Archive for category Running
A brutal three weeks in the bag
Posted by Adam Ainbinder in Cycling, Ironman Training, Running, Swimming on July 9, 2010
Base 2 – DONE! It certainly wasn’t easy, and per my last post, it could even be thought of as hell, but I completed my base 2 and feel like things are getting, wait for it…EASIER!
Ok, easier is relative, but after putting on a lot of miles over the last three weeks, I feel like adding an hour here or there really isn’t too bad. My body is recovering faster, and although I’m suffering from recurring blisters and constant hamstring pain, I’m getting through the workouts. I keep training at this level because I know in an Ironman, I’m not going to feel 100% through the entire race, so training tired is critical.
See below for a weekly recap of what I did the last three weeks. The big workouts were a 6:30 workout on the Saturday of the 6/28 week (5 hour bike, 1:30 running) and a 6 hour workout during the Saturday of the 6/21 week (4 hour bike, 2 hour run). The moment I was most proud of though was getting up the Sunday after the 6:30 workout and doing a 3 hour workout (1:10 swim and 1:50 bike). It shows I can workout tired and still perform. I also ran to work once each week (18 miles round trip) and biked 1-2 times per week.
I’m in a rest week now, which is SO NICE! My body is recovering. It’s strange to workout about 8-9 hours in a week and consider it resting, but when you see the mileage / time above, I think you can understand why. During these down weeks, I try to get in a few tests to see how I’m improving. Last night I did my swim test and lowered my 100 meter swim time by almost 10 seconds. WOO HOO!!!
I do a test that includes a 10 minute warm up, primarily kicking. I then do 3×300 meters with 30 seconds of rest in between. Then I just swim to get in more time. I average the three 300 meters together to get an average 300 meter time, then divide by 3 to get my average 100 meter. The reason for this is to get my general average 100m for pacing when I do my swim training. The key is to not just do these tests on a 100M because it would be much faster and not factor in any endurance. Also, the 300s have to be within 10 seconds of each other or they don’t count. This prevents you from killing yourself on 1 or 2 of them and sacrificing the other. I did this test when I started seriously swim training earlier in the year, and I was at a 1:41 100M. Not fast at all. Last night, I was at 1:32. A noticeable improvement. Something is going right in the pool 
The issue I’m debating now is whether to shorten my run mileage from the 30-40 miles a week I’m doing to about 25 and add another 2-3 hours on the bike. I know my bike is the weakness, and I also know that no matter how much work you put into running, the marathon of your first ironman is going to be hell. Given these things, I’m thinking of trying to get in two long rides a week, one of 5-7 hours and one of 3-5 hours depending on my weekly requirement. I’ve even thought of doing some of this on back to back days, with the 5-7 hours being aerobic and the 3-5 being slightly harder with a few more hills. I’ll try it out this next (and final) base period and see what happens.
For those of you training, I hope it’s going well!
The internal negotiation: the mind is powerful!
Posted by Adam Ainbinder in Cycling, Running, Trail Running on June 26, 2010
This week, I came across a great line on the Slowtwitch triathlon forums. It was someone giving advice to a person preparing for his first ironman. In his advice, he said, “Your negotiation with God might begin in your 1st mile, but will likely pass in 3 or 4 miles if you have hydrated/eaten correctly”.
I laughed at this. Because I know how painful it can be running off the bike. However, I didn’t really understand it until today. I did a four hour ride and a two hour trail run. The trail run was in El Morro canyon off PCH in newport. I didn’t realize this, but there are some SERIOUS hills there. We experienced 1700 feet of climbing, which forced the not too common run/walk…A LOT.
It was hot out. I took a break from the bike to drive with my buddy Cale to the trail run, and I was feeling good. We started off on a quick downhill followed by a steady ascent and then another descent. About 1 mile into it, we reached these very short 10-15% grade hills. The type that aren’t too bad if you did not ride your bike for four hours before. Well I got to the first one, started up, and nearly passed out. And not, hey, i was kinda tired, I may pass out. I was dizzy and had to instantly stop. Cale was still talking to me and I was nowhere near him. I walked up to hill where Cale was waiting for me, took a gu, drank some water, and carried on.
