Well I’ve committed myself to racing back to back weekends (half and full). There are 4 days until the Disney Half and overall I feel pretty good. It looks like the weather will cooperate this year with the temps staying it the 50’s during the race. I just need to make sure I don’t push it too hard this weekend.
My plan is to keep a 7:30 pace until mile 7 or 8 and if I’m feeling good then pick it up a little. I think I can set a PR (1:37) without going all out but I will be satisfied with anything under 1:40. My primary goal is still to break 3:30 in Phoenix so if that means to ease up on the half then that’s what I’ll do.
I’m really excited about this challenge. If I can make it through these 2 races in good shape I will definitely entertain the idea of running marathons on back to back weekends (although no PR attempts).
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Marathon Maniac
Am I a marathon maniac? Maybe not yet but I’m working on it.
http://www.marathonmaniacs.com/areyouamarathonmaniac.html
I feel I have an addiction to racing. I hate the thought of having to wait 1-2 months for the next race. I have my race calendar set for the next 2 years and I keep looking at MarathonGuide.com to see if I can fit in another race somewhere.
I’m a little concerned that I might be overdoing it a little but then I see people like the maniacs and I feel like a wimp (I only raced in 3 marathons this year). I don’t have the desire (or the money) to race every weekend like some of these people but since I’ve achieved my BQ goal I need new challenges. I’m in the middle of 3 marathons in 14 weeks but unfortunately that just misses qualifying me to be a maniac. I have to run 3 in 90 days. My 2009 schedule will get me closer 3 in 91 days. So I might have to put that off for another year to 2.
For 2009 I want to run at least 5 marathons and try bunching races closer together to see how I can handle it. I want to error on the cautious side (well maniac cautious) and not do too much too fast. My first test might come in January. I entered the Disney half early this year. Later this summer I decided to run the Rock’nRoll Arizona marathon instead which is a week later. I’m now entertaining the thought of running both. The temps on Disney weekend have ranged from 30 to 80 so I’ll let the weather decide my fate. If it’s below 45 I’ll run Disney. We have had a pretty cold fall this year so there is a pretty good chance it will be cold on Jan 10. If I end up running both and do well then ’ll feel better about running marathons 4 or even 3 weeks apart instead of 6-8 weeks now.
http://www.marathonmaniacs.com/areyouamarathonmaniac.html
I feel I have an addiction to racing. I hate the thought of having to wait 1-2 months for the next race. I have my race calendar set for the next 2 years and I keep looking at MarathonGuide.com to see if I can fit in another race somewhere.
I’m a little concerned that I might be overdoing it a little but then I see people like the maniacs and I feel like a wimp (I only raced in 3 marathons this year). I don’t have the desire (or the money) to race every weekend like some of these people but since I’ve achieved my BQ goal I need new challenges. I’m in the middle of 3 marathons in 14 weeks but unfortunately that just misses qualifying me to be a maniac. I have to run 3 in 90 days. My 2009 schedule will get me closer 3 in 91 days. So I might have to put that off for another year to 2.
For 2009 I want to run at least 5 marathons and try bunching races closer together to see how I can handle it. I want to error on the cautious side (well maniac cautious) and not do too much too fast. My first test might come in January. I entered the Disney half early this year. Later this summer I decided to run the Rock’nRoll Arizona marathon instead which is a week later. I’m now entertaining the thought of running both. The temps on Disney weekend have ranged from 30 to 80 so I’ll let the weather decide my fate. If it’s below 45 I’ll run Disney. We have had a pretty cold fall this year so there is a pretty good chance it will be cold on Jan 10. If I end up running both and do well then ’ll feel better about running marathons 4 or even 3 weeks apart instead of 6-8 weeks now.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Philadelphia Marathon
Time: 3:30:20
Overall 1233 out of 7261
I FINALLY GOT MY BQ!!!!!
I wanted cooler temperatures and I finally got it. The starting temperature was 26 with the finish somewhere around 32. I was a little concerned that the sub freezing temps may be a little too cold but once the race started it felt pretty good.
For the number of runners (16000 for both half and full) the start was very smooth. There were a few crowded sections especially at the water stations but nothing that slowed me down. Overall the course had a great layout. It had a nice combination of urban and parks. There were a few more hills than I thought there would be but I didn’t struggle with any of them.
My plan was to hang with the 3:30 pace group and then, depending on what I had left, move ahead in the last few miles. An early pit stop and crowded water stops put me behind about 2 minutes but by mile 10 I was running with the group. In the second half I found myself falling behind a little but I did a good job of pulling within 30 seconds every time I fell back.
