tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31954565505622298022024-03-05T20:18:13.967-05:00The Internal Pigdog"Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional."Brian Morrisseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109954832554945842noreply@blogger.comBlogger237125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195456550562229802.post-50456342253280671462012-05-27T17:32:00.000-05:002012-05-28T13:54:35.516-05:00Running Comrades<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Back in 2002, I read The Lore of Running by Timothy Noakes, a South African physiologist. The preface of what’s overall a pretty dry book about VO2max and lactate threshold is a lyrical account of the Comrades Marathon, a 56-mile race in South Africa that’s billed as “the ultimate human race.” It seemed, literally, otherworldly. It was this mystical portrait of a formidable test of endurance, commitment and brotherhood. I was smitten. My friend Mark and I talked about doing the Comrades. We’d joke at races about the overblown prose Noakes use. Actually doing the race would periodically come up over the years, as we ran regular marathons and even strayed into ultras with a couple 50ks. For one reason or another, it never happened.<br />
<br />
Next Sunday it will happen. Mark’s trained in the heat of Pakistan; I’ve run pretty much everywhere in NYC. It’s funny to think that a decade later we’re going to finally run this thing. I feel as prepared and as healthy as I could hope. I’ve done over 1,000 miles training since the start of the year. I’ve run the marathon distance three times. I ran 50 miles a few weeks ago in a bit over 7.5 hours. I ran over the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges probably 100 times. Perhaps more importantly, I have a running resume over the years that includes almost 25 marathons, three 50ks and the 50-miler. It’s safe to say I’ve prepared.<br />
<br />
A lot of people find the idea of running 56 miles in Africa over extremely hilly terrain unfathomable. I get that. It’s not in reality. The thing I’ve learned from training is that anything is truly possible if you set a goal and work diligently to get there. I don’t know what next Sunday will be like. I suspect I’ll suffer quite a bit, even want to quit a couple times. I doubt I will. The main reason is I’ve been there and learned the value of persistence. My recent favorite distance saying is an ultra guy’s advice to think, “It never always gets worse.” The race itself, for me, is a bit of an anti-climax. The real story is in 12 years of preparation, going back to when I first ran a mile around a park in a not great neighborhood I was living in in southeast Washington DC on a sticky summer night. Since then I’ve logged tens of thousands of miles. I’ve failed quite a bit. I was dragged to the hospital twice for IVs. I once comically collapsed 100 yards from the finish of a marathon and was carried across the finish. I’ve hurt my ITB, both Achilles, my plantar fasia. I’ve endured dozens of ice baths, lost toenails, chafed nipples until bleeding and done self-surgery on gross blisters. Long distance running is about chipping away, narrowing down your goal and working bit by bit to get there. That’s for me what the journey’s been.<br />
<br />
I can’t wait to stand in the predawn darkness in Pietermaritizburg and hear the Shosholoza and the cock’s crow that will mark the start of the race. Mark and I will then set out on a very long journey that I trust, through some good and tough times, will end in a cricket stadium in Durban. Until then I’ll remember what Noakes himself wrote that once got me so enthralled with doing this thing: “The continual jarring of sharp descents from Inchanga, Botha's Hill and Hillcrest has taken its toll on my quadriceps and every step now sends an ever more painful shock down each thigh.Were the human brain able to recall the pain of Fields Hill, no one would run the down Comrades twice. This then is the point each runner, from the first to the last, must pass if he is to arrive in Durban on his own feet. It is here, stripped of any of society's false privileges, that he finds no hiding place, no shelter of convenience. Face to face with himself he must look deep inside.”<br />
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If for some reason you’re up late at night or very early in the morning on June 2-3 (race starts at 11:30pmEST on 6/2 and should end for me nine hours or so later), you can track me on the Comrades site. My race number is 41179. <br />
<a href="http://results.comrades.com/Tracker.aspx?RaceId=91&EventId=1">http://results.comrades.com/Tracker.aspx?RaceId=91&EventId=1</a></div>Brian Morrisseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109954832554945842noreply@blogger.com154tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195456550562229802.post-14986482175584954612010-04-20T22:51:00.003-05:002010-04-22T17:23:26.239-05:00Persistence<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOqfyEzBchY4bFOrm6pS9AE0MsikRpafPoWl4s0XX4yL4E7eKtFPr7YLIatwyMODeNwtBMZxyhp3pdmnJ2-A37-7yJBIPi8P66val2UdW-TKgsHwIwacsindYjbxgEr4xldli4csbLtzg/s1600/heartbreak.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOqfyEzBchY4bFOrm6pS9AE0MsikRpafPoWl4s0XX4yL4E7eKtFPr7YLIatwyMODeNwtBMZxyhp3pdmnJ2-A37-7yJBIPi8P66val2UdW-TKgsHwIwacsindYjbxgEr4xldli4csbLtzg/s400/heartbreak.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463091009172975042" border="0" /></a><br />Persistence is something I admire. It's a trait I admire and want to have. What's great about it is it's equal parts obstinance and hope. That's how I think of running. It's such a long-term thing. In 2003, I was still pretty new to running. I'd been at it for three years and kept improving. I qualified for Boston after doing a 3:02 in Chicago in the fall. I was running so much that I even did a 50k in February of 2003, coming in eight place with a time of about 4:05. I was running 60 miles a week. I felt so ready for Boston and going under three hours. It felt inevitable to me.<div><br /></div><div>It didn't happen. Instead I had the worst day of running in my life. Boston chewed me up and spit me out. Before this year's race, I went back and pieced together my memories of that race. I remember sitting next to a guy from LA on the bus out to Hopkinton. I told him about running under three. I remember realizing I couldn't keep pace with my friend Barney in the early miles. I remember dreading the last 18 miles. I remember seeing people writhe on the ground in pain on Heartbreak Hill. I remember knowing friends were on the left side of the road at Cleveland Circle but going to the right side to avoid them. Finally I remember sitting on a curb after it was over and feeling for the first time really acutely upset by running. I said that day that I'd come back the next year and fix what went wrong.