I remember having one or two major stress dreams when I was a student, usually involving walking into the exam room and having the lights go out, or otherwise not being able to see the exam paper itself. But I have always had a stress dream in the months or weeks before every marathon I've run, except for my first (which was a last minute impulse decision). Last night I had a stress dream about Buffalo, three months away.
In the dream I started running the marathon. The course passed my hotel. I suddenly remembered something I needed in the hotel room. I don't recall what the item was, but it was very important that I get it. So I detour from the race, go into the room, and realize I have the wrong running shoes on. I mean to change only the shoes, but end up changing all my clothes, back into street clothes. Then I remember I'm in the race. So I have to change back into my running gear, and get my running shoes back on. All the while I feel the clock ticking, every second seems to be an hour. Finally I get back out on the course and I can't see anyone around. I panic, maybe I'm lost, or worse, I'm last. I started running down the course alone and spotted some runners way up ahead going really slowly. I was way behind the slowest runners. Then I woke up.
Why do I make myself crazy with something that's supposed to be fun? Fun isn't quite the word. I need a word that describes something about which I'm passionate, to which I'm committed, and from which I derive an immense amount of satisfaction and self-confidence. As much as with my children, but with a different type of love. "Hobby" is too belittling. No wonder Americans are so fat, there's not even a word that encompasses all that for a physical activity.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Words To Live By
My coach posted this on the forum at Runningtimes.com:
"The most overlooked trait that the elites have is their unbelievable work ethic. They all have this trait. There are many examples but one really sticks out. Derek Clayton had no real natural speed compared to his competitors in his day yet he had set the world record for the Marathon of 2:08 in the late 60's which was a mark that held until the 80's. He was known for his hard high mileage training. Sure he had the ability to take a beating and keep going but he still had to get out there and do the work.
The good news is that if you have this hard working trait and you are someone of "regular" physiological traits you can go farther than you can imagine with the Marathon distance. I really think that this is the most important thing for a Marathon runner. Without it, it really does not matter what physical traits you bring to the race."
I need to remember this every day.
"The most overlooked trait that the elites have is their unbelievable work ethic. They all have this trait. There are many examples but one really sticks out. Derek Clayton had no real natural speed compared to his competitors in his day yet he had set the world record for the Marathon of 2:08 in the late 60's which was a mark that held until the 80's. He was known for his hard high mileage training. Sure he had the ability to take a beating and keep going but he still had to get out there and do the work.
The good news is that if you have this hard working trait and you are someone of "regular" physiological traits you can go farther than you can imagine with the Marathon distance. I really think that this is the most important thing for a Marathon runner. Without it, it really does not matter what physical traits you bring to the race."
I need to remember this every day.
On Group Runs
I ran again with the Fleet Feet group this morning, this time at 7 am. I still had to wake up early, 5 am, to feel loose enough to run by 7 am. No food before the run. Just coffee with soy creamer. However, I did take 2 advil to reduce some PMS cramps I felt this morning, and that had some negative impact on my stomach by the end of the 7 mile run.
This was a scheduled rest day for me. However, I felt I should take advantage of the opportunity to run with the group, and I'm glad I did. I'll switch today and tomorrow on the schedule, and do the boot camp class tomorrow. I ran with Susan M., Chip B., and another guy whose name I failed to catch. I thought I would run at recovery pace, about 9:30, but I discovered that's impossible with these guys. We kept up an 8:45 mile for 5 miles, when I left and veered back toward my car. I didn't do the last two miles much slower, probably around 9:00. However, that's an MP run the day after a tempo run, and I need to take recovery time much more seriously. My left knee is feeling the pressure.
This completes my third week on Coach B's program, and I am growing more excited about it every day. I've been running so well lately that Coach revised my paces on the schedule, making them faster. He said I show much more fitness than he originally thought. :) But over-enthusiasm is dangerous, that's what got me injured in 2006. I've heard the marathon is an exercise in restraint, and that is true in more ways than one!
