well. it's over. after 3:26:53 of running i crossed the finish line in 48th place [15th male] in front of ~4900 other runners @ the [nike womon's marathon] in san francisco. yes, marathons should be more about running your own race [unless you're an elite], but given how far off my marathon PR time of 3:07:53, and my eventual target of sub 3:00:00, i'm relatively pleased with the results- especially given the sprinkling of a few brutal hills throughout the course.
next up is the seattle marathon. i'm a bit worried about the training because of how long it's taking me to recover from the beating my legs took flying down the hills. i managed to get back into my training after 2 days of rest, but am a little worried about my 21-miler this next weekend. i started brainstorming excuses to justify skipping it a few miles into my 15-mile run yesterday, the biggest one being that it feels like i'm developing shin splints, but... i just know i won't feel right about going into seattle with so much down time [6 weeks] between a 20+ mile run.
ideally, with the 5 weekends between marathons the long run mileage ramp i plan on following is 10>15>20 [or 21]>15>10> the marathon. i suppose i can always ease back a bit on the mileage over the next few days, in hopes that that will be enough, but we'll see...
erg. marathon training is quite a complex beast.
... patenaude
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
a nice little push...
so! i finally got it under my belt- the grand 21-miler. i usually like to get at least 2 in while training for a marathon, but because i procrastinated a bit too long, i was only able to fit one into my schedule- barely! [i actually miscalculated my schedule and have only left 2 weeks of tapering- thankfully i'm not planning on a PR this time].
the run went better than expected, despite a garmin malfunction scare at the start. after it finally beeped on, i took off on the burke gilman trail from log boom park on the north end of lake washington. shooting for a sub 8-minute mile pace somewhere between 7:50- 8:00, i was doing fine at the 10.5 mile turnaround [right past husky stadium], and figured i'd be right on the mark.
@ mile 13 or so i spotted a runner doing a 7:20 or but resisted the urge to catch up, fearing that it'd throw me too far off pace. then! outta nowhere, an old dude [looked to be about 55, balding with gray hair] flew passed me @ ~7:00 pace- wtf!? i try to stay conservative on my long runs, but i just couldn't let him out of range- i figured he was doing a shorter run [no hydration], but still- he's old! so... i followed him for a few miles @ ~7:15 pace, before he turned off [hah!], and realized he'd basically towed me to within range of the first guy. with 6 miles left, i decided to pass him, hoping to hold on until the end, wondering if i'd be able to maintain the pace. after a mile or so, i'd gained ~10th of a mile on him, but after a couple more i looked back and was shocked to see him within 10 ft.. i'm boring even myself, so i'll just finish it with- yep- i maintained the pace, and even finished with a 6:50 last mile lengthening my lead [again- i love racing people that don't know we're racing;)] to 1/8th of a mile. i shouted some thanks as he passed, and then proceeded to vomit for a few minutes while the on-lookers in the park witnessed a show i'm sure they'd rather not have.
so the jist is... it sure is nice being pushed a little every once in a while, into accomplishing something [7:36 min. pace over 21 miles] you'd forgotten you had in ya:)
all just in time for the marathon in 2 short weeks!
... patenaude
the run went better than expected, despite a garmin malfunction scare at the start. after it finally beeped on, i took off on the burke gilman trail from log boom park on the north end of lake washington. shooting for a sub 8-minute mile pace somewhere between 7:50- 8:00, i was doing fine at the 10.5 mile turnaround [right past husky stadium], and figured i'd be right on the mark.
@ mile 13 or so i spotted a runner doing a 7:20 or but resisted the urge to catch up, fearing that it'd throw me too far off pace. then! outta nowhere, an old dude [looked to be about 55, balding with gray hair] flew passed me @ ~7:00 pace- wtf!? i try to stay conservative on my long runs, but i just couldn't let him out of range- i figured he was doing a shorter run [no hydration], but still- he's old! so... i followed him for a few miles @ ~7:15 pace, before he turned off [hah!], and realized he'd basically towed me to within range of the first guy. with 6 miles left, i decided to pass him, hoping to hold on until the end, wondering if i'd be able to maintain the pace. after a mile or so, i'd gained ~10th of a mile on him, but after a couple more i looked back and was shocked to see him within 10 ft.. i'm boring even myself, so i'll just finish it with- yep- i maintained the pace, and even finished with a 6:50 last mile lengthening my lead [again- i love racing people that don't know we're racing;)] to 1/8th of a mile. i shouted some thanks as he passed, and then proceeded to vomit for a few minutes while the on-lookers in the park witnessed a show i'm sure they'd rather not have.
so the jist is... it sure is nice being pushed a little every once in a while, into accomplishing something [7:36 min. pace over 21 miles] you'd forgotten you had in ya:)
all just in time for the marathon in 2 short weeks!
... patenaude
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