2009 Season = Over

Lots of options for how to title this post, but since I mostly talk about running 'round these parts I thought I would relate the events of this week to the effect on my training. To be honest, I have never cared about running so little as I have the past three days.

The story is long and involved so I'll just sum it up here: Katie had the baby Monday night, August 10, 12 weeks premature. Her name is Charlotte Kathleen Russell and she weighed 1lb 7oz. For the full story, pictures and updates you can look at the page we set up for Charlotte here: http://www.carepages.com/carepages/charlotterussell

Right now Katie and I plan on being in Marquette until at least early November, possibly December. Given the circumstances I really could care less that I'm not going to run a race this fall.

I had been getting back into decent shape after Grandma's. I ran two 10 mile races on back to back weekends and ran about the same time (although with very different race strategies) low-53's. This past weekend I got in two long runs, 3hrs/27.5M Saturday and 2hrs/18.5M Sunday. I was looking to travel out to South Dakota with Wynn and do Lean Horse Half Hundred later in August.

Right now I plan to take the next week or two off from running. I'll do my exerciese like the excellent general strength videos by Jay Johnson for Running Times. Then I'll work on my base and strength with long runs through the fall. I'm gunning for the US 50k/100k double in March/April of next year if all goes well.

The one item I still have to work out is whether or not to have knee surgery this fall. For approximately the last ten years I have had a cyst of varying size on the back of my left knee. After some research and a confirmation from the PT it was determined it is a Baker's Cyst - a pocket of excess synovial fluid caused by some dysfunction in my knee. I had an MRI set for this coming Monday and was looking at having the outpatient surgery sometime this fall after I ran some races, but now I'm not sure its a good idea. It doesn't effect my running much, if at all, and there is virtually no risk to doing nothing for now. The recovery time is only about four weeks. Too much to think about at the moment anyways.

So as you can see, when I come back from a blogging layoff, I make it count. Thanks to everyone that has sent along prayers and positive thoughts. The first day was the hardest for me because my mind would focus on the possibility of losing both ladies. Now, with Katie on the mend and Charlotte showing some progress, I'm settling into a routine, albeit a much different one. I know I'm not eating or sleeping as much as I should, but the days just seem to fly by around here and before you know it I haven't showered and the last meal I ate was a Nature Valley granola bar.

But it helps to have the support network of family and friends. With Katie in Marquette now, we have our little family together to face the challenges of the days ahead.

Beat the Heat

Saturday, June 20
a.m. RACE: Grandmas Marathon, 21st place

time:	2:35:56
pace:	5:57
10k:	35:08
13.1:	1:14:22
20 mile:	1:54:37
25 mile:	2:27:05
last 10k:	41:19
chip time:	2:35:55

Well, in absolute terms the race didn't go very well, but in relative terms I fared better than most and came away pleased that I gutted it out Saturday. Sometimes that is all you can do.

On the starting line I knew 2:25-2:26 was not a reasonable go. Warm temperature and high humidity made me feel sticky even at 7:00 a.m. Looking at the cloudless sky indicated that it would probably get worse, not better as we got closer to Duluth. I adjusted my goal to hit halfway in 1:15 and I came in just a under that.

I had some rough patches from 13M to 16.5M and if Katie had been at 16M like she planned I probably would have stepped off the course. I was getting that woozy feeling that precedes a big crash. I was worried that if I went to much further down the course I might do some real damage and have to carted off.

But I rallied going into mile 17 and had a resurgence until 19 miles. On the gradual climbs to miles 20 and 21 I slipped to 6:00 miles and Lemondrop hill put the final nail in the coffin. From there I struggled with 6:30 pace, then 7:00 pace, and so on. The death march was on by mile 23. On the bright side - no walking. Small victory.

I finished up in 21st place, which is more a testament to the effect of the heat on the elite field than anything. The sub-2:30 on Grandma's course still eludes me.

I would like to be back again next year. It will require coming back after the US 100k champs April 10 - a 10 week stretch. Not impossible, but difficult.

As for this year, I still feel fresh mentally and I think my legs will bounce back quickly. There wasn't a whole lot of high-quality work in this training cycle, so I think I have more improvement to come.

This week will be a zero for sure and then I'll ease back into it over the next 2-3 weeks. I think I'll be gunning for a marathon/ultra double this fall. The other option is to run the US 50 mile champs October 3. I have to see what I feel like when I get back into organized running.

