Houston Marathon

I was really looking forward to this race.  I trained hard, was fit and would have a good group of guys to run with.  I flew into Houston three nights before the race to make sure I would be caught up on sleep and would be able to relax enough before the race.  I was expecting this to be a big breakout race for me and run fast enough to get me some help in getting to Chicago, Frankfurt or Twin Cities this fall.

I got into Houston Thursday night and was rooming with Patrick Rizzo, who I have never met before.  The guy is definitely a character in a sport that needs more characters.  He was also one of the guys I was planning on running with, so I tried to prod a little bit to see how he was planning on racing.  Not in order to beat him, but in hopes to see if we had similar ambitions in order to work together.

Friday morning, I woke up and ran with Rizzo, Jonathan and Matthew Grey and Daniel Tapia for seven miles and then ran another mile with Daniel.  He ran in the World Marathon Championships last August and seems like a genuine and really cool guy. We discussed marathon training a bit and about how a lot of youngans do too much intensity and end up paying the price for it come race day. He is trained by Scott Simmons, who has always intrigued me, so I tried to pick his brain a bit to see the type of stuff they do.  I then spent the rest of the day bumming around and not doing much of anything other than an easy 3.5ish mile run later in the evening.

Saturday was a much busier day.  I woke up and ran with a group of people, including Connor Kamm (occasional Nashville training partner) Brent Martin from Ohio and Newton teammate, Tyler McCandless, who is always a super nice guy. We ran just over four miles and then Connor completely smoked me in a few strides afterward.

After that, I was finally able to met Stephen Gartside, who is sort of like my Newton boss and is in charge of the Newton Elite team.  He hooked me up with my uniform, warm-ups, shirts and a pair of shoes that wouldn't clash as much with my outfit, like my neon green Distance Elite's do.  I did a brief interview with Sam, who is a cool guy and a Newton intern, took some pictures and it was off to the athlete's meeting. Luckily, that was short and sweet and after getting my race number, I went to the Newton/Fleet Feet tent at the expo and met some more of my Newton teammates.

I also decided to buy a couple more energy gels.  Normally, I just take four but Rizzo told me someone took his bottles in a race sometime, so I freaked out and bought some extra gel so every bottle could have one attached.  Spending an extra four bucks on "gel insurance" isn't so bad I guess.  I then had to bedazzle my bottle in hopes that someone wouldn't mistake it for theirs and also because I was secretly craving a little arts and crafts time. Normally, I use empty Tum-E Yummie bottles but this time, I went with the lab bottles they offered.  They had a straw attached to it, which I felt may be easier to drink out of it.

After turning in my bottles, it was time for the Newton Team dinner.  We ate at the Grove across the street, which was a pretty swanky place.  The burgers and steak were calling my name but I didn't want a bunch of fatty meat sitting in my stomach, so I opted for the more runner friendly pasta with shrimp and mussels. And since everyone ordered dessert (except for Tyler and Jeremy sissying out and splitting a dessert and not even eating the ice cream that came with it), I decided I would as well.  I went with some beignets with hazlenut sauce.  Man, I love carbo loading.  After dinner, I popped a few benadryl, and went to bed.

I was up at about 4:00am and the first thing I did was check the weather.  When I went to bed, it was supposed to be 49 at the race start (7am), with a 44 dew point and at 9am, it was supposed to be 52.  Not bad at all.  But both weather sites were saying current 4am temps were 54 with a 55 dew point and 100% humidity. When I saw that, I changed my goal pace from 5:05-5:10, with mostly 5:05s to the same range, but with mostly 5:10s.  I was bummed the weather wasn't going to be ideal but I figured the humidity would hurt the good ol' Southern boy less than the others and give me a better shot of finishing as the top American.

After a big bowl of Fruit Loops, a Powerbar, big cup of coffee (after a two week coffee fast), a couple packs of Gatorade chews and some Gatorade, it was time to suit up and load onto the bus.  We got to the start a little over an hour before the race and I hung around inside the tent before heading out for a mile jog about thirty minutes before the start, followed by some strides and then headed to the line.

When the race started, a ton of guys shot off.  And not just guys, but I got passed by a few ladies as well (and also was elbowed by a short Ethiopian chick).  The pace felt nice and relaxed and after about half of a mile, I found myself in a pack with Ian Burrell, Patrick Rizzo, a tall Russian guy named Nikolay Chavkin with Canadian Lucas Mcaneney hanging in the back.

Patrick, Ian and I were doing most of the work and we were right on pace, running 5:05ish. It was a little faster than my plan, but it felt smooth.  At 5k, I was going to grab my first bottle, take my first gel and get in some water.  But after getting to the table, my bottle was already gone.  I guess one of the East Africans way ahead of me really liked glittery stars.  Well, it was them or that tall red head. Since our rabbit left us (that dude better not get paid), Ian wanted us to take turns leading miles. It sounded like a good idea at the time so when it was my turn, I obliged. The good thing about setting the pace for a mile is that since the pressure is on you, it feels really easy.  The bad thing is because it feels really easy, you don't realize that you are running too hard.

We were rolling off miles in the low 5:00s.  Part of me wanted to let them go but it still felt pretty smooth. The Canadian guy fell back and the Russian would either fall behind or surge ahead.  Kind of weird tactics, but whatever.  I grabbed my first bottle/gel combo just after 10k.  I downed the gel but getting water out of the bottle was much harder than I thought.  I made sure I cut the tip correctly but it was still hard to get much fluid out.  After getting about a couple of ounces out of it, I chucked it.  Ian made a quick surge and I let him go since it felt like it was sub 5:00 pace for sure.  But he started to slow down again and I left Rizzo in order to catch up.  That right there was the snowball that started the avalanche.  Rizzo was falling back with each mile and the Russian guy was doing his fall back/surge ahead thing. We were still running in the 5:00ish range and we went through halfway in 66:18.  In my mind, I thought I might be able to pull off a 2:12 and definitely felt a 2:13 was in the cards.

Around 15 miles, my hip flexors started to get a little fatigued and at that point, Ian and the Russian surged ahead.  In the past, I've had trouble after getting dropped. When you get dropped in a race, it's mentally defeating, but I was fine mentally at this point.  I knew the pace they were running was too fast and I had no business sticking with it.  But in the marathon, people can go from running phenomenally to blowing up in a matter of minutes.  With the Russian's surging tactics, I had to be ready to move up in case one of them blew up earlier than anticipated.

At 18 miles, I started to feel the wall coming on and split just under 5:17. It was also only my third mile 5:10 or slower.  So much for my initial plan. But I knew if I could hang on to the 5:15-5:20 range, I could still run a really good time, so I tried to keep the legs moving.  I ran the next two miles pretty well but then it started to get ugly, really quickly.  Mile 21 was a 5:21 followed by a 5:24, 5:28, 5:34, and 5:45.  I wasn't giving up at this point and each mile became a lot more painful than the prior one.  I really, really wanted to walk but I wanted to still at least get the "B" standard, which is 2:18:00.  And I knew if I stopped to walk, it would be hard to get moving again and I may not break 2:20, which would result in me not getting any travel or hotel money.  I'm getting poor, so that couldn't happen!

And for some reason, my entire right arm started tingling and going numb.  It was a weird feeling and I don't know what caused it.  And while this was taking place, I felt like an old lady driving on the highway while sports cars flew by me. I believe Rizzo went by first.  I thought he was done for when we dropped him but he showed his experience and regrouped to rally back.  Or maybe it was just me rallying backwards.  Then Tim Young went by and he was absolutely trucking.  I thought Rizzo would be the only one because I never saw Tim during the race, but sure enough, he flew by me like he was Usain Bolt.  Shortly after that, Luke Humphrey flew by me and then Kenyan, David Tuwei.  It mentally hurt getting passed by so many guys but I still had to go after the standard.

