Ryan's Marathon Training Blog - Part Deux

Running Down Our Dreams

2006-10-23T13:37:00.000-07:00

Hi, welcome to my blog. Yes, I am redirecting you away from this temporary blog back to my original blog. I had to move away from this blog temporarily until blogger beta fixed the commenting bugs, which is now resolved.

My newly updated blog is back up and running and the link is below. Please visit to read my Chicago Marathon race report!

Running Down Our Dreams

BOSTON BOUND! Marathon PR: 3:10:04

2006-10-22T19:29:00.000-07:00

Today, I accomplished my goal. I qualified for the Boston Marathon with a time at the Chicago Marathon of 3:10:04. I ran a positive split of 41 seconds.

It was a phenomenal experience. It hurt like hell at the end; as I knew it would, but I did it. I held on for dear life. My last 2.2 miles were my fastest.

My friend Steve accomplished his goal as well to run under 3:00. In fact, he shattered is planned time by running a 2:57!

I am exhausted and need to go to sleep now. More later. Hope everyone's marathon experience today was a positive one.

BEFORE... a mere marathoner

AFTER... a Boston qualifed Marathoner

And after.... celebrating with my wife, Jennifer in front of the Buckingham Fountain -- with my mylar turban, as I was freezing my arse off.

By the way, I was able to take care of some itinerary planning for this coming April...

Dear Ryan:
Your entry for the 111th Boston Marathon has been received, and your credit card has been authorized for payment in the amount of US $101.00. Your credit card will not be charged until your entry has been verified and accepted.
Please make note of your Submission ID #: 7005171.
You will be notified of your acceptance by email and first class mail. Your notification of acceptance will be sent as soon as we verify your official results from your qualifying marathon. When you are accepted, your name will be posted on the "2007 Boston Marathon" pages of the B.A.A. web site, www.baa.org, under "Entrants."
Please contact the B.A.A. registration office at
508-435-6905 (or send an email to
registration@baa.org) with any questions regarding your entry.
We look forward to your participation on race day!
Boston Athletic Association

Pre-marathon reflection - 34 hours to go

2006-10-20T20:07:00.000-07:00

It's Friday night before marathon Sunday. I am ready for bed. Not much new to report. I am ready. Did an easy 4.25 miles yesterday. Going to do a steady, slow 3+ miles tomorrow.

The time has come to see if I have prepared myself a rite into Boston. It's going to be close. But, psychologically, I am there.

Reflection on some KPI's of my ability to run a 3:10.

- Steady adherence to the Pfitzinger 18-week 55mpw plan
- 5k race in June: 19:32 - hung over and in high heat/humidity - could take off at least 10 sec's
- Four 20-mile runs: one just shy of marathon goal pace, one 19-mile run and one 18-mile runs
- Chicago Distance Classic Half marathon in August - 1:30:24
- All out mile - 1.5 weeks ago: 5:36
- 400m repeats workout - did 12 repeats at 1:23 avg with 45-sec rest in btw
- Yasso repeat workout: Ten 800m repeats of 3:04 avg w/2 min rest
- LT training - I think LT is around 6:50

All right, enough justifying my efforts to chase a BQ. I've developed the aerobic capacity needed. I've put the right training in. I can do this. I just need go out there and get it done.

Excitement is building - 4 days to go - My itinerary

2006-10-17T18:08:00.000-07:00

After yesterday's 6 mile recovery run yesterday, Pfitz said I should put in a dress rehearsal 7-miler w/2 miles race pace at lunch today.

I dunno, I think I am ready. That's all I can say. I wasn't sure if my HR was supposed be as high as it was during the race pace miles, but I think it was wind and incline impacting it. Maybe it's nerves.

I'm not even going to comment on the weather forecast. What can we do. Nothing.

Here is the draft agenda for the weekend.

SATURDAY, 10/21

6:00 AM Rise
6:30 AM Easy 3 miler - 8:50-9:00 pace
1:30 PM Leave to go downtown
2:15 PM Arrive downtown to park for Expo
2:30 PM Pick up number and mindlessy shop running gear at Expo
4:00 PM Meet Steve and Aaron (Pittsburgh friends and Boston co-hopefuls!) - Peer pep talk and race strategy
5:00 PM Drive back home - Pass on the Italian dinner invitation at Maggiano's with the guys and their wives, because I am deathly afraid of a bathroom issue on race day
6:00 PM Make own, special dinner consisting of:

