Amsterdam Marathon: 2:35:37 (PR)

I had a very good race running 2:35:37 (5:56 pace), 43rd place overall. It was a PR of 2min and 39sec. Results are posted here. I had a good chance of running sub-2:35, but there was lots of wind out there and I found myself running alone for a long stretch in the late stages of the race. My splits for the halves were 1:17:34 and 1:18:03 respectively. Race report to follow soon.

Excited and Nervous

It's hard to believe that race day is only a few days away. I'm excited but also nervous at the same time. Today, I ran my last tune-up workout for the marathon, cruise intervals of 4 x 1K with 200m recovery. Splits for the 1K's were 3:20, 3:15, 3;17, & 3:16. It was tough to hold back because the legs were feeling fresh and light. I think this tapering phase, or peaking phase as McMillan calls it, has gone very well. I've decreased the volume but maintained the intensity, which I beleive has kept my legs from feeling stale or flat from the significant reduction of mileage. All that remains now are a few days of short and easy runs, then it's game on!

The Amsterdam Marathon will be my first big marathon race since the 2006 Rocket City Marathon, almost two years ago. I did run Grandma's Marathon back in June; however, I pretty much ran it as a longggg run because I only had about 4 weeks of training and was coming off an injury. I was not able to run a marathon in 2007 because I spent the entire year (and 1/4 of 2008) in Iraq. This weekend's marathon will get me back on track with running a marathon or two each year. Hopefully, faster times too. Marathon history here.

One More Week Till Race Day

Just one week remains before I toe the line at the ING Amsterdam Marathon. This week's taper went very well. The legs are starting to freshen up with the decrease in mileage. Today, I ran the normal "last Sunday workout" before race day. The workout was 12 miles with the last 6 miles at about marathon pace. From the track I ran 3 miles easy out and back in the city of Sittard. After averaging 6:42 pace for the first six miles I continued on the track running the remaining six miles at 5:57, 5:48, 5:55, 5:54, 5:55, & 5:49. The pace was a few seconds faster than what I consider marathon pace, but the body and legs felt comfortable. I think this week will be the toughest as it is normally the time when self-doubt creeps in.

06-12 Oct

Mon: 6M at 7:01 pace
Tues: 8M at 6:55 pace including 6 x :30 strides with 1' easy
Wed: 11M at 6:32 pace including 3 x 2K (6:59, 6:53, 6:52) with 400m recovery
Thur: AM - 5M at 7:09 pace; PM - 5M at 6:55 pace
Fri: 5M at 7:10 pace
Sat: 7M at 6:55 pace
Sun: 12M at 6:18 pace including last 6 miles at ~MP; last 6M at 5:57, 5:48, 5:55, 5:54, 5:55, & 5:49.

Weekly Total: 59 miles

The tapering begins

I had a very good last long run today. I ran to the Linderhof Palace, 9 miles one way, from my hotel. Not only was it awesome running on the trails, the scenery of the mountains was picture perfect. It snowed in the mountains a couple days ago, so it made for a nice scenic run. A few times during the run I almost ran off the trail because my eyes would get locked in to the white mountain peaks. The run itself went very well. I averaged 6:09 pace for the last 9 miles and 6:27 pace for the whole run. I'll officially begin my taper.

29 Sep - 05 Oct

Mon: AM - 4M easy at 7:28 pace; PM - 8M at 7:00 pace (12M total)
Tues: 10.5M at 6:41 pace including 10 x 1' hard/easy.
Wed: 3.1M very easy at 7:21 pace
Thur: AM - 5.4M at 7:07 pace; PM - 12M at 6:26 pace with 2 x 2.5M tempo (14:24, 14:22); (17.4M total)
Fri: 10M at 6:42 pace
Sat: 8M at 7:00 pace
Sun: 18M at 6:27 pace; last 9 miles at 6:09 pace

Weekly Total: 79 miles

Feeling the effects of altitude

As I was on an easy run on Monday I could feel that my breathing was a bit discomforting, the pace somewhat slower and the heart-rate about 10 bpm higher than normal. I was beginning to think that something was wrong. A few miles into the run my eyes and mind drifted away taking in the sights of the surrounding mountains. It was at that point in which I realized I was running at a higher altitude. The elevation here in the lower part of Oberammergau is 2800ft, a significant difference compared to the 300ft elevation of the area I live in in the Netherlands.

