Marathon Training Update

I completed week 10 of my marathon training with 5 workouts totaling 34 miles including a 17.5 mile long run this morning.



This was my first long run since I started suffering ITB issues three weeks ago, although I did run a 15k race last weekend.

The 17 miler was a great -12 mile run. Unfortunately my knee started hurting about half way through, gradually increasing in severity, and I struggled quite a bit during the last 5 miles. The good news is that I finished and that the onset of the pain occurred much later in the run compared to last week. I will call that improvement. I was also running pain free during my shorter workouts during the week.

As much as I hate to, I think I’m going to give up one training day per week, at least until I can complete a long run with out any knee pain. I think a 4 day per week schedule will give me the recovery time I need between runs.

The weather turned really nice in Florida this week. I started the run in the upper 60’s and the humidity was significantly lower. This meant much less sweating, but since I didn’t adjust my hydration, it also meant a few “bio” breaks. Actually, it was more than a few. Actually, it was so many that I lost count. That was probably as much a factor in slowing me down as my knee was.

I was also strangely not hungry after the run. I usually have a voracious appetite after a long run. I made sure to consume plenty of calories though. I made a real pig of myself on Saturday. I had a 5 Guys Bacon Double Cheeseburger for lunch and Olive Garden for dinner, so that might have been a contributing factor to my poor appetite today.

I’m off for another torture session with my foam roller.

Four Down – Fourteen to Go

With a 13 mile run along the Seminole Wekiva Trail in Lake Mary, FL completed, week four of my marathon training is DONE!



This run kicked my butt. The heat and humidity took their toll and after 11.5 miles I succumbed and had to walk for a few minutes to rest. I was frustrated with myself for giving in so close to the finish. There is a Panera Bread at the end of this trail and not even the promise of a Panera bagel was enough to keep me going.

Once I started running again I made it through the last mile OK. I did start to feel chills toward the end which makes me think dehydration may have been part of the problem. After all this time I still can’t seem to get it right.

My weight loss over the course of the morning confirmed this. I was 179 lbs when I left my house. I had a mug of coffee en route to the trail, drank 22 oz of water on the outbound leg and 20 oz of Gatorade on the return. Then I had a half liter bottle of water and half a bottle of Gatorade immediately after finishing. Then I ate a HUGE blueberry bagel with cream cheese and had more coffee before going home. Despite having several pounds of fluid and food, I was 175, still down 4 pounds, when I got home.

I can’t rely on the heat as an excuse because the Space Coast Marathon is notorious for having warm weather. A couple of hours into the race I am very likely to be facing similar conditions to what I had early this morning.

There were a lot of long distance runners on the trail this morning.  The West Volusia Runners have several training for the New York and Space Coast Marathons.  I also chatted briefly  with a British woman on a 22 mile run who said her race was coming up in a few weeks.  She politely slowed down to talk for a minute and then left me in the dust.  She didn't say which race but I'm guessing Chicago since there aren't any major marathons in the southeast for a couple of months.

I’m fresh out of an ice bath and bingeing now. In fact it was hard to get my head out of the fridge long enough to write this. I’m sure I’ll put those four pounds back on by the end of the day.

How Soon we Forget

I had my long run routine down pat last spring and survived runs as long as 19 miles with very few lingering after effects.

I go one month with out a run longer than 9 miles and it’s like I forgot everything.

I’m walking bold legged this morning because my upper thighs are rubbed raw and a mile into my 3 mile run this morning I had to strip off my shirt because of the sting on my nipples. Ouch.

Luckily it was 5:30 am, pitch black out and the streets were deserted.

Time to pull the Body Glide and Band-Aids out of my medicine cabinet.

16 Weeks to Go

I finished week two of my marathon training this morning with an 11 mile run with WVR on the Gemini Springs Trail. The club has quite a few members training for marathons this fall, mostly New York and the Space Coast Marathons, so there were a lot of people putting in 10-15 mile long runs this morning, despite the heat.

I finished the run just within my target time range at about a 10:25 pace. I even got a burst of energy late in the run, around miles 7 and 9. It came a little late in the run, and didn’t last very long, but it was appreciated just the same.

