Just Another Day in Studville...

'Half Time" for The Strike

Pursuant to a directive from Sidewinder, I have settled on my 2013 running goal.

I've decided to focus my 2013 efforts on the half marathon distance.  After a close look at my race results over the past few years, it appears that 13.1 miles is the sweet-spot distance for me; it's the race that I'm most competitive in.   My overall placing in the HM always seems to be pretty high, regardless of the size of the field.

I had thought that my best distance would be the marathon, but it's time to acknowledge otherwise.  Most time-prediction charts tell me that, based on my recent 5K and HM performances, I should be breaking 2:50 over 26.2 miles.  However, in 34 marathons I have gone under 2:50 only twice.  Although I'm proud of the marathon count, my marathon times have been much less impressive relative to my times at every other standard racing distance.

So, after studying the numbers, I'm excited to spend a full year pushing myself at what seems to be my ideal distance.  My 2013 half marathon goal is two-fold...

1.  Be the first Connecticut Master across the line in at least 4 half marathons, and

2.  Break 1:19.

I believe this goal meets all the traditional criteria of effective goal-setting:

(1)  It's obviously specific and measurable. 

(2) Although I think it's attainable, I'm going to have to stretch myself to achieve it.  There are  certainly plenty of top-notch masters runners in CT and 1:19 has proven to be a stubborn barrier for me.  Over the past 2 years I have clocked 19:something four times with my fastest being 1:19:37.

(3) I'm very excited about achieving it, having identified 13.1 miles as my best distance.

(4) there's a set deadline, which is the end of 2013.

My first 2013 HM is The Savin Rock Half (West Haven, CT) in March.  Already looking forward to it!

Oh-So-Close at Hartford

After making a rather public statement on Facebook about my sub-3 goal at Hartford, the self-induced pressure was on.  But the training had been pretty solid, and even the diet leading up to the race was actually a high-quality one for a change.  On the downside, I had struggled with a cold all week that just about cleared up by race day, and  race morning brought winter-like temperatures (low 30's, even upper 20's by some accounts). Otherwise, all systems were "go" for a sub-3.  That called for a 6:52 pace.

As it always is in every marathon, the opening mile was too fast (6:12).  I hit the 9-mile mark at precisely 1 hour (6:40 pace), so it was still too fast.  

But at some point I decided to hit the "just go for it" button with the thought that maybe...just maybe...I could hold a fast pace right through to the finish line, thereby obliterating the 3-hour barrier.  

At the 20 mile mark I was running 6:42 pace, setting the stage for a 2:56 finish and I still felt pretty good.  Thoughts of celebrating a breakthrough performance began to dance in my head.

Alas, it was not to be.  The heavy laboring began around the 23-mile mark.  Then I had to walk through the water station at the 24-mile mark before embarking on a painfully slow slog to the water station at the 25-mile mark where, again, I had to do a walk-through.  

As I hit the Founders Bridge I started feeling light-headed, I couldn't feel anything below my kneecaps and running in a straight line became impossible.  So I decided to stop and walk all the way to the top of the bridge to avoid having something catastrophic happen with less than a mile to go.  Then I managed to run at a good clip down the other side of the bridge and all the way to the finish line, so at least I looked half-decent at the end.  

I vaguely recall Diamondback magically appearing immedately after I crossed the finish line.  He was fresh-faced and enthusiastic as he handed me an ice-cold bottle of Poland Spring water, and for some reason I wasn't surprised by this in the slightest...I almost half-expected to see him standing there.  I don't remember what we talked about, but by the time I wandered off I was feeling much better about life for some reason.

My time was 3:00:47, which means I missed my goal by 48 seconds.  However, in the context of a 26.2-mile course, coming up short by 48 seconds qualifies as "pretty darn close", so although I was frustrated, a deep state of depression didn't seem warranted.  

So marathon #34 is in the books.  Right now I don't feel like running another marathon ever again, but I suppose the urge to get the marathon count up to a nice, even 35 will become all too compelling!

 

 

 

 

Hartford Marathon Tomorrow!

Oh...don't ya know it!

A Terrifying Future Race...

In light of how "scary" the team has been recently with injuries, lack of training, etc., this seems like a perfect race for the team to do...well...someday.  

Although Diamondback may sit this one out; word on the street is that he has a strong aversion for all things Disney!

 

Hartford, Hide Your Women!!! And Your Men...

Believe it or not, our original plan (seemingly set eons ago) was for all four team members to run the full Hartford Marathon together...truly epic.

Well, with just one week 'til race day, a completely different Hartford Marathon roster has emerged.  

The Strike is the only team member running the full marathon.

