Training Update: 1 Week to Go!

Life has been such a roller coaster for me lately. On April 2, my fiancé and I closed on our new house. It was a foreclosure so there was a lot of work to be done to it before we moved in. We had two weeks before we moved in to get all the walls painted and all the floors replaced (except for the kitchen floor). There is such a long list of things that the previous owners neglected or took from the house, so I've been dealing with that on top of training and my full time job. Oh yeah, and planning a wedding!

We finally moved in on April 16 and everything went smoothly. I am in a whole new running world now. It used to be impossible to run out of my front door because there was construction going on in every direction, and it was all major roads with no sidewalks. There was the option to drive 2 miles to the trail, but it was dangerous to be on the secluded trail without Greg. Because of this, the majority of my runs were on a gym treadmill.

Now, I simply go out of my front door and start running. The area is full of running paths which are all well-lit and near roads, so they seem pretty safe. In fact, a "run-able" area was a key decision factor in choosing a new home. There was one beautiful home that Greg and I really loved, but as soon as you left the neighborhood, you were on a narrow road with no paths. With our new home, I feel safe running alone in the morning when it's still dark out, but usually Greg joins me anyway. Most of the area is constant rolling hills, which I am not used to. The W&OD trail basically consists of a lot of inclines and declines, but not rolling hills. This is definitely a more challenging terrain and I think it will make me stronger. I don't even have treadmill access, so it's outside or nothing!

I feel like at some point in mid-February, I made a huge leap in fitness. It happened very suddenly. I always thought that running improvement should be a gradual process. But instead, I was pretty much running at the same level for awhile, but then I all of a sudden had a massive improvement. The first indication of this was my heart rate. My "easy" pace is dictated by a heart rate of 155-165 according to the VO2 max test I took last June. I noticed that I started going a lot faster at that heart rate, and it still felt easy to me. For the longest time, my easy runs and long runs were in the 9:15-9:40 range. And now they are in the 8:40-9:00 range. Sometimes I log miles that are at at BQ pace (8:25) that are in my "easy" HR zone. This is when it's flat or downhill.

The second indication was a 5-mile race at a pace of 7:26. Considering this was a faster pace than any 5K I had ever run, I knew it was a huge improvement. And then of course, there was the 5K a few weeks ago when I dropped my PR by 1:01. And I have to mention that during both of these races, the weather cooperated. Both were very windy, but wind doesn't affect me nearly as much as heat.

My training has been going well:

Week of March 22: 40.5 miles (17-mile long run)

Week of March 29: 52 miles (19-mile long run)

Week of April 5: 53 miles (21-mile long run)

Week of April 12: 45 miles (15-mile long run)

Week of April 19: 38 miles after I complete my 10-miler on Sunday

My attitude for this marathon has been way more relaxed than any other marathon. Maybe because it's so small. Maybe because I'm just really confident given my training and my recent race times. Maybe it's because I have been so focused on the move and the wedding. I have to admit to taking a peak at the extended forecast and not liking the fact that they keep increasing the high temperature every time I look. :-( But honestly, at this point, it's almost become a farce. I know I am capable of a sub-3:40 and if it doesn't happen it's not going to make me feel any worse about my running or what I've been doing. I'm going to stay relaxed about this marathon and just do my best.

Reflections

Now that it's been a week since the Shamrock marathon attempt, I've really started to contemplate my running philosophy. I don't have a single regret about the DNF because there was no way I could have finished given the state that I was in. Even if I had been able to run/walk to the finish, I would have gotten one of my slowest times ever, after putting in one of my best training cycles in ever.

A lot of runners say "take what the day gives you" and make the most out of unfavorable racing conditions. I agree with this if you are going for an age group award, or if it's a shorter race where you can bounce back quickly and then enter another one. However, I have a very specific marathon goal. I've woken up at 5:00am or earlier nearly every day for the past two years in pursuit of this goal. I've made a lot of sacrifices so that I could put in the training time necessary to run a good marathon. Throwing it away on a day when the weather makes it impossible to meet this goal would just be stupid.

As I said in my last blog, the warm weather affects me much more than most runners, so I just have to accept that and lower my expectations for warm/hot races.

I am faster now than I ever have been. I just ran a 5-mile race at a pace of 7:26, which is faster than my 5K PR. And I've run quite a few 5Ks. Furthermore, my "easy" pace has sped up from 9:45 from last summer down to about 8:55. "Easy" pace for me correlates to a HR of 155-165. Additionally, when I run an 8:55 pace now on my easy runs, it feels like 9:30 used to feel.

If I had actually been able to run all the marathons I have trained for over the past two years (without the illness, injury, and weather situations) then I am sure I would have set a few PRs. Every time I "miss" a marathon, the training doesn't go away so I just build on that for the next one. So I have about 5 training cycles built up-- so my goal for my next one is going to be faster than my goal for the fall 2008 marathon that I had to pass on because I was sick.

As for my next marathon, I have decided to not run the New Jersey marathon. The main reason is because of the 9:00am start time. Last year, the race started at 8:00am, but it was delayed by 30 minutes because their shuttle system wasn't efficient. So instead of addressing the shuttle system, they are simply starting the race an hour later. Not only does this translate into warmer weather, but it's also off-schedule with what my body is used to. I typically begin my long runs at 8:00 or earlier, and my weekday runs at 5:00.

Instead, I found a marathon that's only a 20-minute drive from my house-- the Potomac River Run Marathon on May 2. This marathon is an out-and-back twice, on a dirt/gravel trail. It starts at 7:00am, it's mostly shaded, is limited to 300 runners, and is chip timed. My fiance will be able to position himself on the course so that he will see me four times, and that support will really help me. Plus, we won't have to invest in a hotel room and another road trip. This will be low-key and I'm not putting the pressure on myself that I did for Shamrock. Over the next 5 weeks, I will be moving to my new house, so there is a lot of other stuff that needs to be dealt with.

This morning, my fiance went out to the C&O canal towpath where the marathon is going to be held. I figured I should do a long run on the course so I would be better prepared for the terrain. I ended up running 17 miles at an average pace of 9:01. Average heart rate was 158. Of course, it was nearly perfect running weather today. Completely overcast and mid 40's. Where was this weather last weekend!!???

Anyway, I have been a bit depressed this past week, but I have made peace with my situation. I know I have a BQ (actually more like a 3:35) in me. I just need to get out there and do it!