Avoiding Disaster

Monday, June 8
a.m. 68 min Road
10.0M (10.0)

Tuesday, June 9
a.m. 30 min Road
4.5M (14.5)

p.m. 3x2M, 430m recovery, 2M wu/cd
5:10.8, 5:08.2
5:11.5, 5:14.0
5:11.5, 4:54.3
10M (24.5)

Wednesday, June 10
a.m. 44:30 Road
6.5M (31.0)

Thursday, June 11
a.m. 31 min Road
4.5M (35.5)

p.m. 5x1k, 2min rec, 3M wu/2M cd
2:59.02, 2:58.0, 2:55.7, 2:54.3, 2:49.9 (2:55.2 avg)
8M (43.5)

Friday, June 12
a.m. 44 min Road
6.5M (50.0)

Saturday, June 13
a.m. 1:37, 8M @MP +60, 6M@ MP, 2M @MP+60
8M: 51:31
6M: 32:47 - 5:32.0, 5:34.5, 5:16.2, 5:28.2, 5:29.6, 5:27.3 (5:28.0 avg)
2M: 12:52
16.0 (66.0)

Sunday, June 14
Off

Total Miles Week: 66.0
Total Miles Year: 1883.3

The week was pretty standard taper for the most part. I was a little sluggish for the first couple days after back-to-back hard days on the weekend. I finished strong on the tempo runs Tuesday, but I didn't feel that great throughout the workout. I had intended on doing four repeats, but I back out using the excuse that my taper had started and when in doubt I should drop the volume.

Thursday I went to the track to run some speedwork and I it seems now that I narrowly averted disaster. I decided to do some strides on the football field before undertaking the planned 5x1k. I don't know what I did, but on the last stride my left knee/lower IT band got aggravated somehow. It didn't bother me too much at the time so OF COURSE I went ahead and did the workout, which OF COURSE went well and had me feeling confident, and OF COURSE heading out for an easy run on Friday I had a stabbing pain in my knee that made running painful.

It looks like the story has a happy ending however. I stretched, iced, and all that jazz Friday. Being in the middle of a taper helped as well since I didn't have a p.m. run to do Friday. Saturday I went ahead with the MP workout even though I was still somewhat sore, knowing I could always take Sunday off, which I was probably going to do anyways. I got through Saturday's workout without too much trouble and the rest on Sunday seems to have alleviated some of the pain. Heading out the door today felt better and its gotten better throughout the day. It only really hurts when I have a high knee lift - like sprinting, for instance - so it shouldn't be too hard to avoid that this week. Fingers crossed it clears up even more by Saturday.

As far as the race pace goes, I'm leaving it open, but I might go out more conservatively than previously planned. I had intended to go out on PR pace (~1:12:30), but something about the last few workouts has me feeling like that might be too aggressive. I know its probably lack of confidence at this point and I just need to get in the race and see how I feel, but I've never had a good race at Grandma's and I feel like this year I just want to get into town around 19-20 and feel like I'm picking up steam instead of fading. I'd settle for holding steady even. So now I think 1:14 might be better at halfway. Of course, if by some chance there is a pack that is running right at that 5:30-5:35/mile pace I might stick my nose in there, but that is usually a very lonely range at Grandma's and probably even more so this year since it looks like everybody is running the 1/2 marathon. But my number is 49 so that means there could be a good chunk of guys ahead of me. Or not. Seed numbers never really the whole story.

Weather looks fair at the moment, but as always, it will change many times between now and 7:30 a.m. Saturday. As long as we avoid SW winds (2006?) it should be alright. Even rain doesn't scare me at this point.

