Just a few weeks to go! I’m already starting to feel a sense of both nervousness and excitement about the race. Nervous because I really don’t know what to expect. Excited because this is a chance to accomplish something I’ve never done before. Plus I have 4 friends who will be running the same race, as well as other friends who will be running other races around the same time. But I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself. One day at a time…
Day 1
I decided to stick with the tradition that I started last week. 😉 So today, I’ll do my easy run in the neighborhood. This will at least save me a few minutes of driving time. It’s 81 degrees (27.22 C) this morning. Not terribly hot, but it’s been quite a bit warmer during the day. I read that the projected race day morning temperature is 41 (5C). That’s quite a difference! Alright, let’s get started!
All done. Feeling great. 10:33/mile with an average heart rate of 140. I’m trying to pick up the pace a little on these easy runs, while still keeping them easy. Basically, I’m still running them by perceived effort. But I’m trying to keep them on the faster end of what’s easy. Hopefully this makes sense.
Hitting the gym again on my lunch break. Upper body and some marathon specific core exercises today.
Day 2
I’ve decided to hit the trail at Colleyville City Park this morning. If you’ve been with me for a while, I used to run there on a pretty regular basis. But haven’t done so in a while. This probably the most similar to the actual race conditions of any place I’m running. It’s a concrete looped trail that’s relatively flat. If you go clockwise, it’s a very gradual uphill ascent for most of the loop. Then it goes downhill pretty quickly.
Warmup plus 1 hour. Today, I’ll do the same thing I did last Tuesday. Alternating between easy and marathon pace miles.
OK, all done. Wow, this was different. From the beginning, I felt like I was in a higher gear than usual. During the easy miles, I could hardly force myself to go any slower than a 10/mile pace. That’s not normal for me. Either my perception of effort is off or I’m actually improving. Hopefully, it’s the latter!
I hit the gym again over my lunch break to do the same cramping prevention routine as last week. Everything was pretty easy last time, so I added some weight. Nothing was exceptionally difficult, though the extra weight made a noticeable difference. I must say that adding weight to a 1 leg pistol squat was awkward. During the last set, the inside of my left knee was hurting a little. It was toward the end of the set, so I just finished up.
By the time I got back to the house, it felt normal. Just to be safe, I iced the knee for about 30 minutes. No problems for the rest of the day.
Day 3
Well, the knee still feels completely normal. That was strange though. Is it a bad idea to add weight to 1 leg pistol squats? It was only 20 extra pounds. But it made a real difference due to the nature of the exercise.
Anyway, I’m doing another 35 minute recovery run at the track.
All done. 10:53/mile pace with average heart rate of 127. Unlike last Wednesday, it doesn’t feel like I’m on the verge of cramping. Maybe I’m adapting to the new cramp prevention routine.
I’ve heard several runners talking about how meaningful their marathon experiences were. How it’s not just about the 26.2 miles of the marathon. It’s also about the hard work, sacrifice, and many miles run during the process of training. I would absolutely agree. This Saturday, I’ll surpass the 700 mile mark since I started training back in May. It has been a lot of work and there have been sacrifices made. But it’s been a great experience that I’ll always be grateful for.
Day 4
Call me paranoid, but I’m keeping it fairly conservative today. Somewhere between zone 2 and (maybe) marathon pace, but nothing faster. In fact, I may just run the whole thing easy. A couple of days before my 23 mile run, I overdid it. Consequently, I started my 23 mile run not feeling as fresh and rested as I would have liked. No major issues, but I think this is part of my my right shin was hurting for a couple of days.
I’ve been doing most of this weeks’ running in the street and on trails, and Saturday’s 26 mile run will be on a trail with a lot of hills. So I’ll run at the track this morning. Warmup plus 75 minutes.
All done. OK, I must say that 75 minutes of easy running at the track doesn’t make for the most interesting of workouts. Well actually, it’s 90 minutes if you include the warmup. But you get the idea. But it was still a good workout.
One interesting observation. Normally, I’ll get into a pretty good rhythm while I’m running. My effort level and the resulting pace will stay pretty consistent. Some miles may be faster or slower, but the trend is normally toward a slight acceleration over the course of the run.
Today, it was around the beginning of mile 6. I was in a great rhythm, when I received a phone call and a text message at the same time. Normally I wouldn’t even worry about this. But it was so early and they both came so close together that I wondered if it might be important. As I was running, I tried to unlock my phone. But my hands were so sweaty that it took work work. By the time I checked everything and realized it was nothing important, I had settled into a pace that was about 15-20 seconds per miles slower than I had been running.
