Slow and Steady wins the race... 300 to Boston in 5 years?

[AntimonyER]

Alright, its about time to get active in my journal, as I am less than two weeks from starting my "official" marathon training. But first, my August numbers:

August Running Totals:
Distance: 167.35 miles
Avg Pace: 8:06/mi

I added long weekend runs to my weekday maintenance runs in August, with runs of 10.59, 11.23, 14.25, and 12.02 making up most of the difference between July and August. My pace also improved as those weekend runs are in the cooler mornings (or indoors) where keeping 8:00 pace for that length of time is not taxing, plus there were a few slightly cooler days where keeping sub 8:00 pace at noon wasn't lunacy. In fact, last weekend I ran at an 8:06 pace for my longest distance ever (16.1 miles) and managed an avg HR of 144, right where @DopeyBadger you said those long runs should sit.

It hasn't been exactly easy, with my kids soccer starting up, trying to fit in those weekend runs has been difficult. The 14.25 run was in Greenville, SC, and took a lot of research to find a route I was comfortable with, and even then had to purchase water at stores to stay hydrated. Two of the other long runs were treadmill runs, as I either didn't have time to scout out a route, or couldn't find time to run until the heat of the day. I already hate running on treadmills, but 90 minutes on one? Ugh.

This weekend I am excited in that my weekend run is actually a race, the Savannah Sunburn Half Marathon. I am not shooting for a PR, as its predicted to be a warm, muggy, and possibly rainy morning (T+D values of around 150). But its still something different, in a place I have never run before, will definitely be enjoyable.

 

[AntimonyER]

And now, onto "The PLAN". So a mix of success and failures for Step 1 of my plan. First, my failure: I have failed to lose any weight. I have been stuck right around 165 all summer, with even a few trips above. Vacations, weekend soccer trips requiring eating out too much, and general snackage level being too high have all contributed. I wanted to go into the official training at my goal race weight, so I wasn't training at an energy deficit, but that clearly is going to have to be amended. I plan to get serious about calorie intake for the next 8 weeks, the two weeks until training starts, and then the first half of official training. But wherever I am at at the halfway point, is where I will stay, as I want to finish the training strong.

The other two parts of Step 1 were more successful. August was my second best month mileage wise ever, so I have definitely gotten the mileage up as planned, I am happy with where I am at heading into my training plan. And I have found an alternative to gels that is much more agreeable to my stomach. I tried Clif and honey stinger gummies, and honey stinger waffles, and my stomach issues were greatly reduced/eliminated with all of those. I think the Clif ones were the best, as they were easier to deal with, only 3 chews per "dose", and it comes with 2 "doses" per pack. That would mean two packs would carry me through the entire marathon with 45 minute intervals. Add in a waffle right before the start, and I think that will be my race fueling strategy. Hydration I still have to nail down, but need conditions closer to race day to finalize that plan (to calculate sweat rate).

I did also start suffering from some runner's knee in early August, that I think was due to running in worn out shoes (started right around 400 miles in the brooks ghost I was running in). Since I was also dealing with some serious calluses on my big toe and inside of foot, I switched to the Altra Escalante 1.5. My knee is feeling much better even though my mileage increased, so definitely made the right decision to retire the brooks, and my calluses have reduced dramatically as well. So very happy with the Altra's.

 

[AntimonyER]

Race Report: Savannah Sunburn Half Marathon

So with my official training plan scheduled to start in a week, I signed up for this race thinking this would be a fun way to end the summer "maintenance" phase of my running, and be the first of my long runs. Well I started my long runs early, but other than that, still a fun training run right? I should know better than that.

Woke up at 5:15, and headed out the door for the 1:15 drive to the race. Arrived about 40 minutes prior to the start, a good amount of time to take care of all the pre-race "activities". Instead of a t-shirt, the race swag included a pair of sunglasses. As I need prescriptions and don't wear contacts for races, I gave them to my daughter, who was quite happy with them. Ate a belvita breakfast biscuit before leaving the house, as well as a honey stinger waffle about 20 minutes before the race. Other than a very long line at the port-o-pottys, everything went smoothly pre-race... Or so I thought.

Temps at race start were 77F, with a dewpoint of 74, so a T+D value of 150... toasty. The route of the race starts at the Isle of Hope pool parking lot, and after about 3/4 mile on roads through the local area, it switches to a dirt road as it enters the Wormsloe historic site. This is a beautiful run, underneath old oaks flanking both sides of the road. Here is a stock photo of the road, along with me on my first pass of the photographer on the road.



