Rubber Side Down: July 2005

SFM 2005

So, here it comes. A lot of hill work in the past 4 months, but no planned schedule for long runs (one 20M and three 15M runs in the past eight weeks) has brought me to San Francisco with the ambition to break a PR. I had a 3:50 in CIM 2004, and so my target was to finish under 3:45.

There were about 15,000 runners, about half of them ran the full marathon and the rest ran the any of the two halfs. Start time was 5:20-5:35, in what they call a rolling start (broken by pace into groups). I started in the second batch at 5:21. I was going to run my first miles with the 3:40 pace group, when I saw that the pacer does not even know where to position the group behind the start line, dah ? so I decided to go solo.

The first five miles go along Embarcadero. It was not too cold at all, perfect weather apart of the thick fog. Two uphills behind and we went onto the Golden Gate bridge. You could not see the towers even when you pass under. I passed Mile 7 at the end of the bridge at 57:52. Cruising back on the bridge I saw Debbye (first half) and later Gary.

Miles 11.5-12.5 from the bridge to the Golden Gate Park were hilly. I was still on a good pace, and made the half marathon point at 1:47:48 - not to bad for such a hilly course, and 2:30 minutes ahead of target time. Yupi :-)

This year the course has changed - not only it goes over the GGB, but it also makes a couple of loops in the GG park. This park is hilly ! at mile 15-17 evel little hills cannot be ignored. Here goes 1:30 minutes from the little slack.

The Mile 20 mark passes by, time is 2:46:59. The 3:40 pace group is still one minute behind me. This is the point I was waiting for. In all my previous marathons I slowed down after mile 20, sometimes before it. I keep pushing ahead. 8:23, 8:43, 8:56 and I am at Mile 23. The pace group just passed me. They keep an 8:25 pace. Mile 24 goes by at 8:56, Mile 25 at 9:18 and at the last mile I feel g*o*o*d, 8:53 and to the finish line at 3:41.59 !! a new PR !!!

Not only that, but I also felt really good in the last 6 miles, compared to any of my past marathons. It was not a straggle. It was a run. What a big difference.

Debbye finished 3rd in her division !!! WOW ! nd only 10 seconds after the second place. Cheers to Debbye !!! She then picked up the shuttle and found me at the finish line. We could not find any other SJF runners, so we headed to the awards ceremony and received her plaque. I placed 691 from 4918 runners, 111 in my division.

So, what's the secret ? a disciplined schedule of three weekday hillwork runs. No track work, no flats, only hills, hills and hills. Hills take you higher!

Ou est la coureuse?

I keep meaning to ask, but where is coureuse? Isn't she coming to run SF marathon this Sunday?

The Joy of the Track Workout

Heavenly pink for this post... so, by now we are all on the same page for track workouts. YAY! For me, the Wednesday 4x1200m assignment got pushed to Thursday 7:30 a.m. Nice and cool, of course. Here are my times: 6:00, 6:07, 6:02, 6:03. No, not bragging. It's for the record AND to point out that I am too slow for the program. At 7:20 min miles, my times should be 1:50x4=5:30. Hmm. Of all the laps I did, my fastest was the first one @ 1:53. Not too far off, but that was only one lap. Since this is my second time doing the week2 workout (Ja, eben), I put this out there for comments... what should I do next week? Go back to the beginning of the program for the third time? Keep going, even though I'm slower than target pace? I'm not sure what the right approach is. Am I too slow because I am doing too much? because breakfast was too recent? because this is my max speed and I'm not willing to detect that? Puzzled.

hmm, maybe I should ride this bike today... could the trickster be tricked into this?

another Sunday, another ride

Where has he been?

I haven't posted in soooo long, mostly because I haven't been running. And while I should blog the oh-so-uninteresting details of meniscectomy surgery, MRI's and recovery, I thought I'd just post this. Something I found on Runner's World. The SF and London marathon's make guest appearances. I especially like the part where he runs off his "pregnancy" LOL

Run World, Run

I'm reporting my first orienteering run, Sunday with the BAOC. You get a map and a start time and off you go. I got lost in the middle, but was able to rescue myself from the woods and I am safe now. These guys run where there are no mile marks and sometimes no trails at all ! and they wear those funny colored costumes, think of Robin Hood in red/yellow/orange colors. They have a techi device to determine their splits - an electronic key that you punch into a little box at each control point and it records the point + time. Cool ! What a funny group of people. I'm happy that for most of the time they are lost in the woods. They say on their web site that it is often called the "thinking sport". I was very encouraged to find that I can use my well trained legs to somewhat cover for the lack of any brain :-) it was a lot of fun !! and the course length is a warm-up distance for us - if we only knew how to convert 3.5 Km to Miles (aerial distance). Highly recommended !!!

