Show Me Where It Hurts

Mile 21. My calf muscles have gone into full "taser-mode" spasm. You're looking at it.

For me, this is what suffering looks like. I do not want this to happen again. Had a great stretching session with Sarah Young today; going to write about it later.

Target Pace Training

For my next marathon, I plan to use the same training program with three changes:

1. Lose 10 more pounds. Aim for being 175 lbs on race day.
2. Better physical conditioning. Work out 3x/week with an upper/lower body strength training routine.
3. Do more long runs at marathon goal pace.

Number 3 above is the only real change to the actual training plan. It's no coincidence, I think, that my overall pace in the marathon was equal to the pace I ran my long runs. A great article on active today confirmed this hypothesis. This quote is worth repeating here:

If you're training for a marathon, it's best to integrate your target pace training into your long runs. In the early weeks of training, scatter a few marathon target pace segments lasting a few minutes apiece into one long run every other week. As your long runs become longer, make the marathon-pace segments longer, too (1-2 miles). During the final weeks of training, do marathon target pace segments that are as long as 5K apiece. Also, do one or two moderately long runs (10-15 miles) entirely at this pace. [Source: Target Pace Training]

This is something I can do.

If I really do the Martian Marathon in April, it will be interesting to see what kind of time I can get with these three changes. From there, I think I might select a totally different training plan; perhaps something from Marathon Nation, or a custom plan developed by a local running shop, etc.

One Week Post-Marathon

Today's 4-mile run, exactly one week after the marathon, felt pretty good. I kept a fairly even 9:06/M pace, but my perceived effort was much higher. I set the 9:00/M pace early, and I was breathing harder than I usually do at that pace. I still think it's going to take a few weeks to get past the fatigue of the marathon.

The good news is that nothing hurts. I do have some "awareness" or perhaps a twinge of "discomfort" in my upper legs--deep inside them in places I've never hurt before. This feels like tendons or something. Again, they don't hurt; I don't have a sense that anything is injured. It feels like recovery from stress, which would make perfect sense.

Do Something

My motto for the rest of the calendar year is going to be "do something." There are three races I want to do before the end of 2010, and in each one I want to earn a PB. I think of this as "something," as in "I want to finish in 23-something." The races are 3 weeks apart, and the first one isn't for 4 weeks. Perfect timing. I have run all three of these races.

• Grand Blanc Road Race (5K). 2010-11-20. This race takes place in my neighborhood, in the city where I am a City Councilman. Gotta run it! My current PB in the 5K is from this race, and I think I could have done better last year. I've also run my own DIY 5K course and done better. My best 5K time in a race is 25:40 (8:17/M) and I want to beat this by a good margin. GOAL: 23-something.
  
• Run Like the Dickens (10K). 2010-12-11. I three 10K races last year, including this one, and this was my worst time (56:01). My current PB in the 10K is 52:46 (8:30/M). That PB was set on a really hilly course. The problem with this race is the cold and the snow. For some reason, I just dragged in it last year. I want to improve significantly; this might not be the best race for a personal best, but I want to do it more than the Roseville 10K. GOAL: 51-something.
  
• New Year's Resolution Run (8K). 2010-12-31. The 8K is an odd distance, but it's kind of special for me because it was my first serious race (the 2009 8K Crim). There are only a few 8K races per year. My current PB for this distance (44:11 or 8:54/M) is from this race, where I shaved a measly 11 seconds off my previous 8K finish time. This race will also have the snow/cold issues. I ran this race in "screw shoes" last year because there was quite a bit of snow on the ground. I may do that again. GOAL: 39-something.

I think I should be over the marathon fatigue by these races. They are short enough where I can really give it my all. Again, here are the new PB goals:

• 5K - 23:59 - 7:43/M
  
• 8K - 39:59 - 8:02/M
  
• 10K - 51:59 - 8:21/M

I think these are doable for me with maximal effort. There is a chance, however, that I will fall short. In that sense, these are stretch goals. Which is fine.

