Long Beach Marathon Results

Sometimes when you reach for the stars… you wind up doubled over on the side of the road!

Well… I finished it.  And that’s about the only positive thing I can say about my Long Beach Marathon experience on Sunday.  It was treacherous.

Actually, it was a beautiful day to run, and I don’t believe any of the concerns I had a couple days prior (light groin strain and a tender IT band) really factored in much.  I felt them at times, but they were pretty much a non-issue, I think.

So here’s the story:

Game Plan

I wanted to come in under 4:00, which meant I needed to average around a 9:00 to 9:10 pace.  My strategy was to take it easy for the first 5 or 6 miles and try to stay in the 9:20 or so range (once past mile 1), then pick it up to maybe an 8:50 neighborhood pace from 6 to 22 to make up for the slower warm-up miles.  From there, I would hope to be evened out and have enough in the tank to stay with my average pace for the last 4 miles and squeak in under 4:00.

Stuck way in the back;
starting line still WAY in the distance…

The Race Begins…

I wound up getting to the starting line late (as usual), so I went out with a horde of folks who were scheduled to take a considerably slower pace than I intended.  So for the first few miles, I felt boxed in at times and had to zig and zag through a lot of the runners to keep my pace up.  This would prove to be a challenge along the way as other parts of the course narrowed significantly (especially along the beach).   And as we got beyond mile 6, this would sometimes make the sub-9:00 pace difficult, as I was constantly trying to find little holes in the field to navigate through.

The good news is, as we approached the half-way mark at 13, I was just where I needed to be; right around 2:00.  The bad news is, I was starting to feel it!  Simply put, I felt like I was already struggling to keep up that sub-9:00 pace… not such a great feeling when you know you’re only half-way through this bitch!

But, I kept my form together, kept on plowing, and kept telling myself to “trust the training.   You’ve done everything you were supposed to do to prepare.  You can push through this.”  That little pep talk lasted a couple more miles, even as I saw my pace begin to slip back over the 9:00 mark between miles 12 through 14.

“He Falls Apart!”

Then on 15, the unthinkable happened.  As I was forcing the pace and feeling an unusual amount of fatigue in my hams and hip flexors, I started feeling a bit of cramping settling into my left hamstring. And just before my brain could fully process the prospect of having another one of those debilitating Charley horse-style cramps I got in the LA Marathon – boom!  That searing pain set in, and I was quickly hobbling over to the side of the road, grabbing onto my leg like it was about to fall off!

And then, right out loud, there in the crisp open air for any passersby to hear, I uttered the most appropriate word in the English language for this occasion:

“Motherfucker!”

I was stunned.  Mile 15?  Are you shittin’ me?  I could not fathom that this would happen again, let alone with nearly 11 miles left to go!  So I dug my knuckles into my leg and then tried to stretch it out a bit, before slowly starting to run again.

20 steps later – boom!  Same shit.  It was unbelievable.  And never mind the hobbling factor; these kind of cramps are unbearably painful.  I mean, my ass was doubled-over, trying to grind the pain out of my leg.

And friends, that was pretty much the way of it for the rest of the race.  I had to actually walk a great deal of it, doing a little intermittent jogging as I could, before dealing with a parade of these Charley horses, which were breaking out in both legs in my hams and calves.

I stopped at a couple med stations along the way, where they sprayed some kind of cooling shit on my legs, and that seemed to help the cramps a bit.  And I stopped regularly, to grind these bitches out with my knuckles.  But man, there is little else as discouraging as walking past the 20-mile marker, knowing there would be 6 more miles of this bullshit.  And yes, for some reason, it made that much of a difference to walk.  Once I would start trying to do even a light and easy jog, I would soon feel that swell of fatigue, followed by another cramp somewhere.  Needless to say, under these conditions, it totally wiped me out.

And just to illustrate how often I was hunched over on the side of the road or just walking, my pace for mile 19 was 16:41!  (No, I didn’t stop for lunch somewhere, but was likely off the course for several minutes at one point.)  By the time I gutted a token jog across the finish line, it had taken me roughly 50 minutes longer to do the second half of the race as opposed to the first half.  My final time was a pitiful 4:51:46.

For some strange reason, I felt compelled to capture the agony on my iPhone around mile 25.  This vid says it all:

Reflections

Okay, some perspective; I’m glad I at least finished.  It’s a pretty cool looking medal, and will look good in the sock drawer next to my LA one.  (The free t-shirt was okay, as well, but would’ve preferred black instead of white.)

Seriously, I’m glad I at least completed it, although those little Red Cross-looking medical jeeps that kept zipping by were tempting to flag down at times!  But of course, after all that training – and what I thought was a near-perfect, injury-free training season – it is profoundly disappointing to miss your goal time by more than 50 motherfucking minutes!

So what happened?  What I know for sure is this; it’s hard to say for sure.  Dehydration?  Can’t imagine it.  But, I suppose it’s possible, based on the fact that I took one piss at around the half-way point, then didn’t piss again until 5 or 6 hours later, once I got back home!  That said, I was drinking a steady amount of water in the days prior, as well as before and during the race, so I don’t know how I could’ve done much more.  Electrolyte issue?  Really can’t imagine it.  My pre-race diet was immaculate, plus I was supplementing with some electrolyte gels and salt tablets, so I was stockpiling electrolytes up the ass.