Making Due

Monday, June 1
p.m. 70 min Road
10.7M (10.7)

Tuesday, June 2
a.m. 1:22 Road
12.1M (22.8)

Wednesday, June 3
Off

Thursday, June 4
a.m. 42:30 Road
6.2M (29.0)

p.m. 10x1k, 60 sec rec, 3M wu/2M cd (windy)
3:06.9, 3:09.6, 3:09.2, 3:08.3, 3:08.7, 3:10.3, 3:10.2, 3:08.0, 3:07.3, 3:07.7 (3:08.7 avg)
11.0M (40.0)

Friday, June 5
a.m. 42:30 Road
6.0M (46.0)

p.m. 68 min Road
10.0M (56.0)

Saturday, June 6
a.m. Breakers to Bay 5M (Oskar, MI), 25:53, 1st, 4.5M wu/5.5M cd
5:24.8, 5:26.2, 4:55.7, 5:00.3, 5:07.0
15.0M (71.0)

Sunday, June 7
a.m. 2:07 Road
last 3 miles (5:31.5, 5:14.3, 4:59.1)
20.0M (91.0)

Total Miles Week: 91.0
Total Miles Year: 1817.3

I spent the first three days of this week in Petoskey, MI at a library conference so it became challenging to stay on schedule with training. Actually the running was great in Petoskey, which is situated on the shores of Lake Michigan. Monday I ran the bike trail from Petoskey to Bay City and Tuesday I had a great run out on the country roads. It was of those mornings where the fog lingered close to the road, but it was kind of sunny out. But after sitting in a conference room from 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. for a couple days, I wasn't exactly eager to go out and do the planned workout Wednesday morning. In fact I just pulled the covers up and went back to bed. Live to fight another day.

I pushed the workout back to Thursday, and with the exception of ridiculous wind (the theme for this spring) it went very well. I actually felt stronger as the workout progressed and I managed to keep a fairly even pace despite the weather.

Saturday I hopped in a small 5M race that runs from the Lake Superior breakers into the town of Oskar. I had originally thought I would do a 5M tempo before the race and then do the race at about the same pace, but with all the logisitics of doing that with a point to point course and what not, I just decided to run out to the start and add on a bit to the cooldown. For a first year race they did a really good job with organization and the course was fun. As one could surmise from the splits, the first two miles are kind of brutal due to a pretty significant climb, but almost immediately after passing the two mile mark the course drops hard for the next mile. I felt really good during the run - relaxed and smooth. On the cooldown I hardly felt fatigued so I figure I hit this workout just right.

Today was my last long run and really built on the Saturday's race/workout. I ran a particularly hilly course, but I pushed up them with ease it seemed like. When I switched to the faster pace the last three miles, it felt very natural. Of course, I'd say the last 2.5 miles were downhill so that certainly helped!

So with two weeks to go until race day I would say I feeling better than ever. Not necessarily faster, but strong and relaxed. I plan to do tempo runs/intervals Tuesday and Thursday this week and a shorter marathon pace workout Saturday. Then the last workout of 2x2M tempo on the Tuesday before the race. Everything else will be 5-10 miles easy and no doubles except for the workout days.

Building Momentum

Monday, May 25
Race: Brian Kraft 5k, 15:17, 7th?, 3Mwu, 2.5cd
(4:47.2, 4:48.7, 5:05.6, 35.4)
8.0M (8.0)

Tuesday, May 26
a.m. 48 min Road
7.0M (15.0)

p.m. 70 min Trail
9.2M (24.2)

Wednesday, May 27
a.m. 42:30 Road
6.1M (30.3)

p.m. 4x1 mile, 3min rec, 3M wu/cd
4:46.1, 4:47.8, 4:46.8, 4:43.1 (4:45.9 avg)
10.0M (40.3)

Thursday, May 28
a.m. 47:30 Road
7.0M (47.3)

p.m. 43:30 Trail
5.6M (52.9)

Friday, May 29
a.m. 35:30 Road
5.1M (58.0)

p.m. 3x3M, 800 rec, 2M wu/1M cd
5:13.2, 5:14.8, 5:13.5 (15:41.5)
5:15.1, 5:11.0, 5:11.2 (15:37.3)
5:13.4, 5:13.8, 1:34.7 (11:51.9) *2.3M
11.3M (69.3)

Saturday, May 30
a.m. 67min Road
10.0M (79.3)

Sunday, May 31
a.m. 2:21:20, 10M@ MP+60 sec, 10M@ MP, 4M@ MP+60 sec
10M: 63:59
10M: 53:52.1 (5:28.5, 5:27.9, 5:27.5, 5:18.7, 5:22.3, 5:25.6, 5:23.3, 5:20.7, 5:18.0, 5:19.4) 5:23.2 avg
4M: 23:26.6 (6:02.8, 5:48.0, 5:49.4, 5:46.4)
24.0M (103.3)

Total Miles Week: 103.3
Total Miles Year: 1726.3

After reviewing my results from previous years at Brian Kraft I realized that maybe this years result wasn't so far off. 15:15, 14:36, 15:25, 15:02 - up and down. I still don't quite know what happened the last mile. It just seems like I should be strong, but not necessarily fast. Did I overextend myself the first two miles? It didn't feel like it, but time to move on.