Keeping my effort level consistent, I couldn’t get my rhythm back. Sure, I could have just pushed harder and gotten back to the same pace. But this was supposed to be an easy run. So I stuck with what felt natural. By the time I finished, I was within a few seconds per mile of where I had been. And if the run had gone longer, I might have gotten back to the same pace.
It’s interesting how the body can get into a rhythm to where running becomes very efficient. At the same time, the body’s natural rhythm can be interrupted. So I guess I’d better not be using my phone while I’m running the marathon. 🙂
Day 5
Rest day. I’m off work today. Nothing much to do, other than drops kids off at school and run a few errands. This was a tough call, but I decided to forego tonight’s varsity football game. It’s an away game. Our son (Joshua) has some type of band lock-in at the school and my wife (Jennifer) has volunteered to help out. I figured that this would at least give me a chance of getting some good sleep.
Our younger daughter (Gracie) went with me to look for hats. I’ve had my hat for over 10 years it’s time for a replacement. Afterward , we grabbed some dinner at a local Italian restaurant. Lots of carbs tonight!
The only challenge is that I’ll need to pick up our oldest daughter (Anna) from the school. So I’m going to bed around 8 and will set my alarm for 10:45. Then I’ll go back to bed.
Day 6
So much for that idea. From 8 until about 10:45, I was getting some of the best sleep I’ve ever had. When I got to the school, my timing was perfect and I didn’t have to wait for Anna at all. We went straight back to the house. She hadn’t eaten supper, but was so exhausted that she went straight to bed.
I went back to bed, but was never able to really settle down again. The saltiness of my dinner was making me unusually thirsty. So I drank more water, but then had to get up and use the bathroom. Then, I was really thirsty again. For most of the night, I couldn’t get out of this cycle. I finally decided to just to try and sleep without drinking more water. But I couldn’t stop thinking about the 26 mile run. Dang. I usually have no trouble sleeping. However, this was one of the worst nights of sleep I’ve ever had.
Of course, by the time my alarm went off, I was finally in a state of deep sleep. If it were a shorter workout, I would have slept longer. But with 26 miles and predicted temperatures in the mid to upper 90’s (F), I forced myself out of bed.
I wouldn’t normally do this for a long run, but I decided to run a one-mile loop at a local community college. You’re probably wondering if I’ve lost my mind, but there’s a reason for this. Yes, I understand the potential monotony. But this location makes hydration so much easier. There’s a covered area right up against the trail where I can set my water cooler. So whenever I need, I can easily grab something to drink and keep going. I’m filling my backpack reservoir with Tailwind Endurance Fuel and the cooler has 7 water bottles. If this turns out not to be enough, there’s a water fountain that’s only a few steps away. Either way, I should be covered.
My goal pace for today is a 12 minute mile. I’m using a new Garmin data field called Race Pacer 2 and am setting it to run a negative split. Let’s go!
5+ hours later…all done! And not a drop of water left!
Wow. That was interesting. Like I said earlier in the week, I think my natural easy pace has gotten faster. The whole time, I was having trouble going slow enough. To keep the pace down, I was having to insert more walk breaks than expected. I figured this would only be the case early on, but this never changed.
I started at 4:27AM. By the halfway point, it was still dark outside. It never was cool outside. Early on, it was warm and felt stuffy. When the sun fully came up, it felt hot!
My legs felt great until somewhere between mile 18 and mile 22. By the time I was on mile 23, they felt heavy. I had to make more of a conscious effort to maintain good form, good posture, and keep my stride short and cadence faster. But I made it. What a great feeling! At the very least, I know that I can run the distance of a marathon. Aerobically, I felt like I could have kept going all day. But I think my legs would have given out at some point.
The author (Jeff Galloway) of the marathon book I’m using suggests walking a mile after your marathon in order to minimize soreness and expedite recovery. So I decided to give this a try. Once every minute or so, I would run a few steps.
I must say that this really worked. While I felt sore afterward, I didn’t feel beat up like after my last 2 long runs.
Day 7
Much better night sleep than Friday night. I’m headed to the track for an easy recovery run/walk. On second thought, my left shin isn’t feeling quite normal. I had some pain with my right shin after the 23 mile run. This isn’t nearly as bad, but I’m still nervous about possibly making it worse.
Just to be safe, I’ve decided just to walk this one. A few laps and I’m done.
Sunday afternoon, and it’s feeling a lot better. In fact, it feels normal. My glutes, on the other hand, don’t feel normal! Oh man. This may be the sorest they have ever been. It reminds me of when I first did heavy squats, only worse.
Final Thoughts
Great week! I’m really happy about Saturday’s run. This is something I never would have thought possible until very recently. At the very least, I know that I can run the full marathon distance. How fast is a question that has yet to be answered.
Well, I guess that’s it for another week. 20 weeks down and only 6 to go!
Alan's First Marathon 