I really wanted to be finished and finally, I made it to the final turn without getting passed anymore.  I saw I was going to be able to sneak under the standard and crossed the line in 2:17:17.  I was really dizzy and wobbly legged but knew if I acted overly dramatic, I would get asked a billion questions, have to go by some tent and waste a bunch of time before being allowed to leave.  Some dude walked me back to the athlete area and I tried my best to answer his questions without sounding like an old man on his deathbed.  It must have worked because he let me go back to the elite athlete area.

I saw Jeffrey Eggleston (who rabbited through the half marathon in just over 63 minutes) there and I felt a little embarrassed because I was running so well and ended up tanking.  I respect that guy a lot and when you respect people, you want to perform well for them.  He ended up giving me the best advice I've received since the race.  The first thing I told him is that maybe I need to start eating more salads but in short, he told me not to do that, keep doing what I'm doing and really encouraged me to come race Boston.  I guess it was his way of saying you are in good shape, didn't have a great race today and that I need to take another shot at it to show what I can accomplish.  He will make a wise-old man one day.

My buddy Jake Krong also told me he thought I should have broken 2:15 and if I would have stuck to my pre-race plan, he thinks I would have.  I always appreciate the straight-shooters and constructive-criticism. That's how you grow, not by getting pats on the back.

I also had a few people tell me I had a good race because I PR'ed and I should be really proud of that. Checking out my splits, it's obvious I didn't run a good race.  Yeah, it was a PR but if I had today's conditions last year, it would have at least been worth a 2:16.  And this year, I was a ton more fit. It makes me sound like a whiner and jerk that I'm complaining about a time that qualified me for the Olympic Marathon Trials but I was/am much fitter than a 2:17.  But today was just another day in my training cycle, albeit a very important one. You can't grade a season by one race or one workout and overall, I was/am very fit.

But looking back, I should have dropped back with Rizzo and worked with him.  I feel that if I did that, I would have salvaged a sub 2:16.  Since it was only about 10 miles in when we left him, we could have worked together, hung out in the 5:10 range and I may have had enough mojo left for a big push at the end. Even better would have to run with Luke Humphrey and Tim Young.  Tim ran a nice negative split and had a heck of a race. If he gets in a race with a nice pack, he has a 2:13 in him.

Of course, if someone takes you out over the last part of the race, you wonder if the results would had been different if you changed your tactics.  But the most disappointing part was that I thought I could run with Ian, I stuck with him for 16-17 miles and then he took me out to the shed for an almost four minute severe beating over the last few miles.  That's complete ownership.

Ian Old Yeller'ed Me

I had a lot of hype before this race and wanted to perform.  Well, not so much for the hype but I really wanted to drop a fast time to show you don't need fancy diets, training partners, trails or even a coach to really perform.  But I abandoned my normal conservative racing strategy for a more risky one.  It's frustrating that I had to end my season on that note, but I will rise again.

Random Thoughts/Notes

• I really think Houston needs to host the Olympic Trials over Los Angeles and I think everyone who competed this weekend would agree.  L.A. would be a cool place but Houston has shown they want it done and can get it done.  And they were just as impressive with everything last year when they weren't hosting the U.S. Half-Marathon Championships.  That shows true commitment.
• My Newton Distance Elite's worked perfectly.  Before the race, the longest I ran in them was 10 miles (even though I did a single 20 mile run in the regular Distance, which has the same outsole).
• My Newton teammates also ran really well in the US Half-Marathon Championships.  Fernando Cabada finished 8th in 62:00, Tyler McCandless was 17th in 63:25, and Jeremy Freed was 21st in 63:51. Nicole Chyr won the open women's half-marathon in 78:29, Bob Weiner was 6th in the open men's half-marathon in 71:14 (also won the master's division at 48 years young) and the boss man, Stephen Gartside, finished 5th in his age group in the marathon in 2:58.
• My Nashville compatriots also had good races.  Connor Kamm had a huge PR, running 65:29 (was on 65:00 pace for almost 12 miles) and Ashley Evans finished 2nd place in the open women's half in 78:47.
• I'm too lazy to type out my mile splits, but I manually hit my GPS at each mile marker.  Here are the splits: http://connect.garmin.com/splits/432886066
• During the race, I took four gels (I think) and probably had less than 16 ounces of water.  Two of my six bottles were missing and I can't remember if I intentionally didn't get one.  It was too hard to drink out of those bottles and I really wasn't thirsty.  Most people drink too much in marathons, instead of drinking to thirst. And you also get a lot of water from the breakdown/release of carbohydrates.
• I really don't know if/how much the weather slowed me down. You don't notice a paper cut when you have a shotgun wound.
• Part of me wishes I were in the half.  My workouts before Houston were faster than before the US Half-Marathon Championships last year.  Maybe that's why I bonked so hard.  Going off that, I found some holes in my training and I'll post a training review/spring preview later in the week.
• Aaron Braun was really impressive in the half but I'll give the best performance award to Matt Llano, who finished 5th in 61:47 and only nine seconds from second place. That guy has been on fire lately and it seems like there are good things going on with Ben Rosario's newly found group in Flagstaff, Northern Arizona Elite.  He seems to know his stuff and I'll probably eventually bug him with something.  Update: This was just posted, which gives an review of his fast workouts the last few weeks of training. Pretty cool stuff.
• The men's best marathon performance goes to Tim Young.  I figured he would run 2:17-2:18ish and thought Rizzo and Ian were going to be the toughest American competition.  Tim whooped both me and Rizzo and almost got the "A" standard. Great race from that guy. 
• Sorry ladies, no awards for you. I'm not as familiar with women's running because it would be hard to explain to my wife why there is so many women's names in my Google search history.
• Overall, it was good I learned the lesson that came from starting too fast.  Better now than when the Pan-Ams/Worlds window opens this fall.  That being said, I still can't figure out why I died so quickly. I know I tanked because of bad pacing but it should have been more gradual. Bad peak? Bad fueling? Who knows? 
• I always say that people are in control of their own destiny and you shouldn't let others control you or impact what you do.  I didn't follow that advice very well and exchanged my own race strategy for someone else's. I should have known what the result would be.

Houston Marathon Preview

Going into Houston, I'm the most confident I've ever been before a marathon.  I felt like I was in 2:15 shape last year, with somewhat of a rushed build-up due to injury.  This time, I've had more consistent training, more volume and more intensity.  And supposedly they have made the course more faster this year.

What does being more confident mean? I don't know really.  I do know I wasn't really confident before the half-marathon championships last year and it turned out really well.  I was confident going into the 25k championships but I ended up sitting in a chair nine miles into the race while everyone else was duking it out on the course.  But I'm fitter than I've ever been before and don't plan on sitting in a chair again.

Going in, I'm shooting to run between 5:05-5:10 pace, as long as the weather is good, which puts me at sub 2:15 with a shot at 2:13.  I should have a lot of help as several runners entered are in that time range.  Ian Burrell ran a 2:14 at the 2012 Trials and hardly ever runs poorly.  Pat Rizzo ran 2:13 at the Trials and 2:16 in London last year.  He also whooped me at the 2012 half-marathon championships.  On his Charity Bets page, Luke Humphrey is stating he is going for sub 2:14.  And the official list has a handful of Africans that have run 2:10-2:15.  Maybe some of those guys won't show up since overall prize money drops off quickly. But even if they do, I have three other good American guys to run with.  Well, hopefully I will run with.

Ian Burrell.  You see this prime photo opportunity he took away from me with his .3 second victory?  Next time, I won't be so nice.