The week so far:
Tuesday was a 10 mile run with 10 x 1' strides. I usually get down to about 4:40-4:45 pace toward the end of the minute strides, but because of the altitude I could only manage to get the pace down to about 4:53. It's obvious that the half-mile high elevation has an effect on the body. On Wednesday morning I only put in 3 miles because I had planned to run more in the afternoon. However, I forgot that I was taking a trip to Munich for Oktoberfest, so the planned 6-8 miles did not happen. Today was a double with an easy five in the morning and twelve in the afternoon which included 2 x 2.5M at tempo pace. Because of the altitude I tried to run at the same effort, instead of pace, as last week's 3-mile tempos. I averaged about 5:45 pace (14:24, 14:22) for the 2.5M tempos. The remainder of the week will be easy running to reach 75 miles.

It's downhill from here

I was planning to take a complete day off from running after yesterday's 20-miler and a long seven hour drive to the artistic city of Oberammergau, Germany. But when I arrived in town and saw a dirt trail right outside of my hotel, I could not resist running. So I went for an easy short 4+ miles taking in the beautiful scenery. I discovered numerous running trails which runs along the river and through the mountains. I'll have the opportunity to run them during my two-week stay. After the easy run I treated my legs to a torturing ice-bath in the river. The first few minutes of the ice-bath (outside temp was 48 deg F) was unbearable. However, the legs felt refreshed ten minutes later.

Yesterday's long run was the last 20-miler for this marathon training cycle. Instead of a steady long run, I mixed things up by adding some marathon pace running. I ran the first 6 miles steady in 40:12 (6:42 pace) then the next 6 miles (7-12) alternating 1/2 miles at approximately marathon pace with steady running at about 6:45-6:50 pace. I'd hit the 1/2 miles in 2:55-2:58 and finish the remaing half miles in about 3:25. I then ran the remaining 8 miles steady averaging 6:25 pace with the last mile in 5:58. The legs were certainly tired in the end. I don't blame them though because they went through three hard workouts with only one easy day between them, and that was following a 100-mile week. Now with only 3 weeks remaining before the marathon, it's time to decrease the mileage and begin tapering for Amsterdam.

22-28 Sep

Mon: Noon - 4M easy at 6:57 pace; PM - 8M at 7:00 pace (12M total)
Tues: 8M with intervals of 1K (3:12), 1200 (3:51), 1K (3:10), 1200 (3:48), & 1K (3:04) with 200m recovery.
Wed: Noon - 3.5M easy at 7:21 pace; PM - 5.5M at 6:55 pace (9M total)
Thur: Noon - 5M at 7:05 pace; PM - 13M with 2 x 3-mile tempos (16:14, 16:04); (18M total)
Fri: Noon - 6.5M at 7:01 pace; pm - 8.5M at 6:52 pace; (15M total)
Sat: 20M at 6:29 pace; including 6 x 1/2 mile at MP followed by 1/2 mile steady pace.
Sun: 4.3M easy at 7:13 pace

Weekly Total: 86.3 miles

3-Mile Tempos

In the past weeks of training I ran my key workouts (intervals, tempo, & MP workout) on Tuesdays and Fridays with the long run on Sundays. I decided to modify this week's schedule to Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday due to my scheduled road trip to Germany on Sunday. Tuesday's workout was longer intervals of 1K, 1200, 1K, 1200, & 1K with 200m recovery. My legs felt flat for the most part but I still managed a decent speed session. Splits were 3:12, 3:51, 3:10, 3:48, and 3:04 respectively.

Today's workout (2 x 3-mile tempo) was much better. It is the same workout I did three weeks ago, in which I averaged 5:33 & 5:28 for the 3-milers. This time around I was aiming to average 5:28 for both 3-milers. Not sure if I was just having a good day or if there was a slight improvement in fitness over the last few weeks (hopefully the latter) because I would have had to slow the pace a bit to average 5:28 pace. I finish the 3-mile tempos in 16:14 (5:25 pace) and 16:04 (5:21 pace). I was a bit inconsistent in the mile splits of the first tempo - 5:27, 5:20, & 5:27. The 2nd tempo was more even paced with mile splits at 5:19, 5:22, & 5:23. Here's the comparison of the 5-Sep workout with today's.

