Eyes Too Big for My Legs

I wonder if were I to qualify for Boston, what would I do then. Run Boston obviously, but then what? Next big hurdles might be qualify to by pass the lottery at the NYC marathon, and the Olympic Trials. But I can only conceive of running fast enough to qualify for Boston because its a somewhat obtainable everyrunner's goal. But what would motivate me if I didn't have a specific even to train for?


So the scary answer on the horizon are ultras. They're insane. I told myself that I might not run marathons anymore because of the time it takes to train. Can you imagine the time that an ultra would consume. But everytime I read about these races, my heart swells. The crazier the course race or location, the better. Comrades, Badwater, Antarctic Marathon. Why? I don't actually think I'm going to run one of these, but I love thinking about it.


Here's one that arrived in my in box today. I SO want to go to Patagonia.

Q50 Patagonia II Edition !

From our friends at Quest Patagonia Travel & Adventures ! . . .


II EDITION OF THE Q50 PATAGONIA ULTRAMARATHON !

This race not only will give you a chance to enjoy the amazing Northern Patagonia landscapes while doing something that you like to do, it´ll also be an opportunity to meet people that shares your passion for running.

Runners from Argentina, Japan, Mexico, Venezuela, Chile, Uruguay and USA joined us in 2006, and had a great time. Be part of the second edition of the Q50 Patagonia Ultramarathon, join us!

The geographic characteristics of this area, allows this race to be not only challenging but also with unbeatable scenery! Pristine water rivers, lakes, mountains, run on dirt roads and trails surrounded by ancient trees. NEWSLETTER SIGN UP

Email: Cesar or Alejandra at info@questpatagonia.com

Update: I was just reading a message board for Ultras. People were talking about trying to break 24hrs on a 100M. Nope. Not going to do it. I mean, when I read about the goal of finishing Comrades in 12 hours, that sounded so exciting. When I think about just going out and running for 12 to train, that seems way less exciting. 4 hours at the peak of marathon training is plenty. Speaking of marathon training, has anyone noticed that I'm not? I have.

Racing The Gremlin

This article apt at the end of the Spring racing season. Lizzie told me she was going to stop reading my blog because there was too much emphasis on pain of late. Maybe if I tell her that I checked out the Tucson Marathon and have put it on the list for consideration, she'll change her mind. (It's got a great elevation profile.)


Racing The Gremlin

Runners should listen to--and then ignore--the voice inside their head.

By John Bingham

Ever hear a little voice in your head? Be honest. It doesn't mean you're crazy. Well, it might mean you're crazy depending on what the little voice is telling you.

I'm talking about that little voice that whispers what it thinks you should be doing. Sometimes the voice is called your conscience, when it thinks what you're doing isn't right. But there's another voice that many of us hear. I know I do, or at least I used to. This is the voice of the Gremlin. This is the voice that tells you whatever you're doing isn't good enough, that you should be able to run faster or farther, and that simply enjoying yourself is no reason to keep running. The Gremlin tells you that no matter how much you've improved your life or your running, you still have a long way to go.

It's gotten to the point where I can almost see the Gremlin sitting on someone's shoulder when I talk to him or her. When a first-time marathoner tells me that he'll be disappointed if he doesn't finish in a certain time, I swear I can see the Gremlin's teeth as it grins from ear to ear.

I recently spoke to a woman who had only been running for about a year but was coming back from a pelvic fracture. When I asked her what happened, she explained that she'd been running two half-marathons a week and since that was going well, she decided to add a third. You read that right. She was surprised when she ended up with a stress fracture in her pelvis. After all, she said, 39 miles a week didn't seem like a lot of miles. The Gremlin was doing cartwheels across her shoulders. I had no luck trying to convince her that she might consider a more reasonable training approach. Her Gremlin had her and wouldn't let her go.

Where I see the Gremlin most often, though, is at the finish line of races. It's like some kind of weird Gremlin convention in the chutes as runners come across the line. Instead of celebrating their accomplishments, runners are tormented by the voice of their Gremlins. Runners whose Gremlins just won't allow them to experience the joy of living a healthy, active life. That nasty little voice just keeps reminding them of what they are not.

Gremlins are everywhere, at every pace. They tell a novice runner that pain is weakness leaving the body. They tell runners that an injury is no reason to walk off a racecourse.

The good news is that you have the power to silence your Gremlin. At the very least you have the power to turn down the volume of its voice. The first step in vanquishing your Gremlin is admitting that it exists. The next time you find yourself questioning your performance, ask yourself whose voice it is that you're hearing in your head. Are you hearing a supportive voice? If not, it's the voice of your Gremlin.

The next time you hear yourself thinking that a run isn't good enough, far enough, or fast enough, listen carefully to that voice. Ignoring it won't make it go away. Listen to it, thank it for its opinion, and then forget it.

Your running may be one of the only areas of your life where you're fully free to decide how you want to feel about what you're doing. Your running may be your one chance to feel really good about something you've decided to do.

And even the slowest among us can outrun our Gremlins if we try.

Waddle on, friends.

Race Report: Battle of the Boulevard

Before the race started, I ran into some Capital Striders and we were talking about the course and weather. All down hill going out and up hill coming back. And it was a bit warm. I wasn’t sure what my time would be. I feel like I’ve been going faster, so on a good day, flat course, I’d be in position to PR.

I started out running a bit faster than an 8 min pace. About 2 miles in a started to slow. We were getting direct sun on the course and it was getting hot. About half a mile from the turn around they had music playing. As I went by it the first time, it was Born to Run. One the way back it was Running Down a Dream. Great running music; I wanted to punch my hands in the air during the chorus of Born to Run.

I had to talk myself through the second half of the race. "Don't Quit." "Boston." "Run through the pain." "I own this hill." I managed to feel pretty good after getting up this monster hill that lasted from about mile 4 to mile 5. After that, I figured the hills wouldn’t be so bad, but they kept coming. I noticed this girl and I decided that I had to beat her. She just didn't look like much of a runner. (Isn't that horrible of me? It also goes to show that you shouldn't judge people on how they look.) For the last half mile, I tried to keep ahead of her, if I saw her approaching in my peripheral vision, I sped up. Right at the finish, I saw her moving up and I surged. I nearly puked after I finished.

56:31. No PR, not even close. I ran that pace in the Cherry Blossom 10 miler the week after the National Marathon. Still, in a training perspective, I certainly pushed myself. That’s the end of the Spring racing season for me.

Here's a print out of data from the race. The blue area is elevation, the red line is heart rate, the blue line is pace. You might have to click on it to get a good view.

I ran this morning; it was cooler than yesterday. It was such a gorgeous day, thought I might go out for 10. I ended up going running just over 6. I was surprisingly slow, but over the course of the run, I began feeling stronger. That caused me to reflect on the value of recovery runs.

Lovely Run

What a great city to run in… it was a great Spring morning. Overcast, but 65 degrees, and I could smell flowers as I ran. The honeysuckle is blooming on the Custis Trail.

From Custis, I took the Mt. Vernon trail to Memorial Bridge, then by Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument. On the grounds near the Washington Monument, there were soldiers preparing for some ceremony, getting flags out of a truck. Then closer to the monument, there were rocket launches set up. Then I noticed stands, and band. As I was rounding the monument, the band started practicing. I presume this has to do with the queen departing. I continued on to the Benjamin Franklin Post Office.

I was carrying a heavy load, I sold a book that I need to drop off at the Post Office. Luckily it fit in my small pack, so I didn’t have to compromise my run. I managed to keep a good pace over the 3 miles of the Custis trail, averaging 9:15 miles. I slowed down during the next 4 miles though, my average for the run was a 9:32 pace.

MCM registration begins in less than 2 hours!

Ups and Downs

"Ask yourself, 'can I give more?' The answer is usually 'Yes.'" Paul Tergat, legendary Kenyan distance runner

Yesterday on the group run, we ran across the 14^th Street Bridge, down the Mt. Vernon Trail, then back over Memorial. I’m still one of the people trailing the group, but I averaged an 8:54 pace for 4.58 miles. I think that’s plenty fast for a training run, at least for now. Just do another 24 of those and I’ve got my sub 4:00 marathon.

The route for Monday

This morning’s run was a near failure. Because of my bookselling project I couldn’t run to work (not worth explaining), so I decided to do a track workout. I was thinking 4 sets of 800s. Half way through the first 800, I decided that I would do 8 sets of 400s. Near the end of the 3^rd 400m, I told myself, that maybe I would just do 4 sets of 400s. Then 200m into the 4^th 400, I stopped. Could I have given more? Yes. Why didn’t I? I have no idea. It was disappointing. My 400 splits for the set completed were fine, 1:51, 1:55, 1:51. I took a little diversion on the way home, so I could feel somewhat better by adding distance. Though, the whole workout being just shy of 2.5 mi, I don’t think “distance” is the right word.

I think that might have finally given me the kick in the ass I need to start paying attention to diet. Tonight a friend is coming over. I’m planning on making pistachio crusted chicken and barley risotto, and serving it with lima beans.

What's up with the bold that won't go away?

Bring the Pain

Daily quote from Runner’s World:
"Learn to run when feeling the pain; then push harder." William Sigei, Kenyan runner.

That’s perfect for today. I didn’t get my run in yesterday because I had to get to the office a bit earlier than normal. So I upped the intensity today. In general, I think more intensity is going to be the guidance for my training for the MCM.

To get into running, I had to learn to take it easy. I simply focused on increasing mileage. Nearly every run was an “easy” run. The ones that weren’t, were usually long (at an easy pace or slower).

Now it’s time to bring the pain, get used to it, live in it. I bet most of what I have to do is convince the parts of my brain that I don’t control that going faster is something I can sustain.

Today I ran normally for the first ¾ mile. Then, I ran a mile at a quicker pace, aiming for 8:00, I came closer to 8:10. I took a quarter mile at a very easy pace, then did it again. I tried to do this three times, but ended up splitting that last mile up into two sections. The hills of the Custis trail definitely took their toll. Over all, just over 7 miles at an average pace of 9:17/mi. I feel good.

What hurts today: nothing. Well, actually my upper body is a bit sore from strength training the other day, but it’s a good sore.

Recovery Complete: Next Phase?

So I managed to take most of last week as recovery. I did about 12 miles for the week. I suppose some of the recovery value was lost in my over consumption of alcohol on Saturday. Bad me. My run on Sunday did not feel rested.

The group run last night went pretty well. I trailed in the pack as usual, but for once didn’t feel completely tired and unable to keep up. I suppose part of that was that we split into pace groups and us tortoises felt like we could be ourselves. Over all we did about 5.5 miles (a better distance for me than 3) and I kept a 9:35 pace. I’m pretty comfortable with that for now.

The group mentioned doing some group training in preperation for the Fall marathons, and it seems like a good idea. Those 20 milers can get lonely. The problem is I think that everyone that's on board for a Fall marathon is faster than me, so it may not be a good match.

I’ve been trying to be mindful of my abs and did those couple exercises in the article this morning. I’m planning on running home from work today and maybe throwing in a hill workout in the middle on the monster hill in Rosslyn.

Why the afternoon run, particularly as it gets warm? I had to take the books I’ve sold online to the Post Office this AM and it was just a bit much for the running pack. As with any project I start, I am momentarily obsessed. I’m pretty sure this one will fade. For one thing, I only have so many books. In the mean time, buy a book.

I went ahead and signed up for the Battle of the Boulevard 10k on May 12 and the Army Ten Miler on October 7 today. Sign up for the Marine Corps Marathon starts next Wednesday.