The Countdown: Worrying

It's unavoidable to worry before a marathon. Runners worry about phantom injuries, possible illnesses, lack of training, everything. The ideal for me has always been a relaxing week before the race, without job stress. It never works out this way. That's why I'm typing this going on hour 12 at the office, with a "jumbo cheddar turkey burger" (albeit with a baked potato) on the way. I don't think the Ethiopians are in drab office buildings scarfing down food from Cozy Burger four days before races. But there's not much that can be done. I had to make a quick trip to Minneapolis on Monday and Tuesday, with lots of screwed up sleep because of early flights and/or late nights. I'm tired and feeling the taper depression.

Return of the Pigdog, Indy Edition

Yes, I've neglected the Pigdog. That's going to change.

The Indy Marathon was an ordeal, thanks to not enough training, a mysteriously queasy stomach and temperatures a little warmer than I'd like. But I'm OK with how it went, since I really just needed to get one out of the way after DE. As Gina Kolata pointed out in a recent marathoning story: The key is to not go out too fast. Easier said than done. I went out too fast and paid the price. The ugly numbers by the mile:

1. 7:02
2. 7:05
3. 7:04
4. 7:12
5. 7:02
6. 7:03
7. 7:11
8. 7:13
9. 7:14
10. 7:03
11. 7:23 (this was the mile where things fell apart. There's a surprising hill in a park that took a lot out of me.)
12. 7:36
13. 7:07
14. 7:23
15. 7:15
16:7:12
17:8:38 (ruh-ro)
18:7:41
19:8:34
20:9:17 (survival time + unscheduled rest room visit)
21:8:42
22:8:47
23:9:21
24: 9:16
25:9:59
26:12:58 (couldn't run much more than 30 seconds without cramps seizing my calves)

Finish:3:29, about my sixth best or worst marathon, depending on how you look at it.

Fall Marathon

It seems like just the other day I was lying in a gurney with an IV piping fluids back into my body, but life moves on. I realize it's time to decide what marathon to run in the fall. I'm starting, ever so slowly, to get back into OK shape. This week, I ran four times. Next week, I'll run five. The longest run I've done has been, I think, about 8 miles. Maybe next weekend I'll do 10. I prefer marathons earlier in the fall season, even though that's counterintuitive considering my crumpling problem in the heat. Looking at the races on MarathonGuide.com, I see a few intriguing options:
1) Indy: I wanted to run it last year, but I worry it would make for a strange weekend with KT.
2) Portland: This is one of several places (Maine, Santa Fe, South Africa) that I image I'd like very much. It would be a fun excuse to go out there.
3) Mt. Deseret Island Marathon: If we go to Maine for vacation, I wouldn't go back for this race, but it does look amazing. And Red Lobster is now on board as a sponsor.

6.5 miles, 52:12

Marathon Plan B

Like about 40,000 others, I did not "win" the NYC Marathon lottery. What gets me is I think the New York Road Runners still whacks me for $10, I guess for the honor of trying to pay them $120 to run their marathon. I'm OK with not running NY. I've done it twice, and I didn't particularly enjoy it last time because of the crowding. The question now is, What fall marathon do I run? If I'm going to run for a good time, I'd say back to Chicago or Philly. The Mount Desert Island Marathon in Maine looks very interesting. There is of course another try at the Indy Marathon, assuming my flight isn't cancelled. Otherwise, I'm not sure. A trail marathon would be fun (and less painful).

An Autopsy

It's best to reflect on races a few days later, after the exhileration or, in my case, the disappointment wears off. As JPJ pointed out, I definitely met the pigdog. I wasn't make it up. I've come up with a series of culprits that doesn't include Beck, who did ask me if I was OK when I passed her last at like mile 23.
1) Preparation: I didn't train enough. Everyone is different, but I need to do at least four or five 20-mile runs.
2) Hydration: Duh. In the days leading up to the race, I didn't eat right or hydrate properly. Part of that was just a crazy week at work, but most of it was laziness. I missed some water stations on the course and didn't circle back. Also, a tip to Wayne: lose the volunteers standing in front of the tables blocking them and holding two cups. They're in the way. It's also unclear what's what by having the same color cups and relying on them to shout where the water is, where the Gatorade is. I'm not bitter. Really.
3) The Guy in the Tutu: OK, the guy in the pink tutu with the wand who took GWOT Mark to Chinatwon last year returned. I reeled him in by mile 24, his pink ballerina dress in my sights when I lost lucidity. This hurts.
4) Fate: It's trite, but shit happens. The cool part of the marathon is you never quite know what's going to happen. The wheels can come off, things can all go smooth, legs can cramp, whatever. Too bad, so sad.

