jokach's marathon training blog

I've completed the short prep time and MENTAL preparedness for the Delaware marathon tomorrow. My family decided to travel with me this time, since it seems like a real fan friendly race, with stuff for them to do while i'm running. The fact that i'm running basically in 4 loops around the start/finish area gives me plenty of opportunity to see them and keep motivated..

I really took some time to review my post from last November, when I learned the importance of pacing myself and taking it one mile at a time. I intend to keep the 8:35 pace throughout the race, regardless of how good I feel in the start, because I want to finish strong and not like I did in NJ. I remember how it sucked to walk by spectators, just suffering. Well, I don't plan to start walking at all tomorrow, because once you start once, it never stops.

So this is the end of the spring marathons, I don't intend to run anymore marathons until September, so it will be a nice break. Its always easier to train in the summertime, and I look forward to a break in the schedule.

The next post will be post-marathon, sometime tomorrow or Monday ... before i ship off to Canada for the week on business. I hope things go well tomorrow, i'm confident I can have a better appearance than 2 weeks ago. Lastly, the weather looks like it will hold out, chance of showers, but no prolonged rain, so thats hopeful ..

Off to rest, got a big day tomorrow!

I haven't updated since my poor performance in the NJ Marathon, however I feel i've ramped it up and bit and got my head on straight for this Sundays Christiana Care Health System Delaware Marathon (boy thats quite a mouthful!)

I managed to get 49 miles in last week, getting my mid-week 12 miler, my weekend 14 miles and my 10 miler (split in two) over the weekend ... (along with my normal runs). I'm now in the taper mode again with my last 'real' run being tomorrow before I take thursday and friday off to heal up and then get ready for the weekend.

It didn't take much for me realize the err of my ways in NJ, I just started looking too far ahead instead of sticking to my own motto ... ONE MILE AT A TIME. I started going too fast because in the beginning I was trying to bank time for later (looking at FUTURE miles instead of the current mile) .. I wasn't focusing on my current MILE time, but worrying about my FUTURE mile time. Its all in the mental prep, and I just needed to get my ass kicked to remember it. My suggestion to everyone is to stick to that plan ... know your pace, don't worry about 15 miles later, worry about now, and stick to the plan. If you bank some extra time, thats great, but it shouldn't be the overall focus!

The weather may or may not cooperate this weekend. They are calling for isolated thunderstorms, however no prolonged rain, which is good. Morning temps in the low 50's, high for the day in the 70's ... so its going to get HOT, fast! We'll dress light and be cool in the beginning and i'm NOT taking that fuel belt. That was a waste, it really was. Then the extra shirt I wore, ugh, I carried so much non-essential weight with me, that didn't help my time ...

So I will update again before the race, just posting the fact that I've hardened up my mental prep and physically I feel ready to conquer the marathon this weekend. I know what to do, and I WILL do it this time, to hopefully have a better time, and a better experience. Its not all about PR'ing, its about having a good race and feeling decent when you finish .. I have feeling wiped at the end. Harrisburg was the best example of this ...

I actually read back to the blog entry just after the Harrisburg marathon, and boy, I should've listened to my own advice, here is the post. Its a ditto of what I wrote above!

http://getyourserenity.com/blog/index.php?title=broke_my_pr&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

Regardless, I know what I need to do ... on to rest ...

So i'm not going to let the race yesterday make me feel like any less of a good runner, I just had a bad day I guess (actually I didn't, I just wasn't being smart). There is nothing to be ashamed of ..

I've decided to put it in the past and start getting ready for the Delaware marathon in less than 2 weeks. There isn't much training that I can do between now and then except for getting my long distance runs in if I can. I didn't run today, but expect to get back into the groove tomorrow morning first thing with 6 miles, then hopefully a 10 or 12 on Wednesday or Thursday ... I am sore today, but not too bad, I guess its to be expected however I know that that the best thing for me is to get back out on the road and get rid of the soreness ... it also helps my willpower ...

I've decided to take a two week stepback after the next marathon to heal up slightly and run a couple local races (shorter distances) .. then get myself into training for the Sept 7th Lehigh Valley Hospital marathon. I'll only get around 13 weeks in for that, but after that is Steamtown, then the Marine Corps Marathon ... hopefully Philly after that (yep, 4 this fall, I can do it) .. I expect to be a PRO at this marathon stuff by the end of the season ..

Oh yeah, I almost forgot my NJ Marathon split times (ready for this?):

Mile 1 - 8:27
Mile 2 - 8:46
Mile 3 - 8:08
Mile 4 - 8:06
Mile 5 - 8:03
Mile 6 - 8:00
Mile 7 - 7:50
Mile 8 - 7:45
Mile 9 - 9:09
Mile 10 - 8:20
Mile 11 - 8:20
Mile 12 - 8:24
Mile 13 - 8:30
Mile 14 - 8:37
Mile 15 - 8:22
Mile 16 - 8:30
Mile 17 - 8:46
Mile 18 - 9:00
Mile 19 - 9:14
Mile 20 - 9:50
Mile 21 - 9:55
Mile 22 - 10:10
Mile 23 -
Mile 24 -
Mile 25 -
Mile 26.2 (took 46:30 for the last 4, didn't record splits!)