I felt good up until the 21-22 mile mark when I started to doubt myself. If it wasn’t for the BQ goal I probably would have let up a little but I kept focusing on the balloons (held by the pacer) and thinking Boston, Boston, Boston. Once I passed the 24 mile mark I knew that I had it. I just wanted to stay within 30 seconds of the pacer then give all that I had the last 1.2 to pass him. At 25.5 I had nothing left but knew that I was only 5-6 minutes away. There were some tight curves at the end and I lost sight of the balloons, which was all that I was looking at for the last mile, but I just focused straight ahead and kept repeating Boston, Boston, Boston.
My hands were so frozen it took me three times to stop my watch. Even with that delay, I had my time at 3:30:19 so I figured it was something like 3:30:14. It really didn’t matter much though, it was below 3:30:59 and I was a Boston Qualifier.
http://results.active.com/pages/searchform.jsp?rsID=73341
Overall 1233 out of 7261
I FINALLY GOT MY BQ!!!!!
I wanted cooler temperatures and I finally got it. The starting temperature was 26 with the finish somewhere around 32. I was a little concerned that the sub freezing temps may be a little too cold but once the race started it felt pretty good.
For the number of runners (16000 for both half and full) the start was very smooth. There were a few crowded sections especially at the water stations but nothing that slowed me down. Overall the course had a great layout. It had a nice combination of urban and parks. There were a few more hills than I thought there would be but I didn’t struggle with any of them.
My plan was to hang with the 3:30 pace group and then, depending on what I had left, move ahead in the last few miles. An early pit stop and crowded water stops put me behind about 2 minutes but by mile 10 I was running with the group. In the second half I found myself falling behind a little but I did a good job of pulling within 30 seconds every time I fell back.
I felt good up until the 21-22 mile mark when I started to doubt myself. If it wasn’t for the BQ goal I probably would have let up a little but I kept focusing on the balloons (held by the pacer) and thinking Boston, Boston, Boston. Once I passed the 24 mile mark I knew that I had it. I just wanted to stay within 30 seconds of the pacer then give all that I had the last 1.2 to pass him. At 25.5 I had nothing left but knew that I was only 5-6 minutes away. There were some tight curves at the end and I lost sight of the balloons, which was all that I was looking at for the last mile, but I just focused straight ahead and kept repeating Boston, Boston, Boston.
My hands were so frozen it took me three times to stop my watch. Even with that delay, I had my time at 3:30:19 so I figured it was something like 3:30:14. It really didn’t matter much though, it was below 3:30:59 and I was a Boston Qualifier.
http://results.active.com/pages/searchform.jsp?rsID=73341
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Chicago Marathon
Time: 3:53:25
Overall: 5097 out of 31000+
Another HOT marathon. I don't have any luck. Chicago had near record heat for a second straight year. Two days before or after would have been great weather to run in. Oh well, I still had a great time. This was my first "Big City" marathon that I should have done a long time ago but it was well worth the wait.
The course layout was great and the crowds were incredible. It was like taking the top spectator areas at Disney and stretching them over 60% of the course. There wasn't a spot on the course where there wasn't someone cheering you on.
Even though it was going to be a warm one, I still kept to my plan to run hard. I had a great pace for the first 15k (1:11:34) but the heat started catching up with me shortly after that. When the 3:30 pace group finally passed me by at mile 16 I knew it was over. I backed off my pace and even added in a little walking but by mile 22 I had nothing left.
Two days later I feel fine and ready to get back to training for Philadelphia.
Overall: 5097 out of 31000+
Another HOT marathon. I don't have any luck. Chicago had near record heat for a second straight year. Two days before or after would have been great weather to run in. Oh well, I still had a great time. This was my first "Big City" marathon that I should have done a long time ago but it was well worth the wait.
The course layout was great and the crowds were incredible. It was like taking the top spectator areas at Disney and stretching them over 60% of the course. There wasn't a spot on the course where there wasn't someone cheering you on.
Even though it was going to be a warm one, I still kept to my plan to run hard. I had a great pace for the first 15k (1:11:34) but the heat started catching up with me shortly after that. When the 3:30 pace group finally passed me by at mile 16 I knew it was over. I backed off my pace and even added in a little walking but by mile 22 I had nothing left.
Two days later I feel fine and ready to get back to training for Philadelphia.
