48 hrs...

Training has been good this week.  I decreased my mileage in anticipation of the NOLA half-marathon.  My workouts have been shorter but faster.  I did a great fartlek on Tueday (20 min. w/u; 9x 1 on/1 off; 20 min. c/d); 6 miles easy on Monday and Wednesday; and a short tempo run yesterday (12 min. w/u;  3 mile tempo; 12 min c/d).  I will take today off and do a very short fast paced run tomorrow morning (2-3 miles with 3x400 pick ups) to recover and get ready for Sunday.  I have good sensations about my new training regime… I am getting faster.  

I will run this race without having high expectations about my performance. It’s too early in the season to think about running a half-marathon PR, it’s also too early to see results of my new plan. I will let my legs go as fast as they want to go. Hopefully, they will have enough gas to go strong for 13 miles.  There are two key differences between this race and my previous half-marathons. First, I don’t have to run a marathon any time soon, so I can go fast if I’d like to. Second, I am not going to set any limits… I am going to go for it. I train really hard every day and I can’t limit myself in race day. I train to run hard and I am going to run hard. I have the feeling that it is going to hurt but I am not going to quit…

First Race since Chicago

I have some minutes to spare at Cleveland (thanks to a delayed flight) and I decided to update my running blog. Work has been busy but I have been able to get some good runs in the last 10 days.  I am adapting to my new plan, which includes three quality runs each week (speed/hills, tempo, long run).  The idea is to get faster and stronger. My easy runs are faster and my long runs include 3-4 miles (at the end) @ marathon pace or faster.

I guess we will see how I am doing this Sunday. I already registered for the  Mardi Gras Rock and Roll Half Marathon in New Orleans.  I have not raced since last October and I have no idea how my legs/body are going to respond.  I think I can run fast but I am not sure how long I can sustain a hard effort.  I am just finishing my base training period… It will be interesting to see how I run on Sunday.  This is the first time (since I train seriously) that I am going to run a half-marathon before starting with the heavy-mileage training.  I should be faster than in my previous halfs but the question, as I said before, remains as to how many miles I can run at a 6:50/7:00 min pace.  

New Orleans Half Marathon: Here I come!

The base training is going as planned.  I have put together two weeks of very good runs.   I capped last week  off with two easy runs (5.5 and 6.5 miles) and a long run of 13 miles.  So I ran a total of 45 miles, which is the highest mileage in more than 3 months.  

I did a 7 miler (progressive) yesterday and am planning to do 6 easy miles this pm so that I get ready for a tempo run tomorrow.  I keep running my easy runs at 7:45-8:00 min/mile pace.  I feel good and will hopefully keep feeling like this in the months to come.  I just didn’t have this feeling in a long time. I rested, I am healthy and can run faster as a consequence. 

I often think about my race in Chicago.  It was a hard one because my body was really tired.  I was 100% mentally and kept pushing my body on race day and during the training, but it just didn’t respond as expected because it was exhausted.  I am obsessed with running so taking the decision to not training hard on November and December was not an easy one.  But it was the right one!  I have a new pop and feel good and excited about my daily runs.  I am doing strength training like never before. I also feel very excited about finding out  how fast I can run this year.  The question is not whether I am going to finish a marathon or not. The question is: how fast am I going to run? 

I guess we will start finding that out very soon as I am likely to run in the New Orleans half marathon on February 13. It is still very early in the season and I don’t expect to run a PR in this race…Indeed, a PR can be ruled out right today because my overall shape is far from where it will be in 2-3 months. But I can guarantee that I’m going to go as fast as possible.  We just need to see how fast I can run 13.1 miles when I’m at 40-50% of my ideal running shape.  More blogging soon…

Cheers!

Running in NOLA

This is my second week in New Orleans and I am taking full advantage of the nice weather... People keep telling me that it is going to get very hot and humid in a couple of months so I need to have a solid base to survive those conditions.  I know that it will be difficult to do marathon training in the summer. That means that I have to run a good marathon in the spring and I am already training for it.  I don't know where I am going to run but, wherever my next marathon is, I will run it all out.

I ran two fantastic times in 2010 but I know I can run faster than that.  I trained with a lot of intensity yet I raced with a lot of caution. I respected the weather conditions too much!  I can't control the weather but I can control how I approach training and races.  In 2011, I am approaching training and racing in a different way than in the previous year.  If I want to run a sub-3 hr. marathon I need to run faster every day so that my body and mind get ready for the big day in April or May.  I don't know if I am going to run a marathon under 3 hrs.this year but I am going to try!

To accomplish my goals, I am making four fundamental adjustments to my training in the first and second training blocks. First, I am dropping my easy pace down to 7:50-8 min/mile. That is 30-45 seconds per mile faster than in my previous training cycles. I have had no problems with this adjustment yet.  Indeed, I am feeling very good running at this pace.  Dropping my easy pace will hopefully reflect in better and faster long runs every weekend. Second,  I am going to add one progressive run per week (starting next week) to my schedule.  That means that I will have three and not two quality sessions per week and three easy days every week. The intervals and long run sessions will have very small adjustments.  Third, I am going to run at least one 10k race and a half marathon in the first 8 weeks of this cycle.  I know my chances of running stunning times are very slim but I need to get back in to the flow of racing again.  Fourth, I will do strength training at least 4 days per week. I will ideally do 5 strength sessions per week.

