So here we are, two weeks after the marathon. In no particular order:
1) I'm back to a decent workout level, but certainly not recovered. I ended up doing more than 15 miles over two workouts last Sunday (that probably wasn't brilliant), and while I was initially excited about that, I found I wasn't fresh enough to run again until Wednesday. So Thursday, I hopped on the bike (which I hadn't done for over a year) and banged out a nice lunch time ride). I'm planning on running trails over lunch today, resting tomorrow, and knocking out 8 or so on Sunday.
I'm going to make it an effort to cross-train 1-2 days per week for the time being so that I can keep up my fitness while my legs recover from marathon pounding.
2) I am hopeful I get a little spring back in my step, as I'm planning on doing a half marathon next weekend, followed by a 5k the following weekend. The distance won't be a problem, but I'm a little curious if I'll have any speed.
3) I'm testing out a vial of Apidra insulin. Because I'm a lucky diabetic, I have rarely switched insulins. Simply put, whatever's on the market tends to work for me. 20 years ago, I was still on Pork and Beef insulin when it was discontinued because there were so few diabetics who hadn't switched to human.
One of the reasons I wanted to try out the Apidra was a hope that a newer more efficient insulin would require a smaller dose. Less insulin usually results in lower weight retention for me (my cayenne pepper experiment notwithstanding), and I would like to lose five pounds and get back to my PR weight (without actually dieting).
Three days into it, I'm a fan. My CGM line has never been more level and my basal dosage is down 20%. Whether or not that will translate to weight, time will tell.
And yes - Apidra is more expensive. Thank God for good insurance.
My doc also gave me a bottle of Novalog to test and I wish I would've tried that first, because it is a bit cheaper, but I decided to try the newest and coolest stuff first, and I'm not sure I'll be interested in trying something less new and sexy. (And what's it say about me that I'm referring to the sexiness of insulin?)
4) I must be dumber than I thought because I'm pretty sure I'm going after another marathon next spring. After my last disappointment, I was seriously considering putting the marathon thing on hold, but the past few weeks have given me perspective and an extremely generous offer for some coaching from someone I highly respect.
Coupled with the fact that the training would mostly occur Jan-April, when I usually run a lot but don't have much opportunity to race and you're left with an opportunity for a guy who's too stubborn for his own good to go for Boston one more time.
But my very long ramp-up for that isn't scheduled to start until October 31, so for now I'm still in the serious contemplation mode.
So that's that -- thanks for all of the comments, particularly those after the marathon melt-down. It's good to see I'm not the only moron on the roads. ;)
Friday, September 25, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Running More is Overrated...
Well, that's probably not true, though it seems to feel that way to me this year.
During this year's marathon plan, I averaged 46 miles per week and ran a 3:33. Last year, I averaged 32 miles per week and ran a 3:23. In 2007, I ran 30 miles per week (plus two days on the bike) and ran a 3:18.
Sort of flies in the race of that, "to run faster, run further" talk, eh?
Honestly, I don't know. I'm eager to blame the poor day on a lack of speed training, but am still wrapping my head around it all.
The best part about blowing up your marathon plan so early in the season is that it leaves a lot of fall to race in. I'm looking forward to the Hands-on-House 1/2 Marathon in two weeks (where I have my current 1/2M PR) and a week after that will try to defend my title of two-time age group champion of the Knoebels Lumber 5k. Big dreams, folks, big dreams.
Technically, the 1/2 marathon is three weeks after my marathon, and you're supposed to wait a month before racing, so I'm not so certain how that will go. However, I really like the course and I'm very eager to see if I'm truly as bad as my recent marathon performance dictated, so what the heck. I'm going to go out at seven minute pace and see what happens. I've run this course before to know that the first four miles will be fine and are followed by four curious miles of crazy uphills and downhills. After that, you limp home with what you got left. But I've done that race in 1:34 and would really like to see if I can shave just a little off my time.