I did manage to come back with a pretty solid week of workouts and volume. The mile repeats were uncomfortable, but I still managed to finish strong. I cut the workout short on Friday because I was going over the edge a bit. Also I kind of did a stupid thing the week before. Katie is on a softball team and I jumped in to play, realizing I needed to be careful that I didn't hurt myself. I was managing pretty well, but I stepped funny while rounding a base and my foot came up sore. Its right in the arch/ball area, but its starting to get better - no harm done. But it was still bothering a bit during the 3x3 so I figured I had enough work in.

Sunday I turned in a really strong marathon pace workout - actually a bit faster than marathon pace. We finally had a day up here that wasn't gale force winds so the effort felt more even. The most surprising part of the workout was how comfortable I felt during the 4 mile "cooldown". I was really easing up, but still running ~5:50/mile. A great way to end the week.

This was the easiest feeling 100 mile week I've done yet so I'm hopeful that I've timed my fitness right for Grandmas. 3 weeks to go.

Like Reading Tea Leaves

Monday, May 18
Off

Tuesday, May 19
a.m. 45 min Road
6.5M (6.5)

p.m. 69 min Road + 6xHill Sprints
10.3M (16.8)

Wednesday, May 20
a.m. 34:30 Road
5.0M (23.8)

p.m. 2x1M, 3 min rec, 3M wu/2M cd
4:51.2, 4:58.9
7.0M (30.8)

Thursday, May 21
a.m. 49 min Road
7.3M (38.1)

p.m. 69 min Trail
9.0M (47.1)

Friday, May 22
a.m. 45 min Road
6.5M (53.6)

p.m. 16x400, 30 sec rec, 3M wu/cd
70.6 avg, 62.7 last
10.0M (63.6)

Saturday, May 23
a.m. 62 min Road
10.0M (73.6)

Sunday, May 24
a.m. 36 min Road + 6xstrides
5.5M (79.1)

Total Miles Week: 79.1
Total Miles Year: 1623.0

The week turned out to be rough "psyche" wise culminating with a sub par race this past Monday. On Wednesday I experienced pretty much what every runner in the upper midwest did - heat and wind. I did my morning run in 37 degrees wearing pants, a long sleeve and a winter hat. When I went out to do 5x1 mile in the afternoon it was 90 degrees and 20-30mph winds out of the south. Then I compounded my mistake by overcompensating and running 2:19 for the first 800m of the first interval - pretty much putting me in the hurt locker for good. Fail.

I came back Friday and had a solid, if unspectacular workout. I had a hard time finding a good rhythm as the pace jumped around a bit - 73 one interval, 70 the next. It felt good to finish in 62 though.

Of course I thought with that fast finish and a couple easy days of running in Minneapolis I would come into Monday's Brian Kraft 5k ready for a solid race. I thought 14:50-15:00 was reasonable given my recent workouts and just generally how I've been feeling. I even felt, given the right conditions and competition (i.e. some people to suck off of) I could go faster. What I got was a very disappointing 15:17 that saw me split 4:46:XX, 4:48:XX, 5:10:ughhhhhhhhh.....

I've always been the "long guy" dropping down to the 5k and have had some reasonable success (14:36 PR). Over the years most of my 5ks have played out the same - 1st mile = shock, 2nd mile = slightly less shock, 3rd mile = get in the groove and pass people. This time around it played out very differently. I led most of the first 1.5 miles feeling very strong and smooth. Then, as we crossed Cedar Ave the second time, things started to get a little rough. No worries I thought, I'll just hang on to the back of this lead pack (running 8 strong at that point, very fast this year) and get pulled in. Maybe I won't pass anyone, but I'll hang around. Well, that plan went up in smoke as the pack steadily pulled away over the last mile and I found myself floundering. Once I lost contact, I have to admit the mental struggle overtook me and I became focused on "just finishing". Weak sauce as Andy would say.

