When a new PR isn’t enough

With six days left to my final race of the season, the time has come to figure out my race plan.  Not counting the run legs of my half Ironman races, I’ve only run a half marathon once before.  It was about 8 months ago, on a crushed gravel trail, and I met my expectations.  Knowing how hard I’ve worked for the past months, I should easily be able to set a new personal record time for the distance.

My original goal was to try and knock 7 minutes off my earlier time.  That is no small feat, requiring me to knock 30 seconds off my per mile pace and by itself is enough to make me a bit nervous.  Then I look at how well I’ve been running the past few weeks, really without any serious run training, and I believe I can break 1:50.

Then I had my normal pre-race chat with coach Kelly.  She reviewed my performance over the past few weeks and announced that I should be able to break 1:45.  That is another 30 second per mile reduction, down to 8 min/mile!  She has a lot of experience with athletes, and if she thinks I can do it she is probably right.

I ran 6 miles today with an average pace of 8 min/mile.  It wasn’t a steady pace, there was some interval work involved, and the recovery from those intervals usually costs me more time than the speed work gains me.  It wasn’t a great run either.  My legs felt heavy to start with, and by delaying my run until noon it was warmer than I would have liked.  Even still, I am pleased with my results.

So that’s it.  My mind is made up.  I’m going to finish in 1:45.  And when it’s done I’m going to enjoy a cold beer, a hot shower, and several weeks of well deserved rest!

Much needed time off

Today ends my mini break from training, which included a trip to Colorado to visit my oldest and dearest friend, Faisal. The trip started out well enough, the weather was clear and beautiful. As is normal for this part of the world, all you have to do is wait a few minutes and that could change.

We went to sleep the first night under clear skies and woke to an overcast and dreary day with a fresh sprinkling of snow to celebrate my arrival. We drove down from the mountains for some fresh coffee and food in Nederland. The plan was to goof around for a few hours to let the weather clear and then head back to his place to work on his new deck.

Several hours later we headed back up to a sprinkling of snow. The higher we got the harder it was snowing, and the deeper the snow on the ground. As we made the turn off of Apex road the snow was probably 4-6 inches deep, and there were no tire tracks on the road (and anyone who has been there knows I use that term loosely).

After a long and stressful drive we finally made it to his land, looked around for a few minutes, took a couple of pictures, and headed back down before we were stuck. In hindsight the drive up was a picnic, that drive down was scary with a LOT of slipping and sliding. I've never been so glad to get on a real road before!

We spent the next day at a horse vaulting show, and then last night at a wine tasting at the local Elks lodge. I've never done anything like that before and it certainly was interesting. That said, I can cross it off my list as neither is really something I need to do again.

We woke up this morning to clearer skies and some pretty cold weather. It's time for this southern boy to head back home for some good old fashioned heat and humidity. Two more hours then it is back to civilization via then Denver airport.

Tomorrow we get back to the grind of training, as I gear up for a half marathon! I think coach is going to be excited to see I still want to race more this season.

ps. Terra, an old friend of Faisal's moved to Reno. She is going to find us a half marathon for us to race in a couple of months. She will kill me, but it will be fun!!

Oops, not so fast

I wrote, but failed to post, earlier this week that I was done with my race season and enjoying the off season.  Unfortunately that was only half true.  I did enjoy several days of supposed off season, the only problem is that my season may not be over yet.

A month or so I’d spoken to coach about ending the season with the half marathon in San Antonio.  When I hit my tough spell, I decided I was tired, needed a break, and didn’t sign up.  Somehow this wasn’t communicated to coach and she assumed that I had.  This all came to light yesterday when she talked about building my training schedule around that race, and then ending my season.

This is further compounded by my ‘plan B’ I formulated in case I didn’t do well at Longhorn.  Plan B was for me to race again next month in Conroe at the Iron Star half Ironman.  I did well enough to not require plan B, but I’m still intrigued by the race.

I’ve spoken to coach about all of this, and she said it is up to me.  She didn’t recommend against racing in Conroe, only cautioned that I might not do as well as I want.  Now I have to decide to start the off season now, do a half marathon next month or really step it up and do another half ironman.