During this year's marathon plan, I averaged 46 miles per week and ran a 3:33. Last year, I averaged 32 miles per week and ran a 3:23. In 2007, I ran 30 miles per week (plus two days on the bike) and ran a 3:18.
Sort of flies in the race of that, "to run faster, run further" talk, eh?
Honestly, I don't know. I'm eager to blame the poor day on a lack of speed training, but am still wrapping my head around it all.
The best part about blowing up your marathon plan so early in the season is that it leaves a lot of fall to race in. I'm looking forward to the Hands-on-House 1/2 Marathon in two weeks (where I have my current 1/2M PR) and a week after that will try to defend my title of two-time age group champion of the Knoebels Lumber 5k. Big dreams, folks, big dreams.
Technically, the 1/2 marathon is three weeks after my marathon, and you're supposed to wait a month before racing, so I'm not so certain how that will go. However, I really like the course and I'm very eager to see if I'm truly as bad as my recent marathon performance dictated, so what the heck. I'm going to go out at seven minute pace and see what happens. I've run this course before to know that the first four miles will be fine and are followed by four curious miles of crazy uphills and downhills. After that, you limp home with what you got left. But I've done that race in 1:34 and would really like to see if I can shave just a little off my time.
Friday, September 18, 2009
30 Things About My Invisible Illness
Apparently, Invisible Illness Week was this week? I didn't even know it until now. At any rate, there's a meme going around about it, and though I don't usually play, I did. Enjoy...
30 Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know
1. The illness I live with is: Type 1 Diabetes
2. I was diagnosed with it in the year:1984
3. But I had symptoms since: A few months before.
4. The biggest adjustment I’ve had to make is: Wow. I must be well-adjusted because nothing comes to mind.
5. Most people assume: I don't have diabetes.
6. The hardest part about mornings are: usually before I've had coffee.
7. My favorite medical TV show is: none of them unless by medical you mean the part in Road House where Swayze got stitches without a local.
8. A gadget I couldn’t live without is: my insulin pump, blood sugar meter and my CGM. I'm a diagadgaholic.
9. The hardest part about nights are: when I've had a very fatty meal (like a big steak) and can't tell what it will do to my blood sugar.
10. Each day I take __ pills & vitamins. 1 pill for my thyroid, vitamins if I'm in training, and a Vitamin C.
11. Regarding alternative treatments I: have used them to supplement the mainstream stuff.
12. If I had to choose between an invisible illness or visible I would choose: a diabetic on a pump is a lot more visible, if you know what to look for.
13. Regarding working and career: I would've joined the military or FBI had I not been diabetic. In hindsight, that wouldn't have worked out so well.
14. People would be surprised to know: I don't mind being diabetic. A genie would have to give me a lot of wishes before I wished to be cured.
15. The hardest thing to accept about my new reality has been: it's not new anymore.
16. Something I never thought I could do with my illness that I did was: I've never thought that I couldn't do something because of diabetes, but I am proud to have accomplished 3 marathons with it.
17. The commercials about my illness: are always about the other Diabetes - not mine.
18. Something I really miss doing since I was diagnosed is: eating without math.
19. It was really hard to have to give up: mindless eating.
20. A new hobby I have taken up since my diagnosis is: all of them have come since my diagnosis. When I was 13, my only hobby involved baseball cards.
21. If I could have one day of feeling normal again I would: eat a lot of chocolate and steak.
22. My illness has taught me: that anything can be managed.
23. Want to know a secret? One thing people say that gets under my skin is: My grandmother died from diabetes.
24. But I love it when people: ask about my insulin pump.
25. My favorite motto, scripture, quote that gets me through tough times is: Success is never final and failure is never fatal.
26. When someone is diagnosed I’d like to tell them: in time, it will become second nature.
27. Something that has surprised me about living with an illness is: a lot of people are consumed with it. I just couldn't be like that, myself.