Back to Base

Here's the reverse taper recovery schedule coupled with the 3-week base schedule.

This is designed so that you can drop back into an 18-week marathon training program at Week 7. For example, after completing week "C" of the base schedule, instead of dropping back to "A" you can pick up Hal Higdon's Week 6: 3/5/3/6p/9 = 26 miles. Then you just continue on to Week 7.

I am thinking that I will use the HH schedule for the next marathon.

Speaking of the next marathon, I know I will do Detroit again in October of 2011. The question is should I do one in the Spring? I had thought I would do a half in the Spring and a full in the Fall. But part of my is thinking that it might be cool to do an April marathon. The Martian Marathon in Dearborn is small, close, and inexpensive.

If I do the base training above, I could start training for the April marathon in Week 13; I would need to start training in the 2nd week of 2011 (January 10). That's 11 weeks away.

Martian Marathon

In 2010, this marathon had 417 finishers. The half marathon had 1,800. Even if everyone starts at the same time, that is much smaller than the Crim or Freep. It only takes an hour to get from here to there; in the past, they have had a later start (8:30am), which would make it very easy to drive down there.

Base Training?

Once I get through the 4 week reverse taper, I think I am going to design a 3-week rotation for base training; something that simulates the marathon step-back training I liked to so much. Five days per week was really good, and I got used to that. So I will definitely stick with 5 days. I think the next step is to think of what to do. Here is an idea:

That goes easy/medium/hard. It also keeps the T/R runs short enough to do at the indoor track. I hope to get on a workout schedule at Genesys, and 4 miles is a perfect warmup for strength training. On that first Thursday I could do a benchmark 5K.

Deep Blisters

Two of my marathon infirmities were hiding on me. After the marathon--several times--I did a very close inspection of my feet for blisters. Nothing. Wow! Those Injinji socks worked! Well, they still worked great, but I discovered two "deep blisters" on toes.

Left foot = middle toe
Right foot = pinkie toe

I discovered the left toe first. I thought that the nail was hurt because I had this dull sensation of something not being right. Nail was fine. So I tried to trim it just to make sure, then all kinds of water spilled out. I accidentally nicked the blister, which was so deep that I couldn't tell it was there. I removed the little "hat" of skin and moved on. Doesn't hurt, even though that area feels a little raw. Then the same thing happened on the right foot with the pinkie. They are both a little raw, but they are going to be fine.

I Hate Race Photos

These are the photos where I don't look super fat. I still look fat, I just don't look super fat. It's true: the best thing I can do for my running is to lose another 15 pounds. What a difference that would make. If I worked on general fitness and conditioning, and dropped another 15, I'd be in much better shape for another big race.

What Went Right

Okay, I am sore, fatigued, and a little depressed. This seems to be very normal. Here's an idea: list the things that went right.

• The new Nike shorts are perfect--just the right length and weight.
• The Injinji toe socks were fantastic. Not a single blister.
• NipGuards worked great. A must for any run over 8 miles.
• Brooks Ghost 2 shoes were excellent--they had 62 miles on them at the start.
• GuChomps are still the perfect food. Easy to carry, easy to eat.
• Disposable sweats worked great; why do anything else?
• BodyGlide. I put it on my feet, in my shorts, and around my waist. No friction problems at all. This stuff works.
  
• Watch and split timing; got every split, had all the right settings.
  

Now, a list of things you would do differently:

• The water bottle seemed unnecessary. I was filling it up, but it rarely got anywhere below half empty. In a race with water stops every 1.5 miles, I think I will skip the bottle next time.
• Not sure about the electrolyte replacement. I think I might try to switch to pills.
• iPod. I am leaning toward not taking one with me during races.
• Must get the calf muscles under control. Strengthen them. Learn new stretches.
  
• Do race simulations. I am going to experiment with this.
• More long runs at race pace; my marathon pace turned out to be my long run pace. Makes sense, right?

