Glastonbury Running

Change in Plans...

Right now my training's taking place at Sebago Lake in southern Maine and life is good here.  Lots of great scenery and the temp's in the early morning have been more akin to fall than summer.  But I've finally overcome a serious case of denial and now I know a serious change in training plans is in order.

My achilles tendons (the left one moreso than the right one) have been giving me nagging problems since February or so.  They feel OK during training but then there's some serious pain & stiffness afterwards, with the degree of discomfort depending on how hard the morning workout is.  My online research seems to hint strongly at achilles tendonitis. 

Anyway, I've been irrationally thinking that I can train through this and that it might magically go away just as past pains and irritations have.  But as I've been thinking heavily on it during lakeside runs here in Maine I've decided that a strategic re-evaluation is needed before both tendons decide to rupture on me. 

I've also been bummed over my lagging post-workout mobility while playing sports with my sons during this camping trip.  My achilles tendons have been rebelling furiously when I ask for quick, explosive action while playing catch or something similar.

So, with about 3 months to go I'm abandoning my PR attempt at the Clarence DeMar Marathon in Keene, NH as I cut back on mileage and intensity until the tendonitis clears up.  Although giving up on hopes of a solid marathon performance in the fall is deeply disappointing it's being heavily mitigated by the prospect of the decline in tendon pain that will inevitably result from the watered-down training, so I'm far from clinical depression over this.  But I feel confident that this is the right thing to do and I'm proud of myself for bucking the trend and making such an unusually reasonable decision about my training.

Coach Byram's help has been invaluable and I thank him deeply for his time and guidance.  But I hope he doesn't mind when I enlist his help once again when this issue clears up, hopefully in time for the 2010 racing season.

So...suddenly my laser-focused, specific, ambitious racing plans have been replaced with a very loosy-goosy approach.  I'm still planning on running DeMar (psychologically, I can't handle not racing at all in the fall unless I'm 100% incapacitated), but the goal will be a sub-3:00 instead of a sub 2:40, which still ain't so bad.  The number of sub-3 marathons I run is a number I'm tracking, so I'd certainly like to add to the tally.  But I think my achilles tendons can hold up to the training and racing required for a sub-3.  After that...who knows?

So this is what it's like to move into your late 30's, huh?!

Training Journal: Just Killin' Time...

Geez, the summer is a tough season for running.  A while ago I committed to taking a crack at my PR at the Clarence DeMar Marathon in New Hampshire at the end of September.  I also enlisted the assistance of Mr. Byram, a certified coach, to act as my sherpa on my journey to PR-town and design my workouts for me. 

So I was pretty fired up initially, but now September 29th seems an awful long way off.  I kept myself honest this past month by concocting a rather spirited inter-squad "Mileage Challenge", the final week of which is chronicled in detail at Team Supreme's Weblog.  But now that's over (sort of) and I need to find a way to stay motivated for the next three months. 

Sattler has generously challenged me to a 5K showdown at Race #1 of the Living Well Summer Racing Series on 7/18, which should help somewhat for the next couple of weeks.  The motivational power of "bragging rights" should never be underestimated, but it's a 3.1-mile race while my training is laser-focused on a 26.2-mile stretch, so I'm not overly anxious to see how fast I can cover the distance. 

Coach Byram and I decided that jumping into the New Haven 20K Labor Day Race would be a perfect tune-up, which I'm psyched for since it's a long race.  But still, that's a long two months away.

Ah well!  I suppose I'll just plug along with the training, employ as much engaging visualization as I can and maybe overhaul the playlist on my MP3 to keep things interesting through the summer.

"Epic Adventure" Trail Run

OK, maybe veteran trail runners would scoff at our claim that we logged an "epic adventure" trail workout this morning, but hey...everything's relative.

Sattler, O'Toole and I hit the Meshomasic Forest trails at a little past 5 this morning, and we were doing fine until we left the dirt road.  We ended up hopping onto a trail that I don't recall ever running on, which is surprising since I've been running in the Mesh for years now.  Although this turned out to be a bad sign of things to come, we trekked on.

I guess things started going wrong when I took that spill about halfway through the run.  For whatever reason, Sattler started retelling a Discovery Channel show in which the host ended up having little gel-like worms swimming up his urethra while he urinated in an African river.  It was at that point that I executed the worst trail wipeout in the team's recorded history.  I essentially landed flat on my face with serious scraping and bruising to both forearms, my right shin and my left quad, so no appendage was left unscathed.  Luckily, my legs, joints and tendons were fine, so although I was shaken up I was able to keep running without a problem and the wounds didn't really hurt much until the hot shower later...MUCH later, as it turns out.

Shortly after that, we came upon the realization that none of us had the slightest clue as to where we were, including O'Toole with his extensive Boy Scouting background.  Nothing looked even vaguely familiar and we had taken so many turns at so many intersections that successful backtracking was literally impossible.  I'm still baffled that after so much trail running together we managed to get SO lost, SO quickly.  Then the cold downpour started (emphasis on the word "cold").