This was a scheduled rest day for me. However, I felt I should take advantage of the opportunity to run with the group, and I'm glad I did. I'll switch today and tomorrow on the schedule, and do the boot camp class tomorrow. I ran with Susan M., Chip B., and another guy whose name I failed to catch. I thought I would run at recovery pace, about 9:30, but I discovered that's impossible with these guys. We kept up an 8:45 mile for 5 miles, when I left and veered back toward my car. I didn't do the last two miles much slower, probably around 9:00. However, that's an MP run the day after a tempo run, and I need to take recovery time much more seriously. My left knee is feeling the pressure.
This completes my third week on Coach B's program, and I am growing more excited about it every day. I've been running so well lately that Coach revised my paces on the schedule, making them faster. He said I show much more fitness than he originally thought. :) But over-enthusiasm is dangerous, that's what got me injured in 2006. I've heard the marathon is an exercise in restraint, and that is true in more ways than one!
Monday, February 18, 2008
On Long Runs
I love a good long run. I do all the runs on my training plan, even the ones I don't really want to do or feel like I have to do. But I really look forward to long runs of 15 to 20 miles. What do I love about them? With the kids, pets, and general chaos at home, I luxuriate in spending two to three hours alone, being able to get into the zone that I do after an hour or so on my feet. I love racking up the miles, and especially love it when I look at my watch to find that seven or eight miles have gone by and I didn't even notice how far I'd come. I love the feeling of accomplishment afterward, when I note in my training log that I ran 15, 17, 20 miles. A long run that goes extremely well is just icing on the cake. Sunday was a great long run, in spite of waking up at 4:30 am to meet Chip B. at 5:50 for the run.
Chip is part of a big group that runs every Sunday from John Fabbro's Fleet Feet store in Montclair. The group usually meets at 7 am, but there occasionally are a few people who need to start earlier due to scheduling conflicts. No one else showed up so early, so Chip and I set out ourselves. He really knew the course well, we hit some challenging hills and kept things quite relaxed, averaging about a 9:44 pace for the first 7 miles, at which point we ended up back in front of Fleet Feet at 7 am. I grabbed a good drink, something I did not do on last week's run, and Chip and I started up again with the rest of the Fleet Feet group. After a mile, I veered off for a pit stop at Watchung Plaza, then headed out on my own to Brookdale Park. I did another 3-4 miles at a faster pace, to end at mile 12 at Anderson Park with an average pace of 9:20. Anderson Park has a nice asphalt path, .6 mile long. As per my coach's instructions, I picked up the pace at mile 13. I was dreading this part because I basically bonked last Sunday and almost puked when I picked up the pace for the last two miles of that run. But it was fantastic! I ran the 13th mile at 7:56 (sub-8!), the 14th mile at 8:20, and the last mile, on the road back to Fleet Feet, at 8:28, for an average pace of 8:15. Last week my average pace for the 2 final, faster miles was 8:49. I was quite satisfied.
I also felt better after the run. No nausea or dead legs like last week. This surprised me, because I forgot to take any gels on the course (though I had 2 in my pouch), doh! The only frustrating part of this run was my stomach. I had some pretty greasy Chinese food Saturday night with friends, and that caused some major distress along the way. Two bathroom stops and some major cramping, and that even with one immodium before the run. I must be better about nutrition.
In fact, I know I could improve my performance by 6 minutes just by losing 5 lbs, but all I've been doing lately is eating. Not unhealthy food, but ugh! Too much. I don't understand how I can be so devoted to most of the other aspects of marathoning while ignoring one of the most important, my diet. I need to stop baking for a few months.
Chip is part of a big group that runs every Sunday from John Fabbro's Fleet Feet store in Montclair. The group usually meets at 7 am, but there occasionally are a few people who need to start earlier due to scheduling conflicts. No one else showed up so early, so Chip and I set out ourselves. He really knew the course well, we hit some challenging hills and kept things quite relaxed, averaging about a 9:44 pace for the first 7 miles, at which point we ended up back in front of Fleet Feet at 7 am. I grabbed a good drink, something I did not do on last week's run, and Chip and I started up again with the rest of the Fleet Feet group. After a mile, I veered off for a pit stop at Watchung Plaza, then headed out on my own to Brookdale Park. I did another 3-4 miles at a faster pace, to end at mile 12 at Anderson Park with an average pace of 9:20. Anderson Park has a nice asphalt path, .6 mile long. As per my coach's instructions, I picked up the pace at mile 13. I was dreading this part because I basically bonked last Sunday and almost puked when I picked up the pace for the last two miles of that run. But it was fantastic! I ran the 13th mile at 7:56 (sub-8!), the 14th mile at 8:20, and the last mile, on the road back to Fleet Feet, at 8:28, for an average pace of 8:15. Last week my average pace for the 2 final, faster miles was 8:49. I was quite satisfied.