I’m still trying to tweak my hydration. I lost 4 pounds this morning even while drinking 32 oz during and immediately after the run. I was a little nauseous for about an hour after finishing. It could have been due to dehydration, or it might have been the Nuun tab I dissolved in my first bottle of water. I’m hoping it was the former but this is the second time I experienced nausea while using Nuun and this time I can’t blame eating a gel at the same time. The nausea wasn’t severe, it just made me uncomfortable. I do prefer Nuun to Gatorade so I will try it again and increase my fluid intake for my next long run and cross my fingers.

I have this feeling that by the time I get my summer hydration figured out the weather will cool and I will have to start over again.

I finally picked the marathon plan I will be using, Hal Higdon’s Intermediate II. I have been going over plans for the past two months and had a hard time deciding. I had good results using Hal Higdon for my half marathon training and I basically completed one of his novice marathon plans in the spring, so that was the deciding factor. This plan has three 20 milers and two 50 mile weeks. If things go well, I may extend one of those runs to 22 miles. If they go poorly I have room to cut back a bit and still be adequately prepared for the race. I will be running 5 days per week including two short recovery runs, a hard workout (alternating speed work, hills and a tempo run), a medium distance race pace run, and a long run. I’ve also got two races planned between now and the marathon on November 28 – the Miracle Miles 15k next month in Orlando and the Daytona Beach Half Marathon on Halloween.  My plan for each race is not to run full out, but to try to run them at my planned marathon race pace, close to a 9 minute mile, which would still mean PR's.  I have a feeling though that once the starting gun fires that plan will be completely forgotten.

I’m starting to get used to early morning hours. On weekdays I’m up at 4 for a 5 am run. On weekends it’s up at 5 for a 6 am run. I said I’m getting used to them, that doesn’t mean I like them. You can rest assured that I will be sleeping in on November 29 and for many mornings thereafter

Island Mode

Today’s submission is being penned from the balcony of a Gulf front condo on beautiful Sanibel Island, FL. Our family and close friends have been gathering here every summer for an annual reunion for the past 30 years. In all that time, this island has not changed a bit.

I got up early this morning for my first ever run on the island. I ran a 5 mile route around the perimeter of a nature preserve at the heart of Sanibel. I did manage to include about a mile and a half along Periwinkle Way, Sanibel’s main street. Periwinkle is of course pockmarked by gift shops and vacation rental offices but also long standing landmarks like Bailey’s General Store and the epitome of island health food cuisine – Cheeburger Cheeburger (excuse me while I take a moment to wipe the drool off of my keyboard).

There were surprisingly few people out at 7 am. During the 45 minute run I only saw 4 other runners and couple of bicyclists. I did manage to get chased by a dog. No run would be complete without that.

It was a great way to begin August and finish and my first week of marathon training. I ran my long run yesterday, Deland’s infamous 9 mile hills route. I am still sore today, especially in my Achilles, so I treated today’s run as a recovery run at an easy 9:40ish pace. Afterward I waded into the Gulf (no tar balls here), the water probably wasn’t cold enough to offer much benefit, but the massaging action of waves felt good.

The run went surprisingly well considering my poor nutrition, hydration and sleep over the past 24 hours. It was a travel day so we ate fast food and I “camelled up” with several beers late into the evening.

I finished July just a hair over 100 miles. A little less than I have been averaging over the past few months, but I was focusing on speed workouts instead of distance. In fact my longest run of the month was yesterday’s 9 miler. I did run 22 days last month, including two, six day stretches of consecutive running days. So while the mileage was down, the intensity was way up. I’m feeling great now and ready for week two of marathon training.

Recovery runs are tough . . .

. . . mentally.

I’m trying to get in the mindset that every run has a purpose - recovery, speed workouts, intervals, fartleks, hills, tempo runs and of course the long slow run.

I’m coming off of a pretty intense week last week. I rested yesterday so the purpose of this morning’s run was recovery. I was still a little sore from the weekend so the goal was to maintain a relaxing, easy pace to help prepare me for the rest of the week. I ran a 5 mile loop around my neighborhood that has become very familiar. I have broken through 45 minutes for this route a few times and I know exactly what my splits need to be in order to do that.

