Western States Regrets?

The official trailer for the Western States Endurance Run has been floating around the last few days and it's pretty intense.  It will definitely get you motivated if you're looking for a little boost.  A Cincinnati running buddy, Kyle Fahrenkamp, asked me if I regretted my decision to pass up the automatic entry I earned last fall at JFK.  Seeing as how I haven't written a blog post in a couple weeks, I thought this would be a good place to respond in detail.  But first, here's the video:

It was definitely tough to give up my spot in the country's premier 100 mile race especially knowing how difficult it is to gain entry through the lottery.  But the short answer is, no, I don't regret my decision, and there are several reasons why I am happy with my choice. 

1)  I didn't want to end up injured.  JFK was my first race over 50km and I was happy to have performed well, but felt like 7 months was too soon to move up to 100 miles, not to mention having to deal with the elevation change and summer heat of WSER as well.  I have been running competitively since the 7th grade and haven't had a serious running injury yet.  I'd like to keep it that way.  I think numerous guys have proven that you can still be a top-notch 100 mile runner at 40 years old.  I want to still be competing in ten years and rocking it Dave Mackey style.   There's no rush.  That was probably the most important factor.

2) But, I also had a very worthwhile goal that presented itself after JFK as a nice alternative to Western States: running the US 100km champs to try and qualify for the US 100km team.  This was only 62 miles as opposed to 100 miles, so it was a more gradual step up.   It was also a flat road loop, which I thought would really suit me well since I do most of my training in Cincinnati on the roads and still have good leg speed for an ultra guy.  That race was in April and I finished in 2nd place, running my goal of just under 7 hours.  The team is due to be officially announced later this month, but it still appears that I have qualified based on time and will be racing in the Netherlands this fall.  It's hard to regret not running WS when I successfully achieved my alternative goal.  Could I have done both?  Maybe, but it's a moot point because I don't have enough vacation time to run both.

3) The wife wanted to go to Europe.  Need I say more?  This probably should be #1.

Anyway, my decision also allowed me to run the Flying Pig Marathon a few weeks ago, and now I get to play around in some 5ks for a few weeks.  Speaking of 5ks, you may be wondering how my training has been going the past couple of weeks.  Last week I did 16x400m and even surprised myself by cranking the last two out in 62 seconds a piece.  This week I did 8x800 @2:23 w/800m jog recovery + 4x200m.  The 400s were fun, but the 800s were tough.  I did 6 mi marathon pace runs for my second workout each of the past two weeks.  Long runs were 16 or 17 miles and total mileage was 75-80.

I'm looking forward to a fun long run tomorrow morning with about 120 friends, some of whom might be racing a 50k.  I, however, will not be racing, just looking to get in some time on my feet.  Looks like it's going to be some good hot weather training as well, with a highs forecasted in the low 90s.  And then Friday, I'll be racing in a little 5k we're having at work.  It's a certified course, and there are a few speedy guys that work around here, so it should be fun. 

I know I'm walking a fine line trying to do both speed and mileage.  I can usually do one or the other, but it's hard to combine them in high volumes without getting injured.  I'm having fun though, so I'll just try to be smart and listen to my body and hopefully I'll make it to this fall healthy and faster than I was before.

Downtime

After a successful spring of racing, it's time for some downtime.  My idea of downtime is probably a little bit different than you're thinking though.  I'm training for a 5k now.

For those that aren't aware, I'm just a few months shy from having run every day for 5 years.  Needless to say, my idea of recovery time is a little unconventional.  (As a word of warning, I rarely recommend my training approach to others.  While it appears to work for me so far, it definitely is not for everyone.)  Obviously, I don't intend on taking any days completely off, but I do feel the need for a change of pace - literally and figuratively.  That's why I'm taking a break from the single-minded focus of ultras to have some fun running in a couple 5k's.

The long range goal is still the World 100k championships in September, so I won't completely ignore the long stuff, there will just be more emphasis on speed in my hard workouts.  I realize this plan is not without risk, but I think I can manage my training intelligently and listen to my body well enough to make it through sans injury.  I might even jump in a local 50k or two this summer to use as fun and aided long runs.