I got to another one of these short intense hills and the same thing happened. At this point, that quote popped into my head. On any other day, I’d have no problem with these hills. But after grinding away my legs on the bike for four hours, these were intense. At that moment, I was negotiating, not with God, but with myself. Can I move? Can I finish this run? Or will I quit? I hate quitting. And what about Cale. He drove me here. I don’t want to make him leave and cut his workout from 2 hours into 15 minutes. I could sleep in the car. But it’s hot. Is that a snake? Look at the beetle. Maybe I could just sit down here. Or sleep here. Would I get bit?
Seriously…all that when through my head in about 3 seconds. I didn’t know what to do. I negotiated with myself…take a few more steps. One foot in front of the other. You never know what might happen. Just get up this hill, get to another downhill, see how you feel. I did that, and things went well. Got to some steep inclines, slowed it down, drank from my WASP, and pushed on. I won the negotiation. I was able to pull myself out of the rut, and once I got about 30 minutes in, I was ok. I didn’t know how I would last two hours, but just over 2 hours later, Cale and I came off the trail (i did leave out the fact we got totally lost and ended up going on a 10% hill or so that last over 2 miles – it was miserable. We were conserving water – that’s how lost we felt. But once again, we figured out).
It’s scary how powerful the mind is. How we must negotiate with ourselves constantly. How some of us convince ourselves to turn back and others convince ourselves to move forward. I think there is a lot of value in applying this to life – to work, training, family. Think positive. If things get tough, turn the impossible into small possible steps. There’s usually a way, just negotiate with yourself to find it!
Add this run workout to your routine: Fartlek Pyramid
Posted by Adam Ainbinder in Ironman Training, Running on June 22, 2010
Yes, the name is funny, but when you do a Fartlek workout, you are not laughing. I wanted to write a very quick post about this workout as its one anyone can add to their arsenal to get faster. And I’m pretty sure this will make you faster.
The Fartlek workout was created in Sweden in the 1930s. The goal is to mix up speesd so you can add intensities (think anaerobic) to an aerobic workout. To sum it up, you sprint, HARD, in the middle of longer endurance workouts. I have a running workout book that is simply a list of several types of workouts, and it suggests doing one of these a week. Maybe not for Ironman training, but generally if you’re running. So not the best idea when I’m supposed to be working on my aerobic endurance, but come on, who doesn’t want to get faster?
Here’s this Fartlek workout: I started with a 20 minute warm up. About 12 minutes into the warm up, I did 5 15 second strides (full sprints) with 30 seconds of rest after each one. I followed this up with 2 30 second strides with 30 seconds of rest. I then had a 3 minute easy run before the real workout started. The goal of these strides was to get ready for the stress that lie ahead. It was so I could mentally prepare for quick steps and an increase/decrease to my heart rate. Important to not skip this!
After the warm-up, I proceeded to do a pyramid workout. What I mean by pyramid is you build up to a time/mileage, then work back down to where you started. I did 1 minute as hard as I could, then 30 seconds rest (1/2 the time of the all out), then 2 minutes as hard as I could, 1 minute rest interval, 3 minutes as hard as I could go (1:30 rest interval), etc…The pyramid was this
1 minute (:30 second rest interval)
2 minute (1:00 second rest interval)
3 minute (1:30 second rest interval)
4 minute (2:00 second rest interval)
5 minute (2:30 second rest interval)
4 minute (2:00 second rest interval)
3 minute (1:30 second rest interval)
2 minute (1:00 second rest interval)
1 minute (:30 second rest interval)
The goal is to do the downward side of the pyramid (second half) faster than the first. This workout is NOT easy. It’s quite painful, particularly the 4-5-4 in the middle. The rest interval can be a walk or a jog. I like to jog to keep my legs from tightening, but its up to you. The key here is to learn to pace yourself to know what you can handle.
Anyways, here are my splits. I was able to do my second half faster, but I was more surprised at how slow the first half was. In hindsight, this pacing was correct as I felt like I was going to hurl towards the last 2 minute run. Something was definitely wrong with my heart rate monitor, which is disappointing. Unless I’m superman and can wrote those sub 6 minute paced minutes in 110 heart rate. Not likely.
Anyways, try adding this workout to your weekly routine. There are numerous other Fartleks out there, but this one is challenging. And I’m pretty sure you’ll get faster if you can grit through it. Keep in mind that each “hard as you go” is just that – even if you are going slower than prior intervals, just go to what your body can take. Quick tip: lean forward slightly, light feet with quick pounces on the ground, and shorten the stride.
