More Dome

We’re preparing for a cold marathon in a couple of weeks, so we went to the Stillwater soccer dome again.  They heat that place a little, so it’s always above freezing, maybe even up to 40 degrees, but nothing like the room-temperature YMCA where we usually run.  The marathon may actually be much colder, possibly well below freezing, but I'm not quite ready to train outdoors in the slop quite yet.

Yesterday I ran five miles doing fartleks in the form of sprints along one side of the soccer field, jogging the other long side, and walking all of each short side.  Today I ran a more normal speed, probably 8.5 or 9 minutes per mile on the long sides and part of each short side.  Today was faster overall, and I found myself breathing harder as well, three footfalls per full breath most of the time.  That's a race pace.

Whining: None.  Great run - it's a masterpiece.

Splits: 10:45, 10:32, 9:42, 10:02, 9:40, total 50:21, overall pace 10:04.

Stillwater Dome

This is the first run in Minnesota that was NOT in the YMCA, in months.  Did I say that clearly?  Sounds OK when I read it back.

We went to the Stillwater Soccer Dome, and I ran five miles doing fartleks.  We run and walk around the edges of a nice-sized indoor soccer field, a little over five loops per mile.  Mostly, I walked a short side fast, then jogged a long side, then walked the other short side fast, then sprinted the remaining long side.  That sprint is what makes it fartleks.  If you don't believe me, ask a Swede.

This was a fun run - I do like sprints.  I looked forward to those, most of the time.

Whining: The right-knee PFS spoke up early, then settled down.  The right-knee ITB from two days ago was silent, though.  A little ligament or muscle at the very top of the left hamstrings, inside, started to complain toward the end.  I think I stressed it with the sprinting, which is sort of expected.  I'll run more easily tomorrow and see.  It won't be a problem.

Splits: 10:31, 10:35, 10:08, 10:34, 10:10, total 51:58, average pace 10:24.  I have run this distance here before, without the sprints but with a better time, but I then walked less of the distance and probably ran a bit faster during the jogging part.  Too soon to tell, but I think the fartleks might do me some good.  They feel good.

Fartleks

Sunday, March 9, 2014:

Wind sprints, intervals, tempo running, anaerobic running.  Call it what you want, but I like the Swedish word fartlek, so that’s what I must have done today.  I ran and walked five miles on the YMCA’s square track, 13 laps per mile, run one lap and walk two.  For most of the running laps I ran almost as fast as these old legs would go, sprinting on the short straight parts, cruising through the banked corners, and slowing a little when necessary to pass others safely.  The idea of this fartlek running is to build both endurance and muscle mass at the same time, while taking advantage of the training benefit of last Sunday's marathon.

Ice was inches thick the
 morning after the marathon

I believe I am fully recovered now, from the pneumonia and from last week’s marathon.  This run felt very good today - sprinting is so exhilarating.

Whining:  There is a little pain on the very outside of the right knee, especially now that I’m done.  I suspect the ITB, and I know that I have not been doing the ITB stretches that I should do every day, or at least after every run.  Fixable.

Splits: 11:32, 11:12, 11:11, 11:22, 11:18, total 56:36, average pace 11:19.

Friday, March 7:

Recovery run # 2, second run since the Little Rock Marathon.  Three more miles on the YMCA track, again (as Wednesday) taking 34:58.  No problems.

Splits: 11:46, 11:44, 11:28, 34:58, pace 11:39.

Wednesday, March 5:

Recovery run # 1, first run since the Little Rock Marathon.  Three miles on the YMCA track in 34:58, run/walk 1 to 2.  No problems.

Splits: 11:44, 11:37, 11:37, total 34:58, pace 11:39.

Little Rock Marathon Review

Whooee - I made it!  This is a great marathon, but the weather was not our friend today.  54 degrees at the start, dropping to 40 at the finish, with on-and-off  rain, sometimes heavy, and gusty winds.  The race organizers were so concerned about thunder and lightning that they rerouted and shortened the course at some point, happily after I had passed by.  I ran every single soggy mile.

My Race:

We ran by the Arkansas Capitol

I was slow, intentionally because of recent pneumonia, finishing my 79th marathon in 6:08:14, about eight minutes later than I was shooting for, third of seven in age group 70-74. I was prepared for the weather, and was never cold, wearing pants below and  two shirts above, with gloves and ear cover.  I carried my running jacket around my waist, and at about mile 13 the temperature had dropped enough and I put it on  for the rest of the race, using the zipper to adjust for wind and temperature.

In the last five miles or so I had one muscle in the right calf that was cramping up.  Not the big calf muscle, but a smaller one high up and toward the inside.  I just had to walk.  If it bothers again I'll look at a map of the calf and figure out which muscle it is, but for now it's enough to know that it was the limiting factor today.  I had intended to stay with the 6:00 early-start pace team, and did so up to at least mile 21.  I'm sure I could have finished in 6 hours, except for that calf.  I don't really care, though, because I did finish and apparently a lot of runners were not able to do so.

I had fun, and now I feel great.  Tired for sure, but not the overwhelming muscle-weariness that I feel when I run a faster marathon.  I chatted with lots of runners, especially one guy from Fayetteville, and the two 6-hour pace team leaders.  I saw lots of runners in odd costumes, Elvis (of course), Santa Claus in too-tight tights, Batman, and many more, some of them undescribable.  I saw a pretty young woman wearing a shirt that said "I go all the way!" on the back.  I assume that the front said 26.2 or the equivalent.  I thanked a zillion volunteers and police officers, and high-fived a few kids, especially one shy little girl who grinned from ear to ear afterward.

