Boston Marathon Brew

A Sam Adams 26.2 Brew for the Boston Marathon? Meh, I'd be more impressed if it was 26.2% ABV and served at aid stations along the route. Mmmmm...46 proof beer. But in all seriousness, I wish I could pick up a case in Virginia. Maybe I'll have to stop by somewhere when I'm up in Boston on business around the marathon.

Link to Article: Sam Adams Brews Boston Marathon Beer  (running.competitor.com)

The Ultimate Pairing

In-N-Out double-double, animal style, extra cheese...with Sonic tots on top. Oh yes, this is about to happen.

Runner's World Motivational Poster #6

Classic. Had to post this.

Forget 2011

I'm back running after almost three months of recovery and there's three things I know for certain

1. My hip is still not 100%.
2. I can still run sub-7:00 in short distances.
3. Due to races filling up, I'm going to have to sign up (and pay up) for 2012 races before I know if my hip will hold up.

Meb FTW!!!!

Meb Keflezighi FTW!!! Unbelievable, 36 years old and headed to London for his third Olympics. GO MEB!

2011 Annual Totals

Though I was shut down for almost the entire last quarter of the year, the total mileage ended on a nice symetric 888 miles, completed in about 129 hours (5.4 days) of running time.

December and the End of 2011

After a very succesful 2011, but a rough finish, I spent December in much the same as any other year...skipping road running for the ski slopes.  Jennie and I once again visited with her mother in Europe, spending two weeks touring Germany and skiing Austria.

See below for some vacation pics:

A Quiet November

After the Marine Corps Marathon and the injury issues lately, I've opted out of a bunch of local races in Vienna that I normally run. It's been a quiet, and somewhat sad, month from a running perspective. I miss the road.

Gatorade versus Shot Bloks

Since someone again asked why I carry my own Shot Bloks rather than on-course Gatorade, I decied to make the following comparison between the two products.

Best Signs at the Marine Corps Marathon

One of the greatest aspects of the MCM was the incredible amount of people and support along the course. There were many miles when it was three or more people deep, on both sides of the road, for over a mile. Great crowd support, and of the ones I remember, the following are the best signs from the course:

No More Pasta!

I am sick of eating. Prior to the marathon, I spent three days of carb loading for a total of 9,234 calories and 1,711 grams of carbs.

How'd I do it? With the three-day menu below:

Mission Accomplished

Mission accomplished. Completed the Marine Corps Marathon in 3:42:18. Took longer than I imagined, as my pace plan to ratchet it down in mile 15 and mile 23 just wasn't possible on this day. I had pretty bad positive splits after mile 20, and lost 12 minutes starting with the hills and the bridge at mile 20. My injury and lack of training for the past six weeks definitely caught up to me in the final 6.2, as can be expected.

Hip Pain and the Warrior Ethos

Still not near 100%, so I just iced the hip once more. I could put up a witty Galloway quote, something like "if you aren't anxious at the start line, then you're not doing something worth doing"...but honestly, I'm just anxious.

Is it 5:00a Yet?

A Few Good [Miles]

Son, we live in a world that has roads, and those roads have to be run by people with bibs. Who's gonna do it? You? You, couch potato? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for the non-elites, and you curse the penguins. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That non-VIP porta potties, while tragic, probably save races. And my race..., while 3+ hours and incomprehensible to you, is somehow fun.
 
You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that road, you need me on that road. We use words like carb load, pace group, chafed nipples. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent running before you wake up. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and complains about the roads and bridges I shut down, and then questions the manner in which I use them. I would rather you just said OORAH!, and went on your way.

Otherwise, I suggest you get a foot analysis, and buy a pair. Either way, I don't care what you think you are entitled to.
 

I'm Dreaming of a White 26.2

Now this is marathon weather!

Marine Corps Marathon Expo

Pictures from the MCM expo:

eGift Bag...Good in Theory

I run for free shirts and bananas...so the freebies are always on of the nicest bonuses when running a race. So we come to the Marine Corps Marathon, and they're doing an online eGift Bag. Good in theory...saves trees, saves costs, saves....yada yada yada.