Luke Humphrey.  This guy is always changing his appearances with different combinations of sunglasses, facial hair and beanies.  But I believe he's the only Hanson running, so I won't fall for such trickery.  

Flowing hair and a 'stache vs. a bald head and a beard. Quite the match-up. If he doesn't have the 'stache, I may be thrown off my game.

I train pretty much entirely alone and like Alan, I'm mostly a one-man wolf-pack.  I went into the race expecting to be mostly alone since most of the good guys will be in the half-marathon championships.  As a one-man wolf-pack, I'm fine with doing my own thing.  If the other Americans shoot off, I'll let them go.  If they hang back, I'll press forward.  But if they are within a few seconds of my desired pace/effort, I'll tuck in, as well as share the work.  No free-loading here.

But I don't really plan on racing those guys, so to speak.  It's in my own self-interests to keep them around since running with people is easier than running alone.  I'd much rather run 2:13:59 and get beat by all three of those jokers than lay the whooping on them and run 2:14:00.  I'm not going to throw down any hard moves on anyone, just smooth and steady running until the end.  But if Ian Burrell is still around  at the 26 mile marker, I'll have a bone to pick with him.

And if you're so inclined, you can sign up to track me here  If you don't want to sign up, they have live searchable tracking on race day as well.

*several day laziness break*

Well, the marathon is less than 48 hours away.  The weather could approach 60 towards the end of the race, with a lot of humidity as well.  It's definitely not ideal conditions but not terrible either.  I still plan on running 5:05-5:10 pace and look forward to going to battle with the other 'mericans. But the biggest change will be in my uniform and shoes.  This weekend, I will be making my Newton Elite debut.  I'm really excited to join up with an excellent and supportive company.  I had a few different options presented in front of me for this upcoming year and I felt Newton was by far the best choice.  I'm a major diva when it comes to shoes and 99% of shoes, I don't like.  I like a nice, flexible shoe without much heel-to-drop.  Almost all of Newton's models fit the bill perfectly.  So which Newton's will I wear this weekend?  Right now, I'm leaning towards the Distance Elite. Originally, I thought the MV3 would be my shoe.  It's only 5.4 ounces but still provides decent cushioning.  It has a nice, fast feel to it but I haven't taken it into deep waters enough on any my long, extensive workouts.  I definitely think it will be my marathon shoe in the feature but the Distance Elite's are a very good "safe" pick, at a little under two ounces heavier, but offers a lot more protection.  I'll have to do a write-up on each of these shoes later on

MV3

Distance Elite

Time is running out and I'm ready to see the results of all of my hard traning!

Houston Marathon Training

With the my last short race out of the way, it's time to transition over to more marathon-specific training. For a training cycle that peaks with a marathon, I like to spend the last 6-8 weeks zoning-in on marathon pace. I occasionally throw in some stuff faster than half-marathon pace, but most of my focus is spent on extending the distance I can run at my planned marathon pace.  A lot of people use this "reverse taper" method but I base a lot of it off Renato Canova's principles along with my own strengths and weaknesses.

After I axed CIM, I debated just scratching a winter marathon all-together and focusing on trying to break 63 at the US Half-Marathon Championships in Houston and then get ready for Boston.  But I was content with my 63:12 this past June and have yet to have a chance to run a fast marathon when I'm in shape.  And with old age kicking in and the fact you only have a shot at 1-2 good marathons a year, the clock is ticking.

With Houston also hosting the half-marathon championships, as well as offering very appealing time bonuses, I wasn't expecting the marathon field in Houston to be very deep. I'm sure they will have their usual handful of world class Ethiopians but wasn't expecting too many guys around the "A" standard. I usually race well in fields where I have a lot of people constantly around me but I also train pretty much completely alone, so I've gotten used to pushing solo. And I would much rather race a marathon without much company, opposed to a half.  If you go out too hard in the half, you can regroup a bit and save your race some but running a few seconds a mile too fast in the marathon can kill you.

But I recently had some good news when I found out that Luke Humphrey from the Hansons (the racing team, not the 90s band) was heading down and shooting to run under 2:14.  I also heard from somewhere that Patrick Rizzo is racing it, who is also a very tough dude. So with those two guys and hopefully a couple others at that level in the marathon field, I will have some people to follow/pull-along.  I don't know those guys at all but maybe we can form a group for at least 10-15 miles.

When training for the marathon, it's important to not only train for the 26.2 mile distance but the conditions of the course.  You don't want to totally focus on running your race pace, but to replicate what your body goes through on the day of the race. When I was training for CIM, I was going to do my marathon stuff on a course that simulates the rolling nature of the course.  Instead of doing my speedwork on the track, I was going to do a lot of fartleks over hills. I needed to have my body (and mind) used to running over some gentle hills after it's been through a lot of muscle damage. You have to prepare your body for the specific demands of race day and if you don't respect the nature of the course, you're not going to be adequately prepared.

So what problems does Houston pose? None, really. It's a flat and fast, time trial course.  So that means I don't have to stress about hills, I just need to be a rhythmic marathoning machine, which greatly caters to my style and strengths.  Well, I have heard from a few people that Houston has a lot of concrete, but I do a lot of running on sidewalks, and most of my mileage on the roads, except for track workouts. And there's no dirt or trails near my house and I hate running on the grass. So hard surfaces don't bug me at all.

So after a lot of rambling, what's training going to be like and what's my goal? I will probably do a lot of my Canova-style long repeats (stuff like 4x5k with 1k steady jog rest, 3x4.2 mile with 1k steady rest, etc.)  Last year, I did stuff like 10 miles at marathon pace, 10 miles at 1/2 mile at 10s per mile slower than MP and 10s per mile faster than MP.  This time around, I will increase it to 12 miles. While my all-time record for miles in a week is 125, this December, I plan to have a week or two at 130 or maybe even a little higher, depending on how I respond. And right now, I'm debating between running a marathon five weeks out from Houston in the 2:22-2:25 range or throwing in a Canova Specific Block.  Other than that, I'll stay in touch with half-marathon pace from time-to-time, occasionally sprinkle in some shorter, faster repeats and get in some moderate paced running.

Time wise, if the weather is good, 2:15:00 is my minimum goal.  Yeah, my pr is 2:18:52 from Houston last year, which would be quite a jump. But I spent about six weeks with a bum achilles last fall, lost some training time with a sickness in late December and during the race, the it was 40 degrees with a lot of rain and strong wind.  Based off the former race results of others, I felt like my time there was at least worth a 2:15ish under ideal conditions.  And since then, I've improved my half-marathon time by almost 90 seconds, am running more volume and intensity and am running my workouts at much faster paces than at this point last year.  And this time around, I'm doing squats and a little core work, which I didn't do last year.

But on race day, I'll have to adjust my pace based on the conditions. If it it's under 50 degrees and calm, I plan on going out between 66:30-67:00 for the first half. Sometimes I am a little bit too conservative with my racing, so this time around, I'm going to run with a little more confidence. That being said, I greatly respect and healthily fear the distance, so I'm not going to take off like a Kamikaze mania. I'm just going to toe the line confident from my training and not be intimidated by guys with better marathon resumes than me, especially because I consider the marathon my best distance.

With under seven weeks to go, training couldn't be going any better and I'm excited to see how it all unfolds. Hopefully mother nature will be a little bit nicer this time.

