6:34 6:40 6:39 6:38 6:37 6:37 6:29 6:39 6:37 6:30 6:33 6:43 6:35 0:40 – 1st half split 1:26:31

6:27 6:42 6:55 ……………….

Goal:

1st half – 1:26:30
2nd half – 1:23:29

Actual:

1st half – 1:26:31
2nd half – 1:35:40

I guess you could say I ran the perfect first half, just one second slower than my goal. However, words can’t describe the frustration about what happened in the second half where I slowed by almost 10 minutes.

It’s a funny old game…

PS Does anyone else have problems with their Garmin Forerunner 405 in the rain? It seems just a couple of drops of water on the 405′s touch bezel causes it to go crazy – cycling through the different screens and rendering the buttons inoperable. It’s not the first time it’s happened and I’m only able to stop the workout when the unit has “dried out”. Maybe I need to contact Garmin?

Update: Just read a couple of newsgroup posts about similar issues with rain/sweat. Seems like the best fix is to disable the bezel during workouts. Not ideal, but it would have been useful yesterday….

I’m not entirely sure what happened, but I struggled to maintain the planned goal pace of 6:36 per mile, and as early as the 10th mile, knew it was going to be a tough second half.

Instead of speeding up to a 6:22 in Mile 14, I could only manage a 6:27, and with a 15th mile split of 6:42, I knew it would take a miracle to recover. My wife Ally was there cheering for me at both the 13.2 and 15 mile mark and all I could mutter was “Think I’m done….”

Mile 16 was a 6:55 and from that point on I have no mile splits as the rain caused my Garmin 405 to malfunction (just as well, really – I’m sure they were ugly). Strangely enough, my legs gave up the ghost at this point in the race too.

Last year I killed the Frederick hills; this year they killed me, and I won’t hide the fact that I was reduced to a walk on three occasions. What a disappointment.

I have no idea what pace I ran for the last 10 miles (no clocks on the course) but it definitely wasn’t a surprise when I saw the finish line clock displaying 3:02:xx – I knew I had slowed badly in the second half and there was no way today was going to be a sub-3:00, let alone a PR.

Looking back at the race, I actually got a bizarre second wind at mile 23, but it was way too little, way too late. What an odd day and one that I’m happy to put behind me. It definitely wasn’t the 25th marathon I was hoping for…

On a happier note – many congratulations to fellow Welshman Nigel Edwards who ran a tremendous half marathon PR at Frederick today! Way to gut it out Nige…

I jogged the mile and a half to the local HS track and immediately ran the first 800m – no time to spare as I was on a lunch break and couldn’t hang around stretching and all that good stuff. To accurately predict a marathon finish time, the idea is to run 10 x 800m with a 400m jog recovery. The past couple of weeks I’ve run a fast 4 x 800m but today’s workout was a whole different animal – I’d need to wisely pace myself otherwise I’d never get to the end of the session. Back to repeat #1 – it came in at 2:49 which was about a second slower than I’d hoped to average for the 10 x 800m. Not a problem, plenty of time to ease into the workout.

I jogged one lap of the track to recover but quickened my pace as I hit the start line. I enjoyed a nice tailwind in the first couple of hundred meters, but coming off the bend before the home straight the wind hit me and tried to slow me down. I shortened my stride, quickened my cadence and pressed on. Repeat #2 – 2:46. Excellent!

After the third 800m, I was noticeably winded. The split was another 2:46 but I had to work hard in the blustery conditions to make the time. A driving rain had started, and in my mind I told myself I’d be happy to get through 6 x 800s instead of the planned 10. I’m typically not one to wimp out, but with Saturday’s race in the back of my mind, I didn’t want to do anything foolish.

Repeat #4 and #5 were both completed in 2:46 – pretty consistent if nothing else. I figured I would do one more and then call it a day, but amazingly in the sixth repeat I got a second wind. I did this one in 2:45 and in all honesty, it wasn’t that tough. The Newtons seemed to be doing their job and helped propel me forward around the track.

Repeat #7 was the quickest to date – 2:44 – but the wind had picked up and it took a lot out of me. I tricked myself with a “just one more” and ran an even-paced 2:45. Could I do two more and finish off the workout? Yeah, let’s go for it…

#9 was a tough 2:45, but I knew when it was over I’d only have 2 more laps of the track to run. I made the most of the 400m recovery and kicked off for the final 800m – keen to get it done. I finished with a 2:44 for an average 2:45.6 – a Yasso 800 lifetime best by a long, long way.

I’m not naive enough to think a 2:45 or 2:46 marathon is possible at Frederick next month, but today’s workout does give me confidence that I’m in pretty good shape. I’m also positive the Newton shoes were a major factor in the speedy workout and hopeful that Saturday’s half marathon will be another indicator my current fitness. Bring it on…..

