Marthon Post Race

Yesterday I ran the Delaware Marathon. I was surprised to find out that they were serious about running the entire 26.2 mile course, no sense of humor.



I woke up at 5:00 am to get ready to go for 5:30. It is about a 40 minute drive from where I live to Wilmington, Delaware (the race site). I loaded up with some bagels and peanut butter and had to rush the family into the car for 5:45. I had to make up some time on the road but not too bad. I even made it with enough to time to hit the head before the race, but not much time. I did have to run to the start line and made it with about 10 seconds to spare.

The plan was to run the first 10 miles at 10:45 to 11:00 pace, the next 5.4 miles at 11:00 to 11:15, the next 5.4 miles at 11:15 to 11:30 pace and the final 5.4 miles at 11:30 to 11:45 pace. During the race I had to make adjustments as I got into trouble. I had to realize that I had to scrap the plan or I wasn't going to finish and I wouldn't have much fun that way. So at mile 14/ 15 I scrapped the plan.


This was really three races for me. Miles 1 to 15, miles 16 to 21 and miles 22 to the end. I started out on my game and it was great for the first 14 to 15 miles. The first 10 miles I was at 10:53, I was right in the range. The garmin is a bit off at times and for the race it said I ran 26.60 miles so it is not exact. With the variance I think I was probably at 10:55 and 10:57. I was right on pace. This was surprising as the little flu I have been battling was still with me a bit and I could feel it. For the next miles I wanted to just slow down to about 11:10 to 11:15. I was doing fine until mile 14. At about mile 14 I started to catch some stomach cramps. I had never experienced this before and didn't have a lot of experience with this. First, I decided I better slow down a bit. I cut back to 12:00 miles but this didn't really help. My stomach was on fire for the next mile. I had to stop and walk. At the next water stop I took some pretzels, I thought maybe I was running into a salt deficiency, but I didn't know. For the next mile or two I walked and ran and took on more pretzels. By mile 17 my stomach was better, not 100% but better. I could run again. I took more pretzels at each water stop and slowed by pace to about 12:00 pace.

I did this until mile 21. It was odd but at mile 21, I seemed to have recovered. My problem had something to do with the salt. I think that the first 14 miles had drained me of salt much faster than I was replacing it and it started to bury me at mile 14. It took me the better part of 6 or 7 miles to recover. I will remember this lesson the next time around. From mile 21 on were not bad. I was able to just walk the water breaks and run about an 11:30 pace for the rest of the race. I really did feel and didn't hit the late wall that is talked about. I know that is because of the stomach cramps at the 14 mile mark.

I did finish but it was about 30 minutes after where I probably should have. I don't care. My goal was to finish and I did that at 5:31:32 for an average pace of 12:40. I didn't set any records but I finished, which was the point after all. It was nice to have my wife and daughter at the finish line when it was all over. I am not sure how they entertained themselves for so long. I think they could have written a novel in the time it took me to finish. But I finished and I wasn't last and I did enjoy the race.

When I was done my legs were tired and my feet were sore but that was all. My hip didn't make its presence know at all during the run. So it was just an overuse injury that got a chance to recover during my taper. The only real injury I had was to my big toes as they bashed the front of my shoes. They had some fluid built up under the nail and came out with blood. I seem fine to today but for some slight hamstring tightness. Not bad.

I am glad that I finished, and I am glad that I did this. That said, the marathon takes so much training that there is little time for anything else. I think I will stick with half marathons for a couple of years and then think about it again.

A Marathon this weekend, THIS WEEKEND

I suppose some folks might be tensed up a bit over running their first marathon at the end of the week. I just don't feel any stress. I am sure there are lots of reasons for this. One of those reasons may be that I have no sense. Yet, I think the reasons are:

1. I don't plan on trying to win the thing, I only want to finish.


2. I have trained hard and can complete my goal.


3. I have done lots of races so I am pretty calm about the race day stuff.


4. I am doing this for fun

I think number 4 is the most important. I am doing this for fun. There is no need to get worked up about it. I did what I was supposed to do and I am as ready as I am going to be, so relax. It may be 26.2 miles but I get to run it one step at a time. I run one step at a time all the time, this will only be different in the duration. Even if I have to walk, I will still finish.

I am very much tapered. I will run a couple of maintenance runs this week and a two miler on Saturday just to stay loose. I will try to keep things safe during my martial arts classes this week. I usually have a tendency to train with a good deal of intensity; however, I will try to scale that back a bit this week. My only real concern is injury and illness.

I have been dealing with this left hip issue but it seems that my illness gave me more of a chance to rest and that seems fine. The illness seems to be tapering off and I should be 100% by Thursday. That should put me in a good position for Sunday. It will be an interesting weekend though.

My wife is competing in a Tae Kwon Do tournament on Saturday, she is a 2nd degree black belt. She has blazing fast kicks and regularly schools women half her age. Lately I have been taking our daughter, Emily, to see her Mom's classes. This means I have to watch as well and I have noticed how well she does. It is interesting, Tae Kwon Do is not my cup of tea, I prefer my martial arts a bit more up close. I had hoped with both her Mom and Dad being black belts that Emily might develop an interest, well not yet. She seems more interested now than she did a year ago. That said I don't want to push her to do something she has no interest in; for now it is ballet and gymnastics. Anyway, the tournament should be a fun time for her and I am happy she is going. What does all this have to do with my marathon? Well, I have to carefully find a time to drive the hour to pick up my race packet and scope out the course. I have to fit this in along with my video camera and cheer leader duties. I believe it should all be done by 2:00 p.m. so that should give me enough time.