Change of Plans

I'm a pretty calculated.  Scratch that, I'm a very calculated person.  And when a marathon is my peak race of the season, I respect it way too much to get in unprepared.  The marathon is a huge mountain that you either defeat or it defeats you.  With less than six weeks to go until the California International Marathon, I don't think I'll have enough time to be in my "A" game shape.  Well, maybe I can but everything would have to go perfectly.  And life seldom works that way, so my new change of plans is to race in Houston.  They are hosting the USA Half-Marathon Championships next year, and it's also a super fast marathon course.  I'm leaning towards the marathon but they are spending a ton of money on the half-marathon and I would get a lot more "perks" when it comes to travel, staying there, time bonuses, etc.  And the half-marathon will be insanely deep and could potentially set me up to break 63 minutes.  But the marathon is my true love, so right now, my plan is that.  So here's some random thoughts on random things that led to my decision, what I need to work on, etc.

But to sum it up in a more concise format, I'll paraphrase Renato Canova: "and athlete shouldn't follow a program, the program should follow the athlete".

• The CIM course has a ton of rhtyhm changes and I'm not a rhythm guy.  I felt unprepared in this aspect and needed more time to get a feel for things.  To counteract that, Houston is a flat, rhythm course, which is exactly my style.
• The second cycle in my marathon training, the speed cycle was pretty poor.  I never got in very many longer, intense sessions.  I expected to get in a lot of volume between 4:30-4:50 pace, consistent interval work, etc.  I got very little of that.  
• I now will spend 3-4 weeks maximizing my speed a little bit more.  I can tell I lack a lot of power and efficiency at 5k/10k pace, so I will work to improve upon that. 
• Mary is getting ready to go back to school in a few weeks.  When she does, I'll have to help with Ellis' night feedings.  Telling Mary at 2am that I'm not feeding him because I'm in taper mode wouldn't go over too well.
• Going into my marathon specific phase, I also like to have a lot of long runs behind me.  When I get fit, easy long runs feel like they are barely even a stimulus.  I can easily drop down to 6:00 pace without thinking about it.  So far, I haven't had very many long runs and haven't gotten that endless endurance feeling yet.  If I can't get in the easier long stuff, how can I get in some high quality long stuff?
• With the Houston Marathon so far away, I can get in some consistent big blocks of mileage.  While I would go into CIM with a few weeks of 125-130 miles, I now will be able to get in several more weeks of that and maybe even climb even higher.
• To go along with that, I finally feel like my body is starting to become ready for some hard training.  I slimmed down a few pounds, am starting to have good workouts and would like to take advantage of that before beginning marathon stuff.
• And to go along with that (again), I'm starting to do a lot of the smaller things.  I'm eating better, stretching and doing strength stuff.  I'd like a few months of that, rather than just a few weeks.
• Lastly, I have almost a two week Christmas Break.  That will let me live a little bit like a pro marathon for that time.
• Lastly, lastly.  I'm getting older and you can only run so many marathons.  The CIM course has a smaller margin of error when it comes to running fast, while Houston is more "fast" friendly.  I need to get under 2:15 to get a good time in and maybe open up some more doors for me.  
• And the main thing I will miss about skipping CIM is that I heard it's a deep marathon field.  I've never run a deep marathon before and would love the chance since I'm best over that distance.  And they were paying for my travel, had good prize money and were giving $2,500 bonuses for running an "A" standard and $1000 for a "B" one.  That's some great support.

Houston Marathon

After months of hard work, I was really looking forward and relieved, that it was time to head to Houston.  I ended up switching my flight to Friday so I could sleep in on Saturday.  I left school, headed home to pack and was on my way.

As usual, I left a little bit later than I wanted. I got to the airport about 45 minutes before my flight, but unfortunately, the security line was HUGE.  After waiting in line for a while, and seeing that it was 5:00 (with a departure time of 5:20) with several dozen people ahead of me, I felt I would miss me flight for sure.  To make matters worse, it was Southwest's last flight of the day to Houston.  Luckily, fate was on my side, as they opened up a new line, starting with my row.  I got through the checkpoint a few minutes after 5:00, hauled butt to my terminal (which was at the back of the airport) and barely made it in time. 

I had a direct flight to Houston, which was a pretty short flight. I brought my laptop with me on the plane so I could knock out a couple of episodes of The Wire.  But I was an idiot and brought my broken headphones, which meant I had to watch it with subtitles.  If you've seen the show, you know it's just not the same.

 

In honor of one of my favorite characters on The Wire

 

Eventually, I landed in Houston, went to get my bag and was on my way.  I've never had to get a taxi before.  Well, technically I did in Kenya and managed to get lost and ride around everywhere.  Somehow, it only cost me four bucks.  But when it comes to getting a taxi in the airport, I had no idea what I was doing.  I saw a huge line outside and tried to get in one but they told me I had to go to the front of line.  Who knew?

Thirty-six bucks later, I was at my hotel, the Hilton's of America.  The taxi driver must have thought I looked like a skinny dork because he knew I was a runner as he asked who the tough competition would be.  But it was dark and he may have not had a good view. However, the lady behind the hotel desk had a much better view obviously, as she asked if I was in the air force.  Must have been the muscles popping out.  

My roommate for the race was 2:05 marathoner, Wilson Erupe.  When I got to the room, he wasn't there. So I hung out so he wouldn't come in the room and see a bunch of random crap everywhere.  He lives in Iten, Kenya and his English was really limited, so we communicated the best we could.  He did tell me several times on Saturday that "tomorrow, we kill the people" and started running in place.  He was in bed a little bit after 8:00pm, which was perfect because I had a pretty bad headache and wanted to sleep as well.  After a phone call to the wife and a couple of Benadryl, I was out to the world.

After waking up, I tried to figure out when Wilson was running, so I could hopefully tag-along.  It's not everyday you get to run with a 2:05 marathoner and he would have been the fastest guy I've ever gone on a run with.  I'm not sure who takes the title before that, maybe 3:36 1500m runner, Jason Lunn, from the Hawaii race a few years ago? 

I was wanting to run around four miles with a few short pick-ups to wake my legs up and get them loose for the race the next morning.  We ran what had to be close to nine minutes for the first mile and then he started accelerating.  After running a mile at well under 6:00 pace, I let him go so I could do my own thing.  I jogged around for about 15 more minutes, threw in some short, quick spurts and then headed back to the room.  

Once Wilson got back, we headed to breakfast.  They had a special room set aside that was always stocked with food.  I ended up getting this huge, gooey cinnamon roll, what was probably the best croissant of my life and drunk some Gatorade.  New York City Marathon winner and Olympic Silver Medalist, Meb Keflezghi, was also in there, which was cool.  But I don't like to bug people like that, so I just let him be.  By the end of the weekend, I felt like he was stalking me because I saw him another 10+ times.  He was supposed to run the half-marathon but came down with the flu a couple weeks prior, and wasn't feeling ready to race.

 

I was planning on walking around a bit but I just bummed around the hotel until lunch, which was a turkey sandwich, some chips, Gatorade and a huge sugar cookie.  I didn't have anywhere to be until the athlete meeting at 2:00pm, so I knocked out a couple of Wire episodes, wasted time on the internet and then prepped my fuel bottles.  I planned on taking four of them during the race (every 5ish miles or so) but made a couple of more, just in case I missed them.  I decided to jazz them up a good bit so they would be easy to see as I approached the tables during the race.  My friend, Jake Krong, suggested orange duct tape, but since I didn't have any of that, I covered each bottle in yellow floor tape and then  put a bunch of black polka-dots on them with a Sharpie.  Yeah, it may have looked fruity but I didn't care.

After the athletes meeting, I got my race gear, which was pretty cool.  They gave us mini-backpacks, with the race shirt, hat and our bib numbers.  All of the other guys in the elite field had their last names on the front of their bib but since I was a late entrant, I had to settle for just number 21.  I then turned in my fuel bottles and ended up signing up for a free 20 minute massage.  I got one for an hour (well, really like 50 minutes, those scammers) Thursday afternoon at Massage Envy but the lady wasn't that great and I should have trusted my instincts and gone to Julianna in Nashville.  But since I was still feeling pretty tight, especially my right hamstring, I figure another one would do me good.  The guy was pretty decent and I felt better afterward.

