Pre-Race Embrace of my Inner Coach

In the red corner, at 5'11" and 3/4, weighing in at 170 pounds...

My Inner Athlete

This inner me is apparently 4 years old.  He thinks he is invincible, super human, and will never back down from a challenge even if he made it up himself, to himself.  Shesh!!  He's great for short course events when the inner monologue starts in, you need to put everything aside, and just red line.  However, he will be the one on the side of the road at mile 3 of a 10k because he went out at a sub-5 pace. 

And in the blue corner, at 5'11" and 3/4, weighing in at 170 pounds...

My Inner Coach

This inner me is always thinking.  He wants to hit the mile markers at the exact pace calculated before the race, get in the nutrition exactly on cue, and dreams of triumphantly standing at the finish line under the time clock that says the exact time he predicted.  While great at reminding me that what I'm about to do, or at least thinking of doing is probably not the best idea because of X, Y, and Z (the voice of reason), he also can be a hindrance to discovering that "Hey, I am a lot better than I thought!"

Who will win?!

Place your bets now!!

Come Saturday, it's going to be another battle of the inner demons!  But I do feel I have things under control.

Goals

1. Sub-3:05:00.  This is all I need to qualify for Boston.  
2. Sub-3:18:17.  This is my current PR on an equally flat course.  I would hope I can beat it having better set up my approach to this race.
3. Feel strong at the finish.  Heck, I have another marathon tomorrow!  Let's start it off well without digging myself in a hole. 
4. Finish without injury.  Heck, I have another marathon tomorrow!  I need my legs!!

Race Day Goals

1. Arrive early enough to get close parking.
2. Warm up and stretch
3. Start "easy" and comfortable for 1-2 miles.
4. Stick with the 3:05 pacer (as long as he plans to run evenly).  
5. Run on pace through mile 23.  If things work like they did at Hyannis, I would love to feel strong at that point in the race and be able to slowly speed things up in order to give myself some Boston cut off cushion room. 

I am feeling pretty confident about this battle (right now).  I feel confident that I can hold back with the pacer.  I know how awesome Hyannis felt and I want that feeling again.  Sorry Inner Athlete, but you have to wait patiently until the final miles, or better yet, Newport!!

Wish me luck!!

I'm off to my final taper run at the weekly track practice.  

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Questions
1.  Do you feel the same battle inside you before or during a race?

2.  What has been your best race day approach over the years?


DREAM.  BELIEVE.  ACHIEVE. 

T minus 117 hours

I can see why '24' stuck with that time frame.  Actually saying "117 hours to go" doesn't make me feel much as far as nerves.

Seeded Corral "Ticket"

Anyways, in the totally unnerving time frame of 117 hours (also just under 5 days - ok, that's a little more nerve awakening), I will be in the seeded corral for the Hartford Marathon.  This will be my second time running Hartford, not exactly my favorite course.  But it's rather flat and has a home town advantage.  That's why I chose it to be my first BQ attempt as well as the first of my back-to-back marathon runs; the second being Newport on Sunday.

With this last week before the races, let's check in...

Training - check!
At this point, I've done all I can for speed and endurance.  It's all about staying loose, honing in the muscle memory, and keeping away from injury.  This week will be a rough 30% of my max weekly distance with two track workouts and one if not two road runs.

Injuries - check!
For whatever reason, an older oddity has resurfaced.  My left ankle has started to feel like I'm losing control a little while I run.  This happened earlier in the Spring, but it went away on its own.  I'm hoping that with the week relaxed that it'll at least lessen.  My other thought is that I may want to look into a softer tread shoe to use for warm up, cool down, or recovery runs.  A few local runners I know use softer shoes for those runs and my problem may be with the relatively non-forgiving thickness of my shoes.  We'll see what happens.

Nutrition - in the works.
I've decided to give a try to the carbo-loading cycle.  I'm taking 5 days on a low carb diet and then 3 days on a slightly higher than normal carb diet.  My experience with paleo the second time around proved that this type of swing in carb intake certainly helps with workouts, so if it's done right, it should work on racing as well.  Let's just hope I time it right.  haha.