Honestly, I thought the entire run would be on a surface such as this. (So did others around me who hadn't run it before.) But shortly after the 2 mile mark, this road ends, and the trail begins. I had never run a trail run before, so I didn't know how much harder it would be. It was dead flat, but there were a good number of exposed roots and pinecones/twigs that you had to be careful of at all times. I slightly turned my ankle one time, but other than that kept my footing. It was 3 and a half miles of trail, and then the route lets back onto the road, where we run down to the entrance gate, before turning around and doing it all again. I was doing great through the turn-around and up the road again, actually chatting a bit with another guy, and we were running in 3rd/4th overall! But after a mile back into the trails (about mile 8 in the race), a decision I made pre-race started to make itself evident as the poor choice that it was. I am not the biggest fan of my hydration belt, it is a Flip-belt, basically a spandex loop with open cavities to hold water bottles or race fuel. It is fine at the start but when it gets soaked with sweat it starts to loosen and slide down and becomes a minor nuisance. So I decided to rely on race hydration. In the cooler months, this is fine, but with as warm/humid as it was, I wasn't getting enough to replace what I was losing. I could tell I was getting dehydrated, and with no hydration stations for the 3.5 mile trail section, by the time I finally came out of the trail section for the second time for the final two miles to the finish line, I was feeling pretty crappy. I walked both the hydration stations at mile 11 and 12, to ensure I drank all the water given to me, and then trudged to the finish. I was passed by 2 people within 1/4 mile of the finish, where in all my other races I have been gaining on others/ passing them as I like to finish strong. I just felt too bad to do anything more than what I was already doing. (Pic of me at about mile 12, soaked).



All that being said, my final results were actually way better than what I was planning on/expecting. My final time was 1:39:55, less than 4 minutes off my PR pace, which was a road race in perfect temps in February, not a trail race in warm/muggy September. I finished 7th overall, and 1st in my age group! And I think the finisher medal is my new favorite, it is definitely by far the largest!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Way to persevere! Sounds like you've set yourself up for a fantastic Fall/Winter training season.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Thats a beautiful stretch of road! Great job !

 

[AntimonyER]

So Friday felt great, a good bit cooler than it has been, so I thought I would go back to the end of spring to find a similar run at similar conditions to see where I am compared to the end of the spring. Found a good comparison on May 6th

May 6th
Distance: 6.87
Temp/Humidity: 81F/66F
Pace: 7:43
HR: Z2-8.1%, Z3-64.7%, Z4-26.8%

September 20th
Distance: 6.84
Temp/Dewpoint: 83F/66F
Pace: 7:41
HR: Z2-26.2%, Z3-66.7%, Z4-6.4%

So slightly better pace, slightly hotter (and no clouds), and lower heart rate. I suppose it may just be heat acclimation, but either way, I feel good about where I am starting my training plan at, which starts today.

 

[KSellers88]

I loveeeee Wormsloe! I make my husband go every time we are in Savannah, so I am definitely adding this race to my list. Awesome job in those conditions!

 

[AntimonyER]

I loveeeee Wormsloe! I make my husband go every time we are in Savannah, so I am definitely adding this race to my list. Awesome job in those conditions!

It was quite beautiful. Even out on the trails when it got near the marsh edges it looked quite beautiful, for the few milliseconds I could afford to take my eyes off the trail in front of me.

 

[KSellers88]

It was quite beautiful. Even out on the trails when it got near the marsh edges it looked quite beautiful, for the few milliseconds I could afford to take my eyes off the trail in front of me.

Did it run around the actual plantation? We did the walking trail around there and I can see where that would be quite challenging to run on!

 

[AntimonyER]

Alright, and so it has begun:

Week 1 Day 1:
40-50min Easy Run
Easy Run Pace - 7:45-8:46/mi

T+D = 84F + 65F = 149
Time = 50:02
Distance = 6.26mi
Pace = 7:59/mi
Avg HR = 150 BPM

Splits:
1 - 8:17
2 - 7:59
3 - 7:55
4 - 8:03
5 - 7:45
6 - 7:59
.26 - 7:45

 

[AntimonyER]

Did it run around the actual plantation? We did the walking trail around there and I can see where that would be quite challenging to run on!

Yes, it was on all the dirt trails around the plantation, we ran past most of the points of interest.

 

[AntimonyER]

Well, that just sucks. After my run yesterday, felt a little bit of pain on the inside of my ankle. I was hoping it was just a phantom ache, but after my run today, no such luck. I am afraid it may be Posterior Tibial Tendonitis. I'll ice it and take some advil, and try one more run, but if its just getting worse, I will have to shut it down for a while, and so this might be the shortest Boston training plan ever. The annoying thing is, even with the pain in my ankle, I felt GREAT running today, pace was fast and T+D was higher but I honestly felt like I was taking it easy, and HR seems to back that up. I REALLY don't want to pull the plug after a run like today.