Good luck! Feel free to comment with questions or your own personal experiences!
Boston Qualifying Times Lowered
Posted by Adam Ainbinder in Running on April 7, 2010
RIGHT!!!??? This scared me too!!!! Fortunately, it was an April Fool’s day prank, but when I read this headline in Everyman Tri last night, who obviously didn’t get the message it was a prank, I was depressed. A 3:10 marathon is possible. A 3:00, although that seems like just a tad less, is a HUGE difference.
Fortunately, it’s not true. So Boston 2012, oh how I want thee…
Here’s the link.
Race Report: Surf City Half Marathon
Posted by Adam Ainbinder in Race Reports, Running on February 7, 2010
What a beautiful day!!! Rain the past two days, followed up with the clearest skies and most beautiful views I’ve seen in quite some time. Weather was good, almost too good. Must have been mid 60s.
I beat my goal of 1:35 with a 1:33:13. Placement stats were:
I’m very pleased with my performance. I would have loved to push to break 1:30, but that day is in the future. It wasn’t today.
I stuck to the strategy, but my heart rate was much higher than expected (averaged 157 or so, and was north of 150 most of the time). I had to take a leak in mile 2, and it was much longer than I expected and took up about 40 seconds. Didn’t realize that how big of a deal those small bathroom stops are as that was the difference in breaking the 1:33 barrier.
Here are my splits:
I ran a bit more than the 13.1, so the pace on the Garmin was 7:05 but actual pace was 7:07. You can see the pee mile in mile 2 at 7:36, and then I basically sprinted to catch up on some of that time. Mile 4 was a big turning point for me. You can see here my heart rate average for that mile went up quite a bit, and my pace slowed from the prior mile. I noticed my pace getting slower with a higher heart rate. Not a good combo. Then, in the next mile, I was able to go downhill a bit and my heart rate recovered. From there, I didn’t look back, pushing my body harder and harder to get the pace down.
After I passed the slight incline in mile 10, I wanted to push hard, but the tightness in my right hamstring prevented me from pushing it until the last mile. I didn’t want to go out too hard in case it tightened up. I could feel my form compensating for the tightness, and it definitely made running a little harder. However, I pushed through and ran the last 1 mile and change pretty fast.
My evaluation:
- Very happy with my performance – enjoyed my new running style and kept digging through the pain I started to feel in my legs
- Would like to figure out the balance between drinking a lot of water before the race starts and peeing. Would love to do these races without having to stop in the first 2-3 miles
- Wear sunglasses if it’s sunny – last 4.5 miles directly into the sun was a little brutal
- Want to work on my stride so I glide more horizontally. I am happy with the improvements, but if I want to get south of 7 minute miles for a full marathon, I want to glide more and I have some things to work on. Videos my dad took on his bike can been seen here and you can see that I’m gliding somewhat, but not nearly as much as the guys who are doing those 5:30 /minute miles. Maybe one day…
- I love racing. Feels so good to be around a community of runners.
Hope everyone had a good race today! For more views of today’s race, see below. If you have questions or comments, I’m available as usual to talk with you! Have a great rest of the weekend!
Videos
Pictures
Race Strategy: Surf City Half Marathon
Posted by Adam Ainbinder in Race Strategy, Running on February 6, 2010
Tomorrow is my first race since the MCM marathon at the end of October. I’m excited. This is a very low priority race for me, which means no taper, but it did fall within a rest week (meaning only 7.5 hours of training – wow, real restful), so I feel fresh relative to past weekends. I’m really looking forward to this. My running has been much faster since I switched to forefoot running, so this will be a good test to see if I can keep up some of this speed for 13 miles.
I haven’t done too many runs beyond 8 miles (two that I can count) in the past few months because of blisters from switching the landing spot on my foot, but given the endurance work I’ve done on the bike AND that I’ve put in 20-30 miles of running a week each week for the past few months, I think I’ll be ready. I’ve done a lot of speed work, tempo runs, and drills to improve my running, and I have seen a noticeable improvement in my pace. My 8 mile runs have been in the low 7 minute range, and when I push it, it’s been in the high 6s.
I feel like I could bring the 7 min/mile barrier tomorrow, but I’m not going to try to do it as a goal given the low priority status of the race. This year is all about endurance and triathlons, so that is my focus, but of course, it’s a race, and it’s not easy to, well, take it easy. I must be somewhat careful though since I have a century ride next weekend in Palm Springs.
