A thr33 month update

I know it's been a while, three months to be exact, but things have been out of routine with the summer months. The girls were out of school which throws the entire routine off. Since we last spoke I've run a couple of races and set a new PR at the 6mile distance. More about those in a minute, but I've also been training for a fall marathon which I've yet to sign up for. Training has been a little spotty as of late. I'm not sure if it is the lack of routine, motivation, or flameout? Time shall tell. I did have some really tough but fun runs when I was on a business trip to Florence, KY. More elevation than I'm used to, but supper fun at the same time. Maybe I just need more change of scenery on my runs. Maybe I'm getting bored seeing the same sights all the time on my normal everyday training runs. Hmmm?

July4 2013 and it's time for the Firecracker 6! This is a six mile loop course through downtown Indianapolis. Goal sub 48 minutes; I just missed this last year. I also wanted to be top 100 overall and top 75 males (because top 75  of each gender get a cool mug). 

It was a beautiful day and looked to be a fast day with the weather. I pushed hard but tried to stay consistent, yea I have pacing problems. 

Splits: 7:10, 7:50, 7:30, 8:13, 8:00, 7:04 official time 45:47. I feel a little bit robbed with that 8:13 there was a bad water cup handoff and I had to stop, turn around, then start again. Overall pleased with the time, finished in place 100 overall, and 77th male. Dang! No mug, maybe next year. 

I just ran the Jeremy Wright 5k, super humid and coming off a decent week of training with tired legs. I didn't get an official time and I stopped my watch late but I think it was about a 23:30. Nothing great but it was for a good cause and honored a fabulous runner and person.

So, as of late my training runs have been up and down. Sometimes I feel great and other times I just want to stop and be finished. Hopefully this will pass! I feel like I need to do something mentally to better engage or prepare, I have the endurance in the legs but the mind has been weak. 

 

Do you struggle getting your miles in sometimes? 

How do you cope?

Playlist additions:

What It's Like, Everlast

Anastasia, A Silent Film

You've Got Time, Regina Spektor

Pompeii, Bastille

Inbread Evil, Boondox

Now get out there and run!

Sometimes you got it, and sometimes you don't

Right after my new PR for a half marathon at the Sam Costa I became sick. Most of the time I push through this and just grind it out. But this one hit hard, I ended up taking two days off from work which is extremely rare for me. This sickness lingered for almost a month.

The morning of the Carmel Marathon arrived and I didn't feel very much of the sickness left but I had taken almost a month off from training.I wasn't sure how this was going to go but this was supposed to be my "A" race this year. So I decided to go for it and hang with the 3:35 pace group.

Everything started fine when we headed out. We were clicking off 8:12 miles like no ones business. At mile six I started to feel a little fatigue in my legs and fell off the back of the pace group. I stayed calm and slowly reeled them back in within a half mile. By mile 8 I could feel the weight still in my chest from being sick. I started coughing up the remains of my lung. Then my right calf started to get tight. I could still run but I started to slow. Somewhere between 8 and 9 I lost my pace group, and had the 3:40 group pass me. Things were going down hill fast. I continued to cough up the lung and by the time I saw my wife and kids at mile 10 I felt like I'd already run a full marathon. I continued on and muddled through the next mile before I really lost all motivation and will to continue. I battled through not wanting to quit but thinking it may be the best thing. I was so discouraged, disappointed, and generally pissed off.

At mile 12 when I couldn't stop coughing up the lung I decided it wasn't my day. I called Tammy and told her to pick me up. This was the hardest decision I had made about running, and one I hope to never have to make again. It is still disappointing even after a couple of weeks have passed. It's even hard to sit here and type this out. I felt like a failure. My children were there and I was worried about what kind of example I would be setting for them.

Since then I've tried to come to grips with my decision and I think it was the right one, even as hard as it may have been to make. Some runs are up and some runs are down, sometimes you got it and sometimes you don't. The key is to try not to dwell on the negative, but focus on the positive and keep getting out there to do what you love. In my case I'll run...

Have you ever had to drop out of a race or DNF'd? 


Playlist Additions
1. Synthesizers by Butch Walker and The Black Widows
2. The Boxer by Simon and Garfunkel
3. Tourist by Yuna
4. No Wow by The Kills
5. Down By The Water by The Decemberists

Now get out there and run.

Pop Quiz

This has been the longest training cycle I've ever undertaken. I have had some fluctuations throughout and as such early on I had planned to have a couple of test before "A" day. That is the A race, the Carmel Marathon is on April 20th.

The Goal
This was the Sam Costa half marathon, a similar course to the Carmel Marathon with lots of turns and some quote, unquote rolling hills. My goal for Carmel is a 3:35 marathon. What I wanted to accomplish in the Sam Costa was to maintain an 8minute mile pace throughout. But I wanted to do this and not have to push hard to get it done. I knew it wouldn't be an easy pace, but I didn't want to feel as though I was out of control and giving everything I had to accomplish this. I also wanted to make sure I could keep an even pace, not going out to fast and possibly even or negative split this thing.

Why?
My thinking is this, if I can maintain an 8 minute pace and have that pace be controlled for a half marathon then the likely hood that I can maintain an 8:12 pace for the full a month away would be greater.
Granted it's only 12 seconds off over 26 miles, but I wanted this to be a test, or a pop quiz. I guess the real test is April 20th. 

The first 7
The first seven miles was good, I felt controlled I settled into a rhythm and found my group to run with. 

Although we did have some instances where we had to run with some traffic it was a nice steady seven. Most of the turns come after the half way point as you can see.

Splits:
7:28 oh, a little too fast
7:56 better, settle in
8:03
7:59
8:00 nailed it
7:59
8:03

Official 7 mile time 55:45 in 184th place.

Finishing the half
So far so good, everything was feeling fine I felt really good. I powered through mile 8 which had the second biggest climb of the day in it.  I began to pass people and or shed people from my group. I always find it best to think of the groups as mine. It gives me ownership and internal power, even though it's only perceived. :)

Splits:
7:55
7:42
8:15 got clogged at the water station
7:49
8:04
7:56 + the point one.
overall 1:44:02 official time NEW PR!

I finished in 143rd place passing over 40 people the second half and negative split this race. I will say the finishing stretch was a bear as you head up an S turn hill into the finishing shoot, not cool. But it worked out well.

Recap

I'm pleased with my performance and look forward to the true test on April 20th. The nutrition went well as did my stomach, no issues!

Now get out there and run.

That's me in the red, on a side note look at all the heal strikers.