Go! St. Louis Marathon 2011

Well, I just signed up for the 2011 Go! St. Louis Marathon for what will be my third time in a row. I had toyed with the idea of skipping the race to take pictures of all my friends and instead running a marathon a few weeks later in Illinois. However, the fact that the latter race would conflict with the Berkshire Hathaway meeting and I would incur additional costs for the Illinois trip versus staying in St. louis to run I bit the bullet and went with the local race.



It is kind of surprising too in the sense that I was extremely upset with one facet of the race last year and vowed not to sign up again due to what I viewed as poor race planning. The race organizers had set up an extremely narrow corridor to shuttle the runners through with food and drink tables once you finished. I grabbed a water bottle and one or two smaller food items and figured I could come back later and get more. Wrong! Once you exited this narrow strip you were cut off from food and drink except for a free beer ticket that I ended up giving away to a friend.



In addition, they had erected fencing on the site of the finish area and you basically had to walk around an entire block to get to the other side. Normally walking an entire block would be no big deal but after running a marathon I was in no mood to be without access to food and water plus having to walk much further than necessary to get to my car or back to the area near the finish to look for my friends, some of whom had yet to finish after running 26.2 miles.



Incidentally, I had been to other races that had the same type of set up of cordoning off the runners from spectators but the difference with the St. Louis race was that the corridor was so narrow that you couldn't find a spot to sit down and linger to ingest your food and drink and go back for more like you can at other races. Plus, there were no signs to advise you of that fact that once you leave that area you can't get any more drink or food compared to signs apprising everyone of this fact I had seen at Rock & Roll half and full marathon events for example. Or, if there were such signs I never saw them. Other than those two aspects I thought it was a very well managed race. Still, those factors irked me for quite some time after the event but after eight months the annoyance has abated and now I know what to expect in 2011.



The course itself is kind of hilly and not really conducive to running a fast P.R. Nevertheless, I ran my marathon P.R. last year at Go! running 3:50. Ironically, I had estimated my fitness months before the race as being in about 350 shape by the mid April race date and so set a goal of running sub 350. Of course, I just missed going under the goal by something like 20 seconds! but still ran about an eight minute personal record. Not a bad estimation though considering the race is 26.2 miles long.

Bricks of a different sort

My triathlete friends are familiar with the idea of brick workouts; for those of you new to the notion, it basically means completing two different types of workouts one immediately after another. So, biking and then running for example. Since I haven't been either swimming or biking lately my bricks have involved lifting weights and running. For the past month I have been going to Fleet Feet in Fenton on Wednesday nights for their weekly 5 mile group run. These days group runs are keeping me engaged with the sport since once I get out there with other people I feel fine and am glad I showed up. I harbored momentary hopes earlier in the day of getting to the store an hour early and doing a second loop of the course to bump up my mileage but that didn't happen.

So, with about 20 extra minutes I checked the crossfit.com website and noticed a workout of the day that I knew I had time to complete; it was 75 power snatches for time. The workout called for using 75 lbs however I consider my right shoulder to be tentatively healed and this was a brand new movement for me I decided to play it safe by using a 40 lbs. barbell. In retrospect it was too light a weight, although I definitely was feeling the burn nonetheless. I had to take four to five short breaks throughout my march to 75 reps in 5:30. I probably should have used either a 50 or 60 lbs. weight but staying injury free was more important than lifting a heavier weight.

After a few more short exercises I was off to Fleet Feet. I arrived at the store in time for the group picture and then we were off for the 5 mile run. It was dark, I hadn't brought my light with me since it didn't seem to help very much last week and thus in an act of karma teaching me a lesson I managed to roll my ankle on a rock within the first mile. I immediately stopped and thought I might have to turn around and go back but was able to walk around on it and opted to keep going. I ended up running with/near a group of three other runners for the majority of the remaining four miles of the run. We finished the route in about 43 minutes which included two fairly large hills much faster than I expected. Overall it was a good run.

