Three Days Until Yet Another Marathon

Hard to fathom that I am 3 days away from yet another marathon, my first marathon in nearly 2 years. It took 4 complete days off and a week of light running to get me here, but it appears the sharp pain in my left calf that ended my plans for a final 18 miler on October 28th is final gone.

The timing of that injury I guess was not such a bad thing. It literally forced me to take it easy, with 2 weeks remaining before a planned marathon. I guess having 5 17+ milers between September 2 and October 5, followed by a 5K on October 14 (as well as September 23) and half marathon on October 21, was reasonable training. I didn't exactly blow the doors off with my buildup, but I've set myself moderate expectations for this Sunday.

My goal is anything below 3 hours. If I average 6:50 pace for the entire race, I can do it. Given my middle-of-the-road training, I am DETERMINED this time not to go out too fast. The first 18 miles of the course are pretty flat/downhill. With fairly cool temperatures expected over the weekend, I'm hoping I can average about 6:45 pace up to mile 18. That would get me to mile 18 in 2:01:50. I could then target no slower than 7:00 pace over the final 8.2 miles to achieve my goal.

Malibu Marathon Elevation ChartIf it doesn't work out, no big deal. I'll be happy enough to finish this one in one piece after what I've been through the last few years. I just need to run smart and not worry about others around me.

I ran this course 2 years ago on a hot day and after training that was severely impacted by colds and  bronchitis. My time that year was 3:05 but I was generally faster then, able to run a 5K in the 17:30 range. Now I'm running closer to 18:15 in the 5K.

I'm o.k. if I give it my best shot and can't get my time goal, but run a solid race. I'll be bummed out if I pull up lame with an injury. Crossing my fingers...

2012 ING New York City Marathon on November 4th Has Been Cancelled

Today, Friday, November 2nd, it was announced that the 2012 New York City Marathon on Sunday, the 4th has been cancelled as a result of the impact of Hurricane Sandy. The announcement on the NYC Marathon website is below:

The City of New York and New York Road Runners announce that the 2012 ING NYC Marathon has been canceled. While holding the race would not require diverting resources from the recovery effort, it is clear that it has become the source of controversy and division. We cannot allow a controversy over an athletic event -- even one as meaningful as this -- to distract attention away from all the critically important work that is being done to help New York City recover from the storm. New York Road Runners will have additional information in the days ahead and we thank you for your dedication to the spirit of this race. The Expo will remain open tomorrow.

Not surprising to me given the devastation of Sandy. Many are criticizing the timing though as they indicated the race would go on a few days ago. To me this was a no-brainer. Either cancel the race or reschedule it. They did the right thing.

Long Run Gone Wrong Two Weeks Before Marathon

That is...if I actually can run the marathon now.  My plan this morning was to run an easy 18 miles this morning, two weeks prior to the Malibu Marathon.

Rarely have I run long two weeks out from a marathon, but I decided this time that it would make sense because my last long run was 3 weeks ago, 5 weeks pre-marathon. Generally my final long run before a marathon is 3 or 4 weeks out.

The reason for the change in plans is that I opted to do a 5K 2 weeks ago and a half marathon last week, to remind my body what it's like to run fast. It was probably a mistake running 2 races in successive weekends, but it felt fine at the time.

There was some lingering soreness in my lower left calf after the half marathon that finally subsided late in the week. So yesterday I felt fine to run long today, Sunday. The only complicating factor was that I was on my feet the entire day, from soccer games in the morning and afternoon, errands, a carnival and a kids' halloween event. I was on my feet from sunup to 9pm. My calves were aching.

But I was a good trooper and set out on my run at 7 a.m. this morning. Actually felt perfectly fine, pretty good in fact, through the halfway point in an easy hour and 7 minutes. Turned around on the out and back course to PCH, ran a mile, then, BOOM, the sharp pain in the lower left calf came out of nowhere. I changed my gait a bit to continue running without stressing the calves as much, but that only worked a mile or so.

Long story short, I had to walk roughly 5 miles back home. Arrghh! So frustrating.