Rattlesnake is running the half marathon.

And although Sidewinder is not running in either race, at least he's sending a proxy (his wife!) to run the half marathon.

Diamondback, after a grueling Nipmuck Trail Marathon last weekend, is sitting this one out, which he is certainly entitled to do.  In fact, he's declined to even send a proxy.

Ah well...what so they say in the Air Force?  "Aim High!"  

Actually, do they even say that any more or am I dating myself?

Run Away Ego

Nearly every marathon I have run had clear expectations attached to it.   Run for a PR, run to lead a pace group, or run it just for fun because I am not in shape to push it.  Today’s Nipmuck Trail marathon fell mostly into the last category.  Or at least it should have.  Clearly my training lately has not been up my past discipline.  The long recurring groin injury sidelined me to the point were I have just reached 700 miles for this year.  So the idea behind signing up for Nipmuck was to just tough it out and run it as a practice run for the Shenipsit through run in November.  

However when I arrived at the race, pinned on the bib, donned my fancy skull gators, I felt obligated the race the course.  Unfortunately my race effort could be likened to that of an old man at the bar, removed from reality, locked in the past.  There I was with very little training looking to pick a fight with the race course.  Yeah, great idea…

The race consisted of two out and back loops.  I started the first 12.4 mile loop as if I was the well trained, gutsy, trail hardened veteran of 2 years ago.  All went well as we ran the mildly technical single track at around a 9:15 pace.  I realized at about 10 miles that this pace on a trail was perhaps too fast. At this point someone said I was in 45^th place.  At around 12 miles the first mild cramp hit my calves.  Really!  A cramp at 12 miles!  How unusual and cruel.  I started popping  enduralyte tablets to try to head this off.  However in a few miles my simple calf cramps would seem minor.

I ran back through the starting area and took a big stomp in a mud puddle just for fun.  I then headed off to the second loop, which was reportedly more hilly and technical.  I decided to play it conservatively and walk the hills.  However I soon found that I was feeling winded, and the cramps had now moved to include my quads, feet and calves.  My pace at this point really tanked.  A few runners passed me.  I found this to be very depressing, however things slowly went from bad to worse.  I started to bonk a bit, and was just basically miserable.  And so it went, on and on and on and on.  Bonking cramping, getting passed… 

So where is the redemption?  At the start, I thought I was a bad ass. At mile 19 I was reduced to road kill, the kind that just sits flattened in the middle of the road, getting pummeled by car after car.   I did have a few funny light moments, like when someone told me I was looking good.  I laughed for about a half mile.   

And then it happened.  Redemption.  During the entire second half I was thinking that there just must be someone ahead of me that went out faster or was even more ill prepared than I was.  Yet I don’t think I passed more than one person.  At around mile 24 I started to power through the cramps, and used a lot of positive self talk.  Ok so it was not so positive “come on you big @#$% baby, get moving”.  Finally I saw a runner ahead of me that had passed me a couple of miles back, and I began to reel him in.  For the first time in about 15 miles I would be the one calling for a pass on the single track.  I started running up hills and pushing on the down hills.  And finally made the pass.   A small bright spot, and then I passed another runner.  

At that point I could hear the low key finish line in the distance, and just ran till I finished.   The next trick was to try to not fall into a giant ball of cramping agony.  I quickly grabbed a cup of chili.

Finish time was a pedestrian 5:22 which was good for 58^th place.  If I look at this as a training run, it was a smashing success.  I think it also served to remind me how important training is.   I was simply not prepared to race today.  Lesson learned no regrets.  I could easily handle the physical suffering, but my ego sure had a hard time.                                                                

Race Report: Race to Fill the Pantry 5K

Wow, what a great race yesterday in Glastonbury!  Nice, cool weather, a flat course, a well-organized event and stiff competition. 

I can't say my confidence level was sky-high at the starting line.  My last 5K race was in June with no real speed work to speak of since then, I was suffering from a chest cold and I was surrounded by young and fast-looking guys.  Then, after a spirited shove-off which immediately put me in 3rd, somewhere around the 3/4-mile mark I blinked and I was suddenly in 6th with the 7th-place guy nipping at my heels. 

But I drew on that two-decades plus of racing experience and refused to panic.  Instead, I settled into the middle of the chase pack which was six men strong, all of whom were under the age of 30 (except me of course, at 37).  And with Duncan Gerity a country mile ahead of everyone by then, it was essentially a 6-man race for 2nd place.

Again, drawing on that well of experience I ended up doing a much better job of running the tangents than my young opponents which allowed me to move up in the pack, and eventually lead the pack at about the halfway point.  Then my marathon-distance training helped me to maintain the brisk pace while the rest of the chase pack started stringing out behind me.

