Shoes

I cranked out my last 12-mile training run before my marathon earlier this morning. A late night and a lot of fun the night before meant that this run did not go well.

I had to be at the store early, so I hit the road about 6:20 am for what projected to be a 1:50 run. And in terms of total running time, that was pretty close. I headed out the door just as the darkness of night started to break. Temperatures stayed in the mid-30s, and I had tights and wind pants below, with long sleeves and running hoodie up above. The other runners I saw (and there were many) seemed to have fewer layers than me. I just can't stand the thought of being too cold out there, even though the thought is to pretend it's 10 degrees warmer than it is. I also was armed with 32 ounces of Gatorade as I left the house.

Anyhow, There were several stops along the way, including a bathroom stop and the expected Gatorade stop at the halfway point. There were also a few stops on the way back due to some (recurring) foot pain on the ball of my right foot. This pain makes it difficult to stop and change directions, and generally makes running more of a chore than it usually is.

I think I have it pinned to my Pearl Izumi shoes. I ran last week's 20-miler in them and thought I could crank out the marathon in them. Now I'm not so sure. I ran some earlier long runs in my Adrenaline GTS 12 kicks, but my feet hurt running in them. I may try some inserts in the 12s, since the other options involve two pairs of elderly (400+ miles on each) shoes-- Adrenaline GTS 11 and Saucony Guide 2.

So there are some decisions to make on shoes. More questions than answers at this stage.

And in spite of how the run actually went, I did run 12 miles and did a terrific thing for my health. I did a decent job of holding an 8:30 pace for nine of the 12.

32 miles for the week, and the taper continues next week, with 25 miles on the schedule.

Tapering

I'm nearly a week into the taper and I guess I can't really tell yet. Well OK, maybe a little bit. the weekday six and five-milers are fours this week and will be three-mile runs next week. Midweek featured an eight-mile tempo run. So a slight change in terms of mileage, but not so much in terms of getting out of bed, getting the proper dose of coffee and on the road.

Tomorrow is a 12-mile run, which will make 32 for the week. I am far enough along in training to compare runs now to what I did a few months ago. I look moreso at heart rate, which is lower for the same effort now as compared to before. So my fitness is improving.

I am also starting to actually ponder the marathon a little bit. I can do the 20 miles, I've proven that to myself. But the old adage of how the race starts at mile 20 is what I think about. Having come (hopefully) so far and still having what seems like a long way to go. How will I fuel along the way? What will I have left? Will my legs still be attached? Will I be able to make it?

I've done the work, no question, but these are very real questions. And the race is just over two weeks away.

Last 20 Miler

I completed my last 20-mile long run today in preparation for the marathon next month.

I got up about 6:30, hoping to get an early start, but rain and thundershowers moved through the area and pushed the start back to a little after 10 am. The air was still moist and warm, and necessitated shirt sleeves and shorts for a January long run in Alabama. Shoes of choice were my Pearl Izumi IsoShifts, since my feet have been killing me on long runs in my other dogs.

I started around the neighborhood for the first five miles, and did a quick pit stop to grab my water bottle (filled with sports drink), since part of the plan was to make fewer stops and do a better job of keeping on moving. I also planned to keep tempo below 8:45 for ten miles, and by and large it worked.

Typically I'd head toward the University of Alabama campus, but they were celebrating national championship #14, so I avoided traffic as I traced and retraced many of the paths I've already pounded. I took a few hits on my sports drink as I needed, and stopped once during mile 13 to get more sports drink. This went very well, since killing a 20-ounce bottle will make you pee. Not a concern for me this time around, as it had been in the past.

I let off the (8:45) gas with four miles to go for the cooldown and finished my 20 miles in 3:06. I felt tired and a little sore, but I felt much, much better after this run than I did after my previous 20-miler. In addition, my feet didn't hurt as before.

I am very pleased about this run and learned a lot about planning. I feel a lot more prepared for my big race. The taper officially begins now, as after completing a 43-mile week, the next two weeks are 32 and 25.

Three weeks 'til race day.

Intervals

Midweek runs typically feature tempo runs. Today, though, was interval day.

There were some things going on at the house, so I took off at 3:45 pm. It was different looking in the opposite direction for traffic, since it's headed toward work during my morning runs. And my fuel was an issue, since I thought I could rely on lunch to get me through. It did, but barely.