I should just cough up the dough and buy one of these

After a quick shower to wipe off all that massage oil crap, I headed down for dinner, which was held in some ballroom.  I got some spaghetti, some huge meatballs and several breadsticks.  I saw my old college competitor, Mario Fraioli there.  He wasn't running but he coaches a lot of casual to elite runners and one of his guys was running the marathon.  He was eating with his marathoner, so I didn't want to intrude.  He's really gone far with his writing and went from a guy who wrote the occasional article for Running Times, to writing for several publications, future author and is also a senior editor for Competitor.  I ended up sitting beside a guy who was wearing some Saucony stuff, as I figured we would have some natural camaraderie.  His name was Martin Williams and he was a really cool guy but what made him even more cool was that he and his wife live in England, so they had English accents.  We talked a bit about race strategy, training and how we enjoy life with a toddler.

I planned on heading to bed early but I was a little bit antsy.  Strikeforce was also having a show and they had some good match-ups, so I headed down to the library to watch it on my laptop (the internet is free in the lobby but $14.95 in your room.  I ain't no baller.).  After seeing Gegard Mousassi submit Mike Kyle, I headed up to my room.  There were still three fights left, but with a 4:30am wake-up time, I needed to head to bed.

All week long, I was paranoid about the weather.  A couple of days before, it looked like it would be really windy, with some potential rain showers.  After waking up, I checked the weather and it looked like the winds were only 12 mph, the rain would probably dodge us and temps would be in the high 40s.  Not ideal, but Boston (80+ degrees), New York (cancelled) and CIM (rainstorms and insane world) would all agree it could be much worse.

CIM picture from this year

I headed up to the athlete room for some breakfast. I like to stick to simple, easy to digest carbs when I'm within 24 hours of a race, especially the morning of.  The last thing I want is some whole grain stuff hanging out in my stomach.  With that in mind, I opted for Pop-Tarts, a bowl of Fruit Loops and a bottle of Cool Blue Gatorade.  Plenty of carbs, with enough calories to keep me satisfied.

I checked the weather again and oh snap, it looked worse.  Winds were now 22mph with gusts up to 30mph and rain on the way.  I was pretty bummed because wind that strong is pretty significant and definitely slows things down.  I then debated what to race in.  Since my Saucony deal ended on December 31st and I don't find out if I'm renewed until late February, technically, I can race in anything.  But the Grid Type A5's are my favorite flat, so choosing those was a no-brainer.  I packed two different racing uniforms.  One was my regular Saucony outfit and the other one was my "bad weather" uniform, with some Tennessee flavor: long sleeve Camouflage Under-Armour (well, Walmart brand, technically), with the sleeves cut off and Vizipro Orange Saucony arm sleeves.  I felt the camo would hold much less water than my Saucony singlet but if it didn't rain, I felt the singlet would be a much better choice.  I followed the advice of Malcolm Gladwell and went with my first instinct by choosing the Saucony stuff.

We had to meet in some lobby area at 6:00am, so we could be escorted to the start at 6:30am.  I ran into Martin, talked with him a bit and then did some light jogging up-and-down down the really long hallway for a few minutes.  It was a little earlier than I wanted to start my warm-up, but I felt running inside was much better than heading outside in the cold, wind and rain.

Finally, it was time to go.  I grabbed a poncho and pair of gloves that were offered and we were on our way to the start.  It was a bit of sad walk because instead of walking out, ready to run a really fast time, I knew my fast time was out the window.  I came to Houston to run fast but that was out of the question.  At least I had the competition.  I jogged around some more, took my millionth bathroom stop for the morning, stripped down, threw away my poncho and headed to the line, taking a spot in the second row, behind Fernando Cabada.

Finally, the race was off.  As soon as I started running, I realized how strong the wind was.  I did my best to drop my head and tuck in behind people.  The rain was coming down and after a few minutes, I thought, "man, that stuff hurts" only to see little ice balls bouncing off the ground.  Great.

Early in the race

I don't know if it was because of the temperature or the weather itself, but I felt really flat and couldn't relax at all.  The marathoners and half-marathoners start on different blocks and don't merge together until a couple of miles in, so based off that, I was probably somewhere in the high 20s, place wise.  Finally, the first mile marker was in sight and after passing it, I split my watch to see what it was.  5:35. Crap! As soon as I saw my split, I had visions of a 2:20+ time.  But with 25.2 miles to go, picking it up, getting frazzled or giving up isn't something you need to do.  I kept up my same effort level and continued my journey.

I caught up to a small pack of guys and took a spot right behind Tommy Neal.  I don't know why, but I'm terrible at running in packs.  Maybe it's because I do nearly all of my training alone, but with people in the mix, I get thrown off my rhythm and occasionally bump someone with my elbow, or get too close, which results in someones foot flying into my leg on their back kick.  Tommy's leg clipped me once and I apologized.  It happened again a minute or two later and rather than him think "who is that idiot" I cut a sharp left in hopes he would blame it on the guy beside me.  Sneaky, sneaky.

Over the next few miles, I was able to slowly move my way up.  There were a ton of Africans nearly out of sight, with Andrew Carlson in tow and not too far ahead were Fernando Cabada, Mike Reneau, Sergio Reyes as well as a couple of rabbits.  A little bit over three miles in, Martin and Cesar Lizano, a 2:17 guy from Costa Rico and 2012 Olympian caught up to me.  At 3.5 miles in, I took my first fuel bottle.  I knew it was still early in the race and because of the rain, I didn't feel like drinking it but I knew I would need the carbohydrates later, so I drunk nearly all of it.


I could tell the pack with Cabada in it wasn't leaving me and I was pulling away from Martin and Cesar, so I felt at that point, it made the most sense to do a surge and catch up.  That way, I could draft off them for a while, rather than fight the wind alone.  I was really intimidated to run with these guys so early.  On paper, they were on a different level and I still had over 21 miles of racing left.  In a way, I felt unworthy and felt like I was the nerd trying to sit at the jocks' lunch table.  But my effort level felt pretty good, so I decided to tow along.

 I tucked in behind Mike and rabbit, Joe Moore.  It was a bit of a deja-vu experience because I ran with Mike and Joe for most of the US Half-Marathon Championships this past June, before they dropped me a little bit over 10 miles in.  We were clicking off the miles in the 5:15-5:20ish range pretty consistently and I felt like I was back in college running the steeplechase as I jumped over several deep puddles because few things are worse than wet socks (even though my socks were soaked by now).

Eight miles in, I took my second bottle and shortly after that, I worked my way to the front of the pack. It was intimidating running ahead of these guys but for the first time, I was starting to feel pretty relaxed and since I did my fair share of drafting, I felt like I should also help with the pace.  No freeloading here!

At 10 miles, we started to string out a little bit and after checking my shoulder, I noticed that Mike was gone. Sergio and I continued to lead the pack until a few minutes later, Cabada rejoined us. We hit halfway in 69:18 and I was still feeling pretty good.

I was really enjoying the moment.  Here I was, hanging with some guys who have much better resumes than I do but I was holding my own and feeling pretty good.  Well, that moment was short lived because before I knew it, Fernando and and Sergio put 50 meters on me.  I looked over my shoulder and could see Cesar about 100 meters away and believed Sergio and Cabada were just bidding their time and I would probably run the rest of the race alone.  Well, it was nice while it lasted.

