Life after my first DNF...

… is not as bad as one may think.  In the business of marathon running being "tough" is usually associated with one’s ability to defeat adversity in a race. What people tend to minimize or forget is that being tough has absolutely nothing to do with being stubborn or not smart.  We often think that a good runner is one that goes for it no matter what, one that defeats adversity by pushing through the “wall” or one that trains and races in pain. I used to be one of those runners. But the past six months have taught me that being tough is much more than those things.

My running has had ups and downs in the past 12 months.  I went from running an almost perfect race (in Eugene) to run a terrible race in Berlin and then to sit down for almost two months with a hip injury. I know what it feels to completely defeat the 26.2 miles, but I now also know what it feels to sit down by my widow to watch people running. I also know that by not listening to my body I not only diminish my chances of running fast, but also increase my chances of injury. I now know that being “tough” implies making difficult decisions even when they go against the popular belief. It implies being careful sometimes.

I know what it feels to run a fast marathon (3:09:01) and leave the stadium without any problem, smiling, feeling invincible and looking forward to run again. But I also know what it feels to run a bad race and feel down for several weeks after it only because I didn’t make smart decisions and ran a bad time. Most importantly, I know what it feels to run in pain and how difficult it is to recover when the itch for running is in you every single day. I decided to DNF in Boston because I can feel that my health is coming back. I DNF because I didn’t want to take risks and trash my legs in a day that is going into the history books as the slowest Boston marathon in history. In short, I DNF because I didn’t want to throw by the window a training cycle that is getting better by the day.  I DNF because I thought, and still think that I can run a strong marathon in 5 or 6 weeks.

In a way, I feel that a DNF in Boston will bring me to a different level as a marathon runner. The level that I hope will allow me to run a sub 3 hr marathon soon.  More on the race (or training run) in a post to follow.  

Cheers. 

Armageddon weather forecast...

Ugh, ugh, ugh!  The weather forecast for Monday is not good.  It will be very hot and sunny. The temperature predicted for Hopkinton, where the race starts, is 70 degrees.  It will be 85+F by the time runners make it to Boylston Av. Basically the worst possible weather for marathon runners :(

Training for a marathon requires a lot of time and effort.  We control (or at least try to control) what we eat, how we hydrate, how we rest, and how we train for 16+ weeks, hoping to have a breakthrough performance on race day.  Yet the marathon and mother nature sometimes have something in store for all of us. They have things that we can't control. We -marathon runners- don't like things that we can't control. One of them is the weather.

There is not much marathon runners can do about a hot day. It's not a matter of being tough or pushing through it. When the body's temperature increases it recruits blood and oxygen to the surface of the skin to help cool you down. It's an internal mechanism to regulate the body's heat. When the blood and oxygen is forced to the skin, it is taken away from the muscles so they cannot work as hard as they would normally and the body slows. That's the fact. Period.

So the question is how much should I slow my pace down to make it in one piece to the finish line? Well, I honestly don't think I can run a 7:20-7:30 pace for 26.2 miles in those conditions.  I am coming back from injuries and my stamina is not peaking yet. So I am going to err on the side of caution this time.  I am going to go slow, very slow.  Maybe 7:50 or even 8:00 per mile.  That will put me in what should be an easy (that's what I hope) 1:45:00 half marathon. By going conservative in the first half not only do I hope to be feeling good coming the toughest part of the course (miles 15-21), but it will also allow me to finish in 3:30:00 or so.  Not my best performance, but not bad at all given the expected conditions.

I already said that I just want to feel good... I don't know if that will be possible given the weather. But at least I want to run a "smart" race.  I need to save my legs, my body, and my mind for other races.  Boston is a goal that I have had for a long time, but it is neither the only nor the last one.  Of course, I want to finish.  But I want to finish in one piece. Running "smart" means using this "log run" as a base for future races.  I have not even made it to Boston but I am liking how I am approaching this marathon.

I know the conditions won't be good and I am going to do something I haven't done in my previous races. I am going to ENJOY.  Rather than complaining and stressing out about the weather, I am going to enjoy every single minute of my trip to Boston and the race.  I am going to run a comfortable pace, chat with fellow runners, give high fives to the spectators, and relax. I will always be able to find other marathons with better weather and easier courses to run a PR. I don't know if I will ever run Boston again...I am going to make the best out of it. 