05-SEP: 16:38 (5:31, 5:33, 5:34); 16:24 (5:26, 5:31, 5:27)
25-SEP: 16:14 (5:27, 5:20, 5:27); 16:04 (5:19, 5:22, 5:23)

Nailing the long run

With only 4 weeks remaining till Amsterdam marathon I felt that I was lacking a long run of over 20 miles. The three Sundays before last weekend's race I put in 20, 20 and 18 miles for the long run so I was definitely due to get over the hump. Today's plan was to cruise at a steady relaxing pace at about 6:35-6:45 for the entire 22 miles. By the 2nd mile I was already at a 6:40 split which felt very easy. At miles 5-7 the pace was down to 6:25. After the 7th mile, my mind, body and legs seemed to settle into its rhythm. I was clicking off each mile between 6:10-6:20 pace, well, except for the last mile. I ran the last 15 miles in 1:33:31 (6:14 pace). I wanted to finish strong and confident so I ran the last mile a bit faster than goal MP pace ending with a 5:50 22nd mile. The overall pace for the 22-mile long run was 6:21 (2:19:41). I certainly like where I'm at with my overall fitness. If I could just manage to get in a few good workouts and decent weekly mileage over the next couple weeks then I think I should be ready to go for hopefully a marathon PR. This coming week will be tough to get in the mileage as I'll be very busy with work and traveling to Germany in the weekend.

15-21 Sep

Mon: Noon - 6.5M @ 6:56 pace; PM - 8.5M @ 6:53 pace (15M total)
Tues: AM - 4M easy @ 7:22 pace; PM - 12M @ 6:53 pace (16M total)
Wed: Noon - 7M @ 6:51 pace including 15 x :30 strides w/ 1' easy; PM - 7.2M @ 6:48 pace (14.2M total)
Thur: Noon - 5M @ 7:05 pace; PM - 7.3M @ 6:53 pace (12.3M total)
Fri: 12M with 8 miles at MP; 5:52, 5:53, 5:53, 5:49, 5:54, 5:51, 5:48, & 5:45 (46:45 - 5:51 pace)
Sat: 9M @ 6:49 pace
Sun: 22M @ 6:21 pace

Weekly Total: 100.5 miles

Marathon Pace

I expected the legs to feel slightly fatigue or sore following Sunday's half-marathon because it was the first time racing since June. When Monday came around there was no soreness in the legs so I drove on with training. Mon and Tues was easy, Wed was a fartlek, and Thurs was another easy run. Today's planned workout was 8 miles at marathon goal pace, which (to be honest) I'm unsure of. According to Jack Daniel's Running Formula and McMillan Calculator, my recent 1/2-marathon time is equivalent to a 2:35 marathon, about 5:56 pace. I see JD formula and McMillan's cacl to be somewhat reliable; of course, that's considering we're doing the right training. After a couple miles of warm-up I tried to run at what felt like MP pace. The split for the 1st mile was 5:52. I tried to slow the pace just a bit on the 2nd mile but managed only to add on a second, 5:53. For the next four miles the pace seemed to hover around the low to mid 5:50s. I was feeling comfortable, maybe too comfortable, at six so I decided to pick up the pace for the last couple miles. Splits for the workout were 5:52, 5:53, 5:53, 5:49, 5:54, 5:51, 5:48, & 5:45 (46:45 - 5:51 pace). It was a nice confidence booster to finish the workout knowing I could have gone longer.

Here's the training log for last week.

08-14 Sep

Mon: Noon - 7M @ 6:55 pace; PM 6.5M @ 7:06 pace (13.5M total)
Tues: 10M @ 6:41 pace
Wed: Noon - 6.5M @ 6:50 pace; PM - 10M including 6 x 1Km w/ 200m easy; splits: 3:22, 3:16, 3:16, 3:14, 3:14, & 3:15 (16.5M total)
Thur: 8M @ 6:56 pace
Fri: Noon - 5.25M @ 7:03 pace; PM - 6M @ 7:02 pace;
Sat: 3M very easy; 5 hours on the feet (walking and biking Rotterdam)
Sun: Fortis 1/2 Marathon Rotterdam - 1:13:39 (PR)

Weekly Total: 76 miles

Fortis 1/2 Marathon Rotterdam: 1:13:39 (PR)

Day before the race
I neglected to do the necessary preparation such as finding how to get to the registration and race site, and even having a pre-race strategy (resting, where and what to eat, etc.). After checking in to the hotel around noon I went on a mission to find out more info on the race. I packed up my bike just before leaving the house knowing that it would be easier to get around the 2nd-most populated city in the Netherlands. About thirty minutes on the bike I finally found the VVV tourist information and was told that everything from late registration to packet pickup took place on the morning of race day. I thought that since I'm already in the heart of Rotterdam I might as well take a tour of the city. Fast forward..... I took the VVV-recommended walking tour (2 hours), biked the city cycle-route (~45 min.) and spent some time at a festival. So about 4:30pm I decided to head back to the hotel to give the legs some rest. Well, I ended up finding my hotel another 30 minutes later because smart-me only had a city map which did not cover streets to my hotel. Funny thing is that the hotel was only an 8-minute walk from the centrum. At that point my legs were feeling a bit stale, so I decided to go for a short 25 minute run hoping it will feel better. After a nice shower and some relaxing, I rode my bike back into the centrum to get something to eat. I wasn't up for the typical two hour three course Dutch meal so I stopped by a pizzeria near the festival and ordered a delicious Hawaiian medium pizza. I had planned to eat it back at the hotel, but that was modified to stand-and-eat when I came across a fashion and modeling show. I called it the night around 9pm.