I tried to lock into my rhythm and rather than falling behind over time, as I expected, I was closing the gap on the guys and a couple of minutes later, I was back in the pack.  I was scared that I was running too hard, so I closed my eyes for a few seconds and tried to really "feel" the pace. It felt good and no worse than it does on my marathon pace runs, so I knew I was good to go.  A little over 15 miles in, Cabada dropped out.  Oh snap!  I then realized that I was going to go home with a little bit of money and told Sergio that he was going home with $5000 and I'd be happy with my $2500 (I totally forgot about Andrew Carlson during the race).

The wind was pretty strong and I almost asked Sergio if he wanted to alternate the lead.  But I was pretty self-conscious and asking him something like that is like asking a girl out on a date.  You have no idea how they respond but the fear of rejection is too great.  And who wants to feel awkward for the last hour of the race?

Sergio and I mostly stuck together with me unintentionally putting a few meters on him here and there. At this point, my left IT band was getting really, really tight.  The tightness started around 10 miles in and I was scared it was going to get a lot worse.  I was waiting for and expecting Sergio to leave me at anytime and when he did, I was going to tell him to give me a shout-out at the press conference (top American got invited to it).

I was wondering if the wall would come soon but I was still feeling pretty good (other than the bum IT band). At 20 miles, I tried to take in more fuel (fourth bottle) but my stomach felt too full so I just chunked it after a couple of sips.  Once we hit 21, I felt like I had a lot of fight in me and at 22, I picked it up a little bit and split that mile in 5:06.  I put several seconds on Sergio that mile and I locked into the rhythm as I hit the next one in 5:04.  With about 5k to go, I had about 100 meters on him and felt like I had plenty left in the tank.

The 25th mile went pretty quickly and I was really enjoying the moment.  I went from the subelite field, to elite at the last moment and was on my way to finishing as the top American.  I could see an Ethiopian way in the distance but with my left calf now getting pretty tight, I didn't feel like pursuing him. I went through 26 miles and was really gaining on him, but just kept the same effort.  Finally, the finish line was in sight!  I could see the clock was in the 2:18:40s and I REALLY didn't want to run a 2:19:00.  2:18:59 is only a second faster than 2:19:00 but saying you're a 2:18 marathoner sounds a lot cooler than saying you're a 2:19 guy.  So I picked it up, ended up crossing the line in 2:18:52 and immediately started gimping around on my left leg.  On my way inside, I wondered who that tall looking marathoner with the seductive eyes was. Crap! It was Andrew Carlson who finished as the top American.  I was bummed for a second but knew he deserved it.  I honestly didn't feel like he would finish the race as he had an achilles issue and was limping around the hotel the day before.  But he battled the elements, along with his injury, so he definitely deserved it.

For some reason, no one got updates on me.  Then I saw the results and I was not listed. I figured it was something to do with my bib number, as I went from number 209 to 21 and figured they would eventually figure it out.  I started talking to a guy named Ben Zywicki, who ran for the Colorado School of Mines (cool sounding college) and he used this race as a long run and ended up running 2:24.  Pretty impressive.  We went to go do some jogging but right away, I started limping like an old, injured man in the middle of a heart attack, so I stopped.

 

After a while, we got the results figured out and I began my long, limpy walk to my room.  Wilson was in there and he ended up third in the half-marathon in 62:12, with the winner at 61:54.

I then ate more than my share of junk food, talked to Sergio and Cabada for a bit and then jumped on of the athlete shuttles to the airport.  It's a small world because it turns out the girl I was sitting beside, 2:31 marathoner Lanna Marchant (blazing for a girl), lives on the TN/GA border and comes to Nashville nearly every weekend.  She was looking for some people to run with while she's in Nashville and I ended up running with her and some other people this past weekend.

Well, there's marathon #4 in the books (only my third marathon "race" though).  With the conditions being as bad as they were, I've had a lot of people ask me how much faster I could have run with ideal weather. Mario felt like it was 4-5 minutes.  I was a little over 90s behind a 2:07, 2:11 and 2:10 guy and was just behind another 2:07 guy.  Sergio ran 2:19 and has run 2:14.  Cesar ran 2:22 and he 's run 2:17.  I definitely think this race was worth a 2:15 and maybe a 2:14.  If this would have been ideal conditions, I don't know if I would have finished 9th.  As I mentioned earlier, people come to Houston to run fast.  We all had visions of fast times in our heads and once the weather went bad, so did our visions....if we let it.  I think that really messed up some people's race but I didn't let the conditions affect my mind.  You can't have perfect weather but you can always try to put in a perfect effort.  I was really happy with my effort but I want a faster time than 2:18.  The results aren't going to have an asterisk beside the times, stating the weather was bad, so for now, I'm a 2:18 marathoner.  But the most encouraging thing was that I never hit the wall and felt really good (other than the gimpiness).

Mario also ended up writing a piece on me here

Random Thoughts

• While I've been a believer in the gel dissolved into water method, I think I will retire it.  In Houston, I didn't need 40 ounces of fluids, but if I wanted all of the gel, I had to drink that much.  I probably took in about 30 ounces, which is only 300 calories.  From now on, I'll use the same bottles, but attach the gel to it, so I can get the calories and take as much water as I need.
• I would label this an "A" race.  I beat some good guys, felt good and had plenty left in the tank.
• Looking back at my training, my build-up was less than ideal.  I didn't get in enough marathon-specific work and I wasn't "fast" enough before starting my marathon training.  Most of that was out of my control though.
• Next on the agenda is either a couple of easy weeks, a month long speed phase and then six weeks of marathon-specific work, followed by the Boston Marathon.  What is smarter is probably a few easy weeks, a short base phase, long speed phase where I attack my 5k/10k/half-marathon PR's and then peak for the US Half-Marathon Championships.
• Battle damage from the marathon: obviously the left IT band and calf.  My left heel also really hurt, which was probably a result of me switching to more of a heel strike, due to the tight calf.  What hurt the most were my toes.  Both of my big toes were really painful as well as my third toes.  I may just need to put in a slightly thicker insole into my shoes.
• After running in a pack with Cabada, Sergio and Mike Reneau, I realized that they are all a good bit leaner than I am.  I doubt their diet is as bad as mine.  I believe there's a strong correlation there.  That's something that stuck out to me and is something I will work on.  

Balanced Mile Splits: 5:35, 5:16, 5:16, 5:22, 5:15, 5:06, 5:10, 5:10, 5:14, 5:15 (52:39 10 miles), 5:17, 5:22, 5:21, 5:18, 5:28, 5:22, 5:25, 5:24, 5:18, 5:17, 5:16, 5:06, 5:04, 5:17, 5:17, 5:30, 1:12

5k Splits: 16:41, 16:18, 16:07, 16:30, 16:40, 16:46, 16:15, 16:09

 

Houston Marathon Preview

The Houston Marathon is just a few days away and I'm ready to get 'er done.  It's been a long season and I'm ready to let it all out.  I started hard training in July in hopes of running 2:15 at the Columbus Marathon in October.  I got really fit and was able to survive the hot Nashvillian summer.  But it wasn't meant to be as I got a bum achilles four weeks out.  Another marathon X'ed out, which was three in a row (Rocket City, Mississippi Blues, Columbus).  I didn't have enough time to get in shape for a December marathon, so looking around, it seemed like Houston was the place to be...fast course, good competition.  I'm not worried about prize money or running a strong race on a tough course, I just want a fast marathon time for some gratification and street cred.  My last marathon race was the 2011 Country Music Marathon in 2:24:08.  I ended up setting a new half-marathon PR of 70:10 in the first half and with a current half-marathon best of 64:39, I feel like I'm ready to smash my old PR, especially since Nashville is a slow course and I was in no-man's land most of the race. 

