Additions and Changes

I've made some changes to my blog that you may have noticed...specifically, I included a link to the online donation portal at Jamestown College. When making a donation, please be sure to specify "Rob Luecke Memorial Scholarship" in the donor comments section. Thank you all so much for your contributions thus far!
I also changed the profile photo to one that isn't in the snow. I added music. Runner's World article feeds have been added as well for your enjoyment. Also, I made it easier to post a comment. You no longer have to be a Google member to post a comment. So, comment away! Thanks to all who have been reading. I appreciate your support!

Kicker

Both yesterday and today were gorgeous days. After 2 days recovery from the long run this weekend, Scout and I ran just under 5 miles at Crown Hill Park on Tuesday, just under seven miles today on one of our favorite trails in Golden. Although I took it easy yesterday, today I kicked it up for miles 3-6, averaging just a bit over 8:00 pace. This was my last tempo run as I'll be tapering for the next 2 weeks. This weekend I will run 10-12 followed by 2 weeks of no more than 20 miles.
I've had more than a little anxiety over the past few weeks...have I done enough (quality) training? Will I be able to maintain the pace I need to in order to qualify for Boston? Will the weather be crappy (out of my control)? etc. etc. etc. Tonight I was searching online and found this article at Runner's World which details my fears http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-244--10201-1-1X2X3X4-5,00.html
Basically, the experts say that everything that I'm feeling is quite normal. It also says that with the additional carbs and water I need to consume over the next two weeks, I'll be a bloated cow come race day. Nice.

Last long run done!

On Saturday I completed my last long training run. What was supposed to be 22 miles turned into 23.5 miles, but that is ok. My friend and massage therapist, Nancy, joined me for the last 10. It was a gorgeous day - in the 70's - so I started my run at 6:30 to be done before it got too hot. It was great to have Nancy run with me as it made the last 10 miles much easier. With the 1 1/2 hour massage from Nancy afterward, I'm feeling just fine today. Sargent, Scout and I went for a 6 mile hike this afternoon. I didn't take Scout with me on the long run because I didn't want to push her too far. So today she got a nice hike instead. I think she's ok with that. Oh yeah, I added some of my favorite music to this boring blog.

Tired

I have been feeling quite sluggish on my runs this past week. I'm guessing this has to do with a combination of a hectic work schedule with late nights and some weekend work and a poor diet. When I am really busy at work, I tend to make poor food choices. I am well aware of this, but taking the time to go to the grocery store and then prepare a healthy meal or snack just seems like one more thing on my plate (no pun intended).
Scout and I ran on Saturday (10 miles) and Sunday (5 miles). Part of each of these runs we did a bit of tempo work, but the sluggishness put a damper on that for the most part. Yesterday (Tuesday) I ran 8 miles - 1 mile w/u and 1 mile c/d with 6 miles at tempo. The first 3 tempo miles were directly into a stiff wind and a bit up hill as I was running in a westerly direction. I struggled to maintain an 8:30 pace. The next 3 miles I had turned around, so an 8:00 pace was much easier to maintain over 3 miles. All in all this was difficult for me. I'm hoping a change in diet and work hours over the coming weeks will allow for an improvement in how I feel. I have 22 scheduled for Saturday, so I need to make some changes quickly.

Snow!

Snow again...about 3 inches on the ground. No worries, it should be melted by Saturday. This picture is taken in the same location as the one in the last post, just four days ago. This week Scout and I rested on Sunday after our long run on Saturday. I got a massage on Saturday afternoon, then rest on Sunday. I really feel that the massages have saved me this training cycle. Being able to break down that lactic acid build-up and get it out of my muscles has allowed me to recover more quickly. We ran a short recovery run on Monday, and yesterday I went to the gym for my half-mile repeats. This week I did 7x800 at 3:30 (7:00/mile pace) with approximately 3 min recovery between the repeats. I wore my heart rate monitor, so I allowed my heart rate to return to 70-75% max before starting again. If I jogged slowly between repeats, it would take about 3 min to return to 75%. If I stopped or walked, it would take about 30 seconds. I wanted more rest than 30 seconds, so I jogged slowly (11:00 pace). The rest of this week will be one more tempo run - 6 miles at 8:00 pace with 1 mile warm-up and 1 mile cool-down. I'll only do 12 on Saturday and save the 22 mile run for the following weekend. Only 4 weeks to race day. Yikes!