Bad in execution. The best items, like the USAA duffel bag (and I've been giving that company money since I was 16), have to be picked up at various vendors around town. I'm not going to Pentagon City with a coupon to pick up my swag.

Donations Top $2,000 !!!

Thanks to the generous donations of family and friends, my goal to raise $2,000 for Team USO was completed today.  I'd like to thank everyone for sacrificing a little bit for those who have sacrificed more than their fair share for us.

$2,000 in a program like the USO can do a lot to bring the home front closer to the front lines, this donation amount represents:

• 5,600 phone calls home to loved ones from Iraq and Afghanistan.
• 286 deployed parents reading their children bedtime stories through the United Through Reading program.
• 280 care packages delivered to deployed soldiers

What is Your Delay, Private?!?

So close to my aggressive fundraising goal of $2,000; so close I just sent Gunnery Sergeant Hartman out to encourage a few more donors....

Happy M-7 Day!

Running with a Purpose

Running the marathon with Team USO became incredibly real once my brother donated in memory of three fallen soldiers. It's an easy reminder that an ache or a pain at mile 20 is nothing compared to the sacrifices our fighting forces are making around the world.

---------------------------------------------------

Pvt. Jonathan Falaniko
Died October 27, 2003 in Operation Iraqi Freedom

Age 20, of Pago Pago, American Samoa; assigned to A Company, 70th Engineer Battalion, 1st Armored Division, Fort Riley, Kansas. Killed near the Khadra Police Station Oct. 27 when a vehicle containing an improvised explosive device detonated in downtown Baghdad.

 

Pvt. Jonathan I. Falaniko had been in the Army for only a few months. His father had served 26 years. Both were assigned to Iraq, and in October they spent two nights together and spoke to other family members by video conferencing. “It was one of the proudest moments for my family. My son was pretty proud of his tour of duty,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Ioakimo Falaniko. The elder Falaniko spoke to his wife and two daughters in Germany again by video teleconference to tell them Jonathan died. The 20-year-old Falaniko was killed Oct. 25 when a bomb-laden vehicle blew up near him at a police station in downtown Baghdad. “My son and I talked about the war. He and I understood the danger in our chosen profession,” his father said.

---------------------------------------------------

Capt. Robert Scheetz Jr.
Died May 30, 2004 in Operation Iraqi Freedom

Age 31, of Dothan, Alabama; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, Baumholder, Germany. Killed May 30 when his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in Musayyib, Iraq. 

---------------------------------------------------

1SG Christopher Rafferty
Died July 21, 2006 in Operation Enduring Freedom

Age 37, of Brownsville, Pennsylvania; assigned to 37th Engineer Battalion, Fort Bragg, N.C. Died July 21 of injuries sustained when his unit encountered a mortar attack during combat operations in Sharana, Afghanistan.

Running a Marathon After Six Weeks of Rest?

After completing 20-, 21-, and 22-mile training runs over a month ago, who would've thought my mental game would be off on race day. But that's where I'm at. I've only managed three training runs since mid-September, and though the pain started to subside and I had a good Army Ten Miler on Sunday, the pain in my hip returned this Wednesday.

So now what? It's no doubt that I will not be at my physical peak after all these injury-recovering easy weeks leading up to the marathon on October 30. But will I be at my mental peak? And if I'm not, how will that impact my ability to overcome the physical downside of the past month?

I should really just look at it as most first-time marathoners, a quest to just finish. Mentally and physically, I know I will finish. There's no doubt about it, I'm finishing -- especially since I'm running with Team USO and I'm specifically running to honor three Army soldiers killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But still...I'm inherently driven to meet goals, my goal time is 3:15-3:20, and I know I'll be disappointed if I don't make it.

Race Report: Army Ten Miler

Race Results

• Finishing Time: 1:09:57  (pace: 6:59/mi)
• 10k Split:         0:42:54   (pace: 6:55/mi)

I obviously didn't win this thing, or even come close. But even without a PR, I greatly improved my overall, gender, and division percentiles from last year's results:

• Overall Place:    1,034 out of 21,914  (top 5%)
• Gender Place:       917 out of 12,245  (top 7%)
• Age Group Place:  155 out of 1,903    (top 8%)

Race Report

On a sunny morning, I began my third ATM and raced the 27th annual Army Ten Miler, the largest 10 mile road race in the country with 23,000 runners at the starting line...and my first race in the 30+ age group! The starting corrals and starting mile went off as they always do, a mess of bodies...I probably ran a half-mile laterally through the race trying to weave around traffic...as seen by my first mile's 7:20 time. But I made up for the traffic by mile three, cruising in around 20:35 and regaining a sub-70 minute pace.

My 10k (6.2 miles) split was 42:54, so I still had a 30-second or so buffer for a sub-70 race and my pace was averaging 6:55 after recovering from the first mile. But the Army Ten Miler isn't built for personal records, there are just too many sharp turns which cram people against the inside lines and make everyone slow down. The field I was running with came to a crawl, almost walking, around the two 90-degree right turns at the Capitol.

L to R: Gretchen, me, Jennie

Hitting the final bridge towards the Pentagon, the race course changes were about to rear their ugly head. Due to a change in the finish line location, the 2011 race added an additional small hill on the bridge and a hill over the road by the Pentagon, and these two hills definitely beat me. I'd started to feel my hip a bit in mile 8, and on the bridge I was noticing my pace go down, so the final hill was a big hurdle. I lost my 30-second buffer built up in the race's first 8 miles, and I had to kick in an all-out sprint for the final fifty yards to come in under 70 minutes. Finishing time of 1:09:57, not my best, not my worst...and probably better than I anticipated based on the weeks before.

Hooooooah!!

Army Strong

Ran 'Army Strong' in the Army 10 this AM; no pain in the hip until mile 8 or so, and the last hill beat me. But I'm not complaining about a 69 min 57 sec finish.  Not my best time, certainly not my worst time, but a fun run to support a good cause.

ATM Expo

Virtural reality parachuting at the Army Ten Miler expo. Descending from a distance of 3,000+ feet, missed my 'X' mark by only 36 feet.

Hoooooah!

Running Just Got More Expensive

Went in to see Dr. Kathy at Positively Chiropractic, a sports medicine specialist, and the results were very interesting, to say the least.

Her end conclusion was that my hip pain was likely a mix of some inflammation with the IT band and piriformis, and may have been initially caused by bursitis. I took my training log in with me and we reviewed that; I didn't really do too much or too fast, just some bad timing or bad luck in that my final peak run causing something to flare up. But in doing some stretches and muscle tests, turns out the left side is indeed weaker and so I'm working on key stretching (four times a day!) for the next month to improve flexibility.

But the most interesting aspect was the x-rays. Turns out that structurally, my left hip sits an inch lower than my right, and my lower vertebrae aren't aligned perfectly. Obviously nothing that can be done about that in a month, but possibly there exists some long term solution in adjustments, gait analysis, or ortho inserts if there exists a solution there. I found it pretty interesting, but it obviously hasn't impacted my running much in the past few years since I've traditionally had great results in the upper percentiles of everything form 5ks to 10 Milers. But hey, maybe that's indirectly caused some other nagging pains throughout the years that have come and gone, usually ignored.

Yes, that is a straight line that doesn't connect my hips.

I'm set-up with a Monday massage and follow-up, and then trying to set-up biweekly appointments for adjustments until the marathon, with every other appointment being combined with a massage. After the marathon, we'll see if I continue with some long term adjustments to fix the hip and spine skeletal issues. With about eight appointments and four massages in the next month...had to tell my wife that running just got a little more expensive, haha.

She said I was good to go for the Army Ten Miler on Sunday, and running 5-8 miles on Tues/Thurs/Sat of next week if I was able to run through the pain. It was surprising actually, almost like I wanted her to be more worried about Sunday so it would confirm my worries about the race. Sounds like it really wouldn't do much additional or irreparable damage, or inflame anything too much further; so the plan is to run on Sunday. I'm having the same dull pain, and a bit sore actually on the right as well from some of the massage/adjustment treatment.

I guess I'm going to take it a bit easier in the race, not going for the PR but also not just going for a Sunday jog -- at least I say that now, hopefully I'm smart enough to still be saying that at the line.

The Hip Bone's Connected to the "OMG What is This Annoying Pain" Bone....