Otherwise, my race day nutrition is still up in the air.  My typical goal is a gel every 3 miles, but it didn't work at Hogsback.  My ideal might be Skratch or Heed drink, but I don't want to carry it.  So I may just go with gels and the on course water and Gatorade.  Ugh!  My saving grace is that I finally got back into hydration-less runs on this training cycle.  I know I can go 6-7 miles at goal pace before I start needing nutrition, so if anything, I may just space things out a bit more than usual.

If only I had some minions

I could stash at certain checkpoints

with my choice nutrition!!

Weather - check!
There is a 100% of weather.  Hooray!  At this point, Saturday looks clear with a 49-65 degree day (awesome!!) and Sunday looks like 30% chance of rain with a 51-61 degree day.  Overall, those look like nearly perfect conditions!!  Hopefully it doesn't change much.

Outfit - Eh!
Due to my earlier... well, issues, I tried a different outfit for the recent Hogsback Half Marathon and that didn't work either.  In the end, I think I'm going to go with the running standby; my black running shorts and a hat.  I may use the arm sleeves, but I'm unsure.  My only concern is how I want to carry my gels.  I had hoped the tri shorts would work so I could stash them in the pockets.  I might just have to use the race belt as before.  I just always end up with wear spots on my skin since I insist on going shirtless.  

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Questions
1.  What is your taper training like?
Do you scale down your training to smaller workouts or do you have specific workouts that you like to switch to?

2.  Have you ever had you ankle somewhat lose propioception (feel) on you during a run?

3.  What is the perfect weather to run in?


DREAM.  BELIEVE.  ACHIEVE. 

My Marathon Training Program for Marathon #4

This year has been unique if not viably considered "Crazy."  Most of my training periods and schedules have overlapped and my marathon schedule is no different.  I thought I'd share the construction of this year's marathon program in order to be held accountable.

If it works, this is where I'll refer to with my

"Ha-HA.  I was right!"

If it doesn't, this is where I'll return to try and re-evaluate.

After recovering from Ironman Lake Placid, I gave myself a solid 8 weeks of training for the Hartford Marathon.  My ultimate goal is to attempt the BQ.

Current Marathon PR - 3:18:17

Boston Qualifying Standard - 3:05:00

Yeah, it's a tall order!  And I may not make it (I've accepted that), but I wanted to give it a shot.  Before you think "Man, this guy is crazy and due for an injury!," as a little background, I had trained for a 3:30 prior to hitting my current PR.  The day before that race, I also ran a comfortable 1:44 half mary, so I was obviously ready for a faster time!  Therefore, I see no reason to not give the BQ a try. 

So here's the info I had going into my training plan construction.

• I did an Ironman (including a marathon) in late July; I have plenty of base without injury.
• I have 8 weeks until race day.
• In February, I ran a 3:18 having trained for a 3:30.  Therefore, I am capable of a faster time.

I constructed the schedule based on 4-5 runs a week...

1. Long Run - A slower run based on making sure my body is still used to the distance & time
2. Tempo Run - Increasing distances to adapt my body to the pace and metabolic demands while training myself mentally to push.
3. Track Speed - Training my legs to turn over at a faster rate.
4. Track Fun - A fun group track workout to mix things up and keep motivation up; speed and distance will be based on how I feel that day.
5. Recovery Run - Short runs meant for recovering from harder workouts throughout the week; 1-2 times/week. 

Here's the basic schedule...

• Monday is my Tempo Run
• Tuesday is my Track Speed
• Thursday is my Track Fun
• Saturday is my Long Run
• REST days are up for recovery runs if desired.
• Three weeks out, I have a 70.3 to race, so that'll be a test run of my pace at the half distance.

RACE DAY PLAN: Attach myself to the 3:05 pacer and hold on as long as I can.  