No, my best guess is this: an uninterrupted 9:00 pace for a marathon is simply beyond my capability right now.  I think it’s more a matter of simple over-exertion… of forcing the muscles to perform at a level they’re not (yet) capable of performing at, thus causing them to go on strike via cramping.  Because in those moments, it truly feels like my body is just shutting down.  Plus, I gotta believe that all those years of heavy squats and the surplus of muscle it built up in my legs cannot be helping.  Just seems like all that extra fast-twitch fiber in my legs is hanging around just waiting to cramp up eventually if the legs are forced into over-drive mode for that kind of duration.

Reevaluation

As I mentioned last Spring, this whole goal of getting under 4:00 was suggested to me by my coach, who had timed me on a 3-mile run.  Based on my pace there, he felt like I could do a sub-4:00 marathon.  I never really understood the logic of the calculations, but just went with it as my goal and built many of my training paces around the conventional wisdom that your long-run training pace would be around one minute slower than your marathon pace.

Again, it sounds good in theory (with the idea that a slower training pace will facilitate better recovery time, and less chance of injury, etc.)  BUT – I still don’t understand it in practice.  Hell, two weeks ago, I did a 16-miler at an 8:50 average pace and was pretty much wiped out.  I don’t think I could’ve continued for much longer at that pace.  And I remember thinking, “How in the hell am I supposed to magically be able to do an additional 10 miles at this same general pace, WITHOUT the little water breaks and stopping at red lights, etc.?  Because of some miraculous taper-down period?  Because there will be spectators on the side of the road yelling anonymously into the throngs of runners cruising by?  Because I’m running with the ‘camaraderie’ of thousands of other runners?”  I don’t see it.

So – I don’t think there was anything wrong with my training, diet, recovery practices, or anything else.  In fact, I don’t really know what I could’ve done differently that would’ve had that much of an impact on the run at all (with the exception of maybe taking it easier on the first of my two taper-down weeks).

I think my problem is with my pace.  Pure and simple.  I’m probably more of a 10:00 minute-per-mile guy at a marathon, vs. a 9:00 minute-per-mile guy.  I’m probably more of a 4:20 range guy, than a sub-4:00 guy.  At least for now.  And hell, even those 20 and 22-mile runs I did at a 10-minute pace; they weren’t easy, and they always included a small (but welcomed) amount of unrecorded “downtime,” filling up water jugs, etc.

Moving Forward

I’m looking forward to hitting the weights a bit harder and focusing on some shorter distance races for the immediate; maybe a few 10Ks and Half-Marathons.  I always consult my old pal Blas Elias (killer drummer for Blue Man Group, Slaughter, etc.) on these matters, since he’s a real-deal endurance athlete, and he’s in agreement: I’ll work on my speed, and as a result of hopefully completing a few more of these shorter races successfully, I’ll have a better idea of what my true marathon pace should be.

This week, I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck, so I’ll rest up and try to recover as best I can.

And yes, I acknowledge that a lot of these long-winded marathon updates are probably a bit much for most of you to sit through. But I appreciate the ear and promise to bring some more cool shit to the blog asap.

Peace,

BR

Training Report: Three Days Till the Long Beach Marathon

 

We are three days away from the agony and the ecstasy that will be… the Long Beach Marathon.  Just thought I would offer a quick pre-race overview of the training season.

First of all, it seems like I’ve been in constant marathon training mode over the last 12 months.  This time last fall, training was well underway for the 2012 LA Marathon which, of course, I did in March.

After that, to be honest, I was pretty fucked up.  I couldn’t believe the residual effect the race had on my body.  So I took a good 6 weeks to gradually get back into a running groove, and by May 1st,  I was more or less officially training for Long Beach.

I’ve had an excellent training season in prep for this one.  The usual little things aside, I’ve stayed injury free, with not one single running session missed.  I trained on my own for the first couple months, then rejoined my Fleet Feet running group early July, which had been underway with training for Long Beach since April.  All along,  I’ve kept close tabs on my progress with my trusty Garmin watch, and all of my times and average paces have been faster (with “faster” being a relative term for my slow ass!).

My goal – as I’ve stated around here a couple times – is to come in under 4:00.  I feel like I’ve done everything possible with my training to make that happen, but I know there is always the good ol’ “Marathon X-Factor” that can come into play – that unexpected variable – so I’m not stressing it.  As long as my legs will move and I can keep my form relatively intact, I will motor through this motherfucker in search of that time come Sunday.  If my legs lock up or I get injured, I’ll deal with that then.

Better Training, Recovery and Diet Points

Here are a few things I’ve done this time around that have made a difference, I feel.

1. Superior rest and recovery practices:  For LA, I was still brashly adhering to my typical no-sleep heroics, even in the height of training; getting 3 hours of sleep before these 18-mile runs, and following my usual erratic sleeping patterns while juggling both marathon training AND my usual weightlifting regimen.  Stupid.  When did I think my body was supposed to recover?  This is partially why I feel like I was constantly dealing with these “phantom” pre-injuries last season; always something on the verge of breaking down, it seemed.

This time, I’ve really made an effort to get longer, better quality sleep, more often.  There have been plenty of 3-hour nights, I’m not gonna lie.  But in general, I’ve become a better, deeper sleeper, and I think this has been the single most dramatic thing I’ve done.  My body just feels more recovered and well-rested.  (Not that this is any huge newsflash.  It’s just that proper rest has always fallen into the “do as I say, not as I do” department!)