I'm thinking my goal 5k will be the Hyde Park Blast on June 25th.  This is a very popular event that is within warmup distance of my house.  There is a separate elite 5k race that I went to watch last year shortly after we moved to Cincinnati.  While I know I won't be close to the sub-15 shape that it takes to win the Blast, it looked like it would be a ton of fun.  My company is also holding a 5k onsite earlier in June that I'm thinking might make a good tune-up before the big dance.  So, that's my recovery plan.  

Here's what I did this week, now two weeks past the Flying Pig Marathon:

Tuesday: 3 mi warmup, 2x1600 (5:02, 5:06) w/400m + 2x800m (2:26, 2:25) w/400m + 4x400m @71s w/200m + 4x200m @34s w/200m. 2.5 mi cooldown. 

Friday: 3 mi warmup, 6 mi marathon pace run averaging 5:40s, 3 mi cooldown

Sunday: 17 mi easy long run just under 7 min pace.

All other days easy to add up to 75 miles for the week.

On Tuesday, the miles and 800s were surprisingly easy, but the 400s and 200s were tough.  Friday's workout was unexpectedly good for as tired as I was Wed. and Thurs. following my 5k workout.

Time to go recover...

When Pigs Fly

I don't want to spend too much time writing about the Flying Pig marathon because I didn't spend much time focusing on it, but I do want to say a few things.  The goal was pretty simple.  Show up at the race and see if I could steal a win off whatever  speed I still had in the legs.

Based on the times of recent winners I thought I had a decent chance of winning if the race went a bit slow this year.  For a city the size of Cincinnati, and a marathon with as many participants as the Flying Pig, the field is generally not very competitive.  The race offers no prize money and doesn't give complimentary entries to help attract potential top contenders.  But it bills itself as "the people's race" and that is clearly the focus.  Even so, it would be really fun to win a race like the Pig.  It also helps that I didn't have to travel for the race.  I could just roll out of bed and run.  And so, I decided it was time to make my Cincinnati road racing debut and see what happened.

I knew 5:45 pace (2:30) would feel fast. Of the three real races I've done this year, the fastest pace I've touched was 6:45 at the 100k.  The other two were even slower trail 50k's. I was confident I could go 2:35 and if everything went perfect, I thought 2:30 was in reach. But the Pig course is not easy. There's a 300 ft climb at mile 7 and the course is constantly rolling. In my opinion, it's a couple minutes slower than the only other marathon course I've raced which is Rocket City in Huntsville, AL.  I also thought the weather might be a factor because at the start it was raining, relatively windy, and temps were in the mid 60s. 

As I settled in behind the starting line, an unassuming, shirtless guy next to me asked what I expected to run.  I guess he noticed my white bib number indicating I was a full marathoner amongst all the half marathoners and relay racers who were also present. Maybe it's my collegiate track background, but in my experience it's pretty unusual to ask a front runner on the starting line what they plan to run.  It's kind of like your poker hand. You don't want to give away your strategy. But it's mostly just superstition I think, so I told him 2:35 and asked him what he was shooting for. He said 2:25. You don't just toss around 2:25s. I asked him if he'd ever run that before. He went 2:29 at New York. Well, that settles that. He's legit. New York isn't an easy course either.  

The race started with a countdown. Yeah, a countdown like on New's Year eve.  I think a "runners set" and "go" was in there somewhere, but we were already gone by then. I let the 2:25 guy go hoping he might come back to me late in the race and started in my typical conservative fashion.  

Photo courtesy of Chris Nye.

After about 5 miles or so, I felt like the gap to the leader had stabilized at about a minute. That got me a little motivated to try and keep him in sight should he start to fade toward the end. So I started pressing a little and had worked my way into a battle for 2nd by the half marathon. I split 1:14:42. Right where I wanted to be to give myself a shot to break 2:30 and feeling pretty good. While it didn't take long to become the lone second place runner, it didn't take long for the brisk pace to catch up with my legs either. They tightened up and I began to slow around mile 18. My focus shifted from trying to catch the leader to doing what I needed to do to prevent being caught from behind.