28. The nicest thing someone did for me when I wasn’t feeling well was: brought me Fig Newtons without asking why.
29. I’m involved with Invisible Illness Week because: I think many of these memes will be rather depressing and if I had just gotten sick, they might scare me. I don't want people to think there's no way to live a normal life.
30. The fact that you read this list makes me feel: like I did before you read it. Diabetes doesn't define me, and neither do you. :)
30 Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know
1. The illness I live with is: Type 1 Diabetes
2. I was diagnosed with it in the year:1984
3. But I had symptoms since: A few months before.
4. The biggest adjustment I’ve had to make is: Wow. I must be well-adjusted because nothing comes to mind.
5. Most people assume: I don't have diabetes.
6. The hardest part about mornings are: usually before I've had coffee.
7. My favorite medical TV show is: none of them unless by medical you mean the part in Road House where Swayze got stitches without a local.
8. A gadget I couldn’t live without is: my insulin pump, blood sugar meter and my CGM. I'm a diagadgaholic.
9. The hardest part about nights are: when I've had a very fatty meal (like a big steak) and can't tell what it will do to my blood sugar.
10. Each day I take __ pills & vitamins. 1 pill for my thyroid, vitamins if I'm in training, and a Vitamin C.
11. Regarding alternative treatments I: have used them to supplement the mainstream stuff.
12. If I had to choose between an invisible illness or visible I would choose: a diabetic on a pump is a lot more visible, if you know what to look for.
13. Regarding working and career: I would've joined the military or FBI had I not been diabetic. In hindsight, that wouldn't have worked out so well.
14. People would be surprised to know: I don't mind being diabetic. A genie would have to give me a lot of wishes before I wished to be cured.
15. The hardest thing to accept about my new reality has been: it's not new anymore.
16. Something I never thought I could do with my illness that I did was: I've never thought that I couldn't do something because of diabetes, but I am proud to have accomplished 3 marathons with it.
17. The commercials about my illness: are always about the other Diabetes - not mine.
18. Something I really miss doing since I was diagnosed is: eating without math.
19. It was really hard to have to give up: mindless eating.
20. A new hobby I have taken up since my diagnosis is: all of them have come since my diagnosis. When I was 13, my only hobby involved baseball cards.
21. If I could have one day of feeling normal again I would: eat a lot of chocolate and steak.
22. My illness has taught me: that anything can be managed.
23. Want to know a secret? One thing people say that gets under my skin is: My grandmother died from diabetes.
24. But I love it when people: ask about my insulin pump.
25. My favorite motto, scripture, quote that gets me through tough times is: Success is never final and failure is never fatal.
26. When someone is diagnosed I’d like to tell them: in time, it will become second nature.
27. Something that has surprised me about living with an illness is: a lot of people are consumed with it. I just couldn't be like that, myself.
28. The nicest thing someone did for me when I wasn’t feeling well was: brought me Fig Newtons without asking why.
29. I’m involved with Invisible Illness Week because: I think many of these memes will be rather depressing and if I had just gotten sick, they might scare me. I don't want people to think there's no way to live a normal life.
30. The fact that you read this list makes me feel: like I did before you read it. Diabetes doesn't define me, and neither do you. :)
Monday, September 14, 2009
Lehigh Valley Marathon - Post Mortem
Well, that didn't go as planned at all.
DISCLAIMER: I've found that there are three kinds of people in this world. A. People who don't set goals. B. People who set reasonable goals because they get mighty upset if they miss them. C. People who set stretch goals and are cool with missing them.
It's important to note that I'm a C. While what follows could be taken as ripping my performance apart, I'm really not. Well, I really am, but I'm ok with it. Understand, that I'm eternally grateful to complete my third marathon and that I'm especially grateful to be healthy enough to run at all. That being said, yesterday pretty much sucked.
Reader's Digest Version:
I finished in 3:33:45. 5th out of 30 in my AG (I mistakenly Tweeted 4th yesterday) and 37th out of 305 overall.
It was 15 minutes slower than my fastest marathon, and ten minutes slower than last year.