First Post-Marathon Run

This morning, I headed out for a 2-miler. It was a very interesting run. I kept an even pace of 9:30/M, which is on the slow side for my normal weekly pace. I was a little sore, but nothing hurt. I was tired, but not exhausted. My lungs were working harder than normal, and the pace felt challenging, which was a totally new experience for such a moderate pace and short distance. I ended the run with a sense that it is going to take a while to bounce back from the marathon. But I could also feel some newly-developed strength in my legs. I think that following a post-marathon recovery schedule is really going to help. I'll get back up to 10 mile long runs within 4 weeks.

The Next Day

Went to work today and went fine. I am sore. My calf muscles ache inside (not painful, really) and my quads really burn. It's difficult to go down stairs, and I am walking funny. As my colleagues at work say, I am walking without my "bounce."

Apart from that, I feel really good. There's nothing structural at all about the pain. Feet feel fine. Bones, joints, all fine. There's a bit of tenderness around both knees, but not even pain. Gonna pay close attention to this.

Thoughts

I am still disappointed with my time, but I am delighted that I am not letting it get to me. Part of that comes with talking about it. The people who congratulate me about the marathon would think I was a snotty jerk if my first reaction was to be bummed out about the time. From their perspective, it's an accomplishment just to have completed one. And it is.

I think the best thing I can do for my running is to improve my overall fitness and lose more weight. Looking at those photos from the marathon is hard: I am still very heavy. I am going to re-join the Genesys gym and get a full strength training program. I'll use the track, and maybe I will do some swimming.

Having a great time without getting a great time...

2010 Free Press Marathon Analysis

I'm going to keep tweaking this post until it's the official version of my first marathon. I am psyched about finishing, but determined to do better next year.

Official Time:

Here's a graphic representation of my mile splits. This picture really tells the story of my calf problem from mile 17 onward. But for this problem, my time would have been 4:12 or something. That's not an excuse: I did have this problem, and I got the time I got.

Mile-By-Mile Race

I took the list above and copied it so I can type in memories of the race. Despite the calf muscle problem, I really did have an awesome run. I enjoyed it incredibly, and I am hooked. I will do this again.

1. [9:43] Todd hung with me in corral "F" until a few minutes before the start. We were right in front of the Anchor Bar. I took off the Goodwill sweat pants and handed them off to Todd; they've made it through 2 big races now without being discarded! The wave start took a while, but you can really see why they need it. The waves left in 2-min intervals. The music that played when the horn went off was Eminem; then it was KISS with "Detroit Rock City."
   
2. [9:50] Fort street was really crowded and dark. It was just starting to get light as we did the loop toward the bridge. I ran for a while with the sweat jacket on, but tossed it pretty early. I saw Todd standing on a concrete barrier looking through his camera, but he didn't see me. It was dark. I was playing my Joy Division play list.
   
3. [10:41] This was the Ambassador Bridge. Wow, was that crowded. The bridge is four lanes; two were taken for traffic, one was closed for construction, and the remaining lane was for us. Serious bottleneck. Runners kept darting under the tape into the construction lane, only to be blocked by equipment or gaping holes in the bridge. They got yelled at by race officials and police. Where did they think they were going? The 5k mark was in the middle of the bridge. The field of runners slowed to a walk several times during this mile. Some people were freaking, but I kept thinking: "this is good... it's a long race." The view of Detroit from here was spectacular.
   
4. [9:27] Going through the customs lanes on foot felt funny. The border guards just smiled and said "hi." I could hear them making jokes about declaring items, etc. I am sure they got tired of cracking the same jokes. Lots of Canadians welcomed us to Canada. I love Canada. It's such a friendly place. It's like Michigan, but more friendly. We didn't pass a single Tim Horton's, which seemed odd. The view of the Detroit skyline on Windsor's Riverside Dr. was very nice. The sun was up by this time. It made me realize how far west the bridge is from Downtown.
   
