December 3rd-9th Training

Monday: 5.7 miles (7:07); 9.6 miles (7:38)

Tuesday: 10.3 miles (7:11). Bombed workout.  Plan was 4x5k@sub 16:00 with 1k recovery jog at sub 6 pace.  My legs have felt dead yesterday, so I knew this would be tough.  Ran just under a mile at 5:21 pace before calling it a day.  When I'm running a workout like this, I need to be fresh enough to hit the times.  If not, I need to scrap it and try something again in a day or two.  Frustrating but it is what it is; 5.1 miles (7:01)

Wednesday:  4 miles (6:49); 12.3 miles with 11.5 medium progression. Plan was 3.5 miles at 6:05, 4 miles at 5:40, 4 miles at 5:15.  Ended up at 21:07 (5:58, 6:05, 6:00, 3:04), 22:25 (5:40, 5:35, 5:36, 5:34), 20:52 (5:15, 5:13, 5:13, 5:11).  Took a while until I felt smooth.  Second section was easier than expected and I had to focus on the pace and push a little bit on the last portion.  Felt really good at the end though.

Thursday: 4 miles; 12 miles (6:50)

Friday: 5.7 miles (6:55);  Was planning on a shake-out in Huntsville but I got in too late.  Weather started out in the mid 50s and worked to low/mid 60s.  Wind was 10-12mph.  Started out in a big pack nice and slow at 6:11, 6:01. After that, people started separating. Wojciec took off and everyone let him go. Eventually Geoffrey and Peter went with him and I let them go and hung with the 5th place finisher for a few miles. I left him around 5-6 miles and missed my fuel bottle at seven miles. Was about 30s behind the top 3 at 9 miles and caught up shortly before the halfway point. Hung behind them because the headwind was so strong. Once we turned off the long highway, you could really feel the heat. After a few miles, I went to the front to share the work. Had to pee around 16-17 miles but couldn't go. Wojciec feel back a few times but rallied back. At 18-19 or so, I dropped the pace about 10 seconds and broke everyone but Geoffrey. Around 21, Geoffrey surged and wanted me to go with him but I let him go. Started getting a little tired around 24 and backed off the last mile. 

Effort was really easy the first 20 miles. Almost too easy. Only took in about 200-250 calories and about 20-25 ounces of fluids. After the race, my stomach and head really hurt so I took a long nap before taking in anything. Felt like I could have beaten Geoffrey but it wasn't worth the effort with Houston around the corner. 

Saturday: 9.4 miles (6:57); 4.5 miles (7:31)

Week Total=109.9 miles.  Good week with the marathon.  I ran a little harder than I wanted but the effort was easy.  No soreness other than some soleus tightness on both legs on Sunday.  My left foot is swollen behind the big toe.  Have some tendonitis going on there and it creaks if I pull my toes back.  Doesn't hurt while I run but I'll still treat it. 

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?

Netflix Movie Monday

A few weeks ago, I was certain I had a future solid pick.  I've always been a fan of the rididiculous Syfy type movies, and when I saw that Sand Sharks was coming to Netflix, I was pumped. What can be more terribly awesome than a movie that stars Hulk Hogan's daughter and involves sharks that can attack you in water AND sand.  But alas, it was not to be, as it was terrible, even by my standards.

   

 

Well as you can imagine, I was in a bind.  I was browsing around the Netflix selection until I stopped on Hugo.  I had Hugo in my Blockbuster queue a few years ago when I did a thirty day trial but I didn't get a chance to watch it before I cancelled it.  And it seemed like a movie that Mary would tolerate, so I decided to give it a go this past Friday night and I thought it was a decent, family flick. 

Hugo was released in 3d and after viewing the movie, I undersand why.  It was very strong visually, and I wish I would have had a 3d tv and ridiculous pair of glasses.  

 

 It's a Martin Scorsese film, who has made several movies that I've really enjoyed in the past (Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Aviator, Departed).  The film takes place in Paris during the 1930s.  Hugo lives with his father, whose dream is to finish a automaton (fancy robot thing) that he found in a museum.  Unfortunately, he doesnt get to complete the task as he dies in a fire.  Hugo then has to live with his alcoholic uncle, who is in charge of clock maintenance at a train station.  His uncle dissappears, so instead of getting swiped up by the station inspector (aka: Borat) and thrown into an orphanage, he decides to hide out and live in the catwalks, gears, etc. of the clocks his uncle worked on and unknown to others, continues his uncle's line of work.

 

Hugo believes this his father left him a message with the automaton, so he focuses on getting the necessary parts to repair it.  This requires Hugo to steal parts from a store, run by a grumpy old man.  He gets busted by the man, so he is forced to work at his store to pay off his dues.  He ends up becoming good friends with the old man's goddaughter, Isabella.  Hugo introduces her to the world of cinema, which later results in a big discovery about the grumpy old man.

Yeah, that's not a very good plot description, but I feel it's a movie that is very strong visually and is something you just have to see.  And the story continues to build throughout the movie, so it's something you have to watch and experience for yourself.  So for the first time since I started this, you can watch a movie I recommended with your family, kids and old people alike.