Got home in total cumulative time of 2 hours, 54 minutes, so it took me 1 hour 47 minutes to walk/jog from PCH back to Newbury Park. Not bad I guess.

But now I'm a bit concerned about being able to recover in time for the marathon. I took 3 Advil as soon as I got home and have been icing the calf for over an hour. Might have to take several days off from running. Maybe longer.

Can't remember the last time I had to walk this far on a long run. Not good. But I had no choice. Will have to stay vigilant with the rest, ice and Advil.

Marla Runyan Half Marathon Today Indicates Possible Sub-3 Hour Marathon Time

The Inaugural Marla Runyan Half Marathon in Camarillo Sunday morning started off on time and as planned, behind the Target store. Great weather was on hand - overcast, low to mid 60s, minimal wind.

Marla Runyan is a legally blind runner who graduated Camarillo High School in 1987. Stargardt’s Disease caused her childhood macular degeneration that took away her eyesight. But she didn't let this stop her.

Runyan is a three-time national champion in the 5000 meters and won four gold medals at the 1992 Summer Paralympics. She is the first legally blind athlete to compete in the Olympics, finishing 8th (top American) in the 1,500 meters at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She was the top American at the 2002 New York Marathon in 2 hours, 27 minutes with the second-fastest debut time ever by an American woman.

Quite an inspiration. And she was there at the start of the race, giving us a brief, yet memorable send-off.  The key words were "make sure to pace yourself." Solid advice.

My goal was to run a half marathon time of 1 hour, 25 minutes or less. Based on my 2.1 rule of thumb (projected marathon time = half marathon time x 2.1), a time of 1:25:43 or below equates to a sub-3 hour marathon time that has eluded me now for 8 years.  So I was thinking I'd be happy with a 1:24 to 1:25 run at a reasonable pace that wouldn't beat me up.

Cutting to the chase, I ran the race in 1:23:51, good for 4th overall and 1st in my age group. I just looked back and the last time I ran a half marathon was over 3 years ago on 9/19/09, in 1:23:53. So somehow I managed to cut 2 seconds off my time.

The words of Marla Runyan were penetrated my brain briefly but 1/4 mile into the race my body told me I was felt pretty light footed. So I pulled past 5 or 10 guys into 2nd place, within range of the 32 year old who ultimate won the race (and on that note, pretty much ALL of my personal best times were set at the age of 32).

To achieve a 1:24 marathon, all I needed to do was run a 6:25 pace the entire race. The first mile for me was 6:09 and my two mile time was 12:20. Five miles into the race I was under 31 minutes, around a 6:12 average pace. I had built up a minute cushion below my target time.

Then around mile 6 I started realizing that my body could not continue that 1:21-ish half marathon pace. While I was able to maintain the rate of my stride, my step became less bouncy and more labored. No breathing problems or anything, just muscles that started to show signs of fatigue. Not good!

Two guys passed me between miles 6 and 10 and one more nearly reeled me in at the end (in fact, I was surprised he didn't catch me but I gave it whatever I had to hold him off).

At mile 10 I was around 63 minutes or so, which translates translates to about a 6:46 pace for the final 5K, significantly slower than the 6:18 pace for the first 10 miles. I definitely struggled to keep my pace but I held it up through the finish....barely!

Lesson learned. If an OLYMPIC ATHLETE tells you to pace yourself before a race, well, dammit, LISTEN to him/her!

But it was fun making an attempt to keep it real with those 32 year olds. I'm 48, so you'd think at least I get to subtract a third of my time to even things out with them.

Would be interesting to run that exact same race again, but this time do the first 6 miles at the more appropriate 6:25. Perhaps I would have run negative splits and a faster overall time.  Next time...

Three weeks until the Malibu Marathon now. Considering one more slow paced 18 to 20 miler this coming weekend. I'll do it if I feel up to it.

Four Weeks Away From Marathon and 5K Time Equates to 3 Hour Marathon

Last Sunday I ran the 5th Annual Jason's Race for SIDS Awareness 5K in Westlake Village. This is a worthy local event hosted by Katie and Andy Lutz on behalf of their son Jason.

