Quad Cities Marathon

Race Day. The morning was cold and I got to the race perfectly on time.  Decided to stay with the 3:30 pacer. He went kind of slow the first mile –his plan, but later he was speeding up.  There were a couple of hills on the first two miles, so it was a very smart decision. These first miles were sub 8:00. Later, he kept the 8:00 MM. Things were going just fine. The route seemed endless, as usual. But it was when I finished mile 17, when I started having pains I had not ever had before.  I had this pain by the right front of my hip.  The pain was so bad, I knew I had to stop running. Also, cramps started bothering in my calves, and I just had to walk.  After a few seconds, I just tried running again. I knew jogging slow was better than walking, so I kept going. I reached mile 20. The last six miles were the longest miles I have ever run. Painful. I put everything I had in the last 1.5 miles. Not enough to PR. 
Garmin connect: LINK

Lesson to be learned: I need to work on my ENDURANCE.  Long runs at slow pace.  Finishing in 3:30 looks so far away. The last ten miles...  I need to work on my last ten miles! Hopefully, I can run the Marion Marathon in April next year.

IC downtown races

Signed up for three races. They are called the IC downtown races. The first one will be tomorrow starting at 3:33 PM. It will be 3 K distance. That's less than 2 miles. My strategy will be to run next to this guy and take off after the first mile, so I can do a negative split. Let's see if I follow the plan. 

The temperature has been coming down. It was sub 50's this morning and I wore two shirts and long sleeves. Ran five miles with Karen. We went a little bit faster than usual. My Achilles hurts before I warm up my muscles. I am sure that if I warm up properly the Achilles will not bother me at all.

New Bo Fest Half Marathon

The training program called for a 26 mile run. I know endurance is one of my weaknesses, and I know how important these long runs are. But, I cannot run alone.  I tried different running partners, and it was hard to find a person who wanted to run 26 slow miles. My best option was offered by Jen. She planed to run about five miles before the New Bo Fest Half-Marathon, and then maybe a couple more miles after the race. I knew I was going to be dead tired after running a half marathon race. But, I thought, racing plus a few miles BEFORE the race could well substitute 26 slow miles.
I was able to run about six very slow miles before the race started. 

Not sure what pace to run, but went a little bit too fast for the first few miles.  I was following some "pretty" good runners, but I knew it was going to be hard to keep that pace for 13 miles. I ran sub-seven MM pace for the first  five miles. Then, I had to let them go and slow down a bit. Miles 11-13 were 9:00, 9:24 and 9:15 MM. I decided to walk in the water stops and hydrate well. I think that might have helped a little bit. The race was extremely well organized, as they usually are here in Cedar Rapids. 

Now, it's time to taper until September 22nd. Let's see if I can stay with the 8:05 MM pacer for 26 miles. I'll try to run smart and stay behind the pacer this time. I will also try to get as much rest as I can at least two days before the race. 

Dam to Backpocket

A school bus took us from the Marriott Hotel in Coralville to the dam in Coralville where the 7 mile race started. Parking was available at the UIHC clinic nearby. Got to ride with a few elite runners, Ben and James. My gatorade drink filled my bladder and kept me hydrated before the race. Race started at 3:00 PM and I started by following David Nelson. David is a guy my age who has run plenty of marathons in almost every state of this country. First mile: 7:37. A little bit too fast. Although the race started with a downhill, there was a pretty good hill from the bottom of the dam to the road. First killer hill -done! Not sure how many people were in front of me, but they looked way ahead of me. I just tried to maintain the pace. Mile 2, 3 and 4, exactly the same pace at 7:43 (body machine). David started to slow down and I had to run by myself. I saw James at the water park and ran with him for part of the park trail.  I was surprised he was not at the front. I passed him, and his running partner followed me. Doug Hamilton came along for the rest of the race. He wanted to quit on me a few times, but I did not let him.  I kept encouraging him not to give up --and he listened!

I am glad Doug did not give up.  There was this girl running ahead of us. We caught up with her crossing the Iowa River bridge, and then she slowed down (?). There was only about 0.7 miles left, and our legs were giving up, but we kept going. 0.7 miles of pain -- weeks of glory. Saw the finish line and sprinted. Passed Doug and another guy. Finished the race in 56:43 min (8:06 MM pace). 

Doug was very happy he never gave up. He shook my hand and thanked me. I am convinced that running is a true team sport. It really helps to have a runner next to you cheering you up, or reminding you that you can do it!

Long Distance Run

Twenty, twenty one miles, almost same thing. We met at 6:00 AM Sunday morning. Tried to get there a few minutes before and started walking to warm up the legs. We went for about six or seven miles and got back to RunningWild at seven AM. We met some other runners and went north for more miles so that we completed 21 miles at the end. My Achilles did not bother me this time. Something happened on Saturday when I was riding the bicycle for 15 miles. I felt a sudden relieve in the Achilles. My foot soles were kind of hurting after twenty miles. I was running in my old Brooks Cadence. Hopefully, I will not have these pains in the Saucony shoes.

We ran Mile 11 at sub 8:00 MM. Not sure why I was running this fast. Ben told me I don't need to go this fast during my long runs. Last week, Dan and I ran 10 miles at 9:00 MM exactly. I'd like to run my 26 miles on September 1st at 9:00 to 9:30 MM pace.

Vibram Five Fingers

Had a short conversation about VFF this morning. Learned that because runners do not wear socks with the VFF, shoes get pretty smelly. There was a new guy running in VFF with us this morning, John. We ran some Yasso's after a nice warm up run. He was challenging me and did a couple of 800's in 3:12 min. That was one of the fastest 800m I have ever ran. Interestingly, my Achilles were killing me at the beginning of the warm up. Fortunately, the pain almost went away after warming up (hint: warm up before your runs!).

I enjoyed running with others this morning, especially running next to a person who is trying his/her best. I get some extra energy from somewhere. Can't believe Kim is doing so many triathlons. Don't they get hurt? don't they need some recovery time? I guess x-training must build so many muscles makes a person pretty strong!

Cretzmeyer Track

Rode the bike to the track this morning and met Dan B and others (Kim S and Jamie I). Warmed up for a couple of laps and then did some stretching before we started running one lap intervals:

1. 400m, 1:30min
2. 400m, 1:30
3. 400m, 1:32
4. 400m, 1:32

Pretty consistent one lap intervals (that was a sub 6 MM pace). Ran most of the lap close to Dan, and then sprinted about 75 m before the finish line. Rested for a few minutes and did four more intervals:

1. 400m, 1:35min
2. 400m, 1:33
3. 400m, 1:35
4. 400m, 1:33

Again, I felt pretty good. Jamie I. gave me a good push in most of the intervals. We rested a little bit more, and then we ran two 200m intervals (close to 5 MM pace):

1. 200m, 38.5sec
2. 200m, 39.8

Rode the bike back home and still felt pretty good. Most probably the trip to Mexico gave me some pretty good rest and I was full of energy. I need to say these runners partners make all the difference. Couldn't have done any of these runs on my own. I am very thankful for being part of this running group.
I liked my chronos and wonder what they will look like in a real race?   Can I cut a few seconds off these times?