Taper Mileage experiment

ORN:  15.8 miles, 2:49:21, 10:44/mile, R4/W1

Nearing the end of this series of four marathons/ultras in four months, I'm tooling somewhat with conventional wisdom about tapers.  To my own peril??  We'll see, in two weeks, when I run the Illinois Marathon for the third year in a row.  Here's my thinking...I welcome your scrutiny.

Going into the Illinois Fat Ass 50K in January, I ran the previous four weeks with 25, 34, 20 and 27 miles.  That race went OK...I had endurance, even at the 31st mile.  

Six weeks later was the Austin Marathon...the five weeks in-between were 8, 23,34, 20 and 18.  Only one decent week.  The race went OK, though ITB issues at 24 diminished the glow just a bit. 

Five weeks later, I ran the 33.5 mile Ultra in Michigan.  The four weeks of "taper" were really tapered, with totals of only 13, 27, 20 and 20.  Those are weeks, not days.  No where near enough miles for an ultra.  Useful to note, though, I still felt good at 26.2 that day.

With another five week gap to the Illinois Marathon, I decided to up the mileage a bit in-between to see if I can't add some endurance.  So, after taking one week calmly with only 8 miles, I've done 33 and 32 miles the last two weeks and will do 23 next week, then it will be race week.  Will it add to my strength or break me down??  We'll see.  

Looking ahead to the rest of the year now, there will be some fun.  Will go for some speed work through the summer, as well as likely volunteering at a new marathon near Indy.  I've never done that and sure owe some folks who have helped in all the races I've run the past few years.   The fall schedule is taking shape but is not clear yet.  

Persevere.

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Race Report: Kal-Haven 33.5 Mile Trail Race 2011

ORN: 33.5 miles, 7:17:51

Quick Summary

Every marathon has a lesson. This one??

Systems are helpful but raw miles in training are necessary.

A terrific event, which I enjoyed, despite a very difficult final four miles.


The Gory Details


The Race

Kal-Haven Trail Sign

The Kal-Haven Trail Race is in its 20th year. It’s a terrific, local event, put on by local runners, volunteering to help others do something we all enjoy. Compared with big city marathons, it really shines. Simple and straight-forward, the race caters to both long-distance enthusiasts, offering a solo race and a two person relay (17 miles each), as well as less adventurous runners, with a six-person relay (with legs of 3-6 miles each).

And value?? Oh my!! For a mere $30 entry fee, we got a great race, full support, not one but TWO tech shirts (one for finishing, one for entering!)! Race Directors Terry and Julie were very visible at the start and finish, answered my questions via email before the race, understood runners and worked liked crazy. The volunteers were magnificent…I truly felt encouraged and supported. They even provided boiled potatoes and PB&J finger food at the last aid station…just for the solo runners!

The Course
The Kal-Haven trail is part of an extensive network of rail trails in Michigan. It was a marvelous running surface. The flat, gravel surface was smooth, well-drained (despite heavy rains earlier in the week) and visually enjoyable as we spent the full day almost always in wooded areas. In fact, I usually find one or both of my heels to be sore/bruised after a road marathon. The day after this race, my heels were just fine, thank you.

Typical section of Kal-Haven Trail

The race is point to point, originating in Kalamazoo and heading west to South Haven, right on Lake Michigan. I actually discovered it about four years ago when we vacationed in South Haven. I ran its last three miles for a couple of days, enjoyed it and then looked at the map at the trail head. I noted Kal-Haven was 33 miles long and said to myself “Self, that’s a perfect distance for a race. I’ll bet somebody else has thought of this!” When I got home, I googled it and discovered this event. I’ve wanted to run it the past two years but other events interfered. This year was a go.

The Performance

I took advantage the offer of an early start and hit the trail at 7:23am, 37 minutes ahead of the official start. Man, it was cold…the bank thermometer said 16F as I drove in and it felt it. Mercifully, there was hardly any wind and we were sheltered by trees. The sun had not yet fully arisen over our right shoulder and so I was able to enjoy the beauty of the changing light over the frosty new day. My run evolved into a three-act play.

