the PR goal, but it still is the second fastest half marathon I've run. And the course isn't quite the "fast and flat" affair that is advertised. It's rolling hills and, according to my Garmin, has 383 ft of elevation gain.

It was a great day for running though and I'm glad I did that rather than suffer through Maine Coast. To really challenge for a sub 1:40, I probably have to do more speed work. I was more or less cranking out 7:45 miles during the race but I found I couldn't sustain any pace faster than that - I simply couldn't get enough oxygen into my lungs. I'm not sure I care enough to change the way I'm training as I like my long slow runs.

1.   7:41
2.   7:52
3.   7:45
4.   7:39
5.   7:47
6.   7:40
7.   7:53
8.   7:43
9.   7:47
10. 7:44
11. 8:06
12. 7:55
13. 7:52

This Week in Running 5/7/17

Total Miles: 26
Tuesday: 4
Wednesday: 6 (including D5K - 21:57, under 22 mins for the first time since 2015)
Thursday: 4
Saturday:4 
Sunday: 8

This Week in Running 4/30/17

Total Miles: 34
Tuesday: 5
Wednesday: 8 (including D5K - 22:28)
Thursday: 5
Saturday:4 
Sunday: 12 including Tapleyville 7 Miler (52:35- PR for this course)

1.  7:34
2.  7:50
3.  7:55
4.  7:43
5.  7:31
6.  7:02
7.  7:09

This Week in Running 4/23/17

Total Miles: 48
Tuesday: 5
Wednesday: 8 (including D5K - 22:14)
Thursday: 5
Saturday:10 (9:52,8:55,8:54,8:51,8:45,8:35,8:24,8:22,8:33,8:39)
Sunday: 20 9:38 pace
1.   9:45
2.   9:10
3.   9:16
4.   9:20
5.   9:30
6.   9:23
7.   9:21
8.   9:52
9.   9:45
10. 9:35
11. 9:38
12. 9:56
13. 9:47
14. 9:41
15. 9:36
16. 9:44
17. 9:57
18. 9:41
19. 9:44
20. 9:53

This Week in Running 4/16/17

Total Miles: 50

Tuesday: 5
Wednesday: 10 (including D5K - 22:46)
Thursday: 5
Saturday:10 (10:21,9:39,9:32,9:17,9:21,9:06,9:00,8:38,8:46,8:49)
Sunday: 20
1.   10:11
2.     9:23
3.     9:21
4.     9:42
5.     9:43
6.     9:26
7.     9:22
8.     9:15
9.     9:26
10.   9:16
11.   9:19
12.   9:25
13.   9:46
14.   9:17
15.   9:14
16.   9:23
17.   9:33
18.   9:32
19.   9:44
20.   9:45

I've been running a new loop in Danvers that goes up Pine and Summer streets to add in hills: