Rotterdam Marathon - 2:35:46

Ran 2:35:46 (clock time: 2:35:58) for 73rd place overall. Race report to follow soon.

Race tomorrow

I feel that I've prepared myself very well for tomorrow's Rotterdam Marathon.  Now it's just a matter of execution and running a smart race.  The temperature looks to be good, chilly in the low 40's and sunny. However, I'm a bit concerned of the winds, forecasted to be around 12-14mph.  I know I should stop worrying about it because there's nothing anyone could do about it. The fact is runners train very hard and sacrifice a lot for one big race, but then they encounter things they have no control of.  I guess that's just reality and life. :-)  For now, I'm hoping there'll be a decent group running my pace so we can work together and draft off each other.

What's my goal?.....to run fast, smart and under my PR.....and have fun of course! Wish me luck!

Here's this week's training, or shall I say tapering, leading up to Rotterdam.

5-11 Apr

Mon: 8.3M easy w/ 5 strides
Tue: 10M including 5 x 2K (7:09, 7:09, 7:06, 7:08)
Wed: 6M easy w/ 4 strides
Thu: 4M easy w/ 4 strides
Fri: 2.5M easy
Sat: 3.5M easy w/ 4 strides

Weekly Total (pre-race): 34 miles

22 Mar - 4 Apr; One Week till Rotterdam

Just one week remains till I toe the line at the Rotterdam Marathon. I feel well-prepared and confident that I put in the mileage and hard training.  My legs are already beginning to feel light from the decrease in overall weekly mileage the past week. 

22 - 28 Mar

Mon: AM - 6M easy; PM - 6M easy
Tues: 11M including 10K tempo run in 35:15 (3:32/km, 5:40 pace)
Wed: AM - 6M easy; PM - 6M easy
Thur: 10M easy with 6 x strides
Fri: 12M including 3 x 2K (6:40, 6:42, 6:53) + 2 x 1K (3:14, 3:11); felt tired
Sat:  9M easy
Sun: 20M with 10K at MP; had planned to run the last 8 miles at MP, but too windy (~25mph)

Weekly Total: 86 miles

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29 Mar - 4 Apr

Mon: 7M easy
Tues: 10M including 5 x 1200 (3:57, 3:54, 3:56, 3:53, & 3:54)
Wed: 12M easy
Thur: 8M easy
Fri: 13M including 2 x 4M at MP; 1st: 23:12 (3:38/km, 5:50 pace), 2nd: 22:58 (3:35/km, 5:46 pace)
Sat: 6.5M easy
Sun: 13.5 with last 3.5 miles moderate

Weekly Total: 70 miles

Last 2 weeks of training

Here's a brief summary of the last 2 weeks of training.

8 - 14 Mar

Mon: 7M easy
Tues: 6M easy
Wed: 7M including 4 x 1K (3:10, 3:10, 3:07, & 3:08)
Thur: 6M easy
Fri: 5M easy with 5 strides
Sat: 4M easy
Sun: CPC Loop Den Haag Half-Marathon in 1:13:17 (5k - 17:26, 10k - 34:54 (17:28), 15k - 52:24 (17:30))

Weekly Total: 49 miles

This was a very low mileage week as I tried to taper and freshen up the legs for the CPC Loop Den Haag Half-Marathon.  There's no doubt the legs needed it because I had put in 486 miles over the previous 5 weeks (avg. of 97 mi/wk).  I ran a new personal best in the half-marathon (1:13:17) by 22 seconds in very windy conditions.  Was aiming for a sub-1:13, but I'll use the wind as an excuse. ;-)  Regardless, I'm very pleased with a new PR, overall race performance and my fitness leading to Rotterdam.  You can check out my video clips here.

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15 - 21 Mar

Mon: 12.2M easy
Tues: AM - 6M easy; PM - 5M easy
Wed: 8.2M easy
Thur: AM - 6M easy; PM - 6M easy with 5 strides
Fri: 12.6M including 3 x 3K (10:02, 9:59, 9:58)
Sat: 11M easy
Sun: 24.7M (16M easy followed by 10K race (36:03) at MP, then 2.5M cooldown)

Weekly Total: 91.7 miles

Following the half-marathon on Sunday I did easy running from Mon-Thur to recover from the race. The calves and quad were a little sore early in the week, but they were ready for Friday's workout,  3 x 3K.  I did this same 3K workout three weeks ago; surprisingly, I was 5-6 seconds per km faster on this day.
On Sunday, I did a key long run with marathon pace. I ran 16 miles from my house in the Netherlands to a 10K race just over the border in Germany. My plan and timing was perfect because I arrived at the race with just enough time to pin on my bib-number and do a few strides.  I ran the race as planned, running marathon pace and aiming for km splits of around 3:38.  I ran the 10K in 36:03 (3:36/km or 5:48 pace) and finished in 4th place overall.

23 miles with 4 at MP

Ran 23 miles with 4 miles (18-21) at marathon pace.  It was my 5th 20+miler in as many weeks and the best one I've had so far. I ran the first 17 miles comfortably in 1:58:50 (6:59 pace) ending up at a small pond in the nearby city of Sittard.  I then ran laps around the pond at marathon pace, or what I thought felt like MP.  I ran miles 18-21 in 5:44, 5:44, 5:50 and 5:56.  I forced myself to slow down after hitting both miles 18 and 19 at 5:44, a bit too quick and definitely not my planned MP.  Mile 20 was 5:50 and 21 at 5:56.

The run put me at 100 miles for the 3rd consecutive week.  This coming week will be a down-week, in terms of mileage, as I'll freshen up the legs for next Sunday's half-marathon.  It also works out perfectly because I'll be working long hours at work.

1-7 Mar

Mon: AM - 10M easy; PM - 4M easy
Tues: AM - 3M very easy; PM 13.5M including 15K tempo at MP (15K - 54:22; 5:50 pace)
Wed: AM - 3M very easy; PM - 9M easy
Thur: 10.5M easy
Fri: 13M including 4 x 2K (6:39, 6:40, 6:38, 6:37)
Sat: 11M easy
Sun: 23M with 4 miles (18-21) at MP

Weekly Total: 100 miles

The importance of pacing

Ran 4 x 2K intervals last night at the track in 6:39, 6:40, 6:38, and 6:37.  In the first two repeats my pacing was a little inconsistent in the early lap(s). I'd go through the first lap in 76 seconds, slow down (not intentionally) in the 2nd lap to about 82 seconds and then hold the remaining 3 laps at 80 seconds for a 6:39-6:40 2K. I decided to approach the last two intervals differently and force an 80 second first lap, realizing that running the first lap a few seconds faster wasn't doing much to the overall 2K time and probably just making myself tired faster.  Amazingly, I was dead on at 80 second laps for 1600 meters (5:20) and felt like I had still had some fuel left in the tank in the last 400, so I pushed on and finished strong.  I ran 78 and 76 seconds respectively for the last lap of the last 2K repeats. 

This goes to show how important pacing is and that running 1-3 seconds too fast early on makes a huge difference.  For proof, take a look at the below marathon splits analysis of my Hamburg and Berlin marathon.  I hope to apply the lessons learned and run a much smarter race, similar to Hamburg, at Rotterdam. 

Easy running

12 miles easy in two runs today. Ran a very slow 3 miles in the morning to loosen up the legs before work, and then 9 miles in the Brunssumerheide during my lunch hour.  The legs felt tired in the early miles of the 2nd run, but much better as time went on. 

Tomorrow will be another easy run of about 10-12 miles and then a track workout of 4x2K on Friday. 

If you haven't noticed yet, I added the City-Pier-City Half Marathon  (14 Mar) to the list of upcoming races on the right. This is the race where Samuel Wanjiru (2008 Beijing Olympics Marathon) broke the world record in the half marathon when he was only 18 years old. 

15k Tempo

Ran a 15K tempo run on the track (37.5 laps) at approximately marathon pace (~3:38/km or 5:51 pace).  I took my split times at each mile (1600m to be exact).  Thinking about it now, I should have split my watch at each kilometer since that is what will be marked in Rotterdam, just like in any other European marathon.  I did take a glance at each km of the mile though.  I ran the 15K (9.3 miles) tempo in 54:22 (3:37/km or 5:50 pace).  The cardio felt very controlled and comfortable, but the legs were heavy by the end of the run. 