Grilled chicken sandwich - mmm... with BBQ and Red Hot, L, T and O
Rice-a-roni - Rice Pilaif flavor - plenty of it, too - high in sodium to prevent hydration and loaded with carbs!
Small salad with almonds and lite ranch dressing
Half gatorade/Half water beverage

7:00 Watch World Series Game 1 - DETROIT TIGERS HOSTING ...???
8:45 PM Lights out

SUNDAY, 10/22 - MARATHON RACE DAY

4:45 AM Rise & shine
4:45-4:48 AM - Visualize success, face my fears and hop out of bed for the biggest running day of my life
4:48-5:01 AM Bathroom time
5:01-5:05 AM Make breakfast consisting of:

3 slices of toast with honey
1 Quaker low-fat granola bar (mmm... Smores flavor)
Plenty of gatorade

5:05-5:09 AM Eat breakfast
5:09-5:14 AM Suit up
5:20-6:05 AM Leave house -- Arrive at Monroe St. Garage and Park
6:20 AM Meet Steve, Aaron and CARA Group in Charity Village
6:45 AM Stretch / more bathroom time / hydrate carefully
6:45-7:15 AM - ANTICIPATE!
7:35 AM - Head over to Preferred 1 Start corral
7:45 AM - Lock in my position with the New Balance 3:10 pace time
8:00-8:05 AM Hear the horn - walk to the start - and run into my own personal history
8:05-11:10 AM Run steadily and intelligently with dedication, poise, pride and passion - not to be wavered or impeded from success - at any point in the race - Celebrate with the city of Chicago, my fellow runners and spectators
11:15 AM - Cross the finish in 3:10, shed tears of joy and personal disbelief, find my wife

Race week plan - Our time of glory is near

2006-10-15T18:30:00.000-07:00

I've detected that the blogging activity among our Chicago trainees has picked up (myself included). I think it's beginning to dawn on all of us that we are less than one week away from our goal. It really started to hit me tonight.

I can't explain it really, but for some reason I seem to be more emotional about this goal than any others I have chased. Maybe it's because, if I do accomplish my goal to qualify for Boston, that it truly will exceed my wildest dreams.

When I was 17 years old, I couldn't run a 10-minute mile -- or even finish a 5k. I never dreamed I would even consider flirting with a marathon time that would get me into the most prestigious marathon in the world.

I've accomplished a lot of goals and, if I can achieve this one, I feel it would be among the most special. The mystique of the taper will not shatter my confidence. I can do this. I'm going to give it my all out there on Sunday.

Mon 10/16 - 6 miles recovery
Tue 10/17 - Dress rehearsal: 7 miles including 2 at marathon race pace
Wed 10/18 - Rest - need to travel to CT for the day for work
Thu 10/19 - 4 miles recovery
Fri 10/20 - 3 miles recovery
Sat 10/21 - Attend expo - Visualize, meditate, pray, etc.
Sun 10/22 - GOAL MARATHON: Qualify for Boston

Preliminary race plan by the mile pasted below.

Week 17 complete - Preparing the mind for the mission

2006-10-14T09:05:00.000-07:00

After today's run, my 17th out of 18 training weeks is now complete. I am currently staving off a cold with all of my might. I believe Wednesday night's run in the very cold and windy conditions helped me catch a cold. I am downing Airborne for its major vitamin C content every four hours. I will not let this minor ailment stand in the way of my goal.

I completed a total of 30 miles this week, which seems like decent taper mileage for this week. For today's run, I decided to cut the 12-miler on the Pfitz calendar down to 10. The CARA team was only doing 8. It again was very cold this morning but not quite as windy.

There is exactly 7 days and 20.5 hours until we line up in the starting area for the Chicago Marathon. The 10-day outlook suggests the past couple of day's cold weather will let up and we will see average temperatures for next Saturday's start.

I am now concentrating on how to prepare my mind for successfully running a 3:10 marathon. I have brought myself tears on numerous occasions during the past several weeks while visualizing myself running the final 0.2 of the marathon.

I can hear the cheers of the Chicago crowd in my head as I approach the finish at 3:09:50. This has happened today while listening end of the live version of the song "Marathon" by Rush.

I am inspired by the energy and emotion of music. Whether lyrically or instrumentally, I've listed songs that I could find in my computer library that are most inspiring to me as I condition my mind for success at next Saturday's race. Here the top 8 with lyrical excerpts that will keep me running toward a 3:10.

What are your inspirational marathon tunes? Let me know.

1. All Fired Up - Pat Benatar

"I believe there's comes a time when everything just falls in line..."