I also felt better after the run. No nausea or dead legs like last week. This surprised me, because I forgot to take any gels on the course (though I had 2 in my pouch), doh! The only frustrating part of this run was my stomach. I had some pretty greasy Chinese food Saturday night with friends, and that caused some major distress along the way. Two bathroom stops and some major cramping, and that even with one immodium before the run. I must be better about nutrition.
In fact, I know I could improve my performance by 6 minutes just by losing 5 lbs, but all I've been doing lately is eating. Not unhealthy food, but ugh! Too much. I don't understand how I can be so devoted to most of the other aspects of marathoning while ignoring one of the most important, my diet. I need to stop baking for a few months.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
To the Track or Not, That Is the Question
A current topic of conversation on the marathon boards at Runningtimes.com and Runango.com is the value of speed work intervals at the track. It's almost universally accepted that interval work of some kind, usually 800 to 1600 meter repeats and usually on a standard 400 meter track, is necessary to decrease marathon times. A running club friend of mine swears his huge improvement in marathon times was caused directly by running 10 and 12 x 1600m repeats, a very difficult workout!
Obviously, there are many benefits to track intervals, if they are tough enough to train your body to run faster through fatigue. But the big danger is that all the turns on the track, or even just the sudden stress of constantly taking off at a fast pace will cause injury, especially knee injury. Coach Brian doesn't like track work because of the risk of injury, and I just don't like track work, period. He has started to add strides to the end of the shorter, easy runs, and I like how he has me picking up the pace at the end of my long run, that is incredibly challenging. He likes phone contact, and he is very encouraging. I do think he's experimenting on me with this training method, but I am quite willing to give it a try, after my experience with Coach Joel last summer.
I now think Coach Joel ripped Karen and me off. I get upset when I think back to the "speed work" he gave us, it was really crap, workouts like 4 x 800m, then cool down, or 6 x 400m-- for the marathon distance! I would never recommend him to anyone who wanted a marathon coach. To give him the benefit of the doubt, he was so cautious because he was afraid of us getting injured (which Karen did anyway). But candy-assed workouts don't do the trick in a 26.2 mile race.
Obviously, there are many benefits to track intervals, if they are tough enough to train your body to run faster through fatigue. But the big danger is that all the turns on the track, or even just the sudden stress of constantly taking off at a fast pace will cause injury, especially knee injury. Coach Brian doesn't like track work because of the risk of injury, and I just don't like track work, period. He has started to add strides to the end of the shorter, easy runs, and I like how he has me picking up the pace at the end of my long run, that is incredibly challenging. He likes phone contact, and he is very encouraging. I do think he's experimenting on me with this training method, but I am quite willing to give it a try, after my experience with Coach Joel last summer.
I now think Coach Joel ripped Karen and me off. I get upset when I think back to the "speed work" he gave us, it was really crap, workouts like 4 x 800m, then cool down, or 6 x 400m-- for the marathon distance! I would never recommend him to anyone who wanted a marathon coach. To give him the benefit of the doubt, he was so cautious because he was afraid of us getting injured (which Karen did anyway). But candy-assed workouts don't do the trick in a 26.2 mile race.
Friday, February 8, 2008
The Great Toe Scare of 2008
So after I had that great 8-mile run on Wednesday, I proceeded to bang the crap out of my left foot when I whacked it against a metal folding chair while running for the phone. Ugh! I could not believe how painful that was! I'm sure I broke some small bone in there, the smallest toe was all swollen, red, and hot to the touch. I couldn't walk on it for hours! I mean, come on, this is the very first week of my new training program! I immediately launched into panic mode, checked out marathons later in the summer, and thought about how to ask my coach to put the program on hold for the few weeks I thought I would need to heal.
