Twin Cities Marathon Taper - Thinking about a Goal

I just finished up another big mileage week, covering about 92 miles, mostly easy, but did work in some serious hill work on my MLR and also on my long run today.  I also managed a little racing, winning my hometown's 8K race, finishing the short course in 28:14.  I'm really not that fast, I think the course was short about 2 tenths, so my adjusted time would have been closer to sub 29:30, which is still a PR. (5:51 pace)

 

So, we are three weeks out from the Twin Cities Marathon and I've been giving some thought to a goal.  Like many runners, I like to plan out an A, B and C goal.  Since I have never broken 3 hours at this race, that will be my C goal.  Simply to run a smart race and not let the hills from 21 to 23 get me.  My B goal would be a PR, so anything under 2:56:42 would suffice.  Then I need a stretch goal or an A goal.  A fellow runner planted a seed in my head of running a sub 2:55.  Why is sub 2:55 so important?  In my age group it would give me elite status and a guaranteed comp entry in next year's race!  You get to use all the amenities of the elite athletes, before and after the race.  How cool would that be? 

 

So there you have it.  I have done the training, now I just have to taper and tune and let it rip on October 6th.

Happy Running!
Rick

Back to the Roads

Last week was a fun week of cross country racing and this week it was back to road racing.  Labor Day was the annual Victory 10K in Minneapolis.  Super flat and fast, and combined with the cool weather, I thought I had a good shot at a PR.  I went out a little too slow and although I managed a 5:42 last mile, it wasn't enough to break 37 minutes and a long way off from my PR of 36:42.  Still pretty happy with the result as I was coming off 94 miles form the previous 7 days.   I ran a lot miles during the week, but nothing fast, saving up some strength for the City of Lakes 25k.  I have never run well here and I wanted to change that.  I was determined not to go out too slow and try to make up for it at the end.  I went out just right, hitting mile one at 6:36, mile two was 6:25 and I never faltered after that, knocking off one 6:25 mile after another.  I kinda lost my focus and my chance to break 1:40 at about mile 14 and had to really hunker down the last 1.5 miles.  In fact, I needed to run the last half mile in 3 minutes just to get under 1:40, finishing in 1:39:55 (6:25 average). A nice confidence booster before Twin Cities and a 5 minute improvement over last year's time.

So, no racing this week (okay, I might sneak in a race this week-end) but I do plan some quality runs with one more attempt at hitting 100 miles for the week.  I sure am looking forward to the taper!

Happy Running!

Rick

Cross Country Week

I had a slight cut back in my mileage this week, but I can't say it was an easy week.  The heat and humidity were almost unbearable (only used the treadmill once) and I ran back to back Cross Country  races.  Neither course were particularly hilly, but both were very lumpy, for lack of a better term.  Racing on soft uneven surfaces is very taxing and difficult for me and I am hoping that these work outs provided some added benefit for the long term.  Wednesday night was the MDRA Como Park Relays, where two-person teams run an 8x1 mile course.  My partner and I finished in 50:10.  Not the speediest time, but hey, it was over 90 with a dew point over 70.  Did I mention the course was lumpy?  The following night was the St. Louis Park Geezer Chase, where us Geezers get a two minute head start and then the young lads try to catch us.  Less lumpy course, but very hot and humid once again.  I was beat after these two races.  I have to mention how lucky I am to live in a community that has such wonderful opportunities for runners.  The MDRA Como Park Relays are a perfect example.  Every Wednesday in August, you just show up, plunk down your $3.00 and run until your heart's content.  What a fantastic 40 year tradition!

Finished off the week with an easy 20 miler on Saturday and ran easy today, so I can rest up for tomorrow's Victory 10k in Minneapolis.  Conditions should be great, the course is fast and no reason why I can't run a great race.

We are 5 weeks out from TCM and things are back on schedule.  No injuries to speak of, the back is fine and the mileage is where it should be.  Speed is still the only issue and tomorrow's race will be a good test to see where we are at.

Lastly, I triple-checked my blog this week for grammatical and spelling errors, in honor of my favorite teacher of all time,  Mr. Harlan Helwig.  RIP Mr. Helwig.

Happy Running!

Rick

Only Six Weeks until Go Time

Another big mileage week for me and I think my body is getting use to 90 plus mile weeks.  I find if do lots of doubles, get one MLR on Wednesday and the typical 20 miler on Sunday, I feel pretty good.  I think the PT is helping as well, as I work on my core and my lower back my running is getting stronger.  I ran 20 miles in the heat and humidity at a very modest pace (about 8:15) and although I probably lost 8 pounds, I had plenty of gas left in the tank.  So, endurance seems to be pretty good, but speed is still slow to come back.  Only one track session this week and it was on Friday.  I went to the Minnetonka HS track at 5:30 am and proceeded to do 6x1200m at 5k pace.  My 5k pace is about 5:48 and I knew that wasn't happening.  For one thing, I can't move that fast, at that time of the day.  Secondly, whenever I try to get going fast (anything below 6:10) I feel rather clunky and out of synch.  Anyway, the first 1200 was barely below 6:30 and the rest were around 6:05.  I had a heckuva time getting below a 6:00 minute pace and only managed that tempo for a few of the laps.  I am hoping that the racing coming up in the next few weeks will help me get my rhythm back and backing off some of the mileage will add a little spring in my step.  I'm feeling about 95% their for making my marathon goal time of 2:55:xx.  Now, lets hope the heat wave this week doesn't cause too much trouble.  Heat training is good, right?

