Hyannis Marathon - Taper Week

Today's Run:  5 miles through Bath
Total Time:  39 minutes, 39 seconds (7 minutes, 56 seconds per mile)
Type of Run:  Easy (relaxed effort)
Total Miles This Week:  14.14

It has been a little while since the last update, so I figured I'd better fill you in!  This is, after all, the final week before Hyannis..

Last Week
Recovery was slow.  The first four runs felt like I had iron strapped to my ankles and often there would be minor muscle cramps.  I eventually came down from 9-minute miles back to under 8-minute miles by the end of the week but it was a sign that there would be no more elevated workouts or runs from here until the Marathon.  The goal was to get between 45-50 miles at a relaxed effort.  I was as ready speed-wise as I was going to get.

This Week
Though I suffered a strange cramp in my right calf muscle Tuesday afternoon, I have had a fairly normal week of easy running as I've hovered right around 7:50-8:10 in every mile that I've run.  By the end of Friday I should have between 26-28 miles logged (which will total well over 50 after Sunday).  I shouldn't have any concerns with overuse injuries; it's just a matter of how ready I'll be at this point.

Hyannis Weather Forecast
In a word, ugly.  In 2008 it was sunny, 25 degrees, and a bitter wind - it felt a lot like Cape Elizabeth and Somesville this year.  In 2009 it was overcast for 3/4 of the race, then a gradual rain.  Temps hovered in the lower 40s but the wind wasn't as bad.  This year, at least with what they're saying now, it'll be in the upper 30s, steadier rain through the whole race, and high winds.  One fellow marathoner called this a "perfect strength runners' Marathon."  Does this equate to an ideal Quadzilla run?  The jury's out on that one, and probably will be until roughly 1PM Sunday.



Hyannis Goals
-3:10:59 or better.  Goal #1.  If I don't do this, I don't qualify for Boston.
-Run an easy first 10K (6+ miles).  This may be vital to how I'll handle the remaining 20 miles.
-Maintain 7-minute miles as long as possible after the first 10K.
-Maintain under 7:15 pace after mile 20.  My guess is that mile 22 or 23 will have the sucker punch that'll make this much more difficult.

How Crucial is this Marathon?
In truth, not very.  Yes, it's a Boston Qualifier, but it'll only get me into 2011 as 2010's registration is long gone. The Sugarloaf Marathon in May will get me Q'd through 2012 so that is the more important of the two races.  I'm still not going to take it lightly, though.  I'm confident of a personal best (time to beat is 3:15:25) and I should be hovering right around that 3:10:00 mark but there's a lot of factors that could affect the time, for better or worse.


In 4 days, all the questions will become answers.

Elevation - Somesville 20-miler Race Report

Sunday's Run:  20 miles through Somesville, ME
Total Time:  2 hours, 26 minutes, 31 seconds (7 minutes, 20 secnds per mile)
Mile Splits, 1-5:  7:10, 7:23, 7:14, 6:58, 6:50 (35:35)
Mile Splits, 6-10:  7:23, 7:06, 7:13, 7:07, 7:12 (36:01, 1:11:36)
Mile Splits, 11-15:  7:14, 7:28, 7:30, 7:13, 7:26 (36:51, 1:48:27)
Mile Splits, 16-20:  7:22, 7:55, 7:47, 7:40, 7:20 (38:04, 2:26:31)
Type of Run:  Race
Total Miles for the Week:  53.47

Elevation map for the course loop.  Mileage on the chart is not accurate to the actual race mileage.

(Results:  http://www.mainerunninghistory.org/results/2010/feb_14_somesville.pdf )

First, I want to say that in spite of the challenges laid out for me on this run, it was a lot of fun and an excellent primer for the big race at the end of the month.  With about 20 runners showing up in total for the 10- and 20-mile races, the atmosphere was relaxed and there really wasn't anyone competing (except for RK's determination to beat my 10-mile PR time).  There was a women's course record set for the 10-mile leg but other than that I think most of the runners were out there looking for a nice, solid finish to a very challenging course.

So yeah...there were some hills.

Once I started on mile 3, that's when the fun began.  The little hills in the road to this point are not unlike something I would see in a 'flat' course, little 15-20 foot inclines that don't last more than 15-20 seconds or so.  The hills that lay in store for me in the next 4-5 miles of the loop would go up for a quarter to a half mile or more, sometimes very steep and with turns in the road.  Even when those are all done, the road is never even.  There are very few 'flat' stretches at all which is part of what makes this course a battle, even without typical mid-winter weather conditions on a north atlantic island.

Since I was here last year and struggled my way through it, I knew what to expect.  I kept my goal prior to the race modest at best:  run 7-minute miles as long and smooth as possible.  At first I expected to hold that pace for 12-15 miles; if I could hold it longer, I would do so.  Each mile I could stay under the Boston-Qualifier pace of 7 minutes, 17 seconds would be a huge step forward for me.