Race day
Pre-race meal: Marathon Snicker bar, peanut-butter and jelly sandwich, & gatorade. Temperature: 52 degrees at 10am. The race has two half-marathons; one that starts at 11:00 and labeled Fortis 1/2 Marathon Elite and the other which starts 50 minutes later and labeled Fortis 1/2 Marathon. At about 10:45 I found out the 11:50 start was a "fun run". Don't ask me what the difference is. So I made my way to the 11:00 start, but was stopped because I had a 4-digit bib number "3406". All the other runners at the start had a one, two or three-digit bib number as well as the same number pinned on the back of their singlet. I was finally let into the start line when the race director asked me what my goal time was and told him that I run around 1:14-1:15. I felt a bit intimidated because here I was lined up with only about 100 runners, mostly Africans and Europeans.

The gun went off just as I was about to turn on the GPS on my Forerunner 405. This was a mental breakdown because now I would have no clue what mile splits I'd be running. Remember that European races use kilometers and not miles. I tried to calculate my pace in the first few kilometers, but that turned out to be a difficult task. I hit the 5k mark in 17:25, which I figured would be somewhere just under 5:40 pace. I knew coming into the race that my PR was at 1:15:42 (5:47 pace) so I was already in unknown territory. To be honest, I was really just trying to stay with the pack of runners. I didn't want to be the last runner especially that I had an odd bib number and none on the back. Approaching the 10k mark I could see the timer closing in at 35 minutes. Crossed 10k in 34:59 (10k PR is 34:58). I was feeling very good and wanted to pick up the pace, but knew I still had another 10k+ remaining. At about 12-13k it seemed like the pace was slowing a bit. Noone in our pack of about 10 was interested in picking up the pace, so I decided to. I put in a little surge and noone followed. I then began my mission of picking off runners who where within distance. Within 3 kilometers I managed to pass 3 runners. 15k was 52:38. Interestingly, my 16k split was 56:14 and equates to a 56:30 10-miler, a few seconds faster than my 10M PR. At 18k I could not believe that I still had something left in the legs. I somehow managed to run the last 6.1k faster than any 5k split in the race. I crossed the finish in 1:13:44. Chip time was 1:13:39, a 2-minute PR. Splits below and complete results here. I'm wondering what I could have ran had the legs been a bit more rested. Maybe the secret is not to rest the day before the race.

5k: 17:25 (17:25 - 5:36 pace)
10k: 34:59 (17:34 - 5:39 pace)
15k: 52:38 (17:39 - 5:41 pace)
21.1k: 1:13:44 (21:06 - 5:34 pace)

The leg has a mind of its own

It seems like the legs know when to respond. They tend to feel flat and not interested in running on the easy days, but on the key workout days it's game on. Yesterday was a prime example. Before I got out the door I thought that it was going to be a two hour struggle. A few miles into the long run the legs got into that enjoyable feeling of cruise control. I was clicking off 6:25-6:30 pace after 5 miles like it was a stroll in the park. Hopefully, the legs will play and respond (but at at a faster pace) this coming Sunday as I plan to run my first race in the Netherlands, a 25K as part of the Mergelland Marathon in the municipality of Meerssen. It will be a tough race as the course is supposedly hilly.

Last week's training:
1-7 Sep

Mon: Noon - 6.6M (47:40 - 7:13 pace); PM - 6.6M (47:23 - 7:11 pace)
Tues: Noon - 7M (50:16 - 7:11 pace); PM - 10.4M (1:08:34 - 6:36 pace) including 12 x 1' hard/easy; legs very tired.
Wed: 11M (1:14:41 - 6:47 pace)
Thur: Noon - 7M (49:11 - 7:02 pace); PM - 8M (55:58 - 7:00 pace)
Fri: 12M including 2 x 3M tempo in 16:38 & 16:24; 2' rest in between tempo
Sat: 10M (1:09:14 - 6:55 pace)
Sun: 18M (1:58:56 - 6:36 pace) steady long run; last 13 miles in 1:24 flat.