A real panic settled in then.  Sattler and I had to be back at our respective homes by certain times for specific, relatively serious reasons.  But we were completely lost, deep in the woods (as far as we could tell), it was pouring cold rain and one of us was pretty bruised up.  All the carefree banter came to a halt and we started randomly shouting F-bombs through the forest as we picked up the pace and followed the blue trail, although we weren't 100% sure of where the trail would ultimately lead.  As O'Toole optimistically pointed out, we were making excellent progress, except we had no idea where exactly we were progressing to. 

Eventually we started hearing fast-moving cars far off in the distance.  At first I thought that the stress was simply triggering auditory hallucinations or that the wind was playing tricks on us.  But sure enough, as we continued forward the sounds grew louder which inspired a 6:30 pace despite the rocks, roots, hills and mini-ponds on the trail.

Suddenly, we found ourselves in the breakdown lane of Route 2 East, near the sign for the Marlborough Business District!  So we had found civilization, but running to the cars from there would have taken at least another hour-and-a-half if we went at full-throttle pace, and none of us were physically or mentally capable of covering that distance at that point.  So we took advantage of civilization and waved down a car.  A good samaratin in an SUV was on his way to Granby to judge a horse show and he had left home 15 minutes early, so he said he was happy to deliver us all the way back to our cars.  See?  All is not lost for the human race.

So the adventure started at 5am and we were all back in our warm houses by 7:30.  I thought this was fantatsic since my estimate while we were sprinting though the woods in a panic-induced state was that we wouldn't get back home before lunchtime. 

Epic.

Back on the Trail

Fantastic workout this morning as Byram, Sattler and I hit the trails behind Hopewell School.  I'm pretty sure this was my first trail foray since the Bimbler's Bluff 50K last fall.

Soon after hitting the trailhead Byram led us down a very short, steep and sandy hill before plowing straight into an upper-thigh-deep stream (river?) while Sattler and I came to a screeching halt.  I have a very clear picture in my mind of Byram standing in the middle of the stream, looking at us with his arms out to the side in a "what's the problem, guys?" gesture, as if he did this sort of thing on a daily basis. 

Sattler announced that there was no f'n way he was going across the stream.  Since I enjoy only partial mental stability it took me a minute or so before I plunged in as well, at which point I discovered that the water wasn't just deep, but it was also ice-cold!

Sattler then mumbled a great deal to himself before crashing off into the woods to find an earier way across.  That endeavor failed and he returned five minutes later.  He then stood there for a while, mumbling to himself and staring at the stream while Byram and I ran loops on the other side to keep the legs loose.  My only guess is that he was silently running the calculations for a possible pole vault attempt.  Finally, Sattler gave up and waded across to our side and we continued the run. 

From there it was a lot of lung-searing, straight-up climbs immediately followed by hair-raising, nerve-wracking downhills on rocky terrain, all of which I thought was great.  It was a reminder of how much I missed trail running and I vowed to incorporate some off-road miles into the training plan.  We really are pretty lucky here in Glastonbury to have such easy access to lots of beautiful and challenging trail systems.

So it was approximately 7.5 miles total on the day and a decent 63 miles for the week.  I still have another week or so of maintenance running before DeMar Marathon training officially starts up.

Gettin' Serious...

With several solid marathon performances behind me, including Boston last week, I've decided to take launch yet another marathon PR campaign in the fall.  Only this time I'm going to get some serious help from a certified coach!  Byram took a trip down to Florida in February and came back as an RRCA-certified coach, so I decided to ask for his help in getting me past the 2:43 barrier and he generously agreed to join my little campaign.  So he's apparently going to cram my recent race times through a few computer programs and generate some workouts that will hopefully get me where I need to be by September 27th.

Please note that this will be a dramatic shift in the way that I approach workouts.  Like most runners, I usually just head out the door and do whatever I feel like doing.  In other words, my training is completely devoid of discipline, structure or forethought.  I suppose the reason for that is the rest of my life requires all of those elements and more, so I've always relished "training on the fly" as a break from the usual mindset.  But there has always been that lingering guilt over the possibility that I may not be properly cultivating whatever natural running talent I may have. 

So now I will place my training in the hands of a knowledgeable coach for the first time since college and see what happens.  And hey, even if it doesn't work out for some reason I have to say that not agonizing over how to train on any given day will be a huge relief!

10 miles this moring with Sattler at a 7:20 pace, which was well within the 7:18 to 7:31 range dictated by Coach Byram.

Wolverine!

It seems fitting that the new Wolverine movie is due to be released soon since it seems that I've officially pulled off a very nice "Wolverine" with my achilles tendon.  Precisely one week ago I was walking around with a serious limp and convinced that I had joined Sattler in the Ruptured Achilles Club.  I was sure that I was looking at months of rehab with a possible return to racing in 2010.  Instead, this morning I managed to cover a challenging 10-mile loop, which included two very steep climbs at a solid 6:59 pace.  I'm not sure how I picked up Wolverine's incredible self-healing powers, but I'm glad I did for this one.

One other contributing factor was the weather.  Although there was a bit of a headwind for much of the run, I certainly appreciated the fall-like weather this morning.  Especially after the mid-summer-like conditions yesterday!

Next Up: The Clarence DeMar Marathon in September!