Splits for the run were:

5:53
5:48
5:49
5:49
5:49
5:49
5:45
5:46
5:46
2:08
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54:22 (15k or 9.3M)

Running through a storm

A storm hit western Europe, mainly France, earlier today causing the Netherlands to experience what the news said were hurricane-strength winds. In my opinion, the winds were not even close to hurricane-strength (comparing it with the typhoons I’ve been through in Guam).  However, the winds were definitely strong enough to make it a runner’s worst enemy. 

I ran a route where I would experience most of the headwinds during the first half of the run.  Well, it didn’t matter because it seemed like there was always a headwind.  At one point I was running forward and sideways (if that makes sense) just to stay on my feet and prevent myself from being blown away.  I found out afterwards that the winds were about 30-35mph.  The last 2 miles of the run were at marathon pace (MP).  It was a good long run which capped off the week at 101 miles. 

22 – 28 Feb

Mon: AM – 6M easy; PM – 7M easy
Tues: AM – 5M easy; PM – 11.5M including 10K tempo in 35:23
Wed: AM – 6M easy; PM – 9M easy
Thur: AM – 5M easy; PM – 8M easy
Fri: 13M including 3 x 3K in 10:19, 10:17, & 10:16
Sat: 10M easy
Sun: 21M with last 2 miles at goal MP (5:50 pace)

Weekly Total: 101 miles

3K intervals

I had a successful workout on the track tonight in windy and wet conditions. After a couple miles warm-up and some strides, I tackled the long interval workout of 3 x 3K aiming for a time of 10:15 (3:25/km or 5:30 pace). I ended up running 10:19, 10:17, and 10:16, which I was very satisfied with considering the windy conditions.  The workout put me at 70 miles in 5 days.  An easy 10 tomorrow and 21 on Sunday will wrap up another 100-mile week. 

Tired legs

The legs have been feeling like bricks with all the mileage in them lately; 97 miles two weeks ago, 100 last week and another 100 by the end of the week.  On Tuesday I did a 10k tempo run on the track.  Despite the fatigue in the legs I managed to put in a good workout with the right effort and pace.  Ran the 10k comfortably in 35:23 averaging 5:42 pace or 3:32/km.  Tomorrow will be a long interval workout of 3 x 3km.  I'm hoping the legs will be up for the task.

15 - 21 Feb

Mon: 12M easy
Tues: Noon - 11M including 8M at 6:00 pace (47:58); PM - 6M easy
Wed: Noon - 9M easy; PM - 5M easy
Thur: Noon - 9M easy; PM - 4M easy
Fri: 13M including 6 x 1K (3:12, 3:14, 3:11, 3:13, 3:12, 3:12)
Sat: 10M easy
Sun: 21M steady with 1 mile (19th) at MP

Weekly Total: 100 miles

8-14 Feb

It was a good last week of training despite the less than ideal running conditions (freezing temperatures and lots of snow).  Got in two quality workouts and a steady long run. 

Mon: Noon - 10.5M easy; PM - 4M very easy
Tues: Noon - 11M including 2 x 1K + 1 x 600 + 3 x 800; very cold; PM - 5.5M easy
Wed: 10M easy
Thur: Noon - 10.6M with 5M tempo; PM - 5.4 very easy
Fri: 10M easy
Sat: 10M easy
Sun: 20M steady easy

Weekly Total: 97 miles

I'm still here

After 3 weeks of vacation and doing a lot of traveling around Europe (Spain, France, Italy) with my girlfriend, I'm now ready to get back into the blogosphere.  Below is the last 4 weeks of training. 

BTW, next big race will be Rotterdam Marathon on 11 April. 