With about 3/4 of a mile to go and in sole possession of 2nd place (but not by a heckuva lot) I decided to ditch the feeling of being a fox running away from a pack of hounds.  Instead, I took a very irrational approach and focused on chasing down Mr. Gerity.  I locked my eyes on the middle of his back (good thing I have excellent eyesight) and tore off after him. 

In a sense this was a bit foolish since I couldn't have caught him even if he tripped and fell flat on his face.  But it did inspire a prolonged kick which put enough distance between me and the young guns to secure a 2nd-place overall finish in 16:51.  And I'm proud to say that I finished a scant 37 seconds behind Mr. Gerity which, in light of his running ability, I'm chalking up as a considerable success. 

And it was "Keenan Day" at the race as my 9 year-old Cameron took 2nd in the U12 division with a 22:06.  In the kids' fun run my 7 year-old Owen took 4th and my 3 year-old Shane came in, I think, 4th to last.  The only disappointed Keenan was Amy who now has to figure out what to do with four medals instead of the usual one.

So...I've got three weeks of prep work to attend to before the big Santa's Run 3.5-miler here in town, and since a baptism in the family is keeping me out of the Roxbury Marathon that means that the 2009 racing season ends on December 6th!

Race Report: Clarence DeMar Marathon in Keene, NH

Alright, marathon #31 is in the books and man, it was a bear!  I had a few things conspiring against me, namely the cold and rainy weather, a gastrointestinal system that decided to stage a rebellion at mile 19 and a tender achilles tendon that forced me to pull back a bit during the closing miles.  But I managed to get to the finish line in 3:11:25, good for 18th place overall. 

The most vivid memory I'm taking home from the race was walking around after crossing the line, soaking and cold, shaking like a leaf, partially delirious and being handed a steaming cup of the most delicious cup of vegetarian soup I've ever tasted!

So, on the downside the ego took a bit of a hit when I finished in 18th place after taking 2nd last year and the left achilles is, once again, in rough shape.  On the up-side, I'm now qualified for Boston '10 and '11 and I'm now only 9 marathons away from achieving my "40 x 40" goal.

I think it's safe to say that Coach's race report on his 50-mile trail run will be a LOT more interesting than my report.  Can't wait to read it!

Team Supreme Launches Northern New England Invasion

A major component of the team's "World Domination" plan will be executed this Sunday in northern New England, that country which Robert Frost called simply "North of Boston" (the title of his first book of poems).  

The team will dispatch two envoys to two different endurance races; K-Law is being shipped to Keene, New Hampshire to compete in his second Clarence DeMar Marathon while Coach goes where no TS member has gone before...a 50-mile trail race in Vermont!

However, J-Dog and Sourdough will be nervously awaiting their teammates' race reports since K-Law just recently recovered from an achilles injury and Coach is bringing a knee of very questionable integrity to his battle with the Vermont trails.

But if both Coach and K-Law manage to reach their respective finish lines they will make team history in two categories:  "Most Miles Raced by a TS Member" (50!) and "Highest Combined TS Racing Total in One Day"  (76.2!).

Boy, we'd better scrape up some funds to hire a Team Archivist!

DeMar, Here I Come!

OK, it's time to get off the fence and make a final decision as to whether or not I'm going to tackle a marathon or not this fall.  So...for better or for worse...I've decided to go ahead and run the Clarence DeMar Marathon on September 27th.  And the time goal will be sub-3:15 (7:27 pace) for my 26th sub-3:15 marathon.

The sub-3:15 will be a rather subdued goal for me.  Heck, the original plan was to break 2:43 at DeMar!  But then the achilles tendon flared up and I pretty much gave up on any big racing efforts until 2010.  However, the last three weeks of training have been encouraging with weekly mileage totals of 70, 53 and then 64 this past week.  All of which was done with no achilles problems. 

So I decided that I can certainly run a decent marathon on that kind of mileage, but if I train for anything more ambitious than 3:15 I would probably risk triggering the achilles issue again and end up right back where I started.  Still, sub-3:15 ain't so bad.  Plus, it would qualify me for Boston '11 (I'm already good for Boston '10) and it would be marathon #31 for me, leaving me just 69 marathons short of my lifetime goal!

With about a month to go I have plenty of runway left to fit in maybe two 20-milers, but I probably won't try to do more than that.  I'll also try to hit a quota of at least 60 miles per week with little if any speed work.  That should get me where I need to be.  Then I'll toe the line with two sets of crossed fingers on the 29th!