Monday, June 23, 2008
16 weeks until Chicago
16 weeks until the Chicago Marathon. According to my running log, today I officially start my marathon training. In reality I’ve been doing it since my last one in January. Over the last few months my weekly average has been in the high 40’s with five weeks over 50 and two of those over 60. In contrast, my weekly average prior to my last marathon was in the mid to high 30’s and only two weeks were over 40. My upcoming schedule has weekly average in the high 50’s with my high weeks topping out in the mid 60’s. I know that I will run more miles than I’m scheduled to run but I’m not sure how much higher I will (or should) go. For now I’ll try to make an effort to keep it under 65 and see how things go.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Spring into Summer 5k
Time: 19:53
Overall: 21 out of 297
Age Group: 1 out of 9
race results
Another hot and humid Spring into Summer race. I’m not sure what the temp was this morning but it was very muggy. I learned my lesson from previous races and drank lots of water before the start. I also let up a little on my training runs this week which helped a lot also.
This is a well run race on a great course. I love running in Al Lopez Park and it was nice to run a race with a strong field. They didn’t have a clock at the finish line but did a really good job of reading the clock time as runners were approaching the finish line.
My goal this year (5k season) was to break 20 minutes. I have now done that is 3 of my last 4 races. Too bad this will be my last for a while but now it’s time to focus on of number one goal of qualifying for Boston.
Overall: 21 out of 297
Age Group: 1 out of 9
race results
Another hot and humid Spring into Summer race. I’m not sure what the temp was this morning but it was very muggy. I learned my lesson from previous races and drank lots of water before the start. I also let up a little on my training runs this week which helped a lot also.
This is a well run race on a great course. I love running in Al Lopez Park and it was nice to run a race with a strong field. They didn’t have a clock at the finish line but did a really good job of reading the clock time as runners were approaching the finish line.
My goal this year (5k season) was to break 20 minutes. I have now done that is 3 of my last 4 races. Too bad this will be my last for a while but now it’s time to focus on of number one goal of qualifying for Boston.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Seminole Stampede 5k
Time: 19:47
Overall: 6 out of 100
Age Group: 1 out of 9
race results
I finally (officially) broke the 20 minute barrier. This is one of my favorite courses so I couldn’t have happened at a better place. My first mile was 5:58 which was my fastest first split. I knew I was running fast (for me) but I didn’t feel that I was pressing too hard. For the 2nd mile I tried to back off a little and was aiming for a 6:30 mile which I missed by 2 seconds. My second split was 12:30. I tried keep the 3rd mile at the same pace and ended up with a 3rd split of 19:05.
I replaced some of my longer runs this week with intervals and I think that really helped. I have two more 5ks in the next few weeks and I plan on using the same training strategy. If the weather cooperates I think I could finish under 19:30.
As for the race, it seemed a little disorganized this year. Apparently the person entering the runner info into the computer missed a lot of data because there were about 15-20 runners (including me) that were missing from the preliminary results. During the awards, the person reading the results didn’t have a clue. He was probably given the results pages out of order but he should have known that you hand out the overall awards first and then work up each age group. This guy starts at men 30-34 and then fits in the overall before the 50-54 age group. I didn’t want to watch the train wreck so after the overall got his award I took off.
Since this is my favorite 5k course I’ll be back next year.
Overall: 6 out of 100
Age Group: 1 out of 9
race results
I finally (officially) broke the 20 minute barrier. This is one of my favorite courses so I couldn’t have happened at a better place. My first mile was 5:58 which was my fastest first split. I knew I was running fast (for me) but I didn’t feel that I was pressing too hard. For the 2nd mile I tried to back off a little and was aiming for a 6:30 mile which I missed by 2 seconds. My second split was 12:30. I tried keep the 3rd mile at the same pace and ended up with a 3rd split of 19:05.
I replaced some of my longer runs this week with intervals and I think that really helped. I have two more 5ks in the next few weeks and I plan on using the same training strategy. If the weather cooperates I think I could finish under 19:30.
As for the race, it seemed a little disorganized this year. Apparently the person entering the runner info into the computer missed a lot of data because there were about 15-20 runners (including me) that were missing from the preliminary results. During the awards, the person reading the results didn’t have a clue. He was probably given the results pages out of order but he should have known that you hand out the overall awards first and then work up each age group. This guy starts at men 30-34 and then fits in the overall before the 50-54 age group. I didn’t want to watch the train wreck so after the overall got his award I took off.
Since this is my favorite 5k course I’ll be back next year.
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