2. Marathon - Rush

"More than just blind ambition. More than just simple greed. More than just a finish line must feed this burning need. In the long run..."

3. Rusty Cage - Soundgarden

"I'm gonna break my rusty cage and RUN..."

4. (Can't) Slow Me Down - Default

"Oh, stop steppin' in my way. Not quite what I thought you'd say. Never find, never mind, never peace, God at least give me strength just for one more try... Can't hold me down, can't slow me down..."

5. Cut to the Chase - Rush

"It is the engine that drives itself. But it chooses the uphill climb. A bearing on magnetic north. Growing farther away all the time. Can't stop moving..."

6. Are You Ready? - Creed

"Hey, Mr. Seeker... Hold on to this advice, If you keep seeking you will find - Are you ready for what's the come?"

7. Hero - Foo Fighters

"Don't the best of them bleed it out while the rest of them peter out..."

8. Run - Collective Soul

"Have I got a long way to run?" (rhetorical question, of course)

Recap of Week 17

Mon - 7 miles w/strides
Tue - Off
Wed - 8.3 miles with 3 miles at 6:13 avg pace (2 min slow jog in btw)
Thu - recovery 4.7 miles at 8:50 pace
Fri - Rest
Sat - 10 miles at avg 7:42 pace

Total: 30 miles for the week

Week 17 update - We cannot control the weather

2006-10-11T19:01:00.000-07:00

This marathon thing is getting really close now. I cannot believe I've been training for just about 18.5 weeks. (To clarify why the heading says week 17, I did two week of "pre-training" before starting the 18-week Pfitz program).

I took the opportunity to contribute to the USA Today Marathon Blog last night.

The taper is in full effect as I scale down to 32 miles this week. I've hit 15 miles WTD.

On Monday, I did the planned 7-miler with some strides. Average pace was 7:39/mile. Did not wear the HRM. After a 1/2 day in the office, I flew to LAX in the afternoon for work.

For Tuesday, it was a planned day off from running to concentrate on work. I went to my meeting in LA in the morning, had lunch in West Hollywood and then flew back to Chicago.

On to today's run, which I had planned to do in the evening. The plan was to do a total of 8 miles, which included 3x1600m repeats at 5k race pace with 2 min rest in between. The track team was on the HS track so I opted to rely on the Garmin to track my mile paces on the open subdivision roads.

NEWSFLASH: CHICAGO WEATHER CAN BE BRUTAL. After tonight's run, I am seriously concerned about the Chicago weather. The wind was wicked, people. The temperature was about 39 degrees with head winds that approached 30 mph.

If we get these kind of conditions on marathon day, we can plan to give up multiple minutes. That's a fact. Boston would be a pipe dream. That's not being pessimistic. That's just being honest. It would be the same if it were a freakishly hot day. Mother Nature and God will have to decide how they want to plan weather for our big day. I hope that they are both in pleasant moods come 12 days from now.

Despite the head winds and being COLD the entire run, I did manage to hit my 3 mile splits at faster than 5k race pace. I finished up my run for a total of 8+. I was freezing by the end of it.

I am done with speed work. I am going to blow off the strides that remain this week and concentrate on easy miles.

I am tired tonight. My legs feel a little sore and I am ready to really rest. I've got a recovery run lined up for tomorrow evening and then I save up for 10 or 12 easy on Saturday.

Week 16 recap - My first all-out mile and 13 days of focus

2006-10-08T16:41:00.000-07:00

It is Sunday evening of my 18th week of training and I feel tired. The irony is that the fatigue is not from running. It's from all the extracurricular activities in which we have partaken this past 10 days.

Yes, I've been putting in the mileage without any issue. I am hitting every single mile and every single workout. It's the social/work life that's been tolling me. Between our friends in last weekend, the party we hosted last night and the Chicago Bears game today, I feel like I need some down time. Admittedly, I was a bit hung over today from our party.

I tapered down to 42 miles this week, which was right on target with my plan. Now I am really ready to rest up. For the next 13 days, I want to keep my mind focused on the goal to run my best possible race. Yes, I have a day job and there will be work to do outside of running. But Success in Chicago on 10/22 is a vision that is constantly in view for me.

The highlight of the week was the self time trial of 1 mile. My new (and first ever) unofficial PR for a 1 mile speed run: 5:36. McMillan says this points me to a 3:09 marathon. This is right where I want to be.

I am ready. I am prepared. I need to relax, recover and plan for the best day of running in my life. I will do this over the next 13 days.