The Summary:
I went out according to plan and did a pretty good job of running 7:23 miles. I had two that snuck in at 7:15 but for the most part hit my numbers. As is usual, it took me a while to hit my groove, but at mile seven, I felt like I was hitting my rhythm and would hold it for a good ten miles. Except, I didn't, and by mile 11, I found myself tiring already. I held it together to the half-way point, and was averaging 7:20 until then. From there, I experience a long painful decline which hit bottom with a couple 9:30 miles, until I limped home.
What Went Wrong:
Truth is, we don't always know what went wrong, but I'm placing the failure on three key components:
1) No speedwork/LT work - This was an intentional move from previous plans and I fear it did me in (particularly when considering that my 3:18 PR came with the FIRST plan, which is little more THAN speedwork). Most experts say you should train to your weaknesses and instead, I trained to my strength. I'm going to be thinking about this a lot over the coming months. Truth is, I don't like doing the FIRST plan because I don't like treating every workout like a war. That being said, it might be what I need if I'm ever going to hit 3:15.
2) A bad diabetic day - Though the Dexcom performed flawlessly, I didn't have a good day diabetes-wise. When I woke up, the adrenaline was already flowing and I was 200. By the time I was on the starting line, I was over 300. Experts say don't exercise when you're that high, but they weren't going to hold the start for me. It took me until mile 7 to get below 200 and when I did, I thought my race was coming together, and I did settle in around 150. But still, I think running those first seven miles between 200 and 325 did some hurting.
I find that I've done so many shorter races, I can keep my adrenaline in control and go to the starting line 200 or less. But this time, I had so much adrenaline that I couldn't get the numbers to line up and while I took insulin to compensate, I was scared to take too much.
3) Course conditions. I had paid very little attention to the course prior to race day. While we had non-stop rain Thursday and Friday, Saturday was supposed to be cloudy without rain and Sunday's low temperature was supposed to be 57.
Instead, it poured rain until Midnight on Sunday morning and when I went to the start it was already 64 degrees. The course, meanwhile, consisted mostly of 18 miles of a dirt towpath beside a canal through woods.
Adding up all of these elements, we had a warmer, more humid experience than I expected and trails that were frequently muddier than I expected. While it would be wrong for me to place much blame on the course, ten degrees cooler with lower humidity and dry trails would've made an improvement in my time.
***
There is a 4th possibility, however - one that I'm giving ample thought to. It's entirely possible I'm not fast enough to qualify for Boston, that no matter what plan I do, or what course I run, I don't have what it takes to get there.
I don't mean that to sound negative, of course, but running has many possible rewards. I love running half marathons and trail races and even some of the shorter stuff, but proper marathon training demands a full commitment without offering any promises in return. Over the next several months, I'm going to think about that a lot.
In the comments to the previous post, Mark from Tampa brings up a good point: Boston is supposed to be hard, and I'm cool with that. It would be a bummer if it were easy for me. On the other hand, it would also be a bummer if I did this to myself every fall and never got there, when I could be enjoying the racing season a bit more. I dunno.
***
Other notes:
1) The race ended in Easton, PA, home of Weyerbacher Brewery, which meant I brought home a mix and match case at factory prices. Cool!
2) My previous marathons were both in Harrisburg, which has a relay component, so I thought I'd be used to that. But the relay is actually bigger than the solo competition at Lehigh Valley. The hand-offs were frequently congested by relay teams and there were plenty of fresh runners blowing by me after the hand-offs. I'm not one to pick on the relays - I believe anyone who runs anything is a winner - I didn't like the high percentage of relay teams in this race.
3) Lonely marathon? With 18 miles of tow path, this was a lonelier marathon than Harrisburg, which has been called sparse for spectators. I had many stretches of four miles without a single spectator.