I don’t have much experience in the half marathon category. My history in half marathons: one. I did the OC half last year, and I did a 1:39:52. One thing that is cool is that this will be my first race as a Brooks ID member. I’ll be sporting Brooks shirt, shorts, and shoes (the Ravenna’s, which are also known as AA – funny, my first/last initials – WOOO). I’ll try to post pics later! I love my brooks stuff. And although I like my launch shoes better, I still don’t feel comfortable doing a long race in a neutral shoes, and that’s why I like the Ravenna’s mild support (FYI – i’ve been in stability shoes forever, but now that I’m doing more forefoot running, I can handle neutral shoes without much pain).
So with that being said, here’s my strategy:
- 13.1 miles doesn’t seem difficult anymore. With 80 mile bike rides and 3 marathons under my belt, I’m not nervous about the distance. However, I still want to treat it with my usual race prep. I plan to leave at 6:30, so I’ll get up at 5, eat, walk the dog, move around a bit, and drink LOTS of water. I’ll have some bread with peanut butter on it. And hopefully have 2-3 bathroom visits before departure
- I plan to warm up by running from the drop off spot to the starting line. Mix it up with some strides but most of it will be an easy jog.
- I’m carrying a water bottle filled with cytomax. No GUs, no Clif Blocks. That should get me through all 13.1 miles so I don’t have to stop for water/food.
- I plan to start in wave 1 (<1:50), which I imagine may be crowded since a lot of people will be in this group.
- I’ll go out at about 145 heart rate or 7:10 pace. That is generally my heart rate at that pace. It may be higher from the crowd, so if it is, I’ll let pace dictate where I stand. If I do get in the first mile at around 7 min or a tad less, that’s ok, but I want to settle in at that heart rate and pace after mile 1
- I hope to keep up that pace until mile 9. At mile 9, there is a straight away for the next 4.1 miles with a slight elevation gain. If I’m feeling good and not too tired, I’m going to start pushing it. If I can, I’ll do it progressive style, increasing about 10 seconds per mile for the last 4 miles.
- If I can stick to the strategy, I should be somewhere between 92-95 minutes. That would be awesome
Of course, I’m not running on rested legs, especially after my rolling hills simulation on my trainer today, but I’ve achieved similar paces on tired legs, so I might as well give it a go. If I can’t keep up the pace or bonk in the last 2 miles, then hopefully I can beat my PR of 1:39:52.
Good luck to everyone running races this weekend, and if you’re in Surf City and see me running by, wave and say hello
Running Drills
Posted by Adam Ainbinder in Running, Training Tips on November 27, 2009
I’ve been wanting to post these running drills that I got out of Matt Fitzgerald‘s “Brain Training for Runners” because I find extremely helpful. I’ll try to get some video on here later of what these look like, or at least look like in my head Technique drills help you work on a specific aspect of your running stride outside of normal running. Matt recommends doing two to three of these after each run, and that’s what I’ve found to be helpful since they really don’t take a lot of time.
1) Running with no arms
In this drill, lace your fingers together and make a big circle (like you do with your kids when you make an imaginary basketball hoop with your head being the back board). Then run 100 yards or so quickly, jog slowly back to the starting point, and repeat. Drill benefits: activates deep ab muscles so you run more with your abs, less with your hips; maintains upright posture; takes away shoulder rotation if you’re a runner that moves the upper body left and right as you run
2) Steep Hill Sprints
Spring a VERY steep hill for about 20 seconds. I’m talking 10-20% grade. Benefits: develops ballistic running / force skills; applies great force into the ground and helps drive the swing leg forward.
3) One-Leg Hop
Run/hop on one leg as fast as you can for 20 seconds. Jog back to the starting point and repeat. Benefits: increases push off power; enhances stability of hips, pelvis, lower spine, and knees on impact by challenging muscles that stabilize these joints.
4) High knees
Run with a fast cadence and a highly exaggerated knee lift (thighs parallel to ground) for 30 seconds, jog back to starting point, and repeat. Benefits: teaches you to drive swing leg and helps the thigh participate in driving force into the ground.
