Peak Mileage and Preparing for the Clarence DeMar Marathon

Well it's the Triple Threat Half Marathon last Sunday and right into a peak mileage training week for the marathon - 50 miles this week including a 20 mile run next Sunday. This is all in preparation for the Clarence DeMar marathon on Sept. 27 in New Hampshire. A big concern for me is getting rid of most, if not all, the weight I put on post Disney. Here is my weight record since last November:

11/10/14    180.0
12/1/14      181.0
12/8/14      181.0
12/15/14    180.5
1/10/15       Disney Marathon
1/19/15      185.0
1/26/15      184.0
2/2/15        187.0
2/9/15        186.0
3/16/15      191.0
7/6/15        192.5
7/13/15      190.0
7/20/15      189.5
7/29/15      188.5
8/5/15        190.0

I intentionally pigged out at Disney World in the week after the race so I'm not surprised I put on a few pounds. And not all the weight is fat since I've definitely become stronger since last winter - including running a 1:44 PR half marathon in Binghamton when I weighed at least 190 lbs.

If I want to get in the 180 range for the DeMar marathon, I'm going to have to get medieval between now and then. I've gone to the steel cut oatmeal for breakfast and I think I've decided to cut the alcohol completely - so no more Osborn Tavern after the weekly Danvers 5k until October.

What are the marathon goals? Given the 1:44 marathon PR and the 1:46 I did on the challenging Triple Threat course on a hot day, I think a 3:40 marathon is not an unreasonable goal. That's a 1:50 half marathon pace.

But I don't want to be carrying 190 lbs on Sept. 27 when I try to meet that goal.

Killer Courses and the Triple Threat Half Marathon

My first half marathon was this race - the Triple Threat - at just this time last year. It wasn't until I had run some other half marathons that I realized just how difficult a course this is. Looking back at it this year, the course almost seems designed to break your spirit. It's an out and back course, net downhill on the out and (naturally) uphill on return. It's rolling hills most of the way, and the final 5k is mostly uphill, including some very steep sections. And just when you think you have climbed the final hill, and make the turn for the last quarter mile back to Rockport High, what greets you but a final insult in the form of one more small hill to overcome. I have seen far more runners walking the hills on this course than any other, and I'm talking about runners who were on pace to finish sub 1:50. Here I am on the first half of the course before the beatings began:

Another unique feature this course has is a 100 yard stretch running through sand as you go past Pebble Beach at about the 3 and 1/2 mile mark. Of course, as an out and back course, you must run through the sand again just before you take on the final 5k. Thanks Rockport!

If you want more, the race is called Triple Threat because there are 1 mile and 5k races before it, and you are invited to run all three. The half is plenty for me, but even if you don't run the earlier races, their very existence pushes the half marathon start to later in the morning (10:15) so the weather gets a chance to become nice and hot - mid 80's in this case, significantly hotter than it was last year.

I normally don't take any water on half marathons, but given the heat, I thought it would be the better part of valor to take water every chance I had. I'll have to work on the technique, because I had trouble drinking while running and eventually just stopped briefly at the water stops and walked while taking water. That's something I'm going to have to work out before the Clarence DeMar marathon in September.

I ran a 7:50 pace on the way out, which put me about a minute ahead of a PR pace. I had no illusions about PR'ing, however, knowing what was facing me on the way back. One thing I was determined to do was to keep running up the final hills and not bail out and walk like I did last year. And I managed to do that, eventually finishing in 1:46:49, a couple minutes slower than my PR but more than 3 minutes faster than my time on this course last year.

Tricia came to cheer me on along with our friends Jeff and Dianne (who took the picture above). This race is well run with cheerful volunteers and a lot of spectator support along the course. At least three times I ran through sprinklers people had thoughtfully put out. And it certainly is a beautiful course. But the best summary is one an older female runner made as we were walking to the car and cheered her on as she passed still on the course. Her comment: "This course is harder than childbirth."

Sometimes, however, it's good to take on a challenging course rather than just looking for a PR course every time. If you can take on this beast and finish running, you can feel satisfied you slayed the dragon and your other half marathons will seem easy.