I stopped by the gym again on the way home and managed to get in my leg extension and leg curl regimen which I will have to discuss at some point. I had managed to almost forget about rolling the ankle until I took off my shoe at home and realized the ankle wasn't too excited about my putting my full weight on it unsupported. It looks like I will have to take off from running for a day or two to let it heal since it wasn't any better this morning.

Back to the Track

It is kind of amazing to me that my last blog post was back in February of this year. I always intend to write often and come across topics that I feel like writing about all the time but never get around to actually sitting down to do it. Lately the only workouts I have been participating in have been running and weight training. I haven't been in the water since I injured my shoulder back in August of 2010 and somehow limped through a triathlon swim at Lake St. Louis.

At this point I no longer have an excuse to be out of the water since my physical therapy has officially ended and I was theoretically given the green light to begin training again with the shoulder. I say theoretically because though I liked my doctor, he was very to the point in the exam room and after checking my shoulder mobility he was out of there---maybe 2 minutes tops. We never really talked about my training beyond the initial exam and I continued to run throughout the late summer and fall. The last doctor's order I received was to continue stretching at home after concluding my physical therapy sesssions. Perhaps I will begin swimming again on January 1st to make it a New Year's resolution type of thing. I also haven't been on my bike in what seems like forever---my last CX race was sometime in October, I think. I finally put the trainer tire on my bike but have yet to set up the trainer. Soon dear reader, soon.

As for my running, an objective observer would say everything is fine but it just feels so very off to me. My mileage is way down from where I would like it to be. Currently I am probably around 30 miles a week at this point. Alhough I will dutifully run with a group, I can't remember the last time I went for a solo run. I am just not motivated to do that right now.

However, I have found some recent inspiration in a friend of mine, Richard Anderson, who has mentioned on Facebook that he has plans to run an indoor track meet in February at Mizzou and double in the 400/800. Now, that my friends is my kind of racing schedule.....or at least it would have been back in high school or college. I was a middle distance runner back in the day and my heart still resides in the chaos and unpredictability that those with that rare combination of strength and speed can produce in flying from last to first over the final two hundred meters of a race. So, with an eye toward joining Richard on the track in mid February I went out to the local 400 meter oval late this afternoon (alone!) and decided to start pushing the pace and doing some real speed work.

Big River Running and Fleet Feet both sponsor speed work sessions over the summer but those workouts are designed for distance runners. They are usually running several miles over the course of each workout at a faster than race pace stretched over 400's, 800's and 1600 meter repeats for example. While those kind of workouts have their place, they aren't going to get you ready to roll a fast quarter or half mile. For that you need to drop the total distance covered and pick up the pace.

My spur of the moment decision to go to the track was partly inspired by the weather--it reached the mid 40's and I figured I could run the first half of the workout in my sweats and then take them off to fly on the last few reps. It is a good strategy to always finish your reps at a faster pace than you started with to give yourself a psychological boost. The initial plan was to run 8 x 200 meters with a 100 meter walk and a 100 meter jog between each rep, but I always give myself room to modify the workout depending on how I am feeling and responding during the workout itself. The main point of this session was to turn the legs over quickly and get them accustomed to running fast without going at a 100% sprint effort which is alway problematic when it is somewhat chilly outside and you haven't done any speed work in a few months. The recovery after each rep wasn't particularly important to me in this speed work session since the focus was on quick turnover.