</div><div><br /></div><div>It didn't happen. I got sidetracked and didn't run that great. Then I ran some mediocre marathons. The years went by. I registered to run one year but got hurt in training and didn't make it. Finally on Monday, seven years later, I went back to Boston, older and heavier but also smarter. My goal was not just to beat the 3:32 I did that day in Boston in 2003 but run the race on my terms. I felt like in 2003 the course ran me. The hills crushed me. This time I didn't flinch when the hills came. One thought kept coming back to me, "This is what I do and why I ran all those miles." I kept powering up them with consistency. I rarely thought about 2003 when I was on the course. The only time I did was at the top of Heartbreak Hill. There was a group of school kids at that op holding signs that said "The end of Heartbreak." I admit, for a moment, I got emotional. It was a moment I realized I'd run a good Boston. I thought back to all that shit from 2003, how physically and emotionally beat up I felt sitting on the curb after the race. The last six miles, while painful, were more of a celebration. I haven't felt that way in many marathons. And so I came away with a great thing: a memory of a certain time on a hill that I won't forget. That kind of thing means more to me than some medal or a number on my watch. </div>Brian Morrisseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109954832554945842noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195456550562229802.post-8363265545608335982010-04-14T21:24:00.006-05:002010-04-14T21:59:14.342-05:00Making Right a WrongIt is crazy for me to think that on Monday morning, I'll get off the bus at Hopkinton, seven years after I first went to run Boston. At the time, I was coming off a lot of success as a runner. Six months earlier, I ran a 3:02 in Chicago, taking about 20 minutes off my PR. That winter, I got eighth place in a 50k held in Central Park. My thought was under three hours. It didn't happen. Instead, I suffered mightily. This week, I went back and found an email I sent to my friend about the race. Here's what I wrote:<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 16px; font-family:monospace;font-size:14px;"><blockquote>I would have done well -- if I was in the visually impaired category. It was a very, very tough day. I'm not really all that sure what exactly went wrong, but something went wrong. First, it was hot as the dickens, 70 at the start. After running in the cold all winter, I felt like I was in the Sahara. I even grabbed a sponge from some kid on the roadside, only to find it was one of those pre-soaped sponges, so I had toxic materials running down my face and into my mouth. Then, I peeled off to pee in what I thought was a semi-secluded spot at mile 6. I didn't expect a man with a bullhorn to accost me, "PUT THAT THING AWAY!" Basically, the race went smashingly until mile 8, when I started getting leg cramps. I was cruising along at a 6:40 pace at that point. Over the next 18.2 miles, the world came crashing down. Women, the infirm, men in llama costumes all streamed by me. My first half was at 1:32; my second: 2:01. Ouch. It wasn't fun. My only solace is I didn't stop, like the man I saw puking on Heartbreak Hill or the other that was curled up in the fetal position screaming. The finish area did a brisk business in giving out wheelchair rides.</blockquote>You get the picture. I don't have all the splits from the race. These two tell the story: first 5k: 20:54; last 5k: 30:28. I'm not going to let that happen again. I remember finishing the race and for the only time in running being truly upset. Sitting on a curb, sunburned, incredibly sore and filled with disappointment, I felt sorry for myself. I quickly vowed I'd get my revenge. That day in Boston has remained my greatest regret in running, even more than the trips to the hospital. It's crazy that I get my shot at making it right seven years later. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 16px; font-family:monospace;font-size:14px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 16px; font-family:monospace;font-size:14px;">So I'm ready. I want to find that balance between running smart and not leaving anything in the tank. My main worry is going out too fast. As Bill Rogers said, "<a href="http://a48.video2.blip.tv/6910003730958/RunningTimes-BillRodgersOnTheBostonMarathon491.mp3?bri=2.0&brs=175">You lose your mind</a> in Boston (on the early downhills)." Follow my progress on the <a href="http://registration.baa.org/2010/cf/RegAthleteAlert/pg_AthleteAlert.cfm?mode=preentry&snap=73051022&">Boston Marathon site. My bib is 5081. </a></span></div>Brian Morrisseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109954832554945842noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195456550562229802.post-44962213042377008072010-04-06T18:08:00.003-05:002010-04-06T18:14:27.411-05:00Keeping Your HeadOver at DailyMile, there was a comment on a runner's training that made sense. It talked about "keeping your head" at Boston. I've only run the race one time, but this seems to me the biggest challenge. The course is seemingly designed to make you go out way, way too fast, then punish you into submission. That's what happened to me in 2003. It was probably my worst day running, including the two hospitalizations. I knew at mile 10 I was done, steeling myself for 16 miles of getting passed and feeling worse and worse. With the taper fully on, I'm trying to think ahead to the race, how I'm going to run it. Going out easy is a big goal of mine. It's tough because I tend to go out pretty hard and challenge myself, then figure if I die, I die. That approach doesn't work so well with Boston's hills. Time to keep my head.Brian Morrisseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109954832554945842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195456550562229802.post-69690000346081191732010-04-02T15:22:00.003-05:002010-04-02T15:37:32.511-05:00Boston Training: An Assessment<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifsDEJqHV5smTNuDwIRvCk9tP036pgD8ts5oAm4eFQbYpTg9QDEULx9Z6j-6mGC6N_IYPfANIAllC1wZnTKnlMfaniwvHNAU-ohk4V12sp0AVcK2aTv2vENpxjLHLg1j9hUkZ7VoRka2I/s1600/Picture+55.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 287px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifsDEJqHV5smTNuDwIRvCk9tP036pgD8ts5oAm4eFQbYpTg9QDEULx9Z6j-6mGC6N_IYPfANIAllC1wZnTKnlMfaniwvHNAU-ohk4V12sp0AVcK2aTv2vENpxjLHLg1j9hUkZ7VoRka2I/s320/Picture+55.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455638950986236706" border="0" /></a><br />Boston is just 17 days away. The main training is finished. It's time to assess. Overall I'm pleased with how it went. I didn't get any major Achilles flareups, and I was able to run a fair amount. Did I run enough? Who knows, probably less than I'd prefer. The last few weeks of training were hard with travel. There's not much you can do about that. Here's my assessment:<br /><br />1. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Endurance: B-</span>. Winter is always harder to get in the miles. I started training in January with a great month, 152 miles. I think basically held steady until this past month, when I had a couple big weeks followed by ending with a whimper. I was happy to do most of miles in hilly Central Park. That should prepare me for Boston. If there's any area I'm concerned about, it's endurance. On the plus side, I ran five solid 20 milers. On the minus side, I didn't get in many midweek semi-long runs.<br /><br />2. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Speed: B+</span>. I ran fast during training, probably too fast. If I had to do it over again, I'd be more disciplined about running my easy runs slower and hard runs faster. The way it is, I ran most runs sub 7:30. Three long runs came in at sub 7:15, way too fast. On the flip side, I didn't do nearly enough tempo workouts, and those I did tended to be at 6:40. That's OK.<br /><br />3. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Health: B</span>. As I said, I'm not terribly injured. I have aches, of course. My Achilles is sore right now from doing 7 miles last night at 6:50 pace. I've learned to rest it, use ice and even KT tape. It will be alright. Otherwise, just some odd knee pain and a little hamstring and calf soreness -- nothing that should bother me in Boston.<br /><br />I guess that leaves the overall grade at a B. That feels right. I'm not in the best of shape, but I'm in pretty good shape. I still think I can running under three hours if I'm able to string together enough quality training without injury. That wasn't my goal this time around. Boston is too hard for that. Originally, I thought sub 3:15 would be my goal. I'm making that sub 3:10, with a stretch goal of 3:05. I don't have a ton to go on since I last ran a race in January, a half marathon I finished in 1:31. That was before most of my training, so I don't put too much stock in it. From prior experience, I know a lot of it comes down to the day. Maybe I'll feel good, maybe I'll be patient the first 10 miles that are downhill, maybe the weather will be great. No matter what, I'm eager to run the course again. I screwed up the last time I went to Boston and got totally humbled. Not this time.Brian Morrisseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109954832554945842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195456550562229802.post-58731016643067047092010-03-07T18:08:00.004-05:002010-03-07T18:22:21.170-05:00The Week in Running<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQbxUG8DKj2c9LzddVdkr1MqU9rK-rfMYFVAM94VEpntjD7gitvW7oG4C5qU_k8tDZWyYCwbtx5KwuIW0VGwMmkaM0Yg-Uh6S6eUc3h2Gwa2WV_zE35ZNsWAk-NmljXQK5Zh7J2ZhHuTA/s1600-h/Picture+14.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 142px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQbxUG8DKj2c9LzddVdkr1MqU9rK-rfMYFVAM94VEpntjD7gitvW7oG4C5qU_k8tDZWyYCwbtx5KwuIW0VGwMmkaM0Yg-Uh6S6eUc3h2Gwa2WV_zE35ZNsWAk-NmljXQK5Zh7J2ZhHuTA/s400/Picture+14.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446035680816403202" /></a><br />It's go time. This week marks six more until Boston. This is not just the hardest time in training but the most dangerous. It's hardest because I'm now nine weeks into training. That's a lot of accumulated miles -- 337 miles since Jan 1 to be exact. After easing up last week, I returned to "high" mileage. I use quotation marks because a 50-mile week running isn't really high mileage, but it's my limit right now. It's enough to be hard and get me in pretty good shape. That brings me to the dangerous part. With all those miles and hard workouts, my body is at danger of breaking down and succumbing to injury. Training is always like that. I remember back to when I first injured my Achilles. I was running great, really nailing workouts and just finished a 70-mile week. That's when things fell apart. I'm not going to let that happen again. So I'm stepping back a bit this week. My Achilles is achy, and I don't want to push it too much. If that means sacrificing two minutes in Boston, I'm OK with that. I have some travel coming up that will make training hard. This weekend I'll be in Austin for South by Southwest. Then, next weekend, I leave for Paris for five days. I'm looking forward to both trips, although I'm a little worried about getting in miles. I love running in other cities. It's such a wonderful way to see them.<div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Brian Morrisseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109954832554945842noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195456550562229802.post-49648765416207220642010-03-04T09:24:00.004-05:002010-03-04T09:43:19.169-05:00Don't Give Up<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjKG1_JoTfE1oUqXt7htHRY53RWNIC1ZvA6eqzW_yPlYGUQmaHP0eujHUwrcLcDLcTboh21kXBtiKCg-IPRajiz8tcD-VgD-2cZNZPUrMfEvQs3MNmlux4d17UjbnJIrUV1DhbVTC9Mm0/s1600-h/Picture+48.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 354px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjKG1_JoTfE1oUqXt7htHRY53RWNIC1ZvA6eqzW_yPlYGUQmaHP0eujHUwrcLcDLcTboh21kXBtiKCg-IPRajiz8tcD-VgD-2cZNZPUrMfEvQs3MNmlux4d17UjbnJIrUV1DhbVTC9Mm0/s400/Picture+48.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444788909577430914" border="0" /></a><br />My favorite t-shirt reads in simple block letters, "Don't Give Up." It's an ad agency's motto, and I find wisdom in its simplicity. It acknowledges things won't always go the way you want, progress is hard and perseverance is a virtue. I'm drawn to running for those reasons. DailyMile has been a great eye-opener for me to the different struggles other runners face. It's inspiring to see the progress people make. Just check out this <a href="http://www.runblogger.com/2010/02/losing-weight-through-exercise-and.html">collection of before/after photos</a>. I'm often jealous to some degree of the new runners. I remember just discovering running, the feeling like it was a new drug that is life-altering. Improvement comes quickly in those days. It's intoxicating. And then you plateau. This is inevitable. The days of dropping 15 minutes from a marathon PR end. You're left confronting personal limitations. That's when the hard part begins. You need to reorient your goals and outlook, maybe figure out the small things that can make improvements. That's where I've been the last 18 months. Running as a struggle has been something new. It's humbling. What I've noticed, though, is I've begun making improvements again. Going under 3:10 at the Harrisburg Marathon was a nice achievement. It puts me in spitting distance of the three-hour mark. That won't come in Boston, but it could provide a base to make the changes needed, such as joining a running team, that can get me there.<br /><br />As an aside, I came across a <a href="http://nyti.ms/bnO4Tp">great column</a> in the New York Times recounting the story of Jan Baalsrud, a Norwegian resistance fighter during WWII. His story is truly an epic tale of endurance. It's actually beyond endurance, almost reminiscent of all the stuff Pangloss goes through in Candide.Brian Morrisseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109954832554945842noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195456550562229802.post-69338466124570646792010-03-01T14:47:00.002-05:002010-03-01T14:57:32.713-05:00The Month in RunningAnother month down. 2010 has been a good year so far. I've managed to run quite a bit, finishing this short month with 153 miles running and another four swimming. That's not half bad. More importantly, I feel good with the Boston Marathon seven weeks away. That leaves me with four weeks left of hard training, pretty much all of March. I've done two 20-mile runs so far. I'll do another this weekend, then one more two weeks after that, then finish up with one last 20. Speedwise, I feel like I'm doing OK. Yesterday's hard long run gave me some confidence. At this point, it's just a matter of not overdoing it and resting when I need it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGRpJ55pQFKzMbGPFY1b6cnHId_PkMEfdWgq04TlixtI0WlEC4MgP0F-eknylnDIoPLX3S5Jj32pzc7_JKi2l0PFH2HnR65ydAY8vEkb3ASzcQakdnUElbOqymWLqevlCTqRhWJ6s9TDc/s1600-h/Picture+46.