Weekly Total: 96.6 miles

Fighting through fatigue

Throughout the week the legs felt heavy, flat and tired. I sort of expected it as I came off a 100-mile week last week, which was followed by 13 on Mon, 17 on Tues, 11 on Wed and 15 yesterday. The runs were doubles with the exception of Wednesday's. Tuesday's workout also included a fartlek run of 12 x 1' hard/easy.

The workout I had planned for the day was 3 x 2-mile tempo at 5:36-5:40 pace with 2' rest in between. After a 3-mile warm-up and a few strides I circled the track hoping that the legs would have some pop in it. When I hit the first mile in 5:31 and the legs feeling okay, I thought to myself that it just might be a good day for the legs. A couple laps later (about 1.5 miles into the tempo) I began questioning myself whether I should be running 3 x 2-mile tempo or 2 x 3-mile tempo. The two workouts may produce the same results, but I was easily convinced that the longer tempo would be more beneficial for marathon training. The 3-mile tempo is not only a tougher workout physically, but also mentally. I'm sure marathoners would agree that mental fitness is as important as physical fitness during marathon training and the actual race. I ended up having a good workout. I ran the 3-mile tempo runs in 16:38 (5:31, 5:33, 5:34) and 16:24 (5:26, 5:31, 5:27), an average pace of 5:33 and 5:28. I'm very satisfied the legs held up after battling fatigue throughout the week.

Just go with the flow

That's basically what I did in today's long run. The plan was to go 18 miles or 2 hours. Going into the run the legs felt okay, definitely not fresh or rested. As I strolled on the cycle path the Forerunner split my first mile in 6:48. This is about 30 seconds faster than what I normally hit the first mile in my daily runs. I thought that I shouldn't worry too much about pace if it feels easy and relaxed. The 2nd mile split at 6:26 so I decided to just go with the flow. I settled into a good rhythm at low-6:30ish pace for the next 7 miles. To my surprise the pace slowly increased (i.e. faster) for the remainder of the run. I ended up doing 20 miles in 2:08:40, a little over 2 minutes faster than last week's 20-miler. The 5-mile splits for the long run were 32:56 (6:35), 32:35 (6:31), 31:46 (6:21), and 31:23 (6:16). An average pace of 6:26 for the 20-miler.

It was a good run to end the week. In fact, I hit the magical 100 mile/week. I'll have to look back on the logs because I don't recall the last time I had a 100-mile week. Here's a recap of this week's training.

25-31 Aug

Mon: Noon - 6M (42:50 - 7:08 pace); PM - 6.1M (43:20 - 7:07 pace) easy run; 12.1M total
Tues: Noon - 4.2M (30:44 - 7:19 pace); PM - 7M with 1200 & 1K intervals (1200s = 3:44, 3:43, 3:46; 1K - 3:02, 3:02); 11.2M total
Wed: Noon - 7.1M (50:01 - 7:03 pace); PM - 9.2M (1:02:05 - 6:46 pace) surprisingly the HR was consistent in the mid to high 130s at 6:40ish pace; 16.3M total
Thur: Noon - 7M (48:34 - 6:56 pace); PM - 9M (1:01:58 - 6:53 pace); 16M total
Fri: Noon - 6.2M (44:07 - 7:06 pace) easy but legs felt crappy; PM - 10M (1:02:40 - 6:17 pace) including 6 mile tempo in 34:32 (5:45 pace); 16.2M total
Sat: 9.4M (1:05:44 - 7:01 pace) was only planning on 6 miles but it turned into 9+ miles.
Sun: 20M (2:08:40 - 6:26 pace) steady pace; 5-mile splits: 32:56 (6:35), 32:35 (6:31), 31:46 (6:21), and 31:23 (6:16)

Weekly Total: 101.2 miles

Planned workout gone out the window

There are just about 7 weeks of training that remains before the marathon. I'm pretty happy with where I'm at in my fitness. Today, I decided to get on the track to practice some marathon pace. I was sort of concerned about the workout (6 miles at MP), because I had no clue how the legs would respond. The last couple days I had put in 32 miles (16 on Wed & Th); this was following the track workout on Tuesday. Also, I had just finished running 10 km during my lunch hour. The goal was to hit the mile splits at 6:00 pace. After a couple miles of warm-up, I headed off for the first of twenty-four laps. I looked at my watch just as I hit the 400m mark and saw 1:22. I could not believe it. The pace felt very comfortable, but a bit too fast. From there on I decided to just go with the pace which felt comfortable. Feeling relaxed I came through the mile in 5:49. It seemed like the legs were in cruise control as I followed through the next 4 miles in 5:52, 5:47, 5:47, and 5:46. Feeling unreasonably good I made the decision to pick up the pace in the last couple laps finishing off the 6th mile in 5:31. The workout ended up being more of a tempo workout (on the slower end) versus a marathon pace workout. Okay, the initial plan of marathon pace went out the window, but it was still a good workout.