I started back with consistent training in early November and rapdily improved my fitness within a few weeks.  By early December, I was rolling and felt like I had a lot of room for improvement.  I ended up running the Rocket City Marathon as a steady long run and felt good running a 2:26 in warm conditions, despite peeing my pants (and on my right shoe).  I recovered really well, with no soreness but caught a puke bug, which went from my mother-in-law, to Kate, to Mary, to me in just a few days. That thing jacked me up and stole my mojo for a few days. A week or so later, I was rolling again and knocking out some heavy mileage.

 

For the past week or two, I've started to become a little more tired than anticipated.  I'm hoping it's just fatigue from all of the hard training and once I taper up, I will really be ready for battle but you really never know until race day.

I was able to enter the Houston Marathon as a subelite, which meant I got a free entry and a starting spot behind the elite corral.  All other expenses were on my own.  My biggest concern about the race was my fueling issue.  In my prior marathons, I've had people helping me out during the race by handing me gel dissolved into a water bottle.  It works because I'm able to get in my calories and fluids in one she-bang.  Drinking out of cups has always been a huge issue with me so my bottle solution works perfectly.  I ended up finding a guy on Let's Run, who was going to help me at miles 10 and 20.  My plan was to pack a gel in my back pocket, take it at five miles, attach another gel to my water bottle at 10 miles, so I could take that at 15 and then drink out of the cups the best I could.  I was a little nervous about it but felt it could work.

After the elite entries came out, I felt like my half-marathon stacked up well compared to the others. After sending an email, asking about fuel support, the people at the Houston Marathon were really nice and granted me my wish.  I now have eight different stations I can place my bottle, which is a HUGE relief.  Now I just need to decorate my bottles in a crazy fashion so I can identify them when I'm running.

My mom always told me that "the squeaky wheel gets the grease."  Over the last couple of days, I've been boosted up to a hotel room (rooming with 2:05 marathoner, Wilson Loyane Erupe) and moved into the elite corral.  Thanks a lot Erin!
 
Going into the race, I don't have a concrete time goal.  If conditions are perfect, I feel like running sub 5:15s is very realistic and if I play my cards right, I feel like I have a 2:15 in me.  But now I'm a few days out and the weather doesn't look that great. As a result, I'm going to run by feel and see where it takes me.

Looking at the elite entries, there are a handful of guys who have run 2:14-2:17, which is perfect for me.  My plan is to play it cool the first 9-10 miles and once the half marathoners branch off a different way, I will mentally buckle down and start seeing if I can catch some people.  A marathon is a long freaking way and if I mentally try to stick with a pack from the get-go, I will start to lose focus late in the race.  I find that by running "mentally numb" and staying relaxed during the first part of the race, I am able to use more mental energy later in the race, when I really need it. 

Some people may run using a gung-ho, aggressive approach, but that's not me.  I'm not trying to get in a slugfest early on and try to knock you out shortly after the bell. I like to think of myself as a goofy-looking Grim Reaper. I wait until you are almost dead and then I finish you off with the baby hammerfirst of doom.

 

There's not much I can do leading up to the race to help my performance. I'm going to try to be disciplined and get at least seven hours of sleep each night, watch my junk food intake and then enjoy my carbo-loading.  I haven't decided on my pre-race meal yet, but my go to snack, especially when I'm travelling is gummies.  Full of easily digestible carbohydrates and one of my favorite foods.  The only decision now is choosing between sour worms and regular gummi-bers (sour bears are too soft and gummi-worms are too hard).

Over the last couple of days, there's been a couple preview articles about the race this weekend.  One containing all of the elites, international and domestic, with the other one containing the top American men marathoners in the field. Since marathonguide.com has been really generous with their finances and funded an American's only prize purse (in addition to the regular money, provided by the race itself), I'm a little more focused on my my red, white and blue brothers.  Here is my mini-preview of the elite Americans, with my thoughts on how I match up with them.

The Untouchables

Fernando Cabada
Age:  30
Residence: Boulder, CO
Personal Bests: 13:34 (5000m), 28:25 (10000m), 62:32 (Half-Marathon), 2:11:53 (Marathon)

In my mind, Fernando Cabada is the top American in the field.  He finished 7th place at the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials in 2:11:56 and has a knack for the long distances. He's run on three US teams, has won three US titles, holds the American 25k record and runs for Newton's Team Alchemy.  This past year, he took off several months but is back at it again.  Some people are against extended breaks but I think it's great for mental and physical longetivity.  He trains in Boulder under Brad Hudson, who is one of the most well known marathon coaches around.  Cabada is hoping to crack 2:10 and if the weather is good, he definitely has a chance.  It appears he's been running really well in workouts, and then I remember he's running a mile up in the air, which makes them even more impressive.

 

Andrew Carlson
Age: 30
Residence: Minneapolis, MN
Personal Bests: 13:32 (5000m), 28:25 (10000m), 62:21, 2:11:24 (Marathon) 

Andrew Carlson is the other top American in the field and runs for Team USA Minnesota/Brooks. While other people are more aggressive in their move to the marathon, he seems like he's taken the traditional approach of maximizing his speed in the shorter distances first.  He's run on four world teams and is a former US 15k and 25k champion, with his PR's almost clones of Cabada's.  He made his marathon debut at the Olympic Trials, in which he finished 6th place in 2:11:24. That show's he has the talent and wheels to rub sub 2:10 once he gets another marathon or two in him. He was supposed to run New York in November, but we know the happened with that race. He currenly has an achilles injury, but is still committed to the race. Because of that, I give Cabada the nod over him.  

Odds of beating one of these guys: 10%.  I would say 1% if it was the half marathon or less but the marathon is another beast.  But the only way I will beat one of these guys is if they hit the wall really badly.  Not the figurative marathon wall, but literally run face first into a building and decide to continue with the race. 

The Most Likely Nots

 

Sergio Reyes

Residence: Palmdale, CA

Age: 31

Personal Bests: 13:52 (5000m), 28:29 (10000m), 64:17 (Half-Marathon), 2:14:02 (Marathon)

Sergio Reyes has been training and competing at a high level since college.  He won the USA Marathon Championships in 2010 and runs for the Asics' Aggies.  He also earns my respect as he works 50 hours a week as a project engineer testing F-16 fighter jets. Pretty cool job.  Add an hour commute each way and you have a full plate on your hands.  He's also coached by former National Class Marathoner and owner of Running Warehouse, Joe Rubio, who has taken hundreds of dollars from me over the years.  In my opinion, it's the best running retail site on the internet.  Can't beat lower than retail prices, no taxes and free two-day shipping (and returns)!

Mike Reneau

Residence: Minneapolis, MN
Age: 34

Personal Bests: 63:38 (Half-Marathon), 2:14:37 (Marathon)

Mike Reneau has a pretty cool story.  He was a state-class wrestler (toughest sport) in high school and ran a little bit of cross country.  In college, he enrolled in a distance running class, in which you had to finish a marathon to pass the course.  He ended up busting out a 2:36.  Since then, he has been slowly plugging away and has shown he is a true marathoner.  He's one of the grandpa's of the elite group but with his late start to running, he has several years of improvement ahead of him.  I ran with him for about 10-11 miles at the US Half-Marathon Championships this past year before he dropped me pretty badly, beating me by 19 seconds.  Reneau currently runs for the Twin Cities Track Club (and I believe Brooks) and is also shooting for a top five finish at the World Snowshoe Championships in March.  As a result, I really hope it doesn't snow this weekend.