If two miles in, I feel like I'm going to crash and burn, I'd prefer to keep pushing and see how far I can push the pace.  This will be the first of my back-to-back marathons, but if I had to choose, I'd prefer to be happy with this race alone than to settle for being happy about the double completion.  


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Questions
1.  What is one PR of yours that you know you can beat?  What time do you think you can achieve?
I think a 3:05 marathon is going to be tough, but is within reach.  I also think a low 1:20s half is within reach (current PR is 1:27:xx)

2.   How crazy do you think I am??  
I'm shooting for a BQ at Hartford, driving out to run the Newport Marathon the very next day, and have the JFK 50 ultra 6 weeks later.  Anyone taking bets on the outcome?  I might want in on the action.


DREAM.  BELIEVE.  ACHIEVE. 

Boston Marathon Coverage & Ongoing Updates

Looking for where to watch the Boston Marathon or keep track of the stats?

BAA.org is the official Boston Marathon website.  You can find each runner's 5k split there.

Source

That site also lists all the following information...

Television
- Boston's WBZ-TV (channel 4) is the only local channel covering the Boston Marathon.
- The Universal Sports Channel will broadcast the coverage nationally.

Online
- CBSboston.com will broadcast the WBZ-TV coverage online, but is only available in the New England area.
- www.universalsports.com will broadcast their coverage online for a fee of $4.99.

Radio
- I am currently listening to WBZ Radio via the CBSboston.com website and have been since 6am (Yes, I was up at 6am)



10am: I am at a friend's watching the Universal Sports coverage on the TV and CBSBoston.com coverage online. 

Source

If you want to keep up with your favorite runner's times, check BAA.org.  I will attempt to update the 5k splits for Mel, James, 

Running Bloggers

Mel @ Tall Mom On The Run.  Race Bib # - 14576
5k - 26:02 (8:24 pace)
10k -51:56 (8:23 pace)
15k - 1:18:26 (8:26 pace)
20k - 1:47:24 (8:40 pace)
Half - 1:53:28 (8:40 pace)
25k - 2:16:19 (8:48 pace)
30k - 2:46:46 (8:58 pace)
35k - 3:18:18 (9:08 pace)
40k - 3:48:30 (9:13 pace)
Finish - 4:01:26 (9:13 pace)

James Daniel @ PowerMultisport.  Race Bib # - 4148
5k - 22:50 (7:22 pace)
10k - 45:29 (7:20 pace)
15k - 1:08:26 (7:22 pace)
20k - 1:32:51 (7:29 pace)
Half - 1:38:24 (7:31 pace)
25k - 1:58:18 (7:38 pace)
30k - 2:24:50 (7:47 pace)
35k - 2:53:13 (7:59 pace)
40k -3:20:42
Finish - 3:32:29 (8:07 pace)

Tom (Ali @ See Ali Eat...See Ali Run 's "manfriend")  Race Bib # - 4355
5k - 21:58 (7:05 pace)
10k - 43:06 (6:57 pace)
15k - 1:03:58 (6:53 pace)
20k - 1:24:39
Half - 1:29:08 (6:48 pace)
25k - 1:45:21 (6:48 pace)
30k - 2:06:52 (6:49 pace)
35k - 2:29:00 (6:52 pace)
40k - 2:51:42 (6:55 pace)
Finish - 3:02:13 (6:57 pace)


Congrats to EVERYONE who raced!!

Question

1.  Are you watching, listening, or checking in on the marathon today?

Stay fit.  Stay healthy. 

Thursday Good Luck

Every Saturday you read my list of "Congratulations," the list of the last week's accomplishments.  As much as I know we like reading the race reports, I've always felt bad that the timing and setup forces me to give a post-race "Congratulations" instead of pre-race "Good Luck."  I haven't figured out a way to remedy that situation, but today I am going to make use of an alternative method.

Today I am wishing everyone "Good Luck!"

We have some bloggers with rather big races this weekend, so I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge them, wish them "Good Luck," and give you guys some time to head over and check them out before the race (maybe send them your own "good luck").