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 369px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGRpJ55pQFKzMbGPFY1b6cnHId_PkMEfdWgq04TlixtI0WlEC4MgP0F-eknylnDIoPLX3S5Jj32pzc7_JKi2l0PFH2HnR65ydAY8vEkb3ASzcQakdnUElbOqymWLqevlCTqRhWJ6s9TDc/s400/Picture+46.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443756670625083122" border="0" /></a>Brian Morrisseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109954832554945842noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195456550562229802.post-63582895053767708602010-02-28T19:12:00.004-05:002010-02-28T19:28:56.451-05:00The Week in Running<div style="text-align: left;">It was a step-back week for me. The weather was crap and I wasn't feeling great. Little things hurt me, like my hamstring, the ever-present Achilles and a new friend, a sore knee. These kind of dings are to be expected. Training for a marathon is hard work. The body is liable to rebel at some point. What's key, I think, is listening to these signals to ease up. It's easier said than done. I was lucky this week because the weather sucked, giving me an excuse to cut back on mileage. The week ended on a high note when I ran two loops of the park at sub 7 pace. It wasn't too difficult. That kind of hard, fast hilly run gives me confidence for Boston, but also hope that I can figure out a pathway to 3. I've bided my time for a while when it comes to the sub-3 marathon, and I think it's time I figure out how to do a new push. Fitness-wise, I feel great now. I'm only about 152 pounds, and I feel fast when I run. The frustrating part of my quest to run a sub-3 marathon is I know I have the ability and the toughness, but I'm held back by my body not digging the hard work. That's led me to figuring out a balancing act of how much is too much. I think I'm figuring it out. The Boston should be a warm up to giving a serious shot at it this fall, probably in Philly. Is it possible? All I know is if I felt the way I did today, when I did 6:50 miles in the park, I can do it.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrfykdnbruhGYTtPBlNcmJKj9PvRXpJIIa-u04dBmPlTkqwiA2gua2baFGo_vsnMu4iD8kQkUWHq3302D2DGBxxWlLZUv3pLHAxr7pJGeyzSyXZhx67umyMt7gXKWc9yfOOkZgr0EmOkU/s400/Picture+11.png" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 142px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443455505634296370" /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Brian Morrisseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109954832554945842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195456550562229802.post-15601223834814588162010-02-28T19:07:00.000-05:002010-02-28T19:12:55.602-05:00The Injury ParadoxThe hardest part of being a runner is knowing when to ease off running. The entire activity is geared in the exact opposite direction. It's about denying discomfort, pushing through pain. That can lead to problems. Runners are, as one would expect, rather single-minded when it comes to injuries, which makes them even worse. A Runner's World survey found 2/3 of runners suffered an injury in the past year. That's remarkable. What other voluntary activity can claim such an attrition rate? That means most runners look to avoid injuries like the plague. I'm no different. I've been beset by some problem or other for the past few years. It's frustrating. I've come to the conclusion that the Achilles problem I"ve had for the past 18 months isn't going anywhere. But I've adjusted my training enough to keep major difficulties at bay. At the end of the day, that's what it comes down to, I think, figuring out your weaknesses, working to eliminate them but also simply taking them into consideration. I feel like I've gotten to a place where I can deal with my injuries. I'm ready to start running fast again.Brian Morrisseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109954832554945842noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195456550562229802.post-69315009125850585702010-02-21T21:29:00.003-05:002010-02-21T21:38:03.154-05:00Week in Running<div style="text-align: left;">This week marked two months until the Boston Marathon. I wanted to get in a solid week after getting derailed last week. I think I did that. For me, there are three key runs to complete, the rest is gravy. 1) speed: I got in a pretty solid six miles at tempo pace. 2) medium-long run: took care of that with a 10 miler mid-week. 3) long: my highlight of the week with 20 miles at a 7:30 pace, a great run if dangerously close to being too fast. The week's training was rounded out with a nice Vibrams recovery and a 5.75-mile Riverside run at aerobic pace. This leaves me pretty much right on schedule, with two 20-milers already down. My big focus remains recovery. The Achilles isn't too happy, so I need to ease up a bit this week before resuming hard training.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIFnHOYsn1ODrup_iYmo-PPJRhO0yyZ65ewDD4elyirgTKLv70MDywNEMO_cPY56bXuDMISTKPUZ_xPgHNGvmUwedAAjl7WrG3X5BJUGU1mj_pXAFlngdbivmx4pdNMpTXu_CGtsQhFRA/s400/Picture+7.png" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 153px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440891313483079170" /></div>Brian Morrisseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109954832554945842noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195456550562229802.post-77875050835843597322010-02-14T18:40:00.003-05:002010-02-14T18:44:56.974-05:00The Week in RunningFor the most part, it was a week to forget. I came down with some kind of illness on Tuesday that threw me for a loop. Then a friend came to town on Thursday. I'm happy with how the week ended, with a very solid weekend, including a nice long run that was done in tough conditions. At this point, I'm pretty hopeful for Boston.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeEecW7pha9cgqQ4zoqfJOZb2OwD4mODO1FRpmoibOM0EP32InfsVg7NzDkdfc7EVSGXeSbCa0PjfsGOk-_Q27Ysc1uOm1HyDLOLPb-p_My-OmRCbSBZxQ_fPpU695BIk7pbYDJyIhGo0/s1600-h/Picture+3.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 462px; height: 146px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeEecW7pha9cgqQ4zoqfJOZb2OwD4mODO1FRpmoibOM0EP32InfsVg7NzDkdfc7EVSGXeSbCa0PjfsGOk-_Q27Ysc1uOm1HyDLOLPb-p_My-OmRCbSBZxQ_fPpU695BIk7pbYDJyIhGo0/s400/Picture+3.