Also, on the recovery front, I’ve been even more diligent about icing the knees and shins, even when they didn’t necessarily need to be iced.  And, perhaps most importantly, I’ve become best of friends with the foam roller and the massage stick.

“The Stick” massage stick and a Triggerpoint foam roller

I have both of these on hand in my living room… sitting there like pieces of contemporary art, as a reminder to “grind it out” 2 or 3 times a day.  The difference it’s made in keeping my legs loose has been dramatic and, I really believe, largely responsible for the excellent recovery times between runs.

2. Cleaner diet: Last time out, I was determined to maintain my 200-pound bodyweight through the bulk of the training, just to prove it could be done on a vegan diet.  Mission accomplished.  (Wound up going from 204 to just under 200 for the race.)  However, the number one thing that required besides hitting the weights hard and steady was… a shitload of calories!  And I was happy to oblige, especially in consideration of some of the personal issues going on with my family through the last couple months of training.  I guess I found a little solace in food, AND I was trying to keep my weight up, so this meant a fair amount of vegan “junk food” along the way.

Of course, I was still knocking down all of my usual super-clean stuff (one or two Ultimate Meal smoothies per day, 10+ servings of fruits and veggies, whole grains, beans, seeds and nuts, etc.) And obviously, my diet remained 100% vegan, as it has for the past 20 years.

BUT – there were a lot of Mexican food dinners with tons of chips and quac… and plenty of gluttonous Chinese food takeout extravaganzas… and vegan pizza… and popcorn… and a regular array of vegan desserts and … you get the idea.  And while I still managed to lose a bit of weight (!!!), many of these foods did not serve my training efforts.   So, I tightened things up considerably this time around and have limited myself to smaller portions of these kinds of foods on occasion, taking care not to ever bring vegan sweets home.

Additonally, I’ve added a “superfoods veggie-blend” concoction to my daily routine, instead of the usual few times a week.  More on this later.

Just about to pull the trigger on a Superfoods Veggie-Blend – secret recipe… killer nutrition!

I’m still knocking down a crazy amount of calories on most days, but I’ve also dropped a few more pounds, since cutting back on a lot of the “recreational” foods.  It’s been a cleaner, better way to eat, and I can feel it in my training.

Also, I’ve been fanatical about getting plenty of water on each run, even for the shorter 5-milers.  As my watch beeps at each mile mark, like Pavlov’s dog, I reach for one of my water jugs and grab a few sips.  Every mile, even if I don’t feel especially thirsty.  Dehydration at a marathon is a lesson you only have to learn one time!

3. A Few Training Tweaks:

I know there have been a number of things I’ve improved on, but here are a few:

A) This time out, I tried to never run two days in a row, so I switched my mid-week run to Thursday.  Of course, this leaves a day less time for recovery before the long Saturday run, but that seems to be better than running the day after a typically intense Tuesday hill or speed run.

B) I’ve added more leg strengthening movements and extra core work.  After all, anything we can do to strengthen those muscles that would defy us in the later miles, we might as well.  Like I always say, “Pay now, or pay later!”

C) I’ve leaned on my pace at key times.  If I felt good, I would go ahead and keep a faster pace here and there, even on some of the long runs.  And while this wouldn’t have been advisable last time, I think it’s been good this time.  Even on my first week of wind-down (which commenced two weeks away from the marathon), I maintained a faster pace this year.  I did a 16-miler at a pace that was actually 10 to 15 seconds faster than my marathon pace, and my other two runs that week were even faster, but for only 5-mile runs.  Smart or stupid?  I’ll tell you next week.  But I do know for as hard as that 16-miler was, I did feel better about things afterward, knowing that I kept up that pace. Whether I will be as recovered as I should be on Sunday… who knows?

D) Running in the heat; I actually prefer running in the summer.  I’ve always had a high threshhold for heat fatigue, and I guess that holds true for running in it.  I did a 12-miler in the 95% humidity (and ulitimately 95-degree heat) of Panama City Florida, and it sucked.  I did a 7-miler in 95 dry-ass degrees of Las Vegas, and it wasn’t nearly as bad.

And here in LA, I found that I could knock out 10, maybe 12 miles in the heat of the day without much problem, when I had to.  But I tried a 16-miler in 95 degrees in LA (during the heat of the afternoon) and it kicked my ass, to be honest.  I started feeling really fatigued (heat exhaustion?) and had to actually walk/run the last couple miles.  Got my monkey-ass sunburned, as well.  Lesson learned.

Point is, I did a number of runs in notably hotter weather this time out, which arguably made things a little tougher, which hopefully made me a bit stronger runner as I step into the pleasant, 70-degree ocean-side environs of Long Beach this Sunday.  Again, we’ll see.

Concerns for the Day

I have two things on my mind at the moment.  A light groin strain (from heavy lifting) that bothers me when I walk, but not run), and this ongoing IT band issue that flairs up on the high miles, and has been constantly reminding me of its presence this past week with a light tingle.  I’ve been icing the shit out of both of these areas, resting as much as I can, and hoping that neither one will be a factor on Sunday.  Fingers crossed.

Anyway, I think those are the highlights.  Probably way more info than any of you cared to know about, regarding my training.  Still, I’ll give a final report shortly thereafter, and hopefully find a more consistent groove with this blog…

Peace,

BR

The Finish Line!

It is done.  I can barely walk today, but it is done.  After over 6 months of training and nearly 30 blog entries about this marathon, it is done.  After encountering and surviving the infamous mental and physical hell known as “the wall,” it is done.  Most importantly, though, my team members and I raised over $60,000 for our group, Kitten Rescue, and I know that will have a dramatic effect on the lives of many animals in need.