I have done 3 workouts this week... 2 easy runs on M and T (7 and 6.5 miles respectively) and a very encouraging tempo run today (6x5 mins with 1 min rest @ 6:40-7:05 pace)... I felt very strong today. I have not done a tempo run this solid in a very long time...

Cheers from NOLA!

Break is over!

I decided to take a long break after running in Chicago.  That explains why I didn’t update my blog in such a long time!  Although I didn’t stop running completely, I reduced my weekly mileage substantially and have not raced since 10/10/10.  My body and mind need to heal after 18 months of continuous and very intense training.  

I am feeling very good and I am eager to race again!   I gained a few lbs. but my legs feel great and my weekly mileage is increasing steadily every week.  I have a good feeling about my next training cycle.  I am healthy and very motivated. I have not decided what races I am going to run this year yet.  I keep analyzing several possibilities that could include marathons in Rotterdam, Vienna, or Prague in the spring and Chicago, Amsterdam, or Marine Corps (DC) in the fall. I will make a final decision about my 2011 calendar in two weeks.

There is a good chance that I will run a 10k race on January 30^th and a half marathon in late February or early March (not sure where yet).  In the mean time, I am logging as many base miles as possible.  This week I did 40+ miles, the best week in a long time!  The workouts were:

S- 6 easy miles (high 7’s)

M- 6.5 easy miles

T- 6 easy miles

W- Tempo (3x1 mile @ 6:40)+ 3 easy miles

Th- 5 miles, very easy

F- Cross Training

S- 12 miles (low 8’s)

It feels great to be back!  I missed my long runs so much! 

Lessons from Chicago

One of the reasons I love running, particularly marathon running, is because it allows me to have a different experience every time I step to the start line. I didn’t have my best performance in Chicago yesterday but I learned a lot in the race.  The conditions for marathon running were not ideal, but am not going to blame the weather for my results. After all, the conditions in Traverse City were very similar to those in Chicago yesterday and I still managed to put together a very solid run. To be honest, I knew that my body was not the same as it was last May. My mind, probably, was also a bit weaker. I ran a very solid first half yesterday. I felt strong and thought I had enough to run a good time. But I began to slow down after the 30k mark. I noticed that I was slowing down and that every mile was more and more difficult to run under a 7:30 minute pace. I ran the worst last 5 k partial since Zurich in 2009.

Yes, running in the heat definitely affected my performance. But the reality is that the majority of my tempo and long runs for this marathon were slower than in my previous training cycle. My time yesterday is not a coincidence. It reflects how I trained during the summer. I think the main problem is that I didn’t rest enough after running in Traverse City. The reality is that my body needed a longer break after qualifying for Boston.  The main lesson from yesterday's race is that I need to fully recover in between my marathons if I want to run solid races every time I step to the line. In addition, I learned  that my heart is bigger than what I thought it was. The last few miles of yesterday’s race were a real struggle, but I battled and finish the race in good spirits. Two years ago, I just gave up and started walking when my legs cramped up. Yesterday, I kept pushing thinking that it was the end of a very productive 18 months of training. I slowed down, but I kept fighting. This confirms that I am a different runner and that a breakthrough performance is around the corner.  

I am not going to lie, after I finish the Chicago marathon yesterday, I questioned myself whether I am cut out to be a marathon runner several times. I was a mixed bag of emotions, to say the least. I lacked a spark in the last 2-3 miles of the marathon and I was not happy with that. But the answer to that question is: YES, I am cut out to be a marathon runner. I love marathon running because I can take my mind and body to places I have never imagined I could. Every marathon is different and I never know how my body and mind are going to respond that day. I love it because I enjoy travelling to different cities and countries, and meeting fellow runners from all over the world. I love it because my training allows me to disconnect myself from the world for a several minutes every day. It allows me to challenge myself day in and day out.  I am not going to stop here. Rather, I am going to make a few adjustments to my training plan and seek advice from more experienced runners. I believe that am on the brink of running an outstanding marathon and a less than ideal race is not going to stop me from doing that. I am going to recover fully from Chicago and I am going to come back stronger than ever.  Believe me, if I can run a 3:22 in a deadly hot weather, I can run a sub 3:10 marathon in ideal conditions!

More thoughts to come soon!

Relaxed before Chicago

Well, my dreams of running the 26+ miles of the Chicago marathon in a cool weather have vanished!  The forecast suggests that, once again, I will have to run a marathon in a less than ideal weather. But I remain confident about my chances of running a good race in chicago. I will try to run with the 3:10 group as many miles as possible. I think the conditions will be very similar to those in Traverse City and my experience in that race might be very valuable this time. I ran a very conservative first half and my time reflected that in the end. I do not regret my strategy because I qualified to Boston, but I think I can be a little bit more aggresive this time. I need to be more aggresive!

The Chicago marathon will mark the end of a very long training period. I just hope my legs can go 26 more miles without any problem. I am mentally prepared for the race. I will try to update the blog from Chicago.  I am eating well and drinking fluids like crazy. I will need them on Sunday!