After some soul searching I’ve decided not to race in Conroe.  On the plus side I feel pretty good today and think I could do well.  I’m skipping the race because I’m on vacation this weekend and won’t be able to do any training, not a good plan with the race two weeks away.  I am also pretty excited about my current national standing and don’t want to do anything that might move me lower (silly I know).  The other drawback is that I would have no support team, and that is a pretty tough race to have to make it home on my own.

I’ve also pretty much decided to do the half marathon.  I booked a hotel room as many of the close hotels are already sold out, I have yet to sign up for the race.  I’m going to wait until this weekend and make sure I still feel like racing.  Right now I think I could do pretty well in that race.  It might be a good way to kick off the running season!

Longhorn HIM 2010 – what a race

Going in to this race I had three levels of performance goals.  Most importantly I wanted to beat my time of 6:30 I’d set at Vineman three months earlier.  The next level was to break 6:15 and my final goal was to beat 6:00.  I thought for sure I could beat 6:15, and thought 6:00 was possible.  I had calculated all kinds of scenarios (omitting the transitions which is pretty dumb), but they were all pretty much based on me running a 2 hour half marathon.  That was another mistake as I’ll point out later.

Although I hardly got a wink of sleep the night before, I wasn’t very nervous about the race until about 45 minutes before the start when there is nothing to do but stand around and wait.  I was really wondering why I was doing this race and why I didn’t just go home and go back to bed!  Then it was time to get in the water, and with only 2 minutes to get ready we were off.

The swim

I was excited that this race was wetsuit legal.  I know that it makes me faster and I do so by expending less energy.  I thought that at 73 it might be cold, but if it was I didn’t notice.  Before the start I positioned myself in the group about where I expected to finish, about 2/3 of the way back.  Once we got going it was like all hell broke loose.  I was getting pummeled on both sides and from the front.  The course was triangular shaped and for most of the way out and back it was like a gang fight.  Several times I had people hit my arm as I was trying to bring it forward, preventing the stroke.  I was fortunate that it never happened on a breath stroke.

It didn’t seem like it was all that long before I was climbing out of the water and up the hill.  I’d thought before the race that the hill was pretty steep.  I’m not sure what happened to it because I don’t remember it at all; only the strippers yelling at me to get on the ground and then to get moving again.

I saw my fan base on the way to my bike, and then again at the bike while I was trying to get ready.  I’d forgotten to remove the safety tape I put on my gels so they don’t blow off when I’m driving and now the darn stuff didn’t want to come off!  Finally I got it all together and was on my way.

The bike

I didn’t test drive the course before hand and the reviews told me that:  the first 14 miles were pretty tough with mostly rollers after that, and that there was a sharp turn at mile 41 that if I wasn’t careful I’d run off the road.  Everything Natasha told me was accurate, except I think the tough hills went though mile 15.  They were tough, but not bad if that makes sense.  My legs were fresh and I handled them without any problems.  In fact, I had to tell myself several times to settle down that this was a long ride/race.  I finished over 19 miles the first hour!

I was ecstatic with that time, and started extrapolating how this might end up.  I was about 38 miles at hour #2, but somehow my math failed me and I thought I’d slowed down.  I just now realized I was still at 19 miles per hour.  Anyway, I was still doing math in my head, not being passed by many people, when we came up to a turn with volunteers telling us to slow down.  They had done that on several other turns that I felt were unnecessary.  I was quietly fussing at them while I rode by, thinking that they had no idea how much energy I was going to spend getting back up to speed.  I started the turn and realized I was going much too fast.  I hit the brakes as hard as I could, heck, I was worried the cable was going to snap.  I held my lane until I had to swerve to miss a cone and then I was headed for the grass.  Knowing I was going in the grass I decided to unclip and stop instead of trying to ride back up the shoulder without stopping.  I’m sure it was very amusing for the policeman and all the cars that were stopped because of me!  I clipped back in and was back off.

The most exciting part for me was being able to pee while still on the bike.  Thanks Chris Lieto for showing me last weekend how to do it!