Whining: Except for that naughty calf muscle, NONE!

This is Myeloma Awareness Month.  I ran this race in support of the International Myeloma Foundation (http://myeloma.org) and Team Continuum (http://teamcontinuum.net).  Both organizations support cancer patients and their families.  And, I ran it in memory of a sweet woman, long-time member of our local support group, who died of myeloma and whose funeral was today.  I'm sorry we had to miss it.  Further, I ran it in honor of another woman, close to our family, who is doing battle with ovarian cancer.

The Little Rock Marathon:

We ran by the Governor's Mansion

I'm happy with this marathon, but my sweeties are not so much.  They registered for the half, and therefore were not eligible for the early start.  They were assigned to corral M, the 13th (and last) corral, and weren't able to cross the start line for 50 minutes after the first corral started.  Because they were at the start in plenty of time, they were actually standing in the cold and wind for well over an hour.  I doubt that the 50-minute delay itself was weather-related, but in the meantime they were getting colder and wetter, and when they did cross the line they were shaking with cold and decided not to risk running the race.  They turned in their timing chips and found warmth.

As it turned out that may have been a good decision for another reason: The half marathon was also rerouted, and my sweeties probably wouldn't have been able to finish anyway.

Further, if I had not elected the early start (which requires that you promise to finish NO SOONER than six hours), I would also have been in Corral M, and would also have been upset at a 50-minute wait to start.  Further, I would certainly have been in the group of runners whose race was rerouted and shortened, so I would not have completed the marathon.

Otherwise I love this marathon:

• It is very well organized, with lots of years of experience,
• The start and finish areas are very nice indeed, and they are close together.  No bussing!
• There are lots of hotels, and lots of parking, right at the start/finish.
• The roads were mostly closed to traffic - I never felt like I needed to be ready to dodge cars whizzing by.
• The expo was great - lots of booths and a great variety.
• The marathon finishers' medal is 8 ½ inches in diameter and about 1/4 inch thick.
• The medal is easily the biggest (and heaviest) in my 79 marathons - I suppose that's a plus.
• The weather is definitely not their fault.  We had a lovely race here eight years ago.

The weather isn't our fault either, but we do have a saying in our family - "Don't invite us to your marathon!"  Stuff happens at marathons that we go to.  One was cancelled before starting, two more after starting, and now two were shortened to a non-marathon distance.  A couple of others probably should have been cancelled.  And I may have forgotten some.

Splits: 13:38, 11:29, 26:28 (2 mi), 13:20, 13:07, 13:58, 59:46 (4 mi & nature break), 13:05, 12:33, 27:59 (2 mi), 26:06 (2 mi), 13:51, 13:34, 14:23, 15:33, 14:13, 14:56, 17:31 (photography delay), 29:24 (2 mi), 3:21 (0.22 mi), total 6:08:14, pace 14:03.

Three Good Runs

Monday, February 24, 2014:

Five miles Saturday, three yesterday, and six today, on the YMCA track. Ready for the marathon, or as close as I'm going to get.  My "long run" will be the New Orleans marathon three weeks ago, and these short runs are just my way to keep things going and maybe rebuild just a little after the pneumonia a couple of weeks ago.

No problems today, no pains, and only the expected amount of fatigue.  Tapering now ...

Splits today: 11:52, 11:47, 11:40, 1144, 11:55, 11:44, total 1:10:42, pace 11:47, running one lap and walking two.

Sunday, Feb 23:

2.6 miles in 30 minutes.  No problems.

Saturday, Feb 22:

Five miles.  I did my 1 to 3 run/walk again on the YMCA track, finishing five miles in about 60 minutes.  No problems, no more fatigue than I would expect.  No problems.

Four Miles

Snowing now, shoveling tomorrow

Today was another run on the YMCA track, again running 1/3 of the distance (not the time) and walking two thirds.  Like yesterday, the resulting pace was very close to 12 minutes per mile, a bit too fast for the next marathon but fine for a short training run.

No pains or complaints, except I felt a little more tired toward the end of the run than I would expect to be after a mere four miles. So I came home and took a nap.

Splits:  12:08, 11:55, 11:45, 11:58, total 47:45, 4 miles, pace 11:56.

Ramping Up the Running

Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014:

Marathon-pace run/walk at the YMCA.  Three miles on the YMCA track, running one lap and then fast-walking two.  The pace ended up about 12 minutes per mile, which figures out to a marathon of 5:15 plus nature breaks, if I could sustain the pace for 26 miles.  Really?

I definitely don't want to go that fast in this upcoming marathon - I'm still recovering from pneumonia.  The doc says that a relapse is unlikely and I should be guided by my sense of fatigue.  However I've had pneumonia before, many years ago, and it DID relapse, so an abundance of caution is my attitude right now.  After all, I have two marathons coming up in March and I want to finish them both. Easy does it.  I hope the weather is decent.

Whining:  Zero.

Splits: 13:00 (probably an extra walking lap in there), 11:56, 11:54, total 36:51.

Tuesday, Feb 18:

I tried the treadmill today, to convince myself that I'm really going 4 mph (15-minute miles) when I'm walking fast.  In one mile at 4 mph I found the walking brisk, but it felt good, as if I could go much farther.

After the treadmill I ran/walked another 1.6 miles or so, running about 1/3 of the distance.  This was the first real running since the New Orleans Marathon (and flu plus pneumonia).  It felt fine.