2014 Marine Corps Marathon Training Update

I find it hard to believe I completed half my training for the 2014 Marine Corps Marathon.  My Intermediate Training Program is challenging and achievable for my current skills and fitness.  I am running 5 days a week with a mix of tempo, speed, long and recovery runs.   I managed running while traveling for work and vacation.  The travel provided opportunities to run in and explore interesting places.   Running conditions in Central Virginia continue to improve with the transition from hot humid summer to brisk cool  early fall.   As the longer runs get longer, and the speed work gets more taxing I find that my nutrition is the weakest component of my training.   Nutrition and diet are areas that I don't know to much about so I need to get some outside help ensure I get the best results.    

I started thinking about my performance and social goals for this marathon.   On the performance front, my goal is pretty simple:  Improve on my race from last year.   My target time for completion is 4:15, which will not be a PR but I think is reasonable considering my current fitness and the course.    I am still uncertain about my social goal, but I expect that I will pick a charity to promote.  

I am thankful to be healthy and running without injury as I enter the home stretch of training. 

Mid Feb Report

I am enjoying my training plan for the C'Ville 10 Miler because it has enabled me to run with purpose, provided a bit more variety in my workouts and given me the opportunity to get in some longer runs.   Although I am just a couple weeks into the training plan I am feeling good, starting to see the results of the workouts and running healthy.  I am excited for the race at the end of March.  Still need to register for the race to make it official.

I continue to travel for work which has made some of my training more difficult due travel fatigue.  However, I am taking advantage of running at the local high school track for speed work when traveling - something I don't have access to at home.    Eating healthy is always a challenge while on the road and it is something I need to focus on more to cut down on the calories from large meals and alcohol.   Overall I have been making good choices and trying to eat meals with high protein such as sushi or chicken.

My shoes are starting to show the wear of the increased mileage and frequency.  What I am finding with the Brooks Switch is that my foot strike is pushed the outside edges even when I am landing on my forefoot.  I am thinking that I these are too much of a stability shoe and may need to find a shoe that is a bit more neutral.  I also noticed that the Switch sole is a firmer than I would care for on some of the longer runs on hard surfaces.  I am ok with the feel and fit of Brooks Switch but I think I will either go back to the Brooks Adrenaline or some type ASICS shoe.

LoseIt! Hits a 1Million Users

I got a nice note from the LoseIt! team thanking me for being one of the first Million Users of the App. I was surprised that I was member #4814 of over 1 Million. I use this app all the time and I am happy that they are growing and succeeding.

Change In Approach

I am starting to get into the thick of my marathon training and I am evaluating my goals and approach. There is no doubt that my key goal is to break 4hrs in the Marathon. I believe that my training is setup to enable me to do this. I have confidence that I am building my base to be strong enough to accomplish this. I do however think that I have been so focused on the result of my goal and not focused on how to get there. Looking back at the past two marathons I can honestly say that I went out to fast and tried to power through to make 4hrs by banking time. In both cases I struggled and fell apart at the 20-24Mile mark. I have read about the wall, I knew I was playing with fire when going out so fast, but you have to live through it to understand it. I can continue this approach and I may possibly PR each time because I am stronger runner each I attempt to run the race. There has to be a better way to approach accomplishing this goal. By focusing on running a strong consistent race and having the confidence that my time of sub 4Hrs goal will be met by executing a race day plan to get me smoothly through miles 20-24.

To that end, I have decided to re-vamp the statement of my primary goal for this marathon to be "Run smarter and stronger to be faster than before."

Are you insured incase you hit the wall?

The Boston Marathon sellout in 8hrs and the fact we are in Marathon season seems to have created a huge marathon buzz in the news. A couple articles about the science of hitting the wall with information from Benjamin Rapoport,a medical student and doctoral student at Harvard and the Massachusetts of Technology. One from NPR and one from UPI. Both talk about the need to hydrate and carbo load. that reminds me, I still need to work on my nutrition plan for my upcoming race.

On another note, my friend passed along an article that discusses the paradox of medical insurance for long distance runners and high percentage of injuries while doing something that is supposed to be healthy. You can find the NY Times article here

Hitting the Wall

I have been thinking about my long distance runs and the concept of hitting the "Wall" at the later miles. The more I learn the more it reinforces the need for good hydration and nutrition before and during the race to ensure the body has enough fuel to make the entire race.

Asics blog had a interesting post on the Wall and how to avoid it here.

An interesting article on MarathonAndBeyond.com on science behind hitting the wall, here.

Pickle Juice!?! Really?.... Really?

To create my marathon training program, I provided my coach with problems or injuries encountered during training and races. The thing that stands out for me are the calf-cramps during Boston and towards the end of long runs. Scribbled on my training program was the suggestion to drink pickle juice. My first response to this was to think he was joking and remembering a dare I took from my dad in middle school to drink a jar of pickle juice. I won that bet, because my dad made me stop after big Gulp. I don't remembering getting sick after that and I still eat pickles regularly, but I can't say that I have ever asked for a tall glass of pickle juice on ice since that day.

The more I thought about the suggestion the more I started to wonder if pickle juice will really help prevent cramps. I turned to the Internet and found bunch of references showing scientific research on the topic. 

http://sweatscience.com/pickle-juice-stops-muscle-cramps/

I guess I will keep that jar of juice in the fridge after i eat the last pickle.  But I am still not sure I have the guts to put it in my fuel belt on my next run.

Today's Run - 6/5

A nice sunny early summer morning run today although it was a bit humid. I was able to get ~4.5miles in before the heat really started to set in.

Although I had a banana before I left the house I definitely ran out of energy on this run. I should have had an energy bar or something else before I headed out. I will need to start carrying my water belt again as the increased heat is increasing my need to hydrate even on the short and mid distance runs.

Nutrition mishaps

My recent thoughts of nutrition lead me to an article on Running Times about crazy things people ate before running a marathon. I could not imagine eating a steak before the race. Check out the article here.