Starting from Meridian and counting backwards from 8.35

slick sis

Enlightenment comes via a track workout

You already know I'm crazy, so this post won't be out of character.

The latest Runner's World has an article where you train harder, but only 3 days a week. Since I already run a lot, I thought I'd just replace my track workout with theirs and see how it goes... Week 1 track assignment = 8 x 400 m repeats at 10km - 55-60 seconds. "Sounds reasonable", I think, but knowing that that means close to 7 minute miles and I don't know if that's even possible for me. Ok, so I start out as per usual - long warmup and then strides. I'm hungry since it's after 7 p.m. already and a long time since lunch. Starting the reps, I am feeling heavy and slow. I can't get much under an 8 min mile pace. I keep thinking about food. There is a weird pain in my left leg. Not really an ache, but more of a numbness. I wonder if it should be a reason to stop these laps. I am still less than halfway through the reps. I think of Dean K. and decide to push through it. I realize how much I just go on blind faith that my body can do it, how little I really know or have control over. For example, if there was some kind of blockage building up, I'd be completely unaware until it stopped me in my tracks. This realization suddenly got bigger. It's the same for other stuff. There is just no way I can understand/control all the things that I want to in this world. I have to stop trying and just go on blind faith that things will work out. Back at the track, it's now rep #5 and the strange feeling in my left leg has gone. The "Dean" approach worked. I am feeling better and going faster with each successive lap. I didn't get anywhere near the 7 min mile pace, but I chalk that up to lack of food/energy and being worn down by a long day at work. I will do this again.

graffiti while biking in the middle of the jungle ?

dah, this was an intersting challange. The four of us (picture to come ?) cycled all the way from LGHS to Meridian and back, repainting the mile marks. And yes, the Jungle run was set for the same time on the same trail. First hand experience in riding with all these slow runners huffing and puffing around us.

Never before I gave any attention to the signs along the trail. "10 MPH limit" and "look out for pets", or is it peds ? same thing, in the eyes of those sleek bikers. All these slow, unwheeled animals are just obstacles that you better avoid. You may curve around them on the left, pass them on the right, or "ding-ding-ding" their guts out. It does feel like biking in the jungle, isn't it ?

Yes, I know what all these runners think : "these bikers go for a ten miles loop and think they did some sport. Let's see them running ten mile, AH ? wimps. ha, ha, ha."

now he's really gone ...

believe it or not.

20.2 miles

a few logs ago, id suggested that biking will get me tired and slow me down. Would it work ? we'll have to try it. In the meantime, consider yesterday's run a solution. Here is the recipie of how to get me tired and slow me down:

1. 4 miles pre-group run @ 9 min per mile.
2. Alma loop (12.2 miles)
3. another 4 miles on the trail at Sissie's pace !!

My original plan did not include Alma, but my group told me that this is the plan for today... it did not take much persuasion. It took us only 53:40 to the bridge and 49:15 back around the lake, with a 3:30 minutes break in between. At a sub-8:30 average pace (!), this is my fastest Alma *ever*, thus the real fast guys were more than half a mile ahead of me.

Last came the final four. I could barely keep up with Sissie for three miles. In the last mile I dragged myself back at a 10:30 pace. Sissie took off, looking fresh and happy like it was her first four miles for the day. In fact, she was just finishing her 19 miles run ! way to go !!

RSD runners add cycling to their program

Coyote's back with a vengeance! With a new road bike, we're all on two wheels now and we're enjoying the absence of the pounding on our bodies, the cool breeze afforded by the higher speeds and the increase in the number of scenic views in a single workout.

"But don't you miss running?", the crowds are asking. Of course we do, so in typical biathlon/triathlon order, we run after the bike ride. It's a technique I'm very pleased with as it's a way to slow Sissie down to my pace for a run!!!

The next question: which will come first - counting 100 jerseys (on riders we see out on the road) OR seeing coyote in one? L&G, place your bets.