5. [9:23] More of the same as Mile 4. Had I not encountered problems later in the race, this is the pace I would have chosen for the rest of the run; just below 9:30/M felt great.
   
6. [8:52] Really felt strong here. Got a little carried away, but I felt fine. I honestly don't think this fastest mile hurt me. I did hours of training runs at this pace. I was also motivated by the 10k split; I didn't want it to be slower than 10:00/M. Another reason I was going faster is that I really had to pee! The bathrooms weren't right where I could see them at the previous water stops.
   
7. [10:15] Stopped to pee in this mile, hence the decrease in speed. I had been waiting to find a good place and had to go pretty badly. This was the only time I managed to go during the race. Inside the tunnel, the pace was lightning. I am sure it was faster than mile 6; the tunnel feels mostly downhill. It's also pretty hot. There was a huge chant of "Go Green!/Go White!" in there, and you could tell it was getting to these Michigan fans running next to me.
   
8. [9:03] I felt really great coming out of the tunnel. The view of the RenCen is really inspirational, and I think I felt the strongest of the race. This was a hopeful mile for me. I was determined not to gun it, but I seriously considered sticking with a pace in the low 9-min range.
   
9. [9:41] I consciously backed off here. Still felt confident. I let the 4:00 pace group go, figuring that I'd reel them in later... or not. I was having a great time and didn't care about time. I kept pausing the iPod to pay attention or hear things that were going on during the race; sometimes I forgot to turn it back on. Listened to a Led Zeppelin play list for a while.
   
10. [9:21] The turn from Lafayette to 18th was great, and it was cool to run by Mexican Village. How many family dinners did I have there as a kid. I loved to get a Super Nacho there. Fond memories. More pausing of the iPod, because I couldn't miss the Mariachi band in Mexican Town!
    
11. [9:17] Another strong mile leaving Mexican Town into Corktown. Cool old houses, lots of people. This was one of my most confident miles.
    
12. [9:45] Things got a little congested here as we crossed the 20k marker. Great to see all the buildings I remembered from my first job as a foot messenger at HMS&C. Looked up at the Buhl building where Marti had her office.
    
13. [9:33] Went through Cadillac Square and saw the First National Building. How many years did I play in my Dad's office as a kid. That part of town is awesome now.
    
14. [11:04] Met Todd along Lafayette to get my stuff. I took my time and talked--I could use the rest, and Todd was so cool riding his bike with me. When I left him, I turned onto Lafayette and saw 1300, where Dad & Marti lived for so many years.
    
15. [9:17] This was another great mile. I felt strong on this long, flat street. Saw Todd and Jon Rabin, who was waiting for his leg of the relay to start. Got sick of the Zeppelin and transitioned to a James Brown play list.
    
16. [9:51] The turn north into Indian Village didn't feel right. My legs were getting heavy, and I stopped to stretch them. I stopped to shake the hand of a very old fellow in a folding chair wearing a UAW sweatshirt. We exchanged the greeting of "Solidarity, brother." Here I paused the iPod and never turned it back on. Not only was I not paying attention to the music, I was feeling kind of disoriented. I had to pay a lot of attention to the runners around me and the road. Believe it or not, I wasn't interested in the music. There is a good chance that my next marathon will be without an iPod.
    
17. [10:47] First serious tingles in my calves. Tried to slow down, stretch, and keep this from happening. Maybe I was holding it off, I thought. I tried to give them enough room to recover, knowing it would cost me time. I figured it was worth the investment--get them under control now before the difficult final 10k after mile 20. By now I was running totally on feel, not thinking of the splits.
    
18. [10:18] I thought that maybe the calves would be fine here; I disciplined myself to take it slow. I had the sense that they were at some kind of tipping point, like a car getting ready to overheat. I felt determined not to let them get the best of me, so I really put the brakes on and did a 1-min walk break. I kept a positive attitude, but it seemed like it was inevitable that they were going to go. I put the whole thing out of my mind--just get to mile 20, I thought. If the rest of my miles are at at 10:00/M pace, so what? Who cares?
    