I ran nine miles, with 12 2:00 intervals at 7:45 pace, with a minute rest in between. I didn't really pay attention to the 7:45 pace-- I just ramped it up into the sevens when I needed to and held it throughout. Three miles were warmup and two miles on the back end to cool down.

I've learned that I can head north from the house and run good mileage in the neighborhood, as opposed to heading south toward the trail as was my custom. It's always nice to see what else is out there.

So now the hay is just about in the barn. I have an easy five-mile recovery effort set for tomorrow, then my last 20-miler Saturday before the taper begins. It's hard to believe, but this marathon is right around the corner.

1060

I've been looking at my running totals and achievements from 2011, and it's been the greatest year of running in my life. I ran consistently, more and harder, set 5K and 5 mile PRs, and signed up to run the Mercedes-Benz Marathon in February.

The last quarter of the year included the three highest monthly mileage totals-- 106 in October, 125 in November and 186 in December, to conclude 2011 with 1060 miles run. This is the first time I've bothered to count, but I'm certain I've never run more miles in any of the years I've laced up my shoes. Now I'm looking at mileage goals for 2012. Might aim for 1061 or 1200. We'll see.

On to marathon news...

Since I ran long on Wednesday, I did my tempo run this morning-- nine miles with seven at 8:15 pace. I wasn't certain how this would go, but it went really well. After the warmup mile, I hit 8:52 and 8:30 on my way down the ladder, eventually settling down to where only one split was over 8:10. Felt like a great run. And my average heart rate was down to 153 from 155 on the two most recent tempo runs-- so my fitness is improving even more.

The week ahead is the last big week before the marathon taper. The agenda shows 44 miles, the same interval run is scheduled for Wednesday, and the last 20 miler is on Saturday. It'll get here eventually and I'll bang it out, but I hope it goes better than the last one.

20

The wife and I are home from our trip across Texas. We saw our Kansas State Wildcats play Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl, and flew to El Paso to see my parents and commemorate their 50th anniversary. Ann caught an ear infection our first day in Dallas/Fort Worth, so we had to taper things just a touch, but we still had a great time.

Keeping up with my runs is always a challenge while on vacay, and this was no exception. I set and met a goal of running four times-- 20 miles total.

Base camp in D/FW was across highway 360 from Cowboys Stadium, where the workout area was large in terms of size, but lacking in terms of actual equipment. It seemed like a place that mattered about 15 years ago. Now it resembles a dungeon. Running outdoors was not really an option, since we were right on a highway in a construction zone. The hotel did have functioning treadmills, so things worked out. My first run was a seven-miler, holding five miles at 8:15 pace. This run felt great. The only other Metroplex run was a three-miler on the day of the game.

I got the other two runs done in El Paso, my hometown. Two five-milers on a hotel treadmill Sunday and Monday. No heart rate data on any of the runs-- just set things to 6.0 and take off. I even worked in three brief weight sessions, since I was nearby.

And speaking of twenty, I chose to make Wednesday my long run day, since I skipped my 18-miler on Saturday. I started around the neighborhood (about 8:15 am) much as I did two weeks ago, with the first pit stop coming at the house after five miles. Then it was a two-mile warmup toward campus as I worked to hold an 8:15 pace for ten miles. Most half-mile splits were closer to 8:30.

I stopped at the campus rec center at 11.5 miles for more Gatorade. The mistake I made is ignoring my Garmin, since it reset and I had to punch in the distance still to go, thinking I still had ten to go and not 8.5. Big mistake. With three to go, the tempo portion of the run ended and the slogging portion began. It became more and more difficult to move forward, and my legs and feet were both pretty sore. I even took a few walking breaks.

But I got it done, running over 21 miles, since I'm so good at math, ending around noon. Total running time was 3:15. This was the hardest I've ever worked on a run, and the worst I've ever felt afterward. It took a hot shower and three hours before I felt like doing anything, and my legs were sore the whole rest of the day.

As I write this, it's the evening after, and my legs feel a lot better. In visiting with a few of my coworkers, I felt like I was supposed to feel. Reassuring, I know, since there's another 20-miler in a week and a half. But I put another brick in the wall yesterday. Another step toward being ready for February 12.