30 Nov - 6 Dec

Congrats to friend and fellow All-Army runner Kenny Foster, who ran 2:23:04 at the California International Marathon.  It was a 7-minute PR for Kenny.  Wow!!!

Good week of training.  Still working on the base fitness.

30 Nov - 6 Dec

Mon: 8.5M easy
Tues: 9M including 1600 (5:19), 1400 (4:37), 1200 (3:51), 1000 (3:11)
Wed: 9M easy
Thur: 9.5M including 2.5 miles at tempo effort
Fri: Noon - 3.75M easy; PM - 7.25M easy
Sat: 9M easy
Sun: 15.5M steady easy

Weekly Total: 71.5 miles

23 - 29 Nov

Here's last week of training. 

Mon: 8.2M easy
Tues: 8.3M easy
Wed: 10M including 6 x (2 x 200 w/200 rec + 1 x 400 w/ 400 rec)
Thur: 9M easy
Fri: 10M including 4 miles at tempo effort; very windy
Sat: 8.5M easy
Sun: 15M steady easy

Weekly Total: 69 miles

Building some speed

Good track session tonight, my first one in about 6 weeks.  Trying to build some speed and leg-turnover, so I did 200s and 400s.  The workout was 6 sets of 2 x 200 + 1 x 400 with 200 recovery and 400 recovery between sets. 

200 / 200 / 400
:34 / :37 / 1:14
:36 / :36 / 1:13
:35 / :34 / 1:13
:35 / :34 / 1:12
:34 / :35 / 1:10
:33 / :33 / 1:11

Today: 10M including 6 sets of 2 x 200 + 1 x 400
Tues: 8.3M easy
Mon: 8.2M easy

16-22 Nov

The aerobic fitness is coming back quickly.  This week I put in at least an hour long of running each day.   All runs were at an easy pace with a few strides and a fast-finish to get some turnover in the legs. 

16-22 Nov

Mon: 8M @ 7:03 pace
Tues: 9M including 10 x :30 w/ 1' easy
Wed: 9M @ 6:53 pace
Thur: 9M @ 7:03 pace
Fri: 9M @ 6:50 pace; last 10' at half-marathon effort
Sat: 8M @ 6:57 pace w/ 6 strides
Sun: 14.5M @ 6:55 pace

Weekly Total: 66.5 miles

Just Running

After taking a couple weeks off (okay, not quite a full two weeks, but it felt like it), I'm back to my normal self donning the Asics 2140's and hitting the trails for some easy runs.  No hard workouts or races planned yet, just easy running to establish a good base. 

9-15 Nov

Mon: DNR
Tues: 7M easy
Wed: 8M easy
Thur: 9M easy
Fri: 8M easy
Sat: 8M easy
Sun: 13M easy

Weekly Total: 53 miles

Taking it easy

I tried to take 2 complete weeks off from running, but that was easier said than done.  However, I did make it to 10 consecutive days of no running.  On days 11-14 I got in 20-30 minutes of very easy running.   With the exception of some tightness and a knotty feeling in the right hamstring, the legs and body feel great.  The plan for now is to slowly build my base. 

Here are some race photos.

Marine Corps Marathon - Race Report

In case you're wondering or if you haven't checked the results yet, I ran a 2:41:33 at the Marine Corps Marathon and Armed Forces Marathon Championship.  Army took 3rd Place.  Air Force (1st) and Navy (2nd) both put together a very strong team.  Air Force had their top 4 runners all under 2:30 (team results here) and Navy had the overall race winner of 2:21. 

It's true when they say the marathon is 2 races, a 20 mile run and then a 10k race.  I put in a good first 20 miles and then just fell apart big time in the last 10K.  I'm not sure what really happened.  The wheels just fell off after I hit the 20M mark.  I never cramped up in the last 10K, but my legs did feel like I was carrying 10 pound leg weights.  It could be either that the few up and downhills early in the race took the legs out, or my body and legs just wasn't fully recovered from Berlin.  Probably a combination of both. 