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438249107633623170" border="0" /></a>Brian Morrisseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109954832554945842noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195456550562229802.post-17615672048333205562010-02-07T17:10:00.003-05:002010-02-07T17:16:55.830-05:00Week in Running<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>The training is ramping up. Boston is 10 weeks away. Spring marathons are always tough because the winter just isn't a great time for training. We've been lucky in New York to avoid much in the way of snow, which can easily screw up training. This week was a success, overall. I had an extra off day again, just because of other plans in the evening. The four running days I had were pretty solid, particularly yesterday's long run. It was the first 20-miler of training and done in Central Park. The 7:35 pace is pretty fast for that distance and terrain. Hopefully it means I'm in shape, not that I'm overdoing it. The Achilles is holding up alright, sore after hard workouts but better after I give it some rest. At this point, I'm pretty happy to run four or five times a week. It means the runs should all have a purpose, rather than just getting in the miles.<div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKkNinAXyfYsqPHFgCjyxGohg_KEpUs0-8e9FNtpsHDz5yfsfJ9FuBJZgGUO60hzstwi_6ApwhYXyGqKXlYUOoqNAiB3PvS_LnlRlS0U4ljppQ3_nVxYJRb1lzMbtgfVY_O0aGjqb6dFo/s400/Picture+5.png" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 119px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435628674801054130" /></div><div><br /></div>Brian Morrisseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109954832554945842noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195456550562229802.post-21670032385973248322010-01-31T16:46:00.003-05:002010-01-31T16:55:45.924-05:00Month in Running: JanuaryI closed out January today with an 18-mile long run, the farthest I've gone since the Harrisburg Marathon. This month marked the start of training for Boston. It went pretty well. Overall, I ran 152 miles and 19 days. I supplemented that by swimming seven miles in seven sessions. Twenty-six workouts in 31 days is pretty good. The Manhattan Half Marathon was the highlight, giving me some confidence that I'll be in shape to run a decent Boston. The majority of my running took place in Central Park. My bet is this will get me ready for the hills.<div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmea83wqOL4sACtc4feLmiY7daWt9fzIyMTlJNGW8qylwl4-C5DGDVfPpnWQqbTaLEBalD4iejoBbsDf2S1MZjmx-3X7dXc6PnDYHsuy5wjjOqI0lSFMlLHRsfIdG2CxBr4rjfx9ob-Gk/s400/Picture+4.png" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 334px; height: 400px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433025840382848642" /></div>Brian Morrisseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109954832554945842noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195456550562229802.post-18786763939920278542010-01-24T14:19:00.003-05:002010-01-24T14:25:55.243-05:00Manhattan Half Marathon ReportToday was the first test of the Boston Marathon training. I really only began Jan. 1, since December was probably my worst month for running in a decade. My training log shows just 31 miles run in the entire month, a mere mile a day. Lots of stuff prevented me from getting out there as much as I'd have liked. That's alright, since the body needs time to regenerate. Even mentally, I can't train hard all the time anymore.<div><br /></div><div>Rather than regurgitate the details, I'll re-post my race breakdown from DailyMile. This qualifies as a success in my book. According to the <a href="http://www.marathonguide.com/fitnesscalcs/predictcalc.cfm">MarathonGuide.com race predictor</a>, my time puts me on track for a 3:08 marathon. Right where I'd like to be.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>DM post:</div><div>A successful race overall. The Manhattan Half has special significance to me because in 2002, when it was still held in August, I suffered mightily, kept stupidly pushing a sub-7 pace in 90 degrees, and ended up collapsed at mile 12 with severed dehydration. Ending a race at Mt. Sinai Hospital is never a good thing. Thankfully, the race subsequently was moved to the winter, so that wasn't going to happen again.</div><div><br /></div><div>Going in, I didn't have any defined goal, other than run under 1:35 and feel strong throughout. i borrowed a number from @jim k b/c he wasn't able to run the race. The downside of this was getting corralled farther back than I should. The upside was passing lots of people. I forgot to bring a gel. That's OK because the half distance is right between where I feel like I need that kind of boost. The splits all over the place. Central Park's topography is probably partly to blame -- there are rolling hills with two significant ones, cat and harlem hills. The course was two loops of the park with an extra 1.1 tacked on at the end. </div><div>Mile 1: 7:56, good practice of squeezing through tight spaces</div><div>Mile 2: 7:06, finally getting room to run normally</div><div>Mile 3: 6:47, a surprise split but the fastest part of the course going downhill before Harlem Hill</div><div>Mile 4: 7:01, this is the biggest hill of the course</div><div>Mile 5: 6:50</div><div>Mile 6: 6:42, completed the first loop</div><div>Mile 7: 6:44, a DM sighting of Running L pacing some runners to 1:35</div><div>Mile 8: 6:54, includes the second time up Cat Hill</div><div>Mile 9: 6:44, like mile 3 a fast one</div><div>Mile 10: 7:06, Harlem Hill for the second time</div><div>Mile 11: 6:47, always find it much easier running a course I know quite well</div><div>Mile 12: 6:42</div><div>Mile 13: 6:37, still had energy</div><div>final .1: :40 </div><div><br /></div><div>Not a bad day, particularly this early in training. Throwing out the crappy first mile, I averaged 6:50 miles on a tough course. The only mile that stands out as weak is the 7:06 at mile 10. Still, it's understandable all things considered. I'm most encouraged that the last mile was the fastest and I didn't end totally wiped out -- or with an IV in my arm. It ranks in my top five fastest half marathons.</div></div>Brian Morrisseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109954832554945842noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195456550562229802.post-78226211862764707042010-01-18T20:07:00.002-05:002010-01-18T20:17:40.984-05:0013 Weeks to BostonExactly 13 weeks from today, I'll line up in Hopkington to make my way to the city of Boston in the marathon. I first ran the race in 2003, coming off a great race at Chicago the previous fall. I made several mistakes in preparation, including running a 50k race in February as a "training run." I found out that fatigued me more than I thought. The race went terribly. I had thoughts of running under three hours, only to realize five miles in that I was in trouble. The final 16 miles weren't so fun. I finished in 3:30, sunburned, depleted and dejected.<div><br /></div><div>This time will be different. After a break from much running due to an illness and some other stuff, I've strung together about a month of solid training. I'm only running four times a week. The idea is to make the runs productive, much like my Harrisburg preparation. This isn't the way I want to train, it's the way I have to train without aggravating my still-balky Achilles problem. I'm mixing in two nights of swimming to offset the missed miles. There's no real way to replace running miles, of course. When I start to get into the peak weeks of training, I'll probably add in another day of running.