It really wasn’t that much longer before I was approaching transition.  I didn’t see my fans anywhere as I jumped off the bike and took off running.  They would have been proud to see how graceful I was (not!)

Transition

I spotted my fans near where my bike was supposed to go.  They were wearing these crazy foam hats, which I used later on to spot them.  My mind wasn’t working real well and it was very helpful to have them giving me directions to my bike.  As I was getting ready I told them to go to the end, where I planned to stop for a minute and stretch my legs for a bit.  Figuring on a 2 hour run I had lots of time to spare, so a few extra minutes in transition wouldn’t hurt.

I got to the end of my row and they weren’t there.  In the fog I hadn’t been very clear about where I wanted them to go.  I spotted my wife and mother near the run out and gave them high fives, and was informed that Dad was further up the road.  I gave him a high five and was off.  My break was probably 10 seconds, not what I’d planned or really needed.

The run

One little piece of information no one told me about the run was that half of it was a trail run.  I quit doing trail runs after badly spraining my ankle on one last January.  I’m still amazed at the conditions we ran on:  tall grass, rutted dirt and rocky trails, all without the benefit of shade.

Because my legs were tight I started off slowly.  I filled my water bottle at the first aid station.  I had opted for a small bottle because it wasn’t that hot and I didn’t want to carry the bigger one for that long.

I passed mile marker #2 and thought to myself “just like that, 2 miles down”.  The hills were hard and I did them without stopping, even the notorious Quadzilla!  It got hotter so I started grabbing sponges at the aid stations to squeeze over my head and tuck in the back of my shirt.

I hit the halfway point and my fans in about an hour.  I was really excited.  At my current pace I had a chance of breaking 5:45 and qualifying for the Half-Max championships.  That had never crossed my mind until then.

I planned to stop again, regroup and rest for a minute or two.  I planned to tell them how well my times were going and that so far I’d had a really good day.  All that came out as I gave them sweaty hugs was “We’re doing ok.”  My wife told me later she knew I was hurting because as I hugged her I put all my weight on her shoulders.  Aside from not being able to get words out, I also failed to take the planned break, again.  This time it really cost me.

I hit the first of two big hills on the road and my body gave up.  Frustrated I started walking up the hills and running down them.  It really got bad once I hit the trail section.  My stomach started acting up.  At mile marker #8 I had 55 minutes before hitting 6 hours.  I thought I could still make it, only my decline got worse.  The second time around Quadzilla just about killed me, even though I was walking.  I wasn’t breathing hard, but somehow knew I couldn’t breath much harder than I already was and God only knows what my heart rate was hitting.

My nutrition plan, which I’d stuck by pretty well, called for a gel at mile 9.  I skipped it partly because of my stomach, partly because I didn’t want to carry they empty container to the next aid station, and partly because I was too tired.  Finally, just after mile 10, I decided I’d better get it in me so I could finish, I needed the boost of energy.  I got it in my mouth, only my body didn’t want to swallow it.  I forced it down and immediately knew it was a mistake.  I hurried to the side of the trail so I could, in the most masculine manner possible, deposit it on the ground.  It was a short process as I had nothing in my stomach, and I actually felt much better afterwards.  I started running again to show everyone behind me just how tough I was.

I don’t remember the road back at all.  In fact, after cresting one hill I noticed that the turnoff was just ahead.  I thought there was still another big hill to summit!  Squeezing a couple of sponges over my head I took off running for the finish, not allowing myself to stop again.  I finished in 6:08.  The last 5.1 miles took me over an hour to complete.

Summary

I’m very happy with my time.  I’d secretly talked to some of my friends about racing again next month if I didn’t do well and this time certainly scuttled those plans.

My honest assessment today (I should come back in six months and see if I still agree) is that I didn’t make any mistakes race day that led to my collapse on the last half of the run.  I’d done exactly what I’d expected on the swim and bike, and paced myself exactly where I wanted to be for the first 7 miles.  My mistake, if you can call it that, was in my training.  While I spent lots of time biking in the hills, I didn’t get in enough run time in the hills.  If the last 6 miles had been flat it would have been a very different story.  I think it would also have been different without the trails.