And once again, for all of you who have supported my efforts along the way, I really appreciate it.  As I’ve always said, I have the greatest friends, fans and family on earth.

So… how was the run?

The Game Plan

As I alluded to during my last post, I did have a goal time in mind, and that was to come in under 4 hours.  I didn’t really believe I could do it, but my coach did, so I just went with it.  Of course, as my training journals show, all of my long runs were generally paced at over 10:00 minutes.  But everyone always says you run faster on race day due to the screaming spectators, the adrenaline, the leave-it-all-on-the-street mindset, the taper down recovery period you go through a couple of weeks prior, etc.  Therefore, if you train long at a 10:00 or even 10:30-ish pace, then a 9:07 range should be doable.

So honestly, I had no doubt I would finish (barring some unforeseen injury that would prevent me from even limping across the line).  Instead, it was all about trying to hit that time… to stay in the ballpark of a 4:00 hour pace for the first 18 to 20 miles, then hopefully find a reserve during the last 6 miles and sneak in under 4:00.  However, if at that point the brisker pace wasn’t going to happen, or if I encountered the infamous “wall,” then I would abort the sub-4:00 concept and step into survival mode, just to get across the line.  And – as is obvious by my 4:22:42 finish time –  that’s exactly what wound up happening…

The Big Day

After a brief 3 1/2 hours of sleep on Saturday eve, I had to wake up at 3:00 AM Sunday morning to grab a smoothie and get a lift over to the starting line at Dodger Stadium.  Once you have at least one marathon under your belt, you can jump ahead in the starting line into your corral, which is a reserved area near the front for the group of runners who share a similar pace with you.  For me, as a newbie, I knew I was going to get stuck in the back, so I waited a bit before stepping out into the cold and into the mass exodus.  Of course, for the first mile or two, you’re kind of boxed in since there are so many folks around you.  And I knew my pace would be slower for the first mile or two because of this.  But I didn’t mind.  If I try to go under 10:00 too soon, I never seem to warm up properly.  So I was cool with it.

The weather turned out to be beautiful, despite constant rain on Friday and Saturday and a similar prediction for Sunday.  It was cool and crisp, in the 50s.  LA Marathon protocol is for you to wear layers at the beginning of the race if you like, then gradually discard them, as needed, along the way… just throw your jackets, sweatshirts and gloves to the side of the road.  Later, these items are to be picked up, laundered and given away to the underprivileged.  It’s a good deal.

Regarding my time…. the Clif Bar folks were handing out these wristband things at the pre-run expo that showed what your time needed to be at each mile, if you wanted to be on pace to hit a time goal.  So I grabbed the 4:00 one and used it as a reference guide throughout the run.  This, along with my trusty Garmin watch tallying miles, pace and overall time, would prove invaluable.

I should point out that the actual experience of the marathon is quite exhilarating.  And unless you’re one of a few select Kenyans at the front of the line, there is zero sense of competition out on the course.  Clearly, the competition is with yourself… with finishing, or hitting a certain time, or beating your last time, or surviving the wall, etc.  And you really get a strong sense of camaraderie out there, from both your fellow runners and the spectators.  Everybody wants everybody to finish!

That said – the first thing I noticed was, for me, there was really no special lift that happened as a result of the hollering crowds, or tons of other runners, or adrenalized anticipation of the race.  My pace seemed to want to settle where it always did on my regular runs.  So, I probably played it a bit conservative for the first 6 or so miles.  All my wristband time projections were coming in a few minutes slower than the mark.  But I wasn’t worried about it.  I felt like if I tried to start shaving more seconds off my pace too soon, I might burn out too early.  So my strategy was to leave a bit in the tank for once I got past the danger zone of 18 to 22 miles, then kick it hard at the end.

As the race progressed, all was going as planned.  I had a few sub-9:00s in there, including an 8:25 at mile 15.  I felt strong.  The only thing is, I felt a little something after 10 miles that I haven’t felt before: nausea.  Not sure why.  Perhaps the extra exertion?  All of my pre-race prep was like it always had been, and I had already eaten one Clif bar starting at mile 6.  But when I felt the nausea, I really didn’t want to eat or drink much.  I wasn’t really thirsty, but I felt like even taking a few sips of water might make me hurl.  So I was probably a bit light on the hydrating throughout…

…and that might have been what got me at mile 22.

The Wall

Friends, I’ve heard about “the wall,” but was not expecting to hit it, since my long runs always included a sort of second wind at 18.  And I’m not sure if what I actually hit was the wall.  I had been feeling some of the expected heavy-legs fatigue for a few miles, but then somewhere during 22, an excruciating Charlie horse-type cramp grabbed hold of my right leg and would not let go!  I hobbled off the course and dug my knuckles into my quads to get it to release.  It was insane!  I had not had one single experience of cramping throughout my entire training season.  Not one.  And now this?  I had also been feeling some tightness in my right bicep, which make me think that perhaps I had let myself get a bit dehydrated.

But whatever it was, it was not going away.  Once the cramp released, I started trying to jog again, but found that my knees were locking up slightly (which is what happens when you stop running toward the end of a long run).  So I did a slow, “mummy” jog for a bit, until another one of the Charlie horses kicked in – this time in my left hamstring – and I had to step off the course again.  Fuck!  It was so aggravating… grinding away on these leg muscles, watching my pace evaporate on my watch.  I quickly figured out that 4:00 was not going to happen.  So now, I had to step into “just-drag-your-ass-across-the-finish-line” desperation mode.