As I passed through the 4th mile, I knew that the pace I was holding in Cape Elizabeth would no longer be a reality.  It was only then that the situation dawned on me:  in the previous 10 days, I had put in 2 800-meter speed workouts and ran a 10-mile race at a high effort.  The initial goal I had set for myself would be impossible to reach and would only destroy me if I tried to keep it up for too long.  My legs were already feeling fatigue and would not allow me to extend my stride. 

I did a little improvising.  I kept my strides short and let the hills carry me a little bit more than normal.  I adjusted my mental goal to try and keep myself above 7:15 per mile instead of 7, which was not only far more realistic, it was also the target pace I want to have in Hyannis.  It made perfect sense, so I immediately set it into motion before it was too late to set myself for that.

The first loop felt good.  1:11:36 was still good enough to beat last year's Tour du Lac time.  That helped me to shut away any discouraging thoughts like "Damn, that was only the first loop!"  With a short boost of confidence, adrenaline, and GU, I breezed through 11 and kept strong through 12.  13 was rough as I started to feel the muscles in my calves tighten.  With effort I managed to force out my second wind and pushed hard through 14 and the behemoth of a hill that was 15.  I was winded when I got to the top but I evened out quickly and felt good about my time so far.  I knew however that my pace was slipping and the last 5 miles would be a struggle, especially mile 17 with its sharp uphills and left turns.

16 was solid, though a lot of that had to do with its smooth downhills.  17 was all uphill and, as I expected, I logged my worst mile of the race.  Last year, that mile along with 15 destroyed all the energy I had left as I was running over a 9-minute pace.  This year, they knocked me for a loop but didn't take me down.  I used 18 to gather my wits and 19 to regain momentum.  20 was my all-out mile, but I spread the effort through the entire mile instead of trying to burn it in the last quarter, resulting in what I believe was a more disciplined and efficient mile, one that I could even pull off in the last mile of the marathon.

2:26:31 is not my best for this distance - the  first 20 in Sugarloaf last year (2:25:13) still reigns as my personal best, but it is a PR for a 20-mile race, edging out the 2009 Eastern States by a mere 22 seconds.  So effectively I have set a PR in two long races on consecutive weeks.  That is an accomplishment.

Can I make 3 long-race PR's in a single month?  The answer in less than two weeks.

Ten Mile PR - Cape Elizabeth Race Report

Today's Run:  10 miles through Cape Elizabeth
Overall Time:  1 hour, 8 minutes, 38 seconds (6 minutes, 52 seconds per mile)
Type of Run:  Race
Mile Splits:  7:10, 6:59, 6:59, 6:52, 6:52, 6:54, 6:53, 6:50, 6:48, 6:21
Overall Place:  83rd out of 814
Age group Place (Male 30-34):  16th out of 42
Miles This Week:  45.43

What a race.  New 10-mile personal record for me.

The weather conditions were exactly as I expected - sunny but with bitter winds.  It's been the case all week and probably all of next week.  Because it's been this way and I've been outside to enjoy run it, my body wasn't in for any major shock.

In spite of the usual struggle to warm up on a day like today, I was ready when the runners assembled.  I weaved my way back from the starting line as I made sure to keep myself nestled in the crowd in the beginning.  As gaps opened up, I moved ahead, and by the end of the first mile I had found a place where I could run freely and not be caught behind someone.  I was expecting somewhere around 7:30; when the watch said 7:10, I knew it was going to be a good race.

I found a stride that felt light and fast yet didn't tax my breathing or cause any cramps.  This is what I like to call my "all-day" run - so phrased because I feel like I could run at that stride/pace until I decided I wanted to stop or go faster.  For the next 6 miles, I ran this even pace and efficiently chipped away at the first mile time to get me under a 7 minute pace for the race so far.

With three miles to go, I decided I would gradually push myself harder.  I started gingerly through miles 8 and 9, then took off after the moose and put everything I had into the final mile.  Like a sniper, I picked the nearest runner ahead of me and surged ahead of then, then went on to my next target.  I literally lost count of the number of people I had passed.  I was barreling down the slope at the high school in my last quarter mile, zoomed past three people, and hit the finish line well ahead of my goal.

The worst part of the race wasn't during it -  it was right after.  The fierce winds blew in my face and made it difficult for me to take bigger breaths.  I covered my mouth which helped a little, but that and the runners cough (from the hard pace at the end) made it difficult for me to get up the steps and inside the school.  I made it without incident, however, and braced myself on a nearby chair to get the oxygen back.  There was little doubt that I put every ounce of energy into that final stretch.

This was an excellent race for me.  I'm now feeling really confident for Hyannis at the end of the month, because if I can hit that same "all day" pace in a Marathon, I'll easily qualify for Boston.