Act One was pure joy. I had no time objective for this race and resolved to simply run comfortably. As usual in a new place and surface, it took me a couple of miles to find some sort of rhythm and a little longer to even feel moderately warmed up. But the rhythm fell into place around mile five or so and I hit the 10 mile mark in 1:47, averaging just under 10:30/mile, using my usual 4/1 run/walk ratio. I ran about 6 of these miles with Amy, a baker from Ann Arbor, who gave me an appreciation for gluten breakdown.

I got to the halfway mark in the bucolic village of Bloomingdale feeling good. As near as I could tell, my midway split was about 3:05, with which I was quite pleased. I refilled the water bottles for the second time and discovered how wonderfully pleasant a Dixie cup of pretzels could be.

Bloomingdale

Act Two started a bit beyond the half-way point and was a time of comfortable but determined effort. Involuntarily, the mile splits were now in the low 11s. I still felt fine while realizing we still had a long way to go. Yet, as I looked at the elapsed mileage on my Garmin, it was cool to see it flip over 20 and realize I would soon be at the marathon distance. I kept the 4/1 ratio going, stayed hydrated, worked on my fourth banana of the day (I started with 2 and stashed 3 more in Bloomingdale early before the race) and kept moving. I turned on my MP3 player along here as well and the music was a lift.

It was truly fun to approach the marathon mark. To someone for whom a marathon was itself a mere dream in 2006, the distance of 26.2 remains magical. And here I was again. I found myself smiling and grinning as the display got to 25.5, then 26.0 and then picking out the spot ahead where I imagined the marathon line would be. I hit the lap button as the Garmin ticked to 26.2 and noted later it was a running time of 5:01:59. I let out a whoop and grinned ear to ear (which raises the philosophical question: “If a marathoner whoops in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does he make any noise?”). To still be running comfortably past the marathon distance was a significant psychological lift. I pressed on, though with splits dropping to the lower 12 minute range.

Act Three extended from mile 28 to the finish and was an ever-slowing slog. The wheels gradually came off the wagon. Fatigue set in and the battle began as to how best to keep going. I knew I had done 31 miles in colder weather just 11 weeks ago, which was helpful. I throttled back at mile 27.5 to a 2/1 run/walk ratio and that helped for several miles. Boiled potatoes at an aid station were a treat. But eventually, running just was not going to happen. I pulled the forearms parallel to the ground and “power walked” for about a mile and a half, falling in with Tom for a good bit of that time. We got into the part of the trail I had run before. I knew there was only about 2.5 miles to go but I couldn’t keep up with Tom, so thanked him for the pleasant conversation and sent him on his way.

The last two miles were just plain tough. My legs were done. There was no sharp pain and I found some strange pleasure from that, realizing I likely had no injury. Yet it was as if they had simply gone on strike. The 33rd mile took all of 20 minutes. Yet, it was familiar territory; under I-196, under the Blue Star Highway, a left turn, past some nice houses on the water, up the hill and done. Marathon Distance or higher race #21, done, in an official time of 7:17:51.

Mileage from the race start

Post Race was a true joy. Unlike last year’s Chicago Marathon, (when I also walked the last 3 miles, cramped miserably and was not quite with it for a good hour or more) I really felt fine from the waist up. I was cracking jokes with the time keepers about my slowness, then found race-director Julie who had already noted on her trusty clipboard the fact I needed a ride back to Kalamazoo. She had a volunteer ready and less than five minutes after I walked over the finish line, she had me and others in a car headed back to the start. Wow, that is really impressive organization! Volunteer driver Cristi dropped me off at my car after a delightful conversation all the way back to Kalamazoo. The cooler in my trunk held the much-awaited bottle of chocolate milk (my now-favorite post-race treat). I found a fast-food rest-room in which to change into dry clothes and wash my face, and headed home, listening to a fabulous basketball game with Butler beating Florida. Not Purdue or Notre Dame, but at least Butler is in Indiana!

The Lesson

I’m a systems geek, as those of you who know me are painfully aware. And running has plenty of room for systems. They all worked in this race, from my chart describing what to wear at each temperature to the two watches I wear for pace and time splits to the view on heart-rate monitoring to the electrolyte tabs I put in my water which prevented any cramping to the nutrition I downed before and during the race to the music I loaded on my MP3 player to the KT Tape I put on my left knee which avoided ITB pain to the paper tape on the balls of my feet. And there is more…you get the point.