Recap of the 2nd half of the week's runs:

Thurs 10/5 - 5 miles at recovery pace of 8:46

Fri 10/6 - Total of 8 miles - Did the 2nd mile hard as a time trial in 5:36. Ran on a pancake flat sidewalk on Van Dyke for a straight hard mile. Remaining mileage was around 8's.

Sat 10/7 - 16 miles on the Prairie Path. Beautifully cool morning in Western Chicago and this was an easy 16 miler. I did the 16 in about 7:46 per mile average. Heart rate was in check around 150 bpm.

Week 17 plan:

Mon 10/9 - 7 miles w/8x100m strides

Tue 10/10 - Rest - need to swap with Wed due to travel to L.A.

Wed 10/11 - V02 max - 8 miles w/3x1600m @ 5k race pace

Thu 10/12 - Rest

Fri 10/13 - Recovery + speed 5 mi w/6x100m strides

Sat 10/14 - 12 miles

Sun 10/15 - Rest with 1 week to go

Mileage target: 32

Week 16 - Start to taper - 18 days to go

2006-10-04T04:51:00.000-07:00

I am ready. I just wish it wasn't 18 days away. I want to run Chicago 26.2 now. But I know patience and rest will help me accomplish the feat that I have chased. 3:10.

Mon 10/2 - 8 miles with 5x600m repeats

I warmed up with 2 miles before I began the repeats. I was not happy initially about this since I didn't think I was totally recovered from Sat's 20-mile run. But the intervals went well. I call them "pseudo-intervals" since I didn't do them on a track (locked up!). I rely on Garmin to read of 0.38 of a mile, which is about 600m, and I ran them on a straight sidewalk. My goal was to do each of these in about 2:18 to 2:20 per 600m, which is around5k pace.

Total distance: 8.0 - Time: 1:02:26 - Avg pace: 7:48 - Avg HR: 147

Tue, 10/3 - 5-mile recovery

I hit the Quick Trainer on Garmin and went out for 5 miles at 8:50 pace.

Wed 10/4 - Rest & cross-train?

Today is a rest day. I've decided I may head to the gym tonight to get on the bike. I could also do some stretching and light strength training.

I weighed in this morning at 171.0. I'm up a couple of pounds up from late last week. I really need to watch my weight over the next 2.5 weeks 'til race day. My goal race day weight is 169 lbs or less. Every extra pound could mean extra seconds.

Rest of week plan

Thu 10/5 - Recovery + speed - 5 miles w/6x100m strides
Fri 10/6 - 8 miles w/ 1 mile speed test- 1-MILE - GOAL: 5:35 - Warm-up mile + Easy 6 after hard mile
Sat 10/7 - 16 miles
Sun 10/8 - Rest
Mileage goal for week: 42

Week 15 complete - Downhill stretch to race day

2006-10-01T17:30:00.000-07:00

I am feeling a bit overwhelmed right now. We had our friends, Kim and Mike, stay with us for three full days, which was fun, but it is hard to keep your routine when you're trying to entertain. We went downtown 3 times out of the last 4 days.

The fact that the marathon is 21 days away is exciting. I am dying to get out there and rock this 26.2 mile course. Whether or not I achieve my goal of 3:10:59.

Fri 9/29 - Easy recovery run of 5.5 miles @ 8:39 pace. We went off to Wrigley with our friends to watch the Cubbies lose.

Sat 9/30 - 20 miles long - our last 20-miler of the training. Pace was an average of 7:25 per mile. Recap below.

I was up in plently of time on Sat AM, but I left late to arrive at Running Ambitions in Wheaton at 6:55. Usually, they head off at 7, but I guess they're were chompin' at the bit to run. That's what happens when you live 20 miles away.

So I missed the group. I was furious with myself. I headed east on the path on my own wondering if they headed the same way, but I saw no one. I did 2 miles out and then back towards the store to get some Gatorade at the meeting point. I then headed north on the Prairie Path resigned to being alone and mentally preparing for 20 strong miles in solitude.

By good luck, I ran into Jim and Matt coming back from there first 5-mile leg. It worked out perfectly as I had just completed my fifth mile. Amazingly, our mileage was in sync. So I turned 180 degrees and ran with them.

My first 5 solo miles were around 7:40. I was hoping these guys would keep it to no faster than 7:30's, as I didn't want to go race pace. Inevitably, there were some fast miles, but all and all we had an outstanding run. Another solid 20-miler.

I feel like I can do this 3:10 marathon. I know it will be tough. As I long as I keep even pace, my gut tells me I'll be in position to get that BQ time through 21-22 or so. I've got results that suggest that. It's really whether or not I can hold pace for the last 4-5 miles. I really think that's what it will come down to.