Odds of beating one of these guys: 30%.  Both of these guys are going out in 66:00 and shooting for 2:12.  Normally, I would feel I would have a 50% or greater chance of beating one of these guys with those PR's, going out at that effort.  But both of them have shown to be very consistent in the marathon and appear to have figured out the distance.  My only shot is if one of them blows up pretty badly and I run well. 

The "I think I can"

Tommy Neal
Residence: Colorado Springs, CO
Age: 29
PR's: 14:28 (5000m), 29:32 (10000m), 65:00 (Half-Marathon), 2:36:49 (Marathon)
 
Tommy Neal has rapidly improved since graduating from Central Missouri State University.  He qualified for the Olympic Marathon Trials but did not finish the race.  Last year, he was diagnosed with Type-1 diabetes, which is amazing considering the high level he competes at.  He is coached by Scott Simmons and runs for Adidas Boulder Running Company Team. I was a little bit bummed he made the pre-race preview, while I didn't get any love. I've run just as fast, feel I am just as good looking and after spending my extended break from running a few years ago at Westside MMA, I'm confident I can hold my own against him in a fight. 

Odds of beating Tommy: 51%.  Neal is a tough runner and is shooting for a sub 2:15 this weekend.  Our half-marathon times are pretty close (64:39 vs. 65:00) and we both haven't run a marathon "in-shape" so it will be a fun match-up.  An interesting tidbit is that Neal, Cabada and Reneau all set their half-marathon PR's at the 2011 Garry Bjourkland Half-Marathon.  A tailwind on a point-to-point course is a big help.  Even though the marathon has so much uncertainty, I feel I'm more of a longer distance guy than him (I have no speed and get beat by a 4:52 miler on hill sprints). And not to mention, I have a lot of gray whiskers, which gives me the old man strength advantage over him. Should be a close match-up. 

Well there it is.  The race starts Saturday at 7am.  If you're bored, you can track me here and/or watch the live stream here

2016 Men's US Olympic Marathon Standards

For months, I've been waiting to hear what the US Olympic Marathon Trials standards would be.  I heard rumors that the USATF wanted to make them even tougher, in order to save some money and make it a smaller, more elite race. Well, the rumors turned out to be true as the times were released this past weekend.  The "A" standard (if you hit this, you get your expenses covered) is 2:15:00 or faster and the "B" standard (you're in, but you cough up the money for everything) is either 2:18:00 for the full or 65:00 for the half-marathon. The qualifying window opens up on August 1, 2013. In 2012, there was no "B" standard.  If you hit the qualifying time, you were taken care of.  The ways to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials were 2:19:00 for the full marathon, 65:00 for the half-marathon or 28:30 10k (yeah, you could qualify for the MARATHON trials with a 10k time.)  From 1996-2008, it was 2:20:00 for the "A" and 2:22:00 for the "B".

I'm not sure how I feel about the new standards.  I somewhat understand speeding up the "A" to 2:15, because that is also the IAAF standard.  I feel the "B" standard would be better at 2:20. It will enable guys in the lower 2:20s to suck it up for a little while longer and chase the stopwatch. 2:20 is a very tough marathon time, but it's something a talented distance runner can acheive, if they train hard and intelligently.  Dropping it down to 2:18 makes talent more of an issue and could close the door on the guys living the blue-collar life, while chasing the dream.  By slowing it down to 2:20, you'll have more "normal" people qualify for the Trials.  Sure I'd like to sleep for 7-8 hours at night, wake up for a morning run, watch some TV/play some XBox, take a short nap and go for another run, but if I did that I'd suggest you buy stock in Ramen Noodles and any company that makes beans and rice.  Having the full-time workers at the Trials helps increase awareness and grows the sport.  Sure, most casual runners have heard of Ryan Hall or Meb Keflezghi but they've also heard of Billy Bob the guy who runs all around town and works in the DMV or Scott, the ridiculously good-looking elementary physical education teacher. People who have no association with the super-elite would follow the race if they had a local person or someone they could identify with, competing.

And if the "B" standard is 2:18 for the marathon, it needs to be faster than 65:00 for the half.  In 2012, most people chased the marathon time of 2:19, because it's an easier time to achieve than breaking 65 minutes.  However, 65 and 2:18 seems to be a pretty level playing field.  Most people can only run 2-3 high quality marathons a year, but they can run half a dozen or more half-marathons.

Why practice all that time figuring out proper pacing, worrying about fueling issues and running extra mileage when you could just jump in a half-marathon and if it doesn't work out, try again a few weeks later? So I can see people focusing mainly on the half-marathon and expect most of the "B" qualifiers to be from that event. I believe if a half-marathon standard is to be used, it should be a lot harder than the marathon standard. 2:19 and 65 is a good match-up, so with 2:18, I think 64:30 or even 64:00 makes more sense.

I wish the qualification window would open at the US Half-Marathon Championships in June.  It would increase the size and competitiveness of the championships and would be an excellent kick-off. Why wait until August 1st?  The US Championships is one of the last competitive half-marathons before the summer heat arrives, and you really don't see them pick-up again until late summer/early fall. 

Where does this leave me? Who knows. I'll get a better idea after Houston. MAYBE I could break 2:15 in the next four years, but I'd need a fast course, with good weather conditions and be able to figure out my pacing.  I get better as the distance gets longer and feel like the marathon is my best event.  If 2:15 doesn't work out, I feel like I can break 65 again.  Right now, these are some of the fall marathons I am looking at running:

 

Twin Cities, October 6: They are hosting the US Championships the next two years.  I haven't heard anything yet, but maybe they will be as helpful as the US Half-Marathon Championships was when it comes to travel money and time incentives because I'd have to fly there.  The course is somewhat fast but there's some hills towards the end, and I despise hills. It's also the earliest of the fall marathons I am looking at running, so that would mean a short break after the US Half-Marathon Championships in June and then right back into training (in the Nashville heat). But since it's the US Championships, there probably would be a decent number of guys to run/work together with.

Chicago, October 13: One of the fastest courses around, a very competitive field and it's always been on my bucket list.  I have a couple of friends running it this fall, so I could save some money and crash with them and it's also within driving distance. While the weather at the Chicago Marathon is good most of the time,  it can be pretty warm.  Would also mean a hot, hard summer.

Columbus, October 20: This was the race I was training for this past fall, before becoming injured. Fast course, and within driving distance.  The field isn't as fast up front but maybe a good number of people will show up to chase the new standard.  Also within driving distance.

New York City Marathon, November 3: A race on my bucket list.  It would be an awesome environment and a marathon to remember.  If I feel 2:15 is out of my reach in the fall, maybe I'll go for 2:18 here and try to break 65 in a half-marathon beforehand. Unfortunately, it's a couple of minutes slower than the other courses but I could take an extra week or two of rest in the summer.

California International Marathon, December 1: My early favorite.  I really wish I would have run this in 2011, because I wouldn't have been sick and this year, I was going to run, before my achilles issue lingered longer than expected. So maybe next year, I'll quit flirting with this race and actually run it.  Because it's in December, I could take a nice break in June and not start my marathon work until October.  The course is a net downhill but I constantly hear from others that it's slower than it appears.  The field isn't as deep as Chicago or New York but there are always solid guys that show up and the weather is usually decent (except for the super winds and downpour this year).

Houston Marathon, January 12, 2014:  Running this in 2013, was hoping to run here in 2012 at the Trials, so maybe I'll head there in 2014.  It's a super fast course and usually decent weather.  Upfront, it's very fast, but for guys on my level, it can be a little bit lonely.  A lot of guys qualified for the 2012 Trials here, so maybe they will head here again.  I could maybe pull off a Twin Cities/Chicago and Houston double, but that's a little too close for my liking. I also want to run Boston in 2014, so this double would be too close. Who knows?