5) Bounding
Run with long, leaping strides (think triple jump in the olympics), continue for 30 seconds, jog back, and repeat. Benefits: enhances push off power and stability on impact; exaggerates overstriding, so helps teach you to begin retracting your leading leg before impact
6) Stiff Legged Running
Run briskly for 20 seconds with knees locked as much as you can. Benefits: emphasizes the butt for forward propulsion and not the hamstrings; teaches you to begin thrusting earlier and helps stiffen your stride.
Sponsorship – well not really
Posted by Adam Ainbinder in Athletic Gear, Running on November 10, 2009
Last week, I was accepted to the 2010 Brooks I.D. program. This is essentially a community focused on running that makes you feel like you’re sponsored. To be honest, for a fully employed athlete, I think it’s the closest thing to be sponsored that you can get. Here are the benefits:
- 40% off Brooks products
- Access to the Brooks running community, which after just one day on Yahoo Groups, is a VERY active and supportive community
- Access to Brooks specific events as they come up
The price for these benefits: wearing Brooks products in races, talking about the brand/product, and possibly, wearing during training. We actually have an emailed contractual obligation to do this.
I’m pretty excited. I over pronate, and so I need a stability shoe to handle this (I’ve felt this over pronation quite a bit on big toes as I moved to more barefoot running). I’ve worn Asics Kayano‘s for the past year, but I started out early in my running with Brooks Adrenaline‘s. I’ll be going back to the Brooks Adrenaline or Trance, and optionally run with the Brooks ST-4 racer when I want to do short distances quickly. I’m going to load up on some head warmers and gloves too along with a few running shirts. Although this is a sort of sponsorship, we’re still paying for our gear, and to me, improving my form is top priority for this season. I will invest in a pair of Newton‘s for this purpose so I can really make the move to forefoot running. The design of the shoe is really summed up well here, and I’m hoping the shoe will help me work on my stride.
I’ve checked the Brooks site for a comparable product, but I couldn’t find anything designed specifically to improve your form. I’m realizing that a lot of running companies are focused on creating products that compensate for our weaknesses as runners rather then getting us to improve those weaknesses. Of course, some weaknesses cannot be improved, but a lot of them can. But with the plethora of shoe designs out there for all sorts of running strides, why work on it
There have been a lot of posts in the Brooks Yahoo group regarding what being a sponsored athlete is and whether you should train in other gear. Most people are adamant that you should ONLY wear Brooks when training/racing. Here are my beliefs and we’ll see how it jives with the I.D. program:
This is close to a sponsorship, but I’m still paying for gear. Since I don’t get things for free and I’ve made quite an investment in my athletic gear thus far, I will continue to wear what I own (a mix of under armor, nike, asics, brooks, and race technical shirts). However, I will buy and wear the Brooks stuff since I know it’s top notch for running. I will also wear it in races and talk about the pros/cons of it. I plan to also purchase some trail running shoes to do running/hiking and get into that side of the sport. But I will also continue to wear my Zoots gear for triathlons, particularly the Zoots shoes for the running portion since Brooks does not have a comparable tri shoe. I also will use my vibrams for barefoot running simulation since that is how I’ll work on my form. I feel like Brooks can benefit from knowing about the other competitive products out there. Brooks is focused on running for running races, but there are running applications out there for far more than running (e.g. running leg of a triathlon where drainage, shoe weight, and quickness of entry are key components).
Wow, I didn’t realize how many brands I used until I wrote that last paragraph. Crazy!
If you’re wondering about the picture above, Caffe Strada is my FAVORITE coffee place in my college town of Berkeley. Every time I’m in the bay, I try to make it there. If I could have a sponsor, that would be one of my top choices
Race Report: Marine Corps Marathon
Posted by Adam Ainbinder in Marathon, Race Reports, Running on November 1, 2009
It’s been a week now since the Marine Corps Marathon (MCM), and I’m finally getting to my race report. The trip to DC was awesome. It was a beautiful city and I took tons of pics! Unfortunately, I think I walked around way too much in the days leading up to the marathon, and I felt that fatigue in my legs about halfway through the race. I think this will be one of my last destination marathons where part of the trip is to see a new place. I don’t think it’s a wise idea if you’re trying for time in a race.
The race started out in Arlington cemetery. It was a beautiful morning, about 50 degrees, and I’ve never seen so many people ready to run. Adrienne was with me the entire time (in the AM), and she did an awesome job with the camera. She’s a trooper, getting up early with me for these races! FYI, Adrienne learned quite a lot spectating this event. She could have a blog post to herself with the experiences she went through. Good stuff!