4) Celebrity sighting? Actually, I never saw him, but according to the results, last place in the marathon went to Lawrence Block, age 71, from New York City. My guess is that it's probably the same Lawrence Block who's written tons of best-sellers and recently penned a memoir about being a long-time walker. I wish I would've seen him as I've enjoyed many of his burglar tales.
5) It's all relative. To me, the race was 18 weeks and 3.5 hours. To my son? It's just 25 seconds on YouTube. :)
DISCLAIMER: I've found that there are three kinds of people in this world. A. People who don't set goals. B. People who set reasonable goals because they get mighty upset if they miss them. C. People who set stretch goals and are cool with missing them.
It's important to note that I'm a C. While what follows could be taken as ripping my performance apart, I'm really not. Well, I really am, but I'm ok with it. Understand, that I'm eternally grateful to complete my third marathon and that I'm especially grateful to be healthy enough to run at all. That being said, yesterday pretty much sucked.
Reader's Digest Version:
I finished in 3:33:45. 5th out of 30 in my AG (I mistakenly Tweeted 4th yesterday) and 37th out of 305 overall.
It was 15 minutes slower than my fastest marathon, and ten minutes slower than last year.
The Summary:
I went out according to plan and did a pretty good job of running 7:23 miles. I had two that snuck in at 7:15 but for the most part hit my numbers. As is usual, it took me a while to hit my groove, but at mile seven, I felt like I was hitting my rhythm and would hold it for a good ten miles. Except, I didn't, and by mile 11, I found myself tiring already. I held it together to the half-way point, and was averaging 7:20 until then. From there, I experience a long painful decline which hit bottom with a couple 9:30 miles, until I limped home.
What Went Wrong:
Truth is, we don't always know what went wrong, but I'm placing the failure on three key components:
1) No speedwork/LT work - This was an intentional move from previous plans and I fear it did me in (particularly when considering that my 3:18 PR came with the FIRST plan, which is little more THAN speedwork). Most experts say you should train to your weaknesses and instead, I trained to my strength. I'm going to be thinking about this a lot over the coming months. Truth is, I don't like doing the FIRST plan because I don't like treating every workout like a war. That being said, it might be what I need if I'm ever going to hit 3:15.
2) A bad diabetic day - Though the Dexcom performed flawlessly, I didn't have a good day diabetes-wise. When I woke up, the adrenaline was already flowing and I was 200. By the time I was on the starting line, I was over 300. Experts say don't exercise when you're that high, but they weren't going to hold the start for me. It took me until mile 7 to get below 200 and when I did, I thought my race was coming together, and I did settle in around 150. But still, I think running those first seven miles between 200 and 325 did some hurting.
I find that I've done so many shorter races, I can keep my adrenaline in control and go to the starting line 200 or less. But this time, I had so much adrenaline that I couldn't get the numbers to line up and while I took insulin to compensate, I was scared to take too much.
3) Course conditions. I had paid very little attention to the course prior to race day. While we had non-stop rain Thursday and Friday, Saturday was supposed to be cloudy without rain and Sunday's low temperature was supposed to be 57.
Instead, it poured rain until Midnight on Sunday morning and when I went to the start it was already 64 degrees. The course, meanwhile, consisted mostly of 18 miles of a dirt towpath beside a canal through woods.
Adding up all of these elements, we had a warmer, more humid experience than I expected and trails that were frequently muddier than I expected. While it would be wrong for me to place much blame on the course, ten degrees cooler with lower humidity and dry trails would've made an improvement in my time.
***
There is a 4th possibility, however - one that I'm giving ample thought to. It's entirely possible I'm not fast enough to qualify for Boston, that no matter what plan I do, or what course I run, I don't have what it takes to get there.
I don't mean that to sound negative, of course, but running has many possible rewards. I love running half marathons and trail races and even some of the shorter stuff, but proper marathon training demands a full commitment without offering any promises in return. Over the next several months, I'm going to think about that a lot.