I did a quick warm up and stretched before going to the line wearing three top and two bottom layers. I ran the first one pretty hard but not all out and came through the 200 in 35 seconds at about 90% effort. Wow, that felt fast but my downfall was I then started calculating my pace and realized at one point in time I could run an entire mile at that pace so I started feeling bad about not going faster. I quickly rationalized that while at one point in time I could run much faster than 35 seconds per 200 meters in this type of workout I also wasn't carrying around an extra 50 lbs. on my frame back then. For some people it is age that they think slows them down. While that will likely be a contributing factor at some point in my life, right now I think the excess weight I carry around is the primary cause of my slow times. Anyway, I ran the next three repetitions in 35 seconds which demonstrated some consistency in my pace. The sun was going down by this point and I had to decide whether to keep going for another four reps and also whether to strip off some of my layers in the hope of running a bit faster. I opted to keep going as I had been and assess after the fifth rep. That one I dropped the pace down to 34 seconds and decided to call it a day after one more while keeping on all the layers since I was worried I might pull something if I stripped down and tried to go too fast. I took a bit more recovery before the 5th and 6th reps and ran my final one in 32-33 seconds! I was happy with the results of the workout since I hit the anaerobic level while finishing each of the 200's and finished the last two reps faster than the previous four.

I finished up with a quick cool down jog and then headed over to the gym to catch a lifting class. It felt exhilerating to get back on the track and run sub five minute mile pace, even for a short interval like a 200 meter. I need to do it regularly to get myself ready for that track meet and even with two months until the meet I am both looking forward to and simultaneously dreading the experience.

For my distance runner friends who have never raced a quarter or half mile you just have no idea how different it is compared to a 10k, half marathon, marathon etc. The long distance stuff is hard in a more diffuse way but aerobically I consider it much easier and preferable to run a marathon than an 800. The 400/800 races put you in acute physical distress and the lactic acid can cripple you if you don't pace yourself carefully, but too much focus on a cautious pace can leave you sucking wind far behind the race leaders---it is like walking a razor's edge where there are different hazards on each side. I miss it. Stay tuned.

a new beginning February 2010 Week 1

I keep meaning to return to my blogging but procrastination usually overtakes me. Anyway, I was discussing my unusual dietary preferences with a friend and thought it might be interesting to use my blog to keep a sort of food/workout journal to give both myself and you dear reader more insight into my training and racing. Ideally I hope to use this to spur myself to eat healthier fare. I don't know if blogging about my food choices will help modify my behavior, but it is worth a shot.

2/01/10 Monday morning: no workout; took the morning off.

Breakfast: Special K cereal with pecans.

Lunch: McDonald's double burger plain plus fries and 4 cokes. Dessert was 1 caramel sundae and 2 cherry pies.

Monday evening: Big River group run: I ran the loop backwards early but cut in at Gravois to Hampton and back to the store. I then ran the loop forward with the group but again turned back at Gravois to Hampton and back to the store. I figure the entire run for me was about 12 miles. I felt pretty good considering I ran 18 miles the day before on Sunday. Immediately after the run went over to the catch the 7 p.m. crossfit class. Sarah installed new fluorescent lights on the ceiling which made the place look like the lighting from the Twilight movie.

Dinner: roast beef with carrots and water.


2/02/10 Tuesday morning: Crossfit class then to the gym for 10 x 100 of donkey calf raises (90 lbs), leg presses (20 lbs) and leg curls (40 lbs). 5 x 100 on the inner and outer thigh machine (60 lbs each) plus 1000 sit ups on the ab machine; then 30 minute spin class and 15 minute abs class. I also swam 1000 meters. First time back in the pool in what seems like forever. I felt much slower and 50 meters seemed like a long way--out of swimming shape for sure.

Lunch: Mexican restaurant special #1 which was a single taco, beef burrito, and refried beans plus a basket of chips and salsa. I drank water but stopped by McDonald's for dessert--two caramel sundaes--yummy stuff.

Tuesday evening: 24 Lift class plus abs class then worked on pull ups---gravitron machine starting at 90 lbs and gradually working downward to 40 lbs doing as many pull ups as I could at each weight until failure. Tough stuff. My pull ups are a big weakness with the crossfit qualifer coming up in less than 2 weeks. I also did 100 reverse sit ups with the knees on the ground and pulling the thick rope around my neck and reaching toward the floor with 40 lbs of weight on the machine. I definitely felt my abs contracting on that one.