And that was the way of it for the last 4 miles.  I would jog slow, sip water (although I’m sure if it was dehydration, it was too little too late), and grab ahold of any spasms as they were going down.  Paces for these last few miles were ridiculous: mile 22 was 11:24, 23 was a 12:47, 24 was 13:50, 25 was 11:57.  It was brutal.  As I got near the end, I believe I finally got to the other side of all the cramping.  And I wanted the run to be over so bad, I found another gear and ended up with an 8:46 pace for the last half-mile.  Was never so glad to see the end of something!

I’m still not exactly sure what happened.  But given that I did not take a piss during the entire run – and don’t recall taking one anytime soon after the run – I’m guessing my monkey ass got dehydrated.  The other possibility is that I was low on salt.  I strategically had a big Mexican dinner 12 hours prior, with lots of salty chips.  But I didn’t have a notable amount of sodium on race day.

Yet another factor could’ve been simple overexertion.  Even when we did those 20 or 22-mile runs in training, you’re taking it easy; you’re stopping for water here and there, going at an extra slow pace, etc.  On marathon day, there are no breaks, you are running faster, and you are going considerable farther.  So, it could be any combination of these factors, or maybe something else.

I’ll tell ya, just like with weight training, there’s a whole lotta science behind this running shit… so much to know… so many variables… so much that can go wrong!  I’ve really enjoyed it, though, and plan on continuing with it.

Afterthoughts

As for my big reflection on my first marathon, corny as it may sound, here it is: it really has got to be about the journey, rather than the destination.  There is a whole process that you go through to prepare; the discipline of sticking to a training regimen, getting your ass out of bed at a certain time on certain training days (which in itself is a foreign concept to me!); the strategic way you navigate through recovery, push through barriers, and sustain the intensity over many months.  And there really is something to the mental aspect of getting through the high-mile runs in training and especially getting across the finish line the day of.  I think your body shuts down toward the end of a marathon and you have to find another gear, somewhere in your head.  It’s pretty trippy, what the mind is capable of, and running a marathon is just another first-hand experience of this.  For that reason alone, I would highly recommend it.

What I might not recommend, however, is getting too hung up on a finish time for your first one.  Honestly, my initial feeling of crossing the finish line was not one of elation, but rather disappointment.  “Fucking hell!  22 minutes later than my goal!  What happened?” was all I could think about.   I was glad I got across when I did, given what I had gone through the last 4 miles, but still.

Then later, a good friend reminded me that just finishing is an accomplishment, and I needed to get over myself.  So I’ve been trying to focus on that.  Plus, again, this running thing has so many unexpected variables.  Even experienced runners have disastrous days out there where they get injured, or encounter unexpected things, etc., and their goal time goes out the window.  This is one of the frustrating things about distance running.  You only have a shot at redemption every 6 months or a year, it seems.  But if you play a rough show on the road, you can make up for it the next night!  So this is why I say, you must embrace the journey and don’t worry too much about what the destination looks like… although the destination does look pretty damn good from a couple hundred yards away!

Thanks again for taking this journey with me.

Onward -

BR

The Final Countdown: LA Marathon tomorrow!

After 24 weeks of training, the day has arrived.  It’s supposed to be cold, rainy and windy, which is so ironic given how few days are actually like that in LA all year.  But… what can we do?  Gotta suck it up and run through it.

Not sure what’s going to happen for the actual marathon, but I’ll say this; I have no regrets about how these past 24 weeks of training have played out.  None, really.  It’s usually been seven training sessions per week over a 6-day schedule, with Tuesdays typically being the double-up day.  And technically speaking – even with all the travel and some heavy personal life shit – I didn’t miss one single day of training, based on the original running schedule our coach gave us, along with the original weight training regimen I decided to go with during the marathon training.

Yes, I did a few Wednesday runs on Thursday, and few Saturday runs on Sunday, but they are all accounted for… even the exact number of miles I was supposed to run (except for when I had to cut back a bit to heal a strain on week 21).  I feel good about that… although I suppose it could be argued that I could’ve skipped a run here or there and been better off for it!

Also, I’m sure it could be argued that I was probably a little too preoccupied with my pace at times, and that I sometimes trained a little too close to the edge of injury, considering my capabilities as a novice runner (which are very limited!).  But then again, I know that a lot of the speed and hill work made me faster and stronger so… no regrets.

Finish Time

Maybe I’ll get into this a bit more after the fact in another entry, but yes, to those who have asked, I do have a target goal time in mind for when I would like to finish.   Everyone says that the only goal I should be thinking about is just finishing the damn thing.  What can I tell ya?  I’ve had this time in mind since our third or fourth week when my coach wrote down his suggested goal times for each of us.  I was stunned when I saw the number, thinking that I would shoot for something like that in a subsequent marathon if I ever decided to do another one.  But he never backed down from his suggested time, telling me “You have it in you NOW to do this.”  Of course, he’s also advised that, if it ain’t meant to happen this time out, don’t worry about it; adjust my strategy accordingly.  (Don’t worry, Trey, I will!)  But I’ve probably put a little more pressure on myself than necessary to hit the time.  So I’ve decided to do my best to hit the pace I need to hit and try to maintain it.  BUT, if things starts falling apart, I will switch into “let’s just finish the damn thing” mode.