Now that the season is over, where do we go from here?  First up is some recovery time.  I’ve been training hard without a break for 15 months.  I need a little down time to recharge my battery and let my body heal and rest.

I want to tackle the half Ironman again.  Now I’m confident that I can not only break 6 hours, but perhaps break 5:45 and make it to Half-Max Championships.  That said, I will probably only attempt one next year, late in the year, perhaps Kerrville or Conroe.  The rest of the year I’m going to focus on Olympic races.  With another year to train, and training for speed and the shorter distance I believe I have a real shot at making the podium.

So my fans, I’m signing off for a bit of R&R.  I’ll be back once I get bored, probably to tackle some winter running races.  I have goals there too…

Packed up and ready to go

My gear, bike, and bags are all packed up, loaded in the car, and I’m ready to go!  The plan is to leave in a couple of hours which means I get to spend the next two hours pacing and looking for something to do.  Despite the look I gave my wife when she asked for computer help, it was nice having something to do!

So with about 45 hours left to go before the race start perhaps it’s time for an assessment of where I am.  Let’s see:

• Three weeks ago I had arguably the best 10K race of my life.  I had a better time 25 years ago, but I seem to recall the course was flatter and the conditions were much better.
• Two weeks ago I had a very strong brick workout followed the next day by an equally strong run.  This past weekend also felt very strong but it was part of my taper week so everything was shorter.
• This week, being taper week, hasn’t resulted in any memorable workouts.  While my body certainly needed the break before the race I sure would have liked to go into the race on the high I felt two weeks ago.
• I’ve been suffering from a bit of allergy issues for the past few days.  This morning, as I was packing up the last few items, I realized that I had not been taking my allergy medicine for a couple of days.  I made sure that it was added to my batch, and only just remembered that I didn’t take one today.  With that now taken care of I’m hoping it clears up the problem.  It usually clears up by itself after a few hours, but a 45 minute swim with drainage from both my nose and down my throat isn’t particularly pleasant.  Heck, a 45 minute swim isn’t particularly pleasant in itself!
• There are a couple of things I wish I could change about the race:  I wish it was going to be wetsuit legal, and I wish the run didn’t have a hill called Quadzilla.  There is something I’m starting to learn after 15 months and 9 races:  you can’t control what you can’t control, so don’t stress over it.  So far I haven’t, and I don’t plan on starting today!
• Right now I’m feeling very rested.  Baring any unforeseen problems, this will be a very good race for me!

See you on the course!

Pre-race bike check

I picked up my bike from the store today where it was getting its usual pre-race check up. I also asked them to investigate a new creak in the crankset area. They said the left hub was too tight and thought that might be the source of the noise. It wasn't, so someone is going to have to take that area back apart and start from scratch.

I finished my last bike workout, leaving me with just one run workout before the race. Michael sold his car, freeing up space in the garage. I finally moved a bunch of bike stuff into that area, including my trainer, and completed my first workout in the garage. It's a nice cool day, but even with all the doors open it was hot in the there. Maybe I'll loose some more weight that way!

I think I'm going to have to keep training after race season; all this spare time is driving me crazy!

One last swim

It's Tuesday, and my last swim before the Longhorn half Ironman. As much as I have dreaded going to swim in that over chlorinated pool at 24 hour fitness, it was good to get in to work out the kinks and aches.

Did I mention that the pool is super chlorinated?  It is so bad that I have to rinse off poolside before heading home.  Then I have to take another shower, use conditioner (something I never do), and scrub my entire body with a loofah.  If I skip any of those steps I end up spending the entire night scratching myself raw.

Not long ago I posted that I'd never finished a swim as out of breath as my niece after her 1500m. I realized today that while that was correct, it wasn't accurate. I never finish a swim that gassed because I always get a couple hundred meters to cool down at the end. However, there are many times in a workout that I am hugging the edge of the pool gasping for breath. Although I am officially in taper week, today was no exception. I suspect the swimmer in the adjacent lanes wondered if I was going to survive!

So the day and its workout are done, and then there were two...