6 days to Boston

I will run my first Boston marathon in 6 days.   Training for a marathon is not an easy task, it requires lots of discipline and determination.  But it also requires a body that can take the pounding almost everyday.  My body hasn't been 100% since I ran in Berlin.  I have struggled with injuries for more than six months. So my training for Boston hasn't been as consistent as it usually is.  Going into Boston I know that I am coming back, but I am not 100% yet.   The muscles in my hips and core are stronger and I am working on correcting all the imbalances created by the injuries.  One week before running in Berlin I knew (but didn't want to admit) that my body was breaking down. With less that a week to go to Boston I feel that my body and my running are going back to where they were a year or two ago. I am running better and stronger than seven months ago, my legs are bouncing happily again, and I am not experiencing as much pain as two or three months ago.  My workouts are more consistent and I can feel that my running form is more efficient.  Yet I am lacking a bit of speed and most probably stamina for the last 6 or 7 miles of the race

I am going to run in Boston because every serious runner dreams about running in Hopkinton, Heart Break Hill and Boylston Ave. at least once.  I am not the exception.  I have trained really hard in the past three years for this moment.  It is not about the last six months, it's about a goal that I set long time ago.  I am going to run, but I am not going to make the same mistake that I made in Berlin. This time my body and not my mind is going to do the running. I will go as fast or as slow as my legs want to go.  I want to feel good an recover the confidence in my running.  I know that if I run an intelligent race I can run much better than in my last marathon. My body is coming back and that could mean great running in the next months and big PRs.  This time I am not looking at one marathon at a time, I am looking at the big picture... and the big picture is a sub 3 hr marathon in the fall.

I didn't retire!

... and I don't plan to stop running in the near future.  Running is an important plart of my lifestyle and I will always do it. Yet, the last 5 months have not been very productive in the running front.  I have been battling several injuries.  As many of you know I didn't have a good race in Berlin. I ran a 3:33:00 marathon, the worst time in my last five marathons.  I am a veteran runner that made several beginner's mistakes before, during, and after Berlin.  A few of hem are:

Mistake #1: Over-training! I didn't adjust my training plan to  the brutal conditions in New Orleans.  I was pounding my body day in and day out, thinking that training in a 100F, 100% humidity weather was going to give me an advantage in the cool, flat city of Berlin. But the reality is that in those conditions the body needs more time to recover. I had more than 3 terrible workouts in the summer and never adjusted...shame on me!

Mistake #2: I didn't listen to my body. I had a few problems with my hamstring/hip, took 3 days off, and got back to training.  As a result, my injuries didn't heal properly and my running was not optimal. When one runs through injuries, the running form is modified and that has very bad effects in joints and muscles.

Mistake #3:  The jet-lag.  I thought that traveling to Europe one week in advance was optimal.  In reality, however, I never adapted to the time change and I felt really, really tired on race day.

Mistake #4:  I didn't have a race plan... I am a very consistent runner.  I usually hit consistent splits efortless, but the story in Berlin was different.  I never felt comfortable with the pace I was running, so I did a very decent half but the second half was a total disaster.  I wanted to run fast and never thought that my legs (and my body in general) were not going to respond. They had always responded on race day, I kept saying. Well, they didn't and I didn't have a plan to avoid the collapse.  I ended up running the worst last 5 k of my life. 

Mistake #5: I came back to running too soon!  This is perhaps the worst mistake of all.  I was so dissapointed with my race that I wanted to prove to myself that Berlin had only been a fluke.  After 2 weeks I was running 35 miles and my injuries came back... and they haven't left for good completely.  I am still struggling with muscle umbalances and tight tendons, so I have not been able to train properly for my next race in Boston.

The good news is that I am coming back, I can feel it.  My shape is not ideal to run a PR in Boston, but my main focus is to re-gain my stamina and be as healthy as possible for my debut in the major leagues of marathon running (Boston marathon).  I have had 4-5 weeks of decent training.  I still run in a little bit of pain, but it is not as bad as 2-3 months ago.  I am taking things slow.  I know that the key to running fast and strong is to be healthy.

I hope to have updates on my training as it becomes more consistent. 

Cheers!

72 hours to Berlin

All the workouts are done, and I am ready to run marathon #15.  I will head over to Berlin tomorrow afternoon, I can't wait to see the city and the course.  There is nothing else I can do other than relax and wait until Sunday morning.  Easy to say, not so easy to do.  Experience plays an important role in how you handle the days that lead to your race.  I now have a routine that I try to follow as much as I can. 

I do the last run of my program 72 hours before my race. It is a 4 mile easy run with a few strides.  I let the legs go as fast as they can.  This run builds my confidence and allows my legs to stretch and get ready for the race.  It has been a difficult summer. The heat and humidity of New Orleans got the best of me. On friday, I take the day completely off... no running.  The day before the race I go out and do a couple of easy miles, nothing serious.  I eat carbs and drink lots of fluids in the 36 hours that preceed the marathon.  My breakfast i very light on race day. It includes a coffee, a bagel and 2 bananas...