Dinner: Large pepperoni pizza and 3 pepsi cans.

2/03/10 Wednesday morning: Athletic Training class (harder than normal with using the arms to push myself across the length of the room while sliding on paper plates beneath my shoes among many different exercises) then 10 x 100 on the inner and outer thigh machine at 60 lbs. Good times there. Also, another 1000 sit ups on the ab machine plus 100 more on the incline sit up machine at 20 lbs. I also added in 5 x 40 lbs of shoulder presses twice. Also 100 side raises with 35 lbs on each arm.

Lunch: McDonald's double burger plain plus fries and 4 cokes. Dessert was 2 caramel sundaes.

Wednesday evening: 8 x 800 meters on the track solo starting with 3:32, 3:29, 3:27, 3:25, 3:25, 3:22, 3:18, and 3:08 for the final one. I took a 2 minute walk recovery between each one plus ran 2 miles cool down on the track in 16:02. A good hard effort--very happy they (the intervals) were progressively faster and surprised myself by how fast I ran the final one. Then off to the gym for 5 x 100 on the inner and outer thigh machine (60 lbs each) plus 1000 sit ups on the ab machine; then 1 hour spin class and 15 minute abs class. I also did 5 narrow grip pull ups unassisted. Also did 90, 80 and 70 lbs on the gravitron machine for pull ups to failure. Also 100 side raises with 35 lbs on each arm.

Dinner: Salad with ranch dressing and 18 ounce steak with mashed potatoes and 6 pieces of wheat honey bread and butter. I did drink water at dinner though.

2/04/10 Thursday morning: met with triathlon group and ran 2 loops of Forest Park totaling 12.5 miles. First loop with the group was run in about 57 minutes and the second loop was slower in about 62 minutes. Then off to the gym for 30 minute spin class, abs class, lift class and hip abduction both inner and outer thigh movements did 2 sets of 5 x 100 of each movement at 50 lbs for a total of 1000 reps of each.

Lunch: McDonald's double burger plain plus fries and 4 cokes. Dessert was 1 caramel sundae and 2 cherry pies.

Thursday evening: 24 lift class

Dinner: CiCi's pizza; ate approximately 1 pizza, salad and 2 pieces of dessert pizza and 5 cinnamon rolls and water to drink. Also had 8 chocolate chip cookies later at home with a pepsi.

2/05/10 Friday morning: 10 x 100 of donkey calf raises (90 lbs for the first 500 then 105 for the second 500 reps), leg presses (20 lbs first 500 then 30 lbs for the final 500) and leg curls (40 lbs first 500 reps then 50 lbs for final 500 reps)

Lunch: McDonald's double burger plain plus fries and 4 cokes. Dessert was 1 caramel sundae and 2 cherry pies.

Friday evening: off

Friday dinner: Chinese takeout: Lemon chicken and an order of potstickers with white rice and 2 pepsi's.

2/06/10 Saturday morning: 15k race Frostbite series. I ran 111:59 or 7:44 pace for the 9.3 miles.

Lunch: Del Taco special #4 which was 2 soft tacos, small fry and 3 sprites.

Dinner: McDonald's double burger plain plus fries and 4 cokes. Dessert was 2 caramel sundaes.

2/07/10: Sunday morning: 23 mile run at Forest Park with Big River Running Marathon Training Group. Ran first 17.25 (one loop of the park then headed downtown) with Jim and Dale in 2:35 and did one more loop of the park on my own in 1 hour and 1 minute. Longest run since San Antonio marathon. The last loop of the park was tough plus I had to work hard to keep up with Jim and Dale earlier. Good overall effort.

Lunch: Taco Bell 4 tacos and 32 ounce soda with 2 refills.

Dinner: Large sausage pizza from Little Caesar's and two 12 ounce pepsi's.