This week's schedule - as written by Pfitzinger:

Mon - 8 miles w/5x600m at 5k pace
Tue - 5 miles recovery
Wed - Rest
Thu - Recovery + speed 4 miles w/6x100m strides
Fri - 8-10k tune-up race
Sat - Med-long 16 miles
Sun - Rest

I'm somewhat skeptical of the 8-10k tune-up race, especially since there is no race for me to do. (Read: I don't feel like "racing" a pretend race alone again). Not sure what I will do on Friday. I'm also not thrilled about the Monday speed work - right after a 20-miler with only one day's rest?

Week 15 update - Taper is near

2006-09-28T18:19:00.000-07:00

DUDE... this week has been fricken' busy. OK, looking for some sympathy, as Ryan (a.k.a. supreme jackass) lost his wallet last week. I have been paying the price trying to restore my identity, preserve my credit and actually try to drive legally over the last couple of days.

So far, no luck. Long story, but let's just say that I still have no driver's license, since I have no social security card (which was lost years ago). Any of you find a wallet with a Connecticut license and a fully loaded Starbuck's gift card - I trust you'll let me know??

I have 26.5 miles WTD. I have a recovery in the morning. Then our final 20-miler of the program on Saturday. Here is this week's progress:

Mon 9/25 - 8 miles - It was very cold and I moved pretty quickly - quicker than planned. Avg pace was 7:37 for the 8. Total time: 1:00:59. Avg HR: 141. Not bad.

Tue 9/26 - About 9 miles in 2 runs - AM: Recovery 3.25 miles - PM: Speed work at the track - 400m repeats - KILLER! Jim and I did 400ms in an avg of 1:23-1:24 per lap. We took about 45-60 sec's rest btw each. We did TWELVE OF THESE MO'FO's. These kicked my arse more so than the Yassos. But they are over fast.

Wed 9/27 - REST - Jamie Cullum concert in Lincoln Park - kick ass contempary jazz man - home late

Thu 9/28 - Plan was to do 10. Ended up cutting slightly short due to time pressures. Did 9.5 miles. Average was about 8:00 flat per mile.

I'm on track for 52 miles this week.

Tomorrow, I have the day off from work. Cool. But it will a busy weekend. Jen is at the airport right now picking up Kim and Mike, friends of ours from Pittsburgh, who will visit us this weekend. Cubs game tomorrow - then bracing for a 20-miler Sat AM - then back downtown for dinner and Blue Man Group!!

14 Weeks Down / T-Minus 28 days

2006-09-24T17:55:00.000-07:00

On Friday, I did my second speed workout of the week. Tuesday's Yassos had me pumped up and Pfitz called for a "tune-up race". So I did my own simulated race and wanted to run aroun 7 min pace for six miles. That's hard to do by yourself, I learned, in training conditions. It was somewhat painful. I did my 1st mile at 7:56 and the next 6 at an avg of 7:04 pace. I cooled down with a easy 2 for a total of 9.

On Friday evening, we headed to Philly for my friend Steve's wedding. Of course, we were greeted with a significant delay at Midway. Not to mention that I lost my wallet early in the morning and was unable to find it. And I cancelled my credit card to be safe. Only to find out that rental car places don't accept debit cards. And we got lost on the way to the hotel. In a nutshell, Friday night blew.

I still managed to get up for some running on Sat AM in the town of Malvern, PA. Conditions were moist and humid. Saturday's run was probably my least impressive long run in the program. In fact, I struggle to even call it a long run since I stepped way back to 13.

Even my total mileage is a complete guess since Garmin was having satellite challenges and I assumed about a 8 min pace. Total time was 1:45:06. I just couldn't get my groove and didn't "feel" strong. Plus the surroundings sucked for running. I ran mile upon monotonous mile around corporate parkways near the hotel. There were no sidewalks nearby and the roads were very busy and dangerous.

Pfitz called for 17 this week but I didn't have it in me. I was on my own in a foreign area with more hills than I would like. Plus we got into the hotel around 1:30 AM the night before. Two speed workouts earlier (one the day before) in the week had caught up with me. However, since I went OVER my long run by 3 miles last week to 20, I don't have any guilt. I was tired and it was humid.