Yet, as the logician would say, these systems are necessary but not sufficient.

To comfortably finish a race of 33.5 miles, one has to have more miles done in training than I did.

Weekly Miles-6 months up to Kal-Haven 33.5 mile ultra


Here is my chart of weekly mileage for the six months up to and including this race (and, yes, this too is a system, thanks to Running Ahead’s on-line running log). I averaged around 23-25 miles per week. It seems to get me through marathons OK but to do an ultra, I need to amp this up to an average of 40 miles per week.

Do I have the time or inclination to do that? I’m not sure right now. And that’s the lesson. All the clever systems in the world don’t replace a training base appropriate for the race.

Pay the price to reap the reward of striding strong across the finish line. I didn’t do it for this race. So I walked across the finish line instead. To run across, I need to run more.

A useful lesson in a very enjoyable event. Thanks for listening.

Persevere.

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Trail race set for this Saturday

ORN:  Rest day

You know you are a runner who lives in Indiana when you can utilize a race to make sense of a negative basketball event.  

When the NCAA Brackets came out a couple of weeks ago, a wonderful possibility quickly appeared to me.  If the seeds held, my own Purdue Boilermakers would play my family favorite Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Sweet Sixteen.  Very cool!!  I promptly plunked the necessary choices to make this happen by my prognostication.

But, last weekend, I began to investigate and faced a conundrum.  The Sweet Sixteen games are played on both Thursday night and on Friday night and the potential Purdue-ND game would be played late Friday evening.  And I was already signed up for an early start in  the Kal-Haven 33.5 Mile Trail Race on Saturday morning.  

Do you see the dilemma??  I had to stay up and watch such a crucial game.  Yet I also had to get up at oh-dark-thirty the next morning to run 7+ hours in the woods the next day.  Oh no!!!

All of this was predicated, of course, on Purdue winning two games last weekend.  No problem with St. Peters, but VCU proved to be too much for our local lads.  And, as the Boilermaker defense became more and more porous in the 2nd half, I half-smiled, consoling myself that I was increasing my chances of getting a good nights sleep before the ultra.  I then went to bed, waking up in the morning to learn the Irish had lost later the same evening, removing any need to watch hoops till midnight this Friday. 

I'll drive to Michigan Friday afternoon, get up early, stash bananas at the mid point of the course, take an early start at 7am Saturday morning and see how it goes on the rail trail, point to point race.  It's gonna be cold, likely just 20F at the start.  I had hoped for more warmth by late March, but I guess not.  If this all works, it will be my longest single run ever.  

I'll post updates on Friday on FB, with photos and a blog post later.  I'll persevere. 

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On Blogging

ORN:  5.2 miles total, with 3 x 1 mile repeats, average 7:47

I've been blogging for a long time, with my first post in 2002 on my still-existent professional blog.  This running blog emerged in late 2004 with, surprise, surprise, a race report on what was then my longest run ever, a whopping 12 mile trail run.  I like to write and, even more, enjoy reading what others have to say on areas of interst.  Blogging is real, personal, and bypasses the professional editing that tends to water down useful ideas.  

Yet, blogging has really faded.  I lamented this in my reflections on 2010.  I've also wondered just what to do with blogging.  Do I just give up and force all my thinking into two sentences on FB updates that scroll by in a matter of hours?   Surely there's a better approach but I couldn't give voice to it.  Then I read this post from Seth Godin, one of the clearest thinkers on marketing out there.  I copy here in its entirety.   

Bring me stuff that's dead, please

 

from Seth's Blog by Seth Godin

100+ people liked this

RSS is dead. Blogs are dead. The web is dead.

Good.

Dead means that they are no longer interesting to the drive-by technorati. Dead means that the curiosity factor has been satisfied, that people have gotten the joke.

These people rarely do anything of much value, though.

Great music wasn't created by the first people to grab an electric guitar or a synthesizer. Great snowboarding moves didn't come from the guy who invented the snowboard... No one thinks Gutenberg was a great author, and some of the best books will be written long after books are truly dead.