I'm oscillating between frustration, worry and indifference about my race. Initially I was embarrassed because I got absolutely routed over the last mile after leading early on. Then my thoughts turned to Grandmas and what this "meant", but quickly realized that I have run some fast shorter races just before running slow Grandmas. Obviously the 5k as a predictor of marathon success doesn't work in general. In the end I think the situation came down to a lack of race-readiness. I've only one really balls-out race (Human Race in March) since taking most of last year off. Workouts have been going well, but the mental aspect of racing is impossible to tap into in a workout. So in the end I'm going to put the 2009 Brian Kraft 5k behind me, get back to my marathon workouts and hope for the best (and a NE tailwind) at Grandmas. I feel like I've set the bar pretty low for myself at Grandmas so there is no need to push the envelope at this point.

I also want to put in a plug for Eric's new website: 2012 Olympic Trials Marathon It is a much needed information/networking resource for those of us weekend warriors reaching for glory. Pass the word.

Also - we're pregnant (due November 9). And I got into Grad school. So life will be changing drastically this fall. Of course one of my first thoughts was how will this affecting training (much to the chagrin of my very loving, patient, and supportive wife) and I've come to the conclusion that not much will change. Doubles will mostly become singles, but since I've run 90-100+ miles a week for the past decade, I'm probably pretty peaked out on mileage anyway. I figure if I can get in one long run, one long workout and another shorter workout each week I'll be fine doing 45-75 minutes the other days. Honestly, I could probably benefit from the rest. We'll see how that pans out when sleep deprivation sets in.

The Next Level?

Monday, May 11
a.m. 44 min Road
6.5M (6.5)

p.m. 65 min Road + 6xHill Sprints
10.1M (16.6)

Tuesday, May 12
a.m. 33:30 Road
5.0M (21.6)

p.m. 8x1k, 2 min rec, 3mi wu/3mi cd
3:00.2, 3:02.7, 3:01.9, 3:00.3,
3:01.6, 3:01.1, 2:56.9, 2:50.7 (2:59.4 avg)
11.0M (32.6)

Wednesday, May 13
a.m. 45 min Road
6.5M (39.1)

p.m. 67 min Road + 6xstrides
10.0M (49.1)

Thursday, May 14
a.m. 42 min Road
6.1M (55.2)

p.m. 66:30 Road
10.0M (65.2)

Friday, May 15
a.m. 3x3M, 800m rec, 2.5 wu/cd
15:32.9 (5:09.4, 5:13.0, 5:10.5)
15:29.4 (5:11.0, 5:10.4, 5:08.0)
15:17.2 (5:07.0, 5:07.4, 5:02.8)
14.0 (79.2)

Saturday, May 16
a.m. 70 min Road
10.3M (89.5)

Sunday, May 17
a.m. 2:25, 10M @MP +60sec, 10M @MP, 4M @MP +60 sec
10M: 64:00
10M: 55:47, 5:34.7 avg (5:38.5, 5:30.7, 5:34.5, 5:36.6, 5:35.0, 5:34.7, 5:38.7, 5:34.0, 5:27.8, 5:36.5)
4M: 25:19
24M (113.5)

Total Miles Week: 113.5
Total Miles Year: 1543.9

I'm still scratching my head about Sunday's workout. I averaged 2 seconds per mile slower than I did a couple weeks ago and felt a little worse. I was a little surprised, although maybe I shouldn't have been, after the way the two mid-week workouts went, that 5:30 pace didn't feel easier (or possible for that matter).

The extenuating circumstances would be the wind, as I did this workout from the start line on Grandmas Marathon course and ran into what I thought was a substantial headwind for the whole workout. Weather.com reports said it was only 7-10mph, but it felt stronger to me. So was it my legs or the wind or both, I don't know. I wish I would have been able to gain a little more confidence from this workout, but I'll have to settle with a hard effort.

In retrospect, 5:32-5:34 pace for a marathon puts me right around my PR, so it seems naive to expect more, but once I start to feel good in training I get greedy. Energy levels fluctuate from workout to workout, week to week, so finishing Tuesday's workout with a 2:50 1k doesn't mean a whole lot in the grand scheme of things. One repeat. One workout. One day. The good news is that I'm remaining consistent and things are trending faster. If I come back with a strong workout this week and race well at Brian Kraft a week from today, Sunday's workout will blend in with it all.