In the comments to the previous post, Mark from Tampa brings up a good point: Boston is supposed to be hard, and I'm cool with that. It would be a bummer if it were easy for me. On the other hand, it would also be a bummer if I did this to myself every fall and never got there, when I could be enjoying the racing season a bit more. I dunno.
***
Other notes:
1) The race ended in Easton, PA, home of Weyerbacher Brewery, which meant I brought home a mix and match case at factory prices. Cool!
2) My previous marathons were both in Harrisburg, which has a relay component, so I thought I'd be used to that. But the relay is actually bigger than the solo competition at Lehigh Valley. The hand-offs were frequently congested by relay teams and there were plenty of fresh runners blowing by me after the hand-offs. I'm not one to pick on the relays - I believe anyone who runs anything is a winner - I didn't like the high percentage of relay teams in this race.
3) Lonely marathon? With 18 miles of tow path, this was a lonelier marathon than Harrisburg, which has been called sparse for spectators. I had many stretches of four miles without a single spectator.
4) Celebrity sighting? Actually, I never saw him, but according to the results, last place in the marathon went to Lawrence Block, age 71, from New York City. My guess is that it's probably the same Lawrence Block who's written tons of best-sellers and recently penned a memoir about being a long-time walker. I wish I would've seen him as I've enjoyed many of his burglar tales.
5) It's all relative. To me, the race was 18 weeks and 3.5 hours. To my son? It's just 25 seconds on YouTube. :)
Friday, September 11, 2009
9 Reasons I'll Qualify for Boston This Time and 5 Reasons I Might Not
The Lehigh Valley Marathon is in 48 hours. Actually, in 49 hours I hope to be finishing it, in a Boston Marathon Qualifying time of 3:15:59 or better. This is my third shot at it, after an encouraging 3:18 two years ago and a somewhat disappointing 3:23 last year (both at the Harrisburg Marathon).
I've been asked what my chances are and I've said I've got no reason to think I'm necessarily fitter this time around, but I have trained quite differently this time. In that spirit - and because taper madness has rendered me fairly useless for the regular duties of the day - I'm offering up 9 Reasons I'll Qualify for Boston This Time and 5 Reasons I Might Not...
The good news...
1) I've put in more miles. Mind you, not dramatically more. My peak month last year was 182 and this year it was 191. However, my peak month this year came just last month, whereas in my earlier plan it was three months prior to the race. Common sense says to be a faster runner, run more. Also, last year I had 3 fairly heavy months and felt like I might've peaked a little early. This year, I had one moderate month followed by two much heavier months.
2) The addition of medium long runs. Last year, I speculated that never going beyond six miles aside from my long run was a bad thing. In last year's plan, I went eight miles or more 17 times. This year, I've done 32 runs of eight miles or more. Truth is, this is the single biggest reason I have faith that I can do it this time.
3) Running further in long runs. In previous plans I'd never gone beyond 20 miles and truth is, I doubt it matters. But in my goal to do things differently I took 1 run to 21 miles and another to 22. While I don't know if it made a difference physically, I will say my mental fear of going to 26 isn't quite as strong as previous years.
4) Pace miles. In previous plans, I did some tempos and intervals. Problem was, I often struggle with those workouts and they didn't always go well or would ding me up too much. This time, following the Hal Higdon Intermediate II plan, I did a ton of marathon pace miles, training myself - as well as possible - to get used to 7:23 miles. Going into this race, I've run far more miles at goal pace than ever before.
5) Running tired. In previous plans, I treated my long run with reverence, going into it fresh as possible. On the Higdon Int. II plan, you do your long runs the day after a medium long run. That's not always easy, but I think it builds mental and physical toughness.
6) A better diabetic. The problem with being a 3:18 marathoner trying to become a 3:15 marathoner is that you don't have a lot of extra time to test your blood sugar. For this reason, I went on the Dexcom continuous glucose monitoring system several months ago, and it's been awesome. My first marathon without CGM went perfectly and I finished with a blood sugar of 110 or so. My second one, I tested at mile 20 and was over 250. On Sunday, I'll know where I am at all times.
