Salt Lake City Half Marathon Race Report

Short recap - I ran 1:18:13 for 1st Place at Salt Lake City Half Marathon this morning! It was perfect racing weather (50-60s) and a super well-organized race. I'm so glad I decided to jump into this event!

The Salt Lake Half Marathon is a slightly downhill (-0.8%) course at about 4500 ft. Based on my experience with these downhill races in Utah versus sea level races, I would say that the SLC Half is equivalent, if not a little slower, than a flat sea level course.

 

My goal going into this race was 1:18-1:18:30. I couldn't decide which splits to go with, but the overall times were only 2 seconds different per mile so I was just freaking out about nothing. Typical pre-race activity for me! Turns out I just split the difference between the two for my final time, so I was pretty spot on with what I thought I was capable of today.  

Before the race, I ran a quick mile warm-up to the start and then a few strides at half marathon pace. I was happy to see so many familiar faces at the start (basically all of my training buddies). The gun went off, and I immediately settled into goal time pace for the first mile. The half marathon seems to be the only distance that I am very in-tune with the effort level I can maintain.

My friend Adam jumped in to run with me (a nice surprise!) after about a mile, and he stayed around until mile 7 or so. Jake was on a bike around mile 1 as well and the race organization was totally fine with him biking along the course with me. It was fun to have him around for the whole race - this is probably the greatest benefit about lower-key local races. I love it!

I felt pretty strong throughout the whole race - got pretty tired by mile 10, like usual for a half. There was a significant hill from mile 11.5-12.5 that was brutal and made it difficult to get a strong turnover for the last half mile or so. Splits were a bit all over the place, but that was to be expected because of the different inclines throughout the course. I ran 5:49, 5:59, 5:47, 5:43, 6:06, 6:11, 5:53, 6:03, 5:51, 6:05, 5:58, 6:15, 5:55 pace for the last 1.1 miles.

Overall I'm very happy with the race today. I am exactly where I want to be in my training. I have about 8 weeks until the Half Marathon Champs - just enough time for a good buildup to bring that time down!

Ran a cooldown with Jake for 5 miles to get 19 miles for the day. My training group dominated both the marathon and the half marathon today!! It was a fun day!

Accelerated Marathon Recovery and Upcoming Racing Plans

Its only been about 4 days since Boston, but I definitely don't feel like I ran a marathon earlier this week. I have zero muscle soreness or tightness. But considering how things in Boston went down, its not that surprising - muscle damage wasn't the limiting factor in the race. The heat (and metabolic shutdown) was really what slowed me (and 99.9% of everyone else) down.

I'm hoping that the silver lining in the "Boston Massacre" is that I'll be able to bounce back quickly and run some good races in the early summer months. Once I crossed the finish line on Monday, I immediately starting doing things to accelerate my recovery...

As soon as I got to the tent I wrapped myself up in ice packs (partly to cool down, but also to reduce inflammation in my feet/legs). It was challenging to get down fluids, but I still drank about 80oz of Gatorade in the 60 minutes after the race. I really wanted to make sure I was re-hydrated and back in a state of electrolyte balance as soon as possible. I also got a massage to try and clear some of the junk out of my legs, and not let them stiffen up too much.

It was hard to eat for the 4-5 hours after the race, but once I got my appetite back, I started putting down some calories, including plenty of foods with high protein content to help the muscle repair process. Foot strike hemolysis is something that takes place on a big scale during the marathon, so I've been adamant about getting extra iron this week. For the last 4 days, I've taken about 100mg per day of iron supplements, and eaten a good amount of lean red meat and other iron-rich foods like spinach.

In terms of exercise, I ran 5 miles very slowly (didn't break 9:30/mile pace) the day after the race because I think its important to go through the range of motion and get the blood flowing. I actually took a complete rest day on Wednesday (first day off since last July, and maybe the second day I've taken off in about 18 months). The last 2 days I've just done easy (8:30-9:00/mile pace) 4-5 mile jogs. I'm sticking to my plan of "no runs over 60 minutes" for the next week, and then I'll evalaute how I'm feeling and decide how to proceed from there. For now I am running by "feel" and keeping my heart rate very low.