Officially into the Higdon Intermediate II Marathon Training

Last week I started explicitly training according to the Higdon Intermediate II plan - the same one I did for the Disney Marathon last winter. This is in preparation for the Clarence DeMar Marathon on Sept. 27. I'm jumping into week 8 of the training plan.

Yesterday (Sunday) I ran a 17 miler, using the 5 mile loop I created around Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary in Wenham. This is a run along leafy country roads, occasionally meeting other runners and seeing a lot of competitive bikers - these roads are very popular with the bikers. Also the occasional horseback rider.

Sunday was very hot and humid so it was a good thing I ran in my usual early morning timeframe. The loop format allows me to place a water bottle at my car so I can drink without having to carry water. Even with drinking every 5 miles, I lost close to 5 pounds in water by the end of the run. But nonetheless I was able to run at a pace of 9:45 per mile, which is pretty fast for my training runs. Next Sunday a 19 miler is on deck.

North Andover July 4 10k

The three kids and I ran the 10k in North Andover this morning. It was a real treat to have the whole crew along for the race. A couple of Ellen's friends came along as well to cheer her on.

The weather was good but the course, as I remember it from last year, is very difficult. Pretty much nothing but hills from start to finish - starting with a nice juicy one over the first mile. My goal was to PR and hopefully pull a 7:30 pace - doable I would think as I ran a 7:41 pace for the 10 miler in Beverly two weeks ago. Aaron and Ellen were hoping to break an hour (they are running for a qualifying time for the corrals in the Disney World Half Marathon next January).

Here we are we are prior to the start of the race (all pictures courtesy of Tricia):

And here are Ethan and me waiting for the start of the 10K:

and here is Ellen getting a good start:

I stayed with Ethan for about the first 3 miles when he gradually began pulling away. He was a few hundred yards ahead of me by the last mile, then took it up a notch in the last half mile and I lost sight of him. The hills on this course really do a number on your pacing. It's just impossible to get into a solid groove because you are either working up hill or falling downhill. I never really got settled and never got close to the 7:30 pace I was hoping for (my best mile was about 7:45). In the end, I barely ran 8 minute miles and finished in 49:28, about 50 seconds faster than I did the course last year, which isn't saying much as I've dropped my half marathon time by more than 6 minutes since that time.

Ethan ran steady and strong and finished well, posting a time of 48:17. Aaron and Ellen both broke an hour, Aaron finishing in 57:19 and Ellen in 57:24.

Here is Aaron, me and Ethan passing the same point about a quarter mile from the finish:

 

 

Next up for me is the Triple Threat Half Marathon on August 2. Another difficult course. Aaron, Ellen and I are also planning to run one more 10k before October - this time a flat to get the best time they can. I imagine they can drop a couple of minutes off of their 10k times simply by running an easier course.

New England Running Company 10 Mile Road Race

That was the wettest race I've run so far.

Fortunately the rain let up before the start, so I could get the warmup in and the pre-race standing around without getting soaked. But it wasn't soon after the start that it simply poured, and it stayed that way most of the race. By midway I wasn't bothering running around the puddles anymore.

I started with Marianne and a friend of hers, and we took the first three miles at an 8 minute mile pace. That really helped me, as I never start races that quickly and it felt good. Marianne moved ahead after 3 miles and later finished about a minute ahead of me.

My final result was 1:16:52, which was close to a 10 minute improvement over the 1:26 I did at Lazy Lobster about this time last year, and represents a 7:41 mile pace. It was a lot of fun and a very well organized race.

Beverly 10 miler pre-game

Tomorrow morning I'm running a 10 mile race in Beverly, probably in the rain, and hopefully not in a thunderstorm.

My PR for 10 miles is 1:26, done last June. That's an 8:40 mile pace. Given that I did a 7:57 pace for the Half Marathon in Binghamton in May, I certainly hope I can PR the 10 miles. I'll be happy if I can at least match the 7:57 pace I did in Binghamton.

5k PR

My knees felt good last night, so I went for it at the weekly Danvers 5K and tried for my first sub 22 5K (well, at least since I was a young man!) I made it and set a PR with a 21:48 finish. But I still couldn't catch Ethan who also lowered his time with a 21:33. A good night followed up with the usual good time at Osborn Tavern.