19. [10:58] Here we crossed the bridge to Belle Isle. The calves were really complaining then; during this trip on the bridge, I thought that perhaps I had found the sweet spot--pushing it just to the brink of spasm, but not letting it get there. That seemed to be at about 11:00/M pace. As you can see from the next few miles, this trend line didn't hold. Passed the Detroit Boat Club, and... wow. How sad. That place is basically falling into the river. I felt an odd connecting with it given the state of my legs.
    
20. [11:06] Belle Isle is beautiful. I was able to hold the 11:00/M pace until mile 20, but it wasn't going to stay. More walking. How many summers did I see gigantic family reunions and hipsters riding around with the hatchbacks open here?
    
21. [12:27] This is where the wheels fell off. Tried to stop at a Port-a-John to go to the bathroom; figured I could use it and the rest might do me good. No dice. I leaned my head against the plastic wall of the box and said "get out there and finish." Stepped out of the box and made a go of it. Todd rode up behind a while later and caught me walking. He was great, very encouraging. I started running again and saw the beautiful Scott fountain where Marti and I kicked off the 2000 Supreme Court bike tour. Todd said he'd be taking photos on the bridge, so I made sure I ran.
    
22. [12:46] The trip back on the bridge was the worst. That's not just an expression: it was the worst part of the race for me. I ran and attempted to run through some of the calf spasms. It started to work, but then they just increased in intensity. I stretched, walked them off, and started up again. When I saw Todd, I was running well--spasms were gone. He took some photos. About 20 strides beyond him, it all fell apart. I felt like an angry inmate had pierced my left calf muscle with a shiv (see note below for a detailed description of the calf pain). I fell against a concrete barrier and alarmed another runner: "Are you all right?" she asked. I was fine, except for that pain in my leg. I watched it quiver with electrical pulsation. It hurt like hell, and it wouldn't stop. I think a few years ago this would have frustrated me or made me break down or something... but it didn't. It was such a beautiful day, and I was nearly done with a marathon. Nobody was going to die. I was going to keep moving, and if I ran, or walked... who cared? When the spasms stopped, I started running again.
    
23. [13:03] Believe it or not, I never got depressed or upset during all this. If I couldn't run, I walked. The minute the cramps were gone, I stood up straight, relaxed my leg muscles as best I could, leaned forward and took very short strides. When this was working, I felt strong. The Riverwalk section here was very pretty. A guy who didn't look too bad, but was walking, got an offer of a ride back from a race official. I took the fact that I didn't get a similar offer as a good sign. I guess I didn't look like I was in bad shape.
    
24. [12:27] Things got a little better here. We were getting closer. I tried to run through the spasms again. Bad idea. They got worse.
    
25. [13:26] Running through the spasms in the previous mile was a really bad idea, but I kept trying it a little bit. Here I decided to really give them a rest--walking more frequently. The 26 mile marker came up on me faster than I thought.
    
26. [11:58] I am pretty sure I ran more than I should have here. I was trying to minimize the damage. I didn't want my time to be longer than 4:40. Because of the wave start, my watch already had 12 extra minutes on it. I didn't like the way that 4:40-something looked on my watch. For the most part, I was beyond caring about time, but hey... So I really did my best during this mile. That 11:58 was the most I could do.
    
27. [2:38] The finish line actually startled me a bit. You turn the corner, and bam!, there it is. So I picked up the pace and paid for it with my legs. At this point, I felt like I could run through the spasms. The worst that could happen was that I'd get the shiv again like back on the bridge, but that didn't come. As I crossed the finish line, both calves were in full "Taser mode." Didn't care. I was almost done, I could see the finish line, so I just stood up straight and ran confidently (if a little stiffly) toward the finish line, and ignored the pain. My only moment of heroics for the entire race. Todd yelled out for me, and he had Kath and the kids right there. I went over and got big hugs and high fives. Finished!
    

