Sometimes less is more.

There are some of us who run because we like to run and it helps us with our fitness goals. If that sounds like you then I offer kudos for finding something that you like that’s healthy at the same time. I am not one of those people. Yes I like to run and yes it keeps me healthy. I’m probably in the best shape that I’ve ever been in. Still, being in top shape is not my motivation for running. I’m a competitor. Just a couple of days ago a good Twitter friend called me Mr. Crazy Racer Man. Yeah, I’m motivated by racing and a chance to do better than I’ve done before.

My first 5k, November 2013

Maybe better means a faster time, maybe it means more miles than I’ve run before on consecutive days or in a week, or doing something that someone else might think is just plain crazy. I’ve run two races in the same day three times. I’ve run a half and a 10-miler on consecutive days. I completed the Dopey Challenge by running a 5k, 10k, half and marathon in 4 days. I set 19 PRs in 2014, including 9 races in a row because I am competitive. Sounds like everything is good, right? Mostly.

Six medals for completing Dopey!

In 2014 I managed to injure myself twice. Once by breaking in a new pair of shoes with an 18-mile training run (guess you can’t do that) and once by simply trying to do too much. The second time I injured both Achilles tendons as I was going into the busiest part of my race schedule. And I kept racing. I’ll bet you can figure out that I stayed injured for quite a while. I was more willing to take a bad time for several races than I was to sit any of them out. Eventually I sat out a couple of races and missed a lot of training runs so that I could fully recover.

That time on the sidelines was unpleasant not only because I wasn’t running but because I had too much time to think about what I had done, as well as what I hadn’t been able to do. I set some lofty goals and I made the commitment to run fewer races in 2015 and do more training. Races are the fun part, but the training was going to make those races more fun because reaching goals is why I do this.

Since making these decisions in February I have run only 6 races, and three of those were in March, before I could start my training cycle. By comparison, in 2014 I ran 28 races. Three races since April 1st makes it feel like it’s years between races. But I have been able to make a lot of progress as well as learn some things that I need to change in my next training cycle. I’m pretty sure that my BQ goal for this year may need some more time as I have not been able to run with a low enough heart rate to make this seem attainable. On the other hand, the cool weather is almost here and with three marathons on the schedule by mid-January anything is possible.

The start of my medal wall

Either way I’m looking forward to running fewer races this fall/winter but making more of them count. I’m also looking forward to running with no injuries. My first race was a little less than two years ago and I absolutely love to race. I love to improve too, even if it means less racing. Hopefully I will have some shiny new PRs this season, starting with this weekend’s race, the Lighthouse Loop half marathon.

2014 Lighthouse Loop Half Finisher’s Medal

Marathon Training: August

With the departure of August the fall marathon season is just around the corner. For those of us in the Sunshine State there are still a couple of months before any marathons show up on the calendar, which means marathon training is in full swing.

In case you are new to my blog I’ll recap my marathon history, and it’s not pretty. My first marathon was Thanksgiving weekend 2014, approximately 13 months after I started running. I thought I was much better prepared than I actually was and nearly PR’d the first half, reaching the 13.1 split in 1:53. My goal was to beat 4 hours so the pace seemed right. When I crossed the finish in 4:47 (2:54 2nd half) I was beaten, broken, and battered. I then ran another marathon 6 weeks later (with 4 halfs, a 10k, and a 5k in between). I started out slower but found the same basic result (4:50 finish). My third marathon was just two weeks after the second. Any guesses on the result? 4:54 finishing time and by this time there were two Achilles injuries and a completely defeated attitude.

Following the third marathon in 60 days I took a few weeks with little running and canceled a couple of races. I needed time to heal both physically and mentally. I also needed time to regroup and set some new goals. But wait, I hadn’t yet reached my marathon goal of beating 4 hours, or even come close. I set a new goal anyway. Conservative this time? Not a chance. I’m going for a BQ in the same race that I PR’d at 4:47, and I’m going to do it 12 months later (Space Coast Marathon). At my age a BQ time is 3:24:59 or better. I’m looking to make up 1:23 or more in one year. #Crazy

Fast forward to this past June when I started my marathon training. I had recently hired a coach and shared my new goal. She said it would require a great deal of dedication but it could be done. That’s all I needed to hear. I also purchased a gym membership so there would be nothing to get in my way. Strengthening would be a key part of my program and some of my runs would need to be done treadmill style simply because of the heat and humidity of central Florida in the summer. Things have since fallen through with the coach but I’m on a solid training program of my own and feeling good about my progress.

The month of August is where I started stretching the long runs as well as the easy runs, upping the weekly mileage while continuing to do speed work every Tuesday and Thursday, usually at the gym. My previous top mileage month was this past May, with 159 miles but August finished up with 189 miles. I conquered long runs of 14, 16, 18, 15, and 18 with the final 18 being on the treadmill at an average of 8:51 per mile. Marathon goal pace will be 7:49 per mile so I still have a ways to go, but considering the difficulty that I have had just finishing 18 outside this summer, that treadmill run was a huge confidence booster.

I was also able to complete a variety of speed workouts, including progression runs, 800s, ladders, and tempos, meeting or exceeding my goal for each speed test. On August 20th I even stretched a tempo run just long enough to set a 10k PR of 45:35 (my 10k race PR is 49:13). So far things are looking good.

