Kara Sevda

Damn you, John; I'm blaming this one on you.

I had my first Boston taper dream last night. I'M NOT EVEN TAPERING.

Aaaaaand commence move!

Great, then I have accomplished something this weekend!!!

Details, please. We need to share in your anxiety.

Haha alright alright.

I was in "Boston," at the Expo, and trying to find the starting area (which was in downtown Boston for some reason). Couldn't find it, but finally realized I could just follow the masses of people a few blocks to the start line. Then there was a decent little crowd there and a countdown going. So I freaked out, as I was wearing jeans. Turns out, it was a photo opportunity; get your picture taken at the starting line as if you're starting the race. Of course, since it was Saturday. Derp. And there were only about 200 people there, not 20000. Derp.

Silly dream.

Anyway, I'm about 2/3 moved in to Davis! Exciting. Loving the change and loving the town already.

You're moving to Davis? You develop a love affair with running through the fields or something?

Deep breaths Mike, deep breaths. It'll be here before you know it.

Mark B wrote:You're moving to Davis? You develop a love affair with running through the fields or something?

Sheriff in Auburn doesn't like runners. Kicked him out.

Mark - Yep. Decided living alone wasn't for me anymore. Plus, my brother's roommate was moving out and the rent was $200/month cheaper... And Aileen will be in Antioch/Oakland this summer, so this cuts an hour off the drive. Not to mention that they have chickens with fresh eggs daily.

Alex - I know, right? Weird how when I'm a full-time student and a runner, the stress just compounds. First time I've been both.

Ounce - Sheriff in Auburn is too slow to catch runners

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9mi GA run today. Can't say I slept well, but it was a content sleeplessness. Not that that affected my run at all.

Found it pretty interesting that I can't seem to dial in a pace on flat ground anymore. Seriously, I was running at GA effort, but from time to time I'd look down and see 7:20 (MP is 7:25). Then I'd look down a mile later and see 8:00 flat. Wtf? Regardless, got them done at a 7:51 average.

Big day tomorrow. Nervous, but excited. And will be happy to be done with it

Gotta love already having dreams about a race, especially since you're not tapering! That is great. I had a dream I met Kara Goucher the other night and I was so excited...

Have a good move! Love the fresh eggs. Some day I want to move us all out to the country but everything is a trade off, longer commute for my husband (and he'd have to drive instead of bike, which he loves) and a dozen other things. Too bad decisions have to be so hard to make sometimes!

Funny, Julie - I'm just the opposite and want to move to the city - so I can walk everywhere.

Did you get your Boston packet, Mike? That should make you anxious!

Michele "1L" Keane wrote:Funny, Julie - I'm just the opposite and want to move to the city - so I can walk everywhere.

Did you get your Boston packet, Mike? That should make you anxious!

I mostly miss the privacy. I can't play in the back yard or front yard with my little girl without neighbors all around and most of our neighbors smoke so way too often they're smoking while we're outside and that grosses me out. And the quietness, I can't tell you how much motor cycle and party noise there are at times.

Anyway enough city complaining!

How many days to Boston? I am eager to track all of you.

Man, I've typed this post up three times now - internet keeps going out.

I think I've found my happy balance of a large small town. I'd like to be slightly closer to the ocean, but oh well. Just gotta wait for the grandparents to give me (ha) their place in Almaden (just south of San Jose).

My mom texted me saying that the BAA sent something in the mail today... I'll get it when I drive home either Friday or Saturday... At which point I'll officially be in taper. Eek.

Sounds like your pre-taper dream was all about you thinking that you aren't ready for Boston. But then you realize that you are, and worried for no reason.

Glad to hear you're so happy about your move!

Kathy - You speak prophetic words. To be honest, I wasn't sure I was ready. Until...

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Amazing what a difference one week makes. And I'm completely baffled why that 22 was so hard. Then again, it started hard - or unpleasant, rather - whereas today...

I really want to use an extremely inappropriate word to describe what I did to this run. But because it's much more than just vulgar (we all know I love vulgarity), I'll pick a different one: destroyed. Absolutely obliterated.

