Well, as I mentioned in one of my recent posts I have decided to jump in to another marathon training program.
I have decided to run the Eisenhower Marathon in Abilene, Kansas on April 12 of next year. I have run spring half-marathons before but this will be my first full marathon so early in the year.
This also means I will be training for a marathon during the winter for the first time and walking into uncharted terrority. Potentially harsh weather is the obvious concern, not so much because of the weather itself but because it may well force most of my workouts indoors.
The good news is I have a decent amount of cold weather running gear so with luck I'll be able to run outdoors more often than not. Cold temperatures are not fun to run in but I can manage...on the other hand, several inches of snow, or even worse, ice will most likely force me to hit the treadmill. Logging lots of miles indoors does not sound like my idea of fun but we'll just have to wait and see how the weeks and months unfold!
In addition to the Eisenhower Marathon I will also register for the Chocolate Rush Half-Marathon. It is scheduled for February 8 in Overland Park, Kansas. Much like the Eisenhower Marathon, this will be the earliest in the year I have ever run a half-marathon and I am frankly not looking forward to it. The timing of the race is perfect for me to use it as a tune-up race to determine my overall progress so it will be worth sucking it up and running in the cold.
As is often the case, both the Eisenhower Marathon and Chocolate Rush Half-Marathon offer events for the shorter distances. If anyone wishes to join me for either of the events I encourage you to do so!
One of our running club members forwarded a very insightful article about the impact of wind on running performance. I was familiar with some of the basics, such as the impact of a headwind, but the article does a great job explaining findings of other factors such as tailwinds and even drafting behind other runners.
As always, remember intensity is all relative. Do not force yourself to run outside of your current ability. Keep in mind intensity can change within a single workout, as well, as you become tired. So you may be able to run at 6.5mph for the first 3:30 interval but at only 5.5mph for your final interval, both of which may feel like a Level 8 out of 10.
The 1:30 recovery can also be an easy jog or simply a walk, depending on one's ability.
Finally, the choice of four to six rounds is also based on your ability. If you can barely finish four rounds, make the smart decision and call it a day. If you're still feeling strong after four intervals, go after some more!
BE SMART AND RUN WITH YOUR HEAD AS MUCH AS YOU DO YOUR LEGS!
I unplugged from running for a few weeks after my marathon on October 13. This gave me ample time to not only physically recover from the race (more on that in the following paragraphs) but to reflect on the race itself.
With that said, here it is, my race report for the Prairie Fire Marathon:
The Good
The good news is I set a new PR, 3:05:50! This is an improvement of a little over eight minutes from my previous PR, which I also set at the Prairie Fire Marathon in 2011. Pound-for-pound this was arguably my best marathon, even though I did miss both of my time goals. I'll get to that in the next section, though.
My pre-race nutrition worked out great; I stuck with my plan of two meals before race start. I woke up four hours before race start for my first meal, a bowl of rice and some water. I then went back to bed for about an hour, then had my second meal of a custom shake of Muscle Milk Collegiate and CytoCarb II and a banana.
I was also surprised about my nutrition needs during the race. I originally planned to run with my own water bottle for the first six miles or so, but ended up holding onto it until about the half-marathon mark. I had my preferred sports drink in it so it wasn't a big deal to keep it with me other than the effort to simply hold the bottle for so long.
I used only two gels, too, which is the least amount I've ever used. I also never drank Gatorade while on the course, using only water after I ditched my bottle. This was fine by me, as I've found most cups of sports drink served during a race are not mixed well, being far too concentrated and sweet.
I credit the "train low, race high" approach I've mentioned previously to such a successful nutrition strategy. I feel my body was capable to properly utilize fat during the latter stages of the race, just as planned. I never faded due to nutrition and felt physically strong the entire race. I still slowed toward the end, but only by a small margin. In fact, the second half of the race was only about a minute slower than the first.
Much like nutrition, my pacing strategy was also where it needed to be when looking at the big picture. I started my first few miles intelligently and I think that, coupled with my good nutrition, allowed me to have a good race from start to finish.
Other, smaller factors likely contributed to my performance. The hotel at which I stayed was literally right next to the start/finish area, allowing me to sleep just a little bit more and not have to worry about driving to and parking at the race.
My race attire was also comfortable the entire race, which doesn't always happen.
In the end I was very pleased with my performance...although I missed my time goal I can tell I'm headed in the right direction!
The Bad
The obvious "bad" thing that happened is that I missed my time goals. My primary goal was to finish under three hours. A backup goal was to qualify for the Boston Marathon, which I missed by only 50 seconds!
While knocking over five minutes off my time was arguably a tall order, I can say with relative certainty I should have gotten my BQ time. Although my first few miles were paced intelligently, I was perhaps a bit too conservative around miles four through six. Looking at my pace throughout the race I can see where I should have pushed the pace a bit harder, including around the first 10K of the race and around mile 16.
But as I said above, this was my most solid marathon effort so far, so overall I can't complain!
Other than my finish times the only other thing worth noting is it took longer than usual for me to recover. I'm usually back to normal within a handful of days after a marathon and no longer than a week. It took a good two weeks before I really felt the urge to get back out and run again.
I suppose part of this could be attributed to the intensity and pace at which I ran, which was the fastest I've ever ran a marathon. Perhaps age is starting to catch up with me, as well. I am only in my early thirties but I can tell how more intense training and racing is beginning to take its toll.
One thing I should do is to dial in my daily nutrition better. Overall my diet is sound but I've been a bit more lax on occasion than I would prefer. I may need to revisit The Paleo Diet for Athletes, which served me very well for my Ironman a few years ago.
The Ugly
There is only one crazy thing to report here: I contracted a small infection on one of my feet! I'm not exactly sure what caused it and I'm not sure if it happened during the race itself.
I could tell I was starting to get a small blister on the bottom of my left foot during the final couple miles of the race, but it was barely noticeable and not painful at all. I looked at my foot after the race and could tell a blister was starting to form but the skin was still intact.
A couple days later, however, the bottom of my foot was a bit red and swollen, so I went to the doctor. A quick prescription of antibiotics knocked it out after just a couple days but that was the first, and hopefully last, time I can say I ever picked up an infection while racing!
So What's Next?
First things first, I owe my wife a big, heartfelt THANK YOU for letting me continue to race, particularly races such as marathons that take up so much time in the training process. It means a lot that she lets me do what I enjoy, particularly now that we have a family. She never complains about my training, which means more to me than she probably knows. I love you!
As for what's next, given I was so close to my time goals I've decided to hop right in and start training for a spring 2014 marathon. I haven't decided which race I want to run but will do so shortly.
So with that in mind, be on the lookout for some more training updates in the near future!