Sleep is always crucial for recovery. The night after the marathon was tough because adrenaline was still high, but since then I'm back to my normal routine of sleeping 8-9 hours per night. Additionally, I've been wearing compression socks and sleeves nonstop.

Basically, everything boils down to the "Is this stupid?" test. If whatever you are doing in the 1-2 weeks after the marathon can be viewed in any way, shape, or form as stupid, then you shouldn't do it.

I have 3 big events on my calendar for the early summer:

-Boulder Bolder 10K
-Portland Track Festival (10K and maybe 5K as well)
-USA Half-Marathon Championships

Its going to be a lot of traveling to some fun places! I'm hoping to use the fitness I've built up this winter/spring and use it as a springboard to train more specifically for shorter races. Its time to really drop the 5K/10K/HM PRs!

I have a LOT more pictures from Boston that I'll post next week, along with a cool recap of our visit to Saucony's headquarters.

Tomorrow Andrea is racing the SLC 1/2 Marathon - so its already back to the races for us!

2012 Boston Marathon Race Report

Quick results - 2:30:21, 23rd place overall, 8th American

Well, I ran 2:30:21 today, so considering I thought my race at Philadelphia last fall was a complete disaster, you'd think I'd be pretty bummed about this one, right? Nope. This was a tough day, a historically brutal Boston Marathon, and I'm actually not disappointed.

I'm just going to go through the whole thing from start to finish, partly for my own record-keeping. I want to remember all of this.

Pre-Race


My buddy Greg (who we were staying with in Cambridge) dropped me off ~6:45 at Copley Square... I boarded the elite bus and we drive out to Hopkington shortly after. Our bus was surrounded by about two dozen motorcycles who had blocked off every on-ramp on the Mass Turnpike. It was pretty cool - as if one of the other world marathon majors was going to attack us or something.

We got off the bus there were members of the media taking pictures as we walked into the Korean Church. This was unlike anything I had ever experienced and it was only going to escalate... in a good way.

Everything we needed was in the gym area of the church/school. Chairs and exercise mats to lay out and stretch on. They had Gatorade, food, etc. The talent level in that room was off the charts. I just hung out, mostly kept to myself, although I chatted with a few other runners - Scott Mindel (who I ran against in high school), and Camille Herron. Uta Pippig came over and asked me if I had run Boston before and when I said I hadn't, she asked if I had any questions about the course. She ended up spending 15 minutes giving me the most detailed course description ever - she is like an encyclopedia. My favorite part of the pre-race was that Joan Benoit couldn't decide which singlet to wear. You'd think after her storied career and experience, she'd have those things down by now. :-)

At about 9:15 I went out and jogged a mile on the little 200m loop that they had sectioned off for us. You could hear the low roar of the 27,000 runners nearby, but couldn't really see them.

At about 9:45 they brought us all outside behind the church. I did a few strides with some of the best runners in the world. Yet through all of this, I wasn't getting nervous. I felt calm and ready. I felt like I belonged there.

With 5-10 minutes to go, they "parted the seas" and the 30-40 of us made our way alongside the first corral and up to the starting line. As we were walking up, everyone was afraid to be the first one, and I found myself all of a sudden at the front. I turned around and Geoffrey Mutai was right behind me. I put my arm around him and said "Geoffrey, they are chearing for YOU, not me, you gotta get in front of me, brother!" He said "OK man." So that is how we made our way up to the starting line - Mutai, ME, then everyone else. It was incredible. The runners in the first corral were cheering and giving us high fives. Helicopters were circling overhead. They were like a hundred police officers and race officials. An unreal setting. In that moment I felt like my hard work was already paying off - just to be a part of this kind of scene - to be considered an elite athlete at the Boston FREAKING Marathon. Its something I wish everyone could experience, because its really a cool thing.

We all did a few strides and the first timers (like me) commented on how the first 100 meters is REALLY downhill. Like, impossible to run it slowly.

The announcers introduced the top 5 runners, then we lined up. I figured what the heck - I'm just going to stand next to Mutai in the middle of the starting line. Its not everyday you get these kind of opportunities, so that is exactly what I did.