The Unknown

Truth is, I have no idea what to expect.  This distance-running thing is so unpredictable.  Some days, I’ve gone out there and knocked out a big double-digit run on like 3 hours of sleep, no problem, and even at a faster-than-normal pace.  Other days, I’ve felt well-rested and strong, then struggled for much of the run, with my legs feeling like concrete, my body all sluggish and my pace a full minute slower than normal.  There’s just no telling.  And for the really long runs, it’s not uncommon to go through phases during the actual run.  Example: first 3 miles feel tight; next 7 feel pretty good; miles 10-13 my legs feel super heavy and my body feels fatigued; mile 14, the heaviness lifts for no apparent reason and all is good for a couple more.  Mile 16, a pain in my knee begins, but only lasts for 2 miles; mile 18, I suddenly feel elated, like some kind of crazy second wind kicked in… and so forth.  And I imagine if you run three marathons, you will have three different experiences.  For now, I’m only thinking about this ONE!

Thank You!

Friends, thank you all for hanging in there with me during this time.  Once we get on the other side of this marathon thing, I’m sure we will be returning to normal around here with the usual variety of other kinds of posts.

And once again, I appreciate everyone’s support for my cause.  We’re in our final hours of fundraising here, so if you haven’t had a chance to participate, jump right in.  You’ll be helping out babies like these:

 

These two little girls had a safe home with a man who really cared about them (and some other neighborhood cats he took care of), but he couldn’t afford even a basic level of preventative stuff.  So he brought these babies to Kitten Rescue and they arranged for them to be neutered, vaccinated, microchipped, dewormed, and tested for FeLV/FIV.  They are thriving in their home, all safe and sound, and NOT reproducing like crazy.

So, last call:

All donations of exactly $27 to my Crowdrise page made through Saturday March 18 will get you entered into a random drawing to win a live, one-hour phone or Skype session with me. It can be a nutrition or exercise consultation, a Skype drum lesson, or pretty much anything else you would like to talk about for one full hour. (You can even transfer your session to someone else as a gift, if you like.)

The random drawing will be held on March 20th and the winner contacted immediately. And remember, all proceeds are tax deductible and will be put to good use for a homeless cat or dog. Here’s the link. Just hit the donate button. Will only take a couple minutes.

http://www.crowdrise.com/TeamKittenRescueLAMarathon2012/fundraiser/BobbyRock

Or… donations in ANY amount will be appreciated!

Thanks again, everyone!

BR

Marathon Training: Week Twenty-Four (Final Week!)

The last week of training!  And what a light and easy week it’s been.  I’ve had a revolving door of these “phantom” injuries… irritations, I should say.  A reoccurring tight hamstring, an IT band that acts up sometimes, etc.  I’m looking for all of these things to resolve as much as possible this week.  Of course, this all seems to come with the territory in the running game.  (And we’ve always been told that weightlifting was tough on the body!)  Seriously, all seems well….

Sun – 3-11-12: Weights at the gym (#2 HST-style routine – 12-rep feature.)

Mon – 3-12-12: Another middle-of-the-night, 2-mile power walk through the hood.

Tue – 3-13-12:  Workout #1: An easy 4-miler with the group at a 9:44 pace.  And by the way, ALL of these Tuesday workouts have included a burning core workout afterward, although I believe I’ve forgotten to mention it on a few entries.   Workout #2: Weights at the gym (#2 HST-style routine – 12-rep feature.)

Wed – 3-14-12: Did another easy 4 miles on my own at a 9:38 pace.  Feeling strong, although I feel like I’m just starting to get warmed up at 4 now.  Last official run before the marathon.  Trippy!

Thu – 3-15-12: Weights at the gym (#2 HST-style routine – 12-rep feature.)

Fri – 3-16-12: A token 25-minute walk on the treadmill at the gym.  I know this was probably completely unnecessary, and will make absolutely NO difference whatsoever in what happens on Sunday. But, I just felt like I wanted to move a little and break a light sweat so it wouldn’t have been a full three days without any kind of running/walking.

Sat – 3-17-12:  Day off.  Also, I woke up this morning with my thumb “injury” notably better.  Feels like the tightness is starting to release a bit.  So weird it should happen out of the blue, all these weeks later, the day before the marathon.  Must be finally healing up some.

This is it, folks.  And a final reminder: I’m running for Kitten Rescue, my favorite cat/dog rescue group.  For those of you who’ve been able to contribute, thanks so much.  I really, really appreciate the support.  If you would like to contribute, please check out the following link.

http://www.crowdrise.com/TeamKittenRescueLAMarathon2012/fundraiser/BobbyRock

Donations in any amount are appreciated and will definitely go directly to helping out a homeless cat or dog, like Marco here.

Marco was found in a parking lot and turned over to Kitten Rescue at an adoption event.  He was just a kitten at the time, and he had such a severe eye infection that he almost had to have it removed in surgery.  Fortunately, after months of treatment from his Kitten Rescue foster mom, his bad eye healed-up back to normal and he was able to keep it.  But he wasn’t able to go to adoptions for 8 months.  Eventually, KR found him his forever home, where he is doing great!