Yesterday morning the foot was absolutely no better, even after icing and some advil. I was really limping for most of yesterday. Coach Brian called yesterday, he was very encouraging. He said it was still so early, even a brief layoff wouldn't affect me, and there are plenty of alternatives, like pool running, to keep me in shape. He's very positive, and I need that to calm me down. Then I took a power nap in the afternoon, slept almost 2 hours. When I woke up, the foot felt a lot better. Still painful, but markedly improved over just a few hours before. I dared to try on my running shoes, and that hurt so much I thought there was no way I'd be running this week. I taped the toes before going to bed.
When I woke up, the foot was sore, but still much better than yesterday. I decided to test it out on the treadmill. The treadmill is slightly gentler, and if I had to bail during the run, I would already be at home. I had 4 miles on the schedule. I started very slowly, at a 9:40 pace, and slowly increased speed, never going above 9:15. I couldn't believe it, but the run went fine! The entire 4 miles felt good (except for when I landed on the outside of the left foot at the very start of the run, that hurt so much I thought there's no way I'd finish it). I can't even begin to describe how relieved I am.
But the curious thing is my sudden awareness this morning of how philosophical running can be. These bumps in the road occur in training, and how I handle them may be indicative of how I handle problems that come up in the race itself. Yesterday, I didn't like what I saw. I went straight into panic mode, instead of taking a wait-and-see attitude. Today, not 48 hours after the injury, I was back on track with the program, though it was a slow treadmill run. I must view this incident as an attempt to distract me from my goal, and I won't be distracted again!
Yesterday morning the foot was absolutely no better, even after icing and some advil. I was really limping for most of yesterday. Coach Brian called yesterday, he was very encouraging. He said it was still so early, even a brief layoff wouldn't affect me, and there are plenty of alternatives, like pool running, to keep me in shape. He's very positive, and I need that to calm me down. Then I took a power nap in the afternoon, slept almost 2 hours. When I woke up, the foot felt a lot better. Still painful, but markedly improved over just a few hours before. I dared to try on my running shoes, and that hurt so much I thought there was no way I'd be running this week. I taped the toes before going to bed.
When I woke up, the foot was sore, but still much better than yesterday. I decided to test it out on the treadmill. The treadmill is slightly gentler, and if I had to bail during the run, I would already be at home. I had 4 miles on the schedule. I started very slowly, at a 9:40 pace, and slowly increased speed, never going above 9:15. I couldn't believe it, but the run went fine! The entire 4 miles felt good (except for when I landed on the outside of the left foot at the very start of the run, that hurt so much I thought there's no way I'd finish it). I can't even begin to describe how relieved I am.
But the curious thing is my sudden awareness this morning of how philosophical running can be. These bumps in the road occur in training, and how I handle them may be indicative of how I handle problems that come up in the race itself. Yesterday, I didn't like what I saw. I went straight into panic mode, instead of taking a wait-and-see attitude. Today, not 48 hours after the injury, I was back on track with the program, though it was a slow treadmill run. I must view this incident as an attempt to distract me from my goal, and I won't be distracted again!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Hills Are Evil!
Today I did a workout that's fairly new to me. Weaning myself off my beloved treadmill, I'm running outside more to get the hills, both up and down, in. This morning I ran 8 miles, 1 mile warmup, then I raced up the huge hill at Lincoln Street at 10K pace (or faster), slowed up for the rest of the mile, then repeated that hill 3 times. Then did 2 miles fairly slowly up Ridgewood, headed back and hit some more hills at 10K pace. Wow! I didn't think I could do it. After that first hill I actually felt sick. So it was quite a great sense of accomplishment when I completed the workout.
I liked several things about this workout. First, the hills were tough but not too big-- Lincoln was the biggest at about 300 meters. So I could run the hills, which will (hopefully) increase my leg and quad strength. Second, I liked that it forced me to really speed up the pace after I'd already been running a few miles, and was tired. I was amazed that I actually ran a faster overall pace by speeding up those hills, then slowing way down, than running a steady state training run at my normal training pace. Today I ran 8 at an average 9:07 pace, while yesterday I ran 4 steady at 9:16.