So, the game plan was 20mi; the first 10mi @ MP+60, the next 10mi @ MP. And it was all going on be on rolling terrain. Now, I tested out the course for the MP section last Friday on my sorta-long 2x 4mi (MP/HMP), so I knew how to attack the course, when to really push the gas, when to ease up, etc. But still, nervous going into it.

The first 5mi were cake, as they should've been. With a net descent of 300' at easy/LSD pace, they sure as hell had better be.
The next 5mi were also cake, though my urge to take a nature break was growing by the mile, so I stopped at 9.8mi and headed off the road to water the bushes. Of course, I plowed right through some low-lying blackberry vines and thoroughly stabbed myself with thorns. Idiot. Slowly accelerated back to my car (the first 10 were an out-and-back), which I hit just a hair shy of 10mi (intentional). Threw the arm warmers in, pulled two gels - I'd been eating mini-Clif Bars and would need 1 gel (plus a back-up) to keep my nutrition plan of 100cal/40min - and took a swig of water, and headed back on my way for the next out-and-back.

My optimism at the car ("so far, so good!") definitely took a hit as I tried to dial in on a 7:25 pace and found myself falling short of it, even on a 2% descent. Uh... A mile in, I was just barely on pace but still working reasonably hard to maintain MP, and I was still going downhill. Rounded a corner and tried to really fall into a groove before hitting the first hill. The hill isn't too big, maybe 30-40', but I wanted to make sure I pushed through it and didn't get slowed down at all.

I had a huge descent next, so I followed the plan of really controlling the steep parts (6%) and then opening up and really letting the legs go when it eased up a little. By the next turn on the course, I was at a 7:16 average pace and holding sub-7:10s with little/no effort. Good. My left knee had started to whine a little bit (just below the patella). Not so good, but not a problem.

The last mile of the "out" is a long, gradual hill (75' with 1 false flat halfway through), and at the beginning of it, I noticed my quads were lacking any real snap. Okay, time to pump the arms. Made it up without forcing myself into the red at all, finishing the 5mi "out" @ 7:18 (MP-7sec, net descent 255').

Now it was time to go back up. I knew the fun really started at 2 miles in, and fun it was. The quads had absolutely zero top end, but it wasn't like they were tired, just... Almost like they weren't in my control. They were going to go a certain pace, and to push over that, I had to figure something else out that didn't involve them. Really weird. Still, I made a mental split of the next 3mi into 3 main hills, each with 2 sections, and as the first one came into view, I may or may not have said, "Alright, mother fucker, this is it." Apparently I like when I talk dirty to myself.

Pushed over hill one just approaching HM effort at the top, recovering a bit (but still pushing) and getting ready for number two. I knew I had to keep just a little in the tank at the top of this one, as the 3rd was the longest with the most overall gain, but I still wanted to make a strong effort up #2. I ran most of it at HM effort, pushing towards LT at the top, and wheeled down the backside of it.

Funny how when I'm moving at race-pace, I can actually visualize the race and the emotions that are going to come with it. So I channeled into that "last mile" feeling, the rush, the exhilaration, the absolute determination it takes to keep pace and, if you're lucky, even push through it and drop a few seconds off that last mile. I was able to hold just sub-7:20 for the mile, the whole thing at a 2% uphill... Then clicked the Garmin at 20mi and jogged about 200' to the car, at which point the last 2.5hr caught up to me and froze me in place for a minute or so until I caught my breath.

Final stats =
20mi, 7:51 average pace, 880' gain/loss, 2:37:20.
First 10mi: 8:23 average pace, 420' gain/loss.
Next 5mi: 7:18 average pace, 110' gain/360' loss.
Last 5mi: 7:18 average pace, 350' gain/100' loss.

