16 miles...

On Saturday I ran my first 16 miler of the year.  16 miles.  At this stage in the year with the Riverbank approaching I should be peaking at around16 miles, but I have a completely different plan for the season.  I am not really training to run the Riverbank run in May,  I am 100 % focused on building my endurance so that I can run the Chicago Marathon in October.  October may seem many moons away, but here is how I plan on pulling off my maiden voyage into Chicago.
Currently, I am running a modified version of my marathon plan for this 25k.  I am peaking at 50 -60 miles around May 1st and then using the base that I have built to carry me into the summer training cycle. My tempo pace is a little bit faster than it will be in July, but all in all its the same plan.  My plan for Chicago is to peak somewhere around 75 -80 miles in September.  For the month of June I am most likely to linger around 40 miles per week and start my build up at the beginning of July.  My speed work has been great and I am sure with the added endurance and hill training I will have no problem running RB at a strong pace.  I would love to use RB as a corral qualifying race, but my focus and attention has to be on building up my strength.  My problem historically has been not having a strong enough base.  Yesterday, I blew through the first 6 miles of my 16 in 44 minutes.  I took it easy for 3 and then ran another 3 miles at my steady state pace..  I died on the last 3-4 miles.  This is on a 16 mile run.  I can not even begin to understand how I am going to make myself strong enough to cover the entire 26.2 miles at 3:19 pace.  I am ready to work all year long to figure this one out.   I still have an 18 mile, 20 mile, 16,  and 22 mile long run in the works between now and May 12th, and I am excited to see how these runs help me build my endurance.  The nice thing about doing this cycle for riverbank is that I can adjust my plan for the marathon if I find that I am not getting what I need from it.  I can not wait to run that 22 mile training run in September and feel like a strong ass running machine.
I am going to return to the treadmill a little bit this week for some of my easy runs so I can avoid a little stress and strain on my body.  This week is a 75% week, which puts me at 37 miles for the week with 3x2 mile @ mp  and a 5k or a 10k time trial at the end of the week.  No long run this week so I have to put in a lot of easy mileage to meet my quota..   Exciting stuff. 
On another side of my training I am starting to really focus my attention on my nutrition and have been feeling that this might just be the most important piece to my marathoning success.  I have been working really hard to keep myself hydrated throughout the day and while running, eat a giant salad for dinner, lots of lean protein for my muscles and a carb rich afternoon lunch.  I have been supplementing my diet with a muscle milk shake.
I am carefully watching my weight, and am still working on getting myself down to a healthy 150-152 pounds as a racing weight.  Today is a day off, and I am fine with peaking at 47 miles this early in the training cycle.

47.5 Miles

This week has been great. Today I ran a 2 x 2.5 mile run with a half mile jog in between.  I tried to start off each of the reps at steady state pace and work down into the 6:40s for the last half mile or so.  I like to mix up the pace on these things just to see where I am at fitness wise. I feel strong, but am glad to have 2 months before the riverbank run.  I am definitely not ready to race yet.  I feel my base work this winter has been great, and when I get to May 12 this year, I am going to be ready.  I am more than willing to train my ass off for the next 2 months.

 Tomorrow morning I head out for my 15 mile steady state run.  I long the long runs.  I am slated for 47.5 miles this week, so i might run on Sunday and take Monday off.  I feel great, and my body seems to be holding up pretty well.  Next week we take a step back with an easier week mileage and tempo runs.  We start doing more MP work and less tempo from this point on in my training.  3x2 @ mp with a time trial instead of a long run next week.  This will be interesting.  I am going to try to follow my plan as much as possible, but I think if I run on sunday I might break the 50 mile barrier this week.  Exciting stuff.
We shall see.

Beast Mode

I just returned from my 5 am recovery run.  The temperature this morning was a blustery 54 degrees.  I feel like we have almost made it out of winter, and am crossing my fingers for only a few more weeks of cold mornings.
Beast mode has begun for the Riverbank run. T minus 9 weeks and counting.  I am feeling really good.  Last night's tempo run took place on the hills and I ran 3 of the 4 miles in 7:14 6:45 6:19.. Yep.  The first mile was uphill around 8:14 pace and I laid off a little bit but still pushed strong up the hills.   I have been modifying my original plan on tempo days, but making sure I hit my marks.  I feel that fast mile repeats are just as important as tempo pace 3-4 mile runs.  As my race gets a little closer I am going to start focusing more on MP runs with finish fast progressive runs run from MP down to 5k pace at the end of my long runs. 
I bought a new pair of trainers to put into the mix and hopefully save my legs a bit.  They feel a little heavy on
my feet, but very comfortable.  I feel like my feet are in a Cadillac, well built, lots of power, compared to the little Ferrari racing flats I have been doing 99% of my running in.
Been trying to get as much hill work in as possible this month.  I am running a modified hill section from the Riverbank run in my training.  I am adding about 3 miles of other hills to the mix just to add variety to my runs.
I am climbing.  The 4 miles of rolling hills from 8-12 miles should be a breeze when I get done with the next 2 months.  After I return from my trip to the Catskills I am sure my calves will be huge and my confidence level even larger.
Nutritionally speaking I am  starting to get serious about things.  Carbo loading lunches, large salads for dinner, and simple high protein (including muscle milk) simple breakfasts.  I am excited to be scientific about my nutrition and eat what I need when I need it.  I am ready to roll.. Beast Mode... BEAST Mode.