It was a lonely 8 miles back to downtown Cincinnati.  I held it together alright but split a few 6:0x miles in that stretch which allowed my 2:30 goal to slip away.  I finished 3 minutes behind first place in 2:31:14.  The weather wasn't as big of a factor as I had expected.  The rain let up shortly after the start and kept things cooler than it would have been otherwise.  And the wind must of let up as well, because I don't remember it being an issue heading back into town.  

My stomach was a little upset the whole race and that might have slowed me down a little bit. I chose to carry a hand-held water bottle with raspberry GU Brew from the start. I had intended to take some GU Roctane at 50 min and 1:40, but I was only able to force down half of the first gel. I could never talk myself into getting out the second gel, or taking any of the salt tablets I was carrying.  Fortunately it was cool and wet from the rain so I didn't have any cramping issues. I was able to continue drinking the GU Brew and that probably provided just enough calories and electrolytes to get me to the finish.

I have to admit, the atmosphere of the race was pretty cool. The crowd support, especially on the first half of the course, was incredible. But, I wish race organizers would put a little more emphasis on the racing part of the marathon though. Especially with start to finish live TV coverage, a few more guys up front would make the race much more interesting to watch for the casual spectator.  It really does the sport of distance running no favors to televise one guy doing a 26.2 mile tempo run alone; most people think the sport is pretty boring to begin with.  Then again, if they made the race more competitive, I'd have about as good a chance of winning as a pig does flying.

Don't Try This at Home

Q: Why do I like to run road marathons 3 weeks after big ultras?  

A: I don't.  It just works out that way for some reason.

Apparently I didn't learn my lesson when I tried to run the Rocket City Marathon 3 weeks after the JFK 50 miler last fall.  This time I'm attempting to follow the Mad City 100k with the Flying Pig Marathon with the same 3 weeks of recovery time.  Not that Rocket City went all that bad.  It really went quite well all things considered, but I wasn't in top marathon form, so it kind of hurt...a lot.  When does a marathon not hurt, right?

But, Rocket City is my hometown marathon, and now the Flying Pig is my major local marathon, so I'm going to do it just for fun.  Who knows, I might be able to pull something surprising off.  The Pig has gone as fast as 2:20 and as slow as 2:38 over its 12 year history.  I can guarantee one thing.  I won't be running anywhere close to 2:20.  At the very least, it'll be a good training run.

This will be my 4th road marathon and my first one not at Rocket City.  The Pig is not as flat as RCM and the nearly perfect weather I've enjoyed at the December marathon in Huntsville is not expected on the first day of May in Cincinnati.  The weather is one of my biggest concerns.  I did a 5 mile tempo at marathon pace Saturday - it was 70 deg with 80% humidity and windy - and it was tough.  I'd much rather race in cold conditions.  Everyone's got to race in the same conditions, I know, but I have this mental hangup that humidity affects me more than everyone else.  Stef's got to work Sunday morning of the race, so I'm not sure how I'm going to handle my nutrition situation just yet.  I probably should figure that out soon.

So, here's the plan.  Go out conservatively.  Relax getting up the hills the first 10 miles or so, then start easing the pace down depending on how I feel.  The second half of the course rolls a bit, but it's a net downhill so it should allow for negative splitting.  And stay fueled and hydrated.  Simple right?  It always sounds that way.

So how do you prepare for marathon 3 weeks after an ultra?  I don't have a clue, but I'll tell you want I did this week.  In addition to the previously mentioned 5 mi tempo on Saturday, I did a 5x1600m (5:18 avg w/400m recovery) workout on Tuesday and easy runs every other day to reach 65 miles for the week.  I'll aim for 40-50 miles over the next six days leading into the race and that includes a light workout on Tuesday.  

I am very encouraged that I feel almost completely recovered from the 100k now.  We'll see if I still feel that way after the Pig next Sunday.  Wish me luck.

