Long slow run seem to work

I’ve decided to go with the 5:00 pace group for the marathon in three weeks.  I went on an 18.3 mile run today and finished it in 3:40 or about a 12 minute per mile pace.  This is about 33 seconds slower than the goal marathon pace of 11:27.  But going slow has a lot of advantages.  I felt good about the run.  I was strong at the finish and felt that I could have gone on for 2-3 miles more.  It helps that the weather was great.  The temperature was between 59 and 65 degrees.  The sky was cloudy so not a lot of sunshine.  There was a mild breeze blowing constantly so I never felt overheated or dehydrated.

Next week I will go for 20 miles in the last long run before the marathon.  Hopefully the weather turn out great.

Road Test 3: Nike Air Pegasus 25

Wow!  This shoe was really light and had great cushioning.  I ran 18.3 miles today and did not feel any bit of pain from the running shoes.  I was actually even accelerating during the last mile.

The shoe is lighter than the Air Pegasus 2007 but probably does not have quite the awesome cushioning that the 2007 had.  This is still a great shoe.  I’m thinking of buying a few more extra pairs.

This will definitely be the marathon shoe I will use three weeks from now.  I am going to test it on a 20 mile run next Saturday.  Then it goes inside the closet until marathon day.

BTW, New Balance asked me for feedback about the 858STS and I told them what I felt.  The shoe was heavy, lacked good shock absorption and was generally below average for their company.

More Than Words Bollywood version

Is Jessica Alba the best looking woman in the planet?

Pace Group – 4:30 or 5:00???

My doctor who is also an avid runner told me that if I finished my last half marathon in 2:12:32, my predicted maraton finish time would be 2:12:32 x 2 plus 20 minutes.  So it would be about 4:45 give or take a few minutes.  Unfortunately there are no 4:45 pace teams for the Columbus marathon.  There is one for 4:30 and another for 5:00.  This will be a tough one to judge.  I am torn between whether to join the 4:30 group (I might lose steam at the end) or the 5:00 group (I might end up running too conservatively).

Pace Groups in Runners World

The Cliff Bar pace group founded by local Columbus, Ohio runners is featured in the current issue of Runner’s World.

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-244-255-12854-0,00.html

Air Force Half Marathon Pictures

Pictures of Air Force Marathon in Wright-Patterson Air Base, Dayton, Ohio

Week 3 – No Soda

So far, I have not fallen off the wagon.  After the marathon on October 19, I will treat myself to a glass of ice cold Coke.

Air Force Half Marathon Completed

I just completed the Air Force Half Marathon in Dayton, Ohio this morning with an unofficial time of 2:12:32.  I was hoping to break 2:10:00 or a 9:55 per mile pace.  My fastest half marathon time was 2:10:19.

After 2 miles, I was running a 9:47 per mile pace.

After 3 miles, I was running at a 9:52 per mile pace.

From miles 4 to 7, I was consistently at 9:50 per mile pace.

After 8 miles, pace was dropping a bit to 9:51 per mile.

After 9 miles, pace continued to drop to about 9:52 per mile.

Mile 9-11 killed me.  I ran mile 9-10 in 11:20.  Some recovery occured on mile 10-11 which I ran at 11:00.

I still had a chance after mile 12m.  I ran miles 11-12  at 10:00.  After 12 miles, my watch had 2:01:01.  I had to run the last 1.1 miles in 9 minutes.  That was a tough order given the unusually warm for September in Ohio (close to 80 degrees instead of the typical low to mid 60s) and general fatigue creeping in after 12 miles.  I ended up running the last 1.1 miles in 11:31 for a final 13.1 mile time of 2:12:32 or a 10:07 per mile pace. 

In hindsight, pace deterioration in miles 10 and 11 prevented me from breaking 2:10.  If I had run those miles in 9:55, I would have finished in 2:10:01.  For a time that close, I wold have sprinted to the point of collapsing in the final 250 meters.  But seeing that at mile 12.5, I could not break 2:10, I did not attempt to sprint the last few hundred meters and just ran it at a normal pace.

Tomorrow I need to run my long run in preparation for the full marathon in four weeks.  If I don’t pull off the long run tomorrow, I will likely just run the half marathon in four weeks.

Do Canadians do a good job of covering songs?

My friend Joel wanted me to post this even though it does not have anything to do with running.

I can’t decide if Avril Lavigne does a good job of singing other
people’s famous songs. What do you think?

Singing Sarah McLachlan’s “Adia”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_070OgMEBM

Singing Goo Goo Dolls “Iris”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LrDnWc4UNI

Singing John Lennon’s “Imagine”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2dKVVD5lLc

However I definitely think that Sarah McLachlan does an excellent job
of singing other people’s songs.

Singing Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDFYRpVUcJQ

Singing John Lennon’s “Happy Christmas”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDZSClcEnwA

Singing Joni Mitchell’s “River” – This is her masterpiece
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udkaq7odKJo

I thought McLachlan’s River was one of the best covers of all time
until I stumbled upon The Barenaked Ladies acoustic cover of “Distant
Sun” by Crowded House.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMZziZde9_E

Ok, maybe The Barenaked Ladies are not as good as McLachlan but
anyone who attempts to cover a Neil Finn song in the bathroom is very
brave. So I though The Barenaked Ladies were a gutsy group until I
stumbled upon the great Canadian singer Paul Anka.

Paul Anka covering Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsS811o21-k

Anka also does REM’s “Everybody Hurts”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_wV39nSz2E

All of these Canadian singers pale in comparison to Joni Mitchell.
She does not need to cover anyone’s songs. Her original song from
the 1960s “Both Sides Now” has 587 different covers by various
professional musicians.

1969 version (folk music type)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2-T9FjrfxM

2000 version (jazz version from the 2003 movie “Love Actually”)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2wgxeYy4RE

Disastrous training weekend

The plan was to go 17.5 miles on Saturday morning in preparation for the full marathon 5 weeks from now.  I did 16.3 miles and was feeling good last Saturday so I was not really concerned about the 17.5 mile attempt.  It rained hard early morning on Saturday.  I started to run around 10:00 am when the rain stopped but could only run 8 miles because I wanted to watch Cal take on Maryland at 12 noon followed by Michigan versus Notre Dame.  I decided to just do the long run on Sunday morning in order to watch college football.  Then I stayed up late on Saturday night to watch 11 time national champion USC take on 7 time national champion Ohio State.

Thus I woke up late on Sunday morning.  I started running at 12 noon and could only complete 9 miles before the humidity and close to 90 degree temperature stopped me.  There is no one to blame but myself.   Lesson for this week is do not mix college football with marathon training especially if the weather is not ideal for long runs.  Another lesson is respect the long runs by getting enough sleep and waking up early.

On the bright side, this is not the first disastrous training weekend I have had before a marathon.  In the past I have been able to recover but there is absolutely no room for error left.  I still have three long runs remaining.  If I screw up on these ones, then it is going to be the half marathon for October 19 instead of the full marathon.

Sunday, September 21 – attempt 17.5 to 18.5 miles

Sunday, September 28 – attempt 18.5 to 19.5 miles

Sunday, October 4 – attempt 19.5 to 20.5 miles

These are critical runs.  In order to be successful, I need to do the following:

1) Sleep early the night before (between 9:00 pm and 10:00 pm).

2) Wake up early (between 5:00 am and 5:30 am).

3) Start running early (preferably between 6:00 am and 6:30 am) since the weather is unpredictable in September.  The morning temperature can either be in the high 80s/low 90s or in the mid 50s.

4) Bring enough liquids.  The trail that I will attempt these long runs does not have any water fountains.  I will have to purchase a camelbak since I cannot find my old fuel belt.  I used to run with a marathon training group on this trail and they always had water/gatorade available for the long runs. 

5) Bring some GU. 

6) No foolish TV or movies the night before the long run.

7) And most of all avoid working those 12-15 hour workdays during the week.  I think the next three weeks will be ideal for this since I do not expect a lot of late nights in the office.  Being well rested from Monday to Friday makes such a big difference for these long runs.