Happy Running!

Rick

Big Mileage

This week was a big mileage week, coming in just under 94 miles.  My back and my body are holding up pretty well, but my speed is not coming back as quickly as I would have hoped.  The 15k race on Sunday took a lot out of me, so my Tuesday progression run up and down Exclesior Boulevard was a bit of a disappointment.  I was pushing pretty hard and could barely get below 6:40 pace for the last few miles.  I had a couple of nice runs on Wednesday, recovery on Thursday and tried the same progression run again Friday with better results, logging the last mile at 6:12.  I finished the week of with a 20 miler that went pretty well, but my legs were kinda shot.  I have another couple of weeks of this kind of mileage then the racing fun begins with the Victory 10k, City of Lakes 25k, Old Sod Days 8k and  one more tune up race that is yet to be determined.  Still thinking I can run a 2:55:xx at TCM, and I will have plenty of fitness tests coming up to see if the legs are there.

I joined a racing team last week and I am hoping I can help out in the Grand Master category at City of Lakes for team Northwoods.  Thanks for having me!  I think if I run a 1:41 I can help.

Happy Running!

Rick

Slow but Steady Comeback

It was a good week, it was a high mileage week, but all in all, not a very fast week.   The back feels good, but missing all those key work outs over the past two weeks definitely had an effect on my fitness.  I ran two very easy recovery runs on Monday, followed by a 10 miler on Tuesday morning where I unsuccessfully attempted to log 5 miles at a HMP of 6:25.  Couldn't find the gear and the fastest mile was 6:40.  Wednesday was more doubles and the next key work out would be Sunday with 18 and 10 at MP.  The MDRA 15k was on the schedule, which would give me an opportunity to air things out a bit and see where I stand.  I did a very easy warm up of about 6 and then got ready to race.  It was cool, but a bit humid, not anything that would effect my effort.  First mile was pretty fast, logging in at 6:12.  I slowed a bit for mile 2 and mile 3 was a long, slow gradual hill which really took a lot out of me.  I held pace for the remainder of the race and never found that late in the race higher gear.  I was happy to finish in under an hour (6:25 pace) and will chalk this up as a very aggressive MP training run.

My program continues to hammer away with more doubles, two quality runs and a mileage of total of over 100.  Depending on how the back feels, I may reduce that mileage just a tad.  The back feels good, but I don't want to push my luck.  PT felt good and I hope to have the back strength of maybe an 80 year old man soon!  No more racing until Labor Day, when the schedule gets really serious.  I like where I am at even with the missed time; good enough to get under 2:58 again, but a marathon PR may be a stretch.  

Happy Running!

Rick

Down but Not Out

I missed some key workouts again this week, in fact my back was so stiff that I took off Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  Since it wasn't improving as fast as I had hoped I made an appointment with a back specialist.  Luckily they had an opening Thursday morning.  The doc did about an hour evaluation, having me do various movements and poking me here and there.  She was convinced that there was no damage to the back, but rather my lower back was very weak.  Along with extremely tight hamstrings; we are talking violin strings tight!  The doc was through with me and I was I introduced to my physical therapist, who had me warm up, do some stretches and the onto the weights. She measured my back strength and it registered somewhere between that of an 11year old girl and an 83 year old woman!  Not good.  She showed me all the weight training I would focus on over the next 6 weeks, threw on an ice pack and scheduled my next 3 weeks worth of visits.  

My back was feeling good, so that night I went for an 8 miler and everything felt great.  I got up early Friday morning for my next scheduled run and my body wasn't having it.  The PT coupled with the Thursday night run was just too much.  I was back out there on Saturday for an easy 8 miles, and did a shortened long run today of just under 18 miles.  The back felt fine, but my IT band and my PF were screaming at me from mile 14 on.  Not feeling worn out today though, as I managed to do some work in my much neglected yard.

So what happens now?  I plan on wading back into my training plan, doing PT twice a week, do the prescribed stretches twice a day and hopefully come out of this training cycle fitter than ever.  I realized that my training was far too one dimensional, but not until now did I realize the problems it was causing.  Not sure how much effect the missed days will have on my marathon time, but I am confident my fitness hasn't suffered too much and long term I will be all the healthier.  Speaking of fitness, I have a test coming up.  The MDRA 15k is this Sunday, so I can gauge where I am at.  Perfect timing, as my plan calls for 20 with 10 at MP.  So, I think I will warm up with 8 or so, race the 15k at about 6:40 pace and cool down with a few recovery miles.

Happy Running!