 

November 26th-December 2nd Training

Monday: 5.3 miles (7:04); 8.8 miles (7:26)

Tuesday: 10.2 miles (6:36); 5.9 miles with 6xhill blasts (7:30)

Wednesday: 4 miles (6:56); 16.1 miles with 10.7 at marathon effort (5:05). Man, good workout. The plan was to run 10 miles around 5:10-5:15 pace. I ran down-and-back one side of Lower Station Camp (about 1.8 miles each way). I was dreading this run and the pace felt fast at first but the effort was easy aerobically. Loosened up throughout the run and felt better with each down-and-back section. Decided to run all the way to the stop sign, instead of stopping at 10 miles because I felt so good. Kept this under control and kept on reminding myself to run marathon effort, not tempo effort. Could have done another down-and-back without much trouble and I feel like I could have done two more if I gritted my teeth down some. My cooldown was around 7:00 pace, which shows that I had a lot left. Normally, I would expect to run it around 8:00-9:00 pace. (54:33=5:09, 5:08, 5:11, 5:08, 5:07, 5:07, 5:06, 5:05, 5:01, 5:02, 3:29)

Thursday: 4 miles (7:05); 12 miles (6:55)

Friday: 5.7 miles (6:42); 8.6 miles with a mile of easy ins/outs (7:09)

Saturday: 13.5 miles with 7.3 miles tempo (4:56). Ran the 12k at the 12South Warm-Up. Plan was to keep it at 4:55-5:00 pace on my GPS. Took the lead about a 1/4 mile in and was alone the rest of the way. They didn't have mile markers, and I had my auto-lap turned off, so I didn't get most of the splits. I hit the GPS four mile mark at 19:45 and then ran 5:03, 5:10, 4:42 for the next three miles. The course was pretty rolling and was two laps. I felt a little tired after the first but was able to hold onto the same pace without an increase in effort (except the hills were tougher the second lap). I was at 4:56 pace after lap 1, so I ran them really close in speed. Felt really good and the downhill finish made things easier. Happy I recovered so quickly from Wednesday. 123.3 miles over the last seven days (new lifetime PR)

Sunday: 9.6 miles (6:44); 5.5 miles (7:35)

Week Total=115.7 miles. One of my best weeks ever.  I feel like my marathon gas tank is getting strong. Rather than progressively slowing down in workouts, I'm able to hold on for a long time. Finished my antibiotics on Sunday and my congestion is almost gone. This week will be tough with a hard marathon workout on Tuesday and then the Rocket City Marathon on Saturday. I'm hoping to run 2:25-2:30 (if the weather is ideal). I'm seeded first but I don't expect to run hard enough to win. If there are no other entrants, I feel like I can get second and keep it under control. I'm hoping to hide out in the chase pack for 20+ miles and then move up when it dwindles down.

Races Update

After much procrastiation, I finally updated my last several races.  Life is busy!

Hood to Coast Relay

Franklin Classic 5k

Harvest Moon 10k

Upper Cumberland Haunted Half-Marathon

APSU Homecoming 5k

Cougar Crawl 5k

Indian Lake Loop 5 Mile

Running Shoes Break-In

This is probably common sense to most of you but it's something that I just realized.  If you are like me, you hate breaking in running shoes.  My main shoe of choice, the Saucony Kinvara, doesn't feel good on my feet until at least 200 miles and it hits its sweet-spot around 500.

In the past, I've just sucked it up and tolerated the achey arches and feet for a few weeks until they were broken in.  But recently, I had a eureka moment.  For my short runs (six miles or less), I could wear my newish Kinvaras.  For my longer runs, I would wear my broken-in ones.  By the time my broken-in ones are shot, my short run shoes will be good to go and would be graduated to longer runs  Then, I will get some new short runs shoes.  This idea isn't Nobel Prize worthy, but it's not bad for a P.E. teacher.

Netflix Movie Monday

For this week, I decided to switch it up and go with a TV show. Yeah, I know it's "Movie" Monday but I've been patiently waiting for this show to come on Netflix for quite a while.  I started the 12 episode season on Friday night and by Saturday night (well, technically Sunday morning at 2:30am), I had watched it all.  It's definitely Breaking Bad worthy and way above The Walking Dead worthy. The storyline is great, the acting is top notch and you can't beat it's darkness and creepiness. This week's pick is:

The first season of American Horror Story takes place in Los Angeles, CA.  The Harmon family, who reside in Boston, are having some martial issues.  The wife (Vivien) busted her husband (Ben) having an affair with a girl who is less than half her age.  Shortly before that, she also delivered a stillborn baby.  Vivien wants to leave Ben, but Ben finds this super cheap house on the other side of the country and feel that it will be a fresh start for them.  After much reluctance, she finally agrees, and they take their teenage daughter, Violet, with them.

After one visit to the house, they decide to purchase it in and move in.  Sure, they know the previous owners died in a murder-suicide that took place inside the house, but hey, the price is good. Shortly after moving in, they meet their strange neighbor, Constanance, her daughter, Addy and her son, Tate, who Violet forms a bond with.

Unfortunately, there have been a lot more than just one death episode inside the house.  And nearly everyone who has lived in the house has either gone mad or died a horrible death.  And the former residents have not passed on, they still reside in the house.  At first, the Harmon's believe them to be normal people but it turns out not all of the main characters are living and not all of them are friendly.

As usual, I don't want to give too much away.  But I promise this is a show that is worth watching. And if you have F/X, season two is currently playing.  Each season of American Horror Story are unrelated, so you can pick right up on season two if you like.

Give it a chance and watch 8-9 hours of your life melt away.  And if you run at nighttime directly after watching this, you may become scared by hidden rabbits and deer.

 

First Official Trailer

 Better, Fan-Created Trailer