Marathon Training

I have been training for my first marathon for a couple of months now and I thought I would take some time to say how it has been going. During that time my long runs have gone from 11 miles to 16 this last weekend. I have learned a lot from these runs in particular and in the training as a whole, here are my observations.

1. Your body gets used to running certain distances and when you venture beyond your comfort zone there is a period of adjustment. My comfort zone was up to 14 miles. When I went beyond this my body really barked at me. After finishing 13 I am just fine; however, when I finished 15 I felt like my ankles were going to burst into flame and the fatigue was overwhelming. Last week I did 16 and the last mile was a bit of a torture. I will say that I did a lot more hills than usual so this probably had an impact on my post run feeling.
2. Your body adjusts much quicker than you would think to the new stress you put on it. I did struggle with some of the longer runs, the first time. I found that after I ran a distance once I was able to have a much better run at the distance the next time I ran it. Moreover, my feeling at the end of a distance that the week before would leave me exhausted, I felt pretty fresh. Not like a creepy guy on a subway, but as in not so tired.
3. Your ability to recover from long runs gets shorter the more that you do them. I remember doing a 15K a year ago that took me the better part of a week to get over. On Saturday, I ran 16 miles. I felt fine to run on Monday but for a bit of a head cold and fever.
4. Speed comes with practice (and weight loss). I remember when I started running about a year ago doing 14 and 15 minute miles. I was flat out slow. I was sometimes passed by people walking. I have worked at it (and lost 70 pounds along the way). So now I am averaging about 10:30 to 10:45 pace. I am also doing some interval training and will add some track work this summer. It was hard work pushing the pace down. Your body gets into a comfort zone and it doesn't really want to break that. So you have to mix it up to get beyond this comfort zone. I think part of training is doing things that are a little uncomfortable.
5. Respect your rest days. I have learned that you can't rush the training. If you miss a day and it can happen, everyone's life has demands some unexpected, you often times can't make it up. Trying to push 4 running days into 4 consecutive days is asking for trouble. Your body needs time to recover. I have found that my spirit and willpower exceed my physical ability. I can push myself to complete the distance and put all the runs in but the price I pay is too steep. It increases the chance of injury and the fatigue it generates lasts more than a day. In addition, the later runs will not be at top ability because the recovery from the previous run is incomplete.
6. Sleep matters. I am a busy man and often work long hours. My family demands are much like others. When I sleep 5 to 6 hours a night, my running is not as crisp as when I sleep 7 to 8 hours a night. (Less sleep also leads to weight gain). I find that getting a good night's sleep is vital to my performance. Plus, I am more likely to get out there if I am well rested, otherwise the call of the pillow is too strong to resist.
7. Running is complicated. I used to think what could be easier, just put one foot in front of the other and try to do it quickly. I am learning that the more I know the more I realize how little I know about this sport. Running is a simple natural act but it requires a good deal of concentration and dedication to learn how to run well. That is what I strive for not to be a someone who runs but someone who runs well. I am learning, everyday.

Bring it On...

I registered for my first marathon this week. It is a big date on the calendar to say the least. I used the end of the week to really gauge where I am in terms of fitness in getting ready for this upcoming ordeal. In addition I do have a half marathon to do on March 9th, or one month from now. So how did this week shape up, sort of like this (well exactly like this):

2/4/08.....3.88 miles.....45:32 time.....11:44 pace.....744 cal
2/6/08.....3.65 miles.....44:27 time.....12:11 pace.....643 cal
2/8/08.....4.90 miles.....56:31 time.....11:32 pace.....907 cal
2/9/08.....11:00 miles....2:12:24 time.....12:03 pace.....1944 cal

I have been nursing a sprained ankle. It is not bad enough to not run but it is bad enough for me to take it easy a bit. I intentionally slowed down on the first couple of days of the week to keep the pressure off. I think the progress is good.

My run tonight does give a good gauge of my ability. I ran the first ten miles sub 12:00 pace; the last mile I just bled time (13:13 pace for mile 11). It was late when I hit mile 11 so perhaps I was just tired, maybe if I was running during the day that mile might have been faster. It doesn't really matter, even when considered with the rest of the run it is still a very fast time for me for this type of distance. The strange thing is that I was ignoring pace and just trying to do the distance. But it all worked out. I think I have developed a good running base for the half marathon. I think I would beat my last time by at least 15 minutes today, I was on pace to do that tonight.

The other good news, when I ran my last half marathon in September, I could barely walk at the end of it. My ankles and hips were a mess. It was a week before I was normal again. Today, I did 11 miles and I just have a little tweak in my sprained ankle. No blisters, no soreness, nothing. So as to the half marathon, bring it on. As for the marathon, I think I am starting at a good spot to get ready. Things are coming up well for me in terms of the training.

There is Something in the Air ...

I feel like spring is around the corner on this 65 degree day. The big news of the day....

I registered for my first Marathon today!

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You read correctly. On May 18, 2008, I will be taking part in the Delaware Marathon. This is not a big event but I am really looking forward to it. They have their fees and now I can get on with my training. 26.2 miles is pretty far but I can do it. Well I think I can anyway. Everyone wish me well on this one. I hope this will be the first of many.