Race Week is Here

As you can see, time continues to elude me. I used to take great pride in blogging but I guess since it is also my job, my personal blog continues to take a back seat. So much to say, so little time and energy to get it out.

Nonetheless, race season is officially here. This weekend I have my first real race of the year--Tom King Classic Half Marathon. It is flat, fast and on a fairly familiar course for me. It has all the makings of a great race. Well, except...

My long runs continue to hinder my progress. This is nearly two years of rarely hitting a good long run. Long run to me is 10 or more miles. I don't know why I can't do it. It is as if there is a mental block. I used to love long runs. I used to love sitting in z2 for 2 hours. Not anymore. They just don't happen for me.

So this leaves me feeling really unprepared for next weekend. I know I am running more than last year. I don't quite know if I am running better than last year. Fortunately, I keep an extensive training log that allows me to run some basic analysis on the situation.

So last year, I completed the Atlanta ING Half Mary in 1:36:04 (7:11 pace). I knew during and immediately after the race that I ran it stupidly. I went out WAY too hard, felt a bit flat and let go a bit toward the end. My goal for the race was 1:35. Finishing 64 seconds after your goal kinda sucks. But I knew I easily had a 1:35 in my. It was just a matter of using my head.

So my goal this year made that next big leap. I want to run a 1:30 half. I tend to think that real runners begin at the 1:30 mark. That is simply my opinion. I really want 1:29:xx but for now I will settle for 1:30:xx. That is a big leap in a matter of a year. One that I am not 100% certain I am ready to make. My training has been slightly sporadic. But the volume is there.

I took the opportunity this year to train more by volume than intensity. I wanted to see what would happen. I did the 50 runs in 50 days challenge. I have a regular running routine. I have long felt that running was my weakness. And I don't really even know how I survived with such low running volume. Last year, I was lucky to get in 20 miles a week. This year it was different.

Data on the four months of running prior to race

	Last Year	This Year
November	57.2	103.7
December	83	121.3
January	56.8	81
February	77.4	84.9
	274.4	391.9

Weeks Out	Last Year	This Year
1	16.5	27.5
2	20.9	9.5
3	25.7	21
4	23.4	27.1
5	14	26.4
6	14.3	25.1
	114.8	133.1

So my monthly volume shows a 41% increase in total running or about 100 miles more. Additionally my weekly volume shows a significant increase (despite being ill for 5 days last week). Even with the abysmal 9.5 mile week, I was able to bounce back to 27.5 the next week and would have been 30+ had it not been for a series of thunderstorms.

But lost in all the mileage is the lack of long runs. This year I have likely passed 10 miles 3-4 times total. And I can think of two runs that were horrible. But looking back on last year, this seems par for the course.

I don't quite know if I will reach my time on Saturday. I know it is a bit of a stretch. Based on a hilly 5k I did in January, the running calculators predict 1:33. Blech. The course is flat so I know that will help. Guess we will see if I can hold 6:52 pace for the entire race.

Revvvving up for the Weekend

The time is near. Hopefully this will become an opportunity to remove a large monkey from my back. In the morning, I head north to the hills of eastern Tennessee and home of the Volunteers for the Rev3 half.

Much like ING, this race is looming over my head. When an event does that, it prevents me from looking beyond it. I can't see the rest of the race schedule. I can't plan for events beyond the weekend. I am ready to remove that burden.

I am really excited about the race too. Well...not about the athletic side of things. Instead, I am hoping that Rev3 lives up to its billing. I hope that it becomes a strong, sustainable competitor to the WTC and 70.3 model. I really like the family focus of their model. The weekend is packed full of good programming to entertain everyone. And I have faith in the organizers to put on a great race.

Performance wise, I don't really know what to think. I guess I am as ready as I will ever be. My body never peaked. I had a number of issues over the past few weeks that prevented my body from hitting its prime. I did the best with things so it is time to put the body to the test.

I am definitely approaching this race with a completely different mindset. Given the hilly terrain, I don't really have any high expectations. I don't anticipating going sub-5 even on a good day. At this point, I just want to have a solid day.

My goal is to see improvement in my swim area. I want to know that the 5 am wake up calls have really paid off. I have the confidence that I can put together a solid ride. I need to ensure that I ride conservatively. Finally, I want to have a respectable run. I am testing a new pacing strategy in hopes that it will leaving me strong over the second half.

So in the end, I hope I just put together a solid race. It doesn't have to be the fastest. I don't have to feel that I gave it 100%. I just want to be consistent out there.

And if you are in the area, stop by the all3sports tent at the expo. I will be working a number of shifts.

ING Pre-race thoughts

Looks like the first real race of the season is finally here...ING half marathon. This will be my second time racing it with the other being in 2008. It should be a very interesting story to tell when it is all done. If I look back at my training log comparing then and now, I had two totally different approaches to training.

In 2008, most of my training was volume based. The intensity was low and came in the form of mile repeats. I also had the added benefit of an extra half marathon on my schedule prior to ING. In the four months leading up to ING, I put in over 385 miles of running, including a 130 mile month, my biggest ever. (I had to double check my logs to see how I did that).

Fast forward two years and I find myself in a totally different place. My volume certainly isn't there but I am running better than I ever have before. In part (knock on wood) is that I continue to be injury free. The extended volume has been replaced by weekly tempo or track sessions to increase the intensity of the runs. My four month volume is only 265 miles. Both my time and distance are nearly a third less than previously.

So what does all this mean? Well it definitely offers two contrasting training perspectives. In 2008, my offseason goal was to work solely on my running. I was doing very little other than running. And this approach panned out well for me in that all the base building came back into play after injury left me down for Ironman Florida.

This year the goals are different. I wanted to maintain my FTP on the bike throughout the offseason while steadily bringing my run along. Also given that I continue (crosses fingers) to be injury free means I really don't want to mess with my training much more. I would love to be running more but I have a good thing going. No need to mess with it. My speed is coming along. I just hope my endurance is there too.

Two years ago, 9-14 mile runs were prescribed left and right. This year not so much...which has me slightly concerned. In fact, I only hit 12 miles once in training. Gulp. This is where I just have to rely on the cumulative effect of training. I was still able to do 12 miles after running 10-12 during the week. So ideally, Sunday my legs should be a bit fresher and guide me to the finish line.

In 2008, I pulled off a 1.41 and was very proud of my effort. Well it is time to surpass that as most of my training runs are in the 1.39-1.41 range. If I visit VDOT or McMillan Running both tell me I should be capable of running a 1.35. Ouch...sounds painful. That really is my goal. I have wanted to get my half time down into the low 1.30s for some time now. But I am a bit weary of doing that this weekend. I just have a feeling that I will come in 1.36-1.37.

Here is to hoping that the low volume and more intensity approach works better for me

TTT Mental Preparation

A few blogs back I went into some detail about how much time is spent preparing to workout or race. Here is a prime example. I spent the majority of last night thinking through my nutrition and hydration plan. Sounds simple. Well four hours later, I put it down for the night and decided that I would revisit it in the morning.

This is basically the process I go through for every race that is more than an hour. Nutrition and training are the two most important aspects of race day execution. Mess up your nutrition and you are toast...it doesn't matter how great of an athlete you are. This weekend is a bit different. There is a LOT to think through. Plus, I am a bit concerned that I will be tired of a particular form of nutrition by Saturday afternoon.

If you click on the image is *should* take you to a large, more readable copy. For some reason blogger sucks ass in the uploading spreadsheet department.