Despite being in the middle of his wedding reception on Sat nite, Steve couldn't help but talk about how we were going to run Chicago next month. Steve ran a 1:24 half last weekend at the Ikea Half Marathon in Pittsburgh. Even he is AMAZED by his time. He told me that he's got 22-miler planned in Aruba on his honeymoon this coming week. I asked his new wife Kristine if that was on the agenda. She was like "yes, I need to get my mileage in too for Chicago!" Fun honeymoon for them.

Our other Pittsburgh-based training partner, Aaron, was at the wedding and we sat together at dinner. Like Steve, he had an awesome race. He ran a 1:26 at the Ikea. [man, these guys are rockin'!] Aaron is targeting 3:10 like me. I must confess I am little intimdated that Aaron has the same BQ goal and I've only got a 1:30 half under my belt.

Nevertheless, my 1:30 half was six weeks ago and I've trained up nicely since then. I still feel like I am on track for my goal. I am excited to take on what is really our last week of major training before the taper.

Recap of Week 14

Mon - 8 miles
Tue - 11.6 miles
Wed - Rest
Thu - 4 miles recovery
Fri - 9 miles with 6 miles near LT pace
Sat - About 13 miles in Malvern, PA - Near Siemens HQ
Sun - Recovery - return to Chicago from Philly
Total: About 46 miles

Plan for Week 15

Mon 9/25 - 8 miles - somewhat recovery - may throw in some 6x100m strides per Pfitz
Tue 9/26 - 10 miles - speed workout at track - not sure what the group has planned
Wed 9/27 - Rest
Thu 9/28 - 10 miles Gen Aer
Fri 9/29 - 4 miles recovery
Sat 9/30 - 20 miles

Mileage target: 52 - slightly above Pfitz's schedule

Week 14 update - Yassos rock

2006-09-20T16:09:00.000-07:00

First, my thanks to Bob on the coaching he provided to get the Garmin data into blogland. So cool. Still giddy from this past Saturday's run, I thought I would post my data from a kick-ass 20-miler.

Now, onto more recent business. My plan for this week is/was as follows:

Mon - 7-8 miles easy - "partial" recovery pace
Tue - 10 mile track workout - including 10x800 Yasso repeats
Wed - Rest
Thu - 4-mile recovery
Fri - 9 miles incl. 7 at near LT pace (to simulate race tune-up) - travel to Philly for Steve's wedding
Sat - 15-17 miles - in Philly
Sun - Rest - fly home
TOTAL: 47-49 mile target

Mon 9/18 - I wanted to do the 8 miler semi-easy. Not too fast, but not all the way to recovery pace. Recovery pace is 8:50'ish. EZ pace is about 8 or slightly slower. I did the 8-miles in 8:11 per without stopping for any breaks.

Tue 9/19 - I decided to run in the evening with the CARA group to get a team speed workout in with morale support. Again, I ran with Jim, our group leader, with whom I ran on Saturday long. He's mid-to-late 40's and a great runner. He ran a 1:28 at our recent half marathon and is ontrack for sub-3:10.

It was COOL on Tuesday night. I did a 2.5 mile warm-up before our Yasso 8oo repeats. Our target was to do the 800m's in 3:05 with a 400m recovery of the same time. In summary, we knocked out 10 of these bad boys in an average of 3:04 per 800m. It was pitch black when we got done.

Great stuff. And I felt pretty solid all the way through. We cooled down with another mile and then headed to the pub for burgers and beers.

Today.... rest, baby!

Week 13 complete - Confidence boost!

2006-09-17T11:59:00.000-07:00

Week 13 was a grand success. I exceeded my mileage target and topped off the week with an excellent 20-miler that really was a confidence boost.

I am highly optimistic about my progress and feel really good about the race being 35 days away.

Thu, 9/14 - 12 miles easy

6:01 AM - I set the Garmin virtual partner for a 12-mile workout at 8:09 pace. I wanted to keep my speed in check so I could be rested for Saturday's pace run test. I did these miles without any problem.

TOTAL DIST: 12.0 MILES - TIME: 1:38:07 - AVG PACE: 8:10 - AVG HR: 142

Fri, 9/15 - 7:00AM - 5 miles recovery pace - set virtual partner at 8:50 pace.

Sat, 9/16 - The test of the week.

Pfitz calendar called for 17 at 14 race pace. The CARA team was doing their 2nd 20-miler, so I had to make a decision of whether or not to cut back or just go the distance. I figured if I were slightly below average race pace for 20, this would be great indicator of my race potential.

I ran with the 7:30 pace guys, knowing I wouldn't have any issue pushing it to 7:14 (my goal MP) for at least a few splits. They tend to drift to 7:20's anyway. There were only three of us for Saturday.

