RocknRoll AZ Marathon

Time: 3:49:27
Overall: 1392 out of 6411

I think that my race at Disney last week made me a little over confident in Phoenix. I started the race feeling that 3:30 was a given and went out way too hard for the conditions. The temp was great in the morning (50) but an hour into the race it was heating up fast. If I had set out at a 3:40 pace I might have been ok but at a sub 3:30 pace I was starting to hurt by mile 14 and shortly after that I decided to pull back and just finish. That turned out to be harder than expected as by mile 20 I had nothing left and ended up walk/run the rest of the way. Unless temps are in the 40’s (or below) for the entire race I should just plan on 3:40 every time because more than anything else I hate having to walk in a race.

Overall I really enjoyed the experience. I was great having Mom, Kathy, Joellen, Rachel & Stephanie at the finish. The race was well organized and I’m really looking forward to their (Elite's) San Diego race in May.

My plan for Boston should be to run at a 3:40-45 pace (depending on the weather). The last thing I want to do is have to walk any of the Boston Marathon.

Side note: If I plan on running with my Garmin then I should leave it charging all night. This is the second marathon since I bought it that I have done something stupid and not been able to use it.

Disney Half Marathon

Time: 1:36:25
Overall: 224 out of 12434

My plan was to keep my pace around 7:30 ( 1:38:15) but most of all I didn’t want to push too hard since I have a marathon next week. It was dark until mile 8 so I could only go by the clocks at the mile markers to determine my pace. For the first 7 miles I was running between 7 and 7:15 (one mile might have been a little under 7). From mile 7-12 I stayed on my 7:30 pace (almost to the second). When I realized that I had a chance to break 1:37 I ran a little harder at the end but still didn’t go all out.

This is a good indication on how far I have come in the last 11 months (since my last half). I ran a relaxed pace and still beat my PR by almost 1 minute. If the weather is like this for the Gasparilla half I think I have a good shot at keeping a 7 minute pace.

Overall the race was great. The start temp was 50 with calm winds. The 5:50 am start wasn’t too bad although they could have probably kept it at 6am for the half. I’m glad I decided to run the race and it shouldn’t have a negative effect on next week (although I will have to wait until Sunday to really know). Even if I’m still feeling the effects next week it was a good decision. I love running at Disney and will most likely run the half or full every year.



http://results.active.com/pages/page.jsp?eventLinkageID=17218

4 days until Disney Half

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).

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.

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

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.

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.