Jason was born on November 7, 2007, a healthy 8 pound, 5 ounces.  Jason was blue eyed, strong, healthy, full of energy and shared his smile with all around him. But on March 11, 2008, the Lutz family was devastated by the sudden passing of Jason during his morning nap.

The Lutz's and relative Kim Erwin set out to do whatever they could to memorialize Jason and raise awareness to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) through a 5K event. Conejo Valley Guide was in its early stages in 2008 when I met with them and saw their pain, yet felt their energy in putting together a 5K...something they had never done before. This past Sunday, Jason's Race reached its 5 year anniversary.

The inaugural Jason's Race was October 12, 2008. I ran that 5K and somehow managed to win the race overall in 18 minutes, 17 seconds. After a 3 year hiatus, I decided last minute to run the 5K again on Sunday. My long runs have been o.k. and with 4 weeks prior to the Malibu Marathon, my thinking was that I needed to work on my speed a bit.

Long story short, I finished the 5th Annual Jason's Race in first place overall again in 18 minutes, 19 seconds; 2 seconds slower than my time 5 years ago. Well ain't that cool! While I felt decent, my only slight disappointment is that I "felt" like I ran under 18 minutes for my effort. Oh well! At least I'm consistent...exactly 3 weeks prior I ran an 18:19 5K in Camarillo.

The Malibu Marathon is November 11th and I'm running another tune-up race this Sunday, the Marla Runyan Half Marathon in Camarillo. The day prior I ran 10 miles. That's not something I would normally do the day before a "competitive" 5K where I want to run refreshed and ready. I felt I needed to get some decent mileage in since my main goal is the marathon coming up.

A rule of thumb I use is to multiply 5K time by 2.1 to get an equivalent 10K time. So a 18:19 5K equals a 38:26 10K. Then I multiply 10K time by another rule of thumb, 4.7, to get an equivalent marathon time. That would be a 3 hour, 38 second marathon. So I'm in the ballpark of a sub-3 hour marathon.

Learn more about Jason's Race and the Jason Lutz SIDS Foundation at www.jasonsrace.com.

Signed Up For Malibu Marathon, My Foot Hurts, My Butt Hurts, But It's All Good

With 4 long (over 16 mile) runs down the hatch over the last 6 weeks, I decided to bite the bullet yesterday, the day the $20 promo code discount expired, to sign up for the Malibu Marathon on November 11, 2012.

I hemmed and hawwed on this but decided to save $20 rather than wait until the last minute as previously discussed about 3 weeks ago. After running a progression over the previous weekends of 17 miles, 18.5 miles, 20 miles, a 5K and 10 miler, then back to 21 miles last Saturday, I feel my marathon endurance is there. Now it's a matter of, can I run at the pace that I'd like to run.

This upcoming weekend is a busy one, filled with kids' AYSO soccer games and my son's birthday party on Sunday morning. As a result, and I rarely do this, I decided to get up early this morning, Friday, before work, and get my long run out of the way for the weekend.

It was a perfect morning for a run, with cooler temps than we've had of late. Today I did another run down to PCH, touched PCH with my foot, then scrambled back up Sycamore Canyon. Total distance was about 18.5 miles.

Sycamore Cove Beach, across PCH at the bottom of Sycamore Canyon

I reached PCH in 1:09:30 and finished the 2nd, mostly uphill half of the out-and-back course in 1:15. That equates to about a 7:41 per mile pace, as compared to the 6:50 pace I'd like to maintain for the marathon to get below 3 hours. I've never tried to run my long runs at marathon pace, preferring to work on my endurance at about 45 seconds to a minute slower than race pace. No need to burn my body out on these long runs.

To get the body adjusted to marathon pace, my preference is to toss some races into the training mix - 5Ks, 10Ks and half marathons. Between an occasional race and sometimes running "fartlek" (love that word) into a morning run (basically add some speed at periodic intervals during a run...also called "speedplay"), that's how I attempt to "tune up" for a marathon.

Would be even better for me to get out on a track once a week and run intervals, like 800 meter repeats, but with all that I have going on I just can't seem to make that commitment. So while I know I'm leaving something on the table with my training, I'm doing pretty much the best I can given my life's daily adventures.