My Pit Crew
The morning kicked off at 5 AM. I got up, did a 10 minute warmup on the treadmill, stretched, ate, went to the bathroom (3x – BEFORE leaving the hotel), and then headed down to the metro. Man the metro was crowded. It took nearly 25 minutes to get off the metro to the race. Luckily, we gave ourselves enough time. I was very nervous, and I thought I needed a porta potty run. The lines were packed, so I avoided it, and I didn’t have any stomach issues during the race. I realized that this pre-morning bathroom trips (usually 5+x) is pretty much a case of the nerves. Knowing that may help me in future races.
So the race started in Arlington Cemetery, and then we went around the Potomac river, which is absolutely beautiful with the fall colors, and then through Georgetown. The crowd support was awesome in this area. I’ve never heard anything as loud as the people in Georgetown. Thank you – you are awesome!
After Georgetown, we went through potomac park, which was pretty quiet, and then the mall (washington monument, congressional building, smithsonian, Lincoln memorial, etc…), then over the Potomac and through Arlington again. The end of the race was pretty gnarly, with a steep .2 mile hill, and running over the freeway at mile 21 was rough given the lack of scenery, but the rest of the race was beautiful with incredible crowd support.
Handing off the bottle to my crew
For fuel/hydration, I decided to carry a water bottle with me for the first 10 miles, hand it off to Adrienne at mile 10, then pick it up from her around mile 16. This worked perfectly. I never had an issue with hydration, and I drank at every water stop after the first two (powerade when i had water, and water/powerade when I was without the bottle). I must admit, I was COVERED with powerade at the end of the race, but I didn’t get any in my eyes/nose, which is the benefit of sipping into the side of my mouth. For fuel, I GUed at mile 7 and mile 19, and I took Clif Blocks from mile 10 to mile 18 and one more at mile 23 along with an enduralyte pill. Normally I don’t think I would need this much fuel, but I was DYING towards the end and looking 
for any pick me up possible to maintain pace. I do attribute this food to keeping my time under 9 minute pace for the last 10 miles.
As far as my performance, I wasn’t thrilled. I had a goal of 3:20, which I highlighted in my race strategy post, and I missed it pretty badly (3:37:24). I got off on the wrong pace, and as I tried to speed up, I just couldn’t maintain pace. My legs were tired from about mile 12 on, and after mile 15, it took all my effort to just keep moving. I wanted to stop and walk, and I could feel my legs tense up and prepare to cramp if I tried to speed up, so I had to slow down often. Each time I tried to push below that 8 minute pace, the legs just stiffened. It was a tough race, but I was really stoked that I just fought through the mental desire to bonk.
You can see in my splits above the come split 9, the pace slowed by nearly 30 seconds, and from that point forward, it was a battle to stay under 9 minutes. I did push at the end, but the steep hill at mile .2 put another dagger in the sub-8 minute pace.
The one thing I will take away as a positive in this race aside from the mental push to not quit was that my level of fitness was great. My heart rate barely got above 160 the entire time, and I realize that I can get to these times (Boston Qualifying and Sub 3 hour) if I just improve my form and work on my leg strength/flexibility to prevent the leg pain in later miles.
Since the marathon, the only run I did in the last week was a barefoot treadmill run, and I was amazed how my cadence improved by 10 (between 90-95 at goal race pace) and the muscle pain shifted from hips to calves. After watching the NYC marathon today, I know the move to forefoot striking from heel striking will be great in the long run. It will be a sore road to get there though.
As usual in my race reports, here are my key takeaways from this race:
- DC is a beautiful city
- My pit crew is the best on earth! Thanks for your help Adrienne!
- I need more time off my feet in the days prior to a marathon
- Good fueling/hydration through the race
- Work on forefoot running to reduce leg pain at later stages of the race
Here are a few more pics to help remember my third marathon!
I had to pee 3x before the race. This is one of them, beautifully captured by Adrienne.
Here are some misc race pics, along with me at the airport finishing my Aunt Aunnie’s pretzels before the flight home
Marine Corps Marathon: Race Strategy
Posted by Adam Ainbinder in Marathon, Race Strategy, Running on October 18, 2009
Marine Corps Marathon is one week from today, and I’m excited but also a bit indecisive how I want to approach the race. This will be my third marathon and my second this year. My last marathon was San Francisco at the end of July. On a jet lagged body, I ran a 3:36, which I was really happy with. Since then, I stepped up my training, took a VO2 test, focused entirely on heart rate training, and really stepped up my cross training since I did the SD triathlon last weekend.