1 - 7 Feb

Mon: DNR; was not able to get in a run because of work.
Tues: Noon - 10M including 8 x 2' hard w/ 1' easy; PM - 6.2M very easy
Wed: Noon - 10M easy; PM - 6.2M very easy
Thur: Noon - 10M including 2 x 2M at tempo pace w/ 5' easy in between; PM - 6.2M very easy
Fri: 10M easy; core
Sat: 10M easy w/ 5 strides
Sun: 20.1M including 2 x 2M @ MP (11:44, 11:38) an hour into the run

Weekly Total: 88.7 miles

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25 - 31 Jan

Mon: AM - 6.2M easy; PM - 6.1M easy
Tues: AM - 13.1M including fartlek (4 x 4' + 3 x 3' + 2 x 2' + 1 x 1' w/ -1' easy for rec); PM - 4.2M very easy
Wed: 10.2M easy
Thur: ~10+M very easy; running to different sites in Rome, Italy
Fri: ~8+M very easy; Day 2 of running around Rome
Sat: 9.2M easy
Sun: 14M steady

Weekly Total: 81 miles

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18 - 24 Jan
 
Mon: Stopped after a 1/2 mile; bad cramp and tightness in right calf
Tues: DNR; giving the right calf a little more recovery
Wed: 11.7M with the last 8 miles steady around 6:20-:30 pace
Thur: AM - 10M easy; PM - 7M easy
Fri: AM - 7.1M including 10 x 1' hard/easy; PM - 9M easy
Sat: 5M easy; road trip to Paris
Sun: 14M easy
 
Weekly Total: 64+ miles
 
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11 - 17 Jan
 
Mon: 9M easy
Tues: AM - 4.5M easy; PM - 7M easy;  lots of snow
Wed: 6.2M easy
Thur: 10.6M including fartlek of 5-4-3-2-1 w/ -1' easy
Fri: 16.2M easy w/ 2 miles at 6:10 pace
Sat: 11M easy
Sun: DNR; travel to Spain
 
Weekly Total: 64.5 miles

28 Dec - 3 Jan

A good amount of snow fell overnight which made for a nice scenic long run.  I ran mostly on snow-free streets and bike paths, thanks to the early morning snow-plowing crew.  In some areas, such as the tractor trails between farmlands, I could not avoid running on snow.  I actually didn't mind it though because it felt like low-impact running. 
Here's last week's training.

28 Dec - 3 Jan

Mon: 8.5M easy
Tues: 9M including 6 x :30 w/ 1' easy
Wed: 5.5M easy
Thur: 8K race in 27:00; 10M total
Fri: 10.7M easy
Sat: 10.3M easy with core
Sun: 16M easy

Weekly Total: 70 miles

Silvesterlauf Trier - Happy New Year!

What better way to wrap up the last day of the 2009 running year than to be running and spending time with Haile Gebrsellasie.  Yesterday, I ran the Silvesterlauf (New Year's Eve race) in Trier, Germany with friends Jurgen and Boris.  Haile Gebrsellasie ran the 8K race as his final tune-up for the Dubai Marathon on January 22.  I was amazed to be standing within a couple feet and toeing the starting line with the marathon world record holder. 

The goal for the race was to break 27 minutes and not get lapped by Haile twice.  Okay, sub-27 minutes for 8k was more than realistic, but there was no way Haile was overlapping me twice in an 8K race with 1K loops.  My race went fairly well and I had a ton of fun, but I was a bit disappointed with my finish time as I ran 27:00 flat.  I clicked off 3:20 laps and went through 5K in 16:42 (5:23 pace). Approximately 200 meters into the 6th lap, I heard the already deafening noise of thousands of spectators get even louder.  Moments later Haile came flying by me like a cheetah chasing down its prey. Watching Haile run was poetry in motion.  After the race, Boris and I bragged to Jurgen that we were running in front of Haile, which is true except that he was on his 7th lap and we were on our 6th.  My goal of running sub-27 was lost in the 7th lap as I let up a little.  I might have let up a little too much, because I found myself sprinting the last 100 meters as the clocked ticked away.

The race was a lot of fun, but post-race was even more exhilarating. My friends and I attended the invitation-only post-race party, where we got to hang out and dine with Haile and other elites like Kenyan Shadrack Lagat (2nd place and 1996 Junior World Champion in 1500m) and German Irina Mikitenko (2:19 Marathoner and Winner of the 2007-2008 World Marathon Majors). 

Silvesterlauf Trier was my 3rd race in 2 weeks.  Despite that being two races more than I'd normally do in  a 2-weeks period, I'm quite happy with the way they all had gone.  The most important thing is that I gained some fitness running these races.  As of right now, I have yet to decide on my first race of 2010.  HAPPY NEW YEAR and may 2010 bring you some new PRs.