So you see ... the problem, eh?

I have returned from the New Jersey Marathon, finishing with a time of 3:56 .. I didn't think I would PR (missed it by 8 minutes), so I'm not totally upset, but I am upset with myself that I didn't stick to my plan.

I've learned in the many marathons I've run, that its all about pacing ... well, unfortunately I didn't listen to that today. I knew the time I had to run at, and I even had my pace band on, and knew at one point i was running 4 minutes faster than a 3:45, but still for some reason I felt that I could keep an 8:05 pace for 26 miles, what a fool I am.

I managed to keep that pace for quite some time until around mile 12, when it started to slip and I started to run the pace that I should've been running from the start. I can make excuses if I want, like I was talking to someone for about 4 miles in the first 10 miles, but again, they are only excuses. Regardless, I felt really depleted at mile 16 and started to tell myself that this is going to get rough. I took my gel at that point, and some Succeed drink, and carried on my way, until mile 19 ..

I don't know if I ever really hit the wall, nor do I know if I hit the wall today, but it sure didn't feel good. Around mile 19, I took my first walk break, which was a mistake. I should have just kept running, because then I started to stop every mile, which really wrecked my time, plus it gave my muscles a chance to start tightening up on me .. I had a sharp muscle pain in my left lower back, not sure what that was, along with a cramped and sore left quad, and a right calf muscle that was spasming .. it was brutal. That mixed with the wind on soaking wet clothes, didn't make for a great finish.

It was never a thought that I wouldn't finish, because by 19 miles, its achievable regardless of how bad you feel, but it was more difficult than any other marathon (maybe except the Ocean Drive marathon, where I just wasn't trained enough). Now I am trying to keep lose and am so tired, i'll probably goto bed REAL early...

So the moral of the story? KNOW YOUR PACE and RUN IT! I trained too hard for this race to make an amateur mistake like that, but I got caught up in the moment. Well, I get another shot 2 weeks from now to make it up, I should be able to make it up (being smarter).

As for the race itself, it was well run, lots of porta-potties in the start, good merchandise and a great expo. The course was well marked and the overall crowd support was actually better than I had anticipated ..(at least for the first loop, on the second loop, the crowd wasn't as strong). The water stations were well marked, well manned, and very convenient (in less than 2 mile intervals, which seems excessive, but it worked). I had heard people complain about the number of people in the start because there is a relay, a half-marathon and then the marathon, and it actually wasn't even a problem. No worse than any other race I've run, and I even got through the pack much faster because they really did a good job with pace groups. The only downfall you might ask? First, the traffic in and out of Long Branch (for the expo, the race and leaving), but it is a smaller town, so that should be expected. I'm just not used of traffic I guess... and the other only complaint is the lack of any water, nourishment, etc right at the end of the race. It took me 5 minutes to make my way to the tent to get water, and it was ALL THE WAY IN THE BACK! You would think they have the post-race necessities a little closer to the finish like in every other race... also, the post-race food was very bland, offering vegetable soup as the only hot option (yuck!). Well, the benefits outweigh the issues, so I certainly recommend it to anybody considering it.

Its off the rest and heal up .... i'll post my splits later in the week ..

So I hoped to have written this past week and as always, it just didn't happen. I did have a good week of tapering, and was able to cut the miles back and rest up, which I think I've done a good job of. I got 3 good nights of sleep in a row since I didn't run Thursday or Friday, and today I went out about 9am, so I feel that I'm about as rested as I can be. I have made the trip to the expo already and got my stuff, and am now at the hotel getting ready to head out for something to eat ..

I was surprised at the expo that there was no validation of 'who i am' when picking up my chip and all ... pretty much, anybody can walk up, give a number and get somebodys stuff, even if they didn't register, and there would be no way to know. its kind of scary. At least in other marathons, you have to give your name to get your stuff (they aren't just posted on a board for everyone to see) ... maybe i'm making something of nothing (probably), I just found it odd ..

Regardless, the city of Long Branch is a nice little beach town, but the weather was a little chillier than I had expected. There was a nice head-wind making it kind of chilly, so I may have to rethink my clothing for tomorrow. I definitely need the long sleeves for the beginning (since i'll be there so damm early to get a parking spot), but i'm not sure what else to wear .. I guess we'll play it by ear when we get up (at 4am).

I was excited to be able to register and get into the Marine Corps Marathon in the end of October, that should be a nice race to be involved in since i've heard so much about it. I also decided on running the Lehigh Valley Hospital marathon in the beginning of September along with Steamtown. I am considering wrapping up the season with the Philadelphia marathon this year which would be the week of Thanksgiving, so I should have a great fall, but I think I need to get through the spring first.

Regardless, I probably won't write again until after the marathon is done, so we'll see how bad the offseason got me, I don't think i'll do that bad, but I don't think i'll PR. I hope to keep on a decent pace though as the first race tends to set the tempo for the rest of the season .... hopefully it'll be good!

Off to get something to eat and early to bed!