Not too shabby

Scout and I made it through the 20 miler on Saturday with no major issues. The Garmin says our average pace was 9:00 min./mile exactly. This is after I took off the "slacker guard" and made it record all of the time. I did stop the clock when I was giving Scout water, since she can't drink on the run like I can. I probably only ran one or two miles at the 9:00 pace, with the others being either slower or faster depending on the hills, wind, etc. I'm having issues with Garmin uploading to the computer, so once I get it figured out, I'll post the actual stats and map. We ran from our house west along the Clear Creek path into Golden, through Golden a bit and then back. It's mostly downhill on the way back which I really like. I'm a little sore today, but noting major. Here is a photo of us after the run.

Running at altitude again (head games)

So this week I was back running at altitude again. In all honesty, before I left I was stoked about running in Hawaii at sea level. I figured that my runs would be at a much faster pace, or at least at less of a perceived fatigue level. How wrong I was! I found it quite difficult to run in the heat and humidity. My pace reflected this by struggling to maintain a 9:00 pace on a good day. Boy would it be a bugger to do Ironman Hawaii in that environment. I have a new found respect for anyone who has done this, especially those that came from the dry air of Colorado, like my friend Scott (Scout's awesome caretaker when we are out of town). So this week back in Colorado was refreshingly nice (cold, but nice :)). Scout and I ran back to back 10's (10 miles on Saturday and 10 on Sunday). Average pace was 8:50 for both runs. I was happy with this since I only managed to run 6x in the 2 weeks we were in Hawaii.

On Tuesday and Thursday, Scout and I ran an easy 4 or 5 in Crown Hill Park w/ no Garmin keeping track of pace or distance. Sometimes I feel like a slave to the Garmin. It's a lifesaver for sure because I would have no concept of pace or much concept of distance without it, but when I wear it it becomes a reminder of how much faster I need to run or how much further I need to go. Alternatively, it can be a great tool. I have run routes that I previously ran before I got the Garmin and realized that they were much further than I thought. It also keeps me on pace since pace has been a big issue for me.

Speaking of pace, I'm still really struggling with "train slow, race fast". This is becoming a theme in this blog as I have posted about it on a few other occasions. Knowing that I have a 20 miler coming up tomorrow, I am again concerned about how fast to take this long run. I've realized that one issue in the past is the way I set up my Garmin. I set it to stop recording when I would stop (or go over 12:00/mile pace). This would allow for stopping for cars, water stops (for me and Scout), dodging other trail users, etc. However, which is the true pace? The one with stops calculated in, or the pace without the stops? On race day, no one will be stopping the clock because I like to walk through the water stops, or because I need to tie my shoes or use the port-a-jon (hopefully not!). So I've changed the settings on my Garmin to record at all times from start to finish. We'll see how that goes tomorrow on the 20 mile run. Stay tuned for the full report!

So anyway, I looked up a bunch of websites quoting "train slow, race fast" or something similar. It seems like as long as I am doing the tempo work once per week along with the long, slow runs on the weekends I'll be fine. Tempo workouts vary from running 0.5 miles at finishing time pace (3:30 for a half mile or 7:00/mile pace ) to running 6-10 miles at race pace (8:00 - 8:30 / mile). Fine...I'm doing that well enough. Wednesday was a treadmill day with 6x 0.5 miles at 7:00 pace with 3 min rest. I'll repeat that for the next two Wednesdays and add one repeat each week to get up to 8. If I could do that all of the time I'd be great. I'm totally comfortable with the middle distance (faster pace & shorter distance) stuff. Clearly you can see a pattern in my self-doubt which is all related to long runs.

Again, this is something that is hard for me to wrap my head around. What makes the fact that I can run 20 miles in 3 hrs 18 min (9:00/mile pace) say that I can run 26.2 in 3:45 or faster (approx. 8:30/mile pace)? I'm playing head games with myself, I know. I'm feeling the pressure as more people (family and friends) show interest, say they are going to be there to watch, etc. Some of you have made your scholarship donations contingent upon my qualifying for Boston. This is great and exactly what I asked for. I'm feeling the pressure, and let the head games begin! Oh yeah, my sister is making up tee shirts for the marathon, so if you are going to to be in Brookings, SD on May 10th and want a crayon orange tee shirt, contact her at lori.wiley@k12.sd.us . The shirts say "run, Renee, run" or something like that on the front, and also say "Inspired to run by Rob Luecke" which is true enough. Maybe I should just shut up and follow coach Luecke's advice and "go have fun out there!" After all, that's what it's all about, right?