As I reached the end of each mile I had to resist the urge to lean forward and accelerate. I couldn’t resist the urge to do the math in my head and calculate the remaining splits I needed in order beat that magic number that somehow manages to be both meaningful and meaningless at the same time. I kept telling myself that every run has a purpose and the goal for today was not to go for a new record.

I won my mental battle. After my usual slow first mile I eased into a 9:15 pace and for the next 4 miles that pace only fluctuated by +/- 4 seconds. I finished the 5 miles in 47:03, accomplishing what I set out to do, but still was just a little disappointed.

No worries though, tomorrow is dedicated to speed and running with reckless abandon.

Tomorrow I Rest

I am sitting here enjoying a well earned blueberry bagel, basking in the afterglow of a great seven mile run this morning, and wondering - “What is wrong with me?”

I have had an incredibly productive July so far. I ran eight out the past nine days including a race and my fastest mile ever on the 3rd, hills on the 4th, fartleks on the 7th, a 5 mile pr on the 8th. I finished this week with a total of 32 miles. My running is still improving at a very exciting rate. Yet I am sitting here feeling guilty because I didn’t get in a long run this week.

I had hoped to get in at least ten miles this morning on the Seminole Wekiva Trail in Lake Mary, but I was running on tired legs after some “cross training” yesterday (more on that in a moment) and I started out way too fast. I was trying to keep pace with some of the faster members of WVR until I realized they were doing 5 miles and I was hoping to do 8-10. When I reached the 3.5 mile mark I knew I was pushing too hard and eagerly made the turn to head back. I don’t know how, but I still managed a negative split – barely - 28:59 for the first 3.5 and 28:33 for the return leg, averaging about 8:13 mins/mile.  Actually I do know how, I was being spurred on by the club's organizer who refused to let me slack off.  I managed to keep up with her for about 5.5 miles and then I finally had to slow down.

Speaking of cross training, I pretty much did it all yesterday. A six mile run in morning and in the afternoon: swimming, stair climbing, walking, stair climbing, surfing, stair climbing . . . Did I mention stair climbing?

Otherwise known as:

The afternoon pretty much consisted of climbing towers like this one:

over and over and over again.

The premier water slide is called the Dolphin Plunge. The water tubes travel right through a pool filled with dolphins. You can see the tubes in the background of this video:

One of my daughter’s favorite rides was called Roa’s Rapids. It's a fast moving river of water that you can either free swim or float wearing a life vest. She preferred to swim it which actually made it a pretty good workout, if you could avoid drowning.

We had a blast, but it was an exhausting day.

Tomorrow I rest.

Lake Beresford Trail Run

This morning’s run was a six mile (3 miles out and back) paved trail connecting Lake Bersford Park in Deland, FL and Blue Springs State Park in Orange City. Blue Springs is well known for the manatees that take refuge in the spring run during the winter.

I know in this map it looks like the trail is straight as an arrow but in reality it has gentle curves throughout which made it a very pleasant run. There are restrooms and water at both ends of the trail, although Blue Springs charges a modest admission and I’m not sure if there is access to the restrooms there without entering the park.

This was my first run on this trail, running with about a dozen members of the West Volusia Runners. At 7:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning there were very few other people out on the trail. That meant lots of wildlife sightings. I saw deer, rabbits, snakes and of course birds and squirrels. I heard stories of runners seeing black bears, gators and wild hogs in the past.

The trail is shaded with gently rolling hills. Not enough to make it too difficult, but enough to still get your heart rate up a little. 

There is also a two mile loop trail that encircles Lake Beresford Park, but I didn't run that this morning.  I tried not to push myself too hard today because I’m hoping to get in 13 miles tomorrow. I still managed to average an 8:47 pace. A month ago I would have struggled to maintain that pace for 3 miles and this morning it felt like a moderate pace over 6 miles. My improvement since I started running with WVR has really been remarkable.