My race plan was to go out slightly slower than Berlin for the 1st half, about 5:54-5:56 pace, and then slightly increase the pace later in the race if I was feeling good.  I did exactly that.  I reached 10K in 36:54 (5:56 pace), 15K in 55:05 (5:55 pace) and the halfway mark in 1:17:16 (5:54 pace).  I think what went wrong for me is that I increased the pace a little too much following the halfway mark.  I ran miles 14-18 at 5:56, 5:52, 5:46, 5:51, and 5:50 pace.  At 20 miles, my time was 1:57:57 (5:54 pace and on track for a 2:34 marathon).  Not long after I hit the 20M marker, the legs started to feel like bricks.  No more sub-6:00 pace for me.  I ran 6:10-6:35 pace for miles 21-23.  I told myself that if I can just hold 6:30 pace for the last 3 miles than I could still salvage a decent marathon.  Of course that didn't happen.  I struggled through the last 3.2 miles in 24.15 (7:35 pace) and finished with my slowest time since 2005 (not including Grandmas which I did as a long run).  I'm still very happy with my overall race despite the substandard time.  Here are my splits:

Distance / Time / Split
5K 18:16
10K 36:54 (18:38)
15K 55:05 (18:11)
20K 1:13:15 (18:10)
Half 1:17:16
25K 1:31:28 (18:13)
30K 1:49:42 (18:14)
35K 2:09:02 (19:20)
40K 2:30:58 (21:56)
Finish 2:41:33

It's now time to rest and fully recover from 4 marathons in a year's period (Oct '08 - Oct '09).  No running for at least a full week, maybe two. 

Amsterdam Marathon (19Oct08) 2:35:37
Hamburg Marathon (26Apr09) 2:34:33
Berlin Marathon (20Sep09) 2:34:06
Marine Corps Marathon (25Oct09) 2:41:33

1 Week till MCM

A week from today I'll be running in the Marine Corps Marathon.  It will be my 2nd marathon within a 5-week period.  The number of weeks between marathons is not something I found easy to deal with.  In fact, 5 weeks is barely enough to get in a complete marathon recovery and then get ready for the next marathon.  If I was running the 2nd marathon just to finish, then I'd say 5 weeks is certainly enough.  However, I'm not putting on an Army singlet to stroll through the streets of our capital.  I'm going to give everything I got on raceday, just like I did in Berlin, Hamburg, Amsterdam, etc.....

The week of training/tapering has gone okay for the most part.  After Tuesday night's track session, I started to feel a little pain on the outside of my right knee.  I initially thought I was coming up with an Iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS), which I experienced back in Spring '06.  I took Wednesday off to give it some rest and then tried running on Thursday.  It turned out that the slight pain was actually just below and outside of the knee on the top of Peroneus Longus muscle, mainly some tightness.  I took the rest of the week easy knowing that there's not much fitness I can gain from here on out. 

12-18 Oct

Mon: 4M very easy
Tues: 9M including 6 x 800 (2:33, 2:30, 2:30, 2:31, 2:27, 2:27) + 1 x 400 (1:11)
Wed: DNR
Thur: 5M @ 7:15 pace
Fri: 5M @ 7:12 pace with 5 x strides
Sat: 5M @ 7:00 pace with last mile slightly faster than MP; 5 x strides
Sun: 13M @ 6:53 pace

Weekly Total: 41 miles

Think positive

If Sammy Wanjiru can still be happy after running 1:41 slower in the 2nd half of the Chicago Marathon, then there's no reason for me not to be happy with my 1:26 positive split in Berlin.  But again, he has all the reasons to be happy.  At the age of 22, the guy has ran 4 marathons, won all 4 of them, ran a record in each of them (3 course records and olympic games record), and received $100,000 bonus for one second.  Impressive! 

Speaking of impressive, my Dutch female friend Inge Van Bergen ran an impressive race at the Eindhoven Marathon on Sunday.  She ran a personal best of 2:44:07 placing 4th overall and was the 1st female Dutch runner.  It was a huge PR for her and great acheivement considering she was injured most of the Spring season.  Looks like my fellow Dutch training partners and I are going to have some cake and coffee from Inge after tomorrow night's track workout.  Oops, I actually still have to bring my share for acheiving a PR in Berlin. 