At risk on intense boredom, here are my splits up until I went batshit crazy. This shows how out of shape I was. I hit my pace of 7:35 in the middle miles. This is where I wanted to stay until the Wall. I should have kept that pace until mile 20 at least, preferably 22. (In Philly, when I did a 3:01, I ran a 6:46 23rd mile.)
Mile 1: 7:47
2: 7:24
3: 7:38
4: 7:43
5: 7:40
6: 7:34
7: 7:42
8: 7:29
9: 7:33
10 :7:35
11: 7:36
12: 7:35
13: 7:35
14: 7:31
15: 7:35
16: 7:36
17: 7:40
18: 7:41
19: 7:43
20: 7:49
21: 7:54
22: 7:59
23: 8:00
24: 7:59
25: 8:07
26: ????
watch time for 25 miles: 3:12

Pigdog Awaits

A quick note because I'm running to the train station to get to Wilmington. Tomorrow's the showdown with the pigdog in Delaware. Do I feel prepared? No. Am I nervous? Of course. One thing I've noticed with marathons is the nerves never go away, not before the first or the twelfth. The first few marathons bring worries about what it will be like. Then, after knowing full well, the worries are about going through the sucky parts. Tomorrow's going to have plenty of suckiness. Luckily, Stroh of Arabia seems to have been enjoying the fruits of freedom since his return. That should take a spring out of his step.

The Curveball

I neglected one thing in my breakneck prep for the Delaware Marathon: registering. I didn't for the first couple of weeks because, honestly, I wasn't sure if my body would be into upping my mileage that quickly. The last two weeks, I've just been really busy and put it off. Today, when I went to the site to finally register, I saw "SOLD OUT." Gulp. I emailed the race director, Wayne, explaining that Stroh of Arabia was coming back for the race from the front lines of the GWOT. He responded cryptically, "Having meeting later. Will be in touch." Hmm. Haven't heard back from him. According to the site, there are 556 runner registered for the marathon, with a 600 limit. What's more, this article says the deadline was May 5 (today). I'm not sure what happened. I'm hopeful I'll worm my way in. From the postings on MarathonGuide.com, Wayne seems like a genuinely nice man, and I'm sure we can work something out. Wayne, call me. Let's talk.

Breakfast: orange juice, two bagels, vegetable cream cheese, coffee
Pre-run snack: two bananas, Cliff Bar
Recovery dinner: Enormous ribeye steak, three baked potatoes, soon several beers while watching Oscar de la Hoya and Floyd Mayweather beat the snot out of each other. KT has rightfully called the 20-mile run + baby-size steak + boxing and beer "testosterone night." Word.

20 miles, 2:33:34

Marathon: Sooner Than Thought

I miscounted: there are only 2.5 weeks until the marathon. That seems awfully soon, particularly because I only began breaking in shoes tonight. Oh well, after this weekend's long run, I'm beginning a quick taper for the race. As long as it's not super-hot, I'll be happy.

Breakfast: orange juice, breakfast burrito (eggs, cheese, avocado, bacon), potatoes, coffee
Lunch: two tacos (one chicken, one beef)
Snack: two bananas
Dinner: slice of wheat pizza, salad, pretzels

5.75 miles, 45:03

Taking on Mother Nature

The frustrating part of training for a marathon is the many things out of your control, particularly the weather. I've given up worrying about it, figuring to take it as it comes. The worst I can remember is a particularly warm day in Boston in 2002. Well, tomorrow, the Boston Marathon is going to be very, very wet and cold. The storm that caused our local TV station to instruct us to get our "go bags" ready is expected to linger in Boston. This is going to be a serious encounter with the Pigdog.

Participants anticipate the worst weather in the history of the world's oldest continuous marathon when the race begins tomorrow at 10 a.m.Forecasters predict heavy rain, 20 mph winds and temperatures around 40 degrees. Race officials expect to treat many cases of hypothermia among the 23,000 participants.

Training Plan

I don't have much time, meaning planning is essential to making this work. I decided to tweak the last seven weeks of Hal Higdon's intermediate marathon training schedule. I usually follow his advanced plan, but I'm not feeling very advanced, particularly b/c I usually put in at least six 20 mile runs before a marathon. This program calls for, um, two. I haven't been consistent, but I'd say I've done about 25 miles a week the past month. This calls for me to get up to 49. The tricky part, as ever, is the long runs.

	Mon.	Tues.	Wed.	Thurs.	Fri.	Sat.	Sun.
4/2-4/8	5.75	rest	rest	rest	5.75	11	5.75
4/9-4/15	5.75	rest	5.75	rest	5.75	14	5
4/16-4/22	5.75	5.75	5.75	rest	rest	16	5.75
4/23-4/29	5.75	rest	7	5.75	rest	20	4
4/30-5/6	7	5.75		7	5.75	20	4
5/7-5/13	rest	5.75	5.75	rest	5.75	15	5
5/14-5/20		5	4	rest	4	rest	26.2

Six Weeks to Marathon

As my dreadfully slow run last night made clear, I'm out of shape. I don't mean like fat slob out of shape, but I have probably the worst fitness level in seven years. That's OK, life gets busy, it happens. Thanks to some nagging hamstring injuries, I planned to skip a spring marathon for the third straight year to concentrate on getting healthy for the fall. I might change that. Stroh of Arabia wrote this morning with the news he's coming back to the U.S. in May, and he plans to run a marathon while here. Stroh and I have teamed up to conquer everything from the NYC Marathon to the Kurt Steiner 50k to the Cirulnick 50k. One day, we'll add Comrades. So I'm committing to the Delaware Marathon on May 20. Stroh and I were supposed to run this last year, but I'd forgotten about KnoxandAshley's wedding. He ended up battling a guy in a pink ballerina costume. It's one thing to take on the pigdog, quite another to confront that. I've got six weeks to get in shape. Yikes.