* Detailed Calf Pain Description: This seems like the best place to record an exacting description of the pain. Back in the March half marathon, I had calf spasms in mile 9. Like during this race, they blew my time to hell in the final miles. The two big differences: a) in the half, I logged a bunch of 8:30/M miles and had time to burn, and b) there were only a few miles left at the end of the race. I had thought that one reason my calves blew up in March was the faster pace and lack of training. I really wasn't worried about this coming back in the full marathon because I controlled the early pace and because I had trained so much harder. At any rate, there was a marked difference in the pain. In March, the spasms felt like localized "charlie horses" about the size of superball, right in the middle of my calf. It was very central to one point in the middle of the calf muscle. In some ways, these hurt more than the ones I experienced in the marathon (with the exception of that stabbing pain on the bridge). In the marathon, the calf pain rippled out in little diagonals. The pain seemed to slash across the calf muscle in ribbons, like that terrible feeling when you get a cramp in your foot, a kind of radiating, electric wave feeling. So in that sense they were different. The left leg was far more intense than the right, but they were both painful. Had both legs felt like my right, I might have tried to push through it.

Raw Splits

And here are the raw numbers from my watch, which worked just perfectly:

1. 9:43
2. 9:50
3. 10:41
4. 9:27
5. 9:23
6. 8:52
7. 10:15
8. 9:03
9. 9:41
10. 9:21
11. 9:17
12. 9:45
13. 9:33
14. 11:04
15. 9:17
16. 9:51
17. 10:47
18. 10:18
19. 10:58
20. 11:06
21. 12:27
22. 12:46
23. 13:03
24. 12:27
25. 13:26
26. 11:58
27. 2:38

Disposable Warmups!

One of my favorite race prep things is getting disposable warm up clothes from Goodwill. They cost about $6; you leave them at the start and the race organizers launder them and give them to charity. So there's no waste, you donate to Goodwill by purchasing something, and donate again by getting rid of the clothes.

This outfit is cool. The jacket is 40% poly, so I might run with it for a mile or so. The pants are the same. I actually got these pants for the National Half but didn't use them. I wore a pair of Dad's sweatpants that he wanted to get rid of.

Feeling even better

Bib # 7370

7am 43F
9am 46F
10am 51F
11am 56F

I am headed down to the Expo tomorrow. Staying over at Todd's.

9:10 Pace Group

After agonizing over what kind of pace I am going to attempt in the marathon, I have come to a conclusion that I am very happy about. I will begin with the 4-hour pace group, which will be keeping a pace of 9:10/M. Here's why:

• This is one pace group slower than the marathon pace I trained for. This is prudent and will give me confidence.
• I can do my walk/water strategy and still keep up with this group.
• It's not so slow that I can't step things up just a touch at the end of the race if I am able
• It's not so fast that I will blow myself out if I need to back off and go slower at the end
• It is 11 seconds slower than my Crim pace, and that pace felt great for all 10 miles; I felt like I could have kept going for quite a while at that pace.

This allows me to have a plan, but also to have the flexibility to increase or decrease my effort when I need to. It also keeps the hope alive of a sub-4 finish, which would be super cool.

Water/Walk Strategy

I've been struggling in my mind with race execution all week. I go back and forth between being extremely confident to extremely worried. Which pace should I go? Should I just have a great run, or should I try to do the very best I can do on this day? I'm so confused!!!

Well, last night I think I arrived at the winning combination of elements to my race strategy. I'll put it all together in a paragraph soon, but here's the final piece.