Today: 4M very easy

2 Weeks till MCM

Today was my first long run since Berlin Marathon and my first/last one for Marine Corps Marathon.  I ran 17 miles at a comfortable steady pace, averaging 6:43 pace for the run.  There were a few miles in the middle of the run when the pace dropped to 6:30/mile.  When it did I forced myself to back off to ensure I wasn't pushing beyond long run pace.  Two weeks to go for the US Armed Forces Marathon Championship, which is in conjunction with MCM.   

5-11 Oct
Mon: DNR; core exercise
Tues: Noon - 4M @ 7:02 pace; PM - 9M including ladder of 300 to 700m
Wed: 10M @ 6:56 pace
Thur: 6M @ 7:07 pace
Fri: 9M including 4-mile tempo in 23:03 (5:46, 5:49, 5:45, 5:43)
Sat: 6M @ 7:01 pace
Sun: 17M @ 6:43 pace

Weekly Total: 61 miles

Waking up the legs

I continue to feel pretty good and optimistic about MCM (Marine Corps Marathon), .  Did an easy 6 miles with strides on Wednesday and then 9 miles with the middle 4 slightly faster than marathon pace yesterday.  The purpose of yesterday's workout was to wake up the legs and remind them what faster pace running felt like.  I ran the 4 miles slower than tempo in 23:03 (5:46, 5:49, 5:45, 5:43).  The workout felt quite easy that I considered extending it to 5 or 6 miles.  I was smart enough though and stopped at the planned 4 miles.  An easy 6 today and 16 tomorrow wraps up a 60-mile week. 

Signs of life in the legs

After taking Monday completely off from running, I did an easy 4 miles during lunch on Tuesday, and then hit the track later that night to get some turnover in the legs.  I did a ladder workout of 300 to 700 (200 rec) with my friend Paul.  The workout went surprisingly well and the turnover felt smooth.  Today, I did an easy 10 miles on trails.  I expected some heaviness or fatigue in the legs, but none at all.  This is not only a positive sign of how quicly my legs recovered from Berlin, but also a confidence booster that the fitness is still high. 

300 - "55
400 - 1:14
500 - 1:35
600 - 1:52
700 - 2:13
700 - 2:14
600 - 1:53
500 - 1:31
400 - 1:10
300 - :51

Mon: DNR; core exercises
Tues: Noon - 4M @ 7:02 pace; PM - 9M including ladder of 300 to 700m.
Wed: 10M @ 6:56 pace

Week 2 Recovery

Week 2 recovery is complete. I'd say I'm about 85% fully recovered. The legs and cardio almost feel like they're back to normal.  I think by the time I toe the line in DC I'll be somewhere close to pre-Berlin race fitness. Here's the last 2 weeks of recovery.

28 Sep - 4 Oct
Mon: 3.2M @ 7:40 pace; lots of core exercises
Tues: 6M @ 7:14 pace
Wed: 8M @ 6:52 pace
Thur: DNR; cross train and core exer.
Fri: 8M @ 6:53 pace
Sat: 5M @ 7:00 pace
Sun: 12M @ 6:53 pace

Weekly Total: 42.2 miles


21-27 Sep
Mon: DNR
Tues: DNR
Wed: DNR
Thur: 4M very easy
Fri: 3.5M very easy
Sat: 5M @ 7:15 pace
Sun: 8.2M @ 7:25 pace

Weekly Total: 20.7 miles

Recovery & Next Race

Thanks to all who provided comments on my Berlin Marathon result and race report. A few comments mentioned the temperature and heat as a factor. I agree to a certain extent. However, I wouldn't use it as an excuse or reason for my not finishing strong.

Recovery is going extremely well. All the walking after the race and following day contributed to the legs only feeling sore for a couple days. Last week, I took 3 complete days off from running before going on a 30 minute slow jog. Runs of 27, 36 and 60 minutes wrapped up week 1 of recovery. Today was an easy 6 miles on trails with the legs feeling great. The rest of the week will continue to be easy running with a planned day off on Thursday.

My next race, as listed on the right, will be the Marine Corps Marathon on 25 October. I'll be running in the Army Team as part of the Armed Forces Marathon Championships.

Berlin Marathon - Race Report

Sorry it has taken a while to get the race report posted.  Here it is. 