RACE


The gun went off and guys ran like idiots, as I expected... since most of us had numbers on the front and back of our singlets, I could see lots of #s in the 50s-70s chasing the lead pack. I immediately fell quite a bit back, yet looked at my Garmin after 2-3 minutes and I was running 5:00 pace. I dialed it back immediately. First mile was 5:13. Perfect.



The lead pack quickly disappeared, and I found myself running alongside Mike Cassidy (#23). We decided to work together and try to hit 1:10ish for the first half. We ran together for a few miles (maybe until 8K?) and then I never saw him again. Other than those 3-4 miles, I ran solo for the entire race. I'd pass people (and ended up getting passed by a few at the end), but otherwise ran completely by myself - just like all my hard workouts!

But the crowd - ohhhh the Boston crowds. Wow. Just unreal. I started hamming it up for them right from the start. All it takes is a little wave and some fist pumps and they would just go CRAZY. They helped me a lot. And I was surprised at how many people knew my name - there were a ton of "Go Jake Krong"s and people yelling out "Amsterdam NY!" (my hometown). Whoever you all were out there, if you are reading this - THANK YOU!

Back to the race. Miles 2-9 were 5:19, 5:19, 5:14, 5:25, 5:16, 5:14, 5:23, 5:23. At 6.5 miles Andrea was there (along with our friends Greg and Sarah) and they had a gatorade bottle and cold wet sponge for me. This was very helpful. I was taking a sip of Gatorade at every aid station (getting most of it in my eyes, despite wearing sunglasses), and dumping 1-2 cups of water on myself. I was soaked early, but it was so hot, you had no choice.

Miles 10-13 were 5:32, 5:31, 5:23, 5:27. I hit the halfway point in 1:10:19. Just what I wanted. Wellesley was fun - I flexed my biceps, blew kisses to the girls, got them going absolutely crazy. I'm sure some great photographs are going to come out of this part of the course! :-)

Honestly, to this point it was freaking easy. I felt like I was jogging the whole time. Other than my feet were hurting. They hurt bad from about 15K on - a by-product of running in the heat, I think. But it wasn't conservative enough. It was hot out, really hot. And there was no tailwind - it actually ended up being an east wind (headwind - although maybe that was better for keeping cool?). I could tell I was getting too warm, so I dialed back the pace a bit. I knew it would going to be tough to run even splits. I told myself the new goal was to break 2:21:46.

Miles 13-16 were 5:30, 5:41, 5:31. Slower, but I still felt OK. I felt like I was running the right effort. Greg and Sarah gave me another bottle and sponge ~15.

Somewhere around the start of the Newton Hills, I threw up a little bit in my mouth. My stomach wanted nothing more. Andrea was ~17 and gave me another bottle and sponge. As I passed her, I told her "this is getting really tough!"

From 17-23, the throwing up in my mouth became a constant battle. If you've ever done that, you know how you just can't describe how disgusting it is. I honestly thought about dropping out around 30K. But then a huge pack of people cheered specifically for me (turns out it was Derunzo)... and I said "F this" I can't quit! Thank you Derunzo, you pulled me out of a bad spell.

At the base of heartbreak hill, Emily Bates was waiting for me. She ran up with me and poured water on me the whole time. She kept me focused - thank you Emily. After cresting the hill, I knew I'd finish, and just went into "long run pace survival mode."

Splits for 17-23 were 5:51, 5:58, 6:02, 6:13, 6:23, 6:02, 6:14.

All through this stretch, and for the last couple miles, I was pouring water on myself about every quarter mile. I couldn't go longer than a minute without over heating. Luckily, there were little kids with cold water bottles every hundred feet, it seemed. I probably used about 50 gallons of water today - sorry environment! I was completely drenched from head to toe.

The last 3+ miles were a struggle. Unfortunately I got passed by 4-5 guys and just didn't have it in me to respond. I was probably in 18-19th place with 5K to go, but dropped back to 23rd.

The crowds carried me. Every though I didn't have the energy to play it up for them anymore, they were still amazing. Loud, really loud. Splits for the final stretch were 6:18, 6:45, 1:28 (I clicked it at the "1 mile to go" marker), 6:38. Not exactly a fantastic finishing stretch down Boylston Street, but I was just happy to still be upright.