Some will tell you that we sacrifice at least 5 seconds per mile by running on the gravel trail paths. If that's true, I just ran 20-miler at faster than race pace. Matt, one of my running partners for the day, kept his watching on running time so we would know what kind of breaks we took for Gatorade.

Here are the 20 mile splits. Most notably, check out the last 4 miles.

7:41
7:26
7:17
7:24
7:06
7:26
7:14
7:21
7:20
7:12
7:21
7:15
7:22
7:16
7:19
7:20
7:15
7:14
7:10
7:09

This was potentially my best marathon training run of all time.

TOTAL MILEAGE: 20.05
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 2:26:37
TOTAL RUNNING TIME + BREAKS: 2:36:00
AVG PACE: 7:19
AVG HR: ??? - Forgot the damn monitor

Recap of week 13

Mon - 8 miles general aerobic
Tue - 9 miles w/1000m intervals
Wed - Rest
Thu - 12 miles easy
Fri - 5 miles recovery
Sat - 20 miles - close to race pace

TOTAL: 54 miles

Here is the deal on why my other blog has been rendered useless. Until all of you change, my other blog is shut down.

Users who have switched to Blogger in beta will not be able to login to comment on blogs that have not switched. Commenting using the "anonymous" or "other" options will still work. Update (9/12): We have started working on making this possible, however the change is substantial and will take a little while before it is ready. — latest update on Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Week 13 update - 17 miles WTD

2006-09-13T18:27:00.000-07:00

Mon 9/11/06

I think all of us shed at least a few tears as we recollected what happened on this day five years earlier. It happened to me on the way to a meeting in the car. CNN Radio was recanting the chronology of events on that tragic day. We will never forget.

I ran randomly north around Plainfield in the morning. After I was done, I saw off my parents who left after 5 days.

TIME: 1:02:18
DISTANCE: 8.0 miles
PACE: 7:47 per mile
AVG HR: 144

Most intriguing about these stat is my average heart rate. Running 7:47 per mile for 8 total with 144 HR... that's pretty solid.

Tue 9/12

High humidity and cloudy -- On the agenda was 9 miles with 5x1000m repeats at 5k race pace. My latest 5k race pace is 6:18.

Since those damn H.S. tracks are always locked up, and I have the Garmin, I relied on my new device to guide my pace. I set up a custom interval workout. I did a two mile warm-up and then started on the repeats. The repeats were separated with 2:00 of slow jogging as prescribed by Pfitz.

Problem is that Garmin can't keep up with accurate pace readouts over only 0.62 miles. It was hard to know exactly how fast I was running because I kept slowing down and speeding up in response the alarms I set at 6:00 and 6:19 pace.

Dissapointingly, my 1000m repeats look like this on the Garmin output:

4:04 (6:35/mile pace)
4:13 (6:43)
4:07 (6:40)
4:05 (6:35)
3:58 (6:24)

I'm not sure I trust these numbers, but these are what came up on the report. I cooled down on the way back with 2.85 miles at 8:25 pace.

TIME: 1:11:59
DISTANCE: 9.19
PACE: 7:50
AVG HR: 151

On deck tomorrow, 12-miles EZ pace. Going to run these easy at around 8:15 pace. I want to save some energy for my pace run on Saturday. Recovery of 5 miles also slated for Friday.

Week 12 complete - Down to 6 weeks to go

2006-09-10T18:47:00.000-07:00

I keep racking up the miles but I must say that I need a confidence boost. It's hard going this far in between races when working towards such a goal. The CDC was already 4 weeks ago.

I know I can run 20 miles or 18 miles or whaterver... but I don't know what kind of pace I can do it at now. People say "but you ran a 1:30 half". Big deal... racing a 30k would be another type of test.

A local running group in Connecticut plans a Boston Build-Up racing series and it helps those who are Boston-bound really track progress.

I think CARA should try to create a Chicago Build-Up race series that links in with the marathon here. All of us in the Chicago area needs a 30k race for this coming weekend or last (5 or 6 weeks out).

Saturday, Sept 9

I made the inaugural run with the Garmin Forerunner 305 on Saturday. Pretty sweet device. I ran 17 miles along the tree-covered Illinois Prairie Path and it seemed to get great reception. I really like the projected split pace feature.

I had 17 on the agenda, thanks to Pfitz, but the CARA team was only doing 12. The Prairie path has mile splits, and inevitably the Garmin seemed to be out of sync with the markers. No problemo, however, as we finished up and my Garmin read 12.02. Just about right on.