Here are this weekend's racers...

1.  The first on the list is Jess @ Run With Jess.  Jess is running the Oshkosh Half Marathon in Wisconsin this Saturday.  The weather doesn't look optimal, but she recruited a pacer for a goal of sub-2 hour.  Best of luck to her and maybe some sun will float her way!  Check her pre-race send off out HERE. 

2.  Colleen @ IRONDIVA is racing the Glass City Half Marathon on Sunday in Toledo, Ohio.  She may not be shooting for a PR, but every race is fun and she gets to meet some other bloggers!  Wish her luck HERE. 

3.  Tonia @ Racing With Babes is racing the Dismal Swamp Stomp Half Marathon in Chesapeake, VA and is in high gear for a PR this Saturday; sub-1:55.  I have no doubt she'll be able to crush it!  Check her out HERE. 

4.  See Mom Run Far is running the Salt Lake City Marathon this Saturday.  She is shooting for sub-4 hours, so best of luck to her!  Check out her pre-race excitement HERE.  

Now it's time for one of my favorite races of the year...

The Boston Marathon!  

For those who don't know, I got my Bachelors from Boston University and I lived right on the marathon course as it comes into Kenmore Square around mile 24.  For four years, I'd have school off on Marathon Monday and get to watch TONS of athletes run through the city.  It was an incredibly awe inspiring experience every year and I certainly have Boston in my sites for the future. 

I'm including the Race Bib #'s for each of our blogger Boston runners, so feel free to follow them online.  The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) will broadcast every 5k split to their website HERE.  The feature is not currently up, but the B.A.A. says "The 'face' of the Boston Marathon website will change on race day and the process on how to enter the search will be clear."

So without further ado, here are a few bloggers you will find running through the streets of Boston on Marathon Monday!


4.  Mel @ Tall Mom On The Run.  Race Bib # - 14576
Mel went through a lot of her own personal trials simply in deciding whether or not to sign up to run Boston this year.  Get that!; she qualified and then questioned entering.  haha  After some encouragement and tons of support, she entered and is beyond ready to rock Bean Town.  So Mel, I wish you the best of luck!  I wish you a beyond happy 26.2 miles in my previous home town.  Your dad would be beyond proud of everything you've done and as only one of your many blog stalkers, I hope our support and encouragement has been able to fill a portion of his shoes.  This monday is YOUR day!  Rock it Girl!!  Check out how Mel found herself where she's at HERE. 

5.  James Daniel @ PowerMultisport.  Race Bib # - 4148
I wish I had a story to tell on how James got to running Boston.  All I know is he kicked butt, hit the qualifying time and will be on Bean Town turf this weekend.  He certainly has been taking a less popular training path with maintaining his volume, a method I'm very curios about myself.  I can't wait to see how he does with it.  I'm sure he'll stroll onto Boylston Street with either plenty of juice left or one amazing time!  Check James out HERE. 

6.  Ali @ See Ali Eat...See Ali Run has a "manfriend" Tom who is running.  Race Bib # - 4355
I know even LESS about Tom aside from his association with Ali.  So I'll just leave it at "best of luck Tom."  Ali, you'll have to get him to write a guest blog race report!  Check out Ali's post about their vacation for Tom's run HERE. 

Follow your favorite Boston runners on Race Day (Monday, April 18th, 2011) HERE.

For anyone who has not seen a Boston Marathon, this is the final 0.25 miles of the 2008 marathon on Boylston Street leading straight to the finish line.

The crowds at the finish are CRAZY!  And among that mass of the 2008 Boston Marathon finishers was this guy... (sorry I don't have more of a clip, he caught me very much by surprise).

That's right, a pink shirt, pink shoes, a tootoo, and a pink, sparkly, star wand.  Anyone care to show him up?

** If you are racing this weekend and I didn't mention you, 

please let me know and I will add you to the list.  **

Stay fit.  Stay healthy.