Marco is quite a friendly, even goofy, character.  He likes to be cradled on his back, like an infant, which most cats aren’t into.   He’s also a fetcher: you throw his toy mice around the room and he will retrieve them for you.  Needless to say, his forever family loves him madly…

Marathon Training: Week Twenty-Three

Technically, this was an even easier week of training, as our taper-down process continues.  To me, this concept always seemed counter-intuitive, in a way.  You would think the actual marathon would happen at the height of all the heavy miles.  Not so, apparently.  Every single marathon training program I’ve seen includes this type of wind-down so the body can recover from the hammering it’s taken throughout the training season.  Not that I’m complaining.  In fact, I’ve appreciated the reprieve this week.

I should probably mention that I’ve had this unexplainable thumb injury going on for at least 2 months now.  It seems to be rooted in the muscles that control my thumb near my right palm. Every time I fully extend my thumb, it “pops” as if it’s dislocated.  Sometimes it hurts more than other times, and it seems worse when I first wake up.  However – it has not affected my drumming and, until a week or two ago, I’ve been able to work around it in my weight-training without much problem.  Recently, though, I had to switch over to barbell bench press instead of heavy dumbbells, because it involved less pressure directly on the injured part of my hand.  Had a sports medicine doc take a peek at it last week and he confirmed that it wasn’t broken or fractured.  Again, I have no earthly idea how or when it happened.  Might have to start some real treatment on it after the marathon if it continues…

Sun – 3-4-12: Weights at the gym (#2 HST-style routine – 12-rep feature.)

Mon – 3-5-12: The usual easy 30 minutes on the treadmill.

Tue – 3-6-12: Workout #1: 4 miles with running group.  Nice and easy at a 10:17 average pace.  Had to continually resist the temptation to fly through it.  But I’m not taking any chances of straining anything at this point… even on these short runs.  Besides, coach said that there would be no real quantifiable benefit to running faster at this point.  We’re ready to go; these workouts are just the bare minimum to keep us in condition for the race.  Workout #2:  Weights at the gym (#2 HST-style routine – 12-rep feature.)

Wed – 3-7-12: Ran 4 miles of my usual 5 mile route, then walked the last one.  A stone groove, people…

Thu – 3-8-12: Weights at the gym (#2 HST-style routine – 12-rep feature.)

Fri – 3-9-12: Day Off.

Sat – 3-10-12: 8 miles with group.  A nice and easy 10:04 pace.  Not long ago, 8 miles would’ve meant something to me.  Now, it means a break.  Funny how fast the body adapts to the workloads.

Reminder; All donations of exactly $27 to my Crowdrise page made through Saturday March 18 will get you entered into a random drawing to win a live, one-hour phone or Skype session with me. It can be a nutrition or exercise consultation, a Skype drum lesson, or pretty much anything else you would like to talk about for one full hour. (You can even transfer your session to someone else as a gift, if you like.)

The random drawing will be held on March 20th and the winner contacted immediately. And remember, all proceeds are tax deductible and will be put to good use for a homeless cat or dog. Here’s the link. Just hit the donate button. Will only take a couple minutes.

http://www.crowdrise.com/TeamKittenRescueLAMarathon2012/fundraiser/BobbyRock

Thanks much!
BR

Marathon Training: Week Twenty-Two

Okay… so it’s all downhill from here.  With Saturday’s 22-miler being the apex of our training, we now begin to gradually taper down our volume and intensity in prep for the actual marathon.  This will give our body a chance to heal up and be as fresh as possible on race day.  Still, we did some decent mileage this week…

Sun – 2-26-12: Weights at the gym (#1 HST-style routine – 12-rep feature.)

Mon – 2-27-12: About 30 minutes on the treadmill, fast walk and jog mix.

Tue – 2-28-12: Workout #1:  7 miles with the running group.  Comfortable 10:09 pace, which included a hill.  Felt some tightness in my IT band (muscle that extends from the outside of the knee up to the hip) a day or two ago, out of nowhere.  No big… just nursed it a bit with a foam roller during a quick break in the run, and then again after.  It’s always something, it seems!  Workout #2:  Weights at the gym (#1 HST-style routine – 12-rep feature.)

Wed – 2-29-12: Day off.  Scheduling-wise and recovery-wise, it worked out that I do my normal Wednesday run early on Thursday.  Again, this IT band thing is no big, but I do feel the tightness at times, so I want to keep an eye on it.

Thu – 3-1-12:  Another 6:00 AM excursion around the hood; 7.3 miles with a 9:54 pace.  No real issues, beyond feeling a little tightness with the IT band, which has been going on all week.

Fri – 3-2-12: Weights at the gym (#1 HST-style routine – 12-rep feature.)  I usually like to have a day off before a long run on Saturday, but I went ahead and knocked this one out today instead of doubling up on Thursday.

Sat – 3-3-12: 15.4 miles with the group at a 10:06 pace.  All is a groove, people.  No issues with anything, and the run felt comfortable.

Marathon Training: Twenty-One

This week was all about trying to let this light strain in my soleus heal up while keeping up with the training, so I could do the big 22-miler on Saturday.  I did do a 20 a few weeks ago, but I had to swap out last weekend’s 20 with a 14.  So, It would be important for me – psychologically and otherwise – to hit the big 22.  And I did…

Sun – 2-19-12: Weights at the gym (#1 HST-style routine – 12-rep feature.)

Mon – 2-20-12: Easy 30-minute walk on the treadmill.  Still nursing this soleus strain along.  Feeling better.

Tue – 2-21-12: Workout #1: 6 miles with running group.  The strain is better, but if I had to do the run all over again, I wouldn’t have taken that hill tonight, even though I took it easy.  Still feel it a bit. Hope this son-of-a-bitch heals up in a hurry.  Got 22 I have to do on Saturday!  Workout #2: Weights at the gym (#1 HST-style routine – 12-rep feature.)