Only when an innovation is dead can the real work begin. That's when people who are seeking leverage get to work, when we can focus on what we're saying, not how (or where) we're saying it.

The drive-by technorati are well-informed, curious and always probing. They're also hiding... hiding from the real work of creating work that matters, connections with impact and art that lasts. I love to hear about the next big thing, but I'm far more interested in what you're doing with the old big thing.

 <end>

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Blogging is much more than showing off my miles.  It's far more an exchange of ideas, observations, mulling, plans.  A way to connect.  And if that's now for a more select audience, fine.  If you are reading this, THANK YOU!   To read a blog is to listen.  To post a FB update is merely to talk.  And I think we can stand for more listening than talking.  

Persevere...and keep blogging!

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Race Report: Austin Marathon 2011

ORN: 26.2 miles, 5:04:34, 11:37/mile; R/W 4/1 till mile 24, then 2/1

Quick Summary

If the Marathon was easy, it would

be called “Yo Mama”

This clever sign I saw on the course of the Austin Marathon captures much. It is easy to forget when doing marathons regularly just what a physical strain it is to cover 26.2 miles on foot.

I really enjoyed this race AND it was tough as well. The plan worked well until mile 24, when some odd wonkiness in my left knee slowed my pace to the end. Nevertheless, this was indeed the best race conditions allowed. Time with my wife and friends made the entire outing extremely enjoyable.

The Gory Details

Prerace

Gretchen and I flew to Austin the day before the race and soon met up with Darrell and his wife. This whole event started with Darrell’s invitation to meet up with him as he knocked Texas off of his 50 states list. We walked from the hotel to the finish line, under the watchful eye of the Texas State Capitol Building. We also got a good look at the final mile of the course, which always helps me to know what to anticipate at the end.

Finish line, Saturday

Saturday night led to some creative resturaunteering to carbo load. We had a great Italian meal, then hit a food truck cupcake outlet for a wonderfully sweet ending to the day. It was terrific, in its own way, for these two Hoosiers to sit outside, comfortably, on a February evening, watching a small business prosper.

cupcake loading

Race day dawned early, given the 7:00am gun time. Darrell and I met up at 5am in the hotel lobby, persuading a desk clerk to nuke our bowls of oatmeal in the employee microwave. We were out the hotel door just before 6am to join in a pre-arranged Marathon Maniac meet-up and photo op. Out of the inky darkness did Maniacs appear from near and far. Did Steve Yee ever imagine this running club would get this big??

Maniac Meet Up

In the pre-dawn darkness, the Texas statehouse truly loomed large, perhaps larger than life over all of us. I had amazing thoughts of Lyndon Johnson, of all people, as we walked around the capitol building to queue up and start on it’s north driveways. Darrell moved up to start near the 4 hour folks, while I lingered around the 4:45 pace. I was stretched, leaning against the mighty cornerstones of this building, then got out of the wind by hunkering into one of the many corners at its base. It was kind of moving, in a political sort of way.

The Race

With 12,000 half marathoners and 6,000 marathoners all queuing in the same space, the start took a while. We shuffled forward and I eventually crossed the start line 17 minutes after the gun sounded. We wound through the heart of Austin, across the river and up a long, 5 mile pull, which we then promptly ran back down in a mirror image. I quickly chucked my cotton shirt and was sweating well in the 68F start temps, with humidity.

An unusual treat awaited me as we crossed the river again, around mile 8. Gretchen walked over from the hotel and was waiting for me with a banana in hand. Boy, what a treat that was!! It has never worked out for her to join me at a race and it is hard to express what a lift it was to see her and have her walk a ways with me on the course. We confirmed a meet-up place at the finish and off I went again.

Joe at mile 8

So far, the plan for the day was going well. I ran my now-comfortable 4/1 run/walk ratio. I was drinking water at the pace of 10 oz/half hour, with an electolyte tab in each 10 oz bottle. My mile splits were consistent in the 10:45 to 11:00/mile range (when I wasn’t in search of a porta-potty... the flip side of my hydration strategy and my 57 year-old bladder :-) ). We wound back up and headed out on the backside of the course. The half marathoners split off during mile 12 and we soldiered on. The miles from 12 to 24 just went smoothly. Keep it moving, keep hydrating, eat a banana every 5 miles, lather, rinse, repeat. I enjoyed it a lot.