11 Weeks and Counting

With 11 weeks to go before my 25k planned for May my training is about to become a bit more specific.  For the last few weeks I have been trying to acclimate my body to the stress and strains of training by focusing on slow and steady mileage with the occasional tempo workout thrown in for good measure.  I have a long way to go before returning to any sort of good racing shape, but have confidence in my training schedule and am not putting too much weight on my performance in the Spring.  I would rather go into the spring healthy and at 80 percent fit, than to go into the spring injured.  Being fit in May will make transitioning into marathon training a breeze. 
Yesterday I started my weekly outdoor sessions with an easy 10 miler with 2 of the miles at tempo pace and the rest at or below my steady state training pace.  I ran into another runner who when I passed him @ 7:30 pace he wanted to press on with me through the hills for a couple of miles.  I used this experience to  run below 7:30 pace for a couple miles, use the hills to my advantage and remember how to press on when someone in right on your shoulder.  I normally don't do this when out on a training run, but I am a competitor at heart and do not get enough chances to shift into a higher gear too often.  Tempos also remind me of just how far from being in shape I am.  In two weeks I run 4 miles at tempo pace and am sure I will reaffirm that I am not in that great of shape.  I look forward to the challenge that the 4 mile tempo will bring.  This week I am running 3 x 1.5 miles at tempo pace and a 9.5 mile steady state run.  Pretty simple week with 2 longer runs, a tempo and 2 or 3 easy runs thrown in to round out the mileage.  At this early in my training cycle I am still a little timid, but I have to remind myself that with 11 weeks to go your body can make profound changes and become stronger and sharper than you would believe possible. 

Icy Beards

Trying to move myself back out into the cold this week for my long run.  The treadmill sessions have been great, but I am starting to feel that the repetitive pounding of the same footfall in my shins.  Not a big deal, I didn't plan on running more than 25 miles a week on the treadmill anyway.  I took a nice easy 9 mile run on Sunday morning. 17 degree tempretures didn't seem to phase me and I was warmed up by mile 3 or so.  March is on the horizon so my long runs need to start to build.  The plan is to get up into the upper 30s by the beginning of April, and move back into the forties for the month touching 50 once or twice before my taper in the first week of May.   I am off to New York at the end of March where I will be visiting my sister and my parents and I have a date with those monster Shawangunk mountains of New Paltz.  I am excited about climbing and building some strength.  Such fun I tell ya.  Such fun.

Walking Sideways Down The Stairs

I think I have found the solution to my over training issues.  I have been running on a treadmill for the past week and am having absolutely no leg fatigue. Normally as I get back into my mileage of 30 plus I start to get tired pretty quickly and am always walking sideways down the stairs.  I am thinking that in March when I return to the great outdoors I am going to continue to run about 30 of my miles indoor on a treadmill.  My biggest fear for this training year is over doing it.  I think that if I keep my outdoor / indoor ratio at around 50/50 peaking at 80 miles per week in September should not be a problem.  Okay, fingers crossed.

Why do this?

Part of being a runner is having to deal with injury and self doubt.  In my case the two tend to come as a pair and at the worst time in my training.  Last week  I signed up for The 2012 Chicago Marathon while nursing both a calf and knee injury.  I do not run with knee pain, this is my one rule that I hope will save me from the scalpel later on. Not running for long periods of time makes me into another person.  I sit around and drink too much wine, eat for pleasure and dance the fine line of despair.  Emotionally I have been a wreck and committing to Chicago made me doubt myself even more.  The big question that keeps coming up is 'why am I doing this?'.  Training for a marathon is not an easy task to take on as a parent of 2 small babies and an active 9 year old.  My wife and I are already passing like ships in the night, so adding a training plan that will peak at around 75-80 miles a week, massage therapy, juicing, biking, swimming, core and flexibility work to the mix makes everything so much more difficult.  Why? 
This morning I put the why question to sleep.  As I woke at 4:30 for my morning tempo run I could feel myself returning to form.  My calf  is still tight and I will continue to work on this as we progress into the base phase.  My knee pain is gone and I am taking the proper precautions to avoid injuring myself again.  The balance has returned, and I am elated, even manic.  I have no choice but to set my goals for the year so high that I almost can not achieve them.  I am beyond excited to take on the Chicago Marathon.