This morning's run overall ended up being moderately miserable. Once again I had trouble with timing of my, ahem, bodily functions. Years ago at the advice of a friend I experimented with taking psyllium husk the night before a long run or marathon to ensure I wouldn't have this problem. It worked for awhile, then periodically didn't. So I stopped using it. Time to try it again. Psyllium is basically Metamucil. I'll leave you with that.

I also encountered a strange, new problem with the ball of my right foot. It started really hurting about 15 miles into the run, to the point that I had to stop to see if my socks were causing the problem. Kind of a sharp pain. I think perhaps I just bruised the ball of the foot. Time for some ice and Advil. For some reason, the pain was sharpest when running on a flat to slightly inclined surface. It wasn't as big of a problem when running up steep hills, for whatever that's worth.

So now, later in the day, my butt hurts. But (or butt), I think I'll be o.k. I believe I deserve a beer. In fact, there should be a rule. Running 16 or more miles on a weekday before work should be rewarded with one or two icy cold beers that night.

Newbury Park "Sole Runners" Training Group Starts Its Winter Program

The Sole Runners of Newbury Park starts its winter training program this month, with a kickoff party on October 9 at The Lab Brewing Company in Agoura and first official training day on Saturday, October 13th at 7:00 a.m. at The Boney Mountain Coffee in Dos Vientos. The group will meet there, leave to run to the trails in Sycamore Canyon and return for some yoga. On the 13th will be a Chi Running lesson to get everyone started with great running form and off to a good beginning. Our full group runs begin the following Saturday. Learn more about the group at www.solerunners.net.

Not All Long Runs are Created Equal

Today I got back to my long run training with a 21 miler. Two weeks ago I ran the same out and back 20 mile course that I ran this morning, adding an extra mile at the halfway point. Ran down to Thornhill Broome Beach and back again, 1:18 down and 1:25 on the uphill coming back up Sycamore Canyon.

Today my stomach gave me a bit of grief. Every marathoner should be aware of their biggest single point of failure (SPOF) and figure out what to do about it. The biggest SPOF can be a number of things...a bad knee, getting dehydrated quickly, going out too hard, shin splints, etc. For me, if I don't watch what I eat the day before a run, I pay the price.

Honestly I don't know what caused my stomach ailment but I'm thinking I ate too much junk late last night. I wasn't in pain or anything. Mainly an annoyance that took my concentration off of my run. That said though, it wasn't a terrible day for me. I got another long run on the books.

I have been taking one refillable bottle and 4 gel packs on my runs. Today I used only 2 of my 4 gel packs over 21 miles. It wouldn't have hurt to suck the other 2 packs down, but I wasn't in the mood.

With little rest, I ran off to the AYSO soccer fields with the kids today and spend half the day out and about between games, came home and jumped in the pool. I survived the day and feel a bit like Superman. A tired Superman.

Cool Awards at the Local Camarillo Lions Club 5K and 10K Run Today

Two years ago I ran the Camarillo-Somis Pleasant Valley Lions Club 5K in 17:34 without any "speed" training. I managed to win the race that year (well, as I recall, after the guy right ahead of me took a wrong turn lol). Last year I wasn't running in September as a result of my vitrectomy surgery to correct a detached retina. After running 20 miles last Saturday, 18.5 miles a week prior to that preceded by a 17 miler on September 2nd, I figured it would be good to ditch the long run this weekend to work on a little speed with a 5K race.

This course is pretty much pancake flat. A nice, low-key local race run by really nice people at the Lions Club who also put on a pancake breakfast and have in my opinion an enormous number of raffle prizes for such a relatively small race. In fact, I won lunch for two at Ola's Mexican Restaurant in Camarillo in the raffle!

However, I did not treat this race particularly seriously. Yesterday I ran 10 miles around town, which I would not do the day before a "serious" competitive 5K. But I wanted to keep the mileage up.

Additionally, and for the first time ever in my 19 year running career, I worked out at the gym at 7:20 a.m. for 20 minutes, prior to the 8 a.m. start time of the race. My gym was literally across the street from the race and I wanted to get a workout in. I had planned to work out after the race, but figured, ah, what the heck, let's get this done now so I can get home to the kids sooner after the race. The workout was not particularly hard, but no doubt not something you should do immediately before a 5K.