</div><div><br /></div><div>So far, training is going well. Last week, I ran 30 miles and swam another two. My long run is up to 15 miles, without many problems other than regular Achilles soreness. Thanks to a stomach problem a month ago, I'm off ibuprofen entirely. I'm stuck with ice if stuff hurts.</div><div><br /></div><div>That leaves the big question of a goal for Boston. I want to be completely realistic. I don't have the capacity or really interest this winter in killing myself in training. The course is very tough, too. With all that in mind, my goal is to qualify again for Boston with a 3:15. That works out to 7:30 miles. I would also like to run as close to a negative split as possible. Boston starts downhill and really makes you go out too fast. This time, I won't fall into that trap.<br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Brian Morrisseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109954832554945842noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195456550562229802.post-38050298102361473062010-01-04T17:54:00.003-05:002010-01-04T17:59:45.419-05:00Year in Running/Cycling/Swimming<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFFMR5ghRg6JgN98BK9hqFGeCe3sQAvS9_CcepFzHdGQHcS01d2G_IRy08G86LfK8Uskd0TqUT92-dWty4K6xvsABFglqJO_Z9pu1Z-kszo1BU_V4iqyBIRpbAOPUrRVapu4Ncou3ia4o/s1600-h/Picture+45.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFFMR5ghRg6JgN98BK9hqFGeCe3sQAvS9_CcepFzHdGQHcS01d2G_IRy08G86LfK8Uskd0TqUT92-dWty4K6xvsABFglqJO_Z9pu1Z-kszo1BU_V4iqyBIRpbAOPUrRVapu4Ncou3ia4o/s400/Picture+45.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423023143675499234" border="0" /></a><br />I'm starting to really love <a href="http://www.dailymile.com/">DailyMile</a>. One of the things it nails is community. People on DailyMile really do support one another. For me, it's nice but not incredibly important for my own motivation, but it's quite nice to see. What's more, I like seeing how other people train and, in particular, videos of where they run. The second thing DailyMile does nicely is analytics of your training. Today I was emailed a link to a page with my year in running/biking/swimming. The total mileage is screwy, since a mile running, biking and swimming is very different. The figure that most interested me is that I worked out 255 days. This is probably a little low. I'd prefer it to be closer to 300. The full report is <a href="http://www.dailymile.com/people/bmorrissey/training/2009/summary?utm_medium=email&utm_source=scheduled_year_end_report">here</a>.Brian Morrisseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109954832554945842noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195456550562229802.post-14291478423292160682009-12-29T09:52:00.001-05:002009-12-29T09:54:52.086-05:002010 Running GoalsI’m not usually one for setting out New Year’s resolutions, but I like to set goals. With that in mind, I came up with my five running goals for 2010.<br /><br />1. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Revive the Pigdog</span>: I’ve become a spotty blogger, both at @bmorrissey and here. It probably figures, since I spend my day writing for Adweek and Adfreak. My updates on DailyMile have also cut into writing here. That’s going to change in 2010. At least two posts to both the Pigdog and @bmorrissey each week, without fail.<br /><br />2. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Run a good Boston</span>. One of my great running regrets is failing at Boston in 2003. In retrospect, it was the end of my greatest streak in running, starting with the 3:02 at Chicago that continued through the winter to my first 50k. I came to Boston hoping to break three hours. It didn’t happen. Looking back, I realize I was still screwed up from the 50k. This year, I’m finally going back to Boston. I want to run a solid race, hopefully under 3:15 so I qualify again for 2011.<br /><br />3. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Get healthy</span>. I haven’t felt healthy running in some time. Harrisburg was encouraging because it made me realize I can run a pretty good marathon while dealing with my Achilles injury. The trick is to minimize the mileage through cross-training. That’s not going to fly in the long term. I need to figure out how to heal the Achilles through stretching, PT, something.<br /><br />4. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Go long</span>. This might seem counter-intuitive to my getting healthy goal, but I’d like to do a 50-miler next year, probably the JFK 50. Ultras have always intrigued me. The closest I’ve come is a pair of 50ks. I loved them, mostly because they were low-key and more fun than big marathons. If I get through Boston in OK shape and figure out the Achilles, I’d love to arrange my fall around the JFK.<br /><br />5. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Have a running adventure</span>. I haven’t had one of these in a while. Running is fun, at least it should be fun. I want to travel somewhere for a fun race, something like the Reach the Beach relay or a long trail run in a place of the country I’ve never been.Brian Morrisseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109954832554945842noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195456550562229802.post-39842512253431068932009-12-28T14:03:00.002-05:002009-12-28T14:04:45.616-05:00The Year in Running<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtEKt4ALm0q6L6a0fQO29k5r-Hx7ND25RgOZzSQl6tNqiNNfy0p9Hw5LHhd_AiPH6r6CJoWKx7fQO9MRwYWxncP1qHHoete2Zmv1CFcy4bC-6FsOyUbgCVzFo3FiyQijl_WtQzCv7lJQg/s1600-h/Picture+43.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 317px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtEKt4ALm0q6L6a0fQO29k5r-Hx7ND25RgOZzSQl6tNqiNNfy0p9Hw5LHhd_AiPH6r6CJoWKx7fQO9MRwYWxncP1qHHoete2Zmv1CFcy4bC-6FsOyUbgCVzFo3FiyQijl_WtQzCv7lJQg/s400/Picture+43.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420364888458252162" border="0" /></a>
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<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I started this year injured and pretty much end it not much better. That’s not to say it was a terrible year running. My big accomplishments were completing my first triathlon and running a decent marathon. In between, according to DailyMile, I traveled 1,008 miles and spent 134 hours running. (I was able to squeeze in another 75 miles swimming and 1,198 miles cycling.)</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Overall, I’m pleased with how the year went. My Achilles still isn’t healed. That is an ongoing issue I want to put to rest in 2010. Running-wise, I feel like I did the best I could with the limitations I had. A 3:09 marathon is pretty good. My best running performance of the year was the 2:04 20-miler. My foray into the triathlon was interesting. I don’t think I raced particularly well, doing a 2:34, but I learned lots and was able to maintain fitness without running too much. What’s more, I got back into swimming, which is helping me get stronger and do real cross-training.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I might do a 2010 goals post. It could be fun to lay out actual goals for the New Year.</p> <!