Week 1 Day2:
60-70min Easy Run
Easy Run Pace - 7:45-8:46/mi

T+D = 87F + 66F = 153
Time = 1:05:04
Distance = 8.31mi
Pace = 7:49/mi
Avg HR = 146 BPM

Splits:
1 - 8:15
2 - 7:47
3 - 7:43
4 - 7:46
5 - 7:46
6 - 7:55
7 - 7:51
8 - 7:36
.31 - 7:38

 

[DopeyBadger]

Posterior Tibial Tendonitis

That would be a major bummer. This is what I could find:

https://runnersconnect.net/posterior-tibial-tendonitis/

 

[AntimonyER]

So I iced it yesterday, took some ibuprofen, and it actually feels much better this morning. So hopefully it was a false alarm.

 

[AntimonyER]

Where is fall?! Only saving grace for this run was it is 80% shaded. Even so, I had to take a pit stop after 10 reps to refill my water bottle. That being said, I managed to only be slightly over my goal paces, in this heat that's a win for me.

Week 1 Day 3
50-70min Fartlek Run
10-20 min WU
14X 1min 5K/10K (6:02-6:18 pace)/1min Recovery (7:45-8:46)
10-20 min CD

T+D = 89F + 74F = 163
Time = 0:46:38
Distance = 6.11mi
Pace = 7:38/mi
Avg HR = 151 BPM

Splits:
WU = 10:00 - 1.26mi - 7:56/mi
14X 1/1 5K/Recovery (avgs) = 6:24/mi / 8:47/mi
CD = 9:38 - 1.16mi - 8:14/mi

 

[AntimonyER]

Week 1 Day 4
60-75min Easy Run

Did not run. First training day that was a casualty of my hectic schedule, had a lunch meeting at work and no time last evening.

Week 1 Day 5
Rest Day
(or optional 55-65min Easy Run)

T+D = 89F + 77F = 166
Time = 56:56
Distance = 6.85mi
Pace = 8:18/mi
Avg HR = 152 BPM

Splits:
1 - 8:38
2 - 8:04
3 - 8:10
4 - 8:04
5 - 7:56
6 - 8:37
.85 -8:43

Well missing yesterday basically turned this run into a mandatory one. And it was brutal. Although the last couple splits are not correct, I was running back and forth along a .17 mile shaded stretch that GPS always shorts, and shows me slower as a result.

 

[AntimonyER]

Week 1 Day 6

1:45-2:30 Long Run
(7:49-9:04/mi)

T+D = 83F + 66F = 149
Time = 1:20:01
Distance 9.35mi
Pace = 8:33/mi
Avg HR = 139

Schedule killed me again. I got what I could.

 

[AntimonyER]

Week 1 Day 7

Rest Day ( I did walk with my wife for ~45 minutes)

Week 2 Day 1

Tempo Run
WU, 3-5miles @ Tempo pace, CD (50-70 min)
(Tempo Pace 6:55-7:12/mi)

T+D = 92F + 69F = 161
Time = 56:18
Distance = 7.42 mi
Pace = 7:35/mi
Avg HR = 154

Splits
WU = 10 min - 1.17mi - 8:33/mi
Tempo Run = 32 min - 4.47mi - 7:10/mi
CD = 14:18 - 1.78mi - 8:02/mi

After not getting off to a great start last week, I wanted to have a good run today. But it was hot. I had already adjusted my goal paces in the workout to account for the heat especially since the guidance on the plan said it was better to run longer and slower than shorter and faster for this run. So was shooting for 7:15-7:33. But I was able to keep the pace up, and just snuck in under the original pace guidance. I did have to stop once for a drink of water, since I forgot my hydration belt.

 

[AntimonyER]

Week 2 Day 2

Easy Run 50-60min

T+D = 87F + 72F = 159
Time = 54:49
Distance = 6.73 mi
Pace = 8:09/mi
Avg HR = 143

Dead legs today. Did some strength training last night, I am sure that contributed.

 

[AntimonyER]

Week 2 Day 3

Fartlek Run
WU, 7x2min 5K pace w/ 1min Recovery jog, CD

T+D = 88F + 69F = 157
Time = 46:04
Distance = 5.99 mi
Pace = 7:41/mi
Avg HR = 151

Splits
WU = 12:14 - 1.5mi - 8:09/mi
7X 2min @ 5K / 1 min Recovery (avg) = 6:38 / 8:27
CD = 13:49 - 1.67mi - 8:16/mi

Probably could have gone a LITTLE harder, but it was quite hot again. Heat adjusted pace is ~6:20, so just over the 6:02-6:18 goal pace. I did have negative splits, with last one being 6:27.

Kind of excited, weather predictions show today is the last hot running day of the year. Saturday a cold front comes through and the temps are predicted to hang out around 80 for the high and 60 for the low for the next two weeks after that.