Post-Race


I ran through the line, stopped, and saw stars. Two volunteers helped me walk to the elite tent. They said they were impressed that I could even walk the whole way, because they had to get wheelchairs for most of the finishers ahead of me!

I got a few bags of ice and put them on my head, neck, and feet. Sat in front of a giant industrial fan for about 20 minutes and got my core temperature back down. I got a massage, slowly drank about 4 x 20oz bottles of Gatorade, then made my way out of there and found Andrea. All the while, I got a ton of supportive text messages and phone calls. My Dad called and said Mutai dropped out and the winning time was barely under 2:13 and the women ran ~2:32. That really put the day in perspective, compared to last year.

I'm glad I stuck it out. 23rd place (8th American) at the Boston Marathon is pretty good. I can't be too disappointed, since we were running in historically tough conditions. You can learn something from every race, especially the hard ones. I obviously need to dial in the hydration/fueling strategy for the marathon (I only took one GU today - that was all my stomach would accept). In terms of eating/drinking before the race, I ate a lot more than I ever had before, and I felt really good in terms of energy at the start. I also really did a good job of pre-hydrating with electrolyte drinks. Andrea has been crucial in helping me out with this aspect of preparation. And a final thought... I think we need to stay in Utah or the west coast for my next marathon because flying east isn't working out for us! :-)  I know I got myself in better shape this spring than I have ever been in my life - I'm going to switch my focus to shorter races for a while now and pop some fast times this summer with the aerobic base I've built. Then, re-visit the marathon in the fall.

Tomorrow we'll go out to visit Saucony HQ, then do some sight-seeing if my feet allow it. They are pretty blistered. Otherwise, I feel alright.

Thanks to everyone for the support! It means so, so much to me.

Thanks especially to Andrea and my parents. You guys are my rocks.

Greg took some fantastic photos... I'll post more as they pop up on the web - like I said, I think there are some good ones floating around out there from the start and those first 15 miles. If anyone recorded the webcast / TV broadcast, I'd love to see it when we get back to Utah.

LET ME HEAR YOU BOSTON!!!

Full Picasa Gallery - more pictures...

Spectator Prep for Boston

Written by Andrea

Due to the expected heat, the Boston Marathon coordinators decided that it was okay for Jake to accept aid at non-official stations. This is crucial because it is almost impossible to drink out of the aid station cups when cruising at 5:15 pace! So my friends and I took a trip to Target last night to get some squeeze water bottles and sponges. We soaked the sponges in ice cold water and filled the bottles with Jake's favorite lemon-lime Gatorade (and added extra electrolytes). We made him a cute sign too with the Saucony logo - FIND YOUR STRONG!

We are planning to be at the 10k, 16 mile, and 24 mile marks. It's going to be so much fun!

I'm pretty sure that I am more nervous about this race than Jake is! It is hard to be a spectator :)

B.A.A 5K Race Report

Good racing start to the year!

I was super nervous for this race. I haven't raced since November and have only been feeling strong (back from injuries and a pitiful 4 month post-marathon recovery) for about 3-4 weeks. With that said, my fitness has come back pretty solid in the past few weeks and I have been able to get in some great workouts. I still had lots of doubts and low confidence though (within reason, I mean I was struggling to break 8:30 miles a month ago). My A+ goal today was 17:30.

I did a 15 minute warm-up followed by 6-8 strides trying to get a feel for pace. The elite field was very intimidating - Kim Smith, Desi Davila, Stephanie Rothstein, a few Ethiopians, etc. I got some great pictures next to Kim Smith :) I'm still not sure how I got elite status with my name on my bib and everything! I knew the race was going to go out fast so my goal was to be super conservative and go for negative splits.

As soon as the gun went off, I was immediately engulfed by the field. A lot of really fast people! However, I was very proud to look at my Garmin and see that I was going the exact pace I wanted. There was a good hill at the end of the first mile but it didn't affect me much. It helped that my friend Rachelle was at mile 1 cheering for me! First mile was 5:45.