My goals for September are to flirt with 200 miles for the month, achieve my first 50-mile training week and get more comfortable with the 18-20 mile runs outside. I will probably move one of my long runs inside again in September as I try to get a feel for marathon pace for longer distances. I also have one week scheduled with no speed work as a form of a cutback week, but other than that the speed work will continue twice a week. It really is having a tremendous impact.

If you’re on a marathon training program or if you’ve been through one and you have suggestions, please leave a comment. Like I said, I’m doing this on my own so I could be missing some important ideas.

Training recap: March

Wow! Is 2015 really 25% done already? This year is flying by so I think a check on progress and goals is in order. Out of necessity my running mileage is behind schedule. Plain and simple I just ran too many races. I overestimated my ability to recover from longer races and heavy volume. In January I ran 110 miles, but 75 of those miles were during the Dopey Challenge and Celebration Marathon. I only did 8 training runs for the month for 35 miles, and all of them were short, easy runs. In February my Achilles was acting up enough where I canceled two half marathons and a bunch of training. I did manage a 5k and a half marathon at the end of the month, but only 43.75 miles total.

March saw improvement with my Achilles and two more races, both 10-milers, on the first and last Sundays of the month. I managed to get back over 100 miles for the month and got back into some much needed training. I’ve also done a small amount of training on the spin bike (36.5 miles), elliptical (23 miles), and walking (13 miles). Not very much cross-training for three months. I’ve also been slacking on my other fitness intentions: push-ups, squats, and planks. Here’s my actual vs. 2015 goals:

Activity                 Jan-March                2015 goal

Running                  255.13 miles            1600 miles

Bike                         36.54 miles              1000 miles

Elliptical                   23.2 miles                500 miles

Push-ups                     341                         10,000

Squats                         272                         25,000

Planks                    750 minutes              20 minutes

As I said, I’ve been slacking in all of these areas. Some of it is due to the Achilles injury and some of it is the mental state that the injury put me in. This seems really strange to say since I didn’t start running until I was 44, but not being able to run and train really left me feeling like something major was missing from my life.

I have two major running goals this year and it is going to take cross-training and increased fitness to reach them. In the next six months I have only one race scheduled (Echo Half) and I’ll be totally committed to training so that I can reach those goals. Sure, I’d love to run 28 races this year like I did last, but I’d rather have a realistic shot at a BQ time in November. In the past week I have seen two signs that are very encouraging: a PR at last weekend’s 10-mile race and a short sprint where I averaged a 4:42/mile pace at the end of a 4 mile run. Small steps, but progress is being made!

I’m more than willing to check in on anyone who is in need of some accountability to stay on track. I also welcome anyone to check on me.

Week 2 Training Update

My return to training is right on pace with an increase of 10% over last week’s start. I’m not putting up blistering numbers by any means, but this is the first time I’ve run 5 days in back-to-back weeks since the first two weeks in August, 2014. That’s a really long stretch, and it’s all thanks to too many races and the resulting Achilles issues. Considering how many days and miles I missed by trying to accomplish too much, it’s safe to say I’ll be much more aware in the weeks, months, and years to come.

As I said, this week’s sessions were nothing to write home about, just an attempt to get accustomed to certain training practices that I once considered no big deal. I started off the week with a rest day that followed last week’s long run of 8.5 miles. Tuesday was an easy run of 4 miles. On Wednesday I did my first tempo run in months. I had no idea what I’d be able to do, but was pleasantly surprised. After a short warm-up I ran 3 miles at an average of 8:03 per mile and then a cool down mile-plus. I’m hoping I still have faster paces in me, as well as more distance at those paces. We’ll see as I continue to experiment.

Thursday was another 4 easy miles. After a rest day on Friday, I opted for a pair of longer runs for the weekend, with 7 on Saturday and 6 on Sunday. While training for the Dopey Challenge I made a habit of back-to-back long runs as Dopey includes a half and full on consecutive days. No, 7 and 6 mile runs aren’t really long, but I needed a good feel for how tired my legs would be after 10 days of running in two weeks. I think with just the running I would have been fine, but my legs did have some fatigue from 11 hours at Universal Studios on Friday. Maybe not the brightest idea, but your birthday only comes around once a year and that’s where I decided to spend it. Still having trouble comprehending the fact that 46 years have passed me by already, but I feel great.

The upcoming week will only include 4 days of running because I have a 10-mile race at the University of Central Florida on March 29th. I’m very much looking forward to this race. I ran the inaugural race last year and put up a time that still baffles me. I was shooting for 1:35 in my first 10-miler and hoping somehow to finish in 1:30 or under. Somehow I finished in 1:23:10 and it was only my second race over 10k. Honestly, since I’m just getting back into the swing of things, that time may stand as my PR for another year. If I feel good race morning, though, I’m going for it!

So the Storm the Campus 10-miler will be my long run for the week, and I’ll have two shorter easy runs as well. I will also be doing another tempo run, which I’m going to try to  stretch to 3.5, perhaps 4 miles. I’ve also returned to doing planks, push-ups, and squats to round out the training a little. Soon I’ll be adding in some weight training as well. Things are getting serious because I’ll be transitioning from training for a goal half (Echo Half) to training for a BQ time (Space Coast Marathon) in mid-June. I have a lot of improvements to make and there’s no sense in doing it half-assed.

#BQinTraining