My mindset is that my time should improve by 5 minutes because of a flatter course then SF. That puts me at about 3:30, and I believe I want to cut out 10 minutes because of my training. My goal is to beat 3:20, which is 7:38 pace. It’s a pretty big step up from the 8:16 pace of my last marathon, but here’s why I believe I can improve:
- My half marathon time in the OC marathon, a flat course, was 1:39:51, or 7:37 pace. In that race, I got horrible cramps around mile 8 and had to walk for a minute (you can see this elevated heart rate and spike in this graph). So I know I can do this pace
- Since the OC marathon,I’ve run 90 times for 659 miles. That excludes the number of times I rode and swam. My body can certainly handle distance
- The SF marathon was hard, but I had negative splits. I didn’t push it because of the jet lag, but I finished with a lot more tolerance than my previous training runs or races.
- I did a training run of 19 miles at 7:45 pace, but nearly passed out at that point. It was also in 90 degree heat. I also did a 23 mile run at 8:40 pace with ease
- The weather should be cool. I perform much better in cool weather
- My music playlist is AWESOME!
- I’ve become more comfortable with eating on a run, which should help with fueling through the race, improving my chances of overcoming the wall
Ok, so that gives me some confidence in breaking 3:20. Here are some of my concerns:
- I don’t know the course. I really think this has an impact in my mind of knowing what’s beyond the curve ahead and feeling out the distance. Yes there are mile markers. Yes it’s always 26.2. But there’s a different sense of confidence in knowing a course.
- I’ve never run on the east coast before in a race. Yes, this seems simple, but I remember when I used to travel for golf, it always took me a few days to get used to weather, the feeling of a new place, etc…
- Triathlon last weekend may have damaged my body a bit more than expected, but I’m hoping two weeks is enough time to heal. I am still a novice in racing, having completed only four races so far, so I think I’m still a year away from recovering quickly from long distance
- 3:20 is effen fast
So now that you can read my mind , here’s my strategy for race day.
- Race starts at 8AM. Will get up at 6AM, eat a peanut butter granola bar, a banana, and a bare naked bar. I’ll begin to stretch. I’m hoping for my usual stomach clearing before leaving the hotel. Prep with body glide and race wrist band for timing
- Warm up for 10 minutes to get my heart rate up to 140. Run around the hotel on the way to the race
- Get in an early wave to avoid crowds. Find the 3:20 pace person and introduce myself. Find Matt to start the race with.
- Go out at a 145 heart rate, hoping for about 7:50 pace. Don’t get caught up in the rush. Go out easy and stay to the inside track of the course.
- At 2 miles, speed up to 7:35 pace. Check heart rate. If heart rate is less than 150, maintain pace. If more than 150, switch to tempo style running where run 2 miles at heart rate of 150-155, then cut back to slower pace at 145. This can change up my pace
- At mile 13, check times to see how I’m doing. If legs feel good, mind is right, and I’m still pumped, take it to 155 heart rate consistently
- At mile 18-20, heart rate will begin to creep. This is where I’ll dig deep within, feeling my body, focusing on finishing, visualizing that 3:19:59 time.
I’ve had some tightness in my hamstrings, so that’s my biggest concern in failing to meet my time. If they tighten up around mile 22, I’ll have a tough time achieving negative splits and beating 3:20. Worse comes to worse, I have a rough “wall” stretch from pushing too hard and do a 3:50 marathon. But I’m hopeful for the best.
For hydration, I’m debating on whether I want to carry a water bottle and give it Adrienne when empty and pick up another from her since she’ll be following me on the course. I will definitely get water at every station, but I will run through the stations this time, pinching the cups and pouring it into the side of my mouth. I plan to GU at mile 8 and mile 16, and CLIF Blok every 3 miles or so in between and after. I have to figure out how to carry it.
I also want to mentally have fun in this race because I will be seeing DC on foot with blocked off streets – not many opportunities to do that. Given my science training, having fun is sometimes the hardest thing to achieve. Then again, achieving goals through study and perseverance is pretty satisfying.
Good luck to all those racing this weekend and next!
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