Mad Recovery

Now that I've had a week to let my race at the Mad City 100k to sink in, I wanted to talk a little about my recovery and offer some more thoughts on my training leading up to the race.  But first, a few things I missed in my race report...

I wanted to say a big thanks to Mad City race director Tim "Timo" Yanacheck and all of the volunteers who helped make the race a great success.  It was a VERY well organized event.  It is obvious that Timo is passionate about the sport of competitive ultra running.  He did everything within his power to make sure all the championship contenders had to worry about was running fast.  I also wanted to thank Bill Thom, webmaster and head timer for Mad City, for graciously allowing us to use the pictures he took at the start/finish line.  Credit for most of the action shots in my race report belongs to him.

Recovery this week has been good, but different from what I consider normal.  I started with 6 miles of shuffling on Sunday and Monday and gradually built up to 10 miles today, and hit 55 miles for the week.  A few days completely off probably wouldn't hurt, but this approach has worked the past 4 years, so I think I'll keep doing it.  As long as you aren't injured in some way, I believe a little very easy running helps clean out and loosen up the legs.  Today (Sunday, 8 days after the race), I finally felt relatively normal as I was able to average 6:50 pace for 10 miles with no unusual aches or pains.  Maybe still a little tight, but nothing to worry about.  While the legs weren't completely locked down like they were after my first couple road marathons, I feel like the total recovery process took a bit longer on the whole and was accompanied by some achiness that I've never before experienced.  I don't guess it's too terribly surprising this is the case considering the road 100k is kind of a long race.

But, I expect to be able to run a little speed workout on Tuesday in an effort to get some turnover back in the legs before the Flying Pig Marathon - which is in 2 weeks.  Definitely not ideal timing, but I feel like it's time to make my Cincinnati road racing debut.  I'll write more about that next weekend.

Back to some thoughts on Mad City.  Well, really thoughts on my training and preparation for the 100k and how that worked out for me on race day.  I mentioned in my race report that my legs never really felt all that great and I battled early cramps in my calves.  I think this is a direct result from going on a ski trip a month out from Mad City and the weeks of running that I bookended the trip with.  

First, let me say that I don't regret the ski trip.  With my wife's resident schedule, we had to plan the ski trip almost a year in advance, well before I knew how the JFK 50 mile would turn out.  And that performance is what led me to the US 100k championships and a chance to qualify for the US 100k team.  Plus, skiing is one of the few activities that I love enough to occasionally sacrifice my running.  So I ran a 100 mile week (in singles) before the ski trip, ran 65 miles during the ski trip with 6 of 7 runs above 8000' plus a visit to Magnolia road, then came back and ran another 100 mile week immediately following the ski trip.  That left me with 3 weeks to taper.  The weekend that capped off my final 100 mile week before tapering began I ran 27 mi Saturday followed by 20 mi Sunday.  Those were my longest ever back-to-back training runs.

In hindsight, that probably wasn't the best approach.  The legs were already stressed from the ski trip and then I tried to pack in some last minute training.  My first two weeks of taper felt more like I was recovering from over-doing it rather than taper.  I also started doing some of my track workouts in my racing flats.  This was just another change that my calves didn't need.  The week before the race, the legs finally started to feel recovered, but some tightness in my hammys and knots in my calves lingered.  I feel like this is what ultimately led to my legs not feeling so great and why my quads seemed to carry more of the load than normal. 

I want to be clear that had my legs been 100%, I still would not have been able to beat Henshaw.  His performance was on another level.  And I wouldn't have taken the risks necessary to even attempt to run that fast.  But I do think I have the ability to run faster than I did.  I am very confident in my aerobic fitness right now, but I feel like my legs need to be stronger to be able to maximize my potential over the 100k distance.  That's what the training plan this summer will be about. 

A couple links of media coverage:

I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've been mentioned on USATF.org.  Scroll all the way to the bottom.

http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=22481

http://www.ultrarunning.com/ultra/features/news/fast-times-at-mad-city-10.shtml

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/lifestyle/offthecouch.html?tag=ultra+marathons