As I reflect on my training, I realize that I have never trainined in those conditions.  I had very difficult moments, but I don't think about those moments now.  I instead think about the positive things that I experienced during my training. I think about my previous marathons, the good and the bad...I want to keep the good and find a solution for the bad.  I imagine myself running mile by mile feeling strong.  I plan my hydration strategy for the race and my diet for the last few hours before the marathon.  I think about the finish line.  I also think about myself. In particular, I think about the transformation that I have experienced since I started running marathons seriously.  I am faster and stronger... I sometimes ask mysefl: why didn't you train like this when you were 24 years old? Reality is that everything has its own time, and I can't be thankful enough for having the opportunity to do what I love doing without any constraints. Besides the physique, I have also experienced an incredible mental transformation .  Marathon running has given me an invaluable opportunity to discover that I impose my own limits...that there is nothing I can't do.  I used to run marathons at the back of the pack... not anymore.
My workouts suggest that I am in great shape.  I sometimes think that I have never been as stronger and faster as I am today.  But the marathon deserves respect.  It's a grueling distance.  If you make a mistake before or after the race, you pay a very high price.  The only thing one can do is to train hard and hope for the best on race day.  I am still struggling with the strategy for this race.  I feel great and want to go for it since mile 1.  Yet, I have had my best performances when I keep a steady pace in the early stages of the marathon.  Thus, I am not sure what to do on Sunday.  I guess I will just play it by ear and let my legs do the talking (and the running) in the first kilometers.  I now I can finish, I just don't know how fast I can do it...

Taperland

I just did the last workout of 13+ miles before the Berlin Marathon.  It was a combination of easy running and marathon pace tempo.  The sticky weather is back, but I felt very good.  I also did a 17 miler on Saturday, 10 miles were at 7:15 or faster.  The last miles consisted of easy running, I felt really strong for the first time in this training cycle.  These two workouts are the longest tune-up runs in my program.  The work is done and it is now time to relax, rest and get ready for the big day in Germany.

I had a very hard time since my last blog entry.  An injury on my right leg kept me worried about my participation in Berlin for more than two weeks. Luckily, my leg is feeling much better and I only missed a couple of key workouts, including a 20 miler.  But experience tells me that missing one workout is not going to derail my performance on marathon day.  It is better to rest and get better than to limp for 20 miles in the heat and humidity of New Orleans.  I indeed never rested completely as I substituted my 20 miler with a 2:30 hr. workout in the swimming pool (aqua running).  I complemented these workouts with therapy and lots of stretching.  As of today, my right leg is almost pain-free and the motion is substantially better.  I think I will be in great shape on September 25.

I would love to have a great race in Berlin.  I did everything I could to prepare for the race.  The homework is done and the waiting game has begun...

I am feeling good!

I don't have a valid excuse for the lack of updates in my running blog.  My apologies!  As in all my previous marathons, excitement is building up by the hour.  With only 5 1/2 weeks to Berlin, I have reasons to think that I can have a great race there.  I am running great workouts and increasing the weekly mileage.  Consistency is the word that better defines my training this time around.  I am very motivated for this race. My workouts are not easy, painful sometimes, but that doesn't stop me from pushing myself harder and enjoying every single moment of them.  I have turned the corner for good, and I can finally see the finish line.  I feel good, I am going to race (not to run) this marathon.  My plan is different this time, I am not going to Berlin to jog on the roads. I am going to attack the course since the very first mile.  I am not going to save any energy, I will leave everything I have on the pavement.  If I stay healthy in the next 5 weeks,  I am going to go for it.  I am already qualified for Boston so no worries about hitting the wall in mile 21.  I have trained diligently and it's time to see if I have the 'talent' to run a sub 3 hour marathon.

My training in the past two and a half weeks has been very solid.  It included 2 speed workouts, three tempos, one long run, and a marathon pace workout.  I don't have neither the time nor the desire to write every single details about the workouts, but they have been good.  Below is a quick synthesis of all of them:

Speed
#1: 6x800 mts (400 mts. recovery). 3:03, 01, 03, 06, 00, 03. Really humid, good feeling.
#2: 8x800 mts (400 mts recovery). 3:05, 03, 00, 00, 2:59, 2: 57, 2:54, 2:48). Treadmill, hot and humid outside. 

Tempos
#1: 7x5 mins. @ Sta Rosa Beach Florida. Decent, only decent in a really humid place.
#2: 4x10 mins (2 mins recovery). 1.48, 1.52, 1.53, 1.55 miles respectively.  Fastest ever. Treadmill.
#3: 2x20 mins (20 mins easy running in between). 3 and 2.9 miles in each tempo.  Felt tired in the last 10 mins of the second one, but kept going. Treadmill.

Long Runs
# 1:  18 miles @ 8:20. Strong.Treadmill.
#2:  12 miles @ 7 min avg. 15.25 total.  An injection of confidence. Treadmill.

I have done 62 miles per week on average.  As you can see, the majority of my key workouts have been done on a treadmill.  The weather in New Orleans is just really bad and I don't want to kill myself before Berlin.

More updates soon, I promise!