--EndFragment--> Brian Morrisseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109954832554945842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195456550562229802.post-89518167246448265952009-11-09T10:21:00.002-05:002009-11-09T10:39:09.434-05:00Race Report: Harrisburg MarathonI certainly never thought I'd run a marathon in Harrisburg. But things happen in life and you go with the flow. Leading up to the race, I felt mostly good, although I was bothered by lower leg muscle tightness. This is a long-term problem I've had. Naturally, I skipped massage or even the stick and kinda wished it away. Bad move. Saturday morning, I woke up with a severe leg cramp. My left leg was sore the rest of the day.<br /><br />I went to Harrisburg with a few goals in mind. At the very least, I wanted to run under 3:15. A "good" race would be under 3:10. The miracle would be under 3, which I knew as far-fetched. I'm not a very good race strategist. I don't like to hold back early in races. So when we started out in Harrisburg, I ran pretty hard. Through mile 7, I was on 2:58 pace. It was here that I knew it wouldn't happen. The pace felt fine but I began to slow just a bit. If that's happening early in the race, it's a bad sign. This was my 15th marathon. There are enough marathons under my belt not to get too concerned about going out to fast. My theory is you need to test your limits, assess them realistically, then adjust. So I adjusted. By the halfway point, I was at 1:30 with full knowledge I'd slow down in the second half, which of course I did. My main goal during the last half was to feel pretty good. I made some terrible mistakes. First, I forgot to use Vaseline on my nipples. I didn't want to be one of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dorkmaster/galleries/72157622268037051/#photo_3418116760">these guys</a>. That meant a pit stop at mile 16 to take care of that. The biggest error was in eating. Harrisburg only had water stations every 2.5 miles. I took a gel at mile 10.5, then missed one at 17.5. That meant my second gel came at mile 20 after a series of pretty brutal hills from 18-20. I felt spent by then. Finally, I needed to stop to pee. That's the first time I've had to do that during a marathon in many years. It seemed more a decision of comfort than anything else . The last six I ran really cautiously out of fear of cramping. It was probably the right decision because I started to have problems at the end, and felt absolutely terrible at the end.<br /><br />The final result: 3:09:17. 36th place out of 909. The splits tell the tale of two races:<br /><br />Mile 1: 7:00<br />2: 6:50<br />3: 6:43<br />4: 6:45<br />5: 6:48<br />6: 6:46<br />7: 6:54<br />8: 6:51<br />9: 6:47<br />10: 6:48<br />11: 6:56<br />12: 6:57<br />13: 7:05<br />14: 7:04<br />15: 7:04<br />16: 7:13<br />17: 7:13<br />18: 7:30<br />19: 7:25<br />20: 7:53<br />21: 7:40<br />22: 7: 38<br />23: 7:43<br />24: 7:53<br />25: 7:50<br />26: 8:02Brian Morrisseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109954832554945842noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195456550562229802.post-57526087987861018022009-11-06T17:43:00.002-05:002009-11-06T17:49:49.104-05:00Race Time<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8vFvQKxGbsoYqPKNB3spE0lsgckNyePxDq57Ifd-JUBtNGxB1o9Nd4idgESy87f6GANTx8-r-I2t0ADsaU6_vjh95zebySE5xtRBhLZWDPjRtNpHxBbiRyaw5kK-R-mUiUUttFSM74a8/s1600-h/Picture+24.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 284px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8vFvQKxGbsoYqPKNB3spE0lsgckNyePxDq57Ifd-JUBtNGxB1o9Nd4idgESy87f6GANTx8-r-I2t0ADsaU6_vjh95zebySE5xtRBhLZWDPjRtNpHxBbiRyaw5kK-R-mUiUUttFSM74a8/s400/Picture+24.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401126423455615266" border="0" /></a><br /><br />It's time. There's about 40 hours until I start my 15th marathon. I've gotten nervous before each one. This is no different. There's always the phantom injuries, the sluggishness, irritability, then the doubts. My guess is it's always the fear of failure, not so much of running slowly but not reacting well if/when things go bad.<br /><br />There's no prediction for this one. I'm relatively healthy. My Achilles isn't perfect but it's probably as good as it's been in over a year. My fitness is pretty good. I'm a bit wary of my endurance because I haven't been able to run as much during this training cycle. But in the end, it's whatever the day brings. I'll see how I feel at the start, and go from there. It might be a 7:30 pace feels good, could be 7:15. We'll see. I'm tempted to play it conservatively because of the weather forecast: sunny and high of 65. It shouldn't be that warm during the morning, but warmer than I'd like. Considering I've been carted off to the hospital twice from dehydration, I'm going to be careful, even though the local hospital is the title sponsor. Time to face the pigdog again.Brian Morrisseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109954832554945842noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195456550562229802.post-38831024279577262512009-09-29T21:37:00.002-05:002009-09-29T21:44:40.551-05:00Plan BSomething that you quickly learn in distance running is things go awry. There seems to always be something during a long run that will surprise. The trick is figuring how to deal with the unexpected. The most frustrating mishaps are those that are self-inflicted. I'm feeling that way now. I planned to run the Philadelphia Marathon. In the back of my mind, until recently, I worried I wouldn't be able to do it because of my Achilles. So I procrastinated on the very basic necessity of marathon running: signing up for the race. You can imagine where this is going. The marathon is now sold out. So I'm moving on. I'm bummed because a few good friends are running the race, and I had plans to try to keep up with my friend Tom, who is on his way to a sub-three hour race. I was an idiot. No use dwelling on it.<br /><br />Plan B is the <a href="http://www.harrisburgmarathon.com">Harrisburg Marathon</a>. I think I went there once during a field trip. Maybe. It means moving up the race two weeks and compressing training. I'm fine with that. After the race on Sunday, I just want to get to the start healthy. I have enough time to add some needed endurance with a couple more 20s. Harrisburg is only three hours from NYC, and the race seems alright. I kinda like smaller marathons, although there are drawbacks. The major one is running alone. I love running alone most times, but it slows me down during races. I noticed in Indy and New Jersey times when nobody was around me. I have a feeling it'll be that way in Harrisburg. Still, I'm excited to run a new marathon and see a city I'd probably never see otherwise. Onward to Harrisburg.Brian Morrisseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109954832554945842noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195456550562229802.post-47999201915187568082009-09-27T11:27:00.004-05:002009-09-27T11:47:52.612-05:00A Very Good DayI haven't posted here in a while. Since the triathlon, I've gone back to running mainly, only I'm trying to cross-train more. It's gone alright, although I still have pain in my Achilles. My plan has been to cut down on junk miles and concentrate on four or five quality runs a week. That's worked pretty well.