I added on another 5 solo after the group retired to the start point. Last 5 mile pace was about 7:36 per mile. Pretty strong finish.

Calories burned had to be off. Garmin said 3300 burned. No f'n way. Oh well, it's the least important stat.

TIME: 2:12:12
AVG PACE: 7:47 per mile
AVG HR: 152 bpm

We capped off our evening with a concert at the Ravinia festival watching Hootie!

Summary of week

Although I hit 48 of 49 miles, I did get in all of my runs. Friday's run, I cut short by 1 mile and did not run LT pace as I had planned. I just didn't feel well. I am blaming it on my diet (greasy pizza the night before).

Now that the parents are heading home, I need to get my eating back on track.

All in all, it's progress. Curious to see if I can run 7:15-7:25 this coming Saturday with the fastest pace group for at least 14 miles.

Upcoming week plan

Mon 9/11 - 8 general aerobic
Tue 9/12 - 9 miles with VO2 max - 5x1000m at 5k pace - jog 2 min in btw
Wed 9/13 - Rest
Thu 9/14 - 12 miles
Fri 9/15 - 5 miles recovery
Sat 9/16 - 17 miles with 14 at marathon race pace
Sun 9/17 - Rest

Week 12 update #2 - She's arrived

2006-09-08T19:20:00.000-07:00

Running dudes and dudettes... it's here. I've joined the rank of the running techies. I have in my possession for the very first time a Garmin 305 Forerunner.

Her inaugural journey will be on the tree-covered paths of the Illinois Prairie Path tomorrow for a 17-miler. I'm a little concerned I'll be let down due to the tree cover causing signal interruptions, but we will see. Out here in Plainfield for the rest of the week's runs, there are no trees - so Garmin will do well.

Parents are in town, which are impacting my routine. I'm eating more and sleeping less. :( We chowed pizza last night and it did not do my running much good this morning. We had Mongolian BBQ in Naperville tonight and I am full. I've got to get this eating under control during our final 6 weeks.

Thursday 9/7 - 4 miles easy

Friday 9/8 - was scheduled for a race-like 9 miler - didn't work out - first, i tried again to go the track and it was locked up - drove back home (wasted 20 min) - ended up doing a total of 8 miles with a few tempo miles - stomach was acting up - wasn't in the cards for a race like pace today.

31 miles WTD - Plan was for 49 this week, but I cut this morn's mileage 1 short.

Good luck to you all on the long runs!

My second blog home - Week 12 update

2006-09-05T17:24:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my new blog location. I was off my game when signed up to have my blog move to Beta Blogger. You probably already read, but I cannot post comments with my login - and none of you can post to my old blog unless using anonymous.

Guess I need to read the fine print more closely. So I've created this second account to continue my training log.

Mon 9/4 - Labor Day - 8 miles with track intervals

Jen and I went to see Collective Soul in concert in Naperville on Sunday night. Their performance of the song "Run" seemed like an appropriate tune to equate to my training. It kept me out late enough to want to sleep in until 7:45 AM. The 7 beers had nothing to do with it, I swear.

9:00 AM -- Monday was a Pfitz speed day. Again, the nearest HS track was locked up (bastards!) - and I was lucky that the Central HS was open. I warmed up with 5 miles at a EZ pace (guessing 8:30's). Then I hit the track.

I followed the Pfitz plan to do 5 x 600m repeats at 5k pace with 90 sec's jog in between.

My latest (and best 5k) was a 19:32. In my head at the track, I calculated that I would need to run my 600m intervals 2:32. Now, with calculator in hand, I realized my math was off by 10 seconds. My 5k pace would be a 2:22 600m interval.

I thought I was well ahead of my 5k interval pace with the times below, but in retrospect realize I was slightly behind for a couple of them. No wonder I didn't feel tested! I could have run these faster, but was trying to keep to pace.

2:25
2:24
2:22
2:22
2:20

After the intervals, I finished up with 6 easy 400m laps at 2:00 per lap. Total for the day was about 8 miles.

Tue 9/5 - 11 mile Med-Long run

6:00 AM -- Beautifully cool weather again. Don't you love September running? Low 60's and no humidity.

In summary, I ran for 1:28 with a short water stop at home after 3.5 miles. I have confidence in my "feel" of pace and again am estimating 8 min pace. Could have been slightly faster even. After the short stop, I ran for over an hour straight. No stopping. Kept moving. I felt slightly tired toward the end, but I finished reasonably strong.

My Garmin is en route, people. Expected delivery is on Friday. My training reports will be packed with stats like the rest of you!