I am beginning to get a feel for Coach Brian's strategy, and I like it. I think it's the change I need in my training to bring my time down.
I liked several things about this workout. First, the hills were tough but not too big-- Lincoln was the biggest at about 300 meters. So I could run the hills, which will (hopefully) increase my leg and quad strength. Second, I liked that it forced me to really speed up the pace after I'd already been running a few miles, and was tired. I was amazed that I actually ran a faster overall pace by speeding up those hills, then slowing way down, than running a steady state training run at my normal training pace. Today I ran 8 at an average 9:07 pace, while yesterday I ran 4 steady at 9:16.
I am beginning to get a feel for Coach Brian's strategy, and I like it. I think it's the change I need in my training to bring my time down.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Rock & Roll Arizona Marathon Race Report
This was my third year coming out to the Valley of the Sun for the Rock & Roll. The first year I ran the half, and the second and third, the full. Last year I had a blast, and this year did not disappoint. I arrived Thursday, met my friend Jon at the airport (he was getting the rental car this year), and we went to a very nice golf resort in Scottsdale where my brother scrounged two comp rooms for us. Each room had a living room and kitchenette with coffee maker, microwave and fridge, so we didn't have to worry about pre-race breakfast and
all that, and this year the rooms overlooked the huge golf course, very scenic. Last year I had my husband and kids with me, and my dad and his wife were staying at my brother's house around the corner from the hotel. My dad has alzheimer's and couldn't process the noise from the kids running around, he was all grumpy and silent, my poor SIL was totally stressed with all the visitors, her kids were sick with strep throat and the flu-- it was the worst! So I couldn't be happier this year when my dad's wife decided they couldn't fly out, and my husband and the kids stayed home. Ahhh, the silence of the clean hotel room! No stress! The only fly in the ointment was that my left knee hurt like a bear since I got on the plane in Newark. I actually asked the flight attendant for ice and iced it the whole way to Phoenix. Same knee that hurt since NYCM, but now it was really painful. I was sure
I would drop down to the half, which Jon said I could do anytime up to the actual start of the race. I was happy to be in Phoenix, but I wasn't excited about the race at that time. I didn't like the half course, and thought about just not running anything, spectating instead.
Jon and I hit the expo Friday. At the expo, which was large and well-attended, we picked up our stuff and stopped by the booth of my brother's company, Paradise Bakery, one of the race sponsors this year. There we met one of the managers who got us two passes to the VIP staging area on race morning (there was no Stage Rocks tent this year, the Scottsdale Running Company stopped producing it)! She said Frank Shorter and Khalid Kanouchi (sp?) would be there, they had already been by the expo and had autographed her sponsor pass and taken photos with her. I decided right then and there that I was in for the full distance. I was icing my knee a lot and I would just hope for the best. I was not motivated for the run before the expo, but after hearing about the elite staging area, I was so psyched up. Because of the knee I decided to stay in my comfort zone, and printed
out a pace band for a 4:10 marathon. I would not wear head phones, wanted to practice pacing and focusing. Jon was going for a sub-2:50 and was getting more and more nervous. Every so often he'd start talking to himself about running a strategic race, saying it over and over. So we just tried to relax a lot on Saturday, stay off our feet. My knee still hurt Saturday, real pain under the knee cap, and I was worried. I took 2 advil Saturday night and kept icing. I showed Jon an article in Running Times about "shake out" runs, the elites do them, they are not warm up runs-- they get up about 4 hours before a race and just jog a very slow mile, just to get the blood to the muscles and get the stomach moving. He said he'd try it on race morning, and he did. 3:30 am Sunday he went out and did a slow mile.