There are 16 water stops on the course. Here's how I will approach them:

• Walk through every water stop
• Refill your bottle, which should be half empty
• Place a 1/4 electrolyte tablet in your bottle
  
• Continue to walk for 1 min during every other water stop

Let me explain what this does. First, it maintains my way of keeping track of how much water I take in. In previous races, I have passed water stops when I have water in my bottle, letting the bottle go empty before I stop again. I drink 12 oz of water for every 3 - 4 miles. I didn't think I could fill at each station and maintain this "monitoring," but if I use the half empty rule, I can. Another thing that kept me from considering this is the size of my tablets. I cut 24 oz tablets in half to 12 oz size. Now all I need to to is cut those in half so I have 6 oz tablets. This allows me to keep the same concentration of electrolyte stuff. Intake and dosage solved. Second, it gives me regular walk breaks. I had planned to take a 1-min walk break every 3 miles anyway. Due to the location of these stops on the course, I can use the even-numbered water stops as my mileposts for 1-min walk breaks. I won't have to keep track of them, either... just do the 1-min break at every other stop. Third, I will only have to catch up with the pace group every 3 miles. Walking through the stops long enough to fill my bottle will not put me behind the pace group, which is going to slow down for every stop anyway. The odd numbered water stops are just gravy--a little rest and added boost of confidence. Fourth, the more frequent filling of the bottle means I need to add less water; this makes a big difference, as it takes several cups to fill a 12 oz bottle. During the National Half in DC I was able to ask volunteers to pour directly into my bottle from jugs, but even then that wasn't always an option. By stopping at every station, I can add a cup or two each time. Finally, this strategy allows me to stick with the exact amount of water and electrolyte that I have been used to during training. I think it's going to be perfect.

On a larger scale, having this strategy will give me tons of confidence. I don't do well "winging it" in situations like this, so I will have the security of knowing there is a plan. If I need to deviate from this plan a bit, that is fine--I am not rigid. I just like to know what is happening next. It gives me a sense of control.

This means that I won't really need Todd for any water, but I will have him carry some just in case. I will also have him carry my second-half dry goods: the Gu Chomps and electrolyte stuff. How much of that will I need? I will be drinking 8 12oz bottles of fluid and eating 16 Gu Chomps on the course. That's two packets of 8 each--one packet for the first half, one packet for the second half.

Dehydration vs. Hyponatremia

I've heard about people drinking too much water in a marathon; Mike Worel had this problem, and it can be very serious. I just did some Internet surfing and found a great article on this. My hydration rate, which has worked well for me in the past in races and in training, is just fine. 12oz every 3 miles gives me a total intake of about 96 ounces during the 4-hour race. This is within the recommended amount of water intake. Cool.

Signs?

I suppose that it is, at the very least, a good omen that my friend Michele was coming down the hallway just when I needed someone who lived in Ann Arbor to pick up my electrolyte tablets at REI. Later that afternoon, I turned the corner thinking about my marathon pace and what my finishing time would be, and this is what the clock said.

Last Long Run

Well, I didn't treat this like an LSD. Here are the numbers:

8 Mile Long Run
Total Time = 1:14:57
Overall Pace = 9:22/M

2 - 17.11 - 8:35/M
4 - 39.37 - 9:54/M
2 - 18.09 - 9:04/M

5K Good News/Bad News

So, I ran that 5K. The bad news is I totally screwed up my plan of going at marathon pace. I was very unaware of pace and hit the 1M split at 8:00. Tried to go much slower in the 2nd mile, but did an 8:48 for the 2nd. Finished in 25:50, which is an 8:20/M pace. Not my plan. I went too fast.

This has me worried about pacing. I need to be conservative.

Good news: pinning the race number to my shorts is much more comfortable.

Here we go...

Well, tonight I am feeling pretty good. I was worried at work today because my ankle hurt a little bit. Normally I would not have noticed this. The previous night I rolled on my ankle on the front walk. It didn't hurt at the time, and it wasn't until this afternoon that I felt a little twinge down there.

There isn't much running between now and the marathon. I just finished my 4 miler for today. Took this one fairly slowly: 9:39/M pace. Here's the rest of the running:

W: 5
T: 4
F
S: 3
S: 8
M
T: 3
W: 4
T
F
S: 2
S: 26.2