The first half of mile 2 was an awesome downhill stretch followed by flat for the rest of the race. I hit the 2 mile mark with a pace of 5:41. Here, a little 13 year old boy running decided to run with me and said "Come on - let's do this together!". Haha that just made me smile. He was about half my size too! I was feeling great so I really picked it up the last mile. We turned onto the finish line street with about a half mile to go and I ran hard. The last 1.1 was 5:21 pace and I finished in 17:23! I am slightly embarrassed to say that the 13-year old beat me, but what can you do?

It is a great feeling to know that I'm not even close to my best shape right now and was still able to run that fast. I probably could've gone out a little faster (given the much faster last mile) but I still think it was a smart move to be conservative.

After the race, I met up with several friends that are running the marathon for a 4 mile jog around the parks. I wished them all the best of luck tomorrow in the marathon and to go out CONSERVATIVE!

FYI - I was a little nervous about my hamstring which is why I look silly wearing compression shorts. Thankfully, I had no problems with the hamstring or my feet!

From BAA 5K

Quick thoughts before the Boston Marathon

Everyone is (for good reason) talking about the weather. Anyway you slice it, its going to be freaking HOT tomorrow. Highs will be in the 80s and it will already be in the 70s by the time the gun even goes off. Not ideal for fast racing, obviously.

I believe that in good conditions, I'm ready to run 2:17-2:18. I've got that 5:15 pace locked into my legs. I've done enough workouts to know that was a realistic goal. But when it is this warm out, times are going to be 3-5 minutes slower. I'm not lacking any confidence in my ability to run 2:17, trust me, but I feel like going out at that kind of pace tomorrow is suicidal. Any mistakes you make are going to be magnified. Running smart is going to be the name of the game. So I'm going to force myself to run more conservatively for the first half of the race. Guys are going to blow up, and hopefully I'll be there to run them down. I'm targeting ~1:10-1:10:30 for the first half. I think that will be conservative enough that if the weather is brutal, I'll be able to hold it together. And if I'm having a great day, then I'll still have a chance to break 2:20, which I realize will be tough in these temperatures but I still believe I can do it. Maybe that is even too ambitious - its hard to know how the conditions will affect me. I'm going to have to be very tuned into what my body is telling me in the early miles and make adjustments accordingly.

Its hard after focusing so much on this specific day to not be able to chase the time goal I want to. But its a race, not a time trial. If I run a smart race, I can place pretty darn high.

I'm not nervous at all. I haven't been all week. I feel very confident in what I have done to prepare. And I have to say that I have downright ENJOYED this training cycle and buildup towards Boston. I've pushed my body and discovered that I'm nowhere near my limits. I've made new friendships along the way. Its been fun and rewarding already. Tomorrow is the icing on the cake, or spinkles on the ice cream, as I prefer to say.

My Dad texted me last night to say he thinks I am "ready to race in -40F or 110F." He said to just adjust the pace and enjoy the fact that I will running on sacred ground. He is right.

This new weather twist almost has me more excited about the race. People are freaking out. Yeah, its going to be tough. But the marathon is tough to begin with. This is where you find out. This is an opportunity. Tomorrow is where you find out what you are made of.

Can I run a smart, disciplined race? Can I stick to the plan? Can I COMPETE? Can I leave absolutely everything I have out there and hit that finish line with no regrets?

I want to know the answers to all of those questions.

Live tracking from the 2012 Boston Marathon

You can follow live splits (every 5K) on BAA.org.

I will be wearing bib #29.

Here is the BAA's information on television coverage. It seems like there will be a webcast on Universal Sports. You can also get updates via text message.

The race begins at 10am eastern time (8am in Utah).

Here is a list of the elite entrants for the marathon. Stacked fields, as you would expect!

I'm sure that regardless of how it goes, the 24-48 hours after the race will be an absolute whirlwind. I'll try to post a quick summary of how it goes on Monday night, but probably won't have a full recap written up until we get back to Utah on Wednesday afternoon.

We leave for Boston tomorrow (Saturday). Andrea is racing the BAA 5K on Sunday morning, and she'll post her recap as soon as she can afterwards. I'm hoping to get some good photos, as the course layout allows me to see her a couple times.