I woke up at 4 am Sunday, and I swear, my knee felt fine! I'm like, WTF, but it really was about 80% better than it had been all week. I ate a bowl of cheerios and soy milk (I usually have toast or a bagel pre-race, and the cheerios did not sit well, but it was all I had), did a small shake-out run (I did a slow mile the morning of the Shamrock last March and PR'ed there, so it's a habit I try to keep), showered, got into warm-ups and we headed to the staging area with Fred, a friend of my brother's. His son was runing his first half-marathon (at age 15, he ran a 1:25!). The elite staging area was inside the beautiful Phoenix rock and mineral museum, which was both nice and surreal. My brother's bakery company supplied all the bagels, muffins, coffee, etc. The elites entered. Jon, Fred, his son and I grabbed a table. A guy at the next table asked me who my sponsor was! I just about died laughing! We started talking, and he told me he was a pacer for Haile Gebreselasie (sp?) when Geb ran his WR half marathon there in '06. He was on about 5 different pro racing teams. Then Frank Shorter walked in. I went over and asked him if he liked the muffin he was eating, we started talking, he was so nice! He signed my bib "For Aubrey, you can do it! Just have fun!" and his name. I tell you, I really thought about him saying "just have fun" a helluva lot late in the race. Then we took a photo. He was the only celeb I saw there. Then it was almost time to go, and even in the elite area there's a huge line for the woman's room. Jon came out of the men's room and said I should just go in there, he saw another woman do it. So I did. I walk in, head down, had to wait for a stall. Some guy came in and asked me jokingly if I was going to use the urinal. I said I would if I knew how! But those lines for the
women's room are ridiculous! There was a whole group of young women in the staging area, not an ounce of body fat on them but they did not look emaciated either, they looked great-- they were all attempting to qualify for the OT, and I hear 8 of them did. Jon actually ran with them through mile 22, they had Hanson's Team pace bunnies.
Last year, I had to walk quite a ways to the starting corral from the Stage Rocks tent I was in. This year, the starting line was right outside the elite staging area door. The weather was great, about 48 at the start, mid to upper 60's at the finish, not a cloud in the sky, but a lot of shade for a good chunk of the course. Jon said there was a wind of 5-10 mph, but I didn't feel it. It was awesome. So Jon and I wished Matthew, the 15-year-old kid running the half, good luck, we high-five each other, and head to our corrals. Frank Shorter and
Khalid Kanouchi gave little speeches before the start, then the gun fired. I saw signs for the 3:45 pace team near me, but this year, I didn't even try to start with them. "Restraint" was my mantra. And I did hold back. I ran at a pace where I could easily carry a conversation for probably most of the race, trying to keep the average pace on my Garmin at about 9:10. Remember those cheerios? Well, they led to a pit stop at mile 9, then I stopped very briefly for a gel and water at mile 10. My knee started to hurt at mile 16, but with less
than 10 miles to go, I just took 2 advil and told myself to suck it up. And advil is indeed a miracle drug. I felt the start of calf cramps at mile 16, the result of severe undertraining (my longest run since NYCM was 12 miles), but I grabbed a salt packet at the next aid station and that seemed to keep the cramps at bay. I planned to start taking 45 second walk breaks at the water stations after mile 20, to try to keep the left leg going to the finish, and those seemed to help, though of course my average pace started dropping to a 9:23. I
timed each break and pushed on to the next water table. Not having the headphones made it so much easier to focus! I was surprised, because I love my music, but when I wore phones I never was able to think of the motivating things I had to keep me going late in the game. Without them, I remembered to concentrate on things I knew helped get me going. I was in some pain from mile 22 on, but it didn't really bother me. Marathons hurt. The spectator support was fantastic, especially a big group of teenage girls all dressed as
members of the glam rock band Kiss. I saw my SIL, niece and nephew spectating at the mile 26 marker, and paused to give them a hug before the final kick. 4:08:41.