PreRace: In the early morning I got in a good breakfast and then relaxed in the hotel lobby until I was ready to hop onto the shuttle bus to the start. I watched runners as they all walked by excited to hit the streets of Berlin.  The bus took us on a 20 minute ride from the hotel to the runners drop-off point.  Once out of the bus, I followed the herd of runners to the baggage drop-off tents, which seemed like a mile away.  I found a spot near my baggage tent, where I relaxed, stretched, and pondered at the task ahead.  About 40 minutes till the start of the race I made my way to Coral B, which was designated for 2:20-2:50 marathoners.  It was a good thing I went to my coral early because there were a ton of runners within the range of 2:20-2:50.  (According to the results, there were 502 runners that finished under 2:51 - unbelievable)

Race: When the gun went off I was cautious not to start too fast due to the excitement. I ran comfortably and reached the 1K mark in 3:36 (5:48 pace), a second or two/km faster than my planned goal pace. So, what was goal pace? Well, I decided a few months ago, based on training, that marathon goal pace would be 3:37-38/km or 5:49-51/mile.  The plan all along was to give it my all.  Run a gutsy race with even or negative splits.  Reaching the halfway mark in 1:17 plus, like I did in my last two marathons, was out of the question and never crossed my mind.  With the exception of the 2nd km (3:36), I ran the next 3ks right at goal pace and crossed the 5K timing mat in 18:00 flat.  My 5K split was about 12 seconds too fast, but I was okay with it because I was now running goal pace.  However, that didn't last long because I only slowed 2 seconds over the next 5 kilometers.  10K split was 36:02 (sub-2:32 marathon pace). 

From 11 - 20K I ran tactically.  The pace during this 10km segment was a little inconsistent because I was surging in some areas to catch runners up ahead when others couldn't hold the pace.  At one point, around 12K, one runner who was drafting off of me for a good period of time decided to come to the front to do some of the pacing.  I was fine and happy with that; however, he ended up setting a slower pace.  He knew it when we reached one of the markers and apologized to me.  I told him it was okay and then took off to make up some of the lost time.  My 3rd 5K split (11-15K) was in 18:07 (3:37, 7:26 (12-13K), 3:26, 3:38) and the 4th (16-20K) in 18:16 (3:40, 7:18 (17-18K), 3:39, 3:39).  I crossed the half-marathon mark in 1:16:20 (3:37/km or 5:49 pace). 

After the halfway mark, I was still running strong at goal pace.  I went through the 25K mark in 1:30:34 (18:09 5k split - 5:51 pace) and the 30K in 1:48:40 (18:06 5k split - 5:50 pace).  Following the 30K, I still felt good and was working with another runner.  We clicked off splits of 3:37, 3:35, & 3:38 for the next 3ks (31-33K).  I then began to slow a little over the next couple kilometers with splits of 3:43 & 3:44, which brought me to an 18:17 5k split (5:53 pace) at 35K.  The runner I was working with for most of the 2nd half now had about a 10 meter gap on me.  I told myself that if I can just catch up to him, then he'll pull me at least through the next couple kilometers.  I fought hard and was able to catch up to him with a 3:38 split (36K).  My time at 36K was 2:10:35, which was still sub-2:33 pace. Unfortunately, that last push was all I could manage and my goal of a 2:32-2:33 marathon was about to slip away.

Splits 37-40K were 3:49, 3:43, 3:49 & 3:47. The last 5k segment (36-40K) was 18:46 (3:45/km or 6:02 pace).  When I reached the 40K mark in 2:25:43, I knew I had to dig deep if I wanted to lower my PR.  At 42K, I crossed the Brandenburg Gate, which was an electrifying feeling, and could see the finish line just 200 meters ahead.  With about 100-150 meters to go I saw the clock ticking at 2:33.4x.  I then gave all the remaining effort I had left, but sadly watched the clock roll over to 2:34.  Official net time was 2:34:06. You can view my splits here or below, official results here and video clips here. 
 