I know everyone's been on the edge of their seat waiting for my next weekly update (hahaha...seriously...I kid... is anyone out there? hello?), but it hasn't come for good reason.

A few weeks ago, I completed my final super-long run, a 22-miler that was completed in just over 3 hours and left me feeling great mentally and physically. I felt fine afterward and took much of the next week off, except a quick 5-mile run on Monday. But during that week, I noticed a slight dull pain in front of my left hip when walking...okay, no big deal, I've had nagging issues before; they come, they go.

Ten days ago, I ran 8 miles and noticed there was a bit of ache there...not really sharp pain, just an annoyance, a perceived weakness or tightness. But it didn't distract from my running and felt better as I went on, so I figured the easy week took care of it. I noticed it again though in a short run thereafter and noticed it quite a bit in last Thursday's 8-miler...but I still kept a respectable 7:30 pace. So after two weeks, taking it easy (two runs per week), the pain was not only still there but seemed to be worse. The pain is worse after sitting, standing still, or laying down, and it starts to diminish after a few strides. It doesn't hurt going up or down stairs, and it seems to improve for ten minutes or so after long stretching of that area. So my completely unprofessional diagnosis is hip flexor issues.

So what now? My Team USO coach says I may want to skip this weekend's Army Ten Miler and rest until the marathon. That scares the heck out of me...to go from running 45-50 miles per week to running nothing for over a month, I have to imagine that would degrade not only my fitness level, but also my mental edge. She also suggested some experts, so I'm in for an expensive week or two of sports medicine.

Thursday PM: Chiropractor with sports medicine focus. Highly suggested by my coach.

Sunday AM: Unless the chiropractor says my leg will fall off...I'm an idiot and I'll probably run the Army Ten Miler. I won't be beating 68 minutes, but I don't think I'll be jogging leisurely either. It's stupid...but at least I'm smart enough to know that.

Monday AM: Sports medicine massage.

Monday PM: Orthopaedic and sports medicine specialist.

Coach Says: No Soup for You!

So it's no secret that a 10 miler and a marathon are two different animals, and I always figured scheduling them a few weeks apart would lead to an interesting challenge. My goal was always to set a new PR in the 10 mile distance (68 min), and to still run the marathon around a 7:15 pace.

The problem comes with how the long runs in my training plan set up (or don't) with the ultimate goal of a marathon. In the past months, I've completed a 20-, 21-, and 22-miler, each offset by an easier week in between. With my recovery weeks after the 22-miler (peak of training), a two-week taper for the Army Ten Miler, and a two-week taper for the Marine Corps Marathon...it would be six weeks between my final super-long run and the marathon, just too long for the body to retain a hundred percent of the benefits from all that build-up and base mileage. So I reached out to the experts for a little advice.

As part of racing the marathon with Team USO, they provided training plans and a coach, which I hadn't used to date. So I e-mailed the coach and asked for a suggested training schedule that would allow me to bridge the gap between the two races and still meet my goals. I did not hear the answer I wanted...seriously, direct quote "I know this is not what you want to hear." The best suggestion was to run 8-10 miles the day before the Army Ten Miler, and then run the race without shooting for a PR, instead running at marathon pace -- 7:15/mi would be faster than my 2010 ATM time but well over my 2011 Parkway Classic time. 


Sounds good and all, as my main goal this year was building to a good showing in the marathon, but it's not that easy in practice. I know myself...and I don't think it's possible to toe the line on October 9th and not give it my all. But I obviously can't risk nullifying months of training by overexerting on a distance I've conquered before. This is a dilemma that may not be answered in the next couple weeks...it may not be answered when the cannon goes off to start the Army Ten Miler...but it better be answered by mile two or three.



No PR for you!
Come back to Army Ten Miler in one year!

2,400 Calories of Carbs in One Day

In previous blog entries I've mentioned computational marathoning and carb loading in general, but even I've had trouble in the past converting all those numbers into specific foods or a menu. Turns out, Runner's World this month solved that problem for me.

Ever wonder what 2400 calories crammed into one day would look like? Well there's a menu in the RW article below, and it includes Swedish Fish FTW!!

Fill 'Er Up
Carbo-loading can help you race without hitting the wall—as long as you do it right.

By Dimity McDowell
Runner's World - Nov 2011