I felt sick after I finished (maybe the salt I took) and had to stop for a bit at the med tent, where I iced my knees, then headed over to meet Jon at the VIP finish area (oh yeah, the passes were good for that too). On the way there, I stepped up on a curb and my left leg suddenly seized up in cramps. Man, did that suck! I fell right onto some old people next to me, who kind of broke my fall as I fell to the ground. I was screaming! I've never felt anything like it in 8 previous marathons-- hell, I never felt anything close to that in childbirth! It took about 20 minutes until I could stand up, then this med tent guy walked me over to the VIP area. I found Jon, and when I first saw him I thought for sure he blew his goal. He looked so serious, and when I asked him how he did he said "sub-3" and started going on about the course. I finally said, "what is your time?!" Turns out he ran a fantastic PR of 2:45, at age 41. I told him it must have been the shake out run that did it for him. Couldn't have been all those 22 mile training runs, and hard core speed work that he did! There was beer and decent hot food (pasta, chicken, coffee, iced tea, beer, soda, cookies) at the VIP area (tables with table cloths, shi-shi!), it was so cool! I even got to do the VIP baggage check, so my bag was right there. So much fun! We had VIP passes for the post-race concert (Kool & the Gang, heh) too, but we were too tired to go. All in all, just an awesome day, which we capped off with my brother and his family at a restaurant. Jon and I were both starving, we polished off everything!
I'm happy with my time, because I didn't train for this marathon and didn't really race it. But I'm bummed too, because I did train hard for Berlin, did several 17, 1 18, and 2 20 mile runs, and only did 90 seconds better. I think I had the physical training for Berlin, but not the mental discipline, and here I had the opposite-- little training but I had good mental fortitude. One day maybe I'll have both at the same time.
Going Sub-Four
I ran my ninth marathon on January 13, 2008, at the Rock & Roll Arizona Marathon in Phoenix. I didn't train at all for that one, the longest run I did since I ran the New York City Marathon on November 4, 2007, was 12 miles. But for the first time I paced really well. I ran a 4:08:41. Which I would have been very happy with, except I trained my ass off for the Berlin Marathon on September 30, 2007, and ran a 4:07:13. So obviously I am doing something wrong with my training. I need a change.
For Berlin, I started training with Coach Joel Pasternack last May. Maybe if I were faster and more talented, he would have paid more attention to me. But I always felt like he took my money then ignored me. He wasn't very encouraging. He kept focusing on short distance races, 5ks and such, which I hate. I beat lots of people at the marathon who can beat me at 5Ks.
After R & R Arizona I was actually pretty depressed about the results, even though the race was a blast. I decided that I would do one marathon this year in late spring, and then not do another one until December or next January. I chose the Nissan Buffalo Marathon on May 25th. I would love to PR on that course, it would be like a march of vindication through that goddamned city. And I hired a new coach, an online coach from Marathoncoach.org. Brian. I like him so far. Very accessible, very encouraging. He told me not to worry about shorter races, they aren't important. Best of all, he told me that even Ryan Hall lost his track races because he isn't trained to push through oxygen debt, neither am I. I thought that was a sweet thing to say.
I like not knowing him personally. There's no pressure there. And I'm not sharing this training with anyone this time.
Mentally, I am trying to train myself to think in terms of sub-four hours. I know I can do it. I don't know why I know, but I just feel I can do that. I will, in Buffalo, this May 25th.
For Berlin, I started training with Coach Joel Pasternack last May. Maybe if I were faster and more talented, he would have paid more attention to me. But I always felt like he took my money then ignored me. He wasn't very encouraging. He kept focusing on short distance races, 5ks and such, which I hate. I beat lots of people at the marathon who can beat me at 5Ks.
After R & R Arizona I was actually pretty depressed about the results, even though the race was a blast. I decided that I would do one marathon this year in late spring, and then not do another one until December or next January. I chose the Nissan Buffalo Marathon on May 25th. I would love to PR on that course, it would be like a march of vindication through that goddamned city. And I hired a new coach, an online coach from Marathoncoach.org. Brian. I like him so far. Very accessible, very encouraging. He told me not to worry about shorter races, they aren't important. Best of all, he told me that even Ryan Hall lost his track races because he isn't trained to push through oxygen debt, neither am I. I thought that was a sweet thing to say.
I like not knowing him personally. There's no pressure there. And I'm not sharing this training with anyone this time.
Mentally, I am trying to train myself to think in terms of sub-four hours. I know I can do it. I don't know why I know, but I just feel I can do that. I will, in Buffalo, this May 25th.
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