Its going to be pretty warm (possible hot) on Monday, which obviously isn't ideal in terms of running fast times... but I plan to be smart and run conservatively in the first 16 miles.

And to prep for the warm temps, we've been doing some FroYo-loading. Top off the glycogen and pre-cool the body. I swear there is FroYo in there under all the toppings...

Don't be afraid of the track!

This post was written by Andrea

Last year at this time, I was afraid of the track. Maybe it was because I hadn’t been on a track for workouts since high school and I dreaded them back then. The only part I liked was before-and-after the workout, laying on the high jump mat and gossiping with my best friends.

Jake loves the track. He loves the feedback from each lap, the structure, the mental toughness associated with track work. He likes to say that "the stopwatch and tape measure never lie." After a lot of convincing, he finally got me to start with some 200m repeats. It wasn’t fun, but it wasn’t too bad either. Slowly he incorporated longer intervals and harder sessions into my training. The first few were still pretty dreadful, but then I got (relatively) used to them. A weekly track workout became part of my routine.

I have found that there is a big difference between workouts I did back in high school compared to the workouts I do today. Back then, I was training for very short distances – 400m and 800m (a total joke, I know!). The workouts were all-out efforts, as fast as I could possibly run. Now since I am training for longer distances, the workouts are much more controlled and there is a target effort level for each interval. I find this much more tolerable and easier to mentally prepare for. Every workout has a purpose, and the purpose is never to run yourself into the ground.

Since I have incorporated track workouts into my training, I have seen huge gains in my racing performances. The types of intervals usually change every week, and some examples of the workouts I do are 12 x 200, 3x(4x200), 8-12 x 400, 4-6 x 800-1000, ladder workouts like 4-8-12-16-12-8-4, 4 x 1600, etc. The rest interval between reps is almost always a 200-400m jog, depending on the workout. I don't stop running during the recovery because I want to teach my body to recover while I'm running.

The track is also great for working on form. Especially with 200s and 400s, I focus specifically on having proper form.

I have to add that in addition to getting faster, the track workouts also serve to ramp up the metabolism. The body gets used to running slow and easy everyday, but the track workouts give a different stimulus and help to lose weight (if needed). I don't particularly need to lose weight, but it does mean that I get to eat more!!

By the way, it helps a lot to have a friend to do the workouts with you :)

Doing a workout with our friend Adam last night
(Jake is tapering for Boston so right now he just lays on the track, calls out splits, and takes pictures)

Jake on the track in Sedona (February 2012)

Hopkinton to Boston (Training Analysis and Goals for the Marathon)

The last workout (2 x 2.5 miles, an easy one!) is in the books, so its time to write the pre-marathon blog...

When I decided in January to run a spring marathon, I figured if I wasn't going to be in the Olympic Trials, I might as well run the biggest and best race out there - Boston. I'm really glad I made that choice and I'm looking forward to getting out there this weekend.

This training cycle has gone extremely well, and I'm excited to see what I can do on April 16th. My goals are simple - finish the race feeling like I gave it my best shot and leave everything I have out there. If I can't walk the next day - good!

I'm trying not to look at the weather at this point. If we get a day similar to last year (ie. SW wind, and I realize 2011 was a once in a lifetime type of day, so I'm not counting on it!), then that will change my race strategy a tiny bit, but not by much. I learned the hard way last November that no matter how prepared you are, the marathon can still absolutely humble you and break you into pieces. So I'm going to be a bit more conservative this time around. In an ideal world - I'll hit the halfway point somewhere between 1:09:00 to 1:09:30. That should give me an excellent chance of going under 2:20, a time I would not be disappointed with. I'm going to try and resist the temptation to get sucked out too fast in the opening miles, which is easier said than done due to the downhill on that part of the course. I want to live in the 5:15-5:20 / mile range, regardless of competition dynamics and what is happening around me.

Its been an interesting winter. After skiing close to 300 days in the past 3 seasons, I skied twice this year, and haven't been in the mountains since mid-January. It was a record year for lack of snowfall, so I put all my eggs in the marathon basket and got to work.