In the Zone

While chatting after a group run this morning a fellow runner made a comment to me about being “in the zone.” It may be a cliché, but I realized that is exactly how I have felt the past couple of weeks.

I am in a training limbo this month. My marathon training will officially begin mid-July, so this month I am running for the pure joy of it with no programs to follow and no pre-set distances. I have been somewhat guided by the full calendar of runs organized by the West Volusia Runners, but with each run there are multiple options for distances and runners of every skill level to pace with.

I wear my watch and continue to use the Sportypal GPS app on my phone, but these are afterthoughts. I give very little advance thought to pacing and run moment to moment based solely on my perceived level of exertion.

The only serious planning I do before running lately is hydration.

The results have been dramatic. I’m running faster, significantly faster. I’m recovering quickly. I’ve added an extra workout each week. I feel absolutely euphoric.

I have been pushing myself fairly hard for the past few months and I think I might have been on the verge of overtraining. This month has been exactly what I needed to get both my mind and body in the right place before the training gets serious again next month.

I’m in the zone.

Gemini Springs Trail Run

For 5 years I’ve been running in circles around my neighborhood. Running with the West Volusia Runners for the past few weeks has opened my eyes to what I have been missing.

This morning we ran a trail run starting at Gemini Springs Park in Debary, FL. The route includes a 3 mile round trip to a local landmark called the Debary Mansion and a 5 mile round trip trail connecting Gemini Springs Park with Lake Monroe Park in Sanford. These sections can be combined for a variety of distances. There are water fountains and restrooms at both ends of the trail.

I decided to get an early 6:30 am start and got in 3 miles before the group run at 7:00, and then ran another 8 miles with the group. This was the best turnout I have seen so far with about two dozen members.

I finished the run with about 11.5 total miles at just under a 10 minute mile pace. I even stopped to shoot a couple of pictures during the final 2.5 mile leg. I think my cell phone camera lens was a little sweat soaked though. This first picture shows one of my favorite characteristics of these trail runs - Shade!

I tried hydrating with NUUN tablets (I believe it's pronounced like noon) for the first time this morning. NUUN is an electrolyte tablet that you drop into a bottle of water like alka seltzer. I used one tablet in a 22 oz water bottle that lasted me for the entire 8 mile section of the run. It performed well and I finished the run feeling strong without any dehydration symptoms. Not bad for June in Florida. The taste was unexciting, but I had it a little watered down, each tablet is designed to be used with 16 oz of water. I may experiment with other flavors, I sampled Tri-Berry. It makes the water a little fizzy so that each time I opened the valve on my water bottle I would get a little squirt and a pfffft sound.

I also “enjoyed” my first soak in an ice bath after the run. I just emptied my freezer’s ice tray into a half full tub of cold water. It wasn’t so bad, once I got over the initial shock. I soaked for about 20 minutes with a book and a mug of coffee.  I'm feeling pretty good right now, so I think it helped.

This run made 5 workouts for the week, another first. This was a great run to cap off the week.

Review: Sportypal

I love this gps app for my smart phone. I have been using it since February and it has added a fun, new dimension to my running without having to invest in a gps watch.

The program gives you instant feedback of statistics while you run like pace, time, distance, and calories burned.  It creates a map of each run.  It allows you to upload the information to a personal page on Sportypal’s website where you can view and manipulate the map and statistics to your heart’s content.  If you are a graph geek, like me, you will love the features.

You can also automatically share the results of each workout on facebook and twitter, instantly at the end each run.

The app is easy to learn and use with large finger friendly buttons and menus on my touch screen Windows Mobile phone, even with my clumsy, sweaty fingers (it is available for the other mobile operating systems too).

I have to admit the app was a little buggy when I first started using it, sometimes frustratingly so, but with each revision over past few months it has become more reliable and accurate.

Here are some screen shots from my phone from my run this morning (a new PR by the way):

I still wear my tried and trusted (and very basic) Timex Ironman as my primary method of tracking my time, but this app makes keeping track a lot more fun.

I should mention one more important feature. It’s free! (Assuming you already own a gps enabled smart phone.)

Here is a link if anyone is interested: http://www.sportypal.com/Home