Today's run: Noon - 6.2M (44:07 - 7:06 pace) easy but legs felt crappy; PM - 10M (1:02:40 - 6:17 pace) including 6 mile tempo in 34:32 (5:45 pace).

Yesterday: Noon - 7M (48:34 - 6:56 pace); PM - 9M (1:01:58 - 6:53 pace)

Wed: Noon - 7.1M (50:01 - 7:03 pace); PM - 9.2M (1:02:05 - 6:46 pace) surprisingly the HR was consistent in the mid to high 130s at 6:40ish pace.

A streak of Tuesday track intervals

Today was the second consecutive Tuesday linking up with the Dutch runners at the Sittard-Geleen track for intervals. The running group is coached by an older guy (Will - about mid-40s) who has a marathon PR of 2:25, so I'd say he knows how to coach. After a couple miles of warming up we do some stretching followed by drills, some of which I'd never done. Will yells out in Dutch the workout for the day. Just as I give him the lost-man's look he begins to explain the workout to me in English. The Dutch people speak fairly good English, so it's easy to carry on a conversation. Will tells me the workout: 1200, 1000, 1200, 1000, 1200 - each followed by 200m recoveries. Immediately, I try to calculate what I should be running the 1200 and 1K intervals in. With the legs feeling a bit heavy from the 20-miler on Sunday and 12 miles yesterday I thought I'd shoot for 3:50 for 1200 and 3:10 for 1K. I end up running the workout in 3:44, 3:02, 3:43, 3:02, & 3:46. It was a good workout, but the legs were certainly done.

Today's run: Noon - 4.2M (30:44 - 7:19 pace); PM - 7M with 1200 & 1K intervals (1200s = 3:44, 3:43, 3:46; 1K - 3:02, 3:02); 11.2M total

Yesterday's run: Noon - 6M (42:50 - 7:08 pace); PM - 6.1M (43:20 - 7:07 pace) easy run; 12.1M total

8 Weeks till Amsterdam Marathon

I'm finally situated and have internet access so I hope to post updates more frequently. Training the past three weeks has been fairly good. Felt good in today's long run as I was cruising along at 6:30ish pace after 4 miles. Oh, I'm officially entered for the Amsterdam Marathon on 19 October. The Dutch runners I linked up with on Tuesday's track workout all claim that the Amsterdam course is fast. I must not forget that the training must be put in first.

Here's the training log for the last 3 weeks.

18 - 24 Aug

Mon: 8.4M (58:20 - 6:58 pace)
Tues: AM - 5M (35:54 - 7:11 pace) short and easy run
Tues: PM - 7M including track workout; 4 x 300 (46, 49, 46, 49) + 5 x 400 (68, 68, 70, 70, 68) + 4 x 300 (50, 50, 51, 51); my first speed workout on the track in ages. legs were done in the end.
Wed: AM - 4.2M (31:18 - 7:27 pace) very easy; legs tired from yesterday's track workout
Wed: PM - 9.1M (1:02:31 - 6:52 pace)
Thur: AM - 8.4M (57:24 - 6:50 pace) easy on trails
Thur: PM - 6.6M (46:33 - 7:05 pace) easy run
Fri: 11.1M (1:13:06 - 6:35 pace) including 5 x 2' at 5k pace with 1' easy
Sat: 7.2M (50:37 - 7:01 pace)
Sun: 20M (2:10:56 - 6:33 pace) steady long run; last 10 miles in 64:02 (6:24 pace);

Weekly Total: 87 miles

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11 - 17 Aug

Mon: AM - 6.5M (44:07 - 6:47 pace)
Mon: PM - 4.3M (29:25 - 6:50 pace)
Tues: AM - 9.1M (59:49 - 6:33 pace) including fartlek 12 x 1' hard/easy
Tues: PM - 6.1M (41:19 - 6:49 pace)
Wed: 5.5M (39:11 - 7:07 pace) short and easy
Thur: AM - 10.1M (1:05:14 - 6:28 pace) middle 4 miles at 5:50 pace
Thur: PM - 6.6M (45:43 - 6:57 pace) easy; legs felt a bit heavy
Fri: AM - 7.5M (52:35 - 7:00 pace)
Fri: PM - 7M (47:41 - 6:48 pace)
Sat: 11M (1:13:53 - 6:43 pace) easy with a couple miles at 6:00 pace
Sun: 15.1M (1:36:22 - 6:23 pace) long run with miles 7-12 at 6:02 pace.