From mile 21, we were clearly heading back towards downtown. The crowds were really nice and supportive. Most of the drivers were too, though a few were clearly irate at the stoppages we runners caused at so many cross streets. Using my Universal Time Predictor Chart, I realized I was on track for a 4:58 finish and perhaps a couple of minutes better. I was quite encouraged, even turning in a 11:17 during mile 22...very unusual for me, especially on a day with the temps now well over 70.

And then....

Just past the mile 24 marker, I felt it. A twinge in my left knee. I’ve felt this before. It’s not the ITB nor the patella...it’s just a twinge. Not debilitating but annoying. And painful, if I don’t respond. I threw in a couple of short walk breaks, which always help. But, it became obvious I had to slow down. So, I shifted gears on my watch and dialed back to a 2 minute run, 1 minute walk ratio. After a couple of cycles, this seemed to work. I could run for 2 minutes without much pain and the walk break was just enough.

At this point, we were running through the University of Texas campus, but we were clearly no where near the student residence area. It was quiet as could be. I was impressed to run by the Texas football stadium...oh my, what a colossal structure, a veritable cathedral to college football. It would swallow Purdue’s stadium two times over, it would seem. I guess everything really IS bigger in Texas.

Plodding along, we did the last uphill climb which Darrell and I had espyed the previous day and made a right turn onto 11th, where I anticipated seeing Gretchen. She was there, beaming, and what a treat to see her!! I gave her a sweaty kiss, then made the last left turn down Congress street and my 20th marathon was in the books.

Post Race

It was immediately encouraging to realize I had no cramping, no nausea and my usual sense of humor. A volunteer gave me my medal and, as I often like to do, I asked her to put it over my head as I sang the Olympic Theme song. “This is as close as I’ll ever get to winning Gold” and she had a big laugh. After getting the medal I told her “If I was Italian, I’d now give you a kiss on both cheeks!” She paused and said “But, I’m Italian!!!” So, she got the official air-kiss, as if this was an Olympic moment...we both had a huge laugh.

In short order, Gretchen found me and it was great to see her, give her a hug and a real kiss and thank her for being there. She pulled out the camera and a fellow marathoner snapped this photo of us, three minutes after I crossed the line.

J, G, post race


This is a keeper photograph...it captures so much. I’m a very blessed man to have such a wonderful wife.

As the crowd was thinning out, I invited Gretchen to come inside the runner’s area and we walked together down the rest of the finishing area, getting some food, my drop bag and my finisher’s T Shirt. It is always fun to see folks you ran with for all those hours and congratulate them at the end...it was even better to have G along with me.

We walked the mile or so back to the hotel and it felt good. It was even better to get into a cool tub and soak for a while, better yet to then have a hot shower and really, really good to listen to my college basketball-loving wife whooping it up in the room as she watched Purdue pull away from Ohio State to win by 12 points. No wonky knees for the Boilermakers on that day.

We met up with Darell and Lisa and found an authentic Texas BBQ place to eat. Sorry, Michelle, but not a vegetarian place...the options surrounded which type of meat and which kind of sauce. It was fun.

An interesting postlude...the day after the race, we drove to San Antonio, staying there on the famous Riverwalk. While walking on Monday afternoon, Gretchen spotted a guy wearing an Austin Marathon finisher's T shirt. I started up a conversation and learned this was none other than Lyle Clugg, who was the very first Race Director of the Marathon! He ran the race for many years, then retired and moved to Colorado. The organizers invited him to return for the 20th running of the race, which he did. We talked for about 15 minutes about the early days of the race, how it has changed, how they did timing before chips and on and on. He was interested in my experience in the race and it was a wonderful conversation.

Joe, Lyle in SA

This was once more a reminder that no good event happens without incredible dedication by volunteers who enjoy running and helping their communities.