Wed – 2-22-12: Day off (decided to give this soleus strain an extra day of rest)

Thu – 2-23-12: Got out there at 6:30 AM and did 10 miles on my own; the usual double-route.  Felt a little tightness with my strain during the first 5 miles, but I actually felt it less the second half.  Slow 10:50 pace… just trying to let this shit heal up.

Fri – 2-24-12: Weights at the gym (Free-form)  Yesterday was another impossible day to hit the weights, so I had to squeeze in a quick and easy free-form one today.

Sat – 2-25-12: 22 miles with the running group and… no problem!  It was unreal – felt fucking great, actually… could’ve kept going.  Yes, I took it easy with a 10:27 pace, and a couple quick water breaks.  And yes, it was long as hell, and I was walking around like an old man afterward.  But it was a pretty comfortable run.  Not one peep out of that soleus strain.

One thing I’ve noticed with the couple times I’ve gotten into a 20+miles range, is that I seem to hit a second wind around 18 miles.  Not sure what or why that is.  (An advanced form of runner’s high?)  I feel a sense of elation… like all of these chemicals are surging through my veins and I could run forever.  Hope it happens again on race day!

Marathon Training: Week Twenty

And then… potential “disaster” strikes this week.  I know there is a school of thought that says, for first-time marathoners, be very careful with speed work and hill work.  My old friend and fellow drummer, Blas – who’s a veteran endurance athlete – recently warned me about this in a phone conversation.  And yes, while I took the advice to heart, I’ve also noticed a steady improvement in my pace and overall conditioning as a result of my weekly speed or hill work.  So I’ve kind of proceeded with the program my coach (and running group) has been on, which of course, has included the special alternating speed and hill training on Tuesdays.  I’ve also remained injury free, although I feel like I’ve been on the verge of injury on several occasions.

So, on Tuesday of this week – even after coach said to take it easy – I probably took a hill a bit too fast and… sure enough, I felt a bit of a strain between my calf and my Achilles (around my soleus, I believe).  It wasn’t anything major, but it happened all at once, and it was enough to make me cut the run a mile short.  From there, it was a troubling week of having to deal with this thing.  Son of a bitch!

Note to Self: It’s always when you’re feeling GOOD that you risk injury the most, because you tend to push yourself harder.

Sun – 2-12-12: Workout #1: 16 miles on my own, with a 9:53 pace.  (Saturday was just not meant to be this week, which is why I was out here on a Sunday.)  Feeling so much stronger than those similar runs I did in Panama City Beach just a few weeks ago.  Once again, I feel like all the training is really starting to kick in.  Workout #2: Weights at the gym (#2 HST-style routine – 10-rep feature.)

Mon – 2-13-12 – Quick 35:00 minute late-night powerwalk.

Tue – 2-14-12: Workout #1: Weights at the gym (#2 HST-style routine – 10-rep feature.)  Workout #2: Light hills with running group and, as mentioned, I strained my right soleus.  So now, for the first time in my entire training, I had to cut a run short (did 5 instead of 6) and start the “rehabbing” process, hoping that it wasn’t a tear or something else really bad.   What a bitch!  I really didn’t think I was pushing that hard.  Don’t know why it happened…

Wed – 2-15-12: Super windy afternoon today.  I started the run – which was supposed to be 10 miles! – super slow, only to discover that, yes, the strain was still dogging me.  So after about a mile or so, I headed to the gym (which was near my route) and did an easy hour on the treadmill in such a way that didn’t aggravate it too much.  This sucks!

Thu – 2-16-12: Weights at the gym (#2 HST-style routine – 10-rep feature.)

Fri – 2-17-12: day off

Sat – 2-18-12: After a couple more days of intensive ice and rolling this strained muscle out, I did feel notably better for my long run today.  Only thing is, I wound up doing a measly 14 miles instead of the 20 that was on the schedule.  Why?  Because once I got past 10 miles, that strain began to get noticeably worse.  So coach told me to call it good at 14, then jump right back into my usual rehab routine.  He said there was no sense in pushing it  since I was so close to the race.  Made sense, but it felt horrible calling it early… especially since I was feeling good and could’ve knocked out the 20, no problem.  Man… let’s hope this thing heals up quick, because these next two weeks will be the most critical of my training in a lot of ways…

Let’s see what happens -

BR

Marathon Training: Week Nineteen

Kind of a crazy week… had to do my usual Saturday long-run on Sunday.  Otherwise, all else seems to be progressing nicely.

Sun – 2-5-12: Weights at the gym (#2 HST-style routine – 10-rep feature.)

Mon – 2-6-12: Late night 30-minute powerwalk through scary LA neighborhood.

Tue – 2-7-12: Workout #1: 7-mile hill run with running group.  Nice 9:11 pace… feeling good.  Then the usual killer core workout afterward.   Workout #2: Weights at the gym (#2 HST-style routine – 10-rep feature.)

Wed – 2-8-12: 8 miles around the usual solo route.  A bit slower than last night – 9:56 pace.

Thu – 2-9-12: Weights at the gym (#2 HST-style routine – 10-rep feature.)

Fri – 2-10-12: day off (gig day)

Sat – 2-11-12: No sleep last night… was up for about 36 hours straight before crashing a bit Saturday evening.  So, needless to say – my long run was actually done on Sunday this week….