Compared to the fall marathon buildup, I ran more miles, more workouts, and faster workouts. It was all a natural progression, and nothing was ever forced. I feel like I did a good job of listening to my body and making sure I was properly recovering between faster sessions. I didn't race very much, and only really had one very competitive race (Mountain to Fountain 15K) - but that one told me everything I needed to know.

Here's what the calendar of workouts ended up looking like when all was said and done (click to enlarge)...

I should note that the calendar did not necessarily look like that at the beginning... it was constantly evolving and changing. I think its very important to be flexible in your training. The sum is much, much greater than any of the individual parts. Or however that saying goes. In any case, I had a heck of a winter, and really enjoyed the training and preparing for this race. No matter how it turns out - I took my body to a new level, and learned some things about myself in the process.

Some quick notes on the workouts... tempo runs were all done at marathon pace or slightly faster (5:10-5:20 pace)... track work and shorter intervals were never all-out type sessions. I tried to make everything build on top of everything else. 

If you are interested in the specifics of the day to day workouts, they are all here: January - February - March - April

I averaged about 135 miles/week during the 12 weeks before I began to taper. This was up about 10-15% from my first two marathon buildups. The overall percentage of "fast" (marathon-pace or faster) miles went up quite a bit compared to last year. In the last 10 weeks, I've done about 35% more "fast" miles than I did in the 10 weeks leading up the Philadelphia. Most of that increase was in the 4-10 weeks out period, where I really got into a good groove, felt like I was recovering well, and was able to do lots of quality running (including the double-dippers).

I like having lots of data and keeping track of things - its fun to look back and analyze. I'm not a slave to it, I just enjoy the record-keeping. I realize there's no "prediction" that really holds true in the marathon (like how it works at shorter distances). Although it will be interesting to see if there is any correlation between how many pushups I do and marathon time... I have those stats, trust me! :-)

In terms of tapering - I did things slightly differently this time. I kept the volume up a little higher than in the past (103 miles in the week ending 8 days before the race), and dialed back the intensity of the last couple workouts a little bit. The idea was to keep my body in the normal "routine" while still conserving energy and saving my best running for race day. I've shortened the duration of my afternoon runs, but I'll keep running doubles right up until the weekend.

So that's that. These comparisons don't mean anything until I cross the finish line on Monday, but I like doing the blogging now (its actually a good distraction from thinking about the race, if that makes any sense, which is probably doesn't)... after the race I tend to not want to look at the training data for a while and give myself a mental break from it all.

Andrea and I leave on Saturday for Boston. Later this week I'll post information on how you can track me in real time, as well as where you can watch a live webcast of the race.

Video clip from the Mountain to Fountain 15K

George Delalis, who has produced a cool running documentary called Fast Women, sent me the following video clip from last month's Mountain to Fountain 15K, where I ran pretty well. The clip is 2 minutes long and from the second mile of the race, where I took the lead for a brief period of time and tried to get the race rolling. It is kind of neat to see how about 30 seconds into the video, a perfect gap opens up for me, and I couldn't resist the opportunity to take advantage.



Today I'm exactly 7 days out from the Boston Marathon... so obviously there will be some pre-Boston blogging as the week rolls on. Mileage taper usually equals and increase in the frequency of blog posts. I'll post tracking and webcast information later in the week.

I did my last hard-ish workout over the weekend - 5 x Mile in 4:50, then right into a short (2 mile) marathon paced (5:15/mi) tempo. That pace felt nice and easy after the mile repeats. I'm as ready as I'm going to be, so now I am looking forward to just getting out there and seeing what my legs can do.

Andrea has been making some great progress and has run some awesome workouts in the past couple weeks. She'll open up her racing season at the BAA 5K on Sunday in Boston, and then run the Salt Lake City 1/2 Marathon the weekend after we return from Boston.

Andrea: On the Upswing!

Overview - 

After my first year of really hard training and my very first marathon, I needed a break - both mentally and physically. Unfortunately, I was too concerned about losing all my fitness and having to start from scratch all over again that I never really gave myself the necessary break. I ended up severely irritating my back and having a lot of forefoot pain, not to mention that I felt chronically fatigued. By the end of March, I had only run twice since the marathon where I felt GOOD - where running wasn't painful, I didn't feel fatigued, I could run a respectable pace, etc. That's 4 months of frustration! And then finally, it all clicked again. I'm feeling strong now - almost back to my old self.