Christmas Cross / 21-27 Dec

Celebrating Boxing Day or what is more commonly known as the 2nd Christmas Day in the Netherlands, I opted to run Kerstcross (Christmas Cross 10K) with my German training partners, Jurgen and Boris.  I intended to run the cross country race as a tempo training run and not at full race effort, because only by Friday I felt that I had recovered from Mescherbergloop.

The race was held in the Brunssumerhiede, which is where Jurgen and I put in most of our runs during the work week.  The course consisted of 2 small loops and 2 large loops.  When the gun went off I immediately found myself in about 15th place. I held back in the first small loop knowing how difficult the course was, and that I'll slowly reel in runners as the race progressed.  I picked off a couple runners on the 2nd loop, but it was the 3rd loop (1st large loop) in which I caught and overtook many runners, mostly on the hills.  On the 4th and final loop I saw the yellow shirt of Dutchman Roger Rousseau and my German friend Boris.  I realized that I had been running fairly good when finally I had these guys in sight.  Unfortunately, their lead on me increased over the last mile as they were battling for 3rd place.  I finished in 5th overall with a time of 36:53, which is irrelevant in a tough course like this one. All in all, it was a good and fun day for our training group as Jurgen, Boris and I took 1st, 3rd and 5th place overall, respectively.

Next race on the schedule is the New Year's Eve 8K race (Trier Silvesterlauf) in Trier, Germany.  I will be pacing Haile Gebrselassie through the first 50 meters of the race. 

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21-27 Dec

Mon: 9.2M easy; sore quads - ouch!

Tues: 8.5M easy; still sore

Wed: 9.5M easy; still a bit sore

Thur: 10M easy

Fri: 10M easy

Sat: Kerstcross 10K - 36:53 5th place; 10.5 miles total

Sun: 14.8M easy

Weekly Total: 72.5 miles

Pre-race coverage of Haile Gebrselassie at the 2009 Berlin Marathon

Watch the pre-race video clips of Haile if you have some spare time.  Some great insights of special instructions to his pace makers, what Haile eats the morning of raceday, etc.  There are many clips (click on Menu or let it automatically run into the next clip).

Haile pre-race coverage at 2009 Berlin Marathon

14 - 20 Dec

On Sunday I did a trail/XC race (Mescherbergloop 15K) in the snow, which was a first and by far the most difficult and fun race of the year. It's the same race I did last year in which I wore road racing shoes on the muddy course. I certainly did not make the same mistake. This time around I wore the La Sportiva Crosslite, which I highly suggest if you're looking for a lightweight trail or XC shoe that gives excellent traction.

The course itself was grueling with lots of steep uphills and downhills, uneven surfaces (plowed farmlands) and 180 wooden stairs to climb. Throw in the snow and you could only imagine how difficult the run was. I ended up running 5 minutes slower (1:01:50) than I did last year (56:41) and placed 9th overall in what was a very strong field of runners.  The race got the best of my quads and now I'm spending these next few days doing easy running to recover.

Here's the training summary for the week of 14-20 Dec.

Mon: 10M easy

Tues: Noon - 5M easy; PM - 9M including 15 x 300 w/ 100 rec.

Wed: 10M easy

Thur: 10M easy

Fri: 9M with the last mile at half-marathon effort

Sat: 7M easy

Sun: 15K trail/XC race in the snow; 13M total

Weekly Total: 73 miles

7 - 13 Dec

Check out this running clip. I'm not sure if that's his normal running form, if he was suffering (sure looks like), or if he was psyching himself out. All I can say is that's some unique running style. A 2:16 marathoner....maybe we should give it a try.



7-13 Dec

Mon: Noon - 5M easy; PM - 5M easy
Tues: 9M including track workout 4x200 + 2x400 + 1x800 + 2x400 + 4x200 w/ same distance for recovery
Wed: 9M easy
Thur: 9M easy
Fri: 10M including 2M tempo + 1M easy + 1M tempo.
Sat: 9M easy
Sun: 16M steady easy including 10 x :30 @ ~5k pace w/ 1' easy

Weekly Total: 72 miles