7) The course. My previous two marathons were in Harrisburg, which should be considered a very good course, but not a great course. There's a fairly challenging rolling section that comes at the 19 mile mark - a tough time to get challenged. The Lehigh Valley Marathon mostly runs a river bank, aside from a few small detours and is a point-to-point course running west to east (the same direction as the breeze usually travels). While I haven't seen or run the course, it should be better.
8) Hammer time. On the advice of a local triathlete, I've switched to Hammer Nutrition products over the past year and have been very impressed with them. In addition to them being stable and predictable in regards to my blood sugars, I think they provide better and more consistent energy than other products. I'll be doing the marathon with a multi-hour bottle of Perpetuem as well as higher concentration flasks of Perpetuem in case my blood sugar trends low. In addition, I'm taking their Race Ready caps (sodium phosphate) for 4 days prior to the race and will supplement with electrolyte tabs if need be.
9) Lance juice. As mentioned in an earlier blog post, I've recently started taking FRS energy drinks and chews. I'm taking a high dose (1000mg per day) for the four days prior to the race.
*** Side note: the combination of FRS, Race Ready Caps and low mileage during taper week has me absolutely bouncing off walls, but in a good way. I'd describe my mood this week as more hyper but a little less (emphasis: little) grumpy than other taper weeks.
All of that being said, 3:15 isn't guaranteed. Here's what I'm worried about:
1) No VO Max or LT training. Though I planned it that way, I haven't done any training faster than marathon pace in my entire plan. Zero. When I ran my 3:18, I did the FIRST plan, which has an LT and VO Max workout every week. Mind you, I wasn't good at them, but at least I did them.
2) The course. On paper, the course looks better, but we all know how that goes.
3) CGM failure. It's unlikely my continuous glucose monitor will fail during the race, but it could. If it does, I'll need to stop and test my blood sugar or wing it. Either way, I'll lose time.
4) Stupidity. The goal is to go out at 7:23 miles. Last year, the goal was to go out at 7:15, but I felt so good, I knocked off five or six 7:10's thinking it wouldn't be a big deal. By mile 20, I wanted someone to pick me up and drive me home. This year, I truly want to be strong enough to run 7:23's consistently, especially for the first half.
5) You never know what race day will bring and I don't have a lot or margin for error. More than anything, I need all of the factors in my favor to be in my favor on race day. I'm trying to shave three minutes off my time and it wouldn't take much to derail me from my plan.
My prediction: 3:13:35... The medium long runs keep me strong and I'm smart to go slow enough for the first half. I've never felt better in the latter stages of the race and I pick up a little time in the last 4 miles.
Those are the factors. Feel free to put your prediction times below. Winner gets... well the winner gets nothing but bragging rights. This isn't ChicRunner or Nitmos for cryin' out loud. Nobody gives me nothing to give away.
I've been asked what my chances are and I've said I've got no reason to think I'm necessarily fitter this time around, but I have trained quite differently this time. In that spirit - and because taper madness has rendered me fairly useless for the regular duties of the day - I'm offering up 9 Reasons I'll Qualify for Boston This Time and 5 Reasons I Might Not...
The good news...
1) I've put in more miles. Mind you, not dramatically more. My peak month last year was 182 and this year it was 191. However, my peak month this year came just last month, whereas in my earlier plan it was three months prior to the race. Common sense says to be a faster runner, run more. Also, last year I had 3 fairly heavy months and felt like I might've peaked a little early. This year, I had one moderate month followed by two much heavier months.
2) The addition of medium long runs. Last year, I speculated that never going beyond six miles aside from my long run was a bad thing. In last year's plan, I went eight miles or more 17 times. This year, I've done 32 runs of eight miles or more. Truth is, this is the single biggest reason I have faith that I can do it this time.
3) Running further in long runs. In previous plans I'd never gone beyond 20 miles and truth is, I doubt it matters. But in my goal to do things differently I took 1 run to 21 miles and another to 22. While I don't know if it made a difference physically, I will say my mental fear of going to 26 isn't quite as strong as previous years.