Weekly Total: 88.8 miles

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04 - 10 Aug

Mon: AM - 9M (1:01:44 - 6:51 pace)
Mon: PM - 6.3M (46:17 - 7:21 pace)
Tues: Did not run
Wed: Did not run
Thur: AM - 8.1M (55:28 - 6:50 pace)
Thur: PM - 10M (1:04:15 - 6:25 pace) progression run; last 5 miles in 31:19 with the last mile in 5:43
Fri: AM - 8.6M (1:00:27 - 7:01 pace)
Fri: PM - 8.4M (1:00:05 - 7:10 pace) easy run on treadmill
Sat: 10M (1:07:03 - 6:42 pace) mostly easy with the last 4 miles progressively faster
Sun: AM - 16M (1:47:26 - 6:42 pace) steady long run
Sun: PM - 7M (48:07 - 6:52 pace)

Weekly Total: 83.4 miles

The Netherlands

In the Netherlands. South Limburg, the southern-most Dutch province, will be called home for the next three years. The region is beautiful and offers a great deal of places to run and bike. It's a runner's dream place to run with tons of trails. Unfortunately, there are not much runners as cyclists. I’m lucky if I cross paths with another runner during my runs.

Here’s how the last 3 weeks of training went.

14 - 20 Jul
A frustrating week of running as the right ITB and knee was acting up again, probably from all the pounding on asphalt and concrete over the past couple weeks.

Mon: DNR; giving the ITB and knee some rest
Tues: 6.5M (48:39 – 7:29 pace)
Wed: 7.1M (50:03 – 7:04 pace)
Thur: 7.3M (51:04 – 7:00 pace)
Fri: 8.6M (1:00:48 – 7:04 pace)
Sat: 5M (37:55 – 7:35 pace); still feeling some pain on the right leg.
Sun: DNR;

Weekly Total: 34.5 miles on 5 runs/5 days
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21 - 27 Jul
Lots of flying early in the week. The 2nd half of the week of running went well. Trying to get in more double runs. The right leg felt fine this week. Hitting the core exercises hard again.

Mon: DNR; an entire day of flying from Guam to NC.
Tues: 7.5M (52:15 - 6:58 pace); easy run + 3 x hills
Wed: DNR - travel day to the Netherlands
Thur: 9.3M (1:06:10 - 7:07 pace)
Fri: AM - 6.5M (45:33 - 7:00 pace) lots of core and stretching
Fri: PM - 6.2M (42:36 - 6:52 pace)
Sat: AM - 9.1M (1:04:10 - 7:03 pace) drills and core exercises
Sat: PM - 7.1M (50:02 - 7:01 pace) on treadmill; weights and core
Sun: AM - 13.5M (1:34:17 - 6:58 pace)
Sun: PM - 4.5M (33:12 - 7:22 pace) very easy

Weekly Total: 63.7 miles on 8 runs/5 days
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28 Jul – 03 Aug
A much better week of running. Almost an increase of 30 miles each of the last couple weeks. Definitely not a mileage increase I’d normally do, but I think the base fitness is there.

Mon: AM - 9M (1:03:31 – 7:03 pace)
Mon: PM - 3.5M (24:45 – 7:04 pace) on treadmill and core afterwards
Tues: AM – 10M (1:07:44 – 6:46 pace) with 10 x 1’ fartlek w/ 1' easy
Tues: PM – 5M (37:26 – 7:25 pace) easy run; core exercises
Wed: 9.5M (1:06:43 – 7:01 pace); drills, strides and core afterwards
Thur: AM – 10M (1:07:54 – 6:47 pace) avg'd 6:26 pace for last 4 miles
Thur: PM- 6.4M (45:00 – 7:01 pace)
Fri: PM - 8M (54:31 – 6:48 pace) last couple miles at 6:20 & 5:50
Sat: 8.7M (1:01:13 – 7:02 pace)
Sun: AM – 16.2M (1:48:47 – 6:42 pace) last 5.2 miles at 6:34 pace
Sun: PM – 4.7M (33:01 - 7:01 pace) easy; core afterwards

Weekly Total: 91 miles on 11 runs/ 7 days

Running on different surfaces

I've been taking this week a bit easier on mileage after feeling some tightness and lingering twinges on my right ITB following Sunday's run. I feel that the right leg is only about 80-85% healthy since the injury. On Monday I gave the legs a break from running. Since then I've kept my runs at about 50-60 minutes while running on different surfaces. Ran on the treadmill on Tuesday, beach on Wednesday, track on Thursday and mostly on grass today. Tuesday and today's run was lovely as I took in the beautiful scenery of Guam's water.