Details - 



After the marathon, I didn't take any days off. I ran 30 miles the week after the marathon and, for the most part, increased mileage for the next 8 weeks. These runs were all easy, but I definitely did not feel good. I developed bilateral forefoot pain on the second metatarsal around the beginning of January. I was worried that the problem was stress fractures (but that didn't make sense because it was bilateral...). I finally broke down and took three weeks with little to no running. I did do a lot of cross training though - spinning and strength training for the most part. I saw absolutely no progress. The pain was just as bad as before. So, I went to chiropractor that specialized in Active Release Technique and asked him to help me with both my back and feet problems. I also started doing 20 minutes of yoga every morning. Between those two things, I realized that there are specific trigger points (in the calves and feet) and stretches (calf stretches, downward dog) that I can perform to prevent pain in my feet. Shortly after, I was running with less and less pain! I still have to make sure that I massage and stretch before every run, but if I do that then my feet feel good.

(FYI - I found this website about trigger points and if you are having some foot/lower leg pain, I would highly recommend working on the trigger points specified for particular spots of pain.)

I cannot say that I have had a lot of luck with my back pain. This has become a chronic problem and no specialists I have been to were able to figure out how to fix the pain. It is tolerable for running and the pain is not significantly holding me back, but I'm still searching for the cure. I would really like get it resolved. I am even thinking about a complete diet change to see if that will provide some relief. I'm too young to have chronic back pain!!

Anyway, I have been increasing mileage ever since my feet were feeling better. I still felt lousy but was just hoping that it would go away soon. The first day I felt good running was two weeks ago from today. Since then, my running has totally changed. I'm more fluid, can run faster, feel strong and healthy, etc. Maybe that trip to Brazil was the ticket to my healing! I might just have to take another 2.5 week trip down there :o). I have started to incorporate workouts into my training - starting with 200m reps on the track to marathon-paced tempos to mile repeats, gradually putting in more reps and less recovery. I think I will start to really feel confident with another 6 weeks of hard training...just in time for the US Half Marathon Champs in Duluth, MN!

Here is how I have slowly incorporated workouts into my training since the beginning of March.

So lessons learned -
- Take time off after a marathon. Don't significantly increase mileage until you feel fresh again.
- Sometimes pain in one area is due to tightness in a completely different area.
- Be smart and listen to other people that have experience and are knowledgeable.
- A 2.5 week trip to Brazil is good for the body!

Andrea's Brazil Journal #6 - Final Weekend in Rio de Janeiro (Day 2)

FINAL DAY in Brazil. And it definitely did not disappoint! Here's a map of a few of the areas we visited in Rio -

The Ipanema Beach is about 2.5 miles long, so I ran the length of the beach and back, with a little extra thrown in there. They close the road next to the beach on Sundays so there was lots of space to run and lots of people doing just that. This beach is most beautiful in the mornings because it is east facing - directly in the sunlight. I took my camera with me running, like a true ultra-marathoner!

I had to get a few running photos on the beach in Brazil so Jon took a few for me. I finished off the run with a dip into the ocean. I could get used to that!

Jon's friend recommended that we visit a small local's beach a little farther away from the touristy spots. On our way out to this beach, we got to see - up close - some of the favelas in Rio. They are very poor areas with a lot of crime and houses built upon each other. I heard that there are some favelas that have over a million people! They are located all throughout the city on hilltops, and the city is really trying to clean these areas up in time for the 2013 World Cup and 2016 Olympics (they have a long way to go).

We finally made it to the beach! The location, the views, the atmosphere....it was just perfect. I couldn't have asked for a better afternoon at the beach in Brazil.

The local Brazilians are awesome at boogie boarding! They were throwing in 360s and jumping the waves. I was also quite impressed with their abilities with a soccer ball. Several groups were playing a hackie sack-type game with the ball and they definitely have skills! They also have "different" bathing suits! :)

You can tell that I was happy to be there!!

Great times and some great memories. Now back to reality :o)