There’s a lot more I could say but this captures it. In summary, I was pleased with the race. It showed me, importantly, the adjustments to pace which work in a warm race. I was pleased with using my heart rate as a primary guide to pace. In fact, since most miles have my average HR at 120-125, I realize I could have pushed the pace a bit more and still been OK, since the top end of my Zone 2 is around 135 bpm. I was very pleased with the performance of the Camelbak Elixr tabs...I never did have a hint of cramping all day. I also like bananas...did I mention that?? I figured a way to carry two with me in my Nathan Belt, I got a third from Gretchen and managed to score two more from friendly people on the back part of the course. I had four Gus with me just in case but didn’t need a one of them.

And did I say I was pleased with the people?? Wow, it was great to spend time again with Darrell and a treat to be with his wife Lisa this time. Gretchen and I met up with some old college friends (did I mention I went to Purdue?) on Sunday night and again at lunch on Monday which triggered much wonderful thought. And, most of all, it was so great to share the race weekend and then a week on the Gulf coast with Gretchen. Take all the races you want, folks, it is people who will truly last.

Thanks for listening. Persevere.

.

one week 'til Austin Marathon

ORN:  4.3 miles, w. 3 x 1 mile intervals @ 7:55 (and 130 bpm)

It was a treat to head out mid-day to run in the "tropical" temperatures of 38F today.  After hitting 9 below zero on Thursday morning, it felt good...so good, I went out in shorts; I always enjoy doing that with lots of snow on the ground.

With one week to go to the Austin Marathon, the schedule called for some simple mile repeats.  I was thrilled to be under 8 minutes on each of them, especially with the monster head cold that set in last night.  Will do a few normal runs this week and then race on Sunday.

I've never been in Austin, Texas before; in fact I've spent precious little time ever in the entire state of Texas.  I did a Google Satellite tour of the full marathon course today.  Maybe not a good idea, though...every time I do that it hits me afresh just how looooooong a marathon is.  We'll sure get a tour of the capital of Texas, though.  The route looked like a usual city marathon, especially over the first half of the course when we'll have all the half marathoners with us.  The last mile and a half of the course winds through the University of Texas campus.  It'll be hard for this Purdue guy to give anyone a "hook 'em horns" sign, yet I hope I'm alert enough at that point to be capable of such a gesture.  Couldn't find any obvious places to stash bananas, so I'll be back on using Gu during the race.  I plan to do a 4/1 run/walk and keep the heart rate under 135.  Temperatures look to be in the 60s for most of the race, with a 60% chance of rain.  I have no idea how I'll react to such warmth after such a long, frigid winter.   Combined with the head cold, it could be interesting.  It will be what it will be.  

I am truly looking forward to the full trip, though.  G and I will meet up with Darrell and his wife on Saturday afternoon and enjoy the full weekend.  We'll take them back to the airport on Monday, meet up with an old Purdue roommate for lunch on Monday in Austin, then head to San Antonio for a day.  After that, we head to the Gulf Coast for the rest of the week, staying near Corpus Christi.  It'll be a nice break. 

Race reports will pop up here next week.  If you are super intense (or bored beyond tears next Sunday), my bib for the race is 5562 and you can track me on race day via the race site.   

Persevere.

.

 

Pudding

ORN:  18.4 miles, 3:29:45, 11:24/mile, R4/W1

Well, there are three weeks remaining until the Austin Marathon.  So that must mean that today's outing must be my last long run and now I am in the Official Taper.  

It was hardly an auspicious "climax" to a marathon training program.  But, now that I'm stacking these races closer together, I think the build-up is not nearly the same as running a single target event each year.  

The run was some combination of The Shirelles' "Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This" and Winston Churchill's famous retort "this pudding has no theme."  While I got through it, it was no fun.  Around mile 8, I started feeling some stiffness in my hips and thighs.  Stretching really didn't help all that much.  I never really felt in rhythm and never found any flow.   I suspect the residual fatigue from running 50K 3 weeks ago explains all of this.  

With the plan for the spring, which has a marathon every five weeks, I'm thinking each race serves as the "long run" for the next one.  And if my biggest problem is a themeless long run, I'm a really lucky guy!!

Persevere.

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