<br /><br />Today, I put my fitness to the test. It's a little less than two months before the Philadelphia Marathon. I wanted to see where I am. The NYRR 18-Mile Marathon Tune-up was perfect for that. The day went better than I could have hoped. Going in, considering my 1:38 in the Brooklyn Half, I figured a 2:15 would be a good result. In the back of my mind, of course, I wanted to do better, particularly since I had a couple nice runs in the past few weeks.<br /><br />I awoke to find a steady rain. This doesn't bother me too much, other than water sloshing in my shoes and some slippery lines in the park. Waiting around in the rain pretty much sucks. Since I ran the race pretty fast last year, I got put in the first corral. This worried me a bit because I'm not in that kind of shape. The first mile includes the Great Hill and came in at a respectable 7:26. I figured this was a nice pace to do for the first loop, then see how I felt. But then I started to go faster. The next mile was 7:14, then I dropped to 6:56. The thing is, I felt fine, just a little worried I'd blow up halfway through the race. The rest of the first six-mile loop went that way, as I locked in on a pace a bit over 6:50, depending on how hilly the mile was. I expected to slow down the second loop. Didn't happen. Most of the miles were sub-6:50. I started getting confident here because I'm always best in the middle mile. For whatever reason, I feel strongest then. I did the second loop faster than the first. I began to slow a bit in the last loop but surprisingly didn't give up too much time. Miles 15 and 16, for instance, were 6:46 and 6:47. I eased to a 6:52 for 17 before, incredibly, doing the final mile in 6:35.<br /><br />The final result: 2:04:05, 6:53 pace. 75th place out of 3534. 20th in my age group.<br /><br />Why? That's the question I keep going over in my head. I'm not training a ton -- my typical week tops out at 50 miles. The Achilles still isn't healed. Here's what I've got so far in my investigation:<br />1. I've allowed my body to heal more in training with swimming and sometimes cycling.<br />2. I'm eating better and dropped about five pounds since the tri. Ana doesn't like it, but carrying around less weight helps lots.<br />3. The Achilles isn't healed, but it is better, at least to the point where I'm not worried about pushing myself.<br />4. I've had some good quality runs lately.<br />5. I had an accidental taper because of a trip to San Francisco.<br />6. Being in the first corral put me with some fast people.<br />7. I had a couple great night's sleep.<br />8. The rain was annoying but helped me keep cool and ward off dehydration<br />9. I ran in lightweight trainers<br />10. I just had a good day.<br /><br />That's the thing, the last one. I've run for 10 years now, and some days are great and others suck. There have been marathons I've run during both good and bad days. When things are good, they can be incredible. Today I felt light. There are very few feelings better than feeling strong after running 14 or 15 hard miles. There were times today when I felt apart from my body, almost observing it running. That hasn't happened in some time. The mystery is how to time the good days for race days. I don't have the answer to that.<br /><br />The open question is what does it mean. That time works out to a marathon, naturally, slightly above 3 hours. Can I go under it finally? I'm not ready to say. But it's not outside the realm of possibility if I can train well over the next six weeks and avoid aggravating the Achilles.Brian Morrisseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109954832554945842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195456550562229802.post-59117642316836209192009-08-06T17:15:00.004-05:002009-08-06T17:25:32.302-05:00Wow, Ironman Isn't for the PoorOn a lark, I checked out the Coeur d'Alene Ironman, held next June. I couldn't really imagine doing an Ironman, but then I used to say the same thing about a marathon. Pretty much anything is possible, I figure, so long as your choice is finishing or risking embarrassment. In any case, the race is nearly sold out. The entry fee: <a href="http://www.active.com/framed/event_detail.cfm?CHECKSSO=0&EVENT_ID=1763287">$550</a>. Really? Marathons are like $80. I think the triathlon I just did was $120. I paid like $20 to do a 50k in Brooklyn -- and it came with a post-race pizza party. $550 is a whole lot of money, isn't it? Then again, the thing would probably take me 11 hours, so it's like $50 an hour. I'm sure there's a good reason for the pricing with the infrastructure needed to run such a long race. Still, it's pretty eye opening. It says something about triathlons overall. The demographics are so high end. Even the Ironman has an "executive challenge series." Alas. That's a reason why, if we're talking about endurance stuff, my heart is with the ultramarathons, which tend to attract more weirdos than corporate bigwigs.Brian Morrisseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109954832554945842noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195456550562229802.post-82228408931428181602009-08-06T09:26:00.002-05:002009-08-06T09:52:51.564-05:00What's Next: Philly MarathonEven before the triathlon, I got to thinking what's next. The tri training was great. It's refreshing to do several different sports, rather than just one. No matter what, it got me to believe in the power of cross-training, something that probably could've saved me from injuries. A few friends are running the Philly Marathon in November, so I decided to aim for that. The timing is perfect: it's in about 16 weeks. My fittness base is pretty good right now. The main concern is how much I can ramp up the running safely. That's why I decided to take an unusual approach to my training.<br /><br />Unlike last summer, I'm not going to do a high-mileage training program. I'm still a believer in the idea that if you want to run well you need to run lots. I'm also a realist. I can't start doing 60-mile weeks. And I'm not sure I want to. Instead, I'm crafting a training program around Pfitzinger's 55-mile plan with some important caveats. One is I'll only run four times a week. Just a year ago, this would be blasphemy for me. A couple years ago, I'd probably sneer at runners who prepared for marathons with so few workouts. Times change. The big difference is I'm not going to work out less. Instead, I'll ride once a week and swim two times per week. What I hope is this will mean a comparable fittness level and more quality runs. I want to eliminate junk miles and workouts where I'm going through the motions. Another change that will be tougher: run half my miles on soft surfaces. I'm committed to avoiding injuries this time around, even if it means sacrificing performance.<br /><br />All these changes mean my goals for the race are different. I doubt I'll come anywhere close to three hours in the marathon. Right now, my guess is 3:20 is a much more doable goal, although I'm going to see where this new training regimen will take me. So far, so good. I've had some great workout this week and felt remarkably fresh. We'll see how the 45-mile bike ride in the morning goes.Brian Morrisseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109954832554945842noreply@blogger.com5