Just as I was close to committing to the Baystate Marathon as the site of my next PR attempt, O'Toole gently reminded me this morning during a 9-miler that October 18th happens to be the same date as the Apple Harvest Festival 5K in Glastonbury.  And since I happen to be the race director for that particular road race it would be problematic for me to skip it in order to run Baystate.

So it looks like there's only one race that satisfies the following criteria for my fall marathon: (1) fast, PR-friendly course, (2) minimal logistical hassles, (3) within driving distance, (4) not on Columbus day weekend since it will conflict with Cameron's big soccer tournament.  So I'm off to the Clarence DeMar Marathon on September 27th.

I actually ran this race last year and REALLY enjoyed it.  Scenic course, friendly volunteers, nice size and a pretty serious net elevation drop.  The only reason I was leaning toward Baystate instead of DeMar was because the competition is stiffer at Baystate and I was looking forward to having lots of very fast runners pull me along to a PR.  At DeMar last year I finished in 2nd place, which was awesome, but ran nearly the entire race alone.

I clocked a 2:52 at DeMar last year, which is a far cry from my 2:43 PR, but I did go out way too fast and ended up walking a lot near the end.  So if I can run a smarter race and show up in better shape then a deep foray into 2:40 territory may be possible.

In any case, I'm glad to officially have a fall marathon on the calendar that will keep me motivated to train through the upcoming dog-days of summer!

Baystate Marathon?

I just completed a nice 8.3-miler at an easy 7:55 pace with the guys and all the tendons are approaching full capacity once again.  It's nice and warm these days and geez, it's nice to actually sweat during a workout again!

The last six marathons have gone exceedingly well, so at this point I know it's crucial to commit to another race to keep the momentum going.  I've decided to launch yet another marathon PR effort in the fall (current PR is 2:43, set in February of 2008) in and one race I'm considering is the Baystate Marathon in Lowell, Massachusetts on October 18th.

I've never tried this one, but the first thing that jumped out at me about Baystate is that last year the top 15 guys all broke 2:40, which seems extraordinary.  So either the race course is really fast or the cash prizes offered by the race pulled in some of the best marathoners in New England, or both.  The elevation map indicates that there's virtually no net elevation change, and although there are lots of spikes on the map it's hard to really tell what a race course is like from these kinds of maps. 

The race caps at 2,000 runners, so I wouldn't say it's a small race but it's not a major race either, which is good since I like minimal logisitical hassles when I'm shooting for a PR.  Someday I'll get some big "destination marathons" on the calendar when I'm not concerned about PR's anymore.  I'm assuming that will happen at some point?  Maybe?

It appears from the comments on MarathonGuide.com that past Baystate runners are smitten with the race.  Multiple comments about the lack of waiting lines for restrooms at a nearby arena definitely makes for a check in the "do it!" column.  Also, the race finishes in the outfield of a minor league baseball stadium.  Very cool.

Anyway, I'm going to put this race on the short-list for the fall.  I guess the fact that I'm giving some serious thought to another marathon only 6 days after a grueling Boston Marathon is a positive sign!

Back in the Saddle

I had planned to do a "strictly walking" workout this morning, but (and I suppose I should have seen it coming) it evolved into a walking/jogging workout instead. 

I wanted a soft surface, no hills, no chance of getting lost and a minimal chance of dog attacks so I drove to the GHS track.  It didn't take long before I became frustrated with how long each lap was taking since the track is usually the site of my serious speed workouts.  So I started alternating walking and jogging as Mozart softly piped through my MP3 earbuds, which was meant to avoid an irrationally brisk pace since I haven't run a step since Boston.

What a nice workout!  I managed 4 miles of jogging with very little discomfort and got in some great meditation time on the peace & quiet of the deserted track.   And it just plain felt good to get in some running again.    

Boston Marathon Aftermath

Well, the Boston recovery period got off to a disturbing start when my left achilles tendon was in severe pain when I woke up Tuesday morning.  It was operating at about 15-20% and I spent the day walking around with a rather pronouced limp.  This prompted thoughts that perhaps this was a career-ending injury and that it was time to take up another sport that doesn't pound the joints so much.

Then, much to my pleasant surprise, I woke up on Wednesday morning and discovered that although the tendon was a bit stiff, there was very little pain.  By late afternoon there was no discernable limp and it was up to about 85% operational capacity.  Maybe "Wolverine" from X-Men (known for supernatural self-healing abilities) is my long-lost father?

This morning, after putting in some early hours at the office (4:30 to 6:30am) I noticed that the pain was gone and there was just a touch of stiffness.  In fact, I put in a 15-minute walk around the South Glastonbury town center after returning home and that went just fine.  So I'd say the tendon's close to 95% now and I'm finally giving some serious thought to another marathon PR-effort in the fall!

So I'll do a full walking workout tomorrow.  Maybe a short jog on Saturday, and then a joint run with the rest of the team on Sunday morning so that we can share our war stories from Monday.

One last note: it turns out that my 2:55 time on Monday ranks as my 7th fastest marathon out of 30.  So it's nice to know that 36 may not be so old for marathoning after all.