I actually felt pretty solid the entire race...no aches or pains..and ran a solid 18:19 for 3rd place overall. Similar to my last 5K on the 4th of July, the combined ages of the two guys ahead of me were less than my age...ha! I almost ran down the kid in front of me...woulda had him with another quarter of mile...he kept looking behind him, which told me he was starting to hurt).

Decent race conditions. Sunny, maybe 70 degrees, no wind, flat. My only beef is that I felt like I was easily running sub-18 minutes. The wind in my sails deflated slightly when I saw the 18:19 time, but all things considered, I'm happy. I cut 12 seconds off my last 5K time and averaged about 5:55 per mile. Decent enough for someone close to turning 50 who stupidly does a gym workout before a 5K.

As you can see from the unique awards imprinted on tiles above, the race organizers do a really nice jobb. That was a really nice touch.  Thanks again, Pleasant Valley Lions Club, for putting on such a runner-friendly local race! Learn more about the club at www.pvlions.org.

Waiting Until the Last Minute to Register for a Marathon This Fall

I'm biding my time right now. At the (hopefully) tail end of a heat spell that has brought record temperatures to the Southland, I have managed to slowly but surely ramp up the length of my long runs to the point I'm comfortable I can run a full marathon in a few months.

But what marathon do I run?

That I don't know. Yet.

So awhile back I signed up for the Bulldog 25K trail run on August 25th and had a reasonable performance for where I was at in my training. That was a nice mental boost. But still no marathon plans in my mind at that point.

A week later, after a 5 month wait, I finally retrieved my 2012 Boston Marathon shirt from my friend who picked it up for me since I couldn't run the race. Yes, this shirt cost me $150 (the price tag on the shirt actually says $30...but of course the $150 includes the cost of entry into the marathon).

So I'm thinking, what's next. I haven't run a marathon since December 2010 and am not signed up for anything at this point. Then I thought, it has been many years since I ran the Los Angeles Marathon and I've never run the latest "Stadium to the Sea" course.

The L.A. Marathon is March 17, 2013. There were nearly 19,000 finishers in the 2012 race. I've run L.A. a total of 9 times over the years, about 6 times "seriously" and 3 times as a "paid training run" for another marathon. My first L.A. Marathon in 1994 was my first ever marathon, in a wet, rainy 3 hours, 3 minutes. My last L.A. Marathon was a "training run" run/walk/jog in 3 hours, 13 minutes. In between those races, 6 of the other L.A. Marathons were under 3 hours.

Due to the size of the race, organizers have 4 start corrals after the "elite" athletes. I will run L.A. only if I can manage to get into the 1st corral, which requires a sub 3:01 time no earlier than 7/1/11. Gulp. I haven't run a sub 3:01 since my 2:48 in Long Beach in October 2004. However...since then, I've only run 4 marathons, none of them with all cylinders on.

So my predicament is that, I need to run a sub 3:01 marathon this fall if I want to run L.A. But I don't want to travel far for the race. And I still need to train. That brings me back to the Malibu Marathon on November 11th. A race that in 3 years of existence, has brought a measly 14 sub-3 hour performances.  My 2010 time was 3:05 but it was unseasonably warm and I cramped up due to lack of electrolytes. I feel I can run sub-3 at Malibu if 1) the weather is reasonable...no unseasonably warm temps and Santa Ana winds and 2), I can run a 1:24 or faster half marathon prior to then.

Huh? Why 1:24? Because I use a 2.1 multiple in deriving projected marathon time from a half marathon. In my book, a 1:24 half marathon equates to a 2:56 marathon, leaving enough cushion to pull it off.

Next step? Keep doing long runs, possibly a 5K/10K or two, and run the Inaugural Marla Runyan Half Marathon in Camarillo in October. And think happy, positive thoughts to keep illness and injury at bay. Then I'll decide what should be my Fall marathon...

Inaugural Marla Runyan Classic Half Marathon, 5K in Camarillo on October 21st