View of Tumon Bay from Two Lover's Point

Yesterday's run on the track was fun. Instead of just circling the track at an easy pace, I decided to add a little speed with some circuit training. After 20' of easy running I did 400s at 5k pace with some core exercises (pushups, situps, crunches, leg-raises, etc.) and plyometric drills between each 400. Did only 7 x 400s as I didn't want to aggravate the ITB. Splits (80, 80, 79, 78, 77, 78, & 80) were fairly consistent at about 5:20 pace

Missing the running trails.

It has been a successful last couple weeks of running. Following a week of recovery from Grandmas I'm slowly building my base mileage. One thing I realized is how lucky and spoiled I've been while stationed at Fort Bragg. The Army post has many running trails (grass, dirt, and sand) and roads to run on giving runners an option to run on soft or hard surface. I think most runners would choose to run on trails versus asphalt/concrete any day of the week. This hasn't been the case for me over the past two weeks as there aren't much running trails in Okinawa and Guam. All of the last 130+ miles has been on asphalt/concrete. There is no doubt that I could feel the extra stress and pounding on the legs and knees. I'm missing the trails.

30 Jun - 06 Jul
Mon: DNR;
Tues: 8M (56:58 - 7:07 pace)
Wed: 8.9M (1:03:23 - 7:07 pace)
Thur: 9.2M (1:04:24 - 7:00 pace)
Fri: 10.1M (1:10:08 - 6:57 pace)
Sat: 10.6M (1:12:35 - 6:51 pace)
Sun: 10.1M (1:10:38 - 7:00 pace)

Weekly Total: 56.9M in 6 runs

07 - 13 Jul
Mon: 7M (1:00:37 - 8:38 pace)
Tues: 10.1M (1:09:22 - 6:52 pace)
Wed: 12M (1:23:07) - 6:56 pace)
Thur: 10.6 (1:14:56 - 7:04 pace)
Fri: 10.2 (1:12:13 - 7:05 pace)
Sat: 11M (1:16:40 - 6:58 pace)
Sun: 14.6 (1:44:23 - 7:09 pace)

Weekly Total: 75.5M in 7 runs

Finally an update

After some convincing from friends, It's time to get back to updating my blog. I have no reason not to blog now, especially that I've recovered from my ITBS and back on the roads and trails. Here's an update of what has taken place since my last post a couple months ago.

Injury
I was sidelined with an IT Band Syndrome on 1 April . After 7-8 weeks of almost no running, plenty of core exercises and weights, nightly foam roller tortures, and lots of stretchings I managed to get healthy and put one foot in front of the other. All I can say is that it was a great feeling to run for 10 minutes, then 15, then 30 and so on.

Grandmas Marathon
After 4-5 weeks of pain-free running, I decided to continue with my planned trip to Duluth, MN for Grandmas Marathon with my friend Bobby. Bobby and I registered for Grandmas so that we can finally say we ran in the same marathon. I ended up running the marathon despite no training. My longest run was a 10-miler on Wednesday the week of the race. I know many people disagreed with my decision to run the marathon, but I truly didn't want it to be my first DNF in a marathon or in any race. I could have easily decided not to make the trip, but then it would mean I'd waste a few hundred dollars and abandon a friend. There were no regrets making the trip. I had lots of fun and still broke 3-hours. Finished in 2:54:08.

Okinawa
I spent a week in Okinawa visiting my brother and playing tourist. Okinawa is beautiful and reminds me of home. The only thing I'd hoped for was that it be a different time of the year. It was just too hot and insanely humid....but again what place isn't this time of the year. I was able to get in at least an hour long run each day, thanks to these drink machines. I was very impressed to see these drink machines (Coke, coffee, juice, tea, water, gatorade, etc.) about every 1/4 mile along the roads. I'd run into these drink machines in places that I'd never thought they'd put one. And they all worked too. 120 Yen was enough to get me through a hot, sweaty hour run.

Guam
Currently in Guam visiting family and friends before heading out to my next duty assignment in the Netherlands. The weather here is nice, around 70-80 degrees with some humidity. As far as running goes I'm trying to put in as much base running as I can while home. So far I've managed to get in 65-85 minutes of easy running each day. These next few weeks will serve as my base phase in preparation for a fall marathon (hopefully ING Amsterdam Marathon).