Also, here is a news article that was published in one of the papers in Guam. 
Here are my 5K splits:

5 km 00:18:00
10 km 00:36:02
15 km 00:54:09
20 km 01:12:25
Half 01:16:20
25 km 01:30:34
30 km 01:48:40
35 km 02:06:57
40 km 02:25:43

Overall: 98
Gender Place: 91
Age Group: 25
Gun Time: 02:34:08
Net Tiime: 02:34:06

Thanks to all who were following my race and cheering me on.  You all rock!

Berlin Marathon - 2:34:06 (PR)

2:34:06, PR'd by 27 seconds.  Race report to follow very soon. 

Berlin here I come

Less than 4 days to go and I'm already feeling the marathon nerves.  The good thing is that I'm feeling a lot more confident after my last couple runs.  On Tuesday I did my tune-up workout of 4 x 1K on a dirt track during lunch.  I was accompanied by my good friend and coworker Jurgen, who volunteered to serve as a pacer for the workout.  I told him 3:15-18 was the planned splits for the 1K.  He ended up taking me through in 3:13, 3:11, 3:11, & 3:11.  I felt quite good and light in the legs.  This workout is probably what my legs and body needed after feeling stale on Sunday and Monday's run. Today was an easy 6-miler and the legs again felt good and light. 

All that remains is a couple short easy runs, carbo-loading and lots of rest.  My next post will most likely be on late Sunday.  Thanks to all who continue to follow my blog and provide comments.

Today: 6M @ 7:06 pace
Tues: 9.3M including 4 x 1K w/ 200 rec.
Mon: 4.2M @ 7:18 pace

One week to go

My legs and body always seem to feel sluggish at some point during marathon taper.  I imagine that this is normal due to the significant decrease in mileage after weeks and months of hard training.  On Friday's tempo interval workout I felt pretty good.  However, in today's 13-mile run with my friend Jurgen, I never felt comfortable and interested in the run.  I'll call it a case of marathon taper syndrome. 

7-13 September

Mon: 6M @ 7:18 pace
Tues: AM - 4M including APFT 2M in 10:32; PM - 6M easy with no timing
Wed: 6.2M @ 7:14 pace
Thur: 6M @ 7:02 pace
Fri: 10M including 3 x 2K w/ 400 rec + 3 x 200 w/ 200 rec; (2K: 6:50, 6:39, 6:34; 200m: 33, 34, 34)
Sat: 6M @ 6:57 pace
Sun: 13M @ 6:39 pace
 
Weekly Total: 57.2 miles

APFT

I did an Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) today and realized that I'm in better muscular endurance fitness than what I initially had thought.  I did 116 pushups, 97 situps and ran the 2-mile in 10:32 for a total score of 381.  The 116 pushups and 97 situps were about 3-5 repititions short of my usual average in an APFT.  That's actually not bad at all considering I have not done much muscular endurance training in the past 2-3 months because of the focus on marathon training.

On the other hand, the 10:32 for 2-mile was also sort of an unexpected result.  Before the start of the run my grader/scorekeep asked me what time I expect to finish the 2-mile.  I told her between 11:00 - 11:30.  I had no intentions of running at full effort (and I didn't) because I'm currently tapering for Berlin.  From start to finish I ran comfortably hard and fairly relaxed.  I completed the first loop in 5:20 (course was 2 loops of 1-Mile) feeling very good.  In the 2nd and last loop I might have picked up the pace at some point because I finished 8 seconds faster in 5:12.

Mon: 6M @ 7:18 pace
Tues: AM - 4M including APFT 2M in 10:32; PM - 6M easy with no timing

Taper/Peak Phase Begins

It's a great feeling to know all the hard work is done.  Now it's time to cut back on training and allow the body and muscles to rebuild to peak strength. 

31 Aug - 06 Sep

Mon: Noon - 6M @ 7:00 pace; PM - 4M @ 7:09 pace
Tues: Noon - 5M @ 7:06 pace; PM - 10M including 8 x 600m+ 4 x 200m
Wed: Noon - 4M @ 7:23 pace; PM - 9M @ 7:00 pace
Thur: 7M @ 7:10 pace
Fri: 14M w/ 10 at MP; 10M - 57:50 (5:47 pace or 3:36/km)
Sat: 6M @ 7:09 pace
Sun: 20M @ 6:39 pace

Weekly Total: 85 miles