4) Pace miles. In previous plans, I did some tempos and intervals. Problem was, I often struggle with those workouts and they didn't always go well or would ding me up too much. This time, following the Hal Higdon Intermediate II plan, I did a ton of marathon pace miles, training myself - as well as possible - to get used to 7:23 miles. Going into this race, I've run far more miles at goal pace than ever before.
5) Running tired. In previous plans, I treated my long run with reverence, going into it fresh as possible. On the Higdon Int. II plan, you do your long runs the day after a medium long run. That's not always easy, but I think it builds mental and physical toughness.
6) A better diabetic. The problem with being a 3:18 marathoner trying to become a 3:15 marathoner is that you don't have a lot of extra time to test your blood sugar. For this reason, I went on the Dexcom continuous glucose monitoring system several months ago, and it's been awesome. My first marathon without CGM went perfectly and I finished with a blood sugar of 110 or so. My second one, I tested at mile 20 and was over 250. On Sunday, I'll know where I am at all times.
7) The course. My previous two marathons were in Harrisburg, which should be considered a very good course, but not a great course. There's a fairly challenging rolling section that comes at the 19 mile mark - a tough time to get challenged. The Lehigh Valley Marathon mostly runs a river bank, aside from a few small detours and is a point-to-point course running west to east (the same direction as the breeze usually travels). While I haven't seen or run the course, it should be better.
8) Hammer time. On the advice of a local triathlete, I've switched to Hammer Nutrition products over the past year and have been very impressed with them. In addition to them being stable and predictable in regards to my blood sugars, I think they provide better and more consistent energy than other products. I'll be doing the marathon with a multi-hour bottle of Perpetuem as well as higher concentration flasks of Perpetuem in case my blood sugar trends low. In addition, I'm taking their Race Ready caps (sodium phosphate) for 4 days prior to the race and will supplement with electrolyte tabs if need be.
9) Lance juice. As mentioned in an earlier blog post, I've recently started taking FRS energy drinks and chews. I'm taking a high dose (1000mg per day) for the four days prior to the race.
*** Side note: the combination of FRS, Race Ready Caps and low mileage during taper week has me absolutely bouncing off walls, but in a good way. I'd describe my mood this week as more hyper but a little less (emphasis: little) grumpy than other taper weeks.
All of that being said, 3:15 isn't guaranteed. Here's what I'm worried about:
1) No VO Max or LT training. Though I planned it that way, I haven't done any training faster than marathon pace in my entire plan. Zero. When I ran my 3:18, I did the FIRST plan, which has an LT and VO Max workout every week. Mind you, I wasn't good at them, but at least I did them.
2) The course. On paper, the course looks better, but we all know how that goes.
3) CGM failure. It's unlikely my continuous glucose monitor will fail during the race, but it could. If it does, I'll need to stop and test my blood sugar or wing it. Either way, I'll lose time.
4) Stupidity. The goal is to go out at 7:23 miles. Last year, the goal was to go out at 7:15, but I felt so good, I knocked off five or six 7:10's thinking it wouldn't be a big deal. By mile 20, I wanted someone to pick me up and drive me home. This year, I truly want to be strong enough to run 7:23's consistently, especially for the first half.
5) You never know what race day will bring and I don't have a lot or margin for error. More than anything, I need all of the factors in my favor to be in my favor on race day. I'm trying to shave three minutes off my time and it wouldn't take much to derail me from my plan.
My prediction: 3:13:35... The medium long runs keep me strong and I'm smart to go slow enough for the first half. I've never felt better in the latter stages of the race and I pick up a little time in the last 4 miles.
Those are the factors. Feel free to put your prediction times below. Winner gets... well the winner gets nothing but bragging rights. This isn't ChicRunner or Nitmos for cryin' out loud. Nobody gives me nothing to give away.
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