So now some questions:
1. Last year when I did this workout, the last 3 miles killed me. I was damn near bleeding time by the end. This time around, all things considered, it wasn't that hard. And I was 7sec under my MP. So, am I being too conservative with my goal pace?
2. Random, but I thought of this today (forgot to apply Vaseline pre-run... oops). I tend to run marathons shirtless. I mean, I start with a shirt, but it's gone somewhere between miles 6-16. However, I haven't seen any photos of Boston runners without shirts. Is there some sort of unwritten rule at Boston that you keep your shirt?

Commence taper!

40min recovery this morning. Felt really good, actually. Kind of wish I wasn't in taper so I could've kept going... Shit, did I just say that? These next 3 weeks are going to be fun...

Really strong 20/10 workout, Mike. Its hard to say if your MP is too conservative based on one workout though. It definitely shows me you are training for rolling terrain, so my advice would be to plan on 7:20-7:25 and adjust accordingly in the second half of the race.

Dave - Good point; getting too excited about one workout is probably just as dumb as getting too bummed out about another (ie my 22mi). Your advice actually matches up pretty well with my tentative race plan, too. Nothing hard until the bottom of Newton and then progressively push it up the hills and let the last 6mi come to me.

I think your blog is going to be especially fun to watch when you're in taper...

Nice job on the 20M Mike.

Kathy - Always is

Alex - Thanks!

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1hr Hal-style tempo today. Intervals and details:
20min warm-up, 8:29 pace.
5min GA, 7:44 pace.
5min MP, 7:17 pace.
5min cruise, 7:00 pace.
5min LT, 6:43 pace.
5min 10k, 6:20 pace.
10min MP, 7:23 pace.
5min cool-down, 7:52 pace.

Everything felt the way it should, and I really dialed in on the last 2min of the 10k interval, averaging 6:10 or so.

90min GA tomorrow.

Oof. Definitely peaking, and definitely at the end of my peak, judging by today's run. Just never found a groove, never felt good and comfortable... Didn't help that it was warm and sunny, nor did my left knee, which has been a very occasional and minor niggle the past 2 weeks. It was still minor today, but there.

Anyway, did "hills" on the footbridges that pass over I-80 along the frontage roads. A total of 8. I'm estimating them to be around 30-40', given that the underside is at least 2x the height of an 18-wheeler (13.5'). Not Auburn sized hills by any means, but something to keep things mixed up for the legs.

Total of 11.54mi.

I'm all moved out of Auburn as of yesterday afternoon... Need to head south to switch cars and leave some things at the parents' house, which I think I'll be doing today. Between school, moving, and peaking, my stress levels are pretty high lately. Doesn't help that my aquarium heater got stuck on this morning and cooked one of my fish, either.

Hour of whatever I felt like today, which turned out to be GA. My left knee is a bit bitchy - just below the patella - especially on descents. Good thing tomorrow is a day off and I'm going into taper so it can heal up properly before Boston.

More number crunching:
This week for OC Marathon, 8hr17min, 63.4mi, 664TSS, .847IF*, 7:50 average pace.
This week for Boston, 7hr58min, 60.92mi, 670TSS, .867IF, 7:51 average pace.

*IF = intensity factor, which is the ratio of how fast you run compared to your 1hr max pace. So, despite running 1sec/mi slower this time around than last time, my IF is up .02, which is a fairly significant number. Why? My 1hr max pace is slower now than it was last year.

How I know taper has started:

1. My dad is currently sitting across the kitchen table from me with my Welcome booklet and a huge map of Boston, hi-lighting the start area, course, and finish area on the map.

2. Aileen had a dream last night that she ran Boston with me.

3. Meanwhile, I'm totally cool and collected.

Mike MacLellan wrote:How I know taper has started:

1. My dad is currently sitting across the kitchen table from me with my Welcome booklet and a huge map of Boston, hi-lighting the start area, course, and finish area on the map.

2. Aileen had a dream last night that she ran Boston with me.

3. Meanwhile, I'm totally cool and collected.

Hmm, transferring your taper madness to other people around you. This is an interesting new strategy. I think you need to tell us how you managed to pull that off!

I'm excited for you buddy - I hope you have an awesome experience!