Stats: 10.63 miles ~ 1:10:04 ~ 6:37/mile
Splits:2:49 2:46 2:46 2:46 2:46 2:45 2:44 2:45 2:45 2:44

Haven’t had much time to compose my thoughts and write a detailed race report, so I’m afraid this will have to do for now…..

First of all, what a great race! The course changes for this year’s event made for a very challenging second half and probably the wisest decision I made all weekend was to drive the last 10 miles of the course on Saturday (the day before the race). I knew exactly what to expect from mile 16 to the finish and my pacing was probably the best I’ve ever managed in over 20 marathons – quite a mean feat considering my Garmin died just before the race started and I decided to run with no watch or timing device. The only mile split I’m aware of is the first mile in 6 minutes 22 seconds – from this point forward I just ran on “feel”.

The early miles went well, I felt great and was running so easily I convinced myself the pace was probably too slow. Going in to the race I thought I had a shot of being first in the Masters Division and was trying to get a feel for who my competition may be. Luckily the half marathon runners wore yellow bibs, relay runners had the letter “R” on their backs and marathon runners wore a blue bib, so it was easy to tell who was running which race.

Just before 8 miles an “older guy” went steaming past me – the flash of blue on his singlet told me he could be my toughest opposition. At this stage in the game I wasn’t going to chase him down, but I did keep him in my sights and noticed how he seemed to back off a little once he’d established a good lead on me. Around 10 miles I had to stop to relieve myself – I’d been fighting it since the early miles and knew I couldn’t/wouldn’t last another 16 miles. I figured a stop now would allow plenty of time to find my rhythm and get back into the race. I left the port-o-john and the “older guy” seemed to be half a mile away (it wasn’t half a mile, but it certainly was quite a distance). I tried not to panic, soon found my stride again and also felt a lot more comfortable for the stop!

Fast forward to the halfway mark where the half marathoners went one way and we went another. Now I was only 20 or so feet behind the “older guy” and knew I’d be passing him soon. Here’s me approaching 13.1 miles. I had no idea what pace I was running and how close I was to my pre-race goal of 1:26:30, but looking at the race results I was just 28 seconds too fast!

As I said to my daughter (who was taking the photos) – “Now the fun begins! The hills are waiting for us…” I also didn’t know I was currently in 7th place in the marathon. Maybe that was a good thing or I might have panicked. Anyway, within half a mile I’d moved in to 6th place, sensed the “older guy” fading away and concentrated on catching the two other runners I could see in the distance. I was still conscious of not hammering it and knew I needed to save a lot for the hills. I just stuck to the same pace and gradually reeled the guys in.

As I drew level with sixth place guy, I asked how he was feeling. He said “Ok”, but was worried about the hills. I mentioned that I’d driven the course yesterday and knew exactly what to expect. His “Me too” reply wasn’t too enthusiastic and I grinned to myself knowing that he’d already probably psyched himself out.

The first hill (pictured left, copyright FrederickNewsPost.com) was a long drawn out affair, but I just chipped away and didn’t really suffer from it. I also reminded myself we’d be running down the same hill on the way back! Nice…

At this stage in the race (9 miles to go) I was still running comfortably. The steady supply of fuel from my flask of Perpetuem was working wonders and I felt great. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was in third place and heading towards a pretty fast time.

After a nice downhill section, the road leveled off before we made a sharp left onto Terra Firma Road. Terra Firma Road was a steep, twisty climb that made my quads burn and my lungs scream for air. I’ve no idea how slow I ran this section, but I was almost down to walking pace by the time I reached the top. Luckily I knew when it was going top level off and my breathing soon returned to normal.

The next several miles through the neighborhoods were great – up and down hills, being cheered on by enthusiastic homeowners and offered all kinds of drinks, snacks and candy. A few people shouted I was the seventh runner, someone else said I was in fifth place and running stronger than anyone ahead. All these comments gave me inspiration and before I knew it I was back on the main road heading to the finish.

With the hills out of the way at mile 22, my thoughts turned to the 10-20mph headwind and how my left knee seemed to be locking up. The camber on the shoulder of the road was quite bad and I had to veer to the side to find the flattest surface to run on. The wind was annoying but helped offset the rapidly rising temperature. I just needed to stay strong to the finish and hoped the cramps would stay away.

I won’t say the last 3 or 4 miles were easy, but I ran with a great rhythm and everything just felt right. The short out and back near the airport at mile 24 seemed to be another turning point for me, and with “only” two miles to go, I pressed on for the finish.

I kept telling myself “one step at a time” and “keep the rhythm” and compared the remaining mile or so to a mile I run at home – “Come on, you can finish this off!” Before I knew it I was at mile 26 and a spectator shouted out “Point two to go and you’re at 2 hours 49 minutes.” I couldn’t believe that time could be correct and just kicked it in to the Fairgrounds entrance where the race would end.

Into the Fairgrounds, onto the track, round the final bend and the clock read 2:51:30. I sprinted to the finish and couldn’t believe I’d finished in 2:51:36. A volunteer quickly hung a medal around my neck and someone else rushed up and told me I was third overall and asked if I was ok. I was in total shock to be honest and still am to some degree.

So, official finish time – 2:51:36
Official place – 3rd (and I guess 1st Master)
Second fastest marathon ever and probably my most even paced race too.

Splits:
6.5 miles – 42:46 (6:35 pace)
13.1 miles – 1:26:02 (6:34 pace)
21 miles – 2:18:22 (6:35 pace)
24 miles – 2:37:13 (6:33 pace)
Finish – 2:51:36 (6:33 pace)

That’s it for now. I guess the “mini race report” wasn’t much of a mini report after all. Enjoy…

Just over twenty four hours to go to the Frederick Marathon and I think I’m ready to run.

I’m almost done with my Race Day Boost loading.

I’ve printed off my [rather ambitious] 2:53:00 marathon pace band.

I’ve taken advantage of Blaine Moore’s excellent Marathon Pre-Race Checklist Generator

I've checked the weather a million times. The forecast now says:

Mostly sunny, high of 75°F, low of 44°F

which has definitely changed a lot since early in the week!

So, today should be fun – four hour drive to Frederick, lunch, packet pickup and expo, check in to the hotel, nap (hopefully), dinner with pre-race Guinness and an early night. Up early in the morning as the race starts at 6:30am, and off I go.

Oh yeah, if possible, I also want to drive the last 8 miles of the course to get a feel for the much talked about “hills”. I’d rather be prepared and have some sort of plan in my mind.

No running to post about today, but look out for the race results some time tomorrow night.

Enjoy the weekend…

The taper is almost complete and I’m down to the last 48 hours before the gun goes off at 6:30 on Sunday morning. Actually, it will be nice to start a little earlier than the average race. The weather forecast calls for:

Highs in the mid 70s, lows in the low 50s, with occasional showers possible.

and I definitely want to be finished before those mid 70°F temperatures roll in – my body isn’t used to that kind of heat at the moment.

Nothing else to report. Everything is feeling fine – the soreness in my knees has disappeared, both feet feel good, I have no shin issues and somehow I’ve dropped another 3.5lbs in weight since the Shamrock Marathon back on March 16th.

Have a great weekend and thanks for everyone’s support….

Just realized today that I hadn’t mentioned anything about my latest big race sign-up. Well, last week I took the plunge and registered for the Frederick Marathon on May 4th – my second marathon in 7 weeks. Regular readers will remember I had a solid, but unspectacular, Shamrock Marathon in March after just 11 weeks of consistent training. In typical fashion, a few days after Shamrock I began to wonder what I could achieve if I attempted another marathon in 5 or 6 weeks time and use the 11 weeks training as a building block for another increase in training intensity.

A quick check of the marathon race calendar left me with a couple of options for another Spring marathon, with Frederick looking to be the best choice. I checked their event web site and was somewhat surprised that the Half Marathon had already closed out and the Marathon was almost full too. I emailed the race director who quickly replied with the news there were less than 100 slots available.

Now that I’d convinced myself I wanted to run another marathon, I had to act fast to grab one of the remaining slots – luckily I was able to register and find an affordable hotel room a few miles from the new race start at Frederick Fairgrounds.

I’ve run Frederick a couple of times before (2005 and 2006), but this year they’ve made changes to the course and moved the start and finish of the race too. The marathon is advertised as a “fast, gently rolling course spanning the northern and southern regions of Frederick”, but looking at the course elevation map the second half of the race is going to be tough! (check the “display elevation” box to view an elevation profile).

So, I have just over 4 weeks to race day and after a one week post-Shamrock recovery period, my main areas of focus are as follows:

• Increase weekly mileage to at least 60 miles per week
• Perform speed work at least once a week
• Run 4 long runs of around 20 miles
• Continue core strength program
• Maintain current weight/body fat levels

My previous two marathon attempts at Frederick were both positive performances. In 2005 I ran my third ever sub-3:00 hour marathon (2:59:26) and in 2006 was able to record a new PR of 2:54:51. Two years later, my current PR is 2:51:00 and I’m looking at a possible 10th consecutive sub-3:00. I’ll make no secret of the fact that, despite turning 42 later this year, I’ll be laying everything on the line with the intention of setting